Oh. My. Good. Golly. Gosh.
Seriously. This chapter took me freaking forever. Usually, if something isn't completely perfect then I'll let some things slide that won't really matter in the long run. Couldn't do that this time. Had to really nail it and by god I think I've done it.
...I hope I've done it.
Aghhhh! It's done! It's here! I hope you enjoy!
Nana contemplates life
Snake is slapped with reality
...Kyoko's scary
So is Lavina
The kid gang forms a gang (through treachery)
Tsuna would like to die now, thank you
Kyoya's both a momma's boy and a teacher's pet, don't let the blood and murder fool you
Haru is either fearless or suicidal
Nana contemplates Snake
-00-
Better Than Nothing
-00-
Life was odd. Especially when viewed through the concept of time. You can experience so much in just a single day that it makes the time seem to stretch on forever but then you look back and suddenly a year, five years, a decade has passed in the blink of an eye. Even moments that hold the biggest importance, events that are stamped onto your soul like an engraving in stone, can seem both distant and like they happened only yesterday.
Nana's conversation with Tsuna had been a week ago and already it felt like it had happened long in the past while still startling both of them with the changes it had brought. Nana had felt that their relationship with their son was already strong. They didn't think it was possible for it to get better but somehow, impossibly, it had. There was this added layer in their interactions now. Simple smiles with deeper depths of feeling than ever before. Tsuna hugged Nana all the time now. At least twice a day (when he left and when he came home) and while he still blushed like the embarrassed teenager he was he never let it stop him from telling Nana he loved them. Nana themself felt like they had suddenly understood Tsuna in a way they hadn't before. Tsuna was truly becoming his own person and being able to treat him with different levels of responsibility was both frightening (he was growing up so fast, did he really need to rush…?) and heartwarming (he was growing up so strong).
Nana hadn't stopped smiling the entire week.
Then, of course, there were the changes in Tsuna himself that made Nana want to laugh, cry, and cheer until the whole world knew how amazing and how loved their son was. To an outsider's view, the changes were small. Barely noticeable. Simple things that no one would really notice outside a passing thought.
But Nana noticed.
How Tsuna woke up on time, by himself, nearly every morning now. How he kept straightening his shoulders randomly throughout the day, trying so hard to walk taller when his own body kept naturally shrinking down. How he sat down to study, without any prompting, at the kitchen table even if his focus could only last for half an hour at most and he ended up grumbling to himself while he flicked his pencil around (before Reborn appeared to scare some energy back into him). How Tsuna would sometimes approach Reborn to ask questions about his homework or the exercise Reborn had assigned to him. Nana wished they could read the toddler's mind just to know what was really going through his head when Tsuna, the night after their talk, asked the hitman if he knew any exercises that would help him get stronger. Usually Reborn had to trick or scare Tsuna into exercising but now (while Reborn still did that at least once a day) Tsuna was trying to motivate himself to do it. Tsuna tumbling down the stairs at five in the morning, shirt inside out and shoes untied, to tell Nana that he was joining them on their morning run had been like the cherry on top (even if Nana had to cut their run in half so Tsuna didn't die).
Tsuna was fourteen-years-old and he was already leagues ahead of where Nana had been when they were his age (the first time around).
Speaking of their age...
Nana was thirty-four years old. They had been thirty-two when they died. Nana had now officially been in this life longer than the first but it didn't feel like it.
It felt… weird.
Nana blinked up at the sky above her, the leaves filtering the sun down to little beams of warmth along her body as she stretched out lazily in the grass. Fourteen years and Tsuna had already experienced so much. Grown so much. If he could learn and adapt to so many things in little more than a decade then Nana wondered what his life would be like when he was thirty-four.
Hell, in that amount of time she had gotten magic Lightning powers that were somehow flames even though they were lightning, the ability to choke someone out with her thighs, a second father, a musical goddess as a sister and close friend, super close knit friends she would die for, a home of her own and enough money to actively take care of anyone she met that needed it (which had always been her dream because of her first father and her siblings but the economy sucked and she had't had the opportunities back then she had now), a student who actually listened to her even though he was some kind of eldritch horror with a penchanct for categorizing everyting based on eating habits (even if what he called them and what their actual eating haibts were did not match in any way), an educatinal background that made her seem like a damn philosopher compared to her last life, a voice in her head that had somehow managed to change rapidly from 'most hated enemy' to 'closest confidant' in a handful of years, a son who was not only the reason for her being ableto have all this in the first place but was also the kindest, most beautiful person Nana had ever known and who looked at her like she had made the world just for him (he had called her his hero, holy shit), and another son who was so imaginative and sweet it made her want to cry all the time even when he decided her shirt would be an acceptable substitute for a tissue (and by god would she break Lambo of that habit if it fucking killed her).
And those were only a few points. The ones she could think of off the top of her head as being the most influential in her life and choices. Those didn't even begin to encompass the millions of pieces that made up who she was and what she aimed to be. Her neighbors who helped raise her, her schoolmates who went from 'run, hide, they're crazy as fuck over here' to 'we are family and I would give the world to you if you asked', her friends in Namimori individually in the ways they affected her life and how they came together as one conglomerate to form her very heart and soul, her son's friends who were so unique but heartbreakingly kind in all the same ways, Iemitsu who even after all this time had still built the foundation she needed to start down this path, and so many hundreds, thousands, millions more. If she could get all of that in such a small amount of time she couldn't wait to see what Tsuna was able to experience.
A breeze brushed through Nana's hair and she inhaled deep to let it fill her lungs. Grass poked and brushed along the exposed parts of her body, minuscule little sensations that showed proof of something miraculous. She was alive.
As she exhaled she sat up, stretching her arms just to feel the muscles and tendons pull. Wiggling her toes in her shoes because she could. Grinning because she wanted to.
"Heading back?" Snake wondered.
"Yeah," Nana said. It was time to go home.
-00-
Halfway down The Mountain her phone rang. Nana was honestly surprised it had taken anyone this long to contact her. Usually by noon she had at least a few texts from Tsuna, half a dozen from Lavina, and maybe one or two from their house guests.
"Hello?"
"Hi Nana!"
Nana skipped along the path, light as air. "Hey Aiko! What's up?"
"Are you free tomorrow afternoon?"
