Title: M.V.P and V.I.P. (Most Valuable Player and Very. Important. Person)
Author: Cross-StitchED
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn
Rating: T
Summary:.
Sixteen year old Yamamoto was shot with a Ten-Year Bazooka. Much to his surprise, he was sent to the future in the middle of a deliberation with the other TYL guardians, with the exception of Hibari (He still hates crowds), who was represented by his Kusakabe. Something was going on, but they assured him that it was a minor issue. But… what if it is not?
Notes:
Hey, I'm Cross-stitchED. I have another account but I decided to make a separate account for my crossover and OC stories. My brother is very fond of OC's. And, he is also despairing that there are so many shounenai pairings in the KHR section. I have nothing against shounenai, yaoi, shoujoai or yuri, but my brother recommended that I should make an OC. It sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. I have tried making my own OC's before but I never post them because they are usually requests and I give them as gifts. I don't like Mary-sues very much and I know that it is a very rampant thing. That is why I try to make the characters as believable as possible. I hope you enjoy!
By the way, I really need a Beta for this fic. Hahaha… please? I really need help.
Disclaimer: The World you are about to Enter is Completely fictional. They belong to the Manga artist, Akira Amano. Any events or characters resembling real people is purely coincidental… or I am just psychic. :D
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: M.V.P and V.I.P. :
By Cross-StitchED
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: Chapter I :
: Takeshi Yamamoto (16 yr. old) :
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It was supposed to be an average afternoon. Maybe he should have known better because there was no such thing as an 'average afternoon' when you were with the Vongola Family. One really had to ask themselves, what if he didn't go to the Sawada's house that afternoon? What if he had simply went with his earlier plan? Would things have been different? Maybe… but knowing Reborn, the result probably would have been the same.
"Oi! Takeshi! Where are you going? Aren't you going to the Match-up Party with us?"
Takeshi turned around when he heard his teammate's voice behind him. Shin was a new guy in the team. Blond-haired, brown-eyed, well-liked and fairly popular, though even he knew that his popularity will never be as great as Takeshi. Since day one, he had been impressed with Takeshi's popularity and skills in the baseball field. He was even ready to make him his idol, but there was one thing that he would never understand about him.
"Eh? That was today?" Takeshi sincerely looked surprised and confused. He had been so swamped with baseball practice and schoolwork that he forgot completely. Turning to Shin, Takeshi bowed deeply in apology. "I'm sorry, Shin. Can I tag along next time? I got to be somewhere."
Shin sighed, knowing that he should have suspected this. Shin was only a few months younger than Takeshi and likes girls a lot. He doesn't understand how Takeshi could remain single until now. It wasn't that he was bad-looking. In fact, he is the head turner of the team. The girls he had invited to the match-up party squealed at the thought of being partnered with Takeshi. "I understand. I'll call someone else to substitute for you. I gotta tell you, this is gonna break a few hearts."
But Takeshi could only give an apologetic smile. Rolling his eyes, Shin pulled something out from his pocket and tossed it to his teammate. Takeshi caught it easily, but he stared, confused by it. What he had in his hand was a necklace of some sort with a weird writing in it. It didn't look Japanese, but he couldn't read it. What was it for?
"I told my siblings that we don't wear rings and bracelets, so they made that," Shin told them, grinning. "They are both fans of yours, if you could believe it." Crossing his arms, he then continued. "That says: Haeng un eul bil eo yo or good luck from where we were from."
Takeshi gave his usual carefree smile, and shoved it into his pocket. "Thanks, Shin. I'll see you at practice tomorrow," he said, taking off with his sports bag and baseball bat over his shoulder.
"Where is Yamamoto going?" Another teammate exited the club room, looking confused at the Yamamoto's shape taking off. "Wasn't he coming with us?"
But Shin just gave another tired sigh, because this was not the first time Takeshi had ditched finding a date to go see Sawada and his friends. "He says he'll go next time."
There was a laugh as a reply in return. "I knew it. That is Takeshi Yamamoto. He always puts his friends and baseball before girls."
At that, Shin smiled, not quite understanding how the rest of the team didn't find it weird. They are sixteen only once, shouldn't they live a little?
Since he was still in his uniform, Shin re-entered the baseball room to change. Not only was he going to need to get ready for the Match-up Party, he also had to pick up his sister and brother from school. If he is late, his sister wouldn't appreciate it.
But, he couldn't help wonder though what he could possibly be doing with Sawada and hit crew to make him run off to them so fast. He had heard that they were all pretty close. A friend even told him that he had overheard that they were so close that they considered themselves Family.
