Chapter 4

"You what!" Tsuna squeaked and his hands flew instantly towards his forehead.

"Your father took one look at your grades and said that he was sending over a tutor!" Nana smiled sweetlyat the two boys, not feeling anything out of the ordinary. Her wet hands patted the apron that she was wearing before she leaned on the kitchen sink, giggling.

"Not to mention the fee for the tutor is only a shelter and three meals!"

'So he's here,' Isago noted down before turning to look at the crumbling Tsuna. The moment they met eyes, Tsuna snapped out of it.

"But we don't need a tutor!" Tsuna protested, his voice beginning to sound like squeaky brakes. "Look at Isago! He's the perfect student!"

"Oh, not solely for Isago," Mom winked towards her younger son as he returned a gesture with a silent shrug. "Yours will be focused more on grades while Isago will be taught about things other than grades!"

Tsuna's face was scrunched up, disgust and confusion piling up on his expression as the seconds ticked by on the kitchen clock.

"That dad of ours!" Tsuna gritted his teeth. "He never comes home and now he sends us a tutor? I never thought he even cared-"

"Tsuna!"

This time, mom placed her hands on her hips, glaring at her own son.

"Why can't you be more like your brother?!"

Isago piped in his mind that it was probably time to step in before everyone turned into a bunch of birds, squawking profanities at each other. Isago held up his hands to stop the both of them from stepping on anymore landmines. Nana and Tsuna only glared at each other, saving Isago's face by not throwing any more words further. There was no hatred coming from Tsuna directed at Isago, but Isago could see the frustration raging in his brother's eyes.

Tsuna hated being compared. And it wasn't like mom didn't know that either. That was why she avoided bringing the comparisons up until now.

"Alright, mom, I'll talk to Tsuna about the tutor thing. Tsuna," Isago said slowly, trying to calm those two down. "Tsuna, you have to apologize to mom about dad."

Tsuna tried to open his mouth, frustration blazing through his eyes before Isago clamped his hand over Tsuna's mouth. Boy did he look like he could lunge at Isago any minute.

"Listen Tsuna, dad works his butt off to pay for our living expenses. Have you never wondered about the bills and taxes when mom never works?"

Seeing the anger suddenly melt after Tsuna's eyes widened, Isago continued.

"He can't come home for a reason, and I've told you before when you questioned about dad's absence. He's doing this to protect his family. Of course, he's going to be worried if his son isn't doing well in school. Think of his construction job, he can barely pay the taxes yet he's supplying money for a tutor."

Seeing the range completely diminish from Tsuna's eyes, Isago smiled a little, releasing his hand on Tsuna's mouth.

"I…" Tsuna lowered his head guilty. "I'm sorry for having that attitude to dad when he supports us so hard."

Isago could see the emotions well up in mom's eyes as she tried blinking it back, then sighed.

"Your dad works very hard to support us, Tsuna," her voice caved in, trembling a bit. Tsuna bit his lip, fully understanding how rude it was to say those words to mom now.

"I'm sorry, mom."

Mom shook her head, sniffing a bit before giving a wobbly smile. In the next instant, she clapped her hands, face brightening like she was on a movie set.

"Alright, I'll cook your favourite steak for tonight, Tsuna!" With a grin, she turned around to face the fridge, humming mildly before the bell to the house rang.

"Ah, I'll go get that," Isago called out, leaving the dining room to get the door. There was a smile that slid slyly onto his face as he reached the door, peering into the keyhole to see no one there. Well, no one tall enough to appear in the keyhole. Isago's heart thumped, knowing that this arrival would be the one to set things all in motion, whether it be that he had to betray Tsuna, or steal the succession seat under his nose.

Opening the door, Isago's eyes instantly flickered downwards, staring at the appearance of the little baby in a suit, a pacifier hanging around his neck as the baby's eyes glinted brightly, staring up at Isago.

"Ciaossu, Sawada Isago. I am your home tutor," the infant curved his lips like a cat, lifting his hat from his spiky hair as a greeting. "I am Reborn, the strongest hitman."

