Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
The writing might seem kind of weird, so just know that if it's like (this) its just a continuation of a sentence or one of my afterthoughts, if its like (this) its the characters own thoughts, "if its like this" its in another language, "if its like this" the word has emphasis.
Word Count: 8155
Part 6: Enter Namimori Middle School!
They had gotten to school early in the morning feeling as refreshed and ready for it as can be – even if Tsuna dragged his feet and Natsume's hands were a little more sweaty than usual – they would be fine. It would hopefully play out as it had in elementary school, where they would be in the same class and even if that was just the only point, everything would be fine.
Except it wasn't like that.
While Tsuna had been placed in class 1A, Natsume had been placed in class 1B. The good thing it seemed is that they would have the same sensei's only at different times so the homework and lectures would be the same so that they could help each other out.
Downside was that in the few weeks that it took for the routine to settle, people had already started singling Tsuna out for who knows what reason and it made Natsume really wonder if they were cursed, even if nobody attempted to try her in her own class.
It seemed their fellow elementary school classmates had passed the rumor on that she was a mean girl, who would fight if anybody looked, said or did anything wrong around her person. Which wasn't true, at all, because the only time she did anything like that was when other people started.
The upside was that nobody bothered her, downside was that people didn't really try to talk to her – which was fine, she had more than enough on her plate with Tsuna, her school work, and something else that made her skin crawl and want to curl up and hide from the world.
"Tsuna what is taking you so long?" the door to class 1A slid open and the boy's that had been pelting Tsuna with the chalkboard erasers 'to get them clean' ceased only to give her grins that were too wide to be innocent.
"Hey we're cleaning here, come back later!"
She ignored that one, stepping in and approaching Tsuna who only looked at her dejectedly, his hands wiping away the obvious white dust from his pants, "You know you can do something about it," she murmured to him and received only a shrug.
Even when he knew how, Tsuna refused to fight, like all of his instincts to be safe shut down and he was just left to take anything that came his way.
"It will get worse if I do."
Which wasn't true, yet he always had that going for him as well.
With a loud sigh, Natsume ruffled his hair, "You're lucky I'm your ane," she said crouching down and picking up one of the erasers and turning to the boys who seemed to freeze at the look she gave them, really no one should give such a cute smile while having such a evil look in their eyes. "You three, I'm going to beat that ass."
When Yamamoto returned from retrieving the brooms and dust pans, he could only ask why the others were covered in white powder and where Sawada had gone. When the reaction to the name Sawada was a violet flinch and a soft keening cry from one of them, Yamamoto decided he wasn't that curious and he didn't want to know.
/ | \
It seemed that the first year class – at least both 1A and 1B – learned not to pick on one Sawada Tsunayoshi and not to upset one Sawada Natsume.
When the lunch bell rang, Tsuna stayed in his seat having already been told by Natsume that she would be eating in his class today, instead of wondering outside and making themselves comfortable in the courtyard.
The desks around him had cleared up and he was surprised when a figure plopped down in the seat in front of him and was even more surprised when it wasn't his sister.
"Yo Sawada!"
Yamamoto Takeshi, one of the school's upcoming Idols along with Sasagawa Kyoko, considered one of the best first year baseball players that the school has seen in a long time. The name and information flashed quickly in his mind as he nodded his head, before wondering why the teen had decided to do as he did.
Yamamoto hadn't been part of any of the teasing or bullying that the others had directed at him (didn't seem to actually be aware of it) and Tsuna was oddly curious. A throat clearing had both boys turning their attention to the lone girl who gave the baseball player a quick once over, before sliding her gaze over to her brother.
"Is…?"
"No, he's not."
Giving one last judging stare at Yamamoto, Natsume sat herself across from Tsuna, handing him his box of food that Nana had made for them.
"Are you two…?"
Tsuna choked on his spit, while Natsume blanched, "That's wrong, so wrong, completely wrong." Yamamoto looked confused, yet just as curious as he had been before.
"Sister," Tsuna offered up, most people already knew that already, but it seemed Yamamoto hadn't, though looking at that grin maybe the other teen had done it on purpose.
"Gotcha," he said, nodding as he got the confirmation he needed. He had finally gotten the story (his curiosity had won through) from his other three classmates about what had happened and though he didn't really believe it, he could kind of see it happening.
"Not to be rude, Yamamoto-san," Tsuna spoke up, picking up a piece of cut up pineapple and popping it in his mouth, "But did you need something?"
"Don't talk when you have food in your mouth, it's gross."
The brunet before him ignored his sister who huffed a little, before digging into her own food and letting him do as he pleased. It would be Mama correcting that bad habit if it continued and the woman was big on not talking when you were chewing food.
