Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.
Summary: When Tsuna's pride - his family - shattered, there really weren't anymore reasons for him to be the all-encompassing Sky. But when he was given another chance, to protect them once more, he didn't hesitate - even if it's in another parallel world where he is no longer Vongola Decimo but his twin brother, his Elements no longer his but his brother's... and Vongola is falling (quite literally in terms of ranks).
Key (because there are going to be a kind of midway switch in which language they'll be speaking in the most and it's annoying to italicized the bunch of them, but... does anyone care? Probably not lol...):
"Japanese"
"Italian"
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The number had been untraceable.
Reborn, in one of the few rare times of his life, was feeling somewhat frustrated at the lack of results.
His well-developed intuition told him that the there was a threat to Vongola - no... that wasn't exactly the case. A frown marred Reborn's chubby face as he pondered over the phone call.
"Who is this?" His voice had been cold and alert as he strode down the hallway towards the Tech Development room, his intention was to track the call.
"Hel - ... this... -born?"
All that returned was static and a broken response, causing to slow his steps ever-so slightly before he returned to full speed. He briefly wondered why the caller was asking for his identity when it was a given - if not, then it was neigh impossible for them to get this number.
"I'm Reborn." His squeaky voice confirmed it nonetheless.
"T... God... didn't... -ink... get throu -..."
Reborn arrived at the Tech Room in no time flat and grabbed an available technician off the road to assist him while he keep contact.
"I'll ask again," Reborn narrowed his eyes. For some reason, he found the voice familiar, yet not. It was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't identify it no matter what. He hated that feeling of knowing yet not knowing at the same time. "Who are you."
"There... much ti -... danger is... don't let... Acroba-... -to... Tarta -"
"Hello?" Reborn asked cautiously, but all he heard was static - the goddamn static that interrupted what should be a very important message! "Hello?"
Confirming that he could no longer receive anymore response, he clicked his tongue in annoyance before turning to the technician who was helping him trace the number. "The line just dropped, got anything?"
"One second." The man stopped his rapid typing when the signal was lost. His glasses reflected the results on the screen, but it couldn't obscure the utter disbelief in his eyes. "H-how is this possible..."
Hearing the technician's muttering, Reborn redirected his gaze onto the computer and saw a blinking [Error!] on it followed by a bizarre frequency graph - or perhaps it was too much of a mess to call it a graph anymore.
The caller had either had his phone destroyed and number erased the moment contact was lost or... the other possibility was a bit far-fetched and too sudden in his opinion, but after coming into contact with Tsuna and Enma, he couldn't brush off even the smallest possibility.
But still, he found it hard to believe that phone signals were strong enough to bypass the space-time barrier and interconnect with another world or time.
That was only a minor issue though, because the content of the call - or what was left of it after static filtered them - gave rise to a really, really bad premonition to Reborn.
The caller was speaking of a threat to the Acrobalenos, which in turn was a threat to the entirety of the Trinisette.
"Tarta... Tarta..." Reborn mumbled absentmindedly, trying to finish the word that had been cut off. His eyes flickered when a match came to mind.
"Tartaruga...?"
Dino had only planned to have a nice smooth sailing evening after the meet up with the Serpentines, and then relax for the night. He would then be helping to prepare for the upcoming ceremony in three days' time. (He knew that although his surrogate little brother have been trained for several years in dealing with the inner working of Vongola, the teen was still not up for the task. )
It was as simple as one - two - three, right? Right.
But, could anyone explain to him how he had came to pick three kids up from the streets? Literally?
What was even more ridiculous was that one of them was an ex-convict (at least Dino really hoped so because he did not want the Vindice on his case - nope, nu-uh, never), another claimed to be from a famiglia he had never heard of - but was supposed to be allied with Vongola since generations ago - and the third...
... The third, who looked eerily like a younger version of Vongola Primo, was said to be twins with Sawada Ienari.
He was missing something here, wasn't he? He was definitely missing something very important. (Dino very much wanted to curse a certain blonde for this bomb.)
The information he received long ago, and even with Reborn's conformation, said that Iemitsu only had one son. Where did this 'twin' came from?
Dino smelled conspiracy the very moment that thought crossed his mind, but Tsuna had mercilessly shot the blonde's active imagination down by showing the necessary documents that proved he was, indeed, the blood-related older brother of Sawada Ienari. (It had included his passport, birth certificate, medical records, DNA test results... everything.)
The Chiavarone had wondered briefly why the brunet had carried those things on his person (and where had he kept them), before he was then urged by the trio to take them to the hotel he was staying at - he would have been staying at the Vongola Mansion but Xanxus had kicked him out after that... little blunder with his pet turtle. (Dino would like to declare that he was innocent. How was he supposed to know how Enzo fell out of his pocket and destroyed the west part of Vongola mansion? That sneaky little rascal -)
"What is it, Dino."
Dino was pulled back from his train of thoughts by Reborn's sharp, demanding voice over the phone. The blonde had blinked several times before finally uttering - "Uh..." His vocabulary pool was absolutely phenomenal.