Nana thought about it. "I think so, yeah. Kyoya is doing independent research for a project so our lesson will be short. Why, what's up?"
"I heard you're going to Italy soon!"
Had Lavina told her? Probably. Or one of the Hibaris found out and snitched.
"Yeah, there's a reunion thing going on with Lavina and I's old school," they explained.
"Is Lavina going as well?" Aiko wondered.
"We're not sure yet. Her doctors said as long as her tests remain positive then she should be able to go but we're holding off on a decision for now."
"I see," Aiko murmured. "If you're both free you should come by for lunch! We're closing a bit early and inviting everyone together! I feel like it's been too long since we all got to hang out."
Nana smiled. "We'd love to have lunch with you all! And Kouske too, I guess."
Aiko huffed out a small laugh. "I'm sure he'll be delighted."
Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever she said.
"This is perfect! Natsuki will be happy you're both coming. It was actually her idea!
Nana tilted their head, suspicious. "It's at your house, right? No tricks?."
The fricken castle/restaurant/thing from Nana's last dinner with the Hibaris was awesome, sure, but she really didn't think her heart could take a repeat of that little excursion.
"Of course it's at our place," Aiko sounded amused. "Oh! And um, Natsuki said you might want to text Kyoya-kun at some point today. I don't know why she couldn't tell you herself, but she seemed busy."
"Kyoya?"
"Yeah, she said he's been worried about something but he seemed fine when I saw him earlier..."
"Ohh," Nana grimaced. As Kyoya expanded further into his plans for Namimori (it was kind of terrifying how both Natsuki and Kouske seemed perfectly content with letting him pretty much rule the city) their lessons together grew shorter and less frequent. Besides the homework Nana would make for him to make sure he retained everything they hadn't really had any serious lesson time since her talk with Tsuna. And that day in particular she had texted him that something had come up so she had to cancel. Which she had never done before and never actually explained to him after… "I'll be sure to do that. Damn, he must be seriously mad at me by now."
Natsuki hummed, worried but trusting. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. And Natsuki-chan said to come prepared so be sure to do that, bye!"
And then she hung up.
Nana stared at her phone for a second. "Did that feel off to you?"
"Everything about the Hibari family seems 'off' to me."
Well damn. That sure said a lot, considering it was coming from Snake of all people.
"I guess I just… shouldn't worry about it? I'll figure it out tomorrow."
"That is a viable plan."
"Yeah," Nana sighed, running a hand through their hair. "I'll see if Kyoya wants to meet up too. We can get sushi while I try to convince him everything is fine."
"Is everything fine?"
She rolled her eyes. "This last week has been amazing, of course it is. Why do you always think something is wrong?"
"It is good for you to verbalize your problems. And, as you have mentioned before, your thoughts do occasionally stray from my ability to understand them. Hearing them makes it easier to know if there is anything troubling you."
Nana blinked. A slow smile started to unfurl across her face. "This actually physically pains me admit to this out loud, but you did say it first so it's only fair. I'm proud of you Snake."
"What?" he sounded confused.
"I'm proud of you," Nana repeated, sliding down the last incline of dirt that remained between the forest boundary and the sidewalk of Namimori. "I've been all introspective lately and thinking about how things used to be. I know you said you're this 'stagnant being' that never changes but you have. A lot. Remember when you first told me when I had to have Tsuna?"
"...I do," he said, with an undertone of second-hand embarrassment for his own past self that Nana related to on a soul level.
"And how every time I stopped freaking the fuck out you would remind me again?"
His reply was terser. "Yes."
"And how you just- you really sucked at emotional understanding and empathy?"
"I am assuming you have a point to all of this."
Nana paused on the sidewalk. They didn't really want to have this huge emotional bonding moment where people could see them talking to themself like a crazy person.
"You're not like that anymore," Nana smiled softly. "You're still an asshole, and I'm still totally pissed about the reincarnation without asking thing, but you've changed. You actually care about me, I can tell, and I see how you care about the people around me too. When Tsuna went home last week you said I should let his friends know so they could be there for him. I doubt that had anything to do with saving the world. You've taught me recipes that are easy for Lavina to digest, and you always help me keep an extra eye on her during her bad days. You give me advice when you don't need to, and when I do my weird stories you don't tell me how ridiculous I am anymore. You join in and point out flaws so I have to actually work to make my weird-ass nonsense somehow realistic. You have competitions with me, and you laugh sometimes. Snake," Nana blinked, coming to a sudden realization. "Holy shit. You're my best friend."
"...Lavina is your best friend."
Every good feeling that Nana had been feeling up to then froze. She had told Snake, honest and true, what she had noticed because she wanted him to know that she had noticed but suddenly she felt like she had stepped over a landmine where there wasn't supposed to be one because that had not been Snake's voice. It had been soft and quiet in a way she struggled to hear even though it was said directly into her head. It had sounded shaken in a way that Snake just wasn't.
It had sounded scared.
"Snake?" she called hesitantly.
"Lavina is your best friend, Nana," Snake said again, his voice completely back to normal.
"You can have more than one best friend," Nana told him, eyes wide and stock still. Their own voice lowered subconsciously to match his. She hadn't imagined that, had she? "And… I love Lavina with all of my heart, but I can't tell her everything. You know me Snake. You know who I was. You have been with me through everything, and I can tell you anything. You are my best friend."
Snake didn't respond.
Not ten minutes later. Not thirty.
Not when Nana called out for him or when they finally started to head into town. Not when Nana looped around the next block twice, just to see if he was really taking his time to respond. She had wanted him to know she saw him trying but… had he known he was trying? Had Nana just bullet-pointed something he wasn't even aware of?
Even if she had, why would it freak him out like that?
Nana texted Kyoya. They called ahead to Tsuyoshi to make sure some seats were open for lunch.
Snake said nothing. Nana didn't even know if he was there anymore, watching over like always.
For the first time in thirty-four years, Nana was completely alone with her thoughts.
And she hated it.
-00-
Trying to work with Reborn was like trying to pour sugar out of a torn-up bag. You only wanted a little, just enough for what you were making, but it all flooded out at once no matter how careful you were.
"Initiation," Reborn had explained when Tsuna asked what, exactly, they were doing outside at a park on a Thursday afternoon when they should be in class. If that hadn't been ominous enough the hitman had also been cleaning out his sixth gun in preparation for whatever 'initiation' meant.
