WARNINGS: Lots of introspection and children being creepy. Slight crossover in Leonardo.
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sky interlude
anomaly
It was a normal day of summer for the Sawadas, and Sawada Nana had asked her boys if they wished to go out for groceries and maybe some ice cream. Sawada Hidetada had complied and Tsunayoshi himself was too young to care. So, all three of them, hand in hand, went out for a short shopping trip.
It went perfectly fine, until Hide saw some of his school friends –one, and two acquaintances- gathering around the park. Hide was never one of many friends, but still, excited, he ran off to them, Nana following laughing, leaving Tsuna to catch up.
Except Tsunayoshi didn't make it to the park.
He found himself attracted to an alley, to a particular antique shop with a man sweeping outside. He looked old, with white hair and opaque yukata that helped him blend with the background, his hands a little wrinkled. Tsuna, being three years old and unknowing of the danger of strangers, walked to the man and to the window, and aah'd and ooh'd at the items displayed.
This amused the man, who chuckled and knelt besides him.
"See something you like, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"
Tsuna knew his own name, and wasn't worried that this man he had never met before knew it as well. He looked up, a toothy grin in his face, and gave a happy "yes!" which made the old man smile at him.
"I see you are younger in this world than in others," said the man, ruffling his hair. "The Vongola won't be able to claim you with your mistake of an older brother around."
Tsuna didn't understand what the man was talking about, but he did recognize he was talking about his brother. "Nii-chan is the bwest!"
"Yes, he is. Or he will be, or rather would be… What a sad fate awaits him, and you, in this particular time." The man hummed and looked at his broom, expression completely neutral. "Well, if the Vongola won't get their hands on you, maybe I can finally claim you for my own- actually, I must, if we wish to follow the path set for us."
Tsuna was picked up and, confused, reached for the ground. He was sat on a bench that appeared out of nowhere (or maybe it was always there?), and the old man kneeled in front of him. "Wha'-"
"The brightest Flame in the multiverse should hold the world in his hands," the man continued, placing one hand above the other on Tsuna's lap, and rounding them around an invisible ball. "I hope you will accept this gift from an old man, as tainted as it is. Not that you understand that, right now."
The hands parted and Tsuna squealed in excitement. In the previously empty hands, now rested a small, round pacifier made of transparent glass. There was an orange, dull something flickering inside, safe and singing for Tsuna, and he reached with his own small hands to it. "P'etty..."
"It is. It is also very important," the magician man said, waving a hand atop the pacifier to reveal a thin chain attached to it. "I trust you will keep it with you."
"'es!"
Tic, went a watch in the distance, marking the moment the world was fated for the end.
049
The Outside
Success, is the only thing Reborn can think when the bundle of tickets show up on the mail. He will have to invite Dino out for lunch, or something; Reborn himself doubts he could have pulled something like this out.
Here, in his hands, lay a bunch of tickets to a particular cruise sponsored by the Vongola and her allies. As expected, they couldn't get the ship captain to steer anywhere near Namimori, but they are leaving from a nearby port that can one, be arrived by car in just an hour, and two, is outside of the Hibari's influence. Everything sounds perfect, right now.
Tsunayoshi looks at him like he sprouted another head and, after a few seconds, unlocks the door. It is merely midday, and Reborn should be angry Tsuna is cutting class, but damn.
He is so happy right now.
He leaves the tickets on the kitchen's table for later. Now, he has to watch over Tsuna and make sure he doesn't kill himself while making lunch.
A few hours later, after being beaten, cut to pieces and used as food in chess, shōgi and checkers, Reborn gives the tickets to Hide and Mamma with a grin he hasn't had the chance to project for years. This time, he isn't acting.
"What are these?" Mamma opens the envelope with a wary finger, but her eyes light up upon seeing the tickets. She smiles, a wide and open mouthed smile that is pure happiness, and Reborn really needs to thank Dino for this. "Reborn...!"
"Sho- Reborn, this is-!" Hide himself sounds pretty out of his mind right now, and it would be cute if there wasn't a whole backstory of abuse and torture behind it. Really, for people unable to leave their own city under threat of death, they are really showing their feelings. "This is, this just-!"
In complete silence, Tsuna hands Hide his phone. Reborn's grin grows wider when he peeks over his student's shoulder and sees the message.
You can leave for a few days. Have fun.
K. Tetsuya
The outside. Hide has never been outside, not since his mother moved into Namimori with all the hopes of building an easy, crime free life. Not since he was a baby, not even in dreams because he can't imagine what sort of world is outside and past the bridge of Namimori. Oh, he has seen pictures, but somehow those pictures always seemed way too perfect to be considered reality.
Dino laughs next to him, and though Hide has been raised with proper manners, he doesn't look away from the window. He is probably leaving fingerprints all over the dark glass, but he doesn't care at all. Neither does Takeshi, who is holding onto his sword with one hand and almost has half his body out the window.
The outside.
They are going to a nearby port city to catch the cruise that is supposed to take them to a resort island. Yes, okay, fine, it is mafia, but it is the outside and he is going there with all his family and most of his friends. He is so happy he could cry.
He feels tears gathering at his eyes. Stupid feelings (not that feelings are bad, but since Vongola Nono sealed away his hyper intuition/empathy, Hide had always felt really disconnected from anything related to himself. Namimori can't be blamed on this).
Takeshi is excited as well! It isn't only Hide! He had finished writing his letter a short while ago, but now he is looking a little lost. And like he might fall off the car, but that can be attributed to the excitement!
Gokudera, who sits next to Dino, is going through his phone and telling them all about the fun stuff to do at Mafialand. One would think that, with a name like Mafialand, it wouldn't be a fun place, but apparently it was some sort of massive resort with tropical beaches and theme parks. First they are getting on a cruise, but Gokudera has already gone through everything they need to know about cruises and sailing the sea.
The outside.
Lambo, who seems to be the only one unable to understand everyone's excitement, is going on and on about how they should visit the Caribbean, but without Reborn next time, because all Reborn knows what to do is ruin everyone's fun. Hide disagrees, Reborn was the one who convinced Dino-san to do the impossible and get Hibari-sama to let them leave for a few days! It is amazing!
Asides from that, the car they are currently on is a little too high tech for Hide's comfort. He feels really out of his element, in this car with a mini-fridge, so he doesn't pay much attention to his surroundings. The only important thing right now is past the window, and maybe in the other car that is following them where the other half of his family is traveling.
Tsuna… doesn't understand Hide's feelings about leaving, at all. Then again, Tsuna had gone outside a couple of times, mostly to visit Enma or… no, just visit Enma. That was the only thing he ever did when he traveled. Mamma herself was ecstatic, as her only connection to the outside had been her parents for long years, and that was only through letters and rare calls (their father didn't count because he was… not sane enough).
I-pin and Bianchi waited for the day to come with anticipation, and had packed everything needed for a family trip (booze was included until the last minute). They had also teamed up with Mamma to prepare a quick lunch for the car trip, but it had been ruined by Dino-san's clumsiness. Fuuta himself, though unwilling to leave town at first since it was Mafialand, had given in after countless promises they wouldn't allow anything to happen.
He is excited. His family is excited and happy. Most importantly, he feels light like he has never felt before, like some heavy invisible weight was lifted from his mind the moment he stepped out of the city borders.
He can think and that is all he cares about.
050
Shiraishi Kaiji
Though most people don't see it, and another big portion of Namimori and Kokuyo citizens decide to turn a blind eye, the child abandonment cases in the Nami circle are far too many. Definitely higher than any normal town, and similar to some cities overrun by the underworld. Which, Daemon guesses, Namimori is, but since it attempts to be a normal town to the eyes of people, he is a little shocked.
