Chapter Thirty-One
"You okay, Tsuna?" Nagisa asked, blue eyes scanning him expertly. "You look tired."
Tsuna sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "My head is cracking."
"Eh?"
"Just worried for Itona." He assured. "I don't feel good about what Shiro was saying last night." He couldn't control himself from scowling. "He implied a lot of things."
"Like what?" Karma asked from beside him.
He waved a hand. "You don't want to think about it right now. It will confuse you."
"Tsuna, you're keeping secrets." Karma teased.
"I am not." He denied before gazing at his classmates who are trying to appease their yellow teacher. "I'll tell you when I confirm it."
Brown eyes glanced at Nagisa who looked thoughtful before watching the class again.
He knows where Itona is. His intuition has been tweaking him to follow the direction it's giving. But it's the brunet who doesn't want to stand up and walk to the direction. He has reasons, and one of them is it's not his place to calm down Itona. It's Koro-sensei's place. Itona needs guidance after that bastard left him, and Koro-sensei is the right person for it.
He suddenly remembered how worried Koro-sensei that night. The teacher was tired from going from places to places in search for Itona. Tsuna had to serve him lots of water and wait for him to settle down before letting him go again with a bit of rest. But really, how can they find a person who doesn't want to be found? And with Itona's state of mind that is filled with pain, he'll be unpredictable like a fickle mind. It will be hard to track him. Well, except if they have a tracking device, if Itona does something, or if they have Tsuna's intuition.
Either way...
"Wa. We said we were sorry, Koro-sensei." Yada pleasantly apologized for the class while offering a pouting Koro-sensei a big cupcake.
"We were fooled by Shiro too, and just ended up doubting you." Mimura added, massaging Koro-sensei's shoulder and tentacle.
"Also, Sawada-kun vouched for you, so our doubts went fifty-fifty, Koro-sensei." Yada remarked, nodded by Mimura. "We're very sorry, Koro-sensei."
"Don't bother worrying about Sensei." The yellow teacher said while looking away with a pout. "I'm just a disgusting lifeform in both body and mind anyway."
Tsuna chuckled softly at the antic. Their teacher is really a child sometimes. Much different from his counterpart's Reborn who throws a silent tantrum while frowning when he's sulky.
"I'm actually more worried about Itona-kun, who's disappeared." Koro-sensei reckoned, making everyone silent. "These cells are too dangerous to be planted into and used by humans. Now that he's been abandoned by Shiro-san, who knows what reckless action he'll take."
"We're classmate in name, but we don't know a thing about him, do we?" Sugino voiced from his seat.
"Everyone." They turned to Ritsu's box who sounded somber. "Please watch the current news report." It took seconds before a woman's voice was heard. "We are having repeated occurrences of cellphones stores being destroyed within the city of Kunugigaoka."
His classmates went nearer to Ritsu's box to watch the report more closely. Tsuna stood up and peered too. In the scene, everything was ransacked and destroyed. Just as how Tsuna remembered that one shop's devastated shape— one of those usual stores he used to pass by every newspaper delivery morning.
"Because the damage within the stores are so extreme, the police are considering the possibility of multiple culprits." The newscaster reported dutifully with three police officers at her background, inspecting scene of the crime.
"This is... Itona's handiwork... Right?" One of the girls voiced.
"Yes." Koro-sensei confirmed. "Because Sensei is accustomed to using them, he knows. This destruction would hardly be possible without tentacles."
"But," Brown eyes went to Fuwa who was standing beside him. "why only cellphone shops?"
Tsuna nodded. It was good question.
"As his homeroom teacher, I will take responsibility and stop him. I must find him and protect him." Koro-sensei stated with his grin.
"Do you really have an obligation to help him, Koro-sensei?" Okajima questioned, doubtful.
"Until just the other day, he was like your cut throat rival or something." Kimura pointed out.
"You're only his homeroom teacher in name." Nakamura added.
"Even so, I am his homeroom teacher." Koro-sensei reasoned. "'No matter what, I will not let go of my students'. When Sensei became a teacher, he swore this."
Tsuna hummed and took note of the promise. He went back to his seat. He glanced at Karma who reached out. The redhead dangled a strawberry milk to his direction. He took it and reached for the straw behind the pack to drink. He took a small sip as he thinks.
"I think you should probably ask for another rest day from Ota-san." Karma said.
"Or," He started off and pulled his phone out from his pocket. "tell him I'll be late. I can't risk another sick day. He'll get worried."
"Worried?" Karma rose a brow.
