LeNoRi: G'day! It's almost Christmas! Due to that, at the end of the chapter Plotbunny and I have thought of a little extra for you all! Merry Christmas!- or whatever y'all celebrate, I dunno.
Word Count: 15,011
"Hey kaa-san," I started, leaning back on my chair to look around the door frame into the hall, buttered bun hanging from my mouth.
"Yes, Daiki-kun?" She asked, turning from the cooking show she recorded from the night before.
"Where's Lambo-kun? I haven't seen him around the house since I was sick."
"Lambo-kun? Oh, he's been sleeping over at Nana-chan's since. I didn't want him to catch whatever you had, especially since it knocked you off your feet." Kaede answered, causing me to give a hum of question.
"Was Nana-san okay with that? Her house is seeming pretty full these days, with all of Sawada-san's friends crashing there." I asked, tossing the last piece of my bread into my mouth before standing and placing my plate in the sink.
"Yes, she was. Nana-chan was always surrounding herself with people, even when we were in high school together." She smiled, pausing her show to stand and kiss me on the cheek.
"Okay, sweetheart, time for school."
"Hm, I'm off then." I nodded taking up my bag and shoving my feet into the shoes by the door, waving to the woman of the house as I walked out.
I yawned as I shifted on my seat that was the right side of Hibari's large desk, one leg drawn up to my chest as the other dangles off the front, another document in my hand as I looked through my lenses at the tiny font.
Hibari scribbled his signature on a different sheet of paper, placing it in a pile next to him before accepting the one in my hand and repeating at my hum of agreement.
We had been at it all day, the three high stacks of paperwork steadily declining as our system worked like a well-oiled machine, the fact that I'm a fast reader being used and abused to keep the papers moving from pile to pile. The room was doused in silence, only disturbed by the occasional hum, rustle of paper or quiet comment. Every now and again, a noise would sound from outside the room, barely catching our attention as we continued with our task, the glance of annoyance shared between us the only response.
"Should we take a break?" I asked, glancing at the little clock face on my wrist.
The skylark looked up at me with his usual passive expression, tinges of boredom showing in his slate orbs as he gave a negative grunt, waving for the next document.
"Finish the work, then you can rest."
A sigh escaped me as I closed my eyes in exasperation, giving a defeated nod in response. Taking another slip from the last pile, I scanned it, the size 6 font driving me crazy as I tried to differentiate one kanji from another.
The sound of annoyed hissing made me look up, turning my attention to the young Cloud at my side with a raised eyebrow.
"Something wrong, Hibari-san?" I asked, blinking when he rolled his chair closer to me and displayed his hand.
A paper cut.
"Ah, that must sting." Came my hum, reaching my own hand and grasping his.
Not bothering to ask his permission anymore, I stuck the long digit in my mouth, cleaning the beads of blood off, and encouraging my flames to stitch the bare minimum of the wound together.
"Hibari-sama! I have the rest of the-Oh my God! I am so sorry!"
Noticing that Hibari wasn't going to acknowledge his subordinate, I removed the digit from my mouth, uncaring about the thin string of saliva that connected my lip to the wounded tip. Turning to the red-faced boy slightly, I let out a quiet sigh when I saw the thick stack of reports that would need to be read and annotated for the teachers.
"Ah, the reports. Put them just here." I breathed, waving to the smaller table beside me.
"U-uh! Yes, right away!"
"Chattering Herbivore, the blood's coming back." Hibari mumbled, his attention still on the shiny pointer.
"Oh, sorry." I thought I used enough flames, I need more practice.
Sliding the finger past my lips, I summoned forth a small bundle of sunshine to the tip of my tongue before pressing the appendage against, the no doubt stinging slice, making sure to feel for the progress this time round. The skylark in front of me shifted, leaning back in his chair as he continued to watch me heal him.
"Why are you still here?"
Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I saw the errand boy standing still as a statue before the desk, a few spaces back, watching our interaction with terrified attention.
"A-as...Um..!" He spluttered, taking a step back as the Cloud's expression darkened.
"Kamikorosu."
And he was gone, out the door and down the hall before the skylark could even take another breath.
"You should be kinder to your little sheep." I hummed, withdrawing the finger, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"Hm," He grunted, inspecting his cut before drying it off with the tissues in his drawer. "Next document."
I sighed, handing off the paper in my lap to the skylark.
"356 pages down, another 568 to go."
If we were any weaker, we would have groaned in agony.
"And...that's the last one." I sighed, pushing my glasses up to rub my eyes as Hibari placed the last of the paperwork on the stack.
The skylark gave an airy hum of agreement, leaning back in his chair as he folded his hands in his lap, looking just about ready to take a nap then and there.
I gave a slight smile before hopping off the desk, lifting the piles easily after they were sorted into numerous boxes for specific departments.
"I'll take these to the staff room, you take a break."
Hibari looked at me through his lashed before giving a dismissive grunt, closing his eyes as he let his chin fall to his chest.
Turning from the smaller boy, I closed the door behind me with my foot, walking the path to the outside, knowing that walking around the back of the school would get me to the staffroom faster than by navigating the halls. School was out for the day, all but those with club activities gone from the grounds, so when I heard voices being projected around the corner, I was more than a bit confused.
A yelp escaped me as a flash of black and white whizzed past, making me step back or risk dropping my load and forcing me to resort them on my own. Turning away from the small cloud of dust that erupted from the impact, I let out a cough as it faded, allowing me to see what had created a small crater in the store room's exterior wall.
"Ah, Lambo-kun?" I blurted, a flash of concern showing when I noticed the scrape on his cheek and his eyes going unfocused as he fell from his indent.
As if my call snapped him to attention, his head stopped bobbing and jerked to face me, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes when he spotted me, a stunned expression.
"Daiki-san?" The little Mafioso sniffled, moving closer to me slightly.
"C'mere," I cooed, shifting the load in my arms to the one hand so that I could gather him up in my right arm. "Why're you crying, did something happen?"
Lambo didn't answer and instead buried his face in my side, little cow print hands clutching at the material of my shirt.
"Ah! Yamaguchi-san!?"
The call drew my attention from the teary child, instead landing it on the small group teenagers across from me.
"You three, of course." I sighed, casting my eyes over the future Vongola X and co. raising an eyebrow when Ryohei waved excitedly at me from the back.
"Ryohei-kun, what are you doing with the underclassmen?"
"We're EXTREMELY trying to find Lambo-san an EXTREME babysitter!" He hollered, making the boys around him flinch away.
"...Why?" I asked slowly, some things not quite adding up for me.
"Lambo-san has been quite a bit of trouble at home, so we need someone to watch him while Dame-Tsuna is at school." Reborn hummed, hands folded behind his back.
"Okay, but that won't really be necessary."
"Eh, why?" The young Vongola Decimo finally asked, stepping forwards.
"Lambo-kun lives with me," I answered, before giving an expression of honest confusion. "I was under the impression you knew that, I even drop him off at your house so he can play with Reborn-san."
There was a moment of silence, all of the men's faces before me dissolving into ones of variations of shock.
"Yamaguchi-kun! Tsuna-kun!"
All of us turned our heads to the specific call, giving our own reactions to the sudden appearance of one Miura Haru, scowling as she panted, no doubt having just sprinted to our location.
"Haru-san, how are you?" I smiled, silently wondering what Hibari would do if he caught a non-student on the Nami Middle grounds after hours.
"Ha-hi! Lambo-kun, are you alright!?" She yelped, plucking the child out of my arms- or at least, attempted to.
"Let Lambo-san go!" He wailed, little hands still wrapped around the material of my shirt, pulling it out of my waistband and revealing a bit of my stomach to the late autumn air.
"Lambo-kun, come to Haru-chan!"
"Ah, Haru-san, could you perhaps stop pulling on Lam-oh God!" I cut off, stumbling back as the two children across from me were flung back and splayed across the ground, the smaller of them breaking out into tears.
"Ten year bazooka!?" Tsuna shrieked, eyes widening as he gaped at the large purple firearm that emerged from the hammerspace within the Bovino's afro.
"Wait, Lambo-kun!" I tried, only to take in a large breath of pink smoke, resulting in a coughing fit.
Waving away the particles, my eyes widened when I came face to face with a fifteen-year-old Lambo, the time traveller giving me a lazy smile as one hand came up to wave.
"Adult Lambo!" The young Vongola announced, the voice sounding off from behind me.
"Ah, young Papa, how're you?" TYL Lambo drawled, shifting his weight.
"Papa!?"
"Oh, it's you again." I hummed, eyeing the 'new' person carefully. "You still call me that, even though I don't know you."
"Haha, I'm Lambo, Papa. You know me, you take care of me!" He laughed, taking a step into my space.
"Hm? I was under the impression that Lambo-kun was a five-year-old. Not a teen." I challenged, tilting my head slightly.
"Ten year bazooka, makes the user swap places with their future self for five minutes." The TYL smirked, one hand coming up to fiddle with his ear lobe.
My eyes were drawn to the action, a sting of worry stabbing me. That was something I did a lot.
"So you've finally come, Romeo-kun."
Oh. Oh shit.
"Lambo-kun," I started, glancing over my shoulder.
"Oh, you haven't called me that in a while." He blinked, before pointing to himself. "You usually just call me-"
"Poison Pizza! Magic Cutter!"
His single eye widened, fear obvious in his face.
"E-excuse me!"
"Well, at least he's polite." I hummed, ducking under the purple pizza.
Hearing voices from behind me, I turned, gave a yelp and ducking again, dodging the golden horn sent flying over my head by one Yamamoto Takeshi.
"Careful!"
