Author's note:

To Len, khr mobile gaming account? Do you mean the one that was recently globally translated into English and the name is "Katekyo Hitman Reborn?" The one that has Gokudera as the first gatcha pull? The one who has Gokudera fighting Hibari in the tutorial? If yes, then...yes. But I downloaded it and never advanced past the beginning because I was too lazy to go through the tutorial.

Other than that, hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 16

Tsuna's chopsticks clattered onto the floor as soon as Isago bolted out of the house. He was frozen, suddenly not knowing what to do. Was it his fault for ignoring Isago that made his brother run out? The guilt came crashing down inside his chest while he ducked down and picked up his chopsticks from the ground. His eyes were a bit watery but he instantly blinked back and excused himself from the table. Tsuna felt Reborn's eyes bore into the back of his head before he disappeared into the shadows on the stairs and slammed his room door behind him.

Isago felt so far away from him that it was devastating.

It was like if Tsuna didn't improve himself, then Isago would be out of reach. How could his brother be so cold hearted? So it was true then? That Isago saw him as a burden? But maybe all of those feelings were false because it was Tsuna's fault for deliberately ignoring Isago.

"It's just-" Tsuna grumbled, frustrated while his feelings came out in an awkward burst as his eyebrows knitted together. "It's just-I don't know! Whenever I see Isago-I just get angry!"

Tsuna groaned, messing up his hair with his hands again. He was being completely childish. But Tsuna felt so awkward around Isago that it was confusing to even talk about his feelings himself. There was a mix of pride and frustration all aimed at his brother while also wanting to make up with Isago.

Tsuna wanted to make it clear that he didn't need Isago to live on. Just like how Tsuna thought what Isago saw him as. He thought that Isago didn't need him. To Isago, Tsuna was only dead weight. Because he was no-good Tsuna who paled in comparison to his brother. The mafia succession…

Even though Tsuna didn't want to be part of the mafia- it was the only thing that could differentiate him from Isago. Maybe just this once, he could be better at Isago in something.

(⊙ω⊙)

Reborn sat casually in his seat as he watched Baka Tsuna stomp up the stairs with more emotion than he had ever placed into his own training. Reborn went back to munching on his rice as Bianchi smiled sweetly at him, placing some more food on Reborn's plate.

"I wonder if their relationship is strained these days," Nana sighed across from Reborn, leaning her face on one of her palms as she glanced towards the stairs in worry.

"Just a brother's splat, mama," Reborn chirped before stuffing himself with more eggs from his plate. Bianchi nodded, reassuring Nana that nothing was going to happen and that it was natural for brothers to fight.

"That's true, but Isago never fought with Tsuna before," Nana said and blinked her eyes in a conflicted manner. "Usually Isago would let Tsuna have his way...perhaps Tsuna has gone a bit too far this time?"

Reborn fell silent, his chopsticks not moving as he stared at the direction that Ragazzo had left. He could imagine it, after all, Ragazzo was the more mature one between the twins. This time Ragazzo's actions were different though. Never had he left dead in the night without informing where he would go. Calm panic, if that even made sense. Reborn was slightly worried for him, but he knew that Ragazzo was able to protect himself.

(⊙ω⊙)

Isago sat on the bed in the hotel, wiping his wet hair. Initially, Isago wanted to get one room each for the two of them, but Usagi stopped him. Nightmares. That was all she needed to say before Isago paid for one room with double beds. The good thing was that they already took a shower at Usagi's shack before coming over to the hotel. Dripping in blood would land them both in jail for murder even if it was for self-defence.

Her house was located in the outskirts of town and it was easy to overlook the small house since her family had kept a low profile. Isago had set the whole house on fire to cover up their involvement.

Isago's mind was in a mess. Murder someone was something that he had never done. But in the heat of the moment, he had also tortured them. Other than the horror that he could do those acts, he had to change all his plans from the get-go. He planned for Usagi to stay in Namimori and keep tabs on Tsuna's gang, but now that might not be the best option.

Isago had to take Usagi with him.

Isago hated how things weren't going as planned.

But he couldn't blame anyone either.

