This fanfic is nearing its end as Tsuna readies himself to fight the Luna Family who has sworn to defeat him!
Thanks for reading it this far and I hope you like the ending (which is in a few chapters).
Enjoy!
Chapter Ten
Tsuna awoke with a start when he felt himself being splashed with ice cold water.
"AAAHH!" He shivered in his wet clothing and tried to warm himself up by rubbed his arms—which was a bit difficult with his right arm in a cast. His teeth shattered as he stuttered out in a soft voice, "R-R-Reb-b-or-r-rnnnnn…why th-th-the c-c-co-l-l-ld wa-a-aterrr…?" The rubber Leon bucket changed back to that tiny chameleon Reborn always has on his fedora.
"I'm devising new methods for waking you up," his sadist tutor said in what he thought was a reasonable tone. "We are going to the training room for the entire day tomorrow. I would rather bring you to the mountains but the detective will follow us. Before that, I'm going to teach you more on Japan History. You failed that test horribly, you know? And then I have to teach you Mafia History in Italian. Oh, and if you don't remember everything by the end of the lesson, I'm going to have you bathe in cold water."
Slave driver! Tsuna looked at his tutor in horror, not for the first time since they met and most likely not the last. Then Reborn punched him.
"Pay attention when I'm talking to you, Dame-Tsuna!"
"But I'm cold!" He shivered to prove his point. That earned him a glare from his tutor.
"Anyways, hurry up or else you're going to be late for school." Tsuna looked to the clock.
"GAAAA! You should have woke be up sooner!" Damp blankets and shirts flew everywhere as he went for a quick, warm shower and dressed into his uniform. He ran downstairs with Reborn propelling down, Leon as a parachute. "She came in twice to wake you but you kept on says five more minutes. If I let her wake you up again, there will be nothing left of you except a blob of goop." Tsuna cursed himself to be such a late sleeper and darted into the kitchen to see what remained of his breakfast. Lambo was stuffing his face with food and Fuuta was writing in his big Ranking Book on the ground. I-pin was in the yard doing the morning training exercises Fong instructed her to do. Tsuna plucked the sandwich from the plate. He did a double take when he saw the woman cooking. He realised that it wasn't his mother who tried to wake him up, but Bianchi. He dropped the bread and covered his nose at the sudden unbearable smell of Bianchi's latest dish on the counter. Remembering that his mother made the sandwich he just dropped before going to the airport, he snatched it back up from the plate as Lambo reached out to take it.
"Lamb-san was going to eat that!" Lambo protested loudly. Tsuna stuck his tongue out at the baby.
"I'm off!"
"Be careful!" Bianchi and Fuuta said in union although when Bianchi said it, the words sounded more like, "Don't be careful and don't come back. That way, I can have Reborn all to myself". The door closed behind him and he saw his silver haired friend waiting.
"Juudaime!"
"Oh, Gokudera-kun!"
"The baseball freak had morning practice, so he couldn't come!" Gokudera started to talk about how Yamamoto should lay off baseball for a while and focus on protecting Tsuna as they made their way to Namimori Middle. Reborn watched them go and noticed something shiny on the grass from the corner of his eye. He jumped and landed in front of it. He recognised its contents immediately and grinned.
"Oh, it's Reborn-san," Masami cried. He looked up. Masami and her older brother Masahiro were leaning against the small gate, looking at Reborn.
"We just finished having breakfast with Kenshin," he said. Kenshin appeared a minute later.
"Good morning," he greeted Reborn.
"Ciaossu! Where are you all going so early in the morning?"
"We're going to show Kenshin around Namimori some more," Masami said. "Until next time then."
"Bye, Reborn," Kenshin said. Masahiro nodded his farewell. Reborn watched them leave and went back into the house for a cup of espresso.
Kenshin and the siblings caught up to Tsuna and Gokudera.
"Yo, Tsunayoshi-kun!" Masami hollered. Tsuna turned and widened his brown eyes.
"H-Hitomi-san?"
"Oi, oi, I don't know whether you are talking to me or Aniki when you say that!" Masami said. "I told you to call me Masami!" Tsuna nodded. He made this mistake every time they met.
"Masami-san…what are you doing with Keshin-san?" The siblings often visited his house when he was younger, to talk to his father when he was around. They played with Tsuna when his parents were busy. They also stopped coming over to their house for dinner about a year before his father's mysterious disappearance.
"He's a friend of ours," Masahiro said. "We're showing him around some places he might have not been to yet."
"M-Masahiro-san…?" Tsuna was shocked to know that Kenshin had friends in Namimori, because his cover was a fake. A detective is what he is. Wouldn't that make his friends his colleagues?
Does that mean the Hitomi siblings are also law enforcers of some sort? But they've been living here for…forever! T-That means they know what we're up to?
Tsuna began to hyperventilate in his head.
"Hey! Who are you and why are you so friendly with Juudaime?" Gokudera demanded. He stepped protectively in between them and glared.
"We know each other," Masahiro said as if it was obvious. Gokudera readied himself for a fight.
"EXTREME!" Ryohei came out of nowhere. Tsuna relaxed visibly and turned to his saviour. Hana and Kyoko walked a step behind the boxer. Kyoko smiled sweetly at Tsuna, who instantly blushed like mad.
"Good morning, Tsuna-kun!" She was as oblivious as ever and didn't know why Tsuna's face was turning red.
"G-Good morning, Kyoko-chan…"
"What's going on, Octopus-Head?" Ryohei yelled.
"Octopus-Head?" Masami repeated. "Hmm…yes…I can see why he calls you that…" Gokudera looked like he would kill someone any second.
"A-AH! Gokudera-kun! We have to get going!"
"SAWADA'S RIGHT! WE'LL BE EXTREMELY LATE IF WE HANG AROUND ANY LONGER!" He roared after introducing himself. Every strand of hair on Tsuna's body rose at the mention of "extremely late", which led to "extreme beatings" from an "extreme prefect". Momentarily, he forgot that Ryohei's catchphrase was "extreme" and really thought that they were "extremely late". He ran for the school after telling his friends they had best get going. Gokudera was still yelling at the siblings when he noticed that Tsuna suddenly disappeared.
