Thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter!~ I'm so happy I received lots of review~ *giggles* Because I am happy, here is the latest chapter~ Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows!~
February 7, 2017: Betaed by Pure Red Crane
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn so no suing please...!~
Chapter 9
"I don't want to go to school." Tsuna mumbled to himself, closing his eyes. His shoulder and arms were stiff from sleeping in a sitting position and his bruises hurt too. He was in no mood for doing anything.
"Get up." Reborn's voice rang somewhere above.
"I don't want to..."
"Get up, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn repeated and he rolled on his back, not facing Reborn's direction.
"No..." Tsuna moaned sleepily.
There was a nudge on the brunet's leg, but he deliberately ignored it. However, when he felt a small chubby hand on his right arm, Tsuna automatically tensed and, before he could open his eyes, his arm was twisted in an uncomfortable way, making him wince and bolt upright in a sitting position.
"T-That hurts!" He groaned, trying to shake off Reborn's hold on his arm, but the tutor didn't let go, merely tightening his grip, "Le-let go!" But Reborn didn't let go. The fedora wearer still had the brunet in a tight grip. Tsuna cursed outwardly, "Damn!" As the student tried to wiggle his way out of Reborn's grip, he hissed in pain. When the baby didn't let up, he was tempted to curse the Mafia baby.
"You're going to be late, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn said coolly, still holding him in a tight grip. Tsuna could detect a sense of amusement in Reborn's voice and it made the brunet throw a glare before shouting when he caught sight of the clock, "It is only 5 o'clock in the morning!"
They continued like that, Tsuna throwing glares at Reborn while wiggling and trying to break free from the baby's strong hold. Reborn the sadistic baby wouldn't let up from his grasp.
'Damn him.' Tsuna cursed internally, throwing another glare at Reborn. He winced once again when the baby tightened his grip. The brunet wasn't in the mood to tolerate this blatant abuse of his body when it was already protesting from yesterday and today's pain. Basically, he just wanted to sleep.
The brunet gritted his teeth and opened his mouth to say something along the lines of let go already asshole "You asshole..." He started heatedly, but his protest died on his lips when Reborn suddenly let go and Tsuna's face abruptly and painfully meets the wall. 'That fucking hurt!' the student screamed in his mind, wincing and groaned with pain. He glared at the Mafia baby with all the hatred he could muster.
"You kicked me on the head again, you damn Mafia baby!" While Tsuna's hand worked on soothing the pain in the back of his skull, Reborn dared to raise his brow disapprovingly at his words.
"You should hold back your wondrous vocabulary. It is unfitting for a future Mafia Boss." Tsuna was tempted to get up and get the hell out of his room, completely pissed off, but this was his room, he owned it, it was his.
"Shut up! I'm not going to be a Mafia Boss! I'm never going to be one!" Tsuna narrowed his eyes further to reinforce his venomously angry image, "So why don't you just disappear because I am not in the mood to tolerate your bullshit, you sadistic asshole?"
The brunet expected to be hit again, but what he didn't expect was for Reborn's smirk to widen. It was as if Reborn saw something he was satisfied with. That made Tsuna bristle with irritation, and he hissed like a cat.
Tsuna managed to open his mouth to say "Go-" before his forehead met Reborn's heel. He was knocked unconscious on the bed and went to dreamland. The young brunet lay sprawled on the bed in an uncomfortable position and mouth hanging agape.
Meanwhile, Reborn looked at his Dame student with satisfaction in his eyes before walking out of the room.
~linebreak~
("Mom!" The hoarse screaming voice of a young child echoed in the expanse of the blood-red room. "Mom...!" The screaming became the muffled sobbing of a child with blood-soaked hands and clothes. He could feel a burning feeling in his heart, making him sob and shake pitifully. "Mom..." he whispered brokenly, lifting his gaze towards the cold, bloodied body of his mother and he abruptly hugged his knees.
