Chapter Fourteen

Tsuna bounced on his balls in search for a blond. Since the recreational activities will take time, they were given moments to prepare. Being a mafia boss turned vigilante leader, Tsuna doesn't really need to prepare anything since he'll be fighting with either his quirks or just his fists.

So far, two teens backed out and all from Shinsou's team. His Dad expressed a great interest on the teen's quirk and asked him if he minds. Tsuna didn't really. If his Dad can help a young man realize that his quirk is pretty, why not? Not like the kid will take his family away.

Okay. He sounded insecure.

He looked around and pouted when he can't see an ash blond around. Seriously, where is that explosive kid that always has this scowl and never really smiles? Knowing that kid, he should be meditating somewhere quiet or with no people in there. Maybe he's looking at the wrong place? Maybe he is- caramel eyes blinked in surprise before they softened when they recognized a familiar figure. It was Todoroki, leaning his back on the wall while crouching. He looked a little unsettled, lost even, while just sitting still in there. A little courageous, Tsuna decided to approach, trying his luck to at least talk with the only teen who's pretty distant from him.

Crouching down beside Todoroki, he leaned on the wall too and looked up to the sky as he felt mismatched eyes glance at him from staring at the ground. They keep silent, just feeling the breeze and letting the small stream of sunlight hit them every once in awhile. Not that Tsuna misses this, but he hadn't shared this kind of peace with anyone since then.

"Who are you against with?" His classmate murmured.

"Kaminari-san." He answered, side-eyeing the other. "You?"

"Amane."

"Hm." Tsuna looked down to the other's hand and noticed the white skin. "What happened to that?"

"Frostbites." Todoroki shrugged. "I used too much of my ice quirk."

He clicked his tongue before summoning his dying will flame. "Let me."

"Ha-"

The brunet 'shh'-ed quietly as he took the left hand with both of his, and started to give warmth. He watched the orange flames dance around the ice, melting it and caressing the tender skin after. He started to slowly and gently massage the hand he's holding while waiting for the process to finish.

For someone who uses his ice quirk a lot, Todoroki's hand is pretty warm. He likes how calloused it is too. He must have done a lot of training to get this far. He wonders if the other have ever smiled though. A child like smile that kids in his situation lost as they grew up. Every time he hears those kinds of stories, he remembers Ipin, Lambo and Fuuta. Those stray kids they took in to his orphanage so they could have their innocence again. It will never be right to rid of children their happiness, childhood and naivety. But this is the reality.

"Your flame is warm." He heard Todoroki mumbled. "It's not hot."

Tsuna smiled as the last of the frostbite are being warmed. "It's only hot when I'm emotional, Todoroki-san."

"You're quite polite." The other remarked.

"Do you want me to call you Todoroki then?"

"Alright."

He chuckled as he retracted his flames and let them snuff out. "You can always call me Tsuna. I don't really like formalities. Well, except if I don't like the person I'm speaking with or when I'm in a formal gathering." He stood up and reached out to pat the teen's head. "Come to me if you get frostbites again. You won't become a hero if you don't take care of yourself, Todoroki."

The other didn't reply, watching him pat his head.

"I should get going." He bid as he retracted his hand and used it to wave. "I have to look for Katsuki. Good luck later."

He didn't see how Todoroki reached out for his own head and patted it, as if relishing the feeling of his hand.

He entered the stadium to search for the blond. He looked for every nook and cranny. He even entered the waiting room. But instead of seeing Katsuki Bakugou, he opened on Shinsou who looked up to check who knocked on his door. Tsuna apologized and was about to close the door when the other talked.

"You're Tsunayoshi Sawada, right?" Shinsou asked, smiling a little.

His intuition gave a 'go'. He smiled politely. "Yes. Nice meeting you, Shinsou-san."

"Are you ready for your battle?" The purple head questioned.

He nodded, after getting a 'no' from his intuition.

"Who are you against with?"

