Hey hey! - urgh these chapters just keep getting longer and longer..
Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter- I'm kind of … on it so I would like any comments or suggestions or something please XD
Ummm just saying I'm planning to put bits and pieces in that will not be in chronological order (not in this chapter but in the future sometime) I hope you like it?
Also yes this will probably be all27 type fic but if I write as Tsuna get's older I'll be writing an alternate series story thing where I'll put what-if pairings. e.g What if in this story Bermuda and Tsuna got together? or Reborn? or..? (So it's pretty much my shippings which I couldn't decide on doing in the original story so 'm doing them all in that one.) ;P
Ok… Do I have anything else to say… ah! Don't be shy to ask questions - I'll be willing to answer to the best of my abilities (I won't always answer back tho cuz 'm lazy) and-
ENJOY
Chapter 7: A Coma, A Hug And A Deck of Cards
"O-oi Small Gia maybe we should stop for a freaking while?"
*gasp* *wheeze* *gasp*
"I agree it could be counterproductive if we continue this further."
*cough* *gasp*
"Are you kidding?! The whole point of this was to beat him half to death! How on earth are we going to allow him to fully access his dying will flames?!"
"He's bleeding! Couldn't you- you know NOT slashed so deep?! What if he gets scarred?!"
"Wha- ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! HOW CA-"
"*cough* … Gia-san.." All coal black eyes moved to the bleeding injured child slumped on the wall. His legs trembling barely able to stand upright, his breathing laboured and uneven. However his eyes flashed a bright orange as it narrowed with determination. "One… *wheeze* One more tiwme."
The spiky haired short Vindice guard couldn't help but grin proudly at the strong willpower. It seemed the shrimp definitely carried the Vindice pride in him. Smug he sent an arrogant look at his audience of other guards that seemed to be flitting around like mother hens or glaring at him like he was committing a hate crime. "Told ya that he's strong enough to handle this!" Quickly he returned his attention to his tiny opponent with a sadistic grin as he licked the blood off his blade with his lizard like tongue. "Kekeke Now chibi ya better not disappoint ya big brother Gia~."
Not even a split second after the tongue left the sharp edge the knife immediately swiped at the brunette who managed to barely dodge the blade with only a fine cute to show from it. Apparently the child was very good at sensing as well as reading his opponents movements, unfortunately his reaction time wasn't bad but it certainly wasn't good enough against people of such skill. Another swipe, a stab, a barrage of slashes each dodged by a hairsbreadth though Tsuna seemed to get a little faster each time. Suddenly the pattern was broken as his opponent sent a swift kick to the small figure, the child's large brown eyes widened as he failed to react. A sickening *crack* was heard as again the young boy slumped to the ground. Small Gia tched in annoyance as he walked toward the unmoving body, ignoring the small pinprick of guilt in his mind.
"One… More…" Guilt melted into irritation toward the persistent child. "Don't be stupid kid- If you can't do it now I don't expect ya to be able to anytime soon." He could feel the harsh glares of the more protective Vindice- actually all the Vindice- god haven't they ever heard of tough love?!- but he chose to ignore it. As he was about to turn and leave the training ground a sudden sharp surge of power could be felt and for a second everyone seemed to collectively hold their breath. "One… More…" Tsuna's eyes were no longer caramel brown but a vibrant bright orange set in determination despite being covered in his own blood. A small orange flame flickered on top of his forehead and the trembling small body began to stand once more and resume a defensive position he had recently learnt.
The shocked scowl Gia unknowingly held on his face morphed into one of his usual grins however some of its sadistic edge softened as his eyes flickered with acknowledgement and even a little admiration for the tenacious being. Once more he flicked his knife and charged toward the child finding to his delight the boy parrying the movements with short bursts of his Sky flame and dodging the slashes with the flexibility of a snake. As once more Small Gia faked a stab and instead pulled a last minute kick however to the Vindice's surprise he felt a sudden hot burn in his chest, it was strong enough for the older male to hesitate in carrying out his move and step back carefully to asses the situation.
