An Impromptu Entrance Exam If You Will(1)

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I don't own KHR.

"Hey guys, look at what I can do!" Mukuro looked up from the little remnants of his meal to see that the one who had spoken was indeed Takeshi, and he currently had a spoon hanging off his nose.

"Oh!" Chrome lightly exclaimed in awe as she clapped her hands together softly, as if she made too much noise Takeshi's little trick would come to an abrupt end.

"That is so cool Takeshi!" Tsuna praised with glee.

"How long can you can extremely do that?" Ryohei asked with interest.

"Um...I-oh!" Takeshi cried as the spoon without warning slipped off his nose. He quickly caught the utensil before it clattered onto the table, before laughing like he hadn't a care in the world. "I don't know, how long was that? Ten seconds? Maybe fifteen?"

"I say about ten," Kyoya answered as he sipped some water out of his cup.

"Oh darn it, I was honestly hoping for fifteen seconds," Takeshi replied with a small disappointed pout.

"No matter Takeshi, you can just extremely try again! Here, I challenge you to the extreme!" Ryohei almost yelled entusiastically as he grabbed his own spoon before licking it clean.

"I accept your challenge!" Takeshi cried with a competitive grin as he prepared his spoon for round two. "Let the best man win!"

"I'll count this time!" Tsuna volunteered as Ryohei finished wiping all of his spit away. When he saw that both Ryohei and Takeshi were ready to go and were looking at him expectantly, his eyes widened. "Oh! Uh...go!"

Both boys then placed their spoons on their noses, causing Tsuna to count slowly and loudly while Chrome quietly cheered both of them on. As the contest went on, Mukuro thought back to when Tsuna bought Takeshi to their dinner table for the first time a couple of days ago.

Even though Takeshi had been at their orphanage for a couple of weeks at that point, that day had been the first time Mukuro had actually talked to the kid. But even though he hardly knew him, Takeshi had seemed friendly enough so Mukuro didn't disagree when Tsuna asked if it was okay if the new kid ate with them.

Not to mention that it would have seemed wrong to decline Takeshi a place at their table when his eyes were bright red.

Ever since then, Takeshi had been hanging out with them. From playing to laughing with them, Takeshi was now with them every chance he could get, when before he was just another outsider. It seemed like whatever exactly happened that day on the rooftop made Takeshi realized that he wanted to be a part of their family. And it wasn't like he would be a bad fit either, he seemed very friendly with Tsuna and Chrome, seemed to enjoy competing with Ryohei, and seemed to truly respect Kyoya. Mukuro wasn't totally sure about Kyoya, but he had a feeling that the others had already considered the new boy to be their brother.

Himself however...

"Hey Takeshi!" The sudden call made Takeshi to jolt a little, causing the spoon to fall swiftly off his nose and onto his breakfast tray. Takeshi didn't seem to care however as he looked over his shoulder.

"Oh hi Brando!" Takeshi cried cheerfully as if the short brunette standing behind him didn't just cost him his victory. "What's up?"

Despite himself, Mukuro grimaced in digust and considering how Kyoya's brows furrowed as he glared at Brando, Mukuro knew he wasn't the only one who disliked that boy's presence.

Right after the well incident, Tsuna had asked him and Kyoya if they could keep an eye out for Matteo, in case they figured out that Matteo had betrayed them. However, it turned out that Tsuna had nothing to worry about because the very next day, Matteo got adopted. Into what seemed like a loving family with plenty of playful and friendly siblings too.

And since apparently Gabe couldn't function without two goons walking behind him, Brando became Matteo's replacement not long after Matteo left. This was after both Gabe and Nico both recovered from being sick as a result from being in the well of course.

"Me and the guys are gonna play some baseball in a few minutes. Wanna join us?" Brando asked, his brown eyes gleaming with conceitedness as if he couldn't fathom another answer.

And that right there was the reason Mukuro was holding off on truly accepting Takeshi as part of the family. Because while Takeshi hadn't done anything to piss him off, like say making his siblings cry, Mukuro couldn't bring himself to trust that the new boy would actually stay. Before Takeshi started hanging out with them, he was the most popular kid in the orphange, beloved by even the caretakers. While he seemed content to be with them for the moment, Mukuro couldn't help but be afrai-, no, wonder if or when the popular kid would decide that he was tired of them.

