Two months had passed since they had started their first day of school and a routine quickly found a way into their lives.
Get up,
Get Ready,
Eat Breakfast with the Ninth,
Go to School,
Eat Lunch together,
Come home,
Train in the dojo,
Homework,
Eat dinner with everyone
And Go to Bed.
Their weekends consisted of mostly training and tutoring sessions from various people under the ninth's orders. Yamamoto was training with Squalo; Hibari was with Xanxus, Gokudera with Bell, Ryohei and with Lussuria. Chrome trained alone with Mukuro's guidance and Tsuna was the last. Colonello had been called to help with Tsuna's training as well as Ryohei's, but mainly Tsuna. Reborn and Tsuna were barely seen on weekends being locked in the dojo constantly training.
Bianchi looked back and forth from her tiny lover to his cute feminine student. The boy's had unmistakably grown over the time and gave him a sweeter girly appearance. Even she was constantly double glancing. Another thing that was shocking was how mischievous Tsuna had become. He constantly was pulling pranks on the many male students that didn't give up pursuing him and Chrome. In her class at least two students a day were sent home after Tsuna switched the cooking he gave them.
Currently she was watching as Reborn trained with Tsuna mercilessly. The boy was covered in bruises and bandages looking very much like a physically assaulted girl. The orange eyes and large flames he wore were hypnotizing to anyone who could see them. She shivered, this was the 64th round of the day and Tsuna's clothing had gradually become less as it fell apart. She was amazed at the determination he showed, getting up over and over again after so many body slams into the walls and floor. Even she flinched when Reborn gave a swift kick to Tsuna's cheek. She couldn't help pitying the boy as he slammed into the far wall behind him with full force. She would be surprised if that hadn't broken his back, but once again the boy stood this time not even with the flame.
A chill ran down her spine, those eyes, they were that of a man who had faced death and was ready to do it over and over until he could laugh heartily at the deity. This was a man willing to sacrifice anything to protect his own world, a mafia boss. It suddenly became apparent to the poison scorpion that in the time the boys went to the future, something happened to them that had drastically changed them. She couldn't believe she had missed it, they had all become adults in the short time they were gone and she hadn't been there or seen it. She could no longer say she knew the boys who had returned from their fight to save their future.
The boy was training to prevent what ever future they had seen. It scared her to think that the future had been so dark. She wanted to know what they had seen.
Tsuna sighed for what seemed the millionth time since he had been in Italy, had found some men's clothing in his room, but none of it fit him. Everything he had found was too big and meant to be for someone twice his size, like Yamamoto. So all he could wear were the shirts for sleeping in, which he did. He refused to wear the night gown Reborn had packed already hating the dresses, skirts and short shorts. Though many people disagreed with his opinion on the attire Reborn had chosen.
Pulling on the large Tee, he heard a knock on the door.
"It's unlocked." He called pulling the shirt down over the many bruises littering his tiny delicate looking frame. Bianchi came in with what looked like a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, but the purple smoke wafting from them told him she had backed them herself.
"Can I speak with you…alone?" This surprised him; he figured she was looking for Reborn. Colonello and Reborn had taken to sleeping in his bed, which was fine with Tsuna seeing as it was a large one. "Sure, what's up?" He sat down on the bed, offering her to do the same and she accepted.
She set the tray on the table before sitting down on the bed. "I want to know what you saw in the future." Now this question caught Tsuna's attention, he hadn't expected this. Reborn had told him not to speak of what they had seen. The look Bianchi gave him told him she wasn't simply going to leave with out prying it out of him. A glance to the still smoking tray had him debating on weather to tell the female assassin.
"What I say can never leave this room, and you can't reveal to anyone that you know anything or I won't have a future." She nodded swearing to a vow of silence. "I woke up in a coffin, in the middle of a forest. I met with the adult Gokudera and he kept apologizing saying he had failed me…but right as he told me who had caused my death, the younger version showed up and we were attacked by Lal Mirch of the arcobaleno, the first and at current time, only one." Bianchi immediately became petrified and could no longer listen; Reborn was dead in their future? She grabbed Tsuna's collar and shook him, tears pouring down her cheeks as she screamed at him.
"How could you let him die?!" She looked desperate and on the verge of breaking, Tsuna remained calm and let her vent her anger. "I am not going to let him die…why do you think I have accepted my role and started training non-stop?" Her grip slackened and she crumpled with her larger frame leaning over his smaller for with her forehead resting on his small chest as she hiccupped slightly, still crying. "I don't want him to die…" She whispered almost pleadingly, knowing this boy was the only person that could change the future. She knew she could never be strong enough to protect Reborn, but Tsuna could.
