A/N: Yaho! I know, I know, I should be finishing my edits for The Rainbow's Guidance, but I missed Xanxus', Reborn's and Tsuna's birthdays and I want to give them a little nice present. And I know they're birthdays are waaaaay far behind. Oh well. XD So, to start of, belated happy birthday, Xanxus! :D
DISCLAIMER: Xanxus or any of the Varia is owned by Amano Akira, mangaka of Katekyoushi Hitman Reborn. The characters and the plot of this story are strictly owned by Ellarie Soulhart, and should there be any resemblance of this story will have an equivalent punishment.
EVERLASTING
© Ellarie Soulhart
October 2013
It was a fine Sunday morning and surprisingly, the Vongola Mansion in Italy was quiet. Not that Nono was complaining, but usually there were mafiosi children that were playing around the enormous gardens of the said mansion. However, today was different; it was quiet, his guardians were nowhere in sight, and children were in their respective D-class missions for their practicum.
Suddenly, he received a phone call.
"Hello?" Nono answered. The person at the other line wasted no time and talked to Nono with a cheerful tone and Nono couldn't help but smile. He nodded twice before answering, "I can have that arranged, but be sure that you will not do anything stupid." He heard the other person laugh at the other line and agreed to the terms. He sighed, knowing the other's personality and said, "Alright. They'll arrive in three days." And with that, the lines went dead.
Nono chuckled as he dialled a number that was all too familiar for him. After all, this person was one of his precious persons and he swore to protect and shower him with the love that he was deprived of before. His thoughts snapped when he heard a click from the other line and a familiar grunt erupted,
"What?"
Nono chuckled and walked towards the window, staring at the garden that was now being filled with children. He replied, "Xanxus, I have a mission for you."
Xanxus grunted again and a couple of shifts were heard in the background. He was Timoteo's, or Vongola Nono's youngest son and the current boss of Vongola's independent assassination squad, the Varia. He then said, "That mission better be worthwhile, or I'll skin you alive, old man."
Nono laughed softly, already used to the way his son talks, and said, "Oh this is worthwhile of your time, Xanxus, and you'll learn something from this."
Xanxus huffed and replied from the other line, "Whatever. What are the details?"
Nono smiled as he watched children sketch the statue that was at the center of the fountain, saying, "It will be sent to you by Ganauche. However, you are the only one required for this mission, so no need to bring the others. You may inform Squalo though."
"Tch. The trash doesn't need to know." Xanxus replied gruffly and shut his phone off.
Nono chuckled and shut his own phone once he heard the beeping sound. Sometimes, there were things that didn't change easily. He sat at his chair and proceeded on watching the children.
…:[]:…
Xanxus was staring blankly ahead.
On his left hand were his luggage that was good for a month, while on his right was the folder that his bastard boss and father's guardian handed to him three days ago. Honestly, he felt that something was cooking inside his pathetic father's brain but for some reason, he couldn't ask him about it. All he knew was that his missions maintained a fast time and a clean swipe. A month would be the longest time to finish any of his missions. He stared at the folder and his superior comprehension couldn't take the things filed in the folder. According to the gathered information, his target was within the territory of Namimori (which was now affiliated with Vongola), along with the address where it lived. The mission, as stated in the folder as well, would last for half a year and all he needed to do was to monitor his target and its residence. His right eyebrow twitched in annoyance. What kind of a mission was this?! He was even required to mingle with his trashy target. If he was aiming for a target, then it will be easier to kill it and give it to his trusty liger, Bester. He grumbled in annoyance and cursed in Italian. He would have to remind himself to send his team to assassinate Nono later on. 'Trash for shits…that bastard of a father,' he thought irritably.
His train of thoughts broke when his sharp hearing picked up the slightest sound caused by a door opening. He gripped his luggage handle tightly and closed the folder to avoid suspicion. He made sure that his holster had his guns (the X-guns and his normal ones) with some bullets that weren't too civilian-friendly. All he had to do was to wait for an opportunity and he would show his old man that a month was a better time span than half a year. He continued waiting and staring at the front gate. After five minutes, the gate finally opened.
His eyes stared in disbelief.
It was a kid who opened the gate.
He grumbled and looked sideways before trying to find his true target. Even though he's Varia Quality, he still had this rational mind to say that the innocent shall stay behind the abnormal works of Mafia and if could be spared, let that innocent life be spared for later suffering. Besides, dealing with the innocent was too troublesome and tiring. He sent his most vicious glare at the poor child and was inwardly happy when he saw that obvious flinch, indicating the fear that the child felt. However, it intrigued him because the child didn't leave his spot and even stared back at him, albeit his eyes were getting teary. Xanxus snorted and took a step forward, watching as the child trembled in his spot, unmoving. He kept taunting the child with his killer gazes and even sending menacing aura to totally scare the child, until he stopped a feet in front of it and looked down with a predatory look. The child instinctively cowered and closed his eyes in fear, to which Xanxus was definitely getting some amusement from.