"Ah, sorry, Daiki-kun!"
As it would seem, TYL Lambo wasn't as fortunate, the sound of two impacts reaching our ears, before the sight of an almost grown man wailing on the floor was presented to us.
"It always ends like this." Tsuna sighed, sagging in exhaustion as Ryohei gave Takeshi a strange variation of comfort for his deed.
"Papa!"
Oh God, not again!
"Shit!" I yelped, just barely balancing out my body as the teenager threw himself at me, wrapping his arms around my neck, legs around my waist and burying his teary face into my shoulder.
"Ah, I want a hug from shunji-kun as well!"
"Takeshi-kun, Takeshi-kun no-gah!"
Balance! Balance!
"Ha-hi! Me too!"
Please, no!
"EXTREME HUGS FROM DAIKI-KUN!"
Nonononononono- FUCK!
The five of us let out harmonious groans as we slowly sat up, rubbing the parts of our bodies that received the most impact.
"All of you."
They froze, slowly turning their heads to me. My scowl was unmatched as I sat amongst the sea of paperwork, boxes burst and tipped as hours of careful sorting went down the drain in less than three seconds.
"You are all going to sort these papers. Now."
I had never seen such great teamwork.
"EXTREME DAIKI-KUN! PICK UP, BREAD SLICE! BRO! DUDE! LIGHT OF MY LIFE!"
I jolted upright in my bed, the sounds of Ryohei's customised ringtone awakening me from a blank dream.
"EEEEEEXTRREEEEEEEMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! PAL! BUDDY! HOME SLICE! BROTHER! BRO! PAL! STALE! SALTY! DUDE!"
Snapping my hand out, I snatched up the phone and received the call before the roaring could awaken my younger roommate, and result in another noise.
"Yep?" I hummed, rubbing my face as I leant back against the headboard, glancing out the still black window.
"DAIKI-KUN! YOU EXTREMELY PROMISED ME AN EXTREME FIGHT TODAY!" His voice rung through the receiver, making me move it away from my head.
"Oh? And by 'today', I'm gonna guess you mean yesterday, as of three hours ago." Came my response, pausing to glance at the little clock face on my side table.
There was a pause on the other side, quiet mumbles providing that the Sun was probably talking to someone on his side, possibly apologising for screaming at three o'clock in the morning.
"Anyway, you have to extremely fight me today, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. I got it." I sighed, resting my hand on my updrawn knee as we said our farewells, snapping the phone shut as the dial tone sounded.
"Hmm, Daiki-san?"
Turning my head, I blinked when I saw Lambo peek at me from his bed across the room, small hands coming up to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"Lambo-kun, sorry, did I wake you?" I asked, giving him a small smile as a yawn escaped him.
"Uh huh." He responded, nodding sleepily.
"Sorry, go back to sleep. I won't make anymore noise."
He shook his head, puffy afro swinging along with it, before making grabby hand in my direction, obviously wanting to be picked up. Giving a long breath, I stood from my bed and padded across the room, scooping the little hitman up and sitting back down.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked, burrowing into my stomach, the question seeming to be only a formality.
"Sure."
Drawing the blanket up, I leant back against the headboard again, one hand coming to gently pet the toddler's back as the other cushioned my head. Turning my head, I looked out the window, listening to the ticking of the clock as moonbeams bathed the room in white light.
"Papa, huh?" I hummed, looking down at the little calf dozing on my stomach, a little hand clinging to my thumb.
A soft smile touched my face as Lambo curled up further, his body dwarfed by my much larger one.
"Doesn't sound all that bad."
|S.R|
Sasagawa Ryohei gave a breath as he paused, having run one and a half laps around the town so far, he was more than ready to face the day, his blood singing and his muscles warm and flexible. The boy had decided to go the extra mile today, the promise of a battle of extreme extremity with his friend Daiki making him jittery and grin, the mere thought of the thrill awaiting him giving him almost the same battle-high he could expect in no less than a few hours.
However...
The Sun guardian's smile faded slightly, his clenched fists dropping to his sides.
Daiki had been acting strange, as of late. Not in everyday activities, no, but in the ring. It had been going on for a long time, but only had become more prominent.
He had become... violent.
Not that that wasn't to be expected in their selected sports, but years of tutelage under his father had made Ryohei aware of people's bodies, allowing him to react in time to dodge or counterattack. So, it wasn't much of a challenge to notice how the older boy held himself back, even against Ryohei, his friend, confidant and brother, he only gave so much effort, the other parts of him working to restrict himself. He had to consciously limit himself when they were fighting, to the point where it had seemed to become unenjoyable for the blue haired boy.
What would happen if he stopped liking boxing? Would he quit?
Hopefully not, the Yamaguchi child was the only member of the club that Ryohei had trouble taking down, the club would become dull without him, no doubt. The Sun wouldn't stop him, however, if he did decide to leave, keeping him there would only further his dislike for the sport, and that was the last thing he wanted.
"Oi, oi Ryohei-kun. Dude, answer. Dude, bro, buddy, mate, pal, bro, sunshine, mate, light of my life, dude, pal, sunspot, bro, buddy-"
Ryohei fished his phone out of his pocket, cutting off Daiki's special ringtone before holding it up to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Dude, you have like- five minutes to get to school before Hibari-san hunts you down, where the hell are you?"
"Uh," The sun guardian glanced around, taking in his surroundings. "Near the shrines."
"Why the hell are you near the shrines, sunspot!? Get your gluteus maximus back here before I come after you instead!"
Ryohei flinched away from the order, giving a yelped positive before declaring his incoming arrival.
"Quickly! Speed is key, bro!"
"EXTREME SPEED!" The Sun roared, pocketing the phone and sprinting around the corner, a cloud of smoke being kicked up behind him
If he didn't want Daiki to get bored, he'd just have to find something to get his blood pumping again.
Shouldn't be too hard.
|S.R|
"Next challenger!" The coach yelled, waving his hand over at our corner.
"You or me?" I breathed, glancing over to my bench buddy, the Sasagawa child heaving just as heavily as I was.
For some reason, Ryohei had been pushing me to go into the ring every chance he got, forcing me to fight every other member in the club, going at me himself when the others were unavailable or had enough. He seemed almost frantic today, not how he usually was once he stepped in the studio, not a pumped jittery, but a careful one, fussing over my boxing from the get-go.
"Ah, flip a coin?" The pale haired boy asked, straightening up and fishing out a 100 yen coin from his duffle bag.
"Sure," I shrugged. "I'll flip. Loser takes the ring, yeah?"
He handed it off to me, allowing me to balance it on the side of my hand and send it careening into the air, catching it in my palm before swiftly covering it with the opposite hand.
"I call tails." Came my call, Ryohei nodding in acceptance.
"Tails, you're up, sunshine." I laughed, giving the shorter boy a thump on the back to encourage him to stand and take to the ring, fastening his gloves.
As the boys sized each other up, a small frown came to my face, my hand coming to dig blunt nails into my knees as I mentally berated myself.
I had almost slipped up in the last match, instinct tapping at the back of my mind when the sudden urge to let my leg lash out and floor an upperclassman who's feet were in the air more than they were grounded, giving me plenty of opportunities to send him sprawling with the right speed. The twitch of the muscles in my lower body was enough to make me pause, giving the older boy a chance to hook me in the head, dazing me for less than a moment. That moment, however, was just enough time for whatever damned thing that reared its head by the water to do so again, all holds on my strength gone as I let my fist fly, dropping the other almost instantly.
There had been silence in the room when that happened, the other members holding their breaths as I caught mine, everyone's eyes equally wide. By the time coach had K.O'ed the upperclassman, I had stepped out of the ring and handed off my gloves to Ryohei, keeping my eyes down.
I didn't want him to see it. The glimmer in my eye, the looseness of my muscles, the soft smile on my face. It had been years since I had done that, released even a little of my frustrations into a punch.
Even against Hibari, I limited myself. Only go as far as you need to, never further. Disengage him, immobilise him, don't damage him.
I was sure he had noticed it, but when I redirected his hits, I did so gently, making sure not to sprain or tear any of his muscles or tendons with the shift of movement. It, of course, spurred him on harder, making him fight fiercer out of pride, but it was something I couldn't help. The same with Ryohei, he would probably kill me if he knew just how much I pulled my punches when it came to boxing, never putting full power into the jabs, never using my body to create momentum. Their bodies were already under enough stress as it is, and will be under even more in less than a year, so they needed as much health in their bar as possible. Broken bones or permanent injuries were a no-no.
I clenched my fist experimentally, my lip twitching when a phantom noise sounded within my ears.
It still made me cringe, the deep, sharp sound of bones breaking within their flesh casing, but less so as compared to all those years ago. I had never had the chance to check if it was the same sound as I remembered, or if my memory had been dulled by time. There had been almost no hostile Mafia business in Namimori since then, almost as if the sudden disappearance of one of their men had made them cautious about how they went about their business around the Vongola heir.
"EXTREME! DID YOU SEE THAT, DAIKI-KUN!?"
My head snapped up, hand releasing my knee cap as I focused my attention of the pouting boxer, his gloved hands on his hips as he glared at me from the ring.
"Ah, no. Sorry, Ryohei-kun." I apologised, giving a small smile.
"Oh come on!" He whined, before pointing at me quite viciously. "Watch me, okay! Watch me when I'm doing EXTREMELY cool stuff!"
"Okay, okay." I laughed, leaning back against the wall as I flipped the coin along my knuckles, focusing my gaze on the adrenalized boy.
