Beta'ed by Persephone Crux and WhiteAngel128

Edited: 10/18/15

Chapter 13

Tsuna sneered, more annoyances, more assassination attempts. How irritating. Didn't they know when to stop when all the men they'd sent after him before were now dead? Obviously not. His eyes peered over the area before him, watching as the blood dripped down the walls, no longer colored in that bright white. Reborn was settled on Tsuna's shoulder, watching the scenery before him in silence, and yet, the wonder in his dark black eyes was recognizable to those who could see him…except no one was alive but himself and Tsuna. Earlier that day, another batch of assassins had come after Tsuna, this time both as the heir of Vongola and Iemitsu's son. Nevertheless, they were dispatched easily and violently with Tsuna's various abilities.

He hadn't expected to have the various bosses of other mafia famiglias to send out more men to be literally slaughtered so soon. Reborn had been hoping for more of a break, to give him more time to get along with and learn about Tsuna, but it looked like that plan had been terminated. Oh well, he should have seen it coming, the idiots had been sending more sacrifices every time one group failed ever since Tsuna was young.

Tsuna made a small huff as he gripped a large cleaver and slammed the sharp end of it into a man's skull, splitting it open. The blood immediately gushed out from the opening and he retracted the blade back, taking in satisfaction when he watched the body convulse and collapse. He held the item in his fingers with ease, letting it hang down, and lifted it back up momentarily as he walked out of the room where fallen bodies were littered on the ground. From what they had managed to figure out, the room had apparently been rented out by the assassins and Tsuna had taken great pleasure in cutting them up with his newfound weapon.

He stepped around the corner without care, knowing he couldn't be stopped by any bullets or weapon and continued on. The cameras were already destroyed long before Tsuna had stepped into the building and he was dead set on cleaning out the place as quickly as possible. He had school later today and he wasn't going to miss it anytime soon, both because of Reborn and Takeshi. That and he wanted to get some more sleep. It was, after all, three in the morning.

Rounding the corner, the brunet gave a silent laugh as he saw some people coming closer to his area, quickly hiding behind the wall to keep himself hidden. Reborn held onto both his fedora and Tsuna's shoulder, knowing fully well that the other was about to launch himself to attack at any moment. Though the hitman would never admit openly it, he was quite impressed with his so-called student's ability to kill and think. He hadn't met such a person in such a long time and that only raised his interest in Tsuna. Now, if only he could do something about Tsuna's killing ways, then things might go by a little better. However, he didn't see that occurring anytime soon.

Just as he thought that, the brunet dashed around the corner, swinging the cleaver with one hand and sliced right through a neck. It was an instant beheading and Reborn watched as the attachment flew into the air, spinning during it, before falling down as a sickening flop. Blood once more splattered the hallway, barely missing the two, but Tsuna didn't stop his movement. There were two other men within the area and he made a quick spin, using the force from his previous attack to turn him around. The same blade came down at a horizontal angle from between the neck and shoulder, slicing down until it got stuck somewhere at the seventh intercostal space of the chest on the right side. But it didn't matter, Reborn knew that Tsuna had already gone through the heart. It was an instant kill, no doubt about it.

The third man, who was considered lucky by the hitman's standards in terms of distance, was about to let out a scream, a yell, a cry for help, when Reborn decided to take action. He didn't know why he suddenly wanted to help out his student. Maybe it was because he was growing tired of sitting back and doing nothing? It didn't matter. Transforming Leon into his gun form, he took aim and fired. Like always, the bullet went through the skull, right at the dead center, and he watched in satisfaction when the body fell back.

"Oh?" Tsuna blinked in surprise, bending his neck back to peer at the baby awkwardly. "Did you get bored? Or did you want to help?"

Reborn tilted his fedora downward, holding Leon up in the other hand. "Nothing you need to know about."

"I see." The brunet didn't go any further and ripped the blade out from the body, swinging it slightly to get rid of the excess blood on it. That fluid decorated along the wall in a sharp line and he shifted to the side. His eyes examined the area carefully, making sure he hadn't missed anything before moving away to head home. Everyone was dead, there was no need to do anything further, but he still kept the weapon to himself. He would need to return it back to its rightful place after all. Of course, Reborn didn't want to note that that same cleaver had been used to make his dinner last night.

"So, you have a game later today, right?" Tsuna looked up at the baseball player, who was grinning from ear to ear as if it was the most normal thing in the world. It had been a little hard speaking more often to his so-called friend, follower as Tsuna and Reborn declared, but that was fine with the brunet, he could easily adjust.

