Chapter 38: Noticing the Overlooked
The Ninth didn't say a word as the hitman finished. Reborn did not fidget despite the silence and the hazel brown eyes' hard, piercing gaze. Timoteo was known for his calm, almost blank gaze. Those who had not experienced it scoffed that no one could be intimidated by an old man's glazed-over gawking. The old man probably had fallen asleep with his eyes open and hadn't heard a word the person in front of him had said. But the Ninth did hear. Timoteo listened and logged every word that every man or woman spoke in his presence, analyzing it for what was true, what was false, what was embellished, and what was left out. Some had gotten away with lying to the man on paper for months thanks to all the paperwork that passed through his office, but lies to his face rarely lasted a day. As soon as the meeting was over, the Ninth would have cross referenced and verified the information five different ways. By the end of the day, the information would have been run through about fifteen different processes. And the Ninth did all this without allowing a pile of paperwork over twenty sheets to occupy his desk. There was a reason the Ninth was the Vongola boss who had lasted the longest, and those underestimated the "old man" usually didn't live long enough to regret it.
"So Tsunayoshi is stronger than Tamaki," said the Ninth calmly. Reborn did not move a muscle. The hitman couldn't afford to show weakness. Old friend or not, he had crossed a line with the bland, false reports he had sent in the last week. The issue of the next Vongola boss was too sensitive and important to Timoteo. Four of his sons had been sacrificed for the future of Vongola, and Timoteo did not want to sacrifice anyone else. Reborn had not wanted to go against the Ninth on this issue, but the brat would have brought chaos to the Vongola and probably the whole mafia world whereas Dame Tsuna had potential to continue the Ninth's work and return the Vongola to its original state. If the Vindice had not taken the brat, Reborn's well-laid plans would have proved that potential (or lack thereof in Tamaki's case) without the tedious question and answer session. Unfortunately, recent events had led to this change of plans. "And due to a gift from our Signore Kawahira, the Vindice were not able to sense Tsunayoshi, prompting them to take Tamaki instead."
Reborn nodded. Words would only serve to worsen the situation at this point. The hitman subtly glanced out the window. The sun had passed the 3 o'clock position. He had half an hour more until the plane needed to take off. Of course, the plane would go nowhere without the hitman, but for the 34 hour deadline, the hitman had to be in the air in 25-30 minutes. They would lose time crossing the time lines, and a certain moronic student of his could get into any kind of trouble. Dame-Tsuna attracted trouble like honey attracted bees, and in this case, unless he was sat upon, he probably would go seek it out. The boy was not ready to take on the Vindice, and hopefully the martial artist would pound into Dame Tsuna's head that the boy wasn't going anywhere right now. A knowing smile crossed the Ninth's face.
"He must be quite a boy to catch your interest," said the Ninth. "A sky strong enough to capture the elusive sun. I would like to meet this Tsunayoshi of yours."
The hitman did his best not to frown at the wording. Or the tone that sounded too much like a certain storm arcobaleno's.
"Nono-," Iemitsu started, and Reborn's fingers itched to pull the trigger to both his Beretta 92FS.
"I understand your concern and our agreement, Iemitsu," said the Ninth. Only Timoteo could make his expression both hard and soft. "But the situation has changed. The agreement will be upheld if the terms under which they were made were valid."
Honey brown eyes blazed at Reborn and would have set the hitman aflame. Apparently, Iemitsu actually cared for his sons' fates. The man could have fooled Reborn.
"I presume that you already have a plane waiting and prepared to head to Japan?"
Again, Reborn nodded. He knew he would not like the next words out of the Ninth's mouth.
"Then call the pilot and inform him that he will have two more passengers."
The sounds of a knife striking wood calmed Nana. She made sure every slice was precise and perfect. Nothing but the best for her little Tsu-kun and…Her smile slipped, but she quickly recovered. She had yet to make breakfast for Tsuyoshi-san and Takeshi. And Fuuta was the only one of the kids who had gotten to enjoy her breakfasts. Plus Gokudera would probably pop in. Nana wasn't sure the eager boy would have even left if it hadn't been for Irie escorting the silver haired boy out. Maybe Irie would come back with Gokudera and bring along those other two too, and perhaps Lancia would return. The man had worn such a sad, defeated look when he had left last night. A hearty breakfast would cheer him right up, or rather a lunch at the rate it was taking the boys to wake up. Hopefully Lancia would bring Fuuta back with him. Nana hadn't seen Fuuta since he went to play with Lambo and I-pin hide and seek yesterday. Fuuta never strayed far from Lancia other than to visit Takesushi and Lambo and I-pin, so Fuuta probably went to visit that white haired man with Lancia.
"The kids are still asleep," said Tsuyoshi-san as he entered the kitchen.
"I'm sure the smell of food will wake them right up," she said, her smile stretching to its limits. "They're growing boys. They'll eat all the time if you let them."
"I know what you mean. Lambo eats anything you put in front of him, and Takeshi doesn't stray far from the refrigerator, especially after practice."
"Between the three of you and your sword practice with Takeshi, I'm surprised that you have any food. I can't imagine I-pin eats that much. Tamaki could always out-eat Tsuna before Tsuna started practicing with Fon. Now Tsuna can eat almost as much as Tama…," she said, trailing off. A strong hand covered her shaking one, steadying the knife. Hazel eyes looked steadily into hers.
"Tsuna is surprisingly stubborn," said Tsuyoshi-san. "We will get Tamaki back."
The knife was placed carefully on the counter, and Nana rested her hands on the wooden surface. The sharply cut vegetables dulled into waves. She rubbed her eyes, but the waves, blurriness, continued. Dark nights staring at an empty spot on the bed swam across her vision, and then twin pairs of brown eyes filling the spot and looking at her with mixed fear and concern. A small hand would reach up and wipe her cheeks and face with practiced gentleness. But then, her Tsu-kun has always been a gentle child. Her chest tightened at the thought of those soft brown eyes hardening and breaking.
"Tsuyoshi-san," she said, the name escaping in a soft breath. "Why were those…those black cloaks after Tsu-kun?"
