This struck me like a bolt out of the blue. I was in the car on the way to the hardware store and almost shouted the idea out. Fair to say my cousin may have thought that I was insane if I had told it to them.
You Must Not Have Known Him.
Summary: Hinoe Sho was attending his cousin's funeral, he hadn't known the young man (and young he was, barely twenty when he died) but he seemed a pathetic sort. Easily forgotten apparently, since none of the young man's closest friends had come to see him off. There he meets an equally strange young man who says he knew Tsunayoshi Sawada well, but Sho didn't think so.
Sho shuffled around the stifling room, looking a little lost.
It was full of relatives that, until yesterday morning, he hadn't known he had. Sho's mother had called him into the living room and had told him he was going to a funeral. This of course had ended with Sho nearly sobbing with relief (because it wasn't one of the relatives he knew) as well as a tantrum about why he had to be the one to go.
His mother hadn't given him much reason besides the fact that Sho was now old enough to represent the Hinoe side of the family.
Which was why Sho was here now, standing around like a lemming, listening to old biddies and agitated old men gossip about why they had to come to this nobodies funeral.
Most of the consensus was that Sawada Tsunayoshi was exactly that, a nobody.
However, the deceased's mother, Nana was from a large family and therefore representatives had to turn up from the other equally large families like Sho's. It was also very apparent from the moment that Sho entered that Nana was alone.
"Her husband is apparently too distraught to be seen with her."
"I heard he died in the same accident that took Tsunayoshi's life."
"I heard he just didn't turn up, his son was Dame-Tsuna after all."
It was all so very intriguing for Sho, who was not the youngest by a long shot, he was almost seven years older than the deceased, but was certainly the least interested at the funeral. It made him feel incredibly uncomfortable here.
"Did you hear though, even with all those friends around, not one showed up today? Not one of those ungrateful children has even come to give Nana their condolences. The company he kept is a mark of the kind of boy Tsunayoshi was."
And that by far was probably the most fascinating rumour this far. Wayward fathers were nothing new in the family, Sho's own father had gone missing long before he was born, and his Step-father hasn't been much better. Hence why he took his mother's name. What was interesting though, was the fact that the young man they were honouring today (pah, honouring. Right. Slander the dead all you want, they can't hear you) had a large group of friends who stuck with him nearly tirelessly.
Sho had only learnt all this today though of course, so he couldn't be certain. But apparently Tsunayoshi had a group of seven extraordinarily close friends (called themselves his body guards, or his protectors, or something to that effect) however none of them had turned up.
Not even his tutor of seven years had graced the funeral with his presence.
Sho wanted to feel sorry for the boy, but to have died in an 'accident' at twenty, and to have no friends to show up at his funeral was probably the boy's own fault. Sho found he rather pitied Tsunayoshi.
He must have been rather pathetic.
Though, Sho still didn't hear what kind of accident the boy had been in, that would probably explain more about him than anything.
He was about to go ask someone when a new figure caught his attention.
He was a little younger than Sho, just as tall though. He was cut straight with perfectly sized shoulders, and narrow hips. He wore an expensive looking suit –must be one of those rich sides of the family –and he was just shrugging off his coat when he caught sight of Sho sipping on a drink in the corner.
The man grinned and strolled forward. He loped when he walked, and as he got closer, Sho noticed the way he seemed to fit perfectly in the suit, as if the pants were carved for him, and the pale shirt molded for his body. "Ah, you one of those relatives forced to come here too?"
The man's eyes flashed with his words, as if he were judging how to speak by the way Sho moved and reacted. His voice was nice, low but not baritone or monotonous. He had a lilt in his voice, as if he spoke more than one language. "Yeah, does it feel awkward for you to be here? I mean I didn't know the kid."
The man wrinkled his nose a little, "Ah, I knew him pretty well, actually. Or well, at least more than you I guess."
Sho was a little worried that he'd offended the man then, "Ah, are you one of the good friends then, everyone here is talking about them."
Sho realised only as the words left his mouth that it was both a bit forward and a ton rude to ask that. Especially if this man was one of these friends. The man got a funny look on his face then. "No, no. They are an entirely different breed from me. I'm just here to represent, perhaps." He had a far off look for a moment before bowing slightly. "I'm Ieyasu, by the way."
Sho was quick to repeat the gesture. "I'm Hinoe Sho, it's a pleasure to meet you Ieyasu-san."
The man smiled pleasantly, black hair and green eyes –though Sho thought they were gold for a minute –"Call me Ieyasu, Sho. If you're here it means we're famiy."