The howls of both the men flashed through his mind as Isago shuddered, feeling their blood dribbled upon his hands. He wiped them on his robe, gripping them together before breathing deeply. His breath was cold, shaky as he gritted through his teeth and tossed it into the back of his head. They were replaying. The screams, the pain, and their faces.

"Get over it," Isago commanded to himself, eyes flashing red without any intent to do so. The earrings on his ears flared with flames before Isago diminished them with the release of his own breath.

There was more on his plate than he could take right now. First, he needed to organize what he was planning to change because of this movement in time. Most likely, the future him had not continued his relationship with Usagi- which was why the future him wanted to grasp this chance. Then Isago should act on how much the past has changed. Leaving with Usagi meant that he had to give up on Mukuro, and that was a major piece he was dealing with. He couldn't stick to the check-off list anymore. Either it was Mukuro or Usagi, he had to choose one. But knowing Mukuro's situation, Isago wasn't even sure if he could convince Mukuro to join his family.

It was a miracle that Mukuro would even join Tsuna's family. But Mukuro was indeed a powerful figure.

"What to do," Isago clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I would choose Usagi over Mukuro because he's an unpredictable player to begin with."

In the first place, Isago in the future didn't have his own mafia family. Was it wise to bet on the chances that Isago could raise his own members to be stronger than Tsuna's? There were two people that Isago had to look out for in Tsuna's family. Hibari and Mukuro. Other than that, he was confident that his future selected members would be able to surpass Tsuna's guardians.

"I'll just have to find stronger guardians," Isago's eye twitch before chuckling dryly. "So busy…"

The bathroom door opened as Usagi stepped out in her furry slippers, staring with vulnerable and red eyes. The robe reached all the way to her ankles while her hair was dry and wavy. Her small face was expressionless but Isago could feel that she was trying to appear as strong as she could be.

"Usagi," Isago called out before hardening his gaze. "I can't wait until my birthday to leave for Italy now."

Usagi lowered her head while shifting to her bed on Isago's right side. She plopped down, biting her lip. Isago had told Usagi in the past that she needed to stay to report about Namimori's situation. Isago sighed before messing up his silver hair.

"I'd like it if you'd come with me."

Usagi's eyes snapped with surprise at his words.

"I can't leave you here after this," Isago made sure his eyes were flickering between Usagi's gaze and the phone that was in between them. "If you agree, you'll have to quit Namimori middle school."

"I'll do it," Usagi blurted out without an ounce of hesitation. "I have no one left here anyway."

Isago realized the truth behind her words. Usagi was now only left with Isago in her life. She had no one else- no friends or family left. Isago inhaled a deep breath before nodding. He picked up his phone and called the airport, booking two tickets as soon as possible, which was three days later.

Education wasn't a problem. He could teach Usagi himself, but it would be better if Usagi had more. After all, he didn't want any of his future guardians to have a lack of education.

From middle school to high school, Isago could teach Usagi. The rest, however...

"Your brother…" Usagi whispered feebly under her breath before looking back up at Isago. "You won't regret it?"

"No," Isago pursed his lips before giving her a soft smile. "It's best for the both of us to separate."

Usagi nodded slowly, pondering on something and slid her legs onto her bed. Her robes parted in the middle, drawing Isago's eyes towards her pale and smooth skin. It was milky, so velvety that he wanted to applaud her for how well kept it was. That must have been hard to maintain despite her family state. Isago tore his eyes away from her, going back to his phone to organize everything. There was the ongoing question on how he should meet his father in Italy though.

With the classes that Reborn had taught him, Isago was confident in basic conversations, but he couldn't outright say that he was looking for the 'Vongola' base in the middle of the road. It would be best to inform his father that he was coming to Italy. There was this phone number that his mom had, but mom had said that Isemitsu gave her the number for emergency purposes.

Well, was this considered an emergency?

"Usagi, do you have anything you want to bring with you to Italy?" Isago asked as he raised his eyes from his phone. Usagi was boldly puffing up her cheeks before locking eyes with Isago, her face blazed with pink.

"I don't," she answered curtly before frowning again, this time visibly upset about Isago's actions. Isago raised an eyebrow, trying to understand what in the world she was upset about. Then it occurred to him. They were two opposite sexes in a single room with no adult supervision.

Isago flashed her a lopsided smile.

"Usagi, we're 13."