"As your son said," said the man as he moved to the other side of the counter to put the cut vegetables in the boiling pot. She could only see his back. "He made a deal for Lancia's life."
"Tsu-kun wouldn't let someone get hurt if he could stop it," said Nana with a hint of pride. Her son's soft heart would never change, but... "But how did Tsu-kun end up with them in the first place? How did his pretending to be Tamaki save Lancia-kun?"
"As I heard it, Tamaki had the proper qualifications to make a deal with those men," said Tsuyoshi-san, his back still to her as he stirred the miso soup. Nana picked the knife back up and started cutting the remaining vegetables. She forced her hand to remain steady.
"And those men were…?"
"Takeshi called them policemen," said Tsuyoshi with forced amusement in his voice. If Nana hadn't been listening so closely, she would have been fooled. Part of her wanted to ignore it, the way she had ignored her husband's overly cheerful manner when he talked about his job or the way her youngest would glare at her eldest over nothing or the darkness that filled her eldest's eyes whenever Iemtisu came home. She would excuse her husband's manner with a normal desire not to talk about work, and Tamaki also had moments where he stared at Tsuna almost longingly, and Tsuna never meant anything by his hard, shadowed gaze. She kept excusing her husband's absences and her youngest's glares and her eldest's hard gaze, even as the cheerful manner verged on ridiculous and the longing stares nearly stopped and the hard gaze started appearing at even a mention of her husband. Nana could decide to ignore her eldest's growingly heavy steps or Tsuyoshi-san's carefully worded answers in the same way.
She wouldn't worry about them except on the days where the dark corners of her mind were lighted with unforgiving clarity. Like when those chains had wrapped around her youngest and yanked him out of the house, and debris knocked her down and left her barely conscious. Or when she saw her eldest sitting surrounded by acquaintances and friends who had their eyes focused on her sweet little Tsu-kun as if waiting for direction. Or when she sat staring at the cell phone in her hands wondering if her husband would pick up and if she could dare demand that he come straight home because one of her boys was missing, taken, and the other was looking far older than his fourteen year. Or when she realized that years had passed since she had called Tamaki and Tsuna "their" boys instead of "her" boys.
"They aren't exactly policemen," Tsuyoshi-san continued, "but they're close enough."
"Tsuyoshi-san," Nana said, her voice hardening. The man stilled, and she waited until he looked back at her. "What's happening to my Tama and Tsu-kun?"
She cringed at the panic fraying the edges of her words, but she couldn't take them back. She wouldn't. Tsuyoshi-san gave her a sad smile and turned fully back at her.
"We will get them out of it," said Tsuyoshi-san. "I promise you."
Nana's chest loosened and startled her. Other than her eldest, it had been a long time since she had so simply trusted a promise. But she had made a decision. It was a mother's job to worry.
"I know," she said softly. "But please…."
"You love them," said Tsuyoshi-san. Nana's throat constricted, and the waves, returned. She pushed them back.
"Yes," she said putting the knife back down and squaring her shoulders. "I do. And that's why I need to know."
Light warmed Tsuna's eyelids and stirred him into consciousness. He was late. Usually he was awake before the sun rose to make everyone but himself lunch. If he tried to make lunch for himself, Hana would make sure to remind him that she did not appreciate getting up early to make a lunch that no one would eat. Thankfully, Fran had come to visit yesterday, or Tsuna would have ended up eating both bentos. Neither Hana nor Tsuna liked to waste food.
A weight kept him from jerking upright in fear of receiving one of Reborn's wake-up calls. Some of the hitman's wake up methods were deadly as Tsuna had unfortunately learned the few time he woke up "late." Most wouldn't consider 5:00AM late, but then Tsuna had come to realize that Reborn was nowhere near like most people. The weight shifted, and a second weight moved a little in response to Tsuna shifting away from the first. Lifting his head up, Tsuna identified the two weights as Lambo and I-pin. The two kids snuggled into his side. Thankfully, Takeshi wasn't in his futon, so no one would see Tsuna in this position. Not that it was the first time, but Takeshi hadn't yet caught the two sneaking in and asking (or rather demanding in Lambo's case) to sleep with their "big brother". Or at least the other teen hadn't mentioned it. The scene was embarrassing. The two had even convinced Fuuta one time about three days ago to come with them when Tsuna had taken a nap after training. Tsuna didn't understand why I-pin and Lambo kept sleeping on Tsuna whenever possible. Tamaki had been the same way when they were little. He would find any reason, a storm, a nightmare, a sudden fear of the dark, to come and sleep in Tsuna's room.
"Oto-kun," Tsuna gasped as he snapped into a sitting position. A whine and a whimper dragged his attention away from the image of Tamaki suspended unconscious in chains several stories above their house. Lambo had fallen away at Tsuna's sudden movement and instinctively moved back to Tsuna's side, grabbing Tsuna's pajama top and mumbling something about not letting the bad guys get his teddy bear. I-pin started to stretch and wiggle like if she was going to wake up, but Tsuna quickly put a hand on her shoulder and she stilled and grabbed the hand. Wrapping herself around it, she sighed and smiled and went back to sleep.
"Quite the predicament you're in, kukuku," said a laughing voice. Tsuna's whole body tensed and strained not to move. The heat licked under Tsuna's skin, but it didn't burn hot enough to indicate imminent danger. The intruder was dangerous though. The man with the checkered suit bowed and tipped his checkered top hat. The checkered theme tugged at a thought somewhere in Tsuna's brain, a warning or something someone had implied was dangerous, but Tsuna couldn't remember what it was. "It's good for me though. I didn't know when else I would catch you alone. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Yonomichi."
Tsuna stared and vaguely wondered when people popping out of nowhere stopped being weird. Normally, Tsuna would have leapt from his futon and back as far away from the stranger as possible. But he couldn't with the kids clinging to him, and Byakuran had tried to appear from nowhere so many times in the last few days that Tsuna couldn't worry about strangers popping out of thin air unless they were attacking him. Even before Byakuran, Reborn had liked to jump out from some dark corner late at night and scare Tsuna before checking the boy's homework. Yep, people coming out of thin air didn't bother him anymore.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" asked the weird man. Tsuna wondered what one said to strangers who popped out of thin air. Now that he thought about it, most people in his life who popped out of thin air usually did so after he knew them, except for maybe Uncle Kawahira. "Ah, never mind. You're Sawada Tsunayoshi, future Vongola Decimo, and twin of one Sawada Tamaki who is currently being held against his will in the fifth underground level of Vindicare. Wow! I don't usually remember so much information without my notes. Guess your information is too interesting to forget."
