[EDITED CHAPTER: 5/12/2011] OMG DECEMBER ALREADY?
Sorry for the long(?) wait! My computer crashed and died so I had no way of posting or editing... I was busy with some family matters too so yeah, my wonderful excuses =_= I'll try to do weekly updates though and this time was a lucky chance where my laptop managed to start up. ANYWAY... I'd really appreciated the few reviews I had but I kinda wished there were more since this is rewritten so I would like to hear/see what you think about it XD Reviews give me the will to write on and I'm pretty sure all writers would like that!
Sorry if this is poorly edited since I don't know when my laptop will hang or crash (Darn PMS-ing laptop!) so it was a rush job...
Enjoy and REVIEW ^^
P.S The chapter titles are kind of random(some of them) so if there's no link... It just means I'm not using my brains~
Search on!
"Gokudera... Are you sure about this?..." Yamamoto whispered worriedly.
"If you're such a chicken, then just go back home!" Gokudera retorted, packing the essential items into a small backpack.
- Flashback to after school -
"I'm going to find juudaime." Gokudera said bluntly.
"Eh? Maa, maa... I want to find him as much as you do but don't you thinks it's a little too rash? Reborn might try and find you..." Yamamoto persuaded, a sad look in his eyes. "Where are you going to find him?"
"I don't care! Let him try! I'm juudaime's right-hand man and I will never leave his side! I'll search the whole of Japan if I must!" the Storm guardian proudly proclaimed before heading home. Yamamoto gave a weak smile and followed Gokudera discreetly. Where are you, Tsuna?
- End of flashback-
"Don't try and stop me, yakyu-baka! I'll-"
"I won't stop you!... Just... Just bring Tsuna back okay?"
"Hmph! I don't need you to tell me that! You stay here and don't make Reborn suspicious!"
"Sure sure!" he said, patting Gokudera's shoulder.
The short-tempered guardian slung the bag over his shoulder and set off for the train station.
"Good luck, Gokudera!" Yamamoto shouted from behind, getting a grunted in return as Gokudera continued walking ahead.
~~~~~~~.
"Waaaah... Morning already?..." Tsuna mumbled as the sun shone dimly through the window. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked around, almost anticipating one of Reborn's torturing antics. Oh wait, I'm not at home anymore... He thought to himself, a tinge of sadness in his heart.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi. It's already 7 a.m, hurry up!" the girl shouted from the kitchen.
"Eh? Okay!..." he rolled out of bed and quickly got ready. Come to think of it, she knows me but I don't know anything about her...
Once he was done, he went out and saw two pieces of toast on the table.
"Eat and go. I'll clear up." she said, her back facing Tsuna.
"Erm...-"
"Do I have to repeat myself, Sawada Tsunayoshi, tenth Vongola boss?"
Tsuna was feeling quite irritated at this point. Why is she acting like has a grudge against me? "Why are you so against me?"
The girl paused what she was doing and turned around, glaring straight into his eyes. "You're the boss of the largest and most influential Mafia, the Vongola. And guess what? I don't exactly like the mafia so that's why I'm here in a small town and not back in Italy. The only reason that you're still alive and living here is because I took pity on you. As long as you're not found, it's fine. I don't think you can kill me but I'll be on guard anyway."
"W-What? Why would I kill you? Do I look like the type to harm an innocent person?"
"Innocent? I don't think people who know about the mafia are exactly innocent... And no, you look like a total wimp that can't even kill a fly but who knows?"
Tsuna sweat dropped. So that's what she thinks of me? His train of thought was cut short abruptly by the girl rapping her fingers on the table.
"We're going to be late if you don't eat up and leave. If I'm late, you're dead." she growled. As she was making her way towards the sofa where her bag was, she tripped over air and fell face down with a 'thump'.
Eh? Did she just-
"Not. A. Word." she mumbled, picking herself up and running out. Tsuna quickly scoffed down the toasts and followed her, still confused at what he saw. That certainly loosened the atmosphere and at least her wake-up call is so much better than Reborn's methods...
The walk to school was a quiet one. The girl walked ahead and Tsuna followed her, making sure he was at least two metres behind. The moment she stepped into the school grounds, the students near her started to scatter or run back to class.
She seems like an authoritative person in here... Looking around, he saw some girls pointing at him and Tsuna caught little whispers about him being cute or something. Me?...
