A/N:
@michiko-chan27: Ah. I was thinking of a contract with Wrath. But it can't be. Tsuna is exclusively for Arcobaleno only. Nah. Tsuna will be alright. They'll appreciate Tsuna once he and the rest of Arcobaleno share memories. Wrath will appear on the next chapter. Hahaha. Sorry. Oh, and sure. No prob. Thanks for the review too!
@acertainpasserby: I just thought that Tsuna needs Hana and Kyouya for emotional support since they know Namimori that well. And Tsuna grew up without human friends, so he'll really keep things to himself. Aw man. Good luck rereading the whole book. It's pretty long. And no prob. I don't want to abandon the story. It feels wrong if I do. I also want it to be an inspiration for the other authors so they can finish theirs. That even if the plot thickens or they get a road block, they shouldn't stop writing their books because there are a lot of readers that are waiting for them to update. Little Miss Bunny will update soon (I think?). She did say she's trying to grasp KHR again. So yeah. Also thank you!
Thanks for all the reviews. So here's the last chapter of the week. Just a little break before the storm hits. The brewing problem is approaching indeed.
Anyway, off you go. Onwards.
Chapter Forty-Seven
When Reborn stepped inside the familiar room, he can't help himself from looking around while remembering the last time he was there. That last time he saw Tsuna before the latter departed for his hometown with Viper.
Speaking of his human, he stared at the young man who was reading away his mind while sitting on the chair in front of the table and his book. The brunet could've fooled him if he didn't notice the dazed gaze. Pretty much seeing a memory. Good thing Reborn already gave the others some heads up about being blocked away. And since he and Tsuna already know each other that well, they don't need to block anything.
Walking for the cabinet where the Sky's rations were, he took some snack bars and a bottle of water. Dragging a chair as he strode back to Tsuna, he sat near the latter and waited. As he waited, he stared at his love's profile. He noted the longer hair, the stronger build and the calm aura. It was probably because of Hibari and Hana that the Sky was a lot okay now.
He was out for a hit mission when it happened. Fon told him the story when he got back. To say the Storm was in pain for seeing his summoner beat himself for something he didn't do was probably an understatement (especially when the said Storm isn't someone who worries a lot). Of course Reborn knew that. He knew Tsuna couldn't forgive himself because he thought he was the one who caused his grandfather's death, arriving it as a whole because Pride was there for him. The problem now was the fact that the others think that its their fault for persisting that much to become the Sky's weathers. They didn't know that it's the insecurities because they don't know what it feels to be weak. They are demons, for Pete's sake. They are proud.
Reborn got out of his musing when he saw tears starting to flow from the summoner's eyes. Brown eyes were moving from left to right, like he was looking for something. He noted how the Sky suddenly leaned back and gave out a pained sob.
"Who was it this time?" Reborn asked softly.
"S-Skull." Tsuna hiccuped, trying to wipe the tears on his cheeks. "God."
"Do you want to share me what happened?"
The brunet sobbed while contemplating before opening his mouth. "His son died with his wife." This alarmed Reborn. "He met a human lady. They fell in love, got married and had a son. The problem was there's this man who was crazy on the lady. One day, he killed the whole family, and since Skull is a demon, he survived."
"What did he do to that man?"
"You killed the man." Tsuna answered, a sadistic smile forming on his lips. "The date his family died was the time he kept following you around. When you saw him dumped and burned with his demon blood all over his body, you asked who did that to him. When he didn't answer, you hauled him in the human world and searched for the man. And then Skull pointed to you who it was because your energy was contagious. Let's just say you put holes on the man's body and left the soul to someone else to eat."
"Huh." Reborn blurted, a little surprised. "Am I that nice?"
"You always were." The brunet replied while taking a snack bar and opening it. "Here."
"I can open one for myself." The hitman informed as he takes the food.
"I know. Just giving you more access." Then he smiled. "How was Viper?"
"After your surprise attack? He went hiding."
Reborn smirked when Tsuna laughed.