Even though was a bit slow on the uptake, he could still tell that Reborn wasn't in the best of moods. And when Reborn wasn't in a good mood, then everyone else could forget about having a peaceful day - particularly the very first person who Reborn came across.
And by the sound of things... Dino winced. (Dino had spend a few good years under Reborn's tutelage, therefore, he knew when his lifespan would be shortened - again - when Reborn had that snappy tone of his - dear lord, he'll be lucky if he'll be alive by next year at this rate.) Why was he always the first to test the waters? He thought he graduated after Ienari became Reborn's new student!
Sensing the chill even through the phone, Dino took a deep breath in - "Pipsqueak Dino, if you don't speak in the next five -"
"RebornIpickedupanex-convictsomeSimon-whatsit-famigliakidandaPrimolooklalike," Dino rushed his speech in a blur, ending it with an elevating pitched wail - "Pleasepleaseplease don't kill me... please!"
"..."
"Reborn, don't hang up on me," Dino pleaded, sprawling his body on his bed. "I know I shouldn't pick up random kids off the street but -"
"What did you just say?"
"Ah?" Dino blinked. "Random kids off the street?"
"... Before that."
"Uh... don't kill me?" The blonde paused for a brief second before adding - "Please?" Nothing could go wrong by adding the magic word -
"Dino, I dare you to play dumb with me."
- Of course, Reborn was an exception.
Dino continued to blink obliviously. Play dumb with Reborn?Him? You've got to be kidding, the day he no longer valued his life - wait, no. He wouldn't play dumb with Reborn even if he no longer valued his life!
"I'm not!" Dino ran a hand through his hair in frustration, wondering where he had gone wrong. "Reborn, I'm not trying to mess around here. I picked an ex-convict, a Simon-whatchamacallit family kid, and a Primo lookalike off the streets!"
"So you're not hopeless after all."
"What?" Dino squawked. Was that supposed to be a compliment?
"It's sarcasm, Sherlock."
"How -" Dino sputtered. "- I thought you said you weren't a psychic!"
"Your tone spoke for you." Reborn deadpanned on the other end. "And don't go off topic."
Dino inwardly complained that Reborn was the other that got him off-tracked, but he would never voiced that out loud.
"Alright," The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose. "The first one was Mukuro, then there was a kid with red hair and really weird pupils - compass-shaped, kinda cool actually -"
"Dino, I didn't pick up your call to waste time listening to you blab."
"..." Was it too much for him to make a side comment? Was it?! (Unfortunately, Dino never got his answer.)
"Right... he said his name was - erm... Emmy? Emma? Enma - ah, it was Enma Kozato!" Dino slapped his forehead while he was at it. "The last one's looked like a younger version of Vongola Primo, just that his hair's brown... and Japanese - though he was pretty fluent in Italian. He also told me that he's Nari's twin brother - he even had the documents to prove it. How come I never heard of this? Do you know how shocked I was when I found out?! I felt so -"
"I don't care how you felt." Reborn's reply was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head. There was short, pregnant pause before Dino heard the hitman's voice again. "What did they do?"
"... Ah?" That was it, Dino was so going to get dictionary later.
Reborn sighed and it struck Dino' ego - hard. "Should I call you Ditsy Dino instead?"
"..." Can he say no?
"Alright then, Ditsy Dino," The sarcasm too obvious in Reborn's tone. "Tell me, what did Enma and Tsuna do?"
It never did cross the blonde's mind that Reborn had named the latter when he hadn't even mentioned Tsunayoshi's name yet. "Well... they - how should I say this..." Dino mumbled the last part as his gaze slowly traveled to an unconscious man lying in the corner of the room. "... Took the Serpentine Don... hostage...?"
"..." Reborn's mouth twitched on the other end.
"I mean, the guy's in my hotel suite and all," Dino added. "They told me keep an eye on him while they sleep."
Reborn remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. "Been wanting to deal with the Serpentines for a while now. At least this'll save me the trouble of finding an excuse to kick them out of the alliance."
"You..." Dino was at a lost for words. Although he knew that the Serpentines weren't exactly... friendly, but Vongola could never find the evidence proving the other party guilty of harming Vongola. Negotiating with the Dante Serpentine tonight had only been a false pretense, Dino's real purpose was there to check if he could not find an opening to begin dealing with the Serpentines.
"... they have swallowed a lot from Vongola's alliance." Dino mumbled, sitting up cross-legged. When it came to business, Dino forgone his distrait self, exuding the air of a leader that a mafia boss should have."And they're considered a significant reliance to Vongola. How are you going to make sure we won't be impacted too badly once they're gone?"
He heard Reborn scoffing on the other end. "What did Tsuna say?"
"..." Dino recollected what happened a few hours ago. His mouth twitched when he remembered what Tsuna said to Dante. "He told Dante to cough up all that his family took from the Vongola Alliance - or something close to it."
Reborn could be heard clicking his tongue several times in approval.
