Chapter 26: Break to Heal
A hard slash downward, two more to the right, and a last diagonally upward. The combo was executed with less wasted movement and more speed than yesterday. Not that Tsuyoshi was surprised. Tsuyoshi leaned against the tree at the edge of the clearing in Namimori forest and watched the young swordsman execute Shigure Soen Ryu's eighth form. After announcing that the fight with Tsuna was going to be in three days, Takeshi had thrown himself full force into training and had yet to stop. Usually, Tsuyoshi would pull his son back and make the boy rest, but the experienced swordsman knew how difficult the battle would be for the boy.
It hadn't taken long after the two boy's first fight to realize how advanced Tsuna had gotten. The way the small brunette had taken out the men that had attacked Nakamori's class had contrasted greatly with how he had fought Takeshi. At the time, Tsuyoshi had been too proud of his son's growth and impressed by the three teen's (even Gokudera's) synchronization as they fought together to see what should have been obvious. Tsuna had grown in leaps and bounds and far outclassed Takeshi. The small brunette had not used half his skill in the fight with Takeshi, and from what Fon had told the sushi chef afterwards, Tsuna hadn't used his full skill on the thugs either. Fon had implied that even he wasn't sure of the small brunette's true skill, since Tsuna held back against anything living and some things that weren't. The small brunette's growth curve was incredible, and Tsuna was, in Takeshi's words, "scary." And while the control the small brunette held over his strength was commendable, Tsuyoshi had seen such control destroy men. The man knew that Tsuna's hesitation would end up injuring the boy more than any enemy could, and given what Tsuyoshi had observed, the small brunette would have plenty of those. The sun arcobaleno's continued presence indicated as much.
The famous hitman had barely left the small brunette's side (or rather head) the last few days. Whether or not the younger Sawada was recovering from an illness, the heir to the mafia's most influential and strongest family should take the number one slot on the hitman's list, but instead the hitman had decided to spend his time observing Tsuna. Tsuyoshi allowed himself to smirk at the thought that had the hitman actually been the age he appeared, the sushi chef would have had no problem saying that the hitman had been clinging to Tsuna exactly like I-pin and Lambo. However, the hitman was much too mature to do that, and if Tsuyoshi said that about the hitman, the man would have to say the same of his old friend. Fon had barely been five feet from Tsuna whenever the boy entered the shop. Perhaps the two were having issues deciding territorial rights. The man's smirk melted into a frown. Tsuna had no idea how many people would break if the small brunette got himself killed. So Tsuyoshi would have to make sure the small brunette wouldn't.
Tsuyoshi fingered the object in his pocket and pulling it out. The platinum emblem glittered in the moonshine, the slight purple shine catching the experienced swordsman by surprise as always. He stared at it and turned it over and over in his hand, as he had several times over the years. A large circle encircled two smaller ones, and inside the smallest circle was a detailed etching of a feather whose barb pierced through the circles and seemed to burst into flames at the end. Tsuyoshi's great uncle had placed the emblem in Tsuyoshi's hands and made Tsuyoshi swear in blood (only a drop, but blood nonetheless) that Tsuyoshi would keep the secret of the emblems. The other two had been given under less intense circumstances (the one Takeshi had was a gift from Tsuyoshi's father on Tsuyoshi's twenty first birthday and Tsuna's had been found in a box of Tsuyoshi's grandfather's old mementos). But the emblems all shared the same secret as this one, the secret Tsuyoshi's great uncle had whispered on his death bed and that Tsuyoshi had planned one day to share with Takeshi and Tsuna. The day had come sooner than he had planned, but he had to do it now. Or he might never get to tell them.
"Takeshi, come here," said Tsuyoshi. When his son's normally bright eyes turned to him with a determined fierceness, Tsuyoshi knew he would not be able to back out of his decision. Bringing the Shigure Kintoki down to his side in one elegant (and more importantly efficient) downward stroke, Takeshi walked over to the edge of the clearing where Tsuyoshi had been standing.
"Am I doing something wrong?" asked Takeshi. Tsuyoshi grinned at his son's eagerness to improve.
"No. I have something to show you," said Tsuyoshi, dangling the emblem from its purple band.