In the end, everyone comes back here to die, the old man had said to him, decades ago. He had been possessing his assistant, that time: a little boy, no older than ten and already tainted by Kokuyo. A child of the Shiraishi. No matter how hard they try to stay away.
Daemon can agree with that. After his physical death and through the years he fought to keep his sanity, the woman Shokaku had been a little too welcoming of his wandering soul. He had become a citizen of Namimori, though almost insubstantial, yet even after almost two centuries he still found it hard to leave with no intentions of going back.
He had spent long years in Namimori, watching over Giotto's family, over G's machinations, over Asari's failures. He had thought it better if he ignored Alaude and whatever he was planning together with old Shokaku, and turned a blind eye to Knuckle turning the Kokuyo lands into an orphanage; he, however, could never take his eye off Lampo and his wife, even after he realized that his sweet, dear cousin really did marry out of love.
As time went by, the off shot branch of exiled royalty growing in Kokuyo became the Shiraishi-Miura family and Daemon couldn't take his eye off the descendants of his long-dead best friend and even longer-dead cousin. He was also a little picky about who he possessed, and the Shiraishi had somehow managed to inherit the Mist flames his old family worked hard to strengthen. While he worked from the sidelines to keep Giotto's bloodline as pure as possible (in a misguided hope that, one day, a proper heir would be born to it) and the Vongola raising higher and higher in the underworld, he watched. He watched, he talked, he tried hard to get them away from Namimori in fear they would get involved in future affairs.
And then Checkerface had banned him from entering Kokuyo (for your own sake, it wouldn't do if your night got absorbed by the earth, right?) and he couldn't do anything anymore. Old woman Shokaku was no longer around to protect him from the murderer, and even Sepira had forsaken Namimori. He had had to leave the Shiraishi (and the Miura, but by that point they had already been pulled into whatever the Hibari was planning) in the hands of the older, strongest Mist user.
Even so, he kept his watch. He observed from afar while watching over both the Sawada and the Vongola, and, when about eleven or twelve years ago he had lost sight of the Shiraishi twins, he had feared the worst.
He isn't heartless. Or rather, he used to not be as heartless, but then Checkerface had come around and burnt the well hidden part of his soul that he kept in the Sawada house, and he had lost a lot, but by the time Shiraishi Kaiji vanished from Namimori he had recovered a little of his being. Not all of it, but he has to thank Tsunayoshi for that, even if the both of them are losing more now than they ever would have had they never met.
At first, he feared Checkerface had done to the youngest Shiraishi twin the same he had done to Tsunayoshi: too cruel, tying their fate to that of the Arcobaleno when they were too young to fight back. Yes, he hadn't met Tsunayoshi until about a whole decade later, but it wasn't the first time Checkerface did something like that. Never with the Sky Arcobaleno, thankfully (there would have been no doubt he would have picked a Sawada), but it wouldn't have been all that farfetched if the old man cursed the bright, too bright Mist child with such a fate.
Yet it wasn't that. The flames flickered on and off for a couple of years, but no matter where Daemon looked he hadn't found his wayward successor. Shiraishi Kaiji had vanished, much to the pain of the eldest twin (Nagi, the sweet darling) and their mother, yet neither the father or Mister K had cared at all.
In the end, everyone comes back here to die, Mister K had said, even if you never knew you were born here in the first place.
Why would the boy (still a boy, probably fifteen by now) dare approach Namimori after his father had coldly sold him off to the human traffickers? Did he not know? Did he have vague memories of the city, did he even remember he had a sister?
Daemon doesn't know.
Tsunayoshi, he calls from his resting place behind his disciple's eyes, the blonde man talking to Hidetada-
I noticed. Daemon knows there is a reason why he loves Tsunayoshi so much. Looks like Nagi-san, is he-
The youngest twin, yes.
The both of them look past the illusion covering the man, past the blonde hair and the gaudy jewellery, past the fake Spaniard accent and suntanned skin; Shiraishi Kaiji looks borderline anorexic, pale and scrawny even with the oversized clothes he is wearing. With his hair untied and messy like that, he looks as if he was taken from a trashcan and put into a slightly fancier get up.
Daemon feels disappointed and pained at the same time, and then there is a surge of emotions from Tsunayoshi he can't really decipher under all the sick.
What is it.
...isn't he a little… familiar, to you? Ah, that's right. Something clicks in the far, far space of Tsunayoshi's mind where Daemon has locked all the knowledge not meant for a ten years old.
Well, he looks like me, nufufu~ Though the Shiraishi's hair is darker, messier, and Daemon is definitely prettier-
Sensei, that's not what I mean.
I know.
Still have one to find, and the game can begin.
051
Entrance /
Words
As it is, Reborn didn't need to worry about Hidetada not making it through the entrance test. Though they were brought here by the Cavallone, technically, he still wanted to see how well prepared Hide was without any training in words for the Mafia.
Ah, Officer, I would like to stay for longer with you to chat about our lives, but you see, I am rather busy. I think I left a device on in the cruise, I should go shut it off. I am sure we can reach an agreement to meet later, don't we?
His words had been accompanied by incredibly subtle hand motions even as he looked completely defenseless. With Yamamoto leaning on his disguised sword at his side, and Gokudera stationed outside the testing room, the portrayal of a well-guarded boss had been complete. When Hide stood and smiled, offering his hand to the fake officer, the light hit just on the hidden gun's barrel, and even then he simply continued smiling.
Ah, this? Don't worry, officer, it is just a remote control. I really should go turn off the device at the cruise, but maybe I can do it with this one? Takeshi, am I technology savvy enough to turn it off with this?
That had broken the fake officer, who had started laughing. He patted Hide's shoulder, claiming he was meant to be a diplomat, damn it! Even the receptionist lady was amused, and she had invited Hide into her famiglia, as she didn't know who he was allied to.
It is amazing, really. Hide, smaller than average Hide, Hide who doesn't like talking to strangers, who is used to follow orders around and keeping to a strict schedule, actually has not only the personality to pull off intimidation, but also enough knowledge of social cues to talk around a trained police detective. Reborn guesses it is natural, since Hide learned to speak from his mother alone (another trained detective, and a really good one, at that), and deals with the likes of Hibari Kyoya and Kusakabe Chiyo on daily basis. His specific development of hyper intuition probably helped, as well.
"I don't even understand what's going on anymore," Hide says, laughing along while Yamamoto grins happily next to him. Gokudera takes that moment to waltz into the room, holding Tsuna's hand, looking grim.
"This looks fun," Tsuna said, still as empty as always, but smiling. "Can I try?"
Which is how they found themselves in this situation, past a one-way mirror and enjoying a cup of coffee. The receptionist lady is explaining Tsuna the rules of the 'game', as there is nothing much to do besides wait. It is a slow season for Mafialand, so there aren't many families to welcome.
"If you mention your family, brother or mother, then it is game over. You win if you get Daniel, here, to crack."
"What does crack mean?"
"Well, I don't know, maybe if he starts crying or tells you to go? He shouldn't, since he is really strong! Try not to insult him, alright?"
"Okay."
"Remember, this is a simulation. You will be under lots of pressure, are you sure you wish to try?"
"I want to be like Hide-nii!"
"What a good kid. You remember the situation?"
"I'm being questioned because of my Father's drug trafficking business."
"Yes, yes, exactly! Then, good luck!"