Dino chuckled briefly before falling back into silence, a solemn look on his face. "Reborn, is he -"
"Trustworthy?" Reborn interjected. "Yes, he is. Not only had he and his buddy helped the Varia, took down Trabia, and switched out the boss for the Carcassa, we can now add them gifting us Mukuro Rokudo and the Serpentine to the list."
"... Sorry, can you repeat that?" Dino had blanked out. Xanxus had only kicked him out about a day ago, so when did all of this happen?
"I'll come see the kids tomorrow."
"Wait, Reborn, what did I miss -"
Beep, beep, beep...
"..." Dino was left helplessly staring at his smartphone.
By the time Reborn came visiting the five-star hotel the next morning, he was met with a smiling Tsuna, a waving Enma, a deadpanning Rokudo, and a sweatdropping Dino. (Although Tsuna and Enma stayed up for almost three days straight, their circadian clock still woke them up at the break of dawn. They were, however, refreshed enough to gain their sensibilities back.)
It was a rather strange sight, to say the very least.
"So..." The hitman flicked his fedora up as he leveled his eyes with Tsuna. "Are you trying to set a track record?"
"Eh...?" The brunet faltered, blinking, but then seriously considered what he said. "It - erm... wasn't intentional...?"
"Track record my behind," Enma rolled his eyes. "It's called a greetings gift."
Tsuna snapped his finger in agreement with his best friend. "What he said."
"..."
Rokudo and Dino had no idea what was going on, as the former was in Vendicare while the later was chased out by Xanxus the moment the Wrath returned.
The corner of Reborn's mouth twitched. The Varia, three famiglias, and an ex-convict. That was some greetings gift alright.
"Putting that aside..." Reborn offhandedly kicked the still unconscious Serpentine Don with his tiny foot. "Do you know the danger you put yourself in?"
Tsuna blinked. Enma blinked. Wasn't that too sudden of a change in topic?
"Well..." Tsuna still followed along nevertheless. He scratched his cheek, smiling awkwardly because he knew what Reborn was pointing at. "I don't feel that bad, honest."
He hadn't forgotten about his own condition in the duration for these past three days and nights - as had Enma.
But as he could tell, his condition had been much - much - better than when he first came to this world - and improving as he continued to train his body. The fact that he had been able to hold himself together for three days and two nights was a testament to how much his constitution had improved. Although he knew that on a fundamental level, his body wouldn't reach the same condition as his original - because he had been born weak - but at least he wouldn't have to always be on alert.
"Besides," Tsuna took out the pocket watch hiding under his clothes and played with it. He was ever-grateful that he had his dad's flames constantly watching over him. He then looked back up, sunset-orange eyes shone with a certain light. "I'm not going to stop just because I was born weak."
Reborn stared silently at the golden pocket watched - the very one that reacted with the Vongola Sky ring and causing Vongola Primo's Will to manifest. His lips then curled up at the boy's resolve as well as getting the hint that Tsuna wouldn't put himself in danger if not for the fact that he wasn't alone.
But still -
"Brat, don't get smart with me." Reborn scoffed. "You're overestimating yourself."
- He needed to take the brunet down a notch. It wasn't good to always be self-confident.
"That's what I'm here for," Enma entered into the conversation, smirking as he swung an arm around Tsuna's shoulder.
Tsuna's mouth arced mockingly as he readily popped the other's bubble. "Nope, you're here so I can drag you down with me."
"..." Enma quietly removed his arm and went moping at a corner, muttering something along the lines of 'Tch, stupid birds.'
Dino sweatdropped at the interaction between the three, but still decided to raise his hand like the good boy he was because he wanted in on the whole story! "Reborn, so... what's this about the greetings gift?"
Rokudo became attentive as well, staring unblinkingly at Tsuna, Enma, and Reborn.
"Dino," Reborn gave his former student a look. "Don't you know the phrase: curiosity kills the cat?"
"Hehe," Dino grinned cheekily. "It's a good thing I'm not a cat then." He had a feeling that he was in for a loop so Dino was going to get the scoop no matter what. (Even if it meant facing the danger that was known as Reborn.) His eyes were practically sparkling with - tell me tell me tell me!
"..."
Tsuna chuckled as he placed one hand in his pant pocket and shifted his weight from one foot to another. This Chiavarone just seemed so... childish at this moment, but he supposed that was the difference between Chiavarone and the Dino that he knew. This one seemed to leaned for towards a gossiper while the one he called his brother was more of a klutz. However, either traits would lead to trouble - especially when Reborn was involved.
"It's nothing much, honestly," Tsuna couldn't win against a curious child that was Chiavarone Dino, so he shrugged and decided to quell the blonde's thirst. "Enma and I met with Squalo the day we got off the plane. Varia, as it seemed, was in trouble so we decided to help bust them out from the Trabia's base that very night and overthrew the Carcassa while we were at it. Then the two of us gave Vendicare a visit, picked Rokudo-san, came to Venice, met you and then the whole thing with the Serpentine happened."
Dino: "..."
Rokudo: "..."
Reborn would like to give a thumbs up for Tsuna's briefing of him and Enma's last three days or so. It was simple yet concise, completely marking off the contents as 'nothing much' when even if one was randomly picked out of the content, it would be anything but nothing.