"Uncle Komadori's emblem?" said Takeshi rubbing the back of his head.
"Not exactly," said the man. He closed his eyes and focused just like Uncle Komadori had instructed. Tsuyoshi had to picture what he most wanted to do. Takeshi smiled in Tsuyoshi's mind, the same smile that Tsuyoshi had given up hope would return to his son's face until Takeshi had dragged a brown haired boy to Takesushi. The image changed to two boys laughing as they worked side by side to help Tsuyoshi fill several orders of sushi, and the emblem burned under his hand. Tsuyoshi opened his eyes and held up the purple flame wrapped emblem. "This."
"Wow Dad, I didn't know you could do magic," said Takeshi, his eyes glued to the purple flame.
"I can't," said Tsuyoshi, amused by his son's reaction. Mako would have reacted the same way. "This is the emblem's secret."
The boy's hazel eyes grew sharp as they scanned the object again. Takeshi had wondered about the secret ever since he first saw the emblems when he was three, but Tsuyoshi could see that Takeshi currently cared less for the secret and more for how it could help in his fight with Tsuna.
"It's not a pretty light show," said Tsuyoshi, not allowing Takeshi to lose interest. "The flame indicates power of some sort. It was made for your ancestor about 400 years ago. The one you have was made for your other ancestor, the one your grandfather often said looked like you. The two are part of a set of seven. Your ancestors and their closest friends did a favor for the greatest inventor of their time. And he gave them these Augurio."
"Augurio?" asked Takeshi, his tone demanding an explanation. Takeshi must be more worried about the match than Tsuyoshi had guessed.
"It's meant to give the user one 'wish,' but the user must make the right kind of wish," said Tsuyoshi.
"What kind of wish?"
"I don't know," said Tsuyoshi, grinning as he scratched the back of his head. Tsuyoshi had asked the same question to his great uncle and had received the same answer. All the man knew for certain was that the wish could not be to heal the fatally ill or poisoned nor to bring that person back to life. He tossed the emblem at Takeshi who caught it in his free hand with ease. "The creator never told them how the wishes work. He told them that they might be of some use to the man's descendants as well as his companions' if the wish meets the proper requirements. Guess now's a good a time as any to see if it'll work."
The younger swordsman nodded, understanding that he would need any help he could get to fight Tsuna.
"Your great great uncle did find out one thing," said Tsuyoshi, making sure his son's eyes were on him before continuing. "In order to use the Augurio, the person must picture what he most wants to do."
In an instant, the emblem blazed purple-tinged blue. Tsuyoshi blinked, but then grinned proudly. His son would figure out how to use the Augurio.
Taking gulping breaths, Tsuna flipped back and then immediately jumped forward. He kicked, twisted to the left, and then stopped in attack stance number four, legs apart, body resting on the left leg, right arm extended, and left arm low and pulled back. The weights on his arms nearly made his arms fall from their places, but he ignored the burning ache and suppressed the tremors. Fon leapt in front of the small brunette and passed a critical eye over the stance.
"Again," said the martial artist. Tsuna's whole body wanted to slump under the word, but Tsuna held himself ramrod straight as he executed an affirming bow. He leapt into the air and used the height to do a spin kick at an imaginary opponent, and then flip off the opponent (who had now taken the form of a wall) and then twist to avoid the possible countering blow. He landed on his hands, and ignoring his breathing this time, quickly flipped back and then jumped forward to catch the approaching opponent off guard. He kicked the opponent again, and twisted to the left to avoid another blow, before the imaginary opponent surrendered. Tsuna froze in attack stance number four which would have countered the imaginary opponent's next blow. Fon inspected the stance, and Tsuna made sure to stay firm but loose as Fon had often instructed. The wind must be able to fly off from whatever position.
"Again."
Tsuna executed the bow again, stiffer this time, and proceeded to do the attack pattern for the eleventh time. He kept in mind that he had to do this perfectly. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to give Takeshi back baseball.
"Again."
