Lit:
Battle of speech between mentor and his student. Hibari is a decoration.
I love happy-go-lucky and not-so-oblivious Nana. The world needs more people like this housewife.
Summary:
She ended up splitting the table in two. Reborn still didn't give her a glance.
The only noise accompanying them in the quiet hall was the sound of ice spreading followed by the door slamming shut.
By the age of sixteen, the future Vongola Decimo was officially betrothed to Hibari Kyoya, the sole successor of Hibari Clan.
Log:
/un-beta-ed/
"Italic conversation" with [*] at the end is spoken in Italian.
Italic words without any quotation mark is a thought spoken only inside your heart.
Sorry for any grammar mistake!
Play nice!
The Kat Hunts the Hare
Five
Devil's Advocate
If summer was projected as a human being, they obviously would be full of surprise and wonder. They would be a magnetic existence who drawn a lot of people in with their magical but hazy reverie. The endless motion of glorious hope and warm reflection of their dreams―existed along with the contrary, of calm but bitter flick of gaze which would penetrate other's brilliance of rainless stubbornness.
They would be someone who loved outdoor activities, seeking the taste of heat from the sun sweeping over their skin. They must have been in love with ocean and sky and the wonder of blue. A dreamy melancholic being who moderately wondered what love meant or how to fall into one in the middle of weird scorching but already fluttering sentiment within―they were confused but they would blazingly unfold the mystery. They were a cheerful but careful youth who seek excitement in everything they did.
As Tsuna propped her head in one hand, she wondered and recollected the memory of her summer this year―which majority was spent on training in Japan's mountain with Reborn and planning of Vongola HQ's destruction for acting stupid in the name of her behalf. Moreover, Tsuna had dreamed to spend her summer break with her mother, the kids and her friends. Those plans had turned to ashes in one morning when she woke up inside a private plan along with her guardians―minus Lambo and with Reborn who smirked his ass off in victory.
The feeling of summer in her hometown and Italy were entirely different and Tsuna had quite a hard time to cooperate with the heat in Europe.
Summer in Japan was a ripple of ocean waves and crickets. It crowded the mind like a night festival and washed over the soul like a clammy rain. To her, summer in Japan tasted cool exactly like ice cream, felt like sweat and sunshine and it smelled like freshly washed laundry and smoky street food.
The end of August was drawing near, she noted the trees as she flew over in a helicopter. She could already imagine the earthy classic of musky sweet smell of the upcoming autumn. The tingling feels on the tip of her fingers as she touched the window was electrocuting, swiftly taking out a brief remembrance she held dear of her childhood. The memory she thought she had forgotten long ago. A memory of when she was five years old, hiding behind her mother's legs as she shyly greeted the old grandpa who sweetly tried to catch her attention at every chance he could muster―the one who sealed the power inside of her as not to pull any danger unconsciously.
She met Timoteo when it was summer and his personality matched exactly like how Tsuna described a summer would be if it was alive. Her mother too, a bubbly woman who was always standing strong amidst the things came her way―another depiction for summer as a brash young girl. Her father, the stupid advisor of CEDEF―Tsuna decided to list him as summer too as she saw him as a scorching stiflingly, reckless, hectic, (absolutely) annoying and loud, very loud even.
What about Reborn, then? Tsuna thought. Well, his flame was sun itself and he was a persistent man, Tsuna contemplated on her mind. Rather than winter or autumn in which his cold and fierce demeanor radiated, Reborn was like the mid-day sun who wanted to kill people outside just by emitting its light. A cold moonlit from heavy cry of expectations, Tsuna drew Reborn as such. A man who had many responsibilities, both swallowing and manifesting it on others and himself―always doing everything alone and he preferred it that way. The lone wolf who shone brighter when there were people he could and should protect underneath his wings.
Tsuna's mouth opened in realization of her main house was filled mostly by a summer type of people. She quietly peeked to her side, to a sturdy posture of her guardian. She watched silently of his sharp gray eyes, strict jaw and white but not pale complexion. She tilted her head in wonder.
The gray orbs of moonstone which seldomly flickering to emotions, the thin line of lips which always showed a confident smirk and the fair skin of a fighter which almost never been tainted with the redness of blood.