"Come on Tsuna," Takeshi threw an arm around his shoulder, laughing. "We used to play with wooden swords too, remember?"
Tsuna did remember. Vividly. For a person that swore off violence so adamantly Kyoko was downright horrifying with a weapon in hand. There was a very good reason they stopped playing those games after day one.
"W-we all decided those were too dangerous! And those aren't swords!"
Takeshi nodded, corners of his eyes twitching a bit at the memory. "Yeah, but Kyoko-chan's not playing this time so we should be fine. Besides, he's just a kid! He can't hit us that hard, can he?"
'He can!'
"Hayato," Tsuna whipped around, practically nose to nose with the silver-haired boy as he begged for at least one of his friends to understand how dangerous this all was. "Please tell me you want no part in this."
Hayato, for all that he was near and dear to Tsuna's heart, had a tendency to not listen during important moments. Like now. Instead of listening to Tsuna and agreeing that this was absolutely not how the day should go he was staring straight up at the sky. Tsuna grabbed his shoulders, shaking a bit to draw his attention back but Hayato only pressed his lips together and leaned even further back. Tsuna was starting to worry he would pass out. The strain on his neck was turning his skin red and the further he tilted his head the wobblier he seemed.
Tsuna sighed in defeat. Backing away he slumped next to Takeshi.
"We are extremely late!"
A dust cloud settled over them as something blurred past. Tsuna coughed, waving his hand in front of his face. The pit of dread in his stomach grew three sizes. That had sounded like…
"You're late," Reborn chided, holding his fedora so it didn't fly off in the wind.
"I'm sorry!" Ryohei cried, bowing deeply. "I was helping a cat into a tree!"
"Hah?" Hayato looked incredulous. "What the hell do you mean into a tree? You help cats out of trees you dumbass!"
Ryohei shook his head, straightening up and crossing his arms. "You are wrong Octopus-head! This cat wanted to be in that tree but it lacked one of its legs so I helped it achieve its dreams!"
"You put a three-legged cat in a tree?!" Hayato shrieked. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"You… probably shouldn't do that," Takeshi agreed, laughing a bit.
"But it wanted to be there!"
"Onii-chan!"
Kyoko rounded the corner of the building. Tsuna and Takeshi shared a tense look.
She stormed up to her brother. "I told you to stop helping Bean-chan into trees, you know he's not supposed to eat leaves."
"What the fuck is happening?!" Hayato whispered aggressively, throwing his arms out.
"Welcome to my world," Tsuna grumbled under his breath. "Reborn, I don't want all of my friends getting dragged into your crazy plans."
Reborn stood, a particularly intimidating looking rifle resting on his shoulder (how was he not tipping over with that huge amount of weight?). "The potential each of you has shown, as well as your loyalty to Tsuna, has made you prime candidates for Guardians."
"Don't just ignore me!"
"Guardians?" Kyoko tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Like… protectors?"
"Yes," Reborn said. "The number one job of a Vongola Guardian is to protect the Boss."
Takeshi patted Tsuna's shoulders, beaming. "That's you right?"
Tsuna muffled his scream with his hands.
"Tsuna will be the Boss," Reborn confirmed. He smirked, twirling the rifle in a way that was completely impossible given his size and pointing it at the group. "You all need to prove you can handle being a Guardian."
Ryohei cheered. "This sounds like an EXTREME challenge! I will proudly join!"
Hayato hissed at him from the side.
"The rules are simple. Protect Tsuna by whatever means necessary. A side goal is to be the last Guardian standing. Whoever is the last one able to protect Tsuna will become his right-hand man."
The horrified look on Hayato's face went unseen due to the more horrifying exclamation next to him.
"Oh!" Kyoko clapped excitedly. "This is just like when we were kids!"
Linked together by a common purpose (and Takeshi's arm) Tsuna and Takeshi took three quick steps away from her.
Reborn stared at her. He would need to look that up.
"Well, this is a surprise," a familiar voice commented. They all looked over at Lavina who was rolling her way into the park. Lambo was sitting in her lap eating an ice-cream cone.
"M-Ms. Lavina," Hayato stuttered, torn between the joy of seeing her and the horror that she might potentially see him fail at his greatest goal in life. He stared at his hands before his face settled into a look of stone-cold determination. He could not lose.
Tsuna didn't even bother to try to feel relieved or hopeful. Anyone else and he might have actually tried to ask for help but Aunt Lavina had very skewed understandings about what 'playing with your friends' meant. She would probably only be happy to know that Tsuna was hanging out with his friends 'normally' for once.
"Lavina-san," Reborn tipped his hat. "What a pleasant surprise."
Tsuna side-eyed him. 'Surprise' his ass.
"Aren't you all supposed to be in school?" she wondered, waving happily at Hayato to let him know she wasn't angry with him.
"They were doing simple reviews today," Reborn explained. "Something we do every day anyway. I thought it would benefit them to have more physical activity added to their day."
Lavina lifted Lambo up and set him down, handing him a napkin as he tried to drain the last melted remains of his ice-cream by putting the entire opening of the cone over his mouth and turning it into a suction cup. "You take such good care of the children, thank you Reborn."
"It's my job," Reborn said modestly.
Tsuna raised his face to the sun, eyes closed as he prayed for a stray meteor to strike him down then and there.
Takeshi laughed, jostling his shoulder's a bit.
"You look like you're praying Tsuna!"
"...I am."
Lavina looked around, absentmindedly twisting the ice-cream cone so it would pop off when Lambo started flailing his arms around helplessly. The cow-child gulped down as much air as he could before nearly smothering himself with the napkin and suffocating himself again. Lavina pulled it deftly out of his hands. "I don't see Kyoya-kun, is he not joining you? He loves these kinds of things."
Tsuna prayed a little harder.
"He had something to do," Reborn shrugged. "It doesn't matter, he has already passed his test."
"What?!" Hayato roared. "When?! HOW?!"
"It's time to begin," Reborn's gun clicked tellingly. "Lavina-san, would you mind keeping score?"
"What are you playing?" she wheeled herself up next to him. "Can Lambo-chan play?"
"Sure," Reborn said over Tsuna's 'NO!'. "They're doing the Guardian Test."