"Somebody..." The tiny brunet started weakly, trailing off. There was no use of asking for help. He knew that, but he still opened his mouth to continue fruitlessly, "...help Mom." He knew how futile it was, but it was the only thing he knew to do. Then suddenly there was a loud bang and he jerked with wide terrified eyes. He curled himself, sobbing pitifully. The sudden presence of a hand in his hair made him jerk his head upward. However, what he saw made him stare with astonishment.
"Don't worry, Tsu-kun." The familiar voice of his Mother rang near him and he made a leap to push his currently kneeling – and bloodless - Mother away, and shout a warning,
"Mom! Behind you!" However he was too late because there was another bang but this time it was louder and it resulted with his ears ringing. And he saw the form of his Mother face being covered with blood as her body fell sideways into a painful slow motion.)
Tsuna jerked from his sleeping position with wide eyes and a gasp. He immediately bolted from his upright position and headed towards the bathroom, his aching and pained body crying angrily without his notice. The brunet didn't threw up everything his body could into the sink. He could taste the very bitter taste of the acrid bile in his mouth. It burned his throat, his shaking hands gripping the edge of the sink with a clawing grip.
The brunet continued heaving for what felt like forever, but it gradually eased and he turned on the faucet, washing away the evidence and his pain. He continued at the inside of the sink, watching even when water was all that was left. He stared pitifully, small sobs leaving his lips.
Tsuna continued sobbing until it eased into small sniffling and hiccups, but his heart still felt so heavy. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and exhaled. His breath stayed rooted to his throat when a sudden voice rang inside the bathroom and he felt a sudden weight on his right shoulder.
"Tsuna." The student slowly turned on his right and saw Reborn sitting in his shoulder with his almost all-black attire and his pet chameleon-morphing-into-weapon. Instead of wondering why Reborn was here, he inwardly panicked and stood like a statue in instinctual fear. Reborn suddenly pulled a fist of the brunet's hair, making him yelp.
"Ow! What was that for?" Tsuna asked, throwing a reproachful look at the infant, but instead of getting an answer to his question, Reborn moved on with a nonchalant voice.
"Hurry up or you'll be late." With those parting words, Reborn walked away and left the brunet wondering why Reborn appeared in the bathroom after his momentary show of weakness.
Tsuna slowly shook his head, dispelling his thought and focused on splashing his face with the tap water.
~linebreak~
"Oh. Good morning, Sawada-kun." the short haired girl greeted and Tsuna slowly stopped running, looking back tiredly after taking in a loud lump of air for his exhausted lungs.
"G-Good morning too, Sasagawa-san." The brunet smiled with a grimace due to his current exhaustion. He inwardly felt relieved that he managed to reach the school gate on time. He could avoid being bitten to death by Hibari's tonfas early in the morning. If there were two things he didn't want to experience, it was Hibari's tonfas and Reborn's sadism. Between the two, the former was something he could escape while the latter was...He shook his head. Thinking about Reborn and sadism was not good for the health of his mind.
Another voice suddenly interrupted. "Oh, it is no other than Dame-Tsuna."
Tsuna looked to Kyoko's right where the voice was coming from. There he saw a senpai in his school, Mochida Kensuke, the captain of the Kendo Club, walking up towards the girl.
"Mochida-senpai," Kyoko admonished with a frown on her innocent face. Tsuna cringed and inwardly cursed. 'Oh. Damn. She really shouldn't have...' Mochida made a disgruntled sidelong glance at the brunet, which he could take as a sign that he was safe...for now, before looking at Kyoko to give her his version of a charming smile, which Tsuna found quite un-charming. Mochida was obviously thinking of something lecherous about Kyoko, judging by the blush marring his tan-colored skin and the way his eyes darted somewhere between Kyoko's chest.
"Perverted senpai." Tsuna mumbled under his breath, throwing a sidelong glare in the pervert's direction. What he didn't take into account was for Mochida to hear it. Tsuna almost made a startled step back when Mochida glared holes at him, but thankfully, he didn't. Mochida made a step forward, annoyed.
"What did you say, Dame-Tsuna?" The brunet blinked before taking a glance at their surroundings. A few of his schoolmates were whispering about the commotion, making him inwardly face palm before giving a nervous look in Mochida's direction.
