To say that Reborn hadn't liked what was going on was the understatement of the century, because everything about the situation had just screamed 'Wrong' to him.
You see, according to Reborn, there were only two categories of which he labelled 'Wrong' and 'Wrong' in his mind for the events that often happen around him.
'Wrong' was when Colonello and Lal had stupidly decided to find comfort in each other after the curse, using up almost all of their left-over Life Flames just to momentarily turn into their Adult Forms to forget and to deny the reality of the situation. They were just lucky that Luce had the grace to knock their skulls together and snap them out of it before it was too late.
'Wrong' was when Skull had accidentally sold all of them out to another Mafia Famiglia, almost killing them all. Thankfully, the evidence of him being tricked was solid, or else he would've been in one of the Vindice's prison cells by then, or worse. The Arcobaleno, however, had forgiven him only after the entire unnamed Famiglia was destroyed, along with their secrets.
'Wrong' was when Iemitsu, that fucking idiot, was introduced as CEDEF's boss and as Nono's External Advisor. Oh, the man was good at his job, but that blond idiot was too flighty and too much of a care-free idiot to Reborn.
'Wrong' was when three of Nono's sons were murdered and following soon after, The Cradle Incident.
And then, there was 'Wrong'.
For one, 'Wrong' was the incident of having being cursed and turned into an immortal baby along with seven (well, it used to be seven. It was six now.) other powerful people to live out the rest of their long, miserable lives until the moment that son of a bitch Checkerface decides that they've outlived their uses and that it was time to bring in fresh meat.
'Wrong' was finding out that their timers had disappeared, leading up to the situation with Lal and Colonello.
'Wrong' was when Luce revealed that she was pregnant and that she was going to die soon after giving birth, and her daughter was the one that was going to have to carry on that said curse.
'Wrong' was when they had to bury their beloved Sky's body in the cold, dark earth.
'Wrong' was when Aria, Luce's precious baby girl, had suddenly disappeared one night while under their watch.
And 'Wrong' was three days ago when Reborn had happened to glance at his own reflection in a glass mirror, not five minutes later when he was on the way back home from that shady bar, only for his eyes to zero in on the numbers that he hasn't seen on his own body for God knows how long reflecting back at him, inked proudly into his pacifier.
Needless to say, Reborn had promptly shattered that mirror, and thought himself hallucinating. But after hours of refusing to look at the pacifier, convinced that he was just too tired, he gave in. Because maybe, just maybe, it wasn't just him going crazy and there was still hope for him yet.
So he'd looked.
And promptly shattered the mirror again.
Because this time, he could see the numbers clearer than ever, and Reborn wasn't stupid. He knew what this could possibly mean. What it was practically suggesting.
And how much clearer could the clues given possibly get, anyways? A job in Japan conveniently thirteen hours away, the numbers appearing right after Nono sent his informant to give him the file; Reborn wouldn't even be alive then if he wasn't even able to pick up the so-called hints life was throwing at him.
It meant that either his soulmate was in Namimori, or that the kid himself was possibly Reborn's mate.
Their mate, because a Sky was just as well a mate to the Arcobaleno.
And honestly… Reborn doesn't even know how he feels about that.
But what bugged him more was the mystery of what triggered this effect and how this even happened to his pacifier in the first place. Staring at the pacifier reflected back in the mirror, he tried to think.
Was it his Flames? Did they pick up what he'd missed all this time? Were they pulled to the idea of a new Sky after so long? Was that why they had chosen to respond so desperately? Was that it?
…
No. It wasn't.
No matter how much the Greatest Hitman in the world tried to figure it out, wracking his big brain for possible answers, the answer just kept on slipping away, and logic was no help in this particular situation, either. His Flames just didn't work that way, and he'd know if something was up with Checkerface, because…
("This is your last mission. Go there, and you will receive the biggest reward you have ever gotten to make up for your troubles.")
Because Checkerface was the bastard that would risk everything and everyone else for the sake of the Tri-Ni-Sette, and there was no way he would do something as risky as this. Letting them find their other half, gaining even more powerful Flames, especially if their mate was a Sky…
Shaking his head, Reborn tried to stop himself from thinking too deep. He didn't even know who his mate was yet, and it wasn't even confirmed that it was Iemitsu's innocent kid. For all he knew, it could be some other civilian that has normal, unawakened elemental Flames of their own or something like that.
