Martial arts...ultimately, no matter what type it is, the objective is how to efficiently destroy your opponents. After that, it just depends on the heart of the fighter. If it is used for your selfish gains, then it becomes "violence." But if you use it to help yourself, to protect someone in need, then even a killing technique can ascend into true martial arts.
Hayato Furinji
'Older'
The blond man had a scruffy beard in the making and early lines on his forehead, the brunette had started to develop some wrinkles on his hands.
Check
'Loud'
"My Tuna-fish is the cutest thing in the world!" squealed the happy blond giant
"Tsuna may be cute, but my little Ken-chan is the most adorable!" his brunette counterpart squealed back
Check
'Stupid'
"Are you willing to bet your life on that statement" the brunette said lowly, whipping out a shotgun from nowhere
"Are you" the blond replied dangerously, twin pistols suddenly appearing in his hands
Double Check
'Inability to lie?'
"Honey, Iemitsu, where did you get those firearms?" she asked innocently
As expected, the brunette immediately tried to hide the weapon like they didn't all just see it,
"Firearms!?" the man yelled in a voice several octaves to loud, "I don't know what you're talking about sweetie, Ha, Ha, Ha" he finished off with a terribly unconvincing laugh before trying to make an obvious change of subject; the blond on the other hand…
"W-well you see, there was some oil thieves at the construction site last week so the boss passed out semi automatics for security reasons, Ha, Ha, Ha" the blonde said in a high voice as he told perhaps the world's most unconvincing lie ever told, even rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile on his stupid face.
'It figures' thought one Saori Shirahama to herself, 'that I wouldn't realize I'd married my brother until after I was already pregnant with the second child.'
It was a rare holiday when her cousin by blood and brother by love Iemitsu would actually have the rare time off from wherever it was he actually worked; God knows the man was as far from a construction worker as possible.
She never asked where her big cousin went to on the weekends with his father when they were growing up, nor did she ask why Iemitsu stopped coming home for months at a time after Uncle died, and she wouldn't ask where he really went now.
Not that she'd never been curious, especially as a child, but when her bright cheerful goofy cousin would come home from a trip with his dad with eyes so dark and shoulders so heavy she couldn't bring herself to make him relieve whatever put that expression on his face.
She never asked why a teenager needed to spend so much time with a girl almost a decade younger than him after one of those trips either; it was only now as a grown woman and watching the weary but relaxed set of his shoulders when he was around his simple but endlessly optimistic young wife that she thought that perhaps the reason he'd stuck to her as a child was because she was a child.
And speaking of children
"Super Rangers, Super Rangers Yeah!" came twin shouts of two three year old boys across the living room.
When standing side by side as they were, screaming and jumping in front of the TV, they could almost be mistaken for brothers despite the distance in their relations. Both with wild out of control brown hair, both small for their ages, both round faced and innocent and they got along in a disturbingly similar fashion to their fathers who had joined forces to snap pictures of the adorable moment.
No one would mistake them for identical twins, but due to being more or less the same age; several people had asked if they were maybe fraternal, with the only notable differences being one's hair was darker while the other had brighter orangish eyes.
"Sniff, Sniff" went the sniffles and 'manly tears' of her husband, "The bonds of male friendship and brotherhood, starting so young, whaa, IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!"
"Tuna fish!" went Iemitsu who apparently couldn't bear the cuteness of his son anymore and had tackled the little boy before crushing him to his chest and rubbing his rough cheeks against the child's.
"Daaaaaad!" the young boy screeched, oh my he really could make a rather high pitched noise couldn't he, and struggled away from his father even kicking the man in the face.
Saori only looked at the boy with pity, unconsciously rubbing her own cheeks from previous remembered torture and shaking her head at the futility of his actions; she distinctly remembered hitting the man with a crowbar to the head to get him off, without him so much as flinching.
"Honey" said a pair of arms that had suddenly wrapped around her legs like a child seeking comfort from their mother, "Our Ken-chan is growing so big, papa isn't ready!"
Saori sighed exasperatedly, 'I thought I still only had one chil-'
"Nana, little tuna fish is fighting me, he doesn't love daddy anymore!" wailed the blond
'Scratch that, two children, not three; though my oldest seems to have been taken in by someone else.' She thought watching as her 'brother' crouched in a similar position around the legs of the woman returning from the kitchen.
"Oh dear" Nana said with infinite more patience than Saori possessed as she patted the fool on the head, "I'm sure Tsu-kun is just being a little shy."
Saori glanced at the deadpanned face on the little three year old, and thought that probably wasn't the reason.
Though in Nana's defense Tsuna was easily one of the shyest boys she'd ever met, even shyer than her own Kenichi. Part of Saori worried that with Iemitsu's constant absence that the boy wouldn't develop that tough skin that had gotten her and her 'big bro' through their own somewhat bleak childhoods.
Nana was a loving woman, but she was a tad softer on him than she herself would be on Kenichi, and Saori couldn't help worry at whatever bullying the boy may face especially with that clumsiness and far too big heart of his.
After shaking off her own husband Saori waddled over to the kitchen and began to help bring out the food that Nana had originally come to tell them was ready before she forgot, honestly that woman would forget her own son's birthday if Saori didn't call every year to wish the boy a happy one.
A moment later the small and growing family was sitting down and enjoying each other's company, and despite all their differences and annoyances Saori couldn't help but be happy they could come together like this.
She rubbed her stomach and watched as her brother and husband laughed over something stupid, her 'sister-in-law' hummed to herself as she cut up smaller pieces for Kenichi and Tsuna both, while both boys were chattering rapidly about the silly cartoon they were just watching.