Tsuna was tired. No that was a sore understatement to what he was feeling. He was absolutely exhausted and the stinging pain from where sweat met with his open wounds were only making his small limbs scream louder to just give up. But he didn't, he wouldn't. He wanted to protect what was precious to him, to have the strength to uphold what little he had and to at the very least not hinder the people who had showed him such kindness and acceptance. There was no such thing as waiting for miracles to happen or just simply depend and trouble the others, he will grow bigger faster so he could help the people he had grown to adore. It had only been such a short amount of time the brunette had begun living with the Vindice and it took an even frighteningly shorter time for both parties to grow attached to the other. This feeling was unknown territory for the child and it truly scared him that he would one day be forced out of the dark yet deceivingly warm embrace of the night.
When he saw Small Gia turning around to leave a cold dark doubts and fears tightened in his heaving chest, he wanted to scream out, to reach out but his body was holding him down. Tsuna needed to be stronger to catch up with the others. He too wanted to uphold the Vindice Pride- even if it costs him his life.
A sudden heat flared up in him as his resolve hardened, he could feel all ten of his flames ablaze as something at the back of his mind seemed to shatter and unseal the restriction in his small body. Energy and adrenaline pumped into his veins as his mind seemed to clear.
He was aware of the subtle mix of conflicting emotions in the usually stoic bystanders watching- confusion, worry, surprise and pride- but most of all he could see the appreciative, proud gaze of the usually hard to please sadistic Vindice before him.
He'd seen an opening as the experienced fighter drew back his leg to launch an attack and without even thinking, acting on pure instinct alone the young child lurched forward his fist burning with high density Sky flames that burned even brighter upon contact. Unknowingly a small faint smile was found on cut lips as he finally after all the dodging and parrying he had landed a hit on his opponent. True Small Gia was going easy on the child but the accomplishment was still nonetheless impressive.
Orange eyes looked into darker than night one's. He could see in the seemingly impassive face a hint of a smile- not a sadistic grin but a true smile on the other, however it could have been his eyes playing tricks as his visioned started to blur and simultaneously he felt his body become heavy and pained. There was the sound of quick paced steps in the background and a feeling of air rushing past his face. The last thing Tsuna remembered was being lifted up in a comfortably snug embrace, a croaky voice with an almost sharp edge rumbled out of the warm surroundings.. "Tch. You did good chibi." A tired smile graced Tsuna's cherubic features at the words, sighing content he allowed his vision to finally dim into the darkness as the surrounding voices faded into a buzz of sounds and then nothing.
The whole of Vendicare seemed to be under a dark cloud- well a larger darker cloud than before. It had been four days since their beloved little Sky had collapsed from over exhaustion after finally accessing his true flame potential not to mention his tiny hands had suffered serious first degree burns.
When they first started training six months ago they found to their frustration that though the child could willingly bring out any of his flames upon command and intense concentration the output of the flames were weak- even the most destructive offensive based flames like Storm, Cloud and Night could only at best make small dents or create minor burns no matter how hard he tried. At first they dismissed it as age and the weak body restricting itself to minimise any internal damage so instead they focussed on teaching the brunette the more physical aspects such as learning to walk, basic defines and offensive techniques and so on. However even with the training the little boy's flames grew no stronger, it made sense why the now quite attached guards were getting a little agitated not to mention worried. They were the Vindice and before that they were Arcobaleno- the idea of failure or things not going to plan was a very rare and even more unwelcome concept to them.
During the three days Tsuna left to visit his family it had been predetermined for the Vindice to split into two main groups; the first was to carry on the usual duties of enforcing the Mafia laws and the second was to figure out the problem concerning their endearing child's flame development. It was a surprise to say the least when finally they had uncovered the admittedly well covered secret of Tsuna's heritage. Vongola had considered the Young Lion of Vongola's twin sons' birth a highly guarded secret which made sense as it meant more possible heirs in the fray for the battle of the title Vongola Decimo. The fact that they were twins further complicated things.