Usagi bit her lip, fiddled with her fingers and said, "I wasn't thinking of it!"

Isago's eyes glinted mischievously, knowing how the female mind worked.

"No, Usagi, I don't see you as unattractive. I'm just holding myself back because we're underaged," he explained in a playful voice and Usagi cleared her throat, ears starting to turn a bit red at the tips.

"I understand! Wasn't thinking of anything like that, you- terrible person!" With that, she jumped into her covers and pulled it over her head. Outside of the blankets, Isago could hear her squeaking in panic. He chuckled, going back to his work before writing down a checklist and what to do in the next three days.

It was not at all true about Isago holding himself back because there was nothing to hold back in the first place. He admired Usagi because he had experienced the life of a girl already. He knew the ins and outs of girl problems but that also made him unable to see any girl in a sexual way naturally.

Sure, he liked Usagi for her personality and her loyalty, but he couldn't see himself making love to her unless it was for reproduction purposes. Isago could see himself forcing himself to see her sexually though. He was capable because he was a healthy male in this life, but now was not the time to be thinking about these parts of human reproduction. Career came first.

Isago sighed, leaning back onto the board of the bed and texting his mom that one of his classmates had an accident and that he was staying with him. His mom instantly replied with a smiley face at the end of her text, telling him that Tsuna and Reborn were very worried about Isago. Isago knew better though, and after he finished explaining the situation, he sank into the bed and turned off the lights on the bed table.

(⊙ω⊙)

Reborn had a bad feeling in his gut. Although he didn't have the Vongola blood, he still saw his intuition fairly on point for his students. He sipped his espresso in front of him, once again not able to sleep because of what happened yesterday at the mountain. It was ironic, Reborn took his eyes off of his cup and directed it to the window that was closed inside the kitchen.

Surrounding the kitchen window, the walls were cut into perfectly square pieces that were made from marble. Ever since Bianchi had moved in, Ragazzo had convinced his mom to buy more sturdy walls in order to counter any more potential wall melting from the poison scorpion's food. Smart boy, that Ragazzo was. His suggestion had saved Mama from changing the interior wall each time.

Silence filled the room as Reborn sank his mind back to the spraying blood seeping out from Ragazzo and his limp and cold body in his hands as Reborn clutched onto it, slightly trembling. It was so ironic. Despite him being in the mafia for years, he still had lingering after-effects when seeing his own comrades die in front of him. No, to be specific, it started when he was forced inside his current body.

Reborn stared at his own hands, clenching them then unclenching them over and over again as if he missed the grasp of holding a larger weapon in his hands. Leon was snoozing on his lap. The previous day he had gone into a state of hibernation because of his tired state of producing a new weapon. There was a bubble that sprouted out of the lizard's nose making Reborn's smile lift only inches before the blood from Ragazzo's body slipped into his mind again.

Every time he fought in battle, he was frustrated. Irrevocably irritated.

He could have done more if it wasn't for his powerless body. He could have prevented all the deaths that happened beside him. He could have done so much more. But now all he could do was to watch out for his stamina and rely on other subordinates to carry him around. Reborn placed on a mocking smile, jeering at himself. How many years had it been since he turned into an arcobaleno?

How many deaths could he have prevented?

Sometimes, he really thought that being the strongest in the world was a curse itself.

Who knows? You might destroy the world in your original form.

Those words brought a smile to Reborn's face again. Truly, that was tempting. This morning Reborn studied Ragazzo's fingers in case they were any looser than they were supposed to be. It had healed miraculously fast, and Reborn guessed that he had to thank for being the strongest in order to have flames in that quality.

Any normal sun flame would have fainted before the job was even done.

'Destroy the world, huh?' Reborn thought.

If, he had his original form back.

As long as you have time, you have hope.

Reborn felt a pulse tick on his forehead as he clicked his tongue, grabbing his cup again and dunking the entire thing down his throat. That Ragazzo.

"Always acting like he knows something."

(⊙ω⊙)

Isago's insomnia had kicked in again with the constant screams that were filling his ears. Honestly, Isago should prescribe some melatonin once he got to Italy. He had asked his mom for sleeping pills in the past, but she said that he was too young to be taking them, which was true. Isago had drafted up his training routine in order to sleep well just by tiring himself out, but on some days, insomnia was just stuck onto him like a blood-sucking bug.

