~.~.~
Phantom Thief Decimo
Previously: The Varia tracked Tsuna to Japan and took the Namimori Animal Park hostage in order to draw him out. Angered by their actions and Xanxus's cold dismissal of all the lives that were put in danger, Tsuna declared that he would steal the position of Vongola Decimo, in ten days' time.
~.~.~
"Mukuro-sama?"
The girl's soft voice echoed through the dark room. She glanced around, trying to catch a glimpse of the other occupant - the one she knew was there - but the shadows were simply too deep.
Sighing, she moved gingerly toward the window and pulled the curtains open.
Sunlight flooded the room, illuminating the mismatched furniture and decorations - as well as the other occupant, who winced and brought a hand up to shadow his eyes.
"You shouldn't brood in the dark so much, Mukuro-sama," the girl sighed. "It's not healthy."
"Kufufu," Mukuro chuckled, exasperated but fond. He lowered his hand, squinting one blue one red eye against the light. "My dear Chrome, I was not brooding. I was simply considering these new developments with our dear friend the Phantom Thief."
At the knowing look he shot her, Chrome couldn't help but fidget a little. Mukuro's smirk widened, and he shifted into a lazy slouch on the puffy, lavishly embroidered couch.
"He's caused quite the stir. Got the entire mafia running around uselessly," Mukuro mused, amusement growing in his tone. He quite enjoyed the chaos Tsuna had caused, from the moment he had stolen the Vongola Sky Ring, to the almost unbelievable news that had swept across the mafia world from Japan. Mukuro laughed, a surprisingly heartfelt sound, despite the mocking undertone. "And that declaration! It's quite something!"
"Kaitou-san is like that," Chrome agreed, trying to hide her own smile - a little disbelieving and embarrassed. Looking away, she fidgeted again, her hands fiddling carefully with the worn white card she held clutched to her chest.
"He never stops being amusing," Mukuro said, but his expression slowly shifted into something more serious as he regarded Chrome. "Still, this time, he might be in a little over his head, don't you think so, my dear Chrome? The Varia… well, we've heard of them. They're the worst kind of mafiosi. Even dear Kaitou might have trouble contending with all of them by himself…"
He trailed off meaningfully, watching as Chrome fidgeted.
"Um… Mukuro-sama, I… about Kaitou-san…" she mumbled, trying to work up the courage to say her thoughts as she clutched the card closer to her chest.
It was very precious to her - the proof of a promise she had never expected, which had given her hope and strength. The edges had been worn down by constant handling, and the thick paper had become pliable and soft.
Still, the dark ink stood out clearly. There was so signature, only a single message. "I will take back Rokudo Mukuro from the Vindice."
"Mukuro-sama, I want to help him!" Chrome finally blurted out, squeezing her single eye shut and cringing as if expecting a reprimand.
The silence stretched, as Mukuro simply watched her, his smile widening.
"…I-I want to help Kaitou-san," Chrome repeated nervously. Her gaze remained firmly fixed on the floorboards and on her own shuffling feet. "I… we never paid him back, not really. I was the one who asked him to do that job, and he put everything on the line to make my wish come true. And what he asked for in return was… It wasn't payment. Not really. So I… I want to help him."
Gathering her courage, she looked up, her single eyes meeting Mukuro's mismatched gaze.
"I know," Mukuro said simply. "We may no longer be as one, but we are still bound together. That will never change, my dear Chrome."
Tension seeped out of Chrome's stance, and the two exchanged a small, sincere smile.
"Now, I had been planning to just watch and fully enjoy this spectacle," Mukuro continued, briskly. He smirked. "However, if you would like me accompany you…" He chuckled, a rather unnerving, anticipatory sound. Mukuro could certainly imagine several ways to enjoy being part of the spectacle too.
"Mukuro-sama! That's too dangerous," Chrome protested. "If the Vindice realized you were there…"
Mukuro looked more amused than anything, but he held up his hands as if in surrender. "Of course," he agreed, "I wouldn't want to steal the show from our Kaitou-kun, kufufu..."
His creepy laughter echoed through the room, but Chrome just smiled and shook her head.