"Oh, how exciting!" Lavina clapped her hands in an uncomfortably close mimicry of Kyoko earlier. "Those were always so much fun! Good luck Hayato! Do your best Lambo-chan!"
"Lambo-san will destroy you all! Ahahahaha!" Lambo struck a pose, laughing maniacally.
It was like watching a car crash about to happen. Hayato had sticks of dynamite between his fingers, death in his eyes. Ryohei had lost his shirt, stretching his arms as he screamed to get his blood pumping. Kyoko was stretching, looking peaceful as always even with the fire burning in her eyes. Takeshi was… still laughing. Tsuna ducked out from under his arm before Hayato could make the taller teen his first target.
"L-let's all calm down a bit," he begged. "R-Remember, the main goal is to keep each other safe, right?"
"No, just the Boss. Feel free to kill each other."
"Reborn!"
"I'm sorry Tsuna," Hayato looked down in shame. His hand tightened around the dynamite. "But I have to win. I will be your right-hand man."
"You have to win first," Takeshi teased, stepping closer to the trees (and, Tsuna noticed, further from Kyoko). "And I don't think anyone is really too keen on losing."
"I play to win," Kyoko sang, stretching her leg behind her until her toes brushed the back of her head.
Hayato blinked, staring at her strangely. "Are you-?"
"Start."
"Sneak attack!" Lambo threw a large handful of candy (which had been in his hair) at Hayato's face.
"Agh! You little-!"
"Kyoko," Ryohei sounded scandalized. "Fight fairly!"
"There's no rules stopping me this time Onii-san."
Tsuna yelped a bit when Takeshi dragged him back into the trees away from the group, out of the way of both the fighting and Reborn's immediate line of sight.
"Nice move!" Lavina cheered. "Selena used that one a lot. Make everyone fight amongst themselves and then sneak the Boss to a more secure location in all the confusion."
"What?!" Hayato whipped around, ripping Lambo off his face like velcro. "That baseball bastard, how dare he try to sneak his way to the top! Cow-brat, attach!"
Tsuna shrieked again when Lambo zoomed past him and smacked Takeshi right in the back of the head as they ran. He went down like a ton of bricks, laughing in sync with Lambo even as he choked on the small boy's afro.
Things got even better (seriously, if that meteor could show up that would be great) when guns sprouted from the trees.
"Try to dodge, Tsuna," Reborn advised.
"Kyoko!" Ryohei kept stepping back from her warily. "How are we supposed to protect Tsuna from these extreme attacks when we are so far away!"
"Onii-san," Kyoko shook her head fondly, slowly cornering him against the stairs and the slide. "I trust everyone to keep Tsu-kun safe," she said confidently. "Until I can go take over for them."
"No!"
"Kill me," Tsuna begged the sky as the guns locked on to him.
"Sneak attack!"
"Ahhh!"
"I'm pretty sure we're supposed to protect Tsuna, not throw things on him, haha!"
"Tsunaaaa!"
"Kyokoooo!"
"Go Hayato! Go Lambo-chan! You can do it!"
"DO IT!" Tsuna screamed at the sky.
The sun twinkled cheerily, a light breeze twirling through the air as the sound of gunshots and screams echoed from the park.
-00-
"Kyoya," Nana folded her arms disapprovingly. It had taken her fifteen minutes to get here. Kyoya didn't get out of school for another two hours.
(He was probably just sleeping.)
Kyoya looked up, chopsticks picking out the best parts of his fatty Tuna.
Tsuyoshi took one look at Nana's face and laughed, wiping off his hands and moving on to the next customer.
Nana slid into the booth, specially placed for Kyoya in the corner away from everyone else and next to the door in case he wanted to leave quickly. She was still frowning at him. "What are you doing here?"
(Maybe he was in the bathroom!)
Kyoya raised one eyebrow, swallowing his food before answering. "You invited me."
"And as happy as I am that you actually came," Nana put a hand over her heart exaggeratedly, "I meant for you to meet me here after school got out."
(He could be making food. He always got quiet when he was hungry.)
Nana broke for a second to smile up at Tsuyoshi when he set a plate of food in front of her. Kyoya nodded in thanks when he put more in front of him too.
"If you wanted me to come later then you should have arrived later."
Nana huffed. "I wanted to talk to Tsuyoshi and Aiko before we ate!"
(Maybe he had a headache and talking to her somehow made it worse.)
Kyoya smirked.
"God, you're just like your father," Nana bemoaned, picking up her own chopsticks. "What classes are you skipping right now?"
(Maybe he was gon-)
"History."
Nana nodded. "Okay, so you won't miss anything. Still, just because we're further ahead than your classmates doesn't mean you should just skip class all the time. Doesn't your teacher offer participation points?"
(Maybe he needed some time to himself.)
"No."
"Are there any disciplinarian actions taken if you miss class too many times?"
(Maybe he thought she needed time to herself. He did that sometimes.)
Kyoya was getting into the habit of smiling more often. Not in a big way, thank god, but like a natural curve of the lips. Nana didn't know why because his words and actions were relatively the same, but it was kind of freaking her out. His smile looked like Natsuki's but his words were Kouske's. It was like if Natsuki was suddenly an asshole, or if Kouske was trying to fool people into thinking he was any kind of chill. Nana wasn't about that.
"As the leader of the Disciplinary Committee, I choose the consequences of all students who break school rules."
"Your own little dictatorship," Nana deadpanned. "I'm so proud."
(Had she insulted him somehow?)
They finished their meal in companionable silence (It was too quiet. The store was loud but it was too quiet). Aiko was absent for some reason but Tsuyoshi would tell them a fish pun whenever he was free, which Nana always appreciated. Still, it was the busy hour so they were left pretty much to themselves. Nana almost wondered where Lavina was until she remembered what day it was and that she would be watching Lambo right about now.
"Alright," Nana stretched several moments later, patting her stomach happily. "Well, since we're done eating way earlier than I was planning how about we catch up on some stuff? How is your garden doing?"
(Was he upset that she said he was her best friend?)
"The vines need to be corrected often," Kyoya wiped his mouth with the corner of his napkin, his fancy-ass upbringing showing through. "The tea leaves are growing well."
