Chapter Twenty-One
Reborn stared at the paper. More of the content written on the paper. It's a dodekagram with six compasses facing every direction and overlapping each other, making an inner circle in their middle and an outer circle with the points. Every compasses have written symbols in them, and a sentence inside the inner circle.
It's intricate, and simple. Pretty much different from the diagram he was used seeing when he makes a contract with a human. And to think that Tsuna made this. Is this what Skull had seen in the sky when he was summoned? What will be the feeling of being summoned by Tsuna?
"Hana-chan checked it and gave a nod of approval. I don't know if it will work, but if it doesn't, we can use the old one." Tsuna said while he laid on the carpeted floor of the room, not wanting to soil the hitman's bed.
"You made this to do what again?"
"To make our contract stronger and irremovable except if a stronger entity than higher demons suddenly appeared and tries to erase it." The brunet answered, opening an eye to see his demon. "It really angered me how Byakuran was able to erase our contract painfully. And I told him we'll visit him in Mios to show him what a summoner and contractor's power really is. Was that okay?"
"You already waged it." Reborn shrugged.
"Hey! I was furious at him, so I waged a war! And besides, I wanted to show him our full potential. My full potential after being underestimated. No one messes with me and get out of my system without a single scratch."
Reborn smirked as he combed his hair with a hand. "You're vengeful."
"Being a delinquent has its downside. And I'm not afraid to use it as an excuse if I want to get something I want." The brunet said nonchalantly.
"Yeah yeah. Now get up, bad boy. We're going to do this contract."
"Can't wait having me again?" The brunet teased, and the man retaliated with a slap on the kid's forehead. "Ow. Why are you so denial?"
"Why are you such a tease?" The hitman clapped back before helping the child to his feet.
Tsuna dusted himself as he was about to go out when his eyes caught something. He took the black fedora off the side table and stared at it. It was rather old. But he knows that it must have a sentimental value to Reborn for keeping it for years. He put it on his head and walked out of the room when his demon called him. He smiled cheekily when Reborn rose an amused eyebrow on him. He flicked the fedora up and winked at him. The hitman had to control himself from stepping back and blushing a little at the innocent posing.
They went down the hall and the stairs. The other Arcobalenos greeted them. Colonnello was at the front, worried lines eased up after seeing Reborn's relaxed posture and happy expression. The blond admits that the raven is pretty much hard to read for years because of his poker face that varies from a smirk, an expressionless one, or a serious face. Add on the fact that they rarely see each other because they were never home (specifically Reborn); they rarely talk, except when it comes to riling up each other out of competitiveness and the chores (which he and Skull share except for cooking because all of them occupies all seven days of the week); and they don't have a common thing except their guns and their late Sky, Luce.
But because of Tsuna, Colonnello can see the minuscule emotions on the hitman's eyes and face. Reborn isn't easy to crack. Luce didn't even manage to do so, but she was able to make the hitman stay. But Tsuna did. He was able to make Reborn smile, laugh, blush, tell things, be sadistic again, heal injuries again and just be the Reborn he was, and probably greater.
"Yo." Tsuna greeted with a smile as he descended.
"Did you finish it?" Verde asked, a little eager to see the contract incantation the brunet made.
"Yup. We're about to test it out." The brunet responded as he walked towards the door. They were going to follow him when he paused and looked back to them. "None got injuried right?"
They shook their heads.
"Except for Bermuda." Viper pipped in. "He was exhausted when we got back."
"Viper." The Night chided.
Tsuna waved a dismissing hand. "It's okay to say that you feel weak or faint. Or just plain tired. You have the others to back you up, anyway. It's what a group is for."
Bermuda gave a small smile and a nod. "I'll keep that in mind."
Tsuna opened the door and they poured outside. Reborn caught up to the human and searched for a good place to write the circle for their contract. When he did, he called on Fon. The Storm chuckled silently before standing on the hitman's previous spot and burned a good portion of the meadow, just enough for a big circle.
The young man busied himself in searching for a good stick to draw with. When he couldn't find a single one, he went for the nearest demon tree. Verde was about to stop him when Bermuda and Skull shushed him up. They watched as Tsuna conversed with the tree silently and was provided of a good sturdy stick. Tsuna returned with a happy smile on his lips. Those Arcobalenos who did not know Tsuna is loved by many tree demons sported a 'what the heck' look on their faces.
