Chapter 9: The STRESS has burst
"Then let us cancel the Inheritance Ceremony." Timoteo said.
"I'm sorry for the trouble Ninth." Tsuan said, feeling a bit ashamed.
"Not to worry."The Ninth reassured Tsuna with a smile. "After all, it was something I pressured up on you. Ceremony or not, I am sure that you will do well in life. You're not just an ordinary girl and have more confidence in yourself, Tsunayuki-chan."
Tsuna just gives a sheepish grin in return.
"So easy on her." Reborn sighs and feeling a little annoyed that Timoteo was being so easy on Tsuna.
"Remember I have not given up, mind you." Timoteo reminds Tsuna. Tsuna felt a sudden pang to her chest, but it didn't felt as painful as before.
Suddenly, the Ninth Mist Guardian; Bouche Croquant, interrupted the conversation between the two. A look of seriousness was etched on his face.
"Sorry to interrupt your meeting. I have a call for Tsunayuki-sama." Bouche Croquent said. "It's from Gokudera Hayato, a member of the family. He says it's an emergency."
Reborn suddenly became alert.
"Gokudera... a call from him?" Tsuna thought. Bouche Croquent directs Tsuna to the phone.
Picking up the phone, Tsuna asnwers. "Hello? Gokudera-kun?" A pause. "Yamamoto? What's wrong?" As Tsuna listens to Gokudera through the phone, a look of horror spread across Tsuna's face. Slamming the phone back on the receiver, Tsuna grabbed her school bag and proceeded immediately to the elevator.
Reborn was at Tsuna's side in an instantly. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Yamamoto?"
"Central Hospital now!" Tsuna fervently whispered and the elevator door slides open. The blond haired girl quickly enters with Reborn following behind her. The elevator door shuts as it descends to the first floor.
The Ninth and his Guardians appeared solemn when Tsuna heard the news of Yamamoto.
Back in the elevator, Tsuna tried to keep herself calm after hearing the news from Gokudera. Reborn frowns after learning from Tsuna of the terrible news. Just as the elevator reached the first floor and the door began to slide open, Tsuna pulls Reborn into her arms and with the fastest and humanly speed she could use, Tsuna ran to the hospital as quickly as she could.
Arriving at the Namimori Central Hospital, Tsuna immediately proceed to the Emergency Room. Seeing a familiar crowd ahead of her, Tsuna quickened her pace.
"Juudaimehime!"
"Where is Yamamoto?" Tsuna franticallys asks.
"In the emergency room!" Ryohei answered. Without waiting, Tsuna yanks the doors open to the surgery room and went in.
"Juudaimehime?" Gokudera calls out to the girl.
"Yamamoto!" Tsuna exclaimed, but stopped abruptly at the site before her.
Takeshi was lying on the operation table, unconscious and his face covered with traces of blood. But it was the sight of the devastating wound that ingrained itself in Tsuna's mind.
Tsuna couldn't feel anything but numbness as it spread throughout her body from the overwhelming sight in front of her. She did not acknowledge the yells and the hands of the surgeons that quickly pushed her out of the ER room. All she could think of was the horrible state that her friend was in and
it was too much for Tsuna's mind to bear.
"Yamamoto!" Tsuna screams as she was pushed out of the surgery room.
"Please wait outside." A surgeon said and shuts the doors closed.
Tsuna knees buckled as she began to collapsed onto the floor.
"Sawada?" Ryohei yells and grabbed the girl before her body made contact onto the hard surface. Tears flowed down from Tsuna's eyes as she began to sob. Ryohei just hugs her, trying to calm the shaking form in his arms.
In the waiting room, the Vongola and Shimon Family were waiting for news of Yamamoto's condition.
Tsuna was still in Ryohei's arms, her cries and tears had stopped but the numbing feeling was still in her. Both of them were sitting on one of the sofas that were in the waiting room.
"Yamamoto's dad is heading over too..." Reborn said after making a call to the elder Yamamoto.
Not loosening his arms around Tsuna, Ryohei began to talk. "I was the first one to find Yamamoto. I was patrolling the grounds and saw him. The door to the Baseball Team's locker room was left open, so I went to check... and Yamamoto was lying in a pool of blood. I called the ambulance and I tried
to heal some of his wounds with Garyuu's Sun Flames but..." Grief appearing in Ryohei's eyes and his hands gripped onto to Tsuna more tightly."The wounds were too deep..."
"Damn it!" Gokudera yelled and he punched a fist into a wall, his face full of animosity. "I won't forgive whoever did this!"
"We need to ask the Baseball Team what they know. Wasn't Mizuno with Yamamoto?" Ryohei said and turned to the tall guy.
"Yeah. He and I were playing catch ball yesterday, but I left before him." Mizuno said.
"He lies." A voice uttered in Tsuna's mind, but the girl was too devastated to hear the voice.
"I see. So Yamamoto must've been attacked when he was alone..."
"That idiot! Letting his guard down!" Gokudera yelled, the angered expression still on his face.
