HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Squalo tested out his new blade, and with no small measure of pleased pride ruffled the teenager's hair.
"Voi...this is one of the better swords I've seen in ages. You do good work...for a midget."
Tsuna squawked at that. On the plus side he now had a Varia-exclusive contract for certain weapons, since he staunchly refused to make any guns.
He was more focused on something they had found out by accident when Lussuria did a brief examination of his flame types. Apparently he had a strong Mist/Cloud secondary that just needed a bit of refining to be useful, on top of his natural Sky flames.
To that end, Tsuna made an agreement with the miserly Mist officer. He'd make a full batch of kunai and shuriken for a hefty discount...in exchange for lessons in how to use his Mist flame.
After seeing a demonstration of what it could do, his eyes had gleamed.
"Mu... What exactly are you trying to achieve by learning how to use Mist flames?" asked Mammon.
The sooner they knew what the kid wanted to do with it, the faster they could get this over with.
"Have you ever heard of the Type-Moon franchise, specifically Fate/Stay Night?" asked Tsuna.
"Not really."
Belphegor, on the other hand, suddenly started cackling. The second the teen said "Type-Moon" and "Fate/Stay Night" in the same sentence he knew exactly why Tsuna wanted to learn how to cast illusions. Especially considering his profession.
"Ushishishi! You want to recreate Unlimited Blades Works, don't you?" said Belphegor knowingly.
Tsuna blushed, but his lack of denial pretty much confirmed it.
"What is 'Unlimited Blade Works'?" asked Mammon suspiciously.
After seeing a few video clips of the technique (and more importantly the reality marble in question), Mammon looked at Tsuna incredulous.
"You want to recreate that?"
Tsuna nodded.
"...You do realize this is going to be a pain in the ass to recreate."
"Not exactly. From what Fon told me, Mist pockets are very much a thing, and that it is possible to create Real Illusions of something especially the more detail you put into it. And I know swords. So long as I don't try to recreate a Noble Phantasm it should be doable. Besides, the main issue would be recreating the weapons, as the rest is just background detail," said Tsuna cheerfully.
Mammon looked at the video again. He had a point.
"And that's not getting into the fact that if we succeed then it will cement you as the best illusionist of all time, and prove once and for all that illusions are superior to martial arts when it comes to creativity and ingenuity," said Tsuna.
Sold. It always pissed them off that Fon claimed martial arts were superior compared to their illusions. So being able to one-up him for once in a way that he couldn't beat was something they refused to pass up. Besides, it would be a testament to their own skills if they could pull something of this magnitude off.
"We are going to need flame rings, or something to act as a conduit at the very least. Straight out manipulation isn't going to be enough for the smaller details," declared Mammon.
Tsuna perked up at that.
"I may have an idea..." he said slowly. "But it might get really expensive and wipe out all my savings if it works."
"What?" asked Mammon.
"Doesn't the Vongola have connections to a Ring Smith?" said Tsuna.
"You can't possibly mean Talbot," said Mammon incredulous.
"Here's the thing... I've always wanted to learn how to do custom engraving, but I have absolutely no idea who to ask that I know for a fact knows what they're doing. However rings often get engravings all the time and it would allow me to legitimately leave school for a few months for an apprenticeship, if he would be willing to take me on. It would give me valuable experience for more detailed work, and if I get good enough then we could all get Flame conduits for a much cheaper price so long as someone sources the metal."
The only question was if his grandfather would agree to the idea.
Getting his grandfather Kozen to agree to the idea wasn't the problem. It was contacting Talbot without the Vongola finding out.
Talbot's location was a well kept secret, mostly because how hard it was to find a master ringsmith that knew what he was doing.
Luck, however, seemed to be in Tsuna's favor.
Talbot came to him.
"Hehehe...so you want to learn ring-smithing, do you boy? Why should I accept you when I've turned down so many apprentices before now?"
Tsuna blinked.
