A/N:
My apologizes. This chapter is unedit. Expect grammar and spelling errors.
Chapter Twenty
"Tsunayoshi." Tsuna regarded his attention to Verde who inspected him with critical eyes. "You're wounded."
He blinked and looked at himself. "I am? I don't feel anything."
"You're bleeding, child." The Lightning said, patting the brunet's back.
Tsuna winced visibly. "Ah yeah. I forgot about that."
"You need to be treated." The Arcobaleno advised.
"I will but later." Tsuna assured before looking around. "Anyone saw Frecka and Gerald?"
"H-Here." A gruff voice announced, getting his attention.
The brunet was about to jog towards them when he felt his back protested. He decided to walk in a sedate pace instead. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Reborn assisted us to safety after I got away." Frecka replied while being assisted by Gerald. "Are you okay though? Where is he by the way?"
"I'm fine." The young man dismissed. "Reborn got back to Fiant after I finished my part of our contract. I need to get there to renew it though. Can you drive Gerald?"
The redhead nodded. "I'm pretty much reserved."
"Good. You can let the Academy infirmary to give you a good healing. I'll tell Kyouya."
"If you're going to Fiant, just come with us." Skull said as he walked towards him. "Bermuda can teleport us."
The brunet looked at him with a thoughtful expression before searching for others. Bermuda has multiple portals opened. Lal, Fon, and Viper are chucking some of the demons inside the portal while Verde is standing on stand by, bonking those creatures to sleep as they regain their consciousness.
"Where is Colonnello?" He asked.
"He took care of Reborn." Skull replied.
"Colonnello was laying on the couch when Reborn suddenly appeared and got dropped on him. We left Reborn to him since he volunteered and trusted us to help you after seeing Reborn in a tattered shape." Lal furthered.
Tsuna sighed in relief. "I can't go with you. Bermuda is already tired."
"I am not." The Night protested.
Tsuna shook his head. "And I need to be at least seen entering the campus to be declared that I arrived safely. I need to report to Kyouya that I'm safe and I'm back. Besides, I need to revise the contracting spell."
"Revise it?" Verde repeated.
"Yes. And make it stronger." Tsuna's eyes narrowed and changed from brown to deep orange. "I don't want another demon erasing my contracts without determining if I deserved the treatment."
"Mou. You should at least have someone from us to accompany you." Viper suggested.
"I agree, Tsunayoshi. It's better safe than never." Fon seconded.
"I can go." Skull volunteered with a hand raised.
"What do you think?" Tsuna asked Frecka and Gerald.
"I think it's a good idea." Frecka answered. "We'll never know if another high demon will attack us. It's better to be prepared. Besides, we can't fight them off in our state. Gerald will probably lose if we leave everything to him."
"I am well capable of defending you." Gerald countered.
Tsuna smiled. "Yeah, Frecka. You saw him exorcising some demons. He deserve the credit."
Frecka wiggled his nose. "If you say so."
"Why do you bully me this much?" Gerald lamented with a fake sob.
Tsuna chuckled before patting the redhead on his shoulder. "Good job today though."
Gerald gaped at him before he beamed. "Thank you!"
He turned towards the other Arcobaleno. "I'm taking Skull. Please take care of Reborn for me while I'm still gone."
"Yes." Lal and Fon responded while the others nodded.
Skull took the initiative by carrying Tsuna in his arms. The brunet protested at first, but he could only sigh when the Cloud shook his head in response. The demon arranged the roof of the car that has a big dent before settling the young man in. Tsuna quickly rummaged his bag for paper and pen and got into work as Gerald drove off.
Frecka's and Skull's eyes meet every now and then on the rearview mirror as Tsuna murmurs about theories and hypothesis about the incantation he is trying to correct. They were perplexed and stunned with each different reasons of how Tsuna works.
Frecka had known Tsuna to be hushed, anti-social and unapproachable. The young man is more of a delinquent when he first saw him approaching them from the castle of the academy. The brunet has a band aid on his nose bridge, a busted side lip, and bruises; he didn't expect for the kid to be a vast reader despite his appearance though. He always has this serious face, and he never showed any emotions except exasperation and a frown, even after what Gerald did to him (he was asleep when the redhead decided that it will be fun to leave his charge on the diner, only to backfire when they went back for the kid just after they were about to arrive to the hotel). If Tsuna was angry to the world, he could've used his glare a million times, but the young man never did since he always had his eyes down, never meeting theirs.
