Another Path Part 12 : That carried winds and whispers
Hi! Sorry for the lateness (is that really a word?). As usual, thanks for all the attention you people give to my little fanfic (who isn't so little anymore, 50000 words have been written faster than I expected).
To KuroiOozora and MariaHikari : Lambo is 5, Tsuna, Hayato and Shoichi are 11 and Kyoya is 13. I changed Lambo's age, mostly because it will allow him to be slightly less obnoxious as the story continues and he grows up. That way, he could also be more involved.
To lynnell246 : You're right, I haven't noticed how little dialog I've written so far. I'll try to change that, but only on the chapters I haven't written yet. Too lazy to entirely rework the others. So expect more talk from chapter 16 onwards. And many thanks for the pointers.
Disclaimer : Guess who still doesn't own KHR?
New year was over when Hibari's uncle finally came to them.
Tsuna was translating the newest book of a popular Chinese author in Italian in the Office when the bell of the door rang. He looked at the now opened door, but didn't see anybody. He was about to return to his work when a voice called him from right in front of him.
"Excuse me, is this the home of one Hibari Kyoya?"
The voice came from the floor. Or rather, it came from someone who stood very close to the floor, realized Tsuna. When he lowered his gaze, he was met with two Asian young children. Well, one young child -girl said his Intuition, because it was not very obvious- and an individual the size of a child but whose bearing and steady eyes were too mature for a kid. And who resembled his best friend a bit too much for it to be a coincidence. Once again, the brunet's Intuition whispered to him that the boy was not young at all and shouldn't be treated as such.
Tsuna had always trusted his feeling and wasn't about to start doubting it today, despite the weirdness of the situation. So he answered the not-baby like he would an adult. "Yes, he is, though he doesn't go by that family name for security purposes. I assume you are the uncle that was kind enough to act as an in-between for our messages to Japan?"
The not-baby was pleasantly surprised by the brunet's attitude. People usually treated him like a child because of his looks, and it was refreshing to be answered like an equal for once. "Correct, I am Fon, it's a pleasure to meet you. And this is my young apprentice, I-pin." The girl bowed. "I guess you are Sawada Tsunayoshi?" That was one safe assumption. The brunet looked like a clone of Vongola Primo with a different hair and eye color. "My sister Yukiko, Kyoya's mother, told me about you and your other friend, Irie Shoichi."
"I am, but you can call me Tsuna. Only Kyoya insists on saying 'Tsunayoshi'." They both smiled at that : they both knew or could guess how close Tsuna and Kyoya had to be to call each other by their first names, shortened or not. "He is away for a job right now, but should return by lunchtime. If you would stay until then..."
"I would be honored to." Replied Fon. "And you can call me just Fon as well. It is a first for my nephew to befriend anyone and I would love to hear more about you."
Tsuna nodded and gestured them to make themselves comfortable on one of the Office's multiple sofas. Fon was a charming person, with impeccable manners. He was very different from his gruff nephew, though they were obviously related. Despite their apparent age gap, their features were almost identical -if you omitted the good-natured smile on Fon's face.
As a good host, Tsuna offered drinks to his guests and started to talk with them. I-pin apparently had trouble understanding all the Italian words, so they spoke in Chinese. The Sky began by explaining how they had started Caeruleus. Fon was impressed that young boys could keep such a business running. Then Tsunayoshi recalled how they had met two other friends since coming to Italy, Hayato and Lambo, and stated that Kyoya got along relatively well.
It was at that moment that Lambo escaped Shoichi's attempt to teach him basic math in the private living room and barged into the Office.
"Gyahahah! Lambo-san" the boys had managed to at least stop him calling himself 'sama'. "is too great to do schoolwork! You will never..." He spotted I-pin. "Gah! What is that Tail-head!"
I-pin, who despite he lacking Italian, got the gist of it screamed as well. "Oh! Broccoli Monster!"
Things escalated pretty fast after that and soon, the two kids were chasing each other throughout the Office, knocking tables and chairs throughout the room in the process. Good thing they older kids had replaced any fragile or expensive furniture when Hayato came in.
