Author's Note: So, recently I have become extremely engrossed with KHR, and along with that Gokudera Hayato. Unlike so many other authors in this fandom, I have no intentions of having any romance between Hayato and Tsuna. Probably there will be little to no romance at all- sorry to all you lovers of love. I will do my very best to keep everyone beautifully in character, but if I do happen to fail at that please leave a comment telling me such. Similarly, if you found the story interesting or worthwhile, I'd like to hear that as well. Pretty much, I'm asking you to review regardless of how you liked or disliked the fiction. Well, thanks for reading, enjoy!
Warnings/Rating: Not much as far as warnings go, any violence is canon. No romance, hopefully some humor. All in all, should T at the most.
Disclaimer: I have no rights over any characters you recognize. I'm just playing in the grand sandbox that is KHR.
Summary: When Gokudera is mistaken for Tsuna and taken hostage by a mafia family in contest with the Vongola, Tsuna must get his guardian back before the mistake can be realized and Hayato pays the ultimate price for his beloved boss.
Timeline: Sometime after the fight for the Vongola rings, and before the future arch. I don't know if it would have been possible for something to happen in between those times, but we can pretend. Follows the manga more than the anime, shouldn't be any spoilers past the battle of the rings.
Title: MisTaken
Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
A feeling of great unease swept over the young Storm Guardian as he walked the now familiar road from the campus of Namimori high school to the house of Sawada Tsunayoshi – otherwise known as Vongola Decimo. Tsuna decided to stay at school and watch Yamamoto's baseball game. The two would meet up with Hayato at Tsuna's house afterwards and work on homework. Until then, the Italian-mix figured he would peruse the area surrounding the Tenth's home in search of any dangerous or potentially deadly situations. Usually the only thing these searches would produce is an annoying dog or the occasional wanna-be-yakuza, both of which are quite easy to get rid of. This time, though, Gokudera noted the strange feeling that poked at the back of his mind and allowed his fingers to twitch towards the sticks of dynamite hidden securely on the inside of his jacket.
That twinge suddenly grew from an annoying poke to his instincts, into a pounding and screaming voice that demanded Hayato's complete attention. Suppressing the low growl that was forming in his throat, Gokudera flicked his wrist and smirked as his trusted metal lighter fell from a pocket in his sleeve into the palm of his waiting hand. The hand holding his school bag swung over his shoulder in a casual way. Quickly, he glanced over his shoulder under the guise of running his fingers through his hair. 'Only one? Who do they think they are messing with anyways? Whatever, I will just take care of this loser and kill some time in the shops downtown until that baseball nut's game is over,' Gokudera smirked and exhaled a puff of smoke around his cigarette. A few steps ahead of him was an alley to his right, and after a slight pause, Gokudera swiftly turned into the narrow street and waited.
Loud cheering from the many people around him caused the young Sky King Tsunayoshi to wince slightly at the volume of the noise. Recovering, Tsuna sighed and allowed himself to relax and enjoy the time he was able to spend with his friends that did not involve the mafia in any way. 'This is the life that I should be living… going to Yamamoto's baseball games with Kyouko-chan and being a normal middle school kid. Instead I get dragged into all this crazy mafia stuff. Not to mention that my friends get pulled into it as well, Yamamoto still thinks that we are just playing some stupid role play game,' Tsuna thought and mentally groaned as the cause of all his troubles probed at the brunette's side. 'And then there's Reborn… He's the one who brought all this crap to me.' The infant in question seemed to be able to read his student's thoughts and without hesitation, punched Tsuna in the head.
"Oi, dame-Tsuna, stop day dreaming and focus on the game. A Vongola boss must always support his family members in their individual activities. Look, Yamamoto is up to bat," the black-clad baby said and pointed out to the baseball field. Reborn was right, as usual, and Tsuna sighed in defeat. He knew he should be paying better attention. Yamamoto had invited them to his game when Tsuna had complained about his life not being normal enough.
'Well, if you are looking for normal, I have a ball game this afternoon. You should come, Tsuna! What's more normal than going to a friendly baseball game on a great day like today?' The young Vongola could hear the exact words of Yamamoto in his head as the crowd cheered louder. The raven-headed Rain Guardian stepped up to the white plate on the field and gripped his bat tightly. The expression he wore was one of complete concentration. 'Huh, the only time I ever see Yamamoto so serious before is when he is fighting for our family…. Ah! What am I thinking; we are all friends, just friends! I am spending too much time around Reborn and Gokudera-kun.' Thinking of his eccentric bomb-wielding friend, Tsuna felt his mind wander to what his Storm Guardian was doing at the moment.
