Ho Yay / Reborn! (2004)

aka: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Tsuna holding Gokudera's hand. Surely this doesn't mean anything.

Shonen manga + numerous Bishōnen characters + written by a woman + about close family bonds = OH GOD THE SUBTEXT.

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Examples

Belphegor/Fran (BF)

• Belphegor and Fran have this interesting relationship which involves Bel stabbing Fran just for fun, and Fran insulting him every chance he gets. Not to mention that Fran's Box Weapon is a miniature Bel. If you think about it, it kinda implies that he trusts Bel with his life despite all the Deadpan Snarking.
• And that time when Fran lifted Bel's shirt to get a look at his abs.
• In the first chapter of the new arc, Bel is the most eager to see Fran again in the current timeline, and is the first to spot him out of all the Varia and the Kokuyo Gang.

Belphegor/Gokudera (B59)

• In Episode 46 when Gokudera and Belphegor are trying to take each other's rings, at one point, Belphegor straddles Gokudera and all the struggling they're doing makes it look like they're having sex.
• In the Future arc when the Varia rescued Lal Mirch, Gokudera, and Gamma from Bluebell and Zakuro, who were about to finish them off, Belphegor is shown allowing an injured Gokudera to lean on him.
• In Episode 143 of the Arcobaleno Trials arc, when two new exchange students Himeko and Monta Hariyama introduced themselves to class, Himeko winked to Gokudera. However,it's later revealed that Himeko is actually Belphegor with Mammon's illusions, Mammon being Monta.

Byakuran/Shoichi (10051)

• Byakuran and Shoichi's behaviour towards each other gives off vibes of office molestation or something. Byakuran was quite aware that Shoichi would betray him and could easily have killed him, but never did anything to hurt him. And Shoichi seemed genuinely sad about having to kill his old friend.
• In Byakuran's first appearance, he had Shoichi sent a lot of flowers, enough to fill up a whole room.
• Shoichi refers to the time he spent at the university with Byakuran before he recovers his memory as the happiest moments of his life.
• Byakuran is someone who finds his men very disposable. When they bore him/are no longer useful, he'll throw them away without any second thoughts. The only exception to his behavior is Shoichi.
• In Chapter 369 Shoichi expressed much concern/worry upon seeing Byakuran get hit by an attack from Iemitsu.
• Byakuran and Shoichi meet in every timeline Shoichi checked, even at different universities, which says much about their relationship. It's like they're destined to meet.
• In one of the final chapters Shoichi is shown to have been visiting Byakuran in the hospital.

Byakuran/Tsuna (10027)

• In his final moments, Byakuran has an Inner Monologue where he states that he felt the world didn't feel right to him, in which he glances at Tsuna and asks if Tsuna would understand and agree. Of course, Tsuna doesn't but Byakuran still gives him a smile.
• Upon arriving at Tsuna's house, one of the first things Byakuran does is check out Tsuna's room and wants to form an alliance with Tsuna.
• Also in Chapter 367, Tsuna's father announces his intention to take down Byakuran (and Mukuro) and Tsuna is freaking out and worried for their safety.
• In Chapter 368 Tsuna's father aims an attack at him and Byakuran shields him. He also comments on Tsuna's kind-heartedness. And constantly calls him "Tsunayoshi-kun" and says they should defeat Tsuna's father together.

• While making battle plans, Byakuran happily says that he and Tsuna should be strong enough to take on Jagger, meaning he's truly acknowledged Tsuna's strength.

Dino/Hibari (D18)

• How about a mafia boss training a teenager, using a whip? And taking him for a tour around the country (almost), just the two of them?
• Hibari actually uses handcuffs in the future arc when fighting. And their training sessions do tend to get a bit physical.
• Dino is really one of the few people who will willingly spend time with Hibari besides the Disciplinary Committee since most other people are afraid of him. Plus Hibari does pretty much live with him during the training sessions (or the ones in the future at least).
• Dino snuck in to see The Choice battle because as he said himself, he couldn't miss out on Hibari fighting. That's also when Hibari calmly listened to him. Before the fight Dino ran after Hibari, who rushed to Namimori Middle High to check out the situation. Later, Hibari was willing to destroy part of his beloved school in order to save Dino.
• In Dino's Haru Haru interview, Dino stated that he drops by to visit Hibari from time to time.
• In Chapter 365 Hibari's incessant stalking of Dino, who's become an English teacher at Namimori in order to stay close to Tsuna in case of another battle. The only way Dino's able to get Hibari to stop following him is promising a rendezvous at a hotel after work. Granted it's only so they can fight, but both seem rather excited for it.
• In Chapter 367 Hibari is stated to be really fixated on Dino because he really wants him to become his mentor.
• It's also shown that Hibari took inspiration of using chains thanks to his Dino's whip, and he was uncharacteristically shy when he has first shown it to Dino much to the latter's amusement.
• In Chapter 373 Dino shows up to save Hibari from the Varia's attack and warns them that they better not attack Hibari again or they'll regret it.
• In Chapter 391 it is said that they spent the last few days fighting each other just as promised by Dino.

Dino/Squalo (DS/D29/D36)

• In the Drama CD (and arguably a bit in the canon as well). Squalo's first appearance has him yelling at everyone with an arrogant smirk on his face, which promptly disappears when Dino shows up, which indicates a certain amount of respect. Dino's faith (if faith had extremely negative connotations) in Squalo's abilities during the Rain Battle makes that respect mutual. Furthermore, during the future arc, random interactions seem to have Dino pegged as the one person Squalo doesn't communicate with by shouting.
• The Inheritance Ceremony had Dino and Squalo talking to Tsuna, Dino's advice being "WE won't pry if you won't tell US" and "WE can help." Considering this is Squalo he's talking about, without previous references, no less...
• Squalo called out "We're going!" after that. The Varia had just shown up, Squalo and Dino had yet to converse, yet they're already talking and walking together in sync...
  "It'd be nice if we could just have a quiet meal, right, Bucking Horse?"

Dino/Tsuna (D27)

• Dino and Tsuna have some of this. One example being in Episode 8 when Dino falls down the stairs while visiting Tsuna's house, Tsuna accidentally falls on top of him and Dino catches him. Another example being when Dino helps Tsuna up off a hospital floor.
• And before Dino fell down the stairs, he smiled at Tsuna. It was the sort of smile a guy makes at a girl when he wants to charm her.
• Tsuna's also had some fanboy moments over Dino where he would blush and gush over how "cool" Dino is.
• The fact that the girls at Namimori High are jealous of Tsuna when Dino (and Gokudera and Yamamoto) are hanging out with him says a lot.

Enma/Tsuna (0027)

• Tsuna and Enma. It helps that they're both quite shy and easy targets for bullying, making them able to relate to each other in that aspect. It also bears mention that the two got close pretty quickly. And then there's Enma getting really upset at Tsuna for not coming to meet him (because some wind blew Enma's letter to Tsuna asking him to meet him later in the trash can so Tsuna didn't get a chance to read it).
• In Chapter 285 Tsuna wanted to touch Enma's hand with his to see if he had a reaction that he felt from the last chapter from when his ring lit up. And sometime after they met Tsuna noticed Enma had accidentally torn his pants so he kindly had his mom sew them for Enma before returning them to him.
• In Chapter 292 Tsuna says that Enma is the only one he feels that understands how he feels about being in the mafia. Then Enma gets pissed and says that Tsuna's not the same as him since he's in a weaker family and has to deal with other families bullying him. But Enma says shyly "But there are times when I feel that I could become friends with you, Tsuna-kun" and that he considers Tsuna to be different from the other scary mafia people while Tsuna yells, "I already consider us friends! I've never met anyone in the mafia who I can relate to as much as I can relate to you!" Tsuna's mom then announces that the bath's ready and Tsuna even tells Enma that he can take a bath first but Enma tells Tsuna that he can go first.

