This story is sort of breaking at interval points and I need to clear the air up.
Tsuna feels this way because Reborn treated him not like his friends. He comes in as a parental figure where Tsuna never had one (as you can see Iemitsu's abandon and Nana's crazy delusions). Still, he will shun his feelings aside (as seen in this chapter.) Tsuna sees his friends more as 'people he works with' than actual friends (other than save a couple closer few), which is why he can be equally as frigid to Mukuro in this chapter.
I am not spoiling this any further now.
Anyway, thank you for the support! Please enjoy the chapter.
That feeling came and went like the wind. By the next day, it was long gone. So was the temporal warmth.
'Be still, be still. The heart be still.' Tsuna vaguely recalled the phrases Kyoko read to him from her book.
'Monster.' The thought however kept echoing in his head. He looked at the Hitman casually slinging himself on the window still.
'Tsu-kun. This feeling is just a passing- if you want to be a decent actor that is. After all, you can't act human if you lost all human feelings.' Nana cooed, as she stroked his hair. 'How can you be a proper human when you aren't one?'
'That hitman smells very well, be as human as you are.'
Be careful, the voice warned again.
'I know.' Tsuna blinked as he cleared the cups from yesterday on the table. '- that I'm just killing a killer.'
The phone in his pocket rang. Reborn then proceeded to eye him.
"It's one of my friends. Remedial classes that Nezu-sensei said I must attend." Tsuna said.
"Oh." Reborn whistled, and Tsuna pausing at the doorframe for a moment, then left.
In a decrepit building towards the west of Namimori middle, was one of their numerous hideouts meant for emergency-only. It hadn't been really used, but Shouichi had insisted the location there.
"Tsuna."
"Shouichi." Tsuna greeted as he sat down. "What is it?"
"Give me a moment and I'll start explaining." The boy adjusted his glasses as he continued typing
He then turned to look at the meeting room, no one had arrived yet.
"We can wait. No one has arrived yet."
"No, Tsuna." Shouichi replied, his tone deadly grave. "I called you only."
"For what reason?"
"Tsuna, some big shit is happening to Namimori." Shouichi flipped his swivel chair to face the impassive brunet.
Tsuna furrowed his brows slightly. "As if we didn't figure all this by now."
"No, I mean. Not just Reborn, like lots of other things. Like for example, Sawada Iemitsu is coming home tomorrow."
Silence.
Tsuna paused, opened his mouth and paused again. He felt his lips tremble. Shouichi then nervously played with his glasses.
"What else, Shouichi?" A sharp gaze was then directed at him. The pink head fumbled for a moment, knowing full well how Tsuna would blow.
"Also, Mukuro betrayed us. I heard from Hibari that he's got Chrome." Shouichi finally said, but Tsuna barely twitched even after hearing that.
He smelt something rotten burning within. One wave after another. Never-ending. He felt his tone unusually high. "Where is Mukuro?"
"No idea, I'm checking on all security cameras. But Hibari's in hospital now, maybe you can get more information from him." Shouichi replied, his lips feeling unusually dry.
Burn, burn, burn, Monster, just work for your damnation and burn.
Orange flames erupted from his hands. Tsuna thought in silence. Shouichi shrunk away from the intimidating aura.
"Don't fret, Shouichi. I do have a vague idea where he would be waiting for me." Tsuna left without a sound, or another word after he retracted his flames.
Shouichi just stared into the hallway. He hadn't really finished his words, but the issues that he presented Tsuna were harrowing enough.
He wanted to pull up Lambo's case on the strange name, but that could wait a little; perhaps so if Fortuna would will. The clock they had installed on the wall ticked on and somehow, Shouichi was subtly reminded of Namimori's lingering peaceful days.
A few hours ago, Namimori backstreet alleyway. The black markets often do their trading there.
"Fucking Herbivore."
Hibari Kyoya stood on the bloody concrete as he stared at the other. The smell of flesh and iron was permeated the air in the building and it was nauseating. Not that Kyoya cared much anyway. Namimori stunk much more.
Tetsuya looked on with a grim face. "I thought we're allies?"
