Sawada Tsunayoshi. A mage who has been wandering the world for over 500 years had come across many things leaving the world. He wasn't unusual and he got used to it quickly. He no longer felt bad for the creatures, maybe a tiny bit of pity, but never enough to go out of his way to help a random undead.

"He was probably defeated in a dungeon," The mage mumbled under his breath

The undead in front of the brunette was leaving the world fast. In turn, the mage hurried and started a spell, and before he knew it the undead had been revived in a sense.

He was still dead but he looked more human now. But he also wasn't dead anymore. It was confusing.

Many things about this undead had become more alive, including his appearance. He had a working brain and heart. Possibly a stomach, possibly not though. He didn't have lungs though. He didn't necessarily need that anymore since he had gone so long without them. Plus, artificial lungs are very difficult to make.

Other than those organs, the brain and heart, there wasn't any other organ the undead needed. So yes, this guy was still technically dead, but he had his human senses and two, possibly three, vital things. And muscles. Very strong, unused muscles.

Tsuna stood in front of the sleeping undead for a good minute or two. Before deciding to use his magic to carry him to wherever he put his cottage this time. This undead looked far too heavy for him to carry. He was a mage, not a warrior.

Thankfully, the walk back wasn't too long. He even found many herbs that he could use for spells and medicine. Possibly a few poisons too for one of his friends, but that wasn't too important. He gently opened the door and set his basket of herbs on the nearby coffee table in his living room.

For a moment, the mage wondered if he was breaking any laws by reviving an undead to be not as undead.

...

Oh well. If he did, who cares? Probably that high and mighty magic council, but they can honestly fuck off. He didn't mind challenging them every few half-centuries. It's become a tradition at this point. It's to be expected.

Xanxus sure as hell gets a laugh out of it every time. Always saying how 'the old trashes needed to be put in their place,' and that, 'it's their own fucking fault for being so god damn annoying.'

Maybe his cousin did have anger issues. He'll be sure to ask next time they have dinner together with his little crew.

Tsuna slowly lowered the undead onto the bed in the guest room. He made sure to cover him with a blanket while he was at it. He opened his curtains and let the light peek into the room. The undead looked human but still dead at the same time as he lay there on the bed silently.

Tsuna looked at him closely and took notice of the undead's pale skin and pitch-black hair. Not to mention he looked quite strong just as he was handsome. He snapped out of his thoughts and quickly went to the kitchen. He grabbed a pitcher and filled it with some water. The pitcher was put on a tray with an empty cup.

The brunet re-entered the guest room and put the tray on the nightstand next to the bed. He looked at the undead again and hummed, "Probably a powerful hunter when he was alive." Tsuna mumbled under his breath, curiosity filtering through. No normal being can emit power at this high of a level after all.

His thoughts were cut off when the undead began to wake up.

Nearly immediately, the undead sat up with a tense body, "Where?" He said with a rough voice, his defenses were high along with his confusion.

The brunet quickly attempted placating the defensive undead, "You're in my cottage." He responded as politely as possible while being sure not to raise his voice above a certain volume. His sense is most likely overloaded at the moment.

The undead looked at Tsuna, beautiful silver eyes that resembled the moon peered into honey-brown eyes. He went to take a deep breath but nothing happened. So instead, he opted for pursing his lips as he quietly began to let go of some of the tension in his body, "I see, how am I..." he trailed off as he started looking at its hands with confusion

Tsuna smiled gently as he put a hand on the blanket, "Alive?" He finished the sentence for the undead

The undead looked at the mage again and nodded in confirmation. He began to fidget with the blanket subtly.

The brunet brought out a chair using his magic and sat in it, "That would be because of my magic," He explained calmly, a sweet smile gracing his lips as he did so, "Do you remember anything before your death?" He grabbed the pitcher on the nightstand and filled the cup with water.

The undead nodded again as Tsuna handed him some water, which he accepted gratefully, "I remember going into a dungeon with my party members," he spoke slowly, almost unsure.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, "You don't remember being an undead?" He asked curiously.

The other seemed quite surprised at that, "An undead?" His face looked bewildered by the question, "That's not possible."

Tsuna sighed in exhaustion and began to explain, "The short version is that when normal humans die, they leave the world, but when hunters die..." Tsuna trailed as he looked at the undead

The undead raised an eyebrow and huffed impatiently as he urged the mage to continue. He had finished his cup of water and handed it back to the other.

Tsuna gently took the, now empty, glass from the undead's hand, "Well, they don't leave the world quite yet, they become monsters, as most humans call them." His explanation was kept short and simple for the sole reason of not wanting to overload the undead's new-ish brain.

He was shocked at the information, "So you're saying I'm technically still dead?" His disbelief was reasonable, not many could handle the fact that they had become something they once tried to kill.

Tsuna nodded his head hesitantly. He smiled lightly as he thought of the longer and more detailed version of how it works, "In a sense."

