Disclaimer: I do not own KHR. If I did Tsuna would be a true super uke and smarter, sorry as much as I love and will write about the lovable idiot, Goku and Naruto have made it so too many main characters are idiots.
Summary: Nono, his parents, and the Arcobaleno are all dead. Trapped in a future that's falling apart, Tsuna must fight with both himself and the dreaded Millefiore famiglia. Sequel to Hacker.
Chapter 7: Training or Torture, What's the Difference Anyway?
Tsuna had been very irritated when he found out Kyoko had put herself in danger, just so she could visit her house in the future. He'd known his friend would have trouble with being in such a dangerous time, especially with her brother still missing, but he'd hoped she'd have more sense than to run off when she knew people were looking for her. Finding out the Bianchi, Fuuta, Tetsuya, and Kyoya were all alive and well did little to quell his disappointment as he stood before the cowering girl.
"Kyoko…"
Kyoko only flinched and Tsuna had to rub the bridge of his nose in an attempt to fight of the headache that threatened his ability to think straight. He didn't want to lecture someone who had been a good friend since he was a small child, but this situation was becoming too much, especially knowing that the Millefiore was more than willing to kill civilians associated with him or his guardians. It may seem harsh, but he needed to get Kyoko to understand that she couldn't stay ignorant to the dangers around them.
"I-I'm sorry, Tsuna-kun." Kyoko bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "I didn't know I would cause so much trouble. I-"
"Enough!" Tsuna tried to ignore how everyone except Reborn, Kyoya, and Lal flinched back at his tone. "You did know it would be dangerous, but you ran off any way. Putting not only yourself, but all of us and Hana-" He knew it was a bit cruel but her slowly building tears were oddly satisfying, as they meant the implications of what she had done were finally settling in. "In danger because you were worried for the safety of one person, whom is perfectly capable of taking care of himself."
He wasn't yelling, his voice wasn't even raised. Tsuna kept his tone even and low on purpose. He wasn't doing this to scare her, so much as to make her realize why he was so disappointed in her.
"Hey Tsuna." Takeshi was the only one brave enough (of the people who didn't agree with what he was doing) to try and stand up for the trembling girl. "Maybe you should cut her some slack, she was just-"
"Just worried about, Nii-san and wanted to make sure he was safe." Takeshi took a careful step back as Tsuna turned his blank gaze on him. "She isn't the only one worried about her big brother and most certainly not the only one worried why we can't get into contact with our missing family members." Takeshi's normally cheerful face became stricken as the double meaning behind Tsuna's words was not lost on him. "We're all confused, we're all worried, and we're all scared, but she's the only one who risked leaving the base when we're still not sure about the enemy and their true objective. We don't even know what they would do to someone like Kyoko if they got their hands on her."
"Do to me?"
"What you didn't think would happen if one of the enemies caught up to you? That they would just let you go because you don't know any useful information? That they would just lock you in a room until we managed to save you? This isn't some fairy tale where getting captured is just a temporary setback while you wait to be rescued, this is dangerous. They could hold you hostage and try to draw the rest of us out in exchange for your safety. They could kill you, simply to get a reaction out of us." Kyoko was becoming increasingly pale as the possibilities of what the Millefiore could do to her were becoming clear. "They could even do things much worse than simply killing you, after all, you are a beautiful girl and the Millefiore has made it clear they want us to hurt."
As someone who was normally very taciturn, it was a marvel to many present that Tsuna was taking so much time to actually lecture one of his closest friends and spell out the real dangers of being caught in the cross fire, but at the same time it worried them. Most knew what Tsuna was saying was true and a very real possibility should any of them be captured by the Millefiore, but the way Tsuna was talking… it meant that he wasn't just angry, but scared. The last time any of them (Takeshi and Kyoya) had seen Tsuna in such a state was when they first met Mukuro so many years ago. When he was faced with the real possibility of one of his friends dying and he couldn't do anything about it.
It was clear that Tsuna was willing to do anything to keep his friends safe, even if it meant instilling the fear of god into Kyoko.
"Tsuna-kun…" Kyoko stopped trying to hold back and let the tears fall freely. "I'm so-sorry. I won't ever do it again!"
Bianchi, Haru, I-Pin, Lambo, and Fuuta all stepped forward to comfort the distraught girl, but none of them could truly fault Tsuna for what he had said.
"I don't like doing this, Kyoko." Tsuna's bangs covered his eyes, but the shaking in his clenched fists showed just how much the situation had affected him. "But I will do what I have to in order to protect you and everyone else. Even if that means you come out of this thinking I'm an asshole or even hating me.
