Written September 12 2016
Edited February 3 2020
Honey snapped open when the sound of soft scuffling reached his ears, he tilted his head to the side to see a small rat crouched by his sprawled out hand.
The creature's small black eyes blinked with curiosity when they met his gaze.
The rat was a dark grey, with a white on it's stomach that also covered the inside of its legs and gave it two stripes on one side and one on the other as well.
Tsuna smiled softly as he waggled his index finger at the rat experimentally, chuckling softly when the rat grabbed the finger with its front paws in a somewhat strong grip for its size. He noted by its size that it was most likely a female.
"Hello little rat"
The brunette greeted softly as the rat began to fiercely lick his finger in greeting. Tickling him due to the small size of the tongue.
He rolled over so that he was on his side, facing the rat, wanting to observe her characteristics.
He noted that the rat's ears were rounder and slightly larger than the average rat's, and instead they were on the side of it's head, signifying him that the rat was a 'dumbo rat' instead of a 'top eared rat'. He also noticed the small wisp of white trailing from it's chin.
He ran the rat's slightly scaled tail through his fingers as the rodent continued to lick his fingers, absently noting that the tail was all dark skinned except for it's tip which was pink.
"I want to keep you"
Tsuna stated as he slowly sat up and gently scooped the rat up into his arms, marvelling at how soft and shiny it's coat was.
The rat didn't seem to object as he placed it onto his head and began to walk towards his home.
"Your name is now Nezumi"
The hitman stared blankly at the brunette as the teen slid through the open window of his bedroom, his clothes tattered and coated in blood.
"There's a rat on your head"
'It's just perched there...'
Reborn stated, the brunette smiled softly and nodded in acknowledgement at the hitman's words.
"Her name is Nezumi"
'What if it has any diseases? Lazy-Tsuna already has enough health problems as it is...'
"Lazy-Tsuna, it could have fleas or be carrying diseases"
Reborn replied, not wanting to ruin the teen's mood, who seemed so happy with the fact that he had a rat.
"It's not"
The honey eyes brunette replied, Reborn observed the brunette's confidant expression before letting out a sigh.
'His hyper intuition is probably at work...'
"Fine, but are you sure that it's female?"
The brunette put his hand on his head to allow that rat to crawl onto it before bring it down. He then gently picked up the upper half of the rat in a way where it's back legs were still resting comfortably on the palm of his hands.
"Yeah, it's a girl"
The teen noted with a nod before releasing the rat, allowing it to settle back down on all fours once again.
'At least he's not awkward in checking it's gender, a mafia boss who mistakes gender is no good, it could result in some interesting misunderstandings...'
"Fine you can keep Nezumi"
Reborn replied, confidant that the brunette wouldn't mistreat the rat, unlike a certain idiotic student of his.
"I was keeping it whether you liked it or not anyways"
The honey eyed brunette replied as he held out his arm towards the hitman, allowing Nezumi who had perched on his shoulder to crawl down the length of his arm and hop onto the hitman's fedora beside Leon.
The chameleon greeted the rat with a flickering tongue and the rat pounced onto the magical chameleon with a friendly chatter of her teeth, sending the two flying onto the teen's bed.
'Well, it seems as if Leon and Nezumi are getting along, though it's strange... Leon usually doesn't play with other animals... Well, at least lazy-Tsuna chose an intelligent animal'
"So Tsuna, how were things?"
The hitman stated, honey flashed orange for a second as they narrowed slightly.
"Just some grunts or lackeys as some call them tried to capture me, Kyoya and I disposed of them"
'Just some lackeys? Well, then I'd hate to see what the superiors would do to him based on the condition of his clothes'
"So that demonic friend of yours helped as well?"
Tsuna nodded.
"Yeah, anyone who disturbs Namimori will feel his wrath"
Tsuna replied solemnly, as if he was pitying whomever may do so.
"So the lackeys managed to cut you all up?"
The hitman stated, motioning towards the teen's torn clothes yet unscathed skin.
'I wonder if his healing properties could be copied and used to further healing studies...'
A small blush dusted the honey eyed teen's cheeks as he scratched his cheek with an index finger gingerly.
"Hehe... Yeah... They used the syringes again... They're not lethal and made to capture so it's fine"
'At least he has the sense to be embarrassed about his condition...'
"Yes, they're not lethal until you obtain enough small cuts from them to make you bleed out"
Reborn drawled, suddenly fearful at the possibility of that exact scenario playing out.
"No, first I'd pass out from blood loss, then they'd capture and heal me. They want me alive so it's fine"
The brunette replied softly as he turned towards Nezumi and tickled her stomach with his fingers, causing the rat to flip onto her back and play bite the teen much like a kitten would just with no pain instead.
'No, it's not okay! His safety is the main priority! Being captured is one of the worst things that could happen to a mafioso!'
"Dame-Tsuna! Think about your safety! Who knows what they'll do to you if you get captured! It's not okay for you to be nonchalant about it, your life isn't your own anymore!"
The hitman scolded, not wanting to see the teen be harmed any further.
The rat is based on my first pet rat~