The poor undead was in a reasonable state of shock. It's good that he no longer had the cup in his hand, what with the firm grip he had on the blankets over his body.

"Now then," Tsuna began, bringing the undead out of whatever stupor he was in, "My name is Tsunayoshi, it's nice to meet you." The mage introduced himself gently, holding out his hand for the undead.

The other blinked a few times before shaking the brunet's hand, "Ah, yes, my name is Bermuda," The undead, Bermuda, said just as politely, "Thank you for saving me, Tsunayoshi."

The mage wryly smiled at him, "It was merely out of curiosity, Bermuda."

Bermuda smiled at the response, "If you say so Tsunayoshi," His response was full of amusement.

'He's weird,' Tsuna mused to himself. He shook his head and stood up gracefully, "Well, how about you get something to eat." He smiled down at the undead

Bermuda hummed at the suggestion, "Am I able to eat?" He asked curiously, his eyes seeming much more full of life than they were before.

"I have no clue," The mage replied bluntly, "Let's find out."

There was a possibility that Bermuda no longer needed food. He could most likely still eat it, if him being able to drink water said anything, just not need it.

Bermuda nodded and slowly attempted to get up. He began to stumble a bit as soon as he tried.

Tsuna was at his side immediately, "Are you alright?" He asked gently, carefully letting the undead lean on him a bit.

The undead looked down at Tsuna gently, "Thank you, Tsunayoshi." He said softly,

Tsuna stared up at the undead in slight shock as he realized how much taller the other was. He felt his face warm as he took notice of the mirth in Bermuda's silver eyes. He smiled nervously, "You are most likely not used to walking because of-" Before he could finish his explanation someone began to knock on the door violently

He sighed gently as he began to guide the undead to the kitchen, "Why don't you sit down," Tsuna suggested lightheartedly while gesturing to a nearby chair, "I'll see who's here."

Bermuda nodded and sat down, with Tsuna's help. He shifted a bit to get comfortable and watched the brunet from the corner of his eyes as the mage went to the front door.

The mage got to the door quickly. He may have forgotten that it's weird for cottages to appear out of nowhere in the woods. It's not his fault though. He became adjusted to his cousin's weird shit. Which did include moving his fucking castle to random places for the sake of freaking the humans out.

The door opened slowly, almost reluctantly. The mage didn't want to meet the person that oh-so-violently beat on his front door.

"Can I help you?" Tsuna asked as he looked up to see an angry man with black, short hair.

The man glared at the brunet, "Who are you, herbivore?" He asked angrily

What is with Tsuna and finding people with anger issues all the time?

The brunet tilted his head to the right slightly, "I'm a traveler and found this empty cottage with my companion," He responded smoothly, the lie practically rolling off his tongue, "Is there a problem?"

The man huffed and, fortunately, seemed to believe it because he turned away and left abruptly. Rude.

Tsuna closed the door in annoyance and started walking back towards Bermuda, "Humans are so weird." The brunet said in an exasperated tone

Bermuda looked up from the wooden table in worry, "Did something happen?" He asked, though there was a bit of mirth in his eyes at the sight of the tired brunet.

Tsuna looked at him and shook his head, "It's not important," He walked past the table, "Let's see if you can eat first."

Bermuda nodded and pursed his lips again, "How come it's so difficult for me to walk?" He asked quietly, a bit of embarrassed confusion hidden in his tone.

The brunet hummed, "Well, Undeads don't have muscles and now you do," He explained, "Your body just needs to learn how to use them again." He put on his apron and walked behind a counter, slowly looking at his available ingredients.

"I see," Bermuda said slowly, "That makes sense." He stared at Tsuna intently and analyzed the brunet, "Will I have to start going through physical rehabilitation?"

The mage turned to the other to grab a long wooden spoon off of the counter, "Yup! Pretty much!" He smiled and turned away to continue cooking.

Bermuda stared at the mage's back, watching each movement the other was making. To him, it all seemed rather graceful and beautiful. He was still dwindling on the hesitance in Tsuna's answer of whether or not Bermuda was alive or dead.

The mage turned his head around to face Bermuda again, "What are you thinking about?" He asked, curiosity finding its way into his mind again.

"Is there more to what I am now?" Bermuda asked bluntly

Tsuna blanked, "...What?"

Bermuda cleared his throat awkwardly, "Like am I a mix of dead and alive?" He clarified his question from earlier

Tsuna sighed, "Well...technically?" He didn't know the exact words for this one.

"Technically?" Bermuda echoed in confusion

"It's a confusing thing," The brunet turned around and looked at the other, "For example, you don't necessarily breathe but you have a heartbeat." As soon as he said those words he realized that only complicated it further.

"...How?"

"Well..." Tsuna took a deep breath as he wracked his brain, "Basically, your other organs are gone forever?" He attempted to clarify again, "Other organs like that usually disappear after a certain amount of time an undead roams this world," He turned back around, "The ones that stay the longest are the heart and brain."