"Since when byon?" The blond grinned a little too playfully.
"Temporary alliance, until Mukuro-sama deems it necessary no more." Chikusa replied, expressionless.
"Ingrates. Sorry monkeys like you should just stay dead." Tetsuya muttered, and pulled out a gun. Chikusa dodged the first shot.
Mukuro and Kyoya had both heard the sound. "I guess that signals our turn-"
Kyoya waited no more and launched himself straight for Mukuro's face. The other drew out a trident, and clashed against the prefect's tonfas.
Kyoya licked his lips.
Again.
Wait for the opening.
Pounce.
Metal against metal. Mukuro moved his trident from the contact and thrusted it towards the direction of Kyoya's chest. But he managed to hop over Mukuro's head to avoid the weapon's sharp ends.
"Oya. So agile. That's why they call you the Skylark."
"And your ridiculous clown-hair is the reason why they call you 'Pineapple'?"
Mukuro narrowed his eyes. "Don't get cocky, you little bird. It's when the snake comes to bite when it finally understood regret."
Kyouya didn't like complicated phrases. He just coined whatever he heard. It was Tsunayoshi who fared better in the word- political games.
"This little bird is going to butcher the Pineapple. I'll kill anyone who betrays him." Grey eyes gleamed dangerously, the curl of his lips feral. His shoulders tensed, now like an animal about to strike.
"Kufufu. Vedremo a riguardo. We'll see about that." Mukuro's hand hovered lightly over his strange eye as he summoned the first wave of mist flames.
At the same time, the World's Strongest Hitman encountered Hurricane Bomb Hayato. It is not coincidental to say the least; the older hitman had quietly followed behind for a matter of fifteen minutes before Hayato felt the movement of a shadow.
"Fancy seeing you here, Gokudera Hayato. You have not been home for some time." Reborn begun.
"I have no more relations to that man, and neither will they come look for me." Hayato growled, but somewhere in his gut, was prodding feel that she would arrive soon.
Reborn sighed. "It is not of any concern to me anyway, when I meant 'home', I had just meant Italy. Either way, I'll cut to the chase. I am just here to inquire about Sawada Tsunayoshi."
Hayato remained wary. His contact with Jyuudaime had not been exactly exposed, but knowing Reborn, the hitman might have possibly some intel on their relationship.
"I-" He started after five seconds of silence.
Reborn coolly interrupted, knowing full well what the silverette wanted to deny. "Then what for have you come to Japan? To look for your mother's roots? Even when she was stationed in Italy most her life and barely knew her Japanese father?"
Reborn continued without taking as much of a deep breath. "This boy is going to be inheriting the version of Decimo. You will aid him."
"What is it in for me?" Hayato pretended to question, and hoped his voice had not trembled.
Dark eyes pierced into his (because Reborn knew full well he was lying), and for a moment, Hayato nearly wanted to spill the truth when Tsuna walked from behind.
"Reborn." The brunette greeted surprised. He then looked at Hayato with the eyes of a frightened stranger, something Hayato thought his Sawada-sama would never be able to pull off.
"W-Who is this…?"
"Nothing, just merely conversing a casual acquaintance of mine." Reborn smiled wryly, and kicked his student to go home with him, who looked disbelieved. (Hayato would not call that persona his 'Sawada-sama', and neither think of him human.)
Hayato watched on blankly. Everything felt messed up, yet the conviction to follow Sawada-sama, Jyuudaime, Tsuna still remained burning and strong.
It's still okay,
Right?
"It is said that a team of dangerous criminals made their way to Namimori." Reborn said as he tipped his fedora. Tsuna wanted to chuckle sardonically at his statement, but instead he met it with an exaggerated shout of horror and chanted sutras.
"Supposedly." Reborn continued, ignoring his student's antics. "It seemed that the Mafia group's boss who in turn adopted a group of currently missing children, namely Mukuro Rokudo, Joshima Ken and Kashimoto Chikusa, had heard that the said missing children was seen by some of his ally famiglia members. They dispatched one of their men, Lancia to affirm whether it was the truth, but he had not contacted them for two weeks."
