A/N: Hello again everyone! Thank you for all that reviewed and faved again! I'm happy to see this story is doing so well! I also would like to thank my beta reader 59 for catching any of my mistakes!
I ran into a little problem with this chapter. Even though I said I'd be following the manga timeline as best as I could, and I-Pin doesn't show up until chapter 23, I feel like I have no choice but to do her chapters next. Because she is introduced so early in the anime (episode 6 to be exact), there are filler portions in the anime that she is included in, and she becomes a major contributor to those scenes. Since Dera and Yama are in those scenes with I-Pin in the early episodes, I feel that it's better to introduce her now before I find myself in a hard spot due to the anime. Thankfully, this doesn't mess up the timeline whatsoever. Also, for those that can't remember, I-Pin was thought to be a boy at the beginning until proven otherwise later. So for most of this chapter I refer to her as a, 'he'. Hopefully that doesn't confuse anyone XD And, another thing before I forget, in the manga, I-Pin doesn't speak Japanese at all, so I'm taking the anime version of I-Pin who can speak fragments of Japanese. It will make this story flow a little easier, but there might be some portions where I-Pin will just scream something in Chinese and someone will have to translate for her.
That said, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! This chapter uses source material from manga chapters 23 and 24 and anime episode 6. I'll talk about the hints for 8059 that I saw in the anime and manga at the end of this chapter =)
I-Pin!
Waking up to the sunlight hitting me directly in the eyes wasn't a sign of a good morning to come, I thought, as I struggled out of bed. I could feel my body wobble unsteadily for a moment when my feet first touched the ground, making me grumble at this sign of weakness. Apparently, I was still a little sick after encountering my sister in the Boxing Club's clubroom yesterday afternoon.
How irritating. It was as if I was seeing my sister's face more and more with each passing day, and, with every encounter, the side effects of my trauma would last longer; like a slow acting poison. How fitting…
Cursing my sister's existence and my weakness, I made my way to the bathroom in order to freshen up for school. I took a long, hot shower before I made up my meager lunch, put it in a paper bag, and headed out the door towards the school. I knew that I was heading out way earlier then a normal student would, but I couldn't bring myself to walk with the Tenth to school (even though I was practically dying to at this point) after my disgusting display of weakness in front of him the other day. I obviously didn't deserve it. Just how many times has he seen me fall after seeing my sister's face? I've seriously lost count by now.
Sighing at my inadequacy I continued on my way to the middle school until my earlier thoughts of a bad morning came true. Apparently, today was the day that Yamamoto had early morning baseball practice, because he just so happened to meet up with me (conveniently) in the crossroads like he usually did; except this time, he was sporting a track suit, a duffel bag, and a bat (that was slung over one of his shoulders while his duffle was strapped around the other), along with his regular school bag.
"Gokudera!" The stupid jock called out in surprise and happiness as he walked up beside me. "I didn't expect to see you up this early! How are you feeling?"
Scowling at the sight of the other's concerned face from out of the corner of my eye (like hell I was actually going to give the bastard my full attention!), I spat out, "What have I told you about following me to school?! I told you to leave me alone!"
To my utmost irritation, the dumb fuck just laughed at my exclamation like I had made the most hilarious joke!
"Haha! It's not like I expected to see you on my way to school this morning. Like I said, it's rather early and all," Yamamoto smiled amiably as he gave me a joking glance. "Besides, it's lonely to walk to school all by yourself. It's way more fun to walk with friends!"
I bristle as those last words reach my ears. Was this guy stupider then he actually looked?!
"We're not friends, you idiot! And if I had a choice, we wouldn't be acquaintances either!" I turned and shouted into his face, my expression furious. How did that idiot think that we were actually friends?!
To my great pleasure, I saw that irritating smile on Yamamoto's face falter at my words. I had to hold back a triumphant smirk as I saw him try to suppress how taken back he was at my reaction. It was so nice to see the hope in his eyes get snuffed out like a candle's flame in the wind. This retard was never going to get the satisfaction of making me his friend; I was going to make sure of that!
Seeing how the other looked about ready to respond to my rude comment, I was ever grateful that we had finally arrived at the school. I saw Yamamoto frown at this as he bid me goodbye; he had to go to baseball practice, after all. I sighed happily at my newfound solitude, and was glad that the overbearing jock wasn't anywhere near me anymore.
Smirking happily to myself, I made my way into the practically deserted school, and up to my classroom. Sliding the door open, I was even happier to see that there was no one inside. Thankful that I was by myself, I sat at my desk and thought over ways that I could better improve myself for the Tenth.
As the time drew steadily closer to the beginning of school, more students started filing into the classroom. Eventually, I saw Yamamoto make his entrance. The retard's hair looked freshly showered and he was donning his regular spring school uniform again. I glowered in his direction as everyone seemed to drop what they were doing and flocked over to him like a pack of hungry wolves. Yamamoto didn't seem to be fazed by the attention, though, and just laughed while rubbing the back of his head as he answered his classmates' questions. I then saw the idiot glance in my general direction as he sent a big smile my way, like our previous exchange that morning never happened. I frowned even deeper at that thought as the stupid-ass jock made his way over to me and greeted me with a, "Good morning!" What the fuck was this? Was he just erasing the fact of our earlier conversation's existence? Well, he wasn't going to pull the wool over my eyes on that. I wasn't a fucking idiot like him!
Before I could growl and yell at him to leave me the fuck alone, though, I saw the Tenth make his way into the room with a dazed look on his face. As I saw him take his seat at the front of the class, his back facing towards me and Yamamoto, I couldn't help but feel concerned for my boss' wellbeing. I saw Yamamoto glance at me quickly with the same look of concern on his face, but I ignored him as I stood up and made my way over to the Tenth; Yamamoto following close behind me.
Finally arriving at the Tenth's desk, I quickly asked him what was wrong. My boss just looked up at me with that same dazed expression I saw him walk in with, and started to explain what he encountered on his way to school. Apparently, he had come across a vicious dog on the way to school, and the dog was about to attack him when a Chinese kid jumped down from the wall beside him, landing in front of the dog. There, the Tenth saw the kid send the dog flying with some supernatural, psychic powers.
"Supernatural powers?" I heard Yamamoto ask in disbelief beside me. I couldn't help but feel that same disbelief well up inside me as well.
"Yeah, he was all like—Bam!—without even touching the dog," the Tenth explained with a nod as his eyes shone with a little more excitement. He even reenacted how the Chinese kid supposedly attacked the dog with his hand.
All I could feel at that moment was how dubious I felt about the Tenth's story. I didn't want to be, believe me! My boss didn't seem the type to want to make such crazy stories up, but it was still a pretty farfetched tale.
"Is that even possible?" I overheard myself mutter out unconsciously. Catching myself, I tried not to look as dubious as I felt, so as not to make the Tenth look bad. Instead, I tried to offer a helpful suggestion.
"Tenth, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?" I asked kindly with a big smile on my face.
"There's no way!" The Tenth whined with imploring eyes. "I'm sure he was all like—"
But, before my boss could go on to explain further, a whirring noise came from the Tenth's desk. Confused by the sound, the Tenth and I (and probably Yamamoto too, even though it doesn't matter) glanced down towards the wooden desk to see Reborn-san come up through the top of the desk on some sort of elevated platform with a calm address of, "Tsuna."
I could only blink a couple of times in surprise by the smaller man's sudden appearance as the Tenth freaked out in his desk.
"Reborn!" My boss called out in surprise as he practically fell out of his seat from the shock.