He sighed as he flipped his phone open and navigated through it. "Yeah. He'll be troublesome and all five of them will message me, asking if I'm okay or something, or do I need someone to take care of me." He wrinkled his nose while typing away. "I don't like trouble."
Gold eyes stared at the distracted brunet before their owner hummed in contemplation.
Tsuna went off to his usual routine. Except the fact that he was picked up by Karma and Nagisa from the restaurant. Nagisa was pretty much surprised that he works in a high-end restaurant. He just sheepishly told him that it's just a part-time.
They briefed him of what's about to happen as they walked to meet the class. Koro-sensei deduced with Ritsu where Itona will attack again. The brunet didn't tell them that the teacher asked him about it too. Something about what he feels about it. He did give his honest opinion of where his intuition is pointing. There were three more cellphone stores in the area. Out of seven, Itona has destroyed four already. And his intuition is pointing that place near his convenient store.
The problem now is since last night, his intuition had been tingling other than tweaking him to get the teen. Like even if they get Itona, Shiro's schemes are still not over. Either way, if Koro-sensei can't stop that bastard, Tsuna will intervene. His intuition may not give it up, but the brunet knows who is Shiro in Koro-sensei's life before he became as he is now.
The class was already complete, sans them. They greeted the three with waves and 'right on time'. Isogai smiled at him after seeing him. The male class representative is working three buildings away from his. While he's a cook and a pâtissier, Isogai is a server. It's an irrefutable job for the guy with his good charms and looks. He's what Reborn will call as a natural born leader since he likes to put others over himself. It's probably the influence of having a large family where he has to put the happiness of his siblings and parents first before his. Almost the exact person his counterpart was when he was still alive.
Anyways, Isogai asked him if he was free before he went to work that afternoon. Of course, he replied 'yes'. Even if he did say he can't go, his intuition will nag at him to go until it makes his head hurt, so he won't have any choice but to go. That made Isogai relieved though. He might have thought that Tsuna can't come or something with how distant he seems sometimes.
The class turned to him when half of them perked up when he did. That half of class tensed up when the brunet stared at the distance, it made the other half tense up too. Koro-sensei gazed at the direction Tsuna was staring at. It didn't take long before the brunet whispered a warning.
"He's here."
Brown eyes moved along Itona's attack. The class jerked and muffled their noise when the store's front shattered before rampage was done. They moved to see the damage. Koro-sensei was at front to protect them and to talk to Itona. Tsuna stood beside Karma, with Nagisa at the latter's other side.
He observed Itona's physique. The teen looks pretty out of it. His tentacles are black, he looked pained with how he clutched his head and terribly exhausted from the way his posture looked. He must have had trouble sleeping with how pained he was with his tentacles.
"Finally, I get to see a human-like face, Itona-kun." Koro-sensei remarked, earning the teen's attention.
"Brother." Itona hissed.
"Please call me Koro-sensei." The teacher corrected. "I am your homeroom teacher."
"Don't go rampaging just because you're sulking, Itona." Ryouma called out before pointing a finger at the teen. "You've put us through all sorts of stuffs, but we'll consider it water under the bridge, so be quiet and come with us."
Tsuna turned his head to the side when his intuition tweaked him painfully.
"Shut up..." Itona panted as his tentacles moved. "Let's fight... This time... I'll win."
"Of course, I don't mind fighting," Koro-sensei replied patiently and understandingly. "but we're both bodies of a national secret. Why don't we do this in a vacant area somewhere? When that's done," He showed a stick of a usual barbecue components. "we'll have a barbeque in that vacant area, while we all study a way to kill Sensei."
Itona only glared.
"That Octopus is persistent, you know." Karma sighed. "Once he becomes your homeroom teacher, he'd go to the ends of hell to teach you."
Koro-sensei chuckled just as Tsuna's intuition put the brunet in toes. "Of course. Because, when a student stands before you, it is a teacher's instinct to wish to teach them-"
Brown eyes widened when he heard some small steels dropping from behind them.
"Look out!" He shouted.
He watched as some kind of grenades came flying inside. He braced himself from the impact. Instead of usual explosion, something akin to powder burst in the air when the grenade blew up. He covered his mouth and nose as he coughed a little, unable to breathe properly from the powder. It was anti-sensei powder with how Koro-sensei reacted from the corner of his eyes, but he wasn't worried of his teacher. He's more worried of the teen who is holding his head in pain and confusion.
When his intuition warned him again, his mind was slow with the uptake. Like when Karma jumped from the cliff, he found his body moving on its own and went to jump on Itona. He hugged the teen to himself as he felt something wrap around them. He closed his eyes as they fell. As if joking on him, his intuition asked him to take Itona's scarf. He immediately wrapped it around the teen's head before they got dragged.