"Anyways," Tsuna followed by brushing the entire thing off as if he had been talking about the weather. "I thought that it would be good idea for Ienari to deal with Serpentine - I mean Dante Serpentine. It's good practice for the Vongola Decimo to-be."
"Why are we all speaking Italian here?" Enma grumbled, having left his gloom. "We can all understand Japanese, can't we? I'm getting the Western and Eastern addresses all confused again."
Tsuna slapped his forehead on the reminder, knowing that his best friend was implying that if they were going to talk business, it was better to do it in a language that wasn't Italian, as that was the native language for mafiosi.
"My mistake," With Tsuna's quick yet smooth transition, Dino finally realized that the two boys were Japanese natives. But they have been so fluent in Italian that the Chiavarone Don overlooked that fact. He was rather surprised at the sudden switch. He knew that it would take him a few seconds to adjust with the languages that he knew so far.
"So... you're really Ienari's twin?" Dino still had to confirm, because although all the proofs were there, he just couldn't believe any of it. The boy was already sixteen for Pete's sake! You're telling him that Tsunayoshi Sawada was able to hide away from the mafia radar all this time? Hell, he wouldn't believe that if it smacked him in the face. Nothing can stay hidden for long, nor were their seamless secretes. The brunet existing completely off the radar for sixteen years when his brother was exposed when he wasn't even ten was just... just a miracle among miracles!
"Bound by blood." Tsuna replied with an lazy smile, but his sunset-oranges flickered with a darker light. "Am I correct to assume that my father erased my name from the family registry?"
"Erm..." Dino hesitated, scratching the back of his head. How was he supposed to word the answer nicely when it was in no way appreciated at all? The boy had a comforting, welcoming aura that drew him in, so he subconsciously didn't want to put the brunet in a situation that would make the latter uncomfortable.
"I won't take it personally, Chiavarone-san." Tsuna assured when he caught onto Dino's dilemma. "And I take it that this also happened seven or eight years ago, when Ienari was brought to Italy due to a trauma?"
"The Sawada household only have three living members since it was revealed," Reborn answered instant, and bluntly at that. "But you should already know all of this, don't you?"
Tsuna shrugged nonchalantly as if this conversation had nothing to do with him. "We were on the topic, so I thought I could explain this way."
Enma and Rokudo had been silent through this conversation, because it wasn't appropriate for them to interject. The former seemed to be pondering over something rather than paying attention while Rokudo, however, felt a sting in his heart after hearing the truth story - but it didn't belong to him.
As a Mist, he could separate what was true and what was false, just as he was able to separate his own emotions and... and that other. It wasn't only him either, Dokuro experience it as well and through her, he knew that the rest of the guardians were getting those emotions and thoughts-not-theirs.
His gaze landed on Tsuna, turning complicated - it all started when Tsuna entered the picture.
"Let's not talk about this here, okay?" Enma came back from his pondering and suddenly suggested, steering everyone's attention onto him. "What we should be doing right now is take him -" He pointed at Rokudo "- and him - " his index shifted to the unconscious Dante "- to Vongola HQ. Am I right or am I right?"
"Oh... but Xanxus kicked me out." Dino supplied awkwardly, but no one reacted as if it was a matter of course. It honestly made the blonde brood over their unbothered looks but -
"Enzo destroyed the West wing. "
- He was still going to share his woes anyways.
"You should be thankful that it wasn't where Nono was residing in." Reborn reproached his former student. "Or it would just be throwing you out."
"Nono?" Tsuna picked out the important detail, knitting his brows. "Is Grandfather's condition not turning around still?"
Silence befell the room, giving rise to a bad premonition in Tsuna.
"Speak." Tsuna demanded, his expression dire as he unconsciously revealed his commanding aura.
"It's better if you see it for yourself." Reborn pulled his fedora down, toddling towards the exit of the hotel without another word.
A frown marred Tsuna's face as he exchanged a look with Enma. Both of them came into a silent consensus to follow Reborn out, but not before reminding Dino to bring Dante along.
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With everyone preparing for the ceremony in a few days, not a lot of people of Vongola noticed two unknown had entered into their territory. Or rather... Reborn brought Tsuna and Enma through the back door while ordering Rokudo to go look for Ienari and his fellow guardians.
Reborn was amused that the half-Mist had begrudgingly agreed - he hadn't missed the warning look that Tsuna gave the illusionist either. Then again, Ienari and his guardians seemed to have a silent consensus in following Tsuna - which, Reborn couldn't tell, was a good or bad thing.
The mansion, although not in the same location the one in his original world, still had a very similar structure. Ergo, Tsuna guided through the corridors without another thought the moment he entered the building.
Dino was the only one with a strange look on his face as he, Reborn, and Enma followed after Tsuna. He seems to know his way around the mansion...
The blonde was about to voice his suspicions when Tsuna's pace sped up.
"Tsuna?" Enma only had time to call his name before chasing after his best friend. "Tsuna, wait - !" He almost stumbled when an eerie, familiar feeling crawled up his spine.