Tsuna used a finger to sign a symbol of lightning.

The other's purple eyes widened in realization. "Wait. How do you know I'm using my quirk?"

He grinned and knocked on his head before giving a peace sign. He waved a hand and closed the door, cutting off the other from talking more. He was about to sigh when he caught a glimpse of a familiar blond. "Katsuki!"

The blond turned half of his body to see him. "What?"

The brunet hurriedly jog to the other's side and smiled. More like grimaced. "A-Ah. I want to apologize for walking out on you like that. It was stupid. I should've at least told you where I was going. I'm sorry."

"I wasn't worried." Katsuki huffed, turning his head away.

"Really?" He asked, tilting his head to the right. Huh. "Okay." He shrugged before turning away too. "See you around."

"You called me out just for that?"

"Yup. It doesn't feel right when I left you like that." He chuckled as he started to walk away. "Anyway, good luck with your-"

The brunet found himself getting dragged by Katsuki somewhere. They went inside one of the waiting room. Tsuna sat himself on one of the chairs and took a treat from a table. An orange. He watched the other pace around, not minding that someone is watching him.

He chuckled when the other scowled at him. Talking another orange to peel and eat, he decided to split it into half and put one half to the side before peeling the other in his hand. Oranges and tangerines always remind him of home. Those times Ryohei will come home from Japan with a sack full of them. There's also Lambo who always, always pulls him to go for the living room and makes him peel a lot of oranges even though he could do it himself. The orange juice he shares with them on lunch too.

"Oi. You're frowning." And pain on his forehead registered.

"Ow, Katsuki. What's wrong with you?" He pouted while caressing the sore spot.

"You were frowning, dumbass." Katsuki replied, taking a seat beside him and the other half of the orange. "You look ugly when you frown."

Tsuna can't help smiling when he remembered how Yuni told him what people in mafia describe him when he's frowning. "Really? What do you call yourself then?"

"You little-"

Tsuna laughed. Damn. He has been thinking about his family lately. Is that a good sign or a bad one?

Tsuna pursed his lips while staring at Kaminari. Just how is he going make the other lose without making any great damage? Well, being struck by electricity is not an option, because his body is not accustomed to being electrified. Unlike his old one which was Lambo-fied. Maybe push him out of bounds? Probable.

Well, they're the seventh pair to fight off on the center stage. Todoroki beat Amane with just his ice quirk. Shiraki from Class B was defeated by Iida after the latter pushed the other out of bounds. Inao's earth quirk is not really up in bar with Mina's quirk, so he lost. Same with Yamato who got bombed away by Katsuki. Izuku won against Shinsou's brainwashing, while Sero got iced by Todoroki. But the three put up their own fights, made it a little harder for their opponents to defeat them. (Especially Amane because his flames were lingering in her to the point that she can make herself invisible.)

So back on Kaminari though...

Tsuna dodged fast when electricity timbers tried to reach him. He jumped up when the other tried to electrify the stage, and used his flames to give him a small boost before jumping down to the blond, who was about to electrify him. He dodged on midair before rolling to the sides and pouted as his intuition formulated another plan.

Well, if he can't push the other directly, why not make him immobile for a bit? Pulling his arm back and forming his hand into a fist, he brought it down with his quirk on it. It cracked the stage. He muttered a small apology before running after the waves. He gave a grin as Kaminari started to shout in panic while keeping his balance. With a little push to the edge, Kaminari was out of bounds.

The blond stared at him with wide eyes while he smiled apologetically.

"Sorry." He apologized.

Kaminari blinked before laughing, dismissive of the apology. "It's alright. I knew I'm no match against your super strength and Dying will."

"Kaminari is out of bounds! Sawada advanced to the third round!" Midnight announced.

Tsuna offered his hand. "You did well, Kaminari. Commendable."

"So were you! You were like flying in midair!" Kaminari praised equally cheery as they moved for the stairs and go down from there.

