Chapter 7: Strength in Unexpected Places

Using several rapid slashes, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi cut through the tuna. He grinned as the perfectly sliced fish fell back on the plate. A faint creak came from the entrance, and Tsuyoshi immediately changed the grip on the knife.

"Welcome to Takesushi!" he called out, though judging by the sound of the footsteps, Takeshi was back with that boy he'd grown so attached to.

"Hi, dad!" said Takeshi. The strange look on the teen's face caught Tsuyoshi's attention, though the sushi chef knew no one else would notice the difference. "I brought Tsuna with me."

"Oh? Did you come for some sushi for your friend in the hospital?"

"No. Tsuna already gave Gokudera a bento. We came to eat some sushi."

"I didn't know I raised such a greedy brat," said Tsuyoshi with a grin. He was glad his son brought over friends so often lately. His boy never used to bring anyone over, despite the fact that he was always surrounded by friends in his baseball games. The three Takeshi had started bringing over must be special to the teen, especially the Sawada boy with him now.

"I'm only greedy when it comes to sushi and baseball," said Takeshi with a grin that reflected his old man's. "Can I get some of the blue fin tuna for Tsuna?"

"Fine, but you have to prepare it." The older Yamamoto liked when his son helped out in the shop. Tsuyoshi got a special enjoyment out of seeing his son hold a blade, even a mere sushi knife. One day, his son would become a master swordsman. One day, but not yet. The boy was still too wrapped up in baseball and student life to have the time or dedication the Shigure Soen Ryu required. Complying with his old man's request, the boy hurried into the kitchen and grabbed the knife that he was most acquainted with and started slicing the tuna. The display held none of the finesse of Tsuyoshi's earlier knife work, but it held a pleasing strength and raw technique.

"Here you go Tsuna," said Takeshi as he handed the other boy the finished sushi. "It's not as good as my dad's yet, but I hope you like it anyway."

"Thank you," said the smaller boy as he took a piece. Tsuyoshi wasn't certain, but the smaller brunette's smile seemed to lack its usual brightness. Made sense though. That would account for Takeshi's strange look.

"Hey dad," said Takeshi. Tsuyoshi nodded, indicating he was listening as the older man pretended to focus on the sushi he was preparing. He had recognized the look in his son's eyes, a sharp look that conveyed a fierce determination. His son was about to say what Tsuyoshi had been waiting to hear since the first time the boy had first held a knife. "I want to learn swordsmanship."

"W-what are you talking about?" asked the smaller brunette. "Why do you suddenly want to learn—?"

"You want to get stronger too, don't you, Tsuna?" asked Takeshi, giving the smaller brunette a soft smile that was very different from his regular grin. Tsuyoshi had never seen Takeshi smile like that to anyone besides his mother. "That's what you were thinking the whole time in the hospital."

"I-I w-wasn't…," the smaller brunette started, but one look into Takeshi's eyes stopped him. "I was. If I was stronger, Gokudera-san wouldn't have gotten hurt. I…I'm worthless…"

"I know," said Takeshi. The other boy's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and hurt crossed over the smaller brunette's features. If Tsuyoshi didn't know his son so well, the man would scold Takeshi for such careless words. But the older Yamamoto knew that wouldn't be necessary. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Y-you were?"

"Yes. That's why I've decided to get stronger. How am I going to help Gokudera stay away from Tamaki if I don't?"

The smaller boy flinched, the words striking a cord somewhere. He looked up wearily at Takeshi.

"H-he's n-not that b-bad. N-not a-always."

Takeshi's eyes became hard, and Tsuyoshi realized who the two were discussing. Tsuyoshi had to agree with his son. The other Sawada boy was dangerous, though not as an opponent. That child had the ability to destroy easily and used it carelessly. Sawada Tamaki should be kept away from everyone.

