A/N: SORRY for the long wait I was busy. I went to A-kon in Dallas for the first time ever and I REALLY enjoyed myself. You probably can guess who I cosplayed as, and I was really surprised that some people asked for my picture. Enough of my blabbering, read on!
Later that night…
The party ended after Lambo (who looked mature, but really wasn't, even after nearly a decade) challenged Reborn and got blown off. Angry, Lambo charged at him with his horns and was promptly flipped over and onto the ground. Lambo, then trying to redeem himself, attacked Tsunade, who just kicked him in the head. Despite the comforting words of Tsuna, who tried to calm Lambo down, Lambo ran off crying and ended up crashing into an ice sculpture. It was around then that Gokudera appeared, calling Lambo a brat for ruining the party his Juudaime worked so hard to put together. Finally pushed to the breaking point, Lambo threw all the grenades he had with a loud 'Bakadera!' to which Gokudera instinctively threw dynamite in return. Yamamoto was able to slice most of the dynamite and grenades in half before they exploded, but one fell under the table and escaped his eye.
Like most Vongola parties, the night ended with a 'bang'.
The guests, caterers, and party planners quickly filed out, and after apologizing for the mess, the Vongola Decimo (the only one that wanted to help cleanup because he knew who would have the most work) was dragged off by his guardians to another important meeting. This left Reborn and Tsunade with a horrible mess to clean, and the only one cleaning was…
Damn you Reborn, thought Tsunade, irritated, as she scraped the last of the cake from the walls, putting it in a large black garbage bag that also contained bent pieces of silverware, broken plates, shattered wine glasses, ripped table clothes, and the arm of whichever mafia founder the ice sculpture represented (there had been one for each of the famiglias).
"Dame-Tsunade, there's still a broken punch bowl near the flipped table," said Reborn from where he was leaning against the wall.
"Maybe if you were helping me, there wouldn't be," said Tsunade, glaring at him.
"I can't. It's part of your training."
"In what way?!"
"Cleaning is considered an endurance exercise."
"Since when?!"
"Since running to the nearest town to buy supplies was considered an endurance exercise."
Tsunade gave him a dark look and stomped over to the table, shoving the bowl into the garbage bag and flipping the table over in one fluid movement. Reborn chuckled and walked to the other side of the room, placing a hand on her head as he walked by.
"You're almost done, Tsunade," he said. "Just take that bag out back and straighten up the room and you can retire for the night."
Tsunade turned away, blushing. "I—I know that!" she stuttered. She quickly turned around and walked to the trash heap in the back. The bags would be incinerated in the morning, but as she threw the bag onto the growing pile, the only burning she was thinking of was the heat coursing through her blood, heating up her face. She touched the place on her head were Reborn's hand had been and flushed even darker red.
He's been acting weird, she thought uneasily. Tsunade had noticed the subtle shifts in his behavior, shifts that she swore Kureko and Keiko had something to do with. The brief moments of contact, the subtle compliments, the small smiles, nothing could've been any more un-Reborn like.
Stranger yet, she didn't mind the change at all.
Is this what love does? she wondered. It makes you hyper sensitive to the little things?
Tsunade sighed and left the room, carefully making sure her yukata didn't touch any of the trash. When Kureko and Keiko left, Keiko had insisted that Tsunade should keep it, saying that it belonged more to Tsunade than it ever did to her. Her statement puzzled Tsunade, but before she could protest, Keiko and Kureko were out the door with the rest of the guests. After that, Reborn had put her to work right away, so Tsunade didn't have time to change. Though the yukata didn't really hamper her in any way, it was a bit odd for her not to be armed to the teeth at all times, or for her not to feel the constant weight of her fedora and Jacine on her head (Jacine had gone off somewhere with Leon and hadn't been seen since).
She reentered the main ballroom and was surprised to see Reborn resetting the chairs where they belonged. Without a word, she went over to the table and began straightening things up, painfully aware of where Reborn was at all times. After a brief moment of silence, Reborn spoke up.
