Ryohei answers the phone the next morning, still half asleep.
"Yamamoto Tsuyoshi?" some kid asks as Ryohei settles on one of the stools at the counter.
"No," Ryohei says. "This is Sasagawa Ryohei. Do you want me to get Tsuyoshi?
"No. I actually wanted to talk to you or Yamamoto Takeshi. I'm Reborn, Tsuna's home tutor. I'm calling to let you know that both of Tsuna's parents are currently out of the country, and won't be there if he comes home today."
Ryohei blinks, then sits up much straighter. "You got rid of that guy? The one that made Tsuna freeze?"
"Yes," Reborn says. There's a moment filled by the slight static of the phone lines. Ryohei watches Tsuna frown in his sleep and turn over, pulling away from where Takeshi had moved closer to him.
"How serious were you about training Tsuna to be a mafia boss?" Ryohei asks. He pauses, considers his right arm. He'd regained almost full function after he hurt himself when he pressed too hard, but . . . he hold the phone between his ear and his shoulder, listening to Reborn's explanation about just why exactly Tsuna was chosen, and presses gently at his right elbow with his left hand. He winces as even the slight pressure makes his elbow collapse, and the phone falls to the carpet with a quiet thump.
Ryohei quickly picks it up again, glancing at the living room to make sure he didn't wake Tsuna or Takeshi up. The kid on the other side is asking what happened, but Ryohei ignores him and asks, "Could you train me too?", and the kid goes silent.
There's the sound of rustling papers. "Sasagawa Ryohei. Former captain of the Namimori Middle boxing club before he sustained an arm injury in a training accident."
Ryohei's fingers clench on the phone, but Reborn goes on mercilessly. "Currently one of the top long distance runners in the track club, noted for his natural potential and friendship with Yamamoto Takeshi."
"And?" Ryohei asks when the kid doesn't go on.
"I'm not about to train you for free. Would you pledge your loyalty to Tsuna?" Reborn asks. "I know you're friends, and that you'll help him, but would you pledge your loyalty to him?"
Ryohei thinks about it. He thinks about why he's asking for training. He thinks about what it is, exactly, that Reborn is promising, and what he's asking for. He thinks about his little sister, who learned to shoot guns with her best friend. He thinks about Tsuna, freezing at the sound of his father's voice, Tsuna who tried to kill himself. He thinks about Yamamoto Takeshi, who has edges too sharp, who used to play baseball and switched to track because he didn't like the way his team mate were trying to make him responsible for winning the game with or without them, who took up the flute because there were always too many of flute players so they didn't (wouldn't, couldn't) depend on him.
And yes, Ryohei thought about his arm. He thought about the fact that even this training probably wouldn't give full use back to him.
"I would," he says, and he's vaguely surprised at how steady his voice comes out.
"Come to Tsuna's house after school today," the kid says. "We'll talk about your training regiment."
There's a click, then a dial tone, and Ryohei pulls the phone away from his ear. Then he sets the phone back into its charging station, walks back to his spot on the floor, and pulls his blankets over himself again. He can deal with it in the morning.
Ryohei stirs a while later to the sound of quiet voices. The voices pause as he shifts under his blankets. He jerks when a hand lands on his shoulder, and Tsuna quickly pulls back.
"Sorry," Tsuna whispers. "I didn't mean to startle you. Takeshi's still asleep and I didn't want you to wake him up. Yamamoto-san's making us breakfast. You can get up now, or sleep in for a couple more minutes."
"Alright," Ryohei whispers back. He lays under the covers for a couple more minutes, savoring the warmth, before he reluctantly pulls himself out. In the kitchen, Tsuna's sitting on the stool that Ryohei sat on when he answered the phone. Yamamoto-san is standing in front of the stove, waving a spatula as he recounts some story about his wife. Ryohei grabs a couple of pancakes from the plate next to the stove and settles onto the stool next to Tsuna.
Takeshi groans his way out of sleep a couple of minutes later and stumbles into the kitchen to sit at the stool next to Tsuna, where Yamamoto-san had placed the last of the pancakes, cut into bite sized pieces, before he started packing lunches for the three of them. Takeshi stares uncomprehendingly at the plate for a moment before Tsuna laughs and taps him on the hand with the fork that had been sitting next to the plate.
