Summary: He didn't want to... but he had to. Leaving behind those he had deemed precious with a heavy heart, he swore to be stronger without them. Those that he left behind were kept in the dark, not knowing why he left. What will happen when they discover the truth behind his disappearance? Loyalty...or betrayal? Post-Future Arc Cover image belongs to Palettesky, not me.
Notes: No idea how the streets in Italy look. I apologize if the descriptions are inaccurate.
Beta'd by WaiiKitsune, who managed to get it to me in one day! Thanks~
Disclaimer: Akira Amano owns Katekyo Hitman Reborn
The streets were bustling with people, as was common on a weekday. Shops were open and shopkeepers were out, competing in volume as they called out their wares and handed out samples after samples of their products. People were rushing to work, window-shopping, or simply having a great time with a group of close friends or family.
Tsuna and Reborn were currently strolling down the streets, the Sun Arcobaleno sitting comfortably on Tsuna's head, squishing the fluffy brown locks. They disregarded everything around them but kept their guard up –as much as Tsuna could in his condition, anyway, watching out for assassins or enemy Families that might be targeting the Vongola Boss-to-be. Despite the danger, Reborn had insisted that they go outside for some fresh air, explaining it like he alone was more than enough to protect the next heir of the Vongola. Ever since Tsuna arrived in Italy, he had spent every day cooped up in the office doing paperwork or other training to be the next Boss. By this point in time, it was imperative that the brunet go outside and take a break from the strenuous work; at the rate he was working at, he was practically working himself to death. A walk exploring the lovely streets of Italy –which Tsuna had never actually taken the time to explore– would help to alleviate his stress and take his mind off work… and them, even if it was just for a little while.
That didn't mean that they would let their guard down, of course.
As they wandered the streets of Italy, not looking for anything in particular, a shadow in the alleyway they just passed caught Reborn's eye, if the light glow of the pacifier was not a good enough indication. The glow slowly faded and Reborn glanced down the alleyway, knowing who was there wanting to talk to him. With Reborn still hitching a ride on his head and his intuition dulled drastically by his tiredness, Tsuna never noticed their little guest and continued walking down the streets with dull, sleep-deprived eyes.
"Tsuna." The brunet shifted his head just enough to indicate he heard his tutor, and not enough to fling said tutor off. "Go browse the shops for a while. I have something to attend to." Another shift of the head and Reborn jumped off, heading toward the alleyway with ease. He stopped just in front of the alleyway, peering into the shadow of the alley. "What do you want?"
"He looks terrible, kora! Are you sure that we can let him out when he's like that, kora?!" a familiar voice replied. Reborn walked into the dark alley, tilting his fedora upwards in greeting. His eyes adjusted to the change in lighting and he could now make out Colonnello standing not far in front of him, arms crossed, a concerned frown set on his face. His loyal partner, Falco, was nowhere to be seen, probably circling the sky and watching out for potential threats.
"It's fine. Tsuna can lure the Scordota Famiglia out for us," Reborn joked, tilting his fedora back down to hide his expression.
"Kora! You really are a Devil, kora…" Colonnello couldn't help but shudder, despite knowing Reborn long enough to know that the hitman was joking –after all, Reborn would never use his student like that.
Reborn's smirk grew before suddenly disappearing altogether, replaced by a serious frown as the atmosphere around them changed. The hitman lifted his arm, Leon immediately crawling to it and transforming into his trusty gun. Colonnello glanced around warily and slowly unstrapped his rifle from his back. Falco dove down from the sky, latching onto Colonnello and lifting him several inches off the ground before hovering in place, ready to take flight at any moment. "Looks like we have some company, kora!"
"Ah."
The two Arcobaleno didn't move, merely watching with keen eyes as shadows made themselves known and stepped out into the alleyway, each carrying a weapon.
"These guys don't look like they belong to any Famiglia, kora!" Colonnello said. The two Arcobaleno moved, facing away from each other to cover their backs as the assassins formed a circle around them. Reborn didn't answer and instead, addressed the assassins.
"Did the Scordota Famiglia send you?" the hitman asked, holding up his gun up and pointing it at the assassin in front of him threateningly. The assassins didn't reply, but kept inching closer and limiting the space that the Arcobaleno had to maneuver. It appeared that there were at least 50 assassins, and probably at least 50 more hiding in the back as an ambush. (Reborn barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at this; Colonnello aside, did they really think that a mere outnumber would hinder the strongest hitman in the world? He briefly pondered if he should feel insulted.)
The two Arcobaleno prepared to fight, weapons at the ready.
'Keep your guard up, Tsuna. Looks like things might not go as planned.'