'I can't wait for you to join us and see our happy family baby girl' she thought rubbing her stomach
It was two hours later that their peace came crashing down
"You can't be happy for Des-chuk-tor Tsu!" Kenichi yelled appalled
"Why not?" Tsuna asked so terribly innocently
"Cuz he's the Bad Guy!" with the irrefutable logic of a toddler
"So, maybe he's nice" Tsuna tried to argue
"He snot s'pposed to be nice Tsu, he's the BAD guy" it was clear Kenichi didn't understand why Tsuna was stuck on what he so clearly saw as an obvious concept
"Maybe he's bad cuz evey body's mean to him!" Tsuna finally snapped back tired of his opinion being shot down
Saori who had been watching from the table frowned, it was clear that this little disagreement was about to rapidly evolve into a full blown argument. Even still she did nothing to stop it, merely sat back and watched to see how the two boys would solve this problem themselves.
"No he's mean to evey body!" her Kenichi argued, clearly not willing to let it go
"YOU DON'T KNOW!" said a very uncharacteristically pissed Tsuna; her nephew was too gentle a thing, more likely to cry if someone said something harsh to him than get angry.
Apparently that didn't extend to when he was defending someone else, even if that someone else was fictional.
"YES I DO!" Kenichi roared back also uncharacteristically outraged; he had terribly strong convictions for a boy so small, to Kenichi being nice was a duty to be upheld and meanness an unforgiveable sin.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa" Genji suddenly came in breaking up the fight with Iemitsu by his side when it became clear by the clenching of tiny fists that things were about to get physical. "What's the problem here, where'd the fighting come from?"
"Tsu likes the bad guy!" Kenichi yelled pointing at his accused, with his unforgivable crime
"Don't point! Ken is being mean!" Tsuna roared back, and was about to lunge at the other boy had Iemitsu not held him back.
"No I'm not, your mean, you like bad guys so you're mean!" Kenichi yelled back
"Whoa guys calm-" Genji tried to intervene only to get yelled over by little Tsuna
"You being mean to him that's why he's bad, you're mean!" Tsuna yelled, his logic getting a little lost in his temper.
Saori for her part merely continued to stand back and watch as both boys got so worked up over a cartoon of all things. It was almost strange seeing her son and definitely Tsuna, red faced and angry about anything really, they were both such sweet children.
In the end, the men had been able to separate them, but Nana's calls for forgiveness had been ignored. When they were forced to apologize and shake hands, the glares they sent each other were adorable… and could probably melt steel if they had had the faces to match the burning of their gazes.
"I was right though papa, you can't like the bad guy right?" she heard her son ask still apparently unable to let it go.
It was hard not to hear him, he hadn't whispered at all and she could see Tsuna clenching his fist at the question from across the room.
"Hmm, well bad guys are bad guys for a reason kiddo, so you're not wrong" said Genji clearly trying to explain complex concepts that stumped grown people into words a child could understand.
"Ha!" Kenichi clenched his fist triumphantly
Tsuna, she noted, gritted his teeth; a very Iemitsu reaction to annoyance
"But just because someone's done something wrong doesn't mean you have to be mean to them in return, otherwise you'll be just as bad as them Kenichi." Her husband continued trying to instill his lesson of compassion.
Her son's eyes widened as this had clearly never occurred to him; across the room Tsuna stomped out and Iemitsu followed him. Trusting her husband with her son she got up to go see how her nephew-cousin was doing.
When she reached the porch, Tsuna and Iemitsu were sitting side by side, backs similarly arched and heads tilted not speaking, just looking out onto the street in what was probably a far too rare father son moment.
"So… you wanna talk about why you got so mad at your cousin?" Iemitsu asked not looking at Tsuna; his tone was laidback and relaxed and Saori was reminded of the countless times she had raged to an older teen who no matter how fickle her problems listened to all her problems whole heartedly.
It was one of the traits she had looked for when choosing her husband, it was one of the many traits her nephew inherited from his father; Tsuna's future wife would be a very lucky woman.
"He was being mean" came Tsuna's prompt still aggravated answer
"For saying the bad guy of your show was being a bad guy?" Iemitsu challenged
"No" Tsuna grumbled
"Then how was he being mean" Iemitsu asked
"He just was" Tsuna shrugged
"I wasn't there to see the beginning of the argument Tuna Fish." Iemitsu lied unconvincingly, it was clear he wasn't going to take anything less than a serious well thought answer from his son.
Iemitsu always treated children like small adults, a trait he'd learned from Uncle. It could be endearing and children took being treated seriously appreciatively… it could also be a burden on small shoulders if Iemitsu own pained looks from childhood were anything to go off of.
She hoped he never forgot that and gave Tsuna a responsibility he wasn't ready for; she didn't want to see her nephew wear the face Iemitsu used to hide from all but her.
"I don't know how 'he just was'" Iemitsu continued to press
There was a moment of silence before Tsuna let out an adorable huff
"He didn't care why the bad guy was bad, he wanted to zap the bugs that bit him up, that's not mean." Tsuna said explaining the villain's logic, Saori didn't see the show, but she could guess it was some typical cartoon villain reason for killing bugs not meant to be taken seriously.
She and Genji had tried hard to instill a strong moral center in Kenichi, which said it didn't matter why a negative action was taken as it was still taken.
For Kenichi 'just wanting' and 'I only meant to' wouldn't erase the broken vase or their anger for him disobeying them. Tsuna, the kind caring boy who would cry even for the villain, seemed to follow the 'good intentions made things okay' school of thinking.
"Hmm, so you sympathized with the bad guy- thought he wasn't so bad" Iemitsu clarified when Tsuna didn't know what sympathized meant, "because he had what you thought was a good reason for doing what he did."
Tsuna hesitated for a moment clearly going through his father's statement, before giving a strong nod.
"Well, Kenichi's not wrong, just because he did something for a good reason doesn't mean the results were good Tsu-kun" Iemitsu said with a scratch of his chin while Tsuna pouted
"So Ken is right" Tsuna asked sulkily
"I said he's not wrong, not every question in the world has a right and wrong Tsuna, sometimes you have to choose the answer you think is the best" Iemitsu explained and Tsuna looked up wide eyed, clearly the idea you could choose what you thought was right was revolutionary.
"Maybe if the bad guy came up with another way to get rid of the bugs, or asked if there were other people who agreed with him first it would have turned out better."