Blackness filled Tsuna's vision as his senses struggled to capture echoes of voices and clangs that froze his wrists and ankles.
"My, you look like you've seen a ghost, fufufu," said Yonomichi amused. "Or perhaps remembering a bad dream? It's lucky for you that the former owner figured out part of how the mist Augurio works and activated it, or else it would have been you and not your brother who would have ended up in the Vindice's care."
"What do you know about Tamaki?" asked Tsuna quietly, Lambo's grip on his pajama top and I-pin's hold on his hand the only things keeping him from lunging at the casually smiling man and demanding answers.
"Off the top of my head, not a lot. He's not as interesting as you are. But I have it written down somewhere," Yonomichi mumbled. He rolled down a sleeve. Lines and scribbles Tsuna couldn't decipher even in better lighting twisted and looped along the man's arm. "Heal something what's injured…middle of the day…gift…nope. This is the cursed sun's information. He's not very smart, so you should probably ask him about the gift. Should be on my other arm then…" The other sleeve went up with more scribbles surrounding it. "Oh! This has to be it. Unless it's on my ankle. But I think that's where I put my grocery list. Let's see…The mist and thunder…Definitely it!"
The man cleared his throat, and Tsuna tried not to think of strangling it. Yonomichi continued in as slightly formal tone (it still sounded too bubbly and enjoyable to be formal). "Kawahira's right, so don't worry about that. But make sure to ask Lancia for a gift in doing what your tutor should tell you. And have someone fight with your storm. He has to show you what he has. And Checkerface sent this to help."
A silver glint arced through the air. Tsuna barely caught it in his free hand before the object fell on Lambo.
"So that'll help your storm…I mean Gokudera Hayato. His name's a bit smudged see," said the man pointing to a scribble. "He could use that. Or perhaps it'll work better with your smart sun…oh my, I keep getting these wrong. Shoichi Irie's his name, right? Well, he can help Gokudera figure it out. Or the other way around, whichever works. The rai-I really need to get better pens-Yamamoto Takeshi can help too. Even you can. Not much, of course, because your only active one is powered on someone else's command. It just uses your flames as power. Hm? I wonder if I've said more than I was supposed to? It's not every day I can say so much off without reading my notes, so I got carried away. Sorry. But there is one last thing I need to say: this gift goes well with the other. And the last of the set is where the obvious sun always shines. That's it. I think. Any questions?"
"Tamaki," said Tsuna, his tone sharper than before.
"Do you know your eyes turn orange when you're mad? Very few people's eyes change like that you know. At least if I remember correctly, hahaha," said Yonomichi, his hat lopsided on his head. "You're not very smart either. That's a little disappointing. I thought you'd understand Checkerface-sama's intention. All of this has to do with your brother."
"What?" said Tsuna. All of it…? "What do Irie-kun and Gokudera and Takeshi and Kawahira and Lancia have to do with Tama—" Tsuna stopped, last night and the papers suddenly coming back to mind.
"You figured it out! Maybe you are somewhat smart too! Fufufu," said Yonomichi with a wide, pleased grin. "It's all courtesy of Checkerface-sama. He wants to see what you do with the Vindice. Oops. Said too much again. Oh well. I hope your rescue operation works. If not, don't die. You're the most interesting thing that's caught Checkerface-sama's eye in a while."
Before Tsuna could ask who Checkerface-sama was, Yonomichi walked into the wall and disappeared. Tsuna blinked. The wall was real. It wasn't like the crack, and the man wasn't like the crack either. So if neither of them were illusions, then where had Yonomichi gone? A part of Tsuna screamed that it wasn't important, but then important meant Tamaki in a mafia prison and Reborn gone and a plan that might or might not work.
"哥哥'," whispered Lambo, the small hand entangling its fingers farther into the pajama top. "Don't leave."
Brown eyes pleaded the same thing in Tsuna's mind, and Tsuna placed a hand on Lambo's head, trying to push the brown eyes back. But they wouldn't leave. Lambo grimaced and shook his head to get away from the hand. Tsuna pulled the hand back, and Lambo settled down. An object glittered against Lambo's black hair, and Tsuna carefully untangled it from the short curls. He had forgotten about the strange man's gift. Tsuna put the object up to catch the morning light, and the glittering increased and changed to a faint yellow glow. An emblem. An Augurio. Checkerface-sama (whoever that was) had given Tsuna an Augurio. Tsuna put it in the pocket of his sweatshirt. It clicked against the other one, and Tsuna took the other Augurio out. The platinum object almost glowed orange and outlined all the detailing on Tsuna's favorite birthday gift.
The circular emblem that hung from the orange band never ceased to calm Tsuna. Unlike the one around his neck and the two Takeshi had, this one was always warm. The etching on the platinum didn't have the detail that the feather on the Augurio tied to Takeshi's sword did, but the etching wasn't as simple as the Takeshi's other Augurio either. Six simple designs repeated twice around the edge of the circle each in the positions of hours on a normal clock. The raindrops stood in place of the 12 and 7. The whirlwinds took charge of the 1 and 6 spots. The lightning bolts sat on 10 and 2. 11 and 5 were replaced by smoke-like clouds that reminded Tsuna of mist while white puffy clouds like the ones that drifted alone in the sky were where 4 and 9 would be. Suns filled up the last two places at 8 and 3. Each design sat inside four lines that didn't make squares because every design shared two lines with two others. Those shared lines extended to the middle and connected with a diamond shape. Inside the diamond was blank, but Tsuna felt like there should be something inside it. But Tsuna didn't know what. And right now, Tsuna didn't care.