Reborn's cute voice almost made Isago squeal, his inner fangirl beating out of his chest as he forced it down, clearing his throat. Reborn was...so cute.

"Greetings, Mr. Reborn," Isago lowered his head politely before placing on a small smile to mirror his tutor's. "I am sorry to ask, knowing that it is incredibly rude of me, but do you have an identification card or proof that my father had sent you?"

Reborn's eyes glimmered instantly, nodding as he pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handing it out to Isago.

This is your home tutor, Isago. The offer is still on the table.

- Isemitsu Sawada

"Thank you," Isago lowered his head again, this time stepping aside to welcome Reborn into the house.

Though he kept his calm facade, Isago's mind instantly whirred back to the note that his father had written to him, reminding Isago that he had a place to go even if he chose not to stay with Tsuna. It was also a wonder that his dad knew him well enough to provide a note for Reborn, almost as if he predicted this would happen the moment he sent Reborn here. The note was specially written for Isago and not Tsuna.

Reborn walked in confidently, each step he took was quiet before he reached the kitchen, Tsuna still lowering his head to repent his previous actions.

"Greetings, Sawada's mama and Sawada Tsunayoshi. I am your home tutor."

Tsuna's head snapped towards Isago, blinking rapidly and tilting his head in confusion.

"Isago? Since when did your voice change?"

Isago laughed a bit, turning his head to the ground to glance at Reborn who kept his poker face on except the smile on his face was now replaced with a slight frown. Isago shifted his stance, kneeling down to the tutor before extending his hand. Reborn thanked him curtly, stepping onto his arm like it was nothing out of the usual before introducing himself again.

"Ah! Welcome!" Nana beamed brightly, bowing politely to Reborn. "Please take care of my two sons, I apologize if there will be any troubles."

"No worries, mama, I will train them to become the best they can be," Reborn's lips curled up again, although maintaining his monotone.

"An infant?!" Tsuna screeched, not believing his eyes. "Dad sent us an infant?!"

"Tsuna, he's legit," Isago shrugged slowly, careful of the extra weight on his shoulders. "I checked him for proof, and Mr. Reborn is the tutor that dad sent us-by the way, can I just call you Reborn?"

"You may, Ragazzo," Reborn answered instantly.

"An infant!" Tsuna facepalmed himself and pointed his finger at their tutor. "I bet even I could teach better than a baby!"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, average grades, average looks, you're also at the bottom of the list for noticeability in your class," Reborn smiled sadistically the moment Tsuna's face flushed. "Your last test was 49%, your second last test was 22%, and the worst grade you have received is 2%. What a disappointment to the greatest family in history."

"What a great disappointment to the greatest family in history," Isago copied, sighing with amusement at Tsuna. Isago's head flew forwards from Reborn's light slap at the back of his head the moment those words left his lips.

"Do not copy me, Ragazzo."

Isago winced, gesturing to Tsuna to head upstairs. Tsuna scrunched up his face but followed, grumbling at how a baby was able to articulate so many words and have information about his previous tests before stomping upstairs. Isago glanced at Tsuna's pouting face, smirking before pacing after Tsuna's footsteps with Reborn on his shoulder.

┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)

"Dad's what!" Tsuna squawked, throwing his hands into his fluffy hair as Isago placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling discreetly.

"I am here to train you into a capable Vongola boss," Reborn sat in front of the two brothers, fingers pulling gently on his thin curly sideburns.

"No! I refuse to be the boss of any mafia organization-please leave!"

"I will stay until you can deem yourself a worthy boss, baka-Tsuna."

Tsuna's lips pursed up, feeling the tap on his shoulder after he tore his gaze from Reborn, glaring at Isago.

"Isago! Say something here!"

"Well," Isago shrugged casually, putting on a small smirk despite the confusion and irritation that was bubbling inside his chest. "With great power comes great responsibility, Tsuna. I hope you become a great boss."

Isago gave Tsuna a thumbs up.

It wasn't that Tsuna being the successor to the Vongola boss was surprising, what was surprising was that Reborn was so careful in his words, stating that he would make Tsuna into the Vongola boss. Specifically, only Tsuna.