"Skull." The Cloud snapped his head to Reborn. "Can you tell me what happened when Tsuna summoned you with his own version of pentagram?"
Skull blinked before nodding. 'This is... New.' "He didn't actually summoned for me specifically. His incantation was open to all demons. Probably because he was a sky? Or it's just how his spell was written. I don't know. His pentagram though didn't appear on the ground like most circles do. It appeared in the sky. It was really big." He looked up to the sky to mentally measure the circle. "It was probably as big as this clearing we're in, and I was in Vixos at that time when it suddenly materialized." Then he looked at Reborn.
"About the incantation." The Sun said.
"The incantation was..." Skull closed his eyes as he recalled the writings on the paper he received. "Enchanting. Different. The incantation doesn't demand presence. It was hopeful, requesting but not expectant, like a small offered prayer. It begs but respects refusal. And it acknowledges us as if we don't really belong in the darkness but we use it as a mean to be called. It's like the one who wants an audience with us will be waiting for a response.
"Tsuna's voice was really soft and soothing. It urges but not crossing a borderline. It's like he pushes and let the one who hears make a decision if he wants to go and answer the call or not. He didn't sound arrogant, like any other summoner. He was careful yet relaxed. He wasn't unsure and he has confidence in his works.
"The travel inside the pentagram wasn't dark nor with the color of my affinity. It was colorful. Like a rainbow. It made me disoriented because it was new to my eyes. And maybe with the improvised circle, he was able to see my demon form. I don't know if he will see yours with this circle he made, but don't be surprised if he takes it in a stride." And he looked at the brunet who was quietly doing the circle.
"I already had a fill of Tsuna's eccentricity and sense of normalcy in things we think are normal. I won't even be surprised if he started to point out a flying pig and started to form a theory after theory of how it became like that." Skull watched the hitman look at Tsuna with fondness and adoration.
"We just can't get enough of him, can we?"
"Never."
Verde put a hand on his chin and stared at the forming circle. Tsuna did a different route than the normal way of drawing it. He first drew a small circle, a perfect circle (Of how Tsuna did that, he doesn't know) on the center of the plot. Then the six compasses facing different directions of the numbers of a clock with straight lines and same lengths. After that, the outer circle was formed by connecting the endpoints of the compasses.
The scientist gaped when Tsuna tried to erase the lines but it didn't. It's like the soil of Fiant accepted the unfinished circle. Shrugging, the child continued what he was doing, and started to write symbols on the petals and a sentence on the inner circle. He moved forward to get a good view as the human stepped back.
The circle looks simple but it wasn't the normal kind. True to his words, Tsuna altered most of it, changed some words and shortened the symbols written on the petals. They're in phrases, not the usual long sentences. The only different one is the inner circle.
"What do you think?" Tsuna asked.
Verde glanced at him at the corner of his eyes, he can see the nervousness hidden under the facade of confidence. "Why did you write a whole sentence on the inner circle?"
"Oh. Well," Tsuna twirled his unbroken stick between his fingers as he considered his reason properly. "it's to establish the contract. On the old circle, there's only the word 'contract' in it. I realized that that circle only exist so both sides get what they want without verifying if the summoner and contractor were satisfied with what they gained. That's the reason why the deal gets erased so easily. But in mine, I put 'breach the contract in due time length', so when the two parties say that the contract is done after gaining what they needed, it will vanish by itself. Satisfaction and content is what I want to grant on this."
'Thoughtful.' Fon commented mentally as he listened as well with Viper.
"See the compasses? They revolve around the circle to separate the points. One for the summoner, the other for the contractor. Two compasses have the same symbols. It's because one symbol from them is for the summoner and the other is for the contractor. Notice the words 'summoner' and 'contractor' on the two different compass? I wrote them there for the circle to identify that the people who are arranging a deal are a human and a demon." He explained farther.
"It feels..." Viper inclined his head to the left. "Powerful. It might work, Tsuna."
"I really hope so. I've never revised important spells before. Smaller ones, yes. Important, no." The brunet breathed out before looking at Reborn. "Ready?"
Reborn only strode towards the center of the circle as an answer. The hitman scanned the bigger version of the circle on the paper he has in his hand. The inner circle is really spacious enough for two persons. And no line was erased even when he stepped on them.