Tsuna gripped the Augurio hard and closed his eyes. He pictured his brother at home in the room where Tsuna left him. Their mother would be fussing over Tamaki, making sure he ate even when he complained he wasn't hungry. But he would eat, because she wouldn't leave the room until he ate. Lancia would be watching them with that blank look the man always wore when watching over Tamaki. And Fuuta…Fuuta! Tsuna opened his eyes, pulling away from the scene. He didn't notice the Augurio had burned into a clear but deep orange. It flickered out too quickly, and Tsuna had automatically placed it in his pant pocket as he rushed out of the room, too busy to see what his wish, his resolution, had almost done.
Fuuta didn't know what had happened. He had come back from Takesushi and playing with I-pin and Lambo. The two only wanted to play hide and seek, and Fuuta had gotten bored when they couldn't find him. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't used the Ranking Planet to find places to hide. So he had left without telling them. They had taken hours by that point, and Tsuna was going to be home soon. Tsuna had said he was coming straight home that day, and Fuuta had wanted to be there when the older boy got home.
Fuuta had gotten to the top of the stairs and was about to say he was home then the house shook and made Fuuta fall back down the stairs. His ankle had snapped, but Fuuta had ignored the resulting pain when he heard the rushing sounds of chains. He had recognized the sound immediately. He had heard it from the stairwell in Rokudo Mukuro's base. The Vindice had come. The number one organization who would take advantage of Fuuta. And the one who every reason to come and get Tsuna. But Tsuna could not have arrived from school yet. Only Mamma, Lancia, and Tsuna's annoying brother…oh. A scream had sounded from the room that had probably held Tsuna's brother, and thumps had echoed soon after.
Fuuta had stared back up the stairs. He had known without contacting the ranking planet that going upstairs was the #1 action that Fuuta should not do. But Mamma and Lancia had been upstairs and—the house had shaken again and the stairs burst into splinters. Some had caught on Fuuta's hands as he shielded his face, and the blast had pushed him against the wall. The blast had also left Lancia laying at the bottom of the stairs, bloody and barely conscious. The man propped himself up on his elbows and strained to stand. Fuuta had wanted to help, but he couldn't move because his other leg started hurting. Lancia hadn't needed help because he had stood up without it, but a chain had snaked down from where the stairs used to be and had knocked the man against the door that broke and sent him out into the yard. More chains had slithered out and broken through the walls and whatever else was in their way. Fuuta had ducked as one whizzed over him, and he had dragged himself to the bathroom. Dust clouds followed the cracking of breaking wood or the crash of glass and ceramic breaking into a million pieces. Finally, Fuuta had gotten to the bathroom and sat in the darkest corner of the bathroom waiting until the sounds stopped. And they had, but it didn't matter. He had wanted to move, he had wanted to go find Lancia or Tsuna or Mamma, but his right ankle had burned and sent sharp spikes up his leg and his left thigh throbbed. Scared, Fuuta had looked at his left leg. It was swollen, and when he had tried to move it, he nearly screamed. It had hurt. And it still hurt. A lot. His right ankle was swollen too, but it didn't hurt so much to move.
Fuuta sat there for a long time. He had slept for a bit, but he kept waking up. His whole body hurt, he was cold, and he wanted to cry. But he couldn't. If he did, the Vindice would find him and take him away. Like they did Tamaki and Lancia and Mamma. And like they would Tsuna. The room got blurry, but Fuuta couldn't help it. He was alone. He couldn't go back to Takesushi. The Vindice would go there next, and Lambo and I-pin would find out that the Vindice had taken their 哥哥' away. And they wouldn't want anything to do with Fuuta then, because Tsuna wasn't there to tell them to be nice to him and Mamma didn't give him food to share with them and Lancia wouldn't give them surprise piggy back rides when they were in the middle of a fight. Fuuta…Fuuta had to rely on himself again. He had to be strong, like he had been before meeting Lancia and Tsuna and the others. He would have to start running again when his legs healed. Until then, Fuuta would sit and wait.
His stomach grumbled and squeezed painfully and reminded him he hadn't had food since breakfast with…, but Fuuta's stomach used to complain a lot, and Fuuta didn't mind if it began hurting again. Not for a little while. A little yellow bird had come and sat on Fuuta's head, dropping a bag of soft delicious cookies onto the boy's lap and easing the hurt in Fuuta's stomach. After thanking the bird, Fuuta started thinking about what he would do next.
When his legs healed, he could use his rankings to help someone win some money. And then he would leave Namimori for some other place. Somewhere nicer than Namimori, a place that would have better food than Mamma made and someone who made things safer than Lancia and would accept people like Tsuna and didn't cheat at games like Lambo or scold people like I-pin. Somewhere…somewhere Fuuta would never have to move again. Never ever run away. And Fuuta…Fuuta would never be alone.
"…ta!"
Pain surged through Fuuta's body as he jumped at the sound. Someone was near. Fuuta could only hope they wouldn't find him. He couldn't move. He had been here too long. He should have forced his leg to move, even if he screamed. He couldn't even move from his position. His left leg wouldn't bend and help him hide behind what was left of the toilet.
"Fuuta!"
A flicker of recognition sparked in Fuuta's head. That voice…! The door to the bathroom, which barely stayed upright, fell in front of Fuuta. Very worried and almost panicked brown eyes scanned the room before landing on Fuuta. A small relieved smile blossomed under them, and Fuuta blinked.
"Fuuta," said the same voice that had been calling earlier, the panicked tone gone. The brunette teen walked over to Fuuta. "Are you all right?"
Fuuta opened his mouth to say that he was okay…that he hurt….that Tsuna wasn't supposed to be here…that what happened to the Vindice…that Tamaki was taken…that…that…
"Fuuta, it'll be okay. I'm here now. It'll be okay," said Tsuna, brown eyes scanning Fuuta, making sure he wasn't hurt.
"You came," said Fuuta, his voice shaking. "You…you weren't taken by the Vindice…"
"No, I wasn't," said Tsuna, a dark shadow passing through his already dark brown eyes. But Tsuna's eyes were never that dark. "Tamaki—"
"They took him. And Lancia and Mamma," said Fuuta, not letting the blurriness spill out. "I…I saw them…"
"They didn't," said Tsuna. He looked Fuuta over. "They…they only took Tamaki."