"Please don't let him die…" Her eyes were watery and slightly puffy from her previous tears. Hesitantly, but gently he stroked her hair soothingly. "I promise on my life that I won't let him leave us and with all my power make sure everyone makes it to see the fireworks twenty years from now and further." These words were softly spoken and given to her by someone far younger and much smaller than her, but they were the most reassuring and determined she had ever heard. "Thank you…Tsuna…" She gave a small watery smile and tried to wipe away any signs she had been crying. "Is there any way I can repay you for this? I hate owing people." She hastily explained her mushy words trying to go back to the assassin demeanor she had become used to wearing.
"Yes, I would like it if you considered me a friend and not a rival for Reborn's attention. I fully support you being with him." She seemed to consider his words for a few minutes, before speaking. "Just so you know I am only doing this so we are even…" The smile she gave him told him a differently. Bianchi left after Reborn returned, acting as if nothing had happened and she knew nothing. Colonello came in through the window carried by his companion over to the bed where he was deposited.
The falcon perched on a nearby chair and settled itself for the evening. Tsuna climbed into bed as the two tiny hit men dressed in their pajamas.
"Don't you two have your own rooms?" Tsuna hadn't meant to ask, but the thought had been bugging him, sure that the ninth would have rooms already prepared for both. "You need constant supervision dame-Tsuna." Reborn said as he tucked himself in on Tsuna's right, opposite of Colonello. "This is because there are many assassins ready to strike and I need to be where they will most likely target, kora!" Tsuna could tell both were making excuses, but shrugged it off as them just preferring his room over their own. He would never have thought that the two were sleeping in his room because he was in it.
As Tsuna slept he didn't notice the two snuggling closer to him, and might never as both woke up before him.
Tsuna pursed his lips in contemplation, should he get the pizza or the pasta? Both were equal in his mind as he didn't know much about Italian food, but liked the authentic cuisine the cafeteria served. Opting for the pizza, knowing that it would not likely ever show up on the menu at the Vongola estate. He took his normal seat in between Chrome and Gokudera. The half Japanese boy had gotten the penne primavera. Tsuna stole a bite from his right hand's plate causing the boy to blush and stutter at his boss' actions. "Its good…want to bite?" Tsuna offered holding his pizza for the boy to take a bite. His guardian became even redder, but wasn't going to miss this chance. Gokudera took a bite looking very cute to Tsuna who was had made it a game to see how red he could make Gokudera's face. Seeing the intimidating figure become a blushing school boy was very fun.
"Hey can I get a bite?" Yamamoto asked offering Tsuna bite of his own of chicken tortellini. Tsuna took the offered bite and shared his pizza with the much less conservative Japanese baseball player. "Good?" Yamamoto nodded and swallowed. Ryohei just looked between all this and felt left out, so took a huge bite of Tsuna's pizza causing Gokudera to sputter and curse at him while Tsuna laughed and stole from the boxer's plate. Chrome stared at her boss who was munching on the meat he had stolen from Ryohei, he had become extremely open and playful since the first time she had seen the scared closed off boy he had once been. She envied him to be able to become so, free spirited. She felt her own invisible shackles weigh her down.
Tsuna saw Chrome becoming more and more withdrawn and quickly made a move to stop her from pulling away from them, she was as much apart of his family as any of the others were. She seemed not to know it though.
"Chrome-chan!" The girl's head snapped to her boss and she was about to question what he wanted. Tsuna stole a bite of food from her plate and held up his pizza to the girl. "Take a bite to, I took some of yours as well." She seemed stunned, but took a shy bite and smiled. She felt what Tsuna was trying to tell her without words, you are apart of our family.
From where he was, Mukuro had seen this action and smirked. The little Vongola was treating his Chrome-chan well; soon he would have to visit his cute little boss.
"So do you like it?" Chrome nodded, "I like it very much." Tsuna laughed and leaned on her slightly happy she had received the hidden meaning. The bell rang bringing the happy lunch to an end, but never dispelling the cheer that surrounded the group.
