{author's note::} oh god what happened where did the time go OH GOD ITS BEEN TWO MONTHS WHAT HAPPENED i swear it was just yesterday that i'd updated this fic but then all of a sudden school happened and wow but an update's finally here, because i definitely havent forgotten about this fanfic, but luckily, as i've now got a bit more room to work with updates will hopefully become weekly again(might update again tomorrow just to make up for my tardiness oops)
a lot of people had questions about the teacher
they're answered in this chapter
i had a question for you guys tho; who would you like to see making an appearance in this fic? i've got so many ideas and idk what to do with them or which one to go with first so if theres anything or anyone you guys would like to see please let me know! this fanfic does have a general plot but as far as short term goes, it'll be an episodic fanfic with bits and pieces of plot thrown inside so dont feel like you'd be distracting from the plot by giving your suggestions! seriously, i write a lot better when prompted than when im left to my own antics.
ALSO, as i feel the need to mention this now, NONE OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL OR THE CITY OR BASICALLY ANYTHING IS CORRECT as i'm going by feeling. idk anything about american schools, let alone harvard so any faulty information you may find about the schooling system IS THERE ON PURPOSE. i'm going on a whim and writing whatever i like, but if something bothers you too much please let me know so i can fix it! my knowledge is very limited(to my own country, ahaha) and there's only so much research i can do.
anyways, enough with my shenanigans, on with the chapter!
enjoy!
"It's—it's a pleasure to see you again, Decimo."
"I'll have to disagree with you there, Lacy, didn't think I'd meet you again."
"It's Dane now," the man corrected, fingers twitching at his sides—anxiety had to be a man's worst enemy. "I had to change my name if I wanted to fit in."
Tsuna visibly scowled, what a good job he'd done of that.
Lacy – or, Dane – Easton Ward, he recalled the man's full identification, was a man of an unusually bulky build, with arms the size of Tsuna's torso – dramatization aside. He was what you would consider a standard member of the underground world, coincidentally where Tsuna had first laid eyes on him; it was back in Tsuna's fifteenth year, and his first trip to the States had been a rigorously calculated one, if only to avoid trouble that – at this point everyone knew – followed the brunet by the step.
Initially, Tsuna himself hadn't planned on it, but considered his entire being circulated around the effects of Murphy's Law, he'd gotten kidnapped all the same. Even after Reborn had taken great care in informing what would happen if he let his guard down long enough for anything hazardous to occur—it had to have been a few minutes at most.
A few minutes too many, it seemed, because the next thing Tsuna knew, he sat bound and gagged in what appeared to be a sewage system with dozens of eyes trained on his – at the time – wispy frame.
It took days for Tsuna to adjust to the torture that ensued. Hours upon hours of beatings, delivered by the swift hand of none other than Lacy, among many others whose names he drew a blank on—then again, his was the only face Tsuna had bothered to remember.
The rest hadn't lived long enough to recollect on.
"What brings you to the States, uh, Tsuna-san?" Dane inquired, and if Tsuna's mood hadn't depleted to a familiar low, he would've laughed at how meek the once barbaric man appeared. Not to mention Japanese sounded ridiculous under the man's thick Texan accent.
"I figured you would've caught on by now; I'm here to attend school," he scoffed. What other reason could there be? Tsuna himself certainly didn't make a habit out of cruising colleges in his free time – educational establishments still left a bitter taste in his mouth, regardless of how well he'd adjusted to the idea of it. Reborn's patience hadn't gotten any better over the years. If you asked him, it'd even gotten worse. "I'm more interested in why you're here, Lacy."
Dane didn't correct him a second time. "I'm teaching here."
Tsuna's eyes narrowed marginally, keenly trained on the other's. "I think we both know that's not what I was asking, or what I meant."
"I-," words caught in his throat, Dane considered his phrasing carefully. "I wanted a chance to redeem myself, I guess," he decided finally, dropping a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. "That scar you gave me, it's kind of a daily reminder of what you said, what you did back then. If I have to choose, I don't want to make the same mistakes again. I…don't want to go through that kind of thing again."
"That makes both of us, then. I've still got the scars you gave me, too." Tsuna muttered.
"That boxer friend of yours didn't fix you up?" Dane asked impulsively, maybe a little too curiously.
Tsuna in turn shook his head. "I always keep the scars, they sober me up. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of all the faces; they come and go away too fast. I don't want to forget if I can help it."
Dane shuddered at the thought – it basically meant most didn't live to leave a lasting impression.
"You said you'd take me to the headmaster's office," Tsuna said after a considerable amount of silence, pushing off the wall and onto steady feet – good, too. Dane definitely wouldn't have spoken up after that grenade. "I'll take you up on that now."
"Also," he added after they turned the first corner. "You wouldn't happen to have a map of this place, would you? It's a damn maze." Dane laughed despite himself – he'd had trouble adapting to the environment when he'd first some here, too.
"There's dozens in the principal's cave, I'm surprised he hasn't badgered you about it yet – would've assumed he'd be the first person you'd see," he noted the unusual work of events. If Decimo had gotten accepted, it wasn't a stretch to assume the principal knew of his identity, so why had he let him roam around the place without setting down the rules first hand?
Then again, it also wasn't a stretch to assume some strings had to have been pulled to allow one of the world's most renowned group's Don to attend.
Dane distantly wondered just how many strings held attached.
{1}
"I'll warn you right now," Dane said, hand hovering above the door handle leading to the headmaster's office. "Our principal's a bit…outside the norm." At least outside of anything a regular person classified under 'the norm'; he didn't want anything to do with the Decimo's standards. "You go in alone. I won't be held responsible for what happens."
Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed. "Held responsible for what happens?" he was a little more than skeptical, not accustomed to trusting the words of a man who'd been tasked to beat him to death just a few years back. "It something meant to happen?"
Dane shrugged in response, leaving three solid knocks upon the wood just beneath the metal plate reading 'Headmaster Harvey'. "I'm just saying, you'd best be prepared." Now Tsuna was curious; as far as he remembered, Ward wasn't exactly the type of man that settled inside of 'the norm' he spoke about, so whoever this Headmaster Harvey was, he had to be at least above general human standards of normalcy.
Oh God, what if he was like Mukuro. Or even worse, what if he was like Reborn.
"Come in," a deep voice called from inside and Dane stepped back, careful to remain outside of peripheral vision once the doors opened – he didn't want to get involved in the principal's antics.
"Good luck," and with that, he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway, leaving an incredulous Tsuna on his own. He'd need it.
{ps::} as always thank you for the follows and favorites! and the reviews too! there's just something different about written encouragement that gets me going, haha; so keep them coming!
also, any suggestions you might have about the plotline - ideas and such - are very welcome! in fact, i enjoy working off sudden ideas rather than a planned plotline a lot more.