Fuuta could see a hurt worse than his legs' reflected in the horrible shadows darkening those brown eyes. He smiled, trying to chase them away.
"He'll be alright," said Fuuta cheerfully. "He's got an awesome big brother."
The shadows faded, and Tsuna almost smiled. Gently, hands lifted Fuuta off the floor, and Fuuta let out a cry.
"What happened? Where are you hurt?" asked Tsuna, moving to put Fuuta back on the floor, but Fuuta grabbed the teen's lean arms.
"No," said Fuuta. He gave another smile, or he tried to. "It doesn't hurt that much."
"Yes, it does," said Tsuna. "I have to go get help—"
"No! Don't leave!" cried Fuuta. Tsuna stared at him, and Fuuta bit his lip. Carefully, Tsuna placed Fuuta back down, and Fuuta didn't protest. Fuuta knew better than to cry out like that. Tsuna was just going to get help, not leave Fuuta alone again. Tsuna had the #1 kindest heart in the mafia. He wouldn't leave Fuuta. Not even if Fuuta hadn't been able to stop the Vindice from taking Tsuna's brother. Fuuta would be alone for a little while, and then Tsuna would bring back help. Fuuta only had to wait for a little while more, and he would get back to Mamma and Lancia and the others. Just a little bit more.
"Can you get on?" asked Tsuna, startling Fuuta a little. The teen's back was to Fuuta, but Tsuna looked back and smiled a not-Tsuna smile. "You like piggyback rides, right?"
Fuuta nodded, and then shook his head.
"You don't like them?"
"I…It'll hurt more," Fuuta said quietly. The room was blurring again. "My leg hurts."
"It doesn't have to," said Tsuna suddenly. The brown eyes widened, and he quickly continued. "I don't know, but Reborn's pacifiers glows yellow sometimes and it's yellow. So it might work."
"Yellow?" asked Fuuta. "What's yellow?"
Taking a deep breath, Tsuna pulled out a small platinum pendant on a yellow string from his pocket. It looked cracked, like it had been used to block something strong, and was in an almost cross shape, except the four extensions were the same size and bent a little in different directions. In the middle glowed a bright yellow stone.
"This…this is a gift," said Tsuna quietly. "It's supposed to grant a wish. At least that's what Takeshi says. Want to try?"
"Okay," said Fuuta, staring at the object. It caught the light and almost glowed yellow a little like…no, just like…Fuuta reached out to grab it, startling Tsuna, but the older boy simply put it in Fuuta's hand. A soothing warmth pulsed from the object and echoed through Fuuta's body, and Fuuta clutched it. "This was Papa's."
"It was your father's?" Tsuna said confused. Fuuta nodded.
"Papa would let me hold it when I got hurt," said Fuuta. "And then he would touch it, and yellow fire would come out. And I would feel all better. He never told me how he did it. He said it was a secret."
Tsuna smiled a little, still not a Tsuna smile, and touched it. The Sol Augurio, as Papa used to call it, flared with sparkling yellow flames. The sparks floated in the air before falling like mini shooting stars onto Fuuta's thigh and ankle. A hot itch sunk into both injuries, but before Fuuta could move to scratch them, it stopped. Smaller sparks fell all around Fuuta, and itches pricked several places but quickly left. Soon the yellow sparks and flames were gone.
"Do you feel better?" asked Tsuna. Fuuta stared at Tsuna before tackling the teen with a hug.
"Thanks Tsuna-nii!" cried Fuuta, squeezing the teen tightly. For a moment, Tsuna froze. Then a hesitant hand patted Fuuta's head, and Fuuta knew that what he had said before was true. Tamaki had the best big brother in the world. And now Fuuta did too.
Fon didn't panic. Panic resulted in wasted movement and erratic thought processes. And whatever or whoever caused the panic would seldom benefit from it, unless the person was an enemy, and one could not afford to give an enemy any advantage. Fon took a breath and stilled his twitching muscles. Lichi bounced up and down on his master's shoulder before climbing onto Fon's head to avoid his master's hard gaze. Taking another breath, Fon tried for the third time to assess the situation.
Tsuna was not in his bed where he had been earlier that afternoon. Fon had left Lichi with the boy while Fon went to discuss their next move with Tsuyoshi. They couldn't keep using Takeshi's Rain Augurio every time the boy needed to rest, and who knew how Tsuna would react when he finally woke up. Takeshi had long since awoken and was down in the dojo with his father going over sword theory, and the taller boy had suggested they keep going over the plan until Tsuna was better. Then they could all rescue Tamaki. Fon had been amused by the young swordsman's bright outlook and had hoped that Takeshi's scenario would prove correct. When Fon had returned upstairs, a frazzled Lichi had met him, chattering something about missing Tsuna's shoulder and the boy running from the room too fast. Fon had entered the room to try to make sense of Lichi's chattering. The first thing that had come to the martial artist's attention was that Tsuna's futon held only two small bodies. The third body and the one most in need of rest was gone. Taking another breath, Fon took Lichi off his head and loosely held the monkey at arm's length.
"Slowly. What happened," said Fon. The small white monkey shook, and the martial artist realized he hadn't succeeded in softening his tone. Shakily, the monkey chittered that Tsuna had suddenly sat straight up and knocked Lichi off. Lichi would have gone to tell Fon that Tsuna had woken up, but a strange man had appeared that smelled like the Man in the Iron Hat, so Lichi had stayed to protect Tsuna. But then the man had left without doing more than talking (Lichi didn't really understand what the man said). Without worrying about the man hurting Tsuna, and since Tsuna hadn't noticed Lichi the whole time, the monkey had decided to go get Fon. And then Tsuna had suddenly left the room after something that the strange man had given Tsuna had glowed orange. Fon had his doubts that the object that glowed had been the one that the "strange man" had given him, not if the color was orange. But the thought was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as Lichi chittered that the monkey had no idea where Tsuna went.
Running through the possible locations (including the one that neither he nor Reborn could enter or even locate– that place, the one where the mysterious Kawahira resided), Fon hurried back to the dojo to inform Tsuyoshi and start searching for the renegade student. And when the martial artist found said renegade student, Fon would practice a binding technique that his old master had demonstrated when any of his students were needlessly reckless. Tsuna might benefit from experiencing that technique firsthand.