Tsuna stared at the flyer that had been handed to him by the boy before him who wore pleading eyes; he was trying hard not to laugh in the boys face. "No." It was a simple curt answer, but to the boy in front of him it was as if his world had shattered. "Why?! We need cheerleaders for the soccer team!" A devilish grin spread on his face, the boy shivered in fear and pleasure, obviously in Tsuna's fan club. "I am too busy, besides I am not the type to cheer for a team that I could careless about…I don't cheer…And don't ask Chrome or I'll kill you." His last words were more an after thought, but had the full force of his meaning causing the boy to scamper away just as Chrome returned with the supplies they needed for their project. Tsuna found that being a bitch to his admirer caused more to flock to him, but being nice caused them to become more persistent. Not even Hibari's glares worked on his many fan boys, and occasional fan girl.
Tsuna glanced at Hibari who was still glaring at the boy, he had been acting really weird since they had transferred and open affection was given to Tsuna from the many pursuers. Tsuna personally couldn't understand Italian boys and their preferences to women; he liked sweet and simple girls. That's why he also developed a fan base among the girl's, he was constantly saving them from harassment and nice to them. He would never be mean to a girl intentionally.
Even at the Vongola estate he had a large fan club of men and women that worked for the ninth. He didn't mind because they gave him free food for his bottomless pit of a stomach, training caused him to need nutrition constantly in order to grow into a 'healthy woman' as Reborn continuously teased about.
Today they were making cakes in Bianchi's class; his group chose 'Death by chocolate' for its name. After this class he had P.E. and Artistic Media. Artistic media ha d been far from what he had expected. They taught how to make disguises, counterfeiting, the 'art' of assassination and how to actually do art in mafia terms, which was pretty broad ranged. P.E. had a very dangerous training course with explosives, attack dogs and other such things. They were also taught how to use various weapons in many different ways.
And due to their at home training, they were far ahead of the class in combat skills and stamina. Hibari had passed the course with out so much as batting an eye, and now the dogs cowered when ever they neared him.
"Chrome can you hand me the batter please?" The girl handed the full mixing bowl which he dispersed evenly in the pans before adding the dried herbs he had Chrome grind. Hibari wordlessly handed him the hallucinogenic chocolate syrup he had mixed. Their cake was placed in the oven for thirty minutes for the layers to fully cook.
Bianchi was at their table, them being done a head of the class again. "Okay now we are going to so something a little more this week, you will be searching for your own poison cooking supplies. Using the small forest behind the school, you will look for poisonous plants and identify their uses and affects. Good luck." She gave Tsuna a smile knowing he would pass. He gladly returned the gesture and took the basket she handed him and left with his group.
Hibari was ahead as Chrome and Tsuna walked together at a slower pace. The prefect stopped to wait for them, glaring at them when they didn't walk faster. Tsuna just smiled at him and continued to walk at his own pace.
The small grove held many types of fungus, moss and plants that Chrome identified from Mukuro's memory. "That mushroom causes internal bleeding and muscle spazming, and the one next to it will cause dehydration, diarrhea and vomiting. The purple flowers over there when crushed make a very potent drug that distorts your perception and slowly deteriorates the mind before causing a very slow painful death. See the berries over there? They stop the body's normal functions one by one and cause many excruciating and slow deaths." Tsuna picked the things Chrome pointed out to him, glancing to the prefect who was leaning against a tree not paying them much mind, occasionally tossing something in the basket that was near him. Their basket was filled in a matter of minutes. "Wow Chrome-chan! You are very helpful…" Tsuna ignored the glare Hibari was giving him, what crawled up his ass this time? Tsuna voiced his question in a much nicer way. "Whats wrong?" he asked tilting his head in a cute manner unconsciously. "The girl wasn't the only one helping…" Tsuna smiled widely, was Hibari acting jealous? The thought was quickly shaken away. "You are always very helpful Hibari." Tsuna tried not to laugh when the older boy seemed to preen at the compliment.
"Lets head back; we already have enough for the entire class." Though Hibari hated following others, he didn't protest.
When they got back the timer on their oven went off just as they entered their seats. Other groups had been sent out to collect their own supplies. Chrome and he decorated the cake as Hibari watched making sure they did it right and pointing out the flaws.
At the end of class Tsuna had to admit even he would have wanted to eat their project if it hadn't been deadly. Well whatever, he could see what the effects were when he gave it to the first boy who asked when he was carrying it to his next class. This was not too hard to do since they always wanted the food made by Chrome and he.
Xanxus was waiting for him when he returned to the large library to return the book he had taken. He hadn't expected to be pushed up against the heavy oak door with his hands securely pinned above his head by the strong grip.
