20 April 2011, Wednesday
Tsuna hung out with Yosuke after school, mostly because the guy still wanted to buy him a meal as thanks, not that Tsuna could remember what it was in thanks for. He went along with it and they ended up at Souzai Daigaku in the shopping district, where he was treated to the "famous" steak croquettes.
The place was more of a stand than a proper eatery and he had to wonder where they were storing their stock. Drinks were not on the menu, though there was a vending machine right next to the place to compensate. Not the kind of place to eat at on rainy days, as the table did not have an umbrella. Of mild interest was the fact that their seats were upended plastic crates.
"Sticking chunks of steak in croquettes… Man, this really is the country, huh?" Yosuke said. "Well, it is good, though it's tough. Chie called this stuff 'tender and juicy'. What kinda teeth does she have?"
To ladies walked by, housewives by the look of it, and both of them glanced back. "He's from Junes… Yasogami High School, right?" said the first.
Yosuke took a quick look over his shoulder.
"His classmate… Sato-san…? Went out of business." She shook her head.
"This shopping district could disappear, and yet…"
"Sorry about that," Yosuke said. "You know me, I'm infamous around here."
'As the son of the Junes manager, one assumes,' he thought. "…It must be tough." He could compare it to his original situation, except that Yosuke wasn't being openly bullied and even used as a punching bag by his fellow students, which was a plus.
"Nah, it's not really. It's mainly my parents; I'm not personally involved. Anyway, there's nothing I can do about it," Yosuke said with a shrug. "I don't think there's anyone in Inaba who doesn't know me, at school or around town… Not that I mind, but… It sucks that I always gotta mind my manners." He smiled cheerfully, as if none of it really did bother him.
Tsuna blinked when Magician Arcana Social Link Rank 2! flashed by, but nodded and continued to eat the sub-par food.
"Still, this croquette is damn good, huh? I'm gonna have another. You want one, too, right?"
He did not, but for the sake of politeness, he smiled and tilted his head. When they parted he headed for the Rokudo house and was again surprised, but only because his twins were both sporting unhappy looks. "What's up?"
"Massimo bought the farm."
"What!? What the hell? Do they know who did it?"
"No, but that doesn't especially surprise us. Since the girl is safe we can afford to focus our attention on poking around on that issue. Maybe we can find something, maybe not. Federico was and remains the favorite, so maybe Teo-jiji will buy a clue and up the security."
"Huh. Well, anything you can find out is good, but if not, there are kids waiting in the wings, even if they are the Tsow's, since they're the eldest. And speaking of him, when was the last time you looked in on him?"
"Several months ago, but there was nothing new at the time, or anything that made us want to look closer or more deeply. We'll have another poke 'round."
He nodded and checked the clock. There was enough time if he wanted to make a few treats for his family, which he did, so he got started. Sin materialized by his side to help out.
— — —
21 April 2011, Thursday
They were walking away from the school when they stopped dead on hearing a very loud, very surprised, "Kora!?" Tsuna turned in the direction of the sound to see Colonnello standing there, gawking for all he was worth at Sin and, having learned to lipread along the way, Tsuna was able to catch him saying, "When the hell did Reborn have a kid, kora?"
Colonnello marched over, looking very much out of place, and nearly demanded to know, "What are some interesting places to see around here?"
"…Aside from a few shrines and the Amagi Inn, not much, I'm afraid," he replied. "Most people go to Okina City for a bit more in the way of entertainment. Inaba is quite small."
"Amagi Inn?" Colonnello said. Though he was looking at Tsuna, he appeared to be keeping an eye on Sin in his peripheral vision. "I have been looking for a nice, quiet place to get away to," he said unconvincingly.
Sin turned away and started a filler conversation with Mukuro and Hayato, a subtle way of making it known that Tsuna was the leader of the group.
A serene smile slid into place (which caused Colonnello to twitch minutely) before Tsuna gave the erstwhile Arcobaleno clear directions on how to get to the Amagi Inn.
"Live here all your life, have you?" Colonnello asked.
Tsuna shook his head. "Only moved here recently, but I came from a town not much bigger than this, so it hasn't been a dire change."
"Well, I've never spent much time in a place like this, so I'm going to check it out, see what life in a small town is like, kora!" Colonnello declared. That apparently counted as some sort of resolve as—
Thou art I, and I am thou. Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to the truth. Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Strength Arcana.
—flashed by, causing Tsuna to sigh quietly.
Once he was gone they quickly shuffled off to the Rokudo house, whereupon Mukuro said, "Tagged him. It is incredibly strange that we'd run into one of them, here of all places."
"What's this?" Xeul asked, his twin coming over to stand at his shoulder.
After a quick explanation (and that Colonnello apparently counted as the Strength Arcana Social Link), a window was opened to the Amagi Inn, where Colonnello had actually gone. They watched as the man made arrangements for a stay (though it was not to start immediately, as they were booked up due to all the drama going on), then hastened off to go find a place to crash for the night, which turned out to be one of the abandoned shop-fronts in the shopping district.
"I can see we'll be staying up late tonight," Daemon said. "I am most curious as to why he's in town."
"Maybe they sent him to see if the deaths were caused by an emergent flame?" Hayato suggested.
Daemon nodded. "Could be, though he'd be an odd choice for that."
"Maybe he was bored?" Ken said.
Later that evening, when Tsuna was in his room, a window opened up, so he quickly flipped his laptop open so it could masquerade as a chat/call application.
"That's exactly why he was here," Daemon reported. "He was with Lal at the time when it came up, and volunteered to come check. Now he's convinced that the local Reborn somehow managed to get someone knocked up—he hasn't quite figured out the logistics of that improbability—and Sin is the result."
"Kami-sama," he breathed. "So now we can expect to be inundated by curious Arcobaleno?"
"More than likely."
Sin could be seen smirking in the background, probably reveling in the potential for chaos to come their way.
"I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the Great Shuffler had something to do with this," he said, "but there's not much we can do about it except sit back and see how it unfolds."