Tsuna gave the stick to Verde who took it with pleasure before walking forward. He pulled out a small knife from his other ankle as he stepped in the circle. He faced his demon with a determined look.
"So how do we do this?" Reborn asked.
Tsuna looked upwards for a sec before nodding. "Since you're the contractor, you have to choose where you wanna put your contract symbol. I will put mine on the same spot on your being. We use our left hand to imprint them. The right will be used for a handshake. Blood is needed though, cause the contract doesn't just run physically, it also runs in our blood. And blood influences all aspects in our body. So yeah. We need blood to do the handshake."
"The incantation." The hitman probed.
"We will chant it together. Except for those ones with 'I's. And when the desires are asked, you need to state your wager after I state mine since I'm the one who asked for the contract."
"Why do you have to be the first?"
"Because those singularities indicate that you agree to the contract I offered and you trust me to do my end as you do yours. Whichever who asked for the contract must say the first one. Always."
"Well, isn't this complicated." Reborn smirks.
"It's just a trial. We don't know if it will surely work." Tsuna shrugs.
"Tsuna. Your circle is beautiful. The incantation sounds right for the first time, and I want to do this because you did it for me."
The brunet smiled. "You know how much I adore you, right?"
"Really? That's rather new to my ears."
"Why can't you be appreciative for once?" Tsuna groaned.
"I am appreciative." Reborn said smugly.
Tsuna rolled his eyes before putting the knife on his right palm. He winced a little as he ran the blade across it and handed it to his demon. Reborn took it, put it on his lips to bite and took hold of his human's shirt. The brunet didn't really registered what happened until cool air hit his skin. He shivered in cold while the hitman cut his palm in a quick manner.
Eyes on the brunet, Reborn put a hand on the other's chest, right to where the heart is. His smirk got a little bigger when the muscle pumped a little faster under his hand. Tsuna tried to calm himself as he opened the hitman's shirt and put his left hand on the same spot. The demon took the human's bloody hand with hidden enthusiasm and instead of a handshake, he went for a holding hands with intertwined fingers. Tsuna reigned over the urge to blush while Reborn mentally clapped in glee when he saw the other's ears went red and the heartbeat under his palm accelerated.
The other Arcobalenos hid smiles, snickers and roll eyes at how the hitman moved his way to Tsuna. He is obviously doing those obvious things with a suave maneuver, as if it was a normal thing to do. They'll just tease him about it when Tsuna goes to sleep or return to Mundane tomorrow.
"That should be a handshake." Tsuna pointed out.
"Who cares. I like it this way." Reborn responded, giving the other's hand a small squeeze.
The brunet laughed. "Now that's a hitman."
"And you're a delinquent. When did you abide to rules?"
"Since the beginning." And the young man shook his head. "It's okay though. As long as palm to palm, it's okay."
Tsuna squeezed back while staring at each other as the wind blows. The brunet closed his eyes while the ravenet stared at him. The Arcobalenos watched them with bathed breaths. It's like they're seeing something magical but couldn't comprehend how beautiful the two is. Now, both summoner and contractor took deep breaths before they started.
"Colors of elements, hand and hand, with both bloods, we seal our bond." Both said in sync. The inner circle lit up just as a glowing dodekagram like the one drawn on the ground appeared in the sky and made a cylindrical shield with the two inside.
"Incredible." Verde breathed, intrigued and fascinated at the phenomenon in front of him.
"Knot the wreathe, knot the faith." Two of the six compasses inside the outer circle blazed.
"Two placed desires be obtained." Two others brightened.
"I want your safety." Tsuna stated as he opened his eyes, determined gaze penetrates Reborn's being. A compass kindled.
The hitman shifted a little, trying to swallow the big lump on his throat. He too stared with absolute resolve "I want you alive." The last compass haloed.
"I give the contract," Tsuna said, and the words written on the compasses illuminated.
His breath suddenly caught on his throat before relaxing as he saw a massive demon staring right back at him while standing on the place of Reborn. He's a demon with two regal horns on either both sides of his head, black bat wings and a cape. He looked like a burning demon with all the yellow carvings on his skin and the highlights on his wings. In seconds though, things came back to normal with the human form Reborn. 'So that is Reborn's demon form.'
"I trust the end." The words underneath their feet alight.
"Breach the oath in due time length." The outer circle shined after their utterance.
