AN: I decided to post this chapter because it's already halfway done when I posted the Announcement, so what's the point of leaving my lovely readers waiting? And I'm sure many of you were waiting for Reborn's appearance, so i made him show up here! As for the next chapter, it's seriously going to be about 1-2 months later. I'm not going to write, but you can still PM me and I would still reply your reviews and PM's.
Updated: April 24, 2014. 1:13 AM
Chapter 3 Theft, Training, and The End
"Ding ring!"
As the after school bell rang, students began to hustle out of the classroom. Each has their own business to attend. Yamamoto went up to Tsuna, who was nursing the bruise on his cheek that he got from Hibari that morning, and asked, "ne Tsuna! Do you want to come to my house today?"
Tsuna looked surprised, "m-me? Why me?" Yamamoto chuckled.
"Well, you saved me from the suicide, so I thought maybe I should treat you to some sushi."
"Oh right!" Tsuna suddenly remembered what Natsu had said on the roof that morning. "You're d-dad is the owner of 'T-takesushi' r-right?"
"Yup! So you're allowed to eat sushi as much as you want for free since you're my friend!" Seeing Tsuna stiffened, Yamamoto added quickly, "I-I mean, you are my friend, aren't you?"
"Of course!" Tsuna quickly replied seeing Yamamoto had mistaken. "I-I mean, I wish we were friend, are we?"
"Haha! If you hope we are friends then we are!" Yamamoto chuckled, then turned and asked Natsu who was talking to a crowd of fangirls. "Ne Natsu! Do you want to eat at Takesushi with us?"
Natsu glanced at him apologetically and smiled, "sorry I can't. I have basketball practice today. The tournament is in a month, I need to get my team ready. Why do you invite me...and Tsuna?" He added after seeing his dame brother fidgeting by Yamamoto's side.
"Ah! You guys both saved me from dying today, so I decided to treat you guys to some sushi, for free!" Yamamoto said in a carefree tone as if 'dying' wasn't a big deal, even Tsuna couldn't tell whether he was joking or not. Damn you Yamamoto, you can even win the Academy Award for Best Actor with your outstanding acting skills! (AN: I'm talking about the Oscar award here)
"Really? Thanks! You're so kind Yamamoto! But sorry I'll have to reject your offer this time...ah-wahhh!" Natsu yelped as he was carried away by the crowd of fangirls, to who-knows-where. Tsuna sweat-dropped. He never understood his brother. Why would he act to be popular when he knew he would get molested...ahem...harassed by fangirls/boys? Is he a masochist or something? Or is it that he just loved acting that much?
"That's fine! I'll just invite you next time!" Yamamoto called after him as Tsuna let out a sigh of relief.
He's glad that Natsu rejected Yamamoto's offer. If Natsu comes, then Tsuna wouldn't be able to eat peacefully with Yamamoto for he's constantly on his guard around Natsu.
Damn. I want to eat ramen dattebayo!
A voice snapped him out of his thought. Oh, it's you, Naruto. Why'd you like ramen that much anyway?
Ramen is the best food in the world! Pork ramen is the best...although miso ramen is pretty good..but I like cup of noodles chicken flavored more, the taste is better but still the ramen in Ichiraku are fresher than cup of noodles...hmm...
Tsuna ignored his babble.
As they were walking towards Yamamoto's house, Yamamoto decided to start a conversation since the unbearable silence was getting awkward.
"Hey Tsuna," Yamamoto called, capturing Tsuna's attention. Tsuna quickly snapped out of his random 'ramen' conversation with Naruto and looked at Yamamoto.
"Yeah?"
"You said you knew someone who's been acting his entire life? Who is it?" Yamamoto asked curiously. This question has been bothering him for a long time.
Tsuna frowned and nervously diverted his eyes to a car parked on the street side. "W-well...he's s-someone I'm very c-closely related to, a-and...um..."
"Closely related? Is he your relative?" Yamamoto asked.
"Uhh...not exactly a r-relative..."
"...oh? But he is related to you right?"
"W-well, Y-yeah, b-but.." Tsuna stuttered, trying to make out what he wanted to say. Should he tell Yamamoto? Or should he not? But if he told Yamamoto and later he asked Natsu about it, then Tsuna would be in big trouble. Should he not tell? "H-he isn't e-exactly..w-well..." Tsuna took a breath to calm himself. Right now he's just stuttering nonsense. "P-please d-don't ask, Yamamoto-kun..."
"Why not? Is he a secret relative or something?" Yamamoto still wouldn't give up.
"H-he..." Tsuna gritted his teeth as a drop of sweat glided down his cheek.
No, he can't tell Yamamoto. If he does, then Natsu will...
A sudden memory flashed in his mind.
Flashback:
-9 years old-
Tsuna was walking back home along with Natsu. It was at red traffic light and they were standing at the sideline waiting for the signal lignt to turn green. Suddenly, Tsuna felt someone pushed his back just when a car past by. It was like a movie played in slow motion. Tsuna could see the ground getting closer to his face. The car getting closer and closer... Tsuna closed his eyes, getting ready for the pain that's about to come, but...
DODGE! YOU IDIOT!