As for Takeshi, he didn't care as much about his friend's habits since after all, to interact with Tsuna, one simply had to read into his motions more than anything else to know what was going on. He had always known that the brunet was a quiet person, never speaking more than necessary, and it was a game to get the other to open up. It was a fun game, always entertaining to Takeshi with a wonderful reward at the end. "Yeah, I do, but I don't know if I really want to go. Will you come watch me play?"

The brunet blinked at that, looking down at his book and then back up at his classmate. After a few moments, he nodded his head, he had time to kill and it wouldn't be hard to simply read his book while the black-haired teen played on the field. It was better this way anyway. Though he seemed to be having less time to himself in class with Takeshi's constant presence, but that didn't mean he couldn't stop reading during class.

"Alright everyone, I have your tests from yesterday. When I call your name, please come and get them." Nezi called out among the class the moment he entered the room, carrying said stack of papers in one hand. Many of the students grumbled at the thought of seeing their grades while a rare few looked ecstatic, almost appearing like they were about to clap their hands together in glee. Once the teacher set down the papers at the front, he began reading out names from the top, watching as the students stood up to grab them, and couldn't help but offer a few words, positive or negative, when they took the papers. Those that got high grades immediately began to brag to their peers, showing to the rest of the class at how smart they were compared to all the other "low-lives" in the room.

Takeshi laughed nervously to himself, rubbing the back of his head, and leaned over towards Tsuna. He looked a little pale at the thought of getting his papers back, already well aware at how he was doing on his tests in class. "Are you worried about your test score?"

"No." The brunet didn't look up from his book, reading it as if it was more interesting than anything else in the room. Soon, his name was called up and he stood up, momentarily placing his item down for once, to walk over to grab the paper. He received a glare from the teacher, but he ignored it, heading back to sit down without a second thought. The brunet didn't even look at it and placed the test face-down so that no one else could see it before going back to reading. Takeshi was about to question the grade, wondering about his friend's reaction to it, when Nezi called him out next. He almost wanted to flinch at that, but resigned to his fate and went towards the front.

"Yamamoto, you need to pick up your grades. You can't keep going on like this in life," Nezi lectured, waving the paper around to allow everyone to see it. "Your grade is the one thing that's bringing down our average in this class. You're just lucky that you're good at baseball."

"Ahaha, sorry about that! I just get so into baseball that I forget about everything else," Takeshi laughed, trying to make the situation lighter, but he knew he had all eyes on him. He snatched his paper to prevent anymore humiliation, almost glowering at the sight of his grade. He settled back down in his seat, looking at the "30" that was in big red print, and sighed, his shoulders sinking downward almost in defeat. Trying to prevent himself from going any further into his momentary depression, he turned back to Tsuna to reach over and simply take the brunet's paper, already knowing that the other wouldn't mind or care. If Tsuna did, he would have stated or done something and there, on the other's paper, was a perfect hundred. Takeshi blinked before breaking out into an impressed grin. "Whoa! You're really smart, Tsuna. But I guess that should be obvious since you read so much!"

The younger-looking teen raised an eyebrow at the declaration and peered over at Takeshi's grade. He stared up at the other for a few moments, his mouth set into a thin line, before finally speaking, "I take it…that you want me to tutor you?"

"Oh, you found out!" The baseball lover grinned happily, laughing lightly. "I didn't want to actually ask and seem rude."

Donning a small smile that the other caught, Tsuna shook his head gently, feeling his brown locks follow along with his movement. He placed his book down momentarily, not caring that the teacher was still going on at the front of the classroom. "No, it's fine. We will start immediately after your game today. We have an upcoming test at the end of this week for science."

"Eh?" Takeshi seemed to pale at that. "Seriously? But I'll be so tired after the game today."

"And this is why your studies have been lacking. I'll let Reborn play with you. I believe he's been itching to torment someone." Tsuna's emotionless face turned into a grin, making everyone in the room shiver as a cold wind seemed to breeze in.

The hitman suddenly jumped down from the ceiling through one of his many ports, holding Leon in gun form, and smirked at the baseball fan. He watched in satisfaction when he saw the baseball player trembling at the sight of him along with everyone else, the same effect the brunet had gained. Shifting to the side, he lifted the tip of Leon up against his fedora, raising it up slightly to reveal more of his large black eyes. Apparently, if he couldn't torment his current student, it shouldn't be any problem turning that attention towards someone else.

"I won't let you escape my training. It'll be hell, but you'll live. The exhaustion you feel from your games will be nothing compared to mine. Every question you get wrong will be ten laps around Namimori." The hitman clicked his gun threateningly, daring the black-haired student to disobey. Yamamoto could already feel his legs dying at the thought, his facial color rapidly decreasing.