"May both lives prosper as what yearned are granted." And they glowed.
The symbols slowly peeled themselves off their spots and lazily encircled them before words belonging to the summoner and contractor fussed to their hands. And then the cylinder glowed.
Tsuna breathed in as a heavy pressure suddenly fell on him. It's understandable now why Reborn is so strong. However, unlike the last time, he didn't keel. He rolled his shoulders back and accepted it head on with a sigh. He already know what to do in this kind of situation. If he can't deflect it, he can just go with the flow with it. Yeah. It might be powerful, but the fact that he can endure it, is a sign that he can stand beside his demon in terms of strength.
Reborn, though, is having a hard time. The pressure from Tsuna's aura isn't the same as it was back then in the hotel. It was far heavier. Probably more potent. It's like the aura's strength is growing steadily. Of how it became this powerful in a short period of time, he doesn't know. But, he didn't kneel. No. His hitman and demon pride won't let him bow down nor look weak. He does not have a weakness.
Then slowly, the pressure lifted itself from them and something like a running water tingled inside them. It came from their hearts and surged in to their system. For Tsuna, it's like his wounds are being healed with something warm. While Reborn feels like a soothing warm is making him relax. Both sighed, the human loudly while the demon mentally.
Slowly, the cylindrical shield dimmed before it's light went gone. The Arcobalenos watched the circle in the sky shimmered to disappearance while the one on the ground was erased. Trully, it wasn't like any other contract signing they have witnessed their entire lives.
Reborn slowly peeled his hand off the young man's chest. On Tsuna is a head of a black raven facing right. On its body is Reborn's name written in color yellow by cursive manner in place of feathers. Behind the bird is a yellow sun. But what's awfully unique about it is how his name seems to lit a little as the rays of sun waves gently, that it's almost like he was just imagining them if he blinked his eyes for a moment. Honestly, the design isn't the same with what he was accustomed with. It was new. But it's good. He likes it.
On the same spot on the demon's being is where Tsuna's symbol was tattooed with a mix of orange, black and brown. Brown is used to color the lion's head that is facing right. Black is used to outline the animal and his name that is written in color orange by cursive manner. His name is printed on the mane of the feline. But the brunet swears that his symbol moves. The mane of the king flatters as if the wind caresses it while his name shows the colors of the rainbow in a slow, teasing manner. And if he wasn't a literate human, he would say he was seeing things. But he wasn't.
The human wonders why his symbol is a lion after seeing Reborn's animal form on his chest. Is he a lion? He can't see any relation of the king of the jungle to his personality. Maybe his hair? But that's stupid. Oh well, he likes it anyway. Lions love to sleep too. Though he was expecting that his symbol was a fish. A tuna fish because of his name. At least it wasn't.
The demon stiffened when he felt something foreign thrumming from his heart. It was... Curiosity. Intense curiosity on something. He felt in need of answers, but it went away in a blink of an eye. He was seriously taken by surprise of how the feeling came and went.
Tsuna looked up to see the man's face when he felt a sense of surprise flooding from his heart. From Reborn's symbol. It's as if the demon saw something that baffled him. The young man can't help himself from laughing at the realization that hit him.
"What?" Reborn asked at the other's sudden burst.
"It's nothing." He dismissed with a delighted smile.
"Tsuna." The hitman warned, threatening to do something if the brunet does not give what he demands.
The owner of the name chuckled. "The contract has some hidden features in it."
"Features..."
"I just discovered that I can feel your emotions. It's nothing big."
"Just like how I felt your curiosity?" The demon asked.
Tsuna blinked. "Oh? You felt that?"
"For someone who reads a lot, you have one big appetite for knowledge. But that makes you powerful too." Reborn rationalized as he thinks of how his human gets powerful in a short period of time. "You have a massive storage of aura that you can supply power to a hundred demons if you want." And he plucked the hat out of the brunet's head and wore it.
"It means if you want strength in staying in Mundane, I can provide for you?" Tsuna asked, child-like curiosity is evident in his face, not even minding the hat being out of his crown.
Reborn's heart thumped at the cute scene in front of him. "Yes."
The hitman was rewarded with a big smile. Tsuna slowly parted his bloody hand from Reborn before stepping back. He was about to look for his removed shirt when he saw it on Fon's arm. He looked at the Storm with gratefulness as his body relaxed from being free of searching for his clothe. As he advanced towards the Chinese demon, he felt himself getting washed off by exhaustion. His body is like a lead, too slow to move because of the heaviness but he persists.