What? Tsuna opened his eyes quickly and found himself in a complete white space, facing a clone of himself...except the clone has orange eyes and has a weird fire burning on his forehead. The clone looked raged and concerned. Tsuna was just about to ask when the clone interrupted him.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING! YOU'RE GOING TO WASTE YOUR LIFE JUST LIKE THAT!? I TOLD YOU TO DODGE SO DODGE! IF YOU EVER TRY TO DIE WITHOUT SAVING YOURSELF THEN I'LL PERSONALLY KILL YOU! DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND!?"
"Y-yes sir!" Scared at the loud voice and the angered look on the clone's face, Tsuna quickly nodded his head and stuttered out. When he raised his head again, he's back in reality and the car is 1 meter away from him. Remembering what the clone said, Tsuna quickly twisted out of the way to dodge the car. As he turned to dodge, he managed to catch a gleeful look on Natsu's face. At that moment, Tsuna knew it was Natsu who pushed him. Natsu was trying to murder him!
A sudden pain crashed into his leg. It went up to his spine and into his head, giving him a ringing sound in his ear and making his entire body numb. The pain was unbearable; it felt as if someone was tearing his leg apart. A high-pitched screeching sound rang in his ears. Tsuna opened his eyes, and saw the car stopped about 10 meters away from him. A black line of car tire streak was marked on the ground. He then looked down at his right leg, and saw it was twisted at an odd angle. Feeling disgusted, Tsuna looked away and immediately felt the world began to spin and his eyes slowly closing. But before he closed his eyes, he managed to catch a flash of regret in Natsu's eyes.
Wait...regret?
When he woke up, he forgot how he was saved. He only remembered Natsu pushing him...and bumping into the car. How he got out alive...he doesn't know.
Flashback end.
Yes. That's right. If he told Yamamoto, and Yamamoto asked Natsu, then Natsu would be mad at him and try to kill him again. And he would be hurt again. The feeling of his leg tearing apart...the fear of dying and leaving his family...the fear of the menacing-looking car... The fear of...
Flashback:
"M-mama! I'm saying t-the truth! P-please believe me! Natsu p-pushed me into t-the car!" Tsuna sat on the hospital bed with his leg in a cast as he cried earnestly at mama. However, his stuttering doesn't seem to help the situation.
"Tsuna! Don't blame your brother for something he didn't do! Mama doesn't want you to lie!" Nana scolded; she's so mad that she even called Tsuna by his given name. It's her first time being this mad at her son, at Tsuna. She couldn't believe Tsuna would lie for something as serious as this! Na-chan, her perfect little boy, tried to murder Tsu-chan by pushing him into a car!? No way! There's no way Natsu the overprotective big brother would do something like that! How could Tsu-chan blame him like that while Natsu protected him for his entire life!? It must be because Tsuna is jealous of the attention Natsu is getting! Yeah! That must be it!
"B-but mama! Why won't you believe me! I'm saying the truth! Natsu pushed me!" Feeling panicked, Tsuna shouted as tears streamed down his chubby cheek.
How could he continue to lie like that! Nana thought as anger began to burn inside her chest. Stop lying! Just stop blaming Natsu! It's not Natsu's fault! Just stop!
"It was Natsu! He was always bullying me! He's being acting like a 'good' boy so no one knows his true side! Mom! Please believe me and help me! It's really him! He tried to kill me! He's jealous of me-"
Slap!
A red mark became visible on his right cheek. Tsuna cupped his cheek, feeling dazed at the sudden pain. He then turned his head stiffly to look at mama with big, teary, caramel eyes.
Nana stood with her hand still in slapping motion. Her eyes were clouded and her body was quivering with disbelief. She just slapped Tsu-chan. Oh god She just slapped her dear Tsu-chan!
"Tsu...Tsu-chan...m-mama is s-so sorry...m-mama doesn't m-mean to..." She then looked down at her reddening hand; it was shaking terribly. She can't believe she lost control like that! She didn't mean to hit Tsu-chan! What should she do!?
Feeling dreadful and mad at the same time, she turned and bolted out of the door with tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes and slammed the door behind her. She then leaned against the door and slid down onto the ground. Her hand is still quivering. What should she do? She just hit Tsu-chan. Tsu-chan must hate her now. Their relationship will never be the same again. What should she do?
Just act oblivious. Tsu-chan is still a kid. When he grew up, he'll forget about it. He has other things to worry about than this tiny little thing.
A tiny voice said at the back of her mind. Nana mentally nodded and agreed. Yeah, if she just acted oblivious and normal, Tsu-chan would forget about it in no time!
But she is still mad at Tsuna. That's why she didn't visit Tsuna for a week just so she can calm her anger down. When she met Tsuna again later, she put on a happy mask and tried to act all normal around Tsuna. Although she forced herself to forgive Tsuna, deep down inside, she is still mad at him. How could he say that everything Natsu did was an act? How can Natsu be acting like a 'good' boy? No way!
-Inside the room-
Tsuna still felt dazed. Why does mama hit him? Does she really hate him enough to hit him?! Why won't she believe him? Why does she always believes Natsu? Is it because Natsu is a 'good' kid and Tsuna is a 'bad' kid?
Mama slapped him.