The silver headed boy had insisted that he had better things to do than watch a bunch of crazy sports-freaks run around in circles and had promised to meet the group back at Tsuna's house when the game was over. Tsuna had not even bothered to ask his friend how he would know when the game was over- he figured he probably did not want to know what it was that Gokudera was planning on doing in his free time either. So, the reluctant mafia-in-training had simply nodded at the plan and waved goodbye to the grinning 'Smokin Bomber'.
Tsuna knew that if he had insisted that Gokudera go to the game, he would have won- he was in no way ignorant to the admiration and devotion that his self-proclaimed right hand man showed him. But he did not want to start ordering Gokudera to do things that he did not want to do; the more he treated his eccentric companion like nothing more than a friend, the more Gokudera would act like just that. 'At least, that is what I'm going for,' Tsuna thought to himself and felt himself smile as Yamamoto rounded third base and slid into home-plate, gaining another point for their high school's team.
"Yeah Takeshi! That's my son!" Tsuna looked a few rows in front of him and laughed to himself as he spotted Yamamoto's father standing up in his seat and cheering louder that nearly everyone in the stadium. Everyone except Vongola's very own Sun Guardian.
"Yamamoto, run and hit that ball to the extreme! If you are good enough I will let you join my boxing club!" Ryohei's yell of intended encouragement over powered any other shout in the area. Kyouko stood next to her brother and gave her own cheers of happiness with a huge smile across her face. Tsuna grinned as well as he watched the girl enjoy spending time with their group of friends, but was interrupted from his mind's wanderings when he felt yet another painful knock to his head.
"Reborn! Why do you always insist on kicking me in the face? This is not even training or anything!"
"Stupid Tsuna, do you think that as a mafia boss you can ever let your guard down? Everywhere you go there could be an enemy of you or the family, and as the leader you have to be prepared to always fight for those around you," Reborn's explanation was clearly heard even through the noise of the crowd. Despite Tsuna hating the idea of becoming a mafia boss, it was moments like these that he actually considered the position. Reborn constantly talked about how being the Tenth Vongola would enable him to protect not only his friends and family, but the citizens of Namimori as well. 'I really do want to protect them; I just want to do it without having to use this crazy ring…'
With Yamamoto's score, the game was over and Tsuna and his friends waited next to the dugout for the Rain Guardian to gather his belongings after receiving praise and congratulations from team mates. As usual, their tall raven-headed friend was all smiles when they walked the street towards Tsuna's house. Haru and Kyouko held Lambo and I-pin and Tsuna had called his mother at home to tell her that they were going to celebrate at the Sawada household, and to keep Bianchi from the kitchen. Yamamoto's father had gone back to the sushi shop to prepare an order that had to be finished and delivered by the next morning. Reborn sat on Yamamoto's shoulder and Ryohei walked on the side of Tsuna that Yamamoto was not, taking jabs at invisible targets. The group talked about the game, and Kyouko had to restrain her brother's cries of 'extreme' and requests for Yamamoto to join the boxing club.
"Oi, Tsuna, what is wrong with you? You haven't said anything at all since you called Maman. Is everything okay at home?" Reborn sounded worried as he spoke, looking at Vongloa Decimo. The others quieted as they heard the question, and all eyes turned to Tsuna. A nervous smirk swept over the Tenth's face.
"Ah, well I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about. It's just that… well, when I called my mom, I told her to let Gokudera-kun know that we were on our way back, but she said that she hadn't seen him all day, not since he stopped by my house this morning when we went to school. She said that Bianchi-san hasn't heard from him either and he isn't replied to any of my text messages. I guess I'm just being paranoid. Gokudera-kun can take care of himself, I'm sure he will show up sooner or later," Tsuna answered, but could not shake the hesitation and concern from his voice. Reborn nodded once and said nothing, but Tsuna could tell that his tutor was thinking out the worst case scenario as to why Gokudera had not contacted anyone.
