A/N: 2 chapters in a week! That's a great achievement for me considering how long I've put this off! Thanks so much for those readers who are still following this and to those new readers who commented. Your comments gave me inspiration to continue working on this. And writers FEED on comments! It's our fuel, so to speak.XD

Enjoy!

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Tsuna laid in bed staring at the ceiling with wide open eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't force himself to close his eyes because every time he does, pictures of his nightmare would flash across his mind and he would snap his eyes open in fear. Fear that he would once again find himself back to that horrid place.

Fear that he would never be able to trust again.

He had thought he long forgotten about it but it seemed that his mind was out to torture him. Telling him he'll never be able to get past these awful memories, having them dogging him at the back of his mind for the rest of his lifetimes.

Seeing how the sun is already up, Tsuna decided trying to go back to sleep again would be pointless. So he got up from bed and got ready for school, deciding that taking a morning stroll would be a good reliever to calm his fried nerves.

The early morning air was crisp and the sun shining warmly onto Tsuna's skin was comforting and it made him warm both on the outside and inside.

Tsuna breathed in a breath of fresh cool air and for a moment, let his body relax in its comfort. There wasn't a person in sight in the neighborhood considering it was still 5am in the morning and Tsuna appreciated the silence in the air with the exception of a few birds chirping and crickets cricketing in the grass.
Tsuna took a moment to breath in the serene sight before him and sighed in content.

These past few days had been filled with constant events happening nonstop till he found himself drowning in it. He won't say it was all bad because he found himself quite enjoying the company of Yamamoto and Gokudera. Even though they are constantly bickering, the voices of people surrounding him was a nice feeling compared to the emptiness in him when he was all alone from before.

Of course, that doesn't mean that he doesn't require some time alone to himself occasionally.

Additionally, his dreams of the past has became more frequent lately ever since the hitman came into his life. He didn't think much of these dreams before because he thought it was an aftereffect from dying such like a sign of trauma or fear but something told Tsuna that might not be the case.

But Tsuna wasn't a prophet or a good interpreter. He just wished these dreams could show him something concrete instead of plundering him from his precious slumber.

Tsuna was too into his thoughts that he didn't notice the sound of running footsteps coming from around the corner. As a result, he did not manage to react in time and collided into a brick wall, sending him to land onto the pavement on his butt.

Wait no. He didn't collide onto a wall, but a person. The person didn't even move an inch even when Tsuna knocked into him but stood there unmoving like a stone.

"Oops! Sorry! Didn't see you there!" A rough voice said and a hand was extended out towards Tsuna.

Tsuna looked up at the other and saw that it was none other than Sasagawa Ryohei. He accepted his hand and the boxer pulled him up with no effort at all.

"Thanks." Tsuna muttered.

"OOOHH!!" Ryohei suddenly yelled, startling him. "You're Sawada!"

"Yes....I am...." Tsuna answered hesitantly, unsure of what he meant by that.

"AWESOME!! I wanted to talk to you!"

Tsuna couldn't help but winced at the loudness of his voice.

Seriously, can't he tone it down a little? My ears are ringing....

"SAWADA!! JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, his eyes burning with fiery passion.

"No." Was Tsuna's immediate answer.

But Sasagawa Ryohei was unfazed by the younger boy's answer. "NO!" He shouted. "You HAVE to join the boxing club! You'd be EXTREMELY prefect for it!" He got right up to Tsuna's face and clutched both his hands in his. "Come! Let's go right now!" He yelled and started sprinting towards the school.

"H-HEY!" Tsuna yelled but Ryohei's grip was strong against his thin wrist. Tsuna has no choice but to run along or be dragged on the ground behind him.

Within minutes, Tsuna found himself standing in front of the school gates, winded and panting. It was still early morning and the only people streaming in were the ones who have morning activities.

Tsuna bend down and panted in exhaustion. He had never ran that fast before in his present life and it was for no apparent reason at all. Ryohei turned to him with admiration in his eyes, his hand still not letting go of Tsuna's wrist.

"OOOHHH!!! You're just what I expected! You even managed to keep up with my extreme speed! You extremely need to join the boxing club right now!!" He yelled and proceeded to pull the poor boy towards the building where all the extracurricular activities were held at.

