A few months after Tsuna's flames are sealed; he begins to hear a voice in his head. For the past ten years, this voice has been guiding and helping Tsuna through the obstacles and heartaches of life. "You should punch those smug, overconfident smirks off their faces and shove their egos right up their as-"
I.
The day after Sawada Iemitsu and Grandpa Timoteo leave the Sawada Household, young Sawada Tsunayoshi comes down with a fever.
He is bedridden for all of one day before getting better and returning to school.
Life continues for the sleepy town of Namimori, Japan.
II.
It is a bright sunny morning when Tsuna's life is forever changed.
He wakes up, trips and falls at least twice before eating breakfast and leaving for school; he is then chased by the neighbor's dog before arriving to school five minutes late when he is promptly 'bitten to death' by – self-proclaimed 'Namimori's Demon Prefect'. After escaping the clutches of the prefect, Tsuna hobbles his way to class where he is called out by the teacher for being late – causing Tsuna's classmates to ridicule him – and for failing the most recent test. Once the class settles down, Tsuna is called on to answer every question the teacher has – which Tsuna answers incorrectly, as usual – until lunch rolls around.
During lunch period, Tsuna has his food taken away as 'payment' by some of the older students and is forced to go without food for the rest of day. When class resumes, the teacher continues to call on Tsuna to answer questions he definitely does not have the answer to causing his classmates to laugh and jeer at him more than usual. Finally, when the school day is over and when the brunet finally thinks this day can't get any worse, Tsuna is accosted outside of school and has his allowance stolen by his classmates as a 'toll' for walking down 'their street'.
Exhausted, bruised, and starving, Tsuna manages to limp his way home, up the stairs, and into his bedroom where he collapses onto his bed.
"… This is the absolute worst day ever…" He mutters into his pillow.
"… You know, I can't stay quiet anymore! You, Kid, are absolutely pathetic."
A high pitched shriek of terror escapes the brunet's mouth as he whips his head around, searching for the person who just spoke to him.
"Hm… you can look all you want, Kid, but you ain't gonna find me, just saying."
"W-W-Who are you?! Wh-Where are you?!" Tsuna's continue to dart around his bedroom in a panic.
"First of all, Kid, calm down. Geez, I've been watching you these past few months and you freak out over the littlest of things… Secondly, stop trying to find me. It's not gonna happen considering I'm in your head. Thirdly, you might wanna stay quiet and quit screaming your head off, lest your mother comes in or you annoy the neighbors again. Lastly, you can call me Zero."
"Y-You're in my head?! A-Am I g-going c-crazy?!"
"Beats me. You could be, I mean, I could just be a figment of your imagination or I could be caused by all the stress you're going through. I could be a ghost possessing your body or your 'Guardian Angel' sent to watch over you, who knows."
"… A-Are you a g-good person?"
"Depends on what your definition of 'good' is. Am I the type of person to feed stray kittens and puppies on the side of the road? Possibly. Am I the type of person to help little old ladies cross the street? Maybe. Am I the type of person who would swoop in the save someone from getting mugged? Perhaps. You'll never know, and I don't feel like telling you, Kid. Besides, what's 'good' and 'bad' is just a matter of perspective, after all."
"W-Will you h-hurt me?"
"Hmm… if I'm being completely honest, Kid. I don't know. I don't know why or how I'm in your head right now and I don't know what kind of effect me hanging out in your head will do, but, I'll try my best not to hurt you. After all, we're kinda stuck together, you know? Anything bad that happens to you will probably affect me too and I know I don't want to get hurt, or worse."
"O-Oh… o-okay… y-you said your name was 'Z-Zero'?"
"Yep. You don't gotta introduce yourself, Kid. I already know all about you."
"Y-You do?"
"Well, yeah, I've been hanging out in your head for the past… two? Three months? Anyway, I've been watching the world through your eyes and I already know who you are, Tsunayoshi Sawada. Age six. Only son to Nana Sawada. You're in the first grade and go to school at Namimori Elementary school. You completely suck at anything academic and physical and get the worse grades in the entire school. You are constantly bullied everyday and can't walk more than two feet without tripping over something. You are scared by practically anything that moves and are one of the laziest kids I have ever seen. All in all, you really are Dame-Tsuna."
The brunet let out a whimper at the harsh words the… person? Voice? spoke.
"I-I'm not that bad…," Tsuna sniffed, hugging his knees in shames and embarrassment.
"Uh, yeah you are, Kid; which brings me back to why I previously began 'speaking' to you. Again, I don't really know why I'm stuck in your head but, like I said before, you suck at everything and anything you do and it's kinda pissing me off how useless you actually are. So! I've decided to break my silence and help you out cause if I'm gonna be stuck with you forever; I want to be in a competent person at least. So! First things first, clothes off and get your ass in the shower!"
"Wh-What? W-Why?"