What, was Isago not considered a direct bloodline of the Vongola family now?

Isago had expected this situation to happen in his countless hypotheses, which was why he was masking his emotions so professionally, but when it actually played out in front of him, it stabbed his heart with a hundred needles.

"What! This is crazy! Dad suddenly is a part of the mafia-" Tsuna screamed out, ignoring the fact that they were trying to keep this whole conversation under the wraps.

"Then let's list this all out in front of you," Isago gave the note that was written for him to Tsuna. He felt Reborn's eyes bore into his head as Isago shrugged, meeting the tutor's eyes only for a brief second before tearing it away.

"First, this note is legit. Reborn is sent by our father, so we can trust him. Second, don't you think dad's job was suspicious in the beginning? Which construction site will give monthly salaries that are able to cover the expense of a whole house?" Isago explained.

Tsuna's mouth only opened and closed like a fish, trying to comprehend the information.

"Let's face this calmly, there is a percentage that dad is part of the mafia and is one of the most important members." Finishing with that, Isago let Tsuna go, giving his brother enough time to understand the situation.

"Ragazzo, you don't seem surprised," Reborn quirked out, expression blank as usual.

By now, it was noticeable that Reborn's nickname for Isago was Ragazzo.

"Actually, I've been suspecting it for quite a while now," Isago's eyes shifted towards Reborn, placing a look of innocence onto his face. "Not to mention, I have a good memory."

Isago lifted his left arm, pulling his sleeves up to reveal a deep scar screeched across his skin. Reborn's black eyes stared at it for a long minute, then released them to look at Tsuna. Tsuna was still in the process of accepting reality, murmuring the impossible possibilities and trying to convince himself.

"You remember Timoteo?" Reborn quietly uttered out, sharpening his eyes as if they were trying to pierce through Isago for the truth.

"Of course, it's hard to forget the time period that I fought for my life," he answered truthfully, feeling the eerie aura from his tutor's gaze.

"I've read your report before, and it listed that you were extremely sharp for your young age," Reborn nodded slowly, eyes narrowing at the younger brother.

"Okay, even if dad was part of the mafia-why can't Isago take the succession?" Tsuna sucked in a deep breath, returning the note to Isago without asking what the 'offer' specified on the paper. It just proved how much Tsuna trusted Isago.

"The successor is decided by Vongola Ninth, there is no exception other than that," Reborn answered, not giving Tsuna any reason to refuse. Tsuna sputtered, groaning out how his life was so painful to live.

'No, either Vongola Ninth didn't tell Reborn about his true decision or Reborn is purposefully hiding it.'

The moment his dad mentioned the offer, it was apparent to Isago that both sons were able to fight for the position. It was just that Timoeto did not want to see any bloodshed between the two brothers. Not to mention Timoteo's last words when bidding Isago goodbye a few years ago,

See you later.

Timoteo had hyper intuition, which was one of the key factors that played in Isago's deduction. Unlike Tsuna who had completely forgotten all the details of that incident except for the fact that the scar on Isago's hand was caused by him, Isago replayed that scene almost religiously in his mind every month.

Yes, Timoteo had predicted. No, to be specific, Timoteo used his hyper intuition twice on Isago. The first time was at the window when they exchanged greetings. The second was the time on the car and the words that foreshadowed Isago's arrival in the Vongola base.

Hyper intuition.

The one ability that all members of the Vongola bloodline had.

Perhaps it was also that ability that gave Isago his nickname from his own father.

Weirdo Isago.

Dad knew that Isago was not a genius but rather it was something else. Transmigrating into an anime was already weird in its sense. Being the younger brother of the protagonist? Even weirder. Not to mention Isago was weird in the first place. I mean, was wanting to take reins of the mafia just to look cool a good reason to actually do it?

Nope.

"Why couldn't the mafia boss or something, just choose Isago?" Tsuna threw his hands up, exasperated. "Look at my brother! He's perfect for the position of leader!"