Which means mama hated him.
Mama HATED him...
MAMA hated him...
Mama hated HIM...
MAMA HATED HIM!
Mama didn't visit him for a week. It was a nurse who noticed his reddening cheek and offered him a pain relief ointment.
A week later, Nana finally visited Tsuna. She didn't talk about that incident; instead, she only giggled cheerfully while talking about a random festival that's coming up. She, however, didn't notice Tsuna wasn't listening at all.
Tsuna felt very disappointed. He knew mama was mad at him but the least she could do is to say 'I'm sorry' for slapping him. Why does she act like nothing happened? Does she think that it's not a big deal that she slapped her 9 years old son?!
Flashback end.
If he told Yamamoto the truth, would he act like mama and get mad at Tsuna? Would he stop being Tsuna's friend? Would he...hit Tsuna? And if he asked Natsu...
Flashback:
It was after school. Natsu and Tsuna were in a dark alley where no one would pass by.
"N-natsu, w-what are you doing?" Tsuna stammered, leaning further back into the wall.
Natsu responded with silence as he walked closer to Tsuna and suddenly grabbed Tsuna's collar, bringing Tsuna's face closer to his.
"You told mama I'm acting," he growled out, bangs covering his eyes so Tsuna couldn't tell his expression.
"I d-didn't mean t-to!"
"You told her. You told her! How could you!" Natsu lifted his head so Tsuna could see his face clearly. Tsuna was surprised to see tears in Natsu's eyes.
Why? Why is he crying? Is he mad or upset? I can't tell!
"Why do you tell her!? It's not fair! How could you! I didn't even tell her about you and you told her! THIS IS NOT FAIR!" He snarled as he dug his fist into Tsuna's stomach, causing him to choke on his saliva.
"W-what d-do you m-mean? W-wha-tz not f-fair?" Kneeling on the ground, Tsuna stumbled on his words as he accidentally bit his tongue, drawing blood.
"SHUT UP! JUST STOP LYING!" Natsu punched Tsuna in the face, causing him to crash onto the ground, a small stone laying on the ground hit his temple, making him see spots.
For the next few minutes, Tsuna wasn't aware of what's happening. He only knew that Natsu was yelling and crying a lot, while a lot of punches and kicks were landed on him. He's already numb of all the pain he's getting. He doesn't understand. He felt scared, but a tiny bit inside of him felt...guilty? Why does he felt guilty hearing Natsu cry? It's not his fault! Natsu is the one hurting him so why is he guilty?
A loud cracking sound and a sudden pain in his hand brought him back to reality. His vision cleared and saw Natsu's feet on his broken hand. He couldn't help but screamed.
"This is what you get for telling mama! It's your fault!" He then stepped on Tsuna's back and took Tsuna's arm, pulling it back sharply.
"N-no! Stop! It hurts!" Tsuna cried, but it was vain. With a sharp jerk of Natsu's arm, Tsuna's shoulder slipped off its socket. A severe pain went through his whole body, causing him to tremble with agony.
"You get it?! This is what you get for telling mama! Do you understand!?" Natsu yelled madly as he took in the scene of Tsuna screaming in pain on the ground. It was then he realized what he had just done. Seeing the skin on Tsuna's shoulder bulging out, and Tsuna's hand laying limply on the ground, Natsu yelped and jumped back a feet. "I-I...I hurt you..? I did t-this...to you?" He closed his eyes and grabbed his hair, shaking his head wildly. "N-no! No! NO WAY! I HURT YOU TSUNA! HOW COULD I!? DAMN IT!" He then ran away holding his head and sprouting tears out of his eyes, leaving Tsuna laying confusingly on the ground.
"N-natsu...w-why? I-I'm sorry...I won't t-tell anyone ever a-again..." Tsuna sobbed as he slowly closed his eyes.
Flashback ends.
If he asked Natsu...then Natsu would hurt Tsuna again. His arm would be broken, his fingers smashed...
..na!
He doesn't want that! He doesn't want anymore unbearable pain! It's scary!
...una!
He can't tell Yamamoto. Because if Yamamoto asked Natsu about it, then he would be in big trouble! He doesn't want that!
"TSUNA!"
"Hieee!" Tsuna yelped and looked up at the voice. It was Yamamoto, looking concerned at him. "Y-yamamoto? What's wrong?"
"You bumped into a pole Tsuna," he deadpanned.
Tsuna turned his head, and indeed he was facing an innocent looking pole. He suddenly felt a bump began to form on his forehead.
"Tsuna? Are you alright? You were spacing out for the past five minutes," Yamamoto showed Tsuna his watch as he asked.
Tsuna shook his head with a strained smile, "I'm fine Yamamoto. Um...for that p-person we were t-talking about...c-can we forget about it? P-please? It brings up...some bad memories..."
Yamamoto nodded with a knowing smile, "don't worry! I won't talk about it anymore!"
Tsuna smiled, "thanks."
Tsuna.
What?
Something's definitely wrong with Natsu.
You saw the memories I just saw?
Yeah. It's odd. What he said when he beat you up, it doesn't make sense. I can feel he's hiding something...
Good so nicely job for stating the obvious. (haha, payback!)
