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Chapter II Tsuna
I had a terrible nightmare that night. It was the worst I have ever had in my entire life. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't wearing normal clothes. It looked like ancient Japanese clothing, and I somehow that it was called a kimono. On the black half coat, the montsuki, was black with deep blue wave patterns at the edges. My pants, called hakama, were long and really baggy for my tastes and colored sea green. I was wearing sandals and very thin socks, called tabi.
The next thing I noticed was that I was on a beach. To my left was a forest that was beautifully green, and in the distance was a large snow topped mountain. I have seen that mountain before in my Godzilla movies that I used to watch. The mountain was Mt. Fuji. Between my current attire and Mt. Fuji, I knew I was in Japan.
The sky darkened with storm clouds. It started to pour rain and hail. I never got wet or hit by the hail. I heard the sound of metal against metal and a loud hiss, like a snake. I ran towards the sounds and saw two twelve foot men fighting. One was a noble looking man wearing the armor of a samurai and wielding a long blade, a katana I think it's called.
The other man wasn't wearing any armor, but at least he was wearing pants. While the samurai was using his sword, the bare chested man was using his bare hands. There were moments where I swore the bare chested man's hands looked like snake heads. I tried yelling at them to stop, but they didn't hear me.
There were times when the samurai swung his sword that a blade of water was formed. The other warrior ducked and released fire from his mouth. The water blade and the fire canceled each other out. The steam it created reached me, and I couldn't see what was going on. I then heard that hiss again, then seven more. I looked around and saw a shadow in the mist. It grew larger and larger, until it toward far above me. It then looked right at me, and then it attacked me.
"AHH!" I screamed, sitting straight up in bed and covered in sweat. My heart was pounding in my chest. I tried to make sense of the dream, but I really didn't want to think about it. That snake creature terrified me more than anything in my entire life. I fiddled with my ring as I got out of bed.
I looked at my alarm clock and saw that it was seven in the morning. Calming down, I went to the bathroom and took a shower. As soon as I got into the hot water, I felt better. I felt calmer and a bit more energetic. I got out about fifteen minutes later, toweled off, and brushed my teeth. By the time I got back to my room, it was seven twenty. I decided that I should get going, so I got dressed for the day. Since I didn't know what Percy and I were going to do, I dressed in casual, comfortable clothing. I was wearing a white shirt with a black hooded jacket zipped half way and dark blue jeans.
On my way out of my house I grabbed a banana. I also noticed an envelope that had my name on it. In it were a couple of dollars and a note. The note was from Mom. She must have woken up earlier this morning to set it out for me before going back to sleep. It said:
Tsuna,
Here's some money for the subway and a lunch. Be a good boy.
Love Mom
Smiling, I put the money in my wallet and left my apartment. I ate the banana on my way to Percy's and finished it as I got to his apartment complex. I climbed the stairs and got to the door and knocked. After a moment, Mrs. Blofis opened the door.
"Tsuna!" she said in surprise. "You're early."
"I am?" I asked.
"Yea, about fifteen minutes. Percy isn't even awake yet." She said. I noticed that she was wearing a blue business suit and her make-up was partly on.
"Oh," I said nervously. I began messing with my ring and looked away from her. "Sorry. I…I guess I'll…comeback later then."
"Don't worry about it sweetie." Mrs. Blofis said. "Come on inside."
She didn't give me a chance to say anything. She grabbed my shoulder and led me inside and had me sit on the couch. She went to the bathroom and finished applying her make-up. I looked around while I waited. Turns out that Mrs. Blofis had a lot of pictures of Percy. Before I could grab a picture and get a closer look at them, Mrs. Blofis came out.
"How do I look Tsuna." She asked. The make-up wasn't necessary.
"You look beautiful." I said with a slight blush.
"Thank you dear." She said. "Are you hungry? I could make you breakfast if you want?"
"No thank you Mrs. Blofis." I said.
"Now Tsuna, please call me Sally." She said.
"Sorry." I said, looking away and feeling really uncomfortable. Mrs. Blofis, I mean Sally, smiled and got off the couch. A minute later she came out with a glass of orange juice.
"Drink this." She said.
"Thanks." I said.
"Tsuna, you need to relax." Sally said. "There's nothing going to happen to you here."
"Sorry, it's just that I get really uncomfortable in awkward moments." I admitted. "Not that talking to you is awkward, Sally."
"Thank you dear." said Sally. It was quite for a few minutes. "Tsuna…"
"Yea?" I asked.
"I was wondering…" she started, "What was your father like?"
"My father?" I asked with visible anger on my face. "Why do you want to know about him?"
"I'm just wondering." She said. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"No, it's okay." I said. "It's just that my father is a touchy subject for me."
"Why is that?" she asked.
"Well, I never met the man." I said. "He left before I was born."
"I'm so sorry." Sally said. She put her hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks." I said. "But it's okay. Since he left before I was born, I have no memory of him to say if he was a good or bad father."