Up ahead, the reason that Tsuna sped up his pace was because he had sensed that something was wrong - wrongwrongwrong - and came to a screeching stop at a certain door.
He stared at it for several long seconds, as if trying to bore a hole through it, before he abruptly threw open the door with a - bam!
The air within the room, Tsuna immediately detected, was dull and sickly. A thick sense of heaviness was layered upon it, making it even more depressing and hard to breath.
Sunset-orange eyes widened ever-so slowly when he saw the figure sleeping on the bed next to the window.
Enma arrived seconds after and wanted to share what he had just sensed, but stop shorted when he saw the scene over his friend's shoulder.
Tsuna's strides were large and hurried as he headed for Vongola Nono, eyes in distraught and panic, but no hint of despair. He silently, gently took the elder man's wrist, frowning upon checking the status of the other's Sky flames.
"How could..." Tsuna mumbled in confusion as an image flashed in his head. Nono's flames were... he wouldn't say they were inactive, because the presence was clearly there. But they were sealed in a cage of rotting black, he sensed, and was unable to escape, nor was it able to produce enough life flames to stabilize the elderly man's body - or rather, it could, but because of the cage that the life flames could barely leave. Without enough to support, Vongola was slowly dying.
"It's suppressing Sky flames." Tsuna's voice was grave as he spoke to the people who had entered the room.
"It?" Reborn raised a brow.
"Do you mean that eerie feeling that I always get when I get close to Nono?" Dino asked, baffled.
"It's probably only noticeable to the Sky flame holders," Enma explained as he spared the Chiavarone Don a glance. "Earth included."
"Earth?" The blonde was, once again, lost. They were talking about Sky flames a second ago weren't they? What does the Earth got to do with any of this?
"Earth flames," Enma expanded upon seeing Dino's confusion. "I'll explain later."
"Enma," Tsuna looked to the redhead, his lips pursed into a thin line. "You knew."
"... Mm." The ex-Simon don nodded, coming forward and standing next to the brunet. His gave studied the sleeping Nono for a few seconds before retracting. "It's... part of what we - I found out."
Tsuna silently motioned his friend to continue.
"I'm not too clear on this, but they're said to be Inverted flames," Enma's brows knitted. "It's not like Xanxus's Wrath, that's still Sky - nor is it like Bermuda's Night. These are pure, solitary Inverted flames that could invert other flames at the user's will. I'm not too sure what happens after it completely consume other flames though, I have only ever encountered tainted flames of the Sky. They..." Enma balled his hands into fists, a shadow veiling his face at unfond memories.
In his brief moment of emotional lapse, small objects became to came into the effect Enma's gravity.
"What the - ?!" Dino jumped in start, looking around before his gaze landed on the cause of the floating objects.
"Enma," Tsuna called softly, resting a hand on said person's shoulder and calming his fury with Sky's Harmony. Enma took a deep breath as he suppressed his boiling emotions, nodding to his friend that he was fine now.
Getting Enma's reassurance, Tsuna brought his attention back to Nono. If he followed Enma's explanation, then it would explain why the cage of oozing black flames - neither fire nor water - had felt similar to his own vibrant orange ones and why it had felt so - wrongwrongwrong.
"Inverted..." He mumbled, casting a glance at Reborn and Dino. "When did Grandfather became like this?"
"Two years back," Reborn answered. "Around the time Baka-Nari was announced the heir apparent."
"Two years - ?!" Tsuna all but spluttered, but he didn't get the chance to continue because Enma spoke before him.
"Was there an attack?"
"... As a matter of fact, yes." Reborn pondered a moment before answering. "It was a preemptive attack and we didn't know who it was at that time, but..."
"Tartaruga," Enma said with solid conviction. "No one else could possess these Inverted flames."
"How come," Tsuna narrowed his eyes, sunset-orange eyes faintly growling as he very nearly growled at Reborn. "I haven't heard of this from you, or Byakuran?"
"Didn't I tell you that Nono was bedridden and there were famiglias eager to see Vongola fall from its high horse?" The hitman scoffed, and didn't forget to spite the brunet while he was at it "Or is your memory really that bad?" It was as if he was warning to brunet to not get testy with him.
"..." Tsuna's anger was all but forgotten in an instant as his mouth twitched at the disparage. Bad memory? Nonsense. If he had bad memories, then no one in the world would have good memory and he would've suffered through all those horror film reenactments for nothing! "... Byakuran it is."
He fished out his android and looked for Byakuran's number. "Maybe Byakuran has already started finding a solution to this too if he hadn't mentioned it." He knew the Sky Mare's habit of not mentioning a problem when he hadn't found a solution to it yet, it was just one of the ways that Byakuran messed people with after all.
"Byakuran as in the one from the Gesso famiglia?" Dino spoke up, wanting in on the conversation. "The very one took the initiative to offer Vongola an alliance a few days ago?"
"Oh, that reminds me." Tsuna also fished out a thick folder out of nowhere and threw it at Reborn. "Gesso's part of the alliance contract."
