Reborn: Ciaossu. I'm here for the disclaimer today.
Tsuna: Wait, what? Where's Kaylin?
Reborn: Kaylin is currently indisposed and can't make it, so I've taken her place for now.
Mutt: Welcome! It's great to finally have you here!
Reborn: *politely inclines head*
Tsuna: Wait, wait, Reborn, why do I get the feeling that you have something to do with Kaylin not being here?
Reborn: I don't know what you're talking about.
Tsuna: Why don't I think I should believe you?!
Mutt: Maa, maa, Tsuna, Kei's fine.
Tsuna: How do you know? And why are you using Japanese mannerisms?!
Mutt: I'm the author, I know these things. And I'm dangerously close to touching upon weaboo territory, so maybe I should stop that.
Tsuna: What's a... whatever you just said?
Mutt: *claps hands* Okay, let's not completely tear down the fourth wall today and move on to the disclaimer! Reborn, since you're here, would you do the honors?
Reborn: Sure. -
- Disclaimer: The author does not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and makes no money from this fanfiction; this story is just for fun. She does, however, claim rights to Kaylin's existence.
Mutt: Don't let her know that you said that, though. She'll get mad at me.
Tsuna: I've got a bad feeling for some reason...
I waited. And I waited.
And waited.
And just to mix things up a little in the monotony of the morning, I wait just a little more.
I tried to sleep in, I really did, but as soon as I woke up at around 10:00 - as soon as my thinking reached a level resembling coherency - whatever part of my brain that handled anxiety thought that it was necessary to kick me in the stomach with thoughts of Tsuna ending up in lots of smoky, charred bits via dynamite.
So by 1:00 in the afternoon I had somehow found myself wiggling into the school slacks and buttoning my shirt up over my (incidentally, dark blue, today) customary tank top and slipping into my tennis shoes. I had already stuffed Hina into my school bag and slung said bag over my shoulder, ignoring her muffled protests.
No, silly, I wasn't preparing to go to school. That'd go against what Reborn asked of me. No, I was dressing this way just in case.
Just in case, you know...
Something...happens.
...You know?
Ahem.
I continued to convince myself that I was totally not going to school even if I happened to begin walking in that direction upon leaving my apartment out of habit as I turned the door handle, which detached from the door upon me pulling it. Of course, if I did happen to wind up at school somehow -
...
Wait, what?
I looked down to my outstretched hand, which was oddly far away from the door considering I was holding onto the doorknob. For a good ten seconds I didn't comprehend what just happened.
...Wait, what?!
I knew my apartment was obscenely shitty, but the doorknob was firmly attached the damn door just last night! If it were rickety, I'd have noticed! And yet here I was, door handle in hand, with a closed door still in front of me.
My intuition started to scratch at the back of my mind, but I was a little too frazzled to think of anything much more than "what the fuck."
Coming to my senses (mostly) I bemusedly poked at what was left of the handle, which was its...dock, I supposed. My mind wondered through what could have possibly happened until a more pressing matter leapt to the forefront of my mind:
How was I supposed to get out of my house?
...
...
Well, fuck.
I through my head back and let out a long-suffering groan at the ceiling. I then let muscle memory guide my movements as I swiftly pivoted on one foot and spun to deliver a kick to the door, just by the handle (rather, where it should be). I only remembered that the door opened inward when the entire thing was wrenched from its place and fell against the outside railing. I stared at the door wide-eyed with my foot lingering in the air.
...
...
An impressive amount of English, Italian, and Japanese obscenities (somehow mixing grammars) later, I stomped over to the door and lifted it with fair ease to lean it against the wall beside my door. At least it wasn't cold outside or something.
I leaned forward and scrutinized the other side of the doorknob. I cautiously reached up to grab the handle and gave it a gentle turn. That one promptly detached, too. Looking more closely I noticed a few screws missing from the dock.
...That doesn't generally happen by natural causes.
By this point my intuition was solidly poking my brain, but it wouldn't take any kind of intuitive leap to come to a logical conclusion:
...Someone messed with my door?
...What the fuck?
My mouth and brow were set in a definite frown. My mind was sorting through possible suspects, though in retrospect it was pretty obvious,
Who the fuck would have messed with my door? Why the fuck would someone mess with my door?!
I pulled out my cell and dialled the landlord, getting the answering machine. I left a very surly-toned message (not like the damn door breaking was my fault, and I wouldn't let him accuse me of it or something) telling him to please fix the door, then snapped the phone shut, still scowling.
I stomped down the stairs, grumbling the entire time. Without any thought at all I instinctively went on alert, though I rationally thought that a prank like that was a little too benign to warrant much caution at all - and it was.
I rounded the corner to the street I knew was the most direct route to school that I could take from my apartment. I only took two steps in that direction when what I saw made me blink several times before I processed the absurdity.
There was a concrete fucking wall in the middle of the street. Yellow paint designed to advise caution decorated the top and bottom of the wall and a sign was set up in front of it.
It read "detour."
...
Uh. Okay.
I honestly didn't immediately think much of it at first, though my intuition was tickling again. I turned back onto the street I had been walking on previously and made my way to the next perpendicular street.