Daniel, the fake police officer, is preparing the stage again. Just a desk, a chair and a generic looking briefcase on the table (supposedly, evidence). Tsuna himself is kicking his feet on his own chair, humming at each new sentence from the woman, and looking like a child with a present.
Though Hide sitting next to Reborn looks a little anxious, they spoke about this already. Being related to Vongola Decimo puts Tsuna in a vulnerable situation and it is best of he knows what he could be up against in the future. Besides, both of them, and even Dino, want to see how Tsuna (monotone, creepy, uncaring Tsuna) would be under stress.
Mafialand entertainment. The best kind of entertainment.
The simulation starts, and Reborn has only eyes for the ten years old with no relation to the mafia in the other room. They hadn't told that to either the receptionist or the fake officer, but well, let's see if they manage to find out.
He ignores the two new presences who take a seat next to him, and watches.
051.b
the amusement of Tsunayoshi Spade /
the cruelty of Sawada Daemon
When everything seems to be in place and the woman leaves, Tsuna gives himself a moment to think back. No mention of family. You lose if you break. You win if the man collapses. You lose if you break.
If he sees the man as an extremely talkative bully, he can do it. He could do it. He has been in stressful situations plenty of times in the past, but this isn't about him. This is about him learning.
All yours, sensei, he whispers into his mind, letting his consciousness melt back into Daemon's resting space. He feels his body grow numb and dead, even from where he is, and the pacifier hiding in his pocket struggles to keep its hold on him.
Then, let me explain this to you, dear student of mine. Daemon, in his body, leans back on the chair and lets all their pretenses fall off place. The hardly presented regalness that is now natural of their body comes out as Daemon crosses his fingers over his knees, looking for everyone else like an attentive student, yet for Tsuna it is more like a focused killer. There are different ways for you to deal with interrogation. What we are going to do now is the passive approach, since we do not actually have weapons, but it is probably the only one you will ever need to learn.
Because I'm small, weak and the Sky Arcobaleno.
Exactly. You are staying small, and probably will never look much older than now. However, the fact that you are a Sky and a Mist by association, allows us to do much more than just look cute and harmless in front of individuals like this one, here. Daemon sounds actually amused, and if Tsuna didn't know him like he does, he would probably be scared. Besides, he is going to ask about something we know is true, so we can just not lie our way out of it, right?
Inwardly, Tsuna laughs. He loves Daemon so much.
The acting police officer looks at them through kind eyes (fake) and a condescending smile (real). There is supposed to be a bunch of background information for his character Tsuna is meant to remember, but honestly, he is ten and doesn't care.
"So, Tsunayoshi Sawada. Let me ask you some questions, and then you can leave, alright?"
"Alright," Their voice and uncaring stance is probably enough to make the policeman straighten and look at them colder, though he hides it well. A true actor, this one, but Tsu- Daemon has had ages to learn about these kind of people.
It is a massacre.
And it is so fun.
"Oi, what the fuck is that kid, kora!"
Collonello's voice is so ridiculous loud it snaps both Reborn and Hide out of their laughter. Takeshi left a few minutes ago, claiming it was too sad to see a grown man like that, and Gokudera is probably still crying over Tsunayoshi-san knowing such terrible words, how could I let this happen. Understandable, as Gokudera is the only one who openly curses near Tsuna and the other children.
"That, my dear Colonello," Reborn starts, motioning with his arm to the one-way glass. "That is a child of Namimori."
Once again, Hide bursts into laughing. He ends up leaning on Dino-san, who still hasn't been able to speak coherent words.
I believe, esteemed officer, that what you are spouting is utter and complete bullshit, Tsuna had said, in his best imitation of Irie Shouichi Hide has ever seen, with his arms crossed over his chest, head leaning arrogantly to a side and still standing because Tsuna is a tiny baby. And the officer, the officer was leaning back, eyes wide and stuttering and looking up startled because Tsuna had, quite literally, just shut him up by slamming the briefcase off the desk. There is no proof to your claims, in this room or anywhere else- in fact, if there is so called evidence, then it is probably fabricated and hiding in this very case you keep so close to yourself, hm?
Tsuna is ten years old and he just out bluffed an old man.
The 'interrogation' simulation (more like bullying simulation, both ways) had started pretty slow, with Daniel asking Tsuna for his personal information. It was only when the man brought up the questions about the fake father and the fake drug trafficking, in the subtlest way possible, that Tsuna started being a little shit by evading every single question through obviously childish means (ah, is this case for playing? Does it have legos inside? Why is the mirror so bright, why is this chair like this?). Sure, he had acted the distracted child since the start, but that was over the top even for him.
And then the officer got 'serious' and Tsuna just forgot all pretenses of being a normal ten years old. Yes, Tsuna curses, usually in English or Italian, but his repertoire is a little too big for a ten years old. Yes, Tsuna can be extremely scary when he gets bored or distracted of things (so, whenever he is forced into doing a single thing at the same time), but Hide always attributed that to the uncaring way he was about everything.
In conclusion, Tsuna had gotten bored about fifteen minutes into the simulation and had ended it. With a bang.
Through the wall, Hide feels wave after wave of amusement and extreme joy coming from the thing haunting Tsuna, and well, at least one of them is having fun. No, who is he kidding, Hide loves seeing Tsuna like that. It is great because Tsuna is like a well balanced fusion of Mamma (again, another one with a too big vocabulary of swear words and an attitude to match), Irie Shouichi (who was really good at picking up lies out of people and tended to get mad over everything out of his comfort zone) and grandfather (who, well, is a little scary when he gets bored, for all his zen attitude about most things).
He hasn't actually seen Tsuna out of his absolute bored and creepy mode in a while. Last time was... maybe years ago? Definitely before Reborn arrived, around the time the thing attached itself to him, maybe? A little later? In the mornings, when he hasn't had to face the outside world or he hasn't had the time to rebuild his uncaring persona, Tsuna is a rather cute kid, but he used to be terrifyingly cute. As in, literally terrifying,
Eh?
Where did his hellspawn brother go, anyways?
The real hellspawn, the one that zipped around the house doing too many things and breaking other few, the one that giggled into people's annoyance and did nothing to stop it? The one that didn't need to pretend on his feelings about things, because no one in the family cared about his terrible thoughts on school or people or anything else.
Tsuna used to do annoyingly cute things like... bring up all the things Hide did that Tsuna didn't approve of without a care (boring martial arts, nii-san! Stop the alarm clock, people can't be alive in the mornings or other precious ones like if you want a wind bell, then it has to be shiny, because if I have to stay in your dull room for more than a couple minutes I will go mad!). Or simply walk off games when Hide, Mamma or Haru were being stupid (no, I'm pretty sure you cannot- that's not how you play checkers, nii-san! I'm going to find Shouichi!)
He thinks back on time.
Is the uncaring persona really a cover, nowadays?
Well, whatever it is, Hide will continue loving Tsuna the most.
052
The beauty and the bird
The third day of their stay in Mafialand, Reborn has had enough of Colonnello's interrogations and constant following them around. Ever since Tsuna's performance at the simulation game, the sniper had decided he needed the information on who those kids were and, unfortunately, so had his temporal companion.
It has been a fun vacation, Colonnello and the criminology profiler stalking him aside. The children were having fun, Bianchi was having fun and even Reborn had found some interesting past times to disguise himself. They had gone to the beach, to the theme park in the island (Hide had never been to a theme park before, as sad as that sounds) and even to the slightly more mafia-esque attractions they had discovered deep under layers and layers of fabricated normalcy. Mamma had won everyone's respect after she had out-shoot a professional sniper and Hide had found his place in barely-legal poker gambling.
