Author's Note: I've wanted to write something like this for a while but I wasn't sure how to go about it without making it turn into something less than brotherly. Don't get me wrong. I like Dino/Tsuna but only in picture-verse to be honest... I guess this could be considered D27 if you squint really, really hard... or maybe 27D, however that works.
Well. Anyways. Some brotherly bonding between two Skies. Let me know what you think?
When Dino first met Tsuna, he knew what it was Reborn wanted him to do even if the hitman didn't know exactly what it was. Tsuna was grasping at his Will, sending out feelers for Elements that he didn't even know he lacked and Reborn was being heavily affected by it and the worst part? Reborn didn't know how to put a stop to it because he didn't even know it was happening.
So Dino waited until the attacks that Rokudo Mukuro had been leading were over and things had settled for the most part. He had made his appearance seem casual enough even though there was danger lurking on the horizon… but this couldn't wait. If Tsuna didn't learn this now, he'd drown everyone around him with his Will and that was a dangerous thing to let free.
There were three separate entities to a Sky's presence, all of which could be honed. It was what separated them from the rest of the Elements. There was the Flame, the Aura and the Will. The Flame itself was as it seemed—the Dying Will Flames. The Aura was what identified with the Harmony Element within the Flame itself. It was what could be split to alter the Harmony Element into a negative output (which could be used in battle and later turned into the hard Flames) or a positive output (which was mainly used for healing or transferring his Will to another person). Tsuna could already control two out of three of these things even if it wasn't perfect.
His Will, however, was a different story altogether. It was something that had no material form. It was something that was untouchable—something deep inside of his core. It could be projected and it could be used to force submission but it could never be altered. Not a Sky's Will anyways. There was some speculation about one of the lesser, more common, Elements' Wills but as there had yet to be an Element with the same amount of control over their Will as that of the Sky's, it was all assumed (and perhaps it didn't help the fact that most Elements altered their Will subconsciously to fit that of their Sky's).
Dino was going to teach Tsunayoshi how to control his Will. It wasn't as though it was a hard thing to do as Dino had taught himself because his father—may he rest in peace—had been bed-ridden and there had really been no one else to teach him but Tsuna was far too powerful to not have a hand guiding him… not that that was a bad thing but, as previously stated, if someone didn't intervene now and teach him how to control it, he would end up drowning someone in his Will eventually and that was not a pleasant feeling… or so Dino had been told, anyways.
"So what exactly am I doing?" Tsuna asked as his face pinched in concentration.
"I am teaching you how to control your Will." Dino stated.
"Isn't Reborn already doing that?" Tsuna asked, blinking curiously. Dino grinned foppishly and scratched the back of his neck.
"Not exactly. He's teaching you how to control your Flame… I'm teaching you how to do something that he can't do. It's an ability unique to our Sky Flame alone."
"Ehhh? Dino-nii has a Sky Flame too?" Tsuna asked, astonished. "Can I see it? Please?" He pleaded. Dino blinked at the sudden change. Had Reborn told him how rare it was to see Sky Flames within the Mafia?
"You'll see it soon enough. Now," He put up a stern expression that succeeded in making Tsuna laugh. "I want you to concentrate. Close your eyes." Tsuna obeyed without question… he was too trusting but Dino supposed that in order to do this, he had to be. "I'm going to use my Will to show you how to control yours. Are you ready?"
"Un." Tsuna nodded without opening his eyes. Dino fell into his core relatively easily. He felt the positive output materializing around him and he gently reached out for the strands of Tsuna's Will. He felt it when Tsuna fell into his own core and allowed Dino to do what it was he wanted.
Good. He already had some form of mental discipline. It saved a lot of time because now, he wouldn't have to teach him how to access his center, his core.
And then the floodgates opened.