I blinked as I watched his movements, noticing how different they were to how he usually moved. They were fast and deliberate, made to be showy and eye-catching. His step sequence kept me in his line of his sight, dodges done to make sure I could see the net punch connect with his opponent's body.
He was putting on a show.
But why? There was no need for the display, as far as I was aware. Was he nervous about something?
The glance he threw over his shoulder, was enough to tell me that: yes, he was nervous. Determination, however, was woven through the fire that flickered with the fight.
"C'mon Ryohei-kun, K.O 'im!" I called, cupping my mouth on one side to direct my voice.
As if the call had flipped a switch, the flames in his eyes roared to another level, the muscles in his arms gearing up to deliver a no doubt devastating blow. The young Sun whirled around, his fist at the perfect angle for the perfect right hook, and with a resounding 'bang', his opponent hit the ground, a dazed expression on his face as his cheek bloomed an array of purples and reds.
"K.O! Sasagawa-san is winner!"
"Ay!" I cheered, fist bumping the sweaty Sasagawa before letting my body be dragged into a crushing hug, the boy hollering his own victory cry.
"Hey, Ryohei-kun?" I started, using our closeness to talk to him.
"Ya?"
"Is something wrong? you seemed a bit- I don't know- nervous out there."
The muscles under my arms and around my body tensed, before forcibly relaxing, a long breath leaving the young Sun Guardian.
"We'll talk about it later." He replied, trying to pull away, only to be trapped by the cage of my arms he put himself in.
"But we will talk about it."
"Of course."
"Hope you enjoy, please come again." I smiled, waving at a trio of girls as they exited the shop to join the flow of weekend shoppers.
A sigh left me as the door closed, the giggling that they exuded making me want to roll my eyes at almost every point 'accidental' eye or skin contact took place. Those girls were some of my regulars, coming in every other week. We had lots of customers like that, actually. Older men and women coming in in hopes of running into Kaede and getting a chat with her. She seemed oblivious, however, to their advances, leaving each one of them happily broken-hearted as they walked out with their purchase and a dreamy smile on their faces.
The bell above the door going off brought me out of my musing, my relaxed position of leaning on my forearms shifting only slightly as I tilted my head, giving the new customers a smile as I greeted them warmly.
"Good morning, how can I help you today?"
"Yamaguchi-kun!"
"Ah! Yamaguchi-san!?"
Oh. Oh dear God.
"Haru-san, Sawada-san." I greeted, eyes following them as they walked to my register, contrasting expressions on their faces.
"Back again, hey?"
"Uh huh! Haru Appreciation Day, it is!" The young girl beamed, bending to examine the products on offer today.
"Is that so, and I'm guessing you dragged poor Sawada-san into coming with you, hm?"
The pout she sent me made a small laugh fall from my lips, the way she puffed her cheeks reminding me of a chipmunk.
"No! Tsuna-san came of his own will! It was destiny that he and I were to meet today!"
"Sure, whatever you say." I breathed, resting my jaw in my hand as I crossed one foot behind the other.
"Ki-nii!"
Looking away from the duo, I waved as Kyoko came rushing in, a list in her hand as she grinned happily in greeting.
"Imouto, welcome. Kyoko Day?"
"Yep!" She cooed, her face falling to one of concentration as she surveyed the spread seriously thinking about what she was going to purchase.
"Kyoko-chan?!" Tsuna gaped, snapping his head around to focus on his crush.
"Ah, Tsuna-kun." She smiled, turning to him.
An amused smile worked its way onto my face as the Vongola got caught between the two women, the way his face contorted in panic and fear providing me with the most entertainment in the day so far.
"Ah, Haru-chan, you should try Ki-nii's cream puffs! They're great! So soft!" Kyoko gushed, pointing to the palm-sized pastry, causing her new friend's eyes to sparkle.
"What about the mille-feuille!?" Haru responded, pointing out the cake slice further to the left.
"Yamaguchi-san."
My head snapped down the baby hitman on the floor, looking up at me as he donned traditional japanese clothes.
"Yes?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Will you host us, and let the girls eat in your house?"
As I was about to refuse, vaguely remembering that Tsuna's house was the go-to for all events, Kyoko piped up, a grin all but blinding my eyes.
"Ah, it's been so long since I've been in Ki-nii's house! I hope you've cleaned your room since I last saw it!"
"...Maybe."
…
A grumble left me as I rested my arm on my drawn up knee, the other splaying out under the little fold up table in my room that I had hauled up from the store room by Kaede's order.
"Reborn-kun, you really like pecan bread, huh?" Kyoko cooed, watching the small hitman chew through his bread happily, having missed out for the past few days due to...incidents.
"The coffee cake here is also nice." He hummed, nodding in response to her first question.
"Ah, coffee cake? That's Ki-nii's job!" She laughed, her radiance blinding me, if not for the stone that fell in my stomach as Reborn's voids snapped to me.
"Oh? I was under the impression it fell under Kaede-san's order. Did it change over recently?"
"No, no! Kaede-oba-san hates coffee, Ki-nii's been doing it since his last year of elementary!"
Shush, Kyoko! Shush!
"Ah, well, thank you." He hummed, smiling a bit too sharply in my direction.
I didn't hesitate to reciprocate the gesture.
Watch it, baby. This is my territory, remember?
|S.T|
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God- Reborn, stop!
The young Vongola glanced between the two Sun Flame Users nervously, the sharp smiles they sent at each other making him fear that they would cut the three people between them.
"Hey, Ki-nii! Try some!" Kyoko chirped, drawing the ominous stare away from the baby across from him.
Tsuna fought the urge to pout in jealousy when he saw the angelic girl offer the older boy a forkful of cake, cupping her hand beneath the treat as to stop any spillage. The blue haired boy raised an eyebrow, a small smile coming to his face as he reminded her that he was the one who made them.
"You know that I've been tasting this thing for years, correct?"
"Oh hush, eat it." She huffed, breaking out into a grin when Yamaguchi took it in his mouth and left the fork clean.
"Tsuna-kun, you have some too!"
"Ah!" The young Vongola yelped, backing away from the utensil shoved up to his face, Haru wielding it as she leaned over the dishes precariously. "No, thank you!"
"Papa, you have cake?"
Tsuna jumped as the voice sounded from just behind him, his head snapping around to come nose to nose with an adult Lambo, his lazily opened eye sparkling with interest as he eyed the treats laid out on the table.
"Ni hao!"
"Lambo-kun, I-pin-chan." The based voice in the room greeted, the new guests responding in kind.
The young Vongola watched in disbelief as the older boy just accepted the sudden influx of people in his room, memories of all the times he himself had fallen over in surprise when any of the little hitmen had appeared in his home.
"I-pin-chan, how's the mille-feuille?" Haru cooed, watching the young bomb girl chew up a piece of Yamaguchi's work.
There was silence as I-pin swallowed, her head visibly bobbing as it moved through her system, the people in the room waiting for the young girl's verdict. It took a moment, but soon, water began to collect in the corner of her slanted eye, the tear sliding down her chubby cheek as a blissed out smile spread across her face.
"She's crying?!" Tsuna yelped, shifting back in surprise.
"I-pin-chan's never had anything so good." She hummed in accented Japanese, the words coming out halted and quiet.
"That's quite the compliment you just gave me I-pin-chan. I thank you kindly." Yamaguchi smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he tilted his head slightly at the small child.
"You are welcome! Thank you!" She smiled, hopping over the table to land on the older boy's knee.
"Secret Gyoza Dumpling!"
Tsuna blinked when he saw Yamaguchi's eyes sharpen, amber-earth flashing dark as they zeroed in on the offered dumplings that dwarfed the hands holding them.
"Ah, sorry I-pin-chan. I don't think I can eat that."
What was that?
"Aiya? Why?" The small child asked, withdrawing her arms.
"Hm, they seem to be special." He smiled, stressing the last word.
I-pin's face dissolved into shock as if she had just remembered something, falling into a bow as she apologised to the larger boy, a jumble of Chinese and Japanese falling from her lips as she fussed over packing away the two dumplings.
"Huh, why not Ki-nii? I-pin-chan seemed excited to give them to you." Kyoko asked, a small frown on her face.
"I-pin-chan is sorry. She forgot that Master told her not to give special dumplings to others. Sorry again!" She squeaked, bowing to the two girls quickly.
"It's fine, I-pin-chan, we all make mistakes. Just be glad it didn't go any further than that."
How? How did he catch that?
Tsuna watched as the small girl jumped back into Yamaguchi's lap, thanking him profusely in her bilingual manner, making the blue haired boy smile down at her sweetly. A tanned hand coming to gently brush along her single braid to comfort her.
"I-pin-chan promises to be more vigilant!" She declared, clenching her fist in determination.
"Okay, okay." The taller boy laughed, his own fist clenching before he gently knocked hers. "I'll hold you to that."
"Mhm!" She grinned, pressing back.
"Aw! Yamaguchi-kun's so good with children!"
"Ki-nii would make a great husband!"
"What are you two going on about this time?"
The young Vongola watched the three teens interact in front of him, wide brown eyes jumping from person to person as they scuffled amongst themselves, the two girls ganging up on their upperclassman as they tittered on about how much of a family man he was. There was a certain lightness to the situation, maybe caused by the afternoon sun seeping through the window, maybe caused by the girlish laughter that filled the air as Yamaguchi flatly rejected Kyoko's question of how many kids he planned to have in the future.
"Hm...How did that boy know?"
A shot of fear scrambled up Tsuna's spine as the forgotten baby hitman beside him hummed in thought, cold void eyes drilling into the side of the tanned boy's skull as they tried to pick apart the teen.
"Know what?" He managed out.
