Holy-! This is a long one! Sorry it took so long, rewrote a couple scenes, and school decided to crack down on us due to the end of year. :/
But meh, here we go, chapter 11!
LeNoRi, over and out! (Haven't done that in a while!)
…
ThePloBre: *peeks around the corner*
Hi!
...Bye.
…
Words that may be confusing:
Panadol - a common painkiller in some households.
Shunji-kun - respectful way of saying husband.
Word Count: 17,131
I groaned as I slammed my hand down on my phone, blindly fumbling with the keypad to try and shut up the alarm. Letting out a cough, I sat up, pressure building in my temples from the sudden movement.
"Daiki-kun, are you up ye- Oh dear, you look terrible!"
"Thanks, kaa-san." I drawled, hunching over as I rubbed my forehead.
"I bet it's because you left your jacket last night when you went to the Sawada's. You should know better, little man!" Kaede scolded, putting a hand on her hip as she waved a finger at me.
"Yeah, yeah. I know, I screwed up." Giving a cough to try and clear my throat, I tried to stand, only to get pushed back down and my blanket thrown over my head.
"Oh, no you don't." I heard her say through the doona. "You aren't going to bake anything today, or work the register. Not with that cold. You'll get all of Namimori sniffing! Go back to bed, I'll call the school and tell them you're sick."
"Will do." I muttered, going full foetus beneath the sheets.
"Huh? What's wrong with Daiki-san?" Lambo asked from outside my little cocoon.
"He's not feeling well, so you'll have to sleep in my room for a little while, okay?"
"Okay. Get well soon, Daiki-san!"
"I will." Sticking my hand out of the sheets, I waved at the little cow print covered infant as he was carried out of the room.
Plucking my phone off my nightstand, I pulled it under the sheets and wrote a quick text to the birdy so that he wouldn't come crashing through my window for skipping a day of classes.
To: Cloud
Can't come to school today, sick. Don't know the length of absence.
Waiting a few moments, I blinked sleepily as the response buzzed my phone back to life.
From: Cloud
Fine.
And with that, I tossed my phone back into the abyss of the outside room, and was out like a light.
|S.T|
Tsuna sat on his bed, staring out to window quietly as his alarm became a faint hum in the background.
He watched the students of the three main schools of Namimori walk past his house, some chipper, some just barely conscious.
As more and more people passed, he slowly became less and less… he didn't exactly know what he became less of, but he became more nervous.
"Tsuna-kun!" He heard his mother call as she opened his door, stepping in with a smile.
"Ah, you're awake! Are you looking for Daiki-kun again?"
"H-huh!? No! I don't look for Yamaguchi-san in the mornings!" The young Vongola yelped, spinning around to face the woman, face reddening at the simple prospect.
So what if he only really left the house after he saw Yamaguchi passing? It was coincidence! He just happened to finish his routine when the boy crossed his house.
"Oh, Tsuna-kun, when you go, could you give him back his jacket? He left it, when he went in such a hurry." She sighed, producing the cloth from under her arm.
Tsuna stilled for a moment, his mind flying back to last night's… incident.
"Dame-Tsuna."
The young Vongola jumped awake at the call, snapping his attention to the baby hitman standing on his chair, balancing precariously on the backrest.
"Dame-Tsuna, you have five minutes before you're late for school."
"WHAT!?" Tsuna shrieked, snatching his alarm clock from his desk to see that the World's No.1 Hitman had told no lie.
"Why didn't anyone come and wake me up earlier!?"
"We did, then you spent an hour and half staring out your window, trying to creep on the baker's son." Reborn stated, a certain evil tone in his voice that made Tsuna screech in his defence.
"I wasn't trying to creep on Yamaguchi-san!"
"Four minutes, Dame-Tsuna."
"Oh, for the love of-!"
"Yamaguchi-san says that a lot as well, are you perhaps-"
"NO!"
...
"My, so lively this morning." Nana cooed from the kitchen, packing away Tsuna's bento.
|S.T|
I gave a loud sigh as I threw my binder to the side, gently kneading my chest to sooth the small chunks of meat and fat. With both Kaede and Lambo out of the house, I was free to go loose, allowing my chest some time to breath and my temperature to drop without the extra layer of cloth.
My breasts were smaller on this body, unsurprisingly, most of my body being made of muscle as compared to the normal stores of fat required to shape the female body. My chest wasn't round, the majority being flat muscle, leaving only obligatory bumps of fat.
In the words of Momoi Satsuki, KnB, "barely B".
"Much better." I breathed, a cough following after as I covered my mouth.
Fanning away the contaminated air in front of me, I stood shakily and opened the window, bathing myself in mid-day sun and letting a breeze in, clearing and circulating the air in the room.
Dropping back down on my bed, I opened my drawer and rummaged through until I found a particularly hard feeling sock roll in the far back. Pulling it out, I stretched the neck and saw the Panadol packet hidden beside a packet of Ibuprofen, the Lords and Saviours of my female body.
Snapping a Panadol tablet out of the foil, I gathered an acceptable amount of saliva into my mouth and swallowed it down with the capsule.
Letting my jaw crack with a yawn, I hid the sock again as I locked the window, before tucking my binder beneath my pillow and pulled the sheets back up to my chin, curling up under them.
|S.R|
"Yamaguchi-san?" The teacher called, glancing up from his roll when silence rang through the room.
"Sasagawa-san, do you know where Yamaguchi-san is?"
"I think he's absent today." Ryohei sighed, glancing up from his sheet as he scribbled down another answer.
"Ah, thank you."
The Sasagawa child frowned as the teacher carried on, the empty seat next to him seeming more and more disconcerting by the minute.
The last time Daiki had been absent, he had been attacked.
Daiki was only ever gone when something bad had happened.
Daiki was gone now. Had something gone wrong?
Ryohei tapped his pacer tediously, his leg bouncing as the limb failed to be pinned by its companion knee. The lack of ticking resounding from a usually nearby watch made his tapping unsteady, the lack of familiar breathing and warmth made him have almost constant mental blocks, thought processes shutting off half way to snap back to the cold wooden seat beside him.
The muttering in the room rung in his ears as white noise, his senses searching for a pressure on his thigh, the smell of bread, the crack of knuckles, a flash of blue, tan or amber-earth, anything.
"Sasagawa-san? Are you alright?"
Ryohei jumped to attention, snapping his head up to direct his gaze at the teacher who was watching his carefully.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine." Came his response, before he looked back down at his paper, his hands moving to sketch a crooked loaf of bread.
The boxer fidgeted, as the familiar warmth curling strangely in his gut, his leg bouncing more rapidly as energy began to pulse through him. The desire for confirmation growing, his fingers twitching to grab his phone and yell through the receiver at the reason for his frazzled state.
Is he okay? Did he get hurt?
Ryohei bit his lip as his grip on the plastic stationery clenched randomly, the clicking creeks barely reaching his ears.
"Oi, Sasagawa-kun, you got a question." Someone hissed from behind.
The sun snapped his head up, his attention falling to the stern looking teacher who stood with his arms crossed.
"Sasagawa-san, answer this please."
Scanning over the question, memories of nights being practically strapped to a chair as Daiki banged on about the topic, forcing the information down his throat and onto paper, came rushing back to him, allowing the boxer to spit out the answer almost as soon as he finished reading.
"X equals 14, Y equals 3."
"Very good, try to keep your restlessness to a minimum."
"Sorry sensei."
Scribbling down a couple more answers half-heartedly, Ryohei glanced up when the bell went off, signalling the end of class.
"You look pretty down, Sasagawa-kun." A fellow student called, sitting on the corner of the boy's desk.
"Can you blame him? His beloved Yamaguchi-kun isn't here today." Another cooed, twirling through the desks to throw his arm over Ryohei's shoulder.
"Oh, shut up." The Sasagawa child sighed, grabbing the boy's face and shoving him off.
"But really, where is Yamaguchi-kun? He's almost never away."
"I'm EXTREMELY sure he's just sick."
The two boys glanced at each other before muttering out quiet excuses and departing from the little island of Ryohei, leaving him to doodle a half assed kangaroo in the corner of his page.
"Okay students, back to your seats."
Damn Daiki, he better be okay.
|S.R|
"When the hell did I create you?" I muttered, squinting at a folder on my computer.
For the past fifteen minutes, I had been sorting through the files in my system, finding random pieces of work, Paint art and stray sheets that had been lost to the flow of time.
I should really stop naming files 'asdfghjkl', it's not very descriptive.
Stopping for a moment, I glanced over to my phone, the sudden thought of texting Ryohei or Takeshi to give them a bit of peace about my absence, before I locked my gaze on the clock.
They'd be in the middle of class right now…
Clicking around a bit more, I sighed when I threw another folder into the trash.
Meh, I doubt they're worrying all that much.
|S.T|
Yamamoto wasn't in a good mood.
The whole class knew that, the teacher knew that, and it made everyone was on edge.
Tsuna bit his lip as he glanced over his shoulder to his rain guardian, noticing how his fingers drummed his desk rhythmically, narrowed eyes tilted to the corner of his desk and his lips set into a firm line.
Through the day, the sushi chef's son had slowly dropped in levels of cheeriness.
From jumpy and excited at morning practice and first period, to cloudy and stiff by second.
The absence of Yamamoto's… fiancé had caused the batter to become standoffish towards the people around him, his pencil spinning in his hand, similar to how Yamaguchi himself did.
Fiancé.
Tsuna fidgeted as the word rang through his head, before a different version touched his mind.
"Fiancé."
The European vocabulary sounded in his ears, a familiar base sourcing it.
Tsuna never really could completely wrap his head around the fact that Yamaguchi and Yamamoto were engaged. Or at least promised to each other.
They were so young, dating and school should be their first and foremost. Yet there they were, standing stable amongst the clutter and disarray of their peers.
Stable.
That was one way to describe Yamaguchi. Whether he was fighting against the current, the wind or the flow of students in the halls, he wouldn't relent.
Yamaguchi Daiki was more of a "break before I bend" kind of person.
A pillar of stability, the kind of person you cling to when things are rocky.
Supportive. Strong. Sure.
In all of those senses, Yamaguchi was perfect.
It made Tsuna fell almost uncomfortable, how perfect the elder boy was.
He acted like he had a manual to life, like this was his second play through of a game in which he knew where the secrets and easter eggs were, and was taking his time to enjoy the scenery rather than scrambling to reach the next level like the rest.
Tsuna glanced up at the board, grimacing as he read another example that flew straight over his head.
There was a limit to how perfect a person could be before it became uncanny, unnatural
But, only in those aspects, was Yamaguchi perfect.
Those moments of weakness was what allowed Tsuna's unease to settle. The way his eyes jump around when he's alarmed, the way he cracked his knuckles when he was bored.
Little details that the young Vongola would be embarrassed to admit he saw, made him human, rather than a prince charming.