"So you don't have any memories of you father?" Sally asked.
"Yeah." I said. "Well…"
"What is it dear?" wondered Sally.
"It's not much," I started, "But it's the earliest memory I have. Well, it's not really a memory per say but more of a feeling. I remember this warm, gentle light over my crib. This light looked like a sunrise over the sea. And then there was the smell that I later found out was the sea itself."
Sally had a curious look on her face. She was about to say something when Percy walked out of his room. He was obviously still half-asleep as his eyes were barely open. He was also in his sleep wear. He was wearing a form fitting black shirt and blue boxers. He walked straight into the kitchen and didn't notice me or Sally. As I heard the fridge open and something being poured, I gave Sally a questioning look. She just shrugged her shoulders. Percy then walked out while drinking a glass of milk and looked at Sally and I. His eyes went wide and he began choking on his milk. I instantly jumped up and practically dragged him to the sink and made him cough up the milk.
"You-you're…uh…here…early." Percy coughed out.
"So I've been told." I said with a small chuckle.
"Percy! Are you alright?!" Sally asked after she rushed into the kitchen.
"He's fine." I said. "Just a…little choked up."
"Oh thank goodness." Sally said, placing her hand over her heart. "I nearly had a heart attack. Oh no! I'm late!"
"Where is Sally going?" I asked as she rushed into her bedroom.
"She has a meeting with her publicist." Percy said. "Mom has a new book based on Greek mythology planned, and wants it to be published."
"Really?!" I asked. "Well, I can't wait to read it. Actually, I can't wait to listen to it. Thank God for Audiobooks."
"Yea, I guess." Percy said.
"Percy, I got to go." Sally said while she dug through her purse. "Here's $30 for something for you two to do. Also get you two something to eat. Bye sweetie. Bye Tsuna."
"Is she always like that?" I asked after Sally kissed out foreheads and left the apartment.
"Sometimes." Percy said. He then realized that he was still in his pajamas. "Uh, wait in the living room until I get ready, okay?"
"Yea, no problem." I said. I walked into the living room and continued to look at the pictures.
There was a picture of Percy, about the age of seven, playing on a beach. The water appeared grey. Percy was building a sand castle and was giving the camera a goofy smile. Written on the bottom left corner was the word Montauk. Then there was a picture of a sixteen year old Percy with boy the age of thirteen, or maybe fourteen. This boy had a head full of black hair that looked like he just got out of bed. He had pale white skin, dark eyes, and was wearing mostly black clothing underneath an old aviator's jacket. On his finger was a silver skull ring and to his side was a black pocket knife.
The picture looked really recent. The boy and Percy were playing a weird card game that involved dice and miniature figurines. Percy looked angry and confused, while to boy looked like he wasn't having enough of a challenge. I chuckled as I put the picture back.
"I never knew Percy had a little brother." I thought. "I wonder where he is. Why wasn't he at dinner last night? He probably stayed at a friend's last night."
I grabbed another picture. This one had a twelve year old Percy and two other people, a boy and a girl. All three of them were wearing orange shirts that said Camp Half-Blood. The girl had curly golden blonde hair with gray eyes and a natural tan. The boy looked slightly older than Percy, with curly brown hair, brown eyes, and a thin wispy beard. I could tell that Percy was the one who took the picture as his arm was mostly extended and that they were really close to each other. Percy had a smile that told me that he was absolutely happy.
"I guess that is how happiness looks when you have friends." I thought. "I hope I can feel that happy one day."
"That's Annabeth and Grover, my best friends." said Percy. I turned around and saw that he was dressed. He was wearing jeans and a light blue shirt with a dark blue jacket unzipped over it. "Ready?"
"Yea." I said.
As we left the apartment, Percy grabbed an apple for the two of us. We walked in silence for a little bit as we ate our apples. After we tossed our apple cores, I began to get curious as to where Percy was taking me and what he had planned for the day. Also, it was uncomfortably quiet, so I started a conversation.
"So…" I began. "Where's your brother Percy?"
"Huh?" Percy asked. "What brother?"
"The black haired boy in the picture of that card game." I said. "He wore black, looked thirteen…"
"Oh that's Nico." Percy said. "He's not my little brother, although I treat him like it. Technically, he's my, uh…cousin."
"That's cool." I said. "On what side is he your cousin?"
"My father's." said Percy. "Oh, we're here."
I looked ahead and saw that we were at a large brick building with a fence around it. It looked old. There was a plaque near the front gate that said Goode High School. Percy led me to our high school.
"So this is our high school?" I asked.
"Yep." Percy said with a smile. "Paul teaches here as an English teacher. But he's not my teacher though. I got Dr. Boring."
"Wha-what's his name?" I laughed out. "Dr. Boring? You're kidding me?!"
"I'm serious. That's his actual name." said Percy.