Unfortunately, Reborn's fellow Arcobaleno and his companion are relentless. If Reborn didn't know about Colonnello's true allegiance, he would believe they may be investigating the Vongola for something.
By the third day, he had already given up and invited the Lady Superbi and the Rain Arcobaleno to a light evening meal. Which is why he is currently being served fancy pastries with fancy coffee, in a three-seat table with the investigation pair with him.
"This is certainly good, Master Reborn," Madame Superbi is saying, all manners and perfect upbringing as a backdrop to her whole being. She wears a long night dress with no sleeves, disguising her dozen or so knives and small bottles of poison. Her hair is silver, long and straight with no decorations, and she would seem like a really beautiful civilian if it wasn't for her lack of expression and permanently narrowed eyes. "I thank you from the depths of my heart for this invitation."
Madame Superbi is, altogether, nothing like her son. She is quiet and prefers a more indirect way of speaking than that of her extremely blunt child. Where Squalo was bright, quick and emotional, Laurie was like a shade that moved unimportant below society. Where Squalo presented himself as carefully sculpted, though talented, hitman, Madame Superbi had all the air of a natural charmer, her hands untainted and mind unusually sharp.
Still, there are lots of differences. Squalo had a particular intuition for battle and was an unpleasant, micromanaging planner, yet Laurie Superbi is known for her rash decisions concerning family and extremely trained eyes. She is no natural hitman, no trained assassin, but she is an interestingly charismatic escort who probably has material on too many men of the underground society. Her training as a criminology psychologist allowed her to raise high in the ranks of most investigation forces with ties to the underworld, and she worked along with the corrupt side of the police to cover tracks if she was paid enough.
Word said she is also an important informant for the Vindice, but Reborn gives no thought to those rumours. Madame Superbi loathed everything related to the Mafia enough to not get involved so deep, though the Omertá disagreed with her going anywhere.
She is no Vongola, though. In fact, her grudge for the Vongola is well known and respected, and she rarely interacted with anyone under Vongola protection directly. Not her son, not Colonnello (which meant there had to be something else besides just interest in the Sawada children) and, definitely, not the Cavallone. Dino had been in a constant state of fleeing for his life whenever she appeared in his sight. Xanxus had a similar reaction a long time ago, but it faded along with other things as time went by, disappointedly enough.
"I thank you, Madame Superbi, for your presence." Reborn, who was a Vongola in all but name, didn't know her directly. He had heard only words of her from his fellow hitmen (either from being too close to being discovered, or due to their baser interactions with her) and sometimes from Lal Mirch, who loathed her. That didn't mean he knew all that much about her. "However, I must ask you about your interest in my current students, if you will allow it...?"
"Oi! That's no way to ask, kora!" Colonnello himself, who was all but napping on the table, suddenly snapped up. "You should tell us if you are coming out of your hole, kora!"
Right. He hadn't seen Colonnello, or any other Arcobaleno besides Lal Mirch, in a while. Maybe, since Luce's death?
"Shut up, Colonnello, kora." Still, he can't help but tease his younger Arcobaleno. "You haven't even told me what you are doing here, bird brain."
"That is confidential and not Master Reborn's business," commented Madame Superbi even as Colonnello opened his mouth to answer:
"We are chasing a convict, kora."
So, a confidential case after a convict. What famiglia messed up so badly as to have both Colonnello and Madame Superbi on a case like that? Not the Vongola, or they would have gotten Lal Mirch, but not unrelated either, or they wouldn't have been able to get Colonnello on their side. Maybe one of the periferic famiglia, then?
"Oh?" He raises his eyebrow at Colonnello, who is blushing and stuttering about how he shouldn't have said that. Madame Superbi sighs and, after raising her napkin to her mouth, speaks once again.
"We are looking for a remnant of the Estraneo," she said, subtly looking around for eavesdroppers. In that sense, she was definitely nothing like Squalo, who would have threatened anyone out of the building by now. "We feared they might be in Mafialand, but we realized they never disembarked here, so we will leave come the end of the week."
And, that proved Reborn's fear that they were, indeed, spying on them. If they had found a clue and weren't needed in Mafialand anymore, Colonnello would have retreated into the training grounds and Madame Superbi would have gone back to her general information gathering. For them to have attached themselves to Reborn means they are curious, and a curious Colonnello is a dangerous thing.
"Then, your interest in my students come from a personal investment?" Reborn has no doubt that, by paying Madame Superbi enough, she will stay quiet; however, that would leave him in debt and he doesn't want to be in debt to the terrible informant. It wouldn't be as bad as being in Viper's debt, but it was close enough.
"That's not it, kora!"
"Not at all."
The answer is puzzling enough. If they aren't interested in them for information purposes, then why...?
"I told Master Colonnello I wished to warn Master Reborn about his students, however it would seem my intentions have been misunderstood." Her annoying way of speaking reminds Reborn a little of Tsunayoshi or Hibari Masato. Quiet, passive yet with an undertone of aggressiveness that told you pay attention, kora! "The two of them are mafia, aren't they?"
"They wouldn't be here if they weren't," Colonnello says, for once looking interested by what Madame Superbi is saying.
"I should warn you, I hope you have a way to teach how to feel to those students of yours," she says, once again hiding her lips behind a hand. No matter what she wishes to say, it is meant to be a secret. "To feel and develop an attachment, really."
Reborn knows this. He knows both Sawada children (all Namimori children, really) are borderline asocial, apathetic about everything and uncaring about most social manners. Psychopathic, even, but they care too much about each other to be really lacking emotion.
"Explain."
"Wait, you mean it is not a façade?" If Colonnello is out of his element enough to drop the annoying kora tic he has, then Reborn guesses it is something not easily perceived. Madame Superbi was trained to read between words, expressions and mannerisms, so she should know. "The fuck are those kids!?"
Mafia children are taught since earlier in their lives that displaying emotions and interests is a way to give their enemies ammunition, really effective ammunition, too. It isn't rare to see some of them completely cover their true selves behind a mask, but in the end that is all it is: a fabricated lie.
The fact that both Tsuna and Hide (and also Yamamoto, sometimes) are being their real selves when they serenely cut down on people's mental defenses is scary. Namimori children are scary in a way no child has the right to be. If they ever had a real love for something, it has been dutifully beaten out of them by extensive use of Mist flames, subliminal messages and rule of conquest. If so, then what is left in them? In all of them?
Hide likes competition and peace. He thrives on being almost at the top and disciplining people into following certain laws. Is that the true Hide, or is that a Hide that the Disciplinary Committee created after years of micromanaging his life? If it isn't the real Hide, then which one is? Is it the one who can't order around a person without apologizing, or the one that smiles when he has the right to beat up people? Is it the one that enjoys following each command he is given, or the one that constantly defies his own grandfather's rules of not feeding the stray dogs, Hide, damn it!
Is the real Hide the one that wants to leave Namimori, or the one who can't even think about leaving because it goes against the law? The one who can speak a mile per second while tearing up and holding on to whoever was next to him, or the one that is the well-mannered, fine-spoken heir to the second most important family in the city?
Hide makes Reborn uncomfortable, and it isn't even an act. Hide naturally jumps from one pole to the other, from two completely opposite emotion poles: extreme apathy and competitiveness or extreme anxiety and talkativeness. There is no inbetween. He is either an imprinting-trained child soldier or an awkward, slightly rebellious teenager.