"Back so soon," greeted Tsuyoshi. "Is Tsuna up already?"
"He's gone," said Fon, barely noting the worried look that crossed the man's face as he decided that his student would have most likely returned to his house. Tsuna wouldn't return to that place anytime soon, from what Tsuyoshi had said, the boy had become cautious of the white haired Kawahira, and Fon doubted Tsuna would go to the arcade. Something must have been left in the house that the boy considered important. The alternative…Fon decided that Tsuna had to be in the Sawada residence. "I need to go get him."
"Do you need help?" asked Tsuyoshi.
"He's probably at his house," said Takeshi. "I'll go help you get him."
"Of course," said Fon, almost managing an amused smile. Tsuyoshi's son had inherited every bit of the man's loyalty.
"Dinner's almost ready," said Nana, surprising the three. Fon hadn't considered the woman. She might know what the something Tsuna had left in the house was.
"We have to go get Tsuna, and then we'll come back and enjoy your wonderful food," said Tsuyoshi with a reassuring grin.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," said the woman with a bright smile. "I was going wake him and the kids up from their nap."
"He's already awake," said Fon quickly. "We believe he went back to your house for something he might have forgotten."
"Tsuna's never gotten too attached to things," said Nana, her smile straining. "I can't think about anything he would go back for. But I can go check."
"I think it'll be best if we check the school," said Tsuyoshi. "He may have gone in that direction."
"That's true," said Nana. "Tsuna's become so dependable in school in lately."
"I could call Hana and ask," volunteered Takeshi. Fon didn't know that Hana had gone to school that day. But then the girl did put a prime importance on academics.
"Please do that," said Fon. "There is always the arcade—"
"I'm home!" The whole room froze. That voice sounded like…but it was too playful and low pitched. A blonde man burst into the room. "Nana!"
"I-Iemitsu!"
Omake 2: Putting Aside the Unwanted
It had been Tsuna's seventh birthday. Nana had been out of the hospital for five months by that point. Five months where Iemitsu had found himself too busy to call or write. But the Ninth had forbidden Iemitsu to continue working until the blonde man had visited his blood family. Iemitsu had spied on his sons and wife for days before deciding to show himself to them. Nana had baked a beautiful cake with white cream frosting as a base and blue swirled frosting in the form of the kanji for Tsuna's name. Iemitsu remembered Nana telling him over the phone before the incident that Tsuna had not been able to recognize his name in anything other than hiragana back while Tamaki could recognize both their names in hiragana and kanji, and Iemitsu had seen evidence of it in their classes. Their teacher had scolded Tsuna countless times for miswriting his name in kanji. The cake had obviously been meant to help Tsuna learn the kanji form of his name, and Nana had spent hours making it as perfect as possible. She had always been the sort of woman who could make a celebration out of anything, and Iemitsu decided to "crash" the party.
A cry followed the opening door as Tamaki gave out a happy cheer, and Nana ran out from the kitchen with a large kitchen knife in her hand and her face stretched and twisted and pale. Iemitsu had forced his hands to lay flat and not curl into fists. They had already been stained red with the blood of his wife's would-be assassin. Her face eased into a more familiar smile, one he had gone eight months without and only now realized how fully he missed it. Nana put the kitchen knife subtly in her pocket, probably assuming that he hadn't seen it and not wanting to worry him, and greeted him with genuine cheer. She didn't run and throw herself into his arms like she would have back when they were first married, but then the boys were in the way. Her eyes spoke of her longing to do just that. He complied with her suppressed wish and sidestepped the boys, wrapped his beefy arms around her, and planted a firm kiss on her forehead. She tilted her head backward, and he placed a deeper one on her lips. She nearly melted, and he could feel desire rising in him. A small hand gripped Iemitsu's sleeve and yanked him away from such pleasure.
"I want to hug Papa too," Tamaki demanded cutely. Iemitsu laughed and scooped up their youngest.
"So has my little Bullet gotten stronger while I was away?" asked Iemitsu as he tossed the boy high in the air. Tamaki laughed and hollered in the air, smiling widely in a way that Iemtisu hadn't seen in all his days watching the boy. When their youngest finally rested safely in his father's arms, he stopped giggling long enough to answer his father's question.
"I'm super strong," said Tamaki flexing his muscles. "Much stronger than Dame Tsuna!"
"Dame Tsuna?" asked Iemitsu, finally turning to their eldest. Tsuna had stayed by Nana's side, not taking a step closer to his father. "Did you get a new nickname while I was gone?"
Tsuna didn't say anything, but he lacked the shy smile that Iemitsu was used to seeing upon the blonde man's entrance. In fact, Tsuna's eyes were dark, and the empty gaze sent a shiver down Iemitsu's spine. The dark brown eyes pinned Iemitsu in place, analyzing him, judging him, but then Iemitsu put Tamaki down and swept up Tsuna, and the dark brown eyes disappeared, replaced by wide, startled, chocolate brown. The eyes that never failed to remind Iemitsu of Nana. Tsuna squeaked and clung to the large arms as they tried to toss him like they had Tamaki.
"Let go, my little Tuna-fish, or you won't go as high as your brother," said Iemitsu. Tsuna shook his head, prompting Iemitsu to sigh inwardly. His wife was many things, but she wasn't a coward. "Come on. My little Bullet didn't have problem doing it."
"It's too scary!" cried Tsuna, clinging tighter to Iemitsu's arm. Iemitsu laughed heartily and stopped trying to throw Tsuna upwards. Apparently, Iemitsu had to try a different tactic. In the brief moment of stillness, Tsuna's grip loosened a little.
"Don't you know? Real men face their fears!" said Iemitsu, tossing Tsuna up in the air. Tsuna cried out as he flew through the air, and Nana nearly snatched him out of the air and pulled him safely into her chest. But Iemitsu sent her a look, the he-would-take-care-of-it look. Iemitsu would be the one to catch the small flying boy. After a lot of unnecessary screaming, Tsuna landed safely into Iemitsu's arms. "See? Wasn't that fun?"
