A/N:
@Ferizier: I hope so too. :)
@CAD270895: Oh no. No romance, except for the canon characters. Sorry.
@foxchick1: Ma~ybe. Hahaha. But yeah. Most of your theory is right.
Thank you for the reviews! Just tell me if the chapters get cringe-y or something. I'm not really the most reliable author and proofreader you have. Hahahaha.
Source (for legitimacy and no plagiarism purposes):
Garlic soup with potatoes and poached egg - https//recipe/garlic-soup-with-potatoes-and-poached-eggs/amp
Anyway, go on.
Chapter Two
"Mama." Reborn called as he walked inside the kitchen where the woman of the house is at the moment. "Where's Tsuna?"
The hitman saw how the lady's figure froze. He has been quiet for three days now, but he knew something was wrong. Especially after he sensed that his student isn't in the house. The brunet didn't even attended school nor joined them in the dinner. Nana, as oblivious as she was (he has a hunch now that the matriarch started to get aware of what is happening with her close son), only said that she sent Tsuna for an errand in the next town when the kids questioned his student's whereabouts. But knowing the brunet, he won't be gone that long. Except if he was going to do something.
Heh. Good thing Ieyasu is working on his assignments and the kids are playing with Bianchi. If they hadn't been gone, he would've forced them just to talk with Nana.
"Tsu-kun is with his aunt at the moment, Reborn-kun. They held him up since they haven't seen him for a long time." Nana responded as she continued to wash the dishes.
Reborn let out a sigh. "Mama. Please tell me."
Nana stopped what she was doing, knowing already that she's busted. The lady Sawada looked at him, as if gauging the full extent of trust she could give. Or Tsuna has given to him. "Reborn-kun."
"Yes?" He attentively answered.
"Tsu-kun trusts you a lot."
Reborn felt his heart sunk a little, guilt eating him like any other day the title got revoked from his student. "Yes."
"Do you trust him?"
He thought back to all the things they did. Tsuna was a wimpy kid. A coward, bullied, dame kid. He lacked self-confidence and self-esteem. But he was persistent. Always tenacious. He was strong-willed and hardworking. When he's in a pinch, he finds ways. When he has to do things for the sake of others, he will do it. He cares for every soul he encounters. Selfless. So selfless that it hurts to see the kid get more involved to mafia.
Reborn watched him grew up in a span of almost two years to become the ideal Vongola Decimo. His grades have grown steady, his skills kept on stacking up, and he was still Dame-Tsuna, but more endearing and too good to tease. He was able to rely on his friends when things are bad, and he seeks advice to the hitman when he has something in mind.
The sun arcobaleno will always be in debt to Tsuna for breaking the curse and slowly giving him the life he never thought he'll ever experience again. He was ready to die, but the brunet's tenacity has given him salvation. And in the long run, Reborn started to think that Tsuna isn't bad for a son. If he was the child's father, he'll be the proudest.
So yes. He does trust Tsuna, even with his life.
"Yes, Mama." He answered earnestly.
The woman smiled. "Then trust him to be okay. Tsu-kun is your student after all."
Reborn smirked before getting serious again. "Did he say when will he be back?"
"No." Nana answered as she put a plate on the rack. "I didn't ask nor did he tell me anything."
Reborn mulled on this information. "He doesn't want to be found."
"Maybe. We won't know."
The hitman doesn't know if he has the audacity to be proud or curse his student to the oblivion for being unpredictable. "Thank you, Mama."
"No problem, Reborn-kun."
He turned around and walked for the door. He can't help getting a little worried. Tsuna isn't really one to run away. No doubt it's because of the new situation. He mentally cursed on Iemitsu for being an idiot. He will never forgive that blond for using his student as a scapegoat for his other son. Ieyasu will surely have the Varia getting his head if they don't acknowledge him like they did on Tsuna after all the things happened.
He remembers how his student fussed around on his comrades after the representative battle. He even stayed with the most troublesome members of the family just to keep them company even if they scare the living lights out of him.
Then he remembered how somber and gentle Tsuna was that morning. How the 'Thank you' felt so wrong with the beaming smile. He should've pointed out why the brunet was wearing casual attire instead of his school uniform, or why he was even late when his student was always early in class after getting used to their 'new' routine.
"Ah, Reborn-kun." Nana called when he was about to step out of the dining room.
"Yes?"
"I believe Tsu-kun will contact you when he wants to. If he hadn't, tell me. I'll tell you how he's doing."
Reborn contemplated before nodding. "Thank you."
