Brownie: Once in every million years, a fanfiction written by the Brownie and the Fox updates without a huge break between the chapter. That time is now.
Fox: HAHAHAHAH! ANOTHER UPDATE TO PLEASE MY WONDERFUL FOLLOWERS! BEHOLD WORDS THAT CONTAIN MY VERY SOUL IN THEM! ENJOY!
Brownie: Thank you for reading, it's about time we reached chapter 9. Thank you for all of you who reviewed, followed, and favorited, your support mean a lot to me. Look forward to another update, hopefully soon, but no promises.
"Byakuran, running off like that when we're here to visit your father is rude. You know that he loves to see you during these moment."
"Yeah mom."
Byakuran and his mom left hospital together. He had returned his two box animals to their boxes before his mom saw them. That would turn into an interesting conversation. This world was quite interesting. Here, not only were Byakuran's parents alive and well, but Byakuran himself was closer to Tsuna's age. Byakuran looked over at his mother. She was beautiful, almost like a goddess walking the Earth. He got his hair and eyes from her, the bright white coupled with the purple irises. Her skin was pale and unblemished, curves accenting the flattering clothes she was wearing. It wasn't odd to see men shooting lustful looks at her. Underneath her right eye was a birthmark, sort of like an upside down crown.
"After you dad fell down the stairs and his legs broke, my poor hubby hasn't been able to walk. But you know daddy and his quick healing ~"
Yeah, 'quick healing', just like Yamamoto's quick healing before he went to fight the Shimon. Byakuran's dad was a serious guy. He would never let himself fall down stairs, but according to his mom he did it quite often. Byakuran looked down at the ring on his mom's finger. It looked sort of like an orange egg, open wings on either side of it. His dad had a similar one, but the center stone was green. And it all revolved around the secret they were keeping from him until he was old enough.
They hadn't been home for more than 5 minutes when the front door burst open revealing a bald man panting like he had just ran a long way. On his hand glinted a red ring.
"Lilac-sama!" He shouted. He looked like he was going to go on a huge spiel about something but stopped abruptly as his eyes landed on Byakuran lounging on the couch.
"Poinsettia-chan, how nice of you to drop by!" Lilac went right over and pulled him back out the door. "We'll be back in a minute sweetie! Think you can hold down the fort until I get back?"
" 'Course mom!" Once she was gone, Byakuran immediately ran into the kitchen, climbing on the counter so that he could reach the top shelf. Ever since Byakuran had started to eat marshmallows whenever he was even slightly bored or hungry his parents had tried to hide them from him. Try was the key word here. Byakuran could smell marshmallows from miles away.
Now that he was alone, he reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace. Hanging from it was a ring exactly like his mom's. He slipped it onto his finger, where it felt right. But if his mom ever saw it, the questions that he would get wouldn't be worth the comfort that it brought. He took it off and slipped it underneath his shirt again. He was here for a reason: to watch Tsu-chan's back. There's all sorts of trouble the kid could get into here. Mafia was a dangerous game.
Speaking of which, Byakuran moved to the window, opening it just enough that he could hear his mom and Poinsettia talking.
"What were you thinking, bursting in like that? What if you hadn't noticed Byakuran before you blurted something out?"
"I'm sorry, but Briar is being attacked at the hospital. With his legs broken,-"
"My husband can still take perfectly good care of himself long enough for you to be more careful. You know that I don't want Byakuran to find out about the mafia until he's ready."
"Why? He's the heir, shouldn't he have started his training by now?"
"I want my little boy to grow up with a normal life, the one that I never got the chance to have."
"The boy has private tutors and lives in a house that could be considered a mansion."
"Shhh, Bossu knows best. Now c'mon, might as well watch Briar kick some butt."
-0-
"Who is this kid? And that guy who's attacked me earlier?" Ieyasu looked down at boy who had shown up earlier today. He was out cold. The boy was probably annoying, like just about everybody else in Ieyasu's life… but he had risked his life to keep him safe, and Ieyasu supposed he could respect that. After all, he did have some level of respect for Gokudera and Yamamoto. The problem was that Gokudera was annoying as hell and Yamamoto was a bit too carefree for Ieyasu's liking. But he could put up with the two of them.