"W-Wait Sasagawa-san!" Tsuna tried to protest but the boxer's persistence was too much for him to handle.

"No need for formalities! Call me Ryohei!" He gave a thumbs up and Tsuna was completely stunned by his cluelessness.

"Onii-chan!" A high, girly voice called out towards the two making them pause.

Kyoko ran towards them with two bags in her arms. "Mou Onii-chan! You forgot your bag again!" She chided.

"Haha! Sorry about that Kyoko!" Ryohei sheepishly laughed and scratched his head.

Well, at least this day isn't all that bad... At least, I got to see Kyoko-chan.

Tsuna sighed happily to himself.

It was always a delight to see her; the only one who ever treated him like a normal person and not some kind of loser. Plus, her smiles always tend to bright up his day so who can say no to that?

Kyoko noticed him standing there and gave Tsuna the most blinding smile that made his stomach do weird flips. "Ah! Tsuna-kun! I hope my brother isn't bothering you too much." She bowed politely.

"A-Ah....N-No. He isn't!" Tsuna bashfully waved his hands in a fluster, wincing inwardly at his stupid stutter. (And this was not on purpose.)

He was never good at talking, especially talking to the opposite gender. That was a fact that he never could change despite living so many lifetimes.

"Of course I'm not Kyoko! I just want Sawada here to join my boxing club!"

"Mou Onii-chan! Stop hounding people to join your club!" She pouted and then turned to Tsuna.

"Sorry Tsuna-kun. I know how persistent my brother is. Let me know if he keeps bothering you." She smiled again, a more embarrassed one this time.

Tsuna's heart melted at the sight of her smile. She's just so cute when she smiles....

Then swept a glance at her brother.

I wonder how such a cute girl could have an extreme brother like him....

The school bell rang while the three of them were still standing at the gates and Tsuna quickly noticed an annoyed Skylark coming their way.

Ryohei noticed it too at the same time as Tsuna because he gave a hurried wave at him before dashing away.

"See you after school at the club Sawada!!" He yelled as he ran.

But I never agreed to it! Tsuna wanted to scream but refrain from doing so because Kyoko was right beside him,

"It's been a while since I saw Onii-chan with such a happy expression on his face. I don't know what you did but thank you Tsuna-kun." She bowed before heading towards the school building.

Before Tsuna could soak in the warm feeling of Kyoko's gratitude, he felt a dangerous aura coming towards him and decided he should quickly get moving too. He swiftly ducked a deadly swipe from the prefect's tonfa before running in a full sprint towards the safety of the building. His ears caught an annoyed 'tsk' and was so relieved that the other teen did not give chase.

Guess I managed to escape another day of sparing with the Skylark. I bet he's definitely not happy about that.

Tsuna wondered what awaits him later in the evening when he has to leave school through the gates. The Disciplinary community are always at the gate monitoring both before and after school hours like they have nothing better to do with their lives.

Oh.

But before that, he has to give a proper response to the Boxing captain and make him give up on recruiting Tsuna to his club.

Yeah.... that's definitely going to be even harder than sparing with the Skylark.

<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

As the last bell of the day rang, Tsuna found himself standing in front of the boxing club's doors, shifting from foot to foot, debating whether or not to go in and face the overwhelming captain once more.

It was tempting to just ignore the boxer's words and go home, using the excuse that he forgot or was too busy. But that just didn't feel right to Tsuna right now after facing the full extent of the boxer's passion for the sport.

Plus, Kyoko's words made it harder to reject his brother's offer because nothing would be worse than letting that sweet girl's smile go down.

Tsuna REALLY didn't want to go but before he could think contemplate on it any further, the doors slid open and before his stood Ryohei in his tracksuit.

His eyes lit up like fireworks the moment he saw Tsuna and a bright smile graced his face.

"OHH SAWADA! I knew you'd come! A man never backs down on their promises!" He yelled passionately.

But I never made any promises!

Tsuna sighed and didn't offer any resistance as Ryohei dragged him into his club where a few members were already inside and practicing.

"Hey guys! This is Sawada Tsunayoshi. He's going to be joining the boxing club from today onwards!" He shouted excitedly.

Don't just decide that on your own!