After that revelation it took even longer to figure out how the information connected with Tsuna's inability to control his flames despite the obvious compatibility, in fact since the brunette held Primo's bloodline it should have given all the more reason for the child to be able to control and access his flames- or at least the Sky attribute. Only by the fifth month did through extensive networking and research was it uncovered the strong possibility of the flames being sealed by none other than the ninth Vongola boss himself. Logically the reasoning behind such an action should have been along the lines of inheritance issues and keeping the family out of the mafia however since all other heirs were still healthy and alive it seemed to serve no real purpose. It also gave a small sharp pang of guilt in each individual as it also reminded them that they were the people who were responsible for the innocent young brunette being unknowingly pushed into such a tainted bloody underworld, yet they were unwilling to push away the only light in their dark sky.
Despite ignoring the slowly growing guilt it only ate at there rotting flesh faster as they passed by the still recuperating child's room, they felt disgusted in themselves who boasted in their Vindice pride and justice yet were too blinded by their own selfishness to even go so far as to let harm by the on hands befall the child before just letting him live his own life back where he belongs. No one would admit it but all even Bermuda and Jager were unnaturally insecure when it came to dealing with Tsuna, doubts on the decision they had made, if the child would have been happier if left back nagged at the back of their minds. They hated feeling so vulnerable, to be so affected yet every time they come across that small tender smile that seemed to accept everything and heal their fragmented souls they couldn't bring it in their hearts to regret it.
They couldn't find the heart to tell the young- far too young- child the truth about his heritage, at least not yet, there was no real need to nor would it have been a good effect on such a pure kindhearted soul. So they did the only thing that they really knew how to do- fight.
It took one week for Tsuna to wake up, the moment he even blinked blearily twice with his large honeyed eyes the Vindice guard on watch duty scrambled up and flung open the door to yell as loud as he could with his underused voice box that the child had awoken. Before long everyone who was available and currently in the same hemisphere had rushed over to the slightly confused brunette. Honestly it was easily the most frantic and noisy the Vendicare had been ever. Bermuda who was the first to appear in the room watched the commotion as he sat snuggly by Tsuna's side making a mental note to put the Vindice members through cuteness resistance training in the future- not that he didn't need it too as he faintly smiled and gently caressed the boy's soft fluffy hair when he thought no one was looking.
Despite being dead and rarely ever injured even when alive many still remembered how to go about in basic first aid and the Sun flame users like Alejandro were able to remember how to apply their old flames to help with the healing process so when the young child had woken, he had woken tired, stiff and bruised- but not really injured. Though that didn't seem to stop the few female Vindice as well as a large handful of the male Vindice from smothering him in overprotective coddling. Though the rest of the guards watched back thinking that such embarrassing acts were beneath them they didn't stop it from happening either much to the smothered boy's dismay.
Yup he definitely had to get stronger, Tsuna resolved. At least enough so the fear of being suffocated under all this attention when unable to move no longer becomes an immediate and ever looming threat.
Night had fallen finally on the first day Tsuna had woken up and everyone had left the tired still exhausted child to rest- well almost everyone.
"Bermuda-san?"
"Hmm…?"
The bandaged infant sat by the injured child in his bed watching over protectively and with well disguised fondness. Internally he winced at the usual pure light voice sounding so weary and strained much like how everyone before had sounded, if they even spoke at all. But that was all before this mysterious child came, now even the Vendicare seemed more humane. Bermuda had to chuckle quietly at that thought then frowned slightly. It definitely wouldn't be good if anyone found out about Tsuna- not just for their reputation as the most feared people but the fact that the child's safety would be compromised when enemies (and there are many) find out this little boy was possibly their only weakness. Just thinking about letting the innocent child be stained by their work was possibly the biggest fear everyone secretly shared yet he was a Vongola child- not just any but one of direct bloodline, he would have to be immersed in the filth one day eventually wouldn't he?
"Bermuda-san?"
The angelic albeit slightly croaky voice brought the Night arcobaleno from his senses and doubts as he turned to face the weakened child on the bed. Tsuna was fidgeting slightly with the blanket, his cheeks dusted a beautiful shade of pink.