"He's on our side, and the man with the long hair works for the Vongola." Dino explained, leaning against the wall, the gentle *beeps* of the heart monitor goeding at a steady, even pace in the background.
"That seems a bit backwards." Ieyasu commented. "Who does that guy think he is then, attacking the Vongola Decimo."
"Technically, you aren't the Vongola Decimo yet." Reborn corrected.
"WHAT?! Then why are you here?!" Ieyasu looked at Reborn in disbelief.
"I'm training you to be Decimo, but there are others who can claim a right to the title. The box that this boy had has valuable rings inside. They're called the half Vongola rings. They have a long history of bloodshed behind them."
"And now that Long-haired guy has them." Ieyasu crossed his arms. They should be his. They belong to him.
"Hey, don't worry, look what I got." Dino pulled a box for his jacket that looked exactly like the one that the long-haired man had taken. "That's why I'm here. Someone asked me to pick this up today and give it to you."
Ieyasu snatched it out of Dino's hand and looked at the rings inside.
"Are they really pricey and expressive or something?" It sure looked like the gemstones were real, and they glittered in the hospital's lighting. Ieyasu closed the box and left without another word to Reborn and Dino. He had things to think about. Things like maybe finding better subordinates. Somebody who could defeat that long-haired guy that had attacked.
-0-
After a long walk to help collect himself, Tsuna finally headed back to the house. Hanging outside were several outfits drying. In the door was a pair of well-used, muddy boots. Turning the corner, Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta were sitting and drinking out of sake bottles. Fuuta looked like he was trying to drown himself in the alcohol. Tsuna quickly snatched them away from the kids. A strange, mixture of feelings bubbled around in his chest, the feelings and thoughts that always came with his dad.
For a moment, he just stood in the doorway, watching his dad sleep there. It was strange, seeing him with that dumb look on his face, mumbling 'Nana' in his sleep. He seemed so useless, harmless even. And all this time he was part of the mafia. It had seemed so impossible and unbelievable to Tsuna when he had first found out. But Iemitsu had proven himself to be a formidable opponent. Definitely not a man to be reckoned with.
"So it's started." Tsuna knelt down. "The battle for the rings, choosing who is to be the next boss."
"And I'm not in the running." Tsuna's hands clenched into fists.
"Why? Was I not good enough? Just because I'm not strong or powerful or know how to stand up for myself right now doesn't mean that I couldn't learn how to be. I could be so much more if I got the chance. I know that, I've seen the proof from where I come from, where I have everything I could ever dream of and I'm happy." Tsuna didn't raise his voice above a whisper in case a certain arcobaleno was nearby but power burned behind the words.
Tsuna… Reru didn't know what to say. Tsuna had been to a world where he meant something. That was a world Reru could only dream of. A world that Reru wanted to see, if only just to make sure that it was real. But instead of asking about it, Reru went for a slightly safer subject. Could you tell me more about that kid who's at the hospital?
"Maybe during training. In fact, why don't we start training right now? I've got nothing else to do this evening." With that, Tsuna left his dad to enjoy some nice, 'restful' sleep of his own. Which currently translates to watching Reru fail at doing physical activities. To give the kid some credit, he was getting better. It was getting to the point that Reru could do things without having to be in DWM all the time. He had yet to achieve a good HDWM, but it couldn't be too long from now.
While Reru tried to swim across rapid waters Tsuna started to go into Basil, the nice apprentice of their dad, one of few people able to reach Hyper Dying Will Mode. In Tsuna's world, he was currently the head of the CEDEF (Tsuna told Reru he'd explain what it that was at a later date) and a man that Tsuna was able to trust with his life. After that Tsuna had to dive in a keep Reru from drowning. Just as Reru was on solid ground and catching his breath, a white-haired mafia boss appeared in a burst of flames.
"Tsu-chans!"
