Thank you for your time and attention! I'm somewhat of a novice and have no beta reader, so there might be a few errors. If you spot any, please notify me. I'm expecting my schedule to get a little bit busier, so just keep that in mind.
Also, I do want to play matchmaker with Cielo and another character, but I kinda want to keep it a secret for now. If you have any pairings you don't like, could you tell me? I'll warn you if my story will contain it.
Update: I can't believe that this whole time, I thought Namimori was Nanimori. I've gone through the series several times and somehow didn't realize?
As Tsuna attempted to protect his breakfast from Reborn and Lambo, Cielo ruminated on his current situation. He didn't let himself show it, but it had been a massive shock to find himself staring at the roof his old bedroom instead of the one at Vongola Mansion. It was only thanks to Lal Mirch that he didn't face-fault and pass out. She had only become a more zealous trainer after recovering from Colonello's death, which he admitted that had mixed feelings about.
Cielo dodged Lambo's grenade by a hair as it whizzed past and continued his breakfast. Nana, blissfully oblivious as ever, assumed that yet another store was having a sale despite the proximity of the explosion. All seemed to be normal.
Despite the Arcobaleno's sudden intrusion into their lives, nobody seemed to mind his presence. Reborn just invited Cielo in, having judged him to be no real threat. It was almost unnerving how quickly and confidently he sized Cielo up, but that was only to be expected. On the other hand, Tsuna didn't really seem to believe Cielo's explanation, but accepted him with the typical show of dismay as he did with every other new "housemate."
Lambo, I-Pin, and Fuuta simply saw him as another playmate when Reborn introduced him at the start of breakfast, while Nana happily exclaimed that her family was "growing so fast!"
Lost in thought, Cielo didn't notice a lone chopstick flying directly at his forehead. A sharp "thwack" echoed through the room and pair of hands clutched at the site of the hit. Cielo grumbled inwardly as he turned to face the perpetrator. Did nothing ever change?
Reborn smirked. "Baka-Cielo, listen when mama is talking."
Cielo, having been snapped out of his thoughts, glanced at his mom. Sure enough, it turned out that Nana was fretting about Tsuna's lunch, which he had forgotten on his rush to the door.
"Don't worry, mama." Reassured Reborn. "Cielo and I will take it to him. Right, Cielo?"
Cielo, knowing that it was futile to resist, sighed and nodded. And so, the pair bid Nana goodbye and set off. Cielo's chipmunk, Leaf, stuffed a few more almonds into her cheek pouch before taking a running leap onto his head.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Reborn dropped his carefree façade and turned to him. "How and when did you become an Arcobaleno? Where's Checkerface?"
He smiled grimly, having been expecting this. "Sometime within a year, Kawahira, that's Checkerface, will hold the Representative Battle of the Rainbow. He promised that the winner would have their curse removed, but it was all just a ploy to gather new candidates to replace all seven. As for his location-if I knew how to find him, I would've done so years ago."
Reborn looked at him oddly. "What are you implying? If there's anything I know about both you and Tsuna, it's that neither of you are the sort to seek revenge."
"What I mean is that there's a chance-"
"For what?"
"-for the curse to be removed with virtually no consequences."
Reborn instantly went absolutely still. After a short period of silence, he evenly asked, "How solid is the theory?"
"I consulted multiple times with Gokudera, who became an expert in this field, and Talbot. Both seem to hold the belief that it would probably work as long as Bermuda agrees to lend his flames."
"Who is Bermuda?"
Oh yeah, Reborn didn't know about him until the fight against Enma. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Do you know why the Vindice are always covered in bandages?"
Reborn looked at him quizzically. "Nobody does, except for the Vindice themselves. I assume you're going to prove that statement wrong?"
Nodding, Ciel elaborated. "All of them are old Arcobaleno who had their flames taken away, their bodies merely grotesque, zombie-like versions of their old adult selves. Their boss, Bermuda von Veckenschtein, however, is still in his infant form and is the lone holder of the flames of night, as well as the clear pacifier."