~.~.~
Chapter 11: Preparations ~ The Way of Warriors
~.~.~
Tsuna slipped out of the house just after dawn the next morning. He had left a note for Gokudera, who had been far too quiet and subdued since their return from the zoo the day before. Was he angry? Was he frustrated with Tsuna? Was he scared? Maybe he had just been too stunned to react, same as Tsuna.
Some of the numb shock had faded overnight - a long, mostly sleepless night that Tsuna spent staring at the ceiling and trying to think, to understand what he had just done.
"I'll steal Vongola itself!" he'd said. "I will become Vongola Decimo!"
Or that was the general idea.
Everything had seemed shockingly clear in that single moment, staring into Xanxus's eyes. He couldn't let this person take Vongola, not someone who didn't care for anyone's lives - not for his subordinates, not for innocent civilians. So there was only one thing to do.
In ten days, at Kokuyo Center, the abandoned theme park off the old highway.
They would meet there to… to do what? Fight it out?
Tsuna took a deep, shaking breath of the cold morning air. The silent street was covered in thick white mist, the faint light that filtered through giving everything a ghostly appearance. Without thinking about it, Tsuna set out the same way he did on a heist - stepping lightly and silently, almost gliding along.
He wouldn't run, he had already made up his mind. He'd face Xanxus and… and make him stop. Stop chasing Tsuna. Stop trying to take the Sky Ring. Stop trying to become Decimo.
Somehow.
The thing was… Was fighting Xanxus even an answer? Tsuna knew that Xanxus expected a duel. That was how the mafia settled things. A duel, until one side stopped fighting - whether because they conceded or because they were killed. The loser had no right to protest the winner's decisions. Might made right.
Tsuna didn't believe that. He had always been the weak one, the loser, the one getting a beating and being forced to submit. But no matter how many times the bullies beat him up or took his things or made him grovel for their own amusement, Tsuna never believed they were right. He never respected them. He'd been forced to obey them… but only as long as he knew they were watching.
And not always even then.
So even if - and it was a very, very big if - Tsuna could beat Xanxus in a fight, would Xanxus really accept him as Vongola Decimo? The Varia were part of Vongola, after all. And what if Xanxus refused to back off on his own claim? What if he staked his life on it and fought to the death? Would Tsuna be able to kill him?
It was easy to say that Tsuna needed to stop Xanxus. It was hard to see how he could possibly accomplish it.
Lost in his spiralling thoughts, Tsuna let his feet guide him. Without realizing, he fell onto a familiar path, the one that he had taken to Namimori Middle School for years, and picked up his pace. He didn't notice another figure emerging from the fog toward the same intersection.
With Tsuna distracted and his own footsteps muffled, it was no surprise the two of them almost ran straight into each other.
Tsuna reacted instantly, pulled sharply out of his thoughts, and jumped away. He hesitated, ready to flee, and stared at the person he had almost collided with. It was…
"Kyoko's oniisan?" Tsuna muttered.
Recognizing Tsuna in turn, Ryohei shifted out of his own fighting stance. He lowered his fists and offered Tsuna a smile, but it was clearly strained and lacked his usual enthusiasm.
"Morning, Sawada," Ryohei greeted him politely.
"It's been a long time since we've run into each other like this. I forgot that you always pass by here, rain or shine," Tsuna said. He hesitated for a moment before venturing, "How's Kyoko doing? Did she get home okay?"
He'd seen her outside the zoo, just in passing, among the crowd of free hostages, and Gokudera had confirmed to him that everyone had escaped safely. For his own part, Tsuna had been simply too unsettled to talk to her or Haru, to risk any questions they might have or even to just pretend like he was another ordinary civilian caught up in something sudden and terrifying.
The guilt had been heavy as well - after all, it was because of him that the Varia had attacked, even if they hadn't known he would actually be there.
Ryohei didn't answer immediately, looking away into the mist with an uncharacteristically grom expression. Tsuna could see the muscles of his jaw tensing as he gritted his teeth.
"Kyoko wasn't injured," Ryohei said finally. He couldn't bring himself to say that she was alright. "She's home now, finally fell asleep a couple hours ago…"
Tsuna ducked his head, nodding. He understood - the first time his life had been turned upside down, he hadn't been able to sleep either. He'd dragged himself to school the next morning only because it had been the safest place he could imagine at that point.
