A/N Heyo,
So the unspoken rule I go by is that 'everything is going to be canon unless otherwise specified'. This means you can happily assume that guardians and such will be the same, I am fond of sticking to canon... somewhat... though I may throw in a surprise twist in here somewhere.
I am trying to focus on integrating the many (sometimes too many) characters of Katekyo Hitman Reborn, but I reckon it might become a bit rushed when people start entering in swarms (and I don't want to leave people out or on the sidelines). When it comes to that I might take a chapter to pull back and reset that pace haha...hah.
For now though, there can be a lot of non-mafia related relationship building :)
~Chapter 6 – She Forgot Why She Endured
"How are you Yoshi?" Ietsuna packed as much of her feelings into her words, hoping that they would make the distance.
"The same as ever," Her brother replied in a whiny tone, "School's boring, Dad's working me into the ground and I get no time to myself."
"Well, school is the same in every country then." She didn't question what their father was trying to instill in him, leaving that and everything it meant, behind. "Will you be coming back to Japan this year?" She waited, even though his pause should have been answer enough.
"I don't think so," Ieyoshi finally replied, sounding every bit as regretful as she felt, "I'm really sorry." She didn't say that 'it was fine' or that 'it was ok' doing all she could to keep her mouth shut and hold back how disappointed Mama would be.
"Maybe next year then?" Tsuna said hopefully, "Or whenever you and Papa can take a vacation."
"Of course," He was probably nodding over the phone, it was just the kind of vibe she got, "So how have you been? Anything interesting?"
"Well…" She could tell him about the stray she had inadvertently picked up, about the strange colours she saw, or of the quirky people in this small town. There was so much to say that she found the words seemed to clog up before they made their way out.
"Ieyoshi-dono!" There was a loud shout in the background, followed by crashing and the sound of her brother's multilingual cursing.
"Damn it! What have they done now?" He growled away from the phone, "Sorry Tsuna, I've gotta to go. Ciao!" And before it really registered, the beeping of the hangup tone was sounding by her ear. It was becoming one of the more frequent endings of their calls, so she wasn't feeling particularly worried as she put down the phone. Yoshi sounded healthy and still as cheerful as ever. It was a good sign, and she clung to it like a lifeline.
"Oi, Dame-Tsuna," The usual group of bullies had herded her to an isolated section behind the school, attempting to intimidate her as they surrounded her, "Looks like Hibari isn't here to save you today." Their leader spat on the ground near her feet before grabbing and pushing her up against the rough wall. They were getting smarter it seemed, and were definitely going to abuse the disciplinary head's scheduled absences from now on.
"You know what that means." A sudden but not completely unexpected punch landed on her side, forcing her to hunch forward as an unpleasant pain struck where he had hit.
"Are you pretending to be mute again?" Her face was roughly grabbed and brought closer to a sneering face.
"Tsuna? What's going on here?" A friendly voice seemed to turn hard, as the newcomer examined the situation.
"Yamamoto?" One of the brutish teens walked over to him with a bored look, "It's just the usual, nothing you should worry about."
"The usual?" Anger wasn't an expression that was usually seen on Takeshi's face, and maybe that was why when it was there, it gave them chills. "I'd appreciate it if you could leave her alone from now on." He gritted out, brown eyes narrowing.
"No can do Yamamoto," Was the curt and stupid reply received, "Now, it's best if you get going before we're forced to deal with you too." The grunt currently holding the girl decide to throw in a cheap kick at the unresisting girl, and the ordinarily friendly teen felt his restraint snap. In an instant he struck out, downing the first one with a strong sucker-punch to the face.
"What the hell, Yamamoto?" Tsuna was dropped as they turned to face their newest problem, "Don't think we'll let you go for this."
"That's my line." He slipped into a crude fighting pose, but as it turned out it was more than enough to deal with the few schoolyard bullies. They had rushed at him 2 to 1, but with certain ease he dodged the first strike, landing his own fist into the closest one's gut. And then, while the last one was still stunned, he punched him in the jaw and then kicked him to the ground. It was surprisingly easy considering the fact he was still handicapped.