"How do I have a pulse without oxygen?" Bermuda asked

"As for that part, when someone does a spell of revival, your own mana becomes your blood."

"What if I run out of mana?" Bermuda asked

"Since Mana has become your blood, in a sense, it..." Tsuna paused as he searched for the right word, "regenerates itself."

"That sounds like far too much power though..."

"Well, your weak spot would be your heart and brain since that is where the mana circulates," Tsuna grabbed two bowls, "Not only that, but you can still exhaust your mana, it would just be a much slower process."

Bermuda hummed a bit, "I see," He looked up when heard some movement, "What else is different?"

Tsuna answered this part immediately, "Your sense of humanity." He always loved learning about this topic growing up.

Bermuda blinked, "Sense of humanity?" It was a rather vague term to him.

The brunet nodded, "Yes, it is what makes humans who they are, and it makes monsters who they are." He explained

"So, a moral compass?" Bermuda asked using a term he was familiar with

"I guess you could put it that way," Tsuna began to put the stew he made in the bowls, "A sense of humanity doesn't necessarily have to be someone's morality," He set the bowls on the counter to let them cool down, "A human could be absolutely horrible and still have their sense of humanity."

The mage turned around and moved to sit next to the undead man.

Bermuda blinked as he watched Tsuna sit down, "Then, what differentiates humans from monsters?" He tilted his head slightly as he pondered on it.

"Monsters have absolutely no sense of humanity," Tsuna continued explaining, "They don't have the capacity for attachments," He paused and gauged the other's reaction, "They're like brainless creatures of chaos."

Bermuda was listening intently, "They don't have families or anything?"

"No," The brunet shook his head, "They don't reproduce actually."

A light bulb went off for Bermuda, "Because there is no need to, right?" He looked at the brunet, hope glistening in his eyes

Tsuna smiled, "Correct!"

Bermuda hummed happily, the hope being replaced with a bit of pride, "This conversation was quite helpful, though I'm sure there is more." He could barely stop his small smile from getting bigger

The mage stood up again, "Well, the food is done!" His chair scraped across the floor gently.

Tsuna grabbed both bowls and set them down on the table where both of them were sitting.

The undead man's eyes twinkled in amazement, "It looks great."

"Let's dig in then!"

Bermuda tried picking up his spoon with much difficulty and promptly dropped it back into the bowl.

"Want help?" Tsuna asked, barely hiding his amusement from the other

The undead nodded slowly, clearly embarrassed of his failure to use a spoon of all things.

The mage moved his bowl and spoon next to Bermuda's. He grabbed the other's spoon and began feeding him.

"How does it taste?" Tsuna asked after Bermuda ate a few spoonfuls

The man looked at the brunet in surprise, "It's good,"

The brunette laughed at the comment, "Why are you so shocked? I am a mage you know," He teased lightly, "Knowing how to mix ingredients perfectly is kind of necessary."

"I know, I just..." His cheeks were a little red as he tried apologizing

"I'm kidding," Tsuna said lightly, "Thank you for the compliment." He smiled gently

Bermuda smiled gratefully, "Would my sense of humanity be duller than when I was alive or stronger?"

"That completely depends on how strongly you are attached to something," Tsuna explained as he took a few bites of his own food.

The brunet ended up having to teach Bermuda how to use a spoon. It was a simple task and Tsuna was hoping that rehabilitating his muscles would go just as smoothly.

The two of them finished their food in silence and they moved outside to begin rehabilitating Bermuda.

"Won't someone see us out here, Tsunayoshi?" Bermuda asked worriedly

Tsuna looked at him, "Nope, also, call me Tsuna." he responded

"I prefer Tsunayoshi," Bermuda insisted firmly

"Alright, whatever suits you," Tsuna sighed and gave in, "Now let's start your rehabilitation."

After a few hours, Bermuda could finally walk a short distance. It was impressive progress and was most likely due to the basic maneuvers of using his muscles already in his mind.

It was still a lot for a person who hasn't ever moved like this in centuries, "Is there a spell you could use?" Bermuda asked tiredly

"I'm not sure, I could try," Tsuna said in response, "Because at this rate, we won't be able to travel."

Bermuda looked up at Tsuna curiously from where he was on the ground, "Travel? Are we going somewhere?" His eyes were tired but now holds an interest in where the two of them would be going.

"Of course we are, I am a traveling mage," Tsuna responded in a matter-of-fact tone

"I see, where will we be going?"

"That is a surprise," Tsuna responded teasingly

"Is there a place we are going that I can know about?" Bermuda asked, nearly pleading. He didn't like not knowing what was going to happen.

Tsuna hummed as he thought for a moment, "We'll be going shopping soon," he responded with poorly hidden excitement.

The undead man raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Shopping?" He felt a bit of dread pool in the bottom of his stomach.

Tsuna smiled mischievously, "Shopping."