"C-can I h-hug you…?" He asked shyly, his large caramel brown eyes flickering from Bermuda to his fiddling fingers and his blush deepening. A warm feeling spread in his tiny chest as the Vindice Boss' eyes widened and he too found himself with a tinge of pink on his face underneath all the bandages. The situation was so… unknown to the man yet so pleasant. It had been a long time since he'd felt anything akin to real emotion and in half a year this child had dug out so many feelings he had buried deeply in the ground leaving them there to rot.
Noticing the stiffness in the arcobaleno Tsuna looked down to his hands embarrassed and flustered. Of course Bermuda-san wouldn't be so generous to indulge in such a childish request! But he couldn't help but let the words slip from his mouth, he felt so safe with the cursed male, so close - even though he interacted with many other Vindice to a much larger extent the brunette knew he held a special place in his small heart for the other. Of course now he felt stupid and regretful at showing such weakness. Flustered he began spouting any words that could possibly ease his feeling of embarrassment and hurt from the subtle rejection.
"A-ano, I mean, if you wanted- not that I was trying to force yo- I mean not that- oh- just- ah-"
"Tsuna." The child stopped his flustered stuttering at the sound of his name on the cursed baby's lips. Looking up he sees the figure as small as he lift his arms up in a welcoming gesture, though at first he still looked imposing and composed the brunette could see the little signs which revealed him feeling anything but.
"Well? What are you waiting for Tsuna? This is a one time thing.." Bermuda muttered with the two both knowing full well the last statement to be a completely blatant lie. A small happy gasp from the child as he quickly fell into the embrace hugging the arcobaleno warmly. The two couldn't help but let a chuckle escape their lips; one pure, clear yet warm with passion like a small flame lighting up the many surfaces of a crystal and the other though raspy was distinct and just as warm like a bonfire.
The pain that chained the elder of the two, the hatred and feelings of betrayal seemed like a dream from a lifetime ago when he was with the boy. As fluffy brown hair nestled in the crook of his neck the Vindice boss could smell the scent of wet grass, something that so clearly didn't belong in the dark grey concrete walls of Vendicare. When he first saw the boy's presence all those months ago he had been furious at his men for making such a mistake, very rarely in his existence had he ever made an error in anything from passing judgement to the guilty to upholding the laws and justice. So mistakes were not taken pleasantly but now as he held the small child close to his own small body Bermuda decided to let such a mistake go- after all it was probably the best mistake of his accursed life.
'Maybe.. Just maybe I can tell Tsuna about everything; who we are, what we stand for and even my own past…' The arcobaleno was surprised at his own thoughts but he quickly let the feeling slide not one to deny his own emotions. With a soft smile as he rubbed soothing circles on the other's thin back as the brunette nuzzled even closer to the warmth. 'Tsuna…'
As they cuddled closer each enjoying the others warmth and touch Bermuda could only regret that the one thing that could make this moment perfect was if he was in his true form, he wished to be bigger to properly wrap his arms around his endearing Tsuna, to hold him even closer and to have the body to keep him safe from all the darkness in this world so unfit for him. For that he had to find a way to break this infernally damned curse, no longer driven by just pure revenge but with the desire and resolve to protect. To protect their-no- to protect his beloved sky.
Unbeknownst to the two the clear pacifier hanging on the arcobaleno's neck and Tsuna's crystal pacifier hidden in the room seemed to lightly glow a white light for a moment before reverting back to it's usual dull states.
It took a week, three days and enough smothering to last a life time but Tsuna was 100% recovered. Since he was practically forced to stay in his room to recuperate his still strained body he'd been catching up in writing his notes on the Vindice making sure they had their own separate set of notebooks, he'd also taken to reading the notes of both Talbot and Scientist-san's which only served to make him more impatient to be let out of his room to test those theories.