Damn you!
They were in front of Takesushi aka Yamamoto's house, but they didn't enter; instead, they stood in front of the entrance, staring awkwardly at the innocent little signpost on the ground.
==CLOSED==
"C-L-O-S-E-D? Why is your house closed?" Tsuna asked as he spelled out the sign.
Yamamoto merely chuckled as he scratched his cheek, "Well, I guess it's that day again."
"What day?" Tsuna asked as Yamamoto started walking towards another street.
"Haha, you'll see when we get there," said Yamamoto as he motioned Tsuna to follow him. They walked to a dilapidated street and stopped in front of a decayed building. The paint on the shop sign was smudged so the name was hard to see. The door looked ready to fall off any second. On the porch beside the doorstep, there were two greatly-maintained sun daisies planted.
Yamamoto went up to the door and knocked twice, and said, "Dad? You there?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled open the door and entered with Tsuna following closely behind. Inside the shop was incredibly messy. Weapons were scattered on the shelf. Some weapons doesn't even have a sale price, or its sale price tag may be too wrinkled to read.
Suddenly, a figure dashed out of a door in the corner. He was wearing a huge black coat which the collar hids his face, and was holding something long and thin wrapped hurriedly in a cloth. The person darted quickly towards the entrance door, bumping Tsuna and Yamamoto aside as he pushed open the door and ran away.
Tsuna and Yamamoto were too surprised to do anything except to let the person run away.
"Get him! He's a thief!" A voice sounded from the door the person came out of, and the next second, an old man in his mid-forties rushed out of the door, a stricken look plastered on his face.
"Dad? What's going on?" Yamamoto asked, coming out of his shock.
"That man...stole the Shigure Kintoki, a weapon passed down in our family from generation to-" before Yamamoto's dad could finish that sentence, Yamamoto already rushed out of shop. Tsuna came out of his trance quickly and ran right after him.
But the thief was too fast of a runner, even Yamamoto couldn't catch him. And obviously, neither could Tsuna, who was about ten feet away from Yamamoto.
"Damn it! He's too fast!" Yamamoto said as he ran as fast as he can after the thief.
Tsuna, who was now thirty feet behind Yamamoto, was ready to give up and leave the chasing to Yamamoto, when Naruto suddenly called out,
You are giving up already? Aren't you going to help you friends catch the thief?
I want to! But I'm too slow! I can't catch up to them!
Look at Yamamoto.
Tsuna glanced at Yamamoto who was still running after the thief.
Even though the thief is too fast for him, he's still trying. What would he say when he came back and found you sitting here relaxing while he had been doing the hard job? Don't you think he would wish for you, his friend, to help him catch the thief together?
...Fine, I get it. I'll go after him!
Tsuna started running again, but by now Yamamoto and the thief were already fifty feet away from him. With his slow pace, weak stamina, and dame-ness, there's no way he can catch up to them!
Tsuna was ready to give up but Naruto's word rang in his mind. He is Yamamoto's friend. And friends were supposed to help each other! Even if he's too slow, he's NOT going to give up!
That's what I'm waiting for.
Tsuna was just about to ask what Naruto mean by that, but in a blink of an eye, he's sitting on the ground, facing a table with a microphone on it, and a screen of himself running after the two people.
Again!?
Naruto had been waiting to see if Tsuna would give up. He's glad that Tsuna finally was courageous enough to continue running even though he knew he could never catch up. In Tsuna's body, Naruto jumped up a little to get used to the awkward feeling of having shorter legs and smaller sized feet. Then he reached into Tsuna's humongous amount of chakra coiled up inside the body and applied them to his feet and legs.
Naruto then pushed forward and with his chakra enhanced legs and feets, he's running speed became over 10 times faster. Although he's still not used to the body and shorter leg, adding chakra to his feet gave him an increase in momentum every time he stepped onto the ground, which means he now only need to step onto the ground twice to run past a normal twenty-steps length. Because of that, he doesn't trip anymore since his feet rarely touches the ground. He reached past the surprised and tired Yamamoto in no time. Adding power to his legs, Naruto jumped up into the air and kicked the thief's head hard, successfully knocking him out.
"Wow Tsuna! I never knew you can run so fast!" Yamamoto exclaimed as he caught up to Naruto.
"Hehe~ that's my secret! Don't tell anyone!" Naruto winked and wiggled his index finger playfully.
"No problem!"
Naruto then took the wrapped item from under the thief's unconscious body and opened it. It was a regular shinai (bamboo stick), nothing seems special about it.
"Thank god you caught him!" Cried Yamamoto's dad as he finally caught up to them. He took the shinai from Naruto carefully as if handling a baby and examined it from top to bottom for any flaws or broken parts. He led out a sigh of relief after he found none.
By now, Naruto had given the body back to Tsuna, leaving Tsuna sitting on the ground tiredly after what Naruto had done with his body. (AN: Not in that way you nutters!)
After putting the shinai back into the cloth, Yamamoto's dad asked, "Tsunayoshi Sawada right?" Tsuna nodded dumbly. Yamamoto's dad smiled. "Thank you for catching the thief for us. If he had gotten away, I don't know what I would do," he chuckled weakly.