We laughed for several minutes. Then we walked to the subway station where Percy paid for my fare. He said that we were going to Grand Central Station, as there is more stuff to do near there. While riding the train, I asked Percy about his youth.
"Well, there's really not much to talk about really." He started. "You could say that I had a troubled childhood. I hated my first stepfather. I called him Smelly Gabe. He was a terrible person, but Mom stayed with him to protect me-"
"Protect you from what?" I asked.
"And because I have Dyslexia and ADHD," he continued, ignoring me, "So school was hard. Because of those 'issues', I was kicked out of six schools in six years."
"Wait, six schools in six years?" I asked. "What happened?!"
"Well," started Percy, "In Fourth Grade, I accidently hit the wrong leaver on the catwalk when my school was visiting Sea World Shark Pool and made my class take an unplanned swim, then in Fifth grade I accidentally fired a war cannon which hit the school bus. Stuff like that happened and I thought I was cursed. Then I went to my summer camp-"
"Camp Half-Blood." I interrupted.
"Yea. How did you know that is what it was called?" he asked.
"That picture with…Annabeth and Grover was it? The orange shirts you three wore said Camp Half-Blood." I explained.
"Oh, right." He said. "Anyways, after a summer at Camp Half-Blood, I was able to stay in schools longer and not get expelled. I have been at Goode High for two years, all thanks to Paul."
"Paul seems like a really nice guy." I said.
"He is." Percy said. "I've never seem my mom happier."
"Well, you're not the only one with issues with the educational system." I said.
"What did you do?" asked Percy, his curiosity peaked.
"Nothing much." I said. "One time, Third Grade I think it was, my class went to the Seattle Aquarium. It was really fun and I was on my best behavior. Anyways, my class had special permission to feed the octopuses at the aquarium. By the way, it is very weird to watch an octopus eat. So, when I got to the pool with the food in my hands, all the octopuses came right to me. As I was feeding them, a bully called me a freak then pushed me into the pool. I started crying and got out of the water quickly, then that bully grabbed me by the wrists and told me to stop being a baby. I got myself out of his grip and pushed him into the pool. As soon as he tried to get out of the water, he said that 'I was going to get it'. But as he said that, the octopuses…well, they attacked him."
"And you were blamed?" asked Percy.
"Well, I did push him back." I said.
"That's not fair! He was the one who pushed you in first!" yelled Percy. The other riders on the train began looking at us.
"I think the octopuses scarred him for life." I thought aloud.
"Anything else happened?" Percy asked.
"Hmm, in Middle School," I started, "I was taking a Chemistry final. This school was more 'hands on', so we were allowed to use actual chemicals as long as we followed the instruction. The teacher was taking forever, and with my ADHD, I was practically bouncing off the walls. The teacher warmed me several times to calm down. So when we were finally allowed to start mixing chemicals, my Dyslexia acted up and I grabbed the wrong chemicals. Let's just say, they can't use that lab for a while."
After I told Percy some more of what happened to me, we arrived at Grand Central Station. I've never been here before. It wasn't very busy. The way the light was in the large room made everything appear like gold. It was a cool sight. Percy grabbed me by the crook of my arm and dragged me to a candy store called Sweet on America.
"Is that Percy Jackson?" said a high pitched voice from behind a counter. This woman had short black hair with lots of pink highlights. She looked like she was in her late twenties and wearing a red, white, and blue uniform. "I haven't seen you in years."
"Hey Melissa." Percy said. "How are you doing?"
"Good." Melissa said. "Say, how's your mom been doing?"
"She's great." Percy said. "She's actually talking to her publicist about printing another book."
"That's fantastic!" Melissa said. "Who's this?"
"This is Tsuna." Percy said. "He's new to New York so I'm showing him around."
"Ah, that's sweet." Melissa said. I started to blush a bit. "Y'know, this place is really dead right now. So how about I give you two each a free bag of candy?"
"Really?" Percy asked. She nodded. "Thanks! I'll have a bag of blue jelly beans. What will you have Tsuna?"
"Chocolate mints please." I said. Melissa scooped out our candy and gave us the bags. We said our good byes and left Grand Central Station.
We walked around the city for a while until Percy led us into a mall. We went through several shops. One shop we went through was a Gamestop. We looked as a couple of games, and since Percy had a Wii in his room, we both bought Super Smash Bros Brawl. Then we went into a skateboard shop. Percy found one that (surprise) had a black Pegasus on it while I found one that had a dragon riding on tidal waves. We thought they were cool, but they were way too expensive.
"That looks cool." Percy said as he looked at the board in my hand. "A little artsy though, isn't it?"
"Artsy?" I asked. "Percy, dragons are cool."
"Not if you have seen one up close." He muttered to himself. I was about to say something, but I let it drop.