Isago lay on his bed, organizing his thoughts. There was a list of things to do, the first, was to pack his basic necessities and credit cards. Second, he had to copy down the phone number that mom had placed in the phone book. Lastly, he had to quit Namimori middle school and help Usagi on her side too. Education in Japan needed money, so it was easy for him to create an excuse about Usagi running out of money for education. The only problem would be the signature that they would need.

That would be easily faked if Usagi knew, but if things didn't go well, then the teachers may try to call Usagi's mother to school. If things progressed to that situation, then Isago would be forced to take Usagi to Italy without any further explanation. Not that it would hinder him except for the whole school trying to lock down their disappearances, but it would definitely show up as a problem if he wanted Usagi to get a post-secondary education.

Unless, he asked the mafia to hire a tutor for her.

Isago's eyes blinked dully at the ceiling before slowly nodding to his suggestion. Yes, let's go that way. The other problem was his SAT exam that was confirmed on October the 5th, which was two days after his flight. The date was already official unless Isago asked to do it early, in which the problem was, was he even prepared?

Well, 100% on all the subjects was impossible.

"Hm," Isago lifted his arms and placed it under his head. He would most likely pass. He didn't need the degree either, all he needed was their confirmation that he had graduated from high school on his transcript.

He started to review all the information for his SATs in his mind, slowly and carefully before he heard Usagi's covers shift. The girl sat up, staring at the wall before blinking back to Isago.

"Can't sleep, Usagi?"

Usagi nodded in the dark. Isago's eyes were already adjusted in the dark so he could see all her movements.

"I'm scared that they'll come and haunt me," the girl shuddered and hugged her knees. Her voice sounded so sleepy, but it was on edge. "You too?"

"Not really," Isago shrugged slightly and opened his covers to invite her. "I have insomnia to begin with. Come?"

Usagi hesitated for a moment before slipping off her bed and crawled into Isago's covers and flinched at the warmth that he was emitting. She sighed in relief and clutched Isago's shirt that had already slipped out into the open because Isago threw off the robe when he slept.

"Sleep, Usagi," he murmured into her hair, hands travelling onto the back of her spine as he caressed her pink locks that spilled downwards. He felt the girl underneath him stiffen from his contact, gasping in surprise before she slowly melted and lowered her guard. Isago could hear the pounding of her heart, not his though.

An hour later, she fell asleep. Isago lay there, still unable to fall asleep as he went over his SATs again.

(⊙ω⊙)

The next day, Isago woke up early, slipping out of the bed around 5 am and went out to the convenience store to buy some shirts for the both of them. He felt tired the entire time he walked, but he held it in without complaining.

He returned thirty minutes to Usagi who was hugging her knees and yawning with a curious expression. Her gaze was directed at the two bags that Isago held in his hands.

"I thought you left me here," Usagi stretched both of her feet on the bed and wiggled her toes, finally relaxing into her position. "Leave me a note next time."

"Noted," Isago flashed her a quick smile and walked towards the girl, holding out the bag of clothes out to her as her warm fingers brushed Isago's. She blushed and darted her eyes to the washroom to change. Isago had no expression though, simply just sitting down and calling the hotel reception through the phone on the desk located near the window.

"Hello, I would like to extend my stay here. Two days more, thank you."

He heard the woman on the other side hesitate before he spoke up again, telling her that he would pay just in a moment. She agreed, apologizing for her pause because Isago's voice sounded so young. Isago chuckled, telling her that he heard that often.

No doubt, appearing young was not a good thing. Isago gave his condolences to Reborn quietly while Usagi came out of the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes. Isago stood up, smiling softly before extending his hand out. Usagi blinked, slowly wrapping her arm around his before Isago took her down.

On the way to school, Usagi told him that she was quitting today.

"Yes," Isago tilted his head in thought before pausing. "Once we get to Italy, we'll go shopping for you. Bear with it, please."

Usagi's eyes widened before thanking him.

"I never asked for clothes, Isago."

"Yes, but I would like to treat you properly," Isago lowered his head playfully and Usagi's inner squeals could be seen in her glimmering eyes.