Moments where he was made of flesh and bone, rather than plastic and expectations. Tsuna preferred Yamaguchi when he was like that, when he was floating under the surface of the water, enjoying the cool liquid's feather light touch against his skin.
Skin...
The young Vongola froze and covered his face with his hand as a familiar image flashed through his mind, the visage of the blue haired upperclassman leaning lazily against the wall of the change room, his pants hanging off his hips loosely. Fly yet to be done up, showing the band of his boxers and a strip of tanned flesh that peered from under his undershirt, muscles shifting as he waved off a rather vulgar comment thrown his way by his peers. A smile spread across his face making his eyes crinkle slightly, before a hearty laughter left him, sounding over his classmates and standing out to the young Vongola.
Tsuna let out a strangled noise as he felt his ears heat up, a shiver shooting up his spine.
Whipping around, the young Decimo' breath hitched when he made eye contact with his taller friend, dark eyes drilling into his carefully.
Stiffly, Tsuna turned back to the front, ducking his head as panic burst in his stomach.
He knows! He definitely knows that he was thinking about Yamaguchi! His fiancé!
"Sawada-san, please answer this question." the teacher called, pointing to a line that Tsuna didn't even bother to read.
"I don't know!" He squeaked out, three octaves higher than usual.
The young Decimo's face set aflame as the class giggled at his voice break, his desire to hide growing further when Gokudera stood to protect his pride.
Ah, just let this day be over!
|S.T|
I sighed stopped the stream of water, stepping from the shower with a clean body, no longer caked in sweat. Shaking my head, the sound of droplets colliding with the surrounding wall reached my ears before I stopped, taking a second to regain my bearings.
A flash of colour caught my attention amongst the white and pale yellow of the bathroom, the mirror hanging over the sink reflecting a muscled body that betrayed its true gender, broad shoulders and straight abdomen, packed muscles and the most subtle dip in the waist, just above sharp hips.
Pausing for a moment, I stuck my tongue out at the image, spluttering when I caught a droplet of soapy water on the muscle.
|G.H|
What the hell, baseball freak!?
Gokudera Hayato gritted his teeth as he watched his boss fidget ahead of him, the Rain Flame user sending off some serious angst vibes.
The young bomber only really understood the basics of the situation, but he knew that Yamaguchi Daiki was the main reason that the two other boys were so tense.
He didn't get why they were so transfixed by the older boy, had he done some sort of amazing thing before he came to the area?
Yamamoto, sure, he was engaged to the guy, but the Tenth? What was going on there?
And why the hell was Yamamoto engaged to Yamaguchi!?
The young Storm groaned as he rested his head on the desk in front of him, wondering if this was just another culture shock.
Sure, he had above average looks, grades, manners and height-
Little one…
Oh that son of a bitch! He wasn't that short! Yamaguchi was just freakishly tall!
Damn that bastard, why'd he have to smile when he said that? Fucking pretty boys-
Nope! Let's not!
Over confident!
Get's Tenth distressed!
Doesn't respect Tenth!
Think badly of him, Gokudera!
The Storm rubbed his face with his hand, scowling when a classmate glanced over at him.
The young bomber doubted the elder boy had ever used those brass knuckles that hung from his hip warningly, the damned thing clinking together whenever he was near.
Despite all that, the danger the pale haired boy felt whenever the boy was around, was undoubtable. It wasn't confrontational danger per say, but it was a sort of danger that slashed at your ankles, daring you to take a step back. You had to keep your eyes on him, or risk a missing a move that could have saved your life if seen.
Gokudera felt like he was missing something, the Yamaguchi boy obviously played a large role in the life of many of his… friends lives. Large enough to have an influence over their decisions and responses.
The Tenth wanted to protect the elder boy by keeping him out of the Mafia, but at the same time, he wanted him near by. For whatever reason.
Near by…
Yamaguchi Daiki was always in the vicinity when something went down, somewhere in the backdrop, blending amongst the crowd effortlessly despite the loud companion he was practically attached to by the hip.
Always there. In the background…
The young Storm sat up sharply as a memory of the shadow in the window came crashing back to mind, calculations of chance and situations speeding through along with it.
The boy had been in the hall of that room, but none of his classmates were, they were scattered through the school, Gokudera had seen that on the way up. He was the correct distance for walking speed that a person could cover in the given time… shit.
He knows.
Yamaguchi had let them into his house.
He knows.
Yamaguchi had been in Tenth's house.
He knows.
They hadn't been watching, and he had moved.
|G.H|
Giving a grunt, I shifted the tight material around my chest until the piece of skin was no longer pinched painfully and I could move freely again. I'd rather not put it on, the heat building beneath the material making my still sickly body sweat, but a glance at the clock warned me of the other's impending return and I submitted to the binder.
Since around midday, I had been feeling a lot better, the fever wearing off and my throat soothed by gargling cups of salted water. I wasn't going to drop and do 50 anytime today, but normal, mundane tasks were possible.
"Normal tasks like..." I took a breath, jammed two fingers in my mouth and whistled loudly, summoning forth the little white pup.
"Heya Miphy, let's go for a walk."
Mephisto gave a loud yap before bolting out of the room, taking off in the direction of his lead that hung from a low hook.
Pulling on a shirt and pants off the floor, I shoved my phone in my pocket before following after the excitable mutt. Taking the lead out of the dog's mouth, I hooked him up before locking the door behind us, beginning the trek to Lady's house. Lady, being the chihuahua that tends to tackle hug *cough* attack *cough* Tsuna.
I waved to the old woman as I closed the gate, Lady nuzzling against Mephisto happily.
"Okay, let's go you two." I cooed, taking the lead before they dashed ahead, forcing me to jog all the way to the park.
The streets were empty for the most part, almost everyone at work or at school, only the occasional retire or stay-at-home there to greet me or send me a disapproving glance.
It was calming, the constant speed set for me as I ran along quietly, the dog's knowing the way off by heart.
|Y.T|
"Jeez, what's got Yamamoto-san so riled up?"
"Hell if I know, he's been pretty down in the dumps since morning practice."
Takeshi sucked on the back of his teeth silently as he turned his attention out the hall window, watching the students quickly file through the halls to get to their classrooms before a certain skylark got to them first.
He flipped his phone open and checked for any messages, a frown marring his face when the screen showed no such activity, leaving him to shove it back into his pocket just as the teacher walked in, waving a pile of marked tests at the students.
"Okay everyone, I have your results. Quite a lot of you did very well," Nezu smiled, before letting his gaze snap between Tsuna and Takeshi. "And some of you did very badly."
The batter began tapping his desk irritably as the man handed out their tests, before returning to the front of the room to name and shame the lowest ranked students in the class.
"-And Yamamoto Takeshi, as usual."
"Sorry, sensei." He muttered out, absently tapping the rhythm to the song Daiki hummed while baking.
"The black magic of Mulholland Drive
Swimming pools under desert skies
Drinking white wine in the blushing light
Just another LA Devotee
Sunsets on the evil eye
Invisible to the Hollywood shrine
Always on the hunt for a little more time
Just another LA Devotee…"
His muttering was cut short when his accented words finally became too much of an annoyance, the way they were spoken not matching the voice in his head.
He just couldn't find him, checking the boxing club's room and his other haunts around the school grounds had been all for naught. With each void space Takeshi went past, he grew more and more agitated, his smile becoming harder to paste on.
A flash of movement caught his eye, making him turn his attention to the source, his gaze latching on the flushed face of his younger friend.
Sawada Tsunayoshi, he was a nice boy, always so happy and never short of excitement. Lately, however, Takeshi had taken notice of just how alert the smaller boy was of his Daiki's presence, be that physical or emotional.
It had probably started that day in the changeroom, before he has associated the boy as a friend, he had caught the younger student glancing up at his fiance in a state of mild undress, spurring him forwards. Afterwards, through every interaction, Tsuna would react to their upperclassman. Whether it be smiling for a bit too long, or a bit too brightly, making a move to draw his attention, only to squash it down when another would beat him too it.
Takeshi wasn't worried though, he knew that Daiki was loyal.
It was still aggravating, however, when the elder boy's muscles would tense, and his smile would become strained as he tried to hold something back in the smaller boy's presence. His attention halved, leaving Takeshi with only a fraction of his focus.
The bell rung for lunch and the class burst into action, some fleeing to the next room as others spun around in their chairs to yell at the person behind them.
The young Rain merely lifted his chin from his hand and slunk over to Tsuna's desk, dropping down in the chair he had dragged after him.
"A-ah, Yamamoto-kun, you seem a bit down today." The younger boy tried, making Takeshi give a half-hearted response of 'nah, just tired'.
The young Rain looked at the Sky for a moment, contemplating asking the question that had been on his mind for a while, before mentally shrugging and going in.
"Hey Tsuna-san, how long have you and Daiki-kun known each other, exactly?"
Takeshi pretended not to notice how Gokudera leaned forwards slightly, the prospect of Tsuna's past interesting him more than the possible row in the far corner.
"Oh, I met him when I was nine."
"Eh, so long? How did you meet?"
Tanned arms crossed on the desk, keeping his hands tied.
"Well, I was at the pool and - I got clumsy and fell in! I wasn't a very good swimmer back then, so Yamaguchi-san saved me from drowning!" Tsuna laughed nervously at the end, both Gokudera and Yamamoto pausing at the almost stumble.
"But Tenth, you're a brilliant swimmer now, right?!" The young Storm asked, leaning further.
"Y-yeah!" He yelped, before a small smile came to his face, making his Guardians blink.
"Yamaguchi-san taught me how. He's a really good teacher."
Takeshi smiled at the idea of his Daiki being all heroic and strong, before freezing as a small hum left the young Sky.
"He looks so pretty underwater."
He probably wasn't meant to hear that.
|Y.T|
I let out a breath as I dropped to the ground, leaning against a tree trunk as I watched Lady and Mephisto play.
Today had been a good day. No death, no Mafia, no attacks.
"Oh my God!"
Never mind, there was an attack.
"Mephistopheles, let him go!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet and racing after the damned dog.
Reaching the scene, I grabbed the canine by the collar and roughly lead him off of his catch, giving his belly a smack before sending him off to where Lady had sat herself down.
"I am dreadfully sorry about that, he gets excited around new people." I apologised, reaching out to the curled up male.
Slowly, he uncurled himself and looked up at me, making my body grind to a halt and my eyes widen slightly.
"A-ah, it's fine. No harm done."
Red hair, green eyes, glasses and clad in the Yumei Private uniform, Shoichi Irie slowly stood from the ground, before a groan of despair left him.
"Well, no harm to me."
Grimacing, I looked down at the torn up plastic bag containing what must have been some sort of bread like meal.
God damn it, Mephisto.
"That's green tea bread, right? Or used to be." I asked, pointing at the mildly green bread and the paste that leaked from the breaks.