It was getting close to lunch, and as if on cue both my and Percy's stomachs growled with hunger. We went to the food court and looked around for something to eat. One thing that stuck out to me was an IHOP Express. It was the most outrageous thing I ever saw (I mean, an IHOP in a mall food court, seriously?) However, pancakes sounded fantastic, so Percy and I got some. I ordered the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes with a Pepsi and Percy got the Double Blueberry Pancakes with a Root Beer. I decided to share our lunch, so we cut our pancakes in half and traded. The lunch was great.
After lunch we looked through several more stores. Then near 3:00 we went to the movie theater. The movie we decided to watch was the live action Blue Beetle film starring Tristan McLean. Percy had enough money left to buy the tickets himself, but I insisted that we split the tickets and the ICEEs.
"So…how'd you like the movie?" I asked.
"Well, it was no Avengers or Dark Knight Rises." Percy said.
"Yea, not McLean's best movie." I said. I checked my watch and saw that it was close to five. "We should probably head home."
"I guess." Percy said.
We walked back to Grand Central Station and took the subway back home. Percy and I discussed Goode High School some more. We still talked about it on the walk back to our apartments. When we had to split up, I said good bye to Percy. I was near my apartment complex when I heard Percy calling out to me.
"Tsuna! Hey Tsuna!" yelled Percy.
"What is it Perce?" I asked.
"Oh, uh…I just wanted to ask if you wanted to walk to school with me tomorrow?" he asked, a little winded.
"Sure?" I said kind of questioning him.
"Great!" said Percy. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See ya." I said as he turned around and ran to his apartment.
When I entered my place, I saw Mom had covered the coffee table with folders. There were text books on the floor and she was reading a Peer Review Journal. Mom didn't even look up when I entered the room.
"Busy day at the office Mom?" I asked. Mom popped her head right up.
"Oh Tsuna, you're finally home." Mom said. "How was your day?"
"It was great." I told her. I went on to tell her everything Percy and I did today. She kept wondering if I saw any cute girls, so I blushed and told her to shut it. I sat on the couch and looked over the folders. Even with my Dyslexia I could tell that they were about marine life. "What's this all about? A class your teaching?"
"In a manner of speaking…" started Mom.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I'll talk about it later sweetie." Mom said. "Are you hungry?"
"No, I ate a lot of junk food today, so I'm just going to relax in my room and watch Netflix before bed." I said.
"Ok. See you in the morning Tsuna." said Mom. She stood up and pulled me into a hug and kissed my head.
"Night Mom." I said as I walked back into my room.
After I got into my usual sleeping clothes, I turned on my PS3 and set up Netflix. I started listening in on BBC's Merlin while I grinded in my three Birth by Sleep save files. I got thirsty near 9 o'clock, so I went out to the kitchen and got a glass of water. That was when I heard Mom on the phone.
"-I know it's really unexpected Sally. But I have to go, or the university will, as they put it, 'look somewhere else'. I'll pay you for watching over him. I just don't want him to be by himself. You will? Oh, thank you Sally! I owe you a big one! I'll see you tomorrow then. Okay, bye."
"What was that all about?" I asked.
"Tsuna!" yelled Mom. "I didn't know you were there."
"I was just getting a drink of water before bed." I said with a quizzical look. "What's going on? You're never this distracted. And why were you talking to Sally this late at night?"
"Well, I was hoping to tell you tomorrow." She said.
"Tell me what?" I asked.
"Tsuna, I'm going on a sea expedition tomorrow that will last for two weeks." Mom said. "I'm going up north to study marine life."
"What?!" I yelled. "But-but you just started your job today! How can you leave tomorrow?!"
"The Head of the Marine Sciences division at the university says I have to go or else I lose my job." Mom explained.
"That's not fair!" I argued. "Is that even legal!"
"Tsuna calm down!" Mom said. "Your eyes are changing color!"
When she said that, I started to calm myself down. You see, I have something called idiosyncrasy. The textbook definition of idiosyncrasy (according to Mom) is an unusual feature of a person. Whenever I get angry or really upset, my eyes change color from sea green eyes to a dark blue-ish grey. It's something that I try to hide from other people, so I attempt to bottle my negative emotions.
"Are you okay?" Mom asked. I nodded. "Oh thank God. Your eyes are back to normal."
"But why do you have to go?" I asked.
"Tsuna, this request came out of the blue." said Mom. "The call you just heard, that was me asking Sally if you could stay over there until I get back."
"I can't just stay at Percy's Mom!" I said. "I barely know them, plus it's not fair at all to them!"
"It's for the best Tsuna." Mom said. "Especially since you and Percy are the same age and go to the same school. And it's not like we won't be able to talk to each other. There will be a satellite phone on the boat, so we can talk any time."
"But Mom-" I started.
"TSUNAYOSHI NOBLE! That is enough!" screamed Mom. It was rare for Mom to yell at me. It was even rarer for her to use my full name. "This conversation is over. Tomorrow before I head off to the boat, Paul is going to take your bed over to his place, and after school tomorrow you are to walk with Percy to his house. Now, go to your room and go to bed."
