Fourteen years.
It had been fourteen years since their time of youth.
Since his banishment.
He knew it wasn't yet his time for return, but he had been sent word that his father had passed and the shogun was requesting his presence.
Takeshi nudged his horse forward – motioning for his men to wait behind the property lines – and with the kamon visible upon his back, he ignored the archers and trot into the lion's den with the wards welcoming him home.
A man met him at the edge of the gardens the red of his chi crackling violently around him.
He dismounted barely a meter away and held his ground.
"You dare infiltrate the shogun's personal estate?!" the man growled.
It was odd, the man was very obviously a foreigner or at least descended from one and Sawada Iemistu was well known for his hatred of anything he felt improper.
It meant that Sawada Iemistu was no longer the shogun.
He raised one hand in surrender but kept the one firmly on the pommel of his katana and a smile on his face.
"Infiltrate is a bit of a harsh word.
"Who is your master, onmyodo?"
"I'm not someone's dog!" he snapped.
"No?" he asked, genuinely confused. "Someone with your strength must answer to someone.
"I answer to the shogun Sawada-dono but he isn't my master."
"I see. What I don't understand is how someone like you would end up in his services."
"What do you mean someone like me?!"
He cocked his head slightly, "You must know what you look like. An onmyodo as strong as you must have a great mind."
The man looked as though he couldn't decide whether or not he was offended or complimented.
Takeshi felt his heart sink and his smile grow when the sound of tabi on gravel caused the foreigner to turn.
"What's this noise about?"
"Sawada-dono!" the man bowed deeply.
"What have I told you, Gokudera-kun?"
"Forgive me, Tsunayoshi-sama!"
The shogun…
The shogun… wasn't Iemestsu.
Sawada-dono wasn't Iemistu.
Tsunayoshi was the shogun.
Tsunayoshi who was dressed in girl's kimono and hid behind Takeshi from his father's rage.
His father, the shogun.
The man who sent him away.
The man who must be dead.
"Ah. Tsuna, you're looking well," he resisted the urge to rub the back of his head.
The crackling red chi flared back to life when the newly dubbed Gokudera lunged for him.
"Don't address the shogun so casually!"
"It's fine, Gokudera-kun.
"Takeshi is an… old friend."
Gokudera huffed but released his hold.
Takeshi straightened his hakama then proceeded to ignore the onmyodo completely.
"Then it was you who sent for me?"
The man nodded – and he was a man now. At nearly thirty, his shoulders had broadened and his skin had obtained the healthy glow that he had lacked as a child.
"My father was assassinated with a western weapon last winter. We failed to capture the assailant."
"And my father?"
"Peacefully in his sleep.
"I would have allowed you to continue your training but it was by your father's request that you succeed him at his passing."
"I see." And he did. As much as he hated the man, Iemistu had kept his word.
"You called me, Iemistu-dono"
"You have no right to refer to me so casually after what you've done."
Takeshi bowed deeply, "Sawada-dono?"
"You think you can so easily take me son from me?"
He raised his head, "My lord, I don't – "
"Lower your head!
"You were overheard in the gardens, he is my heir and you have turned him against me.
"For that you will be punished."
Takeshi cringed. The punishment for betrayal was death.
"Banishment. By this hour tomorrow you will be gone."
Takeshi squeezed his eyes shut and held back tears.
"You may return in twenty years to face the boy you abandoned.
"I want to see your face when he himself casts you away.
"Now, leave!"
Takeshi backed out but stopped at the door, "My lord, please don't tell him."
"You're in no place to make demands, boy. But I am benevolent and your request will be granted."
"Gokudera-kun, please send a message to Takeshi's men that they may enter."
With one last glare at Takeshi, Gokudera nodded and channeled his chi into his feet and sprinted off.
"Come, your room is how you left it."
The walk back to the compound was heavy with a silence where both knew something needed to be said, but neither were brave enough to speak.
It was mere minutes after Tsuna slid the shoji closed behind him – leaving Takeshi in the nostalgia of his childhood room – when the door was violently slammed open and a body flew at him knocking him to the ground.
"Ryohei?"
"You left him without so much as a goodbye!
"You left and Kyouko and I had to pick up the pieces!"