• In Chapter 331 Tsuna puts a lot of effort into trying to save Enma who had gone past the Despair Event Horizon and couldn't hear anyone through all his rage and despair. He even wanted to kill Tsuna because he thought Vongola Primo betrayed Cozart Simon. Tsuna calls Enma (I'm your friend remember!?) and Enma finally comes to his senses remembering the moments they spent together in the past. They have a heartwarming moment together where Tsuna tells Enma while smiling warmly "It's okay now...I came to save you..." and Enma responds with "Tsuna-kun...Just like the Vongola Primo...You didn't betray me..." while also smiling warmly.
• In Chapter 332, Tsuna tells Enma "My pride is... you."

Gokudera/Tsuna (5927)

• Gokudera is like a nicer version of being Tsuna's Stalker with a Crush. He is so insanely loyal to Tsuna compared to everyone else, bringing Tsuna white roses (red in the manga) when Tsuna was hospitalized by way of kneeling down before him, bowing his head, and presenting them to him like he was proposing to him (even getting run over by a car while rushing there), being unreasonably jealous of Yamamoto for being so friendly with Tsuna, and reacting in a very angry and jealous manner when Chrome kisses Tsuna (to the point where he had to be restrained by Yamamoto from beating her up).
• In an early chapter Tsuna gets mistaken at school for "becoming Gokudera's bitch," after Gokudera became his Stalker with a Crush came to worship and admire him as the Tenth boss. It's interesting to note that while Tsuna denied it Gokudera certainly didn't. He then stands up for Tsuna when the teacher starts badmouthing him.
• In Episode 39 Gokudera briefly turns into an adorable chibi, and Tsuna holds him in his arms most of the time too. He also has a fanboy moment over how tall Tsuna seems and how strong he thinks he is. He gets very upset towards the end of the episode and tearfully yells to Tsuna "With this body, how will I be able to protect you from now on?!" He then changes back into his original size, which apparently happened because he wished so strongly for it.
• Episode 46 has Tsuna declare to Gokudera: "I want to laugh and spend time together with everyone, but if you die, then it's all meaningless!"
• In Episode 52 when Mukuro tells Tsuna the only reason he became his guardian was so that it would be easier for him to possess Tsuna's body, Gokudera reacts in a protective manner and Tsuna places his hand on Gokudera's arm which calms him down and he softly states "Tenth..."
• Episode 101: Gokudera repeatedly bowing in apology to Tsuna for causing a disturbance and Tsuna gently leading Gokudera back into their room to sleep.
• In Episode 138 we have this scene. (Note the sounds Gokudera makes as Tsuna's trying to hold him back).
• In Episode 166 Gokudera runs to Tsuna's side after Ryohei punches Tsuna in the face, gets pissed at Ryohei, and tries to beat him up but Dino holds him back.
• Gokudera jumping in front of Tsuna to protect him after Yamamoto throws a grenade down the hallway.
• As seen above, in episode 159 Tsuna grabs Gokudera's hand to stop him from going after Yamamoto who is skipping out on training to play baseball. But even better? They actually continue to converse with each other while still holding hands.
• Then there was that one time in a forest where Gokudera and Tsuna were together and shirtless while trying to dry off.
• In a recent chapter, Gokudera tells Tsuna that he wants to be the type of right-hand man who survives so he can laugh side by side with his boss.
• Gokudera's numerous usages of "Tenth!" whenever referring to Tsuna, his over-enthusiasm whenever greeting Tsuna, his tendency to sometimes blush and sparkle around Tsuna, and this scene where he gets a dogs tail and sparkles when talking to Tsuna.
• Then there's also the fact that he speaks keigo, which is a polite way of speaking to someone else, when talking to Tsuna, and he will be speak quite rudely to anyone else. The only other ones that he does this is Reborn, Nana, and Iemitsu, who are you can say are Tsuna's family. That was also when he declared to Yamamoto "As the Tenth's right hand man, I will always be by his side!"
• There's a scene in Chapter 141 where Tsuna and Gokudera are sleeping in the same room. Tsuna was worried to death about his friends and family, and Gokudera just looked like he wanted to comfort Tsuna, but couldn't. It's also nice to note how Gokudera tries to cheer Tsuna up a bit the next day, and Tsuna goes "Gokudera-kun..."
• Chapter 285: Gokudera enthusiastically greeting Tsuna and acting protective of him upon seeing Enma hanging around Tsuna and running away.
• Chapter 287: Gokudera learns from Reborn that another mafia family has attacked Tsuna so he plans to carry out his role as his "Right Hand Man" and decides to make a meeting and gather the Guardians. He also plans to "use" the Simon Family for his plan to guard Tsuna from future attackers. All this to protect Tsuna.
• In Chapter 64, Gokudera protecting Tsuna against Chikusa despite getting injured while doing so.
• This. Tsuna blushing when complimenting Gokudera for being given the responsibility to train Ryohei and Lambo and Gokudera acting all bashful and blushing in return.
• This. Gokudera jumping fully clothed into a pool where Tsuna is swimming when concerned for Tsuna's health and getting close to Tsuna's face.
• Other than Tsuna and Gokudera getting nosebleeds upon being confronted by a naked Lal Mirch and Gokudera gazing upon Lal Mirch this scene is made of Ho Yay with Gokudera wanting to collect some food for Tsuna and him trying to keep Tsuna quiet looked for all the world like he was trying to kiss Tsuna.
• Gokudera expressing concern after hearing Tsuna scream.
• The training chapter. Gokudera getting upset and running away after noticing that Tsuna relies on Yamamoto more, and him contemplating about how he's probably better off alone, only to come running back to Tsuna after Nana tells him that Tsuna talks about Gokudera all the time. "There isn't one day where he doesn't mention your name, Gokudera-kun." (Note that Gokudera responds to this statement by blushing).
• During Gokudera's fight with Belphegor he had an almost manic look on his face as he did his best to get the ring, because he wanted to prove himself to Tsuna so badly, he wanted to prove Tsuna's own competence so badly and then Tsuna started pleading with him, begging him just to give up because he couldn't bear to see him get killed. And Gokudera was able to give up (even though he was planning on sacrificing himself if necessary) because he wanted to be able to spend more time with Tsuna and watch the fireworks together.
  • It's interesting to note that Gokudera doesn't mind the latter's insults to him, but gets angry when Bel began to insult Tsuna. After winning his fight, Gokudera says that he will make Bel take his insults about Tsuna back.
• The sad look on TYL!Gokudera's face when Tsuna said he could only stay for 5 minutes sorta shows how much he wanted Tsuna to stay and the way he holds Tsuna the first time he saw him.
  • Also, Gokudera just happened to be at Tsuna's grave when Tsuna arrived from the past (present?), which suggests that he spends a lot of time in the future mourning his boss.
• In the Future arc, Gokudera completely flips out when Gamma mentions how Tsuna died and being the only one to attend Tsuna's funeral.
• The Promotion chapter had Tsuna wanting to be treated as a friend by Gokudera and not just liked for his role as the Tenth Vongola mafia boss.
• The scene when Tsuna's lying in bed all wounded (after the fight with Gamma, if I recall correctly) and Gokudera is shown sitting beside him. With a box of tissues next to him.
• In the Shonen Jump translations Tsuna calls Gokudera by his first name 'Hayato'.
• Gokudera's character song "Loop". Note the soft romantic sounding music and how much emotion Gokudera's voice actor puts into the words.
• This scene where Gokudera thinks he needs to apologize to Tsuna for his supposed incompetence by bowing down before him and repeatedly banging his head onto the ground.
• An earlier scene where Gokudera first professes his loyalty towards Tsuna and desire to be his right hand man after witnessing Tsuna going into dying will mode and distinguishing his dynamite by getting down onto his knees before Tsuna. It doesn't help that Tsuna was just wearing his boxers at the time from when his clothes burned off because of him going into Dying Will Mode.
• Gokudera blushing and getting all happy when he thinks Tsuna's mother has accepted him as Tsuna's right hand man and declaring to her "Please do not worry! I will protect the Tenth no matter what!"
• Gokudera getting on his knees before Tsuna who's laying shirtless and injured in a hospital bed again and expressing his frustration at how he was unable to protect him and Tsuna reassuring him that it's fine, he doesn't need to beat himself up over it.
• If I can recall there was a scene where Gokudera happily puts his hand on Tsuna's waist and pulls him close to him so that their cheeks are touching and declares "Lets spend time passionately celebrating your inauguration as the Tenth Vongola boss!"
• Chapter 292: Enma leaves Tsuna's house in the middle of the night only to be immediately encountered by Gokudera approaching the house with a flashlight. Gokudera wonders why Enma is not guarding Tsuna and Enma replies that he left his school supplies at the guest house and leaves. Gokudera expresses annoyance at this and proudly states to himself "I knew it. The only one who can manage to guard the Tenth 24/7 is me!!"
• In one scene Gokudera is arguing/talking with Dino and Tsuna quickly comes over, wraps both arms around Gokudera's arm and tugs him away.