Her eyes were beautiful, even after she murdered two men ruthlessly. There was no sign of fatigue or regret, only happiness and freedom. Isago's mouth curled while cracking his knuckles with one hand at the thought of the two men.

"About the company that you were supposed to inherit…"

"I want it destroyed," Usagi's voice came out strong as she stared back at Isago, surprising him. "Help me?"

Isago had taken in the possibilities that Usagi wanted to take over the company, but to think that she wanted it to be destroyed...what a waste. Isago nodded casually before turning his head towards the road, trying to find a way to crumble the building in the near future. He had no time currently, but it was possible to do that after the ring's succession.

"When we have time, we'll obliterate it until it crumbles under our feet," Isago promised her. Usagi smiled radiantly, knowing that Isago would keep his promise no matter what. They walked on, enjoying the morning air and reached school.

(⊙ω⊙)

"Ragazzo, where were you yesterday?"

Isago froze on the middle of the stairs, staring upward to see an elephant head upon his tutor's head. On his small fists, there were two boxing gloves that clashed together playfully. Leon sat on Reborn's shoulder, staring down at him too. Isago didn't know what to feel when his supposed tutor caught him midway through skipping class. Not that Reborn could say anything about it. As long as he was keeping up with his studies, Reborn had no say in his class skipping.

They were stairs apart, the distance between them so wide that Isago had a very good chance of escaping Reborn if he ever tried to bolt at him.

"A friend needed help," Isago shrugged, feeling his eyelids blink with the same heaviness that he had in his past life. There was one difference though. And that was that his head was also spinning in 360 degrees. He blinked away the drowsiness, gritting his teeth only a bit before swallowing down his distorting vision.

What was wrong with him?

Even if he had insomnia, it never came this bad on his mentality.

There was a shift in front of Isago before his head shot up to see Reborn leap from his spot, landing effortlessly in front of Isago before Isago shot out his arms on instinct, providing a soft landing for the baby as he stumbled backwards onto his feet, back slamming against the wall with a loud thud.

He winced, not producing a single sound from his lips as Reborn furrowed up his eyebrows while he pulled his hand up in front of Isago's forehead and flicked it. Isago snapped his eyes close as he felt the blunt pain enter his skull. It was a weaker attack from Reborn-Isago knew it.

"You're burning out, Ragazzo."

Isago slowly opened his eyes, seeing stars in his vision and shook his head to get his vision on the correct road. The stars were green and embedded with yellow and that was not a good sign.

"Ragazzo, you need to take a break," Reborn clicked his tongue before jumping off of Isago's arms and landing on the ground as quietly as possible. Isago groaned, rubbing his temples while recalling everything that he needed to do in order to push his plans into motion. He couldn't risk taking a break but he knew that Reborn was right.

He then shifted his fingers to the bridge of his nose, feeling the pressure calm him down and he slowly opened his eyes again, this time vision glowing back to normal. All the stress of killing two people was beginning to pull on his leg, not to mention that he hadn't slept for three days straight. He didn't have his daily dose of caffeine either.

How did he allow himself to get to this point?

"You're right, Reborn," Isago sighed before pushing himself off the wall. His back felt sweaty just from that previously catching Reborn. It was barely a light exercise. It stunned Isago to how much stress he had just accumulated in the past few days.

"The first aid room has some spare beds," Reborn turned his back to Isago, walking down the stairs with his chibi legs that seemed to hop from each stair to stair before he reached to the bottom, looking back at Isago who still hadn't moved from his spot. Reborn's eyes held Isago's before a small smile curved up onto his face. "Get moving, Ragazzo. I don't have enough time on my hands to be babysitting both twins."

Isago blinked twice before going back into a relieved chuckle, slowly walking down the stairs to follow Reborn's small footsteps.

The moment they arrived in the first aid room located on the first floor of the school, Reborn leaped onto one of the beds and patted the sheets. Isago moved to the one that Reborn randomly chose, pulling the covers over his body while his eyelids drooped. He couldn't believe that he was this tired. No, even more so that during his whole life as Isago, this was the time that he had felt so drowsy to the point where he couldn't keep his eyes open when there was a living person breathing beside him.

A few seconds later, Isago fell asleep, limp on the bed with a pale face.

