Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Amano respectively. I'm just borrowing their works, not with the intention of making a profit, but in order to entertain the few individuals who actually read my attempts at storytelling.
Summary: Yamamoto Tsuyoshi wasn't as oblivious as his son would like to believe, and so the former assassin calls in some help to bring Takeshi up to snuff before the scheduled time for the Ring Battle comes. Tsuyoshi calls in his son's fiancée, Higurashi Kagome, the true heir of the original Shigure Soen Style.
Bride of the Baseball Freak
Prologue: That Bride, Requested
Yamamoto Tsuyoshi wasn't as ignorant as his son liked to believe, though he could only attribute that to his son's ignorance about his dark past.
The owner of the best Sushi shop in all of Namimori was once a renowned assassin. Using his skills in the Shigure Soen Ryu, he had cut a bloody swath through the world of the underground before it all came to an end after meeting his late wife. Wanting to live in peace with the woman, whom gave him his heart back, he had put away his katana in favor of a yanagiba.
He had vowed to never return to that cold world, and to protect their son from it while at his beloved wife's deathbed. Unfortunately, it seemed that fate wasn't on his side.
When his precious son had made friends with the Sawada boy, he hated to admit it, but he had been nervous.
Anyone who was anyone in the underworld knew that Sawada Iemitsu was the leader of the CEDEF and the external advisor for the Vongola mafia family, so no one could blame him for being leery of his son associating with someone with ties like that.
Tsuyoshi's feelings about the occurrence only worsened once his contacts informed him of the fact that Tsunayoshi was to become the next boss of the Vongola. The fact that the kid was known as Dame-Tsuna didn't help matters.
What if because of this kid's infamous clumsiness, his son was killed?
He would be left alone, as the dark world that consumed his wife took his son as well. And that wasn't something that he ever wanted to experience. But after meeting the kid personally, Tsuyoshi couldn't force himself to make his son break ties with the boy.
After his son's attempted suicide and the subsequent befriending of his savior (Sawada Tsunayoshi), the smile that always seemed to be on his son's face became more genuine. After a few days of hanging out with the Sawada kid, his son would come back with a smile that until that moment he hadn't realize he missed more than anything in the world.
No one who could make his son smile like he had when his mother was alive could be a bad person.
Then something he believed that never would happen had come to pass.
Takeshi had come to him with the wish to learn the Shigure Soen Ryu.
Sometime after that, he was in the hospital due to getting involved with whatever problems had cropped up in the once peaceful town of Namimori. Of course from what his contacts gathered, it all lead back to Sawada and his ties to the Vongola. When he found out that the soft-hearted boy was going to be the next boss of the Vongola, it was then that he came to realized that his son was slowly but surely entering the dark world of assassins and crime families.
Wiping his hands off on his apron as he finished cleaning up the kitchen, Tsuyoshi frowned at this turn of events. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to bar his son from seeing his friends, and keep him from falling into the same trap the he himself once thrived in. But with every smile his son gave him after their lessons, the pure enthusiasm that he showed for everything he did with his friends prevented him from going through with his thoughts.
'Besides I feel that Takeshi wouldn't take kindly to it, he always seems to tell me about how much fun he's having with Sawada-kun…I'm sure he had sensed my unease…'
Running a hand through his spiky hair, the sushi chef tugged the headband off of his head. Brown eyes narrowed as he stared at the calendar on the wall, on a specific date. A date that he needed to beat in order for his son to be ready for him to be able to stand up to the next challenge coming for him and his friends. Unfortunately, his son just couldn't seem to get up to the next level he needed to be in order to get to the next stage of his training in the Shigure Soen Ryu.
No matter what tactic he used…his son just didn't seem to be improving. This was something that just couldn't be afforded at this stage, with the time till the Varia's arrival quickly approaching. It didn't help that Takeshi was determined to play both baseball and work on his swordsmanship at the same time. Something that was proving to be very difficult and Tsuyoshi couldn't find it in himself to break the news to his son himself.
'If I was the one to tell him, he would probably force himself to try and prove me wrong…the only one who's ever managed to make him listen to reason is…!' A grim look formed on his face as he thought of what seemed to be his last resort, but he managed to shake himself from his thoughts.
'While I don't want to resort to this, it seems like I have no choice anymore…she will definitely be able to get him to the level he needs to be and give him the focus he needs.' Glancing over in the direction of the phone, Tsuyoshi made up his mind after a few minutes of debating with himself.
Stepping over towards the phone on the wall, he picked up the receiver and began dialing the number. Pressing the receiver to his ear, he waited in trepidation as he the dial tone buzzed in his ear. After a minute, a click was heard and he sucked in deep breath.
"Hello?" The voice was ice cold, and he sure would've startled anyone into blabbing out their reason for calling immediately. But Tsuyoshi was not just any person.
Exhaling, he steeled himself for the idea he was about to follow through with.
"It's Yamamoto, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi." Immediately as if a switch was turned on, the ice that seemed to permeate from the person's voice melted, and became something a bit friendlier.
"Ah, Yamamoto-oji-chan! It's good to hear from you after all this time...though why are you calling so late?"
He didn't immediately answer. For a moment as he listened to the girl talk on the other end, he was coming to terms with what he was about to do, and the changes that would undoubtedly happen in result of it. Taking a deep breath, the man only spoke one line that he hadn't expected to say for a long time now.
"Higurashi-chan, I think it's time that you came for a visit."
End of Prologue
Yanagiba: Also Shobu. A single grind, long, narrow blade. Typically well over 240mm. Pro versions of 330mm or even 360mm are fairly common. Designed for cutting raw fish, although according to sushi chef Takeshi, can be used pretty much for all types of food. Usually has a traditional Japanese handle. Yanagi means willow in Japanese. Thus, Yanagiba by extension becomes willow leaf blade.
CEDEF: The "Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia" (Italian for "External Advisors of the Family", also known as CEDEF), founded by the 1st Generation Vongola Cloud Guardian, Alaude, are the external advisors for the Vongola Famiglia. The CEDEF is a secret intelligence organization independent from the Vongola. Its headquarters is disguised as an ordinary business's building.