"Considering you said Colonnello counts as the Strength Arcana," Chikusa said, "I must wonder if the others will count for additional Social Links."
Tsuna groaned softly. True, he had at one time the vague notion of getting closer to most of them, possibly all, but that had been decades ago! Maybe he could figure out a way to troll them the entire time? Or some of it? "Aw, fuck," he said.
"What's wrong?"
Tsuna's brow went up in disbelief. "What's wrong? I look like a fucking Giotto clone!"
"Oh… Right, that's bad," Daemon said lamely.
"You know… There are days when I think we should appropriate some blood from Nana and do a heritage test with it," he said. "I look so much like my mother, and yet also a clone of Giotto? Seriously, how does that even work? I can't help but think Nana is also a descendant of Giotto, and just that nobody ever made the connection before."
Xeul poked in from the side and nodded. "I can always track her down at her new place and get some, make the potion. Once she's done with her honeymoon, that is."
"We could meddle slightly," Mukuro said from "off camera". "Make them think it's a strong resemblance, but not a veritable clone? I'm not especially thrilled with the idea of doing it, though. I mean…"
"We have a special relationship with them, sort of," he said.
"Yeah. I feel a bit strange about the idea. On the other hand, there's no way in hell they're going to get blood or saliva from you to run DNA tests against Teo-jiji, Federico, and the Tsow."
"There is that one saying, that everyone has a twin somewhere, but something tells me that won't fly with this lot," he said. "We'll just have to take it as it comes and practice the Three Ds. Or something. I simply can't imagine Reborn finding out from his frenemy that there's a kid who looks so much like him and not hauling ass this way to investigate."
Sin snorted. "You're damn right I would. No one should look this good except me."
Tsuna rolled his eyes. "Okay, uh, recap. Prepare for incoming Arcobaleno. Get blood from Nana for a heritage test. Get updates on the idiots in Italy. Figure out what the fuck is going on in this town. Am I forgetting anything?"
"See if we can get any clues as to who offed Massimo," Chikusa added.
"Right, that. Okay, I'm … going to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
— — —
22 April 2011, Friday
Nothing much happened the next day, which was a relief. Colonnello was not spotted skulking around town spying on him, which was nice. It did make Tsuna far more interested in working out a rune scheme to protect the houses with. He just needed to appropriate some ward stones from λ15, the Potter world, or pester Bael to go pick some up for him, and pay him back with extra food for his trouble.
His family (minus the twins) set to working that out during the afternoon, and Tsuna headed back to the Dojima house so he could get dinner ready. He was getting close to finishing up when his uncle arrived, and he had his kohai in tow—or at least he thought that's who the man was.
Nanako smiled happily when she saw her father, but went all shy when she noticed the stranger. "Um… Hello…"
"Hi there."
"We got off work at the same time, so I'm giving him a ride back to his place. And I thought we might as well swing by," Dojima said.
"Nice to meet ya. I'm Adachi, the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring."
'What an odd greeting,' he thought.
"I can still work you harder, you know," Dojima retorted, and Tsuna was hard pressed to tell if the man was joking or not.
Adachi laughed. "Good one, senpai!"
Dojima disappeared into his bedroom for whatever reason, and Adachi laughed again, though it sounded sour. "Oh, I almost forgot! You know Amagi Yukiko, right?"
"She's in my class, so yes," he said.
"They found her safe and sound! Tell all your friends at school!"
"Wait, what? She was missing?" he said, brows drawn together in concern. "I thought she was still having to fill in at the inn. I know they've been a bit swamped."
"Oh, uh… But this doesn't mean the case is closed, though," Adachi said. "We were just questioning Amagi-san, but she says she doesn't remember anything that happened while she was missing. And we can't figure out her whereabouts during the missing period, either. It's like she really disappeared. It's all pretty fishy if you ask me… Like there's something else going on…"
Dojima came up behind him and smacked him. "Stop blabbering, dumbass!"
"S-sorry…"
"Ignore him," Dojima said. "He's just spouting some wild fantasy. He can be a real pain sometimes."
Nanako must have decided the adults were being boring. "I'm hungry."
"Yeah, it is that time. My stomach's growling, too."
Adachi laughed again. "So you do have a softer side around Nanako-chan, senpai."
"Shut up and siddown. But wash those hands first! Hm, I should do the same."
Tsuna pushed back his annoyance at having to stretch a meal for three into four and started plating the food. Due to his irritation he ended up propagating part of Adachi's meal, rather than overtly shorting portions for his actual family.
— — —
23 April 2011, Saturday
As they walked through the school gates he overheard two girls talking.
"I heard they've put up ads for part-time jobs on the town bulletin board! I wonder if there's anything there I can make some easy cash with."
The second girl hummed. "I don't think you have the diligence to handle a job that takes a lot of time."
"That's so mean! Maybe I don't… But, I bet I'll be more diligent if I get a job! I bet you wouldn't do too well with a job where you have to work with others because you lack understanding, huh?"
'Cattiness for the win, I suppose.'
When the final bell rang Chie popped up from her desk and came around to his. "Um…"
His brow went up.
"…Would you mind hanging out with me for a while today? I mean, you mentioned that great store and…"
'So she wants to go, but not alone?' he wondered. "We can go if you want, sure."
"Great! Let me just get my things." Chie dashed back to her desk.
Tsuna turned to Sin and said, "I'll see you guys in an hour or so."
Sin made a slight face, but nodded. "I'll let the others know."
Tsuna smiled fondly, then grabbed his things and got up. He spent most of the time at Daidara's watching Chie drool over the goods on display and listening to her rabbit on about all of it, as well as her personal training, which somehow resulted in another rank for the Chariot Social Link.
'Eh, it's probably related to her resolve to work harder at training so she can become a better martial artist.'
"Do you know much about fighting?" Chie asked as they were exiting the shop.
"Some, yes. Why?"
"Would you mind helping me out from time to time? There's only so much you can do alone."
"Sure, I can find some time every so often."
"Great!" Chie smiled happily, then waved and headed off.