Tsuna is another can of worms Reborn feels uncomfortable around. Even now, Tsuna doesn't talk to him about anything related to his own life, not his school life or daily life. Tsuna doesn't let Reborn help with homework, but he will invite Reborn to play games if he is too bored to do anything else. That is all Tsuna does: skip class because he is bored and scared of the outside world and his classmates, and do too many things at the same time because he can't focus on one at the same time (Reborn has seen him playing three different board games with three different people while doing homework).
The thing Reborn noticed about Tsuna is that he has an on-off switch for his emotions. Around friends and family, he will be a... child. Around everyone else, he will be a creepy child. But if both of them are masks, if all of Tsuna is a mask, even the laughing one, the just a little cruel one and the one who constantly yells at his brother because of different reasons... What is left in him?
Everything Reborn has seen about Tsuna is copied from someone else. He will be arrogant and short-tempered, like Irie Shouichi. He will be deductive and passive aggressive, like Sawada Nana. He will be cold and efficient, like Hidetada. He picked up a weird, mafia-esque personality, one that waltzes into a discussion and then walks out completely undamaged, from somewhere Reborn doesn't know. And then he picked Reborn's own personality in the time he had been in the Sawada family, which left them to deal with a terrible child who believed he was always right.
Tsuna is always copying. Like a recording machine that doesn't know when to stop, he had picked up everything he saw, processed it and used it to his advantage. Until he got bored with whoever he was dealing with, when he turned sharp and blunt (and sliced a trained interrogator in half) before going back to being empty and monotone. Reborn would call him the poster boy for psychopathy, but even blank Tsuna has an unusual sense of care and love for the people around him. Also, he can't turn down requests, no matter from who it comes. He will do anything people ask of him if he has the time, surprisingly enough, until he gets bored.
"Even if it was a façade," the lady says, "it isn't really well done, they let some things through that are... a little telling. And even if they didn't let it show, their reaction to certain things says enough about them, I think, Master Reborn-"
Shit, not Madame Superbi. Out of all people who could figure it out first, why did it have to be children's rights most efficient warrior, herself? Reborn hasn't even accepted it, himself, so why-
"These children are being tortured, are they not?"
053
Training
Reborn had been absent for a whole day and, when he came back, he did it followed by a blonde baby with a blue pacifier. The baby introduced himself as Colonnello, the Rain, and had taken it on himself to train Decimo in the beautiful art of cross country battle, kora! Both Yamamoto and Hayato himself ended up being signed up for the lessons, which are... a little fun, honestly.
Funny as it is, Hayato doesn't think Decimo needs any more field advantage than he already has. Decimo excels in hiding and maneuvering around unnoticed, so cross country is just another way of telling him he can do whatever he wants. Since it is a forest, he has picked up too many sticks to use for self-defense, and although it is the three of them against the Arcobaleno duo, it is still unfair.
Unfair from Decimo, who is used to running around in complete silence, making noise at certain well-planned places for misdirection. Unfair from Yamamoto, who can just sit in plain sight, close his eyes and wait. Unfair for Hayato, who is the only one out of his element, as the loud noises of his main weapon are an easy way to be targeted and long range guns are Colonnello's specialty.
He has set up a few makeshift minefields around his hiding place, but even then, he is terrified. Not for his life, since this is only training, but for the fact he is, still, the weakest of the three of them.
Also, Lambo is here, for some reason.
The child sits besides Hayato, squeezing his bazooka between his arms tightly, in a clear mimic of Hayato's own grip on the sniper rifle he managed to steal from Colonnello's stash (in the other side of the field, with a bunch of other weapons. It was hard to get). It is the time traveling bazooka, too, which is stupid as he is pretty sure Mamma Sawada and Reborn had banned him from using the thing for any reason asides from life threatening.
"Ahodera, when will they show up." Lambo is working hard to keep himself quiet, even if he wasn't even invited to the training session. It is good learning, though, as unexpected elements always are a risk, but still!
"When Yamamoto moves, probably," he whispers back. The plan was easy enough, with Decimo moving around to attract the Arcobaleno into position and Yamamoto acting decoy, while Hayato himself was tasked with tagging them out. "And don't call me Ahodera."
Funny. They always end up playing some or other twisted version of tag when it comes to their training. Maybe it is because Decimo is used to running from Hibari Kyoya, or because Yamamoto trains on a strict one-touch-you-are-out way, but then Hayato has become used to their usual tag games and could even say he enjoys them. Not used to Lambo just yet, though, even if the boy is always around for some reason.
"They are cloooose,"
And they are. Hayato can see the faint rustle of leaves moving at fast speed across the forest, and he gets ready to shoot. Aiming atop a tree when there is another one sitting next to you is a little uncomfortable, specially since Lambo is changing the amunnition for his bazooka. He didn't even know he bazooka could be used for something besides time traveling bullets.
"They are close, indeed," says a childish voice above them, and in their panic the two Vongola fall to the ground.
There is a cloud of smoke, and neither Hayato or Lambo are present anymore.
053.b
Mad Scientist(s)
"Hmm… Interesting," the green baby is saying when Reborn and Colonnello make it to the explosion grounds. Hide and Takeshi, who were closeby enough, are running in their direction, but Hide feels he will not make it in time.
He never makes it in time, really.
This time, however, he arrives just in time to see a coughing, older Gokudera helping up the usual coat-clad Lambo, who has a small, awkward looking robot in his hands. Or, he assumes it is a robot: small, two long metal bars for arms and no legs, though it seems to be floating just above a rapidly spinning ball. Lambo throws it to the ground when he is steady, and the robot floats off with a purposeful stride.
Gokudera is… taller. His hair is a little longer than the current one, his eyes dark behind his glasses, and he is dressed in a fine-looking black suit with a red tie. Standing straight, he is a little taller than Takeshi, way taller than Hide and he gives the impression that he could look or talk down on you until you died of embarrassment.
"Takeshi," he says, nodding at the swordsman, then turns to give a small bow to Hide. "Decimo. Reborn-san. What a nice sight you two make."
That is all he manages to say before Lambo wraps himself around him, looking hysterical. He is speaking in low, rapid Italian-French-English, throwing looks at the green baby every few seconds. Gokudera seems to have a hard time keeping the teenager down, for some reason.
"So this is the ten years bazooka?" The baby, who is kneeling by the still smoking bazooka, is going through all the questions a curious child could ask. "Who made it? Why did that kid have it? I know it brings along the one it hits, but does it work also if one is reaches for the smoke? Were you two in the same space when this happened? Wha-"
"Not even in the same country," Gokudera scoffs at the same time another one speaks:
"Verde," Colonnello (whose pacifier is glowing bright blue, same as the yellow one on Reborn's, same as the green baby's own) cuts into the baby's ramblings just before Verde can start questioning Lambo. "Were you stalking us?"
"Incorrect." The baby -Verde- dusts his hands off on his own coat (a little muddy, probably from when he dropped from the tree). "I was following the Bovino child."
At this, Lambo bursts into wail, loud and pained, and Hide is reminded that he is just fifteen. Colonnello is quick to take him off Gokudera's arms and pull him away, while Gokudera-
Gokudera has his hand wrapped around the small, green baby's neck and is furious.
"Listen up, you little shit," he is saying, completely livid. "I don't care if you are, were, the brightest mind of the generation or what, I will just tell you this. I can ruin your research with a pellet, Verde Leonardo, so do not make Lambo cry."
It takes him a second to have a gun pointed at the baby's head, to close to evade and definitely with enough strength to blow up someone's head at that distance. It takes all of Hide and Takeshi's strength to pull him back, and even then he is still reaching for Verde like he wants to maim him for the worst offence of the world.