"Hahi? Don't worry Tsuna-san, that idiot Gokudera-kun is probably just wandering around in the streets with nothing to do because he was too stubborn to come to the baseball game. I bet he will show up at the house with snacks or something later tonight!" Haru added to the conversation, causing Lambo to squirm in her arms, shouting about food and candy. Similar reassurances came from both Kyouko and her brother; Yamamoto simply smiled and continued walking. Tsuna took his friends' encouragement to heart, but Reborn quietly noted the Rain's reaction and his secret concern only grew. If both Tsuna's hyper intuition and Yamamoto's natural knack for the safety of the family were both on alarm, the young hit man feared trouble for the family's bomber.
Gokudera awoke slowly and with a sense of caution. His eyes were heavy and his mind felt weighted and foggy, causing the young mafia to rightly assume he had been drugged. Cringing as he lifted his pounding head from its lax position between his shoulders, Gokudera suppressed a groan when he realized he was sitting on the floor in a room with his hands chained behind his back. The room was poorly lit and had a musty scent to it; there was only one entrance and not a single window. No one else appeared to be in the room with him, and when Hayato forced his eyes open, he affirmed that. Leaning his screaming head against the wall behind him, Gokudera pulled at the chains on his wrists, but the only reward he received from the action was an echoing noise and chaffing from the chains. "Great," he muttered and squeezed his eyes shut; "Now I'm going to be late to the celebration of that idiot's baseball game." The thought of making the Tenth worried gave him more energy and slowly, Gokudera moved his stiff legs out from underneath him.
For the next few minutes, nothing happened in his small room, and the bomb specialist began to formulate a plan of escape. His efforts were halted, however, when the door about six feet away from his outstretched legs opened and the sudden change of lighting made him flinch. In the doorway stood the figure of a man whose footsteps echoed through the room as he approached the pained boy.
"What do you want? You from another family?" Gokudera demanded and gave his most threatening glare to the stranger.
"You will sit there quietly, little Vongola, while I ask the questions. Then maybe I will leave some of your members alive. How does that sound Decimo?" The man replied and gave a kick to Gokudera's leg. The boy in question scoffed but internally cursed his luck. 'Decimo? Is this guy completely stupid? I don't look anything like the Tenth. He is talking to me, right?' Gokudera frantically glanced around in horror that he might have not noticed the Tsuna was somehow in the small room with him. A small bit of relief washed over the loyal Mafioso but the emotion was short lived as he felt unnatural pressure suddenly on his right knee.
Shifting his eyes to the threat, Gokudera noticed with no surprise that the man's foot was now atop his knee and that the pressure was starting to increase. "Decimo, your reputation in our world seems to have made you out to be something greater than you really are. When I heard that the Vongloa rings had been officially passed to you and your guardians I assumed you to be a little… older, and more experienced. But you disappoint me. It only took one of my men to bring you here," the stranger spoke thoughtfully and smirked when a grunt slipped through Gokudera's tight lips.
The Storm's knee was now pinned to the ground at an odd angle. The man twisted his foot before stepping more forcefully on the joint and continued, "Though, the one I sent after you is a specialist in the retrieval of people like yourself. I was surprised to learn that you were on your own when my man found you, how very careless of you." A chuckle tore through the compact enclosure and Gokudera shifted slightly to alleviate some of the pain coming from his leg.
"Not that I don't enjoy listening to you make a fool of yourself, but is there an actual purpose in me being here, or did you just get lonely and need some company. There are people who specialize in that too you know," Gokudera spat sarcastically to his captor. A sneer crossed the man's features and he leaned over, now putting his full weight on the trapped knee under his foot.
"Learn your place, Little Boss, if you think that you were the only one I had my people locate then you are a fool. Right now I have eyes on that little celebration your family is holding, and don't think for a second that I won't give the order to blow that building sky-high if you do not give me what I want." The man paused in his rant and watched his prisoner squirm and bite back yelps of pain under the weight of his body. Deciding to spare the boy beneath him for the moment, the man lifted his foot from Gokudera and walked back to the still open door. "I will return in one hour. I hope by then you will be more willing to cooperate." With that said, the man left and the door was bolted shut from the outside. Once alone, Hayato let out his held breath and leaned back against the wall.
"This will probably not turn out very well at all."
A/N: Thus, we have the first chapter! Thank you for reading and don't forget to review. I'm still not sure how I feel about this thing, but I have another chapter and a half ready to post. Please tell me what you likes/disliked so I can improve the unposted chapters!