Upon turning the corner I met with another wall and another "detour" sign.
...
My eyes narrowed in a deadpan stare of disbelief, scowl firmly in place once more. I continued on down the road that I needed to get off of, glaring at the wall like it might move if I watched close enough until it was out of sight. I turned onto the next road.
...
Detour.
I felt a twitch in my cheek.
"What the fuck?!" What the hell was going on that morning?!
Deciding that I was not going to take another damn detour, I stomped over to the nearest wall that surrounded every residential area and clamored up to the top. Looking past the wall that shouldn't be there, I saw...
...Nothing out of the ordinary.
More specifically, no construction work, anything in need of repair...nothing.
...
What.
I couldn't even say anything snarky.
Why the fuck were there concrete walls erected in the street when there was literally nothing going on there?!
I felt another twitch in my cheek, this one more apparent.
I looked up to the sky and prayed to the gods of the land that I be granted more patience and wisdom than I possess.
My mind and intuition went to a certain infant, but I shooed away the thoughts because that would be absolutely ridiculous, even for him.
Absolutely fucking ridiculous.
Definitely.
I walked forward on the wall that was supposed to be there until the wall that wasn't supposed to be there was behind me and hopped down, landing easily on the balls of my feet.
And was promptly shot.
...
By a stream of water.
I gasped in surprise and jumped away from where the offending liquid projectile came from. Though I looked around like mad, I couldn't find a source.
I looked down at my shirt.
Good thing I wear tank tops underneath my school shirts by default...
My mind once again went straight to that baby, but no way would he do this and no fucking way was I in denial because I didn't want to believe that such a person was mentoring my boss. No way.
Balling my fists not out of anger towards said infant but at the soaking state of my hair and clothes I marched forward. I would not be beaten by these stupid -
Splash
...
...
Twitch.
I had ran, jumped, ducked, rolled, and kicked my way away from a stamped of various species of zoo animals, over more walls, under conveniently located movers carrying a couch, out of the way of a speeding cyclist, and through a mob of dress suit and sunglasses-clad businessmen (read: Mafioso. What the fuck are they doing here?) by the time I heard the first explosion (all of that shit took around two hours; that stampede was absolutely insane).
BOOM.
I skidded to a halt, chest heaving and hurting just a tad.
By that point I was relatively near the school, and the sound was surprisingly startling. Whereas you can feel the sound of large fireworks on, say, the New Year, the explosion of what was without a doubt dynamite was messier sounding and shook the ground as well as the air.
BOOM-BOOM.
I was shocked out of my musings by the second and third explosions.
That...was definitely coming from the direction of the school.
Without thinking of the consequences of an all-out sprint I tore down the street full tilt.
That fucking insane piece of absolute shit what the fuckishethinking?!
Several more explosions rang and resounded throughout the vicinity from the school and prompted me to keep the pace that was probably not good for my health. In my escapades around Namimori I wound up at a side of the school without the gate, so in my hurry I decided to jump the wall, which was perhaps two meters high give or take.
Using the momentum from the sprint I leapt as high as I could, planting my right foot against the wall and kicking off for a boost. I grabbed the ledge and continued the motion by pulling myself up. I had enough of a boost that I flopped onto the edge, hooking my arms around the corner under my armpits. I was about to scramble up and over until I heard yelling directly to my left.
My jaw dropped along with my stomach at the sight of literally dozens of lit explosives littering the ground around the feet Gokudera Hayoto and boxer-clad Tsuna who was running around and extinguishing said explosives.
I gasped and flipped myself over the wall, landing right on my ass in my panic. I didn't pay that any mind, though, as I began to run over to where the two were apparently duking it out before I tripped by -
"What the fuck, Reborn?!"
"Ciaossu."
With no time for his shit I hurried to my feet, only to see Tsuna extinguishing the remaining sticks of dynamite by Gokudera's feet. Said maniac stumbled back onto his rear in surprise and shock, looking -
Oh.
As Tsuna fell back, apparently fainting, I planted my butt onto my feet, coming to a rest on my knees on the ground several meters away from the action, just now noting that I was short of breath in the back of my mind.
As I watched Gokudera's face and his astoundingly wide range of emotions shown there for all the world to see before he quickly bowed his head, not moving the rest of his body, memories of what I read about him invaded my mind.
And...I think I understood what just happened.
He had been fully prepared to kill him.
To kill him violently with smoke and gunpowder and explosions. To turn him into bone and char and ash.
But he was surprisingly strong, fast. Gokudera was initially just frustrated, but when he saw that no matter how many bombs he threw at Sawada Tsunayoshi, none managed to so much as explode, let alone harm him.
He grew more and more agitated, furious that this brat was besting him, and his judgement clouded. He resorted to a technique that he hadn't finished yet, and he payed for it.
A few lit bombs fell from his grasp, and the rest followed.
He was dead.
In an instant, tuning out the yelling of his target, he just stared at the dynamite scattered at his feet, fuses seeming to shrink in slow motion. His consciousness was thrust back to his past.