"Class! Please settle down! We're having a new student today!" the teacher turned to the door and said, "Come on in!"
The door slid open and entered a petite looking boy with unruly brown hair and matching chocolate brown eyes. "E-Erm... Hello... E-Everyone!... I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, nice t-to meet you..." Darn! Why did I stutter again?
"Sawada-san, please sit beside Kagehane-san."
Tsuna looked around and a saw girl raising her hand and giving him a stony glare. He quickly moved over and sat down.
"I'm Kagehane Tsukiyo." she muttered, not looking at him.
"Y-You can call me Tsuna..."
Classes went by smoothly and for the first time, no one had called him Dame-Tsuna... Yet. When it was finally lunch, a classmate pulled Tsuna away to his own seat where there was a small group gathered there.
"Hey, Tsunayoshi right? Since you're new here, we'll tell you about this school so that you won't die early."
Tsuna looked puzzled and nodded nervously.
"Firstly, you should know about Reisen High's Akuma Pair. One of them is... Kagehane Tsukiyo." he said, lowering his voice when he mentioned her name. The second is a second year student, Deimos. They will get rid of anyone who is in their way or disturbing them. That's also another reason why this school is so peaceful." the student looked around hesitantly before continuing, "There were rumours about them being in the Mafia, Yakuza or maybe some underground organisation... The seat you're sitting on? It used to belong to a girl but when she annoyed Kagehane-san, she never came back to school..."
"You idiot, that's too much exaggeration. Kagehane-san broke her limbs and when she recovered, she transferred schools."
"Same thing. So Tsunayoshi, got it?"
"Yes..." I guess she's part of the Mafia then... He went back to his seat and saw that she had already left.
~~~~~~~.
"Juudaime... Where are you?" Gokudera had been wondering the first town in his list all day since last evening without sleep and his precious boss was nowhere to be found. Half the town had been scorched and destroyed by the bomber's recklessly thrown dynamites. "Time to move on to the second town! Reshun town!"
~~~~~~~.
"I hope Gokudera is okay..." Yamamoto thought, looking at the two empty seats which belong to Tsuna and Gokudera. He went to the rooftop for lunch with Ryohei and within a few minutes, a small figure jumped onto Yamamoto's shoulder.
"Ciaossu." Reborn greeted.
"Hey kid!"
"Hello Reborn!" Ryohei shouted.
"Where is Gokudera?"
Wow, he sure doesn't beat about the bush... "He's erm... Sick! I think!" Yamamoto laughed nervously.
Reborn stared into his eyes with his own large beady ones. "You're really bad at lying aren't you."
Ah, busted. Sorry Gokudera...
"He went to find Tsuna didn't he?"
Yamamoto nodded grimly and looked away with a guilty expression.
"Oh well, I was about to go find him myself anyway so that saves me a lot of trouble."
The Rain guardian looked up in surprise. "You were going to find him?"
Reborn kept silent and jumped off his shoulder. "Remember, we're going to Italy in two days' time. Gokudera must come back by then." Reborn soon disappeared into one of his secret hideouts.
~~~~~~~.
Tsuna walked down the corridor and sighed. Akuma pair huh? They seem like Reisen High's own version of Hibari... I wonder if they can help me... Suddenly, Tsuna was roughly pulled into a dimly-lit room and he heard the door close and lock with a click.
"You mean THAT'S the tenth Vongola boss? You've got to be kidding me. That squirt is a Mafia Boss? Pranks can only go so far you know, Tsukiyo!"
"I kid you not."
Tsuna looked up and saw a tall, dark blue eyed, raven haired male. His hair was tousled and his tie on his uniform was loose. He wasn't showing much on his face but his aura was definitely just as scary as Hibari. He turned his head and saw Tsukiyo at the door.
"Wh-Why am I here?..." Tsuna asked.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Namimori with your guardians and your tutor? What is the Vongola planning? Are they trying to bring down the mafia world? I heard some famiglias are preparing something and the Vongola is involved."
Okay, hold it just one moment! Everything was just way too fast for Tsuna. "Erm... I ran away because I was stripped of my position as the tenth..." Should I really be telling them this? "So you see, I'm not really much of a threat or anything... I don't know what's going on now…" he persuaded, hoping that they would drop the matter and cease the stupid interrogation which was in a cramped and musty storeroom.