"With red bean paste, yeah. I'll have to go buy more. There goes my allowance for the month." The future Sun Mare ring sighed, trying to salvage the bag.
"Oh no, I'll buy you more. There were only seven, right?" I asked, stepping forwards and taking the bag from him.
"Ah, no! It's fine, really!" He tried, only to have me cut him off with a small smile.
"It was my fault, I should have kept a closer eye on the dogs. Besides, I know a bakery not far from here."
"O-okay, I'm Shoichi Irie, by the way." He introduced, fiddling with his hands.
"Yamaguchi Daiki, pleasure to meet you Shoichi-san." I smiled, before whistling for Lady and Mephisto.
"The little one's Lady, and this mangy mutt is Mephistopheles."
I quickly hooked the two dogs back up to their leads before gesturing for the future Mafioso to follow, striking up conversation when his awkward glances became a bit too obvious.
"So, Shoichi-san, why're you out of school in the middle of the day?"
|S.I|
"Oi, Shoichi-san!"
Shoichi Irie grimaced before turning to the call, jumping slightly when a piece of paper was thrust against his chest.
"Here's a list of things we need you to get for us, you can do that, right?"
He took a moment to look at the towering trio before sighing and taking the list, pulling his wallet from his bag as he fled the room.
Yumei Private had been going down hill in the past few years, the student average on the decline and the amount of delinquents and slackers on the rise.
It didn't matter to him, he supposed, all he had to do was graduate with a good enough ATAR and move on to the next education building.
Shoichi sighed as he stepped out of the school gates, momentarily wondering if he'll make it back in time, before letting his shoulders sag. Probably not.
"Thank you, ma'am." He hummed out, taking the plastic bag from the server at the counter.
He hadn't been able to buy himself any of them, his wallet already feeling dangerously light from the seven already purchased. Looking to his watch, Shoichi blinked when he saw the wide gap between the minute hand and the fearful number, the sheer amount of time he had left was surprising to say the least.
"Well, today might not turn out so bad." He breathed, glancing at the path that cut through the park, a small smile coming to his face as he decided to treat himself to the scenic route.
Summer was creeping into Spring, and the plants were feeling it as much as the humans were. Leaves were wide open alongside their flowers, bees and birds were flying about freely.
The park was pleasantly empty, everyone at their own commitments, leaving Shoichi to soak up the sun without a care-
"Oh my God!"
The words left his mouth before he registered what was actually happening, a heavy weight pressing spontaneously on his side as he instinctively curled up, protecting his face from the frenzied dog.
"Mephistopheles, let him go!"
The voice that run out was low and gravelly, almost as if their throat had been rubbed raw. It boomed over the park easily ad heavy footsteps came closer, Shoichi wondering for a moment what kind of man could own such a ruthless beast.
The dog was ripped off him in a single swift movement, the paws that dug into his sensitive side removed before a soft slap reached his ears.
There was a small yip before Shoichi heard the dog's pants fade into the distance, obviously making a break from its owner.
"I am dreadfully sorry about that, he gets excited around new people."
The Yumei Private student glanced up at the silhouetted figure, gulping when he saw the outlines of solid muscle, and unraveled his body before sitting up.
"A-ah, it's fine." Oh God, he had stuttered. "No harm done."
Shoichi blinked when the boy towering over him paused, eyes widening minutely. Shaking it off, the red haired boy stood, drawing his attention to the bag in his hand, before a groan left him.
They were ruined.
"Well, no harm to me."
He was going to have to go back again and buy more now, that'll cost both time and money. At the rate he was going, he would be both late and broke.
"That's green tea bread, right?" He asked, making Shoichi jump to attention.
"With red bean paste, yeah. I'll have to go buy more. There goes my allowance for the month."
"Oh no, I'll buy you more. There were only seven, right?"
Shoichi jolted as the other boy stepped closer, his hair standing on end suddenly when their hands brushed as he slipped the bag from paler fingers.
"Ah, no! It's fine, really!"
What the hell was that?
"It was my fault, I should have kept a closer eye on the dogs. Besides, I know a bakery not far from here."
Ah crap, he's got a nice smile.
"O-okay, I'm Shoichi Irie, by the way." His mother would have his head if she knew that he hadn't introduced himself yet.
"Yamaguchi Daiki, pleasure to meet you Shoichi-san."
Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi, that sounded familiar.
The Yumei Private student fiddled with his hands as he watched Yamaguchi slip two fingers in his mouth and let out a high pitched whistle, summoning forth two canines from the far side of the park.
"The little one's Lady, and this mangy mutt is Mephistopheles."
"A-ah." He managed out before falling instep beside the taller boy, clasping his right arm as he took a moment to observe his new acquaintance.
He seemed nice enough, polite, mild mannered and welcoming to a comfortable extent. What had caused that reaction though? He had no real reason to freak out when he got touched, his sister being very much a handsy person when it comes to affection.
"So, Shoichi-san, why're you out of school in the middle of the day?"
Shoichi jolted sharply, snapping his head to the other boy as he managed to splutter out the required response before the pause became too long.
"Ah, I'm running an e-errand!"
"Oh? So these are for your friends?" Yamaguchi asked, lifting the ruined bag slightly.
"N-no. Not exactly." The red haired boy sighed out, glancing off to the side.
He saw the tanned boy frown for a moment, but he seemed to sense Shoichi's hesitance towards the subject and promptly dropped it.
"So why are you out of school, Yamaguchi-san?"
"Oh, I'm not in the best of health today. I started feeling better, so I took the dogs for a walk." He answered, shrugging as he gestured to the yipping dogs.
"Ah, are you sure you should be outside, then?"
"Yeah, it was probably just a bug. I didn't wear a jacket last night - I was walking."
Shoichi vaguely picked up on the jolt in the other boy's tone, but made no move to comment. It was none of his business, anyway.
The two boys walked together for a little longer, trading conversation about mundane topics varying from school to the weather.
"You go to Namimori Middle? What year?"
"Second. From your uniform, I gather you are from Yumei Private, fancy."
Shoichi gave an awkward smile, rubbing his arm as his body slowly relaxed around Yamaguchi.
"Nah, not really. The rating and average has gone down over the years, it pretty average now. The only thing above the average in Yumei is the cost."
The two shared a quiet laugh as they turned the corner, coming to a stop at Yamaguchi's signal.
"Here we are, Yamaguchi Bakery."
Shoichi stared up at the sign as cogs turned in his brain, memories and knowledge clicking left and right as he spun around to look at his new acquaintance.
"Wait, Yamaguchi Bakery? My mum always brings home their stuff after work! Their cakes are so good! My sister and I practically worship their food! Their breads so soft and nice, and their- oh they're just so great!"
The spectacled boy had basically lived off their goods at one stage in his life, being too busy to actually eat, and as result relied on the snacks his mother brought home as his one source of nutrients during exam season. He still ate the Yamaguchi bread after school as a snack before he did his homework, the bread and other ingredients keeping him sated until dinner was ready.
"Oh? Thanks, I'm sure kaa-san will love to hear that."
…
"Wait, you're Yamaguchi Daiki, right?"
"Yes."
The smile that slowly spread onto the other boy's face made the young redhead's cheeks match his hair.
"Yamaguchi, like the bakery-oh my god, I just ranted about your bakery in front of both you and your bakery-I am so sorry."
Shoichi felt his ears burn as a hearty laugh left the taller boy beside him, the desire to just dig all the way to freaking Germany becoming more and more prominent.
"Nah, always good to hear that we're doing our job. We aim to please, Shoichi-san."
Yamaguchi gave him another smile before reaching into his pocket and producing a key, holding the door open for the stunned teen.
"Well, come on in."
Now, Shoichi may have had eaten just about everything on the store's roster thirteen times over, but this was the first time the young boy had set foot in the Yamaguchi Bakery!
Oh, his sister is going to be so jealous.
"Pardon the intrusion." he muttered, ducking his head as he shuffled past his peer, glancing around the bakery.
It was warm inside the store, pleasant, despite the already warming up weather outside. The homely atmosphere seeped beneath his skin and persuaded his muscles to relax, his jitters and tension leaking out as he let out a deep breath, the smell of bread and pastries lining the air.
"Here, as an apology for screwing up your walk."
Shoichi turned and blinked when he saw a bag full of green tea bread placed on the counter, Yamaguchi leaning against the marble on his forearms as he gave him an apologetic smile.
"Wa-No! I couldn't!"
"I do believe we have been over this already, Shoichi-san. You agreed to let me replace the ones that I caused damage to, and here they are."
The red haired boy bowed his head slightly before taking the familiar bag from the Yamaguchi's hands, kind of upset that the buns wouldn't find rest in his own stomach.
"Now, go ahead and choose something for yourself."
Shoichi jumped.
"For some reason, I find myself doubting that those are going to be shared with you."
His smile took the younger boy off guard, the softness of it making him clutch the bag harder as he glanced around at the displays.
"Ah, the cotton cheese cake? Maybe?"
Jesus christ, stop smiling!
Shoichi squirmed as Yamaguchi pulled the cake slice from the rack, placing it in a small box and handing it over.
"I was right then." The boy breathed, moving to write something down on a napkin.
The Yumei student only glanced away from him, giving a muted nod after a few moments of silence.
"Well, I better get going. I'll probably only have a few minutes to spare by the time I get back to school." Shoichi said, taking a step away from the counter.
Yamaguchi stared at him for a moment longer, not responding to the way his ears began to take on a red hue as Shoichi unintentionally compared them to amber stones.
"Well, it was nice to have met you, Shoichi Irie. I hope you enjoy the cake, and please, do come again." Another smile made the Yumei Private student flush before he nodded, a little too vigorously.
"S-same to you, Yamaguchi-san! I will! See you again, soon!"
He waved over his shoulder as he walked out, stumbling as he dropped sharply from the little step, a flush hitting his face harder as a quiet chuckle sounded from behind him.
Shit! He has a nice laugh too!
| S.I |
Well then, there's Shoichi Irie.
God damn.
I didn't think he'd be such an awkward duckling.
Standing from the counter, I locked the door and switched off the lights, sneaking back into the house. As I slipped my shoes off, a cough clawed its way out of my throat, my chest shaking as my tongue fought back the gag that threatened to spill forth.
"Ah," I choked, thumping my chest. "Too much excitement."
His flame. I had seen it.
It was small, almost pathetically so. Not nearly as bright or strong as Ryohei's or mine. Definitely not Reborn's. However, it had its own charm, a certain strength that curled up deep within the flame, securing it and letting the sunshine tongues flicker safely.
Another couch racked my body before I was left heaving, no air left to dispel from my lungs.
Shit, I shouldn't have left the house.
A quiet whimpering made me look down Mephisto and Lady looking up at me from my feet, their heads tilted as their tails dropped to the ground.
"I'm fine, nothing to worry about." I breathed, opening the back door for them to run into the yard.
Maybe, I should go back to bed.