After finally lifting the seal to his magic flames that a mean old wizard cast on him (yes that was how they explained it to him) he felt healthier than ever, energy practically buzzed in his ears and he could hear his flames 'voices' clearer than ever. Possibly the only thing that was really concerning was his body core temperature has shifted much higher than average human beings- possibly trying to adapt to the heat of multiple flames. It hasn't really affected the child to the point he was aware of this particular change but Summer being a total b***h was going to be a gross understatement- thank god Vendicare installs the very best air-conditioning, originally to prevent the smell of rotting flesh in heat. The first thing the brunette did now that he was allowed to move freely without fear of being strapped down to the bed as per Bermuda's and the female Vindice's (now calling themselves the Tuna fish appreciation group) orders was to walk around the halls greeting everyone with his cheery smile. It was so endearing that he could now walk on his own though everyone felt a pang of nostalgia as a part of them wished they could still hold onto the excuse to hold his tiny ever-warm hand. Of course their pride wouldn't allow them to ask the little child for his hand plus it was just embarrassing- especially for the males.
As he made sure he greeted and reassured everyone he was okay Tsuna practically skipped to the training grounds. After a few minutes and around five faceplants later in which any of the passing Vindice couldn't help but sweat drop at - really ever since he began walking it had become very obvious that the little boy was naturally very clumsy and apparently no amount of balance and physical training from the harshest, strictest guards could beat it out of him, luckily it only added to his already criminally high cuteness factor or they would all be banging their heads against walls, Vindice pride be damned.
Once alone in the grounds the brunette began some breathing practices and warm-ups - something many of the guards had reminded him constantly to do so if he was going to experiment with his flames alone. Tsuna couldn't help but smile at how overprotective these so called 'cold hearted monsters' have become of someone as unwanted as he, of course he will never voice it out- the last time he pointed out how motherly they were was a good enough experience for him to never say it ever again- at least not out loud.
Now he rubbed his hands together in excitement as he began to bring out his flames one by one in order to check if each one was alright. "Ok Sky-san you first~" Much to his delight he found he no longer needed to concentrate so hard to summon his magic flames, he could feel a small flame forming on his forehead which was strange but since it didn't seem to burn he decided to ignore it for now.
Suddenly it felt like a dam being opened, instead of the usual feeling where summoning his flame was like getting a trickle of water by trying his hardest to push open the tap to the maximum it felt like the tap just burst with water from the smallest amount of pressure. The brunette was so used to forcing and using a lot of his concentration as well as energy to get just a small flame to ignite that he was doing the same now causing orange flames to flare up rapidly to a scarily large imposing size. By then the Vindice from all around the huge Vendicare prison had felt the sudden powerful flame signature and had rushed or teleported swiftly to it's location.
At this time the small brunette was filled with a mix of fear and awe at the large orange flames however panic swiftly set in as he had never handled such a large amount of flames before.
"Tsuna!" "Chibi!" "Kid!" "Child!"
Orange brown eyes widened as they turned to see Bermuda and his closest men who wasted no time nor hesitation to rush to the confused child. "Child just breathe and relax." Bermuda was the one to instruct the boy, his tone serious yet comforting at the same time, Tsuna was quick to comply forcing himself to relax. The bright wild flames seemed to calm a little but the size didn't lessen at all.
The group looked at each other a little lost having no experience at all in teaching someone with so much potential yet so little actual working knowledge on flames. It didn't help that it had been more than a few years since they themselves learnt to control flames as well as held decent conversations so trying to explain such a complex concept to a child was not exactly their dream come true. First however they had to get rid of the flame still burning in the brunette's hands. Since the child was still unused to using such an intense amount of flames and had only just recovered there was a high chance of getting burned again.
"Kid ya gotta freaking release the flame." Blank uncomprehending eyes stared at Jack. "Ya know…" He rubbed the back of his neck a little uncertainly, fiddling with the chain holding his stone pacifier. "So it goes all fwoosh and bam! kinda like throwing a ball if ya know - tha ball is fire." Now everyone was staring at the faded red haired guard who was still fustratedly and unsuccessfully trying to explain whatever it was he was explaining. "Goddammit! Isn't anyone going to freaking help?!"
Much to Jack and everyone else's relief Jager decided to step up to the role. Coolly and collectedly he knelt down and gripped the two small wrists making sure the orange flames were not facing his direction. "Your fingers are need to be splayed open. Can you imagine your hands almost like guns?"
