Summary:
an adventure in casual violence. things from the past coming back to bite you in the ass.
Notes: there is so much foreshadowing y'all don't even know it yet but i'm letting you know now. also some slightly heavier content this chapter, as stated in the warnings.
WARNINGS: i have no idea how to word this but i think '(implied) forced medical treatment' works? it's in the latter half once they reach the school. also less subtle implications of conditioned kids and people accepting 'forced medical treatment' as 'normal' and 'okay'- except, of course, the 'patient'. casual violence. sssllliight? ableism in the use of the term 'cripple' in the latter part of the chapter, unironic or otherwise. further explained next chapter.
this begins a mini-arc that mainly consists of what the hell happened between mochida and tsuna last year. 3 chapters? of intermittent flashbacks. also wherein I accidentally started shipping mochida/tsuna /waves my sad tiny rarepair flag. romance is NOT the point of it though, but they are going to Deal With This. ch11 is when it ends and ch11 is Massive with a capital m.
Chapter 8: [oyster fortunes daily] and the storm rages on.
not that storm. the other storm. what other storm? that other storm.
It's amazing how quickly time can pass, especially when one is trying to get a child to enjoy life again. And that thought in and of itself is.. worrying.
Reborn hadn't ever expected it to be tedious, per se, but he wasn't expecting a walk in the park, either. So it is to his surprise that Tsunayoshi proves to be more... willing than most kids his age would be about making changes to his lifestyle like waking up at the crack of dawn for morning exercise.
Maybe it helps that there are others who are just as ridiculously enthusiastic about jogging and ungodly hours of the day. Like Sasagawa Ryouhei.
Since the first day, the next week and a half goes like clockwork. Reborn wakes, probably an hour or so early, and proceeds to shake Tsunayoshi out of his bed at exactly 4AM with a plethora of methods. The airhorn is his favorite, but he also has the bike horn, trumpet, obnoxiously loud cowbell, the good ol' fashioned Bucket of Cold Water, and, of course, the worst and arguably most effective of all tactics.
Sizzling Bacon.
(Granted, since Tsunayoshi cannot actually eat meat, they have turkey bacon instead of pork. Reborn quickly learns that this is just as effective as regular bacon. And also just as tasty.)
He gets the boy dressed up, freshened up, and takes him out for a jog. Or a walk. Or just down to the nearest park to chase him around with Leon, the giant bug net.
(Tsunayoshi is apparently really good at climbing trees and seems to have no discernible fear of heights, which is all the better.)
...And then there's today. Tsunayoshi probably did not get enough sleep the night before and remains stubbornly passed out at the kitchen table, no matter how much Flame Reborn pours into him. Not even the airhorn wakes him up.
It's probably the reason reason why Nana hasn't ever been woken up by the noise and why Reborn hasn't heard of anyone filing a complaint yet.
Bummer. He can't even tell if it's because everyone is still dead to the world at this time of the day or if it's just so normalized that no one bats an eye (or an ear) at it. Or just a combination of lack of sleep and possible minor flame exhaustion for everyone.
Then again, he has also noticed a distinct avoidance in the townsfolk when Tsunayoshi is around. Chances are they're just.. ignoring whatever happens in the Sawada residence.
"It's like you said, Reborn," Tsunayoshi says quietly while they're helping Nana with the groceries one day. The grocer keeps throwing them dirty looks. Nagi always sends them back tenfold. "Flames power the body. If you or maman or Takeshi weren't around, I'd be getting mine from anyone nearby, because it's either them or me and I'm not quite ready to let myself d- um, go into a fiamma exhaustion-induced coma just yet."
Good save there. That's a morbid thought, though.
"...That or they just think it's weird that we're holding hands. I mean, you're really damn old and all."
Reborn snorts and squeezes his hand tighter. Didn't take either of them very long to get used to it, and for him, it's less of a drain than the pacifier had ever been.
What he doesn't understand is why it's okay for the Island itself to take flames for research, while Tsunayoshi is treated like a leper even though he's only taking them to live. Really, the rest of this place is just so pleasant.
He also doesn't understand why Tsunayoshi doesn't seem to question this himself. Unless he has already, in the past. When no one would listen to him. There's still no one to listen.
But Yamamoto doesn't have a problem with it. Then again, Yamamoto also seems to have some kind of obsession with the boy. It's probably related. Definitely related.
What Reborn wouldn't give for some bullets in a gun and proper contacts to gather information for him. His current status as a house guest isn't doing any favors so he has to rely on what Nana or Tsunayoshi tell him.
He could ask Hana, or Sasagawa, but that would involve asking Tsunayoshi how to contact them. So, maybe Nana, then.
He sips his morning coffee and considers, once more, the purchase of a Moka pot. Every time they've gone out for groceries he forgets, more caught up with observing the surroundings and watching Tsunayoshi to make sure nothing extensively harmful happens to him.
Sure, there's no assassins here (probably), but danger doesn't always come from the outside. It comes from inside, too.
It comes from the slight twitches of Tsunayoshi's hand whenever they pass by a certain bridge. It comes from the too-long gaze Tsunayoshi gives the docks, the way he stares too intently at the water. It comes from the way his eyes shutter at crosswalks, as though seeing some other scene. The way he looks around at odd times of the day, straining to hear some far off sound.
It comes from the way he edges closer to Nana or Reborn himself, for no apparent reason. Until a siren wails in the distance and an ambulance drives by, followed by a squadron of white-and-violet clad Committee members on motorbikes. Adults, Nana says, from the Emergency Response Division.
Nana always puts an arm around Tsunayoshi whenever this happens,even before the sirens begin. Like she knows what's going to happen.
Reborn doesn't know what it's all about, but he tightens his grip around Tsunayoshi's hand the next time the boy shifts about nervously, and is pleased to see the tension seep out by the time the wailing reaches them.
There could be all manner of reasons to explain it.
Exhaustion, for one, making him more jittery than usual. Not Flame related, but just regular old exhaustion. The boy probably isn't used to starting up as early in the day as he has been this past week or so. Even if Reborn has been helping with the Flame problem, the body unfortunately catches up very slowly. He'll have to get used to it.
(Personally, Reborn can't seem to find a way to stay asleep longer than the crack of dawn with how quickly his Flames rebound from whatever absorption this island goes through during the day. Or at night. He never did get a clear answer when he asked about it.)