"Maa, maa, calm down Gokudera," Takeshi laughs, using his arm to lower the weapon still pointed at Verde. "Just because you are older doesn't mean you can bully the kids-"
"Do you even know how old that guy is!?"
Hide ignores the ongoing discussion in favor of glaring at the baby. Even after ten years, it would seem Gokudera and Takeshi don't really get along and that makes him… sad. He wouldn't have found out if it wasn't for Lambo's bazooka, who was probably brought along because he sensed someone was following him. In conclusion, this is all Verde's fault.
Verde, who is currently sitting on the ground besides Reborn, the ten years bazooka on his lap and looking like he is touching his favorite musician guitar, or something. He was dropped to the ground not a minute ago, and he is already fussing over the bazooka. Creepy.
"-you kidding? The Bovino have great technology hidden-"
"I thought you considered them inferior?"
"In most things, but not in this, they were the leading experts in time travel theory and flame weaponry-"
Hide ignores it and decides to focus back on Gokudera. He notices Colonnello on Lambo's shoulder a few meters away, and they are both talking in low, hushed tones as Lambo scrambles to try and catch his robot. Not important. Gokudera.
"You grew tall, Gokudera-san," he compliments, reaching with his arm to compare their heights. That is so unfair, the Sawada family's height curse, and he is all about wearing platforms. He will do it. Later. "Tell me Takeshi is taller."
"He is," Gokudera nods, before shaking his head suddenly and taking Hide's shoulders. "That's not- Decimo, are you safe? You haven't met that jerk yet, have you? Where is Tsunayoshi?"
"We have met lots of jerks~," Takeshi sing-songs, giving the babies on the ground a discreet glare. "You will have to specify!"
"Ugh, the Mist jerk, that- that stupid idiotic possessive pineapple-"
Gokudera continues insulting the pineapple. For some reason. He is going on a tangent about tropical fruits and their unworthiness in the nutritive scale when, after a look from Hide, Takeshi reaches to cover his mouth with his hands.
"Hmph!?"
"Quiet Gokudera looks prettier," Takeshi says and Hide laughs at Gokudera's blushing face. He manages to throw Takeshi off- "Woah, you got quick- hey-," and go on an even longer tirade about stupid baseball and stepford smiles and blood covered laughing freaks when Lambo and Colonnello come back.
"What the hell, kora!"
"V-Verde-san, if you do that, you may break the timeline-"
Hide turns to see Verde and Reborn sitting innocently and baby-like inside a circle of dismantled Bazooka.
What.
"This is a really advanced tool, are you sure it is an inheritance? How did you manage to solidify and compress the time paradox? You do keep producing the charge, don't you?"
Lambo, who was making a high pitched noise in the back of his throat and waving his hands around at the sight of his bazooka dismantled, snapped back to attention in half a second. Much unlike Gokudera, his answers were short and to the point, but stuttering all through it.
"Ah- yes, I- I made it, then future me fixed it and sent it back about half a century- That is a secret- please stop…!"
Wait, Lambo did what?
Gokudera doesn't seem surprised, but instead is furious. He is reaching back for his gun, stopped only by Colonnello's and Takeshi's hard efforts to hold him back. He mutters something that sounds like irresponsible parents, all of them, to which Hide just gives him a confused look.
Lambo did what?
"Fu… You are an interesting child, Lambo Bovino," Verde says, still not looking up from where he is breaking apart future Lambo's masterpiece.
Lambo is still panicking, sort of, kneeling before Verde and trying to keep the pieces of his bazooka in their relative places to their final position (which Verde is… not doing. Terrible), with Reborn snickering next to him and giving suggestions to the other scientist. The tiny spinning robot is hovering by Verde's head and offering him tools and it just, it looks a little like a lab assistant? Maybe?
"Why did you even make such a thing?" He asks, unthinking, and is pained to see Lambo still. His thoughts come so strong, a complete mess of pride despair purpose suffering, crossed up with Gokudera's own too strong feelings of shame. "The tiny thing, I mean, not… the bazooka, I think I understand why you would make that?"
Except he doesn't, at all. So did Lambo, in the future, create a bazooka to send back, so it was given to Lambo, in the past, who would constantly bring Lambo from the future back, inspiring himself into researching time travel so he could make a bazooka and send it back and- What? How does that even work?
What happened if Lambo died or… decided to not research things? What if he just wanted to be a normal boy because of his mishaps in time? Then said mishaps wouldn't happen and he would have no reason to- agh, too much to think about.
Colonnello and Takeshi seem to be… thinking the same, at the same time, and all three of them groan at the impossibility of it all. Gokudera just looks… bitter, and Reborn seems to be thoughtful.
"But then, then that means we are in-," Verde's eyes are wide, bright and excited, and when Lambo nods he just… grins. With his extremely bored expression, Verde grins. "Interesting… This merits research! I'm keeping this-"
"No, you can't!
POOF!
Lambo, the one from this time, has a bag of gummy bears in his hands and is covered with an oversized lab coat. He blinks up at everyone, confused, before shoving a handful of bears into his mouth.
Hide has a second to react before Gokudera is all over him, hands millimeters from his shoulders and looking for something. He has this completely desperate expression in his face and his eyes seem like voids in their pain- there is so much pain and confusion Hide feels he will drown if he touches someone right now.
"Decimo, are you alright? Are you safe? Where is-"
And in that moment, all three pacifiers belonging to each baby glow.
lightning interlude
Leonardo
He poofs back to his time just in time for his tears to spill.
What an interesting child, Verde had said. Verde had called him interesting, him, who didn't matter at all to the scientist. No matter, he was just an interesting child, not a troublesome brat, not a lazy assistant, not Lambo.
Not even when he had finished his first, bare bones paper on time travel had he been called interesting.
He falls to his knees and presses the heels of his hands to his eyes. Verde had called him interesting. Verde had called him a child. Verde, who hadn't cared if he was a child, Verde who insulted his behavior as much as he praised his work.
Verde.
"Professor?"
There is another one kneeling before him, all white coat and messy dark hair. Small hands, small eyes, barely disguised age; a young, too young member of the Vongola research department, focused in robots. Only sixteen, with a dark, dark past, a dead family and a comatose brother.
Lambo himself isn't all that different, right? A dead family, a comatose brother. Or rather, a dead guardian, a comatose brother and half a missing family.
"Professor Leona-"
"Not professor," he corrects, immediately. They were in the same classes at university, the same level. Yet, because of Lambo's connections and knowledge, he had been shoved into a teaching role he didn't want nor need, which lead to most of his classmates calling him professor. "I am but a student."
"A teaching student, then," Hiro says, laughing. The boy is Lambo's hand picked partner when it comes to his current research, and honestly, he knows way more about robots than Lambo would ever do. Hiro's life was all about robots. "Are you alright, Lambo?"
"I went to the past, I'm not alright," he replies honestly. All he wants to do is curl up on his chair and cry, maybe talk to his sister (who is missing), maybe talk to his brother (who is comatose), maybe talk to his mother (who is missing). Maybe hug the- where did it go? "I met Hide and- and- I lost Verde's multi-tool...!"
He left it behind! He can't feel the constant buzzing around any longer, he can't feel the familiar stored Sun flames keeping it alive, he lost it!
"Oh." Hiro is the only one who probably understands, asides from the Vongola Guardians (who are... scattered through the land, looking for clues). Hiro, who has a comatose brother, a dead family and hands tainted in blood because of a mistake. Hiro never lost his brother's research, though! "Want me to leave?"