Frowning, Reborn intensified his stare. Cielo fought the urge to look away, as they hadn't broken eye contact once since the start of the conversation; the pressure was mounting high. Reborn was on a whole other level from your typical hitman.
"So, you're saying that you know how to safely reverse the curse, and to do it, we have to talk to Talbot and borrow Bermuda's flames?" repeated Reborn.
Cielo nodded. "And the only reason why we couldn't implement it before the shift happened was due to Kawahira's disbelief in the plan and Talbot's late appearance. Later, I even asked Bermuda for his cooperation if we were able to track Kawahira down, which he instantly accepted."
There was a lull in the exchange while Reborn seemed to think to himself. Out of nowhere, as if a switch was flipped, a sunny smile split Reborn's face. "Great! It's settled then!"
Thrown of by the shift in the atmosphere, Cielo stuttered, "W-what!? But there's so many things that could go wrong! Kawahira might do the same thing as last time! You might-"
"Baka-Cielo shouldn't think too hard," interrupted Reborn. "The Representative Battle will inevitably happen, right? Why worry about that now? Besides, the biggest problem we currently have is training up dame-Tsuna and "convincing" him to accept the position of Decimo. Will you help?"
With wide, round eyes, Cielo was temporarily struck dumb. Then, he began to giggle uncontrollably, breath hitching slightly.
"Oi, pull yourself together, Cielo. We have to complete our errand," said Reborn mildly.
After a few more seconds, Cielo managed to return his breathing to normal. "Alright, I got it. Let's go."
Reborn grinned, but this time, an unpleasant shiver rippled down Cielo's spine, almost making him cringe.
"That's more like it." Reborn turned and began to walk toward Namimori Middle. Cielo blinked and quickly made his way to his side. Did he just imagine it?
"Later, I'd like a little spar to judge your growth."
Apparently not.
Out of nowhere, Tsuna let out a sneeze. Gokudera, as always, was the first on the case.
"Tenth! Are you feeling well? Should I escort you to the school clinic?"
Tsuna waved sheepishly. "I'm fine, Gokudera. My nose just itches."
Somewhat unconvinced, he made a dissatisfied face. Yamamoto simply laughed genially.
Gokudera's eye twitched. "What's so funny, baseball nut?" he demanded.
Unaware of rising tension, he smiled and said, "Oh, it's nothing."
"Come on, guys! Lets just go eat." Tsuna said appeasingly. He reached into his bag and felt around, but after a moment of searching, his panicky smile dropped.
"Huh? Where's my bento?" he asked confusedly.
Lights flashed in Gokudera's eyes as he whipped his head to face Tsuna. "Someone must've stolen your mother's prized cooking! Don't worry, Tenth, I'll teach them a lesson!"
Tsuna's attempt to defuse their daily spat had worked, but only in the sense that the problem had shifted to another direction. He was only beginning to react when his attention pointed him to a speck in the sky.
"Wait, what is that?" he asked, eyes squinted.
Yamamoto tilted his head and responded first. "It's too far to tell, but it seems to be coming closer fast."
Mere seconds passed before he added, "Hmm, a mini green hang glider and a small guy in a suit… hey! That's that kid that lives with you, Tsuna!"
In a split second, Reborn landed and neatly drop-kicked Tsuna into the wall.
Disoriented, Tsuna stumbled around.
"That hurt! What was that for!?" he exclaimed. His indignant expression quickly switched to fear as soon as his tutor gave an innocent smile.
"You forgot the lunch that your mama poured her hard work into. As a punishment, your training will be tripled."
Tsuna slumped onto the ground. "No way, that's insane! I can't do that!."
"Oh, you will. We'll make sure of that."
Tsuna paused his panicky rant. "We?"
"We." he repeated.
Suddenly, a small flash of orange darted into view and dropped onto the roof. Although somewhat disheveled, the infant was breathing evenly and looked none the worse for wear.
"Reborn!" Cielo shouted. "Warn me before you take off like that!"
"You two share a lot of abilities, so Cielo will be here to supplement my tutelage."