His oblivious, naive contentedness; his sudden, glaring pain and confusion; his feelings of abandonment and betrayal and rejection; his anger and spite and resentment; his bombs, the explosions, the gore, the absence of satisfaction; his frustration at anything and everything, at the world, his struggle just to survive, his anger and spite and resentment and hopelessness and pain and sadness and fear and loneliness
and loneliness
lonely
and worthlessness.
Worthless.
All amalgamating at this one point in time, meeting back for one last rendezvous just to spite him before his life was blown apart like those he had blown apart himself.
Ending just as worthless as he became when the only person that ever thought he mattered died before he even knew to care.
The End.
In an instant he accepted his death.
But just as he did something different came into his view and the little sparks signaling his imminent death went out one by one, at an astounding rate. He blinked as he realized that
his target,
who he tried to kill,
was...saving him?
As more and more fuses were extinguished Gokudera fell backwards, watching the boy before him with wide eyes, unable to move or say anything in this moment of his intense emotions.
The last spark went out just as a spark was lit.
The boy before him fell backwards, apparently unconscious.
For a moment Gokudera didn't move. So many emotions were tearing through him that his body seemed to go numb.
He somehow got enough bearing to hide his face with his hair, balling his fists at his sides, trying to stifle the trembling in his fingers and arms.
What...just happened?
He was -
The world was about to finally be rid of his worthless self, and yet -
This boy in front of him - this boy that he didn't know - this boy that he tried to kill - this boy that he had bad-mouthed and antagonized and given absolutely no reason to be kind to him let alone save his life -
He had done just that.
In years - long, long years - no one had so much as spared him a glance filled with worry for his safety, for his wellbeing. Those he encountered all wanted him dead. All thought him a waste of space, of air, of breath. All considered him a worthless, laughable burden. His life meant nothing.
But the boy sprawled out on the ground before him...
He was...different?
He had saved the life of a stranger that just tried to kill him when he had no obligation or reason to do so.
Because of this stranger, this Sawada Tsunayoshi...
Gokudera Hayato could maybe...keep living.
I watched everything.
Any anger or sense of urgency I initially had had by now evaporated and been replaced with sympathy. I couldn't say that I knew what he was thinking or that I understood his feelings or what he was going through right now, but I could just feel the plethora of emotions churning around inside of him, just beneath the surface. I could tell by his clenched fists that he was trying to keep it from breaking through.
I could see his shoulders trembling, and my heart ached for him.
Both Reborn and I were silent and still, letting what was happening play out, though I desperately wanted to do something. But this was definitely not something that I should interfere with. But, though I felt the need to act I was also afraid to so much as move for fear of disturbing whatever it was the silverette was going through.
It was then that Tsuna himself moved, and Gokudera's head immediately snapped up to stare at him with wide eyes. As Tsuna slowly sat up I made to move, but Reborn grabbed a hold of my pant leg and held me back and I bit my lip in impatience.
Tsuna put a hand to his head but jerked backwards in surprise when Gokudera suddenly flipped over on his hands and knees, apparently coming to a decision, entire demeaner changing in an instant.
"I was mistaken!"
Tsuna blinked, and I blinked, and I could just feel Reborn smirk.
"You're fit to be the Tenth!" My jaw dropped and Tsuna balked.
"Eh?!"
"I'll follow Saw - no, the Tenth anywhere! I'm at your service!" He bowed, his forehead to the ground.
...What.
Now Reborn chose to speak up, though no one seemed to take note of me, sitting right next to him. "For the loser of a fight to become the subordinate of the winner is a family rule."
Another "Eh?!"
Gokudera didn't completely lift his head as he spoke. "Actually, I never wanted to become the Tenth. After I heard that the heir to the Vongola is a Japanese kid my own age, I felt like I had to test his strength." Tsuna blinked again, apparently speechless.
Gokudera looked up now, beaming (what), making Tsuna jerk with surprise again. "But you're so much more than I expected! Putting your life on the line to save someone like me...I'll place my life in your hands!" My jaw dropped a little further and Tsuna flipped.
"Your life?! Don't do that, it's troubling! J-just normal c-classmates will do, right?!"
Instantaneously Gokudera's look went from elated and admiring to stern and quite frightening (to Tsuna), frosted green eyes becoming sharp. "Absolutely not."
At that Tsuna froze completely in a deadpan, too scared to move. Or to argue.
At that time I gave an inelegant snort, then started full-out laughing. I assume Tsuna jerked his head in my direction and Gokudera just turned and scowled, but I could't see because I was laughing so hard.
"Kaylin?!"
...He really did just now notice me?
I was too busy laughing at him (in good humor, of course) to care much, though.
"I thought you didn't come to school again, today! And why are your clothes all dirty?"
I stopped laughing and blinked, then glanced down at my clothes.
...
"Son of a - !"
"Gokudera became your subordinate because of your own strength. Good job, Tsuna." Reborn had moved over to Tsuna and Gokudera, leaving me blinking at having been interrupted, still several meters away from everyone.
This is his fault, though! The little shit!
Tsuna seemed to spaz a little, "What are you talking about?!"
My eye twitched again at this entire situation.
It was then that I remembered that Tsuna had just extinguished a shit load of dynamite with his bare hands.
Shit.
