Another Path Part 35 : That came back home
Thank you to everyone who bothered to read this overgrown fic of mine, especially to those who commented. All your reviews were amazing, and gave me the motivation to finish this – long – chapter in time to post it for my birthday, so thank you!
So, I made a decision after consulting a friend of mine that I know will not please a lot of you. Please bear with me and if you want a more detailed explanation for why I did what I did, there's a pile of text at the bottom of the chapter.
Also, after more years of training than in canon, Tsuna & co are overpowered, they just don't know it (even Ryohei, who's been a boxer for years and has too much Flames, and Takeshi, with his excellent reflexes and his natural hitman disposition). Their only real point of comparison is the Varia, and that's not a very reliable anything. The Carcassa were not exactly weak, they were just much weaker (that had been planned from the beginning, only I might have hastened things a little more , because I wanted to finish the Namimori arc once and for all this chapter).
"So I have Rain Flames, then. Cool." Was all Takeshi had to say to the revelation the some Mafia families had a sort of superpower and he happened to share it.
None of Tsuna's attempts to explain the direness of the situation seemed to get through to the other boy; or rather, they did, but Takeshi was determined to keep downplaying it all with a grin.
He was goading him, Tsuna just knew it.
()()()()()()
Despite the Carcassa and Momokyokai having deserted the streets of Namimori, there was still a lot to do. Kokuyo Land had to be thoroughly searched and cleaned of any incriminating documents, and those papers had to be checked to make absolutely sure that the criminal influence had been driven out of the city.
The files revealed a few more cells that Tsuna and his friends had missed, and those had to be cleaned up too. They also had to review all traces of communication between the mafiosi in Namimori and their home base in Italy, to see if any information about the members of Caeruleus had been leaked. They couldn't afford their identities or presence in Japan to be known.
Suffice to say they were kept busy for a while longer.
Kyoya took up the training of his Disciplinary Committee so it was up to his standards. Somehow, their ranks had expanded during this whole mess, and Tsuna was positive that he had spotted a few faces that he had recently and personally punched in the lot. He informed the Cloud of this strange development, but Kyoya only shrugged and returned to chasing his 'trainees' around the field, tonfas ready to hit any slackers.
Maybe the people from the Momokyokai and the Carcassa were spies, or maybe they had truly been caught by Kyoya's odd charisma (that revolved around bitting you to death and glaring) like so many delinquents before them. If his friend wasn't worried, then Tsuna would trust his judgment.
The DC was Kyoya's to deal with, just like their new friends from Namimori were Tsuna's.
Ryohei-nii's training had reached a dead end. He could keep his Sun Flames hidden, but only on the condition that he'd depleted them at most every two to three days. The problem was that there was nobody in such a remote town that could give enough of a challenge to the boxer that he'd really need to expend his power.
And even if they miraculously found someone able and willing, Ryohei-nii's remarkable growth meant that they wouldn't keep up for long.
"His Flames are too 'active'." Had grumbled Hayato when Tsuna had shared his worries. "And he's got too much of them. They keep bursting out. I'm not really sure he's physically able to restrain them at this point."
Later that day, Tsuna sat at his desk, pondering about this problem as he distractedly read through yet another pile of Carcassa reports. Hayato was still out with Ryohei-nii, teaching him to use his Sun Flames to heal as another method of expending them. It wouldn't be enough, they already knew that.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by a voice. "Can I come in?"
He looked up to see Kurokawa in his doorstep, arms crossed but more defensive than aggressive, unlike before. She hadn't been nearly as irritating since the raid on Kokuyo Land, so Tsuna decided to give her a chance. "Of course. Can I do something for you?"
She took a seat in front of his desk before she spoke up. "Ryohei's not going to be able to stay here, is he?" She sounded defeated.
Tsuna blinked. This had indeed been a concern, yet he hadn't expected Kurokawa to pick up on it when she knew so very little about Flames. But her question required an answer, and an honest one. "Probably not. He has too much Flames and restraint doesn't seem to come naturally to him."