Tsuna complied the twelfth time, letting his body do more and more of the work while his mind tried to separate itself from his body's growing discomfort. Another scarcely heard "again," and Tsuna went into the set a thirteenth time. Each move had to engrave itself into his body. Tsuna had to stay longer in the air, less on the ground. He loved the air. He could move in any direction, do anything while he was in the air.
"Tsuna," said a firm voice as Tsuna realized he was once again in attack stance number four. Fon's face smiled. "This particular set is better if you stay low to the ground."
"Yes, sensei," said Tsuna, his cheeks burning. How could he have become distracted when Takeshi's dream was in danger? Tsuna took a deep breath and leapt towards the wall.
"You're not as soft on him as I thought," said Reborn, and Tsuna tried to keep his focus from wandering. But who knew what thoughts that demon might be infecting Tsuna's sensei with. Fon had never gone easy on Tsuna, but who knew what the demon tutor might convince the martial artist to do. Tsuna shook his head slightly to rid himself of the needless worry. Tsuna knew Fon well enough to know that the martial art master could not be manipulated so easily.
"He does not need me to be," answered Fon. "The problem has always been getting him to stop me from going too far."
"If only my student had the same problem," said Reborn. Even though Tsuna was in the middle of his flip and could not see the hitman, the small brunette knew that the hitman was wearing a scowl. Tamaki didn't like working hard, but he could if he applied himself. And now that the constant threat of the fever was gone, maybe Tamaki would do better. Tsuna twisted into the fourth stance with a little more flourish than necessary before remembering what he was training for. He firmed his stance and shifted his weight more towards the ground. Fon stood inspecting the stance, but before the martial artist said a word, Fon quickly dashed to a corner and hid his presence so well that Tsuna could barely sense the martial artist. "Still hiding from him, I see."
Tsuna would have asked who "him" was, but the answer burst into the dojo a second later. Hibari glared at Tsuna. The small brunette wondered if he could find a way to ask his mother how to get bloodstains out of wood later without worrying her.
"Good afternoon, Hibari," said Tsuna. He kept his feet firmly on the ground and kept from stepping backwards. The steel eyed stare had every fight or flight instinct and the heat agreeing that Tsuna should run. But Tsuna couldn't. Not with his sensei standing in a corner watching. He didn't want Fon to think the time the martial art master had invested in the small brunette had produced a coward.
"Fight me," said Hibari. Tsuna gulped and fell into attack stance number two. He pushed his right foot too far forward and ended up on his back. So much for showing Fon that the martial artist's time wasn't wasted. Tsuna yelped as Hibari grabbed the small brunette by the collar and dragged Tsuna upright.
"P-please wait, Hibari," said Tsuna as Hibari let go of the back of Tsuna's shirt. "I-I can't fight you at full strength right now."
"But you'll fight the other herbivore," said Hibari. Tsuna would have been surprised that Hibari knew about Tsuna's upcoming fight with Takeshi, but considering the smirk on the demon's face, Tsuna figured that Reborn had made sure that information reached Hibari's ears. Apparently the demon wanted Tsuna dead so as to take care of the Vindice problem. The heat flared in disagreement, and Tsuna's own mind didn't seem pleased with the thought. But the demon was certainly up to something.
"Yes," said Tsuna. "But I haven't forgotten my promise. I will fight you, Hibari."
"You will, herbivore," said Hibari. Tsuna smiled a little despite the exhaustion that would no longer allow his muscles to move properly. The prefect scanned the dojo.
"Do you need something else, Hibari?" asked Tsuna. The small brunette didn't know exactly why Fon was hiding from Hibari, but he would respect his sensei's wishes. Tsuna had noticed that Hibari and Fon resembled each other, but Tsuna had been afraid to ask why. Hibari would no doubt bite Tsuna to death for prying into the prefect's personal affairs (and Tsuna knew that their fights would be more intense if Hibari knew who Tsuna's sensei was). Fon might have told Tsuna, but...Tsuna had spoken about Hibari to the martial artist many times. And the martial artist had listened with a blankness in his black eyes that Tsuna had come to associate with regret and guilt. Tsuna did not want to cause his sensei more pain by asking about Hibari. Instead, Tsuna had made sure to talk about his fights with Hibari often and tell Fon what foods Hibari did and didn't eat from Tsuna's bentos. Anything to trade the blankness for the amused glint that usually made its home in the martial artist's eye when Tsuna talked to Fon.