The sheepish laugh that escaped Yamamoto as he rubbed the back of his head would have been adorable if Natsume had bothered to put more attention to it.
"I, well, you know how we have that project coming up for the end of semester?" at Tsuna's slow nod the other teen continued, "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind me working with you?" Yamamoto didn't say anything about him not being the best of project partner's because he always ended up doing too much and it never came out good. While he had gotten some offers from his fellow students (mostly the girls) he had gotten a weird vibe from them and simply stated he already had a partner.
"Smooth," was all Natsume said as she picked a piece of mango and sprinkled flecks of something on it before popping it in her mouth. She chewed, savoring the spicy, lemony taste of the fruit before saying "But also lucky."
"Oh, I don't mind!" Tsuna seemed to brighten at that, because he didn't have a partner either and most people didn't want to partner with him because they thought he was terrible (it was only the tests he did badly at, it was just hard to focus and concentrate when he had so little time). "We'll have to partner up to finish it in time."
Natsume rolled her eyes, continuing to eat her lunch in peace as the two talked on, throwing out ideas for possible topics. It was funny how sometimes Tsuna could be someone worth looking up to. Her brother could be charming when he wanted to be and now as he droned on with Yamamoto (someone else other than her and their mother, actually listening) she could see it as he steered away from baseball related topics.
"Natsume have you thought of what you're doing?" she was brought of her thoughts, food raised halfway to her mouth as she was included in the conversation.
"Uh, probably something with Mythology?"
They were free to choose whatever topic they wanted, it was more of getting them used to doing research and being able to present it to the class, which would later help those who continued studying when it came to doing their Masters Project later on in University.
"Really what kind?"
The girl that had spoken seemed to realize she had done so aloud when three pairs of eyes turned to her. Her friend beside her shook her head, a tsk'ing sound escaping her as she sat herself down in the seat behind Natsume.
"Kyoko's been wondering what to do," the dark haired girl offered bluntly, either ignoring or oblivious to the blush on said girl's cheeks.
"These two are throwing out ideas, perhaps you can pick one you like," Natsume gestured, in her own way ignoring Tsuna's quiet cry and Yamamoto's own questionable 'eh' . She closed up her lunch, happy to be full, yet sad because now she was sleepy and wanted to nap. Maybe she'd be able to catch a quick shut eye in Kim-sensei's English lecture today. "I'll see you later Tsuna."
And because she wasn't rude (she remembers having to greet various people whenever she went somewhere with family and it was weird, because that wasn't her family, but it was) she bid the other's goodbye.
She never really thought that lunch period would change anything. Later on when she would think back on it, she would be glad for having those friends (even if sometimes Yamamoto drove her up a wall and Hana liked to question everything and Kyoko was sweet, sweet Kyoko ((who was the best of them all)) with that loud brother of hers).
/ | \
Her short project on Nekomata won her a decent grade with her homeroom sensei and Natsume figured that if she could get away with it, she'd branch off on the other projects doing mythology but focusing more on each creature rather than a whole group.
Tsuna and Yamamoto's project had been centered on the art of sushi. It had been interesting to find out that Yamamoto's own father, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi was a sushi chef and a really good one.
She didn't know what Sasagawa or Kurokawa had ended up doing, but had a feeling that their presentations had gone on without a hitch.
The first semester of middle school was over and it was time to get into the old time habit of sleeping in, eating, gaming, and beach trips. This summer though, it included Tsuna's new friend Yamamoto (who was actually a really nice kid and didn't treat Tsuna bad at all) who would come over every other week or invite them over to his place, or to the batting cages.
The two always politely declined those invitations, though Tsuna would sometimes go and watch his friend, always surprised at the sudden change in Yamamoto when it came to batting the incoming balls.
Though the summer started off fine, Natsume's feeling of 'something is wrong' was getting stronger, the dreams that had felt so real left her disoriented once she woke up from them and feeling sick, because she could remember death and pain, happiness and love. She could feel warmth thrumming through her, making her feel better even if the feeling of 'wrong' was amplified.
It was in the last days of summer vacation, when she was strolling around Namimori Plaza – her mother and brother had gone to the markets, browsing the stalls and wares – and passed by the old Antique shop that had always looked like it was closed and was surprisingly open.
Curious, the teen wondered in gaze flicking over the trinkets (odds and ends that sort of thing(1), lingering more over the clothes that the shop had because they were pretty and would serve well for a Halloween costume if she decided to dress up this year.
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat and the voice rang out, "Welcome to Shiro's Antique , if there is anything you need do not hesitate to ask." The speaker was a tall white haired man, who she would have dubbed as old man had it not been for the youthfulness of his skin. Nodding that she had heard, Natsume continued browsing never really noticing the rather intense stare the man hid behind his glasses.