Tsuna walked around the busy streets, not caring where he was going or even where he was at the moment. Everything was a blur; his half-lidded eyes were looking forward but not seeing or concentrating on anything. In a plain-orange T-shirt with white sleeves and a pair of worn jeans, he was merely another face in the crowd, drifting without a purpose down the streets –a huge contrast to when he was wearing a neatly-pressed suit that practically screamed 'IMPORTANT'.
Tsuna stuffed his hands into his jean pockets, trying to stop them from shaking as memories of the previous nightmare resurfaced unwillingly. His expression contorted into one of fear and pain, thankfully ignored by the general public since everyone was focused on their own business. Tsuna didn't watch where he was going, his vision gradually becoming blurrier as his emotions threatened to spill out.
And so he didn't notice until it was too late.
Tsuna crashed into someone's back, the other getting shoved forward while he, caught completely off guard, fell onto the concrete ground with a cry of pain. Tsuna mumbled an apology, barely heard over the chatter of the crowds around them, while he nursed his injured bottom, the pain causing tears to spring up in the corners of his eyes. Curses could be heard from the person who he had just crashed into, while the person's companions tried unsuccessfully to calm said person down. Tsuna winced, and braced himself for any sort of impact when he heard his name.
"…Tsuna?!"
The brunet looked up from the ground in front of him, still sitting on the floor, and into the eyes of those he was trying to protect and avoid.
The Guardians had just arrived in Italy a few hours before, having taken the Cavallone Famiglia's private jet (courtesy of the Cavallone Decimo himself) from Namimori. Dino was too busy to meet with them himself, so he had sent them directions to their hotel through text, reassuring them that the hotel was owned by the Cavallone Famiglia and that staying there would help them avoid detection by the Vongola, even if it was only for a short while.
The plan was to rest up for a day or two –to allow them time to adjust to the jetlag and time change– then make a plan that would get them in contact with Tsuna. From there, they just had to convince Tsuna (and likely, the rest of the Vongola) that the brunet should stay with them and go back to Namimori –a seemingly simple process. Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, Chrome, and Hibari (begrudgingly) were the ones who came, Lambo staying at home so that they wouldn't have to play babysitter. Unfortunately for them, Dino, being the airhead that he was, had given them vague and confusing directions that even Gokudera –who used to live in Italy– couldn't decipher. That led them to where they were now: wandering the streets of Italy in hopes of finding the hotel that they were supposed to be staying at. Constant bickering as they walked was hindering their progress and things quickly became chaotic.
"Haha! I think we should go this way!" Yamamoto said, grinning as he pointed down a gloomy and mysterious street.
"Why would you want us to go there, Sword Freak?! That practically screams suspicious!" Gokudera yelled back, his temper pushed to the limit as he stared at the directions from the Cavallone Boss then the street they were on.
"I think that we should extremely go this direction!" Ryohei replied, pumping his fist in the air.
"A-ano…I think we went that way already…" Chrome replied quietly, looking unnerved at the crowd of people staring at them for being so loud.
"Herbivores. If you don't decide soon, I'll bite you to death." Hibari threatened, pulling out his tonfas and glaring fiercely.
After several more minutes –and a 'light' beating by Hibari (which caused passerby's to stare before leaving quickly)– they decided to simply pick a direction and headed down that way. Gokudera –being the proud Right Hand Man that he was– had insisted that he walk in the front while Hibari walked a little ways behind them, his expression growing darker and more annoyed with each passing second.
Gokudera had turned around and was arguing with Ryohei about who knew which way to go (Yamamoto and Chrome being mediators and hopelessly trying calm them down) when a figure crashed into Gokudera, sending him tumbling forward a few steps before the bomber regained his balance and let out a string of colorful expletives in various interesting languages. Ryohei began criticizing him for not watching where he was going and things quickly became heated between the two of them, their patience strained by everything from the jetlag to Dino's downright terrible instructions and them, admittedly, getting lost. Gokudera said that it was the 'Turf Top' who was making him walk backwards in the first place, Chrome was trying to break up the fight that threatened to break out, and Hibari stood slightly to the side, his expression growing more annoyed. Yamamoto, however, was staring at the person on the ground before them with disbelieving eyes. He looked just like…
"…Tsuna?"
All at once, everyone felt their breaths left them as they turned to face the very person they came all the way to Italy for…
A/N: Scordota means 'left behind' or 'forgotten'. Fitting, isn't it?
Sorry it's a bit late… Thank you so much for all the reviews, faves, and follows! I didn't even realize that I had that many until I looked at the count! :D Please continue supporting~
The next chapter will be in two weeks. I unfortunately have to start dealing with college stuff (where I plan to go, etc) and wish to keep stocking up on chapters till May, which is when I will be very busy.
Preview of Uncontrollable is on Tumblr~ So go check it out~
Ciao Ciao~
Pikachu
Published 17 March 2013