"What has it got to do with me-"
"As for the criminals, they broke out of Vindicare with external help about a month ago. Well, point is, after much investigation, all this was deduced to be the handiwork of one certain Mukuro Rokudo."
"So what has it got to-"
"And since, you are the Vongola Decimo. As your first official task, you have to stop him, whatever strange thing he's planning." Reborn held out a paper, stamped with a similar orange flame to his. "Flame of prove."
Tsuna feigned a shocked-to-death expression, as Reborn calmly exited the room. It was then Tsuna's eyes dulled to dark boiling orange; he failed to lift his lips. Shouichi did inform about some supernatural-like Vindicare Prison Break.
Honestly, Tsuna would not have dwelled or give too much thought on the matter.
Nothing beyond Namimori was to evict much concern anyway.
But it now seemed everything beyond Namimori was of concern, as one action spurred to incur
a wave of an entire dreadful consequences.
He would not fight as Vongola Decimo, but for Chrome he would. And he would have to settle this quietly, within a day and a few hours, for not as to incite any suspicions. His father would be home soon, and it would be another complicated manner.
So today was all he was left.
"Takeshi, Hayato, Nii-san." He nodded to the three when they met just a little away from Kokuyo Middle under a bridge. "I believed you have received my message."
"Unthinkable." Takeshi frowned briefly, and it was replaced with a homicidal cheerful grin.
"I'll come to your aid anytime, Sawada-sama. Whatever that Mukuro did, ally or not, he just revoked all of them today." Hayato muttered in what seemed like raw hatred.
"Yeah, they can't just take away Chrome to the extreme! Because of that, Kyoko is crying!" Ryohei punched his fists angrily into the air.
"Should we go now, Tsuna? Shouichi says he can't get in contact with Lambo and Hibari's in the hospital. This fight is too dangerous for the rest." Takeshi said.
"Lambo is too young and uninvolved for our sudden conflict; I would never ask for him to come. But no, not yet." Tsuna looked towards the sky as if awaiting something, and sure enough, something black and swift descended.
"Kyo." He then greeted. Kyoya stood up, albeit a little unsteady and covered in bandages. The three remained shocked at his sudden appearance.
Tsuna knew Kyoya's actions the best, (Takeshi was incomprehensible at times), he knew that Kyoya was actually in fact rather simple and hothead filled with an uncountable swirling vortex of pride. He would not take a beating and stay down. Instead, Kyoya would lash all the more.
"Mukuro and Chrome are reserved for me." Tsuna informed the prefect. Immediately, the prefect pulled him on the collar with a possessive glare- 'he is my fight'.
Tsuna just met his with his cold eyes.
Commanding, "Let me go."
Kyoya felt a slight shudder.
"Tsunayoshi, you are to give me a portion-"
"I'll try, but I might not guarantee. Chrome is there." Tsuna quickly interjected. Kyoya met him with a sort of silence, undiscernible between understanding and impassive.
He didn't give his consent, but they still headed towards the run-down building.
"You haven't given us one more order yet, Tsuna." The raven head spoke as they travelled. Even if Kyoya eventually did what he wanted, it was routine for him and everyone else in that group to listen to.
It was past one, and the sun was scorching.
"Right, I'll say to leave the enemies alive, but likewise I told them who remained behind, if they were targeted and if there's necessity, draw your true weapon and kill them. Our enemies are not to be severely underestimated, they are supposedly all combat experienced."
They all grinned and Tsuna saw how they all looked at him in an unspoken strange manner since they were young, where the brunette could only depict it as a form of reverence, or guidance and light. He wasn't sure about it, but that he knew enough that was the look of strong faith.
'Strange', he often would then think, 'that these people would look at me in the way of a saviour, where all I am is just rot.'
"I do need to be home just before dinner, though it's not a time limit." Tsuna said, when they passed the school's gateway.
"Sawada-sama?" Hayato questioned in confusion.
"I mean, thank you for following me." Tsuna smiled. Hayato flushed a little at his reply; Takeshi laughed; Ryohei cheered and Kyoya snorted.
'Chrome, please wait for me.'