Kawahira could feel the seal and was honestly amazed at how easily she moved, sure there were slight trip ups but that could be alluded to the way the shop was set up, with its wrinkled up rugs here and there, the overcrowded tables with one to many things.
He wondered who was the person who had thought sealing up a child of all beings would be a smart idea – did they have no clue what that did to a person? Even his own kind only used it sparingly and it was to keep those who had abused their power to the point that they couldn't be forgiven at bay. His fingers twitched from within his sleeve as the girl drew closer, her eye drifting over to the selection of 'healing crystals' that he had.
It was so odd how the humans had come to understand that part of life and how few actively sought out the abilities that lay within the stones.
Kawahira toyed with the idea of offering one and he prodded lightly, "Interested in those?"
Her eyes were a shade of amber that differed greatly from the light honeyed color they had been earlier; well it seemed that the person who had done the sealing did an incomplete job if that was showing through. It must be her instinct kicking in that had her eyes reflecting that color and he wondered if he set off any warnings in the girls mind.
"Not really, but they are nice."
"Would you like to see one?" he asked, watching as her eyes lingered on a few pieces, when he received a slight nod he opened up the back of the casing. "Tell me what is your birth sign?" from the confused look he got he added on, "They're supposed healing crystals and some do say that it is better to handle a stone related to your birth sign rather than just a random piece."
Which was really a bunch of hogswash, the crystals had a tendency to react to those who preferred misty things, everyone else was pretty much out of luck.
"I'm a Libra, I think?"
Kawahira's plum eyes looked over his collection before his eyes landed on a good piece. The light purple piece was about an inch and a half long, picking it up he influenced a bit to not only calm but to slowly break down the seal that held the girl's true potential back. Handing it over he had to stop a smirk from forming, because as soon as she held the piece he could feel the seal chipping away.
Whoever had done it had done an almost perfect job and it would have taken a rather extraordinary feat – perhaps even death – to break it. To Kawahira it was like child's play, not even when the girl seemed to still almost dropping the stone.
She blinked, brow wrinkling in confusion, "Uhm, how much is this?"
Kawahira was curious more than anything to see what would come of this and so he did the last thing the old him would have thought of doing, he gave an offer.
"Keep it," he said, his usual docile shopkeeper smile quirking his lips, "I'm always here to help those who need it."
Which wasn't the truth, but he was curious and it had been long time since something even remotely interesting came along. She would be coming back; Kawahira was sure of that, there was a change coming, one that he even he could feel and he wondered if anyone was truly ready for it.
/ | \
The doorbell had rung and having been the closest one by the door, Natsume answered. When she opened the door it was to find no one there and she wondered if maybe she had been imagining the sound.
mew.
The small cry had her looking down and she was surprised to find a kitten, almost all black except for one of its paws that had a splat of orange. It blinked amber eyes up at her, mouth opening again and emitting another cry.
"You are so precious," she quietly said to it, barely holding back the urge to just pick it up and cradle it to her chest.
"Tsu-chan, who's there?"
"A baby cat!"
"I think this is what your father meant by surprise then," her mother sighed, having walked up beside her, crouching down as well to get a better look at the small animal. Looking over to Natsume, she noted the fascinated look her daughter sported as she wiggled her fingers at the small creature. "Will you take care of it?"
The nodding she received made Nana chuckle, the bun that had sat atop her daughter's head moving back and forth.
"Alright, I'm sure with the allowance you have you can get whatever it needs?" another nod and Nana straightened up, turning away and heading back to the couch where she had been sitting before she heard her daughter squeal in delight. Natsume probably didn't even realize she had done so and Nana would later on tease her about it, "I don't want to be made a grandma yet so make sure you get them taken care of."
"Yes, yes Mama!"
The sound of footsteps rushing upstairs had Nana shaking her head and the stampede down (and the cry of 'ahh' as Natsume probably tripped over herself in her excitement), followed by the door closing shut let Nana know that her daughter was out.
The door opening in and her daughter was back, "I'll be back, want anything while I'm out?" Nana looked over her shoulder just to see Natsume poking her head in through the small opening she made in the door.
"I'm fine Tsu-chan, just go."
"Alright, be back!"
Intermission 1
The night before school started I went to bed with a migraine. I curled up beneath my covers, hiding away from the remaining rays of light that shown through my window and I wondered if it had always been like this.
I didn't remember falling asleep, but the dreams that came felt familiar as if they had happened before. In my dreams I would walk around an unfamiliar place, speaking with people I had never met. I always tried to see what I looked like, I felt like myself, but I knew I wasn't myself.
The feeling that this had happened before always bothered me and usually that would wake me up before I could find out anything, but this time it continued on.
I had been walking around the campus, heading towards a specific bathroom where I knew other girls rarely frequented.