"Everyone goes through a phase where they believe such things," Reborn-san stated immediately after his appearance. He was probably referring to the Tenth's story of a child with psychic powers. The little man then turned his back on the Tenth and faced the blackboard, giving off an air like he was disappointed in the Tenth's wild claims.
"I don't want to hear that form a baby!" The Tenth complained as he slammed his fists down onto his desk in frustration.
I was astonished that my boss even thought of Reborn-san as a mere child. Hadn't the other told him that he was just a…little person? Maybe Reborn-san was amusing himself by making my boss think he was a toddler. Actually, that wouldn't be too surprising considering Reborn-san's personality…
Before I could think on this a second longer, I saw Reborn-san smirk, and then disappear down into the Tenth's desk; another mechanical whir sounding as the platform the mafia man was on descended into the wood. Raising an eyebrow at this random encounter, I then heard the bell ring; signaling that it was time for class to start.
Taking my seat, the rest of school went on as normal with the only thing happening during lunch being the Tenth's insistence that what he had seen that morning was true. In the end, I was still doubtful, but agreed with my boss nonetheless. How could I keep denying the fact when he was so passionate about what he thought to be truth?
When the end of the day came, the Tenth and Yamamoto were assigned classroom clean up duty, along with Kurokawa and Sasagawa-san. Bored, and knowing my boss would be at the school for a while longer, I thought I would be useful and went down to the school store near the cafeteria. They had mentioned about selling some new snacks, so I thought I'd go buy some for the Tenth as a form of refreshment for his hard work after school.
After buying two packages of noodle bread (one for me because I was hungry, and one for the Tenth; screw Yamamoto!), I traveled back up to the classroom. When I got there, though, I saw Yamamoto sweeping the floors but I didn't see the Tenth anywhere! Not liking the idea of talking to Yamamoto in the slightest, I noticed Kurokawa nearby, sweeping the hallway. Not looking forward to asking her either, but willing to because Yamamoto was worse, I quickly made my way over to her. I asked her bluntly if she knew where the Tenth went.
With an irritated scowl at my tone of voice, Kurokawa mentioned that a weird Chinese boy came by and talked to her and Sasagawa-san, but he seemed to know Tsuna as well, and that the last time she saw them, they were making their way towards the stairs to the roof. Also, Sasagawa-san had made her way up to the roof a little later after the Tenth left, because the Chinese boy had dropped his knapsack.
Begrudgingly thanking Kurokawa for her information, I headed towards the stairs for the roof, hoping that the Tenth would be up there. When I opened the door to the roof, I glanced out and saw the Tenth and Sasagawa-san standing on the right side of the roof a few feet away.
"There you are, Tenth!" I called out happily as I shut the door behind me and presented my snacks with the other hand. "Would you like to try the noodle bread I just got? It's a new product from the school store."
The only answer I got in response was my boss' terrified scream as he shouted out my name before I noticed a little child falling down from the sky. With reflexes I didn't know I had, I laid out my arms and caught the falling child. Staring down at it, I realized that he must have been the Chinese boy that was talking to the Tenth and the girls earlier; he was dressed up in Chinese attire and had a single black braid sticking up from the top of his head. Also, he had some strange tattoo on his forehead that looked like the five-pin of a mahjong piece.
Before I could think of why the child had actually fallen from the sky, the Tenth shouted out in terror, "Gokudera-kun, watch out! Hurry up and throw that kid!"
Throw the kid?!
…Well, okay!
With a big, uncaring smile on my face, I tossed the Chinese kid the Tenth's way; like he had ordered me.
"Here!" I called happily as I tossed the kid towards the Tenth like a game of hot potato.
"Not to me!" The Tenth shouted back in fear as he caught the kid and stared at his forehead. "Three-pins to go!"
Three-pins? But, didn't the kid have a tattoo of a five-pin a couple seconds ago?
As I tried to lean forward and catch a glimpse of the Chinese boy's forehead again, the Tenth threw him to the left, towards the roof fencing, with a cry of horror. There I saw Reborn-san dressed in a silly volleyball uniform.
"Pass," the little man called as he hit the Chinese boy with the tips of his hands in a volleyball set; sending him towards the Tenth again.
"Don't return it!" My boss screamed in absolute terror as he caught the kid again and threw it blindly towards the roof door. "Two-pins left!"
Since I had moved over towards the left, I wasn't in front of the door anymore, so I couldn't catch the kid that was flying fast towards the metal door. Thankfully, or not, Yamamoto came through the door in that moment with a cocky smirk on his face.
"There you are, Tsuna!" He called out happily. "Did you forget? We have after school classes together."
As I stood to the side in complete bafflement, trying to figure out why Yamamoto looked so happy and fucking cocky about going to after school classes, and why the Chinese kid's tattoo was constantly changing, Yamamoto easily caught the kid that was flying towards his face with a skilled catcher's hand.
Staring down at the child in his hands like he's never seen one before, the idiotic jock just said, "What's this?"
"It doesn't matter!" The Tenth shouted with vigor; his eyes round with fear and worry. "Just throw it as far as you can!"
In an instant, an almost feral determination crossed the Baseball Freak's features.
"Right," he stated with a dead serious tone that had me double taking, wondering if Yamamoto had been replaced by some freaky twin.
As I stood on the sidelines, completely confused as to what was going on, I saw Yamamoto take a pitcher's stance and, with a mighty shout of, "Back home!", the idiot wound up, and pitched the kid at Mach speed directly towards the Tenth!
That fucking idiot! I know the Tenth didn't specify on where to throw the kid, but wouldn't it be obvious that the Tenth didn't want it?!
…Oh wait…I made the same mistake beforehand…well, at least I wasn't throwing the kid at the Tenth like deadly torpedo! Stupid, fucking Yamamoto…
And speaking of that deadly torpedo, the little Chinese boy was flying towards the Tenth and all my boss could do was cower and bring his arms up to protect his face. But, that was before Reborn-san spoke up.
With a command of, "Save them," the little hit-man grabbed the chameleon off the top of his head and changed it into a pistol. Aiming it at the Tenth's head, Reborn-san fired a Dying Will Bullet directly into the Tenth's forehead. A split second later, my boss fell to the ground with a dead look in his eyes, but, it was only another second that passed before he stood up again with an orange flame sprouting from his head.
With a fiery look of determination, the Tenth ripped his clothes off until he was only down to his boxers. And with a mighty shout of, "I'll protect everyone as if I were to die!" the Tenth got into a catcher's crouch in anticipation for the thrown child.
Strangely enough, the Tenth easily caught the child by the top of his head with a single hand. With a mighty roar, my boss reared his arm back and threw the child with all his might up towards the sky. A few seconds later, a huge explosion went off above our heads.
"Tenth…?" I questioned in complete bafflement as I stared up towards the sky like it was falling down around me. What the fuck just happened? Did that child just explode?! What?!
…Holy fuck, maybe I should lay off the cigarettes…
Apparently, I wasn't the only one taken back by the sight because Sasagawa-san (who was standing by the Tenth) and Yamamoto (who I just realized was standing close to me. Go the fuck away!) were both questioning out loud on what had happened.
The Tenth didn't answer any of our questions; he only stared up towards the sky where the explosion went off. Curious as to why he was still looking in that direction (the kid blew up, didn't he?), I glanced up as well; only to see the Chinese boy fall down towards the Tenth, looking completely unscathed.
…Okay, was a hallucinogenic drug put in my cigarettes? I have to be seeing things, right? There's no way a child can blow up and still be alive! Wait…but…that Stupid Cow was still alive somehow from all the times that he got blown up…so maybe…
Fucking screw it. My head hurts.