"Considering they were strong enough to take down a Vongola Guardian, there's a good chance that they're the same culprit who attacked the Giegue Family." Adelheid stated with a grim look.
"It's just as Adelheid says. Which means we still have no clue who the culprit is." Koyo said.
Ryohei and Gokudera could feel that their frustration was not diminishing and they attempted to calm themselves down. They had hit a dead end and the feeling was not good.
"No, there's a way to dig out the culprit."
"Reborn!" Almost all the occupants in the waiting room exclaimed.
"I just went to check the locker room where Yamamoto was attacked." Reborn explained. "I was looking for any leads as to who the attacker was."
"And did you find anything?" Gokudera inquired.
"I did." Reborn answered, not looking happy either. "But it'll take some time to reveal the culprit, and since this concern secret information about Vongola... could the Shimon Family leave for a while?"
"Information of the Vongola?" Koyo said.
"If you let us in on it, we would be able to help you." Adelheid said.
"Of course, if we need your help, we'll ask for it. But for now, we need to have a little privacy." Reborn said. "You lot should be careful too. You might be attacked as well." Reborn advised the Shimon Family.
Just as the Shimon Family left the waiting room, the Vongola Family had calmed themselves down and proceed to listen to what leads Reborn had found.
Tsuna sat on the sofa beside Chrome, her head in her hands as she could feel short, but small waves of weariness in her body.
"What kind of leads did you find Reborn-san?" Gokudera asked.
"Yamamoto left a message in blood, just before he passed out." Reborn explained. "But a good portion of it was covered up. Probably the part that revealed the culprit's name. Someone must've tried to erase any evidence."
"Shit!" Gokudera swore and bit his lip in frustration.
"However, next to that, the letters 'deritoto' had been written in small letters." Reborn further explained.
"Deritoto?" Ryohei said, confused at the unfamiliar word.
"Not a clue, right?" Reborn said. "Looks like the culprit overlooked it too. I didn't get it at first either, but if you rewrite it in Romanji it become 'delitto'. In Italian this means the word 'sin'.
"Sin!" Ryohei exclaimed at the revelation.
"Now that you mention it!" Gokudera said.
"Yes..." Chrome nodded her head in understanding.
"From here on, this information that only a few inside the Vongola Family know." Reborn said. "Sin". "It's the name of the small bottle that the Boss of the Vongola inherits at the ceremony with each new generation."
"Bottle?" Chrome voiced, not understanding what Reborn is saying. Gokudera and Ryohei were at loss too and Lambo was too young to understand the conversation. Tsuna appeared to not be listening to what Reborn was saying.
"Sin" is something Primo created to leave the memories of his battles to all his successors' within the Family. It is the proof of the Vongola Boss. In legends, they say that the bottle contains the blood that was shed during the battle." Reborn said as he revealed the secret of the 'sin'.
"Blood in the bottle?
"There's such thing in Vongola?"
"But why did Yamamoto write that word?" Ryohei asked, realizing something was admist.
"The culprit has something to do with the 'sin'. It's probably their motive." Reborn declared. "The 'sin' is what they're after, considering the fact that the only time the 'sin' appears before people's eyes is at the Inheritance Ceremony. There is no mistake that the culprit will come to the ceremony.
Everyone, minus Tsuna and Lambo, became fully alert at the news. The one that attacked Takeshi will appear at the ceremony.
"Of course… if the ceremony is held that is." Reborn said.
Chrome, Gokudera and Ryohei became confused at what Reborn said. If the ceremony was held?
"Tsuna turned down the Title of Vongola Boss. The ceremony is cancelled." Reborn clarified.
The Guardians were shocked to learn that their boss cancelled the Title of Vongola Boss. No one said anything to her, loss in words at the news.
"I… I'll ask the Ninth to open the ceremony." Tsuna said, not looking at the others.
That was even a bigger surprise to the others.
"The culprit is bound to attack my friends again." Tsuna alleged, her hands tightening into fists. "I won't forgive them… I won't forgive them for hurting Yamamoto and I won't let them get away with this!" Tsuna raised her head, her face full of anger and determination. "I'm going to the Inheritance Ceremony!"
Sawada Residence
As Tsuna entered the house, she made her way up the stairs to the children's bedroom with Lambo sleeping in her arms.
After announcing that she won't let the perpetrator get away to what he/she did to Yamamoto and fearing for the well-being of others that are close to her, Tsuna had Reborn announced her intentions to the Ninth. Reborn was now at the hotel where the Ninth and his Guardians were residing to proclaim Tsuna's decisions and her reasons.
Tucking the little boy into his futon gently and pulling the comforter up, Tsuna was exhausted. Noticing that both I-pin and Fuuta had kicked their comforters off of their body, Tsuna also pulled their blankets back up to cover their bodies. Leaving the room quietly, Tsuna made her way to the kitchen. Even though she was exhausted, Tsuna wasn't in the mood to go to bed. Taking a glass from the cupboard, she poured some water into it from the pitcher. Before placing the glass near her lips, Tsuna was suddenly startled from a voice.