Unknown to Shin, Tsunayoshi Sawada does seem to draw to himself very interesting individuals. Takeshi is just one of them. He was no ordinary Japanese baseball jock even though he really looked the part. He was the Rain Vongola Guardian for the Vongola Decimo.
He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was from his mother. She probably called to remind him to pick up his siblings. He found it a little annoying because they should be safe. They did say that they were going to play with their friend… what's his name? Midori? Rolling his eyes, he picked up the call. As much as he didn't want to in front of his teammates, he answered it, "Hello, mom. What is it?"
Not far from school, Takeshi runs into Gokudera, much to the silver-haired Mafioso's annoyance. Two years had passed and their relationship hadn't really changed. To him, Takeshi was still an baseball idiot and it is still annoying to be breathing the same air with him.
"You baseball idiot! Would you stop following me like an idiot!"
Takeshi Yamamoto laughed, swinging his bat a little. He and Gokudera were on their way to Tsuna's house so he saw no problem in walking alongside him. He had heard something interesting might be happening, as it always is in Tsuna's company. In Tsuna's house, it never lacked anything interesting to do. "Now, now, isn't it alright? I am going to Tsuna's house too. It will be better if we go there together."
At sixteen years old, Takeshi still looked the same… with the exception of having grown a few more inches. The milk certainly helped. And, he still drank cartons of them. Many people had asked why. Was the height so important? He always replied that it wasn't. He drank milk because he liked it. It is healthy too. The fact that he is inches taller than him, didn't make Gokudera any happier with him though.
"No, it won't, baseball idiot!" grumbled Gokudera, finally giving up and continued walking. Gokudera is still the same as always and changed very little in the past two years. His silver hair slightly shorter and sharper look, now styled a bit differently from when he was younger. Cigarettes still present in his pockets, hidden… not wanting to upset the Tenth's mother with his smoking habits.
"Why don't you go and swing that bat of yours somewhere else!"
Yamamoto simply laughed, tugging his baseball to his side. "Practice was cancelled today. Coach's wife is having a baby." He smiled remembering how ridiculous his coach had been acting. In the middle of practice, he was always spacing out. He had even go hurt a few times when stray balls hit his head. He guessed their strict coach had funny moments too. Did all expectant fathers act like that he wondered?
"Then, why not so something useful and study for our entrance exams!" He asked as they neared the Sawada residence. "Fill that head of yours with something useful instead of baseball, baseball, baseball!"
Takeshi scratched under his chin and chuckled. Over the years he had grown used to Gokudera's short temper and hot head. He never really minded being called a Baseball idiot or Baseball Freak. In a way, it was what made Gokudera interesting. Takeshi is always awed and praised at school for his athleticism and good-natured personality. Gokudera isn't impressed by that at all.
Neither was most of the Family, except Tsuna. Though, Tsuna is different. Takeshi thinks of Tsuna as a very awesome person. Earning his praise- and friendship really meant something to him.
In Vongola, Takeshi is Takeshi. And, not just the Ace of the baseball team or the dependable baseball guy. He is a guy that was like them.
They had been through so much together in the short two years. Much more than people twice their age go through. He joined their family thinking it was all a game, now he'd be willing to sacrifice his body to protect them. The incident with Rokudo Mokuro, the fight with Varia, the risk with Choice and the defeat of Byakuran, the betrayal of the Shimon and so many more. All those moments tested him and how much he was willing to give.
And he had decided-
Even if it meant never playing baseball again, Takeshi will fight. He had lost his father once, he decided that Hell will freeze over first before he lets it happen again.
This was a very big change from the him two years ago, before he met the Vongola Family. The Takeshi Yamamoto before, would have rather died than not have baseball in his life.
When he broke his arm, he was very ready to jump off that roof. Tsuna saved him… not only that day. Thanks to him, he had something to live for other than baseball. Thanks to him, he had a family. Everyday was fun and he was able to discover a lot of things about himself other than baseball.
"Did the kid say what we're going to be up to today?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Giving a bored expression before giving a knock on the door. As soon as Nana Sawada opened the door. Gokudera's sour expression changed. He had bright eyes and a bright smile as he respectfully bowed in greeting. "Good Afternoon, Ma'am! I- I came to see the Tenth! Is he home?"
Takeshi waved in greeting. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Sawada. Is Tsuna home?"
Nana Sawada didn't look like she aged at all the last two years. Then again, she didn't look like she aged much at all the first time he met her when he was fourteen he didn't expect her to do so now. Their boss's mother smiled kindly at her only son's good-looking friends. "Tsu-kun? He's in his room with Reborn and the others. They sound like they are doing something fun."