When they got to the passage, Iida greeted them with congratulations. Tsuna said a thank you before moving to the waiting rooms since he wanted to rest while Kaminari went for the bleachers. The brunet watched the blond go for the stairs to the bleachers, getting greeted by some of their classmates. He turned away when his intuition warned him that they will check on him.

When he entered a room, he immediately apologized when he saw Todoroki in there and was about to close the door when the other called him. He met those mismatched eyes and saw how angry and conflicted they were. He entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"Is it frostbites?" He asked as he crossed the room to the other's spot.

"Yeah." A soft answer.

He smiled softly in assurance. He took the nearby chair and placed it in front of the other. "Let me see. Was it when you froze Sero?"

"From when I fought Amane." Same tone.

"She put up a good fight, didn't she?" He hummed, taking the injured hand with both of his hands and let his flames dance to the other's arm. "You did well in stopping her movements. Being invisible and all."

"I overdid it on Sero, though."

He glanced at the downcast eyes. "You apologized, right?"

"Yeah. I was really pissed. I should've not put it on him."

"It happens all the time, so no worries, Todoroki." He soothed, making his flame take its time. "As long as you apologized, it's alright. Forgiveness is something that will take time to be considered."

"But not everything can be forgiven."

"Do you know the saying forgive but don't forget?" he questioned. He felt the other's gaze. "My tutor used to tell me that in our world, forgiving others and forgetting what they had done will never happen. Completely, utterly impossible. But being compassionate is really a pain on my ass. So I thought, maybe I should forgive them for turning out like that. It's not our fault that we became what we are now, right? We always wished that if only we were stronger, older and wiser when everything happened, we could've avoided it. However, that's just wishful thinking. So instead of forgetting what they did, I told myself to remember them so I can always tell myself not to do the same thing and not to end up as them in the future. But like I said, forgiveness takes time."

"Have you... Done the same things?"

Tsuna hummed, thinking of Varia, Byakuran, Simon, Vindice, and Kawahira. "I met people who tried to kill me and my friends. They all happened in the same year, but different times. At first, it was hard to forgive. How can I? Even my tutor couldn't forgive them. But I eventually did when one day, I thought that they were put under circumstances that they couldn't avoid and turned them as they are now. It was stupid of me. I know. But because of forgiveness, I was able to make lasting friendships too."

"It's not the same with family."

"I know someone who hated his father." He pursed his lips. "His father... He worked overseas, leaving him and his mother in the house. He rarely calls. If ever he calls, it will only be a minute. He forgets their anniversaries, his wife's and son's birthdays. I remember him crying whenever he recalls how his mother cry silently in their room. He said, good thing she's a little ditsy and naive that she forgives and loves him unconditionally."

"W-What did he do?"

"They fought once." Tsuna chuckled before grimacing at the memory. "The son got defeated. It can't be helped. His father has experience, while he was just a teen. A friend of his made him realize that he needed to acknowledge his father's strength. It wasn't the same as forgiving, but it was kinda hard for his part. How can you accept someone who made your mother cry?"

"I know."

"But he did. He acknowledged him, so he can fight against him. They did go toe to toe. And he got acknowledged for being strong. Regardless, it took years before he forgave his father."

"How many years?"

"Twenty? Give or take. He even avoided him in their mansion and work."

"They work in the same building?"

Tsuna chuckled as he looked up to those surprised mismatched eyes. "His son became his boss."

"W-Woah."

"So yeah. He had every reason in the world to give whenever he wants to avoid him." He pulled his flames but kept his hands in gently massaging the other's. "But confrontations happen. He voiced how he hated his father for making his mother cry. For taking them for granted. For living a life without a father and being teased about it. He wasn't forgiving him for the sake of his mother, who forgives him too easily. And you know what made the forgiveness?"

"Apology, acknowledgement of the mistakes."

