Shōichi came to the house, somewhat in a panic.
"What is it?"
"I screwed up. Big time."
Tsuna looked at him, before offering a chair. Hayato was heading back with some sushi (and Takeshi), while Reborn was out shopping with Mama because he wanted specific coffee beans.
"What happened?"
Shōichi looked miserable.
"I accidentally set off one of those weird bomb things you let me keep. I found myself in an engineering university and ran into someone before the time limit expired. I wasn't too happy about that, so I decided I wouldn't pursue engineering because I really want to make music my life. Tried again, and found my future self worked in a run-down bar and then it happened."
"You ran into the same guy?" guessed Tsuna.
"Except he somehow recognized me. It almost looked like he had a headache or something and suddenly he knew who I was. After that happened, the two times I tried again to study the effects of the ammo, I found myself in futures that didn't look very good at all for anyone!"
Tsuna stared...and stared... Shōichi was starting to think the other boy wouldn't believe his story.
"Ten year bazooka my ass! This sounds more like it's dragging people from parallel time lines rather than a set future!" said Tsuna.
Shōichi relaxed. Tsuna believed him.
"This guy you ran into, did he have a name?"
"Byakuran. He was weird... a natural albino with lavender eyes and a strange tattoo on his check under the left eye. He also wore a lot of white."
"I'll ask Reborn if he knows anyone by that name. In the meantime, you want to stay the night? We have a spare bed you can borrow, since for some reason Hayato rarely uses the bunk bed at all."
"Will your parents mind?"
"Mama won't care...she'll just be happy I have friends over at all," said Tsuna dismissively. "And the kids usually dog pile in my bed anyway."
Besides, he was using Shoichi's presence to get some extra sleep in. He highly doubted Reborn would risk exposing a civilian to the craziness without damn good reason.
Mama was happy to have Shōichi over. Even if he had to explain to his parents about the impromptu sleepover...they seemed relieved to see him socializing with someone his own age.
"Seriously, you don't have to go to such extremes. You enjoy tinkering and inventing, and with you have an ear for good music. No one said you have to give up one for the other, and with how much musicians and bands make these days you could probably fund your research through the music business," said Tsuna reasonably.
Shōichi paused on his laptop...he had found a few music programs on the deep web and was actually looking at the teen.
"I never thought of it like that. I mean with how much the popular bands make from CD sales and from selling signed t-shirts you could really easily pay for technology research while waiting for the patents to kick in and fund it even more..." said Shōichi thoughtfully.
"And that way you wouldn't have to give up either hobby!" said Tsuna enthusiastically.
"Tsuna, you better not be trying to get out of..." warned Reborn.
"It's called having a fall back option... or stress release. After all, who would expect the head of the Vongola to be a popular musician?" said Tsuna.
Reborn stared at him hard, before conceding the point. It was a very good cover just in case.
He still wasn't letting Tsuna just walk out on being Decimo though. Not a chance in hell.
Though one thing bothered him.
"How exactly would you know you'd end up in an engineering school and then in a bar?" asked Reborn suspiciously.
Shōichi saw the dangerous look in Reborn's eyes, so he used the story Tsuna came up with to explain why he had kept the ammo.
"The cow kid... Lambo? He crashed in my room and some people came to the door with a box. I brought it back here, but I forgot to pack it all away first. Then I tripped on one of the ammo and it went off," said Shōichi.
Which was what happened, just that he hadn't forgotten to pack everything up.
"Tsuna..." growled Reborn.
"Don't look at me like that! I'm not the idiot who packed extra ammo for that blasted bazooka and handed it over to a civilian!" said Tsuna flatly. "If you want to bitch someone out, then complain to the Bovino!"
"Hmm. You present a valid point. Excuse me while I borrow the phone," said Reborn crossly.
Tsuna watched him leave.
"Now that his anger has been redirected at someone else..." grinned Tsuna, pulling out his violin. "What's your favorite song?"
Shōichi blinked, before he grinned.
"I am a huge fan of Blood & Peppers," he said.
