Chapter Thirteen – You Are My Sunshine
All things considered, Ryohei learned and came to care for Tsuna in a more mundane way than the others. There were no gym lights and a broken body, no stairs and a crooked neck, no bench and spilt blood.
Tsuna met him at the hospital the day of his discharge, puttering around his room to help him gather things together into his bags.
"I'm glad you're okay, Sasagawa-senpai," Tsuna said quietly as he folded a shirt, the cloth smelling like the cheap detergent the hospital used. Ryohei had been admitted, battered and bruised in that t-shirt.
"I'm tough, to the extreme!" Ryohei replied exuberantly, swinging around an arm that was still plastered in bandages. "But I can't believe those bullies got away!"
"Ah," Tsuna said dully. "Don't worry about them, Sasagawa-senpai. Hibari-senpai is well on the case."
Tsuna had been in his bedroom, nursing a bruised head from Reborn's retaliatory whack and eating his sandwich when Hibari had burst in. His hard, sharp eyes had immediately locked onto the needles still resting on the bedside locker.
He'd only stayed long enough to grab Tsuna's jaw and twist his head up and around to check for injuries before he was gone again.
"Hibari is good at chasing down bullies," Ryohei agreed sagely, and then ruffled the fluffy mass that constituted as Tsuna's hair. "Also, I told you! Call me Ryohei!"
"Ryohei-senpai then," Tsuna replied with a small smile, and carefully placed the folded article of clothing into the bag. "Are you ready to leave? Will your parents be here?"
"Both my parents are at work this extreme morning," Ryohei simply said. "But I have been told they've given me permission to leave, so long as I call them when I return home safely!"
Tsuna slung the bag up onto his shoulder, reaching down to pick up another piece of luggage.
"I suppose we're free to go then." Tsuna gestured to the door, and quickly swung the bag out of the way as Ryohei reached to snatch it from him.
"I can carry my own things." Ryohei was suddenly and uncharacteristically quiet.
"Don't worry, Ryohei-senpai. Others lean on you for support. It won't hurt to lean on someone else for once. Even the strong need a hand every once in a while."
Ryohei's expression was inscrutable as he stared down at Tsuna, the smaller teen squirming slightly under the intense stare. Then, for the second time in nearly as many minutes, Ryohei was ruffling Tsuna's hair again, offering a gruff thanks. Tsuna pointedly ignored the shine to his eyes.
Leaving the hospital was slow going, as Ryohei seemed determined to say his thanks and goodbye to every single member of staff that had attended to him. Tsuna didn't mind this, and was quite happy to oblige regardless, watching the nurse's tired faces light up at the thanks and recognition.
"I can take my things from here, if you like," Ryohei said at the entrance.
"Nah," Tsuna replied with an errant shrug. "You only live a few roads over from me, right? Like I said, it's good to lean on somebody else every now and then."
"You're a good person," Ryohei's voice turned serious, but like a light switch, he grinned brightly and slung an arm around Tsuna's neck. "At the very least let me treat you to lunch a la Sasagawa!"
"Sounds good," Tsuna laughed, letting Ryohei guide him down bustling streets.
It happened at a busy crossroads.
It was mundane.
A jostle at the crossing, and Tsuna was in the road. An unobservant driver, rushing a red light during peak times, and for the second time in his life, Tsuna was bending and bouncing over and off the bonnet of a car travelling over the recommended speed limit.
His last regret at that moment in time was Ryohei's personal items, and how they'd certainly been damaged.
" – at the intersection, yes, please hurry," were the rushed, worried words Tsuna awoke to, his body sprawled gracelessly along the sidewalk, people streaming around him as if they were water and he the boulder in the river.
"Ryohei-senpai," Tsuna rasped, trying to ignore the pained tug in his heart at subjecting yet another person to his curse, watching as clouds lazily drifted across the mostly clear sky. "Ryohei-senpai, if you're calling one-one-nine I'm okay. I don't need an ambulance."