The deep breaths that Tsuna took didn't leave the tiny brunette a chance to answer. Usually, this would be the part where Tamaki would hurry over and drag Tsuna out of Iemitsu's arms and tell Iemitsu that Tsuna didn't like it. But their youngest did nothing. Tamaki stood there with a smile, no a smirk, on his face. The smirk startled Iemitsu, who had known his sons to be inseparable. Sure, they had barely spoken to one another in the last few days, but Iemitsu had assumed that they had been in an argument. Siblings got into fights sometimes, or so Oregano said every time one of the Vongola heirs ended up beaten and bruised at Xanxus's hands. Tsuna didn't seem bruised or hurt, so it would be fine. The two boys would make up soon. After Iemitsu put Tsuna down, Tamaki had grabbed Iemitsu's hand and wouldn't let go.
The cake was cut, and an argument broke out. Tamaki demanded to have the "biggest" piece, and Nana tried to remind him softly that it was Tsuna's birthday. Tamaki refused to let Tsuna have the cake piece.
"Now, now," said Iemitsu. "It's Tsuna's birthday."
"No," said Tamaki. "I want it. And Tsuna doesn't care."
Tsuna shook his head and reached for another piece, but Iemitsu stopped him. Iemitsu grinned at their youngest, comparing the look on Tamaki's face to Xanxus's as a child. But Tamaki is more petulant child than violent brat. Actually, Tsuna's earlier expression reflected more of Xanxus…Iemitsu blinked back the thought. His eldest was nothing like Xanxus, and neither was his youngest. And there was cake to be eaten.
"Well, since it's your birthday tomorrow, you can have an even bigger piece then, don't you think?" said Iemitsu.
"Yeah," said Tamaki. "But I want to get the big piece today too. I'm stronger than Tsuna, so I get to have the biggest piece."
"Oh, and why's that?" asked Iemitsu, amused by the answer.
"Because I have to stay stronger. Which means I need to have more energy. And teacher says energy comes from food."
"But cake isn't good energy, remember?" said Nana. "Vegetables are good energy."
"Your mom's right," said Iemitsu. "So you need to eat the most vegetables if you eat the most cake."
Their youngest wrinkled his nose, but Tamaki soon nodded.
"Can I have the biggest piece if I eat the most vegetables later?" asked Tamaki.
"Of course," said Iemitsu. Tamaki took the largest piece and started to eat.
"I'm done," said a quiet voice from the other corner of the table. Tsuna had an empty plate in front of him. Iemitsu had forgotten the boy during the conversation.
"Already?" said Nana, quickly hurrying over to pick up Tsuna's plate. "Do you want more?"
Tsuna shook his head and smiled brightly in a way Iemitsu had never seen before.
"Thank you, Mama," said the boy softly and dipped into a bow.
"I want more," said Tamaki, icing smeared all over his mouth.
"But you're not done with your piece yet," said Nana.
"But I want more," said Tamaki. The icing dripped from his cheeks as he frowned. Nana sent a pleading look to Iemitsu, and he chuckled nervously. He had played father enough tonight. Tsuna mumbled something, and Tamaki instantly bristled. "That's not true!"
"But Tsuna's right," said Nana.
"He is? What did he say?" asked Iemitsu.
"Dad, right I don't need to eat more vegetables if I eat more cake?" asked Tamaki, tugging on Iemitsu's sleeve.
"Why would you need to do that?"
"See!" said Tamaki, glaring at his brother. "I don't need to eat more vegetables!"
Brown eyes appeared from under brown bangs, and Iemitsu saw a replica of his wife's most disappointed expression on a much younger face. Tamaki's glare skidded to the side and away from the expression as the icing covered cheeks puffed out.
"Fine," said Tamaki, pushing the half empty plate away. "I wasn't hungry anymore."
"Time for your bath then," said Nana.
"But I don't want a bath!" Tamaki whined. "And it's Tsuna's turn first!"
Iemitsu grinned and watched as his wife finally pried their youngest away from the table and to the bathroom. Their youngest certainly had a stubborn streak. It would serve him well if the ever came into the situation where he had to be Vongola Decimo. Timoteo had promised to keep the twins away from the mafia, outside the world of the famiglia, especially after the incident. No one should have known about Nana, but an off-handed comment to Tumeric had ended up with Nana almost dead. Iemitsu had proceeded to discuss the matter with the Ninth, and though the boys were both eligible heirs to Vongola, only one would be allowed to enter the famiglia. When it came down to between the twin who was scared of everything, who still had trouble writing his name, and was so easily forgettable and the other who was scared of nothing, who could at least write his name, and wouldn't let anyone forget him when he was in the room, the choice had been obvious. And as Iemitsu had suspected, Tamaki took his promise to become stronger and prove himself a man to Iemitsu seriously, so his youngest should be prepared should ever the day come. His little Tuna-fish, on the other hand, would never be up to the task.
The air shifted and became stifling. The boy who had earlier been near invisible suddenly caught Iemitsu's full attention. The blank brown eyes had reappeared and stared straight at Iemitsu. No timidity quivered their edges or had them look away when Iemitsu caught their stare. Iemitsu couldn't recognize them. They resembled his little Tsuna's, but then they blinked and shimmered, allowing Iemitsu a glimpse of…something…
"Papa," said a quiet voice. "Where were you?"
The familiar question set Iemitsu's mind at ease, and he grinned at the boy. He mentally flipped through his cover stories. Picking one, he scooted his chair closer to Tsuna, whose gaze had not left his father.
"I was at work, directing traffic at the North Pole!" said Iemitsu. "I couldn't get here sooner because Babbo Natale had such a hard time with directing the penguins up there!"
"What's bahboe nahtahlay?" asked Tsuna, his nose wrinkling in a similar way to Tamaki's had earlier.
"Babbo Natale," Iemitsu repeated. "He's the man who lives in the North Pole and brings presents for good little boys and girls on Christmas."
"Oh," said Tsuna, those brown eyes darkening again. "He's a story."
"He's not a story," said Iemitsu, puffing out his chest. "I met him myself."
"Did you tell him about Mama?" asked the small boy. The dark brown eyes that bore little resemblance to Nana's once again pinned Iemitsu in place. "Or about Tamaki?"