"Is he extremely always like this in the morning?" Ryohei asks, watching as Takeshi slowly lifts the fork to his mouth, his eyes still half closed, and Yamamoto-san laughs.
"Yeah, he's always like this." Yamamoto-san smiles at him son as he puts the three wrapped bentos on the island. "I think he gets it from his mother, she was always a but of a zombie for the first couple minutes after she woke up."
Tsuna glances at his watch then stands up. "Alright. We need to go soon, so I'm going to go change into my school uniform."
At those words, Ryohei stands too, and Yamamoto-san nudges Takeshi to his feet. In a couple of minutes, they're all back in the kitchen, grabbing their bentos and backpack, and waving to Yamamoto-san as they leave the house.
"Ah! That reminds me," Ryohei says as they pass a travel agency. "Tsuna, your new tutor called in inform you that your parents went on an extreme surprise vacation, so they won't be there when you get home!"
"Surprise vacation?" Tsuna asks.
"That's awesome!" Takeshi says, much more awake now that they're walking. "If they're gone, then you don't need to get parental permission to take over the town!"
"Takeshi, why do you keep insisting that I'm going to take over the town?" Tsuna asks as the three of them pass through the school gates.
A wave of silence passes through the courtyard as everyone watches the trio.
"It's so obvious!" Takeshi exclaims, ignoring the unusual silence of the courtyard. "Yesterday, you said that you were jealous of Hibari-san-"
"I said that Hibari-san looked young, and commented that he had taken over the town. I said nothing about being jealous of him."
"-and you said it would be easy with Hibari-sensei and Kurokawa's help-"
"I said that they would kill me for hurting their cousin."
"-and then you got that awesome tutor who was part of the Italian yakuza-"
"Takeshi, he was a kid, he was probably playing a game or something.
"-and now that your parents are out of town, you don't even have to ask permission!" Takeshi finishes triumphantly as if he hadn't been interrupted.
The door to the school closes behind them, and the courtyard once again erupts into whispers. Not only was Dame Tsuna hanging out with two track stars again, the three of them were discussing taking the town back from Hibari Kyoya-san. And what was that about a tutor from the Italian yakuza?
Inside, with two of the group mostly oblivious to the whispers and Tsuna glancing back, Ryohei ends the argument by declaring a race to Takeshi's locker. It's a terrible distraction because Takeshi's locker is the closest locker, and it's only 6 meters away, but a fire lights in Takeshi's eyes and he chants, "Readysetgo."
Ryohei and Takeshi sprint towards the corner, dodging around people, and leave Tsuna in the dust behind them. He watches them go with amused eyes, then starts to make his way to his locker. He bumps into someone as he rounds a corner and stumbles back.
He gets a glimpse of bloodshot green eyes and a short, curly hair before the guy he bumped into is gone, his words lingering in the air. "Watch where you're going."
Tsuna stares after him with a frown for a moment. Then he shakes his head, shoulders his bag, and sets off for his locker again. This time he makes it there without incident and quickly exchanges his outdoor shoes for his indoor shoes. Ryohei and Takeshi arrive before long, they the three of them banter down the hall before they split up, and Takeshi doesn't bring up the subject of reclaiming the village from Hibari-san.
Takeshi sits on Tsuna's desk again as they wait for homeroom, and today they talk to each other. Takeshi talks about the trip that the band is planning to take to Tokyo Disneyland in order to play in a parade and do a workshop. Tsuna nods and asks questions and glances at the door every time it opens. He looks away in disappointment when each time it's just another one of their classmates.
The bell rings, and the Homeroom teacher calls the class to attention. When she's done with roll call, she sets the attendance sheet down.
"Alright class, we've got a new student, a transfer from Italy." She walks over to open the door. Takeshi watches the new student walk in curiously. Tsuna looks confused as the transfer student walks in and surveys the room indifferently with bloodshot green eyes as he runs a hand through his short, black hair.
His eyes land on Tsuna and he glares.
"I'm Bovino Lambo. Please take care of me."