"You want to protect Gokudera, don't you?" Not many would catch the plea in the question, but Tsuyoshi was the boy's father and heard it easily. The Sawada boy seemed to catch it too.

"I do," the smaller boy said firmly, though his expression quickly returned to something much more vulnerable than confusion. "But I don't know if I can."

"That's why we're going to train," said Takeshi, his bright grin back on his face. "And Dad's going to help us."

"I am, am I?" said Tsuyoshi, enjoying his son's determination. "I don't recall agreeing to teach you."

"But you said you would when I was serious. And we're very serious," said Takeshi. The smaller brunette stood from where he had been sitting and bowed right in front of Tsuyoshi.

"Please teach us, Yamamoto-san."

Tsuyoshi had never thought that he would even consider taking on two students, not after what happened between Keichi and their sensei. But Tsuyoshi knew all too well by the fact that his son mirrored the bow beside the other boy that it was either two students or none.

"Fine. Come with me," he said finally. He would teach, but it would be up to the two whether they would learn the Shigure Soen Ryu.


The answers were all wrong. Again.

"Nice to see you were paying attention during class," said Hana, as she handed the papers back to the two boys in the desks across from hers. The two had the decency to look ashamed, but she knew that they wouldn't change their ways if she didn't get serious with them. "I think I'm going to start charging again for my services."

"That bad, huh," said Takeshi.

"Yes, that bad," said Hana. "I let you boys take a break for one week, while that idiot monkey recovers, and now you guys can't catch up for anything. Instead you've been falling farther and farther behind. I'm starting to think that you aren't even trying."

"S-sorry, Hana-chan," said Tsuna. He rubbed the back of his head, imitating the taller brunette, while cringing away from her. The picture the brunette made would make most want to reassure him, but Hana had had enough.

"Now you either tell me what's going or fork over 3,000 yen," she said.

"3-3,000 yen!" cried Tsuna. "B-but it was only 1,500 yen—"

"Take it or leave it. You guys are up to something, and I will not be left in the dark."

"W-we're n-not u-up t-to a-anything. W-what m-makes y-you t-think—"

"You come every day with injuries. You're falling asleep in class constantly. And most importantly, you haven't gotten single answer right without help in three days," said Hana, holding up the completely incorrect papers.

Takeshi chuckled. "Looks like we've been found out."

"Yes, you have," said Hana, annoyed as much by the baseball player's laughter as by the dejected look on Tsuna's face. But she refused to give in. She wouldn't hang around with lying monkeys.

"It's not a big secret, but Tsuna didn't want to worry you," said Takeshi. Hana frowned, and Tsuna hid his eyes behind his wild hair. "We've been training with my old man."

"Training? For what?" Hana demanded, her temper getting the better of her. "What is it about guys that makes them think like monkeys? Just because the idiot monkey got hurt protecting Tsuna, which he admits he did only to impress the monkey king, does not mean you have to buff up and make yourselves more of a challenge for the next idiot who comes along and threatens you. Irie-kun's gone off to Europe for a while to show off his box since he understand it now thanks to various hospital visits to the stupid monkey. There's no real reason for something as extreme as training so much that your studies suffer."

"I guess you can say tha—," said Takeshi.

"No," said Tsuna, in that tone that made others go quiet. His eyes came out from behind their curtain of hair. The look made Hana catch her breath. She could almost swear those eyes were glowing orange. "We're not just doing it to fight. We want to be able to protect our friends. We want to become strong enough so that what happens to Gokudera never happens to anyone we care about ever again." The two stared at him, causing his eyes to lose intensity and the small brunette to fidget. "I-I promise we won't fight if no one tries to hurt our friends…"

"Really?" said Hana. She would like to fight them more on this, but Tsuna was surprisingly stubborn when he used that tone. "I guess I'll have to content myself with that then. Nothing I say will change your minds, will it?"

"Nope," said Takeshi, slinging his arm to its preferred place around Tsuna's shoulder. "It's just like Tsuna said."