So, it could be fatigue. But Reborn noticed all of these things even before he started waking the boy up, so it has to be something else. Unless Tsunayoshi is just always exhausted during the day, regardless of how much rest he gets. Which, actually, also seems pretty likely, but would be a little more difficult to combat.
Could be hallucinations. Brought on by heat stroke, or exhaustion.
Hydrophobia, if the way he dislikes taking baths is related his stiffness when they pass a river or glimpse the ocean. Some past trauma. Trauma gets everyone at some point.
Could be medical. He'd glimpsed an old, long past-due prescription paper in the trash once, for medication that he recalls is for Attention Deficit Disorder. Or is it ADHD now? That would explain why going over Tsunayoshi's summer homework had taken several tries because he just wouldn't pay attention long enough. Or couldn't pay attention long enough.
No Good is what everyone calls him. Not because he is no good, but perhaps because he hasn't gotten better. Because he isn't doing anything about it. Because he trashes prescriptions rather than taking them. Because he sleeps a little too often, a little too long, and he still only seems half-functional for the better part of the day.
Flame exhaustion can do that, of course. Reborn hasn't heard about anyone being in a Flame exhausted state for so long, there's no telling what sort of symptoms they would show.
...Well, actually. Reborn did stick around Xanxus for at least a few months after he got out of the ice. The man's flames weren't sealed, not necessarily, but he did end up being unable to use or possibly even produce flames for a good... 8 years? Christ. 8 years.
Had Xanxus been a lesser man, had he not been Timoteo's son, had he not been Xanxus he would probably still be stuck in a lab somewhere being examined and tested and experimented on.
It's. Rather a good thing that Xanxus had been legally independent at the time. And that Italy has no laws that happen to pertain to the quasi-cryopreservation of a live human being against their will. And also of course that they're Cosa Nostra and no law would have stopped Timoteo from doing it anyway, but it's nice not having to be forced to go through any consequences of it. Like, y'know. Fatherly guilt.
Honestly, sometimes Reborn wonders why Timoteo bothered adopting Xanxus. Still does. He's wondering right now.
...What he's also doing right now is watching Leon slowly headbutt Tsunayoshi's cheek repeatedly. Maybe an attempt to wake him up. It's kind of adorable.
Okay, it is adorable. Tsunayoshi is just so small and fluffy-headed. Like a lop bunny. A vicious lop bunny.
Maybe he might have dosed the kid with a little too much Flames.
Good thing about Sun Flames, though, is that while they can have the same cozy, sunny, calming effect as Rain if used properly, they can also be used to wake someone up. Reborn is no doctor, oh no- but Vongola prefers all their Suns to have some medical experience. Helps in emergencies.
Helps to more accurately send someone into Dying Will State with a single shot, too.
Reborn reaches out to the back of Tsunayoshi's head and sends a brief, targeted pulse of flames into his brain stem, to activate the sleeping center and tell it to wake the hell up.
It works... a little too well.
Rather than easing out of a doze, Tsunayoshi sits straight up, wide-eyed and terrified and clutching the back of his head. Both of Reborn's hands go up on reflex, and even Leon jumps back. Well, hops.
"...I guess being a black hole of Flame Exhaustion magnifies and speeds up the effects of Flame Absorption too," Reborn muses, and with little guilt. "I've never seen anyone wake up that quickly."
"What?" Tsunayoshi blinks at him, breathing maybe a little too hard. It takes him another moment to level out. "..Oh. S-sorry. Maman usually just.. taps me a little."
Then he frowns and rubs his neck.
"..I think you did way more than a tap."
"I'm not a scientist, so I can't specifically tell you how much, but I assure you it was just a tap."
"..Okay. I think I need to have you cleared by my fiamma care physician before you do that again."
"Diu, boy, how many licenses do I have to have to be in your presence? To live under your roof?"
"Technically none but you're actually doing things to me, so I'd rather you be professionally certified."
"Certified to teach, certified to give Flame injections, should I be a certified child psychiatrist too? Do you know how easy it is to forge a certification document?"
"What, is your mathematics degree a lie? I should've known. Who earns a degree from nothing in 3 years without forgery and cheating?"
"You are unreasonably cranky and verbose this morning." But Reborn is grinning more than he is frustrated or annoyed.
Tsunayoshi shrugs wildly, shoveling eggs and turkey bacon into his mouth. "I have chronic fiamma exhaustion and you just shot me up with Sun flames. In my spine. Who even does that?"
"It gets to the brain faster from there, obviously. It's like not like I can just inject it straight through your skull without something of higher velocity."
Like as a bullet. Or a laser. Reborn would like to try a laser on someone. Though he supposes that would just shoot through the head instead of lodging within the brain like a Dying Will Bullet should.
It's another sort of Dying Will, probably. Bit more deadlier.
"Why does it sound like you're thinking of shooting me up? Like, literally shooting. With a gun." Tsunayoshi eyes Leon for a moment. "...He can turn into a gun, can't he?"
"If I ask him to and he wants to."
Another wary glance. "Please don't."
Leon stares at him.
"..I don't like guns."
Leon's tongue flicks out and licks Tsunayoshi's cheek. He smiles. It's like a family reunion. Nice and happy.
"Why do you think I would shoot you, Tsunayoshi? Haven't I only said repeatedly that my job is to protect you?"
"Yeah, like that's not suspicious at all." The boy is smiling a little though, so Reborn smiles back. just a little. "..I get twinges."
"About guns?"
"No, about- about anything. Things happening. It's just paranoia, probably. Who really thinks their own bodyguard is going to shoot them, right?"
Tsunayoshi lets out a small, soft snort of laughter, because it probably sounds ridiculous to a civilian.
Reborn does not. Because that is a fairly normal thing to be cautious of in the Underworld.
"How long have you been having these.. twinges?"
"..As long as I can remember? Why?"
"You have no idea what it is or why it happens?"
"It's just a family thing, okay? It's genetics. We all have it, I just- I just have it a bit worse."
Worse, he calls it. Not better or stronger, not advanced, not sensitive. He calls it worse.
What an interesting choice of words.
"Didn't your father have it too?"
"Hm? Oh, right, you work with him. Yeah.. I think he does. Nao-san said so. You noticed it?"