The man was a strange one, but Sho liked him enough. Besides, friend of Tsunayoshi or not, at least this man seemed to hold Sho's distain for the other family members.
"I think it must have been suicide, Tsunayoshi was always a pathetic useless boy. I bet he just couldn't hack it. Gave up on life." And as an afterthought, some old woman whispered. "His poor mother, all alone."
Ieyasu's nose wrinkled again in distaste this time. "You'd think that they had other things to talk about than a poor dead boy."
Sho was shocked by how vicious the man sounded. Though he agreed. "You know they only turn up for their own face. I doubt anyone here even knows Sawada-san, let alone Tsunayoshi. They come to gawk and see how much money was spent."
Sho realised again, a little late, that that was an exceedingly rude thing to say. "You're right of course, Sho. I'm sure a few people genuinely feel sorry for Nana-san, but the rest are here for fodder. Young lives are such good gossip after all."
And with that people started moving into the main hall for the funeral ceremony to start. Sho noted that Ieyasu stayed back, and even when he did go into the room it was in the back corner. Sho followed, not wanting to leave the only 'companion' he had to this odd excuse of a reunion.
It a rather normal funeral, by Sho's standards. There were recited verses and well wishes. Stories of Tsunayoshi and a lot of tears. Loud tears from some.
There was a man who said he was an ex-teacher who seemed very solemn. He was wiping his eyes and seemed very sad when he took the stand.
"Tsunayoshi was my best student. He wasn't good at maths, couldn't even do his times tables. But he was such a sweet boy, tried his hardest." The man kept going on, nodding when people aw'd and whispered. Agreeing with him.
Ieyasu growled under his breathe a little.
"He wasn't any of those thigns. He was a Dame student who didn't try even one minute to do well in school. Fucking Nezu-sensei."
Sho wanted to smack his hand over Ieyasu's mouth. He said he knew Tsunayoshi! Surely no friend would ever say such things.
More people came up, most saying what a good student, or gook kid Tsuna was. Some people cried, some people had awful things to say about Tsunayoshi.
"He was such a useless boy, he couldn't even walk down the street without tripping. I would know, he walked by my house every day." The woman seemed so put out, Sho was sure she'd be thrown out, but then she tacked on, "But he also never did anything wrong, he could have done amazing things."
It was the people who called Tsunayoshi great that made Ieyasu snarl. Sho tried to sink into his seat so that people didn't see him with Ieyasu when the man was badmouthing Tsunayoshi.
"People at funerals are ridiculous. They're only trying to make themselves feel better, because they never tried to understand him. He was a pathetic boy."
More people got up including someone who said he had watched Tsunayoshi flourish in high school from bullied to popular. Said he didn't care what sort of person you were, he would always be friends with you (Ieyasu snorted and covered it as a cough when the man kept waxing on about Tsunayoshi's kindness).
Interestingly enough, Sho only ever say Ieyasu grow truly uncomfortably (and not in the disbelieving way like when someone got up to talk about how grand Tsunayoshi had been in life) when the young mother –though perhaps not young, her only son had been twenty –started openly wailing half way through the ceremony.
She quieted down, and the whispers started, the normal ones gawking at her distress. Sho had heard whispers earlier in the service that the young woman, Sawada Nana, would soon be moving in with her siblings who lived on the western coast of Japan.
However, Ieyasu never seemed to warm up after that. He listened to the speakers with a polite kind of distraction, but it was obvious that he was too focused on the way Nana would wail and cry at the mention of certain 'heroic' acts Tsunayoshi had apparently performed.
"He would hate this." Ieyasu grumbled, though his voice was thick with unshed tears. "He loved his mother very much, she was ditsy, but he didn't want to leave her behind I imagine."
For once, Sho had to agree with Ieyasu. No one wanted to see their mother cry, especially ones who died young. Regardless of his feelings for the enigma known as Tsunayoshi, Sho had to feel for him. He was young when he left. Sho was almost twenty seven and he felt like he accomplished nothing, Tsunayoshi must have felt the same. Especially since everyone else seemed to call him Dame.
Apparently Sho said this out loud, or he was an easy book, because Ieyasu chuckled softly. "I'm sure he did. But then again, a lot of people would be surprised by exactly how much he accomplished behind closed doors. It's very difficult to judge a person you never knew, hmm, Sho?" There was a knowing look in Ieyasu's eyes, and it unnerved Sho. "If it were me, I'd just be upset that I had to leave those I cared for behind; that this was what had to happen to ensure their happiness."
The man looked at his watch then and quietly gathered his jacket before standing to leave. Sho could have waited around, he could have sat and listened to the soft cries of those left behind and contemplated Ieyasu's words. Because the man hadn't spoken as if the boy's death was an accident, but planned.