I walk in and surprisingly (and yet not) there were no mirrors.
As I went about my business, I pull out my phone (even though I know I don't have one) and begin to scroll through it, opening up one of the yellow squares (2). When the black screen revealed the face that I had, I nearly dropped my phone (I didn't), instead I smiled at the screen and took a picture before I sent it off to someone with a caption of 'when you can finally pee in peace'.
As I finished up and walked out of the restroom, my phone rang once more and I answered. I didn't expect the words that fell out my mouth, they felt foreign yet familiar and I understood everyone.
"Jasmine could you pick me up cilantro and a dollar of bread from the store?"
My name wasn't Jasmine, I was Natsume, but Jasmine sounded just as right too.
"Okay I will, I love you mami."
I kept walking, seeming as if nothing was wrong and yet everything was, because this didn't feel right. It felt familiar yes, but it wasn't my familiar.
The dream faded and I hoped it was over.
It felt weird to feel like myself, yet not myself.
When I focused on the area around me, it was to find myself in a purple painted room, a desktop tucked in the far corner of it and a laundry basket with fresh clothes waiting to be put away.
For now I decided to leave the laundry basket, heading towards the computer in the room and clicked open the internet. I didn't even know what I was typing all I knew was that I was reading a manga and it was entertaining.
The screen was slightly fuzzy to me, I couldn't really make out the characters, but I had an idea of what the story was.
Who would have thought that Tsunayoshi would have a chance of becoming a Mafia Boss?
The thought didn't register at first, not even after the screen went black and I just sat there trying to sit through and come up with something.
"I'll be your home tutor."
The words the infant said made Natsume's stomach twist.
When she looked down at her hands – they were shaking, but they were no longer hers – and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. Hadn't this happened before when she was younger? Hadn't she already made the connection that her Sawada Tsunayoshi was that Sawada Tsunayoshi?
She had already been through this, she already knew about Jasmine, so why was she freaking out? Or the real question how did she forget about her?
Purple filled her vision, her voice, much younger and higher yelling for Tsuna and at the man that tried to take him. She remembered how she wished the worst for him, if only to let go of Tsuna and for them to run away.
Oh god, she remembered.
She killed a man.
She felt sick.
She –
An alarm rang loud, jolting her from her sleep. She was breathing heavily and when she brought her hands up to her face, she wasn't at all surprised that her cheeks were wet.
Everything was coming back and she truly wondered why she had ever forgotten?
She felt sick, she kicked off the covers that had tangled around her legs, almost falling over when she made her way out of her room and towards the bathroom.
She felt sick.
She had killed a man.
She hadn't meant to.
She barely made it to the toilet as she threw up, eyes tearing up.
He would have taken Tsuna.
That was her brother.
Hers and her mama's and papa's.
She would like to think she did the right thing, but taking a life shouldn't have been the answer even if she hadn't meant too.
Natsume was sick.
And she felt tired; things weren't going to go well at all when that person came along.
Part 7: A Tutor? Are you for real!
While Tsuna had gone off to school, Natsume had stayed in bed trying to both sort out her feelings and her thoughts (and those thoughts). She didn't really take well to once again learning about another life and she was of the mind to just ignore everything and anything.
Of course she couldn't, because her voice and memories would appear every time she happened to fall asleep. She felt crazy and unable to breath, but she faced it now rather than later – she recalled family and friends, the scorching Californian heat, friendly banters, broken friendships, the want to be better, but not the will.
She had been part of UC Irvine's psychology and social behavior program and had been rather invested in learning (and often times related certain situations with her family).
Natsume recalled the jokes and some of the 'memes', had realized that she often times quoted movies, books or songs that hadn't been out in her time.
Two days had not been enough to go through everything, but she was just glad to know that one of the manga series Jasmine had picked up had been left unfinished, she really didn't want to know what else happened in that Sawada Tsunayoshi's life.
Wednesday morning found her getting ready and though her head still ached, it wasn't the pounding, vomit inducing pain it had been.
She still glared at anybody who made too much noise because yeah she was a brat who felt bad and usually took that out on people (her period had also started so yay) her head ached, her brother may or may not be a Mafia Boss, and she would definitely rather be in bed than going through Aoba-sensei's math lecture.
"Sawada! Answer the question!"
She didn't straighten up, instead blinking as she took in the mess of Aoba-sensei's writing. His hand pointed at the problem he wanted her to solve (and fail) so he could then go on and lecture about how they should all be paying attention because this would be on the test.
"(x+6)² is x²+12x+36," she squinted trying to read the instructions and she realized she may need glasses or she needed to be moved further up, she also wondered how she solved that when she had no clue what was going on. The dark haired teacher (whose hair looked slightly green in just the right lighting) nodded in approval.