Yeah, bed. Good idea.
|G.H|
Gokudera Hayato glared up at the sign built over his head, translating the white kanji with genius ease.
Yamaguchi Bakery.
A scowl bloomed across his face as he jammed his hands into his pockets, fingering a line up of mini bombs. Stepping forwards, the young Mafioso stopped himself from kicking the door, instead yanking out a hand and banging the side of his fist on the wood beside the glass.
When no response came, he did it again with more force, throwing his head back to hollar up at the other levels.
"Oi! Yamaguchi-san! Get your ass down 'ere!"
The young storm ignored the looks he was getting from the people around him, long used to being singled out in a crowd.
"Yamaguchi-san! You can't hide from me!" he yelled, knocking again.
"God damn, I'm coming you impatient little…"
"I'M NOT LITTLE!" Gokudera yelled just as the door opened, stunning the baker's son for a moment.
"Oh, good afternoon Gokudera-sa-"
"How long have you known about the Tenth?!"
There was a pause, the elder boy's eyes widening ever so slightly, but enough for Gokudera to see.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Wait, Tenth's what you call Sawada-san, right?"
"You know what I'm talking about, you fuckin' giant! Sawada Tsunayoshi being the Vongola Tenth! How long have you known!?"
Before he could react, Yamaguchi's expression had changed and the young bomber's collar had been grabbed and used to yank him inside of the building, the door slamming behind him.
"Shout it to the world why don't you, little one?" The taller boy hissed, locking the bakery door.
"You've been in the Tenth's house! You've been in contact with him for four years! Tell me, you bastard!"
Amber-earth eyes darted from the Storm Flame user to the door, before a defeated tilt to his lips became obvious.
"Not here, Gokudera-san. Further in the house." He breathed, grabbing the silver haired boy by the arm and leading him through the living space and up into Yamaguchi's bedroom.
"Okay, now spill." The young Storm hissed, watching as the taller boy locked the simple wooden door.
Yamaguchi rested his forehead against the wood for a moment, before he let out a loud whoosh of air.
"I've known for a while. Maybe a little after Reborn-san started coming to the bakery- he isn't exactly tight lipped about it." He admitted, turning to face the smaller bomber.
Gokudera surged forward, his pale hands coming and gripping the elder boy's shirt as he slammed him back against his door, mint eyes glaring up at amber-earth.
"Do you plan on hurting the Tenth? I know you don't like him, it's obvious by the way you act around him!"
There was a pause, the young Yamaguchi staring down at the small Mafioso, the cogs in his head visibly turning.
"And if I am?"
The young bomber's blood ran cold, a sudden pressure weighing down on his when he realised just how vulnerable he was. Just how many mistakes he made.
He was in Yamaguchi's territory.
He didn't gather the proper stats on Yamaguchi's abilities.
The space they were in was not his ideal arena, too small and cramped.
As if sensing Gokudera's realisation, Yamaguchi's eyes became sharp, the larger boy taking steps forwards and making the young bomber take his own back in caution.
"What will you do if I am proven to be hostile?"
The back of Gokudera's knees hit the bed, making him fall back and sit on the green and yellow doona, forcing him to look up at the Sun flame user.
"What will you do if I plan on hurting-hell killing the Tenth?"
At this point, Yamaguchi was looming over him, using his height and broad shoulders to allow his shadow to swallow the smaller boy.
Gokudera clenched his fists as he glared up at him, eyes darting back and forth between Yamaguchi's eyes and his shining, brass knuckles.
What would he do?
What would he do if someone tried to hurt Tenth?
Well, that was obvious.
"I'd kill you myself." He declared, squaring his shoulders.
"And if I turned out to be stronger than you expected?"
"I'd die trying."
There was a tense silence, both boys refusing to back down as the air grew denser as flames tongued at the underside of their skins, ready and waiting to jump to action the second they were needed, knowingly or not.
"Good."
What?
"What?" Gokudera gawked, the shadow over him moving back as a smile bloomed across Yamaguchi's face.
"That's a good answer. As expected of the Tenth's Right hand." He smirked, crossing tanned arms.
"Wait-What? Why're..? Huh?" Gokudera couldn't seem to catch up to the situation, the tone changing so quickly that it threw him for a loop, the carpet being yanked from under his feet.
"I have no hostility towards Sawada-san, nor to the Tenth Vongola."
The young bomber looked at the elder boy mutely as he pulled out his chair and sat down on it, leveling himself with his house guest.
"Your answer just then, it pleased me more than I care to admit. I now feel like I can fully trust you with the Little Fish." He said, his smile taking on a softer tone.
"Trust me? Why would you need to trust me with the Tenth?" Gokudera asked.
"Four years, Gokudera-san. I've known that little boy for four years. I've taught him to swim, and I've taught him how to actually catch a ball." The blue haired boy sighed, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled further, almost as if admitting some sort of defeated.
"You're attached to the Tenth." Gokudera breathed, the statement coming out airily.
"That tends to happen, after four years of exposure."
"I'm not sure just how or by how much I am attached to Sawada-san, but I know it's enough to cause worry when I see bombs going off at his feet."
The pointed sharpness at the end of that was enough to make Gokudera flinch, the dynamite weighing heavy in his pocket.
"No need to feel sorry, I know how loyal you are to him, and you would never cause him intentional harm."
"Of course not!" He snapped, the very idea preposterous.
"Which is why, I need you to promise me this: Will you look after them?"
There it was, the damn shift that always threw Gokudera for a moment.
"Look after them?"
"Yes, not just Sawada-san, but Takeshi-kun too. I'm no fool Gokudera-san, I know that the Mafia isn't a pretty place. You know that first hand."
The young Storm gritted his teeth.
"You know the terrain you're about to head into better than any of them, so you're going to have to help them as much as possible. You're going to need to be their spear head, the storm at the centre of the attack."
There was another moment of pause.
"Those boys, they don't know what they're getting into. Not really."
Gokudera noticed him look down at his hands, one coming to rub a slight discolouration on his arm.
"So, Gokudera-san? I don't expect you to do it yourself, but until they find their feet, can you look after them?"
"I'd owe you, more than one."
Instinctually, Gokudera's mind grasped the line and stored it away, those words being just as valuable as gold and weaponry to the Mafia.
"Yeah. Yeah, I promise to look after them." Finally came his answer, the words breaking the silence.
"Thank you."
...
"Sorry about-you know- slamming you against the wall. And yelling at you. And stuff." Gokudera muttered awkwardly, shuffling in the doorway of the Yamaguchi Bakery.
"Nah, it's fine. I probably would have done the same thing."
The young Storm scowled as he felt the tips of his ears begin to burn, the smile on Yamaguchi's face annoying him greatly for no feasible reason.
"Well, whatever, sorry still."
His breath hitched and all bodily function shutdown for a split second, mental gears grinding to a halt as a soft heat pressed into his hair, large hands gently gripping his arms.
"Thank you, Little one. Truly."
"A-a-ah! Whatever! Later, bastard!" Gokudera turned and made a break for it, praying that the elder boy didn't see pale skin turn red.
"AND I'M NOT FUCKING SHORT!"
|G.H|
Another cough rocked me as I closed the door behind the shrinking figure of Gokudera Hayato, a hand coming up to cover my mouth.
Turning from the door, I walked back to the kitchen, feeling lighter than I had in awhile.
You couldn't say I didn't try, I had spent most of those four years trying to persuade myself that hating Sawada Tsunayoshi was the only way to survive in this world. As we can see, however, that didn't seem to be working out for me very well.
At least, now I can take my mind off it.
I grimaced as I spat out a mouthful of salted, warm water, the liquid splashing against the metal sink of the kitchen.
Hectic, was how I'd describe today. Not the worst, but not the relaxing one I had been expecting, or needing as it would seem.
Placing down the empty cup, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, moving from the sink to the living room, intent on returning to my bed.
"Who was that?"
I'd like to say I descended with grace at that moment, but the tell tale sounds of crashing and my glass cup shattering as I dragged practically half the kitchen down with me as I fell seemed to deny the statement any credibility.
"What the hell-Oh my God!"
I stared wide eyed at the figure standing before me in a less than decent state, towel wrapped around their waist and hair dripping with water as they crossed their arms over their bare chest.
"Why was Gokudera-kun here, shujin-kun?"
Now, I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the Yamamoto's were descended from samurai, not ninja.
"I'll answer that, right after you tell me why you're naked in my kitchen, Takeshi-kun."
Oh, I didn't like that smile.
|Y.T|
Takeshi sighed as he entered the shopping district, having just arrived after telling his father the news about Daiki's absence, and given the green light to go check on him.
It was just after practice, and his legs were stinging from a less than well executed safe slide, leaving the young rain with two, dirt filled scraps riding up his legs and arms, stinging whenever his clothes grazed them. He probably should have gone home, or the nurse's office at least, and got them cleaned up, but the desire to see his fiance muted any pain he received from the frayed nerve ends.
Fishing out his phone, typing in the password, he idly began scrolling through his old stash of pictures. Images dating back to when he was nine being stored in the machine he almost never parted with.
A small smile came to his face when he stopped on an image, the memory connected to it cooling his hot blood.
It was a simple image, taken on a regular Sunday morning. In the frame, there was an image of a dirtied Daiki and Takeshi, their knees covered in soil and grass stains. Their clothes had seen better days, a small hole being worn through Takeshi's pants from the sheer amount of times he had practiced slide safes. The elder boy's arms were wrapped around Takeshi as they heaved with laughter, sunny smiles on their faces as they tried to collect themselves.
He didn't remember his father taking it, but he was grateful for it.
Looking up from his phone, the young Rain came to a stop, reading the familiar sign hanging over the Yamaguchi shop.
Reaching for the door, he paused when he noticed it was locked, but heard voices from inside. They were harsh, and too muffled to tell who they were and what they were saying, but auditable enough to be known.
Frowning, Takeshi took a step back and thought over the situation, before jogging around the bakery and jumping their fence, landing solidly in the backyard. The sounds of Mephisto proved to him that, yes, someone was indeed home.
"Hey Miphy," he greeted quietly, still stumbling over the name even after years of practice. " Is the back door open? I need to get in to see shujin-kun."
The white pup yipped before taking off around the corner, Lady following after him, before head butting the door, the wooden slate swinging open.
"You're the best!" the young Rain laughed, ruffling the terrier's fur.
Gently toeing off his shoes, the Yamamoto child crept into the house. He kept his breath quiet as the voices continued, keeping steady and quiet. As the young Rain reached the stairs, shifting his weight to climb wooden steps in a particular style he had formed over the years, the silence it granted allowing him to jump his fiancé many a time.
"I'd owe you, more than one."
Takeshi stopped, the familiar base reaching his ears as he reached the top of the stairs. Shuffling over to the wall, the young Yamamoto leaned next to the door of Daiki's room.
There was no sound for a moment, the young Rain holding his breath in fear of alerting whoever his Daiki was talking to.