'But citizen or not,' Reborn thought, his eyes sharpening as he clicked his tongue in annoyance at the thought of training another person aside from the Vongola's heir. It irritated him, somehow. 'That person must obviously be playing a huge role in the future to come. The only question is, what on Earth is going to happen?'
Sighing, he lifted up a hand to rub at his temples, feeling the starting of a migraine seeping into his brain at the thought of all the work that was to be done. Really, this was so much more trouble than it was worth.
Reborn just hopes, for his and everyone else's sake, that if his mate were to be Iemitsu's boy, the kid had better not turn out to be like his father or he might really have to shoot someone.
/
Nana woke up the following morning to the sound of silence, and for the first time since her Tsu-kun was born, she was surprised that he wasn't up yet. 'That's weird,' she thought, yawning as she got up from her cocoon of warmth. 'He's not going to cook today?'
Sleepily shuffling her way to the bathroom, she shivered at how cold the air was. Really, no wonder her Tsu-kun wasn't up; he was like a bear hibernating whenever the weather got to freezing temperatures like this one. In hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have woken up either. But whatever, she figured that she should clean up first and start on making breakfast.
God knows her Tsu-kun would need it for later.
Humming, Nana went out into the compound and stretched a little. Nothing better than a little bit of fresh air before starting the day, anyways. And oh, look, Noshima-san's flowers have bloomed beautifully, haven't they?
"Ah, Good morning, Sawada-san!" called the postman from her gate.
"Good morning to you too, *Yubinhaitatsu-san! Got anything for me today?"
"Well," the man said, grinning at the cheery woman before reaching into his bag and producing a small bundle of letters that were tied together. "There are some, but aside from the usual-and don't get mad at me, Sawada-san, I just happened to notice it-I think you've got an extra letter today. Might be from your husband."
'Huh,' Nana thought, astonished. 'Now isn't that something to be told so early in the morning. Surprises are just popping up one-by-one from all around the corners nowadays, aren't they?'
See, the hope that there was maybe a letter from Iemitsu had died out long ago, but that didn't mean she could stop herself from asking the postman about it. And at the possibility that her way-ward husband had actually sent her a letter after all this while made her poor, beaten heart flutter with a sliver of longing.
Taking the bundle, she gave the postman a small smile before waving him off and turning around to flip through the letters. And true to what he'd said, there was an extra letter, but it was sealed in a white envelope that looked too pristine and too professional for what her husband would usually send.
Plus, there was no sign of her husband's untidy scrawling, only a neat row of cursive words that read 'Sawada Nana'. And there was no address, so that was weird, too.
But since it had her name on it, it wasn't illegal to open it up and see what it was inside, was it?
…
Nah.
Ripping the envelope open, she inspected the contents, only to find a folded piece of paper that advertised tutorship services, followed by a name and a number to call if she were to agree to hire this 'Reborn' person. Raising her brows, she read over the so-called terms and conditions listed.
"Will raise your child to be the leader of the next generation, and as long as there is food and shelter provided, services are for free." She read, muttering the last few words. Well, didn't that sound reasonable? Standing there, Nana contemplated on what to do next while staring at the paper, because on one hand, this sounded too good to be true, but on the other hand, her Tsu-kun's grades were slipping, weren't they?
Who was she kidding? Tsuna's grades were always at that level of atrociousness.
Having made up her mind, she folded the paper before walking back into the house, a devious smile on her face. Looks like her Tsu-kun was going to have a home-tutor after all.
/
"Tsu-kun! Tsu-kun, it's almost seven so wake up or you'll be late for school!"
Groaning, Tsuna turned over in his bed, grabbing a pillow along the way to smother himself over the head with and to block out his mother's call for him to wake up. Due to the sudden change in his sleeping schedule, he was too tired to even lift his eyelids, anyways, so what was the point in trying to gather the energy and yell 'Five more minutes!' like he usually did?
As he was falling back into slumber-land, he missed the sound of Nana's footsteps coming up the stairs and her opening his bedroom door. Sighing, she side-stepped the mess that was Tsuna's dirty clothes and comic books and headed straight for Tsuna himself. Shaking him, she tried waking him once more.
