Tsuna stopped and looked down the hallway. His intuition tingled. He stepped out well out of the way of the snare that dangled above. The brunette frowned as he felt that someone would get caught in it, but at least whoever it was wouldn't suffer any real harm accordingly to his HI. He continued walking, whistling a tune under his breath.
"Lovro," was his sole word to the assassin. Lovro nodded towards him. "Tsunayoshi di Vongola." Was the quiet reply.
Lovro was an old acquaintance of Reborn. Or as much of an acquaintance as you could be with both parties being who they are. Reborn and Lovro had worked together and against each other several times. Usually, top killers stayed out of each other's business as much as possible (death matches never end well).
The don stepped into the lounge. Irina groaned and complained. Karasuma gave a silent sigh and started trying to encourage her. Tsuna sat down in one of the chairs and sipped at his warm coffee (he'd secretly use flames to reheat his coffee to keep it the right temperature).
The octopus was drinking tea and staring at the female teacher's chest. The former assassin did not notice the growing annoyance and anger of the person next to him. And what a mistake it was.
"Koro, I suggest you stop staring at her. Especially since it's that area." Bloodlust was pouring out from the brotherly brunette.
The octopus stopped and looked at the 'hitman'. The moment two pair of beady and orange tinged brown eyes connected, Korosensei started sweating buckets. 'I feel like I'm dying from lack of air' Korosensei commented mentally with horror. Karasuma glanced at Tsunayoshi before responding to Irina.
Karasuma and Irina continued to argue. Finally, the women had enough and left. The brunette's choking aura vanished.
"Well...I'm off to Shanghai for some almond jelly. It's been a while since I've had some." Korosensei rapidly said and then flew off.
The other male teacher raised an eyebrow at the currently blithe looking brunette. A large cheerful smile was the response to Karasuma's dubious stare.
'Tsunayoshi Yoshi, the 'saintly hitman'. He's much more frightening and deadly then he seems. What makes him dangerous is not just from his abilities regarding killing...Five minutes is all that's needed for him to become a 'trusted friend' of almost anyone. His double edged sword of choice, both his weakness and strength is the lengths he goes to for the ones he cares for.' Karasuma thought.
Karasuma reflected upon the new side of Tsuna had displayed. Korosensei reflected on the fact that he'd need to stop or at the very least tone down his perviness towards the female teacher. Or else Tsunayoshi might actually start trying to kill him. He doubted it would be a quick and fearless death.
The time passed slowly for the two teachers in the lounge. "This sounds random, but what's your favorite color?" Tsuna asked. He was bored out of his mind by paperwork.
Karasuma almost snorted. "It does sound random." The raven agreed. "I'd say mine is grey, what's yours?"
"Amber. That specific shade hot caramel is."
If one were to walk in on this conversation, it would sound like twenty questions:non personal edition. Family, friends, pasts, and all questions to do with them were silently agreed upon to be unacceptable and cast away. Favorite European and Asian foods, tv shows, and similar topics were discussed.
Unfortunately their comradey came to an end with a barely heard gasp. The two teachers jumped out of their seats and rushed to the hallway.
Irina had been caught in a noose. A fifty or so years old man stood in the hallway.
"What's going on here? This is your only warning pal, let her go ." Karasuma stated. The raven motioned with a finger for the man to get Irina down.
"Don't worry about it. She knows how to handle herself." The man replied, his voice unflinchingly as steel.
Irina took out a pocket knife and cut the rope. She fell to the ground and coughed.
"Right...Have we met each other or is it just me?" Karasuma questioned.
"We haven't met in person. But you know my reputation. I do freelance work for government. As a matter of fact I'm the guy who arranged to bring Irina Jelavich into the mix. I'm a Human Resources man." The man replied.
'Lovro the assassin, one of the most dangerous men who's ever lived. Although now retired. Trains assassins and books gigs for them all over the world. He makes a killing, no pun intended. At a crucial moment he came through for us. Jelavich is his protege. But why is he here now?' Karasuma pondered (and thus gave exposition to the audience).
Tsuna brushed past Karasuma. The teacher paid him no heed. They had firmly established that they were the sane staff members. Lovro met the don's gaze squarely as only minutes before. The amber eyes of Tsuna narrowed but turned elsewhere and went back to a earthy color.
"Does this Korosensei fellow happen to be near?" Lovro asked.
"I think he's in Shanghai picking up some almond jelly. Left about a half hour ago, should be back any minute." The government agent informed.
Irina accepted the hand up from the sanguine looking Tsunayoshi.
"So, rumors of his speed haven't been exaggerated." Lovro concluded. "Well, glad I came when I did. You run along home Irina I'll take it from here. It's clear you're out of your depth."
The blond gaped.
"Don't get me wrong. On undercover jobs you are the best. Once your cover is blown however, well let's face it, you're no Charlotte Corday.
