Tsuna tuned out the drone of the maths teacher's voice and gazed out of the window instead. Why did he have to have maths? It was so boring. Wasn't it enough that he'd had to suffer through about four hours of homework for this?
"If you could all get into groups please!" the teacher called out. "We'll go through the homework!"
As usual whenever they had group work, there was a commotion as the students scrambled to sit beside friends. The girls, in particular, all wanted to sit beside the school's baseball champ, Takeshi Yamamoto.
Tsuna gazed over at Kyoko Sasagawa. It'd be nice if he could get paired up with her, but she was already sitting with Hana Kurokawa, her best friend. As usual, no one came near the seat Tsuna was sat at. He turned his attention out of the window again. Nobody in the class said much to him, since he had relations to the Disciplinary Committee. Everyone tried their best to avoid Hibari if they could.
The teachers usually left him alone too but…"Sawada-kun! Are you listening?! Now isn't the time to be spacing out! Please get up!"
Tsuna looked up in surprise. "H-huh?"
The middle-aged man looked confused too. He held a paper in front of him and was peering down at it with curiosity. "Apparently, you're to pair up with Yamamoto for today."
"Eh?!" various girls in the class cried out at the unfairness of it all. But, as they gazed at Tsuna, they didn't say anything.
Tsuna himself was in a bit of a shock. "Wh-why me?" he stammered.
The teacher pushed his glasses further up his nose, still peering down at the paper in his hand. "Just do as I say please, Sawada-kun."
"H-hai…" Tsuna got up and took his stuff over to Yamamoto's table. He looked down at tabletop as he sat down beside the other boy. "H-hi," he muttered uncertainly. Was it really okay for him to be paired up with Yamamoto? He'd never really spoken to this popular boy before.
Takeshi Yamamoto was everything Tsuna was not; athletic, good-looking, and charming. He had a head of short black hair and amber coloured eyes. He always wore a grin. "Yo, Tsuna, right?"
Tsuna was relieved at the friendly greeting. He looked up and attempted a smile, though it came out a little wobbly. To avoid any further awkwardness, he pulled his exercise book forward and flipped through it to the homework exercises he'd done. "L-let's get on with this, ne?"
Yamamoto smiled. "Sure. But you'll have to explain it all to me."
"Huh?" Tsuna stared at the other boy with puzzlement.
Yamamoto laughed. "Maths isn't my best subject. I don't get it at all."
They had a while to go through their answers before sensei asked them to say them out loud, so Tsuna tried his best to explain the work to Yamamoto. The lesson was a long one. But, at least Yamamoto was really easy to get along with.
After that they had lunch. Tsuna packed up his things as Yamamoto was surrounded by his friends. The brown-haired boy walked away.
"Ah, you're going, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked.
Tsuna looked back and smiled. "Yeah. See you later!" He hurried away.
He made his way up the school roof, where he usually had lunch. Most students stayed away from the roof because there was always the possibility that Kyouya Hibari might be up here too. But, during lunch Hibari wasn't to be seen so Tsuna knew he had the place all to himself. Sitting down, he pulled out his food and began to eat.
He didn't see that, from the building directly opposite, he saw being watched by a figure with black hair. Hibari narrowed his gaze.
"Checking up on him? You're such a doting brother." a voice said.
Hibari, almost acting on reflex, pivoted on the heel of his left foot so that he faced the source of the voice, tonfa held at the ready. Above him, on top of the block of concrete that housed the water tank, was Dino.
The Italian grinned as he jumped down. "Why're you spying on Tsuna?"
Hibari didn't lower his weapons. Every time he saw this man, he felt annoyed and wanted to bite him to death. "I think the question here should be "what is an herbivore like you doing in school grounds without permission"."
Dino chuckled and held his hands up in surrender. "Don't attack me, please. I'm just doing my job."
Hibari put his tonfa away. "I don't see how you can do your so-called job when the one you're supposed to be observing is all the way over there."
Dino shrugged, "it's not like I can tail him through school, right? That'd make me a little too conspicuous and Tsuna's already far too suspicious." He sighed as he walked over to stand behind the fence. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his coat. His gaze was fixed on Tsuna, on the building opposite. "He's alone again, huh?"