"That girl can be exhausting in her enthusiasm," he said to his family after arriving at the Rokudo house. "But, that counted as progress. I keep forgetting to go back into the Velvet Room and fuck around with fusions."
"It may not matter much," Ken said. "If you were going to use the Persona anyway, the bonus experience might not matter too much, and if it's one that isn't too great, it definitely won't."
"True," Hayato said. "However, consider that Heul can only carry so many at a time, and that Margaret chick said something about a compendium. Maybe she can store the extras or something?"
"You know what? I'm going to go check. Now is as good a time as any, and I have time before I need to go make dinner." He turned around and left again, back to the shopping district.
His foray into the Velvet Room proved the theory, sort of. Margaret could "register" Personas for him, which meant he could fuse what he had or drop one of them, and still get them back as they were—for a fee.
He spent some time fucking around with the fusion system to get a feel for it, which resulted in some better alternatives—and also learned that fusion results were automatically added to the compendium if the resulting Persona was one he had not already registered, though they could be overwritten just like any other Persona—then headed to the Dojima house to make sure Nanako had something decent to eat.
24 April 2011, Sunday
He ran into Yosuke while doing the weekly shopping with Nanako, and agreed to hang out after the groceries were put away. Yosuke wanted to check out the shops in Okina City.
"Mmmm… It's been a while since I breathed this kinda air! Y'know, I'm just a poor little city boy drawn to that urban scent. What should we—oh, a text message." Yosuke checked his phone and grimaced faintly. "More spam. Looks like someone got my address. I get a lot of spam."
"You don't … block them?"
"Even when I do, they change domains, so there's no point. And I don't wanna change my address," Yosuke replied, sighing. "I haven't changed my address since before we moved to Inaba. I mean, I might get a text from someone. It's hard to call, y'know? If I called people just to tell them my number changed, they'd get annoyed.
"And some of them might not wanna text me at all… Oh, but hey, don't look at me like I don't have any friends! …Though to tell you the truth, I don't remember what we all used to talk about. Can't really call 'em friends… Inaba suits me just fine."
'Sure it does. Because that wasn't the worst damn lie or anything,' he thought. "I was only here the one time, to change trains. Why don't we look around, check things out."
"Sure!" Yosuke said cheerfully, then pointed at the nearest place.
'Seems to me the poor kid still feels like an outsider here, though it's not a surprise considering the whole Junes thing and how he's easy to blame. Adults don't like pointing fingers at other adults if they can gossip spitefully around a kid instead. Kids are supposed to do what they're told and then transition into adults who tell their kids to do as they're told according to whatever grand plan their parents have for them.' He paused mentally, then sighed. 'Sure, sure, not holding any grudges here, clearly. It does make it easier to relate to the kid, though.'
And just like that, the Magician Social Link ranked up to three.
They spent an hour shopping and buying the odd souvenir, then took the train back to Inaba and parted ways.
— — —
25 April 2011, Monday
Those same girls were chattering away as Tsuna walked to school with his friends, this time about how the cultural clubs would be accepting new members starting today. As before, he promptly ignored the idea. He was already stuck dealing with a bunch of teenagers all day. The last thing he wanted was to join a club and spend even more time with them.
Sadly, Colonnello popped up again not far from the school as they were leaving after classes. He had a steely glint to his eyes, so he was going to be stubborn. "About that shrine, kora!"
A serene smile slid into place—he greatly enjoyed the twitch it provoked from Colonnello—and he looked off to the east. "It's a bit out of the way, but I suppose we could show you." Any sane person with no knowledge whatsoever of this strange non-Japanese man would likely think he was a crazy creeper or potential serial killer. He wondered if, should Dojima hear about his nephew showing a strange man around town, he would get a lecture on his behavior.
He helpfully pointed out local curiosities on the way (what little he knew) and generally continued to talk about nothing much of anything (a skill anyone who had to deal with politics learned). The shrine itself was a sad thing, and in woeful disrepair. In retrospect, he felt mildly annoyed at himself for agreeing to leave Amagi here for the police to find. A mental note was made to choose a new location should it (inevitably) happen again, or get the place cleaned up.
"It's the first time I've been here," he said, as if confiding something. "It could do with some love."
Colonnello looked a bit glassy-eyed after all the inane babble, but nodded. "Yeah, yeah…"
"How are you finding the Amagi Inn?" he asked.
"Oh, it's great, kora! A lot of history there, and you can tell the people who work there love the place."
"It seems to be something of a landmark here," he commented. "I've never been to it, but then, why would I?"
"There's a girl there, about your age, a pretty little thing. She go to school with you?"
Tsuna did a slow blink at the line of questioning and wondered exactly where it was headed. "Amagi-san is in my class, but I've only spoken to her once or twice."
Colonnello nodded and immediately honed in on Sin. "What about you? She looked like the type you'd go for."
Tsuna did another slow blink, that time wondering if Colonnello was ascribing the same personality to this Reborn clone as the one he'd known for years.
Sin's expression blanked out before he turned away to, ostensibly, investigate the shrine more closely.
Tsuna coughed delicately and adopted a disapproving look.
Colonnello suddenly remembered something he meant to do and rushed off, leaving them all a bit confused.
"I'm not sure I want to discuss how blatantly obvious that approach was," Hayato said.
Sin snorted. "It's not like he was ever known for his subtlety. Shall we?"
Tsuna took another look around the shrine area, then nodded.
"Your sperm donor is at fault," Daemon said after he walked in the door, which caused Tsuna to stop dead in his tracks and try to figure out what that statement linked back to.
"Uh…"
"Massimo's death. And Enrico's."
"What the everloving fuck?"
Daemon grimaced. "Seems this one is jealous. He got the full hype as a youngster about CEDEF and bought the goods, then came around to thinking that he was scammed out of being in line for the 'throne'. Thinks his children should be the ones to inherit, not Teo-jiji's spawn. For Enrico he used—or rather, misused—information coming in via CEDEF to ensure Enrico was in a no-win situation. Massimo was done in the whole 'sleeping with the fishes' way as an insult."