"I-pin-chan's Gyoza Dumplings are a secret technique, one dumpling is said to hold the essence of 5 million normal ones. If a normal person were to consume one," The fedora-wearing hitman turned to focus his stare on his student. "They'd die."
"Huh?!"
"Somehow, it would that seem Yamaguchi-san knew that, and stopped I-pin-chan from feeding it to anyone." He breathed, turning back. "But how...?"
"A gut feeling, maybe?" Tsuna tried, a nervous smile cracking across his face.
"Hm… Maybe, so." Reborn responded, tilting so that the rim of his hat covered his eyes from the other occupants.
|S.T|
"TODAY WE BATTLE TO THE EXTREME!"
"What?"
I picked my head up off my pillow to stare dumbly at the posing Ryohei, an adrenaline pumped grin splitting his face as he stomped his socked feet on my formula sheets that littered the floor. Looking away from his display, I read the clock face beside me, my face dissolving to a look of utter annoyance.
He had woken me up at 6:30am.
On a Saturday.
"You son of a bitch." I muttered, burrowing back under the blankets.
"Daiki-kun! Awaken TO THE EXTREME!"
My hands snapped out and gripped my sheets, the other end in Ryohei's own resulting in a desperate tug-a-war between us. We held out for a good few minutes, shouts exchange with childish swears riding on their coat tails.
"Get lost you lawn head!"
"Daiki-kun, get your salty ass up!"
"LEAVE MY ROOM!"
"GET UP TO THE EXTREME!"
"OUT, EGG WHITE!"
"RISE, BREAD BUN!"
"I DON'T WANNA!"
"YOU EXTREMELY HAVE TO!"
"MY HOUSE, MY EXTREME RULES!"
"Boys!"
Our heads snapped around, the pulling stopped and our mouths clicked shut as we stared at Kaede as she stood hunched over in my doorway, hair a mess and her nightgowns crumpled from sleep.
"It is 6:45 in the morning. Why on Earth are you two screaming at 6:45 in the morning?"
"A-ah, we were...He was..." Ryohei and I stumbled, glancing to each other as we tried to align stories.
"Boys." She warned, utilising full mother mode to tame our rowdy behaviour.
"Sorry." We chorused, bowing our heads in submission.
"Good. Not another peep, am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."
We flinched as she slammed the door shut, her heavy footsteps fading as she thumped down the hall, back into her room.
Turning back to each other, we shared a wide-eyed look, frozen expressions of mutual fear on our faces. The corners of our lips twitched as barely stifled laughs coughed out, our body jolting sharply as we tried to stuff my green and gold doona into our mouths to try and shut ourselves up.
"Boys!"
The back of the Namimori Middle School was vacant except for two stubborn teens who were, once again, pushing their bodies to the extreme. Three hours of almost non-stop running had left us panting, but we still carried on after only a five-minute break, moving our twitching bodies into the back-to-back workout the Ryuu-sensei had taught us three years ago.
It was a difficult exercise, balance, timing, strength and trust were all incorporated into the workout, in which we were literally back-to-back. One person would do pushups on the floor, and the other would sit on their back and do sit-ups, working as a weight. After a set amount, they would then link arms and flip over, swapping roles for a turn. Three weeks, it had taken us to perfect the whole exercise. Three weeks of strained muscles, dirt filled scrapes, back cracks and head knocks, but the result was absolute synchrony, one we were more than happy to flaunt when given the chance.
I let out a breath as I pulled myself into yet another sit up, the movement beneath me barely shifting my progress as I lowered along with Ryohei. The younger boy pushed himself into his 78th pushup, making me rise with him as I felt the muscles in his back flex from the effort.
"79...80! Flip!" He shouted, linking arms with me before we threw out weight together and rolled until I was facing the ground, and he the sky.
Giving a grunt, he began his own set of 100 sit ups, as I began my 80 pushups. He wasn't that heavy actually, only 59 kilos, so forcing my arms to push our combined weight of 131 kgs up was a fairly easy task, it was the repetition of the act that got to me, however.
"Daiki-kun," Ryohei started, looking down at me from his position, hands behind his head.
"Yeah, what's up?" I responded, glancing over my shoulder.
"Can we stop, just for a second?"
"Ah, okay. Sure." Came my answer, the young Sun moved off my back quickly, allowing me to stand and face him as he shifted.
"Has anything...Is there something you need to tell me?" He asked, standing straight and walking towards me.
"Ah, I...I don't think so." I answered, more than a bit confused by the sudden question.
"Are you sure?"
Narrowing my eyes, I noticed just how close the younger boy had gotten, barely an arm's length away. Not the closest he had gotten, but probably the most invasive.
"Yes." I nodded, "What brought this along?"
"..."
A frown worked its way onto my face as I watched him shake his head dismissively, preparing to step back and out of my zone, only to be stopped when my hand lashed out and grabbed him by the strap of his singlet.
"No, I want an answer, Ryohei-kun. This had been troubling you for at least a week, and by God, it has been affecting me by affiliation. Now," I tightened my grip and dragged him to the ground with me, forcing him to sit across from me in the shade. "Spill."
"Well..."
"Well?"
He fidgetted under my stare for a few moments, glancing around and avoiding the topic as well as he could.
"Dude, just spill. I promise, I won't snap your neck...Much."
"Thanks, that helps." He deadpanned, before letting out a long sigh.
"Are you getting bored of boxing?"
I blinked, checking his face for any twitch that could suggest humour or trickery, only to find it set in straight.
"Boxing? That's what this is about?" I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck to work out the tension that had built for apparently no reason.
"Yes-well, sort of. Mostly." He stumbled, crossing his arms are he tried to piece together his mind.
"You...You don't seem to like the boxing way, much. Do you?"
"Um," I started, "By 'not like', what do you mean?"
"Like- To me, you look like you're restricting yourself a lot. It's like-like you wanna use your legs, like you wanna kick and stuff!"
"And stuff." I sighed, before nodding in acceptance, stopping his wild flailing as he tried to explain further.
"I'm not really getting tired of boxing, it just- It doesn't fit with how I think, I guess. I know it's a sport and all but, I just can't get out of survival mode a lot of the time. There are so many openings that I could- I need - to take advantage of and it's...It's becoming an itch or sorts now, constantly bugging me."
He gave a solemn nod, obviously making an effort to understand what I was feeling with his boxing-wired mind.
"But, it's not really important, just me being a bit of a brute." I stated, bringing a smile to my face. "Sorry if I caused you any concern."
My smile faded when he didn't respond, only watching me from across the grass quietly. I let my eyes trail, fingers coming to pick at the sparse grass behind the school, chlorophyll inking my nails.
"So...what kind of fighting does fit you?"
I blinked, looking back to the young Sun across from me, before pursing my lips as I thought about the answer.
"I don't really know. I just...I just use everything given to me."
"Have you ever done it before?" He asked, leaning forwards, a spark erupting in his eye as a grin flickered in the corners of his lips.
"Yeah, but only against two opponents. Well, I've only ever gone all out against one."
"Who was it?" By then, he had practically begun crawling forwards, the talk of fighting making his blood hum with excitement.
"Just some dude who I caught...trespassing. He's gone now." I responded, pausing for less than a moment to think about the phrasing.
"Can you show me!? Can we fight!? All out!? No holds!? Please!?"
"All out?!" I yelped, sounds ringing in my ears.
Crack
"Yeah! All out TO THE EXTREME!"
Crunch
"Ah...I-I dunno, that could...That could end badly."
"Oh, c'mon bro! It'll be EXTREMELY fun!" He whined, tugging me up to make us stand.
"You don't even know what kind of moves I use." I tried, an open expression of worry marring my face.
"Then you'll EXTREMELY have to show me TO THE EXTREME!" The young Sun grinned, practically bouncing in anticipation.
"Um...Ryohei-kun, this might be dangerou-"
"Three-Two-One! Fight!" He sped through the count, charging at me with his fist raised.
"Whoa!" I yelped, dodging beneath the fist and stepping around him.
"That was a boxing move, Daiki-kun! I wanna see your EXTREME style!" The Sun roared, rounding and bringing his fist down with a 'maximum cannon!'
Get away from it. Grab it. Make it useless.
With wide eyes, I moved around the arm, hands flying to grasp his stretched arm, and put pressure on his elbow, threatening to snap it the wrong way.
"Argh!"
The gruff yelp of pain made me let go, my body taking large steps to throw myself away from Ryohei, blundered apologies spurting from my lips.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry. I told you this was a bad idea!"
"You..." He mumbled, clutching his arm as his fringe covered his eyes.
Oh no... I really hurt him just then didn't I? Shit, Daiki! Learn to control yourself, dude!
"YOU LOOKED SO EXTREME!" He roared, spinning around to stare at me with huge, starry eyes.
What?
"A-ah, um..." I tried, taking a cautionary step back as he began to gush in a way he reserved for boxing and the like.
"YOU WERE LIKE 'FWOOSH'! THEN 'SMASH'! THEN 'CHA!'"
"That...doesn't make sense."
"Here I come! EXTREME RIGHT HOOK!"
My eyes locked on the incoming fist, ideas flying through my head as I watched it approach. Frowning slightly, I tilted my head as I thought about it.
"Maybe..."
Moving my feet quickly, I began running towards him, training my eyes on his body as I made a quiet countdown in my head.
This could either go very badly, or look epic as all fuck.
Let's hope for the latter.
Now!
My eyes sharpened as I lept from the ground, gaining air as he came under me. Snapping my feet around his head, I flung my upper body forwards, moving into the motion of a flip. A grimace reached my face as I felt the weight of Ryohei follow me up, his yelp of surprise fueling the grin that replaced the mar.