"Because I actually have zero interest in trying to intrude in the niche market you've made for yourself, I have no inclination to actually join a famiglia, and the main reason I decided on asking to apprentice under you rather than save up far too much cash was because I really want to learn how to engrave things with my flames. I'm a sword-smith first and foremost, not a jeweler," said Tsuna rather bluntly.
That seemed to throw Talbot off.
"You're not interested in my craft?"
"Let's face it, a ring is little more than a focus for flames. If I used the right metal, a sword or other bladed weapon could work just as well, and I've always wanted to do customized engraving," admitted Tsuna. "However my experience with flame-reactive metals is very limited, and I have none at all with picking out the right jewels."
Talbot seemed to stare into his soul.
"You're refreshingly honest, for a brat."
"Well, that and I heard a rumor that Federico was killed off recently and I have no desire whatsoever to humor the Vongola when it comes to the succession issue. Let Xanxus deal with that shit...I'd rather be behind a forge than a desk," said Tsuna sheepishly.
Mammon, when they found out who Tsuna was related to, had laughed. Long and hard...before telling him a few things he hadn't been informed of regarding the Vongola succession.
After the coup, Tsuna's candidacy had gone up ahead of Xanxus, and considering his age and lack of experience in the mafia odds were Iemitsu and Nono wouldn't hesitate to set him up as a shadow leader while they kept control from the shadows as "advisers".
Tsuna had no love for the Vongola. He was a smith first and foremost and his 'father' had always given him a bad feeling. The main thing he was worried about was that they would send Reborn, the World's Greatest Hitman, to train him and he didn't want that chaotic asshole anywhere near his forge.
Far better to be hidden away learning how to engrave and make specialized focus than stuck dealing with that monumental headache.
Talbot seemed to be of the similar opinion...that or he wanted to enjoy the chaos of seeing the Vongola scramble to find the 'missing heir' when the kid was right in their own backyard learning something useful.
After all, the kid had been going around as Tsunayoshi Narikawa, not Sawada for the better part of a decade now. Considering the nameplate still read "Sawada", it was unlikely anyone would be aware that the kid was using his mother's maiden name when he traveled.
"I like you kid. But I do have one question," said Talbot.
"What's that?"
"Why do you want to learn how to make a specialized focus so badly?"
Tsuna had expected him to ask that, which was why he had the videos already loaded.
Talbot watched Unlimited Blade Works, then looked at Tsuna.
"I have a strong enough control over my Mist flame to recreate it, but I need a focus to fine tune the major details and Sky rings are nearly impossible to find without raising certain alarm bells around the higher ranked famiglia. Everyone would assume I'm trying to start my own," said Tsuna exasperated.
Talbot cracked up.
"Kid, I hope you're ready for long hours, hard work and sheep."
Tsuna blinked.
"Sheep?"
"If you're going to apprentice under me, I'm going to have you take care of my sheep."
"Oh. Okay," said Tsuna.
Talbot brought out an apprenticeship contract. He was sure with a little creative hacking, Tsuna's recently acquired Sun ShÅichi could access Iemitsu's bank account and drain it dry to pay for his son's apprenticeship fees.
Kozen countersigned it, as he was still technically Tsuna's Master because of his age. Tsuna signed the third line, making the apprenticeship official.
"I'll come and get you in two weeks. It'll take that long for me to get things ready and I expect the first payment by then," said Talbot.
Tsuna's smile was pure evil.
He had no issue draining Iemitsu's account dry, or funneling the rest into Mammon's accounts as thanks for contacting Talbot for him. If he had been a better father, Tsuna might have felt an iota of guilt for the deed, but Iemitsu hadn't been around since he was seven.
One month later...
Timoteo answered the phone, a bit surprised Reborn had called so quickly.
"Hello?"
"Ciaossu. Timoteo, you need to fire Iemitsu immediately," siad Reborn irate. "Either that or I'll simply kill him myself and save you the trouble."
"Did something happen?"
"The kid isn't here. More to the point everything I was told about Iemitsu's son is completely wrong...he didn't even get the kid's birthday right, for Christ's sake!"
Ganauche winced. That was pretty bad.
"Exactly how far off is the intel on Tsunayoshi?" asked Coyote frowning.
