Author's Notes: Thank you all very much for the amazing reviews, favorites, and alerts! Anyways, I'm happy to introduce some more characters from the KHR-verse in this chapter. They don't play the same role that they do in the canon story line, but these characters were just too awesome to leave out. You'll see who I'm talking about soon enough.
Disclaimer: All the lovely characters in Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belong to the amazing Akira Amano. I do not own or claim to own anything.
Chapter 3: Uncovering the Truth
A blond-haired student sat behind a large mahogany desk that was overflowing with scattered paperwork and various other types of important looking documents. A sigh escaped from the blond's lips every once in a while as he scratched furiously away at the pile of work with his ballpoint pen, an occasional shuffling of the papers breaking the silence. Looking up from his work, he threw a quick glance at the other occupants in the room—a fair-haired teen reading a book silently in a corner, a young green-haired student lounging lazily on the room's only couch, an indigo-haired male silently polishing a cane, a black-haired boy softly murmuring phrases under his breath, the Bible open in his hands, and another taller black-haired male who was contently sipping at a cup of tea.
The blond let out his biggest sigh yet and dropped the pen with an audible clack. "I can't take this anymore!" He exclaimed, running a hand through his unruly hair. The other occupants turned to stare at him. "There is simply no end to this paperwork!"
"Now, now." The taller black-haired teen consoled with a smile. "You know we can't do anything until you finish all your paperwork. And you can't neglect your duties now."
"Indeed," The fair-haired student spoke up from the corner. He snapped his book shut and regarded the blond coolly. "If you fail to uphold your duties as the student council President, I will personally arrest you under the charges of disregarding the student body."
"I'm not neglecting them," the blond hastily explained. "But there's just so much paperwork!"
"Then you're going to be complaining again when you see what I've brought you." Everyone turned to face the red-haired newcomer who strolled over to the desk and unceremoniously dumped down the pile of reports he was holding with a smirk. "I was told that these were urgent and that they needed to be attended to immediately, Boss."
The blond bit back a groan. "A break. I need a break!"
"Don't we all?" The green-haired teen asked from where he was reclining on the couch.
"Well, you needn't fear," The indigo-haired teen drawled. "It looks like a welcome distraction just made his way over here."
The blond immediately looked to the open door and saw a brunet poke his head hesitatingly into the room. The brunet caught the blond staring at him and immediately gave a small, hasty bow. "Umm...I'm not interrupting anything important am I, Giotto-san?"
The blond broke out into a wide smile. "Tsuna!" He called out a bit too cheerfully. "No, you're not interrupting anything at all! Please, come in." As Tsuna acquiesced with a small smile, Giotto chuckled good-naturedly. "Besides, it's not like we can say no to our future boss anyways, right, Decimo?"
Tsuna smiled wryly. "You know that I'm never going to force you to do anything you don't want to, Giotto-san." The brunet then turned to the other occupants of the room. "Hello Alaude-san, Lampo-san, Daemon-san, Knuckle-san, Asari-san, G-san." He gave a small bow to each person respectively. "And how is the CEDEF doing?"
"Pretty good." G replied. "I mean, Giotto makes for a pretty capable CEDEF head when he doesn't screw up."
"Hey! Stop bringing up that incident! I make a single tiny mistake just that one time and you hold it against me forever." Giotto protested. He grumbled under his breath before reverting back to his normal voice. "But as G said, we're doing pretty well. It's just a bit difficult to balance out student council duties and CEDEF work sometimes." He threw a disgruntled look at the mountain of paperwork.
Tsuna let out a light laugh. "I see. Well I'm glad to hear that you're all doing good."
"Nufufu~ so what business brings you here, my cute Tsunayoshi-kun?" Daemon drawled lazily.
"Actually, I was wondering whether or not I could take a look at the student files..." Tsuna replied sheepishly.
Giotto smiled. "Usually, I would have to say no since they are classified files, but since it's you, I'll allow it. I'm sure you have a perfectly good reason as to why you need to see them anyways."
"Thank you, Giotto-san!" Tsuna smiled. "But before that, there's something else I need to report." The room sobered up instantly at Tsuna's solemn tone. "I've already warned the Varia, but as you all know, the Disdetta Family has been acting up lately and targeting higher-class magic families. As the CEDEF branch of the Vongola, you may all be potentially targeted as well, so please be careful."
Giotto's blue eyes met Tsuna's own honey colored ones evenly. "Will do, Tsuna. Please take care of yourself as well."
"Don't worry, Tsuna." Knuckle said reassuringly. "God will undoubtedly have us in His protection."