"Juudaime…?" The only evidence that told him his boss was ever there was the faint scent which lingered around Tsuna which goes undetected unless someone had a keen nose that was used to detecting gun powder or simply a very loyal right-hand man.
"JUUDAIME!"
"OI, SAWADA! YOU'RE RACING ME? BRING IT ON!" Ryohei charged after Gokudera.
Kyoko looked at her best friend and then at the three adults. She and Hana bowed, and then excused themselves before also going to school at a more reasonable pace.
Hibari was at the school gates. He glared at Tsuna and the others.
"If you arrived two minutes later, I would bite you to death."
"Hiiee….sorry, Hibari-san!" Tsuna quickly bowed and Gokudera scoffed. Hibari gave them one last glare and closed the gates. Tsuna noticed that his hand had a few bandages on them which meant he must have had some training with Dino already. He had mixed emotions of surprise, worry, and relief. Surprise, because he didn't expect his Cloud Guardian to fight for him—scratch that. Hibari's probably honing his skills just because there was a promising fight ahead with many herbivores for him to bite to death—worry, because he will no doubt also get hurt, and relief, because he knew his strongest Guardian was there for him.
Throughout the morning, Tsuna did his best to stay awake. He still remembered that threat Reborn made and didn't want it to come true. His head drooped as he felt the familiar sleepiness overwhelm him.
"…ada…SAWADA!" His teacher slammed the textbook to the desk at the front of the class.
"HIIIIEEE!" They're here! They're gonna kill me! He instantly thought and tried to stand. His feet were asleep and the brunet tumbled to the floor with his chair. The class laughed.
"Juudaime! Are you alright?"
"Tsuna, you okay?" Yamamoto asked as Gokudera went to help Tsuna up, who found it all too embarrassing.
"Sawada! You fell asleep in class again!"
"S-Sorry, Sensei…"
"Why you…HOW DARE YOU THREATEN JUUDAIME!" Gokudera yelled. The teacher flinched.
"EEP! Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna cried. "Don't do anything rash!"
"Now, now, you don't have to yell at the teacher," Yamamoto laughed and tried to calm down his hot headed friend.
"What are you talking about? You should be arguing as well! He yelled at Juudaime!" Yamamoto laughed.
"Come on, Gokudera! You're causing a scene!" They looked around. Fan girls were looking at Gokudera and Yamamoto. Gokudera fans squealed and screamed whenever Gokudera yelled or glared their way. Yamamoto fans screamed and squealed as well, but for the safety of the baseball fanatic. Secretly though, everyone was hoping Gokudera might start a fight with this horrible teacher. No one liked this particular teacher because he yelled and gave too much homework each class.
Gokudera hated his fans. They were like an itch that won't disappear. He growled one last time and sat at his seat. The teacher went on with the lesson with no further interruptions but they knew he took Gokudera's outburst offensive because he assigned the class three pages of questions due the next class and whoever didn't finish them had another two pages to complete. No one took their anger out on Gokudera; they knew he was too strong. Instead, they glared at Tsuna, whom they believed was to blame.
Tsuna sighed as he took out his bento. Gokudera and Yamamoto came over. Tsuna noticed that Enma wasn't around lately. I hope he's not in trouble, Tsuna thought.
"That was mean," Yamamoto said. "I don't think I'm going to be able to finish three pages of science questions."
"I should have beaten him up!" Gokudera said through gritted teeth.
"Eh…" Tsuna opened the lid and was about to eat but stopped himself. He and his two friends gagged at the smell of Bianchi's poison cooking. Wise Gokudera replaced the lid to prevent the poison gas from spreading.
"J-Juudaime, why is my sister's cooking…?"
"She…'s living at my house…I guess this means that I'll have to make my own meals from now on," Tsuna said miserably and coughed. "I hate waking up early…"
"Then do it before going to bed," Yamamoto said.
"Huh?"
"Cook your meals the night before you are going to eat it and then put it in the fridge." Yamamoto grinned. Tsuna beamed.
"That's a great idea, Yamamoto!"
"Che. I could have told Juudaime that."
Afterschool that day, Tsuna had the feeling of being followed. He sighed. It must be Kenshin-san… he didn't say this out loud to Yamamoto and Gokudera though. They probably felt it too. Once they separated, Kenshin continued to follow him. The young boss didn't notice that his friends also grew tails of their own. Masami followed Yamamoto and Masahiro followed Gokudera.
Lucky me, Masami thought. I get to eat sushi! She didn't really care about the task she was given by the police. Her main mission was to keep Kenshin from finding out too much without seeming suspicious. So, she won't mind if she can keep an eye out for Yamamoto—as long as there was sushi involved.
Yamamoto didn't notice her at all. The way he was walking told her that he wasn't expecting anything bad to happen. But oh how wrong she was. He is always ready to move out of the way of a speeding bullet or a falling potted plant—which has happened before…
He had his hands linked behind his head and was singing along a song she didn't recognise.
Oh! I forgot… she fumbled around her pocket until she found her pencil and pulled the small coiled notebook out from her back pocket. She looked at her black watch, which had the exact same time as Masahiro and Kenshin's, down to the millisecond.
Day 11: Wednesday
15:05
Yamamoto Takeshi walks home alone with not a
care in the world. A baseball player carries a
bamboo sword? I find that a bit on the odd side
of things.
He arrives at his family's sushi restaurant. He
slides the door open and says—
She looked at what she was writing. The first few sentences looked alright, but the last line looked a bit too…story-like. No, that won't work for observation notes. She shook her head as she erased it and entered the restaurant.
"Welcome!" Tsuyoshi greeted. Yamamoto wasn't on the first floor, which meant he was probably in his room changing. There weren't many customers at this hour.
"Hello!" She said cheerfully. "I'm in a bad mood at the moment so I don't want to talk to anyone but I do want the best sushi you have." Tsuyoshi blinked at this customer and shrugged.
"Suit yourself. Here, this corner is good for a moody girl like you. Would you like tea or…?" Masami sat down and said, "Tea is fine. I like my food with tea. Do you manage this place on your own?" She looked around and noticed voices coming from the kitchen.