"You have to give me a chance, sir. I can do this." Irina begged.
Lovro seemed to almost teleport behind the woman. Irina gasped. Beside them, Tsuna tensed up. The don had almost blocked the man but decided against it.
'He's fast.' Karasuma warily noted. The retired assassins held the woman's hands behind her back with a vise like grip. Irina struggled to pull her hands away, but she was too weak.
"What have I always taught you? Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. A good assassin knows when to go home." Lovro lectured.
Tsuna narrowed his eyes. 'He has a point for the short term situation, but long term it's going to be bad for Irina.'
Two tentacles each landed on the heads of the arguing assassins. The octopus's face was half red and half purple.
"Congratulations. You're exactly half wrong and half right." Korosensei exclaimed.
The stunned two assassins looked at the octopus in confusion.
"Hey, cool it game show host." Karasuma said.
"Another ridiculous nickname?! Are you determined to never call me Korosensei?" The aforementioned named octopus asked irately. Tsuna coughed and drew the attention of the room (aka the hallway).
"...thinking of your 'name'. Can I just call you Koro? It feels really weird to call you teacher." Tsuna requested awkwardly.
"Since I'm calling you Tsuna, it would be fair." The octopus placed a tentacle under his 'chin' in thought. "Alright! You can call me Koro."
Tsuna mentally jumped for joy. His reports home would now be a lot less awkward.
"It's you." Lovro stated and titled his head to look at the octopus.
"Looks like we have another Captain Obvious." Tsuna mumbled. Karasuma's lips twitched.
"I agree. As an assassin, Irina is nothing special. Frankly, she's horrible." Korosensei agreed.
"No one was asking you!" Irina shouted with anger.
"Having said that, she belongs here. She is a perfect fit for this class. To prove my point, I propose a kill off. Let us see who passes muster. Who is the better assassin?" Korosensei cross his tentacles at the end to make an X.
"The rules are simple. Whoever kill our friends, Mr. Tsuna-" Korosensei was cut off.
"I do apologize for my interruption, I'm not participating in this game." Tsuna stated, his voice barred no argument. He did not fancy geting 'fake killed' by anyone nor having to guard Karasuma all day.
"Whoever kills our friend Mr. Karasuma first is the winner!" Korosensei continued on as if he had not been interrupted.
"Excuse me, why am I the target here all of a sudden?" Karasuma asked with annoyance.
"It has to be you silly, I'm unkillable, and Tsuna has refused to play." Korosensei answered.
Karasuma sighed resignedly.
"Here, you have all day tomorrow." Korosensei announced.
Korosensei handed the two assassin rubber knives. He used two napkins to stop his tentacles from melting.
"I see. It's to be a pretend assassination." Lovro stated. The man chuckled. "Why not, there are worse ways to pass time." The assassin said as he strolled away.
"Suit yourself." Karasuma said with a sigh and walked off. Tsuna shook his head and followed the agent to the teacher's lounge. The brunette had an unfortunate amount of paperwork today.
Tsuna glanced back down the hallway as Irina yelled at the octopus. He wasn't going to interrupt that. He'd take paperwork over an angry woman any day.
It was Home Ec. Class. And today was a large step in remodeling the classroom.
The students were spread out across the walls. Sosuke Sugaya was the student who acted as commander in charge on this project.
Currently, Maehara was having trouble with how to make his strokes strop having large globs of paint as a byproduct. "Oh, like this? Thanks for the help, man." Maehara said. "No problem, don't mention it." Sosuke replied with a smile.
Tsuna had rolled up his sleeves and joined in as well. He took care of the foot or so that the students couldn't reach even with the help of the step ladder.
The cracks in the walls disappeared with caulk and a new coat of paint.
"Ahh, Tsuna-sensei? Can we open the windows?" Sosuke asked.
"Yes, please go ahead and do that class." Tsuna replied.
"Hey Teach, you look like you've planned something else." Karma said.
"Yes, I do. We've done the walls and opened the windows. Class, please go line up in the hallway. I'll go call our fan." Tsuna smirked at the last part.
The students were confused. Fan? What fan would be large enough to be able to dry a room quickly?
Tsuna stepped into the hallway. Behind him, the students filed out while talking.
"Ah, Koro! There you are." Tsuna called out. The yellow octopus was about to enter the lounge.
"Hello Tsuna! Do you need something?" The ocotopus was suddenly in front of the brunette. To a regular eye, he would have been a yellow blur, but to Tsuna's trained eyes the octopus could be seen with minor difficulty.
"Yes, I do actually. The classroom has been painted, but the paint will take a while to dry. And while it does it will be a hazard to the children's uniforms. Do you mind drying it for us?" Tsuna requested.