"D-don't thank me! I d-didn't do anything!" Tsuna stuttered weakly, waving his hands in front of him and shaking his head.
"Of course you did!" Yamamoto's dad laughed.
As they started heading back to the shop (with Yamamoto carrying the unconscious man on his shoulder), Yamamoto suddenly asked a question.
"Hey dad. What's so important about that shinai?" Yamamoto's dad grew rigid, which made Yamamoto even more curious. "It looked just like a regular shinai to me!"
"It's...a weapon passed down in our family from generation to generation. Yamamoto, I will tell you in full detail when the time comes. You are not ready yet."
"What do you mean dad? I'm not ready for what?" Yamamoto asked, but a glare from his dad shut him up.
As they reached the shop, they saw a white-haired man standing on the porch, looking rather pale and worried. The man looked to be in his mid forties but all his hair were white. Judging from the whiteness of his hair and his pinkish eye, the man seemed to be an Albino. As soon as trio came in view, the man jumped down the porch and rushed towards them, eyeing the wrapped shinai worriedly but seemed too afraid to touch.
"I-is this alright? N-nothing's wrong with it, I h-hope?" He stuttered, eyes darting between the shinai and Yamamoto's dad nervously.
"Luckily, nothing's wrong with it. No need to worry," Yamamoto's dad said, then he glared at the man, making him gulp. "Boron! Didn't I tell you to take good care of this shinai? It's the most valuable weapon and you should NEVER display it in the shop!"
"B-but I-"
At that moment, the unconscious man woke up. He yelped as he found himself being carried on someone's shoulder. Yamamoto quickly set him down. His dad stood in front of the man and glared hatefully at him, and interrogated, "why do you steal this shinai? How do you know it's valuable?"
"I-I-" The thief stuttered, darting his eyes between Yamamoto's dad's face and Boron's face nervously. He then pointed his finger at Boron and said, "h-he told me to steal it!"
"WHAT?!" Boron yelped as everyone turned their attention onto him. Yamamoto's dad glared at him.
"Is it really you, Boron? Why would you do it?! I trusted you!"
"B-but I didn't!" He quickly explained and shook his head furiously like a rattle drum. "Please trust me Tsuyoshi-san! I would NEVER betray you!"
"Then how would you explain this?!" Tsuyoshi pointed at the thief.
"I-I-I don't know! He's lying!"
"Are you?" Tsuyoshi turned his glare towards the thief, making him cower.
"Of course not! I'm sure, it's definitely him who paid me to steal the shinai!"
"Paid you?"
"Yeah!" The thief nodded to confirm Tsuyoshi's question. "I'm a retired professional runner. I met him at a convenience shop about a week ago and he told me if I steal this shinai, he would pay me one million yens! I'm sure it's him! I remembered his white hair and pink eyes very clearly!"
"You're lying! A week ago I was sick! I slept early and never left the house!" Boron argued.
"Then how would you explain the person I met? A clone of yourself!?" The thief argued back.
Tsuyoshi watched as the two argued back and forth, not sure who to believe.
"Uhh..um..."
A timid voice cried out. Everyone turned towards the source of the voice and saw Tsuna raising a hand nervously.
"I-I think, Boron isn't lying..." he said quietly.
"Then are you saying I'm lying!?" The thief protested. His face reddened with panic.
"N-no! I don't mean that!" Tsuna cried and waved his hands in front of him. "I don't think you are lying either!"
Both people stood stiff with open mouth. What is this kid saying!?
At this moment, Tsuyoshi broke the awkward silence. "Why don't we carry this conversation inside? Although this place is pretty deserted, I don't like to talk about such important matter in the open."
-Inside the shop-
Tsuyoshi, Boron, and the thief went inside the room to talk, while Yamamoto and Tsuna stayed in the shop.
"Neh Yamamoto-kun, what exactly is this place? I thought your dad owns a sushi bar," Tsuna decided to strike a conversation.
"Well...before my dad open the sushi shop...he's actually a weapon maker, or 'Blacksmith'."
"You mean those Blacksmiths in RPG games?!"
"Yeah. He opens this shop to sell his hand-made weapons. At his time, weapons were still pretty commonly used, so he maintained a pretty stable income. Then he met my mom at this shop."
"So this is where your parents first met?" Tsuna asked surprised.
"Yeah," Yamamoto laughed. "He said my mom got interested in the sun daisies he planted at the entrance, and that's why she came into the shop. She doesn't like weapons, but she like the flowers, so she came to the store everyday to stare at the flowers. They started starting a relationship after about a month.
My mom loves sushi so they went out to eat sushi almost everyday. My mom's dream is to open a sushi restaurant and she even taught dad how to make sushi so they can open the shop together."
Awwww... How romantic~
Yeah... It really is huh?
"But then one day my mom passed away due to an accident. My dad was really sad and so he decided to open a sushi bar to help my mom achieve her dream. But he also kept this shop to treasure the memory of their first encounter, although he gains no money by this shop because nowadays no one use swords or knifes anymore."
"What about Boron-san? Why would he want to work at a shop that is deserted and has no customers?" Tsuna asked, cocking his head curiously. Yamamoto tapped his chin, thinking.
