It was a perfectly clear day in Namimori. The sky was a bright azure blue, without a cloud in the sky. Occasionally, a small breeze would pick up and rustle the blades of vivid green grass with a small whoosh. The branches of trees swayed lightly as well, the green leaves swishing along with the wind. Along the roads, the houses rested firmly in their positions, proud and silent.
It was a great day. A great, peaceful, normal day.
On the road, the small jingle of a bell chime was heard. The thin tires of a sleek silver bicycle came into view, and then the pizza delivery boy sitting contently on the small black leather seat. He wore the simple uniform of a delivery boy: a light red and white jacket with a pair of matching baggy pants that reached his ankles. A few tuffs of black hair were visible under his red cap that shielded his eyes from the sun.
He pedaled fast, fluently, but was in no visible hurry. To a passerby on the street, he would just seem like a normal boy doing some exercise. Of course, the minute they realized the uniform and the multiple boxes of pizza behind him, they would have likely changed their mind.
Slowly coming to a stop, he hopped off his bike and rested it next to the house, the gleaming metal plate reading "Sawada" right above the seat. Whistling a small merry tune, the boy carefully picked up four pizza boxes and checked their tags.
"Cheese, mixed, pepperoni, mushroom, hmm…that should be it!" He smiled joyfully, happy that his first delivery went so well. Surely his boss would see his potential and take a liking to him! With the utmost care, he walked up to the house, making sure that the boxes were not tilting in the slightest, and reached the door. Taking a deep breath, he muttered to himself confidently, "Okay…I can do this." He reached up to ring the doorbell.
"DIE, REBORN!"
Blink. "What…?" he whispered softly.
BOOM!
He jumped, just nearly dropping the four boxes of pizza before recovering his balance. His eyes were big and wide, mouth slightly parted, before remembering his place and snapping his mouth shut with a soft click of teeth. He cleared his throat and decided to knock instead. "Um…excuse me…this…this is the Namimori Pizza delivery…here with your order."
He sighed. Okay. The worst was over. Now all he needed was to give the client their pizzas, get the money, give them a warm smile, and be off to deliver the rest-
"Oh, you've finally arrived." The delivery boy blinked. When had the door swung open? And where was his client? He tilted his head in confusion. "Down here."
He looked down to see…a baby…?…In a suit, curly sideburns, and a small green chameleon blinking its giant eyes on his fedora. Oh. The delivery boy sighed and smiled to the baby. Inwardly, he wondered what sort of parents would dress their own son like a wealthy businessman. "Excuse me, young one; may I please see your parents?"
The baby hid its relatively big head underneath his fedora. "Don't underestimate me, delivery boy. Do that…" the chameleon walked down to his extended finger, "and you might not have a second chance to do so."
Blink. Mouth open. Eyes wide. Sanity… a quarter of it lost into the fiery pits of hell. Was…was that a gun? No, he assured himself, it was only a toy; yeah, a new, unique toy for kids with psychotic problems and impulses to kill people. No big deal. None at all. "Um…kid…you might not want to do that with every one you meet, they might get-"
"Aren't you going to follow what I say?" The baby smirked. "After all, you want to get a good report from your boss, right? I could always complain on how…inconvenient you're acting." The smirk widened as he saw the remaining blood drain from the delivery boy's face. "Oh, and I choose to wear this. I'm part of the mafia…and," the baby raised his head, "the world's greatest Hitman."
The door slammed in the delivery boy's face. The pizza boxes were no longer in his shaky hands. Oh god…dear god, what was that? Insane was an understatement! Oh god…oh god…oh god…
He walked back to his bike, picked up the pizzas, and pedaled to the next house. An old woman answered the door.
She was greeted with a sickly white face and a stack of lopsided pizza boxes with the juices and oils spilling from the open cracks. "Hello, miss, here's your order from Namimori Pizza delivery…"
If you were a passerby, you would have been shocked at the scream that pierced the air to this perfectly normal morning, as well as what sounded suspiciously to be a loud slap…
xX~~0ooOoo0~~Xx
Reborn smirked as Leon returned to his chameleon form and climbed back onto his fedora. The boxes of pizza that the delivery boy was holding were lying innocently on the wooden floor. Meanwhile, the whine of a five-year-old cow was being heard throughout the whole house.
"MAMA! REBORN IS BEING A MEANIE!" The cow screamed out. "Mama" was holding him while rocking him gently in her arms.