He chuckled as he worked. "No, no. My son Takeshi helps me when he finishes his school work. I also have a few more workers in the kitchen. Sometimes like now," he waved the knife at the empty room, "I wonder why I hire them when I can do it all on my own. But then there are times when we are packed, and I wonder why I didn't hire more!"
"I get that feeling sometimes when I have to work with my brother and his friends." Masami commented and wrote down more notes.
Yamamoto helps his father out when he has time. He's
done nothing suspicious that says he is doing anything
for the mafia.
"For someone who's in a bad mood you sure talk a lot," he laughed. She grinned and twiddled with the pencil.
"I tend to talk more when I'm in a bad mood."
"Interesting personality."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Pops!" Yamamoto came down. He changed his uniform for the clothing he wore when training with his katana.
"Oh, you're going to practice?"
"Yup! I'll be back around five." Tsuyoshi nodded approval as he sliced up some stuff.
"Got something coming up?"
"Hn, sort of!" He laughed and waved good bye.
Hm, Masami mused, Yamamoto and his father have similar personalities. She pushed the notepad further away from her and into the shadow of the counter so Tsuyoshi won't see what she was writing.
Practices with the sword regularly for about two hours.
"He does swordplay?" Masami asked curiously.
"Yes, he's rather good at it." Tsuyoshi had a proud smile as they spoke of his son. "Here you go! Try it."
Masami picked up the sashimi and stuck the whole thing into her mouth after putting a small drop of soy sauce on it. She chewed slowly. Tsuyoshi watched her as she ate, eyes widening just a bit. This was a professional sushi eater! She had some tea before speaking.
"It is excellent in all aspects. Although…"
"Although…?" He prodded.
"The tea is a bit off."
"The tea?" Tsuyoshi poured himself a small sample and sniffed. Then he frowned and sipped. "Oh, I see what you mean…I'm sorry, I should have tasted it first." He knew there was no way he could blame the person who made the tea, since he was the master and he should have looked over his apprentice's work.
"Yes, it's too strong. When it's this strong, it is hard to judge the taste of the next piece properly." He nodded as she explained her reasoning. Spoken like a true expert.
"I'll have this remade," he gestured at the tea. "Today will be on the house." She smiled politely.
"That's alright. I'm not in a bad mood any more so I don't need to eat. You make the best I have ever eaten, by the way." Tsuyoshi appreciated the compliment.
"Come again when you're in a bad mood then!"
"Don't worry! It won't be long!" She left and went to look for Yamamoto. It wasn't that hard. As she approached the door, she heard him muttering under his breath and the ring of a blade's downward swoop. It sounded like music. She stayed hidden and was satisfied to simply hear him. She had some skill in kendo and knew that Yamamoto was more than your average swordsmen.
15:15
Yamamoto practices with a katana with deadly accuracy
with moves meant for killing.
Suddenly, she heard no sounds coming from the dojo.
"Who's there?" Yamamoto called out.
Busted…how did he find out? Masami cursed. Then put on a sweet smile. He's holding a bamboo sword, but I heard a blade. Hm. So this is the famous…
"Hello, it's just me, a friendly sushi eater!" Yamamoto raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"I saw you eating at our restaurant. Did you like it?"
"Yes, it was very appetizing." Yamamoto laughed cheerfully and then suddenly stopped.
"What is it?" Masami asked. His smile faltered for only a moment, and then it was back.
"Nothing, it's just that…why didn't you eat more sushi?"
"What do you mean?"
Yamamoto began to tick off his fingers at each point. "Well, you just came in while I was upstairs, and then you were just talking with my dad as I headed out…between now and then…only about…three to five minutes passed. I was just wondering why you didn't stay longer. I can tell you enjoy eating sushi as much as I do!" He grinned again. Masami raised an eyebrow. She didn't find him as the talkative type.
"Do you mind if I stay to watch?" She asked innocently and ignored his question. He shrugged.
"Yeah, go ahead."
Yamamoto began his practice, but he was careful to not suddenly change the bamboo sword into the real thing. Hahaha! This is harder than I thought! And this woman…there's no hostile intent coming from her like that kid, but there's something, Yamamoto thought. And she hid herself so well it took me some time to know she was there.
He's hiding his sword style from me. Oh well. This is fun to watch anyways.
Masahiro didn't have as much fun as his sister did. One reason was that he actually had to stay unseen when stalking Gokudera Hayato. Yamamoto has never seen Masami before, which made it easier to appear as a stranger, but Gokudera knows his face. Masahiro bought a corn cob and nibbled on it as he followed. He waited outside the apartment. He already knew which room and side of the building he resided in because the research was done for him. All in all, it was boring. So boring that after the first hour, he needed to talk to someone.
He pressed a small button. "Hey, Masami, how's it going?" He said into the com by his collar.
Chik
"Hi! Nothing going on right now," she replied. "Just hanging around."
"Gokudera went into his apartment. No sounds are coming from him. Do you think he actually does homework?"
Chik
"Who knows? He probably has to." After a few minutes, he spoke again.
"What do you think of their family?" Masahiro muttered.
Chik
"…Strong. Although that G-kun person you're following has a bad temper."
"G-kun?" Does she mean Gokudera? Why doesn't she just say his name? Masahiro was puzzled.
"Hitomi-san, I'm heading back now," a voice on the other end said. Oh, a light bulb appeared over Masahiro's head. Yamamoto is there.
"Hai! I'll go with you. My friends are waiting for me anyways."
Chik
"Talk to you later then." He let go of the mic and leaned against the wall beside a telephone booth.
Gokudera slammed his door shut and locked it. He deactivated the explosions set around the door before they could go off. Then he tossed his bag onto the couch as he passed by and entered his room. Uri slinked in after him.
"Uri! When did you come out?" Gokudera asked irritated. Even though his ring had become a belt, Uri managed to appear without him activating the Vongola Gear.
"Meow~!" Uri purred although it sounded like a lion cub's attempt at a roar. Gokudera tchedand left the room. Uri followed, knowing she'll find food whether her partner gave it willingly or not.