Hibari sat down. "As always." He linked his hands behind his head and lay down. He closed his eyes and raised one leg to cross it over the other.
Dino looked down at him. "How come you always come to watch him? You really do care, huh?"
Hibari opened one eye to look up at Dino blankly. He scoffed and then closed it again. "I always come to the roof; it's mere coincidence that he was there also."
Dino snorted. "Yeah right. I arrived here before you. You came just before Tsuna opened that door."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Dino rolled his eyes. "Stubborn, aren't you? Just admit you're concerned about your little bro."
"Well, it would be problematic if he died so I guess I am."
"I didn't mean it quite that way, Kyouya. You care that he's always alone. Don't you think you might be the cause of it?"
Hibari didn't respond.
Dino clicked his tongue as he continued to gaze over at the small figure of Tsuna. He breathed out a heavy sigh. "I don't get it; in class, I set it up so he'd get paired up with Takeshi Yamamoto. They hit it off. The two of them should be hanging around now or something…right? Aah…maybe it's too soon to assume they'll become friends just like that."
Hibari made no response.
He was on the verge of sleep when Dino spoke again. "I've been looking for people who can be in his family, ya know? So far, Yamamoto's the only one who caught my eye. He's got a good character. He's good with people. And he has good instincts; the way he plays baseball, it's amazing."
The prefect's brows quivered in annoyance. He was trying to sleep.
"But…I suppose there's still time." Dino grinned to himself. "And Tsuna might get another reliable family member soon."
The small well of patience had run out. Hibari jumped to his feet, tonfa in hand. Dino leapt back, somewhat alarmed. "K-Kyouya?!"
Hibari spun his weapons in his hands. "For disturbing my sleep, talking too much about useless things, and for being in my presence without good reason, you will be bitten to death."
Dino was foolish for not having brought at least Romario with him.
"We have a new transfer student today." the teacher announced.
They were in homeroom, at the start of another miserable day in school. Tsuna, as usual, was looking out the window.
"This is Hayato Gokudera-kun. He's just come back from studying abroad, in Italy."
The last word caught Tsuna's attention and he looked to the front of the class. Italy…? Dino-san's homeland?
The transfer student didn't speak as the teacher pointed out an empty chair that he could sit at. He had grey hair and sea-green eyes. He wore the white school shirt open, with a t-shirt underneath and a dog tag hung around his neck. He looked scary, his features pulled into an angry frown.
All the girls in the class were whispering excitedly among themselves. The transfer student, Gokudera, didn't go towards the seat that the teacher had pointed out. Instead, he walked in Tsuna's direction and stopped before the brown-haired boy's table. His expression darkened even further.
"E-eh…?" Tsuna glanced around, hoping that perhaps the boy was looking at someone else, but that sea-green gaze was definitely resting on Tsuna.
Gokudera kicked his table. Tsuna cried out, backing up as far as he could in his seat. Gokudera then turned in the direction of the desk the teacher had told him to sit at. Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief. What had all that been about?
Last period for the day was PE. They were playing baseball today. As per usual, Tsuna was the last to get chosen.
"W-we're saying you guys can have him!" a member of one team was telling the other team. "W-we'll make do like this!"
"N-not at all! We're fine like this! B-but, you guys could use another player, right?" someone from the other team stammered.
"No! That'd be totally unfair to you!"
That was just their way of saying "this guy sucks so please take him out of our hands before insults are thrown around and the Disciplinary Committee gets involved". Tsuna sighed. It wasn't like he'd ask Nii-chan to "take care" of them if they actually said something like that (and Hibari probably wouldn't beat them up on Tsuna's say-so anyway). He knew he sucked; physical education just wasn't his thing.
But then a familiar carefree laugh was heard as Yamamoto came to the front of his team. "Yo, Tsuna!" he called out. "You can be in our team!" He grinned.
"H-huh?" Tsuna stuttered, looking at the boy incredulously. Yamamoto did know that the team Tsuna was on inevitably lost, right?
"It's fine, isn't it?" the black-haired boy said, "just join our team. I mean, it doesn't look like anyone's going to pick you at this rate and I really wanna play." He flashed another grin.