They had just finished the baseball game, Namimori's side winning by twenty points above the opponent, and the brunet had spent the entire time sitting in the back, reading. Reborn remained close by, probably searching for more recruitments for the guardians position, but, after a while, got bored with both of that and the game. He couldn't find anything interesting among the crowd and almost sighed, reaching over into his student's backpack to read one of the spare books that were generally kept inside. It looked odd for those who weren't aware of who the brunet was, but everyone just ignored the two after a while. Some of the females made some cooing sounds at the baby, but Reborn just disregarded them, he didn't feel like bothering with anyone but Tsuna at that point of time.

As they were heading through the school building for a shortcut, Reborn in Tsuna's arms with the backpack behind, Takeshi was chattering happily about the victory he had earned for the group, making most of the points through homeruns. The brunet just listened along like always, hardly speaking more than needed, however, the moment he took one step out of the building towards the front entrance, he suddenly paused. Takeshi and Reborn noticed it right away, but only the hitman knew exactly why. Cautiously, the brunet looked around the open grounds and then in front towards the exit before finally turning to the black-haired teen. "Change of plans. Go home first then come over. You can stay for dinner."

This sudden change made the other blink in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean, Tsuna? I thought I was going to come home with you today for a study session. I've already let Dad know about it."

The brunet didn't let up. "Go home first. You don't need to be dragged into my problems. You're an innocent after all."

Takeshi wasn't convinced and edged closer. "But-"

"I said go home."

"Vongola Decimo!"

The three snapped their heads towards the front where two men dressed in black suits were waiting. They were gruff looking around the edges and the obvious bulges at the sides symbolized the weapons that were hidden underneath. Takeshi immediately froze, his mind accidently going back into his memories of that one time, while the brunet went forward, holding onto Reborn like normal. He wasn't affected by the scene before him and instead narrowed his eyes at it. He quickly peered around the area, finding the place empty and deserted, before turning his attention back to the men.

"Come with us quietly if you don't want your friend to be hurt." One of the men spoke, advancing to grab Tsuna at the shoulder, already trying to drag him out of the school grounds.

Takeshi finally managed to make himself react as the sight of his precious friend being taken away. "Tsuna!" He was about to dash forward to help the brunet when the other man shoved him back crudely. The teen landed roughly onto the ground, letting out a small cry from pain as his hands scrape across the cement, and grinded his teeth together to control himself so that he could look back up.

"We don't have any business with you. Leave already." The man turned around, grabbing Tsuna's other shoulder, and the two mafia members continued to shove the brunet off. Tsuna peered back momentarily, but remained quiet, silently going along with the two men.

Takeshi's eyes were wide in shock and he immediately got up to follow, desperate to try and help his friend before something bad happened. He didn't want his first true friend to disappear on him, not after everything that had happened. And so, he stalked them from behind, keeping a distance so that he could watch everything, and tried his best to keep as quiet as possible to alert neither of them. Reborn, however, remained silent in Tsuna's grasp, looking quite calm despite the situation, but he was ready to fight if necessary to protect both himself and his student. It was almost like the men were unaware of the baby, the two guessing that the guards thought he was a doll of some sort.

Soon, the group shifted into an abandoned alleyway, most likely to do whatever terrible things to Tsuna, and Takeshi felt his blood running cold. He needed to call the police, someone, anyone to help him out and yet…and yet, something was stopping him from doing so. As he turned the corner, he suddenly heard a loud cracking sound and peered inside the alleyway guardedly. At first, he saw nothing and, gathering some confidence about his well-being by touching the bracelet, he clenched his fists together to take that first step in. Finding himself still alright, he processed further into the alleyway, already fearing for his friend's life…until his shoes touched some sort of puddle below his feet. He could smell the distinctive smell of copper, of blood, and his eyes widened when he came across Tsuna standing to the side all still.

"Tsuna, are you alright?!" Takeshi immediately yelled out, ignoring his surroundings. He didn't care for anything else but the brunet before him.

Slowly, Tsuna turned around, staring at him with a momentarily grin before it disappeared. His stance relaxed at the sight of the other and those shoulders seem to fall. "Ah…I told you to go home." Reborn was in his grasp and they had seen Takeshi's eyes widened at the sight of the brunet's smile that was decorated with blood, his eyes slightly wide like they were laughing – his show of insanity.

Soon, the older teen shook his head to get himself back on track. "I can't leave you on your own, not with them. Where are they anyway?"

At that, the two paused, peering at each other, and Tsuna soon spoke as if he had been stating the most obvious, the smile disappearing. "Takeshi, don't you know? I kill people. Reborn wasn't kidding when he said he was in the mafia and I guess considering my damn relationship with my asshole of a father, I'm now a part of it," He paused for a moment to allow some time for Takeshi to absorb before continuing. "Because of that, I have people coming after me. And if I don't kill them first, they will kill me and anyone else I am related to or are friends with instead."