"Are you alright Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked, in a slight daze. It wasn't due to the injuries, they didn't even hurt anymore, but because of how bright he had become. That glimmer that he had regained had flared, strong, vibrant. A brilliant blue. It was dimmer now though, and by the time he reached her it had buried itself again.
"Me? I should be asking you that!" He fussed, eyeing her up and down for injuries, "Why didn't you call for help? Or fight back?"
"Usually Hibari-san deals with them." She replied with a shrug. Those were the times she got to admire his violet shroud for a while.
"Usually?" He continued to parrot with a frown. Look at that, he was beginning to express himself better! "How long has this been going on for? And what happens when Hibari doesn't come?"
"Um," She thought about it, did he mean when they started getting a bit violent? Or all the way back when it started? "A while," She shrugged, "And I never come out with more than a few bruises." The other teen could barely understand how something like this could possible make any sense to her. Being hurt was something she shouldn't have to worry about or deal with, let alone be used to. It wasn't right, people didn't work like that, or at least they weren't supposed to. And she could fight, he definitely remembered her saying something about martial arts, so why didn't she resist? Weakness? Honour? Pride?
"That's not right." He told her, adopting a look of sheer determination, "I'll just have to make sure it never happens again." Maybe he didn't get it, but in the end he didn't need to. Takeshi would just take matters into his own hands.
"Yamamoto-kun." Tsuna couldn't help but smile as she met him partway to school, for the fourth consecutive time that week. The athlete's infectious grins were affecting her more than she thought.
"Mornin' Tsuna." Takeshi had already tried for a couple weeks now to get her to call him by his first name, but the girl was more stubborn than he expected, politely turning down his request. Either way he felt some sort of superiority knowing he was probably the only one in school to receive her warm smiles.
"Have you made up your mind on whether or not to continue baseball yet?" She asked idly, noting how he always went to the effort of matching her pace. It was things like this, the small almost unnoticeable things, that brightened her day. Ietsuna was slowly getting used to having someone by her side and enjoying every moment of it, hoping that it would last.
"Not yet," He stretched out his newly healed arm, enjoying the freedom of not having to wear a sling, "I was thinking of spending more time with my dad though, so maybe not." He knew his old man had a bunch of things to teach him. Maybe he would learn how to make sushi better, seeing how much his new friend enjoy eating it…
"I see." The seasons were turning and soon they would be in their second year of middle school. The normality of her everyday life was as relaxing as it was worrying. Yoshi would be coming back for a visit soon, but as of yet, she wasn't sure what she would…could ask him.
"You're thinking too much again," Takeshi poked her in the forehead much to her confusion, "If you frown so much you'll get wrinkles." His words seem to sooth her slightly. Maybe she was overthinking things.
"Ah-" She looked forward to see an unexpected roadblock, a group of rough looking teens glaring at them, "Is there something you want?"
"Looks like you're still hanging around Dame-Tsuna, Yamamoto." One of their more familiar members stated. He was right to have recruited more followers to his cause, knowing that the former baseballer would probably be difficult to take down.
"I would appreciate if you could stop calling Tsuna that." His smile was tight, barely holding in place with his current emotions, and after he heard what was said next he was forced to drop it.
"Dame-Tsuna is Dame-Tsuna," The bully repeated, aggravating the other, "Are you expecting the whole school to suddenly stop calling her what they have for years."
"I'll make them." Takeshi suddenly declared, much to Tsuna's surprise. She was fine with it. Since the few people she cared about called her by her name, why should care about anyone else?
"Don't act so high and mighty!" He swung the first punch with his victim stumbling back as the unexpected hit landed.
"Alright, if it's a fight you want…" He could already feel the sting in his cheek. There were a lot of opponents, and he was never the best at fighting… He looked over his shoulder, heart fluttering at Tsuna's concerned expression. He would protect her at least.
"I'll teach you to keep your nose out of our business." The bully threatened as he signalled his friends. The brawl broke out in a typically quiet street, not even particularly far from school. Just looking at the set-up, even an idiot could tell which way the fight would go. It was a single boy against six others, she doubted he would win. Tsuna watched it all with conflicted feelings. She saw Yamomoto's punch land in someone's gut, a clean hit that he was unable follow-up. It was lucky if he got any decent hits at all, being somewhat swamped by the group of teens. She frowned when someone kneed him in the stomach, bringing the athlete to the ground. Of course they didn't let up, taking advantage of the downed boy. What really aggravated her though, was what they tried to do after.