"So, what… He's going to target Federico, and then target all the kids, too, just so one of his brats is shunted into being Decimo? And possibly finish off Teo-jiji just to be absolutely certain none of Ricardo's line is left to cause a fuss? And what about Xanxus?"
Daemon shrugged. "Xanxus stopped giving a fuck after he was set free, but I can re-check his state of mind."
"Maybe we should compile the evidence and dump it all in Xanxus's lap, see what he does," Ken said. "If he's loyal to Vongola, rather than the current head, he might take care of this little issue, and that way it stays in house."
"Well there's no point in giving it to Teo-jiji," Chikusa added. "He's proven time and time again he has a serious set of blinders on when it comes to certain family members. Considering that the Tsow is one of his pets, odds are he'd just ignore whatever evidence we sent his way."
"What about just taking out the Tsow and then dropping that evidence on all of them?" Sin asked. "At least that way they'd know why he was killed. Though it might reflect badly on his children as guilt by association, especially if they were raised with certain ideas in mind."
Tsuna wandered over to the kitchen and started a batch of muffins as a way to think. A part of him just wanted to cut to the chase and off the obvious defect, but another part stubbornly wanted to make Teo-jiji see reality for once. While it was good there was still hope in his unending life—or lives—he was not so delusional as to think a single dimension would set the tone going forward, or that the weight of experience would so suddenly shift the direction of that yet to be experienced.
The core of the matter was that the Tsow was offing members of his family to advance his children. That all the adults were idiots was beside the point. He slid a pan of muffins into the stove to bake and turned around. "Off the defect. Quiet, traceless, no fuss. I would say pull back all eyes on the family, but considering that Colonnello has barged into our lives, I don't think we can afford to, so that continues."
His family all nodded and went into a huddle to determine a course of action and who got to be the lucky bastard to do the deed.
"I set an alarm for these," he said, "but I need to go in order to get dinner ready. Enjoy, darlings."
— — —
26 April 2011, Tuesday
Colonnello was back the next afternoon and, while he talked primarily to Tsuna, kept Sin in his peripheral vision the whole time. Tsuna got the distinct feeling that any Social Link with this guy would be slow going, assuming it even ranked again.
"I do apologize," he said, a serene smile sliding into place, "but I am unsure exactly what it is you seek."
Colonnello's eye twitched. "Stuff in small towns is so interesting," he said lamely.
"That is a pleasant way to think," he said smoothly. "We must be going now." He intensified his smile just to see if he could get another twitch out of the man, bowed politely, and walked away. He beelined for a safe spot so they could step over to the Rokudo house.
He eyed Sin and laughed. "Schatz, he is just so clueless at times."
Sin shrugged. "We were never exactly friends, so I never have been sure about what's going on in his head. More like mostly respected comrades."
"We'll be keeping an eye out for more of them coming to investigate," Xeul said. "It won't be long before he's unable to cope with not spilling this secret. And if he tells Lal, odds are she'll tell Reborn—or come here personally so she can scope out the situation and then hand him the evidence."
"Well, Colonnello doesn't always think ahead," Sin said, "so it's likely he won't think to get pictures or video from a distance."
"Speaking of video," he said, "did anyone remember about the TV I wanted?"
Daemon's expression went guilty, as did Xeul's.
"I'm gonna take that as a no," he said dryly. "Right, I'm off to Junes. Whoever wants to tag along…"
A new flat-screen was purchased and delivery arranged for—once he tracked down a clerk—and they left again. Tsuna could expect his new television that night, which he sincerely hoped would not end up delivered mid-cooking or mid-dinner. With that in mind he parted from his family and headed to the Dojima house.
"How's school going?" he asked Nanako, who was laboriously filling out a worksheet on stroke order.
"Um… It's fine," she said distractedly.
He left her to it and glanced at the meals schedule they had worked out, then headed upstairs to play a game until it was time to start. He barely had the game open when he heard the doorbell go. Hoping it was the new TV he headed back downstairs in time to see Nanako opening the door, which made him feel vaguely uneasy.
Nanako went back to her worksheet as he hefted the box upstairs with the help of the delivery guy, then escorted him back out to make sure he did leave. He would prefer for one of his family to help him get the thing mounted, so he ignored it after that and went back to his game.
— — —
27 April 2011, Wednesday
"Maybe we should start going in when we're not doing anything else," Chikusa suggested. "These Personas level up just like we do. If we're not actively working on this, at what point do we run into things we can't handle?"
It was an interesting question to be hit with on walking in the door, he thought. A glance at the others saw agreeable expressions, so he put his umbrella in the stand, nodded, and diverted to the kitchen so he could make up food to take with them. Sin jumped in to help, and shortly thereafter they were inside the TV.
Teddie was surprised to see them given the flailing of his little arms and how big his eyes got.
Tsuna took a moment to set off the stopwatch feature of his phone before greeting the bear.
"Why're you all here?"
"Practice," he said. "Thought we'd visit the castle again—if it's still there—and work on getting stronger."
"Oh!" Another round of arm flailing ensued. "That place is still there," Teddie said once he settled down.
"Then let's go."
Teddie skittered off to lead the way and they were shortly back at Yukiko's Castle.
"I honestly wonder why this is still here if she's not," he said. "Does someone's psyche really make that lasting of an impression on this world?"
"Maybe they fade in time?" Ken said. "Like, get smaller, and eventually disappear?"
"If this world is some version of the collective unconscious," Hayato said, "then maybe it'll stay until it fades from their memory? I mean, sure, we meddled with her memories, but sometimes nightmares can take forever to get shunted into storage, so to speak."
He hummed and nodded, then shrugged. "Okay, let's get some training done."
Inside the grand entrance Teddie flailed his arms again. "Senpai! Wait! I sense a powerful shadow at the place you found that girl. I just want to live here in peace. Could you defeat it?"
"If we're strong enough. We may need to get in more practice first. For now, let's just clear out what we can, and see when the time comes."
"Okay," Teddie said a little sadly.