"Well, Dad said that he found Boron unconscious on the street. After he took Boron to the hospital, he found out that Boron lost his memories. Dad took pity on him and offered him food and shelter as long as he help dad watch the shop. My dad mostly visited the shop about one or two days a month to see how he's doing."
"Oh so that's why your house was closed today. Your dad was visiting Boron-san today," Tsuna stated.
"Yeah...hey Tsuna, do you really think Boron and the thief were both telling the truth?" Yamamoto questioned his thought out loud.
"Yeah...I don't think they were lying. Their eyes looked truthful, and they seemed to panic when we didn't believe them. I think there must've been a mistake somewhere," said Tsuna. He then he glanced at his watch and yelped. "HIEEE! It's this late already?! I have to go home now or else my mom would be worried!" He then dashed towards the entrance door and stopped before exiting. Turning his head back, Tsuna said, "I'll see you tomorrow Yamamoto-kun!"
"Bye Tsuna!" Yamamoto waved his hand in the air cheerfully, watching Tsuna running away.
While walking home, Tsuna asked mentally.
How did you run that fast using my body? I have short legs and weak stamina, so how did you run that fast?
I used something called CHAKRA.
Chakra?
Yeah, it's a form of energy that exists in everyone's body. But nobody knows them so no one uses them.
Did you learn that in Ninja Academy?
Yeah. Every ninja must learn how to use their chakra. By the way, starting tomorrow I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself dattebayo!
How? How do you teach me when you are inside of me?
Hehe~ you'll see tomorrow!
Fine...
Slowly, carefully, and quietly, Tsuna pushed open the door to his home. He slipped inside swiftly and closed the door with a quiet 'click'. He turned and nearly screamed in surprise if not for the hand covering his mouth. He looked up at the owner of the hand and found the face of Natsu's inches from his.
Taking off his hand, Natsu smirked as he took in Tsuna's alarmed look. "So..." He began, drawling the word out. "You ate at Yamamoto's house today huh?"
"A-actually...I d-didn't, T-takesushi was c-closed t-today..." Tsuna spluttered, nearing biting his tongue. Glancing up nervously, he found Natsu glaring at him, as usual. He fidgeted involuntarily.
"Hm. Then why did you come home this late? Even my basketball practice was over."
"Umm..." Tsuna glanced away, suddenly finding the ant crawling over his shoes very interesting. "S-something c-came up and I h-had to g-go t-take care of it..."
Please don't ask what please don't ask... Tsuna prayed silently.
Lady Luck seemed to be on his side for Natsu merely "hm~"'d before switching the subject.
"So you're friends with Yamamoto now aren't you?" Natsu asked.
"Y-yeah..." Tsuna said, closing his eyes and preparing himself from whatever insults or punches Natsu is going to throw.
"Oh."
Tsuna glanced up surprised.
"Aren't you g-going to be m-mad at me?"
"Of course not. I can't wait to see how he will react when he find out your true side," sneered Natsu. He then turned and left.
That was weird. He's a mystery, your brother.
"Yeah," Tsuna answered out loud, still stunned from what Natsu had said.
Next day is a Saturday. Tsuna followed Naruto's instructions and left home early to the small forest at the South of Namimori. On the way there he found a red-haired boy who was wearing glasses making weird faces at a mirror on the side of the street, which he chose to ignore.
Arriving at the small forest, he choose a clean spot to put down his backpack, which was loaded with water bottles, snacks, and notepads. He don't know how and what Naruto is going teach him, so he prepared for everything.
Naruto, so how are you going to teach me?
Like this...
Tsuna blinked, and he's in the Movie Room again (he decided to call it the 'movie room' since watching the scenes on the screen is like watching a movie).
Hiee! Please warn me before doing that! You surprised me!
"Haha!" Naruto laughed out loud. He then positioned his hands into a cross handsign, and said, "kage bunshin no jutsu", again pulling chakra out from Tsuna's enormous chakra ball inside of him.
A dead-looking figure appeared collapsing on the ground next to him. Tsuna couldn't make out what exactly is that thing since it's facing down and it's skin is drained of color.
What are you doing? And what's that?
"Hm...I thought I can do it on first try...let's see..." Ignoring Tsuna, Naruot closed his eyes to concentrate harder, and yelled, "kage bunshin no jutsu!" A pale-looking clone appeared, but this one was missing an eyebrow.
Naruto tried again, "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" This time, a normal-looking clone of Tsuna appeared next to him. Naruto went to the clone, tapped its shoulder, and said, "good, seems like it worked!"
Hieee! Who's him! Why does he look like me!?
"Hey," Yet again, Naruto ignored Tsuna. He leaned close to the clone and said, "don't let Tsuna take over, ok?"
"Of course, boss." The clone replied.
-The Clone's view-
Hieee! What happened?!
We are the clones of the original Tsuna/Naruto~
Clones? What do you mean?
Just wait okay? I'll explain afterward...
Fine...this is creepy...
-Back in normal view-
Naruto then let Tsuna have his body back. As soon as Tsuna has his body back, he went to the clone and examined it from head to toe. He then poked its shoulder, and yelped when the clone moved away from him.
"Hieee! Ano...who are you?" Tsuna asked.