I stormed off and slammed my door. I jumped into my bed and punched my pillows, then screamed into them. I didn't fall asleep for a couple of hours. I eventually fell asleep but my alarm seemed to go off a few minutes later. I got up, dressed, and left my apartment, not even saying goodbye to Mom. Percy and I met up not long after that.
"Hey Tsuna" Percy said with a goofy smile. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine Percy." I said with a yawn.
"Did you sleep alright dude?" He asked.
"Not really." I said.
"So my mom said that you're staying over at my place for a few days." said Percy.
"Yea, I found out about that last night." I said.
"That's cool!" he said. "I always wanted to have a sleepover."
"Aren't we a little old for sleepovers Perce?" I asked, a smile appearing on my face.
"I don't think so." He said. "I told mom I will gladly share my room with you, since we don't have guest room."
"You don't have to do that Percy." I said. "I don't want to be burden."
"You're not a burden Tsuna, you're my friend." Percy said. His smile was infectious, which caused me to smile. He then threw his arm around my shoulder. "My friends are never burdens. Besides, mom always makes even better food when we have company."
It was weird. I've only known Percy a few days but I felt more comfortable with him than anybody else I knew. In no time, I was in a better mood. We then arrived at Goode High School. Percy led me to the school's office. After I talked to the secretary, Percy had to go and said that he'll see me at lunch. The secretary handed me my schedule and set me on my way.
I got lost in no time. All the halls looked the same and the halls were already cleared of students. I wondered around aimlessly for several minutes. While looking down at my schedule (and walking backwards out of frustration), I bumped into a janitor. He was a really old Japanese guy. He looked so old that he looked like that he could barely hold himself up. He was pudgy with a noticeable hunchback. A bandana covered his forehead and wrapped around his head.
"Watch were you're going, orokana kodomo." The janitor said with a thick Japanese accent. His mouth sounded like it was stuffed with peanut butter. I didn't respond to his insult, but I was curious about it.
"Sorry sir." I said and bowed my head slightly. It seemed like the most polite thing to do. "I'm new here, so I don't know where my class is. Could you show me where it is?"
I lifted my schedule to show him what class I was in. He grabbed the paper, but when he saw my ring, he just starred at it. It was really creepy. But what was even creepier was that his breathing deepened, like he was an animal catching the scent of its prey. He looked up at me, as if he was staring right into my soul, and then took the schedule out of my hand.
"That's an interesting ring boy." The janitor said. "Is it of Japanese origin?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" I asked.
"I like seeing relics from my homeland." said the janitor. "Ever since I was forced to come to this country, I yearn to see anything from my country. Follow me boy."
He led me to my class. During the walk, he didn't say anything, but he did look back at me every now and again. When we arrived at the classroom, he walked away. Thinking that the janitor was weird and really creepy, I walked into the class room.
"What have we here?" asked the teacher. He has black hair that was gelled back and a five o'clock shadow. He was wearing black pants and a black trench coat buttoned all the way.
"Sorry sir." I said. I handed him the note that the secretary gave me.
"Ah, the new student." said the teacher. "Tsunayoshi? Is that how you say it?"
"Yes sir, but I prefer Tsuna." I said.
"Well, I'm Mr. Sylar. I prefer to just be called Sylar." said Sylar. "Tell us about yourself."
"Oh, somebody liked Heroes." I muttered quietly under my breath.
I looked towards the class itself and saw several different cliques. There was a group of jocks in the back, the 'just barely dress code acceptable' girls on the wall near the door, the nerds and geeks near the front, and most surprisingly, Percy, near the window. He was smiling his smile and I was happy that I had at least one friend in the class.
"Hello everyone." I started. "My name is Tsunayoshi Noble, Tsuna for short. I recently moved here from Seattle, I trained in Kendo and Fencing and love to swim. And my favorite TV show is Doctor Who."
Nobody was paying attention. As expected. Percy, however, was. After I was finished, Mr. Sylar told me to take a seat next to Percy. I gladly did.
"Tsuna, just so you know, this is Biology 2." said Mr. Sylar. He turned his back and pulled down a screen that had a diagram of a brain on it. "Let's continue with the brain, shall we? Such a marvelous organ. And how much of it do we actually use? Ten percent of it, maybe twenty. Imagine the answers we'd have with a hundred percent. Why is there evil? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? How do we make love stay?"
"Really? Did he even realize he just quoted a villain from Heroes?" I asked, leaning over to Percy. He snickered.
Class flew by quickly. As soon as the bell rang everyone in the class jumped right up and left the class. As I took out my schedule, Percy snatched it out of my hand. When he gave it back, he said our schedules were exactly the same.
"I guess Paul figured it would be easier for me if we were in the same classes." I said.
"That's probably the reason." Percy said. "Hey, there's something on your back."
"What?" I asked. He wiped the back of my shirt and showed me that it had a bunch of cobwebs on it.