As if on cue, a loud explosion coming from Tenth's room.
Tsuna's mother giggled and continued, "I think they are playing with fireworks. But, don't worry. Bianchi is with them. They will be fine."
At the mention of his sister, Gokudera looked like he was going to be sick. He immediately pulled out his sunglasses, and with a gulp began making his way upstairs his movements forced and robotic. Yamamoto just smiled and followed him not too far behind, thinking Gokudera was being funny again.
They found Tsuna's door open, with eight-year old Lambo stuck to the wall with soot all over his face and smoke coming out from the room. What had they been doing in there?
"Oi! Stupid Cow! Are you alright?" Actually sounded worried for Cow-boy for a second.
"It's Stupidera," Lambo answered, still looking a bit dizzy and disoriented. "Of course! I am alright!" All of a sudden, he tumbled down to the floor, landing on his head.
Lambo hadn't really changed much either. Though he wasn't wearing a cow suit anymore, he was wearing a cow print collared shirt, khaki shorts and rubber shoes. A cap attempts to tame his unruly, curly hair.
For a few brief moments, Lambo didn't say anything… or move.
"Lambo?" Takeshi asked, poking the poor kid with the end of his bat. It looked like a pretty bad fall. "You alright, kid?"
Suddenly, Lambo began to shake and raised his tearing face to face them. The tears swelling in his eyes and the snot dripping down his nose wasn't exactly a very pretty sight. It was typical Lambo and he was about to cry. "Go-gotta-hold-it…" He didn't and quite expectedly burst out crying.
"Lambo! I'm so sorry!" Fuuta apologized, jogging out of the room with I-pin right behind him. They were covered a bit with dirt and scratches, but luckily their injuries didn't seem to be as bad as Lambo's.
Fuuta still looked like Fuuta. Whenever someone sees him for the first time, they are always reminded of the book, Little Prince, and get the urge to read that certain book again. His hair is always cut neatly, wears turtleneck sweaters and scarves. He is growing tall, though… in a very surprising speed. Only ten years old and grew more than five inches the past two years. And… it looked like he was only going to get worse when he reached puberty.
I-pin now had visible ears and a lot more hair. Out of all of them, her change is the most obvious. Her eyes aren't as big as they will be in the future, but they were open. She was dressed in a traditional red Chinese garment and hair in two neat braids. Sometimes, she would dress in clothes that their Maman would give her, but most of the time she still prefers the costume of her home.
"Lambo, you should start learning how to duck," I-pin said, trying to hold in her giggling. Her teasing only upset him more and his screams got only louder. Gokudera hit him to shut up and Yamamoto tried to comfort him by giving him a pat on the back, unfortunately… he pat him too hard and sent the cow- boy sprawling on the floor again.
"Opps," the baseball-playing guardian said, scratching his hair nervously and knowing very well that it was only going to worsen Lambo's cries. And, he was right. Lambo was now even louder. Technically, it was his own fault. He was the one that said, Real men don't duck.
Tsuna appeared from the smoke moments later, coughing and sighing. "Lambo! Where are you hurt?"
I-pin went beside him and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Tsuna-san. I will take care of Lambo." Tsuna seemed to relax seeing the first aid kit in her hands. I-pin is indeed very young, but he always felt that he could rely on her.
"Thank you, I-pin," he replied, thankfully as he pats her gently on the head.
"Tenth! That stupid cow didn't hurt you, did he?" Gokudera asked, flailing in front of Tsuna and circling around him checking for any injuries. "If he did, I'll make sure we have barbeque for dinner."
Tsuna knew Gokudera long enough to know that he was dead serious about having the Bovino boy for dinner. "N..no thank you, Gokudera. I heard my mom is going to make something good later. I don't want to upset her by not eating her food to make barbeque."
"I never thought of that…" Gokudera bowed his head, apologetically. "I'm sorry, Tenth. It was assuming and disrespectful of me to say those things."
"You are saying weird things again, Gokudera," Takeshi said with a laugh at the, admittedly, very funny scene. He went inside Tsuna's already messy room and dropped his sports gear by the door beside the purple bazooka that the kid and the others called the ten-year bazooka.
Seeing it beside him, Takeshi picked it up and began tinkering with it. "Oi, Tsuna. Is this what blew up your room?" He asked, tossing around the supposedly dangerous weapon
Tsuna screeched loudly, flailing in front of Yamamoto. "Yamamoto! Don't play with that. Put it down." Lately, the bazooka had been acting wonky. It was thanks to the work of Gianini on it again, when he was supposed to repair it.