"..." Reborn deadpanned at the manila folder, then at Tsuna. "And why do you have this?"
"Because Byakuran had me doing all the -"
"TSU-CHAN~!"
Tsuna was cut off by a very annoying voice, but Reborn got the gist from the few words that the brunet had spoken.
"Shiro," Tsuna greeted blandly and went straight to the point before the Mare could talk about the weather. "Nono. Inverted flames. Explain. Now."
"..." There was brief silence as his answer and Tsuna would have called him out on it too if the child hadn't beat him to it - and it was with a solemnly tone at that. "It's better to talk about this in person, no?"
"I'll give you three hours."
"I'm in Sicily!" The marshmallow-lover complained and Tsuna could practically see him pouting on the other end.
"Does it really take you three hours to get to Venice on the fastest jet you own?" Tsuna retorted without a hint of mercy, he paused before adding, "And don't forget to bring Shoichi and Spanner as well." And ended the call before Byakuran could put in another word (Guess where Tsuna learned that from?)
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.
.
In a certain mansion (that was overly white enough to blind the eyes) in a distant part Sicily, Byakuran was facing the biggest dilemma of his entire life as he stared back and forth between his phone and the s'mores that he was making with Yuni.
"Hm..." His cute little face scrunched up in distress.
"Byakuran?" Yuni blinked, she hadn't heard the conversation because she had just came back from getting more crackers.
"Should I not get scolded and not eat, or eat and get scolded...?"
"...?"
(Poor Byakuran was going to cry, really!)
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Key:
"Japanese"
"Italian"
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"Still not good enough, Trash."
Xanxus's voice still echoed in Ienari head from yesterday's fight. It might've been just him but he sensed that his adopted uncle was a bit more lenient than usual - though, it still didn't stop him from brooding over the fact he hadn't even lasted half an hour against the Varia boss.
He stared listlessly at the piled of paperwork waiting for him to look over and sign.
It wasn't like he didn't have any desire to inherit Vongola. Hell, he was pretty excited at the news when he heard it. After all, he had been trained for it since - the teen couldn't help but grimace.
Right... since the... the incident. Ienari was sure things would be different if that hadn't happened, perhaps he would even have developed differently than how he was when he was named the heir.
Confidence was what he had in the beginning. But as time went on, that all but faded as he was told again and again that he wasn't good enough.
"Get better, try hard, they said," Ienari couldn't help but mocked under his breath. The one who told him those the most wasn't even here to support him right now. If it wasn't for the wake up call he got, he might have been wallowing in self-pity right now.
Arrogance, or maybe conceit was a better word, was honestly not a good thing when there was nothing to back it up with. He had been proud of himself for his background and achievements... until Reborn came into his life with a one-ton hammer in the name of Leon.
He hadn't gotten all that well along with his guardians because of that attitude of his, what did he thought at that time?
Wasn't it -They're my future guardians? Do they even fit with those backgrounds of theirs?
It was that very thought that kept him from truly interacting with any of them.
Ienari snorted. Now that he looked back on his attitude towards everything, he was a jerk. There was no two way about it. His attitude only loosen after Reborn's constant grinding, then by his brother's appearance.
To be honest, he couldn't remember a moment - besides that time when he blew his top - where he put up an attitude around older twin. The latter just had an air about him that wouldn't let anyone look down on him despite his appearance.
Tsuna had kept his calm through everything - minus the fight that time. The smiles that he showed were warm, but those eyes of his were almost indifferent as they gazed everything like he was just... just a spectator that had only took a temporary stop in this world.
The thought made Ienari knit his brows in worry, because that feeling - Hyper Intuition as Reborn told him long ago - of certainty was particularly strong at that point, even more so after -
Knock, knock!
- Ienari was brought back from his thoughts by the knock of the door. He lifted his head, staring blankly at the door that he hadn't even noticed opening because he was lost in thought seconds ago.
"So..." The familiar voice was one Sawada Tsunayoshi drawled through the office as said person leaned against the frame of the entrance, his arms folded across his chest, his lips curled into a lazy smile, creating an idle air about him. "Whatcha thinkin'?"
"... how long have you been standing there?" Was the first thing Ienari blurted out.
Tsuna raised a brow at his younger twin but played along with him. "Five minutes ago."
"..." Ienari blinked, his mind slowly registering just who he was seeing as his eyes widened ever-so slowly with his jaws nearly touching the ground. "O-ONII?!"
"You're too slow." Tsuna offhandedly commented as his gazed traveled to the stacks of papers, his hand involuntarily twitched.
"What - I - you -" Ienari sputtered, bolting up from his chair and slamming his hand against the office table. "What are you doing here?!"
A frown marred the brunet's face at the sight of the shaking stacks of paper due to Ienari's commotion, but he retracted his gaze and fixed them on Ienari, still not making a sound.
Ienari was getting uncomfortable by Tsuna's constant staring that he shrunk back. "W-what is it?"
"... Why can't I be here?" Tsuna finally spoke after several long minutes of silence. He had came to check on Ienari after Reborn had brought up an issue he noticed and deemed necessary to fix.