Isago's golden eyes flickered to Tsuna's face, wondering if his brother actually wanted to give the position to him.

Isago knew Tsuna well enough to know that Tsuna's potential wasn't sealed, which meant that Tsuna was able to be someone else entirely from the anime. Being with Tsuna from birth made Isago clear on one thing, especially with the times that Tsuna looked at Isago's position with awe and jealousy.

The reason why Tsuna made excuses to not try hard enough in school was because he was scared. Scared of people comparing Tsuna with his better brother, even when Tsuna was the older one. Tsuna was scared of being frustrated.

"No thanks," Isago made a face, patting Tsuna on the shoulder with a lopsided grin. "I'd rather leave the other people to target you than be targeted."

"Isago!" Tsuna gasped in horror, face turning white.

"Well, it's not like I wouldn't try my best to protect you, older brother of mine," Isago snickered, shrugging once before lifting his eyes off of Tsuna and back onto Reborn. There was a dark glint directed at Isago in Reborn's eyes.

"Ragazzo, you should know that I'm sent here to protect and tutor the Vongola successor," Reborn piped in, voice as smooth as silk. Isago instantly understood his underlying words, nodding along with the tutor.

'He's telling me not to make any moves that will threaten my brother or else he'll kill me himself,' Isago held his inner sneer at the hitman, smiling inwardly to himself. 'You'll never know what I had planned since my birth.'

"Of course, and I will do my best to protect my brother," Isago said according to the script.

There was an ironic smile that curved onto Reborn's small mouth.

"Welcome to the family then, Ragazzo."

┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)

The clock beeped three times before Isago pressed the stop button, yawning with dark circles under his eyes. Insomnia was coming back as a familiar problem from his past life, though it was better in this life. Isago was able to sleep slightly better and keep up with the lifestyle that he had retained.

Shuffling on his clothes, he opened his room door and crept down the stairs, grabbing a fresh towel off the rack in the downstairs restroom. He was about to leave the house before he heard a small thump behind him.

"Going for a run, Ragazzo?"

Isago's eyes drifted to the tutor who was dressed in elephant pyjamas and nodded slowly. He was cautious of this hitman because Reborn was able to assassinate him the moment he showed that he wanted the seat that Tsuna had his butt on. Reborn smiled mischievously, tilting his head before telling Isago to wait for him. Isago complied, glancing over at his watch and noting down the time that he was starting his run today. Looks like he wouldn't be able to meet Ryohei today.

Reborn returned from the stairs and straightened the black suit that fit him like a glove, walking closer towards the boy before jumping on the boy's shoulders. Isago felt the weight, measuring exactly how many kilograms the hitman was before opening the front door and locking it.

Reborn was silent as Isago did his laps, observing every move that Isago did while running.

"Do you do this every day, Ragazzo?"

"Yes, it helps with my insomnia," Isago replied instantly, not taking his eyes off the road as he made a soft turn down another corner to start his fifth lap. He didn't break his pace nor breath. The hitman's eyes glimmered darkly.

"Insomnia," Reborn repeated and looked at the sweating boy. "Do you want the successor's seat?"

Isago scoffed and made sure not to let an ounce of negative emotion out from his act, wiping some of his sweat away with the towel around his neck.

"Even if I wanted to, the successor has already been chosen. What can I do, forcefully change it?" he removed his eyes from the road, fully concentrating on Reborn who was perched upon his shoulder. The smile on Reborn's face was still there even though the question he was asking could literally determine Isago's life or death in that instant.

"I know what you're trying to say," Isago didn't slow his pace, and continued like usual. "The mafia, right? There must have been a history of brothers trying to kill each other for the position."

Reborn remained quiet, but the glint in his unblinking eyes told Isago that he was correct.

"I've been brothers with Tsuna for 13 years. It might have been a different story if we were both trained for the position from a young age though."

Isago said, noticing that his breath was a bit ragged. Isago noted down mentally that he needed to carry more weights when training. Reborn's weight felt around 6 kg, not too heavy, but definitely heavier when added with Isago's normal weights.