His little sarcastic remark earned him a twitch of a smile. "No it doesn't." The smile died out, replaced by resigned disquiet. "If he goes with you, will you be able to keep him safe?"
This conversation was really not going the way Tsuna expected. "Much safer than here, at least. I can't exactly promise nothing bad will ever happed, but so far I'd say we managed alright." He finally let go of the file he'd been reading, focusing all of his attention on the girl. "Why are you asking? I thought you didn't believe this was an actual problem."
She twitched on her seat and watched the bare walls too intensely. "Yeah, well... Kokuyo Land made me realize a few things. I guess it gave me some perspective." She sighed before finally meeting Tsuna's eyes. "I'm sorry for my attitude back then and before. Kyoko chewed me out and showed me how much of a stupid monkey I was making of myself when you were actually helping us. I shouldn't have criticized you so much."
Wow, Kyoko-chan really had a great deal of influence on Kurokawa, didn't she? "That's... that's fine, Kurokawa, you're forgiven. You were also under a lot of stress and this was a complicated situation for everybody." Tsuna eventually replied.
His friends would say he was too forgiving, but there was no point holding a grudge. Kurokawa seemed genuinely sorry, and had ignored her pride to apologize properly – that was all Tsuna asked. Moreover, she was (or had been, depending on how you looked at it) a completely civilian child, with no experience of how harsh the real world could be, and had been suddenly thrust into a life or death matter where she had been basically powerless. Most kids and teens would have lashed out. Most adults would have too.
Hopefully she'd learned a lesson from all this, but he wasn't too worried on that part. The mere fact that she had come to apologize without prompting proved that she had grown up.
"Thanks." She muttered, clearly embarrassed. She regained her bearings quickly, though. "So you're going to ask Ryohei to go back with you to wherever you live?"
Tsuna leaned back in his chair with a sigh of defeat. "I'm going to have to. He's one of my Elements now, and if he can't hide his Flames, he'll eventually attract attention of the wrong kind. You don't have to believe me, but the Carcassa are among the weakest and least vicious of the bunch – things could have gone a lot worse for Ryohei-nii." Like if the Vindice or Vongola had intervened.
She stayed silent as she pondered over his answer. "He won't go anywhere without Kyoko." Tsuna nodded, already aware that he'd have to ask the sweet girl to uproot herself as well for her brother. "And Kyoko is not going anywhere without me."
That earned her a raised eyebrow. "You want to come with us?"
"I've always been by Kyoko's side, I don't intend to change any time soon." She deflated a little. "At least if you'd let me. I know I'm not always the easiest person to be around, but I promise to make an effort, and I don't want to leave Kyoko alone in an unknown place."
Tsuna stared. "You're really sure you want to come along? There are other kids our age or younger at our place, and we tend to get involved into all kinds of shenanigans. Plus, I'm sure you've noticed that I'm sort of on the run from my family and the Mafia myself."
"Yeah, not sure what's going on between you and Sawada Ienobu, but that's none of my business." Of course she knew of Ienobu – they were in the same school and year, maybe even the same class. "I can deal with more monkeys around if I can stay with Kyoko. It's not like there are a lot of other options here – you seem really sure that Ryohei isn't safe in Namimori."
Maybe this was the time to explain a bit more of the situation now that Kurokawa seemed willing to listen. "Namimori is the home of one of the highest ranked members of the biggest and strongest Mafia family, the Vongola. And it's probably under some kind of surveillance because the mafioso in question happens to be my father who is looking for me because I ran away some years ago. It's why Mukuro has been hiding our appearances every time we go out, and why we were so hesitant to go for a frontal attack before gathering information. While we could deal with a small family, we don't stand a chance against Vongola."
Kurokawa took the time to process everything. "And you're Ienobu's brother, which explains why you didn't want to risk him see you, even in disguise. He might have passed the information to your dad." She concluded, and received a nod for her supposition. "Your life is way too complicated, Sawada."
Tsuna smiled. He hadn't been called that in a long time, and he hadn't even given his surname to the girl; she'd connected the dots on her own. Maybe he could find some use for her, after all. "Just call me Tsunayoshi or Tsuna. Everyone does, and it's uncommon to refer to friends by their surname where I live."