"There there…don't cry now…" Nana Sawada cooed softly. Her dark chocolaty eyes twinkled softly as her short brown hair waved along with her movements. "Everything's okay…shh…" His whining steadily decreased, until only a few sniffs were heard. "Now, look! I have Lambo's favorite candy~"
"Grape candy!" Lambo shouted happily! He grabbed the small piece from her other hand and jumped to the floor. He smiled mischievously. "Heh heh heh…This is all Lambo-san's! Nobody elses!" He raised the small piece into the air. "ALL LAMBO-SAN'S! GRAPE CANDY IS ALL LAMBO-SAN'S!"
Reborn jump-kicked his head, knocking him down. "Shut up. Don't give Mama any trouble." He turned to her and smiled, just like a normal baby; a normal, happy, innocent baby. "The pizzas have arrived, Mama. They're all there: cheese, mixed, pepperoni, and mushroom."
She giggled, closing her eyes for a short moment while raising her clasped hand to her chin. "Oh, that's wonderful!" Mrs. Sawada fixed her happy gaze on Reborn. "Now, all we need to do is gather everyone. I-Pin-"
"Here, Mama," a small high pitched voice called out. "We are in the kitchen. Futa-nii is here, too."
"Yup," a slightly deeper voice called out. "Now all we need is Tsuna-nii."
"Ah," Mrs. Sawada sighed. "He should still be in bed. And it's almost reached twelve o' clock…" She shook her head, contemplating, before a light bulb appeared above her head. No, really. You could see the brightness just above her brown locks. "Reborn-kun, you wouldn't mind getting Tsu-kun out of bed for me, would you?"
"Of course not, Mama." He kicked the already down Lambo on the head. Though, anyone would doubt it hurt, considering all that hair. The kid had a giant afro; surely it wouldn't be that bad. "Come on, Stupid-cow, we need to get Dame-Tsuna."
"HEY! Lambo-san is not stupid, Lambo-san is smarter than everyone, even Reborn! GYA HA HA HA HA-!"
Kick. "Shut up and be useful for once!" Reborn hopped up the wooden steps with ease. Lambo…well…he was nursing a big bump that appeared on the back of his head. Huh. Guess that hair wasn't really helpful after all.
"Stupid Reborn…" he muttered under his breath. "You'll definitely pay some day. Lambo-san will make sure of it!"
xX~~0ooOoo0~~Xx
In the room above, with a small wooden tuna fish hanging from the doorway, some soft snores could be heard. The room was relatively messy, with foam cup noodle containers lying in a pile on the ground and pillows scattered all over the room. The wooden table in the middle had a load of paper on it, tests and quizzes, all having the same red mark at the top: a big fat 0.
Sunlight poured through the window and hit a young boy with soft brown hair, just like Mrs. Sawada's. It was spiky and soft at the same time, complementing his somewhat tan skin. He was lying on his left side, a blanket covering his stomach area and a pair of baggy blue pajamas covering his body. It was serene, calm, peaceful.
But of course, it wasn't normal in the regular life of the fifteen year old boy named Tsunayoshi Sawada. So, let's change the scene, shall we?
"Get up, Dame-Tsuna!"
Bang!
"!" Caramel eyes shot open as the owner of them trembled at the edge of his bed, a big green hammer smashed just where his…his…his…!
"REBORN!" he shrieked. "Are you trying to castrate me?"
Reborn did his trademark smirk. "And if I said yes?"
Tsuna glared (or rather, tried to glare) at the tiny Sun Arcobaleno who also had to be his home tutor. "W-well…don't do that! I…I'd rather you give me a concussion and broken ribs than…well…that!"
"Oh? So you want me to break your ribs?" He raised his hammer. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll still be able to move. With your dick still attached to your body, small as it may be, you can still have your way with Kyoko and make bundles of beautiful babies to become the next Vongola boss."
Tsuna blinked, once, twice, before flushing all the way to the tips of his ears. If you looked closely enough, you could almost see smoke coming out of his head. "W-w-w-what? No! O-of course I'm not going to push her to my bed and get on top of her and force her to have s-se-se-!"
Bang!
"OW!" Tsuna shouted. Rather loudly and high-pitched, if I may add. "Reborn!"
"I don't want a description of your secret fantasies." The Sun Arcobaleno raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you jack off to this every night in the shower-"
"NO!" Tsuna shrieked. Still high-pitched and girly sounding. "I-I-I've never…e-even touched myself that way!"