• In the party after the sky battle, Gokudera links his arm with Tsuna's and declares that they should spend the time to celebrate.
• Gokudera's reaction to receiving a Vongola Box from the future Tsuna. "Thank you so much for thinking of me, boss!" *blushes with sparkles in his eyes*
• One time when I-Pin clung to Tsuna both Haru and Gokudera tugged at her in a jealous manner, trying to pull her away from Tsuna with Gokudera angrily yelling "Get away from the Tenth!"
• There was a scene where Yamamoto invited Tsuna to eat lunch with him. Cue Gokudera immediately ran over screaming "I'm the one that's gonna eat with the Tenth! Don't invite the Tenth without permission, you baseball maniac!" He also offers Tsuna a loaf of some of his bread during lunch.
• And then there was another time when Reborn had Tsuna and his friends have a snowball fight and Gokudera was upset that he was put on a different team than Tsuna. He then switched teams on his own so that he could be on Tsuna's team.
• Another scene had Gokudera stating to Yamamoto that he's only been getting along with him for Tsuna's sake.
• And in Haru's interview omake Gokudera is shown getting pissed when he hears that Haru is still referring to Tsuna as her "future husband". He even firmly declares "I won't accept it!" and brings out some dynamite.
• There's been a few times where Gokudera didn't want to do something Reborn ordered him to do but once Tsuna expressed his approval Gokudera instantly changed his tune and went along with Reborn's order.
• Chapter 315: It's stated that "Gokudera's heart has only been living for Sawada Tsunayoshi". Shitt P. tries to prove to him that Tsuna is no good but Gokudera brushes off her claims and states "All those no good parts of the Tenth you were talking about. Of course, I knew about them. Even so, what about them? That doesn't make up more than one side of the Tenth. The Tenth that I think about, the Vongola Tenth whom I respect greatly...that has nothing to do with him." The caption at the end reads "unfettering feelings for Tsuna!!"
• Chapter 281: Gokudera acting concerned about Tsuna following him defeating Byakuran.
• Chapter 363: Gokudera worries about Tsuna after his defeat at the hands of his father.
• Chapter 364: Gokudera worries about whether Tsuna's hurt and also invites himself over Yamamoto's house when he hears that Tsuna's going because he can't bear to leave Tsuna alone.
• Before Gokudera met Tsuna, he was always alone and never was able to trust anyone, and as such is grateful that Tsuna changed his life, that he is not alone anymore since becoming friends with him.
• In Chapter 369, Gokudera is serious about wanting to get back to Tsuna's side.
• In Chapter 371, Gokudera enthusiastically greets Tsuna again while appearing to blush.
• Gokudera has very obsessive loyalty towards Tsuna and frequently goes along with/agrees with everything he says except for that one time like in Chapter 381 where he agrees with Tsuna wanting to form a brief alliance with Mukuro saying "If the 10th decided it I have no objection."
• In one chapter it is said that Gokudera was a lone wolf who didn't trust anybody before meeting Tsuna and has been only opening his heart to Tsuna.
• After one battle Gokudera smiles at Tsuna warmly and asks if he's hurt and Tsuna smiles back at him warmly and says he's okay.
• Gokudera frequently blushes and smiles in regards to Tsuna and wants to stay by his side and in Chapter 391 he expresses regret that he wasn't able to help Tsuna since he was in the hospital. He also doesn't want Tsuna to leave him behind.
• The KHR x Eldlive video/sketches shows how Gokudera acts when working when Tsuna's not there here◊ to how he acts when Tsuna is around◊.
  • Tsuna looking horrified◊ when he finds out Gokudera was "bitten" by Hibari showing he's worried for him.
• Yamamoto lays out some harsh truth to Gokudera who looks upset at this. In the anime, he says "By opening your heart to only Tsuna you're forcing yourself on him. And isn't this right hand man the leader of the guardians whom the boss trusts most of all? That's out of the question if the one who's supposed to be leading is always looking to the side. You don't deserve to be his right hand man."
• When Gokudera finds out Tsuna was shot◊. His reaction is telling◊.
• In episode 12, it's interesting to note that for his while Yamamoto's training is physical, Gokudera's training looks like it's useless in a glance but it's actually a ploy by Reborn to make his loyalty even deeper for Tsuna. Reborn counts the training as a success after Nana had a talk to Gokudera.
• In episode 30, while everybody else was convinced by Reborn to sneak on the ship Tsuna is in, he is revealed to have sneaked up on the ship by himself.
• Gokudera saying to Dino "All you got to mention is the boss's name and I will go anywhere." in Episode 16.
• After the first fight with Gamma, Tsuna visits Gokudera's room. After a heartwarming scene where Gokudera is worried about Yamamoto's health, both share a heartwarming smile to reassure each other that everything is fine.
• In Episode 106, Gokudera became worried when Tsuna volunteered to be Lal's replacement, even crying that "I'm letting the boss walk into danger!". He even begs Tsuna to contact him in any way, even telepathy, if something happens.
• In a later episode, he tries to run to Tsuna when he thinks that he's in danger, only stopped by Future!Ryohei and Yamamoto jumping on him to stop him in his tracks.
• In his rematch with Gamma, it's shown that Gokudera was able to find his resolve after seeing Tsuna's resolve in sending everyone back to the past. And thanks to his, he was able to overpower Gamma, leading to a "Not So Different" Remark moment for Gamma as he reminiscences his reason for fighting as well. Gamma even asks Gokudera if his boss is really such a wonderful man, which Gokudera confidently answered yes. This made Gamma realize how Gokudera's pure loyalty made him Tsuna's fearsome right hand man in the future.
• Gokudera worrying about Tsuna after the Shoichi's reveal and is seen rushing to his side. He even tries to intimidate Spanner by saying that he is closest to Tsuna always when he thinks that Spanner is too close to Tsuna.
• Gokudera's excited reaction after Colonnello chooses him as Tsuna's partner in his test. And he is shown to be blushing when Tsuna saves him from a trap. Later, he is shown relieved when he was able to save Tsuna from Colonello's Maximum Burst with his Systema C.A.I.
• In Episode 150, Gokudera is shown worrying for Tsuna when the latter is down thanks to his failure of passing Reborn's test. And the scene where Gokudera is carrying Tsuna outside while holding his waist, and giving him quite a loving stare after Tsuna smiles.
• G's Inheritance test to Gokudera is to see if Tsuna and him have a strong bond, as they were able to prove by Tsuna realizing that he is not the usual Gokudera even without his hyper intuition. Gokudera proves himself by refusing to leave Tsuna's side even if he is not the storm guardian, and Tsuna telling him that he won't let G force Gokudera to leave convinces G. to pass him.
• Gokudera reaching out to Tsuna while they were falling down on Daemon's trap by grabbing his hand. And no matter how much Daemon tells him what a loser and a bad boss Tsuna is, he refuses to listen, even telling him that he likes the way Tsuna is.
• In the secret bullet Guardian's Banquet, Gokudera wants to cook a celebratory pot for Tsuna as he thinks "Wouldn’t the best way to strengthen my bond with the Tenth be to have both of us eating this same pot?". He even going out of his way to get ingredients from the wild instead of store bought ones. Then he becomes upset as every other guardian adds their own (weird) ingredient on it, and it culminates in him about to cry and rage when the stew is ruined by everyone's fight against Hibari. And to cheer him up, everyone pitches in to help him make another one much to his embarrassment. That is until Bianchi revealed that she froze Tsuna in a refrigerator.
• Gokudera's smiling face after he learns that Tsuna will be formally indoctrinated as Vongola Decimo in the Inheritace arc.
• After Enma gave Tsuna a breaking speech that sent him on a Heroic BSoD, Gokudera is shown to be worried about Tsuna's mental state, even offering to fight Adelheid even after he's tired from his fight with Shitt. P. and tries to defend Tsuna's honor when she began to insult Tsuna for being weak.
• And it's not only Gokudera who is initiating the Ho Yay, as Tsuna does show that he does worry about Gokudera, even more concern than to his other guardians.
  • In the Kokuyo arc, when Tsuna leans that Gokudera was next on the list after Kusakabe was attacked, he did not hesitate to try to find him. And he is shown worrying about him after Gokudera uses Shamal's trident mosquito to force himself to move so that he can protect Tsuna.
  • After Tsuna hears the Gokudera's backstory from Reborn, he and Yamamoto tries to cheer him up the net day by cooking with the girls.
  • Tsuna rushed to Gokudera's side after hearing that he tried to bathe Uri, and found him unconscious on the onsen floor.
  • Whenever Gokudera gets injured, Tsuna worries for him while Gokudera tries to downplay whatever injuries he got. Meanwhile if Tsuna gets injured, Gokudera will not hesitate to fight off whoever attacked him, be it friend or foe.
  • Tsuna refusing to let Gokudera fight after his back was injured in the finale of the Future Arc since he is worried about Gokudera killing himself to prove his worth. This led to the first time Gokudera defied him, but this time, he wants to fight to protect everyone and see the fireworks again, much to Tsuna's joy.