Five more agonizing minutes lingered and the child could feel that dark aura surrounding the strange man. When he looked up, he immediately shrieked like a girl as he saw the stranger's vicious smirk. He knew what that smirk was for: the man was here to kill him. What good timing then, his parents were away since last night for their vacation. But the child made a promise to his parents that he wouldn't talk to strangers until his caretaker arrived. He looked at his watch and gasped. Apparently, his caretaker would arrive today. When he heard the stranger huffed, he jumped in surprise and shakily looked up to the tall man. He was really scared. Even if he carried a knife to strike the man down, he knew that the man would return the strikes in double, no, maybe even triple and he will die first before that man. But he was a brave boy. Yes, indeed he was, because his mama and papa told him so. His papa told him that if he showed his stronger self to the strangers, he would defeat them.
Although, he couldn't understand what his father told him about his ultimate weapon:
"Alright son! Listen to papa, okay? You have very powerful weapons and those are your charm and goodness! You can defeat people with that! So be strong, okay?"
He believed in his parents' words. He was a big boy now and was really, really strong. And so, even though he was shivering in fright, he straightened himself (more like puffing his chest out) and looked at the stranger with a serious look (more like of a pouting expression to the stranger), saying:
"W-who a-are…y-you…m-mister? W-what a-are you…d-doing…h-here?"
'Tch, brat. Trying to look stronger than his shabby self.' Xanxus thought amusingly. He intensified his glare, making the poor child tear up more but was unmoving, and smirked evilly. He replied in a murderous tone, "I'm here to kill the person living here."
"HIIIIIIIEEEE!" The child screamed and jumped backwards, but his eyes never left the stranger's, "Y-you will…kill me?"
"If you want to, brat, I could give you your eternal peace." Xanxus said, scaring the child more.
The child seemed confused of what he said. Still trembling, he tried weaving his way out, "N-No! I don't want to die! Mama and Papa will be sad!" he said as he clutched the gate for dear life. Then he cried and continued, "I…My mama and papa said I…I s-should w-wait…for my…care…caru…ano…Onii-chan to take care of me while mama and papa are away! So…y-you…can't…kill…and come…in!" Then trying to look angry and brave, he glared at the man and said, "It is…It is bad! You can't…kill…people…just that!"
Xanxus blinked his eyes at the child's outburst before laughing hysterically. This brat was so amusing that he wanted to shred him to pieces and make him one of his hairpieces. He didn't reply and just moved to the front gate of the house and scanned the area with that amused expression in his face. He kept ignoring the child until his eyes landed on the silver nameplate at the gate.
Sawada.
His target has 'Sawada' for a surname. And all the information in the folder was pertaining to Sawada.
He looked down at the crying child and raised an eyebrow. So, his target left for vacation and had his child stay home alone. 'Sacrifice? Pathetic.' He thought. Though, as much as he wanted to scare the child more, he needed to gather information first. He loomed over the child and asked,
"Where are your parents, brat?"
The child looked up at the scary man and gulped. Then he shook his head and said, "I-I…won't tell! Y-you will hurt…them!"
"Cheeky brat. Don't make me put you in a pot." Xanxus threatened.
The child gasped and held on to the gate more, "N-NO!"
"No? Then I guess I should—," Xanxus said and was about to lift the child when he felt his phone vibrate on his pocket. He hissed and pulled it out, turned about and answered. "What?"
Apparently, it was his pathetic father and boss. "Xanxus. How's your flight to Japan?"
"It's a pain in the ass, old man." Xanxus replied, gripping his phone tightly, "And you have to explain to me this!"
"What do you mean?" Nono asked from the other line then gasped, "Oh! You have met little Tsunayoshi already? How was he?"
"I don't see this Tsunayoshi. I need to finish off this mission, old man. I'm a busy person."
"Tsunayoshi-kun is not there? But Iemitsu said he'll be waiting for your arrival there."
He was about to shout at his father when he felt a soft tug below him. He looked down and saw the child peering up with curious eyes. He was not trembling too and fear seemed to dissipate already. Then he heard him asking,
"Why do you know Tsu-kun's name?"
A gasp was heard from the other line and Nono said, "Oh, is that Tsunayoshi-kun already? So you've met already, Xanxus! Why didn't you say so?"
Xanxus gritted his teeth and hurriedly slammed his phone to the ground, crushing it in front of the surprised child. He looked at the brat and asked, "Are you Sawada Tsunayoshi?"
The child nodded slowly, his chubby cheeks red and tears resting at the corner of his eyes. Nevertheless, he answered, "Mhmn. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. But Mama and Papa call me Tsuna." Then he asked, "Are you going to hurt Tsu-kun?"