And Saori was reminded that Iemitsu subscribed to the 'intentions don't matter, but results do' school of thought. Similar on the surface to the good is good and bad is bad they taught Kenichi but with more of a,' manipulative evil was fine as long as the results were good for the majority' vibe.
It was then Saori pulled back from the father son talk so very different than the one Genji was giving Kenichi at this exact moment.
They'd probably forget this moment this day before the week was up, but Saori could see none the less where the two boys' sense of justice and reasoning would one day split in the future.
A cold chill went up her spine.
Really there was absolutely no reason to get so upset about this one innocuous moment and she'd probably blame it on pregnancy hormones in a few months, but she couldn't shake the feeling that one day this conversation on a porch hallway would impact the boys for the rest of their lives.
'I hope not' thinking how heated they got earlier, 'It would tear us apart'
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'Ding Dong'
'I hope this is the right place' one fluffy haired teen thought to himself, it was the second time he'd had to ring the doorbell with no answer, ' I haven't seen them since they moved from the old place, this may not even be the right house.'
And wouldn't that be a problem, he'd spent a significant amount of his personal funds to get here and even have enough to enjoy his first proper vacation in four years. They were the only blood relatives he actually had and his father had been surprisingly useful and told Tsuna of his own vacations with the Shirihama family when he was younger and looking for an escape.
'clink clank'
The door unlocked and swung wide open to reveal a little girl with short brown spiked hair
"Yes?" she asked him with confused eyes, voice one part curious and two parts politely hidden suspicion.
The teenager smiled at her reaction, she wasn't quite still a toddler when their family moved and visiting became too difficult to do regularly. It wasn't just likely, but probable that she wouldn't recognize him, and he had admittedly… changed since he was last with them.
"Hey Honoka, is Auntie or Uncle here, they should be expecting me?" he asked politely with a kind smile to put some of her suspicion at ease
"…Tsuna?" she asked hesitantly after a moment's pause, even tilting her head to the side in a curious cat like fashion.
'Isn't she supposed to be like fourteen or something' he thought to himself amused at how cute she was, 'She could pass for twelve or even eleven in that pink she's wearing. Then again I was a short stack and still am to my giant friends too.'
"Oh you remember me? Great, can you tell Auntie and Uncle I'm here?" he asked pleasantly, reaching down for the hefty bags by his feet and clearly making as to enter the home even without being invited.
Snapping out of it she automatically moved back to let him inside, but Tsuna could still feel her trying not to stare at him.
He'd really changed over the years; he was significantly taller, significantly more straight forward and graceful, his hair had only gotten wilder, the hoodie and metal accessories only served to make him look like some edgy punk.
'There's also the crippling depression and the intense melancholy I've yet to find a way to remove from my face' he thought with a bitter smile, 'Reborn swore if I didn't remove it by the time I got back from this vacation that he'd beat it off himself'
"Um, I think Mom said you were using Kenichi's old room" Honoka spoke again awkwardly, though her apprehensiveness seemed to be fading as she became more curious about his bags, specifically the small lion shaped plushy on the orange one.
Smiling at her curiosity it been too long since he'd been around someone so open with their emotions-
Takeshi's tired grins, Lambo so quiet and resigned, Ryohei training not to improve but to forget
-And he found the pure unburdened innocence in her voice relaxing.
Without prompting he quickly bent over and tossed the plushy into her surprised hands before greeting her startled look with an appeasing smile.
"You can have it; I won it from a claw machine at the bus station I was at"
"Oh, uh, thank you" she replied caught off guard by his impromptu gift, but Tsuna noticed that she clenched the small toy just a little bit tighter and the genuine smile spread across her lips as she went forward inspecting the little prize.
It had been a long time since he'd been able to make someone happy with so simple a gesture, he had a feeling his little cousin was going to be his new favorite person for a while now, but instead he focused on the name of the person he'd been intending to spend most of his vacation with.
"Kenichi's old room" he asked drawing her attention to him again, last Tsuna checked they were the same age and were both still in high school, "Did he get a new one or something"
"Oh no, he moved to the dojo" came Honoka's slightly unhelpful answer
'Dojo' he thought doing one quick glance to the screen showing the backyard, not even surprised at the frankly weird bedding situation of his cousin.
Kyoya was the same in his own home 'unless they have some underground bunker I don't see where they could fit a dojo'
"But he still comes by on the first Saturday of the month for dinner, unless he's out of town" she continued on oblivious of his thoughts
'Oh so the dojo is somewhere else, I didn't know Kenichi did Martial Arts, or is it for kendo?' he thought curiously, 'quite dedicatedly to if he even lives on the grounds… though he did always have that obsession, I suppose it's not that big a surprise'
"He's a live in student?" he asked Honoka who simply nodded her head with a cheery 'yep', God he was loving this little girl; he had to resist the urge to pet her head like a puppy, "What discipline is he attempting to master?"
Before Honoka could answer a woman's voice interrupted them
"Honoka, who are you talki- oh,… Tsuna?" said his Aunt Saori as she came around the corner in an apron with a mixing bowl in hand, Tsuna idly noticed that she did the same head tilting thing as her daughter upon questioning his appearance.
"Hello Auntie, I'm a little early" he said with a sheepish smile rubbing the back of his head, though he quickly lowered it as the phantom pain of it getting smacked by Reborn went up his arm
"A boss does not have such shamefully obvious tells Dame-Tsuna"
"I apologize for any inconvenience" he said with a tiny bow of his head, when he saw the frown that crossed her face as she stared at him
The older woman simply shook herself out of whatever stupor she was in and quickly crossed the gap between them and engulfing him in a hug to his minor surprise
"It's no inconvenience at all sweetie" she said in a voice an octave or two more gently then one might expect for consoling someone merely apologizing for arriving an hour or so early, "You are always welcome here anytime."
She also didn't let go for a minute seeming to be trying to pour as much love into the hug as possible; slightly weirded it out he traded a glance with a hovering and equally confused Honoka before deciding to simply indulge in the comfort.
She smelled like love and cooking oil.