What kind of season did Hibari-san reflect as? She marveled heartily, eyes seized him in pure wonder.
"What are you staring at?"
Too taken with her own thinking, she failed to notice that the ignorant man had redirected his attention from his cellphone to her. The sharp gazes narrowed at her silence, taking it as a refusal to speak further.
"Um…" Tsuna started to ease the heavy air, seeing the frown on him had deepened. She bit her lower lip, "I… I was just wondering about summer."
Hibari's gaze went to her bitten lips and swiftly back to stare at her eyes. "Hn."
The usual word of response sounded like approval―or simply he just didn't care what took her interest―but Tsuna caught an inquiry behind. She played with her fingers out of nervousness and chose to elaborate her thought.
"…I was wondering what kind of season Hibari-san is."
His lip was still in the shape of thin line but each side was twitching so slightly and Tsuna clearly missed the spectacle. She bowed her head, weighing the options and the consequences of the next words uttered past her lips.
"And your conclusion?" Hibari asked.
"Um, but… What season does Hibari-san love to spend time in?"
Hibari's scowl made Tsuna sat deeper on her seat, hoping she would be swallowed and disappeared from his eyes. She realized her stupidity which was acting stupid in front of the prefect with answering question with a question.
"Autumn." The sound came tenderly and Tsuna whipped her head to the man who said that. Hibari's hands were folded in front of his chest while his leg draped on another. His gaze focused to his front before turning again to face her, silently telling her to respond to his answer.
"…Oh." Tsuna felt like slapping herself for making the situation more awkward that it had. She settled on pinching her own arm. "I mean, I thought that you like spring."
A warning snarl jolted Tsuna, in which Hibari noticed. He turned to grab a report Kusakabe offered from the front seat. He opened the folder and his eyes were busy scanning the paperwork.
Seeing that the man had chosen to ignore her once again, Tsuna went to face her side of a window again. However, she was halted when Hibari spoke once again.
"I despise cherry blossoms. Therefore I wish spring is a nonexistent time in a year."
Tsuna understood the reason behind and nodded, "So autumn it is. Since the trees will shed their leaves to welcome winter."
She thought autumn was somehow fitted his aloof image quite nicely. Autumn was laced with a cold wind and the night was darker than any other season. Autumn was the peaceful and quiet rustle of the leaf slowly fly to the ground and the brash and loudness of children going out to school and play. Autumn was warm and suave, at the same time cold and detached. Tsuna smiled to herself and started imagining autumn as human which would likely be a child version of Hibari.
She awkwardly chuckled and scratched her cheek with her forefinger. She dwelled with herself and agreed that a conversation with Hibari was bumbling and a bit stuffy, either because his straightforwardness or the image of herself as unworthy herbivore which could provoke his wrath just by breathing quietly. The mature vibe she got from him was not just about his way of act or thinking, but by his presence alone she understood that the man was a loner and respected privacy above any else.
Tsuna turned to her window once again and her eyes clashed with Hibari's reflection on the glass. His brows were furrowed in impatience. Tsuna the felt fear slowly prickling at the back of her neck and she turned her head again quickly―she was sure she heard a crack and the pain of whiplash was numbing her nerve.
Hibari's grip on the folder was slowly waned, if the proof was the crumpled paper where he had gripped was any indication, Tsuna tried to wreck her brain to understand the situation. Did she by any chance forgetting anything or ignoring him? She had answered all the talk offered, she nodded to herself and came to a conclusion. Did Hibari want her to talk about season or something? About school? She clenched her fist determinedly and faced her senior with another determined smile.
"I think autumn fits Hibari-san very well!"
"…."Hibari only stared at her and Tsuna slapped her mouth embarrassedly.
Hibari turned to his paperwork once again and calmly shuffled the papers. "What season do you prefer?"
Tsuna's smile widened as she clasped her hand, "Winter!"
She could already picture the snowballs fight, the sweetness of hot chocolate and delicious hotpot at dinner table. A chuckle resounded and her daydream vanished as she turned to face Hibari. She thought the latter was laughing at her but seeing the strict face, Tsuna threw the thought to the pit of ocean below them. Her daydream must be in too deep for her to hear a hallucination.