KHRKHRKHRKHR
Just hours after Tsuna's emotional speech, all combat oriented members of Tsuna's mixed group made their way into one of the many training facilities within the base. Everyone was still on edge, but Reborn was determined to get them ready for the upcoming fights.
"We'll all be training separately from now on. For example, I'll be in charge of Takeshi." Reborn kept his face neutral as he noticed the relief become visible on Tsuna's face. "I would train Tsuna, but I believe Hibari and Lal will have more success as they've had experience with the future Tsuna. As for Gokudera, he'll be trained by…"
"Me." The future Bianchi purred as she stepped into the training arena. "As we're siblings, it's no surprise that we share a ring attribute."
"Bianchi!"
Reborn smirked as Hayato blanched and collapsed, holding his stomach in response to the phantom pain awoken by his sisters presence. Reborn always found it amusing that a woman as beautiful as Bianchi could instill such a nauseating feeling into a man (or boy in this case), but he also knew the response was justifiable.
"I thought I told you to wear the goggles, Bianchi."
"But Reborn." Bianchi place a hand on his small cheek and offered Reborn a devilish smile. "A woman should never have to hide her lovely face."
"Perhaps, but your traumatized brother need training, not a hospital visit."
Hayato only groaned in response as he was unable to pick himself of the ground, lest he truly lose the contents in his stomach. Reborn could only give a slight shake of his head at the pitiful display as Tsuna knelt down to pat his guardian on the back.
*Sigh "Alright then." Bianchi pulled out a pair of goggles and placed them over her eyes, obscuring her face from vision enough that Hayato was slowly starting to recover. "I'll make sure he's ready."
"Oi!" Hayato growled as he stumbled to his feet. "Why am I stuck with you?"
"As I said, we have the same flame attribute." Bianchi held up her hand and showed the red flame drifting off of her ring. "And I have some information about father you might be interested in." She smirked as Hayato's eyes widened. "Do well in your training and you can have it as a reward."
"Tsk."
Reborn just smirked as brother and sister made their way out of the training room.
"As I said, Takeshi will be training with me, and Hibari and Lal are in charge of making sure Tsuna is ready." Reborn fixed his gaze on Tsuna for a few moments, not surprised when the boy managed to hold it without flinching. "The two of us will need to talk, but that can wait until after we've resolved this… mess."
With that Reborn took Takeshi and led him to the lower levels and more remote sections of Kyoya's part of the compound. The setting there would be more appropriate for training a swordsman.
KHRKHRKHRKHR
Tsuna's body ached in protest as he threw himself onto the oddly comfortable bottom twin bed in the room he and Hayato had been assigned. The bottom was Hayato's, but at this point Tsuna didn't care (and he doubted Hayato would care either, in fact, he'd probably be ecstatic to find Tsuna in his bed) as his muscles protested at the thought of having to climb the small ladder onto his bunk.
Neither Lal nor Kyoya had pulled any punches in their training. Not that he'd expected them to, but it had be quite some time since Tsuna had such a work out, even when sparing with Kyoya. The introduction of Kyoya's flames and the box weapon, combined with Kyoya now having ten more years of fighting experience, meant that Tsuna was once again grossly outmatched by the head of the DC, something that hadn't been true in his time for over a year. He could tell that his weakness had been frustrating for Kyoya as well; as he was used Tsuna being able to take all of his attacks and return them two fold.
Tsuna took his left hand and slowly traced the curves of the Vongola Ring on his right. Even though he'd spent a majority of the training time getting beat up, it hadn't all been for nothing.
*Flashback*
Tsuna stumbled, his sky flame only providing the smallest bit of illumination in the pitch blackness of the inside of the Cloud Hedgehog. He was completely sealed inside and all attempts to break out had resulted in little more than a small crack on the hard shell.
"Damn it all!" Tsuna punched the ground in frustration as his breathing became more and more labored. "I can't keep this up much longer."
Tsuna extinguished his flames, knowing they would only burn up what precious oxygen he had left, and tried to think of another way to break out of the Hedgehog. He knew it wasn't Kyoya's intention to kill him, but he also knew Kyoya would only accept two outcomes from this training, either Tsuna freed himself or he died. There could be no half measures in this unforgiving future, because if Tsuna wasn't strong enough, they would all die. Tsuna had to prove he could handle an all out fight against an opponent who knew both his strengths and weaknesses.
