Brothers of Wind and Sky
Rating - T for now, may build M in further chapters
Summary - Tsuna listens to his Intuition a little bit earlier in life which puts some big changes in motion. Who knew just having one friend could make the world of a difference?
Details - Slow building plot is the plan right now! Tsuna and the OC are lil children and need room to grow. c: Perspective is to be set in third person but in mainly Tsuna's point of view. The story is about Tsuna and the changes he goes through mainly because of his interaction with the OC. Tsuna-centric I promise, no mary sue bs. ;p Later events will still take place for Tsuna, Reborn, Kokuyo, Varia etc. Early timeline may be a bit warped which will be explained in later chapters!
I'm not exactly a writer, but this idea has been stuck in my head for months so i finally decided to get it all down! Yaaay! I'm a paranoid, so I may keep going back and revising bits and pieces of chapters, I promise if it's anything significant, i'll let you know! Now then, one with the story! I hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter 1
- A Feeling -
Sawada Tsunayoshi hated his birthday. Well, no… That was a bit of a lie. He loved having the day to be with his Mama, eating cake she made from scratch and receiving a toy he'd been wanting all year. And to just have someone actually celebrate his No-Good birth. Mama was amazing like that. She made every birthday awesome. But every evening on those special days, after dinner and cake, she would look wistfully at the phone, hoping for a call that would never come.
Tsuna had declared at the tender age of five that his father was the worst. That was the year he truly began to understand that never seeing your father wasn't normal. He could barely remember what he looked like if it wasn't for the photo his mother kept. Just the one photo. The last time his dad visited was when Tsuna was three. Even then, it was on business. He faintly remembered a strange old man who Mama had told him later was his father's boss. However, the memories had faded with time, and his dad was nothing but a concept. Instead, Tsuna and his mother got phone calls. Or they use to…
At first they were on birthdays and anniversaries. Mama would light up like the sun, listening to her beloved husband's voice. Tsuna at the time was too young to really talk to Papa properly. Just little nonsense chatter about whatever came to Tsuna's mind. His father seemed to humor him and play along and that was ok to Tsuna. Mama loved his phone calls. He would smile and giggle seeing Mama so happy talking into the night with her beloved. But then the phone calls started to get late. Birthdays and anniversaries were missed by a few weeks, then several months. Then they stopped all together when he was five. He didn't understand at first. Did his dad hate them? Did they do something wrong? They got an occasional post card but they really didn't count...there was nothing really written on them.
Now at the age of seven, Tsuna decided he hated his Dad. Well, eight actually. It was his birthday today. It was just like last year. He woke up, Mama hugged him and wished him a happy birthday. She got him the new Superbot action figure he'd been looking at (it had jet pack wings!). Usually he would then spend the day inside with Mama as she prepared dinner and a cake. But this year… he just couldn't. He couldn't watch his Mama put on a smile, like everything was all right, sneaking glimpses at the phone on occasion. It hurt too much and Tsuna couldn't do anything to fix it. He needed to get away, even if was just for a few hours.
So he told Mama that he was going to play outside with his new toy. That brought a real smile to her face and hurriedly encouraged her little Tsu-kun to go out and make friends. Oh how she hoped he would. That was another thing, not having a dad around seemed to mean you were bully material. Children could get really cruel, even at that age. Not that Tsuna would dare tell Mama, she had enough to deal with.
Truth be told, Tsuna longed for someone to talk to aside from his mother. He couldn't remember the last time he actually played with someone, who didn't end up pushing him around and calling him No-Good. He had gradually begun to accept that maybe that was the best he would ever have in the term of 'friends'. But today… today he was eight. Ignoring the gut wrenching discomfort of staying indoors and sulking about his supposed dad, he had an odd, but not unwelcome feeling. It was a gentle hopeful feeling. It seemed to whisper 'go outside, things will change, if you just try'. Try what? The brunette had no idea. But for now the feeling had guided him to the local park.
That left Tsuna currently hiding in one of the covered tunnels in the playground, eyeing a group of classmates that were hanging out by the swings. He forgot they came to this park… How did he forget?! Last time he was here, they rubbed sand in his face! He mentally berated himself, getting distracted with that strange feeling made him more forgetful than usual! At this point, he would have ran out of the park faster than you could say 'No-Good', but as luck would have it, the swings were right by the entrance of the park. He would have to pass directly in front of his tormentors to get past them. Maybe he could climb the park fence? Too high, he'd probably get stuck. Try the other exit on the opposite side? No way! The dog park was on that side! That was scarier than the bullies!