Nana nodded. Normally it would take three years for tea leaves to grow to harvest, but the ones Kyoya had planted had been in Nana's garden for nearly two years so they just had to transfer them. Lavina was cool with it so long as they left some in Nana's garden for her to use, so the setup was golden. "We'll need to get some heaters and tarps to protect them before the weather starts changing. I was going to go by the store to get some for my strawberries, I think I can get a few more harvests out of them before it snows. Do you want to go with me? You've been around a lot of people today."
(Did he not want to be her friend at all?)
Nana looked around the store at the crowded tables plus the full booth at the front. Kyoya never did well in crowds, she was honestly surprised he seemed so at ease. It was another one of the main reasons she had wanted to meet up later, after the lunch rush.
(Was it him or her?)
"I'll go."
Nana pursed her lips. He seemed okay. And he never actually did anything he didn't want to…
"Okay," she pulled out her wallet. "Let's get going then before school gets out."
(He had sounded afraid. Was he… was he scared to be her friend?)
Kyoya waited for her outside while she paid. She was used to teenagers with blackholes for stomachs, but damn.
"So I was thinking," Nana said when they started walking. "I'm heading to Italy soon for a school reunion and I can't actually take you guys with me this time."
(He didn't have friends, she already knew that, but why didn't he have friends?)
Kyoya glanced at her, eyes narrowed.
"I would take you," Nana assured him, "if I really just didn't want any of my old classmates influencing you guys in any way. You're crazy enough as it is."
(Did it have to do with saving the world? Would having a friend jeapordize that?)
Kyoya rolled his eyes.
"Anyway," Nana waved her hand, "since I won't be here I've set up a schedule for you and I've bagged you some new teachers."
(A stagnant form. How long had he been alone?)
Kyoya scowled. "I do not need any more teachers."
"Aww," Nana threw her arm over his shoulder, walking on her tip-toes for a bit because of how much he had grown, and hugged him to her side. "I knew you loved me."
(Did he have anyone he could tell everything to?)
Kyoya snorted. "No. I am better than whatever 'teacher' you would be able to find. It would be a waste of time."
Nana frowned. "Kyoya…"
(Snake…)
He wasn't pulling away. He wasn't even acknowledging that she was touching him. But there were people on the streets around them. If she tried to ask him what was wrong now he would brush her off and probably wouldn't answer if she asked again later.
(Was he afraid to have her friendship only to have to force himself to reject it?)
Taking the golden- but worrying- opportunity while it lasted, she continued to side-hug him all the way to the Garden Store. It was a rare thing for him to accept her affection, if there wasn't a good way to find out why yet then she would focus on the good side of things.
(What would make someone afraid to have a friend? Was he scared to have her friendship and then somehow lose it?)
When they reached the store he shrugged her off.
"How many heaters?"
"Depends. Let's grab the tarps first, those are easy. I want to teach you how to match types of heaters to plant types."
(Did he know something that would make her take it back?)
Kyoya didn't respond but she knew he had heard her. They each walked with a cart, piling the tarps into Nana's. She noticed Kyoya staring down random people as they went but that was normal. There were only a few customers so he would be fine.
(Would anything make her take it away?)
The various heaters got thrown in Kyoya's cart, the taller teen listening attentively as she explained what he needed to do. He was super chill today. Normally he would have tried to instigate a spar, ie. brutal murder, several times by now.
(He had told her Tsuna would be alive and happy. He may hide things, but he had never lied before.)
"Aaand we're set," Nana beamed, beginning the process of piling all the bags onto her arms after they checked-out. Kyoya apparently took that as a challenge to see who could hold the most. "Now we just have to set them up."
(A lot of things could happen before that happy ending.)
"Do it now."
"Would a please kill you?"
(Did he think that one of those 'things' would make her change her mind?)
Kyoya blinked at her, expression unchanging.
Nana rolled her eyes. "Fine, we can do it now. Was gonna do it anyway you know."
(Did he think it would make her hate him?)
As they walked Nana looked up at the sky. Her face shuttered, going blank, as she watched the clouds roll by.
"That herbivore," Kyoya suddenly growled, sounding vicious in a way Nana rarely heard.
"Who?" she looked forward again. (Could she even hate him any-) "Tsuna!"
Far down the street, where the bridge was to cross the river, a girl fell off the side. Half a second later Tsuna, roaring loud enough that they could hear him all the way from there, dove after her.
Nana dropped her bags, rushing to the bridge. Her skin sparked as she skidded to a stop along the grass.
Tsuna was already swimming towards the bank, the girl's arm slung over his shoulder.
Nana stared at the brilliant Flame on Tsuna's head as he barreled onto the grass at an unnatural speed, screaming the entire way.
The Flame flickered before disappearing. Tsuna slumped forwards, letting the girl (who was wearing armor?) lay down.
"A-are you okay?" he looked at her, wide brown eyes filled with worry.
"Tsuna!" Nana rushed to his side, glancing him over to make sure he wasn't hurt. It was easy to do, since he was only in his boxers (...why). Besides a large portion of his body being covered in paint (why) he seemed fine. Nana turned to the girl.
"Mom?!" Tsuna leaned forward to help. "What are you doing here?"
"I was going shopping with Kyoya and we saw the girl fall off the bridge and you jump after her," Nana explained, smiling comfortingly at the wide eyes staring up at her. "Are you okay dear? Did you hit your head at all?"
She shook her head, now looking at Tsuna.
"Tsuna!" Hayato came barreling down the stairs to the river bank, also covered head to toe in paint. He must have been nearby. Letting the silverette take care of her son for now Nana focused on the girl. Once she was down to a t-shirt and a pair of sweats Nana slipped off her shoes and socks to dry.
"Here," Reborn landed on Nana's shoulder, tossing a towel to the two soaking teens.
Nana wished she was surprised by the sudden appearance of the toddler (and by his remarkable balance) but it happened far too often to be anything other than exasperated.
"Reborn, what's going on?"
"They were having a duel," he smirked. "Haru fell off the bridge and Tsuna used his dying will to save her."
"I'm assuming that means you shot him," Nana grumbled, low enough that only Reborn could hear her. After that day with Kyoko, she had gotten the rundown from Snake on how Reborn's 'awakening' process worked. "Isn't there any other way to help him 'use his dying will' other than a fricken bullet.
"Not right now," he patted Leon, smiling.
Nana sighed. At least that meant there would probably be a different way in the future. Hopefully it wouldn't be as bad as a bullet to the head. Knowing Reborn it would probably be something like drugs.