"Tsu-kun," she called softly. "Tsu-kun, it's time for school. You don't want to keep your soulmates waiting, do you?" At the groan she heard after mentioning his soulmates, she sighed again. Really, it wasn't like she didn't understand how her son felt, because she, too, had woken up early every day after she'd met Iemitsu to prepare his favourite dishes and to spend extra time with him throughout the day. But exhausted or not, Tsuna had classes and she wasn't about to let him miss his education without a valid reason.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi that is failing all his classes, wake up now, please!"
Suddenly hearing the stern voice of his usually cheery and soft-spoken mother was enough to jolt the said boy out of bed with a loud "Gah!" and have him flailing against the tangled bedsheet, resulting in his unfortunate fall to the floor. Head first. Of course, Nana had just watched all this happen, too used to her son's somewhat adorable clumsiness and his not-so adorable whining that followed soon after. At least he was awake now.
"Here, Tsu-kun," she'd said, bending a little before unfolding the piece of paper she'd gotten earlier on and practically shoving it into the brunet's face, stopping him short from the all noise he was making about falling out of bed. "Read this."
"The paper? What for?" Asked a disgruntled and confused sounding voice from the lump on the floor. His question, however, went unanswered as silence took over for a good one minute, the boy's eyes widening at each word he read before Tsuna oh-so subtly started to freak the fuck out-because what the fuck Mother NO this doesn't sound good for me at all-and asked a question he dreaded the answer to.
"Mom… Mommy dearest, what does this mean?"
"This means that I've hired a tutor for you, Tsu-kun! See, it says here that as long as we provide food and shelter for him, then his services would be free of charge. So I gave him a call and he sounded really reliable, so I had him hired immediately!" was the obliviously animated reply.
And Tsuna's reply was equally animated, if not more hysterical and more panicky. "But that obviously sounds like a scam! Mom, where on Earth did you get this flyer from?!" At seeing his mother opening her mouth to answer, he held up a hand to cut her off, because God knows she got it from some sketchy person on the streets while on the way home from buying groceries. "No, wait. Don't answer that. Just- Look, Mom, I don't need a tutor! I'm doing just fine on my own here!"
Bullshit.
Shrinking at the look Nana sent him, Tsuna tried to fix that lie. "Well…not that fine, but-but I'm improving…?" An eyebrow was raised. "Improving…bit by bit?" he'd added weakly. Sighing, Nana shook her head before pulling her son up from the floor. Really, he could be so stubborn sometimes.
"Doesn't matter now," Nana said, dusting him off before pushing towards the direction of the bathroom. "I called him just now and he said that he was going to start work today. Isn't that great, Tsu-kun?" Giving her adorable son an encouraging smile, she continued. "Plus, having a home tutor could turn out beneficial, you know? It helps with your concentration on studies and such. Now go on and get ready. It's almost time for school."
/
Stepping into the neighbourhood, Reborn thinks that he could almost taste his anticipation, his burning curiosity. Looking down at his pacifier only served to kick that source of adrenaline up a notch.
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 02 . 27
Expanding his senses as far as he could, Reborn tried to see if he could sense anything, anyone, to match his suspicions that of his soulmate, most importantly his possible Sky, being in this area. So far, he hadn't been able sense anyone coming his way nor could he sense anyone about to even leave their houses.
And considering the diameter of his senses had covered pretty much that entire neighbourhood and the next, his observation had pretty much confirmed every guess and every theory that he'd made on his way there anyways. It was most certain that the kid, his student, was his mate. His Sky.
How unsurprising.
Toning down his senses as well as his presence as to not alert any possible enemies nearby, Reborn headed towards the Sawada household, lips set in a grim line. Leon's familiar weight, previously calmly settled on the brim of his hat, was shifting and the so-called baby couldn't help but think that maybe his pet was excited about this, too.
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 01 . 36
(He knew he was.)
But aside from the obvious fact that he was an idiot, Reborn wondered what kind of person Sawada Tsunayoshi could possibly be. Was he kind, like Luce? Was he powerful, like Nono? Was he as cute as Iemitsu described him to be? Probably not, because that dumb blond tended to exaggerate on almost everything that came out of his mouth. Anyhow, Reborn just hopes that he's not as clumsy as his files says he is.