"It's common among the Vongola bosses and their bloodline. We call it Hyper Intuition. Sort of like precognition, but a little different. Iemitsu has demonstrated it a few times and admitted to having it. He didn't know what it was, of course. Not until we told him."
Tsunayoshi regards him with a level sort of gaze, calm and suddenly intensely focused. Maybe this is his answer.
"..Vongola Primu- Giotto, he was the first to document it, before he retired. His cousin, Ricardo, also had it, though his was.. somewhat weaker. Iemitsu's Hyper Intuition is probably stronger than that of the current boss, who is descended from Ricardo rather than Giotto. Ieyasu."
"Why doesn't he inherit the title then? I mean, we're all related. If I'm eligible enough to be targeted, he should be eligible enough to inherit."
"Too old," Reborn laments. "Or too young. Or too Japanese, too foreign, too unknown, too inexperienced. Pick your poison and I guarantee someone has said it. He also can't inherit unless he steps down from his current position. No one wants Iemitsu to be the next boss, honestly. No offense, Tsunayoshi, but I would sooner shoot the idiot than let him run Vongola."
"Hey," Tsunayoshi frowns, though his mouth twitches into something like a smile. "That's my father you're talking about."
"Last I checked you didn't even like him."
"Still my father." Reborn gives him an odd look and Tsunayoshi shrugs, a little more subdued. "Still family. Grandpa Sato didn't want to disinherit him so he's still family. We.. protect family."
What a lovely upbringing. If only he'd been raised Cosa Nostra instead.
(..It's not too late to start.)
"Do you want him to inherit Vongola?"
Tsunayoshi pushes the remainder of his food around with his fork silently. "..Would it help keep us safe? Would people stop targeting me andmaman, would he have to fight or kill or do any of that mafia stuff?"
"At this point, Tsunayoshi, the only way to keep yourselves from being targeted is to somehow convince the entire Vongola Family that you're not interested in taking the title. Formally denounce it before the most prominent members and anyone who doesn't want you there. They might even want you to make an Oath of it, on pain of death if you go against your word."
"Is that like a.. mafia oath? I can't make a mafia oath, I'm not even mafia. I'll probably never be mafia, how would I make an oath like that?"
"You want to know?"
"...Not really, no."
"Damn."
"Stop trying to drag me into your dark secret society, Reborn."
"Can't drag you into something when you're already in it."
Tsunayoshi's face scrunches in distaste and pushes his plate away. "I thought you were supposed to keep me out of the mafia."
"No, I said I was here to protect you from being offed by anyone loyal to the next heir. Slight difference. Never said anything about keeping you out of the Cosa Nostra entirely."
"I've been lied to," the boy groans, dropping his head onto the table. "My peaceful, boring school life is over. I've stepped onto a crime show. It's going to be all guns and explosions now and I won't get another night's rest."
"On the plus side, it'll be exciting."
Tsunayoshi lifts his head just long enough to give a withering glare.
Reborn responds with an inappropriately amused movement of his eyebrows and pulls the discarded plate over to finish it off. Waste not want not.
"Come on," he says after. The fork clatters noisily in the sink. He'll have to wash that when they get back. "It's still early. Let's go for a walk before you head to your final remedial class for the rest of summer break."
"Summer break is over today."
"Yes, it is. And if you skip again, Hibari Kyouya might just try to give you detention."
The boy snorts. "He can't give me detention, we don't have detention."
"Oh? I sense a but there."
"...Instead he passes out remedial lessons like you'd pass out lì xì on New Years [1]. The alternative being a challenge to battle to the death."
"That sounds fun."
"Scary as hell, very literal, and also really fun. Do I really have to wear that track suit today? It looks stupid and there's going to be people around."
He raises just one eyebrow this time. Well. Tries to. "Thought you didn't care."
"I'm 15, of course I care."
"Is that what you say, Tsunayoshi? Or is that what everyone else says?"
Tsunayoshi gives Reborn and his bright yellow track suit the stink-eye, then sends another at the window like he's personally offended by the sunshine rays beaming down outside.
It's kind of childish, the way he seems to resent the world for being so happy and bright this early in the morning. Like a cripple who resents those still able to walk.
It should be. Just childish.
. . .
Ten minutes later and they're out the door, not bothering to wake Nagi up for this excursion. AReborn decides to let Tsunayoshi pick their path today. Tsunayoshi stares at him for a good few seconds, then starts heading towards the shore and the docks. He doesn't stop the boy from ending their little jaunt to sit down on the concrete breakwater, feet dangling over the water.
It's not the first time Reborn has left the course to Tsunayoshi's decision, but usually he just takes the same route they've always taken. A trip to the park, or down to a nearby convenience store for breakfast and even cheaper coffee. Stops by the Buddhist temple every now and then. Visits the shrine with Yamamoto, when the two of them happen to cross paths.
The only time they've ever gone to the docks before is when Reborn wants to look at the water. It's routine for him whenever he's in Catania or anyplace coastal in Sicily. Which, given that Vongola happens to own most of coastal Sicily, tends to be most of the time. He grew up hearing about the waters, about ships that could take them far, far away. About where the food on his plate came from, so that he would never take anything for granted.
The first hit contract to take him near water took longer than usual. Not to find his target, no, that was easier than finding someone affiliated with the Cosa Nostra in Palermo. Throw a rock any which way and you'd hit someone's suldàtu or associate. His job was done within days.
He spent the rest of the week by the water. Smelling salt and sand and rock, chatting with the locals. Only returned (home) to his safe house once he was sure enough time had passed for another contract to attempt to reach him.
It smells different here. Still salty, but.. sweeter.
Sickly sweet.
Tsunayoshi tugs on Reborn's sleeve, looking up and gesturing down at the spot next to him. Reborn shrugs and sits. Leon sticks his head out from inside the track suit, joining them in their ocean-viewing.
"Look over there," Tsunayoshi says, pointing off to the distance north of the island. Reborn leans his head over and tries to follow the boy's line of sight.
"What? Did you see a whale or something?"
"I wish." Tsunayoshi shakes his head. "Keep looking, you'll see it."
Reborn keeps looking, not even sure what he's looking at. The water? The sky? The horizon—
Oh.
"See it?"
"Yeah," Reborn says faintly as the sky shimmers again.