He shakes his head. Though he does want to be alone (his multi-tool!), they are working on a time limit. They probably don't have a year until the Millefiore takes action, and reverse engineering the Acid Rain's Mosca is more important than Lambo crying over Verde and Verde's custom made tool that had been Lambo's high school graduation present.
He wants to cry. He is already crying.
"The Mosca-"
"Working on it. You should take a break."
Though it takes him a few minutes, he nods and Hiro goes back to his work. The sound of rapid typing lulls him into a half-asleep state that is the only peace he can get nowadays. The sound of Hiro's voice speaking to the AI that runs their system only serves to keep him in an state of this is normal, nothing is getting worse. Though there is no constant buzzing near him, no timed scans on the state of his schedule and no loud alarms to warn him when he is late, he knows this is normal.
Half an hour later, he gets up from the ground and to his desk. It is as messy as always and, well, nothing is ever not messy in Lambo and Hiro's research lab. There is a half-made multi-tool that he turns on with a button (the prototype). The lightning pillars are lit up happily, crackling with rays of green and yellow, without anything to prove they were ever broken, so he has to smile.
The Millefiore had ruined them, but they have been repairing the damage. Maybe, someday their repairs will be faster than anything the Millefiore does.
Without a care for the pain (the Lightning flames and real lightning just brush his skin with a tingly touch), he reaches into the middle pillar and pulls out a faded, cracked green pacifier. The flames fight to keep the sphere inside, but they give in when Lambo sends in his own Lightning flames as a replacement. The incomplete multi-tool reaches for it and keeps it close to itself, recharging, even as Lambo brings the both of them closer to himself.
"Hello, Verde-san."
Hiro rolls his eyes at him from his chair, and Lambo curls up around the small robot to speak with his long lost sponsor, mentor and guardian.
054
Skull
He looks down at his glowing pacifier with well disguised interest. It is a dull purple, though at times it changes into an earthy red when it feels like being particularly annoying, same as when it spawns cracks that give it some vitro feeling that feels all wrong. It shouldn't be spawning cracks, to start with, nor should it be glowing.
Pacifiers of the Tri-ni-Sette only glow spontaneously when they feel equivalent or stronger flames near themselves. So far, Skull has never seen his pacifier glow out of nowhere, not even with Luce or... those guys. Oh, the glow could be forced, that was for sure, though one needed impossible control of Flames to manipulate the dormant Flames inside the pacifier, which he is, thankfully, quite adept at.
Had Kawahira picked another Arcobaleno for of his set? He thinks back, was there any death notice sometime in the past? Besides Viper being missing, but they are quite alive if Skull has any word on it, and Luce passing away... No, it would have to be Sky from the particular feeling he is getting from the reaction, and Aria was still in sad possession of her pacifier. Bermuda, maybe? No, his reaction felt more like a faded Sky covered in hate and it was... not good.
His Arcobaleno set was an interesting one, too, to find in this island. He had seen them already, three of them all gathered like cute babies in the middle of the forest, though he hadn't thought much about it. He had meant to approach them, but hadn't wanted to bring attention to himself. If whoever was close was so strong as to make his pacifier glow, then it was rare Skull hadn't met them yet.
In curiousness, he turns around.
He is small, a child of probably six, maybe seven. No Arcobaleno, then, but in possession of a pacifier -probably marked for the future, which happened... not often, but had happened a few times in the past that he was quite regretful of. The pacifier, glowing a washed out orange, sits in the middle of his chest like it was meant to belong there, unlike his clothes that seem more fit for a warm winter day that a tropical beach.
"Grim-san," the boy greets, and it takes a second for Skull to place the distinct feeling of something else coming from him. "It has been a while."
"Daemon Spade." He nods his acknowledgement and, after motioning Oodako to keep his distance, approaches the boy. "What a curious host."
"This one is no host," the boy says, and Skull feels Daemon's consciousness give away to something lighter, yet equally tainted. "It is nice to meet you, Grim-san. I have heard a lot about you."
He whistles in surprise. Daemon Spade was a known element to him, but it is the first time he has seen the Flame remnant take possession of a willing body. Whoever this child is, he has to be strong enough to tolerate the presence that is Spade in his daily life, which means he is definitely strong enough to be the wielder of the Sky flames his pacifier is reacting to.
Stronger than Aria, that much is easy to see. Aria hadn't yet recovered from the strain of taking over the Sky pacifier, and it has been years. She was broken beyond repair, still is, and definitely won't be a good mother anyways. Poor Yuni would have to deal with her half-there mother for all her life, until she took over the Curse herself-
Except she wouldn't. This child was the definite heir of the Sky Curse. What was Kawahira thinking?
"You know me, but I know you not?" He tilts his head to the side, plopping down in front of the boy and motioning him to do the same. "I could call you Spade, but I don't think you would like that."
"No, that's Daemon," the boy shakes his head. His voice is quiet and dull and it makes Skull feel like he is meeting a younger Bermuda all over again. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi."
...what the hell was Kawahira planning?
"As in, Sawada Iemitsu's-"
"I am in no way related to that." The boy's -Tsunayoshi's- eyes narrow and his pacifier grows whiter. Not good, not good. He makes a motion with his arm and Skull feels Spade click back in place with practiced ease. "Please do not mention that pathetic man before us."
"Alright, then. I will just call him Tsunayoshi, if that's okay?"
"That sounds fine."
And just like that, the topic is dropped.
054.b
The Grim
It has been a while since he met the Grim in his real body, really. Daemon has followed the man's path through the ages, obsessively so, and he had gone through so many names and appearances it was a wonder he still remembered his true self.
The Grim. The oldest Arcobaleno in existence, one of the oldest Humans in existence. Younger than Kawahira, but still old enough to remember most business related to the Tri-ni-Sette and this world's make up. Hopefully, he would have a way to stop Tsunayoshi from not aging, as Skull de Mort himself did not age even when he stopped holding on to his flames. He had to have a way-
Daemon rummages into the corner of Tsunayoshi's mind where the knowledge is stored, and comes back with a well-hidden piece of future information. Somehow, somehow. It will happen, so there has to be a way to replicate it now, right?
There is only one path in this world. Predestination is a bitch.
"So, Spade, as much as I am meant to stay Neutral before Checkerface and all, Tsunayoshi is surprisingly small? How old is he?"
"That is what I mean to ask you. Tsunayoshi is ten." The Grim jerks back, looking pained, and when he opens his mouth to ask something else Daemon predicts it. "He received it seven years ago, approximately."
"Hooooooly shit, Earth help me, okay, okay, then-" The baby -not a baby, probably a couple thousands years old- coughs and fixes his position from where he had been sprawled on the ground. Amazing how such an old being can act. "He isn't aging normally already, is he?"
"No, he is not." And this here is the only reason Daemon cares to speak with the Grim. He promised that he would protect Tsunayoshi, after his mind had been almost healed by association. Oh, it is still a mess and needed lots of constant check ups and re-balancing, but if he can stop even just one bad thing from happening, he will. "He will never look his age, but I was wondering if you could help us."
It could be replicated, right? It wasn't just Enma, right?
"Well, you are an illusionist. I guess you are using it to cover it up?"
"In front of his family, yes." And he had, ever since the start. The illusion growth has to be kept at a relatively low pace until Tsunayoshi enters puberty, though, or it would be too obvious. As it is, Tsunayoshi's size and physical appearance would become a danger in the future. "He is a Sawada, so..."