Hibari but was contempt with the small talk he shared with the small brunette. She took everything quite seriously and Hibari had a hard time to press down his mischievousness. He tried to busy himself with the pilling up work Kusakabe had sorted nicely for him. The small laugh had once escaped his pursed lips and he was glad the brunette didn't witness it. He flapped the paper and asked a distraction, "By your previous daydream, do you think you are a winter being?"
Tsuna rubbed her chin and thought of his question seriously.
Summer is too bubbly and intense, I prefer lazy Saturday and relaxing Sunday. Spring is calm but I panicked easily. Autumn is so lonely but winter is cold. She shook her head and whined softly at her own indecisiveness.
She then said, "…No. Winter is cold and foggy, too bleak and too white. But snow is fun. I can't picture myself as a winter person either, not even any other season." Tsuna sighed dejectedly. She fiddled with the end of her clothes and eyes wandered nervously to the older man. "What season does Hibari-san think would fit me?"
Hibari stopped his reading and Tsuna flinched.
Will I finally be thrown out of here and die by falling? Cold sweat started to appear and she gulped down the nervousness.
"You would be spring." Hibari suddenly said and resumed his reading, leaving the stunned girl panicking on the inside.
Tsuna watched him for a while and nodded. She was back to gaze at the scenery outside while her mind was reeling on the described season Hibari had offered.
Spring, huh.
She remembered how Hibari said he despised spring, precisely cherry blossom. Being told off quite nicely like that somehow made her heart fluttered slowly, like she had been stabbed and awoken forcefully from the death door. A slight jolt that disillusioned her to a new understanding, in which her guardian might not felt content or safe in her presence at all. He might be uncomfortable and pressed the urge to just bite her to death and left her corpse for a natural decay somewhere haunted. The reason, Tsuna decided, might be his respect to his grandfather or Reborn or Timoteo.
Lots of thoughts swirled impatiently inside her head, making her dizzy but the negative feeling not once dissipated. The thought of Hibari might hate her to that extends left a bitter taste in her mouth. She softly sighed and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Another thought came and took her attention, the one which switched back to the reasoning she got with Shittopī.
What's the reason behind his acceptance to the engagement? Tsuna pondered the benefits he could possible got but found none that would truly turn the affair as profitable. The devil in the form of former arcobaleno and his chameleon crossed her mind and she unwillingly agreed. The mere presence and fighting skill of said demon could lure him out like a grimalkin with catnip. But was it truly worth that much to be tied to a person for their entire life for a chance for battle? Tsuna didn't think that Hibari would like to burden himself with self-abandonment such as arranged marriage. He could choose to neglect the needs his partner needed but it would not fit the way of his heart of seeing and doing things. Hibari was not a fool to let others drag him down even in smallest unimportant matter.
He was one who lived up to his name, of a cloud who drifted alone and protected the family in silence with the unbeatable force he owned―with dominance and the merciless strength he pointed to enemy's neck with his tonfas.
Tsuna undeniably speaking was impressed just by his stance alone. The admirable traits he nonchalantly possessed―of independent, outspokenness and guts―was not carelessly showed without a meaning. He was a man of action but Tsuna wished she could understand him better inside.
She had hoped one day she would marry the man she loved. If not, maybe the man who would frankly mentioned anything he held dear at their evening talk, someone who was open and blunt, someone who was honest and friendly. The world they lived in might not present such luxuries as safety and love but Tsuna always wished and she tenderly asked herself, what would she do if someone was given to her merely just to fulfil her obligation as a leader and woman? Tsuna thought she would not be able to handle those heavy responsibilities, one in many who weighed down her sense of justice. She thought she would have rebelled and made her own rules.
But Tsuna was wrong.
Now that the case came upon her door, she broke down, heavily and alone. She wasn't as strong as she depicted herself. She wanted to cry, to yell at her mother why was her father so stupid and egoistic and why was she born to be a leader of dangerous never ending circle of blood line and why amidst everything given one-sidedly to her, she wasn't given a chance to right herself and chose who she wanted to be with. The burden weighed her down with all the arrangements and the impacts left to follow suit, one after another.