"Tsuna!" He heard someone shout.
Tsuna tightly hugged Itona to himself as they got dragged. The other was moaning in pain but with the tentacles trapped between them after the brunet made time to arrange them, it was much preferable. He's so thankful he wore the jacket he has in his bag. It was something his gut told him to carry that morning and felt wearing that evening. If he didn't, he could have painful scratches all over his body.
He felt pained with how rough the asphalt road is. His head had bumped to the concrete a lot of times as they get dragged longer. His shirt kept on riding up and it's inevitable to have scratches. More of he can't help cursing Shiro from being an asshole. He doesn't know how much longer they got pulled. They just suddenly stopped moving. He raised his head after opening his eyes. It was more of a remote area they stopped at. He looked back to Shiro when his intuition alerted him. He glared at the man as he tightened his hold on Itona.
"Itona-kun- Tsuna-kun?!"
His eyes darted to Koro-sensei who arrived. "I have Itona. Don't touch the net. It's made of anti-sensei material."
"Hah. You never fail to amaze me, Sawada-san." Shiro praised, earning more glare from Tsuna. "But yes. it's as you've guessed. And also," He raised a hand, commanding those people by the truck to aim at Koro-sensei. "this will be the site of your grave."
Tsuna roamed his eyes around as beams of lights lit up. Must be the pressurized light thingies that Shiro pulled off during their first appearance at school. Also, it wasn't only the three people by the truck, there were some people by the trees too.
"Fire." Shiro ordered. "Your target is Itona."
The brunet cursed and covered Itona with his body.
"Tsuna-kun!"
The brunet watched his Sensei deflect the pellets directed to them. He cursed as he tried to pat himself of anything that can cut the net.
"So you repelled them with your clothes and wind pressure." Shiro observed. "But you know, the net is made of titanium wrapped in anti-sensei fibers. Even for you, Sawada, it'll be difficult to get out of there while your Sensei continue to repel the bullets. While you're having difficulties moving, what with your injuries and that pressurized beam of light, if you avert your gaze for even an instant, Itona's tentacles will be destroyed, and Itona himself will die as well.
"Also, from the assassination attempts until now, I was able to confirm something." Shiro gloated. "When it comes to attacks aimed at your yourself, you're able to acutely evade them, but for attacks aimed at anyone other than yourself, your response becomes extremely dull. In the end, you're a selfish creature only capable of caring about yourself. Will you escape to avoid dying along Itona?"
"You're forgetting something, Shiro-san." He gritted. "Sensei, don't mind us here. I have Itona's tentacles safe." He smirked as he showed the wrapped state of Itona's head. "As long as I'm inside this net with Itona, he's safe."
"What-"
"Alright!" Their Sensei said.
"W-What are y-you d-doing?" He looked down to Itona who is looking up to him. "Wh-Why...?"
Tsuna blinked, looked to the side before gazing at the teen again and shrugged. He closed his eyes when he felt his back get hit by bullets. "Fucking-"
"Tsuna!"
He relaxed and opened his eyes to see Nagisa, Kayano and Kanzaki with Okuda running towards them. He looked around to see their shooters getting wrapped up by their classmates. "Thanks."
"We thought you went to work!" Nagisa exclaimed.
"Oh my. You're scratched up, Sawada-kun." Kanzaki worriedly voiced.
"I'm fine." He assured before looking down to Itona who's watching everything that's happening behind him. "We're fine."
"W-Why...?" Itona asked again.
"Don't get the wrong idea." Tsuna looked back to see Hayami who answered the teen he's hugging. "We were just pissed off at that Shiro guy. And if Koro-sensei didn't leave, we would've left you alone."
He chuckled soundlessly when he heard Taisei and Takebayashi called Hayami 'tsundere'.
"Are you sure it's okay to be looking this way, Shiro?" He heard Karma questioned mischievously just as something went broke from behind him. "Weren't you shooting at Koro-sensei to pin him down? If you stop shooting, the net will get taken from its base."
"Tsuna!" He turned to Sousuke who rushed to him with Isogai. "Are you alright?!"
"We're fine." He answered before sighing.
"How's Itona? Is he okay?" Isogai queried as Koro-sensei put the machine that holds the net down to their side.
Tsuna patted the teen's head and nodded. "He's fine. I had him all covered."
"You scared us." Isogai sighed while removing the net with Sousuke's, Kanzaki's and Okuda's help. "You're hurt."