A fist slammed into Takeshi's cheek.
"Why did you leave?!"
And another.
"I didn't have a choice!"
The punches stopped and Ryohei leaned back.
"What?" his voice was quiet.
"Iemistu-sama accused me of treason, of turning Tsuna against him."
"How are you alive?"
"My punishment was twenty years. He felt the pain of our separation would be ample punishment for both of us."
"And if it looked like it was your doing he wouldn't lose Tsuna even further."
Takeshi closed his eyes and nodded.
They sat there for a moment before Ryohei stood and offered him a hand pulling him up.
"I'll send Kyoko in to treat you."
"Kyoko?"
Ryohei grinned, "My wonderful sister had become a powerful onmyodo! Even stronger than that idiot Gokudera!"
At Ryohei's leave, Takeshi went out to the engawa and just breathed.
He hadn't wanted to come back.
He hadn't.
He didn't want to see Tsuna.
Because.
Because he knew he would forgive him and Takeshi couldn't bear to tell him the truth.
Because the truth was, that Tsuna, hopeful Tsuna, believed that Iemistu would never do anything to truly harm him and for that there was respect.
Now that the man was dead Takeshi couldn't take away what Tsuna had left of the man.
"I knew you wouldn't leave him."
Kyouko's soft voice greeted his ears before she kneeled at his side a damp cloth in her hand.
Takeshi laughed, "You always were more perceptive than you were given credit for, Sasagawa-chan."
"It's Kyouko, Takeshi. You know that."
"Ah my apologies, Kyouko."
She smiled softly and raised a yellow coated hand to his cheek.
"Reborn-san taught me," she answered his unasked question.
"Who?"
"A foreigner, he appeared with the ships several years ago.
"He didn't want to teach a woman, but I convinced him!" she grinned widely.
"You always were unusual, Kyouko."
She lowered her hand slowly, "I've been married to the shogun, Takeshi.
"I'm the seishitsu now."
Takeshi just smiled, "I'm sure you make a wonderful wife."
"Thank you, Takeshi. That's very kind of you.
"I need to go now, but I will see you around."
Kyouko collected herself and made to leave.
"He's yet to bed me," her voice was a mere whisper left in her wake.
….
He was given the summons as he trained by the light of a rising sun.
"Yamamoto-sama?" a woman dressed in a men's yukata approached him. Her hair was tied in a traditional topknot and a katana rested at her waist.
Takeshi lowered his katana, "May I help you?" He smiled gently, some may have found her katana and her dress blasphemous but Takeshi found it endearing.
"Ah, Reinaldo-sama wishes to meet with you in the small tea room." Her timid voice and cute face bellied her masculine attire and her pronunciation of the foreign name showed familiarity.
She turned sharp on her heel to leave.
"Are you a shokushitsu?" It seemed apt of Tsuna to allow his concubines certain freedoms but even as he said it he knew it went deeper than that. She was too assured in her place to merely be a woman playing dress-up.
"I am a samurai!" all her previous shyness was lost as she snapped.
Takeshi had met no female samurai in his travels but he had heard stories of families who raised their women as men and that many only married through alliance.
Oh. Oh.
Takeshi grinned widely.
She must have been gifted to Tsuna and he allowed her freedom.
It was utterly unheard of, but if anyone were to practice it, it would be Tsuna.
Takeshi didn't quite understand why she was so adamant, as he saw nothing wrong with being married to a powerful man, but he was never one to judge and, as he saw it, she must be extraordinarily brave to carry herself the way she did – especially in the presence of a daimyo.
He laughed and her hand fell to her katana.
"Don't make fun of me!"
He raised his hands in surrender, "I wouldn't dare mock your bravery.
"May I have your name, samurai-san?"
Her brow furrowed as she doubted his authenticity.
"Do-Dokuro Nagi…Yamamoto-sama," she added as a nearly sarcastic afterthought and her eyes never left his as she bowed.
It was then that Takeshi decided that Dokuro Nagi was a force to be reckoned with.
….
As Takeshi entered the tea room he was assaulted by the putrid stench of black powder. So much so that he was surprised it couldn't be smelt down the hall.
He resisted the urge to sneeze and plastered a smile on his face.
"You must be Reinaldo-san," he was secretly proud at his pronunciation.