The Akuma pair glanced at each other then back to the ex-boss.
"Have we told you that we're assassins who can rip your limbs apart without feeling guilty?" Tsukiyo said, maneuvering her way towards Deimos. Suddenly, she tripped again and fell onto the ground.
Eh? I was expecting them to be members of a family but assassins?.. I had some doubts about Tsukiyo being an assassin but this just further confirms it...
"I know what you're thinking! Don't you dare say it!" she hissed, her voice cracking just a little.
"Ignore her." Deimos said in a bored tone, pulling her up by the collar and ignoring the colourful expletives from her mouth. "She's not very good at being a normal person... Was what you said true? So who's the current boss now?"
"The Ninth is still in charge but... I don't know much now... Hey, can I ask for a favor from both of you?"
"What?" they both said in unison.
"Please... Help me build up a family... I need to get back my position as the tenth Vongola boss and stop the Scuro Vampa family! They're-"
"The Scuro Vampa?..." Tsukiyo interrupted. "I've heard rumours about them creating a powerful weapon... I'm not sure about their goal but..."
"We don't trust you. We don't trust anyone from the Mafia. What makes you an exception from the others other than your wimpy looks?"
This is tougher than I thought... "I know... But you can trust me! You guys don't trust people because of your childhood right?..."
Deimos immediately stood up and grabbed Tsuna's collar. "You did some background checks on us?"
"I-I didn't!" Tsuna assured, waving his arms frantically. "I just had a feeling...! Hyper Intuition I guess..."
"The Scuro Vampa huh?... Then count me in."
"What? Hey!" he shouted, dropping Tsuna.
"Don't you remember what the Scuro Vampa did?... That incident?... Anyway, Tsuna here isn't really that bad I guess... I did background checks on him and his guardians... They're pretty clean. Besides, he'll be useful and it might be a win-win situation. We help him get his position back, he helps us with our revenge, and tadah! We'll be satisfied!... Provided that he doesn't double-cross us."
Deimos turned and looked at Tsuna who was adjusting his uniform. He didn't look one bit like a boss at all, in fact, no one would guess that he's even part of the Mafia if you threw him into a crowd full of normal people. He didn't seem like the type to ruthlessly kill someone or trick people.
"I promise that I will not hurt you... You'll be my friends... My comrades... You don't have to keep up the facade that you have built up anymore... I'm sure that both of you are not happy..." Tsuna said softly, his hand reaching out.
Deimos hesitated for a moment before shaking it. "Scrap the friend part. We can survive by ourselves without these 'friends'. "
Tsuna looked rather puzzled for a while. "Aren't you and Tsukiyo, friends?"
" Er… That… That's a different story altogether! Anyway, how are you going to set up your family?"
Silence.
… More silence as they looked at one another with blank faces.
"I don't know..." he said, meekly.
"What? Hey squirt! You want to set up a family but you don't know how?"
"Someone might know..." Tsukiyo said with a smirk. "Let's get back to class, lunch is almost over. Don't fail your probation period, 'kay Tsuna?"
"Oh, oka - WAIT! What probation period? H-Hey!
~~~~~~~.
"Juudaime... Where are you?..." he mumbled, tired from walking for more than 24 hours straight.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket and he quickly answered it. "What?"
"Gokudera! Reborn found out about it almost immediately..."
"What? Yakyu-baka! Can't you even-"
"Hold it hold it! He was fine with it but you have to be back in two days!"
"But I'm only at the second town!"
"Haha… Erm… Just do your best! Bye!"
Idiot. He hung up and sat on a bench. Maybe I can take a few minutes to rest before searching for juudaime... Of course, within a few seconds, he was fast asleep.
~~~~~~~.
"Erm... Tsukiyo?" Tsuna asked.
"Yes?"
"How do I set up a family?"
Tsukiyo closed her laptop and turned to face Tsuna. "I think you have to register or something. Aaron should know how to do it."
"Eh? Who's that?"
She gave a smirk before heading back to her room. "Goodnight."
Tsuna sighed and went back to his room too. Maybe I should call Enma... Tomorrow… Tsuna yawned as he fell asleep.
- The next morning –
"Tsuna! Get up!"