"I am your clone, or maybe I should say...you clone but Naruto's mind," the clone Naruto replied.
"Hah? What are you talking about?"
Sighing, clone Naruto began explaining, "the original Naruto, your Naruto, just did a jutsu that creates a solid replica of the user. In this case, I am you, and you are me. I'm exactly the same as you. If I'm talking in clone-Tsuna's perspective, then I would say we both have Naruto inside of us. To make you understand better, I'll show you..."
Tsuna watched as clone Naruto closed his eyes, then opened it rather quickly. Looking around nervously, clone Naruto finally glanced at Tsuna, and yelped, "Hiee! You look like me!"
"Y-you are the clone of me?!" Tsuna asked as he saw the familiar reaction from the clone.
"I-I guess so..that's what Naruto said..." clone-Tsuna replied. Tsuna assumed that the 'Naruto' the clone is talking about is clone-Naruto.
"W-wow, so..ugh..you know everything I know?" Tsuna asked.
"Yeah. You still peed your pants when you were ele-"
"WAHH!" Tsuna hurriedly covered the clone's mouth. He could almost hear Naruto laughing in his mind. "D-don't say it! I believe you okay?"
"Oh, s-sorry..." clone-Tsuna apologized guiltily. His head was down, his fingers were twiddled together; those were all what Tsuna would do when he felt bad or nervous.
"I-it's fine..." Tsuna muttered. It was silent for a while for both don't feel comfortable talking to their look-alike, until clone-Naruto decided to take control.
"Well, now you know what the clone is like, I guess we can finally start training now-ttebayo!" clone-Naruto said. Tsuna nodded. "Basically, you can treat me like Naruto, since I'm practically him, don't be too nervous." Tsuna nodded, this time relaxing his stance a bit. "Great! First, I'm going to teach you the basic of everything: chakra?"
"Chakra? Wasn't that what you used to help you run faster when you took control of me?"
"Yep! You can apply chakra to any spot on your body to make it stronger. For example, if you add chakra to your fist, you punch becomes stronger. If you add it to your stomach, your stomach becomes stronger, which means if someone punches you, it will hurt less."
"Oh! So when you apply chakra to your feet, you add power to it which means you can run faster, is that so?" Tsuna realized as clone-Naruto smiled.
"Yeah, but to use it, you will have to find it first. Here," clone-Naruto took a leaf from the ground and offered to Tsuna. "Sit down, put this on your forehead, and close your eyes."
Tsuna took the offered leaf and complied.
"Wipe everything off your mind, make it blank, relax, breath in through your nose, and out through your mouth," clone-Naruto instructed.
Tsuna did so and felt as if all the stress and pressure had been lifted off of him. He just sat there, relaxing, taking in the warm morning sunshine, screeching of the cicadas, chirping of the birds, and the calming earthly smell the forest releases.
"And now focus all your concentration, energy...onto the leaf on your forehead. Do you feel anything?"
Clone-Naruto's voice sounded so far away. Tsuna mumbled a quiet, inaudible 'no' as he continued to relax. He almost fell asleep if not for clone-Naruto's voice called out again.
"Then take a while longer. Take as long as you need. Forget about everything else, just relax and focus your energy onto the leaf."
Tsuna would continue to relax even if clone-Naruto didn't tell him to. He felt so peaceful right now. He doesn't have to worry about the bullying, Natsu, school grades...etc. He can just...relax.
He doesn't know how long he just sat there, eyes closed, for the first time in his life feeling very peaceful and relaxed. After what felt like ages, Tsuna suddenly felt a warmth coiled in his stomach. He snapped open his eyes and gasped in surprise.
"What's wrong?" Clone-Naruto asked innocently. His facial features, however, betrayed his tone. It was clearly a 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' type of expression.
"I felt something weird in my stomach!" Tsuna exclaimed, pressing his palm on the warm spot, but by now he couldn't feel the warmth anymore.
"That, is your chakra. The warmth you felt is the energy that had been hidden deep inside of you. Today, all we are gonna learn is to find your chakra and try to apply it to different spots of your body." Clone-Naruto explained.
"Would I get to test out the effect of this power?" Tsuna asked excitedly. Imagine being able to run much faster! He would never been called dame-Tsuna ever again!
But, on a second thought, if he suddenly appeared so powerful, Natsu would get jealous of that power and he would get hurt again. Maybe...he should just hide this talent? Which means he can't get rid of the 'dame-Tsuna' name? Aw man...then what's the point of learning this?
To protect yourself you baka!
What?!
Tsuna thought alarmed. He almost forgot the real Naruto was here!
The reason I teach you this is so you can defend yourself! Forget about your brother! You should care about your own safety first! Think about the rest afterward. You should focus on concentrating now so you can find the chakra. Remember, to find your chakra, you need to concentrate!
Sorry...I understand now...but still...if Natsu find out, then I'm in deep trouble. I'm sure he would want this power, if it's truly what ninjas use, then he would want it for sure.
Then use this power to kick his butt! But to do so, you need to learn how to use this power first. So now...CONCENTRATE!
OKAY OKAY! No need to shout!