"So what kind of training is it?"

"My old man's a master swordsman," said Takeshi in a tone he usually reserved for baseball related topics. His arm left Tsuna's shoulder and turned into an excited fist pump. "The first time we trained, he didn't use any protective covering, but we couldn't lay a scratch on him."

"So he's teaching you how to wield a sword. Not very practical," said Hana. As weapons went, swords were one of the most obvious and bulky.

"That's okay because my old man's Shigure Soen Ryu is unbeatable."

"And how do you know that?"

"My old man said so."

"Figures," said Hana. She had gotten far too used to the baseball player's unreasonable logic. "And how's the training in this unbeatable style going?"

"Pretty good," said Takeshi before scratching the back of his head. "I'm stuck on the ninth form. I don't quite get what Dad's talking about when we got to that one."

"And you," said Hana to the quieter brunette. Tsuna stiffened before hiding behind his hair again.

"Oh, Tsuna's not learning the Shigure Soen Ryu," said Takeshi pretty casually, though he gave the other boy a quick glance. "Dad said he's not made for swords."

"Not very surprising," said Hana. The idea of the short brunette swinging around a sword sounded like a bad idea all around. But then so did the idea of Tsuna fighting period.

"Yeah, Dad said a sword weighs him down and he's too scared to use it."

"Again, not surprising. With his klutz attacks, he might just as well end up chopping off his own arm as taking his opponent out."

"No, that's not it," said Takeshi. A special affection filled the words. "Dad says that Tsuna's too scared about hurting his opponent more than he has to so he makes his attacks too weak."

"I see," said Hana. The smaller brunette was that endearing red again. "So what is he doing instead?"

"He's learning to fight me barehanded."

"Barehanded? But isn't that..." The proud grin on Yamamoto's face stopped her words short. She sighed. Sometimes, these two were worse to deal with than all the other monkeys in class combined. "That explains why he has twice as many injuries as you."

"Yep. But Dad's really impressed. He said he only suggested it to see what Tsuna's real power was, because he figured Tsuna wouldn't hold back if he was just fighting with his hands instead of a weapon, but then Tsuna did some really cool things, and so Dad decided to train Tsuna to fight barehanded. My old man's not an expert at fighting barehanded, but he says that a swordsman still needs to defend himself even if he's lost his sword, so he knows a little. He's training Tsuna in basic hand-to-hand."

"Basic hand-to-hand fighting," she said. The idea sounded off and yet right at the same time. "And how's that going, Tsuna?"

"It's going okay," said Tsuna quietly, still red as a tomato.

"It has to be going better than 'okay' if you want to use it as an excuse for your horrible work the last few days," said Hana. She hated when the small brunette undersold himself. "If you're using it as an excuse for your terrible work the last few days, you better be doing great."

"He is," said Takeshi. "Dad said he's going to have to call in a favor to get him a better trainer."

"He doesn't have to do that," said Tsuna, indulging in that horrible habit again. "I can barely block your moves and I haven't landed a hit on you."

"Yeah, but I couldn't hit you yesterday," said Takeshi, pride in his voice. "Dad said that you've come a really long way in just three weeks."

"He meant yo—."

"Nah. He said both of us, and Dad wouldn't say it unless he meant it."

"Not that I wouldn't love to keep hearing about what Yamamoto-san did or didn't say," said Hana, putting an end to what could easily become an endless argument. "But what I'd really like to know is where the idiot monkey has gotten to. The hospital did release him a week or so ago, so why hasn't he been in class?"

The two looked at each in that growingly infuriating way.

"W-we're not exactly sure," said Tsuna. "Gokudera-san saw us training with Yamamoto-san and ran off."

"Dad said," Takeshi started, earning him a sigh from Hana. If she ever needed an example of a son idolizing his father, she would know right where to go. "Dad said that Gokudera probably wanted to get stronger too."