Fon eyed Tsuna's body (not in a lewd way (Reborn will kill him if he did.)). It's his first time seeing Tsuna out of his upper clothe. The human is well-built, even though it slides a bit on the feminine side for he looks petite. He'll be mistaken as a lady if people don't see him as a 'he'. He can say that the child is still injured. There are a lot of bruises and dried blood here and there. But the most prominent is the scars running here and there on the human's body. The brunet did say that he is a delinquent, so it's normal to have scars. But still... To get those at such a young age.
"Thank you." Tsuna expressed as he gently took the garment from the Arcobaleno. "I thought I needed to search for it."
"Good thing I picked it up then." Fon chirped lightly.
The brunet smiled an easy one as he slipped on the shirt and winced as he shivered involuntarily, and the pain on his back stabbed him a little. "I hope I didn't catch a cold."
"You'll warm up eventually." The Chinese demon assures. "I must commend you, Tsunayoshi."
"Eh? Why, Fon?" The young man flustered.
"The circle you made is not only simple and beautiful but it's powerful as Viper had stated." Fon eyed where the vanished circle was. "Even the incantation defines you, Tsunayoshi."
"But you know..." The Chinese demon looked at the human who was facing the sky with a frown. "I hope--"
Fon could only stare at the child after the latter said those things. He was going to say something when the brunet looked away. He held a sigh as he got the silent message.
'Not now.'
"Where to now?" Tsuna asked himself as he cracked his neck for better feeling for his tired body.
"You're going somewhere? You need to be healed, child." Verde said, rejecting the child's idea.
"I need to go." The brunet then yawned, rubbing his eyes as he raised a finger as he started to reason. "I have to report to Headmaster Angelo, see Doctor Furikawa for a short counselling, literally ignore Madam Cara, report to Kyouya of what happened, probably get to infirmary with him as a guard to see to it that I get the proper treatment and log on Hana-chan again cause she'll skin me alive if I don't."
"Well..." Colonnello looked at his sister as he thinks of Hana. "Hana-chan is pretty scary when she's angry. As scary as Lal, I think?"
"Hana-chan will throw a fit if you call her that." Tsuna wearily chuckled.
Lal glared at her brother before taking Colonnello's ear. "Scary? Get ready for a training tomorrow."
"Aw. Lal!" The Rain whined.
Tsuna was about to say something when his world swirled. He blinked his eyes before smiling as the others sided Lal in teasing Colonnello. He was going to join in when he felt himself tip sideways. He would have cracked his head on the ground if no one caught him on time.
"You're exhausted." A baritone voice whispered in his left ear.
Tsuna breathed out heavily. "That I am."
"You need to let go sometimes, Tsuna." The whisper continued as he got picked up.
"But sometimes, I can't. My priorities keep piling up." The young man yawned in his hand.
"Why don't we plan it tomorrow?" The whisper asked.
Tsuna's head lulled on the other's shoulder before nodding weakly. "Sure..."
Reborn smiled a little as he heard Tsuna's evened breathing. "How stubborn can you be?"
"Remind me to tell Colonnello to doze Tsuna a lot of rain aura when he became stubborn like this again." Skull uttered with a fond grin on his lips, eyes looking at the sleeping child with softness.
"You don't mind if I ask him for a contract, do you Reborn?" Viper queried out of the blue, garnering all of their attentions. "No offense Bermuda, Skull."
The two mentioned demons peered at each other and shrugged.
Reborn's eyes narrowed. "I mind, Viper."
"Hmm... I should be asking Tsuna about this. I was just informing you about my plan."
The hitman hissed. "I dare you."
"Okay. Let's calm down guys." Colonnello placated as his aura mildly flooded the meadows. "I was going to ask Tsuna about that, but you got me first Viper. Anyways, let's make him adjust to the feeling that he has a summon now. It won't take him years to adjust before any of us ask him to be one of his contractors. In that way, he won't be overwhelmed."
"Mou. Okay." Viper agreed before walking towards the house first. "I call dibs though."
Reborn remained. He looked down at his human in his arms who is sleeping soundly. He sighed.
"How can I monopolize you if they also want you as theirs too?" The Sun demon lamented.