Kyouya stood, arms folded, in the shadowed doorway of the kitchen and watched Kyouko and Haru move around each other in the bright room.

He remembered the point in his past, his old past he supposed he should say, when Kyouko had finally coaxed the truth out of her brother and Sawada; it had been the first time he’d thought the girl might have teeth after all. He remembered the impressive black eye and the hangdog expression that Sasagawa and Sawada had sported, respectively, afterwards; the bruise had faded sooner. He remembered the fierceness in Sawada’s eyes when he’d demanded Kyouya’s word that he would protect the younger Kyouko and Haru, when they came forward; only after that word was given had he, reluctantly, agreed to the whole plan.

Of course, in Kyouya’s opinion, the best way to protect someone was to sharpen their teeth.

He pushed away from the door and stepped into the kitchen.

"Hibari-san!" Haru looked up with a bright smile. "Are you coming to dinner, too, tonight?"

"No," he told her, bluntly, and cast a sharp eye on Kyouko. "You’ve seen things, here, that haven’t been explained. Sasagawa believes he does you a service by keeping you in ignorance. Sawada appears to agree. What do you think?"

Her knife paused, over the vegetables on the board in front of her, and then resumed, slower. "I already know," she said, softly.

Kyouya’s brows rose.

"Not… not everything. But that they’re doing something dangerous." Her eyes were fixed on the sliced roots as she slid them onto a plate and reached for a whole one. "They won’t tell me why, but I’ve seen how they’re training, here." Her lips tightened. "And I remember, now, what happened right after I got here." She finally put the knife down and looked up. "That man was trying to kill me. And Tsuna-kun, too. I don’t know why, but I know that much."

Haru was staring at her. "Don’t know… but… Kyouko-chan, your brother is one of Tsuna-kun’s Guardians, how can you not know?"

Kyouko smiled, a little sad. "Like I said. They haven’t told me why this is happening." And then she snorted softly. "Though it was pretty obvious from the start that it wasn’t sumo wrestling."

Kyouya was glad to know she hadn’t actually bought that particular piece of inanity. It would be a shame if the boss’ wife were an idiot. He leaned a hip against the counter, watching silently to see how much these two girls could do on their own.

Haru sat down, slowly. "Kyouko-chan…" She bit her lip and then took a deep breath. "It’s the mafia. Tsuna-kun was chosen to be the next boss of a big mafia Family. Gokudera and Yamamoto and Sasagawa-san and, um," she glanced at Kyouya, "Hibari-san too were chosen to guard him. To be his own family." She frowned darkly, then, with growing indignation. "I can’t believe they didn’t tell you!"

Kyouko shook her head. "It’s all right, Haru-chan. I…" her eyes fell and one finger traced an arc back and forth on the table, "I knew enough. And I was hoping they would tell me themselves."

"Not for another three or four years," Kyouya remarked, causing a complete halt in the conversation for several breaths.

"Four. Years." Haru’s eyes glinted and she stood up. "That does it. Where are they?"

"You might want to wait on that," Kyouya told her dryly. "Tomorrow they’re going to go out after Vongola’s enemies. Pitiful grazers that they still are, they need every edge. You might not want to distract them until later."

Kyouko was looking up at him, eyes wide and dark. "That’s why you told us?"

He looked down at her silently. "I gave Sawada my word to guard you," he said, finally. "But you should be aware to guard yourselves as well." If the schedule held, they would have to, very soon.

She was silent too for a long moment, opaque thoughts moving behind soft eyes. "All right."

Haru moved to stand behind her, one hand on Kyouko’s shoulder. "We will," she said, stoutly.

He nodded and turned away. He didn’t think for a moment that they could protect themselves if they fell into Millefiore’s hands, but at least this should keep them from rushing to place themselves there out of ignorance. He trusted Sawada would appreciate that benefit. Kyouya imagined he would. Eventually.

A sharp, tiny smile curved his lips as he paced the halls back to his own section.

End