The hitman said that Ienari and his guardians were beginning to become too reliant on him. He found it somewhat difficult to digest, as Tsuna was sure he didn't come into contact with them too many times - though that wasn't saying much when he and Ienari lived under the same roof and all that. He tried not to butt into their business other then trying to get them back to their feet. So, where did they get this dependence from?
(Tsuna seemed to have overlooked the fact that it was because he had done that that they unconsciously looked to him for guidance.)
"Um..." Ienari was stumped by his question as well as that arrogance - true arrogance Tsuna was displaying with his words and bearing. He briefly wondered if there would be a day he could be like that before feeling that something was off about this thought. How could Tsuna show more of a mafia boss attitude than him?
(It wasn't him trying to look down on his brother, but honestly, Ienari just haven't bear witness to Tsuna's prowess... yet.)
Shaking his thoughts away, he tried to level a gave with the brunet as he answered the question. "Because I... you shouldn't... be here...?" His voice got quieter and quieter when those sunset-orange orbs seemed to be boring a hole into him. It was till the point that Ienari had to lower his gaze because he couldn't stand keeping eye-contact.
"..." Tsuna knitted his brows for a brief second, too brief for Ienari to notice - not that he would noticed anyways because he and his head down like a chastised child. He then pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed (tiredly if one were to pay attention).
"Back straight, head up, Ienari," Tsuna instructed coolly as he approached his brother's side. He frowned in dissatisfaction at the emotions written over Ienari's face. "Remember, you're a mafia boss. Act like one. Don't go around showing your thoughts on your face."
"... Huh?"
"Oh god," Tsuna massaged his temple at the response. "Get a dictionary too."
Ienari stared at the brunet strangely until he couldn't hold in his confusion. "Onii, you... you knew?"
"..." Tsuna pursed his lips. He knew he couldn't keep pretending anymore, especially now that they were in Italy. And it was because of that uneasiness he and Enma was feeling ever since the day they stepped on Italian soil that Tsuna knew he could no longer keep the act.
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Tsuna's gaze intentionally turned cold as he stared down at Sawada Ienari. That latter involuntarily took a step back at the sudden pressure he was feeling, almost tripping if he hadn't had a hand against the edge of the table.
Putting the blonde's response in his eyes, Tsuna inwardly smiled in satisfaction. Good, at least he knew that Ienari wasn't as ignorant. This way, he would be able to imprint onto Ienari how he should act as a don - not like that indecisive self his younger twin displayed more often than not.
"H-huh - ?"
Tsuna stopped him with a fleeting glance, conveniently sitting down on the black leather swirl chair that Ienari got up from. He turn it to face Ienari with his elbow propped against the arm of the chair, his body slanting slightly as his cheek rested the back of his knuckles, and his leg was swung over the other. He made an example of how a mafia was supposed to be when he released his domineering aura.
"Ienari," His voice was lazy, but his eyes sharp, creating the illusion of a king looking down on his subjects - Was this still the brother that he got to know?
"Here!" The blonde involuntarily announced as if he was in roll call. He blinked several times after, at a lost for words. "Eh...?"
"You're going to have to step up your game Ienari," Tsuna curled his lips into a faint smirk. "You end up like an airhead like our father."
"..." The blonde, once again, stared at his older twin strangely as if he couldn't recognize the latter anymore.
"Of course you don't, just as I couldn't recognize you after so many years."
"...!" If he a mind reader?!
"Ienari, don't give me that face," Tsuna frowned in disdain, his other hand tapping on the other arm of the chair. "I'm neither a psychic nor a mind reader. Like I said, don't go around with your thoughts written all over your face."
"...Onii," Ienari knitted his brows, but tried to follow Tsuna's advice as he soothed his expression. "What's going on?"
"... Again, I'm not an idiot," Tsuna slowly started, leaning against the spine of the chair as he absentmindedly picked up a fountain pen and played with it. "I learned the truth sooner or later, y'know. Reborn was obviously one who doesn't beat around the bush. Gokudera and Lambo were not throwing around toys, but dynamites, guns, bazookas, weapons " - Ienari grimaced - "Yamamoto has a real sword, not a bamboo one, Ryo-nii's excuses were far from realistic, Dokuro is sweet and all but anyone who's associated with Rokudo was anything but normal, and Hibari -" Tsuna paused momentarily before he deadpanned "- Hibari was Hibari." (Because everything was wrong with the Skylark.)
He spared a glance back at a shrinking Ienari. "You tell me Ienari, what is going on?"
"Um..." The blonde fidgeted, nonplussed at being put on the spot. (If Ienari was keener, he would've noticed that Tsuna was intentionally tossing the hot potato back at him.)
The brunet stared silently at the uneasy form on Ienari and sighed. "Ienari, if you keep getting tongue-tied like this, you'll never improve."
"... what do you mean?" Ienari subconsciously took offense to take, because it sounded so, so much like -
"I'm not trying to discourage you like that," Tsuna struck down the blonde's incoming deprecating thought. "But while we're on this topic, let's get one thing straight, Reborn won't be there for you all the time - as a matter of fact, no one would constantly be by your side."