After the Tenth easily caught the falling child, I noticed how the orange flame on his head was starting to disappear; signifying the end of the Dying Will Bullet.
"I saved everyone somehow," I heard my boss sigh in relief before a light frown appeared on his face, "though I ruined another set of clothes…"
Overhearing my boss' plight, I quickly offered to run to his locker and fetch the extra set of clothes I knew he usually kept there. After bowing humbly towards the Tenth, I ran to the rooftop door and down the stairs to the bottom floor of the school. Once I was there, I quickly made my way over to the Tenth's locker and opened it (every good right-hand man should know their boss' passwords/combinations for security purposes!). Grabbing the extra set of clothes, I started running towards the stairs again, but the door to the nearby supply closet caught my attention at the last second. Thinking fast, I opened the door and quickly searched the room until I found some rope. Why hadn't I noticed before?! Why else would that kid explode?! He was probably trying to attack the Tenth beforehand!
Cursing my incompetence, I ran back up the stairs and to the roof again where I saw the Tenth, Reborn-san, Yamamoto, and Sasagawa-san huddled around the Chinese boy, who was apparently conscious again. After handing my boss his clothes with a big smile on my face, I turned my attention to the child that had tried to hurt him. Scowling at the Chinese boy, I took the rope and went about tying him up as the Tenth changed into his outfit; even with the protests I was getting from my classmates. If this kid was some sort of assassin, like the Stupid Cow was, then this had to be done.
While I was struggling to tie up the fidgeting Chines boy, I noticed a picture falling out of his tunic. Curious as to what the picture held, I tied the final not before I reached down to pick the picture up. Bringing the photo up to my face, I saw some ugly mafia-looking boss with a short body, pear-shaped head, spiky, brown hair, tacky clothes, and a fat cigar hanging from his mouth. Just who the hell was this guy supposed to be?
Just as I questioned this, I heard the others come up behind me and look at the picture over my shoulder. Seeing no need to hold it anymore, I handed the photo off to my boss and stood up again with them.
I saw the Tenth just stare at the picture for a second before a confused look crossed his face.
"Who is this guy?" He asked incredulously as Sasagawa-san peered over his shoulder at the photo.
"What a scary, old man," she muttered with slight fear in her voice.
Che! I couldn't help but inwardly scoff at that. The only think scary about that guy was his horrible fashion sense.
Before I could think on this too much though, a new voice answered my boss' question.
"It's you, the target!" I heard the Chinese boy shout angrily in a high-pitched voice from his tied up position on the rooftop. "I-Pin kill you!"
I raised an eyebrow at this bundle of information. Not only was I right about the kid being an assassin, but he could speak Japanese decently for being so young. Not only that, the kid had some weird ass name as well. What kind of name was I-Pin?
"Me?" I heard the Tenth reply with a deadpanned tone as he stared at the picture before he showed it to the Chinese boy and raised his voice. "This doesn't look anything like me!"
The little kid looked taken back by my boss' proclamation, so Reborn-san went over to untie him (I guess tying him up was pointless on my part) and handed him a pair of glasses he got from…somewhere. Taking the glasses in hand, the Chinese boy placed them over his eyes and held them there as he took a closer look at the photo the Tenth was presenting him. Soon, I heard a small gasp escape the child as he glanced between the Tenth and the picture before him.
"You're someone else," I-Pin started out with an apologetic tone as he took off the glasses and bowed before the Tenth. "I-Pin messed up."
"You seem to be ultra-nearsighted," Reborn-san stated with confidence as he took back the glasses he lent.
Hearing this, I couldn't stop the anger that consumed me. So this crazy kid had attacked the Tenth and gave him trouble over a complete misunderstanding, just because he couldn't see that well?!
Kneeling down to the Chinese boy's level, I held up a shaking fist as I yelled, "You targeted the Tenth by mistaking his identity?! I won't forgive you!"
To my absolute chagrin, though, Yamamoto decided to kneel down beside me at that moment to send a reassuring smile the assassin kid's way.
"So you were after the wrong person?" He mentioned sweetly. "That happens a lot."
Frowning at these words because the idiot didn't even comprehend the danger the Tenth had been placed in by this mistaken identity case, I sent the stupid jock a beyond irritated look. I saw Yamamoto look at me then, take in my expression, and then smile cheekily back at me! That mother fucker! He's doing this on purpose just to anger me, isn't he? Is he suicidal? Scratch that last comment; it's already been proven. But why the fuck did this retard have to butt into situations that didn't concern him? What an annoying pest!
I was broken out of my inner hate-fest by my boss' voice then as he stared down at the bowing Chinese boy and said, "He's like a kid on his first errand…"
A few seconds passed by as everyone thought those words over before everyone broke out into light laughter. I didn't, though. Sure it was a true comparison, but I couldn't laugh at the fact that my boss was targeted; even though it seemed the Tenth could at the moment. Also, I-Pin wasn't laughing either, and just looked up at everyone in confusion.
After the laughter died down, I-Pin stated that he'd be staying in Japan to further his training, because it was obvious that he needed to hone his skills after his mistake. And, with that, the little Chinese kid ran away, probably going somewhere to train as he stated. It didn't take long after that for the rest of us to disperse and go our separate ways. Sasagawa-san had to meet up with Kurokawa and finish cleaning the hallways, the Tenth and Yamamoto had to go to supplementary classes, and I had nothing else to do but go home to my crappy apartment.
As I traveled home all by myself, I couldn't stop thinking about what had transpired today. It really showed that I had to up the security around the Tenth, because, just like Reborn-san had predicted, people might be starting to target the Tenth now. That meant I had to stop feeling ashamed of my lackluster skills and just try to improve myself in order to protect my boss on his way to and from school (or any part of the day for that matter). I had the weekend now to work on just that, so hopefully, when Monday rolled around again, I would be efficient enough to protect my boss!
I felt weird as I walked down the street towards some unknown location. I think I was heading to school, but I couldn't be sure. The weird twist in my gut didn't' leave for a second as I continued along, and it only felt weirder when I noticed the Tenth and Reborn-san walking down the opposite side of the street. Reborn-san was jogging ahead of the Tenth and the Tenth looked like he was talking to him as he walked behind the little hit-man in his school uniform; his hands in his pockets and his schoolbag nowhere in sight. That was strange. Why didn't the Tenth have his bag if he was going to school? And why did the Tenth and Reborn-san look like they were enjoying their time together? I had never seen my boss get along with the other man.
Before I could think any more on this, though, I saw I-Pin balancing on the wall beside the Tenth, his body in a fighting pose. And, right below him, the Stupid Cow was there, looking up at the Chinese boy. Strangely enough, the retarded toddler didn't even say anything! He was just silent as he stared up at the posing Chinese assassin.
Completely confused, and feeling like the world was going to end because the Stupid Cow wasn't opening his mouth to spout shit, I glanced to my other side then to see a figure walking beside me. Almost immediately I could feel myself calm down as I stared up at…was that Yamamoto?!
I didn't know what to think anymore as I stared up at the stupid jock. He didn't have his usual shit-eating grin on his face, and he, surprisingly, wasn't talking either. The taller teen was just staring at me with this peaceful look on his face, and a gentle smile.
Quickly looking away, I could feel my lips upturn into a smile that matched his, but I didn't know why! And, to confuse me even more, I could suddenly see my own face as I walked beside Yamamoto; a peaceful look of affection joining with my small smile.
I awoke with a start.
Staring out the window beside my bed with a shocked look on my face, I waited for my heart to stop beating out of my chest, and for my brain to collect my thoughts. What the living fuck did I just dream about?!