After the Sky and Mist shared their memories, the brunet entered Fiant to visit Viper. The esper was really surprised, especially when the young man cried his heart out over the memories he saw the moment his Mist appeared. Viper had to pick Tsuna off the floor and went to his room to calm the child down. They stayed there for a day, and Tsuna went out refreshed the next morning. The human won't tell them what happened, but only warned them to be very quiet because his second summon was sleeping. They heed and told Reborn to watch out for Tsuna in case of something like that happened. (Just how the heck Tsuna got the direction of the house right without getting lost is still a mystery-- Wait. Is that even a mystery?)
Ever since the hitman apologized, he saw the improvement in their relationship. They could talk about a lot of things like the old times. It was probably because Tsuna doesn't feel insecure and exposed even though they could feel each others' feelings and know each others' thoughts. He was even warned about the dreams occurring at a minimum time. They don't block each other anymore, and Reborn has more access on Tsuna's mind than the others. The brunet doesn't know why too, but in a way, it's good so he can't hide anything from the hitman anymore.
(If only they knew it was because of how strong their feelings were and how their bond got stronger after the barrier between them got broken.)
According to the young man's theory, he thinks that the memory sharing will last from one contractor to another by the time he acquired his next summon. It was theorized after Tsuna realized that their shared memories lasted for four to five months, while Viper lasted for a whole month (which ended the week before). Tsuna calculated that Skull's will take two weeks to complete before he can have Bermuda's. Just thinking about all the memories the Sky will watch for the coming days gives Reborn a headache already.
"Reborn." Tsuna called, eyes blinking in innocence.
"Hmm?" The pertained demon hummed in question.
"Do you, by chance, have a doppleganger or something?" Reborn stared at the brunet who fidgeted a little under his gaze. "I mean just the same eye color, same hair color and same face?"
"Where did you get this from?" The hitman asked, slowly getting dejected as theories formed in his mind. Darn. He should've invited Fon on destroying that face five millennia ago.
"When Nezu-sensei discussed the Seven Sins, I kinda glared at Pride's description since they're awfully and offensively familiar. Then when I met him personally, he sort of looked like someone. And now that I stared at you, you... Look... Like him?"
Reborn sighed.
"Hey hey." The brunet called while facing and scooting towards him. "No need to get offended."
"You're not even the first one to point it out. Giotto de Vongola asked me about it, and Viper laughed his ass off because he also got the gist of our similarities. Anyway, Pride is a mist, aye?" He glared at the kid who snorted. "What?!"
"Nothing. You just won't pass as a pirate." The human snickered, a hand on the table and trying to regain his composure. "Wait. I need to let this out." Then he started to laugh more.
Reborn can't help himself from smiling at the other's antics. "You're such a dork."
"You love this dork." Tsuna pointed out while blinking away the tears of laughter. "Okay. Go on."
"So yeah. If Skull is twenty-something millennia years old, I'm around twelve millennia while Pride is ten. That Sin was pretty powerful at that time because he was a newbie and he doesn't know how to control his mist yet. Wanting to have some good looks, he took my face since we had a little scuffle once when he was still a demon."
"In other words, you're the original."
Reborn snarled. "I should've let Fon destroy that face of his. Even the others said I did the imitation. Excuse me. I never imitate low lives."
"I can attest to that." The brunet grinned. "Don't worry. I believe you. He didn't even rock your looks. If you were the one terrorizing me in Namimori, I would've trembled. I mean you're terrifying by just being expressionless, what of it if you smirked or just scowling?"
An elegant brow was raised. "So you think I look scary when I smirk?"
"There are variety of your smirks." Tsuna tutted, momentarily wiggling his index finger left to right, twice, in front of the hitman. "When you want to look really dangerous, you smirk. When you find something entertaining whether worth your attention or just morbid, you smirk. And when you're happy, you smirk. When you're royally pissed, you smirk. And I love the way your lip quirk up. You look absolutely good."
"Not gorgeous?"
Tsuna hummed staring at him with squinted eyes and was about to open his mouth for a retort when his eyes caught something. "Your sideburns are cute."
The hitman cupped the side of his face, covering the said sideburns. "Don't stare at them."
"No. I mean they're really cute." The brunet appealed, catching the other's hands and tried to pry them off. "Let me see them. I like how curly they are."
"You aren't going to tease me about them, are you?" The demon questioned, eyes narrowing in suspicions.