Silently the fluffy brunette nodded. Jager gave a small reassuring curl of his mouth though his eyes remained serious. "Good. Now let your concentration focus on the opposing wall and when I snap my fingers just think of it like a trigger and push out the flame in one short burst. Can you do that Tsuna?" Another small nod and large bandaged hands released the thin wrists.
As Tsuna concentrated his focus like he was told his eyes sharpened slightly as they too reflected the colour of his flames, he could feel his arms aimed at the wall, his flames the bullets. Suddenly a loud click resounded in the silence of the room and the orange fire blazed up, the room practically scorching. A sharp jolt of pain bloomed in Tsuna's hands as he finally released the building up of his flames, he tried to scream at the pain but no sound came out, the sheer force of the flame almost forced the tiny figure off his feet if not for a strong grip holding him steady in which faintly he identified as Bermuda. And as quickly as it happened the moment passed just as fast.
Now just the sound of harsh panting and tense silence filled the air. The child's hands were burnt slightly but surprisingly not badly damaged however not much could be said for the wall which had been completely scorched black. It was quite an impressive feat for the brunette to accomplish- the walls were built specially to contain large amounts of pressure and was also very flame-resistant, damage even to a small extent proved the individual held great power.
Such appreciation however was pushed to the side for the moment as all attention fell to the slightly drained child, Tsuna smiled trying to reassure he was okay but the Vindice would have none of that, even Gia should concern. The rest of the day the brunette took it easy just walking around and spending some overdue time with the guards who had made a silent agreement to make sure that until the brunette held a satisfactorily level of control in flame manipulation, the boy would not be alone in the training grounds. They shuddered to think what would happen if he chose to play with his Night flame at that time instead of the Sky attribute. Bermuda had to make a few calls and give a few threats in order to get the Vendicare repaired and fully reinforced in the amount of time that he did.
It was late at night and way past Tsuna's bedtime when the boy woke up to the sound of cussing and laughter. Not wanting to be left out on any fun and curious on what sort of activity could cause such a provocation of emotions from usually the ever sombre, serious guards the child tiptoed a little unsteadily-due to his tired stiff small body- across the dimly lit grey halls following the sound of the noise.
"God-freaking-dammit!" Jack swore fiercely the colours of the rainbow as once again he found himself on the losing side of the round. Slamming his cards down he all but punched the smirking Jager to the ground. Other Vindice were also grumbling to themselves as they too were beginning to suspect some foul play with the Strongest Warrior. Big Pino and Small Gia were darkly muttering and pupipipu-ing half hearted threats as before the co-founder of Vindice came along to join they were the undefeated champions when it came to their poker nights. Alejandro twitched in annoyance as he handed over the money he had bet in this round to Jager, he too was doing fine before the warrior came by to join. Ever since the young child had came into their dare they call it- lives they found themselves indulging in their old human activities to pass the time instead of wallowing in regret and hatred. Apparently everyone along with their high class Vindice Pride, amazing strength and arrogant competitiveness also held a taste on some level for gambling- hence the birth of Vindice poker night.
"Keh, it's my turn to deal."
As rotted hands began collecting and shuffling the cards a small fluffy brown head peeked out from around the corner. Large inquisitive eyes surveyed the room where a group of around twenty Vindice were all gathered around a table with cards in hand or just watching over the game. Apparently they were all far too immersed with the tiny pieces of paper in their hands to notice the child, much to the brunettes relief.
"And what business do you have so late at night child?"
"Hieeeee!" Tsuna jumped startled but the sudden intimidating voice behind him, as he tried to quickly spin around the clumsy child tripped on his feet and fell on his butt with a small thump. "Ehh ite, ite." Pouting the little brunette looked up at the bandaged infant before him who though expressionless Tsuna could annoyingly sense the other was smirking amused at him. Blushing he turned back to where he was watching over before to see the Vindice guards looking up from their cards as their attention was drawn to his unfortunate tumble. "Uh.. G-good Evewining"
An awkward silence filled the room- only to be quickly broken by Jager with his raspy laughter that only seemed to come out whenever Tsuna was concerned. Jager was not alone when it came to expressing his amusement and soon everyone joined in on varying levels from a glimmer of humour in their eyes to a blatant smiles and smirks on their lips to like the co-founder of Vindice- outright laughter. The fact that the child cutely pouted throughout the whole thing did not make it any less funnier nor any less adorable.