"And the idiot monkey went off to train somewhere then," said Hana. "I can't say I miss his idiotic presence. He's dangerous simply standing there polluting the air with those stupid cigarettes. It'll be easier to focus without him. And you guys are going to need all the focus you can get, because I'm not letting your grades fall behind. I worked too hard to let your grades fall back to where they were. I don't like my work to go to waste."

The two looked properly terrified at that statement, and Hana grinned.

"Let's begin, boys."


"So which ones mine?"

"The shorter one. I told you I'm training my son myself. He's got quite the gift for swords you know," said Tsuyoshi as they watched the two boys do strength training. Takeshi lifted his 65lb weights with little effort while Tsuna struggled to stay upright under his 40lb ones. "I admit he doesn't look like much, but he's pretty surprising. I only took him on at first to please Takeshi who's strongly attached to him, but the more I train him, the more I find myself wishing I was better at hand to hand combat so that I could continue teaching him. But it's not my forte, so I called you."

"I believe you," said his friend. "Someone who caught the eye of the former Akai Shigure would have to be someone interesting."

"Thanks for coming all this way, old friend. I know that you do not like to be too far from home."

"Home is where the heart is," said the martial artist. "And my heart is currently running around here in Japan."

"Ah, that sweet little disciple you mentioned is here on assignment then," said Tsuyoshi. "The Triad sure is starting them earlier and earlier."

"Yes. But I hope that my influence as her master might persuade her to abandon the mission for a while. There is young, and then there is too young."

"She could stay here," said Tsuyoshi, his grin as serious as his eyes. "In return for training my son's friend, I mean."

His friend's lips quirked upward into his characteristic gentle smile. "But that wouldn't be calling in a favor."

"There don't need to be favors between friends," answered Tsuyoshi.

"Then I will tell you that while I would be relieved beyond words to accept your offer, I cannot stay too long. The Triad expects me back soon."

"Not necessarily. There may not be favors between friends, but there certainly are between associates. I believe the head of the Triad owes me a favor or two. Keeping you here for a while might satisfy that debt."

Tsuyoshi enjoyed the surprise on his friend's face. Not many could get such a reaction from the renowned martial artist.

"Then it's settled," continued Tsuyoshi before his friend recovered sufficiently enough to disagree. "Let's go meet your new student."


The two boys stopped their strength training as soon as they realized that they had company.

"Is it time to start sparring already?" asked Tsuyoshi's son, an eager grin stretching across his face.

"Not yet, Takeshi," said Tsuyoshi. "I brought the friend I talked about over to meet Tsuna."

"Really where is he?" asked Tsuyoshi's son, looking around excitedly. The smaller brunette pulled on the young swordsman's sleeve discretely and pointed straight at where the martial artist stood next to Tsuyoshi. The taller boy scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. "Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there."

"That's quite alright. It would have been embarrassing for me to be noticed so easily by someone of your level," said the martial artist.

"Hm? But Tsuna noticed you right away."

"Yes, I saw," said the martial artist, looking the smaller boy with new eyes. Tsuyoshi was right. The boy was not what he seemed, though it might be hard to discern especially when the boy blushed and all but hid behind the young swordsman.

"Takeshi, don't be so blunt with your elders," Tsuyoshi scolded. "Now it is my pleasure to introduce my old friend, Fon. Fon, this is my son Takeshi and his friend Tsuna."

"Nice to meet you," the two boys said in unison, though the smaller bowed deeply while the taller barely tilted forward.

"Nice to meet you as well," said Fon, returning the bows with one of his own. "If I may, I would like to evaluate my potential student."

"That's fine," said Tsuyoshi. "I have to see how my son's ninth form is coming along."

"If you say so," said the younger swordsman, all his former eagerness gone. The smaller brunette, Tsuna caught Takeshi's eyes and smiled. The tension went out of the taller boy's shoulders, and the young swordsman returned the smile. "See you later, Tsuna."