"Most call me Reborn."
"Reinaldo-san."
"Takeshi."
"It's Yamamoto-sama, for you."
"Very well, Yamamoto-sama."
The man was interesting, his skin was tan and his hair was wild.
A woman with a white face and red lips entered the room.
"Are you familiar with Chanoyu, Reinaldo-san?"
The foreigner nodded.
The women moved gracefully and with practiced ease.
"Then you know it is not intended for first meetings, or lengthy discussion."
Takeshi noted the women raise her head slightly before quickly returning to her task.
Curious.
Curiosity was dangerous for a women.
The women placed a cup before Takeshi before bowing back to make a second.
Per custom, he finished the tea in a single take.
"So, Reinaldo-san, when did you arrive at the compound?" he asked casually.
"Only last winter."
"My father was assassinated with a western weapon last winter. We failed to capture the assailant."
"Ah, did you ever meet Iemistu-sama?"
"Unfortunately, I did not. I am told he was a great man. His action leave me curious, however."
The woman froze completely for but a moment on her way to deliver Reinaldo's tea.
"You're a brave man, Reinaldo-san, to question a shogun," Takeshi chuckled.
"Ah, but, Tsunayoshi is the shogun now."
He drank the tea.
"He permits your familiarity?"
The foreigner raised a hand in a blasé manner, "He has no choice."
With hidden distaste, Takeshi made a sound of acquiescence.
"What deigns your curiosity?" Takeshi asked after a moment.
"Many things. Many things."
"Such as?"
"Why he sent away once of his most promising warriors, for one."
"I'm not sure what you're referring to. To my knowledge, Kyouya-san never left the compound."
Reinaldo laughed and the sound was equal parts soothing and bone chillingly horrifying.
"I pushed him to call you back.
"He argued that you would return when you were ready and only then."
"Why would you do that?"
"The woman said you were close as children."
"Maa. That's common knowledge."
"Yamamoto Tsuyoshi was one of Sawada Iemistu's closest advisors.
"Hayato sees himself as Tsunayoshi's right-hand man but he is volatile he needs someone to balance him, someone with the same flame attribute as your father."
"Flame attribute?"
"It's what my people call the color variations of chi.
"Regardless, we both know you needed to return. Tsunayoshi needs you."
"I'm here now."
"But for how long?"
Reinaldo rose, bowed – not nearly as low as he sound have to someone of Takeshi's status – and left the room without another word.
The woman bowed deeply and made to collect her belongings and leave.
"Who are you?" he asked stopping her actions.
"Kurokawa Hana, Yamamoto-sama," she kept her head bowed, "Sawada-sama entrusted the upkeep of the house and grounds to me as a favor."
"A favor to whom?"
"Sasgawa-sama."
"Ryohei?" she nodded.
"You must be friends with Kyouko, then."
"Since we were children, my lord."
Takeshi hummed in acknowledgement.
"Will that be all, Yamamoto-sama?" she asked hesitantly.
"Maa. Maa. I just have once question for you."
"Yes, my lord?"
"Do you happen to know anything about Reborn?" he asked with a smile, his tone light.
Hana visibly started.
"He officially arrived with Gokudera-sama mere days after Sawada Iemistu-dono passed."
"What does officially mean, Hana-san?" he approached her and knelt at her level.
"The night before the assassination, I saw him speaking with Sawada-sama in the greeting room and the next morning, Hibari-sama disappeared."
"Do you know where he went?"
She shook her head, "Not truthfully. But one of my girls is his main attendant and she assisted in his packing. She said he appeared as though he had been in an altercation and that he refused treatment. She said it was like he was running from something."
"What is her name?"
"Miura Haru, Yamamoto-sama, and that's all I know."
"You're a very curious woman, Hana-san."
"My apologies, sir."
"No, it is not a bad trait, merely a dangerous one, and one that can be of great help."
"Yamamoto-sama?"
"I have a request, Hana-san. One that you may refuse.
"I would like to utilize your curiosity.
"It's said a woman has no voice, but even if that is true, she still has ears and she still has a mind."
….
Something was most definitely wrong.
He didn't notice it initially, but as he traversed the compound he saw few a familiar face.