Blinking, the confused Yamamoto did as he was told. "Anything wrong, Tsuna?"
Tsuna gave a sigh of relief before replying. "It's nothing Yamamoto. The ten-year bazooka is just broken." Then turning to Lambo, but the young Bovino was still not through with his tear-fest. He was crying while at the same time trying to shoo Fuuta and I-pin away. Tsuna didn't want anything to do with that at the moment. Lambo like this usually led to trouble.
"Tsuna-nii, we're going to take Lambo to Mama." Nana Sawada is usually the only person who can calm down a hysterical Lambo with her delicious cooking.
"Where's Miura and Sasagawa-sempai's sister? Aren't they supposed to be here?"
"Haru and Kyoko-chan?" Tsuna brightened a bit at the mention of Kyoko Sasagawa. "They're on their way to the bakeshop. I heard from Haru that it is one of their Appreciation days today."
Gokudera nodded, suddenly remembering. "Ah. That woman did mention something like that yesterday."
"Eh? You met with Haru yesterday?" That was a surprise for Tsuna, since most of the time they really couldn't stand each other. They constantly argued about Lambo. If not Lambo, about his cigarettes and health. They never ran out of things to argue about. Now, they were meeting. And just the two of them?
"The woman said she wanted help studying to get into Tokyo University," he answered with a shrug, crossing his arms together, clearly not happy to be reminded that he had to spend two hours almost every afternoon to tutor the noisy girl. How it happened was something Gokudera is going to keep a secret for now.
"How is that going?"
"The girl is an idiot." That was all he was saying. As much as he had to admit that she was intelligent when it came to computer technology, there is no way he is going to say it. Her algorithms and configurations still needed a little help, but that wasn't what made him call her an idiot. "She can't even get the answer of such a simple system. I warned her that her way will only make allow loopholes in the program. Anyone could hack into it in seconds. Right, Tenth?"
Tsuna forced a chuckle, not really certain if he was supposed to understand what he was talking about. Instead, he turned to Takeshi who was talking animatedly with Ryohei who had just arrived in his usual EXTREME way even after running five times around the city before arriving. It was only then that Tsuna noticed that Reborn wasn't around yet. A little strange since he was the one that said that everyone was coming to his house after school.
"I HAD AN EXTREME WORKOUT! OI, SAWADA! NEXT TIME YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME!"
Tsuna gave a wince and with a shaky voice turned down Ryohei's invitation. One workout with Ryohei would probably be enough to kill him or any other normal person. The boxer didn't seem to be deterred by his refusal and was now trying to convince Yamamoto to join him in his morning exercising. Yamamoto laughed and promised that he might someday if it didn't get in the way of his baseball practice.
"THEN QUIT THE BASEBALL TEAM AND JOIN OUR BOXING TEAM!"
Tsuna's sweat dropped. He couldn't believe Ryohei was still thinking about that even though he was already an alumni. Recently, he was told that Ryohei was undergoing some training for the World Boxing Competition and at the same time doing small missions with the Varia, much to Tsuna's despair. He didn't want Kyoko's brother getting hurt and the Varia were really scary people. Kyoko would be very sad if he did get hurt.
He sighed again. Kyoko had asked him that morning if her brother won the sumo-wrestling tournament in Italy. Ryohei really needed to work on his lying skills. He didn't there were sumo-wrestling in Italy. But, it seemed to work for now…
"Yamamoto, weren't you supposed to hang out with your team today?" Tsuna asked their resident baseball nut. He had mentioned something like that a week ago.
Yamamoto nodded, making himself comfortable on the floor. "A match-up party my friend, Shin had set up. I kind of forgot about it. The kid told me that something more interesting is going to happen here. I told them I'll go with them next time, so here I am. Where is the kid anyway?"
That was something Tsuna wanted to know as well. He hadn't see Reborn since that morning after breakfast and he would be lying if that didn't worry him a bit.
Suddenly, Nana knocked on the door with a bright smile directed at them. It seemed that Lambo's hysteria didn't bother her too much. "Tsu-kun, it is time for dinner. You and your friends can come join us downstairs now."
Everyone nodded and began piling out of the room. Tsuna's thoughts not very far from thoughts of Reborn's whereabouts though. Takeshi noticed and gave his friend a pat on the back.
"Don't worry so much, Tsuna. That little guy is scary strong. He can take care of himself."
Tsuna knew he was right… somehow… there was something off as well. Something in the back of his mind telling him.