It's the kind of feeling you'd get from watching rain fall somewhere far away. Clouds hovering over a patch of land, blocking out the light and the shadows of a downpour. That's what it looks like, a storm at sea. But it shimmers and it shifts, it moves like fog. It runs east and west, hiding the faintest outline of the coast behind it.
"Is that..?"
"The Shroud," Tsunayoshi says with a small smile. "Our Island Defense Field, made almost completely of Mist flames. Causes atmospheric disturbance, messes with electromagnetic waves, radio frequencies... At its strongest it's a rank SS illusion, but that's only for the few days after New Years when it's renewed. Right now it's probably.. AA. By the time January rolls around it'll be ranked B at best. It looks really nice then."
"It's destabilizing, you mean?"
"Yeah. Mist flames aren't very dense so they're not easily visible on their own- except when they're destabilizing. Especially when you have a Shroud that covers this large of an area. It's really pretty during New Years."
Tsunayoshi grins, shifting and bouncing in place, like an excited child watching a parade for the first time. Reborn feels like he's witnessing the apocalypse.
It's kinda cool. Really cool. Sicily should get one of these.
(It also means he can tell Timoteo that December or January would be the best time send his envoy.)
"You just sit around watching the Shroud collapsing in on itself on your off time?"
Tsunayoshi shrugs again. "People go whale-watching on boats. They watch auroras over the mountain range out west and up in Hokkaido. We watch Mist Shroud destabilization on the coast."
Reborn hums, leaning his arm on Tsunayoshi's shoulder. "Kind of like fireworks."
"The New Years fireworks are pretty great, too. You'll be around to see them, right?"
"I could be." If Tsunayoshi survives that long. "...If you call me dad at some point though I'm leaving on the next flight out, whether they let me go or not."
Tsunayoshi snorts. "I don't need another dad. Or any. Maman is enough."
"Wouldn't hurt to have at least one. Being a single parent isn't easy, you know."
..Maybe that's why Timoteo treats his sons the way he does. Or doesn't. It's not just Xanxus, honestly; he's been withdrawn lately, ever since Dania was more permanently situated in the hospital. It won't be long before she decides to go into hospice care instead of taking more treatments.
"Yeah, I know." The boy sighs, shoulders dropping. "I just want to.. make it easier for her. I wish I could. Takeshi says the same thing about his dad, his mom works a lot too."
"Sounds like she'd be fine as long as you're fine," Reborn says, musingly. "Isn't that what you told me before?"
"..Yeah, I guess."
He's a good kid. Better than many would be at his age, as unpopular as he seems to be and with a father as absent as he is. Sky trait, perhaps?
Can't be. Xanxus was a menace. Still is. Endearing, but a menace.
"Aren't you?"
"Dunno. Depends how you'd define fine."
"Oh I have some pretty low standards in regards to that." Reborn picks up a pebble and tosses it into the approaching waves. Tries to find a flatter one so he can skip it. "Me? I think functional is just fine. Fine is having two hands that can still hold things like guns, knives, iron pipes. It's having two feet to take me where I need to be. It's having just enough to do to get me through the day. It's telling someone they can't have a chunky granita because we don't make chunky granita in Catania."
There aren't any flat enough. Everything here is mostly just crumbled cement and granite, chunks ranging from the size of a fingernail to the size of a fist, but nothing flat. How dull.
"..Fine is boring." He settles for another rock to chuck as far as he can, and another wave swallows it up. "That's why I'm here, anyway."
"All those people you could kill in Italy and you'd rather be here teaching some snotty kid to enjoy life?"
"Would be, if you were actually snotty." Reborn chuckles and tousles Tsunayoshi's hair again, relishing the dissatisfied puppy growling sound he makes. "But you're not. Snotty. Or fine. You're not fine, and you're not boring, so I'll stick around."
"Gosh, that's such a relief to hear."
"You're getting snippier," he announces almost proudly. "Does that mean you'll stop stuttering because you're no longer terrified of me now?"
"I'm not.. terrified, it- it just happens sometimes. It's just nerves."
"Aaand there you go again." Tsunayoshi digs an elbow into his side harmlessly. Reborn leans back, breathing in salty-sweet air with a smile on his face. "Honestly? I'm just staying for the moment when you call me papa in front of Iemitsu. Your mother thought it would be hilarious and I happen to agree, as much as it terrifies me to be anyone's papa."
Tsunayoshi doesn't say anything for a good few seconds.
Then, he starts laughing. Then he falls onto his back, still laughing, probably so he doesn't pitch forward into the water.
Reborn draws one leg up and tosses another piece of rubble out. In the distance, the Shroud sparks and shimmers, searing the air with the scent of burnt molasses.
. . .
"Tsuna-kun!"
Tsuna looks up and finds himself beaming, warmth bubbling in his chest. "Morning, Kyouko-chan."
"You sure you don't have a crush on her?" Reborn whispers as she jogs up to meet them.
Tsuna jabs his fingers into the older man's side. And then winces and cradles his hand, because, ow. "Do you have rocks for abs or something? Holy hell that hurt."
The only thing that makes Tsuna feel better about his sore fingers is the fact that Reborn looks at least the slightest bit pained and hunched over. "I think you just gutted me with a knife."
"Yeah. Enjoy the feeling of colon petrification."
"You didn't do anything like that."
"No, but I could."
Reborn grins down at him, sharp and daring. Tsuna lets out a huff.
"Morning, Tsuna-kun. Is this your house guest?"
"Yeah." He nods and gestures to them respectively. "Reborn, this is Sasagawa Kyouko. Kyouko-chan, Reborn."
"I thought only Hibari and Yamamoto were supposed to know about me," Reborn mutters. "So why does it seems like everyone knows about me? Not that it isn't a pleasure to finally meet you, Sasagawa-chan."
"We like to gossip," Kyouko chirps. "And Ryouhei is my older brother."
"Aah. I can.. really see the family resemblance."
"Onii-san takes more after mother than I do." She giggles and falls into step on Tsuna's other side. "I'm sorry if he made things worse for you that day, Tsuna-kun. I've seen you running in the morning sometimes and.. well. I know you're just starting, and onii-san is always a bit.."
"Extreme?"
She gives him a smile and a shrug, entirely apologetic. "Yeah. I'll tell him to tone it down next time, if he runs into you again."
"He's welcome to join us," Reborn manages to say with a grunt, rubbing at his side. "Healthy competition makes everyone work harder."