Takeshi didn't recognize most of the samurai or workers he saw about the compound and they were sworn to the shogun for life – some should have even been about his age. It wasn't unusual for turnaround with a change of power, but it was unusual on that great a scale. Which meant they had either fled or were sentenced to death.
He couldn't imagine Tsuna giving the order against those he had been raised alongside, he had never been that kind of man – Takeshi silently feared Tsuna was no longer that man.
And he still hadn't been properly introduced to the man that Reinaldo called Tsuna's right hand as every time their paths crossed, the man made a point to hiss and growl.
Takeshi's only explanation was that the man somehow felt threatened by his presence. This made sense to him as Takeshi found himself as a much better person than Gokudera – who he had seen yelling and shouting and women and staff on multiple occasions. It was as though he didn't understand the basics of respect towards those of lower status – or anyone that wasn't Tsuna.
And Tsuna.
He also hadn't seen Tsuna since his arrival.
It had been nearly a week since his return and he had settled into managing his father's work. But his old friend was yet to make his presence known.
Some traitorous part of him whispered words of punishment in the silence. But, Tsuna had never been like that and Takeshi couldn't imagine such a core trait vanishing. Because, Tsuna, at his core, was hopeful. Reluctant but hopeful.
But something must have changed for him to so easily inherit the mantel of shogun.
He knew Reborn was behind all of it and he just needed to find Kyouya.
Kyouya who saw defeat as a fluke and a reason to hit back harder.
Kyouya who always won because that was just what he did.
Kyouya who wasn't scared of anything.
Kyouya who was apparently running from something, from someone.
Someone stronger than himself.
The stench of black powder. Killed with a western weapon.
Tsuna would know.
Kyouya wouldn't leave without telling him.
Unless…
Unless he deemed it safer to flee alone.
Reborn.
The man had been at the compound but two seasons and it was as though he had always been.
The servants called him Reborn-sama and he was given reverence befitting the shogun himself.
He was foreign and powerful.
So, Takeshi would do what he always had in the face of adversary: smile and laugh good-naturedly. And if any of it came after Tsuna, it would be destroyed.
But first, he needed to find Miura Haru.
...
"Who are the new samurai?" Takeshi asked Ryohei as they trained in a private courtyard.
"They were extremely contracted by Reborn-sama after – " he stopped suddenly and lowered his voice.
"The day after Iemistu-sama was killed, Tsuna gave Iemistu-sama's followers the option to leave on their own accord or by sentenced to death."
Takeshi raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"It was extremely out of character. All anyone knows is that Reborn-sama and that idiot Gokudera were at his sides the entire time.
"And, Takeshi,
"He didn't look away."
Takeshi was about to respond when Ryohei's face lightened suddenly.
"Good morning, Nagi-chan!" he called exuberantly.
"Ah, good morning, Sasagawa-sama."
"It's Ryohei for you, Nagi-chan!"
The man waved her over.
"Would you like to join us, Dokuro-san?" Takeshi asked before Ryohei could.
"If you're sure…"
The morning air was filled with the sounds of sandals in the sand and heavy breathes.
And then the peace was interrupted by the last person Takeshi wanted to see.
"Hey you!" Gokudera shouted whilst pointing rudely. "Sawada-dono is requesting you."
"Ah. Tell him I'll be there when we're finished here."
Gokudera scoffed, "You're not doing anything important, come now."
Before Takeshi could respond, Nagi did.
"How-how dare you speak to Yamamoto-sama with such disrespect!"
"Quiet, woman! This doesn't involve you. Why don't you go inside with the rest of the girls?"
"That was extremely uncalled for! How do you think Tsuna would react if he heard you speaking to one of his people that way?!"
Gokudera opened his mouth, "Tsunayoshi-sama would –"
"Indeed, how would I react, Gokudera-kun?"
"Sa-Sawada-dono, I – "
"Nagi is one of my strongest samurai not despite of or in spite of her being a woman, but because she has the heart of a warrior.
"I have heard complaints of how you treat my women and staff and I will have you know this: you are family, everyone on this compound is family and shall be treated as such.
"Is that clear?"
Gokudera bowed deeply, "Forgive me, my lord. I will control myself better in the future."
Tsuna hummed in agreement.