Dinner in the Sawada Household is always quite an affair. Bianchi came back from shopping, resulting to Gokudera passing out on the kitchen floor. I-pin and Lambo were running around the table because Lambo had stolen I-pin's ham. In the middle of dinner, Takeshi remembered something that his father told him to give Tsuna's mom. He went upstairs to get it. When he got there, Reborn was there by the Ten Year Bazooka.
Reborn waved and said, "Ciaossu, Yamamoto."
"Nice to see you, kid. What are you doing here? You shouldn't miss dinner. Tsuna is looking for you."
Reborn didn't seem at all bothered by his student's worries. "I'll be down in a minute. Can you come here for a moment, Yamamoto?"
"Sure," he answered without hesitation, moving closer to Reborn. The curiosity was too much. "Right here?" Not realizing that he was now in front of the Ten-Year Bazooka.
Reborn nodded. "Yes, that's perfect." Reborn jumped and stepped on the trigger for the Bazooka. The next thing Yamamoto knew he was seeing bright colorful lights around him. Takeshi was familiar with this feeling. It was the same feeling he felt when he was shot ten years into the future two years ago. He blinked, and he opened his eyes again. He was sitting on one of the chairs around a round table that are currently occupied by his friends…
…the friends from ten years in the future.
He blinked a few times, just as surprised and confused as the people around him.
Ryohei-sempai stood up suddenly and began pointing at him, like he had just seen the ghost of Christmas Past. "YAMAMOTO BECAME SHORT TO THE EXTREME!"
Despite the circumstances, Yamamoto had to laugh at that. "It is nice to see you again too, sempai."
"Tch, I can't see why you can still laugh at a moment like this." The familiar voice of the Storm Guardian spoke up. He was standing by Tsuna's right hand, lighting a cigarette.
Not surprisingly, he saw no signs of Hibari. In his stead was Kusakabe, his Vice President of the Disciplinary Committee. "This is strange. I'd say this is the work of the Ten-Year Bazooka if I were to guess."
Yamamoto nodded, "The kid shot me. I don't know why… but I should be back in five minutes, right?"
At the head of the table sat Tsuna. He was much taller and much older; also has a different air around him. The flicker of surprise only appeared for a second before the calm look returned. Touching his chin, he sighed. "Reborn?" he asked.
Yamamoto could catch the worry in his voice. Was there something wrong? Now that he thought about it, why were the guardians here gathered together like this? Were they having a meeting? "Oi, Tsuna. What's going on?"
Tsuna didn't reply for a moment and shook his head. "Nothing you should worry about, Yamamoto," he assured him. "We can handle this."
A very Tsuna thing to say. But he knew that they weren't going to tell him any more. He knew there was something wrong. Tsuna looked worried, Gokudera looked on the edge and Kusakabe seemed bothered as well. "If you say so…"
Then he noticed something.
"Isn't it five minutes already?"
At that question, Tsuna's eyes widened as he leaped up from his seat and glanced at the time. Yamamoto was correct. Five minutes had passed but he was still his sixteen year old self. It did not make any sense. Then he remembered, it came to him suddenly. Ten years ago, Yamamoto had disappeared for a few days. "This… can't be."
The door to the meeting room suddenly opened, Shoichi Irie entered and looking very out of breath. He had ran all the way from the airport to make it to that meeting. "I am so sorry! I am late! Did he-"
Shoichi saw the sixteen year old Rain Guardian in his usual place and gave a sigh of relief. "It worked," he said, only confusing those around him.
"What worked exactly, Shoichi?" Tsuna asked him.
Shoichi froze when he was addressed, before he gathered his cool and gave a salute. "Tsuna, please allow me to apologize for not telling you sooner, but I was sworn to secrecy."
"By who?"
"By Sir Reborn," the techie admitted, forlornly. Knowing very much that he was going to get in trouble for this..
"Reborn?"
"Yes. Ciaossu, Tsuna!" A voice leaped out from a speaker on Shoichi's radio.
Tsuna smiled upon hearing his old teacher's voice speaking through the speakers. "What is this all about, Reborn. Why did you switch Yamamoto?"
"Because we're going to need older Yamamoto here for a while."
"Can you explain why?"
The door opened again and another person entered the room. "It is because of me…"
It was Yamamoto's turn to leap up from his seat in surprise. "Shin! It's you- what are you doing here?" Indeed, it was a much older Shin, his teammate from the baseball team ten years prior. Shin's hair was still dyed blond but was now sporting a spiky hairdo. He grew taller over the years and was now even taller than him. Something he was not used to since he had always been teased about being short. Why was he here? Shin had really shown no interest in the Mafia.
How did he even find out about the… Vongola?