"When is it?" said Hibari. Tsuna's mouth dropped open slightly before Tsuna was able to close it tight. Hibari wanted to see the fight?
"Two days from now," said Tsuna. Hibari didn't nod, but Tsuna knew he'd be there. The prefect walked out, as if he hadn't barged in ready to kill Tsuna (or rather bite him to death). He paused at the door, and the yellow bird from earlier landed on the prefect's shoulder. "Tell your sensei to stop hiding. It doesn't become a carnivore."
In an instant, the prefect was gone. Fon appeared from his corner with a soft, calm smile as he gazed out the door. Reborn scoffed.
"Quite the nephew you have," said the hitman.
"Yes," said Fon. "Quite."
Gokudera leaned against the tree as the stupid wench made herself comfortable on a swing. Neither of the two fighters had come, but they were about fifteen minutes early and Tsuna-sama could come whenever he wanted. The sword freak better not keep Tsuna-sama waiting though.
"So you've found yourself a master or whatever too," said the stupid wench, giving him a long look. Gokudera glared at her, but she failed to get the message as usual. "It's a good thing, I suppose. Otherwise, I doubt you could keep up with those two."
"Watch your mouth, wench," growled Gokudera. He knew he would never reach Tsuna-sama's level, but he would not be outdone by the sword freak. That's why the bomber had stooped so low as to seek help from the perverted doctor. The pervert had refused to teach Gokudera anything though, even under the threat of Madre. But that was fine. Gokudera had done fine by himself until this point, and he would become a man worthy of Tsuna-sama's trust. To make up for the Shamal's refusal, Gokudera had thrown himself twice as hard into his training and come up with a new attack strategy that should work once he figured out exactly what was need to act as conduit for the Flames (as Shoichi had decided to call the energy that the Boxes used).
"You guys are already here," said the sword freak as he walked into the shabby little park. He grinned and waved. "Thanks for coming."
"I assume there's a reason for the suddenness of this," said the stupid wench. "Last time we had a week's heads up."
"There is," said the sword freak, the grin dropping and hardness overcoming the usually ridiculously cheerful features. "Tsuna doesn't know why I quit baseball."
The stupid wench's eyes widened, but she regained control of herself and nodded.
"Tsuna needs more supervision than we have been giving him," said the stupid wench. "Baseball will keep until he's gotten past the point where we need to watch his every move."
"Tsuna's Tsuna," said the sword freak. He slung his sword onto his shoulder and grinned. A bright charm hung from a purple band that was wrapped around the sword's hilt. What kind of swordsman decorated his sword? "And I like the Shigure Soen Ryu."
The stupid wench scoffed and muttered something that sounded like "stupid monkeyish boys," but her lips twisted into a small smile.
"Sorry I'm late," said Tsuna-sama as he ran into the park.
"It was my fault," said Fon as he leapt off the small brunette's shoulder. "I meant to have him here earlier, but his training this morning required more than I thought."
"Hmph. If Dame-Tsuna had used the glasses properly, we would have been here fifteen minutes early," said Reborn as he jumped from his perch on Tsuna-sama's head. The hitman had all but claimed the small brunette's head as his personal seat since the small brunette had come home from the hospital. Gokudera had been torn between being impressed by Tsuna-sama's ability to catch the hitman's attention and fear of what such attention meant. But the contrast between the hitman's behavior to Tsuna-sama and Reborn's treatment of the small brunette's brother had eased Gokudera's mind into proud approval. Of course Tsuna-sama had caught the attention of the greatest hitman in the world.
"You're a minute late," said the stupid wench. "That doesn't merit an apology."
"It's disrespectful to be even a minute late to a prearranged fight," said Tsuna-sama, giving his sensei a side glance. Fon smiled softly as he nodded.
"A mafia boss should never be late for anything," said Reborn. The small brunette's whole body groaned.
"I told you I'm not going to be the Vongola Decimo," said Tsuna-sama. "That's Tamaki's place."