"I'm fine. Really." He assured.
"Leave, Shiro-san." Koro-sensei told Shiro after putting all of the croonies at the back of the truck. "We will be taking Itona-kun. You always work out these meticulous plans, but if you involve the students, those plans will come to nothing. It would be better for you to quickly realize the obvious."
Tsuna sat up, still cradling Itona and watched Shiro turn around and enter the passenger seat of the truck. "A class where house flies swarm around a monster. Huh? How annoying." He looked back to them. "But surely, I will admit that there is a need for me to redo the fundamentals of my plans." The truck's engine revved as he gave his last words. "I'll let you have that kid. Either way, he only has two to three days left. Play nice with the others."
"Son of a bitch." Tsuna spat as they watch the truck go.
The class went and surrounded them. They helped him settle Itona down with a blanket under the teen's head. He checked at the tentacles if they melted. He sighed when they didn't seem so then removed the scarf from covering the head.
Tsuna winced as he felt the body pain and stings all over him. Sugino helped him take off his jacket. Like what he predicted, he has scratches all over. He thanked Sugino who exclaimed his worry over his injury. They are painful, but not that grave. He has them on the arms, the elbow, the hips, back, legs and knees. He's more worried of his head.
"Tsuna-kun. I'm sorry." Koro-sensei apologized sincerely.
He waved off a hand. "It's fine. It's not your fault. My body moved on its own when I saw the net, Sensei."
"Good thing you covered up Itona's head, but you're full of injuries on the other hand." Hayami pointed out.
"These will heal." He replied before nodding to Itona. "But if we don't save him now, he'll die on us."
"Tentacles," Koro-sensei started off. "are things you move from the strength of your will. As long as Itona-kun has his abnormal tenacity for power and victory, the tentacle cells will cling strongly to him and not leave. In the meantime, the body will continue to receive a huge burden and become weaker. In the end, he will evaporate along with the tentacles and die."
"That's... That's just so sad." Mimura voiced; brows lowered at the thought.
"It's something he acquired unnaturally through a transplant, right?" Kataoka questioned that Koro-sensei confirmed. "Isn't there a way to detach it?"
"Not unless we can get rid of his tenacity for power." The teacher answered.
"Make him give up his power hunger?" Tsuna suggests.
Koro-sensei nodded. "Yes. But in order to do that, we need to understand the reason he became that way."
The class settled in a tense silence.
"But you know," Nakamura reckoned with her arms crossed and expression thoughtful. "this kid's closed his heart off."
"I can't imagine that he'd honestly tell us about his past." Maehara seconded.
"About that," They all turned to Fuwa who has her phone up. "It was bothering me why was Itona attacking cellphone shops. So, until now, I've been going back and forth with Ritsu." She looked down to her phone. "Phone models, family registry, I had her investigate anything connected to him. From that, we learned that 'Horibe Itona' was this company president's child."
Tsuna didn't bother searching for his phones since he gave them to Karma awhile back. He did wait for further elaboration since most of his classmates looked at their phones.
"It was a factory that supplied smartphone parts globally." Fuwa furthered. "But two years ago, it seems they were in debt and went bankrupt. The president and wife left their son and disappeared."
The class went quiet from that. Tsuna stared at the teen laying in front of him. Two year ago... Huh?
"Keh. Lame." Ryouma scoffed while picking at his ear with his pinky. "That means he just strayed down the wrong path."
"Terasaka!" Isogai admonished.
Ryouma blew at his finger. "Everyone has their burdens. Some might be heavier or lighter than others, but those burdens and hardships, somehow, they end up not being such a big deal." He went over and took Itona at the scruff like a cat. "Let us take care of this guy at our place. And if he dies, I guess that's as far as he goes."
Tsuna pulled Ryouma's pants. "Be careful with him."
"I will. I won't kill him after you went all this way to protect him." The other said.
He huffed before nodding. "Then I trust you to keep him alive. I'm bailing out."
"Let's call-"
"I'm fine." Tsuna waved off as he slowly stood up.
He slowly blinked when the world slowly waved at him. He steadied himself by putting one hand on a knee and picked up his jacket. He can't show any weakness now, can he? He has to give a front so they'll focus on Itona instead of him.
He stood up and straight. He put on a show of brushing away the dust on his white school shirt before putting on his jacket around his shoulders. He gazed at his classmates who sighed in relief that he was okay.
"Chat me up when Itona gets better." He bid, earning nods.
"I'll be with you later." Karma said to him as the others followed the Ryouma's group.
He bobbed his head slowly. "Yeah. Go on."