"Did you meet any good contacts?" he asked nonchalantly. "You'll need them in a couple months."
Tsunade felt her heart twist painfully. "Oh yeah, I guess so," she said calmly, turning away. Due to the turmoil of the last few days, she had completely forgotten about the fact she was leaving in two months. In fact, Tsunade didn't even want to think of it right now.
"The Kurosa Corporation has always been one of our best customers," continued Reborn, seemingly oblivious to Tsunade's discomfort. "Have you talked to them?"
"No," muttered Tsunade. "I didn't have a chance." What is he doing?' she wondered, just a bit irritated. 'Is he trying to shove the future in my face? Why does it matter so much now?
"You really should," said Reborn. "They also provide legal help if needed. I won't be around to get you out of an interrogation room when you're no longer under my tutelage."
Tsunade spun to look at him in shock. Reborn stared back evenly.
"What?" he asked, his tone flat.
Tsunade scrutinized him a bit longer before turning away again. "Nothing," she said, but the thoughts whirling through her head were proof that what she was feeling was anything but. She tried to picture it, a life without Reborn, but it was impossible. It was then that Tsunade realized that she had never even imagined leaving Reborn. That part of her future had always been shrouded in uncertainty, and now that it had suddenly been shoved in her face, she realized she couldn't do it. She couldn't leave Reborn.
Not when she now knew she loved him.
Reborn kept speaking even as Tsunade had stopped cleaning and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the table.
"The Kanuo Company isn't bad either."
No.
"They have good eyes and ears in several large scale businesses."
Stop.
"Of course, you'll need to develop your own spy system into a more complex web of information gatherers."
Why are you doing this?
"You can't rely on my sources if I'm not there with you."
"I don't want to leave."
The words slipped out from behind her gritted teeth before she could stop them. Reborn abruptly stopped talking. Tsunade, realizing what she just said, turned about twenty different shades of pink.
"I-I'm sorry!" she stuttered, throwing a few last things where they belonged. "I-I don't know what I was thinking."
After she finished straightening up the table in a few seconds, she quickly turned around and began walking towards the stairs, desperate to get to her room and wallow in embarrassment.
Unfortunately, she had to get past Reborn, who just happened to be standing at the foot of the staircase, to get there.
As she walked by Reborn and onto the first few steps, Reborn spoke.
"Say that again."
Tsunade stopped walking, her heart pounding. "N-nothing," she said, tucking a strand behind her ear to give her hand something to do so that it wouldn't ball up into a fist as she struggled to hold her words back. She realized that was a mistake when Reborn grabbed her hand and spun her around, pinning it to the railing. Tsunade, acting on her reflexes despite her total shock, aimed her other hand at his head to knock him out, while her legs moved to sweep him off his feet. However, Reborn countered just as fast as he dodged her arm and knocked her back, taking advantage of her recoil to trap her feet behind the bars of the railing and securely pinning her other hand down as well.
"What the hell?!" said Tsunade furiously after she recovered from her shock. She struggled against his hands, but it was clear that in terms of physical strength, Reborn had the upper hand. Still, Tsunade continued to resist because she was so close to breaking already, so close to spilling all the things she wanted to say, and this close proximity wasn't helping her vow of silence.
Reborn paid no attention to her thrashing and just tightened his grip on her hands. He leaned in closer until his mouth was right next to her ear, causing Tsunade to freeze.
"Say that again," he repeated, his breath warm against Tsunade's ear.
That was it. Tsunade couldn't hold it back anymore.
"I don't want to leave, ok!" she snapped, nearly driven to tears. "I don't want to travel anywhere with anyone but you! I can't trust anyone to watch my back but you! How can I go on with my life without you teaching me, without you correcting my every move, without you helping me improve?!
How can I live without you?"