Tsuna tried to keep his fear hidden as he stared straight at Xanxus with defiant eyes, causing the man to smirk at him. "You must think I am going to kill you…" The fiery red eyes clashed with chocolate brown ones. Tsuna frowned, "Don't flatter yourself, I just figure you need your daily ego boost." This comment seemed to get under the man's skin, but Tsuna wasn't about to stop. "What did I hit the mark? Or were you actually intending to scare me? I do say you are failing if that was your goal." Tsuna was slammed against the door, causing to smack he head hard. His breath hitched as he realized Xanxus was now in his face, he tried his best to keep his knees from shaking. It was hard when he could feel the man's hot breath ghost across his cheek and smell the distinct scent of blood and leather with a hint of pine. Which Tsuna found odd.
"Don't play with me brat…you may not like the consequences…" The red eyes fell on the soft quivering lips of the boy. "W-what do you want?" Tsuna still remained strong and defiant toward the older man who smirked in return. He didn't expect the searing animalistic kiss that had his knees buckling. When the man pulled back, he felt breathless. He had felt the emotions in the kiss, and they were far from loving and sweet like he had imagined his first kiss. No it was brutal, fierce and passionate like the man who had initiated it. "Remember no one else can touch you…or I'll kill them." Tsuna was left to sink to the floor and stare blankly at the space the man had vacated. He couldn't stop shivering, the words had struck him. Why did Xanxus do that? His lips were swollen from the bruising contact of the rough ones of the man. Why him? He couldn't help the fear he felt and he could no longer prevent himself from trembling.
Bianchi found him in the same state much later.
"Tsuna?!" The woman rushed to his side, but he barely responded, still in shock. She tried to get the boy to respond, but he didn't until she took him to his room where it hit him, hard.
Hibari glared at the door, it was the only thing standing in his way, the only thing separating him and Tsuna. Bianchi was currently in there trying to calm the child that had gone missing for four hours. He had immediately come to see the state of the boy, but had been blocked by the baby. "Don't go in." the words still rang in his head and he became mad that he was listening to someone else's will. He opened the door and ignored the warning.
Bianchi was sitting next to the boy who still seemed to be denying what had occurred; no one had been able to pry out what exactly had taken place. The chocolate flew towards the door and landed on Hibari.
The boy seemed to snap back upon seeing the upper classman. "What is it Hibari-san?" His eyes narrowed at the suffix, he hadn't heard it in a while. "Leave." It was an order directed at Bianchi, who was hesitant to comply. Tsuna had a way of worming into peoples hearts when they weren't looking, and he had made a home in hers. She glanced at the prefect, debating whether to trust him or not.
"Its fine Bianchi, I'll be okay." The warm smile Tsuna gave her made her want to stay even more; it was weaker than his normal one. Though she wanted to protest the look in the chocolate orbs told her he wanted her to do as he asked, she reluctantly left the two alone.
Hibari stared straight at the boy who pulled himself together, his façade cracks in it. "What occurred in the four hours you went missing." Tsuna wasn't expecting the direct question, but remembered it was Hibari. There was no sugar coating things. "I was in the library…" It was a vague answer and immediately Hibari knew the boy wouldn't give him a straight answer. "Who was with you?" Again Tsuna avoided the question and began to retreat into himself. The cloud guardian grew tired of the misleading answers and closed in on the boy. Tsuna tried to keep from shaking at the close proximity of the older boy.
He was speechless when Hibari sat on the edge of his bed and grabbed his chin forcing their eyes to meet. "H-Hibari…"
"I don't like weak prey; I will bite you if you become weak again…kitten." His eyes became wide and a blush colored his cheeks at the almost comforting words. Was Hibari trying to make him feel better? A look into those steel blue eyes had Tsuna caught. Before he could react his lips met those of Hibari. The surprisingly soft lips pressed meaningfully against his, dispelling any thoughts of the Varia leader.
He felt warm and protected as they separated.
Were these Hibari's feelings for him?
"Don't ever let anyone break you, you are my prey…" Hibari parted shortly after giving Tsuna his last words which were oddly comforting. Tsuna crawled deeper under his covers; his life had just become a whole lot more complicated.
Sorry this chapter is fairly shorter than the last two, but I had to end it there! Voting doesn't end until chapter 10!
1827 HibaTsuna-6
182769 Tuna sandwich-5
8027 YamaTsuna-3
X27 XanTsuna- 2
6927 MukuTsuna-1
5927 GokuTsuna-2
Other Tuna sandwiches-2
Vote if you want your pairing! Thanks to all of you that reviewed!