"I know." Tsuna smiled lightly but his eyes shone with obvious concern all the same. "The student files are kept in the room next door, right, Giotto-san?" At the blond's nod, Tsuna headed towards the door. "I will take my leave now. Thanks again." Tsuna bowed and gently shut the door behind him.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi still continues to show an unhealthy amount of concern to those around him." Alaude remarked, a hint of disapproval coloring his voice.
Giotto sighed. "I know, Alaude. But that's just the type of person he is." He stared sadly at the now closed door. "We'll be okay, Tsuna. I promise you that."
Tsuna frowned slightly as he took in the surroundings of the room. "If I remember correctly, the student files should be kept right around...here." He pulled open the bottom drawer of the large filing cabinet and smiled when he was greeted with rows and rows of meticulously labeled files. His fingers deftly shifted through the folders. "Let's see... Toshio... Tsubasa... Yama... Yamamoto Takeshi, here we go!"
He extricated the file and opened it. His eyes quickly skimmed over the written information but he let out a frustrated sigh a moment later. The file contained nothing but the most basic information and didn't inform Tsuna of anything he didn't already know.
Tsuna ran his fingers through his unruly hair. Did he really have no more leads on this? He glanced around the room, eyes finally alighting on the desktop computer. Bingo. With a thoughtful expression on his face, Tsuna replaced the student file and walked towards the computer.
If his hunch was correct, the school probably stored more information on their online databases than on the written student files. Tsuna turned on the computer and pulled up a chair as it loaded. A blank background with nothing but the message 'Enter password' appeared on the screen. "Sorry for using this without permission, Giotto-san." Tsuna said. He cracked his hands before lowering them on the keyboard, immediately typing away with the speed and skill of a seasoned expert.
'System override,' the screen said after a few moments. 'Welcome.'
Tsuna quickly pulled up the folder labeled "Student Files" and scrolled open to the intended student. The file read:
Yamamoto Takeshi
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Birthday: April 24
Class: 2A
Family: Yamamoto Tsuyoshi (Father)
Yamamoto Midori (Mother) Deceased; Date of Death: October 2
Tsuna frowned at what he read and continued to scroll down to the additional comments section.
Additional comments: Reports have shown that the Yamamoto's have had longstanding contact with the Feroce Family. Yamamoto Takeshi has requested to take a month off from school due to family issues starting on October 3.
October 3? Tsuna thought. If I recall correctly, that's when Yamamoto's baseball camp started. Why would his student file say that Yamamoto took one month off from school due to 'family issues' when he claimed that he went with the baseball team to their training camp? Something's not adding up here.
"That's because you're missing a crucial piece of information." Tsuna whirled around to see his tutor perched casually on the windowsill.
"Reborn!" Tsuna attempted to cover the information on the screen. "Uhm, I can explain..."
"No matter. It serves them right for not putting up a better security system. And they call themselves the leaders of the CEDEF." Reborn chided before continuing. "But as I was saying, it's because you're missing a critical piece of information, Tsuna."
"And what would that be?"
"I personally confirmed this with the baseball captain." Reborn replied. "He said that Yamamoto opted out from the baseball team's regular training camp because he received an offer to join a 'private' baseball training camp that just so happened to be in the same exact month."
"A private baseball training camp? But it says on this file that Yamamoto...wait a second." Tsuna's mind quickly ran through the different pieces, analyzing and connecting all the different possibilities. 'Deceased mother. School absence due to family issues. Contact with the Feroce Family. Private training camp. His 'broken' arm. The reluctance to play the sport he supposedly loves.' "Oh..." The word fell softly from his lips. 'Is that what happened to you, Yamamoto?'
Reborn watched as his student slowly came upon the conclusion. "Reborn, I have just one more thing I want to confirm."
"What is it, Tsuna?"
"The last time that Yamamoto's family made contact with the Feroce Family—where and when was it at?"
"It was at the park's baseball field and it happened a few days before Yamamoto's supposed private baseball camp."
"That's what I thought." He sighed deeply. "Thanks, Reborn." The hitman watched his student's face take on a sorrowful expression as the full weight of the truth settled onto him.
Reborn leveled his student with a thoughtful look. "So what will you do now, Tsuna?"
Tsuna's caramel eyes hardened with resolve. "I'm going to confront him. Yamamoto-san needs to understand that what happened was not his fault."
Author's Notes: So what exactly is this mystery involving Yamamoto? You'll just have to read on to find out. But what do you readers think had happened? I'm curious to read your theories!
And if it wasn't clear, Giotto and his Guardians are actually part of the CEDEF branch of the Vongola in this AU. They are also part of the school's student council and are currently one year older than Tsuna and his classmates. As usual, any reviews, comments, and feedback is greatly appreciated!
-Bird of Dreams