"Takeshi, if you're done, I would like you to accompany me to my gardens."
Takeshi looked between Nagi and Ryohei who both nodded.
"Very well, lead away!" he grinned.
….
When they reached the shogun's private gardens Tsuna collapsed onto the engawa with a sigh and shucked his hakama. A bottle of sake and two cups had been left for them.
Takeshi settled next to the man who was once his closest friend and poured the sake, handing Tsuna a cup.
It was three cups into the bottle before Tsuna spoke.
"It's been a long time.
"I'm not going to ask you why you left."
Takeshi nodded and took a sip – it was nothing he hadn't expected.
"But I will say that I missed you like a lost limb."
Takeshi hummed.
"I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. I know you had your reasons for leaving, but you're back now and it looks like I've been avoiding you."
"I didn't think that," Takeshi protested.
Tsuna shook his head, "Reborn has had me working like a dog these days, I have very little time for anyone, including myself."
Takeshi chuckled, "I guess that shows how much your father slacked off."
Tsuna gave him a look before leaning back on his hands and laughing.
He watched him for a moment observing how carefree the shogun appeared even if the circles under his eyes and the slight hunch of his shoulders illustrated otherwise.
Takeshi looked away with a sudden pang in his chest. His eyes were drawn to a closed room to his right.
"You know, I was surprised that a stranger came to greet me. I had expected Kyouya's heckling."
"Hibari-san would bite you to death for even suggesting he do something so lowly.
"And Gokudera-kun is… something. I don't really understand him. It's like he wants so badly to be liked that when he is, he's excessive.
"But on the other hand, he snarls so much that he doesn't give people enough opportunity to get to truly know him."
"Ah…" Takeshi joined Tsuna leaned back on his hands and setting his cup down. "I think he hates himself."
Tsuna was silent for a moment, "He came here with Reborn and tried to kill me on his orders."
Takeshi shot up and Tsuna raised a hand to stop him.
"He failed and when I defeated him, he gave up his name and his life and swore himself to me."
"Even his name? That's a bit extreme, what an odd man," Takeshi chuckled.
"He says it had no meaning. His father was a merchant and his mother his caretaker.
"He only found out after she died that she was his mother.
"So, he ran away and made his name as a thief before Reborn picked him up and brought him here."
Takeshi hummed and Tsuna sighed.
"I wish I could stay longer, but I must go." He shrugged his hakama back on.
Takeshi nodded.
"Feel free to finish the sake."
And as he swept past Takeshi and back into the compound, all Takeshi could feel was cold lips on his cheek.
He looked both ways that took a drink from the bottle.
….
Takeshi was in the midst of attempting to make sense of his father's organizational system when the door facing the inner courtyard opened slightly.
"Hello?" he called out.
"Yamamoto-sama," a woman's voice whispered harshly.
"Hana-chan?"
"Miura Haru can meet with you in your rooms after sundown."
"Why so late?"
"She's hiding, my lord."
"From who?"
Instead of answering she pushed a scroll into his hand and disappeared.
He tucked the scroll into his obi hidden by his hakama and continued working.
Hours later a meal was brought and the sun began to fall.
When he returned to his rooms Miura Haru was watching for him.
"You must be, Yamamoto-sama!" she whispered excitedly.
"Haru-chan, you're certainly excitable," Takeshi grinned.
"My apologies," she ducked her head not nearly low enough.
Looking her over, he didn't mind. Especially since she was the one helping him.
She wore no makeup and her obi was loose forcing her to frequently adjust her kimono.
But, that was inconsequential, Miura Haru was a woman on a mission and who was he to dispute that.
He motioned for her to sit, "Hana-chan tells me you're the last person to see Kyouya."
She nodded still looking down.
"You can look at me, Haru-chan. We're friends, aren't we?"
She nodded again then met his eyes, "I've been one of Kyo – Hibari-sama's aid for three years now. He took me on recommendation from the angel that is Kyouko-chan," she beamed, "and when Tsunayoshi-sama I was given charge of his care.
"N-not that he's a child! He-he's a grown man and he can take care of himself. I just make things easier!" she waved her hands rapidly.
"Maa. Maa. Calm down. I've met Kyouya.
"But speaking of Kyouya, do you know where he is?"