Gokudera wasn't about to waste his storm flames on feeding Uri, so he took out a can of fish—not, if you're wondering, Tuna Fish. He cracked the lid open, threw it into the trash can and set the three pieces of fish onto Uri's plate and put that on the table. Uri leaped up and began to eat. Gokudera stood there for a moment, looking at Uri. He could tell that she grew another few centimetres since the last time he's seen his box weapon.
Is Uri going to grow as big as she did when Ryohei tossed her into his kangaroo? He wondered and petted her absentmindedly before walking into the living room. He glanced at his bag.
"Tch. Stupid homework is too easy," he muttered and frowned. Was it possible that they could make him repeat a grade for not doing it? If that happens, he won't be able to get into the same class as Juudaime, which means he won't be there to guard him from harm. On second thought, maybe it would be best to just finish the crap and get over with it. He picked up his bag and rummaged through it as he headed for the kitchen. As he thought, Uri had finished the meal and left the plate clean. He put that into the sink and went for a pop can in the fridge. What he saw was not to his liking. The cans weren't facing the right way! And they weren't equally apart! The carton of milk was turned the other way, and the other items in the refrigerator had been moved slightly. His eye twitched as he thought of who would be stupid enough to break into his apartment, let alone go through his fridge. He checked the freezer and there was his answer. Nobody broke into the house.
"Uri! YOU ATE ALL THE MEAT?"
"Meow!" She screeched and pounced on his face. He dropped his bag.
"Uri!" He grunted as the cat began using his face as a scratching post. "St-o-op!" Gokudera pulled her by the scruff and panted as they glared at one another. "Didn't I give you enough food?" He yelled. She snarled a no.
"Geez!" His grip accidentally loosened for a fraction of a second and they were at each other's throats again.
After a few minutes, Uri walked out with a tail high like a waving victory flag. Gokudera looked at the remains of his shirt and blew out a breath. He looked at his homework which spilled out during their daily conflict. It was torn to shreds. Pfft—so much for doing homework.
Gokudera Hayato owns a cat—a vicious one. Note to self:
don't go into his apartment while it is around.
"I'm home!" Tsuna called. Reborn jumped onto his head.
"I ordered pizza. It will be here in an hour. Before then, we can work on your homework." Tsuna groaned.
"Couldn't I do it after eating? I'm hungry." Reborn got up and kicked his student behind the head. "OW…Nevermind…" Reborn gave him his famous smirk and walked away.
"Tsuna-san! Lambo won't share the ball!" I-pin ran to him as he was about to climb the stairs.
"No! It's Lambo-san's ball!" The accused screamed. Tsuna looked up to the ceiling and sighed, as if asking, "Why me?"
"Haaah…Lambo, share with I-pin." Then Tsuna paused. "I-PIN! FUUTA? Why are you two still in Japan?"
"I wanted to stay." they said together. Tsuna smiled weakly."
"NO!" Lambo screamed, diverting their attention back to the conversation they had before.
"Play together, it's more fun," Tsuna said in monotone.
"Lambo wants I-pin to be his servant," I-pin said.
"Why are you so childish, Lambo?" Tsuna complained. "I-pin can't be your servant."
"I am the Great Lambo-sama! I need slaves and servants!"
"I-pin will not be your servant!" I-pin yelled.
"Yes you will!" Lambo held a grenade threateningly.
"Lambo don't do that!" Tsuna warned. He did it anyways. I-pin bit into a Gyoza bun.
"Gyoza Fist!" She directed the oncoming grenade away from her.
"Ow!" Tsuna cried as it hit his forehead. He had the unpinned grenade in his hand. "HIIIIEEEE!" The brunet tossed it from one hand to the other as if it was a hot potato. Finally coming to his senses, he threw it out the entrance leading to the yard and into the sky.
BOOM!
He sighed and turned back to the two kids. They were tumbling around and fighting with each other.
"U-Um, Lambo! I-pin!" He tried to stop them but got kicked in the face by a foot. "Ow!" He rubbed his nose and tried again.
"I-pin! Stop fighting Lambo! And Lambo, stop picking fights you know you're going to lose!" I-pin was obviously the more experience fighter of the two, but Lambo fought dirty.
"Gyoza Fist!" Lambo charged and dived at I-pin. Her aim veered and hit Tsuna directly on the chest.
"Not again!" He wailed as he was launched into the air, flew this way and that, hitting the walls and furniture. He screamed.
POOF!
Some time along the way, Lambo managed to fire the ten-year bazooka.
"Yare yare. Not this again. Hey, Young Vongola," Adult Lambo said. One of his eyes was shut lazily. Adult I-pin was also there. She was wearing her white ramen delivery uniform.
"Sawada-san!" She was surprised to see him. "I have to deliver these noodles to Kawahira-san before they get soggy!"
"I-I-I-pin!"
"Eh?" Lambo's bored expression became one of interest. "I-pin, it's going to get soggy in five minutes anyways! Why don't you let me eat it?" He reached for the box she held.
"Don't!" She slapped his hand away. "This is for Kawahira-san! Order your own ramen if you want to eat so badly."
"Come on, I-pin!" Adult Lambo said. As he spoke, his other hand quickly shot out and lifted the cover.
"Ha!" Adult I-pin blocked him. Just as fast, Adult Lambo tugged the box free from her. Instead of sitting around, he ran out the yard.
"Lambo come back!" she yelled and chased him.
"What's going on here?" An irritated Bianchi said. Tsuna looked at her and let out a terrified scream. She glared at him. "What?" He calmed down after the initial shock of seeing a face mask on her.
"Sorry…I thought you were a ghost or something."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Hiieep! I mean, uh, well, not a ghost, but uh..."
"...Why is the place a mess?"
"Well…I-pin and Lambo…sort of…" Bianchi's long strides took her to the other side of the room before Tsuna could finish saying his sentence.
"Stop fighting!" She ordered. The noise outside stopped. Tsuna crawled over to see. Adult Lambo was standing on one leg, his body tipped backwards. The bowl of noodles was in his left hand with a pair of chopsticks in his mouth. His other hand and leg were busy defending himself from Adult I-pin, who was about to send him a flying kick. Distracted by Bianchi, she didn't watch where she was going and Adult Lambo, looking at Bianchi, didn't have time to move out of the way. The two time travellers collided with one another.