Jumping up onto the stone wall that separated house from road, he looked up at the cosy-looking house, feeling a sudden wave of Harmony assaulting his senses. 'Well, I'll be damned,' he thought, a little caught off guard at the sheer intensity of it. Narrowing his eyes-because he's never supposed to be caught off guard, of all things-, Reborn took a moment to absorb his surroundings, looking at the compound that was neatly kept and at the beautiful potted flowers that looked freshly watered. At the carefully trimmed tree and at the wet clothing that hung from the clothes line. More specifically, that one particular hoodie that had the number '27' stitched unto it.
Well, this was a Sky's Domain, alright. The biggest one he's ever seen, too, as the harmonious aura was practically pulling him in and easily overwhelming his senses. The baby smirked, feeling a little bit proud of his mate because not even Luce have ever had this sort of influence over him, let alone Nono, and he was the biggest Sky he'd met after the curse and after Luce.
'Guess that record is broken by a large margin now, wasn't it?' the hitman thought smugly. And by his own Sky, no less. Those thoughts made Reborn practically impatient, willing the timer to move faster. He wanted to see his mate. He wanted to see his new, potential-filled Sky.
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 53
Jumping down into the compound, Reborn headed for the front door, intending to just break in because that was so much easier than knocking. Plus, he'd get to take his mate by surprise. Leon rumbled, tongue flickering in and out, seemingly in agreement with its master.
'Funny how time seems to slow down when you want something done with so badly,' the hitman thinks, unlocking the door. He makes a note to change their locks later, as it really was too easy. Also, he wouldn't have his mate living in such vulnerable conditions either way.
Walking into the (cozy, warm, accepting) house, the first thing he hears are shrill shouts of "But Mom, that really does sound like a scam!" from a kid and a woman, most probably Sawada Nana, saying something along the lines of "Don't worry about it," and "What about your other soulmates?" from the second floor.
Reborn's ears perk up at the mention of 'other soulmates', because he was right that this Sky has more than one soulmate. Question is, how many soulmates does the other really have, anyways? Reborn estimates it to be around thirteen, counting both the Arcobaleno and most probably, his Guardians, too, because Reborn is no way so naïve as to believe a Sky this big has only seven soulmates.
And the boy is what, fourteen? Damn. Reborn would be lying if he said that he wasn't impressed.
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 09
'Strange,' the hitman thinks as he glances at the numbers on his pacifier, ignoring his sudden rapidly speeding heartbeat. He doesn't get nervous, damn it! 'Shouldn't that child be freaking out now? Surely he realises that the timer is almost zero…Unless that wasn't my mate that I'd heard.'
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00 .05
Just as he thinks that, he hears footsteps thumping above him and the next thing he knows, he hears a series of crashes and yelling coming down the stairs.
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00 .04
'Oh my God,' Reborn thinks, exasperation suddenly replacing the small amount of respect that he'd found outside for his soulmate. 'Don't tell me…'
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00 .03
A resounding crash as Reborn watches a blurry lump tumble down the stairs only to slam into the wall opposite the staircase. 'He's as clumsy as Dino,' Amazingly enough, that particular realisation alone was enough for the hitman to build a strong resolve to beat that cursed habit out of his new student as soon as he got the chance.
Because he sure as hell wasn't going to tolerate any more clumsiness after Dino, that walking disaster machine.
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 02
Coolly, Reborn looked on as the groaning boy slowly turned his head in his direction, probably unaware that the hitman was even there. Well, there was always later for sensory training but for now, he watched with burning apprehension as the skinny-looking boy turned to face him, and…oh, boy.
Ever heard of the term 'Curiosity killed the cat'?
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 01
Well, curiosity did indeed kill the cat…but didn't you hear?
'Satisfaction brought it back.'
00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00 . 00
And suddenly for Reborn, looking into adorably pained, watery, golden-brown eyes that literally reflected the colour of the setting sun was, oddly, satisfying enough.
A little shorter than the last chapter, but I love making people wait so why not? Also, not much this time round, but at least there's something and I've been wanting to write from Reborn's perspective since he only got like two screen-times before this. Found out that it's pretty hard to do so, though.
But again! Thank you guys so much for the reviews, and I would love it if you guys would keep them coming in order to feed my motivation tank and my muse. I drain them pretty quick :P
And as usual, have a nice day/night!