"Lindsey Stirling, all the way. Master of Tides was such a pain to get the hang of, but soooo worth it. Especially the video!"
"Really?" Shōichi perked up.
Tsuna grinned and began playing. It was hellishly complicated, especially since he barely had any idea if he was doing it right, but eventually he got to the point he didn't even need the sheet music anymore.
After all, he had no friends until recently and even less desire to be around others who only mocked him for being "Dame Tsuna". And thanks to Kyouya he had a place he could practice in peace, which meant his skill levels went up exponentially.
He still maintained that Kyouya would make one hell of a drummer, considering he liked to beat upon things so much and was very quick.
Something that endlessly amused Fon when he first heard that.
But no, being part of the band was too "herbivore" for Kyouya's liking, regardless of what he put up with when they practiced. One day, one day he'd trick the Cloud into joining them and he'd be unbearably smug about the whole thing for days.
And that would be before he got the blackmail pictures for Fon. Gods know the Chinese Arcobaleno would pay a fortune just to see Kyouya joining in!
Hmm...there was an idea.
"Uh-oh. I know that look and I want nothing to do with it," said Hayato immediately.
"What look?" asked Tsuna innocently.
"That devious expression on your face saying you're about to get someone else roped into playing an instrument with us," deadpanned Hayato.
Tsuna beamed at him and he shuddered.
"Kyouya and a Japanese drum... you know the kind they play at festivals or temple shrines during Obon?"
Hayato opened his mouth, before he looked thoughtful.
"Oddly enough I can actually see that one," he admitted. "Be a monumental pain in the ass to lug around though."
"I sense chaos and I want in."
Shōichi shrieked at the sudden reappearance of Reborn.
Tsuna beamed at the Suns.
"How hard would it be to trick Kyouya into trying out a Japanese drum... you know, one of those big monstrosities that they play during Obon and big festivals?"
Reborn groaned.
"You're planning to corrupt another one of your Guardians... isn't it bad enough you already roped a civilian in?"
"To be fair, he was already interested in music but didn't have a proper outlet," said Tsuna.
"You are still never getting me to sing, brat," said Reborn.
Tsuna snickered evilly.
"We'll see about that."
"No. Absolutely not."
Tsuna turned up the puppy dog eyes.
"Come on Kyouya, just think about it! You know how they usually set up those drums... you'd be high up enough that you could ignore the crowding, and if someone pissed you off enough you could drop on them like a bird of prey!"
Kyouya considered that aspect, but the answer was still the same. Despite how appealing the idea of "death from above" was.
"Just take a few lessons and I'll drop it. I won't even tell him where you're practicing if you'll humor me."
"I do this and you drop the matter?"
Tsuna nodded rapidly. He wanted a percussion to add to his growing band.
"Fine, but this does not reach that damn carnivore or I will bite you to death."
Anything to get out of Tsuna's crazy scheme to match up his Guardians with instruments so they could play together.
The first lesson was almost a disaster, if only because Kyouya hated crowding and being told what to do. The second one was interesting, because they gave him the sticks and showed him how to hit the drum.
By the fourth he was hooked and torn between biting Tsuna for this or continuing his new hobby.
He did both. Mostly because he caught sight of a few photos of him actually using a Japanese drum in Fon's possession.
He still kept up the lessons though, if only to keep Tsuna from coming up with a more insane idea again...
"What's with the case, kora?" demanded the Rain Arcobaleno.
"Dammit Tsuna, I told you to leave it behind!" complained Reborn.
"Not a chance on your life," Tsuna shot back. "I for one refuse to leave this behind, especially since I could corrupt more people with it."
Reborn looked at him exasperated.
"On your own head be it if it gets damaged."
Colonello watched as the kid opened up the case to reveal... a violin? An old, well used one anyway.
"Considering the alternative title for 'Guardians' is Elements..." said Tsuna, mostly to himself. He put the bow to the string and in no time at all he had both the Arcobaleno sitting quietly, just listening.
"He's good, kora. What song is that?"