So we went to our classes. After Biology we had a Free Period, so Percy showed me around the school. Then we went to English, and it was boring! Honestly, it was absolutely terrible, and the teacher himself was a bore! Ironically his name was Dr. Boring. And he had this terrible, obviously fake Scottish accent or something like that, but I didn't get on him for it. And the fact that he was teaching Shakespeare… just kill me now. After English we had Lunch. I had the burger while Percy had the pizza. While eating the janitor that helped me out that morning was watching me and Percy while we ate.
"Who is that?" I asked, pointing at the janitor.
"Oh, that's Mr. Umo." said Percy. "He started here about two weeks ago. Personally, he creeps the hell out of me. When I first met him, I swore that he was sniffing me."
"He did that to me too." I exclaimed. "Then there was that thing he said to me."
"What did he say?" Percy asked.
"He called me an orokana kodomo." I said. "It means stupid kid."
"What language is that?" Percy asked.
"Japanese." I said. "But the thing is Percy, I don't speak Japanese."
"I thought you could?" Percy said.
"Why? Because I'm half-Japanese?" I asked, a bit hurt. "Please Percy."
After Lunch we went to Algebra. How dull. We had another Free Period after that. He and I walked around the exterior of the school until our last class, which was Gym. Gym was a great way to end my first day of school. All of my pent up energy from sitting in classes all day was used in a fantastic way-kickball. I hadn't played kickball in years and it was really fun to play. Percy and I were on separate teams. It was close, but I ended up winning for my team. I was on third base, and as the ball was kicked I ran to home. Percy somehow got the ball and was right on my tail, but I dove and scored.
After school Percy and I went to his house. When we got there we put our bags on the floor near Percy's room and Percy told me to just relax since we had no homework. I went into the kitchen for a drink and saw that there was a plate full of fresh blue chocolate chip cookies and a note. The note was from Sally which said:
"Hope you enjoyed your first day of school Tsuna! I'm glad that you're staying with us. You seem a bit more responsible than Percy, so make sure he doesn't eat all of the cookies. Paul and I went to the store to get stuff for dinner, so I'll be back soon-Sally"
"Oh man." said Percy. "Mom went all out for you. Her blue cookies are the best."
He tried to steal about five of them at a time but I pulled the plate away. I gave him the note and he groaned. He then poured us two glasses of milk and we sat on the couch and watched TV. After an hour we heard the door unlock and we got up. We saw that Sally and Paul had their arms full of grocery bags so we helped them out.
"Thank you." Sally said. She gave Percy and me a hug. "Tsuna tell me about your day."
So I did just that while she was putting away the groceries. Paul asked if I liked my schedule and I said that it was great. While Percy and I talked about school Sally and Paul made dinner. Paul made the tossed salad and Sally made the lasagna. It was fantastic. After dinner Percy and I did the dishes.
We then went to Percy's room (I guess it was also my room for now). My bed was brought over here. Percy's room was rearranged to accommodate my bed. Our beds faced each other and Percy's dresser was at the foot of his bed while a suit case filled with my clothes was at mine. Percy had a small TV and his Wii was connected to it. I went to take a shower and got into my sleeping clothes. After I got back into the room Percy went to take his shower so I played Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When he returned in a black shirt and blue boxers we played VS and co-op.
"Boys," said Sally as she entered the room, "Would you like to watch a couple of movies with me and Paul?"
"Sure." said Percy.
"What are the movies?" I wondered.
"I think Paul grabbed Grown Ups and Just go With It." said Sally. "They star Adam Sandler."
"He's funny." I said.
So we watched movies together, like a family. We watched Just Go with it first. After the first movie I made stove top popcorn for all of us. I made a bowl for Sally and Paul and a bowl for Percy and I. While watching the second movie I nearly choked on my popcorn. After the movies Sally and Paul did the dishes while Percy and I went to bed. Before we went to our room, I hugged Sally and Paul.
"Thanks for letting me stay here." I said.
"You're welcome Tsuna." said Sally. I then walked to my room and lied down on my bed.
Percy and I talked a bit while we drifted off to sleep. When I fell asleep I had another nightmare. I was in the sewers. The entire place was shrouded in webs. I was in a giant spider's net. I shuddered at the thought. I floated to the center of the web and saw a large spider shaped shadow. In front of it was a large glowing object.
"I think I found him, my liege." said the spider. "The Umi no Musuko is here."
"Are you sure it's him?" said a commanding voice that sounded like grinding stones.
"Yes I-" paused the spider.
"What is it?" asked the stony voice. "Why did you pause?"
"I- think I found two sons of the sea." The spider said.
"What do you mean two?!" the commanding voice demanded. "The sea god has only one son!"
"But the scent-" the spider started.
"Baka yarō!" screamed the voice. "Find the right scent! It must be one of these two boys. You should know that I do not tolerate failure, after I squished your wife."
"Yes Daranibō-sama." Said the spider with obvious anger.