BANG!
"Don't interrupt me, Dame-Tsuna." The gun he was holding in his hand that had morphed from the hammer turned back into Leon, the chameleon form. "And I still don't need to hear from you that you haven't manned up to masturbate yet." Tsuna flushed into a bright rosy red as Reborn turned to go out of the room. "Get changed. The pizzas just arrived and you don't want to keep Mama waiting."
The door shut behind Reborn, the wooden fish on the other side making a tap tap noise that echoed across the silent room. Tsuna sighed, bringing his hands to cover his burning cheeks. "Another day…"
Another day. Another perfectly normal day in the eyes of Tsunayoshi Sawada, that was about to start.
xX~~0ooOoo0~~Xx
Tsuna sighed. A long, drawn out sigh. He had just changed into a pair of indigo shorts that reached his knees and a plain white T-shirt that was a little too long on his small frame. He stared down the steps.
"Okay, you can do this." He took in a deep breath. Step. Step. Good. Everything was going smoothly so far. Just take it slow and easy... hold onto the rail…Step. Step. Half-way there…almost…Step. Step. There. He went down the stairs without tripping. Or slipping. Or sliding. And now all he had to do was go and walk to the kitchen-
"HIIEEE!" Thud.
…Or trip on the way there when he already made it past the daemon staircase of doom and destruction and death. What did he trip on, anyways? Air?
"Hah…" he sighed, getting up off the wooden floor. "Wonder how much food is left…"
"Tsuna-nii!" Futa chirped our happily. He held the big red notebook in his lap as he sat on the table where the pizza boxes lay. He was the only one there. "You made it! There's still some of each flavor left, so you can choose whichever one you want."
Wow. Reborn didn't eat all of his food for once? Tsuna let a small smile appear on his face. "Thanks, Futa-"
"But don't eat all of it." Futa frowned. "Reborn-san said if you ate more than one or two slices, he would…c-c-ca…castrate…you…?" He tilted his head innocently. "Yeah… I think he used the word 'castrate.'" Furrowing his eyebrows, he stared directly at Tsuna. "Tsuna-nii, what does 'castrate' mean?"
Dear god, how was he supposed to explain this to a kid? "W-well…" he started. "I-It means…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Futa smiled. "Don't worry, Tsuna-nii. I was just kidding." He giggled childishly. "I know what that-term-you-cannot-explain means."
Oh, he did? Well. "I just made an utter fool of myself…"
"What did you say, Tsuna-nii?"
"N-nothing! Nothing at all! What made you think I said anything?" He forced a laugh. "I didn't say anything. No, nothing at all."
"…"
"…"
"…Tsuna-nii, you're a really bad liar."
"…"
Grumble.
Tsuna jumped. "What was that?" His face drained of color. "It…it wouldn't be…Reborn…right…?"
Futa laughed. "No, it's your stomach. I think you need to start eating now. It's already twelve thirty." He jumped out of his seat, his red scarf waving behind him. "No doubt you're hungry already. You didn't eat any breakfast." He walked to the door of the kitchen.
That was true. He went up to grab a slice of cheese pizza and took a tiny bite before chewing thoughtfully. "Futa," he swallowed the chunk, "where's everyone else?"
"Oh." Futa turned back to face Tsuna. "They went shopping."
There was a small glint in his eye, a slight flash of uncertainty, but it was gone so fast, anyone would have wondered if it was really there. Tsuna, focusing on his pizza, didn't notice. "Oh, okay, thanks for telling me." He took another bite of pizza, some of the oil dripping down the corners of his lips.
"No problem." Futa exited the kitchen. Behind the door, he grinned, albiet with a small trace of sadness. "Something new is about to begin..."
On the other side of the kitchen, Tsuna finished the slice of pizza quickly. He licked his fingers, sucking a little on each individual one. "Today feels…different." Hyper Intuition, or whatever, but it didn't feel right. Not at all.
"Ugh…" He crouched down, a loud buzzing sound resounding loudly in his mind. "Ngh…my head…"
The last thing he remembered was pulling his saliva-coated fingers out of his mouth before falling into unsteady darkness.
xX~~0ooOoo0~~Xx
Poor child…such an unwelcome fate…
Um…hello? Who are you?
Past…present…future…
W-what? What are you saying?