Hibari/Tsuna (1827)

• They have an awkward greeting AKA Tsuna hitting Hibari on his head using his slipper as a weapon. And Tsuna was not beat into unconsciousness, unlike Yamamoto and Gokudera.
• Hibari loves to act like an incredibly violent and sadistic Tsundere around Tsuna. He once actively requested that the hospitalized Tsuna be moved into the same room as him (which Tsuna desperately wanted out of but unfortunately for him, Hibari had power over the hospital director). And he uses any excuse he can find to get his kicks out of giving Tsuna sadistic beatings. Including an instance where he got very miffed when Tsuna got distracted from listening to him and was instead paying attention to his other friends. Oh, and he did say that Tsuna *ahem* excited him just like TYL!Tsuna did. Yes, excited.
• At the end of Chapter 38, where they play the snow fight, Hibari only almost-thrown the shape-shifted Leon at Tsuna and excused himself having a busy day
• The night before the Cloud Ring Battle, Tsuna dreamt that Hibari will lose in this battle and he became anxious because of this. However, it was proven to be wrong when Hibari beat Gola Mosca with only one hit.
• Also, TYL!Hibari was the only one to have been told something VERY important by TYL!Tsuna before the arc started — something not even right-hand man Gokudera knew.
• Using his Box Weapon, TYL!Hibari provokes Tsuna's Vongola Trial where he met the past bosses of the Vongola and was approved.
• Mostly, Tsuna's development in his X-Burner skills is due to TYL!Hibari's training, because if it wasn't for him pointing for the obvious, Tsuna might not find out how the gloves work.
• Tsuna generally feels more confident when Hibari is around, due to Hibari's deserved reputation as an excellent and merciless fighter.
• In the Chapter 320, while Tsuna is shocked from finding out Enma's past and what his father did to his family, Hibari snaps Tsuna out of this by coolly saying "Watch my fight closely" which awfully looks like a way to impress and snap out of his state Tsuna.
• There's also the compliment on small animals defending themselves. Tsuna is heavily hinted here since we all know he's the Moe one.
• Hibari ended the fight, winning, with an exclusive statement: "It is the sky that allows the cloud to move freely". And he continued by stating that one day he will bite the sky himself.
• Look closely at Hibari and Tsuna's merchandise. They got the ones TYL!Hibari holding guitar with Tsuna, the I'm-calling-you-on-the-phone, and they were always featured on official covers here, here
• Hibari's Song Hitoribocchi no Sadame has him talk about how he doesn't know how to love, and that he dislikes the sort of person he's speaking to because it makes his feelings go out of order and demands that the person he's speaking to not get any closer. The song opens with him mentioning a "coincidental meeting" and a person holding out shaking hands. Now who could that be?

• In Chapter 391 Hibari actually calmly listens to Tsuna's worries.
• In Chapter 401, Hibari allows Tsuna to take on Jagger, saying 'Bite him to death, little animal.' This is Hibari, who always wants to take on the biggest opponent, meaning he's acknowledged Tsuna's strength.

Irie/Tsuna (5127)

• Best exemplified when they share a embarrassed look and a warm smile, with Irie telling Tsuna "Thank you" before sending Tsuna and his friends back to their past.

Mukuro/Fran (6926)

• Although Fran claimed to not be able to open his box weapon without an action pose during the Rasiel situation, when Ghost came along he did not hesitate to open it and stand in front of Mukuro to protect him from the attack. Keep in mind, this attack had just killed a person by sucking her flames out.
• Despite Mukuro telling everyone to leave, especially him as he was still in pain from an earlier attack, Present Fran was willing to stay behind and protect Mukuro from the Vindice, even though they were possibly the only thing he truly feared.
• When Present Fran was tormenting Verde and refused to stop even with threats, the moment Mukuro opened his mouth he stopped and paid full attention to him. He actually seems to be rather reluctant to take orders from anyone other than Mukuro, refusing to do more than what Mukuro asked him to do during the battle alongside Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Chrome. He even had to get yelled at in order to bother protecting them!
• The only real reason Fran even joined the Kokuyo in the present arc was because of Mukuro's hair.
• One has to keep in mind that even though Chrome also has potential to be a skilled illusionist, it was Fran who was given the position of Mukuro's apprentice, a position that Mukuro wouldn't have given to just anyone.