He only received a smile in return. Sighing as he gazed at the door of his student. Now he has to wait.
"So? How is it?" Soma asked the blondie examiner who tasted his Transforming Furikane Gohan.
He waited for an answer while staring at his two audience. He really did his best to cook that dish though the test wasn't that hard. Everyone can cook with just a single egg. It's not even a challenge.
God. He just can't understand why his old man has to close their diner and enrol him to this school. It's not that he needs to learn more. His skills are okay, he can even cook better than other people. But his Dad just has to pull out the challenge card. And he's not one to back down when he has a chance to defeat his Dad. Though he had to admit, he likes how beautiful the academy is. It's so huge and the buildings are nice.
"It's..." The blondie murmured.
Soma leaned in.
"It's ho-"
"Excuse me...?"
All three eyes looked at the door. A brunet in casual attire stood there, a hand on the knob and looked lost with his nervous expression. He also looked ragged and out of place. But the way he stood there is full of confidence. It's as if he owned the place.
Soma stood straighter, like a soldier to his commander. The way the brunet gives out his aura is captivating that he can't help greeting him properly. It's not like him to act like this, but he can't help it. His gut is making him stand in attention.
"Is this the examination room?" The brunet asked in a soft voice.
"Yes. How may we help you?" The girl with magenta hair and tiger orange eyes answered equally polite.
"I'm here to take the test." The brunet replied as he entered the room fully and closed the door quietly behind him.
"Your name is...?"
"Tsunayoshi Sawada."
The pinkette searched through her tablet then a frown marred her face. "You're not in the list."
"Ah well, Nakiri-san has told me to go here."
"Eh?" The two girls blurted out in shock.
"But this is Erina Nakiri." The pinkette said as she gestured her hands to the blondie behind her.
The brunet's lips went 'o'. "My apologies. I was pertaining to Senzaemon Nakiri. He told me to go here under his recommendation."
Soma watched the interaction with keen eyes. Who would have thought that walk-ins were accepted?
"If it's not possible, I can go." The brunet offered, gesturing to the door behind him.
"No." The blondie responded. "If grandfather recommended you, you must have skills. Please do cook."
The brunet cocked his head to the left. "But you were in the middle of evaluation, I presume."
Soma raised his brows when the two girls' attention went to him.
"That can wait." Nakiri, now that he remembered after the redhead introduced the blond again, assured. "I'm still evaluating his... Food."
"O-Okay."
Soma moved when the brunet hesitantly went to the little kitchen beside his. He gave a smile to ease the teen who did relax and smiled back at him gratefully. He watched the kid check every corner of the kitchen, from equipments, pans, ingredients and knives. He grinned when he saw the glint on those brown eyes.
"I know right? They have nice knives." He agreed with a nod at the unvoiced awe.
"Yeah. They're so shiny. Kaasan will be so happy if she sees this." The brunet smiled before standing up.
Soma watched the other remove his jacket, leaving a red shirt on. "I'll step out so you can do your work."
The teen nodded. "Thank you...?"
"Soma Yukihira." He introduced himself.
"Tsunayoshi Sawada. Call me Tsuna." And brown eyes went to the two girls. "You may as well call me Tsuna."
"Sure." Nakiri responded with a small smile. "The theme is eggs. Cook anything that has eggs as the main star. After that, I'll evaluate."
"You may start Tsuna-san." The pinkette alerted.
The redhead almost pouted. Why do they treat Tsuna so special?
Soma blinked when brown eyes turned molten orange before Tsuna started to move his hands. Ingredients were settled on the side of the cart and a knife was taken from its hiding place. He can only hear the knife hitting the board as uniformly cut ingredients were put on a plate. Then pans were brought out and placed on the stoves with medium heat, then a blender was taken out.
He watched as things got put together from all the necessities on the work station. The performance screamed gracefulness and finesse. There were no wasted movement. It's as if Tsuna was only moving one or two steps from his previous position before going back there again.
Before they knew it, three bowls with white tops were placed in front of them. It didn't even take that long!
"Please dig in." Tsuna offered with a smile.
"You have one for me?" Soma asked, eyes wide with the pinkette.
"Eh? Well yes. Aren't you hungry too? It's not right for you to just stand there while Nakiri-san eat. It's not polite." The brunet responded as he took all the things he used and put them beside the sink. "Eat up."
Soma took a spoon and stared at the food. The aroma is enthralling, yet teasing. Like there's more inside to be seen. He murmured a 'thanks' before slowly opening the white part. A rich flow-y yellow yolk came out, indicating that it's a pouch. He proceeded to dig deeper until an ooze of green soup flooded the egg topping and a strong smell of spices assaulted his nose. It was mouthwatering. So he went for a taste.