(⊙ω⊙)

Reborn stared back at his student, although he said that he needed to keep an eye on Baka Tsuna, he wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere. Ragazzo's black eyebags seemed like they were drawn on him with thick permanent markers. There was no youth in the boy anymore, only a ragged body whose ambition took it way too far that his body couldn't catch up.

Reborn lifted his small hand without a single expression on his face, covering them over Ragazzo's eyes before shining his sun flames under his palms. He could feel Ragazzo's cells activate underneath his skin, refreshing the overall mind. Did Reborn overestimate Ragazzo's maturity?

Initially Reborn had thought that the boy didn't need another person to take care of him, but now that this was in front of him, it proved otherwise. In the first place, the only reason why Reborn had thought that Ragazzo could take care of himself was that he was the complete opposite of Baka Tsuna. It was true, compared to the other brother, Reborn had spent too little time observing the younger one.

Unlike Ragazzo, Baka Tsuna was the lazy kind and would not push himself to lengths like this. Reborn knew what Tsuna was like, yet the younger brother remained shrouded with mystery. There was the fact that he was overly mature, which couldn't be explained by age itself. Reborn had his own hypothesis for the younger brother, thinking about the possibilities that when both twins grew up in the same environment but retained polar opposite personalities.

It was almost like Ragazzo was a different person altogether. Ragazzo didn't retain the same habits or mistakes as the older brother. And while it seemed like the older brother's wimpy personality could have initiated the start of Ragazzo's mindset, it still didn't explain how Ragazzo had a much stronger hyper intuition than Baka Tsuna. It didn't explain how Ragazzo was so diligent.

It remained a mystery how Ragazzo had excellent grades and charisma when no one taught or guided him through the entire process. Reborn had asked mama before, and none of the twins had tutoring sessions in the past. Reborn had also gone through all the files and Ragazzo's routine before he had arrived at the Sawada family, and none of them indicated occasional visits to the library either. The course material couldn't be self-taught just by a single reference book.

While it was true that Ragazzo had often asked his mother to buy him workbooks, how was he able to solve questions that he couldn't? Reborn had to admit when he was searching through Ragazzo's bookshelf, there were countless papers and worn-out books that seemed as if they were flipped through over and over again. How did the boy have such persistence?

This was not normal.

Reborn's frown slightly lightened when he saw Ragazzo's face colour turn back to normal. This boy was like a machine. A person who existed on proving himself to the world and not caring how his body disassembled in the process. Like that time with Tsuna's cloud guardian. Ragazzo didn't need to go that far to get the man to agree with the meal tickets.

Although Reborn couldn't call it reckless either because the boy had evidently researched the best time when his opponent was weakened. He knew of his own limits and power so he struck the enemy when they couldn't retaliate, though he got beat up quite badly because of his own lack of power. That time at the track meet too. Ragazzo was so desperate that he had taken his clothes off in the middle of nowhere just to catch up to Hibari Kyoya.

The expression on Ragazzo's face when he tried to overtake his older brother in the last five seconds. Reborn knew, that Ragazzo had calculated the perfect distance that he could make up with his flame. The boy was intelligent. But he had nothing except victory in his eyes. No- there was more to Ragazzo. He wouldn't endanger his friends. He would sacrifice himself for the sake of victory. He would offer himself up to the devil to please his family.

The fact made Reborn taste his mouth with bitterness.

Just like the sky arcobaleno.

Just like the sky arcobaleno.

He was reminded of that woman once again. That smile on her face when she asked what drink he would like in the meeting and before they were cursed. Not again. Reborn didn't want to see someone go down that route again. Reborn's round eyes stayed on Ragazzo who was now snoozing with his chest rising up and down comfortably.

Ragazzo was too independent.

And that was his fatal flaw.

(⊙ω⊙)

The next 2 days passed in a blink of an eye. Isago had successfully convinced and taken his SAT exams on schedule all thanks to Reborn's suggestion to rest. He was more refreshed than ever and had flown through all his tasks in half the time compared to his haggard state. He was confident that he was able to pass. After successfully copying the phone number and preparing his own suitcase in secret, Isago managed to move his suitcase into Usagi's hotel.