Xanxus gritted his teeth more and hissed, earning a shriek from Tsuna, and picked him up by the back of his shirt. "You will explain things to me, brat, or I will skewer your intestines right here."
The child fearfully nodded his head. The two of them went inside the house silently.
…:[]:…
Nono sighed as the lines went dead, but a smile was formed in his lips the moment static reached his ears. Ganauche was watching him intently and prayed that his boss was not losing his head for sending his capricious son to babysit Iemitsu's son.
"Don't worry, Ganauche." Nono said with a smile, "Tsunayoshi-kun will be fine."
"If fine by your meaning means living a month more, then I should be worried about the kid's life and innocence." Ganauche said.
Nono just chuckled.
…:[]:…
Tsuna was fidgeting as he sat at their living room, trying his best to avoid the harsh calculative gazes of the stranger that just uninvitingly entered his house. His hands were tightly pressed on his thighs and his head down. He was still shivering, of course, fearing that this man might hurt him. However, for some reason, he couldn't feel any threat of killing him from this man. Sure, he was so scary, tall and really, really rude, but if he would kill him, then he should have done so earlier.
Xanxus was getting impatient, on the other hand. It has been fifteen minutes since they entered the house and the explanation that he wanted was not yet supplied. He even let the child do his wishes of preparing tea and snacks for him (he deduced the child was pathetically kind to anyone) before returning to his seat and there fidget for ten minutes. He grunted in annoyance and decided to be the one to break the silence.
"I told you to explain to me everything, brat."
Tsuna flinched at the tone but he looked up at the guy. He gulped and answered, "B-But…Tsu-kun doesn't know what to say."
"Trash, I don't care what you have to say, just tell me where the fuck your parents are and why would they want me to come to you!"
"HIIIIIIEEEE! Tsu-kun will tell! Tsu-kun will! Don't hurt Tsu-kun!" Tsuna exclaimed fearfully as he cowered in the couch, trembling like a puppy.
"Then spill it out, brat!"
Little Tsuna straightened himself in his seat and tried his best to look not scared at the man before him. Looking at the scary man, he started explaining, "Mama and Papa won tickets and they are going to ride a big boat. They said Tsu-kun has to wait for onii-chan to take care of Tsu-kun for five months."
'So that idiot couple left their child for a vacation. Hmph, what a drag,' Xanxus thought at he stared at the child. "So, you mentioned waiting for someone. Who is it?"
Tsuna shook his head and shrugged, "Tsu-kun doesn't know. Papa said he called someone from a far place to protect Tsu-kun from bad guys."
Xanxus grumbled and slammed his fist on the coffee table, making Tsuna jump in surprise. His eyes landed on the folder and widened. He remembered the cheerful voice his bastard father made when he heard the trashy brat's voice and saying the brat' name so familiarly. His eyes narrowed and asked Tsuna again, "Do you know any man named Timoteo?"
Tsuna's eyes brightened a bit and nodded his head, "Mhmn! He is the grandpa Tsu-kun met last year! Grandpa is so nice to Tsu-kun!" He said and giggled.
"Kasu ga…" Xanxus grumbled irritably and opened the folder. He went over the details of his mission again and fought the urge to throw the nearest vase at Tsuna just like what he was doing to Squalo, his right hand and strategist. It appeared that the mission paper mentioned:
Sawada Tsunayoshi, five years of age, with Sawada Iemitsu and Sawada Nana as parents, is a class-S subject under the full protection of Vongola. Mission is to seek out the subject and will last for five months until the return of Sawada Iemitsu, current boss of CEDEF. Any information written is treated as an omerta.
Xanxus crumpled the paper and sneered dangerously, making Tsuna stiffened from his seat. 'Konoyaro, jiji…' He cursed inwardly. He looked at Tsuna from head to toe and sneered more, enjoying the sight of shrinking to the couch and shrieking. It seemed that his father had purposely made a double meaning of his mission by using the words 'seek out', meaning to either 'kill' or 'find and protect' the said person, wherein his mission actually laid to the latter meaning. He cursed more under his breath before sighing deeply in annoyance. He closed his eyes and leaned onto the couch, savouring its softness.
Tsuna peered to the stranger with curious, albeit scared, eyes. He crawled to the other side of the couch to look at the stranger closely who was at the other couch. His big caramel eyes studied the man and shivered a bit as a thought of being crushed by the man's big body passed by his innocent mind. But somehow, even though everything was scary, the stranger before him was not that bad. Sure, people have their hidden agenda, but he could still feel that this man had a nice heart. Leaping from the couch, he trotted over the other and climbed it then kneeled at the man's side, tugging his coat,
"Ano…mister…" he said softly.
Xanxus opened one eye and glared at the brat, "What, trash?"
Tsuna let out a small squeak before continuing, "Uh…uh…ano…what is mister's name?"