At first the flavor exploded in his mouth, but disappeared after he swallowed. He blinked and ate another spoonful until the soup was gone. He stared at the bowl before gazing at the brunet who served them glasses of water. The distinct spices were there, the flavor was present, and there's a certain umami that he can't grasp.
"I-Impressive." Nakiri breathed, a hand in her chest. "I-I couldn't get enough. It was like I was in a green field and bathing myself with the fresh air under the clear sky."
"E-Eh?" Tsuna spluttered before red bloomed in his face. "T-Thank you."
"How did you do it?" The pinkette asked after drinking a glass of water.
"Do what?"
"Make it different." Soma elaborated. "What is it anyway?"
"Oh. It's a garlic soup with potatoes and pouch egg. I hid the leeks under so it won't be distracting. Then added a little cheese to have a milky texture and flavor." Then Tsuna made a wistful smile that made Soma stare. "It was one of my improvisation when my tutor wanted something different."
"It is different." The redhead assured. "Good job."
"Thank goodness." The teen smiled before looking at Nakiri. "What's the verdict then?"
"You pass, Tsuna-kun." The blondie responded with a smile.
"How about Yukihira-san?" Tsuna questioned, nodding at him at the same time with a curious smile.
Soma caught the reproachful and hesitant glance from their examiner before a sigh escaped her lips. "P-Pass."
"Oh." The brunet's face lit up in an extraordinary level and relief. "Congratulation, Yukihira-san."
The redhead grinned. "It wasn't much."
"I'll clean this up." The other said as he collected the used dishes and started to clean up.
The three silently watched him do the chores before Nakiri and the pinkette looked at him. He eyed them at the corner of his eyes, a little vigilant. He was sure he was going to have a fifty-fifty percent chance because of how badly he's being treated from the first. So what now?
"Be grateful to Tsuna-kun." Nakiri grumbled, glaring at him. "If it wasn't for him, I would've failed you."
"But my dish was delicious." He gloated.
"No! It wasn't!" Nakiri hurramphed before walking out.
"Honestly, it was." The pinkette answered sincerely before gazing at Tsuna who was humming as he put away the things in their proper places. "But I knew Erina-sama will fail you even if you did have a delicious gohan. Your attitude sucked big time. But since Tsuna-san came, it became a fair judgement. Either ways, congratulations to both of you. But I still won't forgive you with that attitude."
"Hisako!"
"Eh? You're leaving already?" The brunet asked while wiping his hands with a napkin.
"Yes, Tsuna-san. Tight schedule." 'Hisako' replied shyly.
The other smiled understandingly. "Have a good work then. See you around."
"Ah yes. Please ask Yukihira about the information about us. We will need your papers."
"I will."
The two ladies went on. Tsuna gave a small bow as a sign of gratitude. After that, Soma took his knife, put it on his briefcase and followed his peer who went out after taking his jacket. He found him walking in a slow pace, murmuring to himself and trembling.
Now that he noticed it, the brunet's clothes are wrinkly and a little dirty. He must have been wondering around and met the other Nakiri by accident. At least his father didn't ship him off.
"Yo, Tsuna." He called out, making the other turn around to face him. Soma gave a smile. "Where are you heading?"
The brunet made a thoughtful look. "Probably check in to a nearby hotel then buy a new phone."
"Oh." Soma stared at him. "Where did you came from anyway?"
"Far away from here." Tsuna smiled weakly.
"Without any luggage?"
"Yup. I had to move fast, so I didn't bring any. Only those I needed are what I pocketed."
"Then why do you have to buy another phone?" He queried as they descended the stairs. "Is it broken?"
"A little. I need to change it since someone I don't want to talk to might contact me."
"Ah." Soma nodded slowly. 'He must not want to say anything who that someone is.'
"I'm glad you passed though." Tsuna smiled pleasantly. "I really thought she was going to fail you."
"I'm glad. But you're pretty happy for me too?"
"Of course I am. Small or big achievements are meant to be celebrated." The brunet happily answered with a puff of his chest. It's like he's speaking by experience. "Especially small ones."
"True." He nodded, smiling a little at his own achievement for today too.
Both of them stopped walking when they saw the almost dark sky. Soma looked at his companion who has a grieve expression. And he didn't like it one bit. It's like in the past two hours he was with Tsuna, he got used to the smiles the latter always had.