The brunette sighed and leaned against the side of the tunnel, looking at his toy Superbot in his lap. Maybe he shouldn't have brought this out to play with, if his classmates ever found him with the latest action figure from everyone's favorite show… He winced, easily picturing the kids either breaking it in front of him or taking it from him for themselves. Ugh why did he decide to go outside today?!
"Oh! Is that the one with the jetpack?!"
Tsuna jumped a mile high, covering his mouth to suppress his signature high pitched scream. Whipping his head around, he spotted a boy similar in his own age peeking curiously into the tunnel.
"A-ah, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you… I didn't think anyone was in here, heheh" the boy scratch the back of his head messing up his hair. Not waiting for an invitation the strange kid crawled into the tunnel and scooted Tsuna over to sit next to him. Tsuna on the other hand, was still gathering his bearings, clutching his toy nervously. Who the heck sat so close next to people they didn't know?!
With the boy so close in his personal bubble, Tsuna noted the kid was foreign, American maybe? With his reddish brown hair and teal colored eyes, he definitely wasn't from around Namimori. Said eyes were looking at Tsuna curiously. The silence was stifling and Tsuna fidgeted uncomfortably.
"So… what's your name? Uh… you can talk right? Or maybe my Japanese is that bad?" the kid mumbled that last part to himself and then laughed, nervously messing up his hair again. "Ugh Papa would have a ten year lecture if he found out his foreign language teaching went to waste!"
That made Tsuna crack an ever so slight smile, but still remained on guard. "Ah..I-I'm Tsuna. Y-Your Japanese is fine...R-Really good actually." He tilted his head in thought. Thinking about it, he didn't know anyone his age who knew a second language, and rather well at that. "W-was it hard to learn? A-another language I mean."
The boy grinned hearing Tsuna finally speak. It was like a cue for the other to inch even closer to Tsuna, shoulders now touching. Sheesh, foreigners sure were touchy! Said foreigner kept on smiling, not phased at all. "Nah, it was pretty fun actually! I like to think of it as learning secret codes. That's all it really is ya know, people have different sounds and symbols for different things! Like a secret code, sounds a lot cooler that way~" the boy rambled on with this big grin on his face, like talking to Tsuna was the best thing to happen for his day. Tsuna could only stare confused as the boy went on his tangent. What a weird foreigner, but his stupid grin was infectious. He couldn't help but return a shy smile bigger than his last, especially as the kid stumbled a clumsy half-forgotten introduction. "Ah! I'm Nicco! Sorry I shoulda introduced myself first! Ugh Papa would have had by hide if he saw me. Nice to meet you Tsuna!"
"N-nice to meet you too N-Nicco-san…" Tsuna stammered but tried to keep his cool. He was still a bit on edge. It was weird, talking to someone who wasn't yelling mean things to his face. When was the last time someone his age hung out with him like this? He half expected for Nicco to suddenly laugh in his face, throw a punch and start teasing him for letting his guard down so easy, for hoping too much. But instead the weird kid kept on talking.
"Just Nicco, no san! Us kids shouldn't have to worry about such proper stuff!" Nicco declared with bright smile, seemingly clueless with Tsuna's mental battle. "So Tsuna! Are my eyes playing tricks or are you really holding Superbot Blaster X in your hands?"
The eight year old blinked at the subject change and almost had to forcefully pull his attention away from his morbid thoughts. Here it was, this was it. Nicco was going to take his precious new toy Mama gave him and taunt No-Good Tsuna. He was fully ready to go into his cowering and tears but that strange feeling flared up again. A soothing warmth eased his mind. If Tsuna had to give it a description he would call it one of Mama's hugs. 'Things will change if you just try' it seemed to say/feel. Faith for Tsunayoshi was a dangerous thing. And yet… he decided to have a little faith in this feeling.
Timidly with shaking fingers, Tsuna held up his birthday gift up to show his weird new acquaintance who, completely clueless once again to Tsuna's inner turmoil, now seemed to have gone all starry eyed at the robot.
"No waaay!" he crowed with delight. "I'm so jealous! C-can… can I hold it?" Nicco asked in a very serious manner. Robots were very serious business after all. Tsuna hesitated a few minutes. The feeling was still there, comforting his worries, coaxing him through it all. It was fun to break Dame-Tsuna's stuff. But… the gut feeling told him this silly foreigner wouldn't do that. So, ever so hesitantly, he held the robot out to Nicco, who took the action figure delicately like it was made of precious glass.