"O-oi, Yamamoto! You're not serious!" another black-haired boy huffed. "Don't you know how…um…you know!" His face flushed and he refused to meet Tsuna's eye. Everyone knew what he meant, though. The unfinished sentence was "how much he sucks?" He didn't want to say it, in case the DC got involved.
"Aw, c'mon; I just have to win, right?" Yamamoto said.
Another boy sighed. "Fine. If Yamamoto says so."
Tsuna couldn't believe it. This had to be the first time anybody had accepted him on a team without the teacher deciding for them.
And then they played. Yamamoto shone, like he always did on the pitch. But Tsuna's "curse" came into effect. Because of him, the other team managed to score so much higher.
I can't believe we really lost, he thought glumly as the other team started to go inside. The loser team had to clean the grounds.
"I can't believe it!" the boys from his team muttered among themselves, shooting angry glances at Tsuna, unaware that he could hear them perfectly, "he's a disaster!"
"Yeah! Any team he's on always loses!"
"That's why I didn't want him on the team!"
"He should be the one to sweep the field, since it's his fault!"
"O-oi, he might hear you!"
Tsuna heaved a sigh and went to get a broom. "I'll…clean up." he said, looking down at the ground, "You guys go on ahead."
The boys stopped speaking to stare at him incredulously. And then they went back to conferring among themselves. "Y-you think he heard us?"
"Don't know. I hope not!"
"A-anyway, let's just go!"
So they all trooped away, leaving Tsuna alone on the pitch. Heaving another sigh, Tsuna started brushing up.
"Help has arrived." a cheery voice said behind him.
He turned and saw Yamamoto walking towards him, also holding a broom. He smiled apologetically, "sorry. It's all my fault…and this was the first time anyone let me into the team willingly and all…"
"Don't worry about it." Yamamoto grinned. "It's just PE."
They started sweeping. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Yamamoto said.
"Hn?" Tsuna looked up briefly before going back to his task. "Sure."
"How come you're always alone?"
The question caught Tsuna off-guard. His arms jerked out a little too fast and too far and, trying to keep his hold on the handle of the brush, his upper body tipped forward and he ended up losing his balance. A pained groan escaped his lips as he fell flat on his face. What a stupid way to fall.
Yamamoto laughed and extended a hand, "you're a funny guy."
Tsuna accepted the offer of help and let himself be hauled to his feet. "Th-thanks." he said as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"So?" Yamamoto pressed. "How come you're always by yourself? I mean, I had a great time talking to you yesterday. I've not enjoyed a maths lesson in a while! You're a pretty safe guy!" He grinned.
Tsuna blushed at the praise. How unusual for him to be talking so casually with someone popular. "Um…thanks. But…I don't…I'm not that great."
"Sure you are! Everybody's scared of your brother so they don't say anything to you but they should give you a chance. I think you're pretty cool."
His blush deepened. Had something been slipped into the drink he'd had at lunch? He must be hearing things, right? Nobody ever had anything good to say about him. It was always "Dame-Tsuna did so and so stupid thing today" or "Dame-Tsuna messed up in PE again" (although they never called him Dame-Tsuna to his face). So where was this coming from?
It was just Yamamoto. Everybody knew he was a really easy guy to get along with. He put the people around him at ease with his laidback personality.
Tsuna chuckled uneasily, "no, the cool one here is you."
"Because I play baseball?"
"Well, yeah; you are really good at it. The best in the school!"
Yamamoto stopped sweeping and his grin slipped. Tsuna looked over and stopped too, frowning in puzzlement. "Is everything all right?" he asked.
"It's supposed to be what I do best," the black-haired boy said. His expression was melancholic.
"Why? What's wrong?" Tsuna said.
Namimori Junior High's baseball star sighed, "I don't know why but, lately, my skills have been declining. No matter how much I practice, my average is dropping and my fielding is screwing up. Tsuna, what should I do?" He looked so lost.
Y-you're asking me?! Tsuna thought, looking incredulous. This had to be a first! "W-well…I don't think I'm the person you should be asking…" he stammered.