Such a sweet boy too…heh…
What do you mean? Hello!
The flames of the sky…
H...how...how do you know about the flames?
Hm...perhaps...you will understand someday...
Understand what? Tell me now!
Demanding...shall I give you...a hint?
Can't you just spare me the annoyance and tell me?
Heh...you really hide a rude side of you underneath that innocent demeanor.
W-well...you're annoying me right now!
Yes, you already implied that before.
Arg!...F-fine. Can you give me the hint?
Very well...you'll find out when you wake up.
Wake...up...? Wait...this is a dream?
No...more like an alternate universe you can visit in your sleep. Of course, you'd need our permission first.
O...okay...wait. Who's "our"?
Oh, what I wish I could tell you now...
What...?...Wait! Don't...don't go yet!
Heh. Not my choice. Perhaps...we will...meet...again...
xX~~0ooOoo0~~Xx
As Tsuna slowly came back to his senses, he noticed himself sprawled awkwardly on the cold hard floor with his arms over his head. The pizza was still there; he could smell them lying somewhere on the table above him. Right. Pizza. Reborn. Reborn putting something in his pizza. Speaking of whch, that was one weird dream...was his subconscious mind really that delusional...? Or did Reborn somehow gain the power to enter his dreams and decide to shred the last few pieces of his sanity?
"…Tsu…Tsuna…wake…Tsuna…wa…up…"
He groaned, rolling away from the warm hand that was shaking him gently awake to lie on his stomach. "Five more minutes, Reborn…" he mumbled groggily.
The voice huffed indignantly. "Honestly, Tsuna, do I sound anything like Reborn?"
…Now that he thought of it, no, the voice didn't sound like Reborn. It was too…deep…and older sounding to be Reborn. And it sounded masculine, so it couldn't have been his mom. The only other people he could think of would be his dad and Dino, but he was sure that his father was still working in Italy. His mom would have told him if he came back. And Dino was...more energetic. He would have come hopping into the room and shout, "Hey, little brother! How're you doing?"
But even if his father came to Japan and Dino had a mood swing, it couldn't have been either of them. This voice sounded…different. Too different. It was hard to explain.
A chuckle was heard, though it was different from the voice he had heard. It was…much deeper. "Decimo, you ought to listen to what your other says." Oh great. He used the term Decimo. So, in other words, it was one of his mafia members acknowledging his title. "Besides, if it was Reborn, he would have just hit you with his hammer." Hnn...he agreed with him there. But still.
"Go away…I don't want to be the Vongola boss…"
Another voice whispered into his ear. "You have to be. There's no other candidate." Another voice. Wonderful. So there were three voices surrounding him. Wonderful. Just wonderful. And they were all probably mafia members. "Besides, don't you think I wouldn't be in my position right now if you weren't the Vongola Decimo?"
Ugh. They were confusing him. "Shut up…I already told Reborn that I'm not being the boss."
"That's not what you said at the time when you had to fight the Simon Famiglia." Great. It was the first voice again. And it was definitely mafia members right now.
He shot his eyes open, sitting upright to glare at the three voices, before freezing up. He stared. And stared. And stared.
And they stared back.
The second voice that had spoken smiled warmly at him, sunset colored orbs flashing. "Well, finally up, Decimo?"
On this perfectly wonderful day in Namimori, if you were a passerby, you might be shocked at the high-pitched "HHIIIIIEEEEE!" that came from the Sawada household. You might be surprised at the bouts of deep laughter following this high-pitched shriek. And then you would stare, shrug, and happily go on in this normal day.
But then again, it isn't exactly normal anymore, now is it?
Yay, my first story! And...it kinda sucks. I might need a beta-reader, now that I look at this...and I might need to edit some stuff...do this and that...actually come up with a plotline...blah blah blah...
Anyways! Thank you for reading! Please give me some constructive criticism, I really really need that right now. I'm not sure how steadily I can update this, althoug I assure you, I will try to keep this going! I typed this in a night, surely it can't be that difficult, right?
(And now I have a feeling that karma is going to bite me in the a$$ now that I've just said that. D:)
EDIT: Yes, I edited it and added stuff after it was already published. The only part you might need to read of this is the italic to regular to italic to regular etc. part. Otherwise, it's just rearanging things to make it sound better. Otherwise, for the second chapter, it will be coming soon (maybe), although probably not today. I have lots of homework and studying for tests to do, so...yeah. School stuff.