She huffed. "Call me Hana, then." It didn't even sound reluctant. "Does that mean you're going to bring me with you?"
The Sky chuckled in good humor. "Well, if you and Kyoko-chan and Ryohei-nii are a set, I'm going to have to, won't I? Besides, I can use the help convincing them to move out and I can see you fitting in with the rest of us quite well now."
He wasn't even lying. Kurokawa – Hana – wouldn't let his friends walk all over her. She'd face them head on, which could certainly be of use to Tsuna despite the inevitable friction. He loved his makeshift family, but they were all kinds of trouble and the only one reasonable enough to help him manage them was Shoichi, who was not at all suited to giving orders and much preferred to blow things up in his labs. Kurokawa, on the other hand, now that she had promised to mellow her abrasive attitude, could direct people and wouldn't create too much of a mess in the process. And she wouldn't tolerate too much nonsense.
Tsuna could use all the help available.
"We have enough rooms to take everyone in thanks to recent development work, as long as you're willing to work in our little company."
"What kind of work?" She tilted her head to the right, looking interested.
"A bit of everything, really. On paper, we're jack-of-all-trades, although we tend to let our members play to their strength – no sending Kyoya to do any paperwork or Hayato to cook, for instance. If there are things you refuse to do or are particularly bad at, we should be able to work around it."
Hana hummed as she stood up. "I'll take your word for it. And I'll talk with Kyoko and Ryohei; they should be fine with moving out as long as I agree too. I'll keep you updated."
"Thank you." Called Tsuna before she closed the door to his temporary office.
At least that was a problem mostly settled. Now he only had more stolen documents to go through.
()()()()()()
Since it was almost decided that Hana, Kyoko-chan and Ryohei-nii would be coming along with them back to Italy, Tsuna thought it preferable to inform his friends of this personally.
Hayato groaned and grumbled but accepted Tsuna's – his boss' – decision without a fight. He'd expected Ryohei-nii and thus Kyoko-chan to go to Caeruleus with them, and Hana, while an unwanted tagalong, wasn't all too surprising.
Now came the more difficult friends to convince.
He found Mukuro in the nearby forest, practicing illusions with Chrome. The nightmarish creatures they both made out of Mist Flames gave him the chills, so he pretty much ran away before hearing their reply.
No creature should have more than two eyes and one set of jaws or shriek like that. None.
Kyoya was predictably with the DC, whipping them into shape. What Tsuna had not expected was to find Skull helping him from atop of Oodako. The size-changing octopus stood in a large inflated pool and threw angry jets of water to the unfortunate (or maybe fortunate after reflexion) souls that Kyoya didn't catch first.
For a pacifist, Skull seemed to enjoy pointing his next victim to his octopus way too much.
Tsuna concluded that Clouds were all insane and violent and opted to leave a note on Kyoya's couch where the teen was sure to find it. The Sky was busy too after all, and he couldn't waste precious time waiting for his friends' attention.
No, he was not running away, and anyone who said so was a filthy liar.
()()()()()()
Haru and Takeshi had taken to visiting the Hibari mansion every day to offer variously helpful assistance. Haru was still exceedingly good at deciphering accounting books (something which Tsuna only did reluctantly and with less talent), while Takeshi started training with Ryohei-nii. He didn't know much more about Flames, but he was willing to face the boxer head-on, which was a relief to Tsuna and Hayato since neither enjoyed playing the glorified punching-ball.
The two only spent a couple hours a day in the mansion. Haru and Takeshi had a family in Namimori; they shouldn't get too involved and would find out that the rest of them had left town pnly because they would no longer be there. Announcing their plans to leave would only catch the two's attention, and Tsuna didn't want to draw them in his world when he was not absolutely forced to.
But, be it because of an unfortunate coincidence or through the will of some god Tsuna had pissed off in another life, both Takeshi and Haru happened to be here when Ryohei-nii excitedly announced to Hayato that he, his sister and her best friend would follow them when they returned home in two days and that he was on his way to extremely pack his things.