Tsuna agreed how bad it was to be paired with one motionless human named Hibari Kyoya. Everyday might be full of silence like a mourning she held over a death of friendly neighborhood dog. She would hear the bird singing and the famous killing threat scared her ears every single day. Tsuna shuddered.
She sighed again but not softly this time.
Hibari heard that and some words were halted on his throat, he flicked the paper on his grip softly. "You have drawn a lot of people, like when a cherry tree blossomed. People come and stay, they are crowding you."
Huh? Tsuna shifted in her seat and turned to face him again, confusion marred her face as she tilted it to the side. She cautiously eyed the man and thought he had hit his head when closing the door. She clamped her mouth shut when the question to ask his well-being was nearly spluttered.
"You are like a cherry blossom but you are not fleeting like those flowers were."
Spring, the moment of growth and awakening with garden full of early flowers. Along with them, the intense blue of the scattered clouds made others unable to not to bask in the warmth of sun. Tsuna then felt her cheek reddened in embarrassment. Those words were obviously the longest she had ever heard from the stoic man's lips, but the content of the intention was the heaviest that Tsuna wanted to dive into the ocean to cooldown. The scrambled thought once again was stopped by another statement.
"You are that kind of spring, Sawada Tsunayuki."
Straight away, Tsuna diverted her gaze and nodded her head for an acknowledgment. Her hand went to cover up half of her face. The use of her name had much more impact than she could think of. If Hibari was not a wooden block of a man, she was sure he could be an idol who got womankind on their knees and bowed to worship him like he was a god, openly.
"…Thank you, Hibari-san."
Hibari went back to read the report. "Hn."
A tiny smile formed on his face but Tsuna was too busy to cover her red face to notice it―again.
Tsuna took back the controversy she came up about him and thought that maybe it would be nice to get to know him better.
She thought by now she could handle the situation according to her wishes, but she was once again proven wrong with a certain existence of a man suddenly arrived in her life. The moment her home gate was opened, her mother had eyed the black haired man―who was escorting her with a quite long line of another disciple committees―carefully and sensibly.
Nana had greeted them cheerfully, prompting Hibari to glare at his followers to disperse and ease his headache from the upcoming questions from the cheerful mother.
"Oh, my! A very refined gentleman! Who is this, Tsu-chan?" Nana asked with the usual cheerful tone and delightful expression. Tsuna stiffly took a deep breath but felt intimidated both by her mother's gleaming eyes and Hibari's piercing stare.
"Um, t-this is Hibari-san. He is―"
"―Tsuna's boyfriend, Maman."
Tsuna turned around only to have her head grasped with a rough calloused hand and forcefully being turned again to face her mother's excited grin. At that point, Tsuna was scared her mother's face would split because of the big smile. But then she remembered the red code words―which practically half not wrong but not true either. She growled under her breath.
"No! Hibari-san is not―!"
"―Ciaossu." Reborn once again purposely cut her words.
Tsuna retaliated by wiggling her hands wildly, in hope she could accidentally slapped the hitman in the face.
"Nonsense. Look at how short you are." Reborn eyed his student with a smirk and tipped up his fedora, eyes smiling warmly to Nana.
The housewife stared at him with the same polite smile and tilted her head to the side. "Who is this gentleman? He looks a bit alike with Reborn-kun. Talking about him, where is Reborn-kun, Tsu-chan? Didn't all of you have a very nice holiday in Kyoto?"
All the while Tsuna tried to get back at Reborn for sprouting mumbo jumbo―in which she could not take back, no, she did but the sadist turned this into a words play―Reborn kept still of her head, prompting her to stay glued to her spot.
"Oh, pardon me, Ma'am. My name is Renato Sinclair, Reborn-kun's big brother." Tsuna snorted at his explanation and gave up her struggle, letting her hair be messed up with his strong grip, "Reborn-kun is taken back to Italy by our uncle, so he might not come home any soon. I have heard so much about you and how Reborn-kun takes you as his long-lost mother. Perhaps it would do you well to take me as his replacement at the moment?"