"Ahh!" Adult Lambo managed to save the noodles from a nasty fall.
"Are you two okay?" Tsuna asked worriedly.
"Oh…we're okay, Young Vongola." Bianchi's eyes fell on Adult Lambo. They stared for a full minute. Adult Lambo's face fell when he saw the murderous aura coming from her.
"Yaiiiikkkkeeess!" He screamed and scrambled to his feet. "Young Vongola! Save me!"
"HIIIIEEEE!"
"ROMEO…!" Bianchi held a large purple cake.
"D-Don't HIDE BEHIND ME!" Tsuna shrieked as Bianchi came at them. The two of them screamed and—
POOF!
Bianchi charged into the pink smoke and her cake went sm…ack onto someone's face.
"Hn?" Bianchi looked down. The smoke revealed a six year old Lambo who was sitting on the ground, sucking his thumb. Tsuna was lying on the ground twitching. His face was smeared with a purple cake infested with worms and who-knows-what.
"Tsuna, why did you get in my way?" Bianchi said in a deep, intimidating voice. Tsuna didn't respond. "Tch." She walked back into the house.
An hour later, Tsuna woke up in the same position, but his face was cleaned.
"Tsuna-nii! You're awake," Fuuta said with a relieved smile. "I thought that I came too late to save you."
"W-What do you mean, Fuuta?"
"Bianchi-nii's poison is ranked one of the best. It would have melted your face if it stayed longer than ten minutes."
"Th-That's dangerous…" Tsuna mumbled.
"Oi, Tsuna!" Reborn kicked him. The brunet rolled over from the impact and groaned painfully. "The pizza will be here in a minute. Answer the door."
"Nnn…" He got up and tripped over his own feet. He looked into the house and yelped. It appears that while he was unconscious, Bianchi, Lambo and I-pin had made a bigger mess. He could see marks of explosions and poison cooking. There was even a dent in the wall the size of…of a small baby with a lot of hair…Reborn must have gotten annoyed and threw Lambo into it. Someone knocked on the door. He stumbled towards it, knocking over this and that. "Hai?"
"Pizza delivery from Vongola Pizza! With an extra dish of Vongola Spaghetti!"
"HIIIIEEE!" Tsuna slammed the door. "What the hell—why am I getting pizza from the Mafia?" The delivery man knocked again.
"What are you doing, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn said. "Open the door."
"B-But it's Vongola Pizza!"
"What did you expect? We're eating Italian this week."
"Eh?" He opened the door cautiously.
"Hai! Please enjoy your clam pizza!" The man left after saluting them...? Tsuna stared blankly after the retreating man in red.
"Vongola…Pizza…Clam…Pizza…? Ahh! Wait! I didn't pay you yet!"
"You are the VIP of Vongola Pizza," Reborn said. "I took advantage of that so we don't have to pay. After all, you are their future boss after you sign the contracts."
"E-Eh?"
Reborn smiled. "Didn't I tell you? Vongola Pizza belongs to the Vongola Famiglia." Tsuna staggerd back.
"YAY! PIZZA!" Lambo screamed. "I LOVE PIZZA! HURRY, HURRY! LAMBO-SAN WANTS TO EAT!" Reminded of his hunger, he headed to the kitchen. Everyone except him sat at their seats. No plates were out.
"Uh, isn't someone going to set up the table?" he asked weakly.
"You're doing it," Bianchi said. He was afraid of that. Tsuna put down the pizza box and brought out the plates.
Fwip! Fwap! He spun around. Everyone looked at him.
"Hurry up, Tsuna. We also want some drinks," Bianchi said. Tsuna gave them the plates and went for the drinks.
Fwip! Fwap! Again, he turned to face his housemates. They stared at him.
"What are you waiting for? We need cups as well," Reborn said. Tsuna narrowed his eyes but did as he was told.
Fwip! F—
"HA!" He screamed and pointed. Everyone froze. He saw the pizza box's flap flutter back to place. He looked at them. No one moved. He saw Lambo's mouth bulge a bit.
"Who's stealing the pizza?" They pointed to the cow.
"Hmm! I'm not the only one!" Lambo protested. "Reborn and Bianchi also stole slices!" Tsuna put his hands on his hips in a motherly gesture and frowned at them. Reborn grinned.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
He joined them at the table. Opening the box, he found nine slices gone. Half the pizza remained.
"Lambo! Couldn't you have waited for everyone else?" Tsuna whined. "Bianchi and Reborn, too!"
"What did you say?" Reborn and Bianchi towered over him. Reborn had his left hand behind his back, twisting it so hard he had to cry out.
After "proving their innocence", Bianchi and Reborn let Tsuna up from the floor. They split the spaghetti and the remaining slices of pizza. Dinner surprisingly lasted for two hours. After eating, I-pin, Lambo, and Fuuta went to get ready for an early bedtime. Bianchi went out to buy ingredients for breakfast. It was Tsuna who had to clean up the mess. He was about to clean himself up when he remembered that he had to make food for the next day. He sighed.
"Why do I have to deal with this?" He took out a few eggs and a pan. He stood there, trying to figure out what kind of eggs he should make.
"Let's see you make an omelette," a squeaky voice said.
"Eh? Reborn?" Reborn was standing on the counter.
"A boss also needs to know how to cook for himself." I don't think so… Tsuna sweat dropped.
"Hm…I haven't made eggs in a while…" He said. He tried to crack an egg and it splattered everywhere. He looked at it in astonishment. Reborn smacked him.
"You used too much force. And heat up the pan first, Dame-Tsuna!"
"O-Oh! Right!" He turned the stove on. After a few minutes, he drizzled a bit of oil onto it. Tiny miniscule bubbles appeared.
"Crack the egg at the edge of the pan and pull the two pieces of the shell apart using all your fingers. Make sure the egg doesn't splatter everywhere this time!" Reborn tutored. Tsuna did his best with his left hand. A piece of the shell fell into the pan on top of the egg.