The castle wasn't any harder than before, and they hit 8F in what felt like a reasonable amount of time. Daemon looked over and said, "Your … impressions?"
Tsuna bit his lip and waited for his intuition to render judgment. He shook his head after a moment. "It's too strong right now. I think we need to run the castle a few more times, and I need to make sure I have some Personas that will resist physical attacks, probably something with ice attacks."
"So there's no point in using Traesto," Hayato said. "We can just work our way back down, assuming everyone feels good for it."
Tsuna checked his phone's stopwatch. It said they'd been in there for around two hours, which meant if it was accurate he should be leaving so he could see to Nanako's dinner. He shook his head again. "This time, Traesto. We need to see how our perception of time is warped. If we do have time we can come right back in for another round, but otherwise…"
Nods went around, so they use the skill to return to the entrance and made their way back to the studio. "Unless something comes up, we'll be here tomorrow," he informed Teddie, who looked a bit happier at the news.
Tsuna hit the stop button on his phone as he stepped through the TV stack and checked the time once he got back up from landing. It was 4.30, which more or less aligned with what his phone claimed.
On seeing that Xeul said, "I'm thinking we should definitely plan to go in each afternoon, when possible. Perhaps on Sunday we could do a second test, after you get done with shopping, and you've let Nanako know you'll be out most of the day."
"What, like spend a few hours in there, come out for lunch, then go back in, keeping track of all these numbers every time?" Ken asked.
Xeul nodded. "This time it worked out, but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way. Maybe the timing will be off depending on the weather, or the closer it gets to a rainy period that will likely result in fog on our side. We weren't paying attention the first few times, but we can now."
"Excellent points," he said. "And on that note, I really do need to go. Maybe once I'm upstairs after dinner we can discuss it more."
He did not manage to get out the door without being smothered briefly by Daemon, or without an escort by Sin, but he knew it had to be wearing on everyone to be separated so often. It certainly was on him. He still felt awkward to a degree, being in the Dojima house. He had little interest in getting to know his uncle better, though Nanako, an innocent child, truly deserved more.
"You set up the TV yet?" Sin asked as they walked.
"Ah, no. I want help with that, and getting it mounted. It can wait until we've gotten a few other things handled."
"Or you could set up a temporary measure to avert curiosity and a couple of us step over."
Tsuna nearly smacked himself for being obtuse. "Yeah, or that. Duh."
"There's a reason we're here," Sin sing-songed. "You can't think of everything, tesoro, and you shouldn't have to."
He bumped shoulders with his lover as a reply, then waved a good-bye and headed in. Nanako had already started for the kitchen side of the room, so he was just in time. After a quiet dinner (interrupted once or twice by Nanako singing along with a Junes commercial) he did the washing up with his cousin and headed to his room.
A Bounding Box was placed before he opened a window.
Sin's head snapped up almost before it was fully manifested and grinned, then stepped over to join him. Ken followed a few seconds later, holding a tool bag. Tsuna let the window close and grabbed a utility knife to start slicing through the packing tape on the box.
Ken got busy with a level and a carpenter's pencil, to establish a baseline, then started marking where to drill once they handed him the wall mount.
"We still need to get a whiteboard or something to swing into place for this thing," Sin pointed out. "Maybe tomorrow, after we're done training, we could turn back and get something? Still not keen on the idea of going in on turned time."
"Works for me. Or I dedicate the turned time to a baking spree while the twins go track one down."
"An even better idea," Ken said as he watched the two heft the screen into place, then began to check its seating. "And a console, of course, but we already have spares of those."
They had a few Playstation 3s and 4s in storage (though the latter wasn't scheduled to be released for a few years yet), handhelds, and so forth, along with a vast selection of games. Some games just played better on a console.
"Before you plug it in to test it…" Sin reached out and touched the screen; his fingers sank in. "Right. That's not unexpected, but definitely not good."
"I will be careful," he promised as he hauled a PS3 out of storage. "We'll get the whiteboard tomorrow, unless someone wants to go tonight." He was only mildly surprised when the twins stepped into the room.
Daemon hauled a whiteboard out of his storage as Xeul pulled out the mounting for it. "We still expect an afternoon of baking," Daemon said absently as he helped his twin.
"Deal."
Sin lingered after the others left, drawing him down onto the futon to rest beside him and stare at a very unexciting ceiling. "We should take an afternoon off at some point, have a picnic. Something like that."
He hummed. "Just the two of us, I presume. Maybe the Mountain of Death? It's a beautiful place."
"I think that'd be perfect," Sin said, briefly turning his head to kiss his cheek. He sighed at the sound of the front door being opened. "Time to go. I'll see you tomorrow, tesoro."
He rolled onto his side to get a real kiss, let his lover go, and flopped onto his back again with a wistful smile. Tsuna dearly hoped that the next round did not see him separated from his family. He couldn't take care of them! Kami knew they didn't need it, but it was sort of his thing.
He glanced over at the newly-installed whiteboard and wondered what he should put on it, then diverted his attention when a window opened so he and his family could continue their earlier discussion.
— — —
28 April 2011, Thursday
It was still raining when he left for school, which meant it was likely the fog would set in soon. Chie joined them on the walk to school at the Flood Plain, looking inordinately cheerful. "Morning! Hey, hey! Yukiko told me she'd be able to come to school again in two days! I'm so happy!"
"That is excellent news," he said serenely. "It must be so difficult to balance school and the family concern during those times they need the extra hands."
Chie looked confused until it must have hit her that Tsuna wouldn't necessarily know the details of the girl's absence, despite his uncle being a detective. And that assumed she even remembered that detail.
Tsuna wasn't certain what story was being circulated to account for the girl's absence from school and didn't much care, but it had to be something that her friend would accept without too much fuss. For all he knew they had said she'd been kidnapped, but the thought of Amagi-san's family giving that much information to Chie…
He shrugged lightly and adjusted his umbrella.
"I imagine it'll be nice to have your best friend back in class with you," Hayato said.
"Oh, yeah!" she said enthusiastically, a grin blossoming.