Finally after the laughter finally calmed down Bermuda offered the little one to join as a peace offering for the now sulking child. Of course curiosity won over and Tsuna quickly agreed excitedly, his bad mood forgotten causing a few snickers and coos in the background. Alejandro was the one to drag over a new chair which both Bermuda and Tsuna shared- though both to their annoyance and everyone else's amusement found that they still had to stand to see over the table.
As quickly they explained the basics of how to play the game the brunette furrowed his brows in intense concentration like they were trying to telling him the makings of the atomic bomb instead of just the rules to a card game. Once satisfied in covering everything Small Gia began to deal the cards and gave everyone their respective five cards. Tsuna's small hands couldn't hold all of them at once so Bermuda with a faint whisper of a chuckle decided to help a little however he wasn't going to join in the fun after all he was curious to see how the boy would fare in a battle of wits and lies.
After everyone looked at their dealt hand each began to start betting, Tsuna unsure of what to offer was patted fondly on the head by Alejandro who sat next to the two infants as he subtly passed a few small change to the brunette. The old Vindice always had a small soft spot for children- even if he was considered one of the most coldhearted and loyal guards in Vendicare. Blinking down at the coins in his hand then back at the stoic expressionless face of the other he then gave such a bright smile that even the sun would seethe in jealousy, Alejandro being as imposing as he was couldn't help but cough slightly to hide a twitch in his mouth and to look away from the direct gaze of such a smile for fear of the dark flame that controlled him to be purified. Bermuda watching the whole scene play out resolved to definitely put every single guard into that cuteness resistance training- and soon.
The young positively glowing child put in a 500 yen coin for his bet puffing up proudly as he did so while all the adults put in the minimum around 250,000 yen (around $2000) like it was the same value to them. Money really wasn't a huge concern in Vendicare as most of it mainly went through the funds for maintaining the prisoners and the electricity, the Vindice guards had even less need for money since they never went outside for leisure purposes nor indulged in many things until now.
Anyway as the game continued and the stakes were raised Tsuna noticed he felt a strange tingling feeling like a little prick in his mind every time certain people started doing things that didn't seem to relay the truth like acting confident and raising their bets even though it felt like to the child that they shouldn't. It was a very, very confusing feeling since it didn't make sense if they had bad cards and still raised stakes so they must had actually had very good cards in their hand, with that simple reasoning in mind the brunette ignored the nagging feeling in his head and folded unconfident with his fairly decent hand of cards.
Finally it was time to reveal their cards and the little naive child gasped at how many of the people that were still in and had met the raised bets actually had very bad hands! "Bermuda-san!" Tsuna breathed as he turned to the arcobaleno next to him. "Bermuda-san everyone was lying!" It was the emotional equivalent to a child finding out Santa or fairs didn't exist, the child just looked so confused and a little dazed, the guards had to reassure themselves that what they did wasn't wrong but somehow the feeling of guilt stabbed them deeply as they looked at the hurt puppy expression decorating the boy's soft features. Having little - hell the total experience of a rock when it came to children the Vindice just shifted in uncomfortable silence as eyes shifted as trying to determine who would take the burden and blame in explaining the concept of lying in this game. It wasn't long till all eyes rested on the Night arcobaleno who shot a glare at all of them then sighed in defeat.
"Child the term is bluffing." Tsuna tilted his head cutely to emphasise his confusion, his eyes literally emitting a question mark.
"Bluffing?"
"It is something used in gambling to throw off the opponent while maximising the money they could possibly earn." The boy frowned a little as he thought about this.
"But… Pino-san had no high cards or pairs or anything but he still stayed in! And- and then he lost a lot a lot of money!" The small child cutely waved his arms frantically in the air as if too show how much money was lost. Even Gia had to smirk a bit as Tsuna not only pointed out his partner's failure in the round but emphasised it, hurling daggers in the others pride unknowingly.