"Not at all! It will take me a minute or two, and I can also get rid of lots of toxic fumes that could harm my students. It's a teacher's job to care, help, and protect after all." Korosensei was suddenly gone. The sound of the classroom door opening and closing was clearly heard and felt by the students lined up near the door.
"What was that?" Rio asked. "Was that Korosensei?" Nagisa asked. "Who else could it be?" Kayano responded. "We found out that sentient octopuses are possible, who knows what else is out there." Karma said with a shrug.
Tsuna casually strolled down the hallway to the classroom. The conversation between students died down as the teacher got closer.
"Maa, it's okay. It's okay for you all to talk in the hallway." The students smiled at their teacher and continued to chatter.
Tsuna leaned against the wall and waited. Through the absolutely not soundproofed walls, Korosensei could be heard zipping around and humming to himself.
"Ready, everyone?" The teacher asked with a smile. A chorus of 'yes's responded without hesitation.
Tsuna slid the classroom door open and led the way inside.
Several of the students gasped. The classroom looked great. Somehow the floor and ceiling had also been redone as well. The desks had been taken back inside and placed in their usual rows.
And wait, what is that yellow thing sitting at the front of the room on a blanket? It's surrounded by souvenirs from Tokyo and snacks...?
The students gaped at the sight. Tsuna facepalmed.
"Eat up, kids! One of each item!" Korosensei proclaimed. The kids stampeded onto the blanket
Korosensei quickly ran out of the crowd and hid behind Tsuna. Tsuna gave the octopus an exasperated look.
"I may have gone overboard." Korosensei admitted sheepishly.
"Yeah, you 'may have.'" Tsuna replied sarcastically.
After the feeding frenzy had calmed down some, Tsuna decided to continue the lesson. 'Lesson' being rather loosely applied at this point.
"Did you all have fun, or was it boring?" Tsuna asked.
"I just have one question. Did you all learn anything?" Tsuna asked, a grin on his face.
"Kayano." Tsuna said, the girl sat at her desk with a excited look and her hand up.
"Old newspapers are useful for a lot of art projects." The girl declared. Sosuke nodded in agreement.
"And how about...Karma?" Tsuna asked. The redhead had a hand lazily raised.
"Brushes can be good weapons, and paint in someone's eyes is both blinding and painful." Karma said with a smirk.
The rest of the class was split into either horror or exasperation. "What?" Karma asked innocently. Nakamura grinned and the rest of the class shot the red head with exasperated stares.
The class ended with smiles and good natured jokes. Tsuna grinned as he walked out the door. Today's class had gone well.
It was close to the end of the school day when Tsuna felt a jolt from his HI. The don jumped up, ran down the hall and stalked though throuch the class door.
The students stood scattered among the large windows. Korosensei watched the scene from the front of the room.
The class and yellow teacher had stopped to watch the scene outside.
Tsuna stepped inside and walked over to a window. A smile broke out on his face at the sight.
Irina had launched a stealth attack against Karasuma.
The assassin had managed to land on top of the man and struggled to press the knife against his chest. The two were stuck in a deadlock before Irina broke out the puppy dog eyes.
Karasuma seemed to resign himself and dropped his arms. Irina pressed the plastic knife against him then got off and grinned.
The assassin trotted back inside in high spirits. The agent went back inside with a low reseverve of tolerance for hogwash that week.
Irina had to go into the lounge to grab her bag. "High five?" Tsuna asked with his hand held up. The assassin raised an eyebrow at the gesture but highfived him.
"How many Americans do you know?" The assassin questioned.
"A lot." Tsuna replied wryly.
"On another note, you did a great job. Especially with that wire trap, it threw Karasuma off guard." Tsuna said with a smile. "Thank you. You know I could do better if-" Irina boasted. Tsuna put his hands over his face and groaned. 'I forgot about her ego...'
My thanks to
BriBri1827, SagAIllusioN_RE, jadeite7777, Akira_chanu, Ren_Hakuei, Xerneasgirl01, kirito_asuna15, HayashiRina18, EmilyIsAlive, Pet_Jones, Lavalilly, recielo, park_kim_hana_0, PuppyBae123, chitchat246, 27bloom, and zecuna.
A special shoutout to HayashiRina18 from Wattpad. This guy correctly guessed who's who for usernames in the last chapter.
'Cowsrmylife is Lambo, ClassicalRap is Hayato, SeafoodSwords is Takeshi (Yamamoto), Illusionmast3r is Mukuro, WMDforlife is Hibari, BestDayEver is Ryohei, Illusionmast3r2 is Chrome, EspressoforDays is Reborn, Lions4ever is Iemitsu and VariaQuality is Xanxus.'
A shoutout to Naliyu from who correctly got that the WMD in WMDforlife means 'weapon of mass destruction.'
A shoutout to .NEH who actually had the time to google the animals in chapter 9.
I stayed up late so I could get this out. Appreciate my loss of sleep (;
Next:Don't
-Silver