Finding my brain beginning to hurt from trying to decipher the crazy ass, uncomfortable dream, I decided to get out of bed, drink some black coffee, and completely forget about what I had just dreamt. Dreams were usually a collection of thoughts and images that happened during the past day right? But when the fuck had I ever looked at Yamamoto like…
Fuck it. This was stupid. Why should I be thinking about something like that when I had more important matters to attend too?! I was going to train myself in order to be of better use to the Tenth!
After my coffee and a quick shower, I donned my usual bracelets and necklaces and chose to dress in layers for the day after checking the temperature outside. Even though it was officially summer time, it was a relatively cool day. After putting on some tight, black jeans (with a small chain alongside of it), a white T-shirt with a black collar, a blue lined, buttoned up shirt (that I only buttoned the middle buttons of), and a white cargo jacket, I popped the collar of my buttoned up shirt and left my apartment.
Walking down the street, I wondered on where I would go for some training, but I didn't get far. Just to make my morning a living hell, it seemed like whatever gods that were out there decided that I had to bump into Yamamoto fucking Takeshi, the bane of my existence and my supplier of never-ending irritation and confusion.
I yelled at the idiot as I took in the sight of his ensemble. He was wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt with a black collar, and a big, yellow sports jacket. But that's not what caught my attention as the stupid jock started apologizing to me in that irritatingly happy voice of his. No, it was the black lettering on his shirt. For some fucking reason, 'Fruit', was printed in big, bold letters in the middle of the idiot's chest. What kind of fucking shirt was he wearing?! Was he trying to endorse healthy eating habits like a fucking billboard or something?
"Haha, do you like my shirt, Gokudera?" Yamamoto laughed out as he caught me staring at the atrocity that was his lame-ass T-shirt.
"No, it's the stupidest shirt I've ever seen in my life," I growled out truthfully as I started walking away from that boy that I had dreamed about just that morning…
Oh man, that sounded way too fucking weird! I'm going to conveniently forget that I even thought that!
To my annoyance though, Yamamoto only laughed as he jogged to catch up to me.
"Haha, it's not so bad," the imbecilic annoyance laughed good-naturedly before he asked me in a courteous voice. "Hey, Gokudera, are you busy right now?"
"Why does that fucking concern you?! Leave me alone!" I yelled as I started to pick up the pace. I was getting very uncomfortable with the other around now for some reason. Maybe it had to do with that weird dream I…totally didn't have that morning! What was I thinking about again?
The Baseball Freak just laughed at that, like I was being funny or something, and asked, "Well, I have to go to Tsuna's house for supplementary classwork. We were originally meeting at my house, but Tsuna's mom forced him to babysit at the last second. I was wondering if you wanted to come and help us?"
Homework again? Well…although I was planning on training, how could I deny an offer to help the Tenth right away?
"Che! If it's for the Tenth, I don't see why I shouldn't help," I muttered after some deliberation as I glared pointedly into Yamamoto's face. "But don't think I'm helping you!"
"Hahaha, fair enough!" Yamamoto just said as he smiled and walked beside me. All I could do was stare at him like he had lost his mind. Didn't he just hear me say something rude to him?! Why was he laughing and smiling like I had just offered to hang out with him for the whole day?!
...Fucking shit!
The only things that kept me from killing Yamamoto on the way to the Tenth's house was the knowledge that the Tenth would probably never speak to me again if I did, and the cigarette I placed in my mouth (they were great for stress relief). The idiot went on and on about baseball and how fun it would be to hang out together. The retard was talking crazy of course, because I would never seriously consider even breathing the same air as him if I wasn't forced into his presence on a daily basis, so why the hell would I want to hang out with him?!
Once we got to the Tenth's house, I calmed down a bit, though, and rang the doorbell from the outside gate. But to my complete surprise, Yamamoto just decided to let himself in and started walking up towards the front door! Pissed off at his lack of respect, I followed him and started to tell him off, but when we reached the front door, I quickly changed my attitude into a more cool and collected one. I felt like I had been giving the Tenth the wrong impression towards my attitude, so I didn't want him to see, or hear, me yelling at Yamamoto again.
Just as I thought this, the front door opened and the Tenth greeted Yamamoto as he let us in. It saddened me to realize he didn't notice my presence until after we entered the house.
"Gokudera-kun!" The Tenth called out in surprise as Yamamoto and I stood in the doorway.
"Haha!" Yamamoto laughed out in response towards our boss' shock. "I decided to bring a reliable helper with me again, if you don't mind, Tsuna."
I felt warmth flood my being at the words of praise, but I quickly snuffed them out with disgust. I didn't need this idiot to try and suck up to me to try and get on my good side! There was no way I was going to allow that stupid jock to become friends with me!
"Oh no, it's no trouble at all!" I heard the Tenth reply then with relief. "The work will go by faster with Gokudera-kun here."
Usually, I would bow in humble respect towards the Tenth's praise, but I held myself back this time and tried to keep my cool attitude going. Leaning one hand against the open doorframe with the other hand in my pants pocket, I just sent a (hopefully) cool smile my boss' way.
"Thanks, Tenth. It's good to be here."
The Tenth just smiled at my words before he shut the door behind me (after I moved out of the way, of course) and led us towards the stairs.
"Welcome!" He told the both of us before he directed his gaze towards Yamamoto, who was walking right behind him as I followed in the rear. "I'm sorry that I had to stay at home today."
"It's no problem!" I heard Yamamoto reply good-naturedly. "I'm fine with any place."
Making sure that the Tenth didn't forget I was here as well, I spoke up with, "Yeah, taking care of the kids is so much trouble for you Tenth; it's understandable why you couldn't leave!"
Thankful for our words of comfort, our boss just smiled as we started to walk up the stairs. Before we could get too far, though, I-Pin and the Stupid Cow came running down the same stairs with the Stupid-Cow chasing the young Chinese boy. That was odd. I-Pin was by far a better assassin then the Stupid-Cow even hoped to be, so why did the other look scared and allowed for the Stupid Cow to chase him?
Not caring after another second of thought, I just followed the Tenth and Yamamoto up the stairs to the Tenth's bedroom. There I found the Tenth's worktable in the middle of his room with brown craft paper laid across it. Confused as to what was going on, I sat down at the table with the other two (with me sitting on the side next to the Tenth's bed, the Tenth sitting on the side closest to the window, and with Yamamoto sitting on the side next the door).
In the next moment, the Tenth took out a container of molding clay and laid a good portion in front of each of us. I stared at the gray clay before me like it was mocking me. Just what the fuck did I miss? How was this homework? This was for a supplementary class right?! How the fuck was there such a thing as supplementary art classes?! It was the easiest class to pass because the teacher's graded you on the participation and motivation you showed in class as you tried to demonstrate the technics they taught you.
Noticing that the other's had already started molding their clay into shapes; I hurriedly picked my mound up and started to work with it. But, after a while, no matter how I tried to shape the clay into the image of what I wanted in my head, it never turned out. I couldn't stop the growl of frustration at that thought.
The Tenth gave me a questioning glance after hearing the noise of irritation I made.
"What's wrong, Gokudera-kun?"
Since it was the Tenth, and he asked so nicely, I just gruffly replied, "…I didn't expect this supplementary class to be an art class…"
That statement was true, but it wasn't the whole truth towards my frustration. Just why the fuck wasn't this clay doing what I wanted it to?!
"Hahaha! What the heck is that, Gokudera?"