"Well… not exactly.
"Early the morning that Sawada-dono was killed, Hibari-sama summoned me to assist in his packing.
"His face and knuckles were bruised but when I offered to summon Kyouko-chan he refused, adamantly.
"When he left, he walked through the main courtyards. Everyone saw him."
"Kyouya hates being seen."
"That's not all.
"Later that night I was cleaning his rooms and I saw him again."
"You saw him?"
She nodded, "I heard a loud bang and went outside to look.
"I saw him. He was Sawada-dono's rooms arguing with Reborn-sama."
"Did you hear what about?"
Haru shook her head, "No, but Hana overheard Tsunayoshi-sama speaking with Reborn-sama.
"She said it wasn't safe for me to know.
"Have you read her letter?"
Takeshi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and chuckled nervously, "Ah, well, not yet."
Heavy footsteps approached the room. Takeshi started, "You need to go, now!"
With wide eyes she shot to her feet just as the shoji slid open.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she screamed as she was seized from behind.
Takeshi reached for the wakizashi on the table but it too was seized.
"Be still, Yamamoto-sama. This woman has been accused of treason."
"Oh? Who would say such an ugly thing about such a pretty girl?"
"I'm sorry, sir."
"We both know she's can't commit treason, she's a woman," he laughed.
"A firearm and black powder were found in her quarters, Yamamoto-sama."
"Whose word is it against mine?" he asked, desperation starting to seep into his voice.
He knew.
Takeshi knew.
"It was mine, Yamamoto-sama," the foreigner still had an irritatingly perfect accent.
Takeshi watched the men drag Haru away with a sense of helplessness he hadn't felt since he was a child.
"Help me, Takeshi!"
….
"Why was she with you, Takeshi?" Kyouko asked the next morning as she poured his tea.
"Ah. Well, she's sworn to no man. No harm done," he waved his hand dismissively.
She sat the pot down, "You can lie to my brother, you can even lie to Tsuna, but you can't lie to yourself, and you can't lie to me."
"She just had information that I needed," he complied.
"Oh?" she handed him a cup and poured one for herself.
Takeshi hummed.
"Haru-chan was one of Kyo-kun's," she closed her eyes allowing the steam from the tea to warm her face.
"You're a wise woman, Kyouko-chan."
"I met Reborn-sama several times before his arrival," she began.
Takeshi crossed his legs with practiced nonchalance.
"He came only at night and was gone by morning.
"Be he went only to Sawada-dono's private greeting rooms and nowhere else.
"Reborn-sama was a close confident of his.
"Tsuna greatly respected Sawada-dono."
"Since he came to stay here Reborn-sama's cared only for Tsuna."
"What are you saying?"
She sighed deeply then met his eyes.
"You're asking the wrong questions, Takeshi."
She gathered the tea set and stood slowly.
"Have you seen Nana since you've returned?"
She bowed slightly and as she left Takeshi's eyes widened minutely and he scrambled up.
He needed to find Hana.
And he found her.
On her knees in the middle of the courtyard with Haru beside her surrounded by a crowd.
A man Takeshi recognized as one of the ninja that patrolled the grounds.
"These women claim that our own Tsunayoshi-sama was the cause of his beloved father's death," he laughed the creepiest laugh Takeshi had ever had the displeasure of hearing.
"They say that he ordered one of his most trusted guards to use a western weapon in order to minimize suspicion.
"They're saying that our own Reborn-sama, who has been with our shogun through these trying times, is willingly taking the blame."
The crowd laughed and Takeshi honestly thought he would be sick.
From across the way Reborn met his eyes and inclined his head.
To her last moment, Hana kept her head up and her gaze hard.
Tsuna stood in the shadows and as their heads fell, Takeshi watched him close his eyes.
….
After the show Takeshi watched Reborn follow Tsuna inside and proceeded to follow them.
"I can't do this anymore, Reborn!"
"Tsuna –"
"Those girls were my friends and now they're dead because of me!"
"The shogunate needs you, more than it ever needed Iemistu. You know this, I know this, anyone who knew anything about Iemistu knows this.
"All the loose ends are tied and Kyouya is safe on his mission."
"Takeshi suspects you."
"I know, I made sure of it."