Pulling back the woman gave him a beaming smile before briskly turning back to the kitchen, talking as she walked.
"You can put your bags into Kenichi's old room, Honoka will help you, then take a bath, you're probably exhausted after your trip, we'll be having dinner here shortly, honey will be coming home to eat, then I'm sure if you're up to it we can rent a movie or you can turn in for the night." She instructed not pausing once as she shouted from the kitchen, and Tsuna actually felt good at how she was ordering him about.
It was like she was his (or rather anyone else's beside his rather oblivious) mother, the simple act spoke of a level of comfort she had around him as her flesh and blood.
It had been a long time since he'd had any of this either
Trading one more glance with Honoka, who seemed amused at how her mother was ordering him about, he raised an eyebrow silently asking where Kenichi's room was.
Honoka, too his private amusement, seemed to take after her mother in trying to be a good (overbearing) hostess but had translated this to hovering around him and gracelessly trying to take care of him.
She'd picked up one of his bags which was clearly too heavy for her and he'd had to save several inside plants and glass objects as she swung into various household furnishings.
"Kenichi studies like four kinds of martial arts" Honoka jabbered on as Tsuna saved his second potted plant in their walk to Kenichi's room, "Well technically five, but he doesn't really use Shigure-chan's lessons."
"And why is that?" Tsuna asked, unconsciously tagging the name as he put his foot in front of his bag before she slammed it into the wall
"Kenichi doesn't like weapons" Honoka explained, "Shigure-chan is a sword master"
'Now that I think of it, I'm sure Hayato would hate him' Tsuna thought of his weapon enthusiast right hand butting heads with his "Guns Kill and Killing is Bad" cousin Kenichi, 'Come to think of it, most of my friends would probably scoff at Ken's dream to be a real life hero of justice'
'Though from the sounds of it Takeshi would definitely want to meet this woman' he thought tagging the fact that Honoka said sword and not wooden stick (kendo) master, 'Even Kenichi wouldn't be so hesitant practicing with a wooden sword'
Wait a minute
"Whaddaya mean Ken-chan doesn't use her lessons" Tsuna asked slipping into using his cousin's old nickname, his mother calling him that for three weeks leading up to this trip hadn't broken the habit, "You mean for tournaments and things right?"
Because honestly what was Ken even learning how to use a sword for if he didn't even like learning it and he wasn't participating in some kind of tournament?
"Nope" Honoka said stopping in front of a door that led to a room stacked with books, definitely Kenichi's, "Kenichi doesn't do tournaments or things like that."
"Then what does he learn for?" Tsuna asked trying to hide some trepidation in his voice, because there was no way his family would let him come to an area without researching it backwards and forwards.
He knew the surrounding towns had more than a slight gang problem, nothing serious enough to require him having a bodyguard, but was just something noted in the preliminary reports for him to try to avoid if he wanted to stay incognito on this vacation.
If his Hero of Justice cousin was learning to fight for so-
"To protect people of course!" Honoka said with a cheery fist pump and more than a little admiring brother complex in her voice
'…Dammit Ken' Tsuna thought with a weary internal sigh, he just knew this would come to bite him in the ass somehow.
'It's okay, it's okay' Tsuna thought as Honoka swung his bag without care for its' contents or Kenichi's room, 'If he's even living in the dojo then he's probably amassed some skill, I won't have to run after him saving his life'
"Honoka, how long has he been living at this Martial Arts dojo" Tsuna asked, knowing damn well if his cousin was even a fraction of what he was like when they were kids, he wouldn't hesitate to throw himself after real delinquents to protect someone in danger.
"Hmm, three months now, maybe less?" Honoka answered with a finger to her chin
'… he's doomed' Tsuna thought trying to imagine what a few months could do for "Weak Knees" Kenichi before giving himself a rough shake of the head, 'No, no, he's made it through the first seventeen years of his life without dying, and if he has good enough teachers'
Images of explosions, gunshots, screaming, a cliff side, and his own terrible nickname "Dame-Tsuna" flashed through his head.
'Ken will be alright' Tsuna said with a nostalgic smile at his own tortuous training, 'Besides I have a little angel in front of me to entertain'
"So Honoka" he said with a bright smile that wasn't even forced, "What do you do all day while Ken-chan studies the ways of 'wax on wax off"
At his question the far too innocent for her age girl beamed brightly and Tsuna leaned back on the bed as Honoka told her about her days filled with Apachai the friendly giant, a Kung Fu mouse, her shy friend Natsu, Ken's sword teacher Shigure, a big boobed monster, and the person who was clearly her hero, Kenichi himself.
Tsuna listened to it all with a gentle smile letting her chatty sweet voice lull him to peace
"-but Natsu's been taking a bunch of trips lately, so I haven't been able to spend as much time wit-"
"Honoka?" the voice of his Aunt Saori was enough to make them both jump
"Tsuna? Honoka you were supposed to be taking him to the shower." she said with a frown looking down at his clothes
"Sorry mom/Auntie" Tsuna and Honoka spoke in tandem as Tsuna struggled to the realm of the fully conscious
"It's fine Tsuna, if you're sleepy you can go to bed" she said kindly, but Tsuna waved it off
"It's cool Auntie, I should probably bath and get some food into me before I clock out."
Aunt Saori stared at his face a little longer like she was deep in thought before glancing between him and Honoka and back again; with a nod she turned and exited the room.
"Sooo" Tsuna drawled sharing another 'That was weird' look with Honoka, "the bathroom?"
It took another minute or so for them to reach this destination because Honoka felt she might as well show him every other room in the house. Ignoring her family's right to privacy as she chatted about their various unmentionables, even pointing to some (fairly tame) magazines of girls Kenichi left behind, her mother's underwear (Tsuna was lucky he'd lived with the borderline exhibitionist Bianchi for four years and so wasn't too embarrassed), and even a rifle her father was hiding from her mother (Tsuna had no words for that one).
He closed the door in the little chatterbox's face as politely as possible as she nearly followed him into the bath; Honoka did not seem to understand personal space.