You could hear the sarcasm in Reborn's voice, as he was well and truly pissed about how bad it was.
"The kid has an active contract with the Varia."
Dead silence.
"Active contract?" repeated Timoteo. This wasn't the "kindly grandfather", but the Ninth Vongola don.
"I don't know how to explain it, but I found a contract with Squalo Superbi's signature on it along with the signature of Mammon and Belphegor. Along with the Varia crest and a phone number I know for a fact leads straight to the higher Varia officers. According to this, Tsuna is paid a rather sizable sum to provide weapons for them," said Reborn.
"Reborn, find Tsunayoshi and get some answers. I want to know how bad things are before I make a decision."
Reborn hung up, and Timoteo seemed to age even further.
In Namimori
"Reborn? What are you doing here?" said a familiar voice.
"Fon?" said Reborn.
Reborn turned to his fellow Arcobaleno.
"Why are you here?"
"Oh, I'm bringing Nana some more tea and spices. Tsuna asked me to keep an eye on his mother while he was away under his apprenticeship, after all."
Reborn looked at him sharply.
"You know where Tsuna is."
"He's in Italy, under a special apprentice contract," said Fon pleasantly.
"Apprentice contract? Isn't that a bit outdated?"
"Not quite. It's still very much a serious contract when it comes to specialized jobs. Besides, if Iemitsu actually showed up more often he would have been aware of the fact his son had mafia connections by now."
"You know something."
"I know that Nana and Tsuna have been claiming Iemitsu died shortly after Tsuna was born," deadpanned Fon. "And that the Varia happen to like him more than they do his father. Squalo in particular was singing his praises after he finally met the boy."
Namely because his new sword, "Shark's Frenzy" was the best blade he had ever owned and seemed to share his love of a good fight. He was eagerly awaiting to see what Tsuna could come up with in a few years time.
Reborn pinned Fon to his spot with his eyes alone.
"Tell me everything. The information I have on the boy is absolutely useless."
"It's going to cost you," said Fon.
"You're not turning into Viper now, are you?"
"No, I mean it's going to cost you to actually behave once Tsuna's trial period is over, if you're still contracted to train him."
Reborn blinked.
"What does that mean?"
"I mean the smith he's apprenticed under does not appreciate your brand of chaos anywhere near his workshop, and if you behave like you normally do you will only piss him off and jeopardize Tsuna's training," said Fon. "Besides, he's found a niche that allows him to train his flames without being forced to join a famiglia. I wouldn't be surprised if he became as famous as Talbot once he's old enough."
Reborn raised an eyebrow at that. That was high praise from someone like Fon.
"Exactly what is he doing in Italy anyway?"
Fon grinned darkly...this wasn't the placid Fon who liked to snark at people from behind a veneer of civility... this was the Eye of the Storm who enjoyed a good fight and bloodshed of idiots.
He pulled out a strange glove that promptly turned into a rather unusual weapon. The blades on 'claws' were all razor sharp and saw regular use, and if Reborn was any judge, was made of flame-conductive metals and alloys.
"What the hell? Where on earth did you get that?!" said Reborn with undisguised interest.
"Why Reborn, didn't you know? Tsuna's rather well known by the Triads and to a lesser extent the mafia as a source of well forged blades. He does custom orders all the time, and is now the primary supplier of Prince Belphegor's favorite knives and the one who made Squalo's new favorite sword. Hell, he's responsible for the recent influx of shinobi weaponry," said Fon with far too much cheer.
The look of absolute shock on Reborn's face was hilarious. Fon was glad he gave Mammon and Skull a head's up, because everything was being recorded off-site via the discreet cameras near the house. It was rare anyone caught the arrogant Sun off guard like this.
"Shall we go and have some tea?"
"Keep your heathen ways far from me," said Reborn, rebooting from the shock.
Fon smiled serenely, while internally laughing. It was a longstanding debate which was better...tea or coffee.
He vividly remembered the look of horror on Reborn's face when Fon was quick enough to switch the man's coffee with tea. He had looked like someone had tried to feed him acid.