"It does! But, Tsuna-kun is allergic to competition."
Reborn raises an eyebrow. Tsuna repeats Kyouko's words flatly. "I'm allergic to competition."
"..That's an odd thing to be allergic to."
"It makes me tired."
"That's not an allergic reaction, that's just being exhausted."
"It's just as bad as being allergic."
"Kid, competition is the spice of life. It's evolutionary, it's what makes us tick, it's change, it's-"
Reborn keeps talking and Tsuna is vaguely aware of it, just as he's vaguely aware of Kyouko listening to him with a smile that's more than polite. Just as he's vaguely aware of something coming up behind them at mach speed.
He feels the prickle on the back of his neck before he hears a crack, like a bat striking a ball. Or bone. The whistle of something flying through the air, or wind through the trees. Blood pouring like rain.
He turns to face the approaching blur.
It's the only thing that keeps him from screaming when a pair of arms wrap around him and haul him up and around, spinning in circles until Tsuna is laughing against Takeshi's chest amidst the alarmed calls of both Kyouko and Reborn.
Takeshi lets him down after another bout of spinning, grinning like a loon. Today his eyepatch has a smiley face emoticon drawn on it and it makes Tsuna smile too.
"Morning, Tsuna!"
"Morning, Takeshi," Tsuna says with a merry hum. "I'm going to throw up my breakfast on you."
"Hey," Reborn cuts in as he and Kyouko catch up. How far did Takeshi even drag him while spinning around like that? "I worked hard to make your breakfast today. Don't you dare throw it up."
Tsuna fakes a retching sound and pretends to heave all over Reborn's loafers. The man leaps back with a smooth litany of curses, none of which Tsuna recognizes, and Takeshi barks a laugh.
"Where'd you learn to cook, Reborn?"
"He wakes up at 2AM for snacks," Tsuna explains between laughs. He's gotta get Reborn to teach him Sicilian curses.
"I'm a chronic night eater," Reborn says with a shrug. "And I was living alone for a long while."
"Mm, life of a bachelor." Takeshi nods sagely in agreement. "I totally get it."
"Takeshi you're 15 you're not a bachelor."
Takeshi beams. "Not if I have you, Tsuna."
And with that, Takeshi loops an arm around Tsuna's shoulders and pulls him away into another set of wide, looping spins, like some badly coordinated waltzing dance. Mostly he suspects it's an excuse to get them away from Reborn and Kyouko for a while, because Tsuna knows that Takeshi finds Kyouko a little... unsettling.
...Which, okay, Kyouko is pretty outrageously perceptive and has some magical powers of compulsion that she wields with little compunction. It's not that weird though. Or scary. Tsuna doesn't get why Takeshi is so insistent on avoiding her. It's not like she'd use any of her magical powers onthem.
Probably.
Takeshi links their hands together once they come to a stop again, his one eye bright as he looks down at Tsuna. Tsuna doesn't notice, because he's too busy eavesdropping on Kyouko and Reborn's conversation behind them.
"What're they talking about?"
"He's.. asking her if we've known each other long. And- oh, Kyouko-chan was on her way to the Defense Academy."
"Aw, man. If we didn't have remedial lessons I'd be going too." Takeshi sighs "Why're you talking so quietly?"
"Beeecause they're both Suns with Sun-enhanced hearing? Kyouko-chan already knows but I don't really want Reborn to know I can hear them."
"Ooh, right. That'd make spying on him a lot more difficult, wouldn't it?" Takeshi grins. Sharp and natural. "How's that going, by the way?"
"He talks to himself in the morning when he eats. Or I guess he's actually talking to his chameleon."
"..Does it talk back?"
"No."
"So he is talking to himself."
Tsuna shrugs. He honestly doesn't know. "Maybe living alone with nothing but a chameleon does things to you."
"And that's exactly why we need to stick together, Tsuna. Otherwise we'll end up old, bitter, miserable, and crazy, just like him."
"As opposed to.. what? Just old?"
"Are you admitting that having me around would keep you from being bitter and miserable?"
"I will nerve pinch you in the ribs, Takeshi."
Takeshi shouts not my ribs! and dashes away. Tsuna chases him, making crab claws with his hands and trying to grab at Takeshi's sides, both of them grinning all the while. It doesn't last too long though, because Tsuna has all the stamina of a newborn kitten and is pretty quickly wheezing with his hands on his knees and a stitch in his right side. It gives Kyouko and Reborn another chance to catch up, anyway. Again.
"Tired from just a little running, Tsunayoshi?" Tsuna makes a jabbing hand motion in the direction of Reborn's voice and hears a chuckle from him in response. "How do you even survive gym class?"
"By remaining as still as possible, lest I trip and break an arm."
"Or aim the ball at the wrong person and break their arm."
Tsuna looks up at Takeshi's wildly grinning face. "That guy deserved it. I only gave him a fracture, anyway."
"What evil deed did this boy do to incur your wrath, Tsunayoshi?"
"Threw a ball at my face in dodgeball last year. Even though headshots don't count."
"Really?" Reborn peers at his face- or more specifically his nose. "Doesn't look broken."
"It's not—" Tsuna grimaces and swats Reborn's face away so he can start walking again. "He didn't break it, it just- bled a whole ton."
"..And this warranted you breaking his arm?"
"Fractured it, okay? And, yes, I might have.. thrown it back to him a little too hard. I was trying to get his face, anyway... What? I told you I can't aim worth a crap."
"You can't aim but you're able to throw an otherwise harmless ball hard enough to break someone's arm." Reborn snickers and Tsuna rolls his eyes. "Not going to call it an accident this time? Like you did with the other guy you hit in the head with the soccer ball."
"I really wasn't trying to hit that one."
Reborn looks at Takeshi, who is a traitor and does not corroborate Tsuna's story. Instead he just shrugs with a look that screams Who knows? I sure don't know. It is a mystery.
"You need to be more careful, Tsuna-kun," Kyouko says, concerned. "Every time you hurt someone you end up the nurse's ward, too."
Tsuna grumbles. "It's not my fault I can pull muscles just from swinging a bat."
"Kyouko's right, Tsuna." Takeshi slings another arm around his shoulders. "Getting hurt in sports is my job! But if you really want to bean someone in the head or break a leg, make sure you stretch first. You'll get a less torn muscles and sprains that way. Oh, and taping helps, too. That's what Ryouhei-senpai said. Right, Kyouko?"