"Yeah. Yeah, I promise to look after them."
Gokudera?
What was Gokudera doing in Daiki's room?
"Thank you."
Takeshi's breath hitched.
Daiki, he sounded so weak. Tired and worn, but so relieved. A moment of fragility that made his voice soft and airy, his emotion obvious for all to see.
And Takeshi didn't get to see.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he pressed his pads into the wall behind him, forcing himself to remain still as silence rang through the house.
"Okay, well, I better get going."
Sucking in a sharp breath, the young Rain pushed off the wall and swiftly padded across the small hall, slipping into the bathroom just as the handle of Daiki's door turned. Taking a deep breath, the young Rain took steps back from the door, leaning against the tiled wall on the other end.
What was Gokudera doing here? What did he promise Daiki?
A light scowl lit his face, his hand coming to slam against the wall to try and restrain his raising aggravation. Hissing, the young Rain recoiled as a shower of lukewarm water pelted down on him, his hand coiled around the upturned knob of the taps.
Wet and more than a little aggravated, Takeshi stepped out of the shower and shut off the water. stripping himself of his waterlogged clothing, he threw them to the floor with a little too much aggression and gritted his teeth.
He needed to see Daiki. Now.
Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around his hips and descended the stairs, keeping his footsteps just barely audible out of habit.
"Well, whatever, sorry still."
Takeshi's eyes widened as he paused at the base of the stairs, just out of their line of sight, but where he could see the last thing he ever wanted to.
"Thank you, little one. Truly."
…
Calm.
Calm yourself, Takeshi.
Communicate with him. Have confirmation. Fill in the blanks.
Do. Not. Attack.
The young Rain watched as Daiki closed the door after the pale haired teen, before hunching slightly, coughs racking his body.
A flash of concern rushed through the young Yamamoto, half of him wanting to help his shaking fiance, the other wanting to be the one shaking him. Stepping off the last of the case, he began padding after his Daiki, letting him soothe his throat with salted water and hack up another portion of his lungs, before deciding to make himself known.
"Who was that?"
In any other situation, Takeshi would have laughed at the scene presented to him, but at that moment, the noise and swearing that sounded off only worked to grate on his nerves.
"What the hell-Oh my God!"
Flexing his crossed arms to try and turn down the heat on his simmering blood, the young Rain tried again, just barely keeping his temper lidded.
"Why was Gokudera-kun here, shujin-kun?"
"I'll answer that, right after you tell me why you're naked in my kitchen, Takeshi-kun."
Wrong move.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Takeshi let his smile become sharp, tilting his head just so in a manner he knew would set off alarms.
"No, you'll answer me first, shujin-kun. Why was Gokudera here? And why did you kiss him?"
Taking a certain joy in the tensing of the elder boy's body at his tone, he watched as his fiance slowly collected himself and stood, being careful to not go to his full height in front of his simmering partner.
"Kiss? When did I…?"
Takeshi frowned as the taller boy did as well, looking legitimately confused, before realisation dawned on his face, the fear that followed bathed the baseballer in cold water, while boiling him from the inside.
"Oh."
"Yes, 'oh'. Now, care to share?" The young Rain hissed, leaning slightly.
"Okay, I didn't kiss Gokudera-san. Not in the way I think that you think I did. It was a forehead kiss, ya know- on the forehead? Not on the mouth."
The young Yamamoto narrowed his eyes further, a firm downward tilt to his lips.
"You swear it? You're not lying?"
His fiance placed a hand over his heart and held the other up, displaying his palm.
"I promise, I have never- and will never- engage in physical pleasure through one Gokudera Hayato."
"Or anyone else?"
"Or anyone else." Daiki breathed, nodding as he sighed.
"Good. Now, why was he here?"
"He came to talk about Sawada-san, he thought I was being hostile towards him, and - well, you know how he is towards the boy." He answered, gesturing to air with his hands.
"True."
Takeshi let out a long breath, his blood settled and a certain heat in his core cooled down, allowing him to take a step towards his fiance.
"Shujin-kun, you were absent from sch-Holy!"
Both boys let out harmonious screams of surprise as Takeshi's towel descended his legs, pooling around his feet.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry!"
"Why!? This is the second one I've seen this term!"
"What?!"
"It was just Ryohei-kun's, so it doesn't really count!"
"Ryohei-san?!"
"If it makes you feel better, your's is bigger than his!"
"How is that meant to make me feel better!"
"I don't know! Just cover yourself, God damnit!"
…
Takeshi pouted up at Daiki as he accepted a cup of milk, a pair of his fiance's sweatpants and oversized shirt covering his body as his hair dripped onto the towel hanging on his shoulders.
"So, we all good now?" The taller boy asked, dropping down on the couch next to him.
"No, I'm grumpy again." He muttered into his cup, sipping the calcium restoring liquid.
"Why? Because of Ryohei-kun accidentally flashing me?"
"Accidently? Really?" Takeshi asked, giving him an unconvinced look.
Daiki paused for a moment, before giving a sheepish smile.
"Okay, he kicked the bathroom door in and posed dramatically. So, maybe not so accidental."
"Mhm." He hummed, putting his cup down.
"And because of that, you need to pamper me." He declared, draping himself over his fiance's lap.
"What are you, a cat?"
"No, I'm your husband, I'm worse."
Takeshi grinned as his body vibrated from Daiki's laughter, a hand coming to tangle through his hair.
"Ah, you still don't dry your hair properly, hey?"
The young Rain gave a groan as he was manhandled onto the floor, forced to sit between Daiki's legs and his towel as thrown over his head, large hands coming to begin rubbing the water out.
"C'mon, Daiki-kun!"
"I'm already sick, Takeshi-kun, we don't need you getting a cold as well."
Takeshi gave a quiet hum as the elder boy smoothed out his hair with his hand, removing the towel and testing the dampness, before giving his own hum of approval.
"Okay, all done."
The young Rain shook out his hair before scrambling back up and straddling the taller boy, grinning further at his wide eyed expression.
"So, you were sick today?"
"Yeah, it was pretty cold...last night."
A frown settled on Takeshi's face as the tone of the environment dropped again, a phantom pain buzzing in his hand as memory of the last night came back with a bitter taste. Standing, the teenaged Yamamoto collected his fiance's hand and led his up the stairs, the older boy flicking off lights as they walked.
"How's your hand?"
That was the third time he had asked that in so many hours, despite the response always being a positive.
"It's fine. You healed it."
Laying down on the green and gold blankets, Takeshi dragged the blue haired boy along with him, throwing an arm over his chest and burrowing into his side.
They laid in silence for a few minutes, the sound of breathing and the little clock in the corner ticking away, the only sounds in the room. The sun had long gone down, and Takeshi had barely half the mind to interrupt the quiet to text his father a notice of extended absence, only to pause as Daiki made to move first.
"I don't want to hurt you. I am not allowed to hurt you." He breathed, still staring up at the ceiling.
The young Rain blinked up at him, keeping quiet when he noticed him prepare to continue.
"If I hurt you, you have to tell me. If I am about to hurt you, you have to stop me." The elder boy declared, turning his head to look at his focus.
Takeshi gazed at the little scar on his brow, usually hidden by stands of blue hair, his hand coming to graze it with his finger tips.
"It hurts, but only sometimes. Phantom pain, really."
"I'm sorry."
He withdrew his hand, before lowering it slightly to let it hover above the elder boy's mouth.
"Kiss it better."
Gradually, Daiki's hand came up and gently grasped the younger boy's wrist, pressing the paler palm to his lips in a soft kiss.
"Why are you so afraid of hurting me?"
Another kiss was placed onto the back of his hand, the young Rain's breath coming out more airy.
"My father."
This made Takeshi's attention sharpen, this being the first mention of the man in the years of knowing him.
"What about him?"
Five quick kisses were brushed across his finger tips, calloused from years of use.
"He was a...disagreeable man."
Takeshi recognised this tone, the way he spoke showing just how averse he was to the man in question.
"How so?" He knew he had to keep asking, knowing he was only going to get as much as he asked for.
"Domestic violence towards my mother."
Another kiss was pressed against his palm, harder, this time.
"I don't remember this."
"You would have been too young, five at the most."
Daiki paused his attentions and extended the young Rain's arm, the red marks of the safe slides catching his eye.
"Where did you get this?" He asked, a certain sharpness in his voice.
"Baseball practice. You made me skip getting them checked on. Fix them."
Takeshi watched as he skimmed his mouth across the grated skin, faint wisps of sunshine peeking through his lips and disappearing into paler flesh, mending the damage.
"Where is he now? Your father."
There was a pause in both movement and voice.
"Hell if I know."
It took all of Takeshi's control not to flinch at his tone, a faint frown coming instead.
"Is there anywhere else?"
"My legs."
Despite Takeshi's quiet complaint, the larger boy sat up and situated himself beside the younger's legs, pulling them into his lap and pushing up the pant legs with ease.
"Why did he leave?" The young Rain asked, breath hitching when soft flesh was pressed onto the sensitive skin of his lower leg.
"When I was six. Nine years ago." He felt the mumble against his calf, muscles tensing under the other's grip.
"Why did he leave?" He asked as the blue haired boy grasped the other side, bringing the calf to his mouth.
"I got rid of him."
Takeshi's eyes widened ever so slightly as his leg was lowered, his partner fixing his pants before moving back to lay beside him.
"Okay, thank you." He hummed, rolling slightly to half lay atop Daiki, the boy's other tan arm coming to wrap around his back.
The young Rain watched his partner for a good while, letting him pepper his hand with light kisses that left behind patches of warmth.
"Hey, Takeshi-kun?" He called, drawing the younger boy out of his daze.
"Yes?"
Amber-earth eyes fell from their intertwined hands to his own black ones, the determined but defeated look making his jaw jump.
"If you tell me I am hurting you, and I continue to hurt you-"
He didn't like where this was going.
"Get rid of me."
No. Not going to happen. He wouldn't allow it.
"Takeshi-kun." Daiki hissed, narrowing his eyes.
"Okay." He lied.
|Y.T|
I let out a sigh as the night came rushing back, the weight on my stomach reminding me of my house guest. I felt less ill compared to the day before, my fever all but gone and the scratchiness in the back of my throat abyssmal. The certain weariness in my core hinting to the midnight oil the little bonfire of Will had burnt to keep me, and the young Rain no doubt, healthy.
Streams of sunlight trickled into the room, bathing half of us in morning rays, illuminating the quiet room, as I slowly raised my hand and gently patted down Takeshi's hair, letting my head fall back. Glancing over at my side table, a quiet groan rumbled in my chest as the hands readied to line up and break out into chorus.
4:30am, time to get up.
Looking down at the mop of black on my chest, I fiddled with the idea of waking the younger boy up, before shaking it off and deciding to try and slip out from under him.
"Okay." I breathed, grabbing a bundle of clothing and slipping out of the room.