There was a brief moment of silence after Tsunade had finished talking. She felt a sinking feeling in her chest, dread creeping up as she anticipated his response. Reborn's possible responses flew around in her head. Tsunade expected him to tell her she was being irrational, that she couldn't prevent the inevitable.
She never thought that he would kiss her.
Her eyes widened the moment she felt his lips pressed firmly on hers. It was only a brief moment before Reborn pulled back, but Tsunade felt like it was an eternity as her brain began shorting out and all concept of time was lost.
"I'm glad you think that way," said Reborn, a smile dancing on the edge of his lips. "I wasn't planning on a future without you either."
Tsunade barely had time to process his words when Reborn claimed her lips again, this time a bit more passionately. Tsunade's mind wasn't functioning properly, but her body was. She was moving instinctively, responding in a way she didn't know she could. Her mouth opened before she knew she was doing and Reborn pressed forward, making her every cell ignite with the thrill of their connection.
Were his fingers always so hot? Or was it that the fabric of her yukata was extremely thin? His hands had moved from where they were holding her, down, one moving over to tilt her head up more ever so slightly and the other down to rest on the inside of her thigh. Tsunade now could've broken free if she wanted to, but she had long since closed her eyes and could only feel, not think, not see. Their barriers came down, and Tsunade could finally feel all the things Reborn had been hiding from her. His longing, his passion, his desire, his lust, and his love—all for her. It was both stifling and a breath of fresh air because they were so overwhelming, but she felt the exact same way. Her body ached as she kissed him until she was breathless, and she wrapped her arms around him because he was the only thing holding her up. Reborn's fedora slipped off as Tsunade buried a hand in his hair, once again marveling at how soft it was. Reborn's lips curved up slightly, and he pulled Tsunade closer, their bodies molding to fit each other. Everything fell away, and it was just Tsunade and Reborn, lost in their long-denied passion.
After a long moment, Reborn pulled away. Tsunade growled in annoyance. She wanted, no, she needed more. Reborn chuckled at her barely veiled impatience and 'tsked' teasingly. He leaned over nipped her behind her ear, where he knew she was especially sensitive. When Tsunade shivered, he whispered huskily in her ear, "You're mine." Tsunade blushed furiously, but she knew he was right. He knew her every strength and weakness, and he was using them to take control.
"I've wanted to do this for such a long time, but it's so much better than I could've ever imagined," said Reborn as he traced a line of kisses down to her collarbone, emphasizing every word with sharp peck with his teeth. "You're everything I ever wanted, and now that I have you, no one can take you from me."
Tsunade felt the sudden prick of tears in the back of her eyes. Since the very beginning, she had been alone, abandoned, lost, and now here was Reborn telling her that she was needed, that she was important to him. He was her everything as well.
Reborn pressed his forehead against hers, and for a brief moment, they just stared, completely absorbed in the combination of their auras. They felt the mist-like wispy strands of color and emotion curling around in a way only they could see and only they could understand. They may seem extraordinary to others, but only they could truly understand each other.
They were uniquely made for each other.
Reborn wrapped his arm tighter around Tsunade and placed his lips lightly on hers so that she could feel them move with every word.
"I thought that the best way to keep you safe was to stay away from you," said Reborn softly. "But you were hurting from the barrier I created, weren't you?"
Tsunade nodded, dazed.
"I'm sorry for everything I did that hurt you," continued Reborn. "I'll make it up to you every day from now on. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second, I'll tell you one thing:
I love you."
Those three words triggered something. A sharp pain burst from the back of her head and quickly overwhelmed her. Tsunade gasped with pain and her hands flew to her head. Her knees buckled and she would've collapsed if Reborn hadn't been supporting her. She vaguely heard Reborn calling her name, but it was quickly drowned out by the voices and images in her head. None of them made sense to her, but they all had the sense of familiarity, the sense of filling the feeling of forgetfulness that always plagued her. Pictures and sounds flashed by too quickly for her to process it, but one name stuck out from the chaos.