Kyouko gives them a thumbs up, showing her own bandaged hand. "Keeps your joints from bending weird."
"You take boxing, Sasagawa-chan?"
She shakes her head. "Aikido. But I pick up onii-san's habits sometimes, so he helps me tape my hands for Defense classes, just to be safe. Oh, speaking of! Did you still want to see the Academy, Reborn-san?"
"Not like a date, right?" Kyouko laughs and shakes her head again. Reborn gives Tsuna a look. "Why does everyone keep asking me out on dates?"
"Don't worry," Tsuna says, patting him on the arm. He's still wearing the dumb track suit even though Tsuna has changed out of it and into his school uniform. "I'll make you a sign that says I'm 64, not 18 in big bold letters."
"How do you any of you even mistake me for an 18 year old?" Reborn mutters towards the sky, as though praying for some answer. "But that's a yes, Sasagawa-chan. Since I can't attend Tsunayoshi's classes with him and Sawada-san said there isn't much to do around the house today."
"You're going to walk there, Kyouko-chan?" Tsuna frowns, trying to duck out from under Takeshi's arm, but to no avail, because Takeshi is monster tall and has arms like bear traps. Only the strength of a god could pry them off. Or Kyouko, who has learned how to stop her brother from fighting bears. "It's pretty far off..."
"Azayakatani isn't that far. Surely you've jogged further than that before?"
"I've been exercising for a total of 2 weeks, Kyouko-chan," Tsuna says in a deadpan, because he is not ashamed of his very sedate lifestyle up until now. "Gym class doesn't count."
"He still gets winded just from walking to the edge of town," Reborn says in a stage whisper to Kyouko, who covers her mouth politely for a giggle. Tsuna resists the urge to elbow him again.
She regards him sympathetically. Understandable, because it took her a while to get used to a daily regimen too. "You'll get there one day, Tsuna-kun."
He sighs. "I don't know if I even want to get there."
"But then we could go running together, Tsuna. Every morning."
"Reborn, can you smack him on the head for me? I can't reach."
"Just lift your arms."
"I'm tired."
"I'm not going to carry out violence against children on your behalf just because you're lazy, Tsunayoshi."
Tsuna groans and leans his full, paltry weight against Takeshi's side. It's still enough to make him veer off course. Takeshi yelps when they collide with a wall, but Tsuna is still stuck where he is. A little bit of elbow digging gets Takeshi into a fit of uncontrollable giggles and Tsuna finallymanages to slip out of his hold with a triumphant hah!
And then Kyouko starts fussing over him.
"Kyouko-chan I'm fine, you don't have to—"
"Your hair is going flat, Tsuna-kun," she says, raking her hands through it to make it stand up again. Tsuna concedes to this with a mutter under his breath, because it is a necessary evil.
Reborn observes this with great interest. "You mean that's not his natural hairstyle?"
"My natural hairstyle is very depressing."
"It's natural if we make it natural," Kyouko chirps. She tugs at the spikes to test them out and steps back once satisfied. "There. And besides, it's his trademark look now. Just like our Founder."
"Thanks." Tsuna blows at his fringe to get it out of his eyes.
"Mousse? Gel? Long lasting hairspray that you can restyle on a whim?"
"No, just humidity."
The interest turns into incredulity and disbelief. "You keep your hair upright through badly managed hair cuticles? That's not exactly natural orhealthy for it."
"Where did you even learn all of this? This?" Tsuna gestures vaguely at Reborn's entire being. "This endless pit of knowledge? What forbidden fruit did you consume?"
"I am the World's Greatest Hitman." Reborn dusts off his shoulders, looking far too regal for someone wearing sunshine yellow exercise clothes. "I know everything. I can even read minds."
Tsuna seriously doubts that.
But then Reborn leans closer, just a tad, and he has a flinty edge in his eyes that does not, actually, make Tsuna's gut quiver in fear.
It does make the hair on the back of his neck prickle and tingle. It makes the world sharpens at the edges, just around the peripheral of his vision. It makes heat rush to his fingers and toes; Takeshi's Rain calming his nerves, Kyouko's Sun hyper-activating all of his nerves and senses at once.
Everything is processed in a moment, what he sees and what he feels. His heart beats, rapid and steadily.
The voice in the back of his mind says, This man is not a threat. This man is not a threat. He will never be a threat.
Reborn says, "I can kill you with my brain."
Tsuna... blinks.
Then Reborn blinks too, and a moment of confusion flits over him as he leans back. He looks at Takeshi and Kyouko, both of whom have stopped to stare.
"..What? Was that too dramatic?"
"Little bit," Tsuna wheezes, finally able to breathe again. Everything dulls back out, colors and sharpness, sounds and smells. Leaves him feeling a little numb and lightheaded.
"Hm. I'll have to think of something else then."
Maybe it's because he's been holding his breath. Tsuna's ears buzz like he's been sleeping on one side for too long and he feels all.. hot. Clammy skin. And his pants are making his legs itch, even though they still feel kind of burning numb.
Tsuna lets out a snort of laughter. Kyouko follows up with a muffled giggle, and even Takeshi titters out a cackle.
"What's so funny?"
"Noth-nothing," Takeshi coughs, failing to hold back another laugh. "Just- adrenaline rush. Wow. I've- I've never seen Tsuna hold back on a beat down before. Usually he never hesitates."
"I- I wasn't even thinking about it," Tsuna admits, fingers tingling. "I mean it's.. it's not like he'd actually do anything. Right?"
He looks at Reborn. Reborn looks back, oddly silent and contemplative. Even Leon blinks down at him from the brim of Reborn's hat.
"..Right," the man says, slowly. Like he's trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
Tsuna grins. He doesn't need any convincing.
. . .
They reach the school gates uneventfully after that. Tsuna tries to send Kyouko and Reborn off to the Defense Academy because he doesn't need anyone walking him to school. Kyouko says she doesn't mind the detour.
Reborn just says he won't be jealous if they cuddle and hold hands in his presence. It makes Takeshi beam and grab Tsuna's hand again, pulling him close. Tsuna can't elbow them both, given that one arm is being held up (haha) by Takeshi and the other one is lacking in reach due to being linked to Takeshi, so he makes angry pouting faces in Reborn's direction for, like, 10 seconds.