No one managed to suspect anything, especially Reborn who Isago kept a good eye on. Reborn was too busy with training his brother. During that time apparently, Hibari had successfully joined Tsuna's family without an actual agreement. It wasn't Isago's style to have family members who were so unstable though.

Either they knew what was going on and willingly joined, or they didn't join at all. Today was the third day that was also coincidentally on a weekend. Isago woke up early, planning his moves and writing letters for both his mother and Lambo. He placed them on his desk and walked down the stairs to see Tsuna sitting in the kitchen with black eye circles.

He seemed so tired, barely keeping his eyes open.

Normally Isago would ignore him, but not today.

"Tsuna," Isago called as his brother's head snapped at his voice, his eye whites increasing and decreasing skeptically at his younger brother. Isago sighed, shoving his hands into the pocket of his sweatpants. "We need to talk."

Tsuna clamped his mouth shut as his lips wiggled with conflict. Isago turned his back on his brother, looking over his shoulder and tilting his head towards the door.

"Outside."

"I don't want to talk to you, Isago-"

"Baka Tsuna, a good leader never ignores their family members."

Reborn popped his head from one of the cupboards, making Isago's brother shriek. Reborn leaped down, whacking his student in the head for the early disturbance. Tsuna winced, grumbling before turning his guilty eyes back at Isago then followed his brother outside of the house. The two siblings were quiet as they walked, Reborn perched upon Tsuna's shoulder until they reached the river bank.

The early morning mist had cleared up but the smell of fresh grass still lingered in the air and Isago skidded down to the ground of the back, gesturing Tsuna to follow. The older brother reluctantly did, his lips twisting into a deep frown as Isago stood across from him.

"Isago?" His eyebrows furrowed. "What do you-"

"Frustrated, aren't you? Because you can never catch up to me?" Isago spat out with venom, instantly making Tsuna's face pale. Tsuna's hands twitched beside his body and they flew to clutch his pants before Tsuna swallowed thickly.

"So what?" Tsuna replied with his own frustration, chewing on his lip while Isago flung his hand at Reborn. "D-does that matter to you?!"

Tsuna's orange and white sweatshirt was flapping in the wind that started to stir in between them. His pants were well fitted but baggy and mirrored Isago's clothes except Isago's shirt was red.

"Reborn, don't interfere. This is between us," Isago said without tearing his eyes at his brother. Reborn beside him lowered his hat in amusement before he leaped off of Tsuna's shoulder and backed away to give the two brothers some space.

"Go easy on him, Ragazzo."

That made Tsuna's eyebrows knit tighter than ever. As soon as Reborn reached his destination, Isago lunged at Tsuna.

He dipped down under Tsuna as he heard his brother squeak and punched upwards. Tsuna stumbled back, successfully avoiding Isago's attack before fleeing backwards and shouting for Isago to stop. Isago didn't listen, swiftly picking up his pace before darting in front of Tsuna again, watching his brother struggle with a pale face.

"Come," Isago commanded before kicking off again. This time, he heard Tsuna screech in frustration as he lunged forwards, trying to tackle Isago onto the grass. Isago side stepped just in time as Tsuna's body fell in mid-air. He pushed himself up before snarling, flinging his arms wildly like a game character.

Isago twisted his body and punched Tsuna directly in the stomach, his punch flying up along with his brother's body. Tsuna coughed in slow motion and stunned himself for the briefest moment before grabbing Isago's arm and pulling it over his shoulder.

Isago hooked his leg and forced his weight to shift in a way that made Tsuna's move fail as they both rolled towards the end of the riverbank. They kicked each other like kids, grunting and groaning before flailing around on the grass. They punched each other with energy, both panting with rage directed at one another. Isago let Tsuna push him until his head was close to the water as his brother punched Isago in the face, screaming all his frustrations at him.

"You're jealous because of what I have now, right?!" Tsuna hollered like a child, tears plopping down his cheeks as he tried to catch his breath. "It's always like that! After taking everything for yourself, you still want more!"

Isago's lips twisted with irritation but he let his brother finish. His expression under Tsuna was close to nothing but icy calculation. Isago's jaw tightened.

"I'm always jealous and left behind because of you!" Tsuna yanked Isago's collar up so that he could scream harder at Isago. The sound pierced Isago's ears, listening to the hatred of his brother build up like blocks of buildings. "No one cares about me!"