Flame enhanced darts, blasting, and Zero Point Breakthrough doesn't work. Concentrating all of my flames into a single point only created a crack, but it's still more than nothing. Tsuna concentrated on his flames, but kept them from igniting. He needed to assess what he was capable at this point. Stamina wise I could do three more concentrated attacks, air wise I could only risk two. I could try to concentrate everything I have left into one blast, but that may only leave me with a large crack, no energy, and little to no air left to do anything else
Tsuna was acutely aware of white spots beginning to make themselves known in the black space in front of him. His air was running out even faster than he thought it would. He'd pass out soon if he couldn't-
"Arg!" Tsuna gripped his head a blinding white light exploded all around him, causing his pupils to constrict so quickly his stomach lurched in response. "What the hell!"
As Tsuna tried to regain a sense of equilibrium, he slowly tried to blink away the pain in his eyes and take in the change in his surroundings. The area was still pitch black, but multiple white specters, nine if he'd counted right, all of their faces obscured by orange flaming masks.
"So this is the new one." A baritone voice echoed from one of the specters. "He's younger than I expected."
"So young, but not quite ignorant of the mafia's darkness." Another voice, this time softer and feminine. "How long did you say he's had to fight, son?"
"Since he was just eight I believe." Tsuna squeezed his eyes tight and tried to will away his headache as a third voice, this one vaguely familiar, joined in the conversation. "He once told me it was his dream to free other children from suffering the same fate."
"Such a fanciful and unrealistic dream." The first voice scoffed. "The mafia is darkness. The mafia is pain. The mafia is suffering. Whether those who pay the price actually deserve their suffering has never been a manner of choice."
"Yes." Another unfamiliar male voice joined. "His duty would be to keep order. Not spend his time worrying about those who cannot be saved." His voice was scratchy and arrogant; Tsuna could almost imagine the sneer on his face. "Such idealism has no place among those in power."
Tsuna's grip on his head tightened as more voices filtered in, telling him how weak and hopeless both he and his dream were. Soon, visions of fire and the noxious smell of blood began to invade his senses. Men, women, and children all screaming, crying, and dying. Their fear was so real and palpable that Tsuna could feel tears building in response to their cries of pain and suffering. Tsuna shook his head, desperate to rid himself of the images.
"This is the truth of the mafia." The familiar voice was not as cruel as the others, but the words still cut as deep as the visions. "One child could not hope to make such a difference in this world of darkness we live in. If you cannot accept the truth than you do not have the right to hold the fates of others, you do not have the right stand above those who do understand the necessity of this pain. You cannot-"
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Tsuna snapped his eyes open, his flames flaring back to life as his eyes bled into a richer shade of amber than normal. "I don't care if it is just a dream, I will save the people who don't deserve to suffer!" The specters seemed take a back by the fierceness in his voice as he stood to face them properly. "I know the pain that comes with being a mafia child, even if others tried to keep me out of it. I know what happens to those who are left in ignorance, only to be snatched away and broken." Memories of fear and pain, memories of the onetime an assassin had managed a lucky hit, came back to the surface. "I won't let this continue. I won't let the children suffer because of the mistakes the adults seem so desperate to make. I'll make it stop… EVEN IF I HAVE TO DESTROY THE VONGOLA TO DO SO!" Silence ensued as Tsuna vision blurred and he began to sway on his feet. " I-I won't l-let… anyone else… anyone else…"
Once again his world turned white, only this time the light became a source of comfort, rather than pain. Tsuna gave a soft sigh of relief as he tumbled forward, prepared to fall into the bliss of unconsciousness, only to be jerked back awake as he fell into someone's arms. He opened his eyes to find why one of the voices had been so familiar. Holding him gently with a kind expression on his face was Timoteo, Vongola Nono.
"Wha-"
Tsuna was unable to finish his question as he was eased back onto his own feet and Nono went to stand beside several other familiar looking figures. Tsuna had seen many of these people in picture and portraits, and only heard vague descriptions of the others in his search for information on the Vongola Famiglia.
Standing before Tsuna now were the previous Vongola Bosses, the odd numbers lined up on his left, the even on his right, beginning with Secondo and ending with Nono. One more figure, whose face was still obscured by the flaming mask, was standing at the head of the Dons.
"I have waited a long time for this." The masked man spoke to him in a gentle tone, even kinder than Nono. "I have recognized your resolve, and our time shall now become yours."
Tsuna watched with wide eyes as the man removed his mask, confirming Tsuna's suspicions as to his identity. The one said to be the strongest of the Vongola, Giotto, Vongola Primo. Even as the previous Vongola Bosses lit their flames, one by one, Tsuna's gaze was transfixed on his ancestor.
The man appeared to be young, no older than thirty with his smooth pale skin and handsome features. His spiky blond reminded Tsuna very much of his own main, in fact, Tsuna felt that if he were ever to look at a picture of his future self in Hyper Dying Will Mode, the only difference he would find would be the hair color.