"Oh man, this is amazing. You're so lucky Tsuna! I wonder if- OH! There's the button that? Yes! This makes the jet wings pop out!" Nicco pressed the button on the front of the chest, making the fabled wings pop up with a few flashing lights. The boy did a funny lil wiggle of excitement, earning a tiny laugh from Tsuna. "Oh man! That's so cool! Ah Tsuna you have great tastes! Blaster X is clearly the best robot out of the whole Superbot series! So lucky! Where did you get it?" Nicco gently retracted the robot's wings and gave it back to the brunette, unknowingly winning more trust from the boy. Tsuna gratefully took the bot back and looked at Nicco in a new perspective. Kids who didn't break his stuff were rare, it made Tsuna want to open up to the boy…just a little bit.
Tsuna gazed down at his gift, feeling a bit shy again as he spoke up again. "A-ah, I'm not sure. Mama gave it to me today for my birthday-"
"What?! It's your birthday?! Ah I don't have anything to give you!" Nicco cut Tsuna off and looked like he was going to have a conniption. Seriously, this kid… was overly expressive. Tsuna could only stare at him bewildered at his outburst.
"Eh? You just met me Nicco-"
The auburn haired boy huffed and crossed his arms. "That's no excuse! I need to get you a present! I'd be the worst friend ever if I didn't!"
"We're…f-friends?" Tsuna almost choked, so very confused at the mere concept of having a friend his age. His brain tried it's best to keep up with the rush of anxious yet hopeful thoughts. He couldn't help but assume the worst. "A-Again, Nicco. You just met me! Why would you want to be friends with someone no-good like me?!"
Nicco just gave him a funny look. "No-good? You have a great taste in robots, which earns you loads of respect in my book!" The boy nodded sagely as if that answered everything.
But then, Nicco paused, and for the first time since the two had met, he looked timid. A strange vulnerable sort of look took over the boy. Tsuna decided that look was so wrong on the other. Nicco fidgeted in discomfort before speaking again. "And uh... Well… I don't know anyone in Namimori. And Papa is always busy with work and i-it gets lonely playin by yourself… A-and I saw you in here and you looked lonely too and I just got this weird warm feeling..." Tsuna's eyes went alert at that mention of 'the warmth' as he started to call it. Nicco mussed up his auburn locks again and laughed nervously "Haha sorry, I'm saying dumb things! Basically, I felt like you needed a friend like I did so…here I am!" he gave a toothy grin and hopped back to the most important topic.
"So, what should I get you? Oh! Maybe I can get you some of the Superbot trading cards, I earned some chore money so maybe Papa will-" Tsuna tuned out Nicco as he chattered away. He had an important decision to make. Could he possibly…hope that Nicco could become a friend? Could he hope that this was all genuine? The more the downtrodden child thought on it, the more he felt himself giving in, that hope bursting at the walls he built up, wanting to wash away all the distrust and pain, to start anew. Nicco was…different, Tsuna decided. Maybe different could be good? He could only find out by trying, the warm feeling flared in approval at his thought.
"Come to my house!" Tsuna cut off Nicco's ramblings, his sudden outburst making the foreigner pause with surprise. Tsuna's face went red as he flustered out an explination. "U-uh, that is to s-say… Just celebrate my birthday with me at my house? Mama is making a cake and everything a-and it would be nice to have a…a f-friend there too…" Tsuna fidgeted a bit. He hoped he didn't come off weird about it. Oh gosh this was a mistake, Nicco was going to laugh at him and change his mind! How could he mess this up?! He really was No-Good- He was suddenly cut off from his thoughts with a boop on the nose, making him look up and into the face of a grinning Nicco.
"Of course Tsuna! I'd love to meet your Mama and celebrate your birthday! That's what friends do!" the other boy gave Tsuna a light pat on the back and a laugh. "But I still owe ya a gift! You'll just have to wait a bit till I can find a good one si?" The eight year old just stared at Nicco for a few seconds before letting a true smile grow on his face as he fought back a laugh. Nicco made it all seem so simple, so easy to be friends with No-Good Tsuna. He was like a breath of fresh air, a fresh breeze of wind he didn't know he needed.
Nicco for once, was silenced at that big smile his new friend gave. "…W-wow Tsuna. You got a grin that could light up the sky!" The boy in question ducked his head down, shy and self-conscious once more.
"Y-you say really weird things Nicco.." the brunette mumbled as he fiddled with his robot in his lap. Nicco shrugged it off and laughed. "I like to think of it as speaking my mind~ Now then!" the foreigner stood up and, patting the dirt off his pants before offering a hand to his new friend. "Let's go celebrate your birthday si?" Tsuna looked up at the offered hand, pausing only a second before nodding his head reaching out to grasp it. He found himself smiling again. Maybe this was the start of something good.
~to be continued~
Yay!
Reviews are always welcome! Have questions, comments, concerns? I welcome them all and will try to respond to them in a timely manner!
I am in the middle of moving to my first ever apartment, so there might be a slight delay in between now and the next chapter, but the notes are all written down.