Mukuro/Hibari (6918)

• Mukuro has a rivalry with Hibari, even in the future, since Mukuro had defeated him during the Kokuyo Arc. This event left great humiliation for Hibari and made him agree to become the Vongola Cloud Guardian after Reborn promised him that he can fight Mukuro again to make sure to pay him back for his defeat. Mukuro seems to be interested in Hibari's strength, as seen when he fights him the second time because Hibari could still move even though Mukuro had broken several of Hibari's bones. He continues to show a particular interest in him when he asks his subordinates Ken, Chikusa, and Chrome to watch Hibari's fight to be the official Cloud Guardian against the Gola Mosca in the Varia Arc. This interest also continues into the Future Arc where Mukuro sends a possessed owl to spy on Hibari, an event that was photographed.
• Hibari is actually quite pacified when Reborn mentions to Hibari as he is about to go on a rampage that he might be able to challenge Mukuro in the future if he was patient. And what did Mukuro do when he (well just his mind) got out of prison? Went to meet Hibari. Well, sort of.
  • When Mukuro was finally released from Vendicare Prison the first thing Hibari did was to seek him out to pick a fight with him. Note that he left Namimori in Adelheid's care when he did so. HIS PRECIOUS NAMIMORI, PEOPLE.
• In Chapter 383 Chrome states that she likes what Mukuro likes and we see a picture of Hibari among other people.
• When Daemon Spade states his intention to take over Mukuro's body, Hibari says he is going to bite him to death because "Rokudo Mukuro is my prey."

Mukuro/Tsuna (6927)

• And then there's the recent chapter in the manga, where Tsuna has a rather touching... and almost romantic moment with Mukuro the ten years into the future one, that is. When Mukuro helps, Tsuna asks worriedly if he'll be able to see Mukuro again. Mukuro happily replies, "Of course. I wouldn't like somebody else to take over the world." It really sounds like those one-liners that people give to their lovers last-minute.
• Even before then, there was Mukuro's obsession with taking over Tsuna's body (and in a drama CD, his curiousity about Tsuna's warmth and light). And his tendency to whisper directly in Tsuna's ear.
• Also, don't forget the novel bit in the Vongola 77 book, the first official fanbook in the series. Mukuro actually tried to possess Tsuna and failed miserably due to their very dissimilar personalities (and it also created the 'mental link' between the two). It pretty much implies that Mukuro could never take Tsuna's body and he knows it. So it's obvious he's staying around for other reasons.
• Mukuro grabbing Tsuna from behind during their fight and basically resting his chin on Tsuna's shoulder while whispering in his ear. Not to mention the following line when Mukuro saw how determined Tsuna could be: "I am going to have some goddamn fun with you.". Plus, the part where he headbutts Tsuna and pulls him back up again by the arms to rest his chin on Tsuna's shoulder. If you replay that part in the anime it looks like he's having sex with Tsuna. In Chapter 80, it's even more suggestive looking.
• Episode 52: Mukuro warning Tsuna that the only reason he became his guardian was so that it would be easier for him to steal Tsuna's body sounded almost seductive.
• Even though he hates the Mafia, Mukuro seems to find Tsuna interesting due to his personality towards others, though he also finds him naive. Tsuna used to hate Mukuro for what he had done to him and his friends, but, as time passed, he had lost his hatred and now seems to have sympathy for him after knowing his past and his reason to become Tsuna's Guardian of Mist. In the Future, Mukuro had indirectly helped the Vongola by sabotaging one of the Millefiore's computers to transmit infomation about them to the Vongola. Tsuna has often worried that something bad happened to him, though he also, at the same time, is quite afraid of him, mostly whenever Mukuro stated that Tsuna was his target. Mukuro himself seems to trust him when he asked Tsuna to protect his comrades, though he thinks that he has started to lose his mind asking favors from the Mafia.
• Not to mention how Tsuna seems dead set in thinking that Mukuro isn't so bad despite everyone telling him otherwise, and is revealed by Reborn to have constantly, since their fight, been asking about Mukuro's wellbeing. (Although their relationship became arguably less antagonistic ever since Tsuna beat him and Mukuro became his guardian.)
• During their fight there's also Mukuro mentioning how through his ultimate technique Tsuna would "become his" (meaning through possessing him his body would belong to Mukuro, but still).
• Mukuro once mentions that he was surrounded by darkness and Tsuna is the light and Mukuro wants to reach out to this light and also when Mukuro walks into Tsuna's dream he tells Tsuna before Tsuna goes back to the real world "let's meet once again in reality... not in a dream" and his voice was so sad...
• In a recent chapter Mukuro meets with Tsuna again and states that he really wants to fight with Tsuna and defeat him.
• Mukuro's entire character song Kufufu no Fu seems to be directed at Tsuna, what with 'make a contract with me' and such.
• In fact, in the anime whenever Mukuro talks to Tsuna his voice sounds almost seductive making it seem like he's flirting with him.
• In Chapters 366 and 367 Mukuro and Tsuna have their second battle and Mukuro is shown to be genuinely happy to see and fight Tsuna again.
• In Chapters 380 and 381 and the following chapters Mukuro and Tsuna agree to form an alliance and work together.
• In Chapter 383 Tsuna grabs Mukuro by the shirt and pulls him close telling him that he needs to help Chrome as she's his comrade. Mukuro doesn't respond and Tsuna gets upset saying that he didn't think Mukuro would act this way, indicating that he had respect for him and expected better of him.
• Chapter 401 has Mukuro willingly work with Tsuna again, stepping aside to allow him to deliver the final blow to Jagger as an acknowledgment of Tsuna's strength.

Reborn/Tsuna (R27)

• Even Reborn and Tsuna have some Ho Yay. It mostly occurs as a result of Reborn's rare moments of kindness towards Tsuna which Tsuna reacts to by blushing, looking touched, and whispering softly "Reborn...". There's another scene where Tsuna worried about where Reborn was and once he found him he blushed, and said "Hug me!" with a heart in his speech bubble.
• Earlier on, Haru had a thing for the younger 'angel-like' version of Reborn, to the point where she even got jealous of Tsuna and tried to kill him in order to free Reborn from his influence.** In Chapter 369, Adult!Reborn shows up to save Tsuna from Iemitsu's attack. And after that, Reborn seems strangely pleased that Tsuna says that he was able to tie with Iemitsu because of the mysterious man in the suit, even making sure to point out that the man was cool.
• Despite Reborn acting like a Sadist Teacher to Tsuna you might say his actions towards him are more "tough love" and Tsuna does seem to care about Reborn a lot as evidenced by Chapter 385 where he does a Big "NO!" and reaches out to Reborn while screaming his name when Bermuda captures him.
• In Chapter 387, Tsuna acts quite upset when he learns that if Bermuda defeats Checker Face then Reborn will possibly die. In the same chapter Reborn agrees to go along with Tsuna's will causing Bermuda to comment "I didn't think you were so crazy about Tsuna" to which Reborn doesn't comment.
• In Chapter 388 Reborn acts quite concerned when he sees Tsuna get attacked by Jager and tells him "You don't have to die for us." And Tsuna gets Hidden Eyes and feels quite upset cause he knows Reborn might either die or become a Vindice.
• In Chapter 390 Tsuna says that despite all the trouble Reborn has caused in his life since becoming his tutor he's really happy Reborn's in his life. He also tells him "Sometimes...well quite often...I even felt happy that I got you as a tutor." After chewing him out he then tells him that he's not gonna let him die.
• In Chapter 391 Tsuna again declares he's not gonna let Reborn die and Reborn responds by falling asleep. Tsuna worries about him and states he should wake up or else he'll catch a cold.
• Less a specific example and more of a parallel, but a notorious part of Reborn and Tsuna's dynamic is that when Reborn is "disguised", the only one whom sees through it is Tsuna. But when it comes to Reborn being in his Adult!form, Tsuna actually becomes as freaking gullible as his mother around his father, buying lies as thin as his disguises and isn't the least bit suspicious of Adult!Reborn, despite not even realizing who he is.