"Hey, Tsuna - are your hands okay?" I pushed off of the ground, using how I was sitting to gain instant speed and jogged over to my boss, ignoring my very likely bruised ass.
Tsuna jumped and blinked at me in confusion before realizing and looking down at his hands. "Oh, um...I've just got little burns here and there..." He trailed off, but waved his hands about trying to reassure me upon seeing my worried frown. "It's fine, they don't hurt that bad!"
I pursed my lips at him, looking stern. The boy only sweatdropped, reassuring smile turning into something of a grimace.
"Don't coddle him," Reborn reprimanded. I puffed out my cheeks and "hmph"d, crossing my arms in defiance.
"Somebody has to, considering you seem to be intent on getting him mauled or maimed or some other spectacular method of death. Like, oh, explosion." I pointedly shot a glare at Gokudera, who bristled, while Tsuna "hiiee"d in alarm.
"K-Kaylin, it's over now, so let's just forget about it...!" He trailed off as he desperately looked back and forth between Gokudera and me, in the middle of our glaring contest/stand-off.
Since I was too busy being a ditz yesterday to Assess the new kid I took the opportunity now to do so.
Assess
Age, approximately 13 years. Height, 168 cm. Weight, 54 kg. While bone structure is rather slight, muscle mass is somewhat considerable, making up for any lack in durability. Posture and facial expressions indicate alertness, as do observable physiological phenomena. Emotional state seems to be somewhat volatile, caution may be taken to avoid potential altercations. Smell indicates smoking habit, though lungs seem to be high functioning, not much suffering as a result.
Potential threat: moderate
Immediate threat: minimal
Identity: Gokudera Hayato, alias "Hurricane Bomb Hayato," "Smokin' Bomb Hayato"
I was finished in three seconds.
Gokudera looked like he was about to throw a tantrum. Before he could, however, our little family apparently caught the attention of some classmates.
"Oh, no~ these guys are skipping class!" A smarmy voice called.
This time both Gokudera and I bristled as we snapped our heads in their direction.
"You're only allowed to skip starting third year! This deserves punishment."
"How many teeth do you want to lose?"
My eyes narrowed dangerously, a metallic glint undoubtedly flashing at them. The idiots were apparently too dense to take the hint, though.
Tsuna flipped again and I noticed Gokudera move off to my left, though I kept my eyes on the assholes coming closer to us.
"Allow me, Tenth," the silverette growled as he stepped forward. "I'll take care of them."
I blinked and finally looked at him as he started to light sticks of dynamite with the cigarette that somehow manifested between his teeth.
Wait, wha - ?!
"W-wait! Gokudera-kun, don't use dynamite!"
By then it was a little too late to stop the explosions, though.
Honestly, I was kinda bummed about not getting a chance to kick any upperclassmen ass. Not like it could be helped, though - I had seriously drained my stamina running around town like I was being chased by maniacs.
Oh, yeah. I WAS. In fact, I was still struggling to catch my breath.
Tsuna was flipping out but didn't dare get closer to the massacre (minus death) that Gokudera was unleashing on the assholes, whereas I was passively trying to brush dirt off of my clothes, shooting Reborn seething glares here and there.
All was well (considering), until I was surprised by a wave of fatigue. I blinked in mild concern before a yawn made its way out of my mouth. The mild concern turned into something close to alarm as small cough escaped my throat. Another one followed soon after and to my (definitely, now) alarm I thought I tasted something like copper.
I quickly looked around at Tsuna. I felt relieved when he didn't notice my small episode. I stiffened, though, when I glanced down to see Reborn watching me closely. He had definitely noticed that. He frowned and I looked away with another light cough, covering my mouth. I avoided meeting his eyes, wondering what he would be thinking.
I swallowed and focused on controlling my breathing, eyeing Tsuna to make sure I had a chance to act natural should he turn to look at me. I took slow, shallow breaths to avoid straining my lungs any more than I already had that day. I probably shouldn't have sprinted as much as I had... Not only was I not in the best shape of my life, but I also had the handicap of this sickness. A handicap that I still didn't know how to cope with...
I put a gentle hand to my chest, trying to discreetly survey for any damage. There was a bit of an itch around my lungs every time I breathed, like there was a pain that was barely there. I wasn't entirely sure what asthma felt like, but intuition told me that it must have been similar to this. My body tried to make me yawn again, but I bit it back, knowing that I may have a fit again if I did.
I wanted to look down at Reborn to try to assess what he was thinking, but I just crossed my arms over my chest and took an impatient stance, pretending like nothing was wrong. Although I knew, without any doubt, that I would be hearing about this later...
Reborn frowned at the redhead. She looked mildly pained and like she was trying to suppress a coughing fit. There was also an alarmed look in her eyes. She quickly suppressed it, though, when she noticed him observing her, and this only made his frown deepen. While it wasn't in his nature to be overly concerned with others, this was a family member of the future boss of the Vongola, and he did care about his famiglia.
He'd already been lenient with her as it is.
Gokudera made short work of the upperclassmen, and while Kaylin wasn't impressed, she was satisfied with his work, at the very least. Her fit more or less over, a smirk rested on her lips and she was decidedly ignoring what just happened to her. Reborn noticed and decided not to point it out. She would not respond well if he did, at least not right now.