"Yeah! Can they join us?" Takeshi asked without missing a beat as he used his thumb to point at them while still facing Brando.

"Uh..." Brando replied as a look of both horror and disgust briefly overtook his face before he recovered by replacing it with his previous pleasant expression. "Sorry, but a lot of other people are already playing, so we don't have the room for them. We saved the last spot especially for you!"

What a bald-faced lie. Not that it mattered anyway since Mukuro would rather bite his own tongue than to play with those good-for-nothing pests.

"Oh. In that case, sorry, but no thanks," Takeshi declined simply as he turned back around. "Round two Ryohei?"

"You're extremely on!" Ryohei accepted as Brando stood there looking completely shocked before anger and indignation edged his baby-faced features. He opened his mouth as if to protest but one look from Kyoya made him shut his mouth with a pale face as he quietly stalked off.

While this reaction would usually make Mukuro at the very least smirk in amusement, he felt no urge to turn the the corners of his lips up right now. As the contest between Takeshi and Ryohei resumed, Mukuro had to wonder why he was being so distrustful. Takeshi just declined to be with the pests and yet Mukuro still suspected that Takeshi's interest in them wasn't going to last that long.

He was never this distrustful when Ryohei joined their family. In fact, Mukuro had practically accepted him right away. Then again, Ryohei had proved himself worthy to join their family beforehand by taking care of Tsuna and Chrome (and him) and Gabe and co. weren't begging for his company. Granted, there was that one time Gabe and co had begged for Mukuro's company, but he had relatively quickly shut them flat.

Takeshi had yet to do that, he still acted friendly towards them and was not at all wary in their presence. So until he did so, Mukuro was unfortunately going to have to hold off accepting him as a new younger brother.

His only hope was that no fragile hearts would eventually get broken if Takeshi really did decide that he was tired of them.

KHR

In the end, both he and Ryohei were about evenly matched when it came to having spoons hang onto their noses. Takeshi would have liked it if they could continue their contest a bit more so there could be a clear winner but the caretakers wanted the dishes cleared away so they had no choice but to stop. Oh well, there was always lunch or dinner. There was a good chance they would have some kind of watery soup for one of those meals.

Takeshi then entered the boys' room, causing him to stop thinking about the fun he had this morning and why he was here. The caretakers were having one of their rare classes and he, Ryohei, and Tsuna had all forgotten their notebooks (a recent donation apparently). Wanting to be helpful and knowing he was pretty fast, Takeshi offered to go get all of them while the others went ahead to the classroom. Tsuna accepted this offer very gratefully, which had caused Takeshi to run even faster.

Because of Tsuna, he wasn't drowning in sadness anymore. He had friends, real friends that didn't once make him feel like he was alone in the world.

And while he wasn't technically a part of the family yet, Takeshi already wanted to do anything he could to help Tsuna and the others to not only to pay them back, but to show just how much he cared and valued them.

So without hesitation, Takeshi raced to Tsuna's bed first and grabbed the notebook that was hidden under his pillow. He then went to Ryohei's bed and after a few seconds of searching, found the missing notebook under his mattress. With both notebooks held carefully against his chest with one arm, Takeshi raced to his own bed and quickly snatched his notebook out from under his pillow.

However, instead of racing out of the room, Takeshi looked at his bed cover, puzzled why he felt that there was something wrong with it. A second later, the answer came to him, making his eyes go wide with fear as his blood began to turn to ice.

This morning, like every morning since he arrived here, he had carefully placed Shigure Kintoki underneath his blanket, causing there to be a long lump on his bed.

There was no long lump.

Hoping that he was somehow wrong, Takeshi threw his blanket off the bed only to find that Pops' bamboo sword was indeed not safely on his bed anymore.

There was, however, a note.

Takeshi gulped as he reached forward to grab the note and opened it.

Hey Takeshi,

If you want see your sword again, come to the backyard right after you read this note. If you don't, your toy sword will be broken into two pieces. At least.

Sincerely,

Gabe, Nico, and Brando.

Takeshi let out a strangled gasp as the note fluttered out of his hand, the notebooks falling out of his arm almost instantly after. But even though the notebooks made a decently loud clatter when they tumbled onto the floor, Takeshi's mind was on how weakly Pops gave his sword to him right before he died.

He...he couldn't let anything bad happen to that sword...he just couldn't!