"Yes, you would get to, but you'll have to find it first. Now, can you find that warmth again?" Clone-Naruto asked. Tsuna nodded as he settled down and closed his eyes again.
By the end of that day, Tsuna already could find the chakra and adding a small amount of it to his fists, stomachs..etc. Although the small amount of chakra added did practically nothing to strengthen him, Tsuna was still happy because he actually did something only ninjas can do! When he returned home that day, Tsuna hid his happy demeanor and acted all dame and 'normal', so mama wouldn't find anything strange with him, and Natsu wouldn't find reasons to bully him again. But when he was alone in his room, he allowed himself to scream in his pillow. He's so happy that not just someone agreed to teach him self-defense, he's also able to learn it all! Unlike in his other classes, no matter how the teachers teach the materials, he still wouldn't get it.
For the next few weeks, Tsuna didn't show his new ability in class (PE), besides, he isn't strong enough to show off. On the weekends, Tsuna would go to that clearing in the forest, and then Naruto would take over to make clone-Naruto appear and teach him. He would train like that for about three hours a day.
It's been a month, and Tsuna already can add enough chakra onto his feet to add a boost of power whenever he runs. He hasn't applied chakra onto his hands yet, because first, if he does so, he would have nowhere to test out the power, and second, he can't possibly use trees as targets can he?!
But still, Tsuna was very pleased with his accomplishments. He, dame-Tsuna, actually succeeded in learning how to strengthen himself physically! Although he still trips and falls, he is much better at physical exercises now! Even though he still couldn't hit a ball in PE, he accomplished the harder task: find his inner power and learn how to use it. Tsuna was very very pleased with himself. If he could, he would pat himself on the back. But unfortunately, he's not flexible enough and his hands can't reach that far.
He thought this peaceful days would last forever, with him avoiding mama and Natsu, failing school, acting normal at school (PE), training on the weekends...but it all ended when one day...
It was a peaceful day at the Sawada household. With mama preparing breakfast, Natsu waking Tsuna up using his special weird methods, and Tsuna tripping on every three steps... until the doorbell rang. While mama went getting the door, Natsu was stuffing eggs and toast into his mouth as he fixed his uniforms, and Tsuna was in the restroom, brushing his teeth and nursing the bruise on his cheek, which he had gotten from Natsu's hammer that morning.
"Ciaossu!"
A baby voice called out. Natsu poked his head out of the kitchen curiously and Tsuna exited the bathroom while wiping his wet face with a towel. They both stopped as they took in the scene.
A baby, wearing a black suit and a fedora, standing at the entrance, smiling oh-so-innocently at mama.
Natsu, with half of the toast hanging out of his mouth, went to the baby, swallowed the food, and asked in a gentle voice, "baby? Why are you here? Are you lost?"
"My name is Reborn, the home tutor."
"Home tutor?" The brothers asked concurrently.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you!" Mama smiled, "I hired you a home tutor. It says," she took out a flyer and read, "I will train your kid to become the new leader of the next generation. Grades and subject doesn't matter. Tutor for free if offered food and shelter. Signed, Reborn."
"But mama! This is a baby!" Natsu protested. "Tsuna would become even more dame if he has a baby as a tutor!"
"Actually, I'm here to train you, Sawada Natsuyoshi," Reborn said.
"What?!" Turning towards mama, Natsu cried, "mama! I don't need a home tutor! You know how I got straight A's and is an excellent athlete!"
"Oh really? Is that so?" Reborn suddenly jumped up and did a round house kick aiming at Natsu's head. Natsu snapped his head back at the last second to avoid being hit. "Not bad, but you forgot to protect..here!" Reborn then did a push kick towards Natsu's stomach, making him choking and coughing on the ground. "Well, you're going to be late if you don't hurry up, dame-Natsu," he then dragged Natsu by his tie outside and closed the door.
After about ten seconds, mama smiled and said obliviously, "oh well, that was interesting." She then settled her gaze on Tsuna who was half-dressed and yelped, "oh! I forgot to prepare your bento!" She then hurried into the kitchen.
Tsuna stood staring at the door. It seems like his peaceful days had ended. Who know what type of chaos this weird baby would bring? Oh well, he'll just have to brace himself for it.
AN:
For the blacksmith part, I don't know anything about Blacksmith except that they make weapons. I only knew them from Warcraft (you know, 'Mail' weapons and such ;D) so there might be things that were wrong in this chapter, please try your best to ignore them as you read. But I would be happy if you would point them out so I can fix them.
Also, just so you know, when I get past the Kokuyo Arc, I might update slower. Because I finished watching KHR in Elementary school and now I'm in highschool, I forgot most of the plot already. Right now I'm re-watching it and I'm on episode 25, when Tsuna's fighting Mukuro. As for what happened after that, I totally forgot! xD So please be patient and give me time to watch and write when I get past the Kokuyo Arc.
For those sharp readers who had caught on Shoichi's appearance, haha~ he would probably show up in the next, or so chapters. I made something special happen to him too. I personally really love Shoichi and I think he doesn't get enough attention in the fics, especially twin fics, so I'm gonna make him show up~ Oh god it's gonna be humorous... (*I'm not spoiling anything!*) (lol this is just like 此地无银三百两 lol)