"But didn't you say that I have you and everyone else to rely on?" Ienari argued.
"I did," Tsuna knitting his brows before expanding bluntly, "But that doesn't mean you can look to us to solve your problems all the time - and that's not how you should see us as either. Remember, we're here to help, to support you as you make the decision."
"..." Ienari remained silent, causing the other to sigh for the umpteenth time. Tsuna knew he was being harsher and more direct than previous two times, but there was no two ways about it. The best way to break an illusion was to destroy it directly at the core in one go.
"Ienari, look at me."
Said boy lifted his head, staring straight into the too-deep of a pair of sunset-orange eyes that told of experiences far beyond his imagination. For the first time since weeks ago, he seemed to be facing with that illusion again (of a taller shadow not of this world, but smiling warmly upon him like his brother did so, so long ago). He couldn't shake off the image of an unreachable sky every time he saw it.
"You need to stand up for yourself, Ienari. Just because of people ask too much of yourself, that isn't enough on an excuse for you to just stop. That's being a spoiled brat, Ienari, and I don't want to see you as one who needs to be constantly babied." Tsuna's gaze flitted across the blonde's darkening face, sunset-orange eyes remaining indifferent. "You don't want that either, do you?"
"No..." Ienari balled his hands into fists, lowering his head and glaring at the floor. "But what am I supposed to do then?"
"That," Tsuna smiled faintly. "Is something you have to figure out yourself." And he would like to pat himself on the back for successfully avoid spinning a long, headache-inducing story of how he knew of the mafia and why he pretended like he did and redirecting the topic to his younger twin.
"Onii," Ienari spoke up suddenly, distracting the brunet from his self-satisfaction.
"What is it?"
"Are you really going to my adviser like Reborn said?"
"..." Ienari's sparkling eyes made the corner of Tsuna's mouth twitch. He finally understood why Reborn said Ienari and his friends were reliant on him, because those were the very same eyes Tsuna used to look at Reborn with during the period of time he was too dependent on the Sun Acrobaleno.
Thinking back to the counseling he just gave without much thought... damn, wasn't it the result of him babying them too much. "I don't think I ever voiced my agreement to that - and even if I did, don't be a smartass. If I'm ever your adviser, I would advise when necessary like what both the job title and job description said, but I'll never help solve your problems for you."
He placed a hand on Ienari's shoulder, solemn as he added, "Especially if it involved paperwork, capiche?"
Ienari sweatdropped, that never crossed his mind -
"I heard paperwork -"
Swish!
- "Tsuna," Enma growled as he sidestepped a flying fountain pen, letting said pen to rocket out the door and struck the poor wall opposite of the office. "What. The. Hell."
"... reflex." Tsuna chuckled awkwardly, his hands up in the air in defense. "Pure reflex!"
"Reflex my a**," Enma glowered, pointing at the deeply embedded fountain pen with web of cracks surrounding it. "That could have been my f***ing eye, a**hole."
Tsuna winced, feeling guilty. If there was one thing that could easily make his best friend flip, then it was anything hazardous related to his compass-eyes (as paperwork was Tsuna's - but let's be truthful, paperwork was the bane of every mafia boss's existence). He already had enough jeers about them since he was young, but as a inherit trait passed down in the Simon bloodline, Enma was rather proud of having them - especially when it was also the Simon Family's emblem. (If a famiglia's emblem didn't signify its pride, then Tsuna didn't know what did.)
"It won't happen again," Tsuna vowed. "Promise!"
"The day I believe that..."Enma narrowed his eyes at a certain paper stack as if it owed him a million bucks. ...Is the day paperwork no longer exists.
"..." Tsuna couldn't argue with that.
"Onii..." Ienari had been wide-eyed the entire time, because holy - he did not just saw what he just saw!
"Anyways," Enma was quick to pour water over his own anger, preventing Ienari from speaking further. "I brought them over."
It was only now that Tsuna took heed of the Tenth generation guardians behind the entrance that Enma was blocking, but they were currently staring, dumbstruck, at the pen in the wall.
Great job. Enma shot his best friend a derisive look.
Tsuna felt the urge to facepalmed. This wasn't the (re)first impression he had in mind!
A/N: Well... all I can say is this: I'm sososososo sooooooo sorry for the late update! .
This is a bit of a mess if you ask me, but yeeeaah... I hope the characters aren't too OCC...
Also, I made a mistake in how long Tsuna and Enma stayed awake for, so I'm gonna be fixing that for the previous chapter :)
Let me just make a sorta-timeline here:
Day 1: Hyper Duo arrived. Met Squalo.
Night 1: Took down two Families. Went to climb the Alps.
Day 2: Climbed the Alps. Met Vindice. Freed Rokudo. Got a ride to Venice.
Night 2: Met Dino. Dealt with Serpentine. Crashed at hotel.
Looks about right, right? :D... Tsuna and Enma sure did a lot in two days...
Happy reading! ~ヾ(＾∇＾)