School was the usual boring wasteland and he was glad to be able to leave. They stepped over to the Rokudo house the moment they could and Tsuna set about putting together supplies for their trip into the TV.
"Depending on how things go over the next month, maybe, I'd say we can probably start sending in clones," he said. "If we keep an eye on the TV at the right times it should be enough, I'd think."
"Well," Mukuro said slowly, "I think we'd need to be ourselves for any activities we'd be expected to participate in. I know this place has class trips from overhearing other students gossip, mostly them wondering what it'll be this year."
Tsuna grimaced and nodded. He could roll his eyes so hard he'd give himself a headache, or he could suck it up and accept the inevitable.
They swept the castle again, clearing out every floor, and at the door he leaned on his intuition again before pronouncing, "We could make it work, but it'd be iffy."
Samsara shook their collective heads, not willing to risk it, and gathered together so they could exit. The stopwatch time was noted down as well as their start and end times. With so little data to go on it did not amount to much, but it was a start.
— — —
29 April 2011, Friday
Tsuna squinted up at the sky and sighed, then got his umbrella in place. The dreariness of the rain permeated the whole day at school. Students were listless and uncooperative and a whole lot of nothing was accomplished.
The castle round brought the news that he thought they were ready, with the bonus of knowing they were getting faster every time at clearing the place. They should have enough time to get back to Floor 8 where the boss-type Shadow was and still get back in time for Tsuna not to be late to make dinner.
Dojima showed up for once, just as he was plating their meal, so he quickly grabbed a third set of dinnerware to accommodate the man.
"Due to the weekend rainfall, clear skies seem unlikely in the area," the weather girl helpfully informed them. "A thick fog is expected to set in tonight and remain until tomorrow morning, with heaviest concentration in the Inaba area. Anyone planning to go out tonight should take care. Now for our hourly weather breakdown…"
"More fog, huh?" Dojima said between bites. "There's been a lot of that lately. Hopefully it's not a sign of more trouble." He had his hashi almost to his mouth when Nanako reached for the remote. "Ah-ah-ah. What did I say about changing the channel without asking?"
Nanako pouted, but quickly perked up when a Junes commercial came on.
"Have a great day even during Golden Week at your local Junes! Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!"
" Every day's great at your Junes! " Nanako sang happily. "Dad! They're going to be open during Golden Week!"
Dojima laughed indulgently. "I heard. Do you want to go somewhere during the long holiday?"
"We can go somewhere!?" Her eyes went wide with surprise which, when Tsuna gave it a second of thought, only made sense.
"How about it?" Dojima directed at him. "Got any plans yet?"
"…Nothing in particular, no," he said, wanting to give the man a chance despite thinking things would fall through.
"Then let's all go somewhere together!" Nanako said. "Junes! Junes Junes Junes!"
Dojima gave her a skeptical look. "You're sure you want to go to Junes? We can go there anytime… Ah, c'mon, girl, time for bed. It's getting late."
"All right. Every day's great at your Junes! "
It was … pathetic how excited she was to go to that store, he thought as he cleaned up. He dearly hoped the poor child made friends at her school that would take the place of such a sad attachment.
That night he checked the Midnight Channel just in case; no person was visible.
— — —
30 April 2011, Saturday
They ran into Yukiko on the way to school for the half day.
"O-oh… Good morning," she said softly.
Whatever fog there had been during the night had cleared up, leaving them with a sunny day. "Good morning," he said politely, the same coming from his family overlapping his own greeting.
"I'm able to come back to school again," she said, as if that wasn't immediately obvious.
He smiled serenely, at the very least pleased that she was able to resume her life.
"Well, it was nice talking to you," she said as the sound of Chie's voice was heard getting closer. Her friend grabbed her arm excitedly and hauled her off, babbling at her.
'Well, okay,' he thought in amusement.
They had lunch at the Rokudo house, prepped, and headed into the TV World. They got through the castle quickly enough that Tsuna was willing to go for the boss-type Shadow a day early. He could see it was named "Contrarian King" due to the overlay and, with his selection of Personas to help, they were able to take the thing down. For whatever reason it dropped a war fan, which was completely useless to them, but might fetch a good price at Daidara's.
Sin arched a brow at him, clearly asking a question. He nodded in return.
When he got "home" Dojima was there, shockingly. The man gave him an absent greeting and turned back to the television, so Tsuna headed up to drop off his things. Back downstairs he started dinner, amused that Nanako abandoned the TV to come watch and give what help she could.
When they sat down to eat Dojima was flipping through a small notebook. "The fourth and the fifth… I think I might be able to get those two days off."
Nanako perked up. "Really!? …Really?"
Dojima grimaced. "What, you don't believe me?"
Nanako looked almost sullen for a moment. "…It's always canceled."
"N-not every year!" Dojima protested. "I know you want to go to Junes, but… I wouldn't mind going a little farther out of the neighborhood."
Nanako perked up again. "Really? Can we go on a trip?"
"Uh… Well, it might be okay to go on a trip once in a while. I'm sure it'll be crowded everywhere, though."
Nanako clapped. "Yaaaaay! We're going on a trip!"
Dojima hummed. "All right, all right. Then we need to think of someplace to go. How about you…?" he asked, glancing at Tsuna. "Wanna come along with us?"
'Only for Nanako's sake,' he thought, then nodded. "Of course."
"Yeah! Let's all go together!"
Dojima smiled, though it looked a bit pained. "Looks like Nanako wants us all to go."
"Let's bring bentos!"
"Hm? Yeah, good idea," Dojima said. "But I can't cook, and Nanako's not good enough to make them by herself. Well, it'll work out. That's what we've got this guy for, huh, Nanako?"
"Yaaaay! Bentos!"
Tsuna smiled indulgently. Inside he was mildly annoyed at his uncle's jest.
— — —
01 May 2011, Sunday
Sin joined him for his weekly shopping trip with Nanako and helped to carry everything. His cousin was a lot less shy around his lover, which was gratifying. Depending on how long they ended up staying in this dimension, they might have quite a bit of time to build a relationship with the girl and hopefully see that she got off to a good start.