"Elements, by Lindsey Stirling. It sounds better with the rest of the instruments, but I've got most of her songs down pretty much by heart. You two are long time rivals, right?" grinned Tsuna, switching to another song. This one Reborn recognized, if only because Tsuna played it often.
He snorted.
"Roundtable Rival," he clarified for Colonello's benefit. "I'll let you play one more song, but then you have to do the training courses. If you're quick you can show off your skills some more later."
Tsuna pouted, but at least he got to play for an appreciative audience...and Reborn. He eyed Colonello briefly before a thought came in his head. Reborn caught the look.
"Don't you dare, Tsuna. I don't care what that damn cow told you, it's never going to happen."
"Do I want to know?" asked Colonello, eyeing the two.
"I have a long standing bet that one day I'll catch Reborn singing on tape," said Tsuna cheerfully. "Mostly because he refuses any instrument I tempt him with."
"The brat corrupted his guardians with classical music... he's even roping civilians now!" complained Reborn.
"Do you have any idea what a pain it was to get Kyouya to agree to it?" said Tsuna pouting.
"Reborn, sing? I'd pay to hear that, kora!" said Colonello vindictively. Reborn glowered at them both.
"You'll have to get in line then. Fon said that if I ever caught a recording of it that was for real, I could literally name any price with someone called Viper for the blackmail alone," grinned Tsuna.
"You could!" confirmed Colonello. He looked ready to laugh at the idea.
Tsuna played one last song, "Shadows", before he put his instrument away.
"Just so we're clear, I can't really swim that well so tossing me over the cliffside will more than likely end with me drowning at the very least."
"We taught you how to swim earlier," said Reborn frowning.
"Yeah, if by teach you mean completely confused the hell out of me. I can handle a pool, but open ocean, with rip currents and gods know what else especially with the waves created by whatever machines get this island to move? I'd rather take my chances with land based creatures and humiliating obstacle courses."
"No complaining about the courses then," said Reborn, allowing it. The kid raised a valid point... if they were near the beach, then he'd force Tsuna to swim, but this close to the cliff face and he was more likely to get smashed against the rocks.
Of course he had to openly groan when not four hours later the annual invasion happened...and somehow Tsuna managed to put a stop to it simply by picking up his violin and playing over the loud speakers.
Reborn honestly had no idea that many mafioso were classical music fans. Then again, since a good portion of the more famous composers, musicians and even multiple music schools originated from Italy or close to it...
"...Did a fifteen year old with a violin just stop an entire invasion and shut up a ton of hardened mafia families just by playing?" asked Skull in disbelief. The kid was good, he'd admit that, but still.
Reborn groaned, especially when they found out Tsuna took requests and Hayato had brought his own instrument with him.
"I don't know whether to be impressed he figured out how to channel his Element's Flames into the violin, or to be appalled at how easily he diffused the idiots," said Colonello.
"What?" said Reborn.
Colonello blinked.
"You don't feel that? The kid's channeling pure Sky into his instrument, or maybe the bow and it's causing everyone to simmer down with how pure it is," said Colonello slowly. "And from what I can tell he's drawing in the Flames of his Elements... Storm and Lightning I think."
"Son of a... I suppose that's one way he could work around the seal..." muttered Reborn.
"Seal?" said Colonello sharply.
"Tsuna has a seal placed on him. His father, and I hesitate to use the term, insisted on it saying a civilian wouldn't need flames rather than bothering to train him like he should. However it looks like his hobby is working around that problem... once it's gone I don't see him having any issues with bonding with his 'orchestra' as he's gleefully taken to calling them."
"Who's his old man?"
"Iemitsu Sawada."
"Oh man... Lal is going to be pissed," said Colonello with disgust. And there was no way he wasn't mentioning this to her.
Either way, this changed a few things... like the fact he was going to be pushing Tsuna into learning how to channel his flames through his instrument (once he found out that could handle such a thing) the first chance he got.
If all else failed he'd have Leon eat it. The odd chameleon had a weird habit of imbuing special properties into things, like Dino's whip and the large number of bullets he had used over the years.
Tsuna was sure to be pissed if he let Leon eat his violin though. It was the only good thing he had going for him.