"Yamamoto, it is good to see you," Shin returned his greeting and smiled, not looking at all surprised. "You're shorter… then I guess that means the plan worked."
Gokudera slammed his fist on the table, trying to get everyone's attention. " Reunions later! Tell us what the hell it is going on here? Why is the Sword Idiot still a Baseball Idiot?"
"Because, this is the only way I can think of to erase all the damage that has been done," Shin answered quietly. "And prevent…. A bigger tragedy that I feel will happen very soon."
Shin lowered his head as he approached the famous Vongola Decimo and his guardians. "I have information about the hacker that calls himself 421. I believe I might know who he is."
The room became silent. Except for Yamamoto, the people in that room were familiar of 421, He is an infamous hacker that was said to have hacked into the pentagon. He steals information and sells them to the highest bidder. Lately, he had been hacking into the Vongola files and had been good enough to steal one-fourth of their safely guarded files. It took the teamwork of Spanner, Shoichi and Haru to keep him from doing more damage.
Unfortunately, his attempts were getting better and better. They didn't know how long they could keep him away. That was why they were having a meeting to determine the best way to flush out the guy. However, catching a hacker seems to be a bit harder than they thought. They did not know his name, what he looked like and every time they try to trace him, he was one step ahead of them and send them on a while goose chase.
It would have been alright if the person had only been in it for the fun and games, but he sold information to their enemies. Two Vongola factions had been wiped out just these last two months and they still no clue by who. They also suspect that many of the attacks on their allies these past year had been his doing as well, but they had no proof.
Over the past two years, this infamous hacker was doing a lot of damage. Huge Conglomerations would be forced into bankruptcy, huge amounts of money are stolen from private accounts and he even took responsibility for shutting down the internet for twenty-four hours just to show that he could. They suspected that those small tricks were simply the beginning.
It was too dangerous to leave him alone.
Tsuna decided to break the freezing silence. "Really? You sound certain."
"That is because I am," insisted Shin, clenching his fists to his side. "I have reason to believe that it might be my… my… younger brother?"
Takeshi was surprised again. He did not really know that Shin had a younger brother. They never really talked about anything outside baseball. Maybe that is why.
Shin pulled out a thick, red file from his bag and presented it to Tsuna. "This is everything I can gather about him and the kidnapping over the years. His name is Shinichi and he was kidnapped ten years ago while he was five years old. So, he should be about fifteen now. There was no ransom demand." He turned to the confused Takeshi. "He was kidnapped the day we were supposed to go on that match-up party. If only-" He didn't finish what he was about to say.
Shin blamed himself for his brother's kidnapping. He had been so busy thinking about that match-up party, he completely neglected his brother. Now was his only chance to correct the past.
"Shinichi?" Kusakabe muttered, stroking his chin, thinking. "4-2-1."
"421 has been active for two years, why did you wait until now to come to us?" Tsuna asked, his eyes on the picture of a small five year old boy. The last picture they took of the five-year old boy before he disappeared from his kindergarten. Shinichi looked slightly like his older brother. He had big brown eyes and black hair. In the picture, he was dressed in a baseball uniform. "How do you know… this is him? And, Reborn… why did you hide this from me?"
"Two months ago I received an email from 421," Shin began, his eyes around the people at the table. "It only said one thing, HELP. I asked Shoichi to trace it for me. It was coming from the old house that I had occupied while we were living here ten years ago. And do you know 421's MO?"
"Sure, a popping graffiti that says 421."
The ex-baseball pitcher turned Mafioso turned to Shoichi who was setting up at the computer. When he nodded, Shin continued. "I completely forgot about this. I never saw the connection between my brother and 421 until now. My brother drew this ten years ago when he was still dreaming to be an animator."
It was a bunch of pencil sketches that obviously belonged to a young and skillful hand. He was practicing to animate… and coincidentally, it is a popping graffiti drawing that said, 421. It was a sketchy replica. How could 421 know about a sketch that had been drawn ten years ago.
"It's my brother. He has been trying to tell me to find him for two years."
Tsuna was quiet, trying to take this all in. Everything presented was circumstantial evidence. This could be a trap by 421 to steal more of the Vongola secrets. Could he really risk all this on a hunch? "Reborn, you haven't answered me. Why did you not tell me this before?"
"I know you, Stupid Tsuna. You wouldn't have agreed to a plan like this."
Tsuna smiled at that old nickname, but he knew that Reborn was right. He wouldn't have thought it was right to bring a young boy into their problems again. He had decided that once had been enough. "What is the plan?"