"Good, but do pay attention. Now there are two ways of getting this answer there is the foil method or the pyramid –"Aoba continued on and Natsume listened, even though she was a little surprised at herself for figuring that out so quickly.
She was similar to Tsuna where she had to take her time to solve things or get through things. fFocusing was easier for her than her brother and it usually helped her get through her lessons much quicker than her dear brother.
When the lunch bell rang she was about to head out towards the restroom and then find Tsuna. Aoba-sensei of course called her over as he was putting his notes and book for the class away. He handed her a packet of work and a few pages of photocopied notes.
"You've probably looked over Tsunayoshi's work since we just started working on polynomials, so this shouldn't be too hard once you get down to it, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask during class."
"Thank you Sensei, will this be due on Monday or…"
Aoba shook his head, pushing up his lenses as they slid down his nose, "Tuesday for you since you had a note of excuse, it would be better if you could turn it on the due date, but if not I understand." Nastume nodded, thanking her teacher once more before she excused herself.
Having brought along her book bag with her, she unclipped the top and made sure to slip the paperwork inside one of her folders so that the pages wouldn't get all folded up. She did her business quickly and found Tsuna who had Yamamoto sitting beside him trading pieces of food from their bento, while Sasagawa and Kurokawa sat in the empty seats in front of them.
As she slid into the empty seat behind Tsuna, Natsume noted that maybe that odd niggling thought she was feeling (as if she already knew, because she did) had something to do with that past life. Brushing it aside and acting as if she barely knew the people that had begun to surround her brother, Natsume ate her lunch in peace even if Tsuna did finish her juice.
The unamused look she cast him and the look of 'I feel you' that she caught Kyoko directing at her of course made it up for it.
"Brother's right?"
Kyoko smiled, a cute blush adorning her peachy cheeks at the sudden attention and nodded, "Brother's."
/ | \
On the walk home Tsuna could tell that his sister was expecting something by the way she seemed to be looking over her shoulder (not literally, but she looked around as if waiting for someone to pop up) and the way her lips were pursed in her annoyance.
That or it was the cramps.
Really he was kind of happy he wasn't a girl.
Anyways he was happy to make it home, because that meant Natsume could stop sporting that look she got when she was about to throw down with people when she found out they had been bothering him.
The late afternoon drifted on, Natsume pouring over his notes from the last two days and then complaining about his 'shitty' writing. He told her not to call it 'shitty' and also to not curse, but she simply shrugged it off.
They had more math work than anything else and Mama would have helped them with that but she was currently out and wouldn't be home for a while. So that left them with dealing with the short worksheets (Tsuna absolutely loved the fill in the blanks because all he had to do was crack open a book and the answer was there and he only had to write a word or two). History was the easiest, honestly Tsuna found it enjoyable, even if the way Hishida-sensei taught was completely boring.
Science was okay as well since they really didn't get outside work, usually short little in class labs that they would do (but Nezu-sensei was terrible, so they never really did much).
English was part of his better classes (and that was only because Nana had taught them from a young age, even if sometimes she slipped and began to talk in Hawaiian Pidgin and wasn't that mind numbing trying to decipher what she meant) and Kim-sensei was nice and took her time explaining the introductions to the ridiculous language.
He was currently flipping a page from his history textbook as Natsume plowed through the math notes and yesterday's homework when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Tsuna volunteered pushing himself off the table and heading towards the door. When he opened it he had been expecting Nana there with a bag or two of groceries, instead there was nothing there and he wondered if they were being pranked.
He closed the door, shrugging off the feeling that he was being watched, "There was no one there – HIIEE!" His shriek caught Natsume's attention who looked up, a bit confused at what her brother could be freaking out about; did a bug get on him again? "How did you get in here!?"
"Ciaossu!"
Natsume blanched, her usually warm brown skin looking gray as she recalled the voice from distant memories.
"What are you doing here?" Tsuna had an interesting expression on his face, one that was a cross between 'what the fuck', worry, and completely lost. "Where are you parents!"
"I'm here to tutor you," the voice responded, ignoring the second question. There was the sound of tiny footsteps padding across the floor and once she stood up and looked over the edge of the table she could see a suit clad baby staring up at her.
"I think Mama said something about meeting a tutor today," Natsume spoke slowly, trying to get back to actually thinking instead of what her muddled (and slightly broken mind) was freaking out over. (It was real, talking babies and curses and mafia, omgomgomgomg.)
"But you're a baby!"
It seemed the small figure didn't like that being pointed out, he moved quick and Tsuna was soon nursing the back of his head.
"Oi, you can't come in here and do that, y'know!" she also didn't really like people who hurt her brother, so already this little guy was on her shit list, even if he could probably kick her ass six ways to Sunday.