Shoichi appeared in the Office and tried in vain to stop them. Fon and Tsuna just looked amusedly at the scene. They both considered Lambo's and I-pin's attitude as normal for children their age and saw no need to separate them, as long as the other didn't see anything wrong either. They probably both suffered from prolonged exposure to Hibari-madness if you asked Shoichi.
"Well" began Tsuna with a smile. "Now you've met Lambo, the black haired child, and Shoichi, his unfortunate current caretaker." He spoke to the frazzled inventor who sent him a disapproving look. "It's fine Shoichi. Lambo will return to his studies later. We can let him play with another child his age for now. The girl Lambo is chasing is I-pin, and this is her guardian, Fon. He is also Kyoya's uncle and is here to see how we are settled."
Shoichi didn't take the 'guardian's' appearance in as easily as Tsuna, but eventually followed his friend's example and bowed to the not-baby. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Irie Shoichi. And this little terror is Lambo." The afro-haired boy chose that moment to throw a grenade to his 'playmate's' face.
"The pleasure is all mine. And don't worry about I-pin. She doesn't meet other children often, and is perfectly able to defend herself if need be." Fon added as I-pin threw the explosive right in Lambo's face. The explosion was small, thanks to Hayato tampering the grenades, and Lambo was only covered in soot. The two 5-year-olds resumed their chasing immediately. "It seems they are fraternizing."
The 'grown-ups' (which consisted in two very mature 11-year-olds and an actual adult in a baby's body if Tsuna's intuition was correct) kept talking over the ruckus until lunch. By that time, Fon had learnt of Gokudera Hayato (he already had heard of the genius Smoking Bomb Hayato, but didn't know that he had left the Mafia and was now a member of Caeruleus) and how they met and adopted Lambo. It gave him an idea, but he would need to check on the boys a bit longer before asking.
Hayato returned home from his music teaching first and was introduced to Fon. He had heard rumors about the Arcobaleno, the strongest babies, but never paid much mind to them. Never had he expected to meet one of them and learn that he was Kyoya's uncle. What a crazy family...
But before the silveret could inquire about the sanity of the other Hibari members, Kyoya entered the Office and stopped to stare at Fon. "Carnivore Baby." He greeted with a scowl. He never liked to see his uncle because he disliked the idea of encountering someone stronger than himself. He respected Fon for his strength, but that was it. Kyoya was also aware of his uncle's ties with the Triads and reproved them.
"Kyoya." Answered Fon with a serene smile. "It has been a while. You have grown well. You have probably heard about my apprentice I-pin." The Cloud nodded wordlessly. "Tsuna was kind enough to offer us to stay here for lunch."
The raven only nodded once more and headed for the kitchen. It was his turn to cook today. Tsuna hurriedly offered to give him a hand, seeing as there were more people than usual.
Fon, Shoichi, Hayato, Lambo and I-pin went to the dinning room to discuss -or mock-fight- further. Tsuna started a private conversation with his best friend. "You don't seem to like your uncle very much." stated the brunet as he was cooking the rice.
Kyoya stayed silent so long that Tsuna thought he wouldn't answer. "The Carnivore Baby works as a hired hitman for the Triads. I don't like their way of doing things. And my uncle is stronger than he looks." He never raised his eyes from his hands and kept cooking.
"I heard. Hayato said something about the strongest babies or something. And my own Intuition is telling me that Fon is dangerous, but won't attack unless provoked. And that he is not a baby at all. Do you know something about that?"
"Not much." Was Kyoya's blunt answer. "I heard he was cursed to remain a baby. Something to do with that odd pacifier." Tsuna nodded thoughtfully. That pacifier gave him weird vibes. "I never asked more. You should see with the Carnivore Baby himself."
"I will ask." They both remained silent until lunch was almost cooked. "You should not be so aggressive around Fon, you know. He seems truly concerned about your well-being. And he was nice enough to agree to be an intermediate for our communications with Namimori."