"Serves 'em right. Assholes."
"I'll tear apart anyone who bothers the Tenth," the human bomb said, dusting imaginary dirt off of his looked like he was almost ready to weep, clutching his head in his hands.
'Why me? What have I done to deserve this?! I don't know how to handle these people!'
Extra (a gift because of the short chapter and tardiness and because I do what I want, so fuck off) :
"Friends," Coffee, and a Place to Stay
The trio plus baby made their way down the street after the infant suggested a family supper as a celebration for the new family member, one person stomping, one trudging along, another nearly skipping, and the infant seated on his student's head.
"Why is she coming?!"
"Why do you have a problem with it?!"
"I don't like you."
"Why the hell not?!"
"You're acting too close to the Tenth!"
"I'm what?!"
Well, she was skipping.
Tsuna was walking with his shoulders tensed up to his ears, not wanting to intervene in the verbal scuffle between his two scary friends.
"You heard me!"
"I act like a subordinate, you -"
"I keep saying, I don't have subordinates and I'm not your boss! We're friends!" Tsuna snapped (mentally), holding his fuzzy head in his hands for the umpteenth time that day. Then he almost had a heart attack when Gokudera's gaze shifted to him, the "back the fuck off" look having not quite dissipated.
Whereas Gokudera gave a "keh," but caught Tsuna's distress at their bickering and stood down, Kaylin stopped in her tracks as a puff of steam erupted into existence around her ears. No one else seemed to notice, as she lagged behind for a moment. Except for Reborn, of course, who gave a knowing smirk, but quickly hid it.
It seems that it didn't occur to her that Tsuna considered their relationship one of "friendship."
"I'm home!" Tsuna calls into his house while stepping out of his shoes, knowing his mom should be doing whatever housewives do throughout the day in the kitchen.
Gokudera was stiff with nervousness at being inside his boss's home for the first time and his general irritation with Kaylin is forgotten for the moment. "E-excuse the intrusion!" He says with stiff formality. Just after he'd caused so much trouble for the Tenth, he was invited into his home... The thought made his chest well up with gratitude.
Kaylin, coming from America, nearly forgot. "I'm home!" She blinked and would have realized that she said the wrong thing even without the funny look from Tsuna. She flushed and gave a sheepish grin, pulling on her braid as a nervous habit. "Sorry," she chuckled.
Nana moved to the door frame and stuck her head out curiously. "Welcome home, Tsu-kun - Ara! Kei-chan stopped by again! Ara? Who's this, Tsu-kun? Another friend?" Excitement and sparkles radiating from her, she skipped over to stand in front of her son and his guests, spatula in hand and beaming smile on her face.
Gokudera stiffens even more, a flustered flush on his face, much to Kaylin's amusement, who smirked and raised an eyebrow at him, very much enjoying his discomfort. Tsuna sweatdropped at the look on her face, feeling somewhat sorry for his new friend.
The silverette almost fumbled in introducing himself, so unaccustomed to smiles like that directed at someone like him. He bowed low at the waist and proceeded, "I'm Gokudera Hayato! Very pleased to make your acquaintance!"
Nana blinked at him, but continued smiling and Kaylin had to stifle a snort, forgetting how she would have been just as nervous as he was upon first meeting Nana if she hadn't been so flustered and frazzled herself. Tsuna, however, remembered and gave another sweatdrop, but didn't bother to say anything.
The woman waved her hand at Gokudera with a laugh, urging him to straighten. "Maa, Gokudera-kun, there's no need to be so formal! And welcome to my home! I'm so glad Tsu-kun's been making so many friends, lately! Will you two be staying for supper?" The eager look on her face and the sparkles still radiating from her would have made them unable to decline anyway, but Reborn spoke up first.
"I invited them for a celebratory meal. I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not! Now I have an excuse to cook a lot," she giggled. "Please, you two, make yourselves at home. And Tsu-kun, you be a good host, you hear me?" The stern look on her face was nearly overshadowed by the sparkles that were still dancing around her, but Tsuna got the idea.
Before her son could even answer she pranced off into the kitchen, undoubtedly to begin supper.
Thankfully, Reborn had begun forcing Tsuna to clean his room upon his arrival into the Sawada household, so it was clean enough for company that afternoon. So, that's where they settled down to wait for supper.
Gokudera was sitting stiff with formality to Tsuna's right hand (ha ha), but was slowly easing into the lax atmosphere of Tsuna's room. He was doing his best to ignore his irritation at being in close quarters with the redhead he'd come to dislike rather quickly.
Kaylin was looking around curiously, having sat across from Tsuna and the door(she didn't like having her back to doors). It was clean enough and looked like she'd always imagined a boys room would be, if a little more minimalist than her expectations.
After having started his coffee, Reborn got to business. "Since we're all here, study."
Various reactions ensued: Tsuna threw his head back and groaned, but knew he couldn't get out of it since it was Reborn; Gokudera sat up immediately straighter - this was something he could definitely help the Tenth with - he'd definitely make up for his mistake and show his gratitude to the Tenth; Kaylin groaned but for a different reason - she had missed two days of school, and would have to learn everything as opposed to just study it. It wouldn't be hard, of course, but it would be a pain in the ass.