Spanner/Tsuna (4827)

• In the Future Story Arc of KHR, after Tsuna uses the X-Burner on three Gola Moscas, he ends up fainting, only to wake up wearing his boxers, and handcuffed to a bed by The Smart Guy of the Big Bad. This certainly wasn't helped by the fact that said smart guy is handsome and was acting like a pedophile towards Tsuna, even blushing and getting the trembles when Tsuna mentions his X-Burner...
• And then there's Spanner's sudden decision to switch sides and become a part of Tsuna's family. This decision was reached after the two spent a long, undisclosed amount of time alone together.

Squalo/Yamamoto (S80)

• Yamamoto tried to get to know Squalo better during their first fight, was distressed when it seemed Squalo had been eaten, was delighted to see him alive and well after the Timeskip and seemed genuinely devastated when Squalo was rumored to be killed. On Squalo's side, he seems to act like a Tsundere towards Yamamoto, often calling him names and even a one-point knocking him unconscious. However, when he heard that the Yamamoto of the future stopped his swordsmanship in order to pursue baseball, Squalo went out of his way to create DVDs of one hundred battles in hopes of getting Yamamoto interested in the sword again.
• In this scene Squalo beats up Yamamoto and carries him away to train him.
• Also, during this same scene, Dino tells to Ryohei/Tsuna/Gokudera how "Squalo knows Yamamoto better than any of us do". This is coming from someone who is also close to Squalo, and to people who are the closest friends of Yamamoto in the whole series.
• It may not be as obvious in the manga, but in the anime, Yamamoto's voice actually gets considerably higher whenever he says Squalo's name. "Squalo~!"

Xanxus/Squalo (XS)

• Squalo not cutting his hair because of his "loyalty" to Xanxus.
  • He made this promise when he was fourteen and kept it through the eight years Xanxus was frozen in the Cradle Incident. By the Future arc, he would have not cut his hair for eighteen years.
• How Squalo manages to endure every beating and projectile Xanxus throws at him makes him look like a masochist (Or is he one?). He once threw a ROCK for God's sake. And for the Varia in the Future Arc; their costumes. Just... their costumes.
• The immense trust between Xanxus and Squalo was shown twice in the Future arc. The first time is when Xanxus cut off communication with his guardians during the battle with Rasiel, Squalo wasn't worried for his boss's safety. In fact, he got mad that Boss broke an earpiece again. The second time, when Dino and Squalo arrive during the battle with Zakuro and Bluebell, everyone expressed surprise (and remorse, on the Varia members' parts) at Squalo's state of living. Xanxus, on the other hand, just said "You're late, trash."
• Also when Squalo first met Xanxus, he could "feel" his power and anger, and decided to follow him for it. Pfft for his strength yeah right...
  • Not to mention he claimed that from the moment he first saw Xanxus, he knew he wanted to be his follower forever.
• During one of the Haru Haru interviews, Lussuria asserted Squalo growing his hair as a gesture of romantics, Squalo instead of denying this, merely told him to stop saying un-related things. Sounds like he and Xanxus have a thing going on there.

• When the Varia were helping out against Byakuran, Xanxus wanted to own the sh*t out of Zakuro, possibly getting him back for hurting his beloved shark/damaging his property/ whatever you'd interpret it as.
• In the Hidden Bullet light novel series, it's shown that the stub of Squalo's missing hand will ache whenever Xanxus is in danger. The scene ends with Squalo standing on the beach saying Xanxus' name with swaying eyes.
• In the Representative Battle arc here, we get to see Hubby and Wifey fight together against Vindice.
• In one of Squalo's character songs, 'Chinkonka no Ame', Squalo claims (in the lyrics) 'the rage is like a pride' and 'the distant vow of yesterday, I've decided to follow you'. And no, these aren't taken out of context.
• Chapter 398 has a very strong hint to the XS pairing. Over the course of the series, Xanxus always used harsh words whenever he's speaking to Squalo. Until in Ch.398, Xanxus scars suddenly spread very fast all over his body (implying that he's in complete rage) after witnessing Squalo getting stabbed in front of him. Not to mention that Xanxus has just lost his arm to the same person who stabbed Squalo, but his scars didn't spread at all until Squalo is injured. From this troper's perspective, Squalo must be very important to Xanxus.

Xanxus/Tsuna (X27)

• They are pretty much written and played to be each other's polar opposite in upbringing. With Tsuna being (Young, Inexperienced, Reluctant, Idealistic and Kind, Unexpected Successor) and Xanxus (Older, Hardened, Relentless, Cynical and Indifferent, Illegitimate Heir). Also account their weapons and box animals being opposites, with Tsuna's Tricked-Out Gloves and a Badass Adorable Lion Natsu and Xanxus' Guns Akimbo and a Panthera Awesome Liger Bester.
• Xanxus views everyone as trash but seems to have developed a respect (possibly even an attraction) for the one who defeated him, aka Tsuna.
• Near the end of the Varia Arc, Tsuna looked very reluctant to freeze Xanxus after receiving Vongola Nono's memories of how to do the technique where he wanted Xanxus to feel compassion. Tsuna even tried to assure him that his father did love him despite having no blood relations.
• In Episode 139/Chapter 224 when Rasiel was sneering over Xanxus' defeat at the hands of Tsuna and calling them weak because of it, Xanxus says "But, now that you uttered the name Sawada Tsunayoshi...You two scumbags...Fucking Die!!!" Given the context, it can easily be mistaken for Xanxus implying he hates anyone who talks shit about Tsuna unless its him.
• In Episode 140/Chapter 226 TYL!Xanxus indirectly implying that he wants Tsuna. He only wants the Vongola when it's at it's strongest. And when is it at it's strongest? When Tsuna is leading them. It can get a bit creepy when you realize that this is a 34 year-old man (granted, in a 26 year-old body) talking about a 14 year-old boy...
  • It isn't that creepy when you realize that Xanxus was most probably talking about TYL!Tsuna.
  • Although, Xanxus' "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Rasiel actually foreshadowed TYL!Tsuna's belief in his past self's strength and potential three volumes before Shoichi told PresentDay!Tsuna. Keep in mind that PresentDay!Xanxus hated to be reminded that Tsuna beat him. So it can be a shippy interpretation that TYL!Tsuna trusted Xanxus and the Varia enough to know about his gambit and/or that Xanxus eventually grew out of his Berserk Button and instead developed a thing at the thought of Tsuna becoming even stronger.
• After hearing that Xanxus defeated Rasiel from Reborn, Tsuna sounded relieved and even ecstatic, indicating that Tsuna does care about the Varia and in extension Xanxus.
• Episode 156/Chapter 229 is more blatant of what Xanxus knows Tsuna will become. While communicating over headsets between bases, Xanxus shuts Squalo up with a slab of stone to the back of the head so he could personally address Tsuna. Unlike Squalo who had called the group 'bastards' and 'brats', Xanxus uses Tsuna's full name and openly acknowledges him to represent the true strength of the Vongola.
• One can't overlook the fact that in the final chapter of the Future Arc]] Yamamoto, whom regularly notices the subtler nuances in everyone's interactions, specifically asks Squalo if Xanxus has met with Tsuna yet. And when Squalo derisively says that he'd kill Tsuna if he did, Yamamoto gives a noncommittal response to humor him.