Fucking—! Of all the people, why the fuck did it have to be Yamamoto to call me out at my lack of artistic ability?! You brought me here without telling me what to expect, so fuck you, you piece of jockey shit!
"Sh-Shut up!" I shouted out in complete frustration as I tried my best to make my mound of clay look like a presentable object, but no matter what, it would always look like literal shit. "It's Mt. Fuji, of course!"
"Really?" Yamamoto spoke with a joking manner. "But it looks like poo—"
"—Fuck you, Yamamoto!"
I heard the Tenth try to calm me down, but I was only seconds away from bringing out my dynamite. Before I could though, another interruption took place; this one being more annoying than ten Yamamoto's put together.
The door to the Tenth's bedroom burst open with a slam as a scared I-Pin ran into the room while being closely followed by the Stupid Cow making deranged faces and noises. Trying to lose the menace following him, I-Pin nimbly jumped onto our work table, without upsetting anything, and just as easily jumped off with little to no disturbance. When the Stupid Cow tried to follow, he ended up jumping onto the table and stepping all over the unused clay before jumping off in pursuit of the Chinese boy.
"Wait up!" The screwed up toddler demanded with a crazy laugh. "I'm a broccoli monster!"
With screams of, "No!" from I-Pin, the two started running around the table in a circle formation, the Stupid Cow continuing to shout at I-Pin and making monster-like noises.
Feeling my irritation rise at the disturbance and the annoying sounds of children, I glance at the Tenth to see if he wanted me to take action and stop the kids from annoying us. But, to my surprise, the Tenth seemed to be trying to ignore the ruckus as he focused on molding his clay. Feeling desperate and wanting to stop the insanity, I turned my attention towards Yamamoto then, but only to see the other whistling an out of key tune as he molded his clay into the shape of a baseball bat.
…I really should have seen that one coming, but it only fueled my irritation with my situation ten-fold.
With Yamamoto's horrible, tone-deaf, whistling, and the kids' screams, I finally snapped.
"What are you doing in the Tenth's room, you stupid kids?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I jumped up and started chasing the kids around the table. "You Stupid Cow! You're trailing clay all over the Tenth's carpet!"
Sure enough, I saw the little dots of clay from the cow-dressed child's feet imprinted into the carpet. That was going to take some time to clean out! How dare that bastard make life for my boss even harder!
With a burst of speed, I finally caught up to the Stupid Cow enough to grab him; the little kid struggling in my hands.
"You—" I growled out menacingly, but before I could finish my sentence, the Stupid Cow shouted, "Don't get in Lambo-san's way!", and promptly farted right in my face.
Grabbing my nose at the horrible stench that attacked me (what the fuck did this kid eat recently?!), I accidentally dropped the Stupid Cow in my surprise. Hearing his shouts and laughs of glee, the rage inside me began to rise.
"You stinky cow!" I screamed in rage as I began chasing the afro-haired-abomination around the room, who had begun chasing I-Pin again as well.
When I saw I-Pin jump onto the table again in the same fashion he had done before, I could feel my heart plummet as I saw the Stupid Cow follow close behind. Except, this time, instead of just tracking through the clay on the table, the Stupid Cow thought it would be more fun to belly flop onto the clay on the table and completely destroy everyone's models they had been working on (including my own)!
My fury having boiled over by this point, I buried my hand into the Stupid Cow's afro and swiftly brought him up to my eye level. With a cry of, "Gupya!" from the retarded cow child, I wrapped my hands around his scrawny neck and started shaking him.
"You aimed for mine on purpose, huh?!" I shouted into his face as I shook him.
"Gokudera-kun!" I overheard the Tenth shout at me from his seat on the ground, worry evident in his voice. "Calm down! I know how you feel, but…!"
I almost considered my boss' words, but that was until I heard Yamamoto.
"Haha, they actually get along with each other!"
Did it honestly look like I got along with this stupid twerp?! Yamamoto was completely fucking deranged! Not caring anymore, and knowing that the world wouldn't miss one less stupid person in its midst, I continued to strangle and shake the Stupid Cow, pretending he was Yamamoto as well, so that I could kill two birds with one stone.
Before I could do the deed, though, the bedroom door slammed open again (I guess it shut after the kids ran in earlier), and a horrible screeching sound met my ears.
"What are you doing, Gokudera-san?!" Shouted Miura Haru from the Tenth's bedroom doorway; a look of pure anger on her face. "Why can't you understand that you can't bully children?!"
Hearing my boss shout the girl's name in surprise, I decided to finally drop the Stupid Cow as I muttered darkly, "Another annoying one arrives." I wonder what I had done in life to deserve being surrounded by these people.
The afro kid hit the ground with another, "Gupya!" before he struggled to his feet and jumped into Yamamoto's lap with tears in his eyes. I heard Yamamoto tell the Stupid Cow that he was safe now, causing my mind reel at the words. So, apparently, even though he had mentioned earlier that we somehow got along well, he knew what I was doing was wrong anyway, and allowed me to do it with no qualms. That's just great! Yamamoto wasn't just crazy about baseball, he was a psycho too!
"And she got into the house without permission, too," the Tenth seemingly continued my earlier sentence, agreeing with me that the Stupid Woman was annoying, yet still looking surprised at her abrupt appearance.
Apparently, the Stupid Woman overheard him, though, because she stated, "Tsuna-san's mother was worried, so she asked me to come over."
"What?!" The Tenth shouted out incredulously before he lowered his voice and mumbled to himself. "Mom that was unnecessary…"
I couldn't help but agree with that.
Deciding to ignore the Tenth's comment (if she heard it or not), the Stupid Woman's eyes wondered down towards I-Pin, who was staring up at her in amazement.
"Ah!" The weird girl called out in excitement. "You're I-Pin-chan, right?"
Before I could wonder on where she had heard about I-Pin (I guessed later that it was from the Tenth's mom), I-Pin started shouting in Mandarin as he pointed at the Stupid Woman's surprised face.
"Hahi?"
Not knowing what the Chinese boy had said either, I noticed the Tenth turn to Reborn-san. Wait! When the hell did he come into the room?!
"What is he saying?" The Tenth asked Reborn-san as the little hit-man smirked in return.
"He said it's a shiu mai monster."
Every one of us stared at the Stupid Woman's taken aback face then. All of us probably tried to imagine her head looking like a steamed, meat dumpling, but it was super hard. This wasn't even a problem of I-Pin's nearsightedness anymore.
From there, things tried to go back to normal as Yamamoto and I started making our clay models again, while the Tenth tried to comfort a sobbing Haru.
I didn't see why the Stupid Woman had to cry about it. She looked nothing like a shiu mai, so what was the problem? I tried to not think about such trivial things, though, as I attempted to remake my Mt. Fuji model. Sadly, it still looked like a literal pile of crap; one that Yamamoto couldn't stop chuckling about, apparently, as he tried to remake his baseball bat.
"Haha, Gokudera, do you need help with your model?" Yamamoto offered with the most irritatingly amused look on his face.
"Why the fuck would I want to get help from the person who's taking a supplementary art class?!" I hissed back in response as my anger got the best of me and I ended up squeezing the clay 'mountain' in my hands so it looked even more like shit.
"Really?" I heard the Baseball Freak question with an amused tone. "But your mountain still looks like poop."
Fuck this, I've had it!
"Well, your baseball bat looks like an old man's wrinkly, old di—!"
"—I'm not a Shiu Mai Monster!"
I stuttered in midsentence at the interrupting cry, completely in shock from the outburst. As I stared in the direction of the screams origination, I saw the Stupid Woman crying even harder as the Tenth tried to comfort her.