It was at those words that the baseball player finally realized his surroundings, the two men - their bodies - were all over the floor with the necks… Takeshi slammed a hand over his mouth to contain the contents within his stomach from pouring out and felt woozy at the sight, turning away from the bodies. The necks, they were twisted around all the way by almost more than 360 degrees, if that was even possible. It was to the point where the skin had… "Tsuna…you…"

At that, the brunet sighed. "Yes, I kill, just like I killed those opposing baseball team members with a truck."

There was a silence between the group before the baseball fan spoke softly, "And how you did the same thing back when I had been kidnapped as well…"

That made Tsuna stopped his engagements, blinking for a moment. "You…remember?"

Takeshi nodded his head and slowly stepped closer. "Yeah, I remember. It's not a pleasant memory, but I'm grateful for what you had to do to save me. I…need some time to think on this subject, but…" The teenager paused and nodded his head. "But I'm certain I already know my answer. Tsuna, I don't care what you do, I just know that I'll be your friend through and through no matter what. Will you…tell me everything?"

Tsuna was surprised, he had suspected a lot of things that would happen when the other found out, so did Reborn, but this acceptance wasn't one of them. The brunet looked down at the hitman and then back up before finally nodding. The two of them would tell Takeshi about Tsuna's situation and in turn, the brunet would inform the hitman about what had happened in the past.

Reborn blinked when he felt the grip on him tighten and reached over to pat the arms wrapped around him fondly. It was his little way that everything would work out one way or another and Tsuna relaxed, unconsciously pulling the baby up closer.

Nana's happiness with the appearance of Takeshi into the household seemed to shine brightly among the room, quickly asking questions over everything to learn how the two had come together. Sadly, to her disappointment, no one was really in the mood to talk and she only understood soon after that the person who had been in the near-accident was none other than Takeshi himself. Reborn, being the little devil he was, produced a lie to Nana that Takeshi needed some time to recover before being able to speak freely once more due to the trauma and she believed it. Because to her, it meant that eventually the baseball player would open up and start speaking openly once more.

The explanation had been had taken two hours since there was a lot of details to go through and a few times, Reborn had hit Takeshi up the head for not paying attention after a while. Tsuna decided to be in a talkative mood and explain about his abilities and some of his background. However, he only told as much as Reborn knew so that everyone was up to speed, even about his kidnapping back when he was younger.

By the end of it, Takeshi was looking confused at certain sections, but seemed to get the basic of everything. "I…never knew about that. I guess I can understand your situation and understand what you've been doing. I'm not sure if I would probably do the same thing if I was in your spot, but it doesn't matter. But at six…" His shoulders seemed to shrink at that, it looked like someone had lost their innocence to the dark world long before he did. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. Still, it would explain why Tsuna would act like that for such a long time and those abilities, those abilities were scary. They were being used to their fullest extent to protect himself and anyone around him. Takeshi almost smiled when he realized that he, too, was under that same protection.

Tsuna just shrugged his shoulders like he didn't care. "It's fine. Can't turn back time now. You just have to get used to it and move on."

Reborn remained behind, watching the reactions and the conversation between the two. He had noticed the slight changes in Tsuna with the new addition, he was slightly more approachable, just slightly, but it was an improvement compared to before. He just hoped that Takeshi would be willing to take in Tsuna's lifestyle.

"Well then, you still have me by your side so I'm going to be helping you from now on," With that, the black-haired teenager grinned widely, reaching around to grab Tsuna's shoulders to bring him in closer. "I know we all have our secrets and I can understand that! So I'll just have to take them in strides or as they come. Don't worry about me! I'll find a way to protect myself. Now then," Takeshi tried to change the subject to get to other things, like his studying. "I should probably finish my papers before that baby of yours kills me."

Tsuna blinked, and then blinked again before finally breaking out into a small chuckle, raising a hand up to hide his mouth. The two occupants in the room couldn't help but stare, knowing that that little sound told them just how wonderful it was.

Of course, Takeshi wasn't able to think much on it for much longer before Reborn, who had a small smile breaking out onto his lips, jumped down to kick him in the head. Yep, look like there was some improvement.

"Hey, Dad."

"Yeah, Takeshi? What is it? You look so serious."

"I remember you said you would teach me the way of the sword if I got serious. I'm serious now, will you teach me?"

"Eh? May I ask why?"

"I have an important friend to protect and I need to get stronger in order to know I can protect both myself and him."

"This is about Tsuna, isn't it? I see. Then I shall teach you Shigure Souen Ryu."

We're not done with Takeshi yet, obviously.