Giving my body yet another harsh coil, I sent Ryohei's body crashing into the ground, his back colliding with the hard earth making him choke and bounce twice. I bent my knees as I landed, falling into a crouch to stop myself from toppling as my head felt light. I hadn't done anything akin to a flip for a while, mostly falling to cartwheels, and they were usually reserved for the playground.
"Hey, you okay there sunspot?" I panted, adrenaline draining from me as I approached my K.O-ed partner.
"That." He panted, vocals strained from the lack of air in his lungs after being winded. "Was. Fucking. EXTREME!"
"Yeah." I laughed, flopping down next to him. "That was extremely extreme."
"Hey, what's that style called?"
"No idea. I doubt it'd even be called a style, what, with how mangled it is. It'd make a master cry, I swear."
|S.R|
Terrifying.
Daiki was terrifying.
A grin split the young Sasagawa's face as he laid panting next to the older boy, adrenaline still humming in his blood as he remembered the sharp eyes that peered down at him as the silhouette obscured the sun above him, dowsing him in darkness before sending him crashing into the earth. He felt as if he should have broken something, pebbles digging into his back as dirt filled scrapes and cuts along his exposed skin. A testing movement showed that there was nothing of extreme damage, only a few strains and bruises.
"Hey, what's your style called?" The beaten boy asked, experimentally moving his neck.
"No idea. I doubt it'd even be called a style, what, with how mangled it is. It'd make a master cry, I swear."
There he goes again, putting himself down.
"Hm, how about BATS?" The young Sasagawa offered, rolling onto his front to look down at his partner.
"BATS? The hell?" Daiki asked, scrunching his tanned face up in confusion.
"Yeah! BATS, stands for Break All Their Shit! I feel like you just shattered all 300 bones in my body just then!" He grinned, resting his chin on his folded arms.
"There are only 206 bones in the average body, Ryohei-kun."
"Same, same. Anyway, BATS, sound EXTREME?!"
There was a flash of emotion across the older boy's face, before he settled on a warm smile, one which Ryohei reflected with vigour.
"Okay then, you better help me perfect BATS, sunspot." He smirked, raising his fist.
"ALL RIGHT! EXTREME BATS STYLE!"
The two Sun Flame users shared matching grins as they bumped fists.
"You know Daiki-kun, you're kind'a terrifying when you use your style."
"All the better to scare away the ghostie-boos for the little ray of sunshine."
"Oh shut up!"
|S.R|
"Chattering Herbivore."
Oh, my Lord of Cakes.
I turned my head to look up at the imposing figure of one Kyoya Hibari as he loomed over our prone forms. His slate eyes looked less than impressed by his find of two teens draped across the equivalent of his lawn, the slight raise of his right eyebrow just barely visible to the untrained eye.
"Good-" I glanced at my watch. "Morning, Hibari-san. How're you?"
"Why are you on school grounds out of hours?" He asked, fingers twitching in warning as the metal of his tonfa caught the light.
"WE'RE HERE TO EXTREMELY SEE DAIKI-KUN'S EXTREME FIGHTING STYLE!"
"Oh?" Hibari's eyes flashed in interest as they jumped from me to my partner, a stone of dread dropping in my stomach.
No, Ryohei, no! Don't do it!
"EXTREME! DO YOU WANT TO PRACTICE WITH US?!"
Noooo!
"Hm," A sharp smile touched the corners of the skylark's face as he turned to face me. "I will take you up on that offer."
Shit. I'm gonna die.
"Ah...Okay then." I sighed, shrugging in defeat as Ryohei pulled me to my feet, bouncing on his own as he began to spurt out on-the-spot rules.
"Every EXTREME man for himself! All out, no holding back!" He roared, looking about ready to thump his chest with his fists.
"Um, Ryohei-kun, you saw what my style is like. You called it BATS for a reason. If I were to go all out, I could really h-HOLY SHIT!"
I dropped to the ground as a flash of silver passed through the air, swiping through the space I once occupied. Pushing off the earth, I propelled myself away from the duo as they began to engage, fists and metal colliding with disconcerting ferocity.
Yeah, I'd like to reserve one coffin for a Ms Yamaguchi Daiki, thanks. Reason for fatality? Dumbass bros.
"EXTREME RIGHT HOOK!"
"EXTREME warning would be nice, dude!" I yelped, falling into an unsteady bridge to allow the Cloud to fly over me as the boxer caught him in the gut.
"EXTREME Daiki-kun! I didn't know you were so EXTREMELY flexible!" Ryohei shouted, eyes wide with glee.
"Yeah," I grunted,"Neither did I."
Giving a groan, I let my body fall to the side, allowing me to go back into more natural positions as I pulled myself to my feet.
"Chattering Herbivore."
"Mother of Stale Fudges!" I yelped, my leg snapping up in attempts to defend myself as the visage of an incoming Skylark filled my vision.
A grunt escaped the older boy as the heel of my foot caught him in the gut, the sharp outwards thrust of my leg sending him stumbling back a few metres, but not enough to knock him off his feet.
With my attention fixated on the young Cloud, I failed to notice the charging Sun until I felt the sharp tips of his knuckles bite into the muscles of my back, his roar of "Maximum Cannon!" filling my ears. My eyes widened and my hands flew up, body reacting to the immediate danger. My hands slammed down on his broad shoulder, fingers digging into his sun-kissed skin as I kicked my legs up, tensing my arms as I worked to flip my body over his head and out of the way of the incoming fist. Planting my feet on the ground behind him, I gritted my teeth as I engaged my muscles and began to lift the younger teen, teeth grinding as I twisted my body to send 59 kilos of Sun into the back wall of the school.
I brought a hand to my mouth as his body hit the ground, an apology on the tip of my tongue.
"What the EXTREME hell was that?!" The Sasagawa child gasped, rolling onto his front as he looked at me with a stupefied expression.
"Ah...Things got BATS crazy?" I laughed awkwardly, shrugging pathetically.
"Yes!" He cheered, fist pumping.
Oh God, I made a pun.
The sharp whistling of Hibari's tonfa snapped me from the exchange, making me duck and my leg snap out. The skylark jumped this time, landing on my outstretched leg and sending his own free one sailing towards my head.
"Nope!" I chirped, balancing as I grabbed his leg in a vice-grip and brought the Cloud crashing to the earth.
"EXTREME LEFT HOOK!"
A grunt of pain left me as I was sent tumbling, the side of my face exploding in fire. I shook my head as a shadow engulfed me, warning me of the flying Skylark and allowing me to throw myself sideways to avoid his axe kick.
"Shit, Ryohei-kun. That was a good punch, damn." Came my voice, moving my jaw experimentally.
"Thanks!"
Rolling again when the Hibari boy made himself known, I pushed myself to my feet and launched myself at the boxer, intent on putting some distance between me and the disciplinary committee's head.
"Oh? An EXTREME frontal attack!?" Ryohei roared, falling into position.
I blinked when I recognised it, arms flying up to reciprocate the stance as we would in the ring. This time, however, I didn't hesitate to kick his legs out from under him when he began to bounce, elbow coming down on his stomach to floor him as he let out a 'whoosh' of air. A hiss escaped me as metal clashed against my shoulder, Hibari coming up behind me with his tonfa raised. His foot came next, the limb burying into my sensitive side and sending me sprawling across the dirt until I pushed myself into a handstand, letting the Skylark's flying kick to whizz through the empty space.
Falling back to my feet, I dodged to the side as Ryohei's fist sailed past my face, both Suns ducking down as Hibari tried to take us out with a roundhouse kick. Taking large steps away from the skylark, I watched carefully as Ryohei engaged our upperclassman, sending a barrage of fists crashing against the metal tonfa.
"MAXIMUM CANO-GAH!" The Sun Guardian gasped as the blunt end of two poles dug into his solar plexus, winding him as they threw him aside.
"Ryohei-kun, stop shouting what attack you're going to use!" I scolded, batting away the assault launched on me by the slate-eyed Cloud.
Flinching away from a swing to my face, I let my fist fly and winced in apology as it caught the skylark in the cheek, my eyes widening when he was sent head over heels into the trunk of a tree.
Shit, too much power!
"Sorry, Hibari-san!" I called, giving a nervous smile when his eyes flashed and the Cloud Flames on my radar lit up further.
Oh, shit.
"Ah, I apologised so...please don't kill me too hard?" I tried, yelping as I splayed myself out on the ground as the skylark launched himself at me, instead catching the Sun behind me.
"Were you about to sneak attack me?!"
"No! That's EXTREMELY cowardice!" He gasped, gritting his teeth as he received a blow to the cheek by the crackling Cloud.
"Then what was tha-AH!"
I raised my arms to block to axe kick directed at my head by the airborne Hibari, grabbing hold of his leg and slamming him into the ground with perhaps a little too much strength.
It was weird, being on equal ground with my opponent for once, not like the Aquatic Centre, where the Mafioso was little less than double my height with longer arms and legs. Now, with an equally nimble body, strength and cognitive ability, the three of us were being forced to all but milk our systems to stay in competition.
And it was so fun.
"Haha! You're EXTREMELY smiling, Daiki-kun!" Ryohei roared, pouncing on me as the skylark bounded away, putting distance between me and him as he protected his no-doubt bruised side.
"I can't help it," I laughed, kicking the younger boy's legs out from under him. "This is actually really fun!"
His eyes lit up, the boxer's face suddenly blooming with glee as he stepped away from me.
All three of us stood in a triangular formation, with at least three metres between each of us. Glancing between them, I couldn't help but reflect the varied smiles that split their faces, Hibari's more subdued, but still there.