"Why? Because you're covered in dirt and sweat and grim and who knows what else! And it's because I know you have some cuts and scrapes on your knees and elbows, and if you don't clean then properly you could get an infection and die. Which wouldn't be beneficial for either of us, yeah?"
"I-I guess…"
"Good, make sure you wash behind your ears, okay? Trust me; I'll know if you miss that spot!"
III.
After Tsuna has properly washed and cleaned himself, he spends the rest of the night talking with Zero and doing his homework with the… person? Voice?
It turns out that Zero is scarily knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects and answered most of Tsuna's questions with ease.
"E-Emperor K-Komei ruled during w-which era?"
"During the Edo period from 1846 to 1867. He was a stiff bastard, you know? Always by-the-book and didn't like to have any fun. Refused to try French macaroons because they were too 'foreign' for his tastes… a real stick-in-the-mud if you ask me."
"Wh-What's 130 times 11 d-divided by 5?"
"286."
"Wh-Where was the A-Anglo-Japanese A-Alliance signed a-at?"
"London. Amazing place, London. Full of rich culture and buildings and… well British people can't cook very well – their food's a bit too bland for my tastes – but they do know how to brew a mean cup of tea!"
"H-How are you s-so sm-smart, Z-Zero?"
"I drink the blood and tears of my enemies."
"WH-WHAT?!"
"Ha! Got ya! That was just a joke, Kid. Relax."
"T-That wasn't f-funny!"
"Meh. It was funny to me… to answer your question: I just know these things. Kinda like you know when you're hungry or sleepy, yeah?"
"O-Oh…"
"Now then, since you're done with your homework it looks like you have enough time to eat dinner before going to bed."
"B-But it's only e-eight!"
"Eating dinner with your mother will take an hour, at the most. Then you have to get ready for bed and then you'll probably spend another half-hour trying to fall asleep and by then it'll be ten; and you and I both know how difficult it is for you to wake up in the morning."
"Th-That's…"
"Now, hurry up. Put your things away so you have enough time to eat."
IV.
The next morning – with a great deal of yelling and effort on Zero's part – Tsuna actually manages to get to school before the bell rings, startling both himself and the rest of his class with his early arrival.
"I-It's weird b-being so e-early for once…," Tsuna murmurs to himself, as he takes his seat.
"Some people like arriving exactly on time. Other's will always be late, but, in my opinion, arriving early is always the best thing to do. It allows you some time to relax and you also have some time to prepare yourself, whether it's going to the bathroom one last time or reading over a presentation you might be giving."
"Th-That makes s-sense…"
"Oh, and one more thing; try not to respond to me by speaking. You already have a bad enough reputation; you don't need everyone else to think you're crazy as well."
"T-Then h-how will I t-talk to y-you?!"
"Shh! Remember what I just said? Anyway I can hear your thoughts as well as your voice so all you have to do is think what you want to say to me and then I'll hear it."
'L-Like t-this…?'
"Perfect! This way I can still help you without making people think you're even weirder than before!"
"Settle down class," the teacher says as he walks into the room, "we'll begin with roll call before I collect your homework from last night…" The teacher glances at the students before doing a double-take at the sight of the brunet. "T-Tsunayoshi-kun? Y-You're on t-time for once?"
Tsuna flushs slightly as he classmates began to laugh. "Y-Yes…," he says meekly.
"Well… g-good to h-have you here with us…" The teacher clears his throat awkwardly and begins the lesson.
"Bet he was all ready to mock and yell at you today, Kid. Aren't you glad we took that opportunity away from the bastard?"
'I… I guess…? Did… W-Was Takeda-sensei really l-looking f-forward to m-me being la-late?'
"Most likely. You couldn't tell because you're too young to know what it looks like, but, he took a lot of joy in ridiculing and putting you down, Kid. It's disgusting, to be honest."
'I… I didn't k-know that…'
"You'll find that the world is a bitter and cruel place, Kid. People like that 'teacher' of yours will be commonplace in the 'real' world."
"Tsunayoshi-kun!" The teacher's harsh reprimand interrupts the silent conversation Tsuna was having with Zero. "Stop daydreaming and answer the question!"
Panic begins to rise within the brunet as he nervously looks around the classroom. 'I-I don't know what T-Takeda-sensei a-asked me!'
"Say, 'Date Masamune."
"T-The answer is D-Date Ma-Masamune!"
The teacher scowls for a split-second before turning back to the face the blackboard. "A lucky guess, I suppose…," he mutters.
Tsuna lets out a sigh of relief as he slides down his seat. 'Th… That was close!'
"Hmph. You're 'teacher' was trying to catch you off guard, Kid. Learning about famous samurai isn't supposed to happen until the fifth or sixth year."
'R-Really?!'
"Yeah… but don't worry, as long as I'm with you, I won't let these bastards try and pull a fast one on you!"
'Th-Thank you, Zero!'