He watched Karma go, catching up with Nagisa and Kayano. When all of them went out of sight, he started his journey for the convenient store. He was only able to reach the end of the block when he felt weak on the knees as his head throbbed with pain, not from his intuition but a typical headache. He was able to balance himself with a foot forward when he staggered, almost tripping on himself. Then a second, his insides pushed up and he felt something going up to his throat. He pushed it down forcefully and tried to breathe, only to gain pain.
He tried to go down on one knee, but he slipped and tipped. His axis tilted sideways, and his mind only registered that he was falling when he felt someone pulled his arm. He couldn't even try looking up with his pained head. Even seeing anything is painful.
"Sawada?! Are you alright?!" The person helping him questioned.
Tsuna raised a weak hand as he tried to breathe from the nausea. He closed his eyes tightly. "Nauseous."
"We need help from-"
"O-Ota-san." He rasped and swallowed hard. "C-Convenient store."
"Okay. I'm carrying you."
He formed his fingers to an 'OK' sign, projecting that he'll be dizzier if he nodded.
He felt someone take his arm and pull him on the latter's back. Tsuna tried to relax as he gets carried. He even heard the other say something of how light he was before he felt them moving.
Everything went blur. Tsuna could only remember snippets of what happened and the rest were blank. Like he blacked out completely. He couldn't even remember if they did reach the store, or did they found Ota who should be on the counter since Tsuna told him that he'll only be late, not asking for another sick leave. When he came around, he was staring at a white ceiling.
"You're awake." He moved his eyes to see Manager Ota walking towards him. "How do you feel?"
He took a second to feel himself. "Better."
The manager nodded before his eyes went back and forth to the brunet's sides. Brown eyes followed the movement to see a redhead and a strawberry blond on either side of the bed, head resting on their arms they propped on the cot. "They've been waiting for you to wake up."
He looked up to the man in question.
Ota sighed, amused, as he leaned on the wall. "The blond one was carrying you on his back when he ran inside the store, saying you were nauseous and you're having a hard time breathing. Barely lucid even since he said you usually avoid him. When we got you here in ER and the doctor were checking you out, that Akabane kid called me up. I don't even know how he got my number, but he asked where you were since you weren't manning the store. I told him you're here."
Tsuna nodded before he realized something.
"The doctor only talked to me, Kid." Ota placated; sharp eyes were active to the expression on the brunet's face. "He cleaned and bandaged everything and kept your wristbands on."
The teen immediately touched his bands on both wrists.
"Since you're like this," The manager eyed the two teens. "we'll talk about it some time. However, I will need you to be careful next time, Tsunayoshi. You've suffered an acute concussion."
He winced.
"I already purchased your medicine and paid the hospital bills."
He opened his mouth to protest, only to be cut off.
"Of course, I took them off from your paychecks. You're lucky you're a student, you got a student discount." Ota chuckled at his 'there-is-such-a-thing?' expression. "Yes. Your lawyers-" He gestured to the two. "-were quite competent enough to defend your rights as a student."
"D-Did-" He cleared his throat to avoid stuttering. "Did they fight?"
"These two? Why? Are they in bad terms?" His manager questioned.
Tsuna checked his intuition if the two are any awake. They weren't, so he answered. "Somewhat. School ranking."
"Ah yeah. Kunugigaoka Middle School, right? No. They didn't fight. They mostly ignored each other and just sat there, waiting for you."
He sighed in relief.
"You did something, didn't you?" The man pried, teasing. He looked away. "They are hearing about this."
"I didn't." He huffed. He pointed at Asano. "He wanted me to go back to the main building. Then Karma and I had a small disagreement when I omitted my relationship with Asano from our talks."
"In summary, they want to befriend you." The brunet blinked at the man. "Akabane is already your friend, while Asano wants to befriend you. You're the type to give his name to a friend, and get the name of your friend. If you were friends with Asano, you should be calling him by his name. But, since you're denser than Hoshiko, I bet this is your first time hearing this."
"Wamuro-san isn't that dense." He defended. "She knows you like her." The man spluttered. "She's more of acting dense so you'll say stupid things when in front of her."
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" The other half yelled, half moaned in despair. "She must have been laughing when I half-assed confessed."
Tsuna remembered how the cafe owner blushed so red after the said half-assed confession. He opted not to say anything. Let them figure it out themselves. They're old enough. "You didn't ask."
The man glared at him, and the brunet only blinked.
Tsuna met with the doctor and was advised to rest more since it was only two in the overnight. He complied. He just hopes Koro-sensei is not worried that he didn't come home that night.
(Home...?)