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He picked his way across the war torn battlefield, carefully avoiding anything that would slice into his unprotected feet; for the life of him he couldn't figure out what happened to his shoes, he thinks he's in shock.
He pointedly ignores the flinches made by those he walks by; it should be hilarious watching grown scarred and hardened men and women flinch away from a fifteen year old boy who could possibly pass for younger.
It used to be funny when it happened to Reborn while he was using his 'kid disguise'; it's not so funny when you realize there's a legitimate reason for that fear.
"I just wanted to make this dull world more interesting, don't you agree Tsunayoshi" said a white haired man with mad violet eyes
No it was sick, he felt sick at this monster trying to empathize with him
"Yuni belongs to me, I found her, discovered her power, we are the same, her potential belongs to me, all of her is mine to use"
He gritted his teeth in rage at the memory, he deserved it
"Yamamato's father, the Tomaso Famiglia, Mochida, anyone who ever had any connection with us"
Not just for Yuni, he did so many terrible things to so many people
"I wonder what death feels like" the mad man laughed as orange flames crawled up his body, "See you later Tsunayoshi, ah hah ha ha, AAAAAH HA HAH HA HA AAAAAAAAAH!"
He squeezed his eyes shut trying to shut out the mad laughter, anger was forgotten as an acidic bile rose in his throat-
"Trash" says a gruff voice interrupting his inner turmoil, and Tsuna turns to look at the sound of the 'endearing' nickname
"Uncle Xanxus" he responded to the large scarred man; it's actually a relief to not be terrified of, though he doubted this level of destruction would faze the leader of the least subtle group of assassins in the world.
"Wipe that stupid look off your face Trash, you call yourself a leader" his 'uncle' admonishes him
"I'm a terrible leader Uncle" he says in a dead tone, a real leader would have been strong, wouldn't have spent so much time in self-doubt while a monster ran around causing death and destruction, "I thought that was something we both agreed on."
*WACK*
The pistol whip to the back of his head was not unexpected but it hurt all the same
"…ouch" came his far too belated answer
The hard hand on the back of his neck lifting him up into the air was far less expected
"Snap the fuck out of it Trash!" Xanxus screamed in his face, and this was definitely a surprise.
Yes he and Xanxus didn't typically get along, and until this most recent near extinction of their family forcing them to work together the man wouldn't have spat on him if he was on fire, but he typically expressed his hatred verbally and by trying to avoid him in general.
"If you were a shit leader I wouldn't have left the Vongola to you, Ring Battles and blood be damned!"
"W-wha?"
"You can collapse and cry like the whiny brat you are when you are later, but right now you need to suck it up and lead dammit!"
"W-wha?"
"Are you deaf or something trash!"
"…What?", Xanxus looked ready to attack him in annoyance
Forgive him but he was just the tiniest bit disorientated right now; he'd just lost a friend, finished a war, gotten beat to an inch of his life, and ordered the execution of another human being all in the span of an hour.
Now the one person he thought hated him more than anyone else was screaming in his face to get over it and get back to work in what he was suspecting might have been some violent pep talk.
'Xanxus is trying to give me a pep talk… XANXUS is trying to give me a pep talk', the thought kept circling in his head but not connecting to anything, wasn't it usually Yamamato or Gokudera who did this, Reborn at least?
'Where are my friends?' he thought finally returning to the reality around him and looking, really looking at the carnage around him, 'Where is my family?'
"Uncle Xanxus" he blinked looking around him with fresh eyes, "W-what's, what are-, where's everybody."
"You finally back Trash" the man said dropping him to the ground without warning, "You spaced out after burning that mad piece of Trash alive"
He cringed at that
"The trash brigade is where you left them, stop wandering around like a zombie you're sewing unrest in the ranks." His piece said the man walked off without a word
Ignoring the oddly… nice… behavior from his adoptive Uncle, he stumbled back over to the wreck where his exhausted friends were likely still getting looked at by the medics that arrived after the battle.
Arriving he took a moment to just look at them
Gokudera, laid out on his stomach while Haru applied ice packs to his back, bickering and cursing and reaching for a calming cigarette.
Yamamato, still covered in bandages from when they first raided that base a month ago fingering the new scar on his chin, he could tell by the way he was staring at his sword he was thinking about his deceased father.
Hibari, remarkably unscathed by his battle with 'Daisy', but not unshaken if the face he was sleeping in visible sight as the rest of them.
Onii-san, fussing over a zoned out Kyoko ignoring his own injuries, he winced; he didn't want her to see this, any of this.
Chrome, being fussed over by Ken and Chikusa, while she ignored them in favor of examining her teacher's old apprentice Fran; the last remaining members of Mukuro's old gang were sticking close together as they always had since the fall of their leader.
Lambo and I pin, to his relief were completely unhurt, but Lambo was worryingly quiet, he'd start with him.
Quietly picking his way to his friends he slipped behind the cow themed child and picked him up depositing him in his lap.
"Wah!" Lambo shouted alerting the rest of them of his arrival
"TSUNA/TENTH/TSU-KUN!"
Tsuna merely gave them a tired smile before looking back down at the child in his lap
"Are you-" he stopped himself before he could ask, it was obviously what the answer to if he was okay would be, "Do you want to talk about it little guy"
Lambo stared up at him like he was searching for something in his face; not really knowing what he was looking for, he pushed away his own distraught feelings and tried to look as open as possible so the boy wouldn't feel afraid to talk.
Whatever he was looking for he must have found because he buried his head into Tsuna's chest and started to cry.
"Your still the same" he heard the boy mumble making him blink in surprise
"Well of course I'm still the same, who else could I be?" he asked in an amused tone
Looking up though he saw Lambo wasn't the only one who was apparently bothered, all his friends were staring at him with minor trepidation, the kid's Fuuta and I pin seemed relieved by his exclamation.
He sighed
"I know what I did was pretty scary" he spoke looking down at Lambo but raising his voice to the listening crowd, "and I can't promise that… that I won't have to do that again."