They all could feel Reborn smirking from the other line. "We are going to try and catch him from here. But, all the clues are there. At the moment, Shinichi is too young. The best way to find him is through the clues 421 left. We have to stop him… before all the damage began. We need Future Takeshi here. This way of communicating isn't reliable. Takeshi has the best memory. With his younger self there, his Future will remember."
Takeshi watched Tsuna. He knew that Tsuna was worried about the dangers of trusting an infamous hacker. But, his teacher had never stirred him wrong before. "Alright. We start prepping and we start the operation in 48 hours." He turned to Kusakabe. "Tell Hibari to search and bring me all the reports about 421 and all his alleged hits. We are going to piece together a puzzle."
Kusakabe nodded and gathered his notes. "Yes, Decimo."
"Contact our allies in Italy, the Varia too. They may have something to contribute." Their relationship with the Italian Branch hadn't really improved over the years, so it might not be easy.
"There is something else I need to tell you," Shin continued. "There is also reason to believe that there is someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes. I do not know yet who… or what. But-" Takeshi saw him clench his fists. "Whatever it is, my brother is afraid of it."
Ryohei frowned and folded his arms in front of him. "Sawada, I understand that this guy is somehow dangerous…" His eyes becoming angry, as if recalling a memory. "But I don't understand how a hacker could cause this much trouble. Can't we just catch him and give him a lesson or two about involving innocent people?"
"I wish it were that simple," Tsuna sighed, burying his face in his hands. "But with what happened recently, I doubt this is merely another hacker case. If it were, Shoichi and the others would have done something about it now…"
"The strange thing is, I can't believe anyone can be this good and accurate," Shoichi explained, typing away on his computer to continue with his presentation. "Look here." Shin turned off the lights and the projector played. "Not one trace. The only thing we could find are the things he wanted to be found." The screen began flashing words and numbers.
Tsuna looked at Shin. He was one of the newest additions to the family, but he knew he could be trusted. Yet, he was the one person he tried so much not to involve in their world.
The Tenth's other self, his younger self, as they speak was already trying to do something about the problem about Shinichi Namikawa's kidnapping. They were shaping the past as they speak. "We have to get moving, then. We will get him back."
"I need to go, Tsuna. I have to go down to tell you everything," Reborn told them. "Tell Yamamoto for any progress." With that, he clicked the communicator off.
With the meeting over, most of the occupants began exiting the room to begin their assignments. Tsuna also began to exit the room, but before he left he turned to Shin. "Your sister is in the dance studio. Just in case you are curious." Then he left closing the door behind him, leaving Shin alone with his sixteen year old teammate.
There was a nervous silence at first, but then Takeshi began laughing… all of a sudden Shin was laughing with him. "This is really weird," Takeshi admitted. "Thirty minutes ago, I just saw you in the club room. Now, you're older than me. And learning more about you now than I ever did before."
"I know. It is strange. Back then, I never really understood what you liked about Sawada and his friends," came the reply. "Now, here I am. Working for him and asking for his help. Two years I have been working for the Vongola… Sawada really is amazing."
Takeshi nodded in agreement. "I almost forgot that had a brother and sister."
Shin smiled and nodded. "You didn't meet her until a few days after we brought her here. I am not surprised. My sister is a year older than my brother. She is 16 now." He began gathering his things and moving out of the room. "Come on. I will reintroduce you if you want."
"Is that okay?"
"It is alright. We cannot hide her anyway," he laughed, opening the door for them to leave. "She joined Vongola the same time I joined. She… is determined to find Shinichi. She always had been." The rest of the conversation went to baseball facts and championships before they arrived at the dance studio."
"Your sister is a dancer?"
"She is, but she isn't your usual kind of dancer."
They opened the door to the studio room and there was only one occupant inside. There was a girl inside. Takeshi had been expecting his sister to be a ballet dancer or classical dancer, but to his surprise in the middle of the dance studio his sister was break dancing. The music playing on the stereo wasn't Bach or Tchaikovsky but musical styling of Missy Elliot.
In the middle of the room is a small girl, her hair up in a ponytail and dressed in loose jeans and shirt. She was doing complicated twists and turns with impressive ease and fluid execution. It was difficult not to be impressed with how her agile and flexible body moved so well with the music
"She's a street dancer," he chuckled when he saw Takeshi's surprised expression. "You had that same expression on your face when she told you that she wanted to become a street dancer."
For a while, they just admired how the small girl executed powerful kicks; sliding and gliding across the floor. She didn't seem to notice the two new 'entities' in the room. When she almost tripped, she quickly went back into the beat. "What does she do? Is she an assassin?"