After the groceries were put away and he had made up a bento for her for her lunch, and told her he would be away for most of the day, he took off with Sin, first to put together a picnic basket, and second to step with him to the Mountain of Death, as many a Reborn had "affectionately" called the location.
The waterfall burbled and splashed into the pond beneath, the sound going well with the songs of various birds and the hum of insects. The weather so near Namimori was sunny, as opposed to Inaba's cloudy heavens, which made things that much more pleasant.
A blanket was flicked into place and the basket set atop it, then the two of them flopped down to just relax for a bit in the warm spring air. There was a light breeze, which thankfully was not enough to chill them, and if gave an extra sense of life to the nearby trees by making the leaves dance.
Several minutes later he sat up and manifested a Bounding Box, one that would cover the entire clearing, then attacked the picnic basket. Food quickly found itself set out for the two of them, and they happily tucked in.
It was interesting, he thought, how feelings didn't need words. He was perfectly aware of how Sin, and the rest of his family, felt, without needing to hear them expressed out loud, and he knew his family could do the same with him.
A smirking Sin gave him a look that said, "Of course we can."
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. His family was like a bunch of cats, unruly and assholish, and yet adorable and beloved.
Sin preened, of course.
"Any ideas on how to troll your counterpart? It'd take a miracle for him to not come knocking."
Sin shrugged. "Colonnello will get frustrated soon, if he isn't already. That'll bring Lal, at the very least, and through her, Reborn. Colonnello would never want to admit directly to Reborn that he's failed at something, and Lal has too much common sense to let pride get in her way."
"Except when it comes to admitting she might actually like her kohai," he muttered.
Sin laughed. "There are days when I wonder if the whole reason he goes after the unobtainable is because she's safe, rather like how Bianchi tends to go for Reborn. All the trappings of romance with none of the bother."
"On her side, anyway," he said. "Then again, she never was right in the head. It's surprising how many level-headed, sane, intelligent women there are in CEDEF considering what a narcissistic psycho the Tsow is. Then again, that probably explains why the place runs as well as it does, failings notwithstanding."
"Well, there are things they wouldn't be able to avert, not with the Tsow in charge. At least in this dimension, it's no longer a problem," Sin said sunnily.
He still hadn't asked how his family had taken the Tsow out. That he was gone was enough.
"So, Golden Week?"
He grimaced. "I'm expecting that to fall through. I know, I know, my expectations when it comes to blood family are so low that they were long ago melted in the core of the world, but… I want to give the man a chance, but I just can't believe it'll be any different. No blood family of mine has ever…" He shook his head. "I have high hopes for Nanako, though."
"She's a cute little thing," Sin said, "and seems very interested in cooking. Perhaps for the wrong reasons, but if she has the same knack for it… She could go far with that kind of talent and the right backing. It's a shame that Caim probably wouldn't be interested in being that backer from the shadows."
"I can always ask, but that's assuming we're even around long enough to know that she would want to take that as her profession. Or maybe she could eventually become the chef at the Amagi Inn?"
"If we get in good enough with the Arcobaleno, maybe one of them will take an interest?" Sin said, then immediately shook his head. "No, bad idea mixing mafia with an innocent civilian girl. No matter how much Lal might be a decent role model, it just wouldn't work."
He sighed. "Yeah. It's a shame. Lal can be uptight, but she knows her stuff and she knows how to make people pay attention, and not give her any unwarranted shit. I wonder sometimes if she'd be better off—assuming she could learn to unbend a bit first—teaching women classes on defense, assertiveness, and so forth. Besides, only misogynistic twats call women bitches for standing up for themselves and their rights."
"Mm. I always held some admiration for Bianchi's constancy, talent, and confidence. It's just a shame she's serving up side dishes of delusion and a distinct lack of empathy along with her usual."
He sighed again. Bianchi could be so amazing, and yet… "Eh, enough about her. She just reminds me that blood family isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be."
After they finished eating they took a dip in the pool at the base of the waterfall, and then moved on to far more frisky activities.
— — —
02 May 2011, Monday
For some reason Tsuna found himself diverted down to the river while walking home. There was an old man there, quietly fishing, so he stopped to enjoy the atmosphere. The old man was happy enough to ramble at him about the art of fishing—quietly, of course, so as not to scare off the fish—and make recommendations on gear should he wish to try himself.
The man even handed over a spare rod and some bait for him to make use of. Tsuna gave it genuine consideration. It could be a relaxing hobby, and personally obtaining fish from a known clean source would add a certain something to any meals he made from his spoils.
He went home in a contemplative mood, having decided earlier to take an extra day off from training.
The news that night was of minor interest, but also foreboding, if only because he could guess what was coming.
"An Inaba Credit Union ATM to the north of town was destroyed today by an earth mover, and all cash inside was stolen," the commentator informed them. "The vehicle, which was abandoned at the scene, had been reported stolen by a local contractor. Since the culprit was able to act quickly before the security guards arrived on the scene, the police have…"
"Dad's late," Nanako said dully, then hopped up when the phone rang to go answer it. She had to go up on her toes, because the half-height cabinet the phone rested on was almost too high for her. "Hello, Dad? Yeah, I'm okay. …Yeah. …Yeah. …Okay. …All right." She turned and held the handset out toward him. "He said to give you the phone. He can't take those days off."
Tsuna sighed and got up.
"Hello?" Dojima said. "Yeah, sorry, but I'm going to be late tonight."
'As if that wasn't already glaringly clear,' he thought.
"Make sure you lock up before you go to sleep. And about that time off on the fourth and fifth… One of the younger guys got sick. And, well, that case he's handling, we can't just let it sit. Looks like I'm the only one who can take over for him."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, and he was, for Nanako's sake more than his uncle's.
"Sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden. Um, how's Nanako holding up? Would you mind comforting her for me? Thanks. All right, then, see you."
The line went dead, so he placed the handset back in its cradle and looked at his cousin. She had that look about her, the one that said she'd known it was coming and had foolishly held out hope against it, and was now upset with herself.