Of course that didn't go so well.
"What do you mean, you're leaving in two days?!" Screamed Haru in outrage when Ryohei-nii was gone. "My Hayato wouldn't leave without me!"
While her obsession with Hayato had relented a little in the sense that she was no longer planning their wedding and had agreed to get to know each other first, she was still fixated on staying by her 'boyfriend's' side.
Hayato was not nearly as enthusiastic.
"Stop screeching, you madwoman! I'm not your anything and I don't have to tell you squat!"
As always, Haru only heard what she wanted to hear and completely ignored Hayato's protests about their relationship. "And why would those three get to follow and not me?! I'm as much a part of this as Kyoko-chan or Hana-chan!"
"Because Ryohei-nii can't stay hidden in Namimori and Kyoko-chan and Hana refuse to be left behind." Tried to explain Tsuna, but before he could say more, Haru plopped down on the floor with her arms crossed, wet eyes and a mulish expression.
"Well I'm not getting left behind either! I'm also part of this, and I won't be left alone. And Kyoko-chan is also my only friend and I refuse to stay here without her! That's not negotiable!"
"And how do you want to leave Japan in secret, you moron?!" Asked Hayato. "Unlike those three, your family's around and will ask questions if you fucking disappear!"
"Oh, Hayato, how sweet of you to worry about my family!" Cooed Haru in a dizzying about-face. That girl's ability to ignore what inconvenienced her was awe-inspiring in Tsuna's books. What he wouldn't give to have the same talent... "As long as I send them regular messages, they won't mind where I am or what I do; they trust me and understand the importance of true love. Besides, some of you were from Namimori too, and yet you left once already; you can just use the same excuse for me!"
Tsuna was starting to wonder what was wrong with Namimori for so many families to care so little about their children's whereabouts. Maybe someone should contact social services...
But Haru was unmovable and – as Tsuna realized after a while – desperate. Not only because of Hayato, but also because she genuinely didn't seem to have any other friends outside of their little circle. It would explain why she was so adamant about not being left behind and why she spent so much time around them.
Even Hayato was beginning to see that, because Tsuna saw his resolve to deny Haru crumble a little bit more with each stubborn pout of hers. At one point, his shoulders slumped and he looked at his Sky with a resigned sigh – Tsuna understood then that they would take Haru with them.
Under his delinquent looks and his harsh personality, Hayato was kind and he understood the pain of true loneliness better than most.
"Fine, fine. You can come with us." Relented Tsuna. "We'll use the same excuse as with Shoichi – a friend of ours you'll soon meet. You, Hana, Kyoko-chan and Ryohei-nii were accepted into an all-paid program overseas. Be as vague as you can. I'll give you a secure address through which you can send mail, but try to impress on your parents that they shouldn't write too often."
"Thank you so much Tsuna-san!" Squealed Haru as she went to hug him, and then Hayato. The secretly soft-hearted Storm even let her for a moment before he pulled away. "I'll go tell them right away and I'll pack my things!"
"Try not to pack too much!" Called Tsuna as the girl vanished through the door. He and Hayato stayed there a moment before they remembered that they were not, in fact, alone.
"You're awfully quiet. It's suspicious." Remarked a squinting Hayato to Takeshi. The other boy only grinned with a smile so utterly innocent and bright that it could only be fake.
"It's not like I have much to say. I'm also going with you after all."
Hayato sputtered at the sheer gall of those words. Tsuna, who had already been faced a few times with Takeshi's cheek, took it a bit better. "No you're not. You have your dad here."
Takeshi's smile gained that edge again. "I told him I'd follow you days ago, and he agreed. My things are already packed. And if you try to leave without me, I'm still going to be there, just a step behind, so there's no point arguing now."
Oh gods, he really would stalk them to the airport and beyond. Tsuna already knew there was something seriously wrong with Takeshi – he should have anticipated that reaction.
(He had, in a way. That was why he tried to keep it secret that they were leaving so soon.)
The Sky looked at the Rain warily. "You're really going to go through with this, aren't you." It wasn't a question, but Takeshi chuckled in answer.