At that moment Kaylin jumped, earning the questioning glances of her friend plus Gokudera (he had to earn that title). She fumbled a bit with pulling her school bag onto the table and unzipping it so that a little fuzzy head could poke out.
Gokudera's jaw dropped at the sight of a rat scuttling along the table and over to his boss. "What the hell?!" He was about to swat it away until he was waved off by a frantic Tsuna.
"No, no, this is just Hina!"
"Hurt her and I'll skin you alive if she doesn't maul you first," Kaylin growled in Hina's defence. Gokudera's eye twitched at the threat and Tsuna "hiiee!"d at both Kaylin's tone and the information that Hina could maul something.
"No violence! No violence!" Tsuna pleaded. His two friends (one brand new) glared at each other for a moment before settling back down with simultaneous huffs. The fuzzy-headed one sweatdropped before remembering the rodent seated patiently before him. He glanced at her tensely with a newfound cautiousness.
"U-um..."
"Oh, fuck sake, she won't maul you, Tsuna. She likes you. And she's going to jump on your head, again," she said, giving him half a second of warning before Hina shot up his arm and hopped onto his head, already used to the distance and power needed to get the job done. To Tsuna's credit, he only jerked a little.
Gokudera, on the other hand, slammed his hands onto the little table and glared fiercly at Kaylin. "Don't let your dirty rat climb on the Tenth, you uncivilized woman!"
Kaylin bristled and leaned forward herself, voice raised, "First of all, her name is Hina and she is not dirty! She's a very meticulous cleaner and takes great pride in it!" Gokudera was about to give a surly retort before Kaylin slammed her own hands on the table, leaning forward and raising her voice again, "Secondly, she doesn't belong to anyone, she's my partner and I value her as such!" She cut Gokudera off again, once more leaning forward, balancing on her knees, now, "Thirdly, no one let's her do anything; she's independent and she does what she fucking wants!" Finished, she sat back on her rump with a huff, crossing her arms and glare/pouting at the table, wishing people would just chill out about her rodent companion.
Both Tsuna and Gokudera sweatdropped for the same reason.
"K-Kaylin, you slipped into English...again," he told her somewhat gently. That, and she didn't even object to being called uncivilized. The girl blinked and immediately flushed, but refused to look up. Tsuna turned to Gokudera, who had yet to settle down. "And Gokudera-kun, I really don't mind Hina - although the fact that she's capable of mauling something concerns me," he added under his breath - "so you don't need to get worked up about her, o-okay?" He placated, hands moving in a gesture of such.
Gokudera regarded his boss, then reseated himself formally, hands on his knees, eyes closed. "If the Tenth says so..."
Tsuna twitched at the direct use of the term "Tenth," but forgot about it when Reborn set a hot pot of coffee in the middle of the table.
"Since I'm so nice, I'll share my precious coffee with you three, so stop shouting so much. Before I shoot."
Tsuna stiffened and Kaylin cringed, whereas Gokudera simply took the statement in stride and began pouring coffee into one of the several mugs Reborn had also set on the table.
"If we're having coffee," Kaylin sighed and stood up, lightly clapping her hands on the table as she did so, "I'll go see if I can find some creamer or something."
Reborn pointedly looked at Tsuna, but didn't need to say anything as the boy blinked and turned around to look at Kaylin, who had already made her way to the door. Kaylin sensed his look and waved dismisively at him.
"It's fine, it's fine." She did pause however, to look at Hina looking up at her from inside of Tsuna's head fuzz, the boy also looking up at her.
Kaylin blinked once. Her lips quivered but she didn't move another muscle. Tsuna furrowed his brows at her and Gokudera's irritable glare shifted to a suspicious one. Even Reborn raised an eyebrow.
Kaylin took a deep breath to maintain composure and opened her mouth to calmly say something. She was interrupted when Hina gave the tiniest sneeze anyone in the room had ever heard.
The redhead's face immediately flushed and transformed into one of mirth as she doubled over in uncontrollable giggles, clutching her stomach.
The act was so surprisingly female that it took everyone in the room by surprise - even Gokudera who had only officially known her for a few hours, though he soon mentally brushed it off as a stupid quirk of the female species that he would never understand, anyways - though Reborn hid it quite well behind his coffee mug.
Kaylin struggled to straighten as she clamped a hand over her mouth, rather embarrassed by her outburst; her face remained flushed for that reason. Her shoulders still shook and her fringe had managed to get somewhat messy. Her metallurgic eyes were infinitely softened by the happiness and tears in them, and it was rather disarming to the males in the room, though the two mafia affiliates would never admit it.
"U-um, are you okay?" Tsuna asked with a sweatdrop once Kaylin's breathing seemed to have stabilized. Kaylin blinked and almost spluttered into laughter once more but managed to stop herself with a harsh bite on her lip, hidden by her hand.
"Mmhm," came the muffled reply. She remembered that that sound was an English gesture, so she nodded to accentuate it. Tsuna wasn't entirely convinced. Kaylin could tell, so she cleared her throat and told him, "Hina's just really adorable, is all."