I padded down the stairs, yawning as took my apron off the hook and stepped into the bakery.
"Morning, kaa-san."
"Morning, Daiki-kun."
Oh God. What did I do?
I looked at her for a moment, a sudden wave of caution taking hold of me when I noticed the passive expression on her face.
She's angry. Shit.
"Is...Is something wrong?" Came my question, carefully scuttling past her to pick up a crate of meats.
"No, nothing."
Okay, something's definitely wrong.
We moved in a stiff synchrony, ticking off mental lists as we created batch after batch of bread and pastries. Once all the racks were filled, I grabbed a spare box, glancing over at Kaede, noticing her stance.
"Well,"
Here we go.
"Nothing except for that young man in your bed."
What?!
"Wh-FUCK!" I yelped, yanking my foot out of under the 50kg crate I had just dropped on it, hopping over to the counter to lean on as I clutched the limb.
"Look, Daiki-kun, I know this is a hard time for you. All of your hormones are changing and you're feeling all of these different things-"
"No, kaa-san, stop! I am not having this conversation with you!"
"You'll learn to control yourself in time, but until them remember: be safe when having-"
"Nahp! Nope! I'm out! Have a nice morning, kaa-san!" I shouted, booking it out of the bakery as best as I could with a lame foot.
"You'll have to learn one day!"
Been there, done that, no thanks!
As I opened the door, I was greeted with the visage of a barely awake Takeshi, leaning back on one arm as he scrubbed his face with his hand.
Blinking, I tilted my head when I noticed, I was a lot bigger than Yamamoto Takeshi. The solid shirt that fitted my frame, hung loosely off of the younger boy's, the collar reaching further across his shoulders than it did on mine. The pants that were only slightly baggy on me, tented around his own legs, the string being pulled tightly to stop them from falling off his hips.
It was a bit left field to the 'boyfriend's shirt' trend, a part of me used to the girls being the one who ended up swimming in their partner's clothing, but I guess, I understand the appeal now.
"Good morning, Takeshi-kun." I greeted, walking over to him as he gave me a tired smile.
"Morning, shujin-kun. Where'd you go?" He asked, the tired lit to his voice making me almost want to coo.
"It's already 6:30, I was getting the bakery ready with kaa-san. You should start getting ready for school." I hummed, gently running a hand through his mess of bed hair.
"Hm, don't wanna."
"Sorry, sweetheart, but that's not allowed. C'mon, get up."
Nudging the smaller boy until he sat up properly, I glanced over my shoulder and sighed when I noticed a pile of ironed and folded Namimori uniforms that were definitely not there the previous night.
"The bathroom's down the hall, you know where. We'll go an grab your books from your house before we head to the school." I breathed, coaxing the sleepy boy from the bed before handing him his clothes.
"Okay." He grumbled, padding out of the room in a daze.
Grabbing my own squared pile, I moved to the first level and used the smaller shower in the laundry, cleaning and drying myself before the one upstairs finished his morning rinse. I threw my towel on the couch as I straightened my tie, one hand coming to tuck away my set of brass.
"Morning, Takeshi-kun!" Kaede called from the kitchen, looking way too pleased with herself.
"Ah, good morning, Kaede-kaa-san!" Takeshi laughed, coming off the staircase, his tie hanging around his neck, undone.
"Hey, Daiki-kun, can you fix my tie? I can't get it." He whined, stepping forwards.
I raised an eyebrow but gestured him forwards, taking up the two ends in my hands and tying the windsor knot for my underclassman with practiced ease.
"There you go." I said, fixing his collar before taking steps back and nodding at his uniform.
"Takeshi-kun, Daiki-kun! Breakfast!"
"Coming!" We chorused, moving after the call.
"Run. Run. Run. Run." I chanted, both Takeshi and I turning the corner as the final flood of students slipped into the building.
"Safe!" He cheered, sliding through the gates just as the bell rang.
"Jesus, let's never do that again." I panted, hands on my knees.
"Haha, but it was kind'a fun!"
No. No it wasn't. I can assure you.
"Herbivores. The bell has rung, get to class."
"Hi, Hibari-san! Bye, Hibari-san!" I yelped throwing the young Yamamoto over my shoulder practically and booking it into the building.
"Hahaha! Wow, you run really fast, Daiki-kun!"
We really need to get you checked out, Takeshi.
"WHERE THE EXTREME HELL HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE EXTREME!?"
I shrunk down in my chair as Ryohei seemed to tower over me, the rest of the class shuffling away as the teacher closed the door behind him.
"I was sick?" I tried, raising my hands in defense when he looked just about ready to lunge at me.
"You EXTREME piece of- text me when you're sick! Do you know how EXTREMELY worried I was!?" He roared, grabbing me by my collar and shaking me back and forth.
"My- ap-o-lo-gies." I stuttered out in time with the swings, hands coming to wrap around his wrists.
"Sasagawa-kun, please stop assaulting Yamaguchi-kun and take your seat." The teacher sighed, walking into the class with an English text book tucked under his arm.
"Yes, sensei." The light haired boy grumbled, dragging me down onto our chairs with him.
Taking out our books, we situated ourselves as the teacher began the class, Ryohei shifting until he let his head fall onto my shoulder, a faint grumble leaving him.
"Screw you, Daiki-kun. Making me worried for no reason."
"Sorry, I didn't think you were concerned."
I felt him frown into my shoulder.
"Of course I'd be worried, you're my-"
"Okay, lover boys. No talking in class, unless it's in English." The teacher called, the rest of the class breaking out into giggles as they pieces together the sentence.
"Sorry, sir." Came our accented apologies.
"I ship it." Someone said from behind us, making me reached behind my back and wave at him with my middle finger, his neighbour giving a loud laugh.
"I am so sorry!" My classmate apologised again, all but bowing to me as I pulled my PE shirt from my arms.
"It's fine! It's fine! Barely even hurt!"
"Barely even hurt!? He kicked you in the balls!" Half the changing room roared, people slamming walls and throwing things on the floor in disbelief.
Now, despite what many may think, girls do get hurt when they get kicked between the legs. Maybe not as much as the males, but anywhere can hurt if you hit it hard enough. There is a bunch of nerves down there, after all.
"Yeah, and it hurt then, but I'm fine now. So, no need to keep apologising." I sighed, turning to the bowing boy and waving off another barrage of apologies.
Rolling my eyes as the sweat scented room flew into another fit, I picked up the shirt on my bag, before giving a loud sigh.
"Ryohei-kun, dude, you have my shirt again."
"Eh, I do?" He squawked, freezing on one foot as he tried to get his pants back on.
"Ah, sorry."
Quickly swapping shirts, we were one of the first students out of the room, the sunnier of the two of us ducking under a deodorant can thrown in our direction.
"Daiki-kun!"
Oh hell.
"Hey, Takeshi-kun." I smiled, accepting his hug with my free arm.
"EXTREME afternoon, Takeshi-san!" Ryohei roared in greeting, giving the smallest of our trio a manly slap on the back.
"Afternoon, Ryohei-san!"
"Baseball-idiot! How dare you ditch the Tenth!"
Oh look, there's Gokudera and Tsuna.
"Good afternoon, little one." I greeted, brushing off how the young Rain's arm came up to mimic my own arm in wrapping around my waist.
"I'm not fucking little!"
"Ah, Gokudera-kun! Calm down!" Tsuna squeaked, jumping at the raise in volume.
"Good afternoon, Sawada-san. How are you?"
I felt Ryohei shift behind me, the flames on my radar suddenly all becoming stiff as the young Sky turned his attention to me.
"A-ah, I'm good! And y-you?! Yamaguchi-san!?"
"I'm doing fine as well."
The five of is stood in a certain silence, Takeshi seeming more than happy to just nuzzle me in public, giving me a reason to look away from the stares of the two Mafia across from me.
The young Sky paused his fidgeting and looked ready to say something, going as far as stepping forwards and unravelling his intertwined hands, only to be foiled by the gym teacher hollering at the top if his voice.
"Second years! Get moving!"
"EXTREMELY COMING, SENSEI!" Ryohei roared for the class, the rest of our peers flooding out of the door.
I let the young Rain pull my head down so he could reach my lips with his own, vaguely hearing both Gokudera and Tsuna let out varying noises of surprise and embarrassment.
Parting from the group with Ryohei by me, we jogged until we joined up with the rest of our class. I brushed off the varying wolf whistles in reference to the PDA, pushing some of the boys lightheartedly when they reenacted a dramatized version of the scene.
"Oh, get over it. I'll laugh at you when you get whipped by your girl in the future." I snarked, throwing a rather outright boy into his crowd of hooting friends.
Pausing, I tilted my head when a faint noise caught my attention, the rest of the class turning theirs to each other instead.
"That's so embarrassing! You thought the World Cup was a kind of cup noodle!"
Shifting my gaze, I zeroed in on the young Sawada standing off to the side of the class soccer game, gaping at his hand with a fear only he could exude.
"I-It talks!" He screeched, moving the limb further from his body.
Letting my brows furrow, I tried to piece together the scene before me, the familiarity ticking me off when the parts didn't click as they should.
Something talking on his hand? Didn't it say something about embarrassing?
On the hand, and embarrasses the possessor… Skulls?
I held my chin as I tried to link the sudden mental image of a skull to the event, blocking out Ryohei's screams of "EXTREME MATHEMATICS!" as I closed my eyes.
Unintentionally, I 'eyed' the muted Sky Flames presented to me, a frown coming to my face as I noticed a strange movement about it. Taking a risk, I let my Flames closer, tilting my view until I could see the whole mass of fire.
Ah, there it is.
Whenever a scathing remark was sounded, his flame would flinch. The tongues of orange cringing away from the voice and fading slightly.
"-iki-kun? Daiki-kun! Wake up, bread slice!"
"What?" I yelped, coming back to reality as the afterglow of Will Flames faded from my vision.
"Time to go." Ryohei said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder, before giving a concerned expression.
"Is something EXTREMELY wrong?"
I glanced over at the freaking out Vongola, before shaking my head, giving a negative response.
"Nah, just a bit absent minded today."
"Sorry Ryohei-kun, I gotta help kaa-san out at the bakery today, so I need to be in working order. I'll make it up by boxing with you tomorrow, I swear." I apologised, giving the pouting boxer a pat on the back.
"Fine. But you have to give it your all to the EXTREME tomorrow! I won't go easy on you!"He roared, suddenly pumped despite the earlier put-down.
"Sure, sure. See ya, tell Kyoko-chan I said 'hey'."
"Later, Daiki-kun!"
Giving a smile, I turned and began jogging towards the gates, passing the tittering students as I exited the school.
Now alone, a frown marred my face as the damned scratching at the back of my mind returned, the scene from before irritating me with how it alluded my grasp.
What was it? C'mon, you'll kick yourself when you figure it out, I'm sure!