"You have two weeks." said the voice. "If that son of the sea is not in my presence before then…well, at least your wife's death was quick."
I was shaken awake by Percy. He looked scared. He said that I was yelling in my sleep. I told it was just a nightmare, but he didn't look too sure. Looking at the clock, I decided that it was time for me to get up and get ready for school.
The days I stayed over at Percy's went by fast. Sally and Paul treated me like a second son. Percy and I were getting closer to each other too. One could say that we were like brothers. Mom kept her promise of calling every day. I really missed her, but she said she was having fun so at least she was happy. But after a week her calls stopped coming. I was extremely worried, but I thought it was due to signal interference or something.
After the third day it was announced that there was going to be dance the Friday before Mom gets home. Percy said that he was bringing his girlfriend Annabeth to the dance and that I should go. He pestered me for ages to go so I said I would.
Speaking of Annabeth, I met her for the first time during my first Saturday staying at Percy's. I'll admit she's very beautiful with her blond hair and intense grey eyes. Apparently today marked their first month anniversary.
"So how did you two meet?" I asked Annabeth while Percy got everything ready. It was around nine in the morning.
"We met at our summer camp." Annabeth said. "When he first arrived at camp, he fainted. I was elected to feed him while he was passed out."
"Isn't that the sweetest thing?" I said. Percy walked out carrying a picnic basket. "I hope you didn't drool or anything when Annabeth fed you Percy."
"Oh, she told you about that..." Percy said with his face red. "Uh, do you wanna go Annabeth?"
"Sure." She said. "Nice meeting you Tsuna."
"You too." I said. "See ya Perce."
While Percy left, I picked up our room. It became a real mess in a few days. After that I finished the homework that was assigned the Friday before. I still had plenty of time to kill so I played more Birth by Sleep. Sally was tired from work, so we ordered in pizza. It was really late when Percy returned home. He was wearing a tux, which was weird as he left in jeans and a t-shirt.
"Nice tux." I said. "Where did you take Annabeth?"
"Oh, we went to a French restaurant." Percy said, trying to untie his tie.
"With what money?" I asked. "Come here, let my untie it."
After I untied his tie, he went to the bathroom to change. We went to sleep and I helped him with his homework the next day. We relaxed most of the day when there was a knock on the door near dinner. Sally opened the door and she sounded really happy.
"Percy! Nico's here!" Sally yelled. She led a boy of thirteen or so into our room. With his black hair and aviator's jacket, I figured that this was the boy in the picture.
"Nico? What are you doing here?" Percy asked.
"It's Sunday." Nico said. "Remember? You made me promise to come over for Sunday dinner at least once a month or you would drag me here yourself."
"Did I really say that?" asked Percy.
"It sounds like you." I said, extending my hand. "Hi Nico, I'm Tsuna. Nice to meet you."
"You too." Nico said with a small smile. He looked really cautious and nervous. He kept his gaze at his feet, not really looking me in the eye.
"Say Nico, do you like video games?" I asked.
"Huh?" he said, now looking up. "Oh yeah, I do."
"Here, play this." I said as I handed him my PSP.
"Why are you-" started Nico.
"Play the game; I think you'll like it." I said. Nico took my PSP and jumped on Percy's bed. The three of us talked until it was dinner. When I asked Nico where he lives he responded with down south.
"So how do you know Percy?" asked Nico, his face practically buried in the game.
"Well, we met when we were younger." I said. "According to our moms, we went to the same school together before I moved to Seattle. Then my mom got a job here in New York and we moved back here."
"That's cool." He said. "AH! That armor thing killed me again!"
"You're already at Trinity Armor?" I asked. "Did you skip the cut scenes or something?"
"They went by so slowly." Nico said. "I needed to skip them.
"Dinner's ready!" yelled Sally.
We all ate and talked. Nico and Percy did a lot of the talking. Something about Percy persuading Nico to go to camp for a little while. When I asked about their camp, the quieted up. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel about that. After dinner, Sally insisted that Nico stay the night, but Nico said that he had to go.
The Monday after was when my life started to feel like Hell. When Percy and I walked out of the school there was a large group of jocks waving around shinai (Kendo swords) like idiots. I was hardly impressed by them. They kept boasting that they were master swordsman after a week of training. While that irritated me, it meant nothing. Then they all saw me and Percy.
"Look who it is guys!" said their jock leader named Dylan. He was ugly. Short and fat with brown freckles that covered every inch of his arms and face. His hair was a dirty red, cut so short he was practically bald. "It's the Japanese swordsman and his freak of a friend."
"Wow that hurt." I said sarcastically. "Not like I haven't heard worse. Come on Percy."
"Fine." said Percy, who had his fists clenched.
"Hey come back here." said Dylan. "We just wanted to talk."
"Yea I bet." said Percy.
"Shut it freak." said one of Dylan's goon.
"What do you want Dylan?" I asked emotionlessly.
"I heard you said that you were trained in Kendo-" said Dylan.