Nana hand went to cover her mouth, "Oh my! Is that so! I never knew Reborn-kun held so much special meaning of me." She clapped her hands twice and her smile widened, "Well! Welcome to our small family then, Renato-kun! It must have been such a long journey from Italy. I hope you can treat us as your own family and home. Oh! Dinner will be served soon! Why don't we turn this to welcome party for Hibari-kun and Renato-kun? Oh, my! I'm so excited!"
She jumped and giggled before skipping to the door. She turned to face Tsuna before stepping into the house, she mustered the most serious face Tsuna ever saw and she gulped.
"Tsu-chan."
Tsuna jolted at the call of her name and muttered a weak yes. Nana's stern face turned bright, "You have so much to tell me about you and Hibari-kun! Oh, does Papa know? I must call him!" Nana bolted inside to the kitchen with a phone, her excited clatter could be heard through the house.
Tsuna slapped her forehead in misery and crouched down. She groaned.
"Don't be such a loser, dame-Tsuna." Reborn flicked the back of her head.
Tsuna abruptly stood up and aimed a kick to Reborn, the latter let go of her head and easily stepped aside. Tsuna ended up stomping the floor as she hissed.
"Reborn! What the hell was that! Don't make any misunderstanding with Mom!"
"What? Your marriage is set anyway. What difference would that make?"
Vein popped and Tsuna nearly casted X-Burner to blast Reborn's head before she remembered she had something to discuss with the hitman.
"No, I'm going to annul it myself! More importantly, what do you hide from us, Reborn? Something did happen in Vongola, right? There is no way you would step foot into private matters that would not bring you any benefits."
Reborn's smirk flattened as he put his hands inside his suit's pocket. He stayed silent for a good minute and walked away to the inside.
"I know you better than you thought I do, Reborn. Speak to me. Don't ignore me like a child!"
He stopped on his track at Tsuna's words. He stayed silent, with a glare he pointed at the wooden stairs in front of him. He knew he could not fool the bright child for any longer but what he knew all along, he didn't deem it worthy to be known soon. He realized there was still a loophole that would connected the missing piece, the puzzle they hadn't found yet to complete the proposition. He still needed more time to rethink the means and approach of said problems.
The other of him urged to tell the child of the future she might bear―with all the previous consequences piled up and created a new contravention. She deserved to know, he understood, but the nurturing side of him―in which he never admitted he had strongly for the stupid kid―would never prevent any harm disturbed her nice sleep.
Reborn then casted a glance behind him, seeing how the girl fumed until her face red and the stoic man beside her stared at him like he would eat the hitman alive for a deceit and manipulation. He stared at how the man protectively stood beside her closely, fingers twitching for his tonfas.
People might saw Hibari as a man hunger of bloodlust―Reborn would not deny the facts. Hibari's sharp glint and mocking smirk were a clue for his confidence in winning at every fight, the way Reborn did too at every fight. The facts that they were similar somehow put his mind at ease. He decided that Tsuna didn't need to know that yet. Catching Hibari's heated stare, Reborn returned the same tenacity but he said nothing. Reborn knew better what swirled inside his mind for him to be in such fury.
He chose to keep quiet and went up the stairs to the guest room to sleep, leaving the youngsters alone in front of the house until Nana yelled at them to come inside and be at ease.
Tsuna ran to the second floor, at the room at the end of the hallway. She stood there as if in a daze and took a deep breath. She kicked the door open. Reborn was laid on the bed with hands beneath his head. The light weren't on and the curtain was half pulled, leaving a small space at the edge of the window for the dusk to intrude their space. She walked to stand by the bedside and folded her hands impatiently. Reborn was still unmoving, his breath was even. Others would have thought that he was indeed sleeping but Tsuna had been exposed far too much with his mischievousness to actually be quiet and let the poor man slept―as if he was sleeping, Tsuna snorted in disbelief.
The door closed behind her and she guessed who the perpetrator was, but she didn't turn around. Her gaze hung around Reborn's silent figure.
"Stop pretending. I won't take much nonsense about this marriage or whatsoever."
Reborn didn't move, only breathed slowly as if mocking the situation. Tsuna raised her hands in desperation and turned around, cupping her face and groaned. She flopped down on the study chair and sighed loudly.
"Acting like I am the kid." She mumbled under her breath and shouted, "Well, don't marry off the kids, then!"