"It…It can't be helped," the Tenth mentioned in a reassuring, yet exhausted tone. "I-Pin is extremely nearsighted."
A look of surprise and understanding suddenly flashed across the Stupid Woman's face.
"Eh? Extremely nearsighted?" She spoke up with understanding as her hands started rummaging through the purse she brought with her. "Then…this is for extreme nearsightedness."
And, just like she suggested, she placed a pair of glasses on the work table in front of her.
"You wear glasses?" The Tenth asked in confusion as he glanced the Stupid Woman's way.
"No, these are for my father," she replied back with ease, an amused smile on her face. "I was asked to go to the eyewear store to get them."
From there, the Tenth and the Stupid Woman suggested at giving the glasses to I-Pin, who was defending himself in a corner of the Tenth's bedroom, his body in a battle stance just in case the 'monsters' decided to attack him.
I watched with slight intrigue as Reborn-san coaxed the Chinese boy out of the corner and handed him the glasses. Apparently, they were the right prescription because when I-Pin held them up to his eyes and glanced the Stupid Woman's way, he pointed at her and said, "I see a girl."
"That's good!" The Stupid Woman congratulated with tears of happiness in her eyes. What a fucking drama queen.
It was then that the Stupid Cow decided to show his face again (I have no idea where he ran off to after Yamamoto had him, nor did I care), and jumped behind I-Pin.
"I'm going to catch you!" The retarded toddler growled out as he made his best monster face and moved his arms around like a zombie's.
As I-Pin turned and glanced the Stupid Cow's way, he could fully see the other now because of the glasses. In one swift movement, the Chinese boy pointed at the Stupid Cow and stated, "I see an idiot."
A cry of surprise left the cow-child's lips at that, and I couldn't stop the snort of laughter that escaped mine. I think I liked this I-Pin boy now.
"So, why haven't you ever worn glasses?" I heard Yamamoto question beside me as he looked towards I-Pin.
"Yeah, It's perfect for you," the Tenth continued in agreement as he gave I-Pin an encouraging smile.
It didn't take even I-Pin a second to reply as he took the glasses down from his face.
"Because I-Pin don't have ears."
I saw Reborn-san smirk at this as the Tenth freaked out at this bit of information. I could only blink in complete astonishment as I finally noticed that what I-Pin had said was right! He didn't have ears! But if that was the case, then how the hell could he hear us?! Why the hell didn't he have ears?! Was he a mutant?! His head was abnormally rounded now that I thought of it…
Before I could dwell on these turns of events, though, the Stupid Cow decided that he didn't like to be ignored, or called an idiot for that matter. He stalked towards I-Pin then with his arms held high like a monster waiting to pounce.
"Hey, newcomer! Don't ignore Lambo-san!"
In an instant, I-Pin's calm face changed into a murderous one as he grabbed a Gyoza bun from his tunic and got into a fighting stance.
"Ah! Since he found out that Lambo isn't a broccoli monster, he's going to attack him!" The Tenth shouted in worry as he glanced around, probably looking for something that could stop the impending fight.
But it was no use. I-Pin popped the whole Gyoza bun into his mouth and swallowed. In the next moment, he slammed one of his palms forward, and, without making contact with the Stupid Cow, made the other child fly backwards to land on the Tenth's bed like he had been punched in the face.
"Lambo-chan!" The Stupid Woman screamed in worry.
"There was no contact at all just now…" Yamamoto mumbled out in astonishment beside me as he stared at the scene before him. I was surprised too. I had never seen such a technique. I guess the Tenth hadn't been lying about it yesterday at all.
"So that's the Gyoza Ken," I muttered to myself as I watched with interest, wondering what would happen next. I had done some research on I-Pin last night after I found out he was an assassin. I was able to dig some information up from Reborn-san later on about his techniques and how they worked.
Just as I thought this, I saw the cow in question struggle up from his face plant onto the Tenth's bed.
"Hold…it…in…" I heard him sniffle out before he burst into angered tears and shouted at I-Pin. "Lambo-san isn't…Lambo-san isn't going to lose to a funny-looking head like you!"
I could see I-Pin stiffen at that comment as his face pinched up in an indiscernible emotion.
"H-Hey, Lambo!" The Tenth shouted out in worry as he glanced between the Stupid Cow and I-Pin. "Don't say anything that embarrasses I-Pin! He'll explode!"
I blinked a couple of times in disbelief when I heard this bit of news. Is that why I-Pin had exploded yesterday and miraculously survived? It's because he became embarrassed? I don't remember Reborn-san telling me that yesterday! If the Stupid Cow was going to be around I-Pin all the time, then this was a disaster just waiting to happen! I wouldn't be surprised if there were Super Explosions every day!
While I worried about this, I saw the Stupid Cow's eyes well up even more with disgusting tears. I don't think he has enough brain cells to heed the Tenth's words.
And sure enough, I was right.
"You Tail Head!" The Stupid Cow bawled out as he screamed at I-Pin for hurting him. "Tail Head!"
I-Pin began to break out into a heavy, embarrassing sweat at the Stupid Cow's name calling. So, it wasn't a surprise when the symbol of a nine pin mahjong tile appeared on his forehead.
"Ah! It's the Human Bomb Countdown!" The Tenth screamed in fear as he glanced around, probably looking for something to remedy the situation again.
"Haha! It's that dangerous game again," Yamamoto chuckled out with a happy grin as I heard the Stupid Woman make a questioning noise beside him.
I gawked at the other like he was crazy (and I'm really fucking sure he is by this point and time; who seriously found this to be a game, and was happy that it was dangerous?!). Turning my attention towards I-Pin I could feel the beginnings of horror turning in my stomach as the nine pin symbol turned into an eight pin. Holy shit, if we didn't do something soon, the Pinzu Time Bomb Super Explosion was going to go off in the Tenth's room, and we were going to go with it!
As I jumped up to help the Tenth, I heard my boss scream in fright as I-Pin latched onto his leg in embarrassment. Oh no! The boss would be directly hit at this rate!
Hearing the Tenth scream, "No!" over and over again as he tried to pry the Chinese toddler off his leg, I quickly ran over to the window and slid it open.
"Tenth! Throw him out of the window!" I shouted in desperation. I knew throwing a kid out of the window was a little heartless, but if the kid was going to kill us all by exploding, I think my actions were justified!
With a final tug, my boss was able to tear I-Pin from his pants leg. With a mighty shout, he threw the child out the window without a second thought. But, to the Tenth's and my astonishment, something completely unexpected happened. Apparently, the rain gutter above the Tenth's bedroom window had a loose nail hanging down from it, because the moment the Tenth threw the child out the window, his long braid got caught in the nail. So there we were, the Tenth and I staring out of his window in complete surprise as a Chinese child stared back at us while he hung from the rain gutter by his hair; the pinzus on his head now down to five.
Snapping out of our shock the next instant, the Tenth started to desperately try and grab I-Pin from his window, but his shorter arms couldn't reach.
"I can't reach him!" The Tenth shouted the next moment as the pinzus on I-Pin's head changed to four.
"Let's get out of here, Tenth!" I shouted back in worry as I turned my boss around from his hopeless cause and directed him towards the door. But, before we could get any farther, the Stupid Woman had to jump in front of us.
"Tsuna-san!" The brown-haired girl demanded. "What are you doing to I-Pin-chan?!"
"Now's not the time for this!" My boss screamed back in fear and irritation. "When the pinzus on his head reach one, he'll explode!"
After he said that, the Tenth turned around to look at I-Pin, which only made his fear grow more.
"Ack! There are only three pinzus left!"