"EXTREME!" Ryohei roared, pounding his fists together as his Flames lit up another level.
Taking a breath, I closed my eyes and called forth my Flame, looking past it to examine the Sun and Cloud presented to me.
Bonfires. Signals. Beacons.
They were burning with a ferocity I had yet to see from them, even Ryohei's. Their tongues were all but bouncing around their tinder, ready and waiting to go into action.
Turning my attention, I 'blinked' when I saw Ryohei's Flames shift, the trails of sunshine moulding and moving to create a faint outline within its luminescence. The figure was familiar in both stance and build, the way it shifted in preparation and suspense telling me exactly who I was seeing through the Flames.
I was seeing Ryohei with my eyes closed.
Tilting my attention, I came closer as I watched the flames in action, my eyes widening when I saw what was taking place. Ryohei was healing himself.
A flare up to the left of me made me rip my gaze away and focus on the purple flames, dashing towards it to see what it was doing to its host.
Propagation, yes? That was its attribute?
Focusing, I once again saw the Skylar's outline deep within the blaze, the actions confirming my suspicion. Hibari was propagating Adenosine Triphosphate, giving him boosts of energy and allowing him to hold it for longer.
Those little cheats.
I opened my eyes and grinned at the two clueless boys, taking a certain pleasure in how their muscles tensed up.
So, you want to fight using Flames?
Reaching into my core, I urged my sunshine flames to rouse, my body suddenly buzzing with energy making me bounce on the balls of my feet as my grin became all teeth.
Fine, we'll fight with Flames.
Strains, tears and bruises mended themselves as I fell into a stance that loosely resembled one of boxing, but not quite. Adenosine Diphosphate was quickly cycled into Triphosphate, restoring my first and most effective energy source as I narrowed my eyes at the two teens across from me, their Flames shifting in curiosity and caution as they felt mine activate.
"Ready, Daiki-kun?" Ryohei called, shifting in anticipation as freshly healed muscles prepared to engage.
If they can heal themselves already, why bother being so gentle? A little pain's always good to validate someone's life.
"Only when you are, sunshine, birdy." I cooed in response.
The smile all three of us shared was nothing less than adrenaline crazed as we hurled ourselves into the centre of our triangle, metal and flesh meeting in a frenzy of laughter and roars.
Thinking fast, I dropped to the floor and slid under Hibari as he pounced at me, scrambling to my feet and reciprocating Ryohei's right hook. A loud grunt escaped me as the rounded end of the Skylark's tonfa found its home between my ribs, flinging me to the side with surprising strength.
"Ow, ow, ow." I hissed, holding the bruising ribs before sending a rush of flames.
"Okay, up and at 'em."
Pushing myself to my feet, I let ideas rush through my head as the two Guardians to be turned half their attention to me as I approached. A grin etched its way into my face as I decided to try and see.
I wonder, how much damage can these two handle?
Sending a burst of flames along my limbs, I activated the muscles, forcing them to work and send me flying at the two stunned boys, left and right fists burying into their unprotected stomachs. Coughs of pain left them as they parted with my knuckles, their backs arching as they hit the wall in almost synchrony.
I let a small laugh of excitement leave me as I withdrew my fists, a little bounce in my step as I approached their heaving forms.
"That was so cool!" I almost giggled, squatting down before them.
"That was EXTREMELY BATS crazy." Ryohei choked out, giving me a pained fist bump.
"Kamikorosu."
Our Sun Flame fueled bodies lept away with a certain grace as the Cloud lashed out, small impacts just barely throwing us off course.
Slate eyes landed on me before the Committee's head came running with a vengeance, metal poles catching the light dangerously.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit!
Sending an overdose of ATP running through my system, I burst off the ground, curling my legs up into my body, allowing the wide-eyed skylark to speed under me.
Spying Ryohei out of the corner of my eye, I hit the ground running letting my feet shoot me to the side. As I sped towards the stanced and grinning Sun, I felt a spark of Cloud Flames tailing me, making a devious, yet incredibly stupid plan appear in my mind's eye.
Why the hell not?
The grin that settled on my face must have been a sight, as Ryohei's body tensed in preparation as I neared, my own body gearing up for the dangerous stunt.
"Sorry, Ryohei-kun!" I shouted as I began to coil up, his eyes widening as the skylark's slate eyes meeting his own mocha.
"Daiki-kun, what are you EXTREMELY doing!?"
"Something BATS crazy!"
Propelling myself off the ground, I planted my feet on the broad muscles of the boxer's chest, legs bending and body tensing as they began to prepare for the next phase. Giving a loud 'whoop', I launched myself off the younger Sun, bending my back and kicking my legs over, allowing me to see the wonderfully painful looking collision between the two future Guardians.
Bending my knees as I hit the ground, I squatted and touched the earth with my right hand to stop myself from tipping. Despite the pain in my ankles from the impact, a grin still split my face as I watched the Sun and Cloud boys untangle themselves from each other, Hibari's tonfa tossed haphazardly around the small space that we had dominated.
I can't believe I managed that! Holy shit! I hope someone got that on camera, cause I'll probably never manage that again!
"EXTREME DAIKI-KUN!" Ryohei roared, bursting from the ground and wrapping me up in steel arms.
"THAT WAS SO EXTREME!"
I laughed as he swung me around, my feet leaving the ground as flying behind me. My whooping was cut short as his grip tightened sharply and the Sun child threw me, sending my body careening into a tree.
"AH! I'M EXTREMELY PUMPED!" He hollered, before spinning around and engaging the glowering Skylark in an intense fist fight.
"Stop shouting, Herbivore." The Cloud growled, clipping the other boy's jaw with his recollected tonfa.
"BREAD SLICE, EXTREMELY JOIN US!"
"You need Jesus." I laughed, before pushing myself off my ass and racing at the duo, making it a trio as we weaved around each other.
Ducking under Ryohei's punch, I sent my own into Hibari's side, scowling as my shoulder was used as a support to elevate the skylark and allowing him to send a kick at the Sun child's head. Opening my legs, I caught the airborne Cloud's shins, lower than I would have liked, but effective as it was. The disturbance flipped him head over heels, allowing me to sidestep a jab from the grinning Sun Flame user and let it fly instead into the Disciplinary Committee Head's cheek.
An 'ooh' of sympathy escaped me, shortly followed by laughter as slate eyes landed on me, a violent gleam within them hinting to his own enthusiasm. My grin still stayed even as I winced from a bruising impact from metal tonfa, spinning around and kicking Ryohei's feet out from under him, making the sun release a yelp of surprise.
"W-wow."
Oh shit.
|REBORN|
"Is that really a katana?" No-Good Tsuna asked, watching the young Yamamoto examine the piece of Vongola technology in his hands.
"When the head speed of the bat surpasses 300km per hour, it transforms into a katana. I'll call it Yamamoto's bat." Reborn hummed, looking up at the teens.
"What an amazing name."
Oh hush, boy.
He had every piece of confidence that the sushi chef's son could manage the feet, but it's always to satisfying when a plan comes together with little effort on Reborn's part. The man-child watched the middle school students fawn over the bat-blade, before glancing over his shoulder to the ever so faint sounds of a brawl taking place, calling forth Leon to view one of the many cameras he had posted around the school.
"I don't get it, but it's great!" The young Yamamoto laughed, gazing happily up at the shiny blade.
"Are you sure, Yamamoto-kun?"
"Yeah, I like it!"
See, why can't you be more complacent, like Yamamoto?
"Training is almost complete," Reborn chirped, drawing attention back to himself. "Just one more thing to do."
"Huh? There's still more!?" Tsuna whined, making the baby jump and kick the young Vongola in the forehead.
"Nothing too strenuous, don't you worry. We're just going to see something." The Arcobaleno hummed, jumping off his fallen student.
"See something?" Yamamoto asked,
"Ah, sorry!" Kyoko called, drawing the boys' attention.
"My mother just called, I need to get back and help out for dinner. I'll see you at school, Tsuna-kun, Yamamoto-kun, Reborn-kun!"
"O-oh, bye Kyoko-chan." Tsuna deflated, his shoulders sagging.
"Be safe, Kyoko-chan!"
"Now," The Sun Flame user started, reclaiming the two's attention from their retreating classmate. "Time to go see a show."
Reborn couldn't help but let a small skip in his step, a certain joy bubbling in his stomach as he thought of all the drills he could force those three through to become a deadly weapon. He couldn't wait to get his hands on them.
|REBORN|
|Y.T|
A show?
The young Rain followed after the little baby with anticipation, just barely noticing the gleam in void eyes.
"Hey, what's the show about? Is it an action film?!" He asked, a grin spreading across his face.
"No, it's a live show."
"Ah! A live show! Like a play? Man, I haven't seen one of those in a while! Have you, Tsuna-san?" The batsman chirped, looking down slightly to address his smaller companion.
"No, not since elementary, I think." Came the younger's reply, a cautiously excited expression on his face.
The two teens were led through the school and towards the back, the baby pausing their progress when they were just around the corner. Laughter and loud collisions sounded from the blind spot, making Takeshi bounce with anticipation, a childish grin coming as he focused a fraction of his attention on the fedora wearing infant's next words.
"Okay, now, we need to be quiet from here. It's only respectful to be quiet when a show is going on, correct?" He hummed, before stepping out of the way, gesturing for the teens to go ahead.
"Very true, very true." Takeshi nodded, tugging the young Sky along after him.