"Just kidding." Yamamoto grinned apologetically. "It's just that, you seem like a pretty reliable guy and I just…wanted to get it off my chest…"
It was weird seeing the ever-cheerful baseball star like this. Usually, he was always seen with a grin on his face, joking and laughing with everyone. I want to help him but…Tsuna thought. But what could he say? He didn't know anything about this kind of thing! "Um…I guess…more effort is the way to go…?" Wouldn't that make him a hypocrite, saying this kind of thing? He never tried at anything, assured of failure from the start (schoolwork was another matter; a matter of survival).
"Yeah."
"Huh?!" Tsuna looked at Yamamoto, confused. Yamamoto agreed?!
Yamamoto put his arm around Tsuna's shoulder, the happy grin back on his face. "Ya know, I thought that was it too! It makes sense, right?"
"R-really?" Tsuna asked in surprise.
"Yup! So, today, I'm going to remain here and practice like hell!"
Tsuna felt happy he'd said something good.
After they were done sweeping the field, Tsuna left Yamamoto and went back inside. He got changed into his school uniform and packed away his things, got his school bag, and hurried out.
He was about to dash out of the school gates when someone stepped in front of him, barring his way. "Hii!" He took an involuntary step back, eyes wide, afraid.
The new transfer student, Gokudera, glared at the brown-haired boy, a lit cigarette dangling between his lips. "Tch, the family's going to die out if this wimp is going to be the next boss." He scoffed.
"H-huh? F-family…?" Tsuna stammered as he backed away. This guy was trouble. But, more than that, Tsuna got the feeling he was…unhappy. "Wh-what do you want?" he asked.
"I was observing you through the PE lesson. You're pathetic. I won't accept you being the next boss!" Gokudera snapped, two sticks of dynamite appearing in his hand, as if out of nowhere.
Tsuna backed up another few steps, "d-dynamite?!"
Gokudera lit the sticks with his cigarette and threw them at Tsuna. "Wah!" Tsuna cried out as he scrambled back. He barely managed to step out of the range of the explosions that ensued, but tripped over his own feet and fell on his face for the second time that day. How painful.
"You won't escape a second time."
He straightened up quickly when he heard Gokudera's voice behind him. "Wh-what are you doing?!" he cried. "Th-the school…!" If something happened to the school, Nii-chan would be so angry!
"Shut up and die!" Gokudera snapped.
"Hii!" Tsuna scrambled back again. "P-please stop!"
More sticks of dynamite appeared in Gokudera's hands. "You're cowardice is an eyesore. I'll kill you." He threw the sticks.
"AAAH!" Tsuna ran away again.
It was at that moment that Yamamoto came around the nearest corner, the corner that Tsuna was racing towards…the corner that Gokudera threw another handful of dynamite at. The baseball star seemed surprised to see Tsuna, "Tsuna, I heard expl…"
Tsuna's eyes were wide. How many seconds before Yamamoto got hit?! No! Why was that guy here?! He should be in the field, training, right?! This couldn't happen! Tsuna's first friend in a long time and he was going to die at the hands of some insane bomber! Tsuna had to do something! He had to save him!
His desperation hardened into resolution. His eyes took on a crazed look and a flame burned at his forehead. His clothes ripped and he was standing there in only his boxers. "REBORN!" he yelled, hands fisted, "DEFUSE THE DYNAMITE AS IF I WERE TO DIE!" He rushed forward and caught the burning end of a stick of dynamite that was just about to hit the surprised Yamamoto.
"Tsu-Tsuna…?" Yamamoto muttered. But Tsuna ignored him and started putting out the flames on the dynamite as quickly as he could, yelling out "Defuse! Defuse!" as he did so.
Gokudera's surprise at Tsuna's transformation lasted only a second before he scowled once more. He pulled out two handfuls of dynamite. "Double Bomb!" he yelled as he lit them and threw them all in Tsuna's direction.
But Tsuna, with amazing speed, put them all out with his bare hands, still yelling out "Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse!"
Gokudera growled in exasperation as he pulled out even more dynamite sticks. But he couldn't get a firm handle on them and ended up dropping them as they burned. "Crap!" he cried out. The fuses grew shorter… "The end of…me?" the grey-haired boy muttered, frozen to the spot.