But Sho didn't, he stood, gathered his own jacket, and quietly followed the man.
Sho and the strange young man left the funeral before it had ended. Sho was glad of it, but had been waiting for another person to pin the blame on for leaving early, Ieyasu had been the perfect excuse.
As they left, Ieyasu stretched and heaved a sigh. "It was so stuffy in there, I hope not all funerals are like that." And the way he said it made Sho think that perhaps Ieyasu would be going to a lot of them.
"You shouldn't speak ill of the dead, Yasu." Sho admonished softly. Though somehow it felt like of anyone in this place it was Ieyasu who deserved to speak ill of young Tsunayoshi.
Ieyasu hummed non-committedly, looking around. Suddenly his hands dropped and a brilliant smile broke across his face. Ieyasu turned around and held out his hand. It was a very foreign motion and it took Sho a moment to return the gesture. As he did, a long, black SUV pulled up behind Ieyasu.
"It was really nice to meet you, Sho." His voice changed suddenly, so much deeper than it had been in the funeral home, and the gathering before. "It's nice to know that our family has some thinkers left."
"Likewise, Ieyasu. Next time you're in the area you should drop by." Sho pulled a card out of his pocket, he had a small business just outside of Okinawa, though somehow, Sho was certain he'd never see Ieyasu again after today.
A man had left the car, tall and silver-haired. He was dressed extremely finely. He had just finished re-buttoning the dark jacket when he arrived at Ieyasu's shoulder. "You ready to go, Juudaime?"
Ieyasu was already nodding. "See you around, Sho. Try not to let the elders get you down, alright?"
And for some strange reason, Sho was certain he never would again.
A question was stuck in Sho's throat, but he managed to get it out in time before the silver haired man opened the door for Sho's cousin. "Where are you going, Ieyasu? Will you be coming back again?"
"I'm going home to Italy with my Guardians." Ieyasu grinned. "I will be back, but you'd probably not recognize me."
With that Ieyasu and his Guardian strode to the car, laughing and speaking softly. It seemed odd, that someone could be laughing and smiling so soon after 'a good friend's' funeral, yet Ieyasu looked undisturbed. Sho listened as closely as he could while the pair walked. Hoping to learn more about the man that was just as mysterious to Sho as Tsunayoshi was.
"You have a rather perverse sense of duty, Juudaime." The man chuckled as he led Ieyasu to the car. "You didn't have to push yourself like this. I can't have been easy,"
"Perhaps," Was Ieyasu's quiet reply, this eyes were flooded with tears now, and his voice rough. "but I've really hurt Mama with this one, even if it was for her own good. The least I could do was suffer a little for it. After all, I'll likely not see her again until she passes away. I had to see her one last time…no matter how much it hurt."
And Sho, as the man ran a hand through his hair, was struck by a sudden and intriguing thought. Even with his hair dyed almost black, and eyes flashing with gold, it suddenly struck Sho that Ieyasu looked all too much like the man whose funeral they had attended.
Perhaps Ieyasu had known Tsunayoshi very well indeed. Sho wondered for the first time the entire day if he had missed out in life by not knowing Tsunayoshi. Would Sho have gotten alone as well with Tsuna as he had with Ieyasu, if he had met the man when he was alive? It was too bad that he'd never know.
Sho shrugged and headed for his car. The ceremony would be over in a few hours. He had signed the guest book, and talked to many people, so his mother couldn't complain on him shirking his duty to the family. For now, Sho thought, he'd go and see about visiting some family he hadn't seen in a while.
So in case you didn't get it, Ieyasu was actually Tsuna. Now I'll leave the reason for Tsuna faking his death up to you, personally I'm thinking it was because things had gotten too dangerous in the mafia and Nana was being threatened, or was getting too close to the truth. But there are a hundred thousand other reasons. Keeping Namimori safe by killing off Tsuna's civilian persona, standard mafia procedure. There are numerous.
As for the guardians not turning up with Tsuna, there are many reasons also. Mine is simple. They would not attend another funeral for Tsuna. Ever. If he were to die tomorrow, in their arms, they wouldn't make it to the funeral probably. After the ten-years-that-never-were, I imagine funerals are rather triggering for all those memories forced into their minds. Why should the guardians subject themselves to that, when they know Tsuna is alive and well?
Anyway, there are many other questions, but I leave them up to you to speculate. The main point of outsider point of view if that you don't know. You can speculate and wonder, but you'll never know, and the interaction fades away, out of your memories forever. It's sad, but life.
~~Bleach-ed-Na-tsu :3