Groaning, I brought my hand up and scrubbed my face, giving a sigh as any ground I had made towards my answer crumbled under me.
"Ah! Yamaguchi-san?!"
Oh God, exactly what I needed. A flailing fish.
Pausing, I looked over my shoulder, eyes landing on the Sky in which I dwarfed on a daily basis.
"Hello, Sawada-san. Can I help you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, no! I was just- you know- walking and, well I saw you and..." He stumbled, hands coming to wring in front of him as he dropped his eyes to the path.
"Sawada-san," I called, taking steps towards him. "Look at people when you talk to them."
|S.T|
Tsuna kept his head down as he avoided the prying eyes of his classmates, his hands jammed into his pits as he tried to muffle the wailing skulls marring his palms.
"How embarrassing! Even though you're in Middle School, you can still don't know your times tables beyond twos!"
Oh God, shut up! Shut up!
"Sawada-san!" The teacher snapped, making the young Vongola jump in his seat.
"Y-yes, sensei!?" He yelped, straightening his back.
"Is that a device I'm hearing?"
"N-no! I was just talking to myself!" Tsuna squeaked, pressing his hands deeper into his ribs.
"Well stop! It's distracting the class!"
"Sorry." The small boy sagged, coiling in on himself as the class burst out into giggles at his expense.
…
"How embarrassing! You walked around Tokyo with your pants inside out!"
"Please, stop." The small Vongola sighed, raising the hand before him to look tiredly down at his inked palm.
Why was he always the one at the butt of a joke? A cosmic joke, at that. Did some sort of deity take joy in his pain? Is that why he was almost always in this sort of situation these days?
The young Sky took a deep breath, preparing to let it out as audibly as he could, only to have someone a few paces ahead of him beat him to it. His head of fluffy brown snapped up as the familiar base sounded in his ears, instantly recognising the broad back before him and the head of short blue tinted hair.
"Ah! Yamaguchi-san!?" He squawked, legitimately surprised to see him on the walk home, his mind supplying that the upperclassman should be attending to his club activity around that time.
"Hello, Sawada-san. Can I help you?" Came his low voice, the notes rumbling in the young Vongola's ears.
"Oh, no! I was just- you know- walking and, well I saw you and..."
He couldn't help but drop his gaze, the dark eyes of the elder boy making him cower under their intense passiveness.
God damn Tsuna, talk to him!
"Sawada-san,"
The tired tone in his voice made the young Sky tense, a sudden fear taking him as black school shoes walked to go toe to toe with his own scuffed ones.
"Look at people when you talk to them."
The breath in Tsuna's lungs became thin as he felt the side of a calloused finger lift his chin, forcing him to look up at the much taller boy who was suddenly much closer.
"It's common courtesy, Little Fish."
The young Decimo wasn't sure if it was Yamaguchi's actions that made him flush, or the familiar name from years before that made a warmth curl in his chest, having not heard it in a while.
Look at people when you talk to them...
Tsuna's eyes trailed up the elder boy's tanned face, a small part of him marvelling at how mature he looked, even compared to the day at the pool. When they landed on amber-earth orbs, he couldn't help but let his shoulders sag slightly, the spectrum of brown and gold always amazing him whenever he got the chance to see them close enough.
They were always so sure, even in crisis, they knew what was going on, unlike the dameness he seemed to be damned with.
On a single occasion, at least two years ago, Tsuna had opportune enough to get a proper look at the spectrum, close enough that he could see the grainy dunes of amber as they dipped into earthy valleys to contrast against the crests. If he could experience that again, he would be happy, over the moon even.
From this angle, however, he had a better vantage point of the lashes that framed the treasured orbs. Long and thick, similar to girls, but set out in an almost masculine manner. A perfect balance between strong and delicate.
"You were saying, Sawada-san?" His focus asked, tilting his chin further up to pull him from his musing.
"Huh?" The young Vongola breathed, his once half lidded eyes snapping back to alert wide.
"How embarrassing! Since you were 9, you've compared Yamaguchi-san's eyes to gems!"
Fear welled in Tsuna's gut as Yamaguchi's eyes widened slightly, the cool hand supporting his chin removing itself as he straightened, flashes of confusion showing in the eyes in question.
"Pardon?" He asked, glancing down to where the grainy voice had originated.
"Heeii!" Tsuna screeched, jamming his hands under his arms, face going an absolute red.
"That wasn't me! I swear! You're hearing things!"
"How embarrassing! Even though you like his smile so much, you've only got him to smile at you seventeen times of his own will!"
"Shoosh! For Christ's sake!" The small Decimo whispered harshly, curling slightly when he saw the firm line that was Yamaguchi's lips.
"Is there something wrong with your...Show me your hands, Sawada-san."
Tsuna took a sharp breath as the sudden drop in the elder boy's tone, hunching his shoulders in defence when he reached out to grab his arm.
"Sawada-san." He warned, reaching further.
"Ah, Yamaguchi-san, it's fine! Really! It's just a weird-"
"Oh, how embarrassing! You're still afraid at the top of the slide!"
The next scream Tsuna released was both due to the declaration of humiliation, and the wrist that was now held tightly in the blue haired boy's grasp.
"What on Earth..." He mumbled, other hand coming to trace the chattering skull gently.
"A-ah, it's just a drawing!"
"An animated one, I'm sure." The taller boy hummed, rubbing his thumb over the marking to see if it would smudge.
"I...I don't know what it is." Tsuna admitted, slouching in defeat.
"That's..."
Oh no. Oh, no, no, no. Reborn, no!
The two boys snapped their attention to the hooded baby on the fence, the young Vongola's hand unintentionally wrapping around the fingers in his palm.
"Ah, Reborn-san."
Tsuna took in a hissed breath, eyes widening at just how poisonous his voice became.
"It's the sign of the fatal Skull Disease you have. You're going to die, Dame-Tsuna." The baby hitman continued, not deterred by his less than welcoming acknowledgement.
"Ah, so that's it..." The young Vongola barely registered hearing Yamaguchi breath, the fact of his imminent death taking priority.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you a god of death, or something?"
Reborn then produced a magnifying glass from within his robe, holding it up to his eye as if to inspect the young Decimo's neck.
"I see the shadow of death." He groaned faux-eerily.
"Stop it already! Don't joke around!" Especially when Yamaguchi's here!
"I'm not joking around."
Oh God, what?
Tsuna's jaw progressively lowered as the baby hitman continued to talk, stabs of fear and disbelief striking him left and right.
"Perhaps, it could be a prank? Do you want to try and wash it off, Sawada-san?" Yamaguchi asked, making the young Vongola jump.
"Ah!" He gasped, renewed hope appearing. "Yeah, it should come off! I mean, Skull Disease? Who'd believe that!?"
He decided to ignore that, he himself, had fallen for it for a moment.
The three males walked to the nearest park, Yamaguchi taking up a seat on the wall beside the tap that Tsuna deemed webless enough to use.
"What the hell!?" He shouted, gawking at his still marred palm.
"I take it that the skull has not disappeared, then?" The way he said it was as if he knew that that was the outcome, despite him being the one offering the possible solution.
"That's so embarrassing! You get motion sickness on swings!"
Wait, did the voice move!?
Tsuna let out a yelp as the taller boy moved off the wall and grabbed him, one hand slipping under his shirt and pulling the layers up to reveal another skull chattering away on his right side.
"There's more!?"
The young Sky bit his lip as Yamaguchi's tanned palm came and pressed against the skin just beneath the skull, an inquisitive expression on his face as he leant forwards, making the Vongola Decimo feel the waves of heat from his breath.
"The Skull Disease is a sickness in which skulls appear on your body and tell embarrassing secrets until you, finally, die." Reborn hummed, folding his hands behind his back, once again in his regular suit rather than his cosplay.
"So, basically it's dying of embarrassment. Like dying of shame?" The blue haired boy clarified, standing from his crouch before Tsuna.
"Effectively."
"There's no way that's true!" The young Vongola yelped, spinning around and scrubbing his palms under the water, kneading his thumb into the skin in desperate hope.
"That's so embarrassing! You skipped school on a school-wide vacation day!"
"That's not so bad."
Tsuna jumped, looking over his shoulder at the taller boy, finding him leaning over him to watch the attempted ablution.
"I mean, that means you didn't miss a day of school. And, if you had felt guilty, you didn't do anything wrong and probably tried to amend. Am I correct?"
With a flushed face, the young Sky gave a mute nod, eye wide at just how close the other boy's face was.
"How embarrassing! When you talked in your sleep, you bit your tongue!"
"...Ow." Was the blue haired boy's only comment for that one, the young Vongola flushing further.
"Shut up!" He snapped at the skull, driving the heel of his opposite palm into the marking.
"You should already know these secrets, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn chirped, moving from the wall to the fine gravel ground.
"That's true, but..." He glanced over at the neutral faced Yamaguchi.
"So, this is a real disease then?" The blue haired boy asked, taking up Tsuna's hand to see the still pristine skull.
"That's what I said."
He felt the grip on his wrist jump.
"By the way, the Skull Disease will cause you to die after two hours of contracting it."
"What?!" Yamaguchi hissed.
"What!? No! I don't wanna die!" Tsuna cried, subconsciously moving towards the body holding his wrist as if to hide or draw comfort.
"And to listen to all my embarrassing moments, too." He wept, collapsing against the pillar of muscle beside him.
"Don't worry, they'll keep talking after you die." Reborn corrected, before giving the distraught boy a thumbs up.
"It'll be a funeral full of smiles."
Tsuna felt the shift before he noticed it, the sudden tension in the body beside him hinting to the next action.
"Okay, that's it Reborn-san. You're getting this little Fish a doctor, stat." Yamaguchi ordered, pulling the young Vongola Decimo to his feet.
"And why would I do that?"
He felt a stab of fear hit him in the gut, winding him for a moment, unsure if it was from the blatant blow off, or the sudden darkness that consumed his upperclassman's face.
"Well, my mother has begun thinking that the Yamaguchi Bakery isn't making the profits it needs from the pecan bread, or the coffee cake, as of late. She's debating whether we should cut them from our line, eliminating them from our store for the foreseeable future." Came his based tone, Tsuna's eyes widening when he spotted the horrified gleam just barely peeking out from under the baby hitman's fedora brim.
"However," Yamaguchi continued, bringing the young Vongola before him, placing his tanned hands on thin shoulders and leaning over the smaller boy, making him feel a warmth spread across his back.
"I could persuade my mother to keep them there in exchange for another. If, you find my Little Fish a doctor within the time limit. What was it again? Three hours?"
"Two, actually." His self-proclaimed tutor corrected, Tsuna wondering if it was just his ears playing a trick on him or not, was he grumbling?
"Well, we better get on it then. Anyone in mind, Reborn-san?" The taller boy asked, looking way too satisfied with himself.
"I do have one, that I can think of."