The eight-year-old then raced out of the room, the notebooks completely forgotten as he pushed his legs to go faster than they had even gone before.

Takeshi had to get Pops' sword back, he had to!

Before he knew it, Takeshi was out of the building and on his way around the building. As he continued to run for dear life, his frantic mind wondered why Gabe and his friends did this to him. Before he became friends with Tsuna and the others, he had hung out with the trio a bit. He wouldn't have called them friends persay, because Takeshi hadn't able to be himself around them, but they had been friendly enough. Even after Takeshi became friends with Tsuna and the others, he felt that they were still on good terms, even though the trio didn't seem to want to include his new friends in their activities.

So why would they steal and threaten to break Pops' sword?!

A minute or so later, Takeshi had reached the backyard. It didn't take him long to see Gabe sitting in middle of the yard, his jacket slightly blowing behind him as he held Shigure Kintoki in his lap.

"Gabe!" Takeshi breathlessly called, as he walked steadfastly towards the older boy. "Why-"

"Not so fast," a familiar voice said from right beside him. When he felt a hand on his right shoulder, Takeshi turned his head and saw that both the voice and hand belonged to Nico.

"You really should have said yes earlier," said another voice as Takeshi felt a hand on his left shoulder. Takeshi turned to the left and saw Brando standing there, looking up at him with a mocking smile.

"Yes, you really should have, but it's okay," Gabe added as he stood up and crossed some of the distance between them, Shigure Kintoki clutched tightly in his hand. "Because you can still make the right decision."

"W-What are you talking about?" Takeshi asked, feeling utterly confused as his eyes locked onto his father's sword while his chest continued to heave for more air.

He had chosen to be with his friends, with the people he hoped to become family with one day soon. How...how was that not the right decision?

Gabe didn't answer right away, choosing to sigh as he stopped a few feet away from him while he grabbed Shigure Kintoki with his other hand as well.

"You're still fairly new here, so I guess I can see why you would be confused," Gabe replied as he stroke Shigure Kintoki in a way that made Takeshi's spine shiver. "But the people you have decided to hang out with...are not good people."

"Wha...you're wrong! Tsu-" Before Takeshi could protest anymore, Gabe held Shigure Kintoki out in front of him, with one hand on the handle and the other on the other end as he slightly bent the sword.

Takeshi's heart almost stopped when he heard the bamboo creak from the strain.

"Kyoya nearly beaten me and Nico to death for no good reason once," Gabe continued, his hands still gripping Shigure Kintoki but thankfully had stopped bending it for the moment. "He and Mukuro also threw me and Nico down the well just for kicks and even got a past friend of ours to turn against us."

"That doesn't sound-" Takeshi started to protest as he saw Nico flinch out of the corner of his eye.

Takeshi cut himself off when Gabe started bending Shigure Kintoki again.

"Tsuna is an idiot who thinks he is better than everyone else, and Ryohei is so annoying loud. And Chrome may seem sweet but she really is just a floozy."

Takeshi opened his mouth to defend his friends before he quickly closed it, his gaze fized on how tightly Gabe was holding Pops' sword.

"I heard the caretakers say that you have a lot of potential. I agree with them, and I know just about everyone else here does too. That's why you became popular so quickly Takeshi, why they, no we, liked you so much. So it really does hurt me to see you throwing that all away for some people who don't deserve it."

"But they do!" Takeshi exclaimed in spite of the danger. "Tsuna was there for me when no one else was and-"

"So is that how he got you?" Gabe asked as his lips curled into a hateful snarl. "What is it about that idiot that makes everyone want to protect him to the very-"

Gabe sucked in some air through his teeth before he let it out, his snarl disappearing from his face when he did so.

"You deserve much more than them Takeshi," Gabe continued, his voice calmer, but nearly as much as it was earlier. "You deserve to be with us. We will build you up and make sure w-you get the treatment and adoration that you should get. Though if you do decide to throw us away to be with them instead then-"

Gabe then bent Shigure Kintoki once more, though this time he bent it a bit farther then he did before. As a result, the bamboo sword creaked louder causing Takeshi to sucked in a painful gasp. Unable to take it anymore, Takeshi tried to rushed at Gabe only for Nico and Brando to grab his arms as well, effectively stopping his frantic charge.

"I will have to teach you a lesson," Gabe declared as he stopped bending Shigure Kintoki. "Please decide quickly. It isn't that warm out here."