"Of course. I've never met people as interesting as you; there's no way I'm just going to let you disappear out of my life just like that. I'm coming with you, whether you agree or not." There it was again, that cheerful mix of threat and fact.
There was obviously no arguing when Takeshi got like that. "At this point, one more or one less tagalong isn't going to change much, I guess. You can tell your dad the same story about a scholarshi-"
"No need." Cut off the other boy cheerfully. Hayato was still recovering, or he would have yelled at Takeshi for interrupting his Tsuna-san. "He already knows that I'm coming with you. Actually, I think he knows some about your Flame stuff – he really didn't look surprised when blue fire appeared on my blade during training. He only asked to talk with you, Tsuna, before we left."
So Takeshi's dad was his sword instructor? And he knew about Flames? "With me? Why?" Tsuna wasn't obviously the leader of their little group with how inconspicuous he looked next to some of his friends.
The other boy only shrugged. "I don't know, maybe because you're the most interesting? All I know is that he really insisted on a one-on-one talk with you."
Okaaay. That was not ominous at all. A meeting alone with a sword master (he'd have to be for Takeshi to have learned so much so fast) who might be Flame-active and whose son Tsuna had accidentally bonded with and was about to take away. Oh, and the man had half his genes in common with Takeshi, which would be worrying on its own.
Absolutely nothing could go wrong there.
()()()()()()
The very same day, Tsuna visited Takesushi at the end of opening hours. Me might be slightly terrified of Takeshi's father, but he wouldn't risk leaving Japan without having met him either. This was about his son, after all; the man was entitled to some explanations.
The restaurant was empty when he came in, but he could hear the sound of a cleaver chopping something in the kitchen.
No, still not scary at all.
"Hello?" He tried, if only because he didn't want to step foot in the kitchen to greet the owner. It was the turf of Takeshi's dad, where he was most likely to be filleted. The man might hesitate to try his knife on him in the eating area, where he would have more trouble hiding and cleaning the evidence of his crime.
He heard the sound of a knife being put down (one less weapon – a good sign?) and footsteps heading his way. This was his last chance to get out.
"Oh? You're Tsuna, aren't you? Takeshi's been talking about nothing but you these days." Said the man, wiping his hands with a bright smile as he came into view.
It seemed sincere, so Tsuna allowed his shoulder to relax a fraction. "That's me, sir."
"None of that 'sir' business here." Laughed the man. "Call me Tsuyoshi. So I heard you plan to leave Namimori soon with my boy?"
Tsuna's back stiffened in an instant. "Uh... that is..."
"Hey calm down, I'm not angry. On the contrary, I haven't seen Takeshi so happy in years. I just wanted to make sure of something." He paused. "You're a Sky, aren't you?"
So Tsuyoshi did know about Flames then. Tsuna's throat tightened painfully. Had he just sold himself out?
"I said relax. I'm not about to sell my son's Sky out." Tried to reassure Tsuyoshi. It only worked partially. "Do you have other Elements? I imagine some of the people I saw you eat dinner with were your Guardians, but I don't know if you have a full set."
Stay vague, stay vague. Verde had driven into his skull that it was abnormal to have more than one Element of each type, let alone Skies or as many as Tsuna had. "I have some that stayed in Italy."
He realized his mistake as he said it. He had never mentioned where his home was, and Italy in particular should raise all kinds of flags to someone who knew about Flames.
Tsuyoshi's eyes narrowed, not quite threatening yet, but definitely more dangerous. He looked a lot like Takeshi, even if he wasn't smiling. "You're in the Mafia?"
"No. No." Tsuna waved his hands defensively. "I'm not; none of my Elements are, even if some of them were born into it. We're very careful not to do anything illegal, I swear. In fact we're actively trying to avoid the Mafia and only chose to settle down in Italy because it's the last place they'd think to look for us!" Gods, he needed to stop talking right now. He hadn't babbled so much in years, but Tsuyoshi really unsettled him.
The man scrutinized his face. His expression cleared all of a sudden. "You're Iemitsu's kid!"