"She must be pretty shaken up," Tsuna ventured. "But it'll be okay now. They're gone, so she doesn't need to-"
Ryohei's fist lashed out, hitting the wall beside them with enough force to leave a crater in the bricks. Shocked into silence, Tsuna stared at him as Ryohei's shoulders shook with barely suppressed fury.
"They're gone," Ryohei repeated, in a completely different tone. "They were already gone when I got there. They scared Kyoko, put her in danger, threatened her, and then they just got away…" He trailed off in an inarticulate sound of anger.
It seemed that the Varia, or maybe Vongola, had made some effort to cover things up. Tsuna wondered just how much they had been able to hide and what, if anything, the public had been told. He knew that, after they returned home, Gokudera had been tensely keeping watch over the news broadcasts and making calls to his own contacts.
"...I don't think they would have stopped no matter what," Tsuna said finally. No matter how much he disagreed, he at least acknowledged Xanxus's overwhelming drive and determination. "So it's for the best that they left. They won't put Kyoko and everyone else in danger again. ...Hopefully."
Taking a deep breath, Ryohei calmed himself, at least on the surface. "People like that don't stop unless someone makes them," he said. He looked down at his bandaged hands, clenching and unclenching them slowly. "It was like that when we were kids too. Running away from bullies or hiding until they left didn't make them stop. You had to make them acknowledge your strength and make them listen. Otherwise, they'd never stop."
Tsuna sighed quietly. Their perspectives were completely different. To Dame-Tsuna, making anyone acknowledge his strength and listen to him had never even been an option. He hadn't had any strength in the first place.
At some point, running and hiding had become his first instinct. When was the last time he'd even tried to fight? ...Could he, if he did? Well, he supposed he didn't have much choice anymore.
"But would beating them really work?" Tsuna wondered.
"Of course," Ryohei said, his grey eyes sharp as he looked at Tsuna. "When you fight… what you're proving is your resolve! When you defeat your opponent, it's not that you force them to obey. It's that you show them that they have to listen to you, that you won't let them get away without hearing your words, that you're someone worth listening to. That's the warriors' way, to the extreme!"
Ryohei punched one fist into the other palm, nodding to himself. Tsuna stared at him for a moment, trying to understand his words.
Some people only understand power and only respect strength. Tsuna knew that. People who were weaker were seen as something not worth even seeing or listening to. In the mafia, it was like that. The strong ruled the weak. The loser became the winner's subordinate.
On some level, even Hibari was like that. It wasn't even that he thought being weak made you inherently worthless. It was that, to him, if you had something you wished to say or do, you would become strong to achieve that end. Even though Tsuna had never even come close to matching Hibari, the demon prefect had at least begun to acknowledge Tsuna's existence once he tried to pull his weight, back then.
Tsuna had never thought of running and hiding as a show of weakness. There was nothing to gain by fighting, to him. But to Xanxus, to Vongola… Maybe...
'Would he listen to me, if I won?' Tsuna wondered. 'If I prove my strength and resolve…'
He looked down at his own hands.
He acknowledged Xanxus's resolve, even if he didn't understand it. He would make Xanxus acknowledge his, and after that… Well, they'd go from there.
Strong or not, Tsuna at least had his resolve - his Flames. He'd never had that before, not as Dame-Tsuna.
"Thanks, onii-san," Tsuna said, looking up with a smile. "I'm going to try to become a warrior too."
~.~.~
The fog had mostly cleared away by the time Ryohei returned home. He was panting heavily, and his sweatshirt was soaked through, but his head felt only a little lighter, if at all.
"Welcome back, onii-san," Kyoko greeted him, surprisingly already awake, but still in her nightshirt. She had been curled up on the couch, a mug cradled in her hands. "There's some breakfast for you on the table."
It was simple but filling food, like most of Kyoko's meals. She had been cooking for the two of them for years and had tried her best to support Ryohei's love of physical activity. She really was a great little sister.
If only Ryohei could prove to be an equally good big brother...