Kyoya gave a rare sigh, but nodded reluctantly. He knew his uncle only came because he was concerned, bhe raven boy felt ill-at-ease with another Carnivore in his territory. Tsuna understood that and added. "I don't think he will try anything funny if that's what you're worried about. He'll just check our business and be on his way." Kyoya relaxed a bit. He couldn't defeat Fon if he tried anything, and he knew it. But if Tsuna said that nothing would happen, he would trust him. The brunet never said anything he didn't mean, a trait Kyoya valued greatly in people...
Although Tsuna hadn't said everything. He was really convinced that the Chinese baby wouldn't harm them, but he had also caught his eyes setting onto his apprentice in a thoughtful way. He was planning something. Tsuna had the best people-reading ability of Caeruleus -not a great feat when all his comrades were socially awkward in their own ways- and coupled with his Hyper Intuition, he was almost never mistaken in his assessments. Fon would ask them something related to I-pin at one point.
They both headed to the dining room with the food in their hands. Kyoya did his best not to be overly rude during the meal -which means he scowled in silence and didn't attack anyone, it was harder than it looked. Fon politely praised the food and I-pin ate her share while exchanging jibs with Lambo. Shoichi was analyzing the situation warily while Hayato was still in awe at meeting one of the famous Arcobaleno.
After some time and effort, Tsuna managed to bring those two into a conversation with Fon (I-pin and Lambo were still bantering in the back). Hayato was valiantly trying to overcome his shock. "I still can't believe that you're the 'Eye of the Storm' Fon... and that you're related to Biting-Guy here!"
Kyoya grunted but remained silent. It seemed to amuse Fon further if his smile was any indication. He was, however, surprised to hear his nickname. "I didn't expect to hear that name here..."
"You're kidding!" Hayato was in full 'fanboy mode'. "You're famous in the criminal world! You're a frigging Arcobaleno! Of course I've heard of you!"
That last title made Tsuna's Intuition ring. It was important. "Arcobaleno?"
Fon's smile waned a little, but he answered nonetheless. "It is the name of the supposed seven strongest individuals. Though we are eight actually." He pondered a bit before adding. "As you've probably guessed, I am not an actual infant. I, along with the other Arcobaleno, were cursed into that form. The proof of that curse is this pacifier." He gestured towards the red orb around his neck. "We all have one and are unable to remove it."
A heavy silence fell in the room. Fon usually wouldn't have revealed that; even Kyoya, his nephew, had this truth hidden from him (not that he looked deeper by himself anyways). But the members of Caeruleus all treated him like an adult, and it was a welcome change. Tsunayoshi especially, looked understanding and really interested by his circumstances. Despite his usual secrecy, he wanted to trust those children with the truth.
After a while, Shoichi spoke up. "It must be hard. To be a grown-up and always be seen like a baby. Sorry for believing you were one."
Hayato and Tsunayoshi were also about to apologize before Fon interrupted them. "Don't apologize, you all treated me much better than most. I rarely enjoy people's company since the curse, and your welcome was very appreciated."
The following minutes were made of awkward talking, before conversations turned lively and spontaneous again. By the end of the meal, Fon was offered to stay a few days to see the workings of Caeruleus and report to his sister and brother-in-law.
()()()()()()
Fon was very impressed by the children's business. During the week he stayed with his nephew (in his own room, while I-pin had her own. One of the perks of having a house with eight bedrooms), he saw all the clients, old and new, that hired Caeruleus.
Between Kyoya, Tsuna, Shoichi and Hayato (and Lambo, of course though he never worked alone and mostly followed his Nii-sans), they could handle most of the jobs and only rarely needed to direct patrons to specialized companies for free.
The boys could also manage the administrative and money related issues smoothly. Apart from them being underage, there was no legal problem that Fon could spot.
And their private interactions were also of great interest to the martial artist. It was fascinating how five kids of such different personalities, backgrounds and age could live and work together so easily. Well, 'easily' might not be the most accurate description, it was more of an odd kind of harmony, where each of them had a personal place and knew the other's boundaries as well. They could bicker with each other and even start violent fights, but they never overstepped the limits.
As soon as the first day he was introduced, Fon suspected that this harmonious equilibrium stemmed from Tsunayoshi. If the boy was indeed of Vongola blood -and with a face like that, of course he was- it was likely he had Sky Flames. The real question was if they were active of not.