"Well, well, you two are as domestic as always."
Ah, great. Mochida Kensuke. Third year and loser extraordinaire, because he doesn't have remedial lessons and isn't in the Disciplinary Committee, and yet he still insists on patrolling the campus as though he has any right to.
...Well, okay, he does, because all citizens have the option of voluntarily carrying out Committee Duties. Mochida is probably just the only one doing it while expecting something in return.
"Morning, senpai," Tsuna says brightly and tightens his grip on Takeshi's hand. But not even Takeshi's flames can tamp down the rising fury and anger seeping in through his skin and making a warm little nest of tinder in his chest. "You seem lonely, as always. Still trying to ply with the Disciplinary Committee? When are you going to accept that they're just not going to let you join?"
Mochida scowls, arms unfolding into fists at his side. "Watch your mouth, Dame Tsuna."
"Watch yours, Damesuke."
("I thought underclassmen were supposed to respect upperclassmen in Japan," Reborn whispers in the back.
"He does," Kyouko replies blithely. "Just not Kensuke. Tsuna's also part French and Italian so that probably has something to do with it, too."
"...Point taken.")
"What did you call me?"
"I called you what you are, Damesuke."
"Goddammit, Sawada, you No Good piece of—"
It's amazing they've been able to go a week without jumping at each others' throats. Probably because Takeshi didn't walk with to school with Tsuna the last few days.
Tsuna drops his bookbag and launches at Mochida with a snarl, eyes blazing, ramming his shoulder into the other's chest. Mochida wheezes and shoves him aside, clipping Tsuna in the face with his arm. The difference in size and weight means that Tsuna stumbles further away than he would if he were someone Mochida's size. Like Takeshi.
Takeshi, who has his arms hooked under Tsuna's to keep him from lunging again and is probably saying something to the effect of calm down, Tsuna! But all Tsuna hears is fight, fight, FIGHT, all he registers is the roar of a crowd that isn't there, the sound of blood rushing in his ears, the howling of a hurricane.
The older boy steps into range. Whether to stop or continue their tussle, Tsuna doesn't know. All he knows is Mochida is still angry for whatever reason he has to be angry about, and that means Tsuna is angry by sheer proximity to his stupid Storm flames. So Tsuna's foot lashes out and nails him right in the solar plexus.
Mochida's down flat on the ground for all of two seconds before something bright and glimmering enters Tsuna's vision, once again throwing everything into sharp relief.
Tsuna inhales, sharp and tangy. Citrus and salt water.
Not a threat. Not a threat.
"..ou trying to kill him, Tsunayoshi?"
Tsuna blinks, shakes his head, but his vision doesn't clear up. Doesn't blur down. Everything is too clear, too apparent. He can hear Reborn's sideburns. That's so weird. And also kind of cool.
"..Yes?" Of course? Of course he is.
Reborn blinks, and Tsuna hears that, too, thin and squeaky. Hears every shift of clothing, every twitch of muscle. Blood pumping.
His legs are itching again. Itching like mad.
"Well.. don't?"
"Why not?"
"Because it-" Reborn blinks again and looks just a few degrees upwards, rather than at Tsuna's face. "Is he seriously asking me why he shouldn't kill a fellow classmate?"
Takeshi chuckles low above Tsuna's head. Probably a little muffled by his hair, too. "Told you he doesn't usually hold back on a beat down."
"I'll kick him in the face next time," Tsuna says, snarling again when Mochida's eyes meet his. Burning. Burns inside him, raging like wildfire, and the tinder is an inferno. "Make him bite his tongue."
"Yeah? I fucking dare you to, you hackneyed, crippled pipsqueak." Mochida wipes spittle from the corner of his mouth as he gets up, coughing and shaky. Then he turns his attention to Reborn, who is still staring at Tsuna with something akin to wonder. "Who the hell are you anyway? Are you protecting that loser? Get the fuck out of my wa- ghhk—!"
Whatever he was going to say next cuts off with a gurgle and dies in his throat. Specifically in the part of his throat currently under Kyouko's forearm pressing against it in a chokehold.
"Takeshi, a little help here?"
"I'm, uhm—" Tsuna jerks about, trying to get out of his hold. Again. "A little busy here!"
"Reborn-san, if you could- No, get Tsuna, please. I need Takeshi over here. Stop moving, Kensuke."
Reborn moves. Tsuna's eyes snap up and the snarling fades. The burning, and anger, the wildfire. Fades.
Not a threat.
Takeshi drops Tsuna onto his feet and his legs give out the moment Takeshi reaches Kyouko's side, landing him on his rear. And Reborn is. Way too close.
"..Um." Tsuna's nose scrunches. Reborn is pulling at his eyelids and turning his face from side to side, examining him like a doctor would. "What are you doing?"
"He got you in the face," Reborn says quietly. How does he even have eyes that black? "I'm checking for blood or broken bones. How's your eyes?"
"They're- I'm fine, nothing's broken. Just bumped my nose a bit." He rubs at it and scoots backwards. Not too far though, because this is too much exercise and Tsuna is, again, a pathetic being with all the stamina of a newborn kitten. He is dead tired. And there are people staring, too. Tsuna scowls at them. "What're you looking at?"
The residual heat escapes in one last snarl at onlookers and sends his peers scuttling away.
"Hey." Reborn snaps his fingers and Tsuna snaps back to attention like a trained attack dog. He.. should be a bit more concerned about that than he is at the moment. "You sure you're okay?"
"..I just tried to kill him and you're more worried about me?"
"Like you could actually kill him, Tsunayoshi."
"I could!"
"Right." Reborn looks more amused than skeptical. "Well, even if you could, I still wouldn't worry about him. He's not my responsibility. You are. So I'll ask again: are you sure you're okay?"
Tsuna's gaze slides past Reborn, watching Mochida struggle in the not-quite stranglehold that Kyouko has him in and fighting against whatever Takeshi is trying to do. Sedate him, probably. And probably the only reason Mochida is still trapped is because Takeshi has a vice grip on his wrists.
("Come on, Takeshi, just put him out already. He'll be fine, he can handle it."
"Kyouko do you even know what my sedation percentage is? You have no idea how unfine he will be if I use any more."