Tsuna didn't want to be beaten today, but if the looks Mochida was giving him was any indication, there was no way he could escape getting hurt again. But maybe he could get away another time. Maybe he should deny and explain. Probably Mochida would listen to him.
"Mo-Mochida-senpai...I didn't say anything." Tsuna waved both hands in denial, but Mochida wouldn't hear any of it.
"Shut up, Dame-Tsuna. How dare you say something unforgivable and baseless?"
'Duh. You were!' Tsuna thought, and outwardly shook his head. "I d-don't know what you're talking about." he said nervously as he made another glance at the growing crowd. He winced. Joy, what a great way to start his morning at school.
"Mochida-senpai," Kyoko started unsurely, most likely not knowing what Mochida was talking about. 'Bless your innocent soul, Sasagawa-san, but seriously, you shouldn't have greeted me. Now Mochida-senpai is looking for a way to humiliate me.'
"How dare you say that when you stalk Kyoko-chan and look at her with impure thoughts, you perverted stalker?" Mochida growled, pointing an accusing finger at the brunet. It made Tsuna look at Mochida with wide eyes and a single thought resounding in his mind, 'Me? A perverted stalker?'
"You disgraceful human being, how dare you do that to Kyoko-chan?!" Mochida continued like a self-righteous hero while Tsuna looked at him with disbelieving eyes.
"Huh?!" Kyoko was blushing in embarrassment, looking between the two guys with wariness.
'What the actual fuck is he saying?!' Tsuna stared flabbergasted at Mochida. He also made a look at Kyoko, who was blushing embarrassingly and was looking at them akin to distrust on her eyes. Kyoko seemed to be gullible enough to believe what Mochida was saying. The brunet shook his head lightly at that. "What are you saying, Mochida-senpai?" Tsuna said in mild annoyance. Instead of getting pissed off , he just took what Mochida was saying as some kind of joke.
"For your sins, I will personally smite you, Dame-Tsuna." Mochida said with his index finger pointing at the brunet accusingly, and then he laughed like a villain. "Come to the gym after classes end!" With that, the crowd started murmuring to each other and Tsuna face palmed after Mochida left, dragging the poor innocent Kyoko with him.
"Just...what the fuck happened?" Tsuna murmured to no one in particular, and ran towards the nearest bathroom, locking himself in one of the stalls. There was a distinct voice with menacing words outside, saying 'For crowding, I'll bite you all to death' followed by the sound of metal clashing against flesh. Tsuna face palmed with both hands and a soft, amused chuckle passed his lips.
'What a great morning.' he thought in amusement at what Mochida had declared to him so idiotically. But he could feel a growing annoyance at the aftermath of those lies. Tsuna knew he would be beaten this afternoon, but it wasn't like he minded being labelled as a perverted stalker. It wasn't new. He was almost not looking forward to meeting Mochida, but if he didn't...Well, he would still be beaten. 'The end result is the same.'
Tsuna walked out of the stall with an amused smile plastered on his face. He immediately wiped it off before someone saw him. It wouldn't do him any good if the rumour got wilder.
When Tsuna reached his homeroom classroom, there was noise and name-calling of his classmates. Instead of hearing the normal Dame-Tsuna, it was replaced with perverted stalker, making him sigh in annoyance. The change of name-calling was alright with him since he knew himself that he wasn't a perverted stalker, but hearing that someone adding a rumour about how they had seen him peeping on some girls changing in the school bathroom was different. It was not amusing, but highly annoying. Even if Tsuna defended himself from those rumours, it was not like people would believe him. He was Dame-Tsuna and anything he says would only be twisted by everyone around him.
The brunet made a discreet glance at the crowd circling around Kyoko's desk. There, he saw the norm, her female friends telling Kyoko how Mochida was a great man for defending a maiden's honour. Kyoko herself was looking down at her lap in embarrassment. She would throw indiscreet glances towards Tsuna, which he deliberately ignored, seemingly deep in thought.
When the teacher arrived and silenced the class, Tsuna was still contemplating what would be his best option without too many consequences. 'What to do...Run or not, which should I choose?'