"I talked about you three all day long," said Iemitsu, trying to reassure the boy. So that's what this was all about. Iemitsu's little Tuna-fish was worried about his Papa forgetting him. Iemitsu had seen it before in some of his coworker's children when said coworkers were away from their homes for long periods of time. The children would worry that their parents had forgotten about them. As if Iemitsu could ever do anything of the sort with his little bullet and tuna-fish.
"Did he tell you you should come home?"
"Ah, it wasn't that simple," said Iemitsu, growing uncomfortable under the now seven year old's gaze. He scratched his cheek as he tried to figure out what exactly he needed to say to get that gaze to go back to the soft, shy one he was used to. "Papa had tons of work to do in order to keep those penguins in line. Otherwise Babbo Natale couldn't get his work done and children all over the world would be unhappy."
"You're lying." The phrase came out Iemitsu's sweet son's lips entirely too sharply.
"Now, now, why would Papa lie to you?" asked Iemitsu, his finger scratching too hard and almost drawing blood from his cheek.
"I don't know," said Tsuna tonelessly. The shadowed gaze had taken a slight orange sheen. "But you lie to me and Mama and Tamaki a lot."
"And what makes you think that, my little Tuna-fish?" asked Iemitsu leaning slightly backwards and away from the boy in his lap. The almost orange eyes didn't let Iemitsu's discomfort lessen, even as the head they were attached to cocked in a childish manner.
"Because you do lie," said Tsuna, in tone that didn't match the high-pitched voice. "Because you say that you were with penguins, but you weren't. Because you say you couldn't come, but you could. Because you say that you love Mama and Tamaki and me, but you don't."
"That's not true," said Iemitsu, his arms slipping from their places around the small boy. Anger boiled in his stomach as confusion lurched it. Someone had been lying to his little Tuna-fish to turn him against his father. "I love Tamaki, Mama, and you very much."
"No you don't," answered the little boy calmly. "Because you didn't come home."
"I already told you, Tuna-fish, I couldn't come home. I had too much work."
The orange-hinted brown eyes narrowed in a harder manner than before, and Tsuna jumped off Iemitsu's lap.
"It's hot when you talk," said Tsuna, giving Iemitsu one last hard look. "Like it is when people lie."
With those confusing words, Tsuna headed out of the dining room. The little boy didn't look back once to see the shocked expression on Iemitsu's face. Iemitsu had stared at the doorway, working through the churning in his stomach and the heaviness in his chest to figure out exactly what has happened. But nothing of the sort happened. The little boy that had marched out of the room wasn't anything like Iemitsu's Tuna-fish. Iemitsu's Tuna-fish would smile shyly and attach himself to Nana's skirts, and his gaze wouldn't be able to pin the experienced CEDEF leader in place with the help of a few well-placed words. Iemtisu's Tuna-fish was no-good and adorably so.
Comforting himself with the thought that his mind was playing tricks on him due to unnecessary guilt, Iemitsu indulged himself by pulling his wife into his lap the instant she entered the room and locking her lips with his. Thought escaped him for the next bit, and when thought was once again possible, he decided that he had spent enough time idling. He needed to get back to Italy and return to running the CEDEF. His adoptive father's organization would not thrive without his presence, and the Nono couldn't possibly continue without him. His quick departure had nothing to do with the continued dark mistrust shadowing Nana's eldest's eyes or the growing heaviness that invaded his chest every time their youngest's small hands clung to his clothes or his wife's brown eyes dulled as he pulled away from her. Iemitsu was a busy man, and his wife understood that. And his sons would grow up and understand that he did this all to protect them. Besides, it was better this way. Nana would wait eagerly for Iemitsu's return with romantic fantasies filling her head, and Tamaki was growing up strong and daring like his father, and Tsuna…Tsuna would stay with Nana and comfort her when Tamaki became the Vongola Decimo.
So the next day, Iemitsu woke up early and told his wife that his job had called him to the far reaches of Canada to help with their moose crossings. She giggled when he had spun a story where the herding of moose saved the world, and she put her head to his chest and asked if the world could wait another day. He had said no, of course not, as she buried her face deep into his chest. After taking a deep breath, she had smiled at him and wished him the best luck.
He had not realized until several months later that he had left on their youngest's birthday without even saying goodbye, and only then thanks to one of his subordinates who had asked why October was such an important month to Iemitsu. He had called Nana and asked how their youngest's birthday went. Nana had cheerfully described how she had made a bigger cake and invited all Tamaki's friends and even given their youngest two extra surprise presents. The cheerfulness had skipped a beat as she had gone on to recount how Tamaki had demanded more because Papa had been at Tsuna's birthday and not his. Iemitsu had laughed hard to distract from the image of dark orange-brown eyes and commented that their boys were so adorable. Nana had laughed less heartedly than he did, but she quickly recovered by asking when he would come home and mentioning that Tamaki hadn't been feeling well again.
Sighing inwardly at his wife's overprotectiveness, Iemitsu reassured it that whatever was plaguing Tamaki was probably nothing worse than a cold. The CEDEF leader couldn't have his wife babying the possible future heir to Vongola. Tamaki was tough; he could take a small fever. He had back when Iemitsu had talked to Tamaki in the hospital. And if the tendency to catch fevers got back to the Ninth, Timoteo might reconsider Tamaki as a legitimate heir and then…he shook off the dark orange-tinted eyes. Eyes that didn't belong on such a young face. Eyes that should not belong on a child of his or Nana's.
Pushing aside the image, he ended the call saying that his work was calling him and he had to go. One the phone was back on its hook, he decided to head back to the office and bury himself in paperwork. He loved his eldest son, but with his mind playing tricks on him with imaginary orange-brown eyes, it had become hard to remember the cute no-good little boy who really was Iemitsu's eldest. Once the image faded, Iemitsu would feel better about his eldest. Until then, he would anger Lal and irritate Oregano and exasperate Tumeric. Perhaps there was someone new at the office that he could tell about his youngest's latest shenanigan and complain over how much he missed his wife. Thankfully, no one at the office knew that he had two sons. So, for a little while, he could pretend he only had one.