"And I told you that no one lies to the Vindice," said the hitman. Gokudera stiffened and felt his face become unhealthily cool. If Gokudera had been with Tsuna-sama, the bomber might have been able to stop the small brunette from making such a potentially deadly mistake. Gokudera ignored the twinge of excitement at the prospect of Tsuna-sama becoming the Vongola tenth. The cost of such a dream coming true would be too high. With the Vindice, Tsuna-sama may not escape from becoming the Vongola Decimo, but Gokudera would do whatever possible to keep Tsuna-sama from that fate.
"Now, now," said the sword freak. "We can talk about the mafia game later."
"It's not a game, sword freak!" yelled Gokudera, his face heating with anger. How could the sword freak continue to hold that ridiculous belief? The sword freak would be useless to Tsuna-sama with those idiotic thoughts, and since Tsuna-sama relied on the other teen so much…
"Gokudera," said a soft voice, and Gokudera stood as straight as he could as he faced Tsuna-sama. "Please don't call Takeshi that."
Gokudera scowled. He knew that it was his own fault that idiot had most of Tsuna-sama's favor, but the bomber could not help the anger that built every time that favor became obvious.
"Well, he can't call him 'baseball idiot' now, can he?" said the stupid wench, and Tsuna-sama's eyes shone orange.
"After our fight," said the small brunette firmly. "He will."
The warmth on his cheeks cooled the rest of his cheeks down. He had misunderstood the small brunette's plea. The bomber should have realized that Tsuna-sama wouldn't want the sword freak to give up baseball. But Gokudera understood the former baseball idiot's decision. The sword freak and the bomber wanted the same thing.
"Ha ha, we'll see," said the sword freak. He swung his sword down hard enough for it to become a steel katana. Shoichi would want to examine the strange changeable sword when he returned. The young inventor had yet to answer Gokudera's last email detailing what had gone on between Tsuna-sama and Mukuro and the moronic imitation's sickness. Despite the distance, Shoichi had wanted to be kept informed of how Tsuna-sama and the others were doing, and even when Gokudera had been blind to the small brunette's greatness, the bomber had sent the inventor reports on the small brunette's status along with a sentence or two about the wench and the sword freak. Tsuna-sama also asked often after Shoichi, despite the fact that the small brunette thought the inventor too busy to want emails from Tsuna-sama. The bomber had tried to inform the small brunette the opposite was true, but the small brunette had only smiled and shook his head in disbelief. Gokudera had to restrain the urge to blast the moronic imitation to kingdom come every time Tsuna-sama put on that expression, and instead had read each email from the inventor to the eagerly listening brunette.
"Where's your father?" asked Fon, moving to stand in between the sword freak and Tsuna-sama.
"He has to run the shop today," said the sword freak. "But he expects you to inform him of everything when you return."
"Fair enough," said the martial art master. He lifted a hand, and Tsuna-sama quickly fell into a basic attack stance.
"Wait," said the sword freak, standing in an almost casual manner. "I told you Tsuna. I don't want you to hold back."
"I won't," said Tsuna-sama.
"Then where are your glasses?" asked the sword freak. Glasses? Tsuna-sama didn't need glasses. And hadn't Reborn said something about them as well…?
"I am not used to them yet," said the small brunette. "At practice this morning, I nearly tore down the wall and injured myself in the process."
The sword freak frowned.
"Put them on," he said in as close to a growl as the cheerful idiot had ever gotten.
"No," said Tsuna-sama. "I am not ready to use them yet."
"Then I will make you use them," said the sword freak and rushed forward, not waiting for the signal. Tsuna blocked the incoming sword and pushed forward to strike the sword freak's shoulder. The sword freak leaned to the side and avoided the gloved hand before letting go of his sword. Tsuna-sama's eyes widened, and the sword freak used the momentary shock to push the sword into the small brunette's shoulder. The sword slipped through the gloved hand's grip, but Tsuna-sama let go of the sword and ducked under it. The sword freak wasted no time in grabbing the sword and swinging it down. The small brunette flipped close to the ground and past the swordsman's side, narrowly avoiding the sword.