Just then, Tsuna put out the bombs closest to Gokudera, and then went on to put out the others around him. "Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse! Defuse!"
Gokudera stared, slack-jawed.
Tsuna worked quickly. When all the dynamite sticks were defused, he sat back. The flame on his forehead died out. He looked around and sighed in relief when he saw that not a single dynamite stick was burning. "Phew! Somehow, I made it!"
"I'm sorry!"
He jumped a little and turned around to see Gokudera on his hands and knees. "E-eh?"
"I'm sorry!" the grey-haired boy repeated. "I was mistaken! You're clearly fit to lead the family! Juudaime, I'll follow you! Command me to do anything!" he looked up with an admiring gaze.
Tsuna was taken aback. "E-eh?! Wh-what're you talking about?! What family?! Lead…family, what is all that…?!"
"Because Juudaime is the next leader of the…!"
"Hey, Tsuna, what's going on?"
Tsuna turned at the sound of Yamamoto's voice. The baseball star was still standing where Tsuna had first seen him. He looked confused. Tsuna got to his feet and hurried over. "I-I'm sorry! I have no idea what's going on! Um…y-you probably got distracted from your practice, right?"
Yamamoto grinned, "actually, that just now was pretty awesome, Tsuna!"
Redness streaked across Tsuna's cheeks and he looked away, unsure of what to say. "Um…ah, well…uh…g-good luck with practice!"
"Yeah! Thanks, Tsuna!" Yamamoto's grin went even wider. "You just motivated me to try even harder!" He turned and walked off. "Seeya!"
"Aah, later!"
Tsuna sighed and turned back to Gokudera. But there was another person standing next to the transfer student. "D-Dino-san!" Tsuna exclaimed as he went up to the man.
"Yo, Tsuna." Dino grinned. "I see you've met Smokin Bomb Hayato already."
Tsuna frowned. "Smokin Bomb?"
"Yeah, that's what he's known as back at home."
Tsuna blinked. "Um…so, you guys know one another?"
"Actually, this is the first time we've met. He's from one of the…uh…subdivisions of the Vongola." Dino said.
"So, you're related?"
Dino paused a while, "Um…I guess so…"
Gokudera scoffed. "Why are you here, Bucking Horse?"
"Reborn's currently busy helping the Ninth with some important matter so I came in his place."
The Ninth? Tsuna's frown deepened. Gokudera had called him Juudaime before…
"But why you?" Gokudera continued, sounding pissed off. "Tch, there's so many better choices."
"Oi, oi, don't make me mad, brat." Dino huffed. "I'm not in a particularly good mood today."
Gokudera snorted. "I don't see your men around; what're you gonna do?"
Tsuna spoke up, "p-please don't fight! Can you guys answer my questions? Why…were you guys sent here? What does this family do? Why am I the tenth boss?"
Dino looked down disapprovingly at Gokudera. "You said too much, didn't you, Smokin Bomb?"
Gokudera looked away.
Dino sighed. "If everything goes as planned, you won't have anything to worry about, Tsuna." He said. He raised a hand to Tsuna's head and ruffled his hair. "So just bear with me a while longer, little bro."
Tsuna's expression was one of unhappiness. "When will you tell me?"
Dino smiled. "Soon. Real soon, I promise."
As usual, Tsuna was far too trusting. He sighed and nodded. "Hai."
"So, you guys want a lift home?" the blond man asked.
Tsuna looked down at his attire. He was dressed in only his boxers. His face heated up. "Y-yes, please!"
"If Juudaime says so, then I will too!" Gokudera said, fist raised in the air.
"Um…just Tsuna will do, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna stammered.
Gokudera's eyes narrowed, "absolutely not."
Too scared to refuse! Tsuna thought, frozen to the spot. "O-okay."
Dino walked towards the gates. "C'mon, brats. Let's go."
Tsuna went to pick up his school bag and followed, Gokudera right behind him. Dino's red sports car was stationed outside and Romario was sitting at the wheel. Dino slipped into the front passenger seat and Gokudera opened the back door and held it open for Tsuna. "Th-thank you, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said as he sat inside and budged up. He greeted Romario.