He wasn't friendly to the brunet either. He was just doing his job as a bodyguard. He kept an eye on Tsuna because he was assigned to do so. Sometimes he shares sentiments with Gerald about guarding a colorless kid. But most of the time, he preferred Tsuna's quiet company over boisterous and destructive ones. He always wanted to be Dino Cavallone's assistance since the blond was pretty nice enough, except for his clumsiness, of course.
What shocked him the most was when the brunet trash talked Ganauche. It was also the first time he saw the young man express so much anger, and glare with so much hatred. Another first time to hear him talk a long sentence. But Tsuna never curses. Despite the anger he feels, he never cursed Ganauche. And Frecka knows that deep down, the young man who was deemed to be colorless and only recommended was respecting the lightning guardian of the world society.
As days go on, Tsuna did some surprising things that changed his opinion on the kid. The young man defended the waiters and servers from being treated rudely. When the bodyguards of the other skies are being mistreated, the brunet talks back to the other skies to at least save the dignity of the other. And who knew that he can remove contracts? Only people with colors can do that. With that, Tsuna became popular among the hotel staffs and they do things just to see him smile. And they got successful on it, while it frustrates him because he couldn't get a glimpse of it.
The only one time he saw Tsuna so concentrated was after Ganauche cautiously gave him a puzzle to solve. Although the brunet was angry, he said thank you for the gift. Tsuna was so into the game that he never saw Frecka opening his room door. And the green head marvelled the concentration of the kid. He did a lot of things inside the room, but the child's trance didn't broke. It took the brunet whole day to figure it out, and Frecka has to make him eat just for the sake of it. And when the young man figured it out, he was astonished at the gorgeous smile the other let out. It was so happy, contented and giddy. He realized why the staffs coo on him sometimes, and why they spoil him and respect him at the same time.
So he tried to be friendly to Tsuna. And his first impression on the kid was completely erased. Tsuna was approachable, full of snarks and jokes even though he only smiles to those he seems friendly, and he is a sunny person. And when Frecka tries hard to make the young man smile and happy, he is always rewarded with so much trust. No wonder Tsuna saved him from Gerald.
Skull, on the other hand, can't fathom how a human can create an incantation from scratch or edit an existing incantation to make it stronger. Of course, he knows who made such incantations. It was Giotto di Vongola, the greatest sorcerer up until now. But to see Tsuna do such a thing, right in front of him and just for the sake of Reborn. It's not like he didn't experience it because he obviously did when the brunet summoned him. But just... Damn. Reborn is a lucky demon to have such human.
The two watched as Tsuna stared at the paper in his hand before he sighed with a big satisfied smile. Skull peered on the paper before nodding. Gerald looked at them by the rearview mirror before announcing their arrival.
Kyouya was by the gate, leaning on the wall and obviously worried, evident with his furrowed brows. Tsuna was the first to get out, followed by Skull. The skylark inspected him and growled.
"I'm okay." Tsuna placated. "I need to go to Fiant to get Reborn. Tell some of your committee to help Frecka and Gerald to the nearest infirmary to see their injuries."
"You are injuried, Tsunayoshi." Kyouya pointed out.
"Kyouya." The brunet called with a small smile. "I'm fine. No need to worry. Besides, I'll be back. I just need to renew my contract with Reborn."
"Contract?" The skylark repeated before nodding. "Go."
Tsuna beckoned Skull to follow him, the demon did. The Cloud noticed that the human is now able to run. It's like Tsuna recovered completely. But he is still cautious because the young man might keel if he pushes himself too much.
"Hana-chan!" Tsuna suddenly shouted as they entered the cafeteria of the castle.
"Tsuna?" Hana said, baffled at the sudden appearance of her friend. "What happened to you?" She asked while standing up to welcome the brunet who is running towards her.
"Check this." The brunet almost begged as he pushed a paper on her hands. "Will it work?"
Hana scanned the content of the paper before nodding. "I don't know what this is for, but go. I'll need your explanation later."
"Thank you."
Tsuna took the paper, and Skull's hand before running out of the cafeteria. Without even stopping, they ran to the tower of blood. Nezu was there but he didn't stop them after seeing his student's state. The brunet only waved a bidding hand to the teacher before they entered the portal.
Skull went ahead and turned into a big wolf. A gray wolf with purple highlights. Tsuna stopped on his tracks and stared at the animal form of the Cloud. The demon is stunning while sitting there on his hind legs. And what mesmerized him more was how the moon makes the color gray become white, making the wolf majestic and looks like he came out of a fantasy book.