The brunette's calm, sweet smile curdled into a more strained one as father and son left the dojo. Fon waited, observing how Tsuna would react to the situation. As a master of martial arts, Fon had learned that the first few minutes with a student could determine a lot about how the relationship between the teacher and student would go. So far, the boy had stood frozen in front of Fon. The brunette did not move to sit, did not ask what they would do now, made no suggestions about what they could do, did not try to impress Fon, and most importantly did not wonder out loud what an infant could possibly have to teach him. So this student was not confident, curious, intelligent, proud, or ignorant. But Fon couldn't tell if the inaction indicated fear or respect, or if the look on the boy's face meant that the boy was patient, confused, or lazy.

"You may call me Fon-sensei," said Fon, deciding to take the first step. "I'd appreciate it if you never call me master or Master Fon. Only one person has permission to call me that. I mean no offense, but I made a promise long ago that a student could only call me master if that person was to be a lifelong disciple of mine, and as I explained to Tsuyoshi-san, I can only train you for a short amount of time."

"H-how l-long?" The boy asked. The stuttering would explain why the boy had not spoken earlier.

"Perhaps a year, but not more," said Fon. "I will do what I can to help you grow between now and then."

"T-thank y-you," said the boy. His smile reminded Fon of another's, but with more innocence and honesty. Luce would love to meet this boy, if only to see such a smile on another person.

"Let us begin then. Come at me with all you have."

The boy nodded and threw himself at Fon without hesitation. Fon easily dodged, and the boy spun to take another swing. Using the momentum from his dodge, Fon jumped out of the boy's reach. The boy showed neither despair nor surprise at the martial artist's speed. Instead the boy pushed with his legs harder to try to match it. He did not come close, but the try itself held promise. Fon continued to dodge the boy's blows with minimal effort and watched in interest as the blows became sharper and more purposeful instead of sloppier and more desperate. At one point, the boy threw a fist at Fon as the martial artist came to a corner of the room, forcing Fon to jump up in order to avoid it. The martial artist almost didn't see the second punch headed for his head, but he ducked his head under the fist and used the arm's thrust to flip the boy over on the martial artist's back. The boy struggled back onto his feet, pulling another fist back.

"Enough," said Fon. As if the word had cut the strings that had been holding the boy upright, the brunette slumped into an exhausted pile on the floor. The boy's breathing worried Fon since the gulps of air sounded painful and heavy. He planned to let the boy lay there until the small brunette recovered, but the boy clenched his teeth and evened his breaths by force. He then pushed himself, struggling to get himself upright, and after one or two attempts, the boy had propped his body up in a crooked, sloppy version of the Japanese seiza.

"How…was…I?" the boy asked in between deep breaths.

"You have little to no stamina," said Fon, the words surprising him. Nothing in the training spar had let on that the boy was pushing himself past his limits. Tsuyoshi had been more than right. In the last few moments, the boy had stunned Fon not once but twice. The boy took the words harder than Fon meant them and bowed his head to hide his face.

"I-I kn-know," he whispered. "I-I'm s-sorry. I-I've b-been t-trying t-to f-fix i-it, b-but Y-Yamamoto-san w-wanted m-me t-to w-wait f-for y-you."

"You expend too much power at once," said Fon, further analyzing the spar. "And you currently don't have that much power to begin with, so you are expending from your reserves, which leaves you with no energy whatsoever. However, you direct your swings well, despite the fact that your punches still lack finesse. And you did a good job at reading your opponents. You did time that punch so that I would jump into the other one, did you not?"

"I-I t-thought t-that i-if I b-backed y-you i-into a c-corner, i-it m-might w-work."

Fon stared at his new student. The boy had backed the martial artist into the corner on purpose. Since Fon had become a martial art master, no one had guided his movements in such a manner, let alone without him noticing. Tsuyoshi might prove to be more right than even the experienced swordsman knew.