He swallowed dryly at the thought, the scent of burning flesh stuck in his nose
"But I want you to know, that I'll try not to… to turn into someone else" he continued, tilting the young boy's head up so he was looking him directly in the eye, "and if you see me to start to change, never be afraid to let me know"
He looked up at the rest of his friends
"All of you, we're family, sticking together despite our faults is what we do" looking them each in the eye, "…and smacking each other in the head when we lose ourselves is what we do too, so don't be afraid to do that to and remind me who I am."
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Stepping out of the steaming hot shower he stopped and examined himself in front of the mirror
His family had taken his suggestion of smacking him across the head when they though he was being himself to heart a little too easily. Even doing something as simple as sighing at the end of a long day earned him a smack in the head for being too 'zombie-like'.
Staring in the mirror he couldn't see how he could possibly forget
For each big battle that he'd ever gotten into, Tsuna had a matching scar to go with it; there was the pink dent in the middle of his chest where Xanxus shot him, the bullet barely being stopped by his vest, there a nasty claw mark like scar across his shoulder and collar bone from where Byakuran used Dragon Fist, there were spidery pink marks along his arms and legs from where Enma broke his limbs and the bone broke the skin.
If he lifted the fringe of his hair there was a scar on his forehead from where Mukuro hit him in the head with a rock during their fight; it even looked like a small flame, the second most important symbol in Vongola next to the clam at the center of their crest.
He had been in dozens of fights and yet it was only those four who had ever left any serious permanent damages on him.
After his talk with his friends he remembered Dino's words about he got tattoos to remind him of his past, and he started getting tattoos to correspond with each mark. They told a story of the lessons he'd learned from each of them that had been carved into his body.
In memory of his first foe Mukuro, there was the flaming kanji for the words Will Power on his inner left forearm, taken from the Vongola Credo about protecting the family with a will as if they were about to die, Our Dying Will.
In memory of his battle for inheritance with his Uncle, there was a tattoo of Romanized X in the center of the family crest across his back, taken to symbolize his acceptance of his duty and the family he carried on his back.
In memory of his first kill Byakuran, there was the tattoo of a lion cub roaring on his right shoulder, taken to symbolize his step into the world as a carnivore but still retaining his pure heart.
His last and newest tattoo in memory of the recent friend he'd made and lost Enma, there were two lines in Italian wrapped around his arm beneath the lion; the top line said 'My family are my Pride', the bottom line said 'My Famiglia is my Sin'.
However despite his numerous reminders, his latest fight had left him just a little too broken. And when there came a day that even Hayato had to tell him that he wanted to smack him across the head one day, it was unanimously voted amongst his friends and family that 'Mom' needed a vacation and that the 'kids' in turn needed one from him.
Tsuna manfully pouted at that
He had originally intended to go home to Namimori, but as Kyoya had helpfully pointed out, that was his territory and wouldn't be much of a vacation for him dealing with a mopey herbivore.
Tsuna manfully pouted again
His father had suggested he visit old family, and Tsuna eventually after much convincing agreed as long as they took every measure to keep that life separated from his civilian relatives. So here he was
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Tsuna are you done in there, the water turned off like twenty minutes ago!" came a voice from the door.
"Honoka leave him be, that's terribly rude!" went his Aunt's voice from farther back in the house
"But we can't eat until he hurries up, if anything he's being rude!" Honoka shouted back with no regard for the fact that the person she was talking about could hear her every word
"Honoka!" his Aunt roared
Tsuna chuckled as he threw a long sleeve over the map that was his upper body
This was a good home; he really hoped he would be able to enjoy his time here while it lasted
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"Hmm, are disciple seems to be flying through his training with more enthusiasm than usual, did something good happen?" one Master Kensei Ma asked watching Kenichi kill himself on one of Akisame's death trap "treadmills".
Though unlike usual Kenichi wasn't screaming his head off in only mortal terror (well he was), but there was a half grin on his face as he did it.
"What did Miu finally agree to go on a date with him?" Master Sakaki asked sarcastically from the corner of the room where he was drinking a beer
There was a beat before both men cracked up laughing as if it were the funniest thing either had ever heard. Kenichi instantly felt his good mood killed as a metaphorical arrow hit his heart
'It's not that far-fetched is it' Kenichi sniffled, 'I still have a cha-'
ZAAAAAP
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Kenichi screamed
"Oh no look what you two have done" his Master Akisame spoke far to calmly for Kenichi's liking at his unbelievable pain, "You killed his motivation bringing up unrealistic fantasies like that."
On the floor recovering from the electric shock Kenichi cried pitifully
"Oh are you done training Kenichi" said the voice of an angel, it would have been more angelic if it was slightly concerned about his well-being.
'But I guess the sight of me in a pathetic form is just to common' Kenichi internally wept
"You should get ready, your guest will be here soon" the blond angel continued, reminding Kenichi of why he was in such a good mood.
His mother had called him and told them that there cousin from way back when would be visiting for a few weeks this summer, and Honoka called and told Miu to tell him he arrived last night. Rather than having Kenichi take the day off and force his master's to make the next training session that much more brutal, she simply invited Tsuna to come down to the dojo.
This made two thing happen; one, his master's would be forced to act like relatively normal human beings in regards to his training (there was no helping their eccentric personalities), two, would allow him to show off to the cousin he hadn't seen since they were kids showing a previously rarely seen good side of him, and three, would allow Tsuna to hang out with him and Miu.
Kenichi hadn't been this excited in a while; with all his fights with Ragnorok through, he hadn't gotten a break before the even more dangerous Yomi appeared out of nowhere wanting to kill him for no other reason than daring to practice a martial art that didn't promote killing.
A few weeks hanging out with his only other blood relative who was the epitome of normal would be just the respite he needed.
"Apa guest?" Apachai asked, the friendly giant materializing from literally nowhere at the mention of new people.
Kenichi looked up at the bronze giant and briefly wondered if there was any way he could politely dissuade Apachai from greeting his cousin, the man while friendly could be very… energetic.