"How was your run?" Kyoko asked, some of the pensiveness in her expression fading as she watched Ryohei wolf down his food.
"Extremely good! Very refreshing!" Ryohei said between bites. Swallowing and washing it down with a glass of juice, he added, "I ran into Sawada. He seemed to be doing okay."
His sister had naturally worried about her friend, when he had just disappeared from the zoo. However, Kyoko's expression was a little odd and distant as she continued to study Ryohei.
"Onii-san…" she began, uncertainly. "You're… you're thinking of fighting them, aren't you?"
Ryohei tensed tellingly. He should have known Kyoko would see right through him. Swallowing, he turned slowly to face his sister. He had expected to see a disappointed, hurt look on her face, asking him why he was even considering breaking the promise she'd asked of him, but instead Kyoko just looked resigned.
Understanding what he was thinking, she smiled sadly. "The reason I asked you to promise to never fight again was because I didn't want you to keep getting hurt," Kyoko said. "But I understand now. Fighting is part of who you are. Not just boxing or teaching at the dojo, but fighting to protect."
Silence settled between them, as they both recalled that incident - the bullies Ryohei had tried to fight against, his injuries when he lost to the older, stronger boys, Kyoko's tearful request.
"At the zoo," Kyoko said quietly, "I wanted to fight to. I wished I was strong enough to protect those kids and Haru-chan. Even if I got hurt, I just wanted to make sure they'd be okay."
Of course, she hadn't been able to do anything, and Haru's own bravery had almost gotten them killed. If that man hadn't appeared all of a sudden and distracted the terrorists…
"That's why I understand now, onii-san," she continued, placing her small hands over Ryohei's bandaged fist. "You're going to fight no matter what, because that's who you are. So all I'm going to ask is… win. Promise me you'll win and come back."
Ryohei's eyes had slowly widened as Kyoko spoke, and he stared at her is shock. He had never expected his sweet little sister to look at him so firmly or to understand his feelings. But slowly, he smiled.
"I swear, to the extreme!" he exclaimed.
It didn't matter if he had no idea where those terrorists might have gone. It didn't matter if even the bodies had vanished and no one knew which group they might belonged to. Ryohei would find them and teach them a lesson about attacking his town and his sister.
Fortunately, while his sister was his first priority, he knew who would be especially upset about the town part.
And there was nothing Hibari didn't know about what went on in Namimori.
~.~.~
There was a certain code - an unspoken pact - in the criminal underworld. Whether mafia or Triad or yakuza, criminals across the world protected their secrets and covered up the worst breaches of their masquerade.
Flames and Rings and so many other things were not to be shared with the general public, almost like some sort of massive hermeneutical society. Well, calling it an age-old conspiracy was not always too far off the mark.
So it wasn't too surprising that not only did the bodies of the Lightning Strike Squad disappear - that was probably on Xanxus's own orders - but so did all copies of the tapes with the Phantom Thief's challenge. The ones in the news van, the camera that filmed it, the ones at the station - all of them vanished.
That single broadcast might have gone out, but now there was no hard evidence of any kind. And unless Gokudera was very much off his mark, no one would come to Kokuyo in nine days' time either, not from the police or Interpol or any other legal body. Vongola would make sure of that.
Gokudera knew that those tapes hadn't been destroyed. By the time he was able to start making calls, that video had already been seen by seemingly half the criminal world. The responses were wide and varied, everything from uproarious laughter to interest to terror at Vongola's inevitable collapse.
Last he had heard, the neutral judges of Cervello had been called in.
They would conduct an official challenge between the two candidates for Vongola's throne.
'I can't believe he did that,' Gokudera thought, burying his head in his hands. 'Kaitou-sama, fighting the Varia leader? Kaitou-sama, becoming Vongola Decimo?'
Could this really be what Kaitou-sama wanted?
There could be no peaceful life after this. No escaping the dark criminal world. No unbound, limitless future.
Even if… even if Gokudera could almost imagine it - Tsuna-sama, accepting the position, Tsuna-sama, staring down the Vongola men the way he had all those who had pursued him, Tsuna-sama, leading with his own sense of justice and his kindness and strength - it couldn't possibly be what Tsuna actually wanted.