"Hold him just like that." Their leader stated as his cronies stretched her friend's right arm out, "Maybe if we break both arms he'll really jump." She wondered how someone could be so cruel, how they could sleep at night knowing that they would have ruined another's life.
"T-suna…" His eyes were hazy as they turned to her, no doubt taking one too many blows to the head. And when he smiled his silly smile, it was like a misplaced gear slid into place and everything in her just began to tick.
"Enough." Why exactly was she standing around watching as they hurt her friend. She probably could've handled three more years of being pushed around, but when they turned on Takeshi… What had he done to them to deserve this? The answers was nothing; and the fault lied within the bullies.
"Wait your turn Da-" She didn't even let him finish before kicking him to the ground. Tsuna had decided she no longer wanted to hear the filth from his mouth.
"Shut up," As much as the round house came as a surprise, they definitely hadn't expected the brutal axe-kick that followed as the small girl crushed their leaders face into the asphalt, "I've listened to your barking, your yapping, for years now, and not once have you said anything of importance." Tsuna's voice was bitter. She hadn't expected any change, but maybe had hoped deep down that her bullies would have grown up and stopped. "Your insults meant nothing, your hits were all weak, but I was going to allow it," Because she hadn't minded being the one hurt, and a little because it brought Hibari to her, "No more." They weren't given any time to react as she ripped them away from her friend, kicking them, stepping on them, grinding her foot into their stomachs.
"Tsuna, Tsuna! Stop, it's okay, I'm okay!" Takeshi quickly cut in as she watched her kick a fallen teen in the side. He should've been protecting her, not the other way around. But amongst his swirling emotions there was a slightly vindictive feeling in his gut he got while watching the scene, even though he knew logically what he should be saying at this point.
"You don't look okay." He winced as her foot struck someone in the groin, knowing that they would most likely feel it for days, maybe weeks.
"I am, I promise." Still, he was touched that she cared so much, not surprised about her strength in the slightest. Tsuna took one good look at him and clicked her tongue, walking her way over to the groaning leader and stepping on his arm. She gave as good as she had got, maybe more, and was prepared to deal out pain even beyond the prefect's beatings.
"If only you had left us alone… left him alone," She shook her head ruefully, speaking quiet enough that Yamamoto couldn't hear, "Well, you only have yourself to blame." The amber-eyed girl raised her leg and stomped down ruthlessly, and the arm responded with a satisfying crack, the pained screams of the petty bully meaning nothing to her. 'An eye for and eye makes the whole world blind', and that, was something she believed in. For once though, she felt petty enough to take her dues. She moved her foot off the offending limb and towards the other, but her friend was quick to react, rushing to stop her when he realized her motives.
"Herbivores." The last person anyone wanted to run into during a time when they should've been in class, let alone out on the streets with more than a few prone bodies, was the famed disciplinary leader. Luckily for them, his tone today was more intrigued than anything else. "What happened here?"
"They started a fight," Tsuna answered glaring at the bullies, "I just finished it." Even now Takeshi had to praise her guts, watching as she stood her ground even against the prefect. Was she actually stronger?
"Hn." His steely eyes swept the scene, noting the broken bodies and the girl who he had rightfully remained cautious of. No matter how much of a herbivore she had seemed to be before, the girl standing before him was clearly the opposite. Unmarred for once with her shoulders held straight and head tilted up. Finally, those eyes which had always been focused on the ground, the same eyes he only felt on him when his back was turned, were staring straight at him. The prefect saw a lot of things in that amber gaze, just as Takeshi had before him, and some of it might have moved his iron heart, but the rest sent his blood boiling.
A/N Thanks for reading
Hehehe... I've become quite a fan of 8027, not that I'm going to neglect the others, but I do think he'll be special (in a 'first' kinda way), then again all her guardians will be... that is when I eventually get to them :D
Also I'm sorry bout small spelling and grammar mistakes, I just ain't a careful person.