"Oh, Byakuran, what are you doing here?" Tsuna was used to Byakuran's little visits by now. It wasn't rare for him to stop by and watch their little training routines. He seemed to find them to be a good source of entertainment.
"Just thought I'd pop in and make sure you don't 'train' Tsuna2 too much. For all I know his soul could die or something. Or it could be comepletely fine. I don't really know much about this. You're test #2 and I'm just proud that you're not like Ghost. He made a good weapon though." Tsuna snorted at that.
"Yeah, I would've preferred to go without that whole Back to the Future thing." Reru watched the banter between the two friends. As usual, he felt left out of the conversation, but it had stopped bothering him long ago. He sort of spaced out for a while, enjoying the break from the Spartan training he usually went through.
"Hey, Reru, why don't you try Tsu-chan's ring on." Byakuran nudged Reru, jolting him back to reality.
"Y-you mean the V-vongola r-ring?" Reru silently cursed himself. Tsuna tried to fix his stuttering since their 3rd meeting and they had thought it was gone. Apparently not when he was nervous/surprised, when it counted. "Isn't that i-important?"
"I don't mind, go ahead and try it on." Tsuna slipped the ring off his finger and tossed it over to himself. It hit Reru on the forehead before falling into his lap. Reru looked at the two Mafioso's in front of him, both so confident and sure of themselves. And these two powerful people had been nicer to him that most people in his life. The world they come from must be wonderful…
The ring was a perfect fit, not too lose but not too tight either. It was technically two rings, connected to each other with a chain. The larger of the two had a blue stone set in the middle, and X across it with Vongola carved into the metal. Above the gem looked was what looked like a little lion wearing a visor, mouth open wide. Reru ran his thumb across it. Never in his life had he thought he would wear such a priceless ring. Tsuna had never taken it off until today.
"You know what, I think it's about time I taught you about the Flames of the Sky." Tsuna declared. "Don't worry, this lesson won't include any bodily harm to you. You've seen my rings, right?" Tsuna splayed out his fingers for Reru to see. "There are about 17 different flames, but we're going to focus on only 7 of them. The red flame is called the Storm Flame and its most known for its disintegration property that allows it to break things down." The red ring burst into flame, soon followed by the yellow one.
"The Sun flames have the ability called Activation, which is usually used for strengthening and healing people. The green Lightning flame's ability is Hardening and is useful for defense. Rain flames and blue with the Tranquility trait for stillness and pacification. Mist flames are indigo have the Construction trait, used to make illusion like the ones Mukuro and I used a while ago. The purple Cloud flames are known for their Propagation trait of increase and replication."
By now, all of the rings on Tsuna's hands were lit.
"But the rarest flame, the one that rules over all the others is the Sky flame. It's color is orange with the Harmonizing trait. It's the one that burns on your head when you're in Dying Will Mode. Now, think about the things you love, the things you're willing to die for. What are the things that matter most to the Sawada Tsunayoshi of this world? From there, you focus them into a flame on your ring, I know you can do it."
Reru looked down at the ring. What did matter most to him? Well, there was Nana, always working so hard when father's paycheck wasn't enough for them to get by, what with all of Ieyasu's extra-curricular activities and Reru's hospital bills after bullying goes a bit too far. She still found time to smile for him. I-pin, Lambo and Fuuta were so young and sweet, poor kids surviving in a mafia world. Reru hadn't interacted with them personally, but he found himself loving them, wanting to protect them from harm. Yamamoto was so nice, actually acknowledging Reru instead of just brushing him off or teasing him.
Reru felt something burning inside his chest, a deep and comforting warmth as he thought about what he was willing for these people. He was willing to die if it meant keeping them safe. He pushed the warmth into the ring on his finger almost effortlessly, resulting in a small but bright orange flame flickering to life. It looked like the slightest puff of air and it would go out. Which was exactly what it did once the clapping startled Reru out of his concentration.
"Fantastic, really amazing." Byakuran was clapping enthusiastically. A wreath appeared around Reru's head and immediately he took it off to see what it looked like. "Holly, it represents hope. Apparently there's still some hope that you can become a decent Decimo."