"So, who's first?" Dino asked.
"Who's house is nearer?" Tsuna asked.
"That'd be yours, I believe," the blond man responded.
"Awesome, can I see where Juudaime lives?" Gokudera asked gleefully.
Tsuna froze. "Um…Nii-chan has a rule…n-nobody's allowed to come inside."
Gokudera's face fell. Tsuna waved his hands around, "a-ah, th-the thing is…people crowding really annoys him and…it's not really my house so…" He looked to Dino for help, hoping Gokudera wouldn't suddenly beat him up.
Dino sighed, "Kyouya doesn't like anyone aside from Tsuna stepping into his apartment, I'm afraid."
Gokudera frowned, "Juudaime doesn't live with his parents?"
There was a tense silence. Gokudera looked confused. Tsuna explained as he looked out the window. "My parents died a few years ago."
More silence followed his statement. And then…
"I'm so sorry, Juudaime! I didn't know!" Gokudera cried. When Tsuna turned around, he saw Gokudera sitting up on the seat, on his hands and knees.
"A-ah, no, it's okay!" Tsuna said, waving his hands around. "Gokudera-kun didn't know!"
"But, Juudaime…!"
He smiled a small smile. "Don't worry about it, Gokudera-kun." Gokudera's sea-green eyes were tortured. Tsuna sighed. "Really, it's fine."
The rest of the ride went by in silence. They soon arrived at the apartment building and Tsuna got out. "Thank you, Dino-san, Romario-san! See you tomorrow, Gokudera-kun!" He gave them a quick wave before he rushed into the building, feeling embarrassed.
Tanaka-san, the polite elderly lady who lived in the apartment on the left, on the first floor, had just left her apartment and closed the door behind her. She stopped. Tsuna flushed in embarrassment. "G-good afternoon, Tanaka-san."
She blinked. "Tsunayoshi-kun, is everything all right?" She looked down at his boxers.
Tsuna forced out a laugh, "Um…I just went swimming, you see."
Her face lit up with understanding. "Oh, that's how it is." She smiled. "How is Kyouya-kun? It's been a while since I've seen him. Is he well?"
"Hai, Nii-chan is doing fine."
"That's good. Well, take care of yourself now, Tsunayoshi-kun."
"Hai. I'll see you later, Tanaka-san." Tsuna smiled as the lady walked past him. He sighed and headed up the stairs, feeling tired and very much confused.
Er...yeah, not really relevant to the story at all...well, it kind of is, seeing as how Tsuna's a little closer to the truth. But this story's predominantly about the brotherhood of Tsuna and Hibari :)
Omake (crack section):
Vongola Decimo smiled as the door of his study opened.
"Juudaime, you wanted to see me?" his right-hand man said as he walked up to the desk.
Tsuna nodded, still smiling. "Have I introduced you to my pet rat?"
Gokudera frowned. "Rat?"
The boss nodded again. He reached down and lifted a cage and put it on his desk. He held up a marker. "I drew the scars myself."
The rat was white, with crimson-coloured eyed. On its body were a few jagged, reddish-purple scars. From one ear hung a red racoon tail feather...thing. Tsuna grinned. "I named it Xanxus the Second."
Gokudera blinked. "Xanxus...?" He clamped a hand over his mouth as he started to snigger. "Nice, Juudaime!"
Tsunayoshi's grin widened. He reached down and lifted another cage and put it next to the first one. "I call this one Squalo the Second."
This one was also white. It had a...wig. A long white wig. And a little fake sword attached to one of its limbs. Gokudera laughed. "Any more?"
Tsuna shook his head. "Bel the Second, Mammon the Second, Lussuria the Second, Levi the Second, and Moska the Second were only ordered yesterday so it'll take a while for them to be delivered. What do you think? I'm thinking I should have a little house thing built for them. We can call it the Varia Base. Ooh, and each of my Guardians has to look after one! It'll be a good lesson in pet-keeping."
The colour drained from Gokudera's face. "I-is that...necessary?"
"Absolutely!" Tsuna said with fervour. "You never know when these lessons might come in handy."
EDIT: I took out the other omake. I can't be asked writing that mini-story. I don't even know where it's going :\