Hibari Yukiko had refrained from informing her brother about the children's ability to summon Flames. She trusted Fon, but the fewer people aware of that, the better. And they would tell the Chinese baby if they decided he could be told.
Kyoya, for all that he avoided standing too close to others, always moved to keep the brunet into his sights while a 'threat' -Fon- was around. Shoichi had a nervous nature, but his stomach aches seemed to lessen when the boy was nearby and addressing the issue. Hayato was almost worshiping him and Lambo saw him as an older brother (the other boys were also his older brothers, but he was evidently closer to the brunet).
All of them revolved around Tsunayoshi, and probably wouldn't have met or cohabited with each other if not for him. To be honest, Fon himself felt pulled into the boy's pace. He was always willing to listen to your troubles, to give you a hand to solve them and seemed to truly be glad when you yourself were happy.
I-pin too had warmed up quickly to the brunet.
She was always seen with Lambo, and as such was pulled along the child when he demanded that his Tsuna-nii played with him. Tsunayoshi never turned him down if he had no job to complete and ended up spending a lot of time playing with the afro-haired boy and the Chinese girl. He also treated I-pin like a girl despite her misleading appearance and was quick to remind that fact to Lambo when he stepped out of line. A boy had to be respectful of girls (which meant not calling them 'Tail-head' if they didn't start calling you 'Broccoli Monster' first).
I-pin had even began calling him 'Tsuna-nii', like Lambo. It certainly comforted Fon in his decision of asking his nephew and his friends for a favor. A big favor, but he had little doubts that they would accept.
Another shock had been Kyoya's behavior towards his co-workers. His friends, as Tsuna called them, and the raven had not denied it. He still refused to be bothered by 'herbivorous' matters, but was much more lenient with the other boys.
The infamous 'demon of Namimori' actually gave a hand to Shoichi when he requested help transporting his newest scientific device (Fon had no idea what that machine did, but was suitably impressed by the research conducted by the red-head). He fought with the silveret on a daily basis, but it never exceeded a friendly spar (or what was a spar for Kyoya : violent, but not filled with the intent to kill). He even offered candy to Lambo and I-pin when they were upset about not finding one of Lambo's plushes (Fon knew of his nephew's kindness towards small animals, but it was a first for him to see it directed on to another human being).
Actually, he was even more shocked to learn that Kyoya was willing to teach others how to fight. He hadn't believed it when Tsunayoshi had told him that the raven had been his teacher for years, had shown a few tricks to Shoichi and had recently started coaching Hayato and Lambo -or in the latter's case, showing him how to safely use his grenades and avoid lethal attacks.
Curiosity had led to Fon requesting to witness the lessons.
Tsuna, for all that he was small and seemingly frail, was actually a pretty good fighter. He hit with his fists (which amused Fon more than it should have. The boy was really too similar to his distant ancestor) and was very quick on his feet. Kyoya was still vastly stronger -his nephew had monstrous battle abilities-, but the brunet could hold his own against him. Fon offered his expertise and corrected a few of Tsuna's movements. The boy caught onto them immediately and changed his posture slightly at each of the baby's inputs.
After an hour of sparing, both children paused. That was usually the point where they started training with their Flames. But there was an outsider watching and they weren't sure they could show their ability to the martial artist.
"It's your decision, you were the starting point." Declared Kyoya. After all, the Omnivore was the one to first summon his Flames and to teach the raven, Shoichi and Hayato. Tsunayoshi was a bit more reluctant to teach Lambo, who was still too young to be fighting and to immature to use them reasonably.
The brunet pondered for a minute before turning towards Fon. Their short time of knowing each other had shown that the martial artist was trustworthy. "We usually start a different kind of training at that point, but it's kind of a secret. You're welcome to stay if you first swear never to tell anyone about it, though Mrs Hibari knows a bit about it."
Fon was startled, but swore nonetheless. He was even more shocked when the two boys stepped back and started their spar anew, this time, with colorful flames bursting out of their gloves and tonfas.
It seemed that Tsunayoshi's flames were active after all.