"A pity that baka-Tsuna is not able to harmonize with his own brother," Reborn's face turned downwards, a shadow casting over his face as Isago ran around the block for the seventh lap.

"Is it the flame thingy?"

Just like that, Reborn's neck snapped towards the boy, partially opening his lips with a pair of narrowed eyes.

"Ragazzo, where did you hear that?"

An aura flared out of Reborn, but it was not intimating enough to scare the interrogated again.

"Remember when I said I had a very good memory?" Isago tapped the side of his head, smirking once at the hitman. "During the incident that happened when Timoteo came to our house, Tsuna was actually the one to kill the dog with his flame."

The best lie was a lie that was partially true.

Reborn slowly nodded, eyes still unblinking and waiting for the boy to explain more.

"It was my intuition the moment you said 'harmonization'," Isago shrugged, leaving the hint that it was hyper intuition without actually speaking it out. "Usually my intuition is quite on point, like the day you came to our house."

Reborn's small eyebrows instantly furrowed up together, "You knew that I was coming?"

"No, but I did feel that that day, in particular, was going to change Tsuna and my's life," Isago chuckled, wheezing a bit now.

"...sense may...better... brother…"

Isago ignored whatever Reborn said under his breath and continued to keep up his pace despite feeling his legs about to give out. It's been a while since Isago felt challenged against his body's will.

"So are you going to explain or should I just allow my curiosity to eat me up?" Isago quirked his eyebrow amusingly, the smirk on his face growing wider by the second.

"Don't rush me, Ragazzo," Reborn's curt voice came out, the hitman playing with his curly sideburns. "Do you know much about the Vongola history?"

Isago shook his head. Reborn smirked, crossing his tiny legs.

"The Vongola has existed for nine generations, and the closest to the leader are the guardians." Reborn began. "Each guardian has a different flame, which originates from one's own life force. For the rest, I'll explain when it's time."

Isago slightly sulked, wanting to hear the rest of the story even though he had a vague idea of what the story was.

"So why is it impossible for Tsuna to do whatever that harmonizing thing goes?" Isago asked according to script again, which was what he had planned out the moment he urged Reborn to explain about the flames.

"One flame cannot harmonize with the same type of flame," he replied shortly, hitting Isago's shoulder with his hand the moment Isago's pace slowed. "Pick up the pace."

'What am I, your personal cargo?' Isago chuckled at Reborn's actions before obeying, amping up the speed. He felt Reborn beside him smile slightly as the wind blew in their faces.

'So my flame is the sky flame,' the joy in his chest flew out in rapid bursts, matching his legs that carried them onto the last lap of his run. Harmonization was also another way to ensure loyalty from how Reborn said it. Isago knew fully how to harmonize with other flames from previous web pages for theorizing despite him never trying.

It was a theory that was first published a few years after the anime's release. The sky's flame was a symbol for harmony, and the theory talked about how Tsuna was able to retain and gather all guardians to his side, despite them being enemies at first.

Isn't it weird, how Mukuro and Hibari hated Tsuna at first, but still went along with his crew?

The webpage questioned that. The theory was simple, sky flames had the ability to claim a different person's flame onto their side, as known as, harmonizing. It was mostly like acceptance and the feeling of reaching out to someone's flame. The moment that flame had harmonized, the user of that flame would automatically be drawn to the sky flame that had claimed it.

Otherwise, why would Xanxus have such loyal members despite him acting like a shithead of a leader?

"How do you know that my flame is the same as Tsuna's? Can you feel it?"

"Is it your intuition again, Ragazzo?"

Isago nodded, eyes focused on his tutor as they reached the end of his run, stopping in front of his house. Reborn's mouth curled slyly as they entered the house, mom greeting them with a warm smile, telling Isago to go take a shower upstairs.

"Mama, could I please have a cup of coffee?" Reborn tilted his head cutely on top of his tall chair that was reconstructed to fit his height as Isago went up quietly, his question already being answered by Reborn's silence.

┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)

Apparently, the Sawada residence didn't have a coffee maker.