"Come on. I said they're cute. Why would I tease you about them even?" The young man argued. He successfully pulled the hands off and stared at them in awe. "Damn. They give a nice look on you. I don't think Pride knew these sideburns are your assets."
Reborn only stared at the brunet.
"Can I touch them?"
Reborn wordlessly nodded, still surprised.
The hitman held his breath when Tsuna moved closer. The latter put a knee between his legs to rest on the seat as a balance, making the demon back away a little and sit straighter. A hand on the rest of the chair, the brunet inclined his head to the right and started to trace the curly sideburn. Reborn shuddered when a finger uncurled the hair and let it go, only to sprung back to its place. It took every ooze of his will to stop himself from purring.
Is Tsuna even aware how intimate they look?! He's driving Reborn crazy!
Meanwhile, the brunet watched the hitman's reaction at his peripheral. He bit back a smile when the Sun stilled as he traced the same thin curly sideburn again. He saw the miniscule move to lean towards his finger, the small, almost inaudible, purr and the way those eyes flutter a little. Unable to stop himself, he hugged the hitman so tight out of urges. He gave a small squeal that took Reborn by surprise.
"You're too adorable!" He squeaked.
Reborn laughed. "I'm not gorgeous?"
"Cute and gorgeous!" Tsuna pulled back and stood in front of the hitman. "Nope. Pride only has the face. He doesn't have the sideburns nor your cuteness and handsomeness."
"Thank you." The demon expressed sincerely, heart leaping several time at the praises.
The brunet sat on his previous seat and passed Reborn another snack bar. The other took it with a nod before opening it. Unaware of the inquisitive eyes that were watching him, he ate the food with occasional glance around the room. The atmosphere between the two of them, summoner Sky and contractor Sun, was very pleasant.
Old times.
"Na Reborn." The brunet called, contemplative with a serious face on.
"Yes, Tsuna?" He questioned.
"Can you teach me how to use a gun?" Onyx eyes jerked towards the young man's eyes, asking for explanation. "I'm on training as a hunter. I managed to skip the reading parts, so I'm all out on physical things. I might be a little passing on the combat, but I don't know about weapons. I can go for spears and swords since I use them sometimes to fight Kyouya. I mean tonfas and fists don't mix well. I'll be a dead beat before I can even land a hit on him."
"So a gun?"
"Probably knives too. Anything that can add on my skill set and won't make me look bad." A cunning smile graced the human's lips. "I have a reputation to uphold, you know."
A smirk made its way to the hitman's face. "Alright. We can arrange that. But you have to keep in mind that if I teach you, I'll have to be pretty strict and I give punishments."
"I'm ready. As long as its not detention in one of your rooms."
"And Colonnello and Lal will probably wrestle with me to teach you too. Along with Fon. I don't know about the others, but I know they'll find a way to help you."
Tsuna waved off as he opened a water bottle. "I'll be ready."
"You better be."
When Kensuke Mochida entered Saint Academy, he really didn't know what to think as he stared at one Kyouya Hibari walking side by side with one Tsunayoshi Sawada. Both looked ragged up, but the latter had this big smile on his face while talking to the former. Hibari wasn't the social type. Really. And he should be beating Sawada for standing beside him or crowding, but nope. They're walking and going their way.
He faced front, waiting for his time to be called up for the aura test. He already knew his aura. It's storm. All the academy needs to do was determine his aura and he's good to enter. When his name called up, and presented his arm on the machine, he couldn't help himself from jawdropping when the machine said he's a cloud. What the-
"You should get those students come back again, Doctor Furikawa." A soft voice said from behind him. Kensuke looked back to see Sawada talking with the doctor. "That machine is fucked up."
"Language, Omnivore." Hibari chided.
"What? The word describes it nicely. It's also pretty much the reason why I was called colorless when I'm definitely a sky." The brunet scowled before giving the machine a strong kick on the side. "Should've trashed this years ago."
"That's school property. I'll bite you to death if you destroy it." The skylark threatened.
The man overseeing the machine sighed, almost fond, before turning to him. "What's your aura, young man?"
"Storm." He answered.