Unbelievable, inconceivably, Kaitou-sama had been cornered and his own kindness had forced him onto a path he had not wished for.
A knock at the door pulled Gokudera out of his thoughts.
He stalked into the entryway, reaching for his dynamite. If it was another enemy, then at least Tsuna hadn't yet returned. Gokudera would lead them away from the house himself, to make sure his honorable mother didn't get caught in the crossfire.
However, the person on the other side of the door was not an enemy at all - not in that sense.
"Hey, Gokudera, wasn't it?" Yamamoto greeted him with a smile. He was remarkably cheerful for someone who had been held hostage the day before. "Listen, is Tsuna in?"
"What's it to you?" Gokudera demanded, making no effort to hide his hostility.
Yamamoto continued to smile, though there was something less than pleasant about it. "I've got something I want to talk to him about," he said, voice even and calm. It wasn't hard to guess what he meant.
"You've got some nerve, blaming Tsuna-sama!" Gokudera snarled, instantly defensive. "It's because of you that this happened! Because Kaitou-sama showed his Flames to help you! Otherwise, they would've never known to come here!"
That wasn't really fair. If not Yamamoto, then Tsuna would have given himself away helping someone else. That was just how Tsuna was. All the same, Gokudera couldn't help lashing out in his helplessness and frustration.
Yamamoto's eyes widened, the smile slipping off his face. The two of them stood in a frozen tableau, until a voice from behind made them both jump in surprise.
"Yamamoto?" Tsuna called out from the front gate. "It's good to see you're okay. What are you doing here?"
When Yamamoto turned, the smile was back. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened," he said.
Tsuna's expression darkened, and he shook his head. "It's better if we don't," he said. "Don't worry. Those people aren't coming back to Namimori."
"Tsuna, what happened?" Yamamoto insisted, trying to continue smiling in what he hoped was a calming way. "Please tell me. I want to help."
Tsuna met his gaze evenly, with a firmness no one would have ever expected from "Dame-Tsuna."
"Thank you," Tsuna said, earnestly. "But you shouldn't get involved. This is too dangerous. Forget all about it and go home."
It was an order, strong enough to make Yamamoto instinctively draw back.
Their gazes remained locked for a moment longer, before Tsuna turned away, the matter closed to him. Yamamoto watched them disappear inside and then continued to stare at the closed door, lost in thought.
When had Tsuna become that strong? Where had he gone and what had he done? Or… had he always been like that, and no one had even noticed?
There was a lot Yamamoto hadn't noticed about Tsuna, back in middle school. It was a shame.
But he was noticing things now, and he could easily see that it wasn't over. Whatever had happened at the zoo, whoever those foreigners were, the danger hadn't passed. And Tsuna said it was too dangerous for Yamamoto, but he still planned to face it himself.
He shouldn't have to. Someone should help.
And just like Tsuna and Kyoko had been willing to be that "someone" for Yamamoto, he'd do it for Tsuna, even if they were nearly strangers. After all, everyone had to start somewhere.
Stepping back out onto the street, Yamamoto took a deep breath of the cool, damp air and nodded to himself. "Alright," he declared, "I'll do it. Dangerous or not, I'm going to help Tsuna."
"You better polish up your swordsmanship then," someone said, right beside Yamamoto, making him jump and spin around.
A man in a black suit was standing by the Sawada house gate, a massive cello case leaning against the wall next to him. He seemed to have simply stepped out of the thinning mist, like a ghost.
He tilted down his fedora, hiding half his face in the shadow, but his smirk was clear.
"You've got nine days," he told Yamamoto. "The place is Kokuyo Center."
"That abandoned park?" Yamamoto wondered.
He didn't stop to ask who this man was or why he was telling Yamamoto this, or even if it was really true. From the start, it had been clear he was hopelessly out of his depth and in the dark, but Yamamoto refused to let that stop him. He didn't need to know the full game plan to do his own part.
Yamamoto had already been planning to take up the sword again anyway. There would be fighting, that much was clear. This time, he'd be ready.
"Alright, got it!" he said, grinning. "Thanks, ossan!"
Taking off at a fast jog, Yamamoto didn't see the displeased face Reborn made at being referred to as a middle aged man.