"I wonder what the show's gonna be abo-"
The young Rain came to a halt as his eyes landed on the display before him, three completely different bodies moving around each other with a deadly synchrony that made his blood rush. The grip he had on the younger boy's hand slipped away as he focused on the grin that split the three older boys' faces, choruses of laughter escaping them as they weaved between limbs and metal.
Daiki. Ryohei. Hibari.
They were...terrifyingly terrific.
Without his noticing, the young Yamamoto had started leaning forwards, the grip on his blade tightening as he watched his fiance slide across the ground, dodging a flying kick and setting himself upright in time to fall in step with his boxer classmate.
There was a certain energy to the trio, their bodies working in ways Takeshi had never seen before, wide eyes taking in each movement.
The loud grunt of pain that escaped his fiance snapped him out of his daze, earthy orbs locking on the splayed figure.
Daiki released a mumble of pain as he stood, shaking off the feeling before launching himself back at his spar buddies.
The young Rain's eyes widened as a gaze he had never seen on the older boy before settled in amber-earth, the sharp tilt and dilation of his pupils hinting to the sudden shift in his mindset. A wide grin of devious intention became known, making the Yamamoto's breath hitch.
With a sudden burst of speed, Takeshi's eyes caught the shift of the older boy's muscles as he pulled off a stunt of strength and momentum. The young Rain's fists jumped as he watched Daiki's disappear into his upperclassmen's stomachs, shooting them into the wall a good distance away.
Amazing.
To think, Yamaguchi Daiki was able to do feats such as this...
Something curled in Takeshi's gut as he watched his fiance let out a whoop of laughter, all but bouncing over to his fallen schoolmates and fist bump his friend.
"That was EXTREMELY BATS crazy!" Ryohei laughed, saying 'bats' as if it were referring to something of importance, rather than just an expression.
"Kamikorosu."
The two boys leapt from their positions with enviable synchrony, landing with just as much timing as the third year Skylark chose his target.
With barely any hesitation, the blue haired boy bent his legs and shot himself into the air, coiling up to give the fast moving DC head to run beneath.
Since when could Daiki jump that high?
As soon as the older boy touched the ground, he was moving again, taking off in the direction of the resident boxer. The look of calculation flashed again, before disappearing as if all caution was thrown to the wind, a brash look of enthusiasm replacing it as teeth flashed in a grin.
"Sorry, Ryohei-kun!"
What is he doing?
"Daiki-kun, what are you EXTREMELY doing!?"
He's getting too close!
"Something BATS crazy!"
Daiki, stop!
Just as he opened his mouth, a cautionary call on the tip of his tongue, his fiance parted with the earth.
Takeshi held his breath as the Sun Flame user planted his feet on his fellow's chest, using it as a springboard and flipping himself over the incoming DC head, landing in a crouch as the two other boys collided heavily.
The self-satisfied smile that coloured Daiki's face made the young Rain fidget, a part of him wanting to join in, but the rest of him knowing the pattern that they had set would only be disrupted by another player.
An ugly feeling raised its head as the large boxer lifted his fiance, spinning him around in a way that Takeshi himself could never manage, equally bright smiles shared between them as they were twirled. The feeling, however, was squashed down immediately as the momentum from the spin was used to send Daiki all but flying into a tree, the solid body of his upperclassman hitting the ground with a thud. The blue haired boy stood with a laugh, brushing off the bark and dirt from the impact and raced back into the scuffle at the other's call.
Now, back together, their volatile dance began again, the trio trading mutual blows as they reciprocated each blow with absolute equity.
It was a brutal kind of beautiful, the way they fought. It didn't have the guttural tones that gang fights had, or the grace and efficiency of a martial artist. Each player had their own way of doing things, each of them standing on the same level, just on different plains. Hibari's wide, graceful movements balanced by Ryohei's tight, sharp ones and standing just in between them, was Daiki's everything goes. A careful balancing act that incorporated each of them, a three-legged, glass table.
"W-wow."
Tsuna.
Sawada Tsunayoshi.
You just broke the balance.
Why.
The three artists halted, bodies poised in lethal poses as the disrupting noise reached them. The laughter that once coloured the air became silent and the back lawn of the school suddenly became just that, a back lawn.
As if some of the magic still remained, the dangerous mens' eyes snapped to the intruders in perfect synchrony, their facial expressions morphing into variations that suited their character, before the last drop of unison was drained.
Takeshi almost physically cringed when the three boys moved back into normal positions, their movements out of time and choppy compared to the display before.
Why, oh why, did Tsuna have to speak!
"Takeshi-kun, Sawada-san." Daiki greeted, his voice sounding as if he too noticed how the transition was jarring.
"Y-Yamaguchi-san, Sasagawa-san, Hibari-san." The young Sky squeaked out, flinching away when slate eyes landed on him, expressing blatant displeasure.
"Did you two see that EXTREME fight!?" Ryohei roared, bounding over to them with the blue haired boy's head locked under his arm.
"Oi, let me go Ryohei-kun!"
"Bro, you need to EXTREMELY tell me when you can do that EXTREME stuff!" He hollered right into Daiki's ear, laughing when the baker's son's hands came up to cover them.
"But seriously! Did you see those EXTREME flips!? And that EXTREME punch!? God, I'm getting pumped just thinking about it!"
"It's not that great, Ryohei-kun. Most of that was sheer dumb luck." His fiance sighed, lowering his hands when he deemed it safe.
"How was that dumb luck?!" Takeshi burst out, dashing forward to stand in front of the blue haired boy.
"I saw you calculating everything! You had this super cool look on your face that was like 'shwaa!' and then you were all like 'hya'!"
"..." Daiki stared down at him for a moment, before placing a large hand on the younger's black hair.
"Sure."
"Don't 'Sure.' me! I mean it, you were a total badass!" The young Rain protested, waving his arms to emphasise his point.
"But-"
"Even Tsuna-san this it!" He countered, pointing at the stunned Sky.
"H-huh?" He squeaked, curling in on himself as four pairs of eyes landed on him.
"Shujin-kun was a complete badass just then, right?!" Takeshi prompted, pulling him over to stand in front of the sweating upperclassmen.
"Yeah!" Tsuna agreed, with perhaps too much vigour.
The young Rain decided to brush it off as appreciation, joining his classmate in showering his fiance with compliments, Daiki's eventual submission the only thing that made them stop.
"Chattering Herbivore." Hibari called, tucking away his tonfa.
"Finish what you came here for and get off school grounds, before I bite you all to death."
And with that, he was gone, disappearing around the corner in a manner similar to all those years ago.
"Sure, sure." Daiki responded, waving at the DC head as he ushered Ryohei back over to them after he had wondered off.
Takeshi watched as his fiancé pulled on his jacket, his body already cooling down from the intense workout, taking note of the already fading bruises. Taking steps forwards, the young Rain made to grab the older boy's hand, only for Daiki to meet him halfway and let his larger one clasp around paler fingers.
"Oh yeah," He paused, making the rest of the small group turn to him. "Birdy!"
The window above them was slammed open, slate eyes glaring down at them.
"What, handler?"
Takeshi blinked, handler?
"I take this as a win!" Daiki called, a smirk coming to his face.
"And why is that?" The Skylark asked, his body tensing as he felt a jab to his pride.
"Because," The blue haired boy started, his free hand disappearing out of the young Rain's sight. "I never put them on."
Takeshi's breath hitched, the brass metal that lined Daiki's knuckles catching the light as he curled his hand into a fist. This was the first time the Yamamoto child had ever seen the Sun don his weapons, a foolish part of him believing that they were only for show.
He knew better, now.
"Tch, fine." Hibari tisked, slamming the window shut and disappearing beyond the screen.
"Aww man, that means I lost too!" Ryohei whined, crossing his arms as he pouted.
"Haha, don't worry, it's not like you could win this sort of thing." The blue haired boy laughed, reattaching his brass.
"I'd never use them against a friend."
"But that means you aren't at full strength, and that's what his exercise was all about!" The younger Sun grouched, waving his arms.
"Oh hush, I was at full strength, thank you very much."
"So anyway," Daiki hummed, turning to the Rain and Sky at his side. "What's your reason for being here? Do you really like school that much?"
"A-ah! We were just-"
"The baby brought us here to train us! I got this really cool blad-huh?" Takeshi paused, rotating the baseball bat in his hands.
"It turned back into a bat!"
Bats...
"What does 'Bats' mean? You and Ryohei-san were throwing that term around a lot." He asked, looking up at the two teens.
"BATS! It's Daiki-kun's EXTREME fighting style!" Ryohei roared, clenching his fists.
"Well, it's not really a style." Daiki tired, only for Takeshi to shoot off another question.
"Why BATS?"
"It's an EXTREME acronym! It stands for Break All Their Shit!"
"Oh my God, why did I agree to this?"
"Wah, so cool!"
"How is that cool!?" Daiki squawked, looking down at the young Rain.
"Anyway!" He shouted, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.
"You said you were here for training, yes? What on Earth could Reborn-san be training you in?"
"I don't know, but he got Dino-san to shoot a bunch of these balls at me with a really cool pitcher machine!"
Takeshi noticed the slight narrowing of Daiki's eyes, his face contorting ever so slightly as he rolled the words over in his head.
"Cool pitcher machine...Never mind, I'd rather not know." He sighed, before looking back to the building.
"Was Gokudera-san here with you? I rarely see you two together without him."
Takeshi paused, turning to Tsuna with a thoughtful expression, before slapping on a smile. With a little hesitation, the young Rain released his promise's arm and took steps towards the school building.
"Tsuna-san and I should wait for him, he'll come back."
"Why did he EXTREMELY leave?"
The two first years turned their attention to the firm line of Daiki's lip as his face settled into one of realisation.