"Oh. What do you know." Sawada exclaimed as he slapped the machine and pointed at the monitor that flashed 'STORM' on its screen. "My kick worked."
"Should I even praise you for that?" The man jested, earning a snort from the brunet.
"Nah. It's a payment for letting Skull get away when you caught him. Anyway, we're going. Need to clean these injuries before Hana-chan sees them."
Mochida almost choked before denying the thought that plagued his mind. 'No way it's Hana Kurokawa!'
"Too late." A female voice clipped.
"Crap. Run Kyouya!" Sawada shouted and went for a comically slow-mo running, only to get hit by a tonfa on the head and tripped by a familiar noirette.
"Take him, Hibari. I'm gonna dump a lot of alcohol on you two." Hana freaking Kurokawa ordered.
Hibari took Sawada's wrist and started to drag him even if he's still on the floor.
"Wait. This is dragging! And no! I don't want to take a bath in that liquid! It stings like a bee!" The brunet protested as they walked away from them.
"Are they always like that?" Kensuke asked to no one.
The man smiled wryly. "More or less."
He proceeded to go on.
The next time he saw Sawada was in a hunter class. The latter was being subjected by the guidance, Madam Cara Krutuv, in a heavy scolding. But instead of being chastised, the delinquent only stared at the teacher with his expressionless face. It was not a surprise for him since Sawada never respected elders in Namimori, except for a few. Like his grandfather Ietsuna.
Accordingly, the last time he saw the other in Namimori was at the late Ietsuna Sawada's funeral. He remembered how he shuddered while watching Tsunayoshi just sit by the side, eyes dull and expression void. It's like he was the one who died. The brunet never greeted the guests from the Namimori, only stood up when the World Society guardians entered the room.
He can still remember how the brunet fought demons that were attacking the town. How he looked so ready and as if the assaults were nothing new to him. He swore he heard the Sawada counting every demons he defeated. Then the next thing he knew, he was standing in a clearing, five towns away from Namimori. Of how did that happen, he doesn't know.
But he knew now that Sawada was the reason why he chose to be a hunter instead of a summoner.
"Get back here, Tsunayoshi!" Kensuke snapped out of his stupor and looked at the scene at the front of the room. "I am not done talking to you, young man!" Madam Cara yelled, angry at the brunet who was walking for the door.
"I'll come back when you're ready to teach me something useful, instead of nagging at me with the intention of tearing my ears off." Brown eyes held offense when Sawada looked back. "I'm here to learn as a hunter, not as a perfect student you want me to be. News flash, Madam Cara, all your favorite perfect students die first before I do. Go coddle more bullies, I won't guarantee their safety to any demon they piss off."
And the door closed with a bang.
Kensuke almost gave up when he saw the brunet by the next few days in a physical class. Though Mochida was certain that Sawada was there to learn, he looked like in daze though. It took him initiative to pull the brunet out of the way when the latter suddenly stopped in the middle of the obstacle course. To say that the delinquent was any good after that was pretty much an overestimation.
"Thanks." Sawada expressed, blinking away his trance. "Good thing you took me out, I almost died the last time."
"What the heck is happening to you anyway?" He can't help asking.
"I'm in the middle of relieving memories of my demons." The brunet gave a grin. "No need to worry, Mochida-sempai. Just pull me out of the way any time you have."
"Fine fine." He agreed grumpily, not asking how the heck can the brunet see his demons' memories.
It actually happened a lot. Kensuke took it upon himself to keep the brunet from tripping or running over anything whenever he entered a trance with a faraway look on his face. Mochida will direct him to a right place, right lane, out of the way and just plain staying beside him to avoid anymore stupid accidents.
There are more times that some students will target the brunet. And it didn't really end up well. One time, this Frank, with his colleagues, yanked Sawada's collar and was spouting nonsense about payback time and somethings. When this Frank was about to pull a punch, the brunet went out of his trance and decked them so bad they had to stay in the clinic for a week. (It was stupid, really. He could've just punched Sawada in the face before spouting nonsense, in that way he'll have a good revenge. Oh well.)