~.~.~
As soon as they were inside, Tsuna turned to Gokudera with a serious expression. "Find out everything you can about the Varia's combat abilities, especially Xanxus," he said. It wasn't even a question, but a command.
Gokudera's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth as if to protest. However, every concern and objection he had, every worry that had been running around in his mind was suddenly wiped away as he took in the simple, calm determination in Tsuna's gaze.
"K-Kaitou-sama…" Gokudera muttered, realizing his boss had determined his path and would not be swayed. It was a familiar look, but stronger than ever. Gokudera smiled, drawing himself up. "Yes, Juudaime!"
Lambo, who had been eavesdropping on them from the staircase, just out of sight, chose this moment to come barreling downstairs. "So we're going to defeat them utterly, right?" he exclaimed cheerfully, puffing up. "Alright, Lambo-san will help!"
"Thanks for the offer, Lambo, but there's no need," Tsuna said, smiling down at the boy. It was a little forced, but mostly honest. "I'm going to fight Xanxus one-on-one. I'm going to show him the strength of my resolve and make him listen to what I have to say."
"Then why'd you ask about the rest of them?" Lambo pointed out rather shrewdly, his eyes narrowing.
"They might try to stop me," Tsuna acknowledged. Xanxus didn't seem the type to play fair, as it were. "But I can get by them. I'm not going to fight them too."
It was too much to expect Tsuna to completely embrace the ideal of defeating his enemies in combat.
"What? But that's so lame!" Lambo protested. "Of course you're the one who's going to handle the boss, but you can't just leave all his underlings! What if they try to interfere in your fight?"
"I'll have to provoke Xanxus into keeping it one on one," Tsuna said, sighing a little. "If his pride is on the line, it should be possible."
Lambo opened his mouth to continue arguing, but Gokudera's hand on his shoulder made him fall silent. They exchanged a meaningful look. Well, it wasn't like they didn't have experience dealing with Tsuna on another going-alone streak. They had followed him to Japan, hadn't they?
"I'll get all the information for you by the end of the day, Kaitou-sama," Gokudera said.
Tsuna nodded and smiled gratefully. "I'm going out to the forest," he said. "I need to prepare." He needed to figure out how to actually use his Flames in an attack, for offense.
As soon as the front door closed behind Tsuna once more, Lambo rounded on Gokudera.
"We're not actually going to let him go fight alone, right?" he demanded.
"What's this we?" Gokudera asked, snorting. "Of course I'm not going to let Kaitou-sama go alone. I'm going to protect him as his right hand man. But this has nothing to do with you or the Bovino Family. Frankly, I don't know why you followed us in the first place, but it's long past time for you to go back to Italy."
Lambo stomped his foot, glaring furiously. "No way! I'm not leaving! M-maybe," he admitted, losing a bit of steam, "I followed you guys for a stupid reason, but! But I want to help Tsuna! He bought me takoyaki and took me to the zoo! I want to show him - show everyone - just how strong the Bovino Family can be!"
"I'm glad to hear I didn't lug this all the way here for nothing," Reborn said, from the doorway.
Neither Lambo nor Gokudera had noticed him arrive, and they stared at him in shock.
Lambo reacted first. "Argh! Stupid Reborn!" he yelled, pointing at the hitman. Reborn's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Reborn-san…" Gokudera muttered, blinking away his surprise. His eyes turned to the massive weapon case leaning against the wall behind him, much like Lambo's previous one. It was clearly another Bovino Family creation.
"Nono contacted the stupid cow's family and had them send this," Reborn explained. "There should be something for you too, Gokudera. No matter what Tsuna thinks, this is a battle for all seven rings, so you better put on a good showing."
"Yes! I'll prove to you that the Bovino Family isn't to be underestimated! You just watch, stupid Reborn!" Lambo crowed.
However, Gokudera understood the full significance of what Reborn had said. He had to swallow, his throat suddenly dry. "The Ninth… the Ninth is supporting Kaitou-sama? I mean, his declaration of candidacy?"
Reborn's smirk widened, shark-like.
"Vongola's reputation is riding on you," he said.