"Tsuna," Ryohei gasped, and the pain in Tsuna's chest intensified. He let Ryohei's shaking, careful hands lift him into a seated position, and he was immediately cradled into Ryohei's trembling body, arms tight around him.
"I'm sorry," Tsuna said, uselessly, into Ryohei's shirt. "I didn't think this would happen. I'm sorry about your stuff.
"My stuff –" Ryohei sounded scandalised, horrified, and worried all in one package. "How could you be concerned about my stuff."
"I can explain. But we'll have to have lunch at my house instead. Sorry." Tsuna tacked on at the end, feeling Ryohei's full body tremble at yet another apology.
"I thought you were dead. Extremely dead." Ryohei's shaky breath rushed out against Tsuna's hair. "You need the hospital- a, a doctor."
"I can explain," Tsuna reiterated firmly. "But at my house. I'm fine, Ryohei-senpai. I'm not hurt. I promise. I just… I know you don't want any more apologies, but I'm sorry, for all of this. For everything from now on."
Tsuna pushed himself out of the coddling embrace, and watched the unfiltered worry and terror on Ryohei's face twist into something closer to shock at seeing Tsuna, whole and healthy in front of him.
Tsuna smiled weakly.
"My house?"
Tsuna sent a series of text messages to an aptly made, 'Keep Tsuna Alive' group chat as they walked back to his house. Ryohei still insisted on taking the bags, crumpled by the car impact or not, and Tsuna didn't have it in his heart to complain or offer to help again, the expression on Ryohei's face hunted, guarded.
Tsuna: hit by car, ryohei-senpai saw, my house. door is unlocked, mama out.
Tsuna: be quiet when you come in, senpai in shock. thx.
They were sat at the dining table when the texts came in, Ryohei staring into an untouched glass of water as they waited.
Yamamoto: omw.
Gokudera: with the idiot. won't be long. hope all is okay.
Both of Hibari's and Reborn's names simply had the 'read' checkmark, but Tsuna didn't doubt they would be there.
Reborn was the first to arrive, barely five minutes after the first message had been sent, fingers knocking softly on the doorframe to herald his arrival. It was a soft noise, but enough for Ryohei to subtly flinch.
"That's Reborn," Tsuna croaked. "He's my tutor."
"You didn't change," Reborn said, taking in Tsuna's rumpled appearance. Tsuna's eyes tracked to Ryohei across the table, who was still pale, slumped in his seat.
"Didn't want to leave Ryohei-senpai alone. He looks…" Tsuna hesitated. "I just got a bit worried."
"Clean yourself up," Reborn advised. "I'm here now."
Tsuna stood slowly, the chair scraping softly against the linoleum. As he crossed the kitchen, he pressed his fingertips gently to Ryohei's wrist.
"I'll be back in just a minute, Ryohei-senpai. Reborn can explain for you, okay?"
"Hey," Ryohei started to ask suddenly, voice low and hushed. "You're okay right? Yeah?"
Tsuna smiled weakly, taking his hand back and tucking both hands in front of him, folded over one another tightly.
"I will be. The car didn't hurt me, if that's what you meant. Like I said, Reborn can explain it. I…have the likelihood of getting emotional when I'm asked to talk about it."
"Sure," Ryohei mumbled back, and Tsuna smiled, even tighter this time, before he made his way up the stairs.
When the distinct creaks and squeaks of Tsuna's feet on the landing floorboards sounded, his door creaking shut, Reborn turned on Ryohei.
"Everything you here hear from now on is going to be the truth. Even if it leaves this room, no one will believe you. It won't be your fault if they don't but if it's all the same I'd rather you didn't talk to anyone about this. Do you understand?"
Ryohei remained silent.
"Do you understand, or do I need to ask you to leave?" Reborn repeated himself, voice tighter, firmer.
"I understand."
"Good. You're Ryohei Sasagawa. Three days ago you were admitted into the General Hospital due to what official reports are calling a malicious mugging. That is fact."