If it weren't for the muddled rush of relief and lingering waves of awe and fear that clouded Tsuna's mind, he might have just sensed the impending danger that rang alarms in the far corner of his mind.
|S.T|
|REBORN|
Good.
Not what he had expected. But good, nonetheless.
Yamaguchi was still up for grabs, the fact that he got riled up enough to step to Reborn personally was enough to prove that. He was doing pretty well, given that he had barely any leverage over the little Hitman, very well indeed.
But still, why Reborn's baked goods? He had already held Leon to someone's head when they had interrupted his morning snack.
The no.1 hitman watched as the tall boy fussed over the little dame, his large body dwarfing his student easily. The heir's face was doing a marvellous impression of an over-ripe tomato, steam beginning to seep from his pores.
Reborn looked to the baker's boy, wondering what he could do with the skills of Mafia Seduction up his sleeve if this was his level already. A sinister smirk slipped across his pudgy cheeks as he tried to hide the gleam in his obsidian eyes.
"I have an acquaintance who is especially good with fatal illnesses. If he treats you, I'm sure you'll survive." He hummed, turning to his less than stellar student.
"Great, let's get him to Sawada-san."
"Ah, thank you! Yamaguchi-san!"
He's good, Reborn thought, watching the dame boy grin in relief.
But not good enough.
You want me to find a doctor? Sure, I'll find you one.
But you have to catch him, yourself.
|REBORN|
"Poor bastard." I muttered, dropping my bag beside my shoes in the entryway of the Sawada household.
"How's this guy!? Why's he poisoned!?" Tsuna gaped, withdrawing from the toxic scene with shock.
I tilted my head, scanning the man's white suit and black shirt, a flash of little glass tubes lining the insides of his jacket catching my eye. A part of me recognised the man, meaning he was a somewhat important character, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember his name.
"That's doctor Shamal, I called him from Italy." Reborn chirped, not at all bothered by the body sprawled out on the bottom of the steps.
"Hm, it's been awhile since I last done something good for this world." A familiar voice sounded, drawing my attention up the slope to the oncoming woman.
"Bianchi-san." I greeted, nodding my head.
"Ah, Yamaguchi-san, long time no see."
We shared a smile, ignoring Tsuna's shout of confusion, before turning to the white wearing doctor on the floor.
"Feisty as usual."
Oh. Oh God. He's that kind of character.
"He's alive!"
I blinked when spotted a sheet of cloth separating the purplish concoction from his skin, rummaging through my memories to see if I remember it being there in the first place.
"That was close." He laughed, delicately peeling the layer from him and tossing it to the side.
"But, that's how women should be. I like you even more now!" He cooed, jumping towards the Mafia woman with exaggerated kissy lips.
I watched as Bianchi dodged out of the way and executed a brilliant round house kick, giving me no other choice than to give a little applause, making her respond with a delicate bow.
"Geez, you're so shy!"
"Fuck off!"
Within seconds, the Scorpion woman had him pinned to the wall with her poisoned cooking, this time, I noticed the cloth protecting his face.
"As you can see, he loves women." Reborn chirped, seeming quite happy with Tsuna's expression of fear mixed with disbelief.
"This old guy can cure fatal illnesses!? Is he even a doctor at all!?" Tsuna squawked, obviously doubting the baby hitman.
"Yep, I've been under his care before. Shamal was the one who brought me out of my mother."
Wait what?
"Your birth!?" The young Vongola blanched, expressing my confusion via proxy.
The small hitman didn't give the boy an answer, instead turning to the pinned doctor and beginning a different topic.
"Shamal-san, this is Dame-Tsuna. He's infected with Skull Disease."
"His real name is Tsunayoshi, he goes by Tsuna, though." I sighed, ignoring the look sent at me by the little Sky.
"Oh, right. That's why you called me out here." Shamal breathed, peeling the poisoned dish from his face.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm easily distracted." He laughed, coming towards the young boy.
Both Tsuna and I stiffened as his hand came down on his chest, squeezing gently as he leaned in to sniff his neck.
"Ah!" He groaned, withdrawing.
I frowned as I came up behind the little Sky, raising an eyebrow as he declared his exclusiveness, claiming that Tsuna would receive no treatment from him with a male body.
"Reborn-san, you said you would get Sawada-san a doctor." Came my growl, the young Sky running out after the two Mafia.
"Yes, and I did. There's your doctor, straight from Italy." He answered, tilting his head to look up at me. "You never said he had to treat the dame."
"Why you little..." I scowled, before shaking my head. "Whatever, you want a chase, then fine."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, scrolling through my contacts before calling the selected number.
"Chattering Herbivore."
"Hello Hibari-san, I need to borrow some of your boys..."
I didn't notice Reborn's eyes flash behind me, a smirk sliding across his face as he stroked his side burns.
"Kusakabe-san, thanks again." I smiled, shaking the second in command's hand, watching Tsuna corner the good doctor Shamal out of the corner of my eye.
"No problem, Yamaguchi-san. Hibari-sama will be around to collect your payment later." He hummed, the rest of his subordinates bowing behind him.
I had used the small mass of men to create a sort of channel through the town, limiting how far the Mafia doctor could run off too, allowing Tsuna to find him easier. The little fish was unaware of the plan, but I bet Reborn was having a good laugh at our expense,
"I've been meaning to ask, what's going on with your boys. They've been bowing almost this whole time." I mumbled, leaning closer as to not be overheard.
"Hm, for some reason, word is that the shopping district is your territory."
"What?"
"It's understandable, Hibari-sama does leave most of the conflicts in this area to you, and he barely touches this part of Namimori. He only ever comes to visit you, actually." He said, crossing his arms as his grass swung.
"Ah...okay, then." I sighed, shaking my head.
"Thank you, Disciplinary Committee, you've been a great help. Don't give Hibari-san or Kusakabe-san too much trouble."
"It's our pleasure, Yamaguchi-san!"
Oh God, please don't do that. You're making me uncomfortable.
"Sawada-san, where did your shirt go…?" I asked, raising an eyebrow when I saw his bare torso.
Oh, was that muscle, I see forming?
"Um..." The young Sky trailed off, looking to the side.
"Never mind, doesn't matter. Get healed already." I sighed, waving him off.
"I already told you, I only deal with women!" Shamal contested, standing as he brushed himself down.
"First time for everything, ay?"
"Please, I don't want to die!" Tsuna begged, grabbing the man's sleeve.
"Get off me, boy!"
"Ki-nii?"
Oh God.
I turned and sighed when I saw the familiar little girl standing at the gate, staring wide eyed at the scene, a small smile on her face.
"Hey, Imouto." I greeted, letting her skip over to me and wrap me up in a hug.
"Ah, are you and Tsuna-kun playing?" She asked, leaning back to smile at the flustered boy.
"Ah, no! I was just-" He tried to say, holding his hand up to try and stop her train of thought, only to giver her fuel for another excited question.
"Are you doing body painting, Tsuna-kun!"
"Huh?! No, they aren't-Don't look at me!" The small Vongola yelped, closing his fists.
"That's embarrassing! Even though you're short, you've got the longest waist in your class!"
I looked to the new skull printed in the centre of the Sky's forehead, the chattering mark setting off another scream from it's host.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi. With a short life. And short legs as well." Reborn hummed, standing by my feet in cosplay once more.
"Too many syllables." I commented, shaking my head.
"Haha, that's funny!"
"Hey, young lady. You're very pretty, I'll give you a good kis-gah!"
"I'd like to see you try." I growled, holding the sleazy Italian by his collar.
"Leave Kyoko-chan alone!" Tsuna shouted, coming to stand between us and his peer.
"Why? This doesn't concern you." Shamal breathed, batting my loosened hand off his shirt.
"Yes, it does concern me!"
"Eh, eve if you die in 5 minutes?" He laughed, throwing his thumb over to the sunset.
I scowled when another move was made at Kyoko, switching sides of the party to stand just behind the younger girl and let her grip the rolled sleeve of my uniform. Blinking, the sounds of Tsuna attempting to manually activate Dying Will mode caught my attention, a quick glance in his direction giving me a flash of orange in his eyes. I held my breath and tensed as he stood taller, his usual rage face on as he screamed out his dying will.
"How embarrassing! You called an elevator an eberator! That's embarrassing! You can never get the timing right when you sing!"
The flames in his eyes flickered out and his face fell, all drive dropping off as he stood in shock.
I let out the breath. Good.
"You're so funny, Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko laughed, releasing my upper arm and taking steps away.
"Well, I have to get home now. See you tomorrow, Ki-nii, Tsuna-kun."
"See you at school." The young Vongola drawled, curled up in the fetal position on the road.
"Be safe, Imouto." I breathed, petting her head before she parted from us.
Giving a sigh, I turned to look at Tsuna, raising an eyebrow as an unexpectedly mature expression marred his youthful face.
"Tomorrow, huh? There is no tomorrow for me." He sighed, before a small smile came to his face.
"Well, at least I was able to see Kyoko-chan in the end."
"That's so embarrassing and so nice! That's the first time you've talked to a girl for so long!"
"Ah, that's true."
I frowned when the sentence ran through my head, rolling over the gravelly words as Reborn and Shamal stepped up to take the spotlight.
'Talked to a girl?' Wasn't that sentence different in the anime? The 'person you like', wasn't it?
"I'm gonna die as 'No-Good Tsuna', just leave me alone!" The young Sky cried, fluids leaking from his orifices, making me step back.
"I got it, I got it. I'll cure you."
Shamal's sigh of defeat made me look to the older man, the pitying look that he directed at Tsuna giving away just why he submitted to the Vongola's wishes.
"Hold still, right there." He instructed, waving me off to the side.
As I moved away, I watched as he worked his magic, releasing a specialised mosquito into the air and allowing it to land on the Decimo's arm, healing him from the fatal disease, only minutes before he expired.
"You're illness in cured." He smirked at the teary-eyed Sky, sticking his hands into his pockets.
"Why did you heal Sawada-san?" I asked, my suspicion wanting to be confirmed.
"Well, I felt sorry for him." Shamal shrugged, a lazy smile on his face.
"You heard what the skull on him said, right?" He continued at my raised eyebrow, coming to crouch next to the equally smirking baby hitman.
"That was the longest time he had ever talked to a girl. So, that's three minutes. Just three minutes! There's no guy who wouldn't feel sorry for him!" He laughed, holding up three digits to emphasise his point.
A buzz in my pocket tore my attention from the scene in front of me, my hand coming to dig through the material until I withdrew my phone, flipping it open and selecting the message.
From: Cloud
Tomorrow, you're mine.
I blinked, before letting out a huff of air, shaking my head as I thanked the Gods that I had trained Ryohei in the art of note taking.
To: Cloud
Very well then, Birdy. Tomorrow it is.
Shoving the phone back in my pocket, I stepped back and walked from the Mafia trio, a part of me glad that none of them noticed my departure.