It sounded rather like a threat.
~.~.~
Orange Flames lit up the forest just outside Namimori, before dying away.
Flexing his hand, Tsuna frowned thoughtfully. He knew he could use his Flames for short bursts of speed or to protect himself, as well as a few other things, but he had never used them to attack. If he was perfectly honest, Tsuna wasn't even sure how to do so or if he could.
The theory was the same, but…
He didn't want to hurt anyone. And if he lacked the resolve to carry through, his Flames would never become powerful enough to do more than buffet his opponent.
Chewing on his lip, Tsuna tried to find the middle ground. Flames gathered in the air around him, solidifying in his hands before blowing outward to collide with the cliffside that rose out of the forest. The Flames broke against the stone like waves against the shore, doing little more than knocking a few stones loose.
"Xanxus will rip you apart in under a minute, with a pathetic Flame like that," Reborn said.
Tsuna didn't jump, only turning to look over his shoulder with an unimpressed expression. With the amount of Flames in the air, he had been able to sense Reborn's approach - though admittedly, the hitman hadn't tried to mask it.
"What happened to all you boasting… Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn continued, smirking tauntingly. Yes, now I know all about your past here, he seemed to say.
"Cut it out with that nickname," Tsuna grumbled, scowling a little. "I'm not the same way I was in middle school."
No, he wasn't, to all indications. Despite his best efforts at gathering information ever since Nono had informed him of Tsuna's true identity, Reborn was frustrated to admit that large gaps remained. It was all stupid Iemitsu's fault. How could he be so appallingly unaware of his own son's life?
"You're going to have to do a lot better than that," Reborn continued, seemingly blithely. "Vongola IX's reputation is riding on your performance."
Tsuna's eyes narrowed as he turned to stare at Reborn. "...I thought our deal was a secret," he said. "Even if anyone guessed it, it's not like there's any proof. What I decide to do is my own business, not Nono's."
"Have you really not put it together or are you just in denial?" Reborn wondered. "Either way, it's unsightly for a mafia boss, Dame-Tsuna. You saw the same ranking as Nono received. You must have guessed by now who his choice for candidate is."
Reborn wasn't sure whether Tsuna would realize that Nono had hired him without realizing that the Phantom Thief and Iemitsu's son were one and the same, but he supposed it didn't matter much in the end. How to best present this entire convoluted fiasco to the Family was something Nono could puzzle over on his own. Tsuna only needed to win.
Just to drive the point home, Reborn added, "Nono contacted the Cervello agency on your behalf. They will observe, supervise and judge your challenge."
He didn't add that Cervello was also hired to record and broadcast the entire thing. It was going to be a spectacle to showcase the future of Vongola, which meant it needed to be even more impressive.
"You need to defeat Xanxus cleanly," Reborn continued as Tsuna listened mutely, his expression uncharacteristically brooding. "Not get around him, or fool him, or steal anything from him. Xanxus, Vongola and the entire criminal society will only acknowledge your victory if you can prove your power. You need to make Xanxus submit. I don't think I need to explain the consequences of failing. Wimping out and running away isn't an option anymore."
"Argh, I get it!" Tsuna burst out, pointing angrily at Reborn. Those were the same conclusions he had come to, but hearing the way Reborn phrased it somehow made Tsuna's skin crawl a little. It sounded so cold-blooded and ruthless. He sighed, letting go of his anger. "I get it," Tsuna repeated, frustrated, "but that's easier said than done. I'm… well, I'm not really great at fighting, you know?"
"You've got nine days to get better," Reborn told him, a smirk spreading across his face. "And you've got me to teach you."
That should have been a comforting thought - lessons from the great Reborn himself! - but instead Tsuna paled.
Reborn's smirk widened. "But first, an assessment is in order…"
~.~.~
Tsuna lasted about three hours before collapsing in a groaning, moaning heap from which even the threat of Reborn's most sadistic torture could not move him.
Well, lasting three hours against Reborn was sort of impressive in its own way.
'How did Lambo survive this for years? How did he not give up and go home?' Tsuna wondered blankly. He… he couldn't feel his body anymore. He was past hurting in places he didn't know he had. He was just numb now.