"Hiiiee!" Quickly, Tsuna tried to pluck it back up before it would stick to the fast cooking egg whites. "Youch! It's hot!"
"Of course it is. Where are your cooking utensils?" Tsuna looked for a spatula. Unfortunately, he wasn't used to cooking, so he didn't know where his mother put it.
"It's burning," Reborn informed him from the other end of the kitchen.
"EEEP! Help me, Reborn!" He turned back and found the baby taking a nap. "At a time like this?"
SSSSSZZZZZZZZ!
Tsuna panicked and grabbed a drying plate. He dumped the blackened egg onto it and resettled the pan. He sighed.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to make an omelette today…" He tried again. After three burnt eggs and thirty minutes, he got used to cracking the egg. Now was the tricky part to not overcook it.
"Hn…how long did Kaa-san say I had to keep it there for?" He said out loud. He used the spatula to check the bottom of the egg he was cooking, sunny side up. He frowned in concentration. Was he forgetting something? He pushed the egg around the pan as he thought.
Scratching noises interrupted his thinking. He turned off the stove. Where is that coming from? He looked at Reborn. He was still sleeping. It came again. That's the window! Oh no! Is it a thief! Or did the assassins decide to come earlier? Reborn… He wanted to wake his tutor up, but knowing him, Reborn will probably shoot first and ask questions later. Patting the pocket with his mittens, he slowly approached the sound coming from the living room. His heart leapt into his throat when he saw a dark figure. He quickly put on his gloves. Damn it! How am I going to fight properly with only one hand? He didn't have time to ponder over this because the window was fully open and a slim body was sliding in. Desperately, he went into Hyper mode and tried to knock out the person.
"Woah!" The person yelped. It sounded female. She blocked Tsuna's blow and he backed up.
"Who are you?" he asked. His orange eyes gazed steadily at her whilst alert for another attack.
"Buon pomeriggio, Decimo!" Tsuna recognised the phrase "good evening" from one of Reborn's many torturing lessons. The fact that this person called him Decimo, and greeted him in Italian, clued in that she was in the mafia.
"Who are you?" he repeated. She stepped out of the shadows with a wide grin. His eyes widened and the fire on his forehead died to a low flicker and then nothing.
"Masami-san!"
"Hup!" Reborn landed on his head. "About time you came, Acilia," he said.
"I'm not late," she said.
"Eh? Acilia?" Tsuna repeated.
"That's her Italian name," Reborn said.
"W-Wait what going on?" Instead of answering, Masami stood at attention and said, "Acilia Tiburzio, here to report!"
"Did Kenshin see you come in?" Reborn asked ignoring his student's confused questions and panic attacks.
"Nope! I came through the tunnel. Once I was in the yard, Kenshin can't see me because Lambo and Hayato already destroyed all the bugs."
"Come to the kitchen." Reborn waited a moment, wondering why his body wasn't moving closer to the kitchen. He looked down at the head he was sitting on.
Tsuna was staring at Masami in what looked like shock or disbelief. "Dame-Tsuna, move."
"E-Ehh?"
"Go to the kitchen. We'll talk there."
"Lazy tutor…" Tsuna muttered under his breath. Reborn's eyebrow twitched and he kicked Tsuna into the kitchen instead.
"Reborn, should you have done that to Decimo?" Masami asked.
"He needs to respect his tutor." He dug his heel into Tsuna's middle.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Tsuna yelped.
"Hn." Reborn turned to Masami, who sat herself on a chair, rubbing her arm.
"That hurt," she accused Tsuna.
He recoiled. "S-Sorry…"
"Acilia, eat this," Reborn slid the plate with the only properly done eggs towards her. She stopped it and plucked the fork he threw at her out of the air. Tsuna flinched at this crazy acrobatics. If she hadn't intercepted it, there was no doubt it would stab her eye out.
He fidgeted as she neatly cut a piece and placed it in her mouth.
"It's really bland."
"Oh! Sorry. I didn't have time to put the seasoning on it. Here you go."
"Okay, it tastes a bit better. If only it were cooked properly," she said wistfully and sighed. Reborn looked at Tsuna, who only sighed.
"Did you hear that?"
"Er…"
"If Acilia ends up unable to do her duty because of your cooking, you have a lot to make up for."
Tsuna gulped. Masami laughed. "It's alright, Reborn. My stomach is as strong as steel."
"Reborn! Who is…who is Masami-san! What's going on here?"
"Acilia Tiburzio, alias Hitomi Masami, and her brother, Fazio Tiburzio, alias Hitomi Masahiro, are agents who work for Vongola. Their parents worked for us before they died."
"Ehh…"
"They're a family of agent, and they're important to us. It all started with their grandfather. He was sent to become an undercover agent in the police force in Japan when the Eighth Vongola Boss was in their custody. He was very good at his job and has helped us greatly. Later, when he married and had a daughter, she too, trained to become one of Japan's top secret agents. Her husband was Japanese but he was also in the mafia. Then she bore two children, Acilia and Fazio. But because they were raised in a way the police will never suspect them to be Mafia, they are known as Hitomi Masahiro and Masami. Their Italian names are the names they use when they associate themselves to the mafia, which is only when reporting to their boss. Any more would be a risk of the police finding out. Their parents raised and trained the two to succeed them. Because their parents before them were already loyal to the mafia, they were automatically accepted. Then their parents were assassinated by an enemy family—"
"What?" Tsuna exclaimed. His head swivelled to Masami's direction. She had a sad smile on her face. Reborn hit his student.
"Don't interrupt me. Before they died, they had the siblings trained for combat and tactical skills. Their family has been sniffing around the police and government for three generations. The police trust them very much."
"W-Wow…"
"That is one thing you must remember. The Hitomi siblings will help you a lot once you become boss. Know their history." Tsuna cringed. "Go on, Tsuna. Do you want to eat Bianchi's food tomorrow?"
"Ehh! Good thing you reminded me!" He turned back around to face the pan. He was determined to make a presentable lunch for himself.
"Has Kenshin found anything?"