Fuck, fuck, fuck! Tsuyoshi knew, and he was going to call his father, Tsuna was sure of it. He had to run, and get the others, and warn Shoichi and the rest in Italy to move out immediately before Vongola got the drop on them and...
"Hey, calm down! Breathe, kid, breathe! I told you already I wasn't going to report you. Wouldn't do that to any kid, nevermind Takeshi's Sky. You're safe, I promise. I won't speak a word of you to anyone, Iemitsu included." When Tsuna slowly stopped hyperventilating, he started talking again. "You're a skittish little thing, aren't you? Mind you, I would be too if I was hiding from Vongola of all families. Sorry, I didn't expect you to react so badly."
"How..." The Sky couldn't even properly ask.
"How I know about Iemitsu and the Vongola?" Tsuyoshi ran a hand through his hair with a sheepish smile. "I used to work as a freelance hitman. Met your dad a few times for work, actually. I retired after meeting Takeshi's mom and opened this restaurant, but twenty years ago or something, I stumbled upon Iemitsu on the streets – that's when I learned that he lived here too. He wasn't happy to see me, let me tell you, but since I don't take hits anymore, he couldn't do much about it.
"Anyway, a few years ago, he barged into my shop asking if I knew where his eldest son disappeared to. Of course I didn't, so I never heard from him since, and I'd pretty much forgotten the whole affair until you mentioned you were hiding from the Mafia. I can't blame you for wanting nothing to do with the them, kid, but I thought Iemitsu's family was kept in the dark about it all."
"... We were." Admitted Tsuna after a moment of thought. No point hiding information now. "But I found out after awakening my Flames by accident. And I didn't run from the Mafia, not really. I- my mother and brother were never really kind with me, and Iemitsu never helped, so I left when I could and did my best not to be found."
"I see." Tsuyoshi was frowning, but it didn't seem to be aimed at him. "And you're happy now, wherever you live in Italy?"
The mere thought of his makeshift family and his life in Caeruleus brought a smile on Tsuna's face. "Yeah, I am. Even if my friends drive me crazy some times."
Tsuyoshi grinned back. "That's good, then. I'll keep your secret, and you make sure Takeshi keeps smiling too, deal? I haven't been able to make him drop that plastic smile of his in years, but you seem to manage just fine, and I like to know my son is happy."
Tsuna nodded, he was slowly realizing that the other man wasn't an enemy after all. "I can do that. It's not like I can get rid of Takeshi now anyway – he's terrifyingly sticky."
"Only with the important things." Laughed Tsuyoshi. "I imagine I won't be able to just phone him when I want, but do you have a safe way to communicate?"
"Yeah, One of my friend's uncle agreed to forward any letters delivered at this address to us." He wrote it down on a napkin.
Tsuyoshi was frowning again. "That doesn't sound very secure."
Tsuna wanted to fidget. "Uhm, Kyoya's uncle's name is Fon."
That made the other man pause, incredulous. "The Arcobaleno?" And Tsuna could only nod. "Huh. I guess nobody would dare intercept an Arcobaleno's mail."
They both stayed in silence for a long minute or twenty. Tsuna broke first. "Was there anything else, or..."
"Oh no, no, I only wanted to meet you properly at least once, to get a feel of where Takeshi was going. It's normal for a parent to worry, but I can see he's in good hands."
"Thanks." There was no reason to be blushing, but the Sky was sure he was apple red right now. He realized with a start that this was probably the first time he received full on approval from a parental figure (that was not an Arcobaleno). It felt nice, even if he had been terrified of Tsuyoshi not even an hour ago.
"Nah, thank you. Takeshi had not been himself in years and I was afraid that he'd eventually do something he'd regret. Knowing he has a good Sky now and hasn't even started a life a crime is a real relief." Tsuna's face heated even more; it made Tsuyoshi laugh. "Now, I'm guessing you've still got a lot to organize before you can leave, so you should go. Just send a letter when you've reached your home safely."
"Will do." Promised Tsuna. "It was nice to meet you, sir."