"And no more promises." He added. He put Todoroki's hand on the other's lap. "My tutor said that a true man will keep his promises until he fulfills them. If he cannot fulfill it, he is not truthful, a liar and an untrustworthy. If he cannot apologize for his mistakes, he is someone prideful. To me, if they keep on being like those, it is up to us to forgive them. Because in the end, they'll be the ones shameful of what they have done in the past."

He watched the other stare at his hand, contemplating what he said.

"Don't think about it that much." He chided, putting a finger between the furrowed brows. "You'll get wrinkles, and you'll look old. You might look like someone you don't want to be."

The other snorted. "No way."

"Good. I should get going then." He bid, standing up. "Katsuki will be searching for me again."

"You don't really go with anyone, do you?" Todoroki queried when he started to walk for door.

"I'm not one to socialize." He replied easily. He opened the door and looked back from his shoulder with a cheeky smile. "I prefer being alone most of the time, but companies are welcomed. Bye, Todoroki. Good luck with your one-on-one with Midoriya."

Tsuna closed the door behind him. Instead of going somewhere he can watch the ongoing match, he opted to go for the bathroom. He went inside a stool and decided to spend his time there.

Shouta frowned when he felt a sudden tug at his chest. Not that kind of pain. It doesn't even hurt a bit. Just this urge to go somewhere. He looked over where the stage is. It's kinda messed up since Todoroki made a explosive against Midoriya's attack. The latter got quite a lot of injuries. But knowing the kid, he'll survive.

When Midnight called out the next match, Iida showed up from the other side while his opponent didn't arrive immediately. It took a minute for Midnight to call out the name again, and in ten seconds, Tsuna came in with hair ruffled and yawning. He appeared like he just woke up with how he drags his feet. Shouta and Hizashi turned to each other in questions.

When the battle started, it was Iida who moved first. It was unlike Tsuna's first match up where the brunet was the first one to attack, testing the waters. When Iida tried to get Tsuna, the latter slipped away like a slick. They couldn't see it really well from their box, but Shouta can feel the cool gaze of those orange eyes, watching Iida's attempts to get their owner. It's like they're playing and dancing in the stage, with the brunet leading the rhythm. Even with Iida's engines, he can't catch Tsuna.

As usual, Hizashi commented on how Tsuna is not using his quirk, something very unusual for them since they're in a battle of quirks. However, it's like the audience knew that the brunet is using his quirk without showing it. He commented that it must be unusual for the teen to use his quirk outwardly and with a lot of people watching. It was really unlike the fight against Kaminari where his son used his Dying Will as boosters and his super strength as a driving force.

Shouta remembers how he and his son discovered the latter's second quirk. It was one of those rare days that they get into arguments. Tsuna was really really mad at that time, which was an unusual sight to be behold. And it was the worst time for a villain to attack him while he was about to go out as Eraserhead.

The moment the villain tried to use his quirk on him, right in front Tsuna, which was the biggest worst mistake, the brunet was quick to pry the villain away from him with one hand and trap the other by the wall. The brunet was only ten by then, and he didn't even blink when he did it. It was Shouta who pointed it out, but Tsuna only stared at him, punched the villain on the face before going inside, huffing and puffing in anger. He left Shouta and the unconscious villain at the terrace, in the middle of the night.

(He was the one who apologized though. It was his fault why they had an argument. Tsuna was on the reasonable side. He's just the one who doesn't want to do what the other wants him to, because he's too stubborn. And when he did it, it worked. So yeah, they patched up with that.)

But before they knew it, Midnight announced that Iida was out of bounds and Tsuna advances to the third round. Shouta and Hizashi looked at each other before nodding their heads. If Todoroki and Tsuna are going to butt heads in the semi-finals, might as well announced Tsuna's affiliation at that time.

The question now is, who would win? The son of the number two hero who has ice and fire quirk, or the son of a common hero who developed two quirks? The pressured and the nonchalant. Two different teens with their own version of combustion. Who will win between them?