This time, the brunet got the upper hand in the fight. He was still less talented than Kyoya in raw battle ability, but had an overwhelming amount of Sky Flames to cancel that weakness out. The raven's Cloud Flame fought valiantly to stop the advance of its orange counterpart, but eventually gave up.
Tsuna had its gloved right hand just under Kyoya's chin.
They stopped their training at that point and the brunet turned to face Fon. "I think you already know what those Flames are, don't you?"
The baby nodded before he found his voice back. "Yes, a few individuals, myself included, can use them in the Triads, though it is mostly a power used by the Italian Mafia. But I'm curious as to how two boys are able to summon them when most need years of training or special items to awaken them." Like the infamous Dying Will Bullet.
Tsuna smiled sheepishly. "I awakened them by accident when I was four. I started practicing on my own. Kyoya found out and, um... asked that I teach him. Shoichi was told after we became friends and I taught him too, though he's not as proficient. It was pretty much the same with Hayato. Lambo doesn't know about it, he's still too young in my opinion."
That was very impressive. It those skills and mastery could be so easily self-taught, the world would be rampant with pyromaniacs lighting colored fires left and right. Fon suspected that the brunet's Vongola blood was the main reason for this prowess. It first led to the boy calling his Sky Flames, and his Intuition (which he definitely had quite strongly, judging by his initial reaction to Fon) took over the rest. Showing him how to train his ability and how to teach it to his friends.
The next thought that crossed Fon's mind was how destructive his already violent nephew could now be with the powerful Cloud Flames he commanded. It was an idea he refused to consider more at length...
"I see." Answered Fon after he had cut off his unwanted trail of thoughts. "What exactly do you know about those Flames? It could be dangerous to wield them while being unaware of their true power."
"Well," Continued Tsunayoshi. "The first piece of information I got was from a man named Iemitsu. I overheard him when I wasn't supposed to, so I couldn't ask more questions. He said something about Sky Flames in Italian, and it corresponded with my ability." Iemitsu was obviously the current leader of CEDEF, and he had just cemented Fon's opinion of him as an idiot, an opinion shared by Tsunayoshi if the brunet's face was any indication. But Fon didn't ask what their relationship was, both because it was obvious to him, and because Tsunayoshi didn't seem inclined to talk about that. "Kyoya did a bit of research afterwards, and we found that the flames were called 'Dying Will Flames', or 'Flames of the Sky'. Yukiko-san told us the flames' names according to their colors -I know I have Sky, Kyoya has Cloud, Shoichi has Sun and Hayato has mostly Storm, but also a bit of Cloud, Sun, Rain and Lightning. She also said that each type has its own characteristic, but refused to tell us more.
We did some experiments, and came up with theories about those characteristics on our own, for all but the Sky and Mist Flames. We've linked Cloud with 'increase' or 'multiply'; Sun with 'growth', Storm with 'destruction', Rain with 'calm' or maybe 'sleep', and Lightning with 'strengthen' or 'defense'."
"You didn't find anything about the Sky Flame?" inquired Fon. It was surprising, seeing the amount they had at their disposal.
Kyoya snorted amusedly and Tsuna looked embarrassed. "I has a bit too many applications for us to pinpoint one specificity. Like how it can calm the people around me, but also be very destructive if I want it to. And there even was the time it burst from my forehead and I felt oddly serene." Hyper Dying Will, thought Fon with wide eyes. That was even more unexpected, but then again, the brunet's Vongola legacy seemed to be very strong. "So all our tests were inconclusive. Those traitors even said it was because I was the weird one." The boy looked to be pouting. "And I'm still wondering why the Sky Flame is orange! It's like two opposing colors!"
Fon smiled. Despite their maturity, those boys still had some childishness left, and it was for the best. They had already been forced to grow too fast, let them enjoy at least a bit of their innocent childhood. "I might be able to provide some explanations." He offered. Tsunayoshi's face lit up and Kyoya's eyes shone with hiden interest. "You should call the others who know about Dying Will Flames as well."
The brunet nodded enthusiastically and ran towards the stairs to bring Hayato and Shoichi down in the training rooms. The two intellectuals of the group would be delighted to have a source of information!