Shin shook his head. "Tsuna doesn't want kids their age to kill. For now, Lambo, I-pin and her are in training. I-pin retired but she still trains with them when she doesn't have to study. My sister has a lot of talent-" The girl almost tripped again when she did a right hand back spring. His smile was a little stiff when he continued. "-but she still has a long way to go before she goes into the field. Not that I want her to. I kind of wish she got into something normal… like ballet or gymnastics. Instead, she wanted to be trained here."
"You blame yourself."
"Everyday," he admitted. "She is here because of me. When I joined, she demanded to let her join too. I did everything I could to keep her out, but Reborn…" He didn't continue after that. It was the normal worries of a brother with a young sister in the mafia.
The song ended and the girl finished with a one last somersault and a strong pose.
Both boys applauded. It finally got the girl's attention and she stared at them through the studio mirror. Shin waved to her, "Ichigo! You still have to work on those kicks. They make you look like a sissy."
The girl turned at the call and almost tripped when she tried to stand up. Her eyes widened when she saw the person his brother accompanied and then suddenly her face gave a deep frown. She fixed her clothes after her very complicated routine and walked towards them, still not looking very happy. Takeshi could see the resemblance between them. They had the similar facial features. But while Shin and Shinichi seemed to have bigger eyes, she had smaller, sharper eyes than her siblings.
Upon closer look, he could see that Ichigo was rather pretty. Strangely, not cute. But pretty.
Shin smiled and began his introduction, "Ichigo, this is-"
Before he could finish his introduction, Ichigo gave Takeshi a sound slap across the face, surprising both Takeshi and Shin.
"I know who he is," she answered and with contempt in her voice. After two seconds of utter silence, Ichigo pushed pass them and left the room.
The two males just stood there in silence for a minute or two, unmoving and confused. Finally, Takeshi turned to Shin and asked him, "Is there something I did that I should know about?"
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Profile:
Name: Namikawa Shingo (#45)
Age: 16 (At the beginning) and 26 (Future)
Gender: Male
Bloodtype: O
Appearance:
[Eye Color] Brown
[Hair Color] Black (Dyed blond)
[Height] 170cm (At 16) and 180cm (Future)
Quirks: He playfully flirts with anything in a skirt. But yes, a steady girlfriend even though he is a incurable playboy.
As a teen, he was one of the lankiest in the team. It wasn't that he was puny and was too weak to play. In fact, he was fast and strong. It seems that the lankiness ran in the family. They outgrow it when they grew older. And Shin eventually did when he reached 19 years. His hair is bleached blond, while in highschool he left it long and down, at 26 he preferred to style his hair in a spiky style, though he still bleached it. His eyes are wider than sister's, something he got from their father who had the same big brown eyes. When he was younger, he liked to wear comfortable sports shirts and jeans. His older self wears black suits with a matching fedora.
Personality:
Shin likes and always liked girls and behaves like a perfect gentleman in the presence of females, which annoys his sister a lot when she brings her school friends over. They end up asking for his number. He really doesn't understand why Yamamoto doesn't seem to be interested in girls, though. However; he respected the Rain Guardian's skills and abilities. As a teenager, Shin was very carefree and party person, but he gave up that lifestyle when his younger brother got kidnapped because of his negligence. Because he is always smiling, not many people know how much he blames himself for his brother's kidnap. After that time, he dedicated his whole like to tracking him hoping to someday be atoned for that mistake.
He likes being the center of attention. Either the coolest guy in the room or the class clown. That may be the reason why he bleaches his hair blond, much to the annoyance of the school's educating board. Of course, he had gotten in trouble with Hibari a few times… but he managed to get away with it by paying him. That didn't make Hibari like him any better.
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Author's Notes:
I really, really hope you find Shin likeable. I developed Shin's personality while I was watching SHinee's Lucifer video. I do not like the title, but I do like the video and the tune is pretty catchy. It is a video shared to me by a friend and just on time, because it was around that time that I was beginning to piece together MVP and VIP. It was named, Very Important Person back then, though.
The Namikawa siblings have a half-Korean mom, so trivia is that they can speak Korean. In fact, when they're at home or speaking to each other they speak in Korean. But only Shingo can speak Italian. He also has a girlfriend, but she isn't aware of his Mafia life even though they have been together since he was in Highschool.
On Chapter 5, I planned to introduce Shingo's girlfriend. I have not decided what she is like yet since I thought it would make a very fun game. The game is to submit your own profile of your OC, if I like it… she will be found on Chapter 5. Nothing special. Give me a name, age, personality and I will do my best to do her justice on the fifth chapter. Remember to think KHR. Give it a try and let me bring your character to life.