I saw the Stupid Woman stare at the Tenth like he had gone crazy as Yamamoto laughed nervously in the background. Why the fuck wasn't he doing anything?! Taking matters into my own hands, I tried directing my boss towards the door again, but by this point, he was running around in a panic and not listening too well.
"Crap! We have to run!" The Tenth screamed in terror as he finally seemed to understand that he needed to run for the door, but sadly, he was distracted again. "Hey, Lambo! What are you doing at a time like this?!"
Apparently, during this whole scenario, the Stupid Cow had saw fit to bawl his eyes out, and had grabbed the Ten-Year Bazooka from his afro; which he was currently aiming at his head. I hoped the damn think malfunctioned and blew his head off.
"Dang it!" The Tenth screamed again as he glanced back towards I-Pin. "While we were bickering there are only two pinzus left!"
I didn't want to point out to the Tenth in our final moments that he was the one that was only talking and holding everything up. Since I didn't have a choice in the matter anymore, I at least wanted him to die with some dignity.
The Tenth seemed to sense our impending doom then, because his hands went up to his head and grabbed fistfuls of his hair.
"Argh! There's no time! What do we do?!" He shouted out in a panic.
Completely composed throughout this whole ordeal, Reborn-san walked up to Lambo and smirked.
"Do this," he stated as he slapped a hand down on the Ten-Year Bazooka just when the Stupid Cow pulled the trigger. In the next moment, the barrel of the gun was aimed towards I-Pin instead, and the bazooka's bullet was heading straight towards the Chinese boy.
Just as the pinzus on I-Pin's forehead turned to one, the bazooka's bullet hit it dead center. There was a small explosion of pink colored smoke outside of the Tenth's bedroom then.
"Ah!" The Tenth shouted out in surprise and worry. "Did you just hit I-Pin with the Ten-Year Bazooka?!"
"Yeah," Reborn said simply as he walked up beside the Tenth. "The explosion is carried over to the future now."
"Eh…" I heard the Tenth speak slowly as he processed this information. "Wait! So that means we're going to see I-Pin from ten years later?!"
I blinked in surprise at this; forgetting that bit of information about the Ten-Year Bazooka for a second. I wonder what I-Pin would look like in the future? Curious to find out, I stared intently into the pink smoke that still billowed outside of the house. To my surprise, the first thing I heard, though, was a feminine squeak!
"Wha—?" The feminine voice, with a slight Chinese accent, spoke from the pink cloud as the smoke gradually cleared to show a teenaged, Chinese girl, standing on top of the little roof below the Tenth's window. "Why…Why am I on top of a roof in the middle of a delivery?"
I could only stare in wide-eyed astonishment at the sight before me. That was supposed to be I-Pin?! He was a she?! As I stared in disbelief, I noticed that she was in an all-white, food delivery uniform, and she was carrying a big food delivery box in order to keep the food warm until she gave it to the customer. Her hair was no longer in a single braid on top of her head either, but instead, it was in two long braids that flowed down to her belly.
"What?! I-Pin's a girl?!" The Tenth shouted out my similar concern as all of us stared at the young, Chinese girl outside the window.
"I…I can't believe it either…" I answered my boss in a perplexed fashion. I still didn't know what was more surprising; that I-Pin had breasts when 'he' grew up, or that 'he' eventually grew ears…
As I thought this over, I heard the Baseball-Freak and the Stupid Woman question about the new girl on the roof; the both of them still not putting two and two together and figuring out that we just said the girl was fucking I-Pin! Why was I surrounded by retarded people?!
I-Pin ignored the comments though, like we weren't even there, and just glanced down at the watch strapped around her wrist. Sticking her arm up in a feminine fashion in order to check the time, she let out a soft gasp of worry.
"Oh no! The ramen's going to go bad! Mr. Kawahira's very strict about this…"
Not knowing who the hell Mr. Kawahira was, I didn't really give two shits about the predicament the future I-Pin was in. I was still trying to grasp the concept that I-Pin was a girl, and that her younger self hadn't mentioned anything when we kept calling her a boy right to her face.
"She's even fluent in Japanese!" The Tenth's voice interrupted my thoughts again as he continued to gawk at I-Pin.
This seemed to finally grab the worried girl's attention, because she finally looked at us, or more accurately, the Tenth.
"Ah…it's Sawada-san!" The Chinese girl proclaimed after she eyed the Tenth for a second in order to recognize him. "Hello!"
"I-Pin…um…" The Tenth choked out in amazement as he approached closer to the girl outside his window. "…you became very…girly…"
"Heh?" The ten-year older I-Pin exclaimed in question before she laughed and waved her free hand in an embarrassed fashion. "What are you talking about out of the blue? Nothing's going to come out of that compliment! Really…"
As she sent a sweet, yet embarrassed smile the Tenth's way, I couldn't help but notice how my boss gawked even more at the scene before him.
"She gets embarrassed in a normal way now!" He shouted out in surprise, probably not noticing how he had voiced his inner thoughts out loud.
The Tenth stopped and collected himself for a second before he looked at I-Pin again and asked, "But what happened to your Pinzu Time Bomb Super Explosion and Gyoza Fist?"
"Sawada-san," I-Pin chuckled lightheartedly as she waved her free hand in embarrassment again, "don't you remember that I already quit because I have to earn money for college tuition now?"
…It seemed this I-Pin didn't grasp the concept that she was ten years into the past…
"Anyway," the older I-Pin continued in a friendly manner, "I went to see my Master in China, and there he sealed away the Pinzu Time Bomb Super Explosion with a password."
Contemplating her words, I walked up besides the Tenth and asked, "So, that means you're normal now?"
All I got was a smile in return from I-Pin as the Tenth commented softly beside me, "She really is like a normal girl now…A person can change a lot, huh?"
Nodding my head in consent, I heard Yamamoto come up beside me then and say something about escorting the new girl down from the room. I was about to yell at him for his inability to follow the conversation, but the Tenth just agreed and helped I-Pin down from the window. After showing her the way through the house and to the gate outside, she stood before the gate and bowed to us in thanks.
"Thank you for your help, Sawada-san, but I have to go on a delivery now."
As she stood up and sent another pleasant smile our way, it was then that the Stupid Cow reappeared before us. I thought we had left him crying in the Tenth's room!
"What happened to the Tail Head?!" The retarded child yelled as he glared at the older I-Pin like she was at fault.
Everything went bat-shit insane from there.
In the next instant, the pleasant smile on the older I-Pin's face turned to surprise, and then, horror as she stared at the Stupid Cow like horrible memories were resurfacing.
"Broccoli…Monster…" I-Pin whispered out in a horrified fashion before she clutched at her head like she was in pain; effectively dropping her delivery box. "Ah! My head!"
"I-Pin!" The Tenth called out in worry as the Chinese girl squirmed in pain before us.
All of a sudden though, her cries of pain stopped as she bent her head down for a second and then brought it back up again, but this time, her eyes were glowing white and her forehead showed the symbol of a nine pin on it.
You have got to be fucking kidding me!
"Whaaaa?!" The Tenth screamed incredulously. "The password for the Pinzu Time Bomb was Broccoli Monster?!"
Un-fucking-believable. Just what were the chances of that happening?!
As the pinzus on I-Pin's head began to count down, I saw the Tenth glance between me and Yamamoto in fright.
"Everyone, run for it!" He shouted in earnest, but, before he could follow his own advice, the older I-Pin saw fit to jump on him like her younger self would in the same situation.
I could only stare on in shock as the older I-Pin clutched at the Tenth's upper body and as her legs wrapped around my boss' waist; the pinzus on her head continuing to count down.
