Chapter Seventeen
Hitoshi's brows furrowed when he heard his phone ringing. Removing himself from his bed, he went to reach the gadget from the side table and stared at the caller ID. Unknown. Who would call him at- He looked up to the clock. At ten in the morning?
He's not the favored student right now, after using his quirk in not so favorable way. Brainwashing his fellow students to do him things was quoted to be villainous. Well, it is something that a villain with his kind of quirk will do. Most of his classmates always regard him with caution. From middle school till now. But he swears he never used it when he was a kid. The only time he used it was in Sports Festival. He wants to be a hero, not a villain.
Heh. He suddenly remembered Midoriya of Class A. That guy is too honest and gullible, falling to his quirk twice. Then there's this brunet he remembered guessing correctly whenever he uses his quirk. Tsunayoshi Sawada. Just how?
Anyway, he slid the key to answer the call and pressed it by his right ear.
"Hello?" He greeted.
"So I've been wondering, can you use your quirk over the phone? Like while we're talking, can you control someone? I mean, just think about how I'll get every bakery in Musutafu to bake me delicious cakes every celebration I can think of."
Hitoshi blinked. "I don't think so."
"Eh. Oh well. Anyhow, hi Shinsou-san! It's Tsunayoshi Sawada. Do you have any plans this ten until afternoon?"
"I don't think I have any." He answered truthfully.
"That's good! Can you come to the address I'm about to give you? Not that I'm going to kidnap you. That's pretty impossible with my height and all."
Hitoshi blinked several times. This guy is pretty cheerful. "Sure."
He took a paper and wrote the address he was given. After the call, he felt complied to dress up and go out of his apartment with the paper in hand. The address is just a train over. When he got in front of the building, he stared at how normal it looked. He pushed in anyway. He wrote his name on the registry, put 'visiting' on the purpose before putting the room number he was directed to.
He kinda felt a little nervous when he arrived in front of the door. He checked the room number and the floor thrice to make sure even. He started to doubt himself. Maybe it was a prank? That it was a joke? They don't even know each other that well, nor talked that much except that one time the brunet thought his waiting room was his.
He was about to back away when the door opened and Tsunayoshi Sawada looked up to him. He blinked when he got attacked by the sun. Shit. It was just a smile, but why did flowers and sweet things appear?
"I told you this is my third quirk, Dad!" The brunet shouted over his shoulder before gesturing him to come in while opening the door more. "Come in, Shinsou-san."
"Uh..."
"Come in already. Uncle Hitoshi needs all his help with the food preparation. You can cook, right?"
He went in and watched the brunet close the door. "I can do some small things."
"Oh good. Since Dad can't help right now. You know, newly healed injuries and all. Although Nemuri-nee can do some too, she's currently in an argument with Dad." The other said while putting a pair of slipper in front of him. "Come on."
"W-Wait. Why am I here? I mean we don't know each other that well." He questioned, making the brunet gaze at him again. He suddenly felt guilty. "I just don't understand."
Sawada shrugged. "Just for the heck of it. I mean, do we always need a reason to do things?"
"Just come in, Shinsou." A new voice said.
His eyes widened as he stared at Eraserhead in casual clothes and hair pulled in a half bun.
"You won't win an argument with this guy. He'll do things just for the thought of it." Eraserhead advised while putting a hand on Sawada's head.
"Not like you don't do the same thing." The brunet countered.
"I got it from you, idiot."
"Is it my fault you're a fast learner?"
"You little-"
He watched the two banter in front of him, before he got gestured again to come in. He did. He removed his shoes and slipped in the slippers. He got ushered to a simple apartment with minimal decors, except for some pictures and such. He got lightly pushed to a room where his eyes widened more.
Present Mic and Midnight were there, talking about things while cutting and peeling some ingredients. The teachers greeted him in an enthusiastic way before Midnight started an argument with Eraserhead. Sawada ushered him to the counter where unpeeled ingredients were settled. He was given a peeler and a carrot while the brunet started to slice the other things that Midnight is unable to do at the moment. In a second of watching them, Shinsou found himself getting pulled in a talk and some jokes he can relate.
He discovered that like him, Kayama (Midnight told him to address her that because they're not in school or public) was new to the bizarre things happening inside the apartment. They were both invited to a celebration of Eraserhead's healed injuries, hosted by Sawada and Yamada (same case with Midnight). The two are so in the celebration preparation that they started to think what to add more and would've done it already if it wasn't for Eraserhead's intervention. Who the heck knew that the two will host three-man only parties in random times, reasons, and when one suddenly thought of buying a cake. As long as there is a cake, it's already a celebration. In due elaboration too, he was invited because Tsuna thought of him after seeing the English letter 'S', while Kayama was invited because she's a friend of both Present Mic and Eraserhead.
All for the heck of it.
He then discovered that Eraserhead, or Aizawa, adopted Sawada, or Tsuna, after a villain attack on his family that resulted to both of his parents to be in coma. The topic was sensitive, but Tsuna shrugs it off like it's not a big deal. He also discovered that the vigilante he had been hearing in the news and some video on YouTube channel, even read on some article was the teen who invited him over. Due to his shock, he got almost nicked by a knife on the hand if the brunet didn't catch the knife in midair and Aizawa didn't remove his hand.
After cooking the food, they were ushered to the living room. According to the house rules, the cooks must leave the food they made in thirty minutes or so, to remove the full stomach feeling they feel after cooking and come back to it after feeling hungry. He and Kayama only tagged along, getting into banters again. Before they knew it, Tsuna was serving the food on the center table with some plates and cutlery, and glasses for the juice.