Xanxus glared the brat who was sitting a foot away from him. He closed his eyes again and said, "Xanxus"
"Xanxan?"
"Xanxus, brat."
Tsuna scrunched his eyebrows and brought a finger to his lips before tilting his head cutely to the side, "Xan…xan…?"
"Kodomo no kasu…" Xanxus said and opened his eyes, then loomed over Tsuna and pinched his cheeks hard. "Get your puny brain straight, scum. It's Xanxus. XAN-XUS. Do you understand?"
Tsuna whimpered as his cheeks were pinched but he was looking at the tall man before him. He nodded and said, "Xan…xus…Xanxus…Xanxus-oniichan."
Xanxus felt his veins ticking on his face and shoved the poor boy to the couch, pulling out his gun and pointing it to Tsuna. He said, "Fucking trash! No one calls me Onii-chan, and certainly not you, brat!"
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE! Tsu-kun give! Tsu-kun give!" Tsuna cutely squealed and raised his little arms in defense, waving it in a cross-like manner to emphasize his surrender.
Xanxus smirks and keeps his guns, "Good." He said and sat back at the couch, but his eyes never left the still trembling child who was also looking at him, "Oi, brat. Where can I stay?"
Tsuna's trembling lessened and said, "A-Ano…at the second floor. B-But…Xanxus-oni—ah—san…is not Tsu-kun's care…uh…caruta…onii-chan…" His eyes were getting watery as he remembered his father's words that someone will watch over and play with him. His hands were tightly fisted on top of his bent legs.
Xanxus felt headache rushing in and glared the child. This kid was more of a hassle to handle than his idiot strategist, Squalo, or Belphegor, their youngest. He pinched the bridge of his nose and decided to break the news to this brat, but not entirely "Oi. I don't care who that onii-chan is, but I have to stay here. Got that, scum?" He said gruffly and crossed his arms before adding, "And it's called caretaker, idiot."
Tsuna looked up to Xanxus and sniffed. He wished that someone would take care of him like what his papa told him. He was a big boy now, yes, but he was still scared of being alone. Monsters might eat him during his sleep, or bullies might chase him again. He didn't want that. He studied Xanxus and his tears fell. He didn't care now. He realized that he was really alone. He threw himself to Xanxus and hugged him by his waist, "Be my onii-chan then! Tsu-kun promises to behave! Tsu-kun will not bother you in your work! Just…just…be Tsu-kun's…onii-chan!"
Surprise was a term of understatement for Xanxus' current situation right now. He was feeling a mix of unwanted and unknown emotions that a great assassin like him shouldn't have, and he shouldn't feel any terms relating to surprise or per se. He hissed, but the crying and begging of this child before him made a quake inside his cold heart, something out of the blue that he wanted to protect this brat if not for his profession. He looked down at the brat, unsure of what to do for the first time in his life, and studied the situation. Since his bastard father had assigned this to him, he has no choice but to comply. After all, even though he was the boss of Varia, an independent assassination squad, he, his moronic guardians, and the group itself were still under the name of Vongola, and he may not admit it in the open, he was proud that he was part of Vongola, the strongest Mafia that ever existed in the world.
As he was thinking of his strategist on how to torture his father after this stupid mission, he unconsciously put his hand on the crying child's head and unintentionally ruffled it. The slightest movement of the child had him stopped, who was now looking at him in the process, and he hissed at himself for being so careless. He did just give in and that was preposterous. He withdrew his hand and examined it, looked at the curious yet hiccupping child, then back at his hand. He felt a tingling sensation when his hand touched those brown locks.
"Xanxus-san…?" Tsuna asked softly, tilting his head to the side cutely.
Xanxus growled, "Just this time, brat."
Tsuna didn't speak, his eyes drew out confusion.
Xanxus wanted to smack the brat for being so damn innocent and stupid. "Aren't you listening well, brat? I don't like repeating myself!" he said aloud and crossed his arms, "I am allowing you to call me by whatever your brain decides to call me, but it will stay in this household or I'll put you inside a sack. Got that?"
Hearing that, Tsuna's eyes blinked before widening in perfect circles, and practically pounced on Xanxus. Xanxus swore that he could see flowers popping out of nowhere in a pink background behind the child's overly cheerful response, "Thank you, Xanxus-niisan!"
"It's nii-sama to you, brat."
Tsuna nodded his head vigorously and hugged Xanxus who was now feeling foreign from the touch. "Hai, hai, Xanxus-niisama!"
A/N: Seriously, I should have put more but…well…I'm pretty lazy. Besides people, this will only be a three-shot fiction which I may probably leave open-ended again (like what I did to Fade) because I am having thoughts of making this a series. But since I still have something at hand, I couldn't. Hahaha. Anyway, leave a review guys and tell me what you think, okay? ^_-