"Yes." Ryohei lifted his head then, startled at the information Reborn so readily had on him.
"This is where our truth coincides with yours," Reborn said seriously. "Two days ago, Tsuna got into an altercation with the men that hurt you. He was then given information pertaining to what instigated the attacks. Because of that, Tsuna felt obligated to see you in order to assess your health and make sure you were okay, since he feels he is the root cause of these attacks. He's not wrong."
Ryohei took a gulp of water.
"Today you were discharged, at eleven-forty-three. Between then and now, Tsuna died."
"Tsuna isn't – " Ryohei began indignantly, hand clenching around his glass.
"He died," Reborn was curt, voice raising over Ryohei's. "Tell me, how many people stopped to see how he was, once he hit the floor? Was there anyone other than you? Did anyone stop to check the supposed body on the street?"
"Ah…" Ryohei's voice petered out "You're right. Nobody… nobody stopped."
"A while ago, you would have been one of those ignorant bystanders. I was once, too. Now, you can see him, which means you care for him a little more than any other normal person might."
"He folded my clothes for me because my arm isn't working right. He visited, even though he'd didn't know me." Ryohei sounded quiet, and lost. "I know I'm no good at school, and I'm not smart, but this… this doesn't sound possible."
"You're the one that saw the impossible, Sasagawa. It is up to you whether or not you accept it."
When Tsuna traipsed back down the stairs, Gokudera and Yamamoto had arrived, but Hibari had not, as far as Tsuna was aware.
Strangely enough, Ryohei had been invigorated by whatever Reborn had told him.
"Tenth!" Gokudera was the first to greet him, bowing near perfectly at the waist. "I'm sorry I was not there to help you today!"
"Gokudera, it wasn't your fault," Tsuna replied quietly, hands lifting to the towel on his head so he could ruffle at his wet hair. "You can't account for every accident, nor can you be everywhere at once. I don't blame you."
"I just feel as if I hadn't been busy today, and had joined you…"
Tsuna shrugged weakly. "You can't account for everything," he repeated, reaching a hand to Gokudera's shoulder to ease him upright. "I mean, if no one had told you, you never would have known, and then you wouldn't be worrying."
"Tsuna!" Ryohei interrupted, once he was sure it wasn't at a too inopportune time. "Your tutor has told me everything I need to know. He told me I could walk away and try to forget, but that would be extremely bad of me! From today on, I'll be in your care! Please, call me onii-san from now on! I will be looking after you like the others with all that I can!"
Ryohei darted forward to take hold of Tsuna's hands, looking earnest.
"Please, let me help!"
"O-Oh, no, you don't need to," Tsuna stammered. "I'm not exactly leading a normal high school life right now, you could get into dangerous situations and…"
"You tutor has told me everything." Ryohei stressed, hands squeezing Tsuna's gently. "Including the dangers of your everyday life! That is why I am here to offer some extreme help!"
"Oh," Tsuna repeated, and Ryohei's earnest expression turned to alarm when Tsuna started to cry.
"Don't worry, Tsuna! Like you said, it wouldn't hurt you to lean on someone every once in a while! I'll be here for you!"
"Sasagawa-senpai is such a good guy," Yamamoto murmured quietly and, for once, Gokudera was inclined to agree with him.
If Ryohei finding out had been mundane, normal, a trip from A to B interrupted by a simple accident, Mukuro finding out was anything but.
Tsuna hoped he would never have to experience anything like it again.
Mukuro is next time tho. Sorry guys!
Thanks to eternalglitch for beta'ing this bad boy for me. Hope you enjoyed it!
Also, if you're unaware, I now have blog. As I've said before, I sometimes write a couple hundred words, or a couple thousand, and then can leave a chapter sitting. This way I can let you know that words are being added on, things are being tweaked, and stories are still progressing! You might also get some random bullshit off of me every so often too.
Anyway, it is!
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! is . because fanfiction is just like that.