Tsuna-sama stood in time to flip backwards and dodge another sword thrust. He made to grab the swordsman's shoulders, but the swordsman slashed diagonally upward, quickly changing hands and therefore the angle, and forced Tsuna-sama to spin in order to avoid the blade. Tsuna-sama landed and immediately had to duck another sword slash. The small brunette did a low kick, and the sword freak stepped back. Tsuna-sama stopped the kick abruptly and pressed the foot on the ground, using the momentum to come in from underneath and strike the swordsman's sword hand. The sword freak switched the blade from hands and swung it down onto Tsuna who grabbed the swordsman's now free arm and twisted out of the swords way, taking the arm with him and unbalancing the swordsman. But the sword freak planted his feet firmly on the ground and changed the direction of the sword. Gokudera automatically reached for his pocket as blood stained a blue sleeve.
"Tsuna," said the swordsman, and Gokudera wanted to rip the sword freak apart. How dare the sword freak injure Tsuna-sama? "You're not fighting seriously."
"I am," said the small brunette. Neither moved, the sword still caught on the bleeding arm. Gokudera could tell, even from this distance, that the wound wasn't deep. It wasn't shallow, but it wasn't deep. But it could easily become so.
"You're not," said the sword freak, withdrawing his bloodied sword. The grip on the sword's handle was chalk white. "I will not fight someone who refuses to take me seriously."
"I…I am—"
"You're not," the sword freak growled. "You wouldn't protect an opponent you took seriously from himself. My sword would not have hurt me."
Tsuna-sama remained silent, his back to the sword freak's.
"I won't fight you until you take me seriously," said the sword freak, the white grip shaking. "And I don't want to see you until then."
The small brunette spun around and stared at the sword freak's back in horror. Tsuna-sama reached out a hand.
"Tsuna," the sword freak said, his tone low and harsh. The hand hesitated. Dark hazel eyes glared at Tsuna over the swordsman's shoulder. "Go."
"T-Takeshi," said the small brunette.
"No," the swordsman said, looking away. "Don't talk to me until you are ready to finish our fight."
The hand dropped, and identical expressions of pain painted the two faces, despite the fact that neither could see the other's. Gokudera's anger at the sword freak disappeared. Tsuna-sama opened his mouth, but he closed it again. Light caught in the brown eyes before they disappeared under a curtain of brown hair.
"Okay," the small brunette whispered. Tsuna-sama stepped back and hesitated. The eyes stayed hidden behind the hair, but the hand that had fallen twitched upward as if to make another attempt to grasp the swordsman's shoulder. In a blur of movement, the small brunette turned and ran out of the park.
"I apologize for my student," said Fon with a bow to the sword freak's back. The sword freak didn't make any movement to acknowledge the martial artist's words. Fon left, and Gokudera realized that Reborn had disappeared too. The stupid wench stared at the park's entrance. She sighed.
"I'd like to tell you that you didn't need to do that, that you're both acting like monkeys," said the stupid wench, still looking at the park entrance. "But only one of you is acting like a monkey, and it's not you."
"I hate to agree with the stupid wench, but she's right," said Gokudera in a grumble. The hazel eyes lifted from their empty stare to look at them. The bomber pushed back the stupid desire to have the idiot grin and remark that the apocalypse must be closer because the bomber had agreed with the stupid wench again. "The moronic imitation has had fourteen years to warp the greatness that is Tsuna-sama."
"The idiot monkey has a point despite his ridiculous wording," said the stupid wench. Gokudera bit tongue to keep from yelling at the wench. He never used "ridiculous wording." "'Unwarping' what's been 'warped' might hurt now, but in the long run, it will work better than leaving it as it is. Tsuna's not an idiot, even if he does occasionally act like it. He will understand."
"As if there was any doubt," said the bomber as the darkness faded from the heavy hazel eyes. A weak semblance of a grin crossed the former baseball player's face.
"Tsuna is pretty smart."
"Don't make me take back the 'only one of you' comment," said the stupid wench. The weak grin stretched into one that almost matched the idiot's annoyingly cheerful one.
"I guess I'll just have to wait then," the sword freak said. He stared at the red-stained sword, and the grin strained at the corners. "And I better get stronger, or Tsuna'll wipe the floor with me."