"Thanks?" Sounded sort of like one of those back-handed compliments. Reru looked back down at the ring, lighting up the small flame again. Subconsciously, he could hear Tsuna and Byakuran talking avidly about their own flames, a large one burning on Byakuran's ring but most of his focus was on his own thoughts. Like usual, they strayed to his look-a-like. Tsuna was so cheerful and likeable. It was no wonder he was the boss of a mafia. By the sound of it, he had so many friends that trusted and supported him.
All I want… is to see that world.
The feeble flame suddenly burst into a raging inferno. Reru screamed out and Byakuran was at his side in a moment, his own flames burning bright and fierce. Tsuna looked like he wanted to join in, but without his ring he wouldn't be much help. Reru's flames viciously attacked Byakuran, keeping him occupied for a minute. The rouge flames steadily grew brighter until it was blinding. Tsuna and Byakuran were forced to shield their eyes. When they could see again the flames were gone along with Reru and the Vongola Sky Ring.
-0-
Tsuna wasn't the only one who was less than pleased with the return of their dad. Ieyasu had been tempted to kick the useless man where he lay, and would've if it hadn't been for Reborn sitting on his head. While kicking his dad would've been satisfactory, it wouldn't have been worth the pain. Instead he had grabbed some leftovers from the fridge. Reborn didn't seem in the mood for training tonight, which was more than a little bit suspicious, but Ieyasu would enjoy the break while it was there. For the first time in what felt like ages he actually went to bed feeling pretty good.
He was woken from the blissful sleep by Iemitsu bursting into his room, fishing pole in hand.
"Want to go catch breakfast?"
"DAD, GET OUT OF MY ROOM! I HAVE SCHOOL TODAY!" Ieyasu threw a book at his father, which missed Iemitsu completely but it made his point.
"Okay, Daddy will see you later." That was such a stupid smile. Surely it would haunt his dreams for the next few hours he managed to get sleep. When he woke up next, it was to see that idiotic cow kid in front of his window, going up down. By the sound of it, he was being thrown by his dad. He considered going down there to see his dad, but then desided that the 'better' course of action was to close the blinds. In the room next to him he could here Tsuna panicking, probably because he saw a spider or something. What a wimp.
Ieyasu frowned a bit as he felt something bounce against his chest as he moved. Sitting up, he found one of the Half-Vongola Rings hanging from a chain around his neck. He lifted it up and looked at it. The stone looked like it had shattered, maybe part of its supposed blood-filled history that had been hinted at. Even with almost no light in the room, the dimmest of lights caught on the ring, making it shine like it was filled with the sky itself. Ieyasu blinked at the thought, shaking his head. He wasn't the poetic type; where had that come from? Anyway, it was time for breakfast. Since dad was here, at least it guaranteed good meals.
Sitting at the table already was Reborn, which sparked something. Ieyasu stalked over to the baby hitman.
"Reborn, were you the one that put this around my neck?" Ieyasu demanded, pointing at the necklace. As much as he liked owning expensive things, he didn't enjoy the idea that the little creep had snuck into his room last night.
"You didn't hear anything from him?" Reborn looked at Ieyasu, head cocked slightly to the side.
"Him who? Anyway, why would somebody put it on me in the first place?"
"The Vongola ring is the proof of the next boss of the Vongola." Ieyasu would have said something, but at that moment Tsuna came tumbling down the stairs, looking panicked and glancing everywhere, as if the world was suddenly much more scary than it had been yesterday. Definitely a spider then, probably lost track of it. Ieyasu scoffed at that. Didn't Tsuna know that nightmare's weren't real by now?
"Would you look at you, scared of your own shadow. Well, I'm heading to school, don't want to catch your clumsiness or something." Ieyasu threw he school bad over his shoulder and sneered at Tsuna, grabbing a cinnamon bun off the counter. Yet Tsuna didn't seem to really care, being as out of it as he was. Strange, usually he at least whimpered pitifully at his threats. Oh well, it wasn't Tsuna was a person who actually mattered.