"Hm... Five more minutes..." Tsuna mumbled, pulling the blanket over his head. Tsukiyo sighed and tapped her foot impatiently.
"Tsuna!" Tsukiyo reiterated, staring down at the sleeping body of Tsuna. No reaction. Hmph, looks like I have to do this huh? Tsukiyo strolled back to her room and took out a gun from her drawer. Strolling back to Tsuna's room, she put the gun to his head, the cold steel barrel in contact with his skin and cocked it, making it go 'click' . In a millisecond, he jumped out of bed, screaming for Reborn to not shoot him as he got dressed and prepared, maneuvering through his mess in a record time of three minutes. Tsukiyo was impressed by his speed and dexterity when put under pressure and made a mental note to do it more often.
Suddenly, Tsuna snapped out of his madness and stopped in his tracks. Wait a minute, Reborn's not here anymore! So who- "Tsukiyo?" he yelled as he caught sight of a silver revolver in her hand. "What are you doing? It's only 7 a.m! And it's a Saturday!"
"Hmph, you think you can stay here for free? I expect some payment or help. You're going out with me to do some grocery shopping and some other things." Tsuna groaned and quickly got ready.
"First off, breakfast!" she cheered as they walked down the street to a nearby cafe.
Ling ling! The little bells hanging on the door chimed as she pushed open the door of the cafe and sat down at a corner seat. Tsuna sat opposite her and looked around. The cafe was small but cozy. Its walls were painted a lavender colour and had a nice, warm atmosphere like a home.
"A very good morning to Tsukiyo and your friend, having the usual?" a waiter said, placing a menu in front of Tsuna. He looked up and saw the blonde haired waiter. He had light blue eyes and his hair was neat and looked slightly overgrown.
"Yeah, hey Tsuna, what do you want to eat?" Tsukiyo asked, tapping on the menu.
"Ah, erm... Whatever you're having?"
"Alright." the waiter said, picking up the menu and turning to leave. After he was out of sight, Tsukiyo whispered, "That's Aaron, he owns this cafe. He practically does everything and I mean everything, by himself. He cooks, cleans, and mans this shop. He studies in Reisen College, first year."
"Hheeeh? What if the cafe is busy and what about school?"
"Oh he'll manage." she said, shrugging her shoulders. "He always does. He only opens the cafe when classes end. Did you know? He's the best swordsman in England."
"W-Wow, really?... " That's really something...Maybe he-
"Here is your breakfast, enjoy." Aaron said as he brought out the food on a silver tray.
"Thanks!" they both said as they dug in.
"Ah yes, this is for you." Aaron said, putting a white envelope on the table.
"Another one?..." she grumbled, picking it up and examining it.
Tsuna glanced up from his food, "What's that?"
"A request."
"O-Oh..."
"Judging from the decor of the envelope and the quality of the paper..." she said, fingering the letter with a look of distaste, "it's probably a waste of time." she stuffed the envelope in her pocket and resumed her meal.
"He knows about it?" Aaron said, lowering his voice.
"Yeah, he's even part of it too."
The blonde man eyed Tsuna with an amused expression. "Are you sure? He doesn't seem... Well, dangerous."
Tsukiyo almost choked on her food while laughing and quickly downed a glass of water. "Pfft. Yeah. You'll know soon enough."
Tsuna was confused. What are they talking about?...
"Ah, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Aaron, nice to meet you."
"M-My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi... Erm... Nice to meet you too..."
"Oh yeah, Aaron? Do you know how to set up a family?"
"Yes, of course. I'm the best informant after all. Who wants to set up?"
Tsukiyo pointed to Tsuna who gave a nervous smile.
"... Okay. Follow me." They went to the back of the shop and in fifteen minutes, they were out.
"So what did you do?" Tsukiyo asked, finishing the last bite of her meal.
"I had to fill in some details and get it approved. He said it should be done within a week..." If nothing happens within that week... "He seems like a really nice person..." Tsuna whispered, leaning forward.
"Yeah but make him angry, no one will survive to see the end of it." she smirked, watching as Tsuna's face turned pale. "Time to go! See ya, Aaron!" she shouted, dragging Tsuna out. "Come on! We're going to the supermarket!"
After the grocery shopping, they were on their way back when they came face to face with a silver-haired teen.