"You have class soon! And so does Tsuna. This is going to take hours at this rate. Kensuke, you're going to hurt yourself if you keep struggling!")
"Tsunayoshi."
"I'm- I'm fine." Tsuna blinks, once more. All the air in his lungs leaves in a rush and his shoulders drop. Everything goes back to normal again. A din of noise that he manually filters through to figure out what's what. "..I'm fine. Exhausted. But fine."
"You barely went half a round with him, how can you be tired already?"
Tsuna frowns and opens his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by a shadow looming over both him and Reborn. Someone in a Disciplinary Committee uniform. Someone with a pair of tonfa swinging at their sides.
"H-Hibari-san! Um- this is- eh..." The prefect lifts an eyebrow. Tsuna leans back subconsciously. "..I hit him first."
"I know. I was watching."
"..From where?"
"The Committee Room."
"Did you- you didn't jump down from the second floor again, did you?"
"So what if I did?" Hibari lets out a soft scoffing sound and reaches out to poke and prod at Tsuna's face. Tsuna swats at his hand, too.
"Stop- stop that, Reborn already checked. I'm fine."
"Did he?" Hibari's eyes go flinty and narrow.
Reborn shrugs. "I have some first aid training. I thought it would be best to make sure he wasn't hurt as soon as possible."
"Then you can also accompany him to the nurse's ward as well. Make sure he does not pass out on the way there."
"..Is that really a concern?"
"It is. It has happened before. He will," Hibari stresses, glancing pointedly at Tsuna before he can even open his mouth to protest. "I do not want to find him sleeping through classes on a stairwell. Again."
"It happened once!" Tsuna grumbles even as Reborn pulls him up with a roll of his eyes.
He manages to stay upright for no more than a handful of breaths before his legs turn to jelly completely. Reborn and Hibari's arms hooked under his own is the only thing keeping him from skinning his knees on the ground.
Hibari gives Reborn a look that screams See? I told you so. "I will accompany you both, then."
"Hibari-san you don't-"
"We could get the wheelchair instead."
"Uh." Tsuna swallows audibly. "...No. No thanks. Please come with us."
He feels like a drunkard being led on a walk of shame, except he's not drunk and this isn't so much shameful as it is just annoying and embarrassing. For him, anyway. Reborn just looks endlessly amused.
"Yamamoto Takeshi, Sasagawa Kyouko."
"Chairman! Um. We were just- just going to take him to the nurse's ward for fiamma balancing. Is that alright?"
"Take him to the Committee Room. We have the emergency treatment in there as well. Tetsuya is there and will be able administer it. He is also tasked with informing Mochida Kensuke of his punishment for provoking a classmate and Honorary Member of the Committee."
"His-" Takeshi's mouth opens, then snaps shut. "..Okay."
Mochida, however, is far less cooperative.
"Let- let go of me- Hibari, Hibari I'm fine I don't need treatment, I won't— Hibari!"
"You have skipped multiple appointments, disregarded warnings, and proven yourself to be violent and detrimental to the health of your peers, Kensuke," Hibari says flatly, and with little more than a cursory look. "You will be given emergency treatment for now. We will speak more of itlater."
"No! Don't- Kyouko, don't, don't do this—"
"Hush, Kensuke, you'll be fine." Kyouko smiles down at him tightly. She hasn't let him go yet, but it's obvious that she isn't actually trying to choke him. The threat of it is real enough, though. "Just- calm down, okay? We'll get you there as quickly as we can. Reborn-san, I'll come find you once we- once we get Kensuke settled down."
"Sounds like a plan," Reborn says, nodding, expression unreadable. He hoists Tsuna up higher.
Tsuna meets Mochida's eyes as they pass by. Still angry, still burning, still smoldering. Still raging. Like a wildfire.
But like a wildfire that's burnt itself out.
"...See you later," Tsuna mutters. Mochida's chin dips down.
Maybe Tsuna imagines a nod.
. . .
"...That's his punishment?" Tsuna gawks, looking between Mochida, who groans into his hands, and Hibari, who just raises an eyebrow at Tsuna's outburst. "You're putting him in the Committee and giving him babysitting duty?"
"He is on probation period until the two of you learn how to deal with each other, Tsunayoshi. When you are capable of going a week in each other's company without destroying more school property or each other before the end of the school year, we will see about swearing him in. Are we clear?"
"Wait, what about me? What happens to me if we don't.. get along?"
Hibari looks at him for a while. The furrow between his eyebrows eases up, just slightly. He reaches out and Tsuna leans back a little, wary, but all Hibari does is pull out the Committee cloth badge hiding inside Tsuna's uniform shirt.
"You have been causing trouble as well, whether involuntary or otherwise," he says, quiet, and lets the badge flop against Tsuna's chest. "If you cannot learn to get along with Kensuke, I will have to revoke your Honorary Member status, Tsunayoshi."
Tsuna presses the icepack harder against his ribcage and wishes he could pull his legs up right about now. Too bad they'll be sore and practically dead weight for the next half hour.
"Keep that in mind."
His toes are tingling, though. Probably because they're the part of his body closest to Reborn, who is sitting at the end of the bed staring at Tsuna with that same expression of interest. Curiosity.
Wonder.
[1] li xi: (vietnamese) those little red envelopes that are given out on lunar/chinese new years and during weddings. contains cash and are meant to be well wishes.
note on tsuna: i can only hope it's a little more apparent now what's going on with tsuna- or at least one of the things going on with him, baby has so much stuff happenin.
he needs to absorb flames to keep himself going. he converts those flames into Sky flames before he uses them as energy (see: zero point revised; basically tsuna has embodied the Minus Point state and does it constantly with his Entire Being). this began a the end of (we think) we're invincible where it's also implied/pretty much stated that he absorbed takeshi's flames to use as his own. the kicker is that he still feels some of the effects AND emotions of the flames he absorbs from whomever he's absorbing them from.
rain? calm and soothed, usually. sun? energetic, Activated, sometimes Fresh like Fresh Step, sometimes cozy and comfy and sleepy. storm? a little catty and irritated, but otherwise his snippy, witty self.
unfortunately takeshi is also secretly a honey badger, so aggressive + aggressive = Downright Murderous Sawada Tsunayoshi. no wonder he thinks emotions are exhausting.
so yeah i can't wait for hayato to show up, it's going to end well. very well.