"Hm, he'll need to get used to that, especially if he's going to be a Mafia Boss."
Tsuna gaped down at the kid, Natsume was probably doing the same thing and the infant seemed to be relishing the moment (he was always proud of stumping people and messing with their heads).
"I'm Reborn," the kid was cheeky, that blaze smile he had seeming to mock them, "And I'll be your home tutor."
'From Hell,' was left unsaid, but somehow they heard it.
Tsuna in the back of his head noted that this was probably what his sister had been looking out for earlier, intentional or not she had a good sense of when something was coming, though it usually happened within that moment instead of hours later.
This…..this wasn't happening.
"I think I'm going to go out for some fresh air."
Alone, but he had a feeling that the kid before him was going to follow and his sister (judging by the look in her eye she wasn't happy with said kid) was going to tag along.
Great, just great.
And today had been going so well.
/ | \
"I just want to clear my head and get some fresh air; because there is seriously no way you can be a home tutor."
"Totz, plus we're doing fine, we don't need tutoring," Natsume added sitting herself beside her brother. They had ended up at the small park near their home, which was a nice quiet place to come jog through or workout. Right now it was being used as an odd sort of interview place, with them finding more excuses to reject the named Reborn than to actually take him on.
"Yeah, we're doing alright in school and stuff."
It was creepy how the toddler didn't really blink; he only looked up at them, his dark eyes taking both in before he sighed.
"I'm here whether you want it or not," Reborn sounded as if he wasn't going to budge on the issue, because though he knew the two were average in classes (minus physical education for Tsuna), that wasn't what he was really here for. "I'm here to train you up for something more and I won't leave until I do my duty."
It was the girl who spoke again, hazel eyes bearing down at him with slight disdain, "What else could there be then?" She asked, but he could see it in her eyes she already had an idea, a clue and she seemed to fear his answer.
The Vongola Intuition seemed to run strong if she could sense that through the seal that had been placed on her, the boy seemed to pick up on it, his brow scrunching up in concern.
"What do you know about the Mafia?" Reborn asked, watching confusion cloud both of the kid's features. When they didn't answer and their confusion changed to slight understanding, Reborn nodded, "I'm here to shape one of you into the next Vongola Boss."
There was a widening in Tsuna's eyes as he shot up, arms crossing in an 'x' against his chest, "No way!" Natsume seemed shocked, blinking slowly at his revelation. "You can't expect us to believe that!"
"Well believe it," his companion Leon settled into his hand, transforming into a gun that he levelled up at Tsuna who froze. He saw the corner of Natsume's mouth twitch at his words or was it at the chameleon turned gun? Reborn couldn't really get a read of her thoughts to know for sure.
"And you're going to learn whether you want to or not, because it's expected of both you and me," there was a clicking sound and Tsuna slowly sat back down, tears of frustration slowly welling up in his eyes. Reborn would have honestly felt for him – the kid was civilian, completely sealed off, and an average mess – he would have been someone he never interacted with.
But Vongola didn't have much of a choice.
All three of Nono's heir's dead, one unable to take the seat and it fell to the civie who had no clue to take on the role of Boss. It was saddening, slightly disturbing, but needed.
It was a completely last resort and thus Reborn had been called in to make the last resort the best resort.
"It's time for your first lesson," Reborn spoke up after a couple seconds, "Say hello to death for me, it's time for you to be reborn."
The shot rang out and the kid sagged, head falling back as blood trickled from the wound on his forehead. Natsume beside him looked sickly and too still, her eyes were wide and unseeing, looking on the verge of tears as shaky hands reached out to the still form of her brother.
She felt sick and she was panicking, she was terrified because that gunshot sounded so familiar and yet unfamiliar. She could feel herself shiver almost violently, hands pulling away as warmth and a completely soothing feeling washed over her which made her shiver once more, goosebumps forming on her skin.
Something burst forth from Tsuna, shouting with a vengeance, "Get the kid out of my house with my dying will!"
The literal flaming visage of her brother proceeded to try to grab Reborn, who dodged the hands and used his surroundings to his advantage to stay out of reach from Tsuna.
The tiny hitman was almost impressed by the strength of the flames that came off of Tsuna and though he was surprised that kid's last regret was not getting him out of their home fast enough, it was a good way to test and gauge the kids performance.
His movements weren't fluid, though there were certain movements that were graceful (when he evaded Reborn's kick and a baton to his side) but other than that it was rigid. By the time the five minutes passed Tsuna fell to his knees, panting heavily from the sudden exertion.
"What the fuck was that?" it was the girl who asked, her fingers clenched tightly around the clothes Tsuna had been wearing as she ran up to them. A soft sound emitted from the boy and the girl was between giving him disbelieving looks and caring for Tsuna.