• Their Intertwined Fingers here during their battle.

Yamamoto/Gokudera (8059)

• Some fans even claim that fandom favorites Gokudera and Yamamoto are canon. Well, after Yamamoto's confession that he'd like Gokudera to open his heart to him, the two have grown considerably closer...
  • Don't forget that they've always bickered like an old married couple... only with more explosives.
  • Perhaps it's the Slap-Slap-Kiss mentality? Or the fact that Yamamoto is rather touchy-feely with all his friends, but Gokudera in particular?
• Yamamoto got a Shirtless Scene in Episode 100 of the anime, which verged on Shower Scene. With more Fanservice of the gratuitous Ho Yay sort, as Gokudera (again) comes in the changing room and starts taking off his shoes while sitting in front of a standing, still shirtless Yamamoto. The angle also makes it look like his head is level with Yamamoto's crotch.
• "Yamamoto said the same thing. And he also said many, many good things that he said not to tell Gokudera." Many fans have gone wild with the implications.
• Their character song duets are just dripping with this. "Oretachi no Yakusoku" (Our Promise) is about mutual determination to work together all their lives. "Oretachi no JOY!" (Our JOY!) is possibly about them trying to cheer up another character, but if you assume that they're only talking to each other (which is very plausible), there's hardly any interpretation besides a love song.
• Despite acting otherwise Gokudera seems to care for Yamamoto, as he was shown to be angry that Yamamoto got injured by Kaoru during the Inheritance Ceremony arc.
  • And in Chapter 382 Gokudera acts visibly angry when he sees Yamamoto get attacked by the Vindice and screams his name.

• Episode 81 (entitled Combination) features Yamamoto uncharacteristically flinching when Gokudera is hurt, Yamamoto seemingly lamenting Gokudera's lack of faith in him, Yamamoto saving Gokudera and Gokudera returning the favor, Gokudera admitting to Gamma that he would have died without Yamamoto and vice versa, Yamamoto responding to Gokudera's monologue by softly saying his name, and finally the two discovering The Power of Friendship and working together.
  • Meanwhile Tsuna is pursuing Kyoko, his respected Love Interest, but somehow all the romantic subtext seems to be with the two guardians.

Yamamoto/Hibari (8018)

• Hibari acts considerably more tolerant/less destructive when Yamamoto is around, as well as is protective of him, in... Well pretty much every fights where Yamamoto is facing near-death.
• In the Varia arc:
  • Yamamoto manages to stop Hibari from attacking Squalo. The way he does it has some sexual implication going on (like sneaking behind his back and grabbing his tonfa). Considering that Hibari has a thing for strong people, it is implied it make him pays more attention to Yamamoto...
  • In the very same chapter before Hibari leaves he tells Yamamoto "don't lose to that guy over there [Squalo] before you do it with me". From context, Hibari is probably talking about fighting with him, but either way it's very tsundere.
  • Hibari deliberately comes to watch Yamamoto's fight, while he doesn't care about any other guardians' fights.
  • It is interesting to note that the only times you don't get a Panel with Hibari staring at Yamamoto fighting is because Hibari was not there in the first place. You always get a small panel with Hibari watching the fight without being disinterested (The Rain Battle against Squalo, the fight against Genkishi during Choice and now the fight against Daemon Spade). We can easily assume that Hibari at least acknowledges Yamamoto's fighting skills.
  • When Xanxus poisoned all of the guardians, Hibari saves Yamamoto first. Not to mention, in the anime he personally puts the ring on Yamamoto's bracelet to give him the antidote. The way he gently holds his hand and put the ring in does have romantic vibes...
• He always seems to come in time to save Yamamoto's life numerous times: Saving him from poison in Varia arc, then saving him from Gamma, and from Genkishi in Melone base.
• Yamamoto never addresses Hibari in formal speech or as sempai even though he does so with Ryohei, who is also older than him.
• In an episode of the Future arc, Yamamoto is looking for Tsuna and Gokudera and finds them in the main training room. When he goes in, TYL!Hibari suddenly leaves the room. As he passed by, he greets the young Yamamoto by saying his name and closing his eyes, like he doesn't want to see him. The reason why he would try to avoid young Yamamoto is up to you, but this troper is going for the theory of Hibari still having the vivid memory of the adult Yamamoto in his mind, the one that may never come back if the whole plan fails.
• Hibari and Yamamoto are the last two who arrive for Choice battle and jump in at the same time.
• A scene during Yamamoto's & Genkishi's fight during the Choice arc. Hibari usually isn't the type to praise people but apparently there are exceptions to any rule...
• In the Inheritance Ceremony arc, Hibari shows up to the Inheritance Ceremony by his own will because he wants to bite the person who hurt a student from his school (i.e. Yamamoto) to death.
• In the Shounen Jump version of a scene from Chapter 141, TYL!Yamamoto says he hasn't seen Hibari lately because he (Yamamoto) has been out of town for a while. In the tankoubon version and anime it got changed to him not having seen the "other guardians" lately because he's been out of town. Very suspicious editing considering pretty much no other text from that volume was changed for the tankoubon.
• Hibari is seen to be really excited in fighting Yamamoto on the first day of the representative battle, but was disappointed when Yamamoto (and Gokudera) chose to run away instead to save their watches.

Yamamoto/Tsuna (8027)