Just what was with this situation? Never in all his reincarnated lives has he ever met such a persistent, stubborn person who live life at his own pace. Tsuna was absolutely flabbergasted at his behavior and was completely thrown off at how to handle with this sort of person at all.

Talking doesn't seem to get through to him as he'd tried that repeatedly with each attempt ending as a failure and was just making him want to tear his hair out.

Maybe he needed to try a different approach....

"Sasagawa-senpai?"

"Oh! What is it Sawada?"

"I'm not going to join the boxing club." Tsuna stated, his eyes firmly locked onto the other.

"NO CAN DO SAWADA!!" He shouted. "We EXTREMELY need you in the boxing club!"

Well at least I tried being straight with him...

As expected, talking was not going to solve this. The captain was dead set on wanting to recruit Tsuna to his club and Tsuna could only think of one way it was going to get settled, though he hated it.

"If words aren't getting through, why don't you use action?" A high nasally voice said from behind Tsuna and he resisted a sigh.

With all the weird antics that Reborn has done to make his current life a living nightmare, he didn't know what he was expecting when he turned around to face the infant who was in boxers with a elephant hat on his head......with another green elephant on top of it.

"MASTER PAOPAO!" Ryohei greeted.

What!?

"Sawada! Let me introduce to you Master PaoPao. Upon hearing your reputation, the Elder Of Muay Thai came here all the way from Thailand to see you. How EXTREMELY popular you are Sawada!"

Elder Of What? From where?

Tsuna was not even fooled for a second. That was definitely Reborn in that stupid boxer costume. He wanted to ask what kind of deadly concoction was he trying to stir up but decided he liked to keep his sanity a little longer.

"Come on Sawada! Let's spar! That's the best way to judge your boxing skills!"

He was about to protest once more but a thought came to him.

"Fine. But, if I beat you in a boxing match, will you promise to leave me alone?"

"OHHH! A boxing match! What an extremely manly way to settled this! Sure!!" He pumped his fist in the air in excitement and jumped into the ring.

Tsuna followed after, wondering what did he just got himself into. He'd never done boxing before nor had he ever watched anything related to boxing. His limited knowledge of boxing was that both fighters had to hit each other with boxing gloves in the ring until one of them is down. He was pretty sure he was missing out the most important parts.

Well, nevertheless, as long as knock him unconscious, that should count as a win I think.

A club member handed Tsuna a pair of boxing gloves and he slipped them on as well as the headgear that they insisted he wear. Ryohei only put on the gloves, not bothering with the headgear. Tsuna could see how much confidence he has in himself to be able to fight without the protection but that in itself might be a weakness that Tsuna was willing to take advantage of. He filed that away for later and took a moment to assess his opponent.

He's good, Tsuna could tell in one glance. Well toned muscles, abs and all, even his fighting stance leaves no openings at all. That must be why he's called the 'Boxing Champion' in Namimori. He definitely deserves that title.

But Tsuna was determined not to go down easily either. It wasn't remotely impressive but no matter what, he was determined to stay in the 'Going-Home club' for the rest of his school days till graduation. He's definitely not going to join his boxing club or any other clubs.

They each stood in a corner of the ring opposite of one another and got into their fighting stance. Silence ensues as they stared at one another, looking for an opening.

Ryohei definitely saw one and took it, leaving Tsuna to brace for the incoming attack.

"EXTREME RIGHT!!" He yelled and threw a punch with his right arm. Tsuna easily sidestepped to the left but he wasn't letting up. Withdrawing his arm with such speed that astounds Tsuna, he threw another punch at his head. There was no time to dodge the punch and Tsuna had to raise both arms to his head in order to defend from the onslaught of punches. Tsuna grimaced as the punches stung his arms but couldn't help be amazed at how much strength there was behind each hit.

It was like being repetitively hit with a sledgehammer and Tsuna knew exactly how it felt since he has been constantly hit by one.

"EXTREME UPPERCUT!" He halted his and swiftly changed his angle of his punch into an upward punch that would've knocked Tsuna unconscious if he wasn't wearing the headgear. Still, the force of it was enough to turn Tsuna's surroundings into a fuzzy blur and he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. If he wasn't used to losing his vertigo, he would've lost the match then and there. However, he knew he had to buy some time for him to recover and thus quickly distanced himself to the edge of the ring, a good distance away from the other in case he decided to take the opportunity and attack.