"Renato?" she whispered.
Then her world went black.
Sakamoto stumbled into the wall of the empty alleyway, cursing loudly. He pushed off the wall and tried to walk again, but he only succeeded in tripping over a trashcan and falling onto the floor. As he sat there, he wiped his forehead and laughed at himself.
Look at you, he thought snidely to himself, the great son of the Northern Yakuza Faction leader, sitting in a dark alley reeking of alcohol. You've reached the low point in your life, and it's all because of…
"Damyou Sunade," he muttered, his words slurring together. He understood what he said crossed the line, but his drunk mind kept blaming her for rejecting his love and devotion.
What did Reborn ever do? he thought angrily. He probably tried to kill her and put her in danger billions of times, but she still falls in love with him. I love her more than anything else in the world and here I am so drunk that I can't even walk. There's something wrong with how the world works for this to happen.
A shadow fell across him, and he locked up, locking eyes with a black haired woman just a few years older than him.
"Are you Roumi Sakamoto?" she said flatly.
"Whoos askin'?" he shot back.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "I never expected the oyabun's son to be so undignified."
Normally, Sakamoto would bristle at this display of disrespect, but frankly, he was too drunk to give a damn currently.
"My father shent youu?" he asked.
"Actually your tutor did," she replied. "He's in a car nearby. I'm supposed to take you there."
Sakamoto sighed heavily and put his hand out. The woman pulled him up with a surprisingly strong grip and slung his arm around her, leading him out of the alleyway.
"Wishh I cud jus tell my dad t' fuck off," he muttered. To his surprise, the woman laughed.
"There are times when I wish I could tell him that too," she said, a bit bitterly.
Sakamoto frowned and wanted to ask her what she meant, but they reached the car before he could say anything. Before he got in, Sakamoto turned to her.
"What's your name?" he asked, surprised it wasn't slurred.
After a brief pause, she smiled at him, a bright smile that seemed to glow against the darkness.
"Sazua Chihera," she said before walking to the front of the car.
Sakamoto stared at her a brief moment longer before he got in the car and was met with the icy glare of his tutor.
"I take it the proposal didn't go well?" said Demon Eyes coldly.
Sakamoto groaned. His bad thoughts about Tsunade that had disappeared for a brief moment were back, and the strong fierce desire and longing that came with it was raging again.
"I losht her tuh Reborn," he spat, frustrated that the slur was back.
"Of course you did!" snapped Demon Eyes. "You weren't aggressive enough!" He grabbed Sakamoto and shook him. "Listen to me! You should've been fiercer in your approach! You shouldn't have taken no for an answer!"
"I don—"started Sakamoto, but Demon Eyes cut him off.
"If you could go back to the moment when she rejected you," he said sharply.
"Would you have taken her by force?"
Sakamoto, still a bit stunned, thought about it. It was true that he had been terribly hurt and enraged, and it was true that his love for her overcame reason, but love meant care, not just lust. He cared for her as much as he wanted her, and because of that, he wanted her to be happy, to smile.
Even if the smile wasn't meant for him.
"No," he whispered.
There was a brief moment of silence, and then Demon Eyes sighed.
"What a shame," said Demon Eyes.
Sakamoto felt a slight prick in his arm and jerked his head to look at it. In his arm was a small dart that pumped a clear liquid into his blood. Sakamoto's head began to spin, and he looked at Demon Eyes in confusion and betrayal. He clutched his arm and fell back against door, his heart burning. His head was on fire as his memories got fuzzy and everything faded into the background except one thing:
Desire.
As his world dissolved into nothingness, he heard Demon Eyes say one last thing.
"If only you were more like your father."
A/N: Intense xD! I'm still pretty busy, but hopefully I can upload soon! Thanks to SakurzukaSeiru18, Kaileena Sawada, Kiera Vincent, Lite Crystal27, kari, and Drika-Veras for reviewing!
READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!