• In the early chapters of the manga Yamamoto almost commits suicide. This was due to some bad advice that he broke his arm over, and he thought that his career as a baseball player was over. So he moseyed on over to the edge of the school rooftop and prepared to jump, and he was dead serious about it. With an audience of students trying to cajole him out of it, the only voice he listened to was Tsuna's. He ended up falling due to bad construction of a gate but Tsuna saves him. After that, he and Tsuna become good friends and he joins Tsuna's mafia family.
  • Following that there was a scene where Gokudera got jealous of Yamamoto for being so friendly with Tsuna.
• In Episode 179 Ugetsu tells Yamamoto that Tsuna is worried about him and Yamamoto gets a sad look on his face and says that he's sorry for making Tsuna worry.
• In Chapter 293 after Yamamoto is stabbed by Kaoru, Yamamoto falls to the ground. Then Yamamoto, covered in a pool of his own blood and on the verge of death, reaches out and says, "Tsun...na..."
• In another scene Gokudera worriedly states to Yamamoto "You'll be electrocuted and die! If you are gone, the Tenth will be sad!"
• It's interesting to note that there have been times where Yamamoto would become just as worried as Gokudera if he suspected Tsuna to be hurt or in danger.
• In Chapter 364 Yamamoto worries about Tsuna and invites him over to his house when he doesn't want to return home.
• Yamamoto has a tendency to lose his personal space around Tsuna, and seems to be a big fan of him.
• He states in one scene "I'm not sure what it is about Tsuna's greatness. Well, it's like, it's so obvious that it's easy to miss?"
• In his fight against Ken in Kokuyo arc, Yamamoto tries to protect his arms and can only dodge against him. Then Reborn pushes Tsuna into the building, making him Ken's target instead. Yamamoto then goes to the offense and even sacrifices his arm to protect him.
• When Tsuna was forced to settle the debt made by Reborn and Bianchi in Yamamoto's family restaurant, Yamamoto's father forgave the debt when he learned that he was Takeshi's friend, even thanking him for taking care of his son (that is until Reborn made the debt worse by eating everything else.)
• In the future arc, while Tsuna is worried about everyone else's fate in the future, he is always guilty that he is the reason that Yamamoto's father is dead, even bringing it up many times. Takeshi always tells him it's not his fault every time Tsuna says sorry to him and smiles to not make him worry.
• when Yamamoto came back after being healed up by Byakuran in the Inheritance Arc, the first thing he does is to tell Tsuna to rest and leave everything to him.
• When Tsuna tells his plan on how to save Reborn, he confidently says that Tsuna has grown into someone he can comfortably follow.
• In Episode 11, Yamamoto asks Tsuna to have lunch with him, and even offers to share some bento that a female classmate just gave to him.

Other Pairings

• More recently in the anime, Giotto and Daemon, when Giotto finds out that Daemon still kept the watch proclaiming their everlasting friendship. "My feelings haven't changed" indeed.
• From Chapter 308, when Giotto introduces himself to Cozart in the flashback: "This is my beloved G...and I am Giotto.

• Ken and Chikusa's obsessive worshipping of/loyalty towards Mukuro. They are constantly worrying about him and wondering where he is.
  • Mukuro also has a Pet the Dog moment or two towards Ken and Chikusa despite otherwise acting that he doesn't care about them and in Chapter 382 he actually looks concerned when he sees them get hurt by Vindice.
  • And in Chapter 383 when Chrome reveals her feelings for Mukuro she states that she likes what he likes and we see a picture of Ken and Chikusa.
• Levi's Loony Fan worshipping of Xanxus. Heck, Belphegor even said that Levi is "madly in love" with Xanxus. Notably, Lussuria and Flan didn't contradict Bel when he said that.
• In this OVA, the Vongola Family and the Varia Family have a water fight in an onsen while wearing tiny towels.
• In this clip, Gokudera and Ryohei pretty much fight over Tsuna at the beginning and both briefly express concern for him when he gets a leg cramp while swimming, thinking he might drown.
  • Then there's Ryohei's exuberant attempts to get Tsuna to join the boxing club which taken another way can sound like he's proposing to him or how in Chapter 390 Kyouko says Ryohei gets all awkward just saying Tsuna's name.
  • Ryohei once states about Tsuna "There were times when I couldn't tell if Sawada was great or not. But that's because his ordinariness is simply not ordinary."
• Yamamoto and Mizuno, at least before Mizuno deliberately stabbed through Yamamoto with his arm. The caption on the title page of Chapter 289 is yet another innuendo "A Pair of Kind-Hearted Baseball Lovers Come Together".
• To an extent, Ryohei and Aoba had a bit of this before they became enemies.
• Fran is Mukuro's disciple in the future. Due to Fran's antagonistic personality, even though he calls him "Master," Fran often mocks Mukuro by calling him "pineapple head" much to Mukuro's annoyance, which makes him stab Fran in the head several times with his trident. Mukuro refers to him as "little one."
  • In Chapter 369, Mukuro appears to take care of Fran and even carries him.
• Byakuran and Mukuro. There is an unbelievable amount of stuff going for these two. I mean, what with Byakuran acting very friendly and discussing the meaning of flowers with Mukuro.
• Genkishi's undying loyalty towards Byakuran.
• There's a brief scene in one of the earlier chapters where Yamamoto and Gokudera fight over the right to be Tsuna's right hand man.
• Lambo/Reborn. Lambo seems to have a bit of a Tsundere relationship with him. And although Reborn beats him up at every chance, he does still seem to worry over him.
• Tsuna and G. When G disguises himself as Gokudera, (and even after he changes back) Tsuna is a bit flustered by how well the former guardian does his job.
• Hibari/Reborn. Hibari is very obviously intrested in Reborn, even as just an opponent, almost to the extent that he is towards Dino and Mukuro.
• Lambo/Tsuna. L27. Even though Lambo often drives Tsuna crazy, he seems to deeply care for him. Evidence of this can be seen during the Varia Arc when Tsuna saves Lambo from Leviathan during their match for the Vongola Lightning Ring. And Lambo seems to like to be in Tsuna's company and cling onto him. He also states once "To be honest I never thought of Tsuna as my boss but he's a great nii-chan." with a fond smile.
• Fuuta/Tsuna 227. Fuuta looks up to Tsuna and often blushes in his presence. And in the Mukuro arc when Fuuta was possessed Tsuna was horrified at this and tried to save him.
• Longchamp/Tsuna: Longchamp blushes around Tsuna too and calls him Sawada-chan.
• In addition to the Ho Yay with Dino, Yamamoto, and Xanxus, Squalo also has Ho Yay with Lussuria occasionally.
• Gokudera and Ryohei here.
• 8427 Basil/Tsuna. They like to train together and get along well. And Basil really wants to defeat Tsuna in a fight.

• In Chapter 365 Irie tells Byakuran or Tsuna (not sure who) "To tell you the truth, until I saw you just now, I was sick to my stomach worrying that you might've been kidnapped or something."
• Haru and Kyoko are extremely close, and Chrome tends to blush frequently around Haru.
  • Also Chrome and Kyoko.
• Daemon Spade and Mukuro. There's the implications of his desire to possess Mukuro's body...
• In Reborn's Ciao Ciao interview, Byakuran seems to enjoy teasing Squalo and calls him "Squ-chan".
• Belphegor has No Sense of Personal Space around Mammon, and in the future, forces Fran to wear a frog hat to symbolize being Mammon's replacement, hinting that Mammon is important to Belphegor.
• Reborn and Colonello occasionally have some mutual Ho Yay.
• There's a scene where Squalo's recording a video for Tsuna and his Guardians, Belphegor shows up just to tease Squalo, and Squalo pounces on top of him.
• G27. Giotto/Tsuna. They're Birds of a Feather with similar personalities and ways of thinking, Giotto's a Sexy Mentor to his young descendant, Tsuna once yelled at Enma for insulting Giotto, and Giotto is quite affectionate towards Tsuna. "I've been waiting for you", anyone? Also, during the Vongola's fight against Byakuran, there's a scene where Giotto puts his arm around Tsuna's shoulders in a rather intimate gesture and tells him to "give the Mare boy a scare."
• Considering the similarities between the Vongola First and Tenth generations, it's plausible that the Ho Yay amongst Tsuna and his Guardians is replicated from Ho Yay amongst Giotto and his Guardians. So Gokudera/Tsuna=G/Giotto, Hibari/Tsuna=Alaude/Giotto, Yamamoto/Gokudera=Ugetsu/G etc.
• Dino's men have Undying Loyalty to him, follow him everywhere and constantly worry about him, albeit with good reason.