"And fencing, what's your point?" I asked.
"I challenge you to a duel." He said. When he said that I broke out laughing. Percy looked at me like I was crazy, while Dylan and his goons looked pissed.
"You? Challenge me?" I laughed even harder. "Let's go home Percy before I die of laughter."
"Hey, get back here!" yelled Dylan. I ignored him and coerced Percy to do the same. "Oh, I guess the chink is a coward!"
I stopped walking. Percy scowled and nearly attacked Dylan. I had to grab a tight hold on his arm to make him stop. He looked at my face and saw that while I was hurt, I wasn't going to let it rule me.
"Please ignore the fat ginge Percy." I said. "He's not worth our time."
"Okay." Percy said while restraining his anger. "Let's go home."
So we walked home. I didn't say anything. Percy was worried, but I could tell that he didn't know what to say. When we were a block away from the apartment, several of Dylan's goons blocked our way. Percy led me through an alley, but there was Dylan with his other goons. We were surrounded.
"What do you want Dylan?" Percy asked.
"Nothing you Greek Freak." Dylan said.
"You are really starting to piss me off Dylan." I said.
"What's with your eyes?" one of Dylan's goons asked. I realized that my eyes turned gray again.
"Never mind my eyes." I said. "Percy and I are leaving. Leave…us…alone."
We turned around and started walking out of the alley. Then I heard Dylan scream and run towards us. A strange feeling came over me. I became more aware of my surroundings. I could hear the whishing of wind from behind me. Everything appeared to be moving a bit slower than usual.
In an instant I pushed Percy into a wall and sidestepped to the right. In the corner of my eye I saw Dylan swing a metal pipe down where I was just standing. I grabbed his wrist and elbowed him in the face. He stepped back and with the pipe in my hand I hit the back of his knees, causing him to fall to the ground. I then kicked him onto his back and put the pipe to his throat.
"Where is the honor in attacking an opponent with his back turned?!" I yelled. I don't remember ever being so angry. "Tell me!"
"I-I-" started Dylan.
"In most cultures, you'd be put to death for such a thing." I said. "But in one, you would be forced to kill yourself."
I would've pressed the pipe harder into his throat if it wasn't for Percy. After looking into his face I calmed down. I threw the pipe to the ground and walked out of the alley. I gave one last angry look at Dylan. He looked dazed, but not hurt.
When we arrived at the apartment, I heard Sally crying. Percy and I gave each other worried looks. Percy opened the door and Sally's crying became louder. We walked to the living room and saw that Sally was on the couch crying. Paul was holding her tenderly. Standing on the other side of the coffee table was a priest, and next to him was a woman in a business suit carrying a suitcase.
"Mom, what's going on?" asked Percy.
"Percy, Tsuna…" Paul said, but his voice wavered.
"You must be Tsunayoshi." said the woman. "My name is Dianna Crossman. I am the head of the Marine Science division at the university. And this is Father Enrico Maxwell."
"Hello, my child." said the priest.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Tsunayoshi, we have terrible news." said Crossman. "A few days ago, we lost contact with the ship your mother Donna was on."
"Wha-what?" I said. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"There was a storm." Crossman said. "Far up north, which was where we last heard the ship was located. We found the ship, but it was underwater. There were no survivors."
"No…no…please…" I started to say. My heart snapped into pieces. My mother, the woman who gave me life, the woman who protected, raised and loved me, is dead. Tears started flowing down my face like waterfalls.
"Tsuna," said Father Maxwell, "We all have our time in this world. God made us this way."
"STUFF YOUR GOD SOMEWHERE ELSE!" I yelled and the entire apartment shook violently. Car alarms started blaring and plates fell to the floor. Percy tried to comfort me, but I pushed him to the away. Before anyone could so anything, I ran.
I didn't even think about where I was running to. My mind was distant. I was letting my body act on its own. In what felt like forever, and at the same time too quickly, I arrived at the door of my apartment. With my hand shaking, I unlocked the door and entered what was supposed to be my new home with my mom. I slowly walked to the living room and grabbed a picture.
This picture was of one of my happiest memories. It was the first time I ever swam in the ocean. I was wearing a pair of green swimming trunks and yellow water wings. Mom was wearing a one piece red suit with a black cloth tied around her waist. I was splashing the water while Mom was trying to make sure I was safe.
The picture brought tears to my eyes again. I fell to the floor and curled up into a ball. I cried and cried for hours. After a while I heard the front door open but I didn't even look up. It could have been a psycho thief that was going to kill me, but I didn't care. I heard shuffling and felt an arm around my shoulders. I lifted my head and saw that it was Percy.
"Per-*sniff*-cy." I said. "So-sorry. I feel like such a-"
"It's okay." Percy said as he gripped my shoulder tighter. "You shouldn't hold stuff like this in. Let it out."
I couldn't control it. I just let it all out. And Percy just let held me tight while I cried over my dead mother.