Then when Hibari remembered that he came from Namimori, he become an impromptu hazard keeper because apparently, Tsunayoshi was also notorious in the academy on hunting bullies and giving them lifetime worth of injuries. The last time he had those wounds, he swore to never continue his bad life because Sawada was that terrifying.
However, he really didn't want to leave the brunet alone. Being subjected of those rare smiles and laughters was flattering. He knew he's as straight as a rod, but Tsunayoshi Sawada is like an angel with how he smiles. Even if he only did was keep the brunet from tripping, he gets a 'nice job' and a smile. The brunet is so different from the Tsuna he knew from elementary to middle school and the now he's talking with in Saint Academy. What's more to preen was the fact that there are only five people that Tsuna openly smile to. Him, Hana Kurokawa, Kyouya Hibari, Enma Kozato and Prof Nezu Douhachiro. To say he's lucky is subtlety.
"Oi Sawada-" And Kensuke only sighed like any day when he saw the glazed look. "You're really troublesome."
"Thanks." A small voice answered, yet still in trance.
"Yeah yeah." He waved off as he guided the other out of the room, smiling a little. "You're welcome."
"Punishment time." Reborn sang before he cocked his gun.
"Damn." Tsuna cursed before running for his life as the trigger was pulled.
"Oi Reborn kora! Let me have Tsuna already kora!" Colonnello shouted, miffed that he couldn't spend some time with the Sky.
"You had yours the last time, Colonnello. It's my time now." Lal glared at her brother.
"Do you really think this is effective?" Bermuda asked Verde as a shriek was heard accompanied by a lot of curses that sent pleasant shivers down to their spines. "He should really know that those explicit give us plenty of things."
"The others don't want to." Viper chimed in, slurping a good amount of strawberry shake from his tall glass.
Verde snorted. "No wonder some parts are already standing up to salute."
Bermuda and Skull looked at each other before they cracked up.
"Poor Tsuna. He just had to deal with four demons." Skull sympathized as they watched Colonnello wrestle with Reborn. Lal took that as an opportunity to take the brunet away for some intense training.
"Where's Fon anyway?" Bermuda mused, a little amused at the ongoing match.
"On the way home." Viper responded while taking a cookie from the big pile on the basket. "He's on a mission since last night. He's excited to train Tsuna for martial arts once he arrives. Reborn's on the modern style of fighting since he's all around. Colonnello is on the knives and other close weapons, while Lal is helping him with instincts and survival strategies. Well, they are doing their parts on their deals."
"You're done with the memories?" Verde asked on Bermuda who cringed visibly. "I take it that it's hard."
"Yes." The latter answered as he watched Reborn and Colonnello raced for the forest to find the two missing persons in their small tutoring group. "One day cramming."
"What more for Tsuna who has to see six different memories in a span of two months and three weeks?" Skull pitched in.
The three of them, except for Skull, clammed up. What the stuntman said was true. They had their fine share of Tsuna looking like a zombie with all the bags under his eyes, hair messier and energy almost depleted with all the tears he had cried for Viper's, Skull's and Bermuda's pasts. Everytime the brunet finishes someone's past, he'll rush in the Arcobaleno's house and stay with his contractor before going back to the castle. He was always in contact with their mind links. The only one who hadn't have his own stay up fest was Reborn who got out first and finished just in time when he arrived to save the day.
Verde wonders if the brunet will cry for him though. His story was that boring. Eyes wondering around, he glanced at Skull who was leisurely moving some chess pieces as he played with Bermuda. He can't still fathom the sudden changes on the Cloud. At certain point, Skull acted like a child with five minutes span of attention and no care attitude. Then after he suddenly got into a daze the past weeks, he appeared as if he aged, like he looked wiser and more knowledgeable. Even Reborn calls the Cloud with his name and not the nickname 'Lackey' anymore.
Just how old is Skull the Cloud?
"Checkmate." Skull grinned.
"You're really good at this, Skull." Bermuda mused.
"Nah. Tsuna is better. It's like he had these strategies ready in his head all the time." The Cloud humbled before standing up. "I'll go prepare the ingredients we need for dinner. Knowing Tsuna, he'll come rushing in to help with the cooking."
They heard a loud 'boom'.
"I wonder about that." Viper commented, earning laughs from the three other Arcobaleno present.