"Keh. Ya see chibi Pino here was tryin' ta scare off the other playas by bettin' big. That way if everyone thinks he gotta good hand they'll back off and fold so the bastar-" Everyone shot a glare that promised pain at the small Vindice if he so much as finished that word in front of the still pure child- "- I mean the guy could get all the cash."
Tsuna blinked his large brown eyes as he nodded slowly. That made sense kind of. He still didn't really like the idea but… "So it's like tricking people in a friendly way?" Even though it was considered beneath them everyone, including Bermuda couldn't help but sweat drop at the sheer naivety of the child. "Ah.. Yes."
They continued to play and throughout the night Tsuna kept losing as he constantly failed in trying to reenact the so called bluffing technique, his face was too expressive and eyes seemed to reveal everything. In a way it was truly adorable how hard he tried to lie, Jäger finding it extremely amusing held in his chuckles with shaking shoulders while some of the other Vindice couldn't help but silently coo at the endearing child. As expected the brunette quickly was left with one coin to use, a single 5 yen coin. It was so sad to look at to everyone there- with the exception of Tsuna himself who was still smiling and humming excitedly much like he's been doing most of the time as he played.
"Tsuna. If you lose this round you have to go to bed okay?"
"Haa~aaii!" The group sweatdropped as energetic little sparkles seemed to emit from the little boy. Once more the deck was shuffled and once more were cards passed around. As soon as Tsuna saw his hand he frowned slightly, his brow furrowed in a little frustration as well as of intense concentration. The Vindice sighed at how easily readable the brunette was as they returned their attention back to their cards.
No one really held a good hand for this round and it was clearly apparent that Tsuna wasn't going to win anyway so it did surprise them that the child actually stuck to the whole game without folding. As stakes were raised they decided to allow the little brunette to be exempt from the rule as he held no more coins- a few guards were sorely tempted to sneak a few notes to the little boy but quickly cut the idea down when the child stared them down it was uncanny how he did it, like he somehow knew what they were planning. The last bet placed and the cards were revealed as they groaned at their horrible hands only one tinkling giggle could be heard as well as the sound of tiny hands clapping with glee.
They all turned to face the laughing child who to all their very well hidden astonishment held a royal flush. "*giggle* I win! *giggle*" There was nothing but the silence of shock and the joyful laughter of the child. Quickly everyone joined in the contagious laughter and the room was soon filled with raucous gravelly laughter.
"Haha holy shit! Ya got us freaking good kid!"
"Kekeke Impressive chibi to out bluff the Vindice."
"Puppipupipu!"
Even Bermuda couldn't help but join in on the humor. "Child you never cease to impress *chuckles*"
Under all the praise Tsuna couldn't help but flush with happiness and Bermuda and the other Vindice could swear for a second there were flowers blooming around him. With a cheeky smile he looked at everyone and said "So I guess I can play for real now?"
After that it was like a massacre. Using his own expressive face against them the child had begun faking his reactions left and right. Pretending to hesitate when he chose to raise his bet, to bite his lip and scrunch his brows like he was thinking hard or struggling with the odds only to come out on top. Acting cheery and confident, unnerving everyone as he giggled whenever the stakes were raised like he held the best hand possible until everyone folded and he showed a terrible hand. To add more confusion he would express his honest reaction randomly throwing everyone off their pace it was almost like something was telling him whenever the group began catching on to his bluff.
Bermuda who was only watching the game played out was impressed at such a strong hyper intuition, possibly on the same level or even higher as Primo's himself. Everyone else was impressed too but their wounded pride of consistently losing to a child smaller than their knees wouldn't let them show it. By the time they called it the end of the night Tsuna had amassed a small fortune much to his delight- not that he truly understood the value of money but he did understand that he had definitely had a lot of fun. Sleepily as he waved goodbye to the Vindice group he asked with twinkly eyes. "Ne- Can we do this more often? Tricking people and bluffing is surprisingly fun!" Giggling as he remembered the shocked expressions and frustrated groans when he revealed his cards everyone else sweatdropped. What had they created?