"Thank you very much…" the girl suddenly whispered, curled up in a ball with the towel over her head.
"Tch," Hayato clicked his tongue. "Have you even thought about your actions? If anything had happened to Tsuna you wouldn't exist in this world anymore."
The fuck?
Nana looked up at Hayato with a bewildered expression.
"Pft."
Hayato looked pissed when the girl laughed.
Suddenly she jumped up, swinging her arms around. "I'll save Haru as if I were to die!" she screamed, miming a dive into the water. Then she pinwheeled her arms like crazy. "Hold on to me!"
Judging by the horrified, firetruck red grimace on Tsuna's face (and the escalating rage on Hayato's) Nana could take a pretty good guess about where those lines were coming from.
"I thought cheesy lines like that were only on TV," she giggled before continuing with a grin so wide her cheeks were turning red. "Swim to the other bank!"
"S-stop that!" Tsuna shrieked, fingers curling into the towel around his shoulders. "It's embarrassing!"
"It was…" she suddenly stepped in front of him, looking up at him in awe, "very wonderful. That you jumped in the place of Reborn-chan."
'Like Reborn would have ever tried,' Nana and Tsuna thought sarcastically.
"My heart is pounding," she confessed, holding her hands over her chest.
"Oh~?" Nana perked up.
"What?!" Tsuna stepped back, stunned.
"Yes," she nodded firmly. "Haru can definitely say that she has fallen in love with Tsuna-san."
"First name basis already, huh?" Nana placed a hand on her chin, grinning. She had no idea what the fuck was going on, but when did she ever? This was a rare opportunity. She needed to make the best of it.
"No!" Tsuna looked at her, paling. "I thought you liked Reborn!"
Nana paused. That sounded… hmm.
"But I feel like being hugged by you, Tsuna-san," Haru admitted, holding her arms out.
'Damn, she's forward as heck,' Nana watched, both impressed and shocked as the girl chased her son around for a hug.
"You," a sinister voice hissed from behind Nana.
"Oh no," Tsuna looked ready to break down and cry. "Kyo-kun, wait a second! I told you she's not-!"
"You!" Haru pointed up at the much taller, much scarier teen.
Nana pulled her arm down quickly because holy shit you did not just point blatantly at a Hibari unless you were prepared to die.
Kyoya was at the top of the little hill leading down to the river bank, bags upon bags layered on his arms. He looked furious.
"I challenge you too! Tsuna-san has proven to be a wonderful, handsome hero, but you hit me!"
"Kyoya," Nana looked up at him in disapproval. "Why did you hit her?"
"Mom," Tsuna edged between Haru and Kyoya, praying the other teen stayed where he was and didn't try to fight. "Kyo-kun thought Haru was bullying me, which she wasn't, and he was just trying to help."
"Oh," Nana said. "Thank you Kyoya, that was very kind of you then. But if Tsuna says it was a misunderstanding then you need to let it go."
"I misunderstood nothing."
Haru leaned around Tsuna, still blushing, but raising a fist towards Kyoya. "I have to prepare my armor again, but when I do I will challenge you!"
Both Nana and Tsuna stared at her, mouths open. Who the fuck challenged Kyoya?! Did she have any idea what she was saying?!
"Uh, Mom?" Tsuna waved his hands a bit.
"Yeah," she nodded. "It's time to go. Tsu-kun, Hayato, why don't you help Kyoya get all our things back home and I'll drop off, uh, you said your name was Haru sweetie?"
"Yes, Tsuna-san's mom!" she saluted, grinning.
Nana snorted, sending Tsuna a sneaky look. Tsuna grumbled, ducking his head and running up the hill.
"Just call me Nana. I'll walk you home, okay? Your shoes should be dry enough to make it there at least."
"Yes Nana-sama!"
...Okay then.
"Kyoya!" Nana called up to him, rolling her eyes when she saw him glaring Hayato down when the silver-haired boy tried to take one of the bags. Silver eyes looked down at her before focusing on Haru like a bird of prey. "Can you measure out and tape up the tarps for my strawberries while I'm gone? We can get started on the heaters as soon as I get back."
Kyoya only looked away to give Tsuna a warning look when he also tried to take a bag. Tsuna backed off easily, shrugging his shirt on (were those holes in his shirt? Nana would have to look at that later, she was too far to see.).
Kyoya nodded once, shortly, before turning on his heel to walk away.
...Thank god he didn't try to kill this girl.
"Are you okay to walk Haru-chan?"
"Of course!" the girl saluted. She paused, looking down at her armor. "Um, I have a bag at home for all of this."
"It's impressive you managed to move at all with all this on," Nana admitted, looking from the girl's thin arms to the- was this fricken samurai armor?
"I'm stronger than I look!" she flexed. True enough, the tensing of her arm muscles made her suddenly much more defined arms pop out.
"Damn, good for you!"
Haru was red from her nose to her ears as she beamed. "Thank you! You and Tsuna-san are very similar!"
Nana smiled back. "Thanks. Don't worry about all of this, okay? I'll grab it all on the way home and drop it off tomorrow. You need to warm up and go to bed early okay?"
"You'd… do that? For me?"
"Of course," Nana pushed at her shoulders gently to get her moving. "Now, lead the way. The sun is starting to set and I don't want you out here when it starts to get cold."
"Y-yes Nana-sama!"
"What a cute girl," Nana laughed softly to herself as Haru practically marched ahead of her.
She froze for a second, waiting for an answer that wouldn't come.
The walk to Haru's house seemed a lot colder all of a sudden. Seemed the sun was setting earlier than she thought.
-00-
It was two in the morning.
The day had been long. Training, meeting up with Kyoya, seeing their son jump off a bridge to save a girl, walking said girl home then lugging her absurdly complicated samurai suit home to dry, having a lesson with Kyoya, trying to scrub off all the paint that had turned Lambo into a multi-colored alien without turning his skin red and raw while also trying to weasel out of him exactly how the paint got there in the first place, calling out tips to Tsuna and Hayato who were doing the same to themselves in the bathroom, making dinner (and then bribing Reborn to help because everyone else was too tired to get anything done right including Nana apparently), almost losing track of which meds were Lavina's new ones (cleaning out the medicine cabinet was number one on the list of things to do tomorrow), and then singing no less than three songs paired with two books to get Lambo to sleep when the overtired boy began crying tears of frustration from being awake for so long. It was a long day and, at two in the morning, Nana still couldn't sleep.