Tsuna won out as the higher priority and she shoved his shirt back on before anyone came up on them and thought him a perv for being in his underwear. Reborn watched, taking in the glittering amber in the girl's eyes and wondering if Iemitsu had informed him correctly.
He had said his daughter was a Mist, like his grandmother, so why was she emitting a small amount of Sky flames?
It would make sense from reports; usually those who had been sealed (from what old reports used to say) wouldn't be the most functional person. They tended to become clumsy, airheaded peole without much of a want to do much in life, often drifting by and just being, instead of actively pursuing a goal or a dream.
Natsume only showed certain traits of a sealed person, while Tsuna had exhibited them to a T. Frankly he should have been dead last and worse off than he currently was, but he was almost a well-functioning person. Reborn would give both Sawada Nana and Sawada Natsume a medal if he was to really come to care – they had gone above and beyond and had pulled a sealed person (a sealed Sky of all people) out of a rut they would have happily sunk into.
Blinking Reborn noted that Tsuna was dressed once more and had been tugged behind his sister who looked at him with those eyes. Weak as her flames appeared to be at the moment, it made him want to straighten up, to apologize – half-lidded and judging, mouth pursed and brows furrowed (she was disappointed) – but he wouldn't, he did not abide to any Sky.
Tsuna felt as if he could think a little clearer, he didn't feel as jittery (though that may be because he was holding onto his sister and she calmed him) and it had to do with what the baby did.
"Ma-maybe we should let him explain," he hesitated at first and even though he was terrified at what had just happened (he had been shot and he had died, but he wasn't dead he was still here and he felt better). "At home though, we should go back home."
He put his hands on his sister's shoulders, could feel the tension and the shaking.
"Do you really want to Tsuna?" she asked, not taking her eyes of the baby and he couldn't see, didn't want to see that look on her face. He could finally feel his sister, her discomfort, her shock, her anger, and her need to punt the little kid across them.
"Yes."
His sister stilled once more, he could literally feel it before she turned away, a wheezing breath escaping her as she tugged him along.
"Oi kid you should come or I'll lock you out of the house."
She'll probably do it either way, her mind was a mess - that story had some truth and that gunshot kept ringing in her ear making her picture Jasmine's death and Tsuna's.
She could kiss a peaceful life goodbye.
/ | \
Mama wasn't home yet, which wasn't odd – sometimes she volunteered as an assistant at the elementary school or she spent time with Matsumoto-baasan at the Namimori Diner. Before they headed upstairs, Tsuna and her made sure to take out some chicken from the freezer and peeled some potatoes that they chopped up and left soaking in a bowl of water (they took their time, not exactly eager to have conversation with the weird baby, but time was up).
Trudging upstairs and into Tsuna's room, Natsume made herself comfortable on her brother's bed, while Tsuna sat on the floor leaning up against his bed, Reborn stood before them, watching them. He waited for them to get settled.
"What you experienced Tsunayoshi was Dying Will Mode," Reborn began, hands behind his back and getting into lecture mode. "It is where the body surpasses any physical limitations and goes beyond what a normal human could do."
He watched Tsuna fiddle with the bullet he had sneezed and gestured to it, "That is one of the ways to force out your flames and push you into Dying Will Mode."
"What, what if it hadn't worked?"
Reborn stopped himself from smirking, "I am the World's Greatest Hitman, Tsunayoshi, what do you think would have happened?"
Tsuna blanched as he came to an answer, "The way I enforce that mode on you is by hitting you with a bullet, if at the time that I shoot you, you have any regrets you will come back – stronger, faster – with a will to complete whatever regret you had in mind."
The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable, Tsuna still was gazing down at the bullet and Natsume was looking at him, her brow scrunching up in thought.
"But why does it have to be that way?" the eldest asked as she moved herself to sit right behind Tsuna, her fingers running through his hair.
They certainly had a good relationship; they would need that in the future.
"Both yours and Tsunayoshi's flames were sealed at a young age, the way it was done it would take a great deal of stress to undo it – death is usually the answer to unlocking it."
Which was a lie, but they didn't have any other sure way to go about it, it was why the Dying Will Bullets had been made. Usually those who had been sealed (which was rare) never got it undone, what they were doing with Tsunayoshi (and perhaps Natsume later on in time, unless her Sky began to chisel away at the seal) was more of a gamble and one that had luckily worked.
The girl frowned, not exactly happy to hear that, "Does that mean that seal's undone now?"
Reborn already liked the girl already, even if she probably didn't like him at all in the moment – he would later agree that he had made a bad first impression – she asked the questions for when her brother couldn't (Tsuna was in his own world, he wasn't here, he was too focused on the thought that he had actually died).