"Yes, Kenichi's cousin is coming to spend his summer vacation with Kenichi's family and is going to meet Kenichi here." Miu answered for him
"Ah, a relative is it" Master Kensei said looking up from his, ahem; mature reading content, "Do they share your interest in martial arts."
Which was all it took to shake Kenichi out of his thoughts
"NO!" he shouted actually making the masters and Miu jump back, there was no way he was subjecting sweet Tsuna to these monsters that had somehow trapped him in this hell, "TSUNA IS A SWEET LITTLE ANGEL, I WON'T LET YOU TORTURE HIM LIKE YOU DO ME!"
Bold words considering there really wasn't jack he could do to stop them, but they had always respected his decisions, even if they needled him into following what they wanted anyway.
"Relax Kenichi, Kensei was just asking if he was an enthusiast like you were when Miu found you." Master Akisame soothed
"Sorry" Kenichi said embarrassed, "I just worry about him, this is the first time I've seen him in so long, and he was always so gentle and sensitive and clumsy growing up. So can you guys promise that you'll try and hold back while he's around."
"Che, whatever, I already said I didn't want to take anymore disciples" Master Sakaki said from where he was lounging.
"We're not insane Kenichi, we know how to act in front of normal people." Master Ma continued
Kenichi pointedly looked at Apachai who had started hammering away at a huge bolder like it was a piece of fragile glass.
"Did you forget Apachai is the best when it comes to dealing with kids and small animals" Miu reminded him comfortingly when she followed his gaze, she placed a hand on his back "he knows how to be gentle Kenichi, your cousin will be fine. Besides you've changed a lot from how you were, I'm sure Tsuna has grown a lot too."
'I hope so' Kenichi thought with a sigh, 'Still I'll have to make sure to keep him out of Yomi business and that alien Nijima too while I'm at it'
Suddenly without warning the master's on the patio all turned their heads to where the front entrance was.
'Is something wrong?' he thought looking at their intrigued faces, a moment later a voice reached the back of the dojo.
"KENICHI, EVERYBODY, ARE YOU HERE, I BROUGHT TSU-KUN!"
Kenichi was on his feet in a moment, running to the entrance to let them in
As he rounded the corner there was swishing sound that Kenichi had come to associate as the closing of the massive entrance door.
"They seriously need to oil these hinges Honoka" he heard the gentle voice of an older male
Finishing coming around the corner he sees them, one his younger sister looking in slight awe at the figure leant weakly against the door.
Wild fluffy brown hair, slightly taller than he'd thought maybe an inch or three above his own height, dressed in a noticeably long sleeved orange button up and black slacks despite the summer heat, there are some stylish accessories including a gaudy chain ring on his right, another gaudy ring on a necklace around his neck, and several piercings in his upper ear, it takes Kenichi a moment to identify the stranger.
Tired burnt orange eyes meet his own and Kenichi freezes as they look through him for a brief moment- and then the moment's gone, orange eyes brighten with warmth and innocence he'd know anywhere.
"Ken!" Tsuna calls brightly and Kenichi can't even be embarrassed at the use of his old nickname, at least he didn't add the chan his mother still did from time to time
"Tsu!" Kenichi called back automatically slipping into his own old nickname, as he rushed to greet the very different teens.
He stopped short an arm's length from him not quite sure how he was supposed to interact with this new cooler Tsuna; the decision is takin out of his hands when Tsuna grabs him and brings him into a full on hug.
It's not the kind of action that matches his new 'cool' look, but its sooo Tsuna and Kenichi feels a grin spread across his face; yeah even older he was still Tsu.
When they pull apart Tsuna gives him an up and down look
"Well you've certainly grown Ken" Tsuna obviously says to his new muscle structure; a few hours ago he might of shown off a bit while acting humble, but right now all he can think is how the other boy took the words out of his mouth.
"Your one to talk" Kenichi responds, "I think your actually taller than me now"
The pleased smile that spreads across Tsuna's face that accompanies the small fist pump is nothing short of adorable and Kenichi chokes back a laugh at how the small acknowledgment means to this new Tsuna who looks cool but still cares about kid Tsuna things.
Suddenly Tsuna's eyes flicker to behind him, it's a quick and oddly alert movement that Kenichi can't help but note, and there's the tiniest change in his posture that says his relaxation isn't entirely genuine anymore.
"Are these your teachers?" Tsuna asks, and Kenichi doesn't have to wonder about the change when he turns and sees the Masters minus Shigure and Elder plus Miu lined up; if anything he has to give him prompts for such a non-reaction at the intimidating beasts in human form.
"Kenichi aren't you going to introduce us?" Miu asked with a polite smile
"Of course!" Kenichi responds to the angel an octave too high, he doesn't miss the raised eyebrow an amused smirk Tsuna sends him but pointedly pretends he does.
"This is the lovely Miu Furinji, the daughter of Ryozanpaku, she practices martial arts here too." Kenichi gestures to Miu flamboyantly, who giggles at the introduction
"Lovely, huh?" Tsuna teases
"I just call her big boobed monster" Honoka interrupts rudely tightening her hold on Tsuna's arm that she hasn't let go of once.
'Huh does Honoka' Kenichi thinks, noting that Tsuna's new look is definitely appealing to young girls, 'its not like she remembers him much, and we're not that closely- Wait a minute!'
Tsuna's look was appealing to young girls!
A quick inconspicuous look toward Miu reveals she only seems to be embarrassed at Honoka's comment and nothing else, a glance at Tsuna reveals he's focused more on ruffling Honoka's head in admonishment.
Kenichi lets out a relived sigh
"Thank goodness my darling Miu who shows no interest in me isn't showing any interest in my cousin she's only known for a few seconds like Honoka" whispers a voice to his right ear.
"Yeah" Kenichi starts to nod at the voice before realizing it's not his thoughts and slowly turns to see the huge grin on Master Ma's face.
"A-anyway!" continues a mortified Kenichi, "My teachers the calm and collected, philosophical jiujutsu master Akisame Koetsuji!"
"A pleasure to meet your acquaintance young man"
"100th Dan Karate Master Sakaki Shio, ignore his booze drinking and scary face and he's actually a pretty nice guy."