Fuck.
What did they even care? So what if Snake wasn't talking to them, that was what they had been wishing for over the entirety of their second life! Some god damn peace and quiet was long since overdue, they should be elated right now!
…
Ugh.
Okay. So clearly telling themself that they didn't care was doing absolutely nothing to make that a reality. Seriously, what was going on with Snake? This was super out of character for him and it was seriously freaking Nana out. And it shouldn't be because it was Snake, but for some reason it was. They couldn't even find it in themselves to be legitimately angry with him for ducking out because...
Realizing Snake was like their best friend had freaked them out too.
Nana closed their eyes, breathing deeply so they could actually focus their thoughts instead of letting them run rampant.
What did they even really know about Snake at this point? They'd gathered pieces of the insane, billion-piece puzzle that was the voice in their head over the years but Nana had yet to actually piece together anything concrete.
Nana groaned, pressing their palms flat against their eyes.
Facts first.
1. Snake was an asshole.
He made huge ass mistakes, and while they were apparently for the sake of the entire world they were still fucked up. Whether they understood the reasoning or not (Nana was still kind of iffy about it) Nana would never not think that was wrong.
2. Snake was a different kind of asshole now.
Nana had stayed veritably the same since day one, so the hatred they felt for him only changed because he had. As a 'child' Snake had been creating a walled-in path for Nana to follow, using the fate of billions of people to keep them walking the direction he wanted them to. Now it was like Nana was standing in an open field, free to walk whatever direction they chose, and Snake was just a map that pointed out useful landmarks and towns they could stop at if they wanted. There was still the final destination to head towards, but the path to get there was completely up to Nana to create.
3. Snake was cryptic in all the bad ways.
He had said the power of future knowledge was dangerous without the pain of using it. He had said that if that pain dulled you would come to abuse it. Make mistakes that could never be undone. He had said, "If the pain fades, you lose what made you strong enough to handle that knowledge in the first place." He hadn't been talking about Nana.
4. Snake was alone.
Not just lonely, Nana had known that from the start. It was easy to tell when he was always there. No, he was alone. He had no family, no friends. His extreme hesitation over a penpal meant no acquaintances either. Nana had at first thought that impossible. In order to live you had to interact with someone. To buy food, to get water, to live in a home that wasn't falling apart. Snake had a physical form. Nana knew he needed certain things to live if he had a real body.
'My form is stagnant,' he had said. Unchanging. Did he… did he need to eat? To drink? Nana knew he could, they had heard him. Gotten mad at him when he did it during certain moments. But did he need to? And, now that they thought about it, had he always eaten or drank anything? The first time they could remember was that day at the foot of The Mountain when they had been first trying to unlock their Flames. In Nana's childhood, had there ever been a moment where they could tell if he was eating something?
Nana couldn't remember. And the more they tried, the more fearful they were of the answer. Because if that was somehow possible, if he really didn't need to eat or drink to keep himself alive, then wasn't it completely possible that he had spent years (decades) in one singular place without leaving? Not once?
5. Snake was older than Nana had first thought.
This was something that became abundantly clear during the first ten years of their new life. Snake sounded like a young man. It was hard to pin age purely based on a voice, but he had sounded young. Nana wondered if Snake would ever realize that sending Nana to Boarding School gave them tools to use against him as well. They had trained to notice discrepancies in voices. To get as much information as you could out of something as simple as a greeting. It wasn't a trusted scientific method, no, and a lot of error was to be expected. But they had worked to pinpoint weaknesses from short, brief meetings. Nana had known Snake for thirty-four years, and in all that time his voice never changed. If he had been at least twenty-years-old when Nana was born then he would be fifty now. There would have been a change, even a minor one. Either the voice he spoke with wasn't his real one or 'my form is stagnant' was as literal as it could get.
When he would tell Nana about places to visit for lessons or just for fun he would sometimes mention facts or discoveries that hadn't been officially documented yet. He knew things about past civilizations that the modern-day world had yet to discover. Nana could play that off as him having future knowledge and being a super big nerd, but the way he would talk about them sometimes, like he had been there…
6. Snake had to lie.
Nana gave him shit for this. Nana had called him out for this before. Nana also lied to Tsuna, Lavina, and everyone they knew sometimes. Because it was safer that way. Because saying certain things might mean destroying something in the future that could lead to people being hurt or… killed. Nana knew this might blow up in their face and, knowing what was at stake, accepted those consequences come hell or high water.
Snake knew everything that was going to happen (or at least, that was the impression Nana got) and so he probably knew that talking about certain things would definitely fuck up something important along the way. So Nana got it, he had to lie every once in a while. He was trying not to and would simply admit to omitting certain details but Nana was sure there were going to be times he needed to lie directly to their face. It would piss them off when they found out later, for sure, and they would absolutely hold it against him but they got it. Nana also got how much that kind of thing hurt. To have to hold those secrets in your heart where no one could see, even if all you wanted to do was shout it to the mountains. To know that in order to protect someone you might lose them, and that was scary. It was why they still wished, with all of their heart, for Iemitsu to be safe and happy.
7. Snake was... was scared of Nana?
Not in the 'fear for the future, the world is going to end' sort of way he had sometimes (they knew that one when they heard it), but in the 'I can be hurt now' way. Oh shit, that made sense. When Nana learned about Reborn, his true intentions, they had been pissed. Furious in a way they hadn't been in years. Nana ignored him and all his attempts to reach out but in the end, even without his apology, they would have eventually understood why he did it. They wouldn't have completely forgiven, but Nana would have understood. Snake had the world on his shoulders, he was going to make choices they weren't going to like. Sure, Nana would have been more hesitant to trust him, but they would have gotten over it.
Then Snake had apologized, which threw them for a loop. When they demanded why he cared, because he certainly had not before, he said "I care now." And Nana believed him. He did care and it was easy to see. Worryingly easy. Nana had admitted to how concerning it was that Lambo had attached to them so quickly, but they had kept quiet about similar observations they had made about Snake.