The brunet evened his erratic breathing as he put a hand up. Wide purple eyes stared at him as he approached. And when he did touch the fur, he sighed at the silky texture that passes between his fingers. The Cloud leaned on his touch with closed eyes.
"You're beautiful, Skull." Tsuna whispered.
The demon opened his eyes and yelped at him.
"Let's go?" He queried.
The wolf nodded.
Tsuna carefully pocketed the paper and cautiously mounted Skull. The Arcobaleno rolled his eyes before picking the child on the back of his shirt and lifted the human on his back. Tsuna giggled after being treated as a child before grasping Skull's fur as the latter zoomed through the forest, not minding the staring people in the camp.
'Please be okay, Reborn.'
Reborn cursed as he removed the blanket off him. He can feel a little pain all over his body even though he already healed himself, and a little... Satisfaction, as if he completed something. Shaking his head, he sat up on his bed and thought back to how he got in there.
They were going back to the academy when Tsuna ordered Frecka to stop the car. He went out to scout the area from the car's viewpoint before demons attacked them from the sky. He remembered the brunet challenging him to defeat more demons than him, then Tsuna went to save Gerald's demon then the redhead saved Frecka from being mobbed by exorcising those demons. Then Tsuna did the same thing to get more demons to defeat when Byakuran suddenly appeared...
"Don't overdue it." He looked at who said that. "They're okay." Colonnello said as he put a glass of water on the bedside table.
"How many hours was I asleep?" He asked.
"More or less five hours." The Rain answered.
He inwardly cursed. "Tsuna?"
"He's fine. He's with Skull after a lot of persuasion the others did." Colonnello sighed. "Dude, relax. Your human is tougher than you think he is. If I know better he'll be here just to check up on you."
Reborn only nodded and kept his head low, missing the worried expression on his fellow Arcobaleno's face. His mind went back to what happened.
Byakuran showed up and asked the humans not to exorcise his followers. Frecka gave a valid reason and Tsuna finished them off. Someone took Frecka and the brunet fought off the demon as the hitman put them to safety and came back just in time for him to shoot the demon to surrender. Then suddenly his human flew off and he was about to catch the young man when he was kicked away. Then demons restricted the both of them and Byakuran and Tsuna talked about-
"-- Are you sure being insane is the only reason that Fiore sacrificed her mind?"
Reborn stared hard at the wooden floor. Did Luce really sacrificed her life for the sake of balance? Or was it sacrificed for another reason? What is it? And who even thought that such sacrifice is needed? Did his sky die in vain? What was the truth? How did the war against those bastards started off anyway? Was it really because of Giotto di Vongola? Or something else? Where is Luce's body anyway? Why didn't they retrieve it from the ruins? Why didn't he save Luce when he had time to-
Tsuna unmounted Skull as the wolf skidded to a stop in front of the Arcobaleno house. He patted the Cloud's head before running towards the house. Fon was the one who opened the door but he could only say a quick greeting before he rushed towards the second floor. He even saw Colonnello but he only said 'Hi'. He needs to greet them later properly.
He went to his right and speed walked towards the farthest room in the hallway. Tsuna put his hand on the door, took a deep breathe to steady his gasps for air before he knocked.
"What?" A question came from inside.
"May I come in?" Tsuna asked back quietly.
Silence answered his question.
"Reborn." He called, softly. "Please? I want to see you."
The door opened. Tsuna looked up to see Reborn's face. The hitman is leaking soft tendrils of miasma that is bad for a human to be exposed to, but all in all, his demon looks okay. Well rested, dressed in new clothes and injure-free. Tsuna sighed in relief as he stared at the man's bottomless eyes.
All he needs to do now is remove those self-loathe and insecurities.
He pushed the door open and guided the demon inside the room. After closing the door behind him, he stood in front of the hitman who is silently staring at him, intently.
"Okay. Before you hear me out, vent it." Tsuna said.
"... What?" Reborn asked, bemused.
"Vent out. You're angry right? Come on. I'll hear it out." The brunet urged.
"Tsuna-"
"You're angry, right?" He repeated. Reborn stared at him. "Vent it out. Take it out on me because I'm your summoner."
Reborn went somber. "What do you want me to say?! How do you want me to tell it to you?! I felt so useless! I couldn't do a thing to save you from Byakuran! I even let our contract get erased by that bastard! And while you were fighting him, I was here resting my ass off! I call myself the strongest demon but I couldn't help my summoner!"
The brunet took both of the livid demon's hands.