"What was that!"
"Moving on"
"Don't ignore me you little brat!"
"Death God of Muay Thai Apachai Hopachai!"
"Apa apa, I have your children please deliver the randso-"
"AND FINALLY, addicted to woman and erotic photographs, the master of all Chinese martial arts Kensei Ma!"
Throughout the awkward and overly enthusiastic introduction Tsuna kept a straight face and after a moment of silence turned to Kenichi would a complete deadpan
"Ken… why did you feel the need to mention his love of porn?"
"I thought his introduction needed some beefing up compared to the others" Kenichi answered embarrassed.
"Are you some kind of hype man" giving him a Tsuna patent 'WTF' face he'd mastered at eight whenever weird things would happen around them.
"Anyway, this is my mother's father's cousin's grandson Tsunayoshi Sawada" he continued
"Again what's with that hyped up intro, just say I'm your cousin or third cousin because our grandparents were cousins." Tsuna deadpanned
"Ho, ho, ho, you must have strong genes, you too look so much alike" said a deep voice appearing out of nowhere making both jump.
"ELDER!" Kenichi screamed, then looked at Tsuna to see his reaction, only to see him only mildly unnerved.
He was about to turn back when he realized something was wrong with the scene, but what?
'Wait a minute, wasn't Honoka in front of him just now?' Kenichi thought seeing the slightly protective stance Tsuna had in front of Honoka, 'Did he pull her behind him, how did I miss that?'
"Yes, people used to think we were fraternal twins when we were babies" Tsuna answered, oh yeah he'd forgotten that, well no hope of that now.
"Tell me Tsunayoshi-kun, do you do martial arts" Elder asked
Kenichi opened his mouth to deny any openings to Tsuna the Elder might take, but Tsuna beat him to it
"I've done some training with my friends but I don't disciple myself to any specific art like Ken-chan" Tsuna answered
"Tsu" Kenichi winced at the nickname, "the chan, really?"
"Heh, Sorry Ken, it slipped out" Tsuna answered sheepishly, but as he did Kenichi was drawn to the fact that Tsuna didn't look at him; in fact, neither the Elder nor Tsuna had broken there brief staring contest.
'Tsu?'
"Oh really what kind of training?" the elder asked curiously
"Well I have a home tutor who my dad hired to get me up to snuff academically and exercise like running and things were very much a part of that" somehow the fact that his cousin had needed a home tutor didn't surprise Kenichi, "I have a friend in the boxing club whose shown me some things and another on the disciplinary committee who used to… scrap with me"
"I see, I see" the elder said stroking his beard contemplatively, "Tell me Tsunayoshi-kun would you be interested in trying-"
"NOPE!" Kenichi interrupted unwilling to let this go on any longer, "NOPE, NOPE, NUH UH, BIG NEGATORY, NATTA, NOT HAPPENING!"
"Ken?" Tsuna asked him confused, the poor naïve fool
"Trust me Tsuna you'll thank me for this someday." Kenichi said with dead seriousness, looking back to where he stepped in front of his cousin and the jaws of certain death, "We promised to keep Tsuna away from Martial Arts, I don't want him getting hurt by… by the circumstances."
There was no telling what those psychos from Yomi would do if they thought Tsuna was another disciple.
"Ha ha, he's quite serious about this Elder, he already warned us off before" Master Akisame answered to the Elder's questioning gaze.
"I see" the old man said stroking his beard, "Well if you become curious during your stay…"
Tsuna for his part merely looked skeptically between them and gave a half shrug
"I would be interested in seeing your arts, Elder-san, but Ken's right I'm not so sure your styles would match me well" Tsuna answered politely and Kenichi let out a sigh of relief even if he found his cousin's response a little weird
"I see, that is too bad" Elder responded with a slightly heavy tone, was he really that disappointed about losing out on another soul to torture for a couple of extra yen a month?
A glance at Miu saw she was just as lost as him, but Tsuna just gave a sad smile
"I'm here to enjoy a peaceful vacation with my family, if you don't mind my intrusion."
"It's no intrusion at all" Elder responded again, "Ryozanpaku couldn't call themselves Katsujinken, if we didn't allow a man looking for peace and healing to rest in our walls."
"…Thank you"
"Now let's stop standing around the entrance and head inside, I'm sure Miu's made refreshments!" the Elder clapped and just like that the private aura between the two broke.
"Ah, yes, right this way Tsunayoshi-kun" Miu said startling out of her daze
"Just Tsuna is fine" Tsuna said with a smile, "My name is a mouthful, and if you're a friend of Ken's you're a friend of mine."
"Ah Tsu-kun you're going to love this place, it's old but they have…"
Kenichi allowed the sound of his sister's voice to fade as he watched his cousin, the boy he'd once thought of the brother he never had, walk into the dojo remembering the thoughts he had upon first reuniting with him.
'Is this really the same Tsuna?'
Thinking of the exhaustion on his face and the cold certainty in his eyes as he talked to the Elder…
He suddenly wasn't so sure
Keep in mind that there are those who get hurt and those who try to heal the hurt ones. For those guys, it's not funny to have something they value so much be brushed off so lightly. How can a man protect another if he can't even protect himself?
Iemitsu Sawada
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A/N: Important Warnings below Yeah, this is just a little something that's been bugging me and I had to get out, yes I'll update…sporadically true, but I'll update, this is merely the intro.
Flames/Ki: This is set firmly in the Kenichi: Mightiest Disciple Realm, no magic flames, no time travel, no box animals; just Ki powered martial arts and a few over the top weapons.
Mist Flames: I'm thinking of giving them computer skills instead, I'll work on it
Edginess: This is my attempt at a hardcore fight fic, there will be some blood and emo and pretentious intro to philosophy 101 type crap. Without Flames there's no healing, people will die once, stay dead, and get hurt-often. Tsuna and company are some much scarred individuals because of this; they're obviously from a very alternate universe then canon
Deceased: Yes I implied several characters are already dead, I'll return to that