"He seems like an idiot, but you can't fool him for long."
"Yamamoto-sama," the door slid open and he was met face to face with Reborn who simply dipped his head and continued on revealing a wide-eyed distraught.
"You heard everything," it wasn't a question.
"I did."
"I killed them, Takeshi. I killed them!" Tsuna fisted his hands in Takeshi's hakama.
He gently pried off Tsuna's hands and held them in his own.
"You didn't. You didn't kill them.
"They knew the risks of what they were doing."
"But-"
Takeshi looked him dead in the eyes, "I would rather witness a thousand deaths than witness yours."
Tsuna looked at him in horror.
"I never would have left you if I had had a choice."
Tsuna sighed. "I know, Takeshi.
"But that doesn't change anything.
"My friends are still dead and it's still my fault.
"I will make an announcement."
Heavy steps could be heard approaching the room and the door slid open.
"There will be no need for that, Tsunayoshi."
Reborn stood with several samurai by his side.
"What's going on?"
"I am pleased to inform you that you will not be forced to live with your guilt any longer.
"I have taken care of everything."
The samurai that flanked the foreigner moved forward at a slight jerk of the man's head.
Takeshi lunged forward but was only a moment too slow and with his katana mid draw a wakizashi was embedded in his side.
"Reborn!" Tsuna screamed. "Why are you doing this?!"
Takeshi knew. He knew. And it all fell into place.
"He didn't look away."
Under normal circumstances, Tsuna was forgiving and benevolent in the way that Iemistu only claimed to be.
He would never have permitted deaths and he would have never let the order be by his hand.
Unless he was convinced.
But even that didn't make sense.
Tsuna had always been incredibly steadfast even with tears running down his face.
But he must have been convinced.
Takeshi watched his shogun be violently taken by the arms and forced from the room and with ringing ears and fading vision he missed Reborn's last words.
….
"-should be up soon."
The voice was feminine and very familiar.
Kyoko.
"-leave before you tell him."
Who?
"-you saved his life."
Saved his life?
Tsuna.
Takeshi shot up and his eyes shot open.
Kyoko sat to his left and an unfamiliar man with odd hair stood close behind her.
"Where is Tsuna?!"
"This is Mukuro-san, he found you and brought you to me."
"Where is he?!" he grabbed her shoulders.
Kyoko looked to the man behind her than bit her lip and shook her head slowly tears welling in her eyes.
"Tsunayoshi was beheaded in the main courtyard two days ago."
The entire world fell from beneath his feet and the air was stolen from his lungs.
"We tried to stop them and Gokudera-san nearly killed himself trying to get to Tsuna, but Reborn-sama had us detained."
"How did Renaldo-san have the power?"
Kyoko sighed. "It was a coup. The staff that replaced Sawada-dono's was chosen almost entirely by him and they are loyal only to him.
"He doesn't know you are alive. You must go as soon as you are well.
"I've already had your things packed and your men are camped outside the compound."
Takeshi nodded and the man, Mukuro, laughed.
"I risked myself to bring you here, you will be gone by morning or I will carry you out here yourself."
"Please, Takeshi, I know how you felt about Tsuna, but Reborn-sama cannot be defeated with the numbers we have."
She pulled a familiar scroll from the folds of her kimono.
"Take this and go."
….
As of a month prior to the assassination of Sawada-dono, he was witnessed exchanging currency with an unknown man of obvious wealth. Sawada Nana was later seen being snuck from the compound in the dead of night surrounded by unmarked samurai.
Mere hours later Tsunayoshi-sama was reported to be arguing with Sawada-dono demanding her location. That night, Reborn-sama, was spotted on the compound near Tsunayoshi-sama's rooms.
During dinner, I overheard Tsunayoshi-sama speaking with Reborn-sama about absolving blame. Tsunayoshi-sama said that Hibari-sama should be permitted to return but Reborn-sama argued that it was too soon.
Tsunayoshi-sama began to spend most of his time locked in his rooms.
A message was received by Kusakabe-san detailing the reasoning behind Hibari-sama being sent away.
Hibari-san was sent to locate Nana to hide his part in Sawada-dono's death.
Hibari-san killed Sawada-dono on Tsunayoshi-sama's order.