"At the current moment it should be cracked and his flames should start pushing through breaking away at it further," Reborn's head tilted slightly to the side, trying to feel out Tsunayoshi. "It would probably take a couple more bullets to completely be rid of the seal."
And then the real training would begin.
The girl sniffed, nodding in understanding. She tugged at the strands of chocolate brown hair, getting a quiet cry for Tsuna as he looked up at her, "Ey you listenin' right? This is about you."
It really wouldn't do to have his student not paying attention when he should and Reborn was about to show his displeasure when he felt the girl's heavy gaze on him. Her eyes were that amber color again, specks of indigo appearing on the outer edges of her eyes.
"If you are to tutor us, especially Tsuna you will not be laying a hand on us. If my Mama can do it without swatting us, so can you."
It wasn't his way, he was more of a hands on instructor, but he had a feeling he shouldn't press his luck against the eldest twin. Even if she couldn't do anything against him now, she seemed like the type that would find a way.
Damn Mists and their grudges.
"We'll see."
As long as they didn't act anything like Iemitsu did – the man could be a real idiot when he wanted too – he would be fine.
"Now about the Mafia….."
Straight to the point wasn't she?
"You'll explain that to both us and Mama, yes?"
"Your mother does not need to know –"
Natsume rolled her eyes making an odd sound at the back of her throat – there was the teenager, not this tiny adult that she was currently being.
"Puh-lease," she said, tugging once more at Tsuna's hair, who swatted at her hand for doing so, "Mama know how it go down."
Reborn didn't frown, didn't blink, but he was curious.
"Really now?"
"You should ask her about Hawai'i and the cousins she ran with, it may not line up with your version of Mafia, but Mama's no stranger to that." It may also be because her mother tended to miss certain understandings, because with the stories she's told it seemed she hadn't realized exactly what her group of friends did.
(She came to it later and Nana could only scratch at her cheek sheepishly, "Whoops?" was all her mother had to say about it.)
The nod she got from Reborn made Natsume feel good, "We'll hold off on the Mafia for now." Shouldn't have been such a relief to hear, the sound of the front door opening and Nana calling up to them made Natsume feel a lot better.
Really she needed a hug, there was too much stress going on right now.
"I guess you're staying then?" Tsuna piped up as he pick himself up, "I thought it would be a lot more….difficult." Here he flicked his eyes over to Natsume who stuck his tongue out at him.
"Whatever Tsunayoshi, come on you need to meet Mama and explain why you're here."
When the girl bounded out of the room leaving Tsuna and Reborn behind, they could hear the soft cry of a kitten, a coo of Emi and then the sound of feet going downstairs. The sound of someone tripping wasn't surprising and Tsunayoshi could only rub the back of his head.
"Well she's not happy," Tsuna concluded aloud, something that the hitman didn't need to be told twice. "You really upset her, even though she's not showing it."
"Oh?"
The boy shrugged, "She means well, honestly," he said, wiping his hands against his thighs. "I don't think she likes the idea of not being able to protect me."
"You can protect yourself, can't you?" From what Iemitsu had said before Reborn was sent off, the boy did know a few techniques to be able to do so, but it seemed he never really ever used it, not with the way his sister always stuck up for him.
Once more the brunet shrugged, "I just never really saw the point of doing so, if it's going to happen, it'll happen."
Ah and there it was the reason, not at all odd considering the boy had been sealed for most of his childhood. It also explained why Natsume was a little over protective, because if Tsuna wasn't going to protect himself, then it fell on her.
"We'll fix that soon enough."
And Reborn headed on out, leaving a bewildered Tsuna behind,
"Oi, what you mean by that?"
Author Note:
(1) Skyrim reference, which still isn't out yet in this universe.
(2) Snapchat~ Jasmine died about 2014ish, around the time it was getting popular
It continues on I suppose, we meet Reborn and friendships are happening before he even arrives. Honestly I've made good friends because I suddenly stuck my nose in a conversation when something I overheard stood out and I was curious about it, Kyoko bless her soul, I feel has that same curiosity (though she uses it for good). AAAHH, there's not much to explain, except I kind of do plough through the first part kind of fast. Emi is brought back (and will forever stay because cats).
I kind of 'proofread' this, my mind doesn't want to focus so if anything sticks out or seems weird, just let me know.
A huge thank you to those who favorited and followed this story, there are some names I recognized, so welcome back! To the new people, hello! xXKaminari-TsubasaXx, ADDbaby, OmensProcrastinator thanks for the reviews! Hope this lives up to the new standard I set (now you guys have expectations of me lol D;)
Also I've posted this story as well to AO3, you can find me under Soruga0Bandgeek if you guys prefer to read over there :)
Until next time~
Sorugao