~linebreak~
Tsuna was now locked, once again, inside the bathroom stall. It was lunch break and he was still contemplating what to do. If he did run, it would prove that Mochida was right and he would win by default, and later be beaten by Kyoko's fans for having impure thoughts about their idol. Mochida would also beat him for running away from their fight. If he did fight, it wouldn't likely be fair. Obviously, he would lose due to the difference of their strength as well, and if he lost, he would be beaten and no one would bat an eyelash. And he would still be beaten by Kyoko's fans for his impure thoughts. Whether Tsuna fought or ran, he would still be crushed so weighing those options...He should definitely run. He could delay the inevitable pain he would receive by a day at most.
"Running away is unbefitting of a Mafia Boss."
Tsuna jerked and throws an accusing glare at where the voice was coming from. His mind blanked out when he saw that Reborn was wearing a...cheerleader outfit for girls with matching green pom-poms and long black hair pulled into a ponytail.
"What are you wearing?!" Tsuna exclaimed, pointing at the...weird-cosplaying baby with his index finger, a gobsmacked expression on his face. 'He looks like a girl…'
"Ciaossu." Reborn greeted, waving his green pom-poms upward. Tsuna abruptly looked away from the view. No! He didn't like cute things! Well, maybe he did, but that was beside the point. The brunet immediately turned back to glare at the cosplaying baby when he remembered Reborn's words.
"Will you shut up about me being a Mafia Boss?"
"What will you do in your fight with Mochida?" Reborn said as the pom-poms turned back into the pet chameleon, and the green creature perched on the baby's shoulder. The brunet eyed the chameleon as it blinked at him. When it didn't repeat its action, Tsuna returned his gaze back to the Mafia baby.
"I don't want to fight Mochida-senpai." Tsuna answered with a grumble under his breath. With the choice of being beaten today or on Monday, he would obviously choose the former.
"So you're running away. You really are Dame-Tsuna." Reborn said with a disappointed look on his face. Tsuna wondered where Reborn was coming from here.
"I'm not running away. Mochida-senpai is the captain of Kendo Club." Tsuna answered as if it explained everything. "There's no use going to that match when I know I'll lose." He couldn't help the bitter tone.
"Then would you want to be seen as a coward forever?" Reborn said. How did Reborn get back into his expensive black suit and matching black fedora without him even noticing? Tsuna eyed the suit suspiciously. Reborn noticed his inattentiveness, pulling the brunet out of it by punching to his right cheek, making him hiss in pain. Tsuna rubbed his bruised cheeks, glaring at the Mafia baby for hurting him again.
"Would you please stop being mean to me?" When Reborn didn't deem to answer, Tsuna hmph-ed and reached for the doorknob.
"What would Sasagawa think if you ran away from this match?" Tsuna froze his hand over the handle and stared hard at the door.
"She would think I'm a coward and believe what Mochida says about me." Tsuna said, frowning at the thought of Kyoko's opinion of him, but realized that Reborn was planning to force him to fight, even if it resorted in tripping him with guilt.
Reborn hopped down from his location to the brunet's uninjured shoulder. The weight suddenly felt heavy, oppressing even, and Tsuna thought it is weird. This feeling was different from earlier. This one felt dangerous, as if Reborn was weighing out the pros and cons of his answer. It was mildly alarming that this baby could be so manipulative. Tsuna closed his eyes and gripped the handle, pushing the door open.
The sudden brightness illuminating Tsuna's surrounding felt so light, like a sun shining through the darkest night, giving him the push and comfort he needed. But the brunet couldn't help feeling the darkness sipping in the sun's shadow like an overwhelming presence of manipulative and not to be trusted.
"Fine," Tsuna started with an annoyed look on his face, glaring at the baby sitting on his shoulder like he was sitting on a vehicle. "I will fight against Mochida-senpai."
Despite knowing and feeling manipulated, the decision felt so right at the deepest core of his very being.
To be continued…
A/N: Kindly leave a review and criticism... *insert puppy look here*
Timeline: This is set on June 23 (Saturday)