"Not anything he was already aware of. He took Decimo's contacts, but we brought them back. It won't do you any good if they find out those aren't normal contacts. We also found out that something will happen this Saturday. Reborn…"
"Classified information—can't tell you."
"I know that Tamiko Mio is after the family. Kenshin told us that."
"We'll handle it. The eight of them plus Basil, Bianchi, and I are enough to defeat everyone they send. It would be easier if the Varia sent some men but we don't need them."
We don't need them? Tsuna thought. We don't even know how many people they are going to bring to take me down!
"Kenshin hasn't really found anything out yet. He actually thought that Decimo and his Guardians were doing drugs."
"What?" Tsuna asked disbelievingly. "Why would he think that?"
"You guys were out in the middle of the night during the ring battle, yes? That made him think you were doing something shady in the middle of the night."
"We would never do something like that!"
She shrugged and continued telling them all that happened around Kenshin.
"And did you notice anything else?" He asked. Tsuna blinked. Anything else?
"I didn't see any suspicious looking people around Namimori—that is, excluding Kenshin, Aniki, and myself. I think the Luna family will stick to tradition." Oh, that's what they're talking about… Tsuna turned back to the now steaming pan and yelled in frustration.
Masami raised her eyebrows and looked at her watch. "I should get going."
"Ciao ciao~!"
"See you later, Decimo." She clambered back through the window and down to the basement which led to underground tunnels throughout Namimori—something Reborn failed to tell his student.
"Hurry up and finish training."
"Training?"
"You're making breakfast for everyone tomorrow, and if it doesn't taste good, I'll make your training is extra hard."
"When did I become the babysitter?" He moaned.
"Do as you're told," Reborn ordered. Despite it being said in a squeaky voice, it didn't lose its authority.
"H-Hai…"
"You don't need to bother with making a bento. You're just going to cook your lunch when it's noon."
"But I have to be at school!"
"You're not going to school tomorrow."
"Wh-What?" Yay! His inner self was cheering, but his Hyper Intuition scolded him, saying Reborn was up to something—perhaps more training.
"You, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei will be training to make sure you're in shape for the battle on Saturday."
"…O-Oh…what about HIbari-san and Chrome?" Reborn jumped onto his head.
"Your Guardians find suitable people to train against, although with the upgrade of the Vongola Gear, not many can defeat them except for the Arcobaleno…what?" He questioned Tsuna, who was looking at him incredulously. When he didn't speak, Reborn kicked him in the shin painfully hard.
"YEOOOWW!"
"Dame-Tsuna, is it so hard to believe that you have gotten that powerful?"
"Y-Yeah…you're talking about me, Dame-Tsuna, becoming so strong only the seven Arcobalenos could defeat me...and probably a few others. It's…kind of hard to believe." Reborn stared at him. It was Tsuna's turn to become confused. "What?"
"I knew that you had problems with language, but I never knew it was this bad."
"Eh?"
"Dame-Tsuna, have you recently thought of what the dame in Dame-Tsuna means and if it still fits into your description after everything you've been through? Are you really No-Good? Are you really useless? Is Sawada Tsunayoshi a useless little brat, or is he Vongola the Tenth who has his Guardians by his side?"
Tsuna stared at his teacher. "I…" he began hesitantly, "I'm not useless…I can fight to protect my friends with my own hands. A-And I'm not entirely no-good either!"
Reborn smiled in earnest. "It's not hard to imagine being one of the strongest people alive. With another hundred years, you might even surpass the Arcobaleno."
The last statement ruined the atmosphere and Tsuna sweat dropped.
"Now you just need to know how to use your powers to its full extent. Knowing you have a lot of power and learning how to use it properly are two different things." Tsuna nodded. This was something Reborn had pounded into his head until it stuck.
"Does this mean you'll stop calling me Dame-Tsuna?" He asked hopefully.
"What are you talking about?" Reborn asked. "That name is staying with you till the grave and beyond." The brown haired youth ducked his head and fake cried.
"Tsuna, we still need to improve your history. Hurry up. Meet me in your room after you've finished cleaning the mess up."
"Hmm?" Tsuna frowned and scratched his head in puzzlement. He turned around and screamed so loud Gokudera must have heard him in his apartment.
"Juudaime?" He looked up from his reading. He had his hair tied back and glasses on his nose. "It must have been my imagination…" And continued reading the magazine on UMA's.
The reason for Tsuna's scream was that the stove caught on fire. How this happened, he had no idea. One thing was certain: if he didn't clean this up before his mother came home, he had a lot of explaining to do.
"Oh, no! What to do!" He looked for a fire extinguisher. "WHY CAN'T I FIND IT?" He tried to turn on the water tap and tried to extinguish the fire that way. Nope, it didn't work. He knelt and looked into the other cubbies. Ah ha! There it was! He pulled out the red and black fire extinguisher. It was pretty small but it should work…
"How do I use this?" He asked himself dumbly. He looked at the instructions quickly and pulled the pin out. It sprayed all over him instead of the fire. When he finally grabbed hold of it and aimed, only the little bit left in it went on the fire. He dropped it and winced as he reached over to switch the stove to off. Funny how I never got burnt by my own flames…
Whump! The flames were gone. He blinked slowly and stared at it.
"That was all I had to do?" He cried. "Ugh."
Fifteen minutes later the kitchen was clean and tidy. He went to his room for his "lessons". Reborn waited there. Knowing there was no use avoiding it he sat down and listened to Reborn first talk about Japan history, and then the Mafia History. He learned more about how the mafia came to be and about Vongola Primo and Shimon Cozart.
It was eight by the time Reborn let his student get ready for bed—he was to use cold water as he brushed his teeth and took his shower. He was shivering by the time he crawled into his cold bed.
"Gao!"
"Natsu! What are you doing out of your ring?" Tsuna asked. Natsu just "gao"ed again and snuggled up to Tsuna, who smiled and wrapped an arm around his trusty lion. He instantly felt warmer.
Go ahead, Reborn. Get me to bathe in cold water again. I'll just have Natsu to warm me up , he thought silently. Reborn, in his own hammock, snorted. He knew what his student must be thinking.