"It's Tsuyoshi, and yeah, it was nice."
()()()()()()
Getting everyone back in a train, and then a plane was just as bad as the first time. Except they had been four back then and they were now eleven and an octopus. Almost three times more.
Thank goodness for Mist Flames, because most of them had no visa or passport at all, and those who did had fakes.
Hana proved her worth ten times over by managing to force Ryohei-nii, Haru and Skull (who were all way too excited and terribly conspicuous) into their seats and stay there. Chrome and Kyoko-chan didn't need any supervision, which left Tsuna with only the three friends he had arrived with and Takeshi to handle.
It was still Hell, but it could have been so much worse.
The feeling of relief Tsuna got when they finally reached home was beyond description. He could have wept in joy.
He left the others to pull their bags (and aquariums) out of the three taxis that had drove them to Caeruleus and entered first with only Skull in his hair. Shoichi didn't know they were arriving today, and he wanted to explain why their numbers had exploded while in Japan before the red-head and the others were faced with those from Namimori.
(Especially with Takeshi and Ryohei-nii. The latter was too extreme to be introduced to without some form of warning – even if it would never do the boxer justice – and the former liked to mess with people's heads too much for his own good. And other people's.
Tsuna would know. He'd been stuck in closed space with Takeshi and Mukuro for hours now, and he'd seen first hand the chaos those two could generate when left unsupervised. He'd thought the plane would crash four times, and three of those were due to the Mist and Rain. The third was when a fight broke out between Kyoya and Hayato over a pillow.)
He opened the door, and the first thing he saw was an unknown boy sitting on the floor, meticulously writing in a large book.
The next thing he knew, everything not bolted to the floor – him and Skull included – was floating a few inches in the air.
… Home sweet home.
Since I decided not to actually name the new character, I'll wait for next chapter to congratulate those who guessed right (you were surprisingly many).
About Hana (and here's the pile of text I promised), I actually like her character in KHR. She's one of the few women that doesn't seem to be here just to be pretty and/or annoying (looking at Kyoko and Haru here). I always thought she had some potential as more than Kyoko's friend or Ryohei's future wife.
She was to be annoying in my fic on purpose (and seeing your reactions, I'd say I did a great job), because she's confused and angry and can't do anything at the time but lash out, and Tsuna looks like the perfect target for bullying. Hana was, for all intents and purposes, the main antagonist of the Namimori arc, since I'd already decided from the start that it wouldn't be the Carcassa or Momokyokai, who were only there for the plot and to provide a reason to return to Japan.
But Hana was also meant to realize that her reaction had been wrong and (as one of the most mature personalities of the entire KHR cast that is mostly made of childish weirdos of all kinds) apologize properly and get better. That's character development. Hana is a normal character that doesn't have freaky superpowers but eventually learns to play her part without it, she just needs to find what her role actually is.
On a more practical side, she's just perfect as assistant manager of the circus that is Caeruleus. As I wrote earlier, Tsuna needs help supervising his crazy friends and I need an excuse to not have to write all the characters at once. Having another leader that can be trusted to do more than break things and hit people allows me to divide the cast into smaller teams, and Shoichi doesn't cut it for me. He can manage followers like the younger kids or Mukuro's sidekicks, but I can't see him saying 'no' to monsters like Kyoya or Mukuro's face. Hana is stubborn, logical and confident enough to put her foot down when needed, in my opinion.
Also I wanted more strong women in KHR.
Well, at least that's my take on Hana. For the record, I mostly added Haru because she has great potential as comic relief and I didn't have the heart to leave her all alone in Namimori (the scene where she convinces Tsuna and Hayato to take her in was not planned like that at all). Kyoko and Ryohei form a pair, and I really wanted to have the whole Guardian set with Tsuna. Ryohei's time to shine hasn't arrived yet, actually, so please give him a chance (I know he hasn't appeared much yet, but he's EXTREMELY hard to write for me – pun not even intended as I wrote it, I just added the caps when I proof-read).
Well, that's it. I'd like to hear your opinions (especially on Hana, since reactions were so strong about her), so don't hesitate to comment!