"I'm so angry about myself! Why didn't I move?! Why couldn't I move?! They were just two high demons for damn's sake! Not a thing to worry! Why did I just stood there while you were held down on the ground?! It's frustrating that I couldn't help you! That while I think of my pain, you suffered three times of mine but still looked after my welfare!" Reborn sighed between his clenched teeth in frustration.
"Can I talk now?" Tsuna asked cautiously. The demon nodded. "You do know that I felt the same way, right?"
"What?! You did everything, Tsuna! You defeated a lot of demon than I did, you saved Gerald's demon, you saved Frecka and put them to safety, you took Byakuran's attention to divert his attention, you even saved me from being seriously injured!" The hitman argued, blew away from what the brunet had stated.
"I did those." Tsuna nodded, pondering what he was about to say and what he realized while continuing their drive to academy awhile ago. "But if I was stronger, I could've avoided such a thing. I could have avoided that time Frecka was taken, or the moment I flew off before I could exorcise that demon or even when Byakuran tried to erase our contract and make you feel the pain while removing it."
Reborn stilled.
"I'm a human, Reborn. And I'm weak. Breakable as a stick and fragile like a glass. You're a demon, and your only concern was my well being. Frecka and Gerald has to keep their partners alive and me as well. While I worry about you, them and their demons. Even my life.
"I'm not saying that you were selfish. You were even entitled to be one because I'm the one contracted to you. You shared with me my pain, and my concern to my bodyguards. You're not allowed to deny that last part because Frecka told me you put them to safety while I subdued that demon who attacked him. You even helped me on making the demon weak I was going to exorcise before I flew off. And you tried to catch me when I was in mid-air.
"If you weren't there, I'm good as dead. I could only fight off a lot of demons because you were watching my back. You were the one who gave me enough confidence to do everything I could against Byakuran and the other high demons that was with him. I haven't fought high demons, you know. I'm always against semi."
"Don't comfort me." Reborn admonished lightly.
Tsuna tilted his head to the right coyly. "Am I? I was only saying the truth."
"Stop it." But the brunet only laughed at the quiet reprimand.
"Anyways, I was going to tell you this awhile back but things happened. The contract wasn't removed. Byakuran took his sweet time to erase it, so when I blast him off, half off it was still there. It's the reason why you didn't disappear straightaway. And because you prioritized my safety like you promised, the contract was completed." Tsuna shrugged off.
Reborn blinked. "No wonder I can still feel the pain you were feeling, and a ting of... satisfaction. But what was your end of the contract, anyway?"
"I wanted to at least save you once. I mean you're the strongest demon and the greatest hitman. You don't need someone to watch your back to make sure you live. But heroes keel every once and a while because they can't be at their strongest all the time." Tsuna winced. "Did I really save you?"
The demon knocked on the human's head with a small smile. "You did. And thank you."
Tsuna beamed. "Now, since this topic is over, I'm gonna ask for a renewal of contract."
"Are you sure?" Reborn queried skeptically. "I might fail you."
"That's where we went wrong." The brunet smiled a little. "We have a contract. We put our desires on it. And we've been saying 'I' instead of 'we'. If you fail me, I fail you too. If you win, I win too. Byakuran was able to pin us down because he thinks you're my weakness. That I'm your weakness."
"Wrong."
"Yes. Wrong. Because we aren't. We are each others' strengths. We keep each other alive. If one falls, the other must support for the fallen to stand. If one wins, they both win. We do everything as a whole, Reborn. That's what the contract is for."
"Oh."
"When we fought those demons awhile ago, did you had fun?"
Reborn thought back. "Yeah. It was fun. You kept on challenging me and you get frustrated when I have higher counts of defeated demons than you."
"That's bullying." Tsuna deadpanned before waving off a dismissive hand. "Did you feel safe?"
"Yeah. Cause you were watching my back while I watched yours. Although it bruises my ego a lot."
Tsuna made a 'pft' sound before continuing. "Then do you want to have a contract with me again?"
The hitman fondly sighed in mock resignation. "Don't you know the answer to that already?"
Reborn stared at the brunet's happy face. Unable to stop himself, he hugged Tsuna tight.
"I thought I'll lost you." He whispered with eyes closed tight.
"As long as you want me, I will always be with you, Reborn." Tsuna responded as he hugged back with the same tightness. "I'm so happy your my demon, Reborn."
'If only you know how much I adore, Tsuna.' Reborn thought as he nuzzled on the brunet's hair. "I am too."
Silence.
"But you know, you were really cool awhile ago."
Reborn laughed.