The very first time Snake had asked Nana a question, after years of simply telling them things they needed to do or know, Nana answered without thinking. It was about food, of all things, and how weird it tasted. That was how it started. How he began to change. Suddenly he was asking all the time. He wanted to have actual conversations instead of one-sided lectures and in the span of just a few years, his personality had done a complete 180. He was still monotone as fuck, and a sassy asshole to his core, but it was like his heart had cracked open for Nana to see. And Nana didn't think he realized it.
Snake cared. And that was scary. It meant Nana could hurt him. With everything he knew, it meant Nana probably would hurt him. Nana being angry with him suddenly came with all these consequences he didn't want, and Nana wondered if today was the very first time he realized exactly how much he had let show. Maybe he was freaking out about how much he cared about Nana the same way Nana had been freaking out about caring for him.
But Nana had Tsuna. They had her friends and family. They had people to fill the silence and when they were alone they could make the active choice to seek those people out. Snake had no one, and Nana was afraid to know exactly how long that had been a fact.
8. Snake was a good person
He was a fucking idiot who made choices that made him seem cruel and heartless sometimes, but he was a good person at his core. Nana didn't know the specifics of how the world was going to be saved, or even why it needed to be in the first place (they doubted Snake would tell them before it happened) but they knew that that was what Snake cared about above all else. Every single thing he did, and every choice he made was towards that end. Nana had never heard him make a choice involving himself that was aimed at anything other than that goal. He encouraged Nana now to make choices and explore, to see the world and have a good life, but that never seemed to reflect on himself. He reincarnated Nana to help Tsuna, the pivotal person in saving everything. He trained and taught Nana, to help Tsuna. He guided Nana towards certain people and events, to help Tsuna. He would go along with Nana's ideas and plans, but whenever he offered up any of his own it was with the intention of building Tsuna up even more. The only times he had broken from that pattern were…
When he helped Nana. In ways outside of Tsuna. There weren't a lot, Nana's life was so intertwined with Tsuna's that they didn't even realize that there were times he didn't have to help Nana and he did anyway. Or when he tried to help Lavina. Like when Nana had wondered if anyone knew what her illness was and Snake didn't answer that particular question until three days later by saying he had no idea. Three days. He had been researching it. Lavina would have died fourteen years ago, Nana knew that in a spine-chilling way, if it hadn't been for Snake helping them. He would sometimes tell Nana to check in with the other kids to make sure nothing was going on with them that they needed help with. Cruel, heartless bastards didn't do that. They didn't dedicate every piece of themselves to saving the world when (and gods did Nana pray this wasn't true and that they were simply overthinking) they had nothing in the world.
9. Snake was, in a way that made Nana more and more horrified as they thought about it, confined in a way far worse than they could even imagine.
Nana had been gathering the pieces of Snakes puzzle for years. Silently tucking them away for further thought. Most of them had been handed to Nana by Snake himself. Little comments about things he enjoyed, expressions of emotion towards certain events be they good or bad, and with ever-increasing frequency he would show actual emotional vulnerabilities that he trusted Nana to see. Those had never been anything huge, more like small things such as not being able to cry anymore, or never dreaming. Simple facts, about himself, that he never would have offered before. They came together to create a fraction of the puzzle, just enough to show a man who was a little bit damaged, but still living.
Then there were the pieces Nana had gathered from his silences. From the words he didn't say. Hidden, buried pieces that Snake was not even aware had been found. Those were the most telling, and they were the ones that scared Nana the most. This last day alone had given them enough to form a vague, blurry picture. And they did not like what they were seeing.
Nana breathed shakily into their hands. This was… this was a lot. Putting everything into coherent thoughts was… a lot. But this was important. Holy shit, they had never realized how deeply this ran. And they couldn't just ignore it. They couldn't just push this all to the side and focus everything on just Tsuna, and Lambo, and their friends. They couldn't go back to ignoring Snake because… because...
10. Nana loved Snake
That wasn't something they could pretend to ignore anymore. They had been through too much and been together too long for Nana to be able to feign anything other than genuine care. Snake wasn't just that asshole in the back of their head anymore. He wasn't someone they hated and cursed, because he wasn't that person anymore. Honestly, he'd probably never been that person. Not really. Nana didn't know who he was before and what turned him into that bitch of a life dictator they had first met, but they knew him now. He was a cooking nerd who used Nana as a guinea pig before making anything himself (and didn't that just prove that before he never really ate well if at all?). He loved nature and still found beauty in every sunrise and sunset. He was a huge fucking nerd freaked out over the slight possibility of someone being interested in something he knew. He was smart, and funny (which Nana refused to admit even upon pains of death), and caring in a way that took Nana a long time to see. For fucks sake, he told Nana stories all the damn time to help them get to sleep. He was Nana's friend and Nana-
Nana had no fucking idea how to help him. Nothing, besides doing what they were already doing. Talking to him, making shitty jokes, showing that even if they didn't fully trust him to make decisions Nana agreed with they still trusted him.
It was, in comparison to everything else, pretty much nothing.
But it was better than nothing. More than what Nana was starting to suspect Snake ever really had.
So for now, it was going to have to be good enough.
-00-
I can finally admit to the world, with no hesitation, that I heckin love Snake. A lot. Let Snake be loved!
Also, god damn I forgot how long the Daily Life Arc is. And I can't skim over a lot of it because it is the flippin building blocks of so much crap! I'm looking through it all like "oh, gotta keep I-Pin... and Dino... and frickin SHOICHI... crap. Gotta keep all of it." So much! All good, of course, but I am ready for the action!
Which is why I have Italy coming up soon. Yessss.
I hope you all liked this one!
ChaosHearth: Thanks! But, uh, the link still isn't working T-T Sorry for being a pain, I don't know why it's not working out. Is there any other way for me to access it? I'd hate to mess something up for your character.
Entranced by you: *shoving hotpockets at you* ...I wonder why XD
Anya: Welp... you're extremely sweet and nice. Thank you! I will definitely be writing more for them, they're flipping adorable! Like you!
Tsuki Banritt: Thank YOU!
mikanMD: I know right XD Glad you liked it!
ADDBaby: The amount of energy in your review kick-started my own energy levels to get through a whole night of work! Thank you! You're super nice!
katsekala: Don't even worry about it, I totally get it (looks nervously at calendar and last update date). We can be zombies together! And thank you! Nana loves and adores you too! Have a great day, I hope work stops trying to kick you butt!