"Ah, don't worry, I'll buy it on the way back home," Isago called out from the doorway after hearing that mom had to buy it from the electronic store that was located at the other end of the market. Nana came out beaming, walking towards Isago and handing him the money.

"I don't mind not using the weekly allowance that you gave us, mom, but you gave me too much," Isago handed back the large amount to Nana with a conflicted grin. "I haven't even used a single cent of my allowance for the past three years, mama."

"I'm not giving you that only for the coffee maker," Mom giggled, brushing the bangs out of his eyes fondly as her brown bob shifted with her weight. "Treat yourself, alright?"

"...Alright," Isago thanked mom without any other resistance, pocketing the money in his pants before Tsuna's heavy footsteps could be heard coming from upstairs, carrying Reborn that hopped onto his backpack with a large smirk.

"Reborn! I told you that you can't come with me!" Tsuna grabbed Reborn's collar and threw him upstairs, bolting down the stairs like he was running from the plague.

"Tsuna! You can't treat Mr. Reborn like that!" Mom placed her hands on her hips, about to bicker before Tsuna ran into his shoes, grabbing Isago's arm and dashed out of the house.

"Geez! That baby with a pacifier!" Tsuna huffed puffing his red cheeks before glancing around one last time and letting go of Isago's sleeve.

"You know you could just try the calmer way and talk to him about it?" Isago raised his eyebrow, smiling a bit at Tsuna's animated self.

"I have! But he never listens!" Tsuna threw his hands into the sky before turning his hopeless doe eyes at Isago. "Please Isago! You have to tell him to cut out the whole mafia joke!"

Isago patted Tsuna on the shoulder, giving him a thumbs up.

"You'll make a great leader, brother," Isago grinned like a devil.

Tsuna only paled.

"Gaaah! Not you too, Isago!" Tsuna tousled his hair and threw a fit.

"I mean, why not? You said you haven't found your thing yet, so why refuse the opportunity to try out for this whole mafia thing? It could be what you're searching for," Isago let Tsuna go, shrugging to himself.

There was one thing that Isago had decided after the whole harmonization talk with Reborn. It was the fact that he needed Tsuna to give him an excuse to go to Italy, where Isago would take up on the offer that Timoteo had handed him years ago. Leaving the Sawada residence without reason would only cause a ruckus, not to mention the possibilities that Tsuna would follow him with the help of Reborn.

"But that's the whole point, I just want to lay on my bed and win at life!" Tsuna pointed to the dark circles under his eyes. "See?! I didn't sleep at all yesterday because of that baby!"

"Lazy Tsuna, you need to get your act together as a future boss," Reborn's voice popped out near us, forcing Tsuna to scream. A square on the neighbourhood wall opened, revealing a dressed-up Reborn in an elephant costume who sipped on some hot tea in the small space.

The ears on the elephant twitched as Tsuna's holler of Reborn's name echoed out in the open streets, causing Isago to wince from the loudness.

"Lazy Tsuna, I've heard that you had a crush on Sasagawa Kyoko," Reborn continued, not caring of Tsuna's yelling in the middle of the street. Isago watched as the third party, grinning a bit as the anime played out in front of him.

Reborn demanded Tsuna to confess his undying love to the future mafia boss's wife as Tsuna refused, by lowering his self esteem and came up with a bunch of reasons like how Kyoko didn't even know of his existence and how much of a ghost he was in the classroom.

Reborn responded by shooting a bullet in Tsuna's face despite his student's refusal and panic. Tsuna fell down, then a second later, burst out from his clothes, ripping them into shreds before beelining in the direction of the school. Reborn stared at his disappearing back, whistling before aiming the gun at Isago.

"Do you have a crush on someone?"

Isago shook his head and laughed, questioning his own sexuality again.

"I'm not interested in relationships right now."

"That's quite boring, Ragazzo. Try having a fling from time to time."

"Are you really trying to lead me astray?"

Reborn smirked, hopping onto Isago's shoulder without difficulty.

"You'll understand once you have a taste of women."

Isago shrugged, pacing forwards to stop his brother from doing something he would regret later.

┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)