He wondered why such a face. Did something happen to him during at a time like this? What can he do to erase it?
"Do you want me to accompany you to the store?" He offered.
"Won't I be a bother?" The brunet asked with a tilt of his head to the left.
Soma almost blushed at how adorable the other is. "No. It'll be fine."
"Okay then. Your home isn't far from here then?"
"One train away."
"Then let's go. I don't want you home late."
The redhead made a small wave of his hand as he went on ahead. "No one is waiting for me at home."
"O-Oh." He looked back to Tsuna who made a blank face. "I'm sorry."
"No. It's okay. My old man is somewhere. He'll probably show up someday."
"He must be a good chef to have a good one as a son too." Tsuna piped in.
Soma beamed. "Of course. One day I'll beat that old man."
"What kind of a father is he?"
Tsuna stared at his new Android orange phone. He used a new sim to activate it and started to input his mother's number, the house number, then contemplated a little as he stared at Reborn's number. Surely, the hitman will be worried already. He won't be fooled that long. He's as sharp as a knife and bright as the sun. He giggled. Reborn is a sun.
He put in the numbers before messaging his mother that he's okay. He joined Yukihira in looking around after. They were walking to the train station when he heard a 'ping'. Both of them perked up at the sound, looked at each other then to Tsuna's pocket before laughing at their silliness. He took it out and checked the email.
'From: Kaasan
Subject: Hi Tsu-kun!
Message: I'm glad you're okay! You have me worried for three days straight, Tsu-kun.'
Before Tsuna can type a reply, a call came in. He immediately answered, a little eager to hear his Mom's voice. He did miss the lady. It was hard to stay in an inn without her, or eat a meal that wasn't cooked by her. He wanted to call her so bad, but he knew he can't, so he restraint himself. But now... Nothing can stop him. His email is unknown, his phone is untraceable and no one will touch him under the protection of Tootsuki Academy and just how powerful he is.
He was Vongola Decimo.
"Tsu-kun?" A small whisper.
"Kaasan!" He cheered, getting an amused look from Yukihira.
"How have you been? Have you been eating well? Sleeping? Where are you right now?"
"I'm fine, Kaasan. I've been eating well for the past three days. Sleep is okay." He grimaced a little, not even seeing the gaze thrown to him by the redhead. "And I'm walking with someone right now. After that I'll be heading to a hotel."
"Ara. Who's that someone? Send me a picture, Tsu-kun."
The brunet blinked before readying the camera when he removed the phone from his ear. "Strike a pose, Yukihira-san."
"Eh?"
"A pose." Tsuna repeated with a snicker. The other made a peace sign with a wide smile. He took a shot and hit send before going back to his mother. "Got it, Kaasan?"
"O-Oi!" Yukihira stammered, embarrassed.
The brunet heard a squeal from the other line. "He's so handsome!"
"Kaasan said you're handsome." He relied, earning a red tomato. "Maa. You became a red pepper, Yukihira-san."
"Oh. I imagined that." Nana said and both cracked up. "Ask him if you can stay with him for the night, Tsu-kun."
"Kaasan."
"You haven't been sleeping well. I can hear your exhaustion from the phone. He won't like that."
Tsuna went stiff as a rock at the mention of 'him'. "Oh crap."
"Yup." The other chirped.
He chewed on his lower lip before nodding. "Okay. I'll try. Thank you, Kaasan."
"Good night Tsu-kun."
"Good night."
Tsuna stared at his phone. Can he really do it? Ask a person he just met hours ago? He peered at his companion who's looking around. Soma Yukihira feels like an honest person and really cheerful about things. He was pretty transparent when he talked about his life.
"Na, Yukihira-san." He called.
"Yes, Tsuna?" The redhead responded, yellow eyes on him.
He smiled sheepishly. "Can I stay in for the night?" The other only stared. "I've been staying in motels and inns these past three days after I..." Tsuna hesitated before looking away. "After I ran away from home. Kaasan was the only one who knew I went out because she's one of the two people I trust. And she kinda caught that I haven't been sleeping nicely since then."
"I was going to invite you to my place." The chef between the two of them replied, eyes on him. "Or probably force you to come when we arrive at the station. I don't know you that well, but I can sense that I can trust you with my life."
Tsuna's heart clenched.
"And call me Soma. Calling me Yukihira when I call you Tsuna sounds wrong." Then the redhead smiled.
"Soma-kun-"
"Just Soma." Soma corrected.
"Soma." The brunet tested before giggling like a kid. "It sounds artistic."
The redhead flushed. "Shut up."
The brunet laughed.