"Tsu-chan?"
Quickly adjusting the object in her hand before it fell, Tsuna turned to where the voice came from.
"Mom?"
With Nana
Hearing the front door open, Nana knew that the only people to come home this late were Tsuna or Reborn. Putting a bathrobe on, the mother of the house left her bedroom and saw long strands of blond hair waving before descending down the stairs. Nana did not call out to Tsuna and just stood by her bedroom door. Seeing the long blond hair brought Nana to reminiscence her daughter.
Nana remembered vividly of Tsuna's days in Karakura Town before they moved to Namimori. Tsuna was always a tomboy and as a child believed that she was a boy just like the others in the neighbourhood. She despised the most was how people told her of how girls were supposed to be in behavior and appearance and declared loudly to Nana during dinner one day that she will never be a girl.
A faint smile spread across Nana's face when she remembered that day so well.
When Tsuna was nine years old, Nana struggled to recall of how Tsuna became so different. She remembered the bruises and the bandages that were wrapped around her daughter's body. Nana became so worried when ever Tsuna came home injured even though the young girl claimed that she was alright but did not fully explained of how she received the injuries. But Nana didn't buy her lies. Nana remembered the day when she suddenly bawled out to Tsuna and demanded to how she was receiving the injuries just as the stress was becoming too much. She knew that Tsuna was being teased and bullied because of her blonde hair, but the young girl would always confide to her mother about those topics and Nana knew that Tsuna would pick a fight with those who went too with the teasing and bullying. Tsuna refused to tell Nana the truth of how she came home with the injuries and the two didn't talk to each other for the whole evening after Nana's outburst.
Nana clenched her right hand into a fist when she remembered those painful memories. Tsuna never said anything about the injuries, but the young girl began to talk more of a particular topic that reassured Nana more than the stress that she felt.
Even when Tsuna was injured, Nana remembered that the girl wasn't always miserable from her injuries. Instead, Tsuna began to chat to her mother about her friends and the days she spent with them at school, the playground, the soccer field etc. Tsuna also talked more of other friends that were older than her. Nana was worried a bit, feeling that those older friends were bad news. But seeing Tsuna talked cheerfully of those people over dinner, Nana became less worried and learned more from Tsuna's chatter of her friends. During Tsuna's tenth birthday, Nana finally met her daughter's friends. She already knew Orihime, Chad, Tatsuki, Ishida, Keigo and Mizuno from Tsuna's school, but meeting the older friends for the first time was interesting. The older friends were an odd crowd with personalities that clashed with one another, but Nana's suspicion and worries disappeared after she got to know them and knew that Tsuna had made the right choice of friends. Even with Tsuna hanging out with her girlfriends, Nana watched as her only daughter transformed from a rough tomboy to an elegant young lady, but still retained some of her rough attitude.
Finished recalling those memories, Nana made her way to where Tsuna is.
Back to Tsuna and Nana
"You're home really late, Tsu-chan." Nana said as she took a seat at the kitchen table.
Tsuna finished drinking her water and places the empty glass into the sink.
"I was doing homework with Gokudera and Yamamoto at Yamamoto's house. We were so into studying that we lost track of time." Tsuna lied to Nana. "Sorry if I made you worried."
"It's okay. Just call home next time if you're going to come home late." Nana said. "By the way, where is Reborn-kun?"
"Reborn is staying over at Yamamoto's tonight. He fell asleep when we were doing homework and Yamamoto said that he doesn't mind if Reborn stayed over for the night." Tsuna lied, but she knew where Reborn is right now.
"Mmmm…" Nana nodded her head in understanding.
Both women did not say anything. Nana just sat on her chair as her head nodded a bit from the sleepiness that she felt. Tsuna rinsed her glass, wiping it dry and putting it back in the cupboard.
"I'm going to take a quick shower. You should go back to bed mom; you don't want to catch cold from sitting there." Tsuna said and she turned to the direction of the bathroom.
"Tsu-chan…" Nana calls out to daughter.
Tsuna was about to step out of the kitchen and she turns to Nana. "Yes?"
"If you have any problems, you can come to me if you need someone to talk to." Nana said, staring straight into Tsuna's eyes.
Taken back at what Nana said, Tsuna felt a warm feeling in her chest at Nana's words. "Thanks mom." Tsuna murmured and shift around and continued to make her way to the bathroom.
Bathroom
Just as Tsuna shuts the bathroom door closed, she quickly grabbed her cell phone from the pocket of her pants. Dialing a familiar number and hearing the dial tone for a bit, a familiar voice was heard on the other line.
"Hello? Orihime? I'm sorry to call you at this hour." Tsuna said.
Hello! It is I, Peony-chan.
I have brought you Chapter 9! This was written at the same time as Chapter 8, but I couldn't post it up until I get back until I could access one of the computers at the computer lab.
I hoped you guys enjoy it and don't forget to review.
Ciao!