Reborn eyes opened as he turned to his side, black orbs which seemed endless bore a hole through her. "This is Ninth's decision. Not even you the future leader will be able to annul it."
The former arcobaleno shifted his legs to a sitting position and once again eyed the man leaning on the closed door.
"Take as sit?" He offered but all he got was a hard stare. "Have it your way then."
The man took off his fedora and put it beside him cautiously.
"Not going to ask me anything now that I have paid you my attention?"
Tsuna snorted, "You know what I want to know."
"I won't talk if you don't ask."
Hibari saw confusion, betrayal and longing in Tsuna's eyes but he kept quiet, watching how his leader's mouth was opened but closed in the next second. The air turned heavy as Tsuna silently watched the wooden floor glistening warmly by the sun.
"…Does my father know?"
Reborn stayed still before nodding his head. Tsuna closed her eyes and turned the chair back to the table. She slumped down on the table, face hidden in the inside of her folded hands and the sprawl of her long hair.
"Tsuna. I know Iemitsu is an ass. No one denied the fact that he is stupid and careless, but we all agreed that he took the right decision."
The table was slammed and the chair she previously sat on stumbled harshly to the floor.
"Don't. I had had enough with that man." She spat out between gritted teeth. Her fists painfully clenched on her side before holding them close to her chest as if praying. The vulnerable girl in front of him was raw in emotion, foreign but familiar and Reborn couldn't help but tear his gaze away from the pained expression on her face.
Looking through the gap of the curtain, Reborn watched the dusk.
"I know but listen first." When he got no foul remark or angry outburst, he deemed it safe to continue. "I was there when you spoke to Ninth―I won't say sorry for eavesdropping. And I agreed with him. You need someone to protect you, Tsuna. It's time for you to stop standing at the front line alone."
And your choice of my future spouse? My own guardian? What makes it different! She replied through her mind and snarled at the ridiculousness.
"Hibari is the best choice we could come up with." The said man raised one of his eyebrows and Reborn gave a halted sign with his hand. "Tsuna, you might not realize it but you never let go of your guardians even if they have a fight of their own. You put your shield up to cover them but you forget to protect yourself from the upcoming attack. Your back had bruised for too many times that even a new scar won't be able to find a clean spot to settle. Your care for them will blind them to far much for them to see things clearly from a different perspective. That is not what you need for a protection. I will gladly tell you again and again of what you need to hear and understand."
"I can protect myself."
"No doubt. But the question is, for how long will you be able to hold on to yourself? Sanity is not a good piece to be played around, Tsuna. It is easier to break than mend. Don't push your luck."
The room turned silent once again.
"Hibari will stand his ground and we believe he will be a good influence for you and your other guardians. The only things we, Vongola, lack is of course a common sense. Well, Hibari does not understand the entire concept but he is realistic enough to understand if some action is so stupid that he might cry if it was done."
Reborn threw a smirk at the prefect as the latter gave the coldest glare he could muster. His hands went to grab his tonfas but his eyes caught the weeping brunette and stopped. He closed his eyes and silently leaned on the door, pretending to be asleep.
Tsuna brooded on the statement and proceeded to sit on the bed's edge. "….It's just not fair." She slumped down again as she held her head between her hands. "Why are you old folks decided things on your own? It's my own life you are trying to mess up! At least tell me all the problems and let me in to the discussion! What's so hard about it…" Her angry voice turned quieter and changed to a mumble by the end of her sentences. Reborn put his hand on top of her head again and softly messed her unruly locks.
"Kiddo. I know you have put the missing puzzles together. I heard about you adventure in Palermo, well not all of them. Just the gist of you having fun and I honestly thought you really need the escape. Aren't I nice to let you off the hook by playing ignorant?"
Tsuna snorted and swatted his hand. Reborn didn't budge but he gave the girl a tender smile―Hibari witnessed the exchange and nearly slammed the door open in shock if not for the fact that he had an image to maintain.
"I'm serious. Put some thought. If you need anything, come and ask. But be patient, Tsuna. Trust us like we trust you with our life. Trust your heart, trust your instinct. At the moment, all is unclear. Give me more time and I will come clean."