This only confused the two boys in the room as Kaylin turned and walked out the door. Reborn smirked at the two with knowledge that comes with age.
"You two still don't understand the workings of the female heart," he said sagely.
Tsuna twitched and swung his head back around to glare at him. "As if you do!"
As she descended the steps, braid bouncing happily behind her, the redhead giggled a little to herself, trying desperately not to make a "squee" sound. She vehemently told herself that she was not girly and would not act as if she were. Even though her maternal instincts exploded on her just prior. She also vehemently told herself that she was not in denial.
She was also not skipping, even though she just nearly tripped at the last step.
Kaylin rounded the banister and heard Nana humming happily away in the kitchen. She hoped the matron wasn't too busy, though she knew Nana would probably be happy to help - it seemed her nature.
The redhead peeked around the doorframe and saw Nana working on something at the kitchen counter, back to the door. Kaylin shuffled her feet for a moment, suddenly shy. She hoped she didn't end up startling Nana by being too quiet. The girl took a steadying breath and -
- Nana turned around to get some other ingredient or something and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the shock of blood red poking out from around the doorframe. Kaylin jumped when Nana jumped and the knife the matron was holding nearly slipped out of her hand.
"Maa, Kei-chan, don't startle me like that!" She pleaded, eyes wide.
Kaylin was immediately assaulted with an unnecessarily intense wave of guilt and she flailed her hands in front of her. "I was going to say something just before you turned around but you turned around too fast and I didn't mean to -"
The frantic, rapidly speaking girl was interrupted when the older woman snorted and began giggling. Kaylin blinked as Nana waved her into the kitchen.
"Kei-chan, I'm not mad!" She giggled again, "Don't be so nervous!"
Kaylin blinked and took tentative steps into the kitchen, a light flush on her face.
"Actually, you came at a good time, Kei-chan. I was just making snacks!" Nana beamed at the girl and turned back to what Kaylin now could see were little finger-sized sandwiches. "They're really easy to make, so I'm almost done, already!" She sang. "I got to thinking and I figured at your age you'd be more interested in convenience than in making yourselves healthy snacks, so I made some for you!" Nana bounced a little on her toes, proud of her insight into the teenage intellect. Kaylin internally conceded that of the three teenagers (including herself, of course) wouldn't care much enough to spend the time on healthy snack foods, and Reborn would just let them do as they pleased as long as it didn't bother him. That and he would eat whatever the hell he wanted, anyways.
Kaylin shyly looked over Nana's shoulder at the sandwiches and blinked. White bread, some greens such as lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, some fresh-looking lunch meat - they looked fantastic, she thought, impressed.
"Thank you, Kei-chan."
Kaylin jerked a little, startled. She stepped back, but Nana kept looking down at her handiwork, though her eyes looked a little far away and she had a small, fond smile on her face. Kaylin's brows furrowed in confusion, not sure why she should be receiving gratitude.
Nana continued, "I know it's only been a little while, but ever since you and Reborn-kun made friends with him, Tsu-kun's been much more lively. And he's even made another friend and brought him over from school!" Nana's smile widened as she looked over her shoulder at Kaylin, who was at a loss for words and blushing. "This is the most friends he's ever had, you know." Kaylin saw the woman's smile turn just a little sad as she shifted her gaze back to the countertop. "And he's never brought anyone over before, either."
Kaylin found herself frowning just a little, but Nana stopped her train of thought before it even began by spinning around and beaming at her again.
"But now, look!" Nana grabbed ahold of both of Kaylin's hands, and the girl noted in the back of her mind that they were about the same size. The older woman looked up at Kaylin since she was about two inches or so shorter, surprising the girl again.
Nana's eyes were bright and sparkling again, allowing no words from Kaylin to form as she stared at the woman, mouth open, eyes wide.
"Tsu-kun's made friends all on his own, and it looks like I don't have to worry, anymore!" The mother leaned a little more forward, pinning Kaylin with an earnestly grateful look. "That's why I'm thankful, Kei-chan. So keep taking care of my son, okay?" Nana smiled winningly and Kaylin was struck again by how pretty the woman was.
She blinked, not quite knowing what to say.
"I - u-um," Kaylin stammered intelligently, still blushing. She couldn't seem to get any multi-syllable words out, so she nodded dumbly.
Nana apparently expected nothing less, and gave Kaylin's hands a warm squeeze.
The matron straightened expelled some air dismissively. "Now that that's over," she giggled, giving the girl a wink, "You'd better take these snacks up to the boys before they get impatient!" She turned to grab the tray that the sandwiches were on and pushed it at Kaylin, who jumped and blinked owlishly down at it, still coming down from the surprise of Nana's words.
Nana giggled again and twirled Kaylin around by the shoulders and gave her a gentle push towards the door. Kaylin stumbled a little and looked back at the woman, but she had already turned back to the counter, humming tunelessly. Kaylin blinked again, then turned and made her way up the steps, light on her feet.
Nana had been grateful to Kaylin. The redhead had realized that Tsuna's school life had been a little rough, but...
Kaylin was so dazed that she didn't have time to think before she reached the door to Tsuna's room.