But Ryohei just stood where he was and smiled. Tsuna knew immediately that the boxer knew what Tsuna was thinking. Ryohei was confident in his abilities and knew that Tsuna was at a disadvantage.

Well... it's not over yet.

Tsuna shook his head to clear it though he was sure his jaw was going to bruise, just like his arms but he wasn't out of the game yet.

Once Ryohei had enough waiting, he came rushing at Tsuna once more, cocking his right arm back and aiming for his torso. Tsuna saw that coming but instead of dodging this time, he decided it was time to retaliate. Watching the punch coming towards him, he timed it just right so that the punch would stop short of hitting him and used that outstretched arm to heave himself up in the air. Once he was in the air, he turn his hold on the arm into a grip as he used it to propel himself behind Ryohei's back. Before he has the chance to turn around, Tsuna swiftly did a roundhouse kick to his head, knocking him down and out. He was a little guilty at using such a underhanded tactic but he guessed it was all fair game when his livelihood was at stake.

He absolutely did not want to join a club.

"Ryohei's out." Master bunbun—or whatever he's called at the moment—announced.

Tsuna blew a breath of relief once the fight was over and bend down to check on the boxer. To his amazement, Ryohei got up from the ground with a wide smile on his face. There was not a trace of resentment or anger on his face at being knocked unconscious.

"EXTREMELY AMAZING SAWADA!" He yelled but it was Tsuna who was the one amazed. Ryohei doesn't seem worn out by the fight earlier at all. It was astounding to even see him standing after taking a kick to the head.

"As promised, I'll not be joining your club Sasagawa-senpai." Tsuna quickly reminded him before they both forgot what this fight was about.

He seemed crestfallen but reluctantly nodded.

Beating down the rising guilt at seeing how upset the boxer was, he proceed to walk out the door triumphantly when he stopped Tsuna.

"OHHH!! I'll not give up! I failed to get you to join my club today but tomorrow will be different! I'll get you to join the boxing club one of these days, Sawada!!" He yelled passionately.

At this point, Tsuna could hardly care anymore. He just want to go home and take a nap. He had homework to do and some training Reborn was sure to force him to undergo. He decided not to answer the boxer and walked out of that room, never to look back.

Well, looks like I've picked up another weirdo.

<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

"Fighting is not good Prince. You must always be calm and composed. Violence is never the answer."

"Shut up Knuckle-nii. Don't preach to me about fighting. You're only a few years older than me, plus I know you're the undefeated 3-minute champion in boxing. Not sure why you stopped though, you could have made a living with boxing as your career but you gave it all up to become a priest. How boring...." The boy yawned.

The two boys were out in the gardens relaxing. It was a peaceful day and they were lying on the grass, blissfully enjoying the cool breeze in the air. This was one of the few peaceful times the two would have together. The older boy—Knuckle—was like a brother to the boy. A confidant and a close friend. The boy enjoyed every moment he has with him, albeit short.

"Prince, you know the reason why I gave it all up and I don't regret it one bit. Being a priest has its benefits y'know." Knuckle smiled, not in the least insulted by the boy's comments.

"Yeah? Like what? I don't see how great it is to stay in the church all day and talk about some non-existence God to old grannies and uncles." The boy grumbled.

Again, instead of being insulted, Knuckle chuckled. "Well, for one thing, I get to spend more time with you."

The boy froze upon hearing those words. "I can't believe you said something so cheesy...." He pouted.

Knuckle chuckled again. "Just wanted you to know how much being with you means to me li'l bro."

"I know." The boy felt his cheeks turn red at the honesty of his words and quickly turned away in embarrassment.

He wouldn't say it out loud, but he also enjoys spending his time with Knuckles. Rude and foul-mouthed, not many people knew the true him and even if they do know, they'll just be appalled by it or disappointed since a prince was supposed to be elegant and prince-like.

But Knuckle accepted him for who he is and was even willing to spend his precious time with him. He and Lampo were the only two who knew of his status as a prince and his true self, and still accepted him without judgement.

There were a few others he met who were accepting of him but those people still didn't know who he really is because he went out disguised then. But that didn't matter because those people were fun to talk to and hang out with.

He knew people like this were hard to find and he'll appreciate them for as long as he lives.