"About Vongola and the Alliances?" Reborn's hand stopped on his track. Tsuna peeked up from her position and stared at his eyes. "Shocked that I know? You just said I just had an adventure in Palermo, after all. News travel fast than you could imagine."
"So you know, huh. After all of our efforts to make you stay oblivious while we dig the problem around."
"I deserve to know."
"You do, but not now." Reborn retracted his hand and put them on his lap, stroking Leon's head.
She hit the soft mattress and yelled, "When!"
"When you are mentally ready and you can see things clearly."
"You think too low of me, Reborn."
Reborn arched his eyebrow challengingly, "I never put expectation at all if that person is not worthy. Have I done it so to you?"
"You mock my inability to understand the bigger picture."
"That is your weakness, Tsuna. Understand it then and kill your possessiveness. Stop being a hero and shoulder the entire world's burden. I'm tired of saying this to you. Understand it. Then I will look you in the eyes and treat you like I would to an adult."
Tsuna's eyes glowered between brown and fire ablaze. She turned her head away but Reborn didn't stop at that.
"Everyone needs to surpass their own journey, to learn and to grow. People don't get stronger in one night, Tsuna. You are strong and your famiglia as well. But if you hold them all back, they won't learn their mistake. What you have experienced so far is enough to mature you but it is not enough for them. Their burden is too light for a heavy life they went through. Give them more and grow up together. Then come to me, I will give you all the knowledge this world possesses. I have seen far too much that a kid would cry a pool of blood instead of tears."
Tsuna was moved by a brief desolation Reborn expressed with his wisdom and she contemplated silently. Her answer was not given yet and there were still many loopholes that need to be filled. Her mind reeled to the conversation with Simon. She tried to shut her mind but by his slightly pursed lips, she knew he had seen it.
"Don't venture deeper until you know clearly. Heed my warning, dame-Tsuna."
"The deal was not that dangerous. I simply caught the wind of it."
"It is fatal enough that the bet was you. What―" Reborn's remark was cut off.
"What deal?" Hibari spoke up and Tsuna flinched. She averted her gaze and asked Reborn for help in which the latter was currently on staring competition with said guardian.
"Don't cut my words, brat!"
Hibari scoffed and stared again at Tsuna, eyebrows were twitching impatiently.
"Uh, no biggie. I-I mean, yea, there was a deal between me and some girl and―"
"Straight to the point, Herbivore."
Reborn watched the exchange amusedly. His irritation was still there but seeing Tsuna suffered had somehow eased the vexation.
"…She just heard some bad news regarding Vongola and its Alliance. She said I might be revoked as the next Decimo."
Reborn chuckled, "Who have the courage to oppose the ring itself? The leader is chosen directly by the ring. Not even Ninth will be able to take back your title."
Tsuna stood up and pointed an accusing finger at him, "But you said my authority is below yours and Ninth and that stupid father!"
"You are the future leader, Ninth is the current leader. Get your brain to work. I am your senior and my employer is Ninth and thus I only respected his order and that is to betroth the two of you. And well, that stupid father of yours is the leader of CEDEF and you can say that he is Ninth's left hand. So don't be stupid. If you don't like the hierarchy, hold your authority. Surpass us."
She clicked her tongue and glared at her mentor. "I'm not stupid!"
"You do if after all that talking I put through, your only reply is for the bad-mouthing directed at you."
Tsuna gritted her teeth and turned around.
"Let's go, Hibari-san! Mom must be waiting downstairs. Renato-san needs his hibernation. Let's leave him alone until next year."
Reborn clicked his tongue, "What am I? A bear?"
"Yes! A garrulous black bear!"
Tsuna went out the room with Hibari following behind. He directed a smirk to Reborn before the door closed.
"Cheeky brats."*
"I heard that clearly, stupid bear!"* Tsuna shouted from behind the door.
About:
I know Renato Sinclair is not the official one (right? It hasn't been confirmed yet?) but I love it.
End Log:
Thank you for reading!
THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE REAL BATTLE.
We are venturing deeper into the conflict and that will be on chapter SIX!
Oh my God, finally. I CAN'T WAIT.
Have a nice day! Lots of love and stay safe, world!