The next morning, Tsuna awoke to Ryohei's loud shouting, getting louder by the second.
"Hn…" He blinked sleepily. It was six-thirty. Natsu had retreated into the ring some time ago.
"Why do I hear Onii-san?" He asked and yawned. His stomach grumbled. His mind filled with question marks as he wondered why he was so hungry.
"SAWADA!" Tsuna fell out of his bed. He opened his room window and looked down at Ryohei in his jogging suit.
"O-Onii-san? What are you doing here so early?" He called down quietly, trying not to wake up his neighbours.
"Master Pao Pao told me to come!" He shouted. Tsuna tried to shush him as a Chihuahua yipped in the distance.
"Just keep it down! I'm coming to unlock the door in a minute!" He went back into his room and dressed in a t shirt and pants. He put his Vongola Gear on and headed down.
Ryohei was doing push-ups in the middle of the yard. Tsuna unlocked the door and Ryohei jumped in.
"Good morning, Onii-san…"
"GOOD MORNING TO THE EXTREME!" Tsuna stepped back quickly. Reborn appeared.
"Ryohei, I want you to do a final healing on Tsuna after I remove the cast."
"ALRIGHT!"
Reborn forcefully took the cast off Tsuna's arm. "Are you sure that's how you do it?" Tsuna asked worriedly. Reborn looked at him and didn't answer. Ryohei put a glowing yellow hand on the already closed wound. It hasn't bothered Tsuna in the past few days, he now realises.
"That should do it. He just needs to eat more TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei concluded. Tsuna moved his arm around and twisted it in several different ways. It didn't hurt at all.
"Good," Reborn said. "Ryohei you can go and continue your training. Make sure you aren't followed."
"How do I do that?" He roared.
"Don't let anyone see you go to wherever you go; in short, treat it as a pre-training warm up."
"But how am I supposed to make sure no one sees me?"
"Run all the way there at top speed?" Tsuna replied with half deaf ears. "No one can match your speed if you give it your all. Just don't scream or shout which would lead Kenshin right to where you are." He hadn't meant to have his suggestion taken seriously, but that's exactly what Ryohei did.
"THANK YOU SAWADA! THAT WAS AN EXTREMELY GOOD IDEA!"
"Ryohei, do you have someone to teach you?" Reborn asked.
"Master Colonello said that he wanted to see how much I powered up and to meet him in the cliffs where we trained before!" Reborn grinned.
"I'LL BE LEAVING, MASTER PAO PAO! SEE YOU ON SATURDAY, SAWADA!"
"Bye!" Tsuna managed to say before Ryohei ran out of sight.
"Well?" Reborn said. "Let's get on with it." Tsuna put on his gloves and gave his tutor a determined and confident nod.
Gokudera wandered around town towards Death Mountain, where many of them had trained for the previous battles. He made sure that no one followed him. He was sure that the siblings were also detectives, since they hung around Nori Kenshin. After spotting a quick movement on a car's wing mirror, he swore and began the process of losing a tail. It worked perfectly, although it took him an extra half hour to reach his goal. He had no one to tutor him this time. Since he was now stronger than most of the people he knew, he decided to not bother with asking them. Instead, he went to hunt for large animals that lived in the mountains and beat them up. He even found a few tigers and a band of robbers at different points. When he looked up, the sun was barely overhead. It was about ten.
"Tch. This is going to be boring. Time to go to the library."
Chrome and Mukuro were in Kokuyo Land. They were standing in the largest room the old amusement park had.
"Kufufu. Are you ready, my dear Nagi?" Chrome bit her lip and nodded. She had the Mist Earrings on and she activated the Vongola gear. The trident changed shape until she held a staff with diamond shaped diamonds on the top.
"I'm ready." Mukuro cast his illusions for her to train with. They were first class and could operate without him being present. They won't do any real harm to her, but enough to make it challenging.
"Good luck," he said and dissolved into the mist.
"Pyon! What is the silly girl doing this time?" Ken asked from the side lines.
Chikusa said in his gloomy voice, "She's training."
"Heeh? That weak girl is training aga—?" His words were cut off as the illusions sprung and attacked her.
"Hah!" Chrome exclaimed and thumped the butt of the staff into the ground. Ken cried out in alarm as several things went wrong with the room. He ran for the door. Chikusa took one last look at Chrome and shut the door behind him.
Hibari was resting on the top of Nami-Middle's roof when the ugly presence made itself clear. He was up with his tonfas in each hand before anyone could say "Hibird", who was presently flying in the air. He had his Vongola Gear, a bracelet, on his left hand. The tip of it was just visible when his sleeve moved up.
"You finally show yourself," Hibari said coldly, but a hint of amusement as if he was getting bored.
"Kufufu. I thought it would be fun to tease you again," Mukuro chuckled. His bi eyes stared into Hibari's.
Without speaking, he went into his cambio forma. His prefect uniform changed and so did his tonfas. Now, Hibrid could be seen with a pompadour atop its tiny head.
"You are a herbivore Namimori could do without," the prefect said. "I'll bite you to death."
"Master Colonello! I'm here!" Ryohei roared as he ran into the clearing. He looked around. "Master? Where are you?"
"You have finally arrived," Colonnello's voice came from everywhere—a trick he learned a while ago. "Let's see exactly how much has changed."
Ryohei grinned. "COME ON, GARYUU! LET'S SHOW THE WORLD HOW MUCH WE'VE IMPROVED!"
Squalo was throwing the remains of his target's body down a cliff, saving the head to prove he killed him. He then put the head in a plain box to ship it back to Italy.
"VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIII! THAT WAS TOO EASY!" He shouted to the sky. "I NEED A STRONGER OPPONENT!" He growled and sat on a boulder. He thought of his bearings, wondering if there were any good opponents in the area. He was in Japan at the moment and none of the Varia members were around. He certainly didn't want to go back to Italy yet, since that will just earn him a glare from Xanxus and another file of his next victim. He decided that he earned a weekend break. But what can he do during the break?
He was in goddamn Japan. There wasn't a single good swordsman he could face without killing. Then he paused his thinking. And he scoffed evily, already planning his transport. Namimori was just a few hours away…