"Primo?"
Primo offered Tsuna a kind smile as he lit his flames last, using gloves very much like the ones Tsuna himself was wearing.
"Perhaps you could do what I could not."
With that Tsuna's gloves began to glow far brighter than ever before, his flames becoming clear and brilliant. The raw power was so immense that Tsuna barely heard the sound of the Cloud Hedgehog cracking around him.
*End Flashback*
After he'd broken out of the Hedgehog, Kyoya and Lal and begun to drill him on how best to utilize his new hard flames. It was difficult, controlling the wild and untamed power that the previous Vongola Bosses had given him, so much so that he'd accidentally rocketed himself at the ground and the wall more than once. It was odd, but Lal seemed more impatient during their training and got angrier whenever he made a mistake than Kyoya. Perhaps it was because even after all of these years, he and Kyoya could still understand one another in such a way that didn't require many words. Kyoya understood Tsuna's difficulty and pushed him with relentless assaults. Yelling and frustration would get them nowhere, only action would draw out Tsuna's true potential. Perhaps Tsuna should feel guilty, pushing Lal off to the sidelines as he and Kyoya met in a dance they'd been practicing for years, but he didn't. Even though Lal had protested being ignored at first, even she had to fall silent as she witnessed just how effect both he and Kyoya were when pitted against one another.
We only have so long before the Millefiore make a move. Tsuna buried his head deeper into the pillow. I have to figure out how to get a handle on these new flames before then. If not I'll-
"Juudaime!"
Tsuna had been so out of it, he hadn't even heard the door to the room slide open, revealing a shell shocked Hayato.
"Oh, sorry Hayato." Tsuna slowly sat up, ignoring his protesting muscles. "I just didn't have the energy to…"
Tsuna needn't have bothered trying to explain, he realized with a sweat drop forming on the back of his head, as he watched his Storm Guardian pass out with a bit of blood running down from his nose. It was both sad and amusing to realize that Hayato really was like a dog sometimes in that the simplest things easily over excited him.
(A.N. Now I feel like I need to say something to all of the diehard reborn fans out there, as I was only recently able to finish the last twenty chapters of the Hitman Manga. We all know the beginning to Reborn was slow and it was hard to really get into the series until after Mukuro made his first appearance and we started seeing the serious side of an otherwise comedic manga. Once we saw the actual conflict (and the dangers that being associated with the mafia should come with) it was easy to fall in love with the poor kid that was being dragged into a century's old conflict because he was descendent from Primo and his father decided to get involved in the mafia. The Varia and Future arch's were masterpieces that really show Tsuna growing and becoming the hero/mafia boss Reborn envisioned him to be. In terms of character development, Tsuna's was the most thorough and the most dramatic I've seen in a manga for a long time. However, like all good things, Reborn had its pitfalls as well. The future arch really set you up to transition into the Arcobaleno's story, we had peaks into their pasts, we knew what they looked like before the curse, it was clarified that the Arcobaleno were cursed, and we saw their desire to break that curse, but we got the Simon arch instead. Now I thought the Simon arch was ok, but just ok. I think the reason the Reborn ratings dropped to such low levels was because Akira didn't go from the Future arch into the Curse of the Rainbow arch, no she put the Simon arch, filler, in-between them. Now some argue that the Simon arch cleared up many questions about the first generation and how and why Daemon Spade betrayed Primo, but I feel like that could have been taken care of when Tsuna had to fight him during the future arch, it may have been a little rushed then, but it would have been better the dragging out a centuries old conflict with a family that is basically a regurgitation of Tsuna's family. If she had gone straight into the Curse of the Rainbow arch, I feel as if Akira would have had more time, and chapters, to really develop the fight with Jager and Bermuda and how to deal with Checker Face. The Rainbow arch had so much build up and so much potential, even going so far as to get into Tsuna's issues with his father, that the ending was one of the most disappointing I've seen in a long time. Shonen Jump pushed for an ending to the series because of poor rating, I get that, but the ending, not just for the arch, but for the entire series was just so rushed and so anticlimactic that it pisses me off. If she had gone into the Rainbow arch before attempting something like the Simon arch, she would have had 2 more years to develop a more appropriate and satisfying ending, rather than Tsuna didn't change at all, he just made a lot of friends. Now with my ranting out of the way, I will be clarifying that I do not intend to include the Simon arch in my Hacker Series. I hope I haven't offended or chased anyone off with that, because I think my story, and not my opinions are what should matter, but whatever. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will stick around for many more to come, ja ne.)