"Hey," Reborn said, nudging his with one polished shoe, "don't pass out. We haven't got time for that."
Moaning, Tsuna tried to roll over but mostly flopped like a landed fish. It seemed he would need some time to recover, but that was fine. There were still a few things for them to discuss.
"Do you still have that pill case you stole from the CEDEF?" Reborn asked, nudging Tsuna again.
"Pro'ly," Tsuna mumbled.
"Good, we'll be using that after lunch," Reborn told him.
"Lunch?" Tsuna muttered, his eyes opening with a thoughtful look.
"Those pills will allow you to go into Dying Will Mode - the Vongola Family's signature technique. It was passed down from Primo himself, and using it will give your battle a sense of legitimacy," Reborn said.
And that sense of legitimacy was very important. Tsuna grimaced, but he understood. It was all about putting on a show, not just for Xanxus and the Varia, but for the rest of Vongola and even the mafia society as a whole. Tsuna, the Phantom Thief, was an outsider who had suddenly declared he would take over the Family. No matter whether he had the right qualifications, he needed to convince the Family members that he had the right to rule.
What better way than invoking the founder of Vongola himself?
"That's exactly right," Reborn said, nodding to Tsuna's thoughts. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out something. "These are for you too, a present from Nono."
In the next moment, said present hit Tsuna square in the face. Sputtering, Tsuna pulled it off with a groan and regarded the item…s.
It was a pair of fingerless black gloves, with the number 27 on the back. However, running his thumb thoughtfully over the dark fabric, Tsuna could tell they were not ordinary accessories. "This is Flame resistant cloth," he noted. He had encountered it a few times, and stolen some of it too. Items made from such fabric were in high demand in the mafia.
In fact, the gloves weren't just Flame resistant. Pulsing a tiny bit of warmth into them, Tsuna could feel...
"Yes, those are weapons capable of channeling Flames. Vongola's weapon tuners created them to Nono's specifications," Reborn said. "Call it an early Christmas present."
Wincing a little, Tsuna sat up and turned the gloves over in his hands. He'd heard of Vongola's weapon tuners and their many creations, which included the Dying Will pills. Most weapons could not withstand the full force of Flames being channeled through them. A special forging process was required, which was why most such weapons were actually antique heirlooms - swords and canes, daggers and even the occasional pistol.
Having a weapon that could be used to gather and concentrate your Flames was a huge boon in combat, Tsuna knew.
"...Why gloves?" he wondered. "I mean, I get that they probably change when Flames are channeled through them, but the shape stays about the same, right? I've never used anything like gauntlets or brass knuckles."
"You've never used any weapon before," Reborn pointed out dryly, his assumption confirmed by the face Tsuna made. "Since there isn't any time for you to adjust to a new weapon, gloves that just function as reinforcement of your hands are the best solution."
"That makes sense, I suppose," Tsuna admitted, pulling the gloves on. They fit well, which was either a testament to Vongola's information network or the properties of such special weapons. Still, he turned a suspicious look on Reborn, who looked entirely too pleased with himself. "...Is that the only reason?"
"No," Reborn said, his smirk widening. "You see, Primo also used the same kind of weapon - his famous I-Gloves."
"Aren't you laying it on a bit too thick?" Tsuna asked. "What are you trying to do, make it seem like I'm the second coming of Vongola's Primo?"
"Well, you're his direct descendant after all."
Tsuna nodded, sighing in exasperation. "Right, because that's really... ...Descendant?!"
"Oh, you didn't know?" Reborn inquired mildly.
Privately, Tsuna swore to kill his father. He should have known this was all that man's fault.
~.~.~
Notes
Q: Does Tsuna use Dying Will Mode to fly?
A: Not so far. The only other use of DW Mode we've had was in chapter 2 by Basil. Just so we're clear, Tsuna hasn't actually flown yet. He can push himself, adding boost to his jumps, or so in mid air to change trajectory, but he hasn't attempted sustained flight.
I have absolutely no motivation to write. Oh god, just let it end...
Starting next chapter, it's all battles and character backstory, straight to the finish. As fans of a shounen series, you should know how this works.
~.~.~
Next time: Reborn
~.~.~