Dino felt a gasp pull past his lips and it had been echoed in Tsuna as well. Their Wills shifted and swirled around one another in a battle for dominance—something that Tsuna's won almost effortlessly which didn't really surprise Dino—before they synchronized. Images—no, memories danced around in Dino's mind. He saw every happy moment with Gokudera and Yamamoto. He saw the respect Tsuna felt for Reborn. He saw the embitterment he felt towards Iemitsu. He saw everything even if he didn't comprehend and process it all at once.
As for Tsuna, Dino's Will was like cool water flooding over his thoughts. He felt Dino's positive desire for power, his fearful respect towards Reborn, the pain he felt when he took a life… all of it. And most of all, he saw the way Dino accepted all of it.
Could Tsuna be like that one day? Accepting the way things were? Could he be gentle with the people that deserved it but cruel to the ones that dared oppose him? He knew the answer and he felt that heat that he had grabbed onto twist around him like a roaring bird of fire. He felt it form around him, embracing both him and Dino at the same time and then the feeling dimmed and vanished completely.
Tsuna laughed breathlessly. "What… what was that?" He asked. That was the most amazing feeling ever.
"Your Will." Dino said simply.
"M-Mine?" Tsuna reared back in surprise. He had created something that beautiful?
"Mm," Dino nodded. "What did you think of mine?" He asked with a lazy grin.
Tsuna looked thoughtful. "Like water." He stated. "It slowly consumes you and you don't know until you're fully submerged that it was ever there but once it subsides, a trace still lingers."
Dino blinked. That sounded… strangely apt. So much so that it was scary.
"What about mine?" Tsuna asked.
"Intoxicating." Dino said immediately. "Almost to the point of being addictive. And euphoric. If I was one of your own, it would have probably been all that more intense but as I am another Sky, it wasn't enough to make me feel anything other than what you intended." Tsuna blinked and looked away, a flush creeping over his cheeks. He hadn't realized… "Tsuna?"
"I'm sorry." Tsuna said quietly.
"For what?" Dino asked, blinking. His eyes widened and he smiled warmly. He placed a warm hand on Tsuna's head. "You're so innocent." He mused. "It's endearing, really."
The truth of the matter was that there were three types of Skies. There were the kind that wanted to dominate and conquer, the kind that accepted and embraced all and then there was a mixture of the two. Primo had been a gentle Sky—he had accepted his Elements where others had not, encouraged the parts that needed it while calming what otherwise should have been tamed. It was because of that that he had been the center of most of his Elements' worlds. Secondo had been a more brutal leader, his desire to dominate overpowering the desire to accept. Those that defied him were punished regardless of how much he may have cared about them. Those that obeyed him were rewarded if he truly accepted them at all… but Tsunayoshi was a perfect hybrid of both of their Wills combined. Tsunayoshi was young… but he could still change to fit his Will. He could be gentle and he could be cruel—he was capable of both but had yet to demonstrate cruelty. No matter. It would come in time and his Guardians would like it very much. Leaders like him only came along every blue moon, after all.
But Dino could understand why Tsuna was feeling the way he was. Hardly anyone could understand what it was like to have thoughts like his circling through his mind.
Thankfully, Dino could… even if he wasn't that exact kind of leader, he still could understand.
"No it's not." Tsuna moaned, pushing Dino's hand away. "It's sick and abnormal."
"So what?" Dino asked. "The Mafia isn't all about killing, Tsuna. It's about finding a place outside of society. We are the outcasts but that doesn't mean we have to be alone. Just wait," He nudged Tsuna. "One day, your Elements will mold to your Will. They will come to you the way you desire them. You just have to wait."
"Really?" He sounded so hopeful, so afraid of being hopeful, that Dino wondered how many people had beat him down because he outshone them. It made him sick just thinking about it.
"Of course." Dino grinned, trying not to let his rage show. Tsuna would misunderstand at this point.
And for the first time in a long time, Tsuna let himself savor the warmth Reborn had brought with him because he knew now that he wasn't alone in life… or in Will.
Owari.
Thanks for reading~!