"Someone get the door, my hands are full!" She called, tapping her foot in some kind of attempt to increase her patience.
"Ah, allow me, Tenth!" She heard Gokudera's voice and shuffling sounds as the boy scrambled to get to the door before Tsuna got the chance to turn around completely.
"Ah - th-thank you, Gokudera-kun..." Kaylin could almost see his sweatdrop.
'The kid is certainly rushing to be of help to Tsuna," she thought bemusedly.
The door opened to reveal a deeply scowling Gokudera. Kaylin instinctively frowned back. The boy 'hmph'd and wasted no time with pleasantries as he turned on his heel to retake his seat to Tsuna's right. The redhead felt her cheek twitch.
"Eh, Kaylin, what's that?" Tsuna wondered, eying the tray in his friend's hands.
Kaylin grinned at him, stepping forward and closing the door with her heel. Any souring of her mood by Gokudera was quickly forgotten upon her recalling Nana's words and actions.
"Maman made snacks," she informed him.
Tsuna blinked.
"You said 'Maman' again."
Kaylin blinked.
"O-oh." She flushed and Gokudera scoffed. Her cheek twitched again.
Kaylin cleared her throat as she made her way to her seat, striving for a little regained dignity. She sat the tray down in the middle of the table and seated herself more primly than was normally in her nature.
Fighting a smirk, Reborn scooted a very slightly cooled cup of coffee in front of the girl.
"Here."
She blinked and gave a "thank you." Then she paused.
And blinked again.
"Idiot, you forgot the creamer," came Gokudera's helpful observation.
...
...
Twitch.
"Oh, son of a fucking piece of shit!"
It had been a long day and Gokudera Hayato was tired. Despite that, he was sure that he'd be unable to rest well even if he had somewhere to sleep peacefully tonight. Now that he thought of it, he'd have to fix that.
He had a place he needed to be now, after all.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he thought about that evening, eyes cast to the ground.
To his joy he had gotten a little better acquainted with the Tenth. His boss was humble and modest, but that didn't undermine the pure greatness that Gokudera could so very clearly see in the boy. He hated himself for not seeing it sooner, and that had lead him to make a terrible mistake in attacking him.
But he wouldn't dwell on that. If he had time for regret, then he could focus on making it right, which is exactly what he intended to do. Exactly what he would do.
The Tenth's mother was an excellent cook and hostess. As expected of the family of the one who was worthy of becoming the Vongola Decimo. She had welcomed an unexpected guest with such gusto and kindness that Gokudera hadn't really been sure what to do with himself or the unignorable feeling of gladness that welled up inside of his chest.
It had been so terribly long since he'd even seen such maternal behavior, much less been the one it was directed to. He didn't know how to handle or cope with any of it, yet.
And then there was that one. The uncivilized female.
What the hell was she doing hanging around the Tenth like that, calling herself a subordinate?
Gokudera lit a cigarette out of habit and irritation.
He had a long, long list of people that he didn't like, and now she was on it. Top twenty at least.
And her eyes gave him a bad feeling. At times they were sharp, metallic, and dangerous. If he was honest with himself, they occasionally put him on edge.
He didn't like her.
That, and she irritated the ever-living shit out of him. Not that most people didn't in the first place.
And the freakin' rat.
The freakin' rat.
Who the hell carries around a rat with them?!
Although the Tenth seemed to like the rodent... He supposed he could let the rodent slide. For now.
But that girl -
He stopped that train of thought. He was getting a headache.
He looked up at the now dark sky and chewed on his cigarette, contemplating. Since he was going to stay in Namimori he'd need to restock his dynamite. He couldn't very well protect the Tenth without his weapon. He'd have to book a round trip flight back to Sicily, which would use up more or less the rest of his funds...
He sighed but didn't complain. This was for the Tenth, after all.
He frowned as an afterthought meandered its way into his mind.
He'd have to find an apartment...
A/N:
DEAR MOTHER OF GOD THAT WAS SUCH A WRITER'S BLOCK-RIDDEN PIECE OF CLUSTERFUCKERY.
I am SO sorry that this took me so long to update. Issues came up that made this chapter rather difficult for me to write/finish and GADAMMIT FFN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU BEING SUCH A FUCKING DOUCHEBAG RIGHT NOW STOP IT
GEEZ
or maybe that's just my kindle oops
Also, please ignore how the extra is longer than the actual chapter. Just. You know. I'm not sure what I was doing with that.
Ciao ciao!
Kei: So.
Mutt: Oh god.
Reborn: *impassive*
Tsuna: Kaylin! Where have you been?
Mutt: Oh god.
Kei: I've just been...oh, you know. Exercising.
Reborn: *snorts*
Kei: YOU LITTLE -
Mutt: Oh god.
Kei: - SHIT.
Tsuna: HIIIEEE! Kaylin, where did you get that baseball bat?!
Mutt: Oh GOD -
Reborn: *disappears*
Tsuna: Why?! Why can't I just live peacefully?!
Kei: WHERE DID HE GO.
Mutt: *flees less discreetly*
Tsuna: *SOBS* DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!
*explosions and crumbling buildings*
Reborn: *cackles in the air from a Leon-hang glider*