"Ah!" Another feminine scream, courtesy of the Stupid Woman, filled the air. "What are you doing to Tsuna-san?!"
In a fit of rage, she rushed over to the struggling Tenth, grabbed onto the older I-Pin in jealousy, and started to try and pry her off.
Gathering my wits about me, despite the complete shock I was still in, I remembered that my boss was in mortal peril.
"Yeah, let go of the Tenth!" I shouted in anger as I ran over to my boss and tried to pry I-Pin off as well, but from the opposite side.
While this was going on, I could hear the Baseball Idiot chuckling in the background like an oblivious buffoon.
"Haha! You sure are popular, Tsuna!" The retarded jock commented with an amused smile. I so wanted to throw I-Pin at him and call it a day.
"I don't think that's the issue here—" I heard the Tenth grunt out as he tried to wriggle out of I-Pin's frightened hold, but he stopped his speech abruptly. Curious as to what had caught his attention, I stopped trying to rip the Chinese girl's death grip from my boss' body to glance in the same direction as him. To my horror, what had caught the Tenth's attention was my sister, who just so happened to be walking down the street at that time.
As she turned to face us, I could feel the beginnings of my trauma start to take hold of my body as my sister gave a despondent, "Hi."
"Crap. It's Sis," I groaned in pain as I clutched at my stomach. My traumatic sickness took full effect then as I fell to the ground in a writhing heap. I was so useless!
"Oh, it's Gokudera's sister. Hey!" I heard Yamamoto call out in a friendly manner above the screams of fright from the Tenth, and the Stupid Woman's shouts of rage.
I growled at his stupid ignorance as I watched my sister walk away uncaringly, like she hadn't just seen anything strange happen in the Tenth's front yard.
As I lay there, grabbing at my pained stomach and cursing the world for it's randomness, I saw Yamamoto turn to look down at me.
"Huh? Gokudera, are you sick again?" I heard the fucking idiot ask with concern in his voice. "You should eat a more healthy diet."
"Die…" Was my response, though I was barely able to whisper it out through my pain. But, to my complete and utter loathing, Yamamoto just laughed my serious demand off like I had made a joke. It wasn't a joke you stupid fuck! Go die and never grace me with your presence again! This whole situation is your fault in the first place! I was never supposed to be here! Fuck you Yamamoto!
And that's how the last few seconds went, with me internally cursing and groaning in pain, the Stupid Cow wailing as he continuously asked where Tail Head went, the Stupid Woman's screams of, "Let go!", and Yamamoto's chuckles of amusement. I wasn't sure if I should have been glad for the following moment of silence, because it was quite painful. I-Pin had finally reached the end of her countdown for the Pinzu Time Bomb Super Explosion, and had promptly gone off right beside everyone in the yard. I had no idea how we survived the resulting explosion, but I assumed the five minute quota for the Bazooka had ended just when the older I-Pin exploded. Because of that, we were only blown a little bit away from the burst of flames, and charred slightly from the experience. Either way, all I could do was lay face down on the ground, groaning in pain from my stomach ache and from the light burns now covering my body. I barely remember what happened next, but I think I heard the Tenth's mother come back and start reprimanding the Tenth for setting off fireworks in the yard, or something. From there, she ushered all of us into the house to take turns using the shower as she washed our clothes.
After all that was done, and after I had lain on the Tenth's couch until my sickness went away (it was a pain in the ass to shower while your stomach was flopping around, believe me), I slowly walked home by myself because the other's hadn't stayed around as long. I remember that the stupid jock had wanted to escort me home, but there was no fucking way I was going to show him where I lived. I promptly flipped him off, blamed all of the day's events on him (which was mostly true!), and told him to go jump off a cliff into the ocean with a school of hungry sharks. I think he got the message because he laughed uncomfortably before he left with his stupid clay model of a baseball bat in tow.
All I knew, as I finally reached my apartment again, was that I was beyond exhausted now, I had wasted my day of training, and that I would never, ever, listen to a suggestion from Yamamoto ever again!
A/N: And there you have it guys! I decided that it would be too much to add Shamal in, so I'll just mention him in the next chapter through Yama's point of view.
For this chapter there were a decent amount of moments of 8059, but the most noticeable one that I noticed from the manga (and anime too), is that Yamamoto went out and asked Gokudera at some point to come and help Tsuna and him with their supplementary homework. This is the second time in the manga that he has done this, but unlike last time, Yama did not give any information to Dera about the homework at all. It was all a pleasant surprise for the little bomber XDD Also, the dream sequence I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter was the chapter title art for chapter 24…I believe. It looked really weird, and you guys can probably look it up yourself on a manga website, because Dera was smiling sweetly. That title card was separated into different sections, with Tsuna and Reborn in the forefront, and then with snapshots of Yamamoto and Gokudera's faces (with the same colored backgrounds behind them), and then a different snapshot section of I-Pin and Lambo with different colored backgrounds behind their pictures from Yama and Deras'. I know that's a little confusing, but if you guys look it up, you'll know what I'm referring too, and why I wrote that dream sequence the way I did. It was not just my inner fan-girl taking control (not complete control anyway lol), it was honestly what I thought the picture was trying to show.
The next chapter will be in Yama's POV and it will definitely cover a portion of the Shamal episode from the anime, and the chapter that Hibari is officially introduced. ;D But it might take a while. I find myself running out of more and more time during this semester of college, and I'm more busy then usual =(
Fan-girl Theater:
Gokudera growled in complete frustration at the huge glob of clay in his hands. No matter what he did, he could not make the damn thing look like a mountain! Why the hell was it so swirly?! The young bomber could feel embarrassment rise up in him when Yamamoto pointed out how his 'mountain' looked like the feces of some animal (Okay, he only said poop, but that's what it felt like he was saying!).
The silver-haired Italian spat at the stupid jock sitting beside him at his, so original, baseball bat he was making out of his clay. Gokudera hated that he could actually tell what it was supposed to be (unlike his literal pile of crap), but that didn't stop it from being pathetic. Just how crazy was this loser about baseball?
Just when he was about to send a crude remark Yamamoto's way, Gokudera paused in a transfixed manner. He didn't know what to think as he watched Yamamoto mold the clay with his hands, and as he rubbed his hands up and down the clay baseball bat to smooth it out. Gokudera could feel his throat go dry and his heart beat erratically. He assumed he was horror struck, but he immediately saw that wasn't the case when Yamamoto grabbed the small milk carton beside him and took a swig. In the next moment, Yamamoto's upper lip was sporting a milk mustache and Gokudera could feel his face become inflamed with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, Tenth!" The Smoking Bomb shouted as he closed his eyes, jumped to his feet abruptly, and bowed before his boss. "If you would please excuse me, I have to use your restroom for a second. I'll be back to help you in a bit!"
And with that, Gokudera fled from the room and straight towards the bathroom, completely sick with himself for getting bothered by such weird things. In his absence, Yamamoto chuckled to himself as he wiped off his milk mustache. Everything was going according to plan.
"I'll go and ask your mom if she has any sweets for us!" The young jock spoke joyfully with a 1000-watt smile as he got up and left Tsuna in his room. The young mafia-boss-to-be just stared after his retreating friend's back, and then back down to his clay covered hands.
"But we can't eat anything with our hands like this…" Tsuna mumbled to himself in confusion as he wondered what had just happened.
Thinking over what he had seen transpire between his two friends mere seconds ago, and fitting it with their strange behavior for the past couple of months, Tsuna finally put two and two together and blanched.