"It's all about you! It's all about Isago, Isago, Isago- nothing about me!"

Tsuna glared despite his teary eyes. Isago could see Tsuna's hostility. It was so chilling that Isago was astonished that his brother could grasp the emotion of hate. Tsuna gritted his teeth when he saw no response from Isago.

"I hate you," Tsuna spit out, his eyes flaring orange and the flame upon his forehead started burning. "I hate how you're so perfect. I hate your very existence because you're so talented! Everyone loves you because you're Isago! I'm nobody- I'm no good Tsuna!"

Lava poured down Isago's throat as he laughed mockingly at his brother's words. His own eyes flashed red before he thrust his leg into Tsuna's chest, slamming his brother into the grass as the ball of lava erupted inside his chest.

Talent? Perfection?

"Jealous?!" Isago screamed and extended out his hands to the world before jabbing his trembling finger at Tsuna's weak body. "Do you even have the right to be jealous? You never even tried!"

Isago slammed his hand on his mouth, darkness spreading in the pits of his stomach in disbelieving rage. His shoulders trembled as he tried to stop his words, but they wrenched their way out of his throat.

"What I have right now are the things that I gained from my sweat and tears!" Isago hammered his hand into his chest, tears spilling out of his eyes as he remembered everything he had done to reach his position. "I deserve everything that you see!"

"If I want something, then I'll work for it! Brother, did you know how I cried my eyes out after failing my first presentation?! Did you know I had a phobia of public speaking?! Did you know all the hard work that I put in to become the perfect leader?!"

Yet Timoteo chose his good for nothing brother.

"When you slept, I studied! When you complained, I pushed through! When you played, I forced myself to work! Over and over again, I watched myself fall in frustration because I couldn't do better!"

He could never be perfect. Because he still lacked so much.

Isago's shoulders quivered as he took a quick breath to calm himself down. Tsuna's mouth was open in shock, staring at Isago and was completely frozen. Reborn was on the side, eyes penetrating at Isago. There was both recognition and acknowledgement inside Reborn's eyes, but Isago was too focused on his brother to see the reaction of his tutor.

"You only saw the outcome," Isago hissed, prowling closer to his brother on the ground. Isago's face felt hot, so hot that sweat started soaking his back. "And now you say you want it without even trying hard?"

Isago tilted his head, eyes wide as if he was trying to understand his brother's logic. But that only made him seem like he was insane. The colour on Tsuna's face slipped away by the minute, opening his mouth and closing it like a goldfish.

"Why does everyone love me? Why does everyone favour me? Because I worked for it! You never even tried!" Isago cackled sarcastically, glaring at Tsuna. His breath was shallow, ragged as he shouted. "You never even tried! You sat there, wasting your life and expected someone to come and pick you up from the bottom of the food chain!"

"Fine," Isago clenched his jaw and gave his own brother a mocking smile. "Fine, you want me out of your life?"

Reborn's frown aggravated at the remark.

"Ragazzo, stop-"

"Then I'll fucking grant your wish!"

Isago yanked out his flames, lights appearing behind him as he heard Reborn's gun click. But it was too late. In that split second, Isago shot his lasers into the ground before Tsuna and dust shooting up in all directions as Tsuna shrieked Isago's name.

When the dust cleared, Isago was completely gone. Tsuna sat on the ground, clothes covered with dirt and dust as his eyes were trained on the ground in a vacant stare. Reborn was on the side, lowering his gun with an extremely tight-lipped frown.

"What have I done…?" Tsuna's voice was quaking, swallowing hard as tears streamed down his face. "I-Isago…!"

Tsuna pushed himself off the ground, staggering before collapsing onto his knees as he frantically searched the bank with his eyes, body shaking like a leaf.

"What have I done?"

(⊙ω⊙)

Isago gave a half-hearted smile before dusting off his clothes. His eyes were still red from his stunt from crying in front of his brother, but there was no trace of tears anymore. Usagi stood in front of him and handed Isago his suitcase along with his phone. She slyly smiled, fluttering her fingers around his arm and Isago chuckled deeply, eyes ablaze red as the bottom of his soles tapped on the pavement.

"Mission accomplished."