"Want to do something fun after we finish eating?" he asked.
Nanako raised sorrowful, questioning eyes toward him.
"Ever tried making things with clay?"
Nanako's confused look answered that question.
"I was thinking… We could make some fish or something cute, and then get some frames with glass on both sides, and hang them in the windows." He smiled when she started to look interested.
They spent the time prior to her bedtime in a friendly contest, and she went to bed with a lighter heart.
— — —
03 May 2011, Tuesday
"Oh, morning," Nanako greeted him. She was in her usual spot, watching television.
He was about to return the greeting and see about breakfast, but the doorbell rang, so he immediately pivoted around to be the one to answer it. He didn't have any hinky feelings, but it was better to be safe.
Sin, Mukuro, and Hayato were standing there giving him a look that said, "Don't even bother to try saying no."
"If you're free today," Sin said, "why don't we go somewhere?" He looked past Tsuna to Nanako. "How about you? Want to come along?"
"Um…"
Tsuna looked over his shoulder. "We could go to Junes."
Nanako's eyes went wide. "Junes? I can come?"
"Of course you can," Mukuro said smoothly, giving her an inviting smile that was remarkably not creepy.
Nanako hopped up and ran to fetch her set of keys, then accompanied them on a trip to her favorite place ever. Since Tsuna hadn't yet eaten they started in the food court, despite the food itself being a desperate cry for help by whoever had "cooked" the stuff.
Mukuro smirked at him. "Such a snob," he mouthed.
Tsuna wrinkled his nose and started in on his grilled fish, not entirely surprised when Yosuke popped up on his radar wearing a Junes apron. The boy beelined for their table and came to a stop.
"Why'd you guys come to a place like this during Golden Week?"
"It's not like there's a lot to do in town," Hayato pointed out.
"I love Junes!" Nanako declared.
Tsuna could almost hear the unspoken, "Fight me," based on her expression. He had another bite of his breakfast and nearly groaned when he saw Chie and Yukiko also pop up on his radar and make a beeline for their table.
"Ah, yeah," he said once he could. "Everyone, this is my cousin. Nanako-chan, these three are Hanamura Yosuke, Satonaka Chie, and Amagi Yukiko. They're in my class at school."
Nanako nodded and continued what she'd been saying. "We were supposed to go on a real trip somewhere. We were going to make bentos."
"Wow!" Yukiko said, looking honestly impressed. "You can make bentos, Nanako-chan?"
Chie, however, immediately looked Tsuna's way. "Oh, so you're the family cook? Pretty impressive, 'Onii-san'!"
Nanako looked nonplussed for a moment, then mumbled, "Onii-san…"
"Whoa, you can cook?" Yosuke said. "Well, that'd mean you'd be great with your ha—um, never mind, that sounded wrong." He laughed nervously.
"I-I'm a pretty good cook, too, you know," Chie boasted hollowly. "Probably. If you'd asked, I would've whipped up some bentos as easy as pie. Yeah…"
Yosuke adopted a skeptical look and said, "Yeah, no."
"What makes you think I can't cook!? Let's have a cook-off and see for ourselves!" Chie demanded.
He shared a look with his family. They were all thinking it, that these two argued like an old married couple in the making.
"My, my, doth the lady protest too much?" Yosuke mocked. "And hey, I never said I cooked. But I have this weird feeling… Like I'd win anyway."
Yukiko laughed lightly. "I can understand that."
"What the—Yukiko!?" Chie said, looking betrayed.
"Hey, maybe your little cousin can be the judge," Yosuke said. "I bet we'll make something that ranks up there with your mom's cooking!"
Nanako looked at him blankly. "I don't have a mom. She died in an accident."
Yosuke went pale and figuratively backpedaled. "I-I see. Um… Sorry, I had no idea…"
"It's okay. Even if I don't have a mom, I have Dad with me. …And now I have a brother, too. And I'm having a lot of fun today! I love Junes!"
"Y-yeah?" Yosuke stuttered. "That's good."
"We'll play with you any time you want, Nanako-chan!" Chie volunteered.
"Yeah, that could be a lot of fun," Yukiko said supportively.
"C'mon, Nanako-chan. Let's go get a soda!" Yosuke said, then hastened off to the counter with her.
"She's a strong girl," Yukiko said softly, her gaze following the child.
"Yeah. She makes me feel like I'm the little kid here. That's it, I'm gonna get something for Nanako-chan, too!" Chie hopped up and dashed off, Yukiko right behind her.
Tsuna shared another look with his family, one of amusement. The moment those kids entered the scene, it was talk talk talk and boundless enthusiasm.
Nanako skipped back over and smiled cheerfully. "Do you want something, too?" she asked, which was odd considering he was eating breakfast.
He blinked when—
Thou art I, and I am thou. Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to the truth. Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Justice Arcana.
—flashed up in front of him.
"Maybe we can share some takoyaki?" his cousin said, including his family in the look.
Sin smirked, if only because of Skull's animal companion, and gladly went with her to the counter. When he came back he brought cups of green tea with him, which got him a grateful smile from Tsuna, along with various nibbles.
Nanako chattered happily about how much fun she had with her "brother" the previous evening, which made Chie and Yukiko give him interested looks, as if the very idea of a boy who would do such a thing was both surprising and attractive. Good husband material, in other words. Chie's mouth quirked, which meant she probably remembered the part where he claimed to be gay.
"Once we both get a little better at it," he said, "I'll have to hunt down some frames. We can put the best of them up, or the ones we like the most."
Once everyone was done eating—Yosuke had been dragged back into his job shortly after buying Nanako something to drink—they cruised through Junes to check out what was for sale, made sure Nanako got a few treats to her delight, then parted ways for the day.
Nanako was hauled off by the girls for some girl time, and Tsuna and his family headed off to the Rokudo house to get in a few hours of training, though the gains from the castle were quickly becoming so low as to be pointless. No one thought it would be fun and fruitful to sweep the castle multiple times over in a session for piddly returns, so they agreed to wait until another crisis arose to go back in.