"Hm," the Grim hums to himself, crossing his impossibly chubby arms around his chest. "I understand the danger, but usually inner propagation is the only way to fix it- and I don't think you want me to meddle with your... companion?"
No, Daemon feels the reaction from the darker part of his mind -and Tsunayoshi, immediately. They recoil and pull away, hiding all their Flames into a tight closed space impossible to access. He feels the lack of Flames like a lack of everything else, a lack of Tsunayoshi by his side, and struggles to keep a hold of himself.
"Definitely not."
"Guessed so," says Skull, looking at the fluctuating glow of Tsunayoshi's pacifier with worried eyes. Understandable, if he can feel the sudden shift of their Flame strength, which he was always able to. "I will see if something can be done, but it may take some time and research."
"Much appreciated."
"Don't thank me yet, I'm not sure if it's possible. I'll do what I can."
055
return
It is their final day outside, and Takeshi finds himself in a cruise for the second time in the past week. Surprisingly enough, nothing really bad had happened in the outside world, going against everything his father and teachers had been telling him since he was old enough to care.
They had met Verde, Colonello and Skull (though the last one had been just by sight when the baby had dropped by to kidnap the others), three of the group of babies that Reborn was friends or colleagues with. Verde had stolen Lambo's bazooka, much to the boy's despair, and Colonnello had taken to showing Gokudera and Hide the proper way for long-range sniping through the last day.
Takeshi himself had wasted many of the days in Mafialand being the laziest he ever allowed himself to. He kept his running schedule in the mornings, but asides from that he didn't do much. He went to the beach (quite unlike Namimori Port's own) and dragged Hide to a haunted house, but asides from that and the day they had dropped everything to train in cross country warfare, he had mostly just... rested.
He felt the best he had felt in ages.
Now they are on the cruise, after bidding their farewells to the mysterious babies, and the soft and steady rocking of the ship keeps trying to lull him to sleep and out of his comfort zone. He can't sleep, though, not when Hide is running left and right like a headless chicken through the ship's leisure grounds. Also, he feels sick.
"You may want to calm down," he groans from his spot on a couch when Hide goes past, once again, after beating Reborn in a quick card game match. He grabs his one and only best friend by the arm and pulls him to the couch, forcing him to sit down next to him. "How can you have so much energy?"
"I love ships, Takeshi? What the heck, I really love ships," Hide says, excited and out of breath, and Takeshi mumbles and drops his weight on his friend's legs. Hide doesn't complain and brushes his fingers through his hair- that feels nice. "When I'm older, I'm getting a ship and we are traveling the seven seas, okay?"
"No, no, that's-" a terrible idea, he wants to say. It is his second time in a ship, and the first time he was so excited about going out he couldn't sit down, but the rocking motion is seriously making him feel wrong. Too tired, sick, like he is doing something he shouldn't be doing at all. "Let's stay with... cars..."
"Ah, Takeshi, could it be you are motion sick?" Hide says with well-disguised amusement, but Takeshi has known Hide for far too long to not be able to notice it. He rolls around and glares up at his best friend, who simply laughs. "Yeah, I get you, Tsuna is the same. He is stuck in his room and won't look at the sea with me, it is a little-"
No way. Hide seems to realize it as well and his smile twists into a sick grimace. Takeshi flinches as the hand in his hair squeezes, and struggles to sit up.
"You don't think-"
"...it really wouldn't be the first time they do something like that," he says and leans back on Hide's shoulder with a sigh. Yet another thing Namimori messed with. "I wish they would stop."
They stay silent for a while, Hide's energy vanishing with a few words and a strong realization, and Takeshi gets comfortable by snuggling closer to him. Who cares if there are too many people? They are Namimori children and they can do whatever they want -except leave the town and notice certain obvious things, that is.
He doesn't understand how did he not notice how fucked up Namimori was. He suspects it is because of some weird and really strong way of subliminal messaging that has been around since forever ago. Not only did he forget his mother was alive (he mailed the letter, now), but he also forgot... too many other things he can't remember, but he feels missing.
Well, now they know. They didn't want to know, though, but if Hide is becoming a mafia boss (imagine that, Hide, a mafia boss!) then they need to be aware of everything that is going on around them.
"Move, freak," that is Gokudera, holding a chicken for some reason, so Takeshi moves over so he can sit besides them. "We will be arriving after tonight, according to the captain. I hope you are ready."
"...not really-"
"But we can deal with it."
As Takeshi raises his hand to high-five Hide weakly, he promises himself once again he will never leave Hide alone.
It is time to shake off a city's influence.
(redacted) interlude
the first one
He settles down on a dusty couch, closes his eyes and dreams.
"M.M., don't you dare-"
"Aw, c'mon, Ken-chan! It will be fun!"
Mukuro, I really don't like these twins you picked up. When I get there I will dump them on you and you can kill them.
"Chikusa is certainly a cute child-"
"Get that bird away from me you perverted freak."
Fufu, what a cute child I have found… I always say all people come back to die.
"-two point seven, two point eight, two point nine-"
"Fran, darling, what are you doing?"
Welcome home, brother.
He wakes up the following day with a sense of familiarity and home he hasn't felt in a while, with his faded emotions trying to surge back from their resting place and making him feel even more disconnected than usual.
He rolls around on the couch of Kokuyoland and looks to the floor. Broken, dirty, definitely nothing like the small cabin they had been staying at before they were captured; no sense of safety, or any barriers already raised.
Lancia would have a heart attack if he saw him now. I know you are suicidal, but no defenses in new grounds, how crazy are you? Think about Chikusa! Except, Chikusa isn't here, so there is no real need to set up guards for him.
Still.
He yawns and sits up. So Lancia will not have a heart attack, he better make this place habitable in the next couple months. Make sure there is a mice nest around for Ken and enough spots for Chikusa to hide, things like that. Fix this couch. The floor. School?
How do civilians live?
He misses the snake slithering off the room, so busy he is in being confused about daily life.
NOTE: One chapter of Daily Life to go and we can get this ball rolling! Yay, Mukuro, welcome! Also, fuck Colonnello's name, honest.
Kaiji, because I'm not gonna explain it. Anyways, Mukuro is a really good boss, he goes information gathering on a cruise while his team is off in who knows where probably dying. Could learn a little from Xanxus, tho Squalo didn't like having to get into Namimori with all these people talking about eating sharks. For some reason, Mukuro and Chrome always end up as siblings in my stories In my single father AU, she is like five years older, but here they are twins... and she's still older.
The insight episode (the beauty and the bird) was a little hard to write. I had to show how Reborn views Hide's anxiety about his world and how he sees Tsuna and Daemon constantly playing around with people. A psychologist woukd pick up something wrong from the way Hide and Tsuna act and call them damaged, probably abused, but they aren't really psychopaths. They are just... really fucked up. Specially Tsuna… haha… Ah yes, Madame Superbi, one of the dozen OCs that are just background characters but doing relevant things.
Hiro, Lambo's partner in the future who is reverse engineering the Mosca, is Hamada Hiro, from BH6. I was gonna make an OC or use Giannini (nop), but well, this is easier. Also I have a BH6 half written fic in which Hiro is recruited into the mafia, so it was just... augh. Inventor prodigy meet scientist/assassin prodigy, have fun. Spoilers they are both in university and do mafia things in the background. Also, Lambo Leonardo is such a funny name. Like Magdalene Mordree. Why is Verde's pacifier not stone? Aaahahahaha spoilers . Same as why did Lambo make a time machine? Well, that's not really a spoiler, is it, considering…
No Gokudera future interlude, though maybe soon. What are your thoughts on YamaGoku?