"He's probably just gone off to cool his head. Give him a couple more minutes, he'll get back to your...training, good as new."
Takeshi blinked, a part of him unsettled by how Daiki knew that, the bells ringing in the back of his head. Shaking it off, he smiled and lept at his partner, wrapping his arms around the blue haired boy's neck as he planted his lips over the other's, a surprised yelp muffled by the liplock.
"You're right!" The young Rain declared, releasing the older boy's mouth.
"A-ah."
"Bye-bye Shujin-kun, Ryohei-san!" He laughed, grabbing a frozen Tsuna by his upper arm and dragging him away, self-satisfaction blooming in his chest at the flustered expression on Daiki's face.
Hm, Takeshi thought, I wonder what it would be like to fight against Daiki...
|Y.T|
|Christmas Special!
(You don't have to pay, but reviews, donations of brain juice and such are greatly appreciated.)
Five Minutes Of The Future!
I sighed as I rolled away from my desk, the simple wooden door of my room ripped open as Lambo came running in, a bruise forming on his cheek as the screams of the young Vongola trio sounded from outside the house.
"What's the matter, Lambo-kun?"
"Reborn-san's being mean to me! He won't let me kill him!"
Completely understandable.
Giving a hum of acknowledgement, I spun in my chair to face the sniffling child through my glinting lenses as he stepped up his tantrum. Stomping his little onesie-ed feet as he cursed the Sun Arcobaleno, little face scrunched up in childish fury.
"Come now, Lambo-kun. No need to throw a tantrum over such a small thing. I'm sure you'll get to him eventually." I tried, giving a barely there smile as he puffed up his already chubby cheeks.
"But I wanna kill him now! Stupid Reborn-san!" He cried, hands flying to his afro and disappearing into the frizzy blackness.
My eyes widened as a familiar looking purple firearm was pulled from the hammerspace, body moving to intercept its journey only to have the young cow lose his grip on the bazooka. The large weapon wobbled unsurely in his hands before tipping, the barrel pointed at me hostilely as the trigger hooked around the little cow's horns.
Shit.
Boom!
Shit!
I slowly opened my eyes as the weightless spinning stopped, a shroud of warmth covering me until I felt a soft yet solid ground.
Oh God, no.
I can't be here. No, no, no!
A deep inhalation next to me cut through my near-panic attack, making me clasp my mouth to cease my breath. Carefully, I pulled my body from the bed I had found myself in ten years later, the light shroud slipping to reveal a surprisingly lavish room.
The bedroom was large and spacious, walls and surfaces adorned with items of the expensive type. There were high shelves lined with books of varying languages of which only a few I could identify and even less could read, hard and pricey looking covers making up a wall of knowledge that I'd love to get my hands on. The bed was huge, king sized or larger with thick sheets or rich colour and glorious texture. Just the right balance of firmness and delicacy made up the mattress and pillows, letting my body sink into the side comfortably.
This was definitely the most lavishly comfortable room I had ever been in, and I hated being in it.
A glance over my shoulder gifted me a glance of the sleeping bed partner behind me, making me snap back and lift off the mattress, a sharp stab of fear hitting me.
Best not to know.
Carefully padding around the room, feet leaving the carpet under the bed's frame and stepping onto cool hardwood, I began to give in a little to my more trivial curiosity. Keeping the noise to an absolute minimum, I trekked across the room and peeked into a small drawer, recoiling when I saw more than a few protective pieces scattered through the cramped space.
Closing the doors quickly, I stepped away and busied myself with reading the scribbles of English and Japanese notes on a desk, that no doubt belonged to me, pointedly ignoring the Latin-like prints that covered other stray sheets. Reports and other documents of varying legality littered the dark wood, some very ambiguous terminology used in many sentences.
A hiss of air escaped me as I quickly stopped a rolling pen, the damned plastic making more of a ruckus than it was allowed to. Pausing to check for any movement from the other occupant of the room, I let out a quiet breath when no there was no reaction.
You little son of a bitch.
Shaking the writing utensil threateningly, I placed it back down on the desk solidly, fingers coming to cushion the impact and mute the noise. Blinking, I looked past the stationary to read little English writing in a small, pocket-sized book.
Swapping the objects in my hands, I lifted the book to my face and read the cursive-print writing through my lenses.
Leonard Kinton, age twenty-eight. Male, airy-voiced, slightly high-pitched, Italian accent, bisexual.
Leonard Kinton?
I frowned my brow as I reread one of many descriptions, wondering the relevance of the focus on the voice rather than appearance. I didn't recognise this name, at least, not the current me. Maybe he was of the future?
Why did I have a profile of him?
A slight tilt came to my lip as I read the next one, squinting through the darkness.
Sarah Pyre, age thirty-five. Female, sharp-voiced, steady pitch, American accent, heterosexual.
Why the focus on the voice? Why did I need to know their sexuality?
Sighing as nothing was answered from the other profiles, I replaced the book, flipping it back to its original page.
How much longer am I here? Can't be more than three minutes left, right?
Oh God, I am being touched!
"And what is this?"
My body tensed up in a single wave of movement as arms slid under mine and wrapped around my midriff, effectively trapping me against a solid body and removing my mobility.
"Aw, you're all small now."
"I'm going to take the fact that I can't recognise your voice as a blessing." I declared, surprising myself with how steady my voice was despite the rapid beating of my heart.
"Oh? Can't recognise my voice?" The deep, sleep heavy voice hummed, more weight shifted onto my back, forcing my arms to keep us both suspended.
"I guess I can't blame you, puberty did- what do you always say?- hit me like a truck."
I kept my eyes trained on the pages before me, ignoring the temptation to turn and look at my future bed partner.
"Can you, by any chance, just go back to bed?" I tried, wincing when another wave of weight was added and the buckle of the ten-year-later man's belt jabbed my back.
"Hm, only if you're coming with me."
"I'm pretty sure that that's illegal." Came my quick response, fingers digging into the wood, ready to throw both of us back.
"The age of consent in Japan is 13, and 14 in Italy."
"The age of consent rises to 16 in Italy, when one of the participants has a level of power over the other." I shot back, useless knowledge finally coming to save my ass.
Wait, bad word choice.
"You are saying I have power over you here?" He chuckled, as if amused by my little piece of trivia.
"I've been hoping that that's a gun."
This time, he out right laughed, vibration crawling through my back as his hands decided to roam a little, trailing up my sides and fingering the edge of my binder.
"I'll scream, that will surely draw attention." I threatened, looking out of the corner of my eye fruitlessly.
"Hm, you can try, but the others are already used to you screaming."
Wait.
"But then again, I scream more often."
Good Lord-
"Thanks, but too much information." I drawled, shifting when he tried to worm a finger under the tight fabric.
"That isn't going to work, dude. Nice try, though."
"Aw, no fair."
"Depending on the point of view, it could be the only fleck of fairness in the room."
How much longer do I have? One, two minutes? Hurry up, please!
Gritting my teeth, I managed not to flinch as the man behind me dropped his chin on my shoulder, looking over it to read the book under my hands lazily.
"Oh, you're reading your character profiles?" He asked, one hand coming up to skim across my jaw, this time making me flinch.
"Character profiles?"
"Uh huh, these are all of your aliases. I'm sure you've noticed the attention to voice, correct? You, basically, host anonymous calls with these people as a proxy. It's amazing to watch, really. How easily you can invent people."
"Why the sexual orientation, though?" Came my question, gazing at the last pieces of information.
"Well, sometimes you have to be a bit more personal with your business partners, a little bashfulness or a little assertiveness has the potential to make or break a deal."
The hand on my face dropped and came to trace along the descriptions, a flash of metal making me freeze up further.
A wedding ring.
"...Am I an adulter?" I asked, some part of me wanting the answer to be yes.
"Adulter? No! You and I have been married for four years!" He responded, hands snapping back to chain me up.
"I-!" I yelped, pausing to recollect myself. "I got married? At only 21?"
"M-hm, and guess what?" The ten-year-later man asked, a slight giddiness to his voice.
"What?"
"You got married in a beautiful dress."
What?
"Times up, bye-bye Daiki."
Boom!
I coughed loudly as I waved away the smoke left from the explosion, the light of afternoon sun piercing my eyes as they tried to shift gears from night-mode.
As the smoke cleared, I looked around and frowned when I noticed the lack of Lambo in the room.
"Lambo-kun?" I called, pulling myself to my feet.
A loud crash outside the bakery made my head snap to the window, feet making me move faster and fling the pane open, allowing me to see the mess of Mafia that had gathered beneath my window.
"What are you doing?" I asked, drawing their attention away from the grenade in the little cow's hand.
"Ah! Yamaguchi-san!" Tsuna gaped, alarm colouring his voice.
"Fucking Giant!"
"Shujin-kun!"
I blinked at the last call, turning my attention to the grinning Rain as he waved enthusiastically up at me.
"You and I have been married for four years!"
Did we...
Waving back half-heartedly, I thought about the possibility of Takeshi and I somehow managing to keep this relationship going, despite teenaged nature to keep things short and usually messy.
It was unlikely, and I would be less than surprised if one day we just stopped, but if we could keep it going...
I couldn't recognise his voice, but that doesn't mean he wasn't someone I knew.
"All of you, go home!" I ordered, pointing to the basic direction of the Sawada household, knowing their home base.
"We're trying, but this stupid cow won't stop ambushing us!"
"He's five!"
Best not to dwell on it. The future's already fucked as it is.
…
"Ah, you're back!"
"You sexually harassed me when I was 15."
"All in good fun, I swear."
"Give me your belt."
"What about yours?"
"I'll be using both."