Takeshi looked from Nico to Brando, and while the former's hardened and unreadable, the latter's face was full of anticipation and sadistic glee. He would not be getting any sympathy from these two. Takeshi wasn't a weak boy by any means so he might just be able to push them off of him but Gabe was currently holding Pops' sword hostage. By the time he got out of Nico's and Brando's hold, Gabe could have very well broken the bamboo sword in half.

And while Shigure Kintoki was a special sword, Takeshi didn't think it was unbreakable, especially in that form.

Takeshi's legs started to tremble as his breathing became a bit erractic, though whether that it was because he was panicking or because he was still recovering from running so fast earlier, he wasn't sure. All he was sure of was that he couldn't let them break Shigure Kintoki, the one physical thing he had left of his father.

He had never felt so helpless when the bad men surrounded their new restaurant. Takeshi didn't understand then exactly why the bad men got so angry when Pops refused to 'bow down' to them, and honestly, he still didn't. All he knew was that the bad men were breaking in and that Pops wanted him to hide in the closet and not to come out until he said it was safe.

Takeshi had no other choice but to obey and no sooner had he done so, the first wave of the bad men rushed in to meet his father, their weapons raised to kill. He remembered quite clearly how he had covered his mouth with his hands so he wouldn't distract his father as he fought them off. Pops was doing well at first, but as the bad men kept on coming, he started to get slower, taking more bloody blows as a result.

But even though Pops became more and more injured, Takeshi saw quite clearly through the crack in the door how his father never let anyone within five feet of the closet.

Even if it meant getting more injured in the process.

Then finally, the bad men stopped coming. For a moment, Pops just stood there, his body shaking violently as he breathed heavily in a way that sounded like it hurt. When Pops called out to Takeshi, to tell him that it was safe, Takeshi had believed that it was over, that Pops was going to be okay.

But no sooner had he left the closet, Pops fell onto his back with a loud thud. Not even a minute later, despite Takeshi's desperate pleading and tears, Pops left him behind to be with his mother. Pops had defended him with that sword. Pops giving Takeshi his sword was the last thing he had ever done, other than telling Takeshi that he loved him.

Now here Takeshi was, helpless to protect his father's last gift, from someone who said that they cared, but didn't act like it.

And the only way to save it was to stop hanging out with Tsuna and the others.

Takeshi's mind was then flooded with memories of the past few days. He recalled sobbing into a patient and caring Tsuna's chest, playing with a smiling and energetic Ryohei, and chatting with a shy but kind Chrome. He recalled Kyoya smiling in interest and acceptance in his direction and Mukuro holding in a laugh at something he had said.

He...he wanted to spend more time with them...but Pops' sword...

"Takeshi, you need to make a decision," Gabe suddenly said as he bent Shigure Kintoki slightly. "Are you gonna stay and protect those monsters and good-for-nothing brats? Or are you gonna stay with us, with the people you belong?"

Protect...Pops had died protecting him with no regard for his own life. Would Pops be proud if Takeshi decided to let his friends go, in order to protect his sword?

Takeshi didn't want to be alone again either...

"I..I'll stay with them," Takeshi said more calmly than he actually felt as looked straight into Gabe's eyes. "Just...Just go ahead and break it. I'm not changing my mind."

Gabe's eyes went wide with shock before they hardened with something cold and unforgiving.

"Then it's goodbye to your precious toy sword," Gabe stated. He immediately brought his knee up as he brought his sword down to meet it.

Takeshi forced his eyes to stay open, because even though seeing Shigure Kintoki was probably going to break his heart, he had to see it happen.

He had made his choice, the least he could do was see it through to the end.

Then, just when Gabe's knee was about to collide with Shigure Kintoki, he stopped. Gabe looked just as confused as Takeshi felt and he even seemed to be physically struggling a bit.

"Wha-"

"You know, for someone who likes to throw the words idiots and monsters around," said a familiar voice as Mukuro appeared out of thin air, his hand holding Gabe's knee in place.

"You seem to like playing the part of an idiotic monster an awful lot."

You know, I admit I wasn't totally sure of that ending but now, I like it. I hope you guys do to, even though it is a cliffhanger.

So what did you guys think? Were any of the characters, well, out of character, or anything like that? Please tell me what you thought in a review and I will update shortly.

Until then, stay safe, happy, and have a great day/night!