"Nope." Tsuna took the glass of gold liquid from him. "No beer to minor or until you're twenty."
"Live a life, Tsuna." Kayama cheered, putting more liquid on her glass.
The brunet scrunched his nose before putting a juice on his hands. "After I graduate UA and become fully invisible from the world while helping those people in need."
"He even has your vigilante tendencies, Shouta." The lady jabbed to Aizawa who was eating cake.
"He's my son, what else?" Aizawa shrugged.
"So about the nominations," Yamada changed topics.
He sipped some juice as he got handed a plate of food. "Thanks."
"Pleasure." The brunet smiled.
Shinsou looked away for his food at how cheery the smile is. "Thanks for inviting me over. I wasn't planning anything to do at this time."
"If you want, you can stop by anytime." Tsuna offered, making him look. "I'm always here, Dad is out most of the time. I could use some company."
"That would be too much."
"Nothing is too much when offered." The other grinned. "We can share notes on some things. Like I can share you what I learn in the heroics, while you can teach me some general subjects. Win-win, right?"
The thought made him consider.
"And I'm bribing you. You want to be hero, right? Since you got into the one-on-one battles, you can transfer to the heroics department."
"But my quirk doesn't really qualify." He muttered. "Some of them think that its for villains."
"But that's the reason why you want to become a hero." Tsuna took his drink and put it on the table, before urging him to eat. "You want to prove them that even for your quirk, you can be a hero. Don't let them judge you for having it. It's yours. They're jealous of not having it. I mean, how amazing can it be to have someone get me a glass of water without complaining I always order them around. Or when some of my friends were being too loud, and I can just shut them up after controlling them."
Shinsou took some of the noodles with tomato sauce and put them on his mouth. They're delicious.
"Then think about those villains who like to take hostages. Just call them out, they answer, bam! Problem solved! No bloodshed needed."
He blinked at what the brunet said as the latter turned to him, brows wiggling in a teasing manner.
"You didn't think of that, did you?" He flushed. "Think about those destructive villains. Call them out, they answer, they stop. Tell them to calm down and just wait for the police. By the time you release them, they're in Tartarus. That's how cool your quirk is. You don't even have to fight. I mean, have you thought of using it over the phone like I said? That will be on different level."
"What if they get to know whenever I use it?"
Tsuna waved his hand. "Impossible. I'm the only one who can do that."
"But how did you do it?"
"Intuition." The brunet answered. "I just know when are you using it. Oi. Eat more. I invited you to eat."
He did before saying, "You're really weird."
The other laughed, like he was more than happy to be called like that. "I am!"
When Shinsou came back to his apartment, he felt exhausted from all the laughing they did. He stored the food that Tsuna and Aizawa packed for him. And he honestly can't remove the smile on his lips even when he went to bed. The day was really unusual but wonderful. Tsuna did give him a number things to use his quirk for as an aspiring hero.
That night, he slept with a smile on his face.
Tsuna ran for his room in a panicked pace. He almost overslept! Damn it! And his Dad didn't even wake him up. It wasn't his fault he really liked how warm his Dad was and the space he left that morning. Yeah. They slept on the same place yesterday.
He was about to pass Class C when he saw the door open. He peered over, craning his neck to see a familiar purple he invited yesterday. When he saw Shinsou, he called out the teen. The startled student looked over to him with wide eyes. Tsuna didn't mind the class that went quiet as he waved at the teen with a bright smile. He invited him to lunch before bidding his farewell. He gladly didn't miss the way Shinsou smiled.
He ran again. When he was nearing Class A, his eyes widened when he saw his Dad rounding the corner. He pumped his legs to go faster before he skidded to a stop in front his class's door. He went inside, removing his bag. Tsuna tapped Katsuki's table, waved at Izuku, greeted Mineta, Sero and Yaoyorozu, and greeted Shouto with a beam that got answered with a soft smile. Just when he sat, his Dad came in, silencing the room.
"Morning." Shouta greeted as he walked for the podium.
"Aizawa-sensei, I'm happy you were able to remove your bandages." Asui expressed after noticing the missing bandages.
"The old lady got overdramatic with her treatment. And someone doesn't want to remove them until they're certainly healed." Shouta answered while scratching the skin under his left eye with a pinkie. Some of them glanced at him, which he shrugged at. "But let's put that aside. Today's hero informatics period is a little special."
Tsuna's head tilted to the side in question when curiosity flashed in his Dad's black eyes when their eyes met.
"It's time to formulate your codenames." Shouta continued before elaborating farther. "Your hero names."
The brunet chuckled when most of his classmates cheered in happiness and excitement. They all got mollified when his Dad's hair floated a little in warning.
"This is related to the draft nominations by pros I mentioned the other day. The nominations will truly start mattering only after you gained some experience and your adaptable fighting ability is judged during your sophomore and senior years. In other words, the nomination you'll be getting this year are more akin to expressions of 'interest' in your future potential. And it's not rare that, that interest dries up by graduation or simply unilaterally dropped."
"So I guess the nominations we received are like personal hurdles, then!" Hagakure said.
"Now the tally of nominations are as follows." Shouta pointed a chalk to the black board with a horizontal bar graph. "Typically, the results are more balanced. But this year, all attention leaned towards the three of you."
Tsuna blinked at the number of 'nominations' he got. It was a little between Katsuki's and Shouto's number. He put a hand under his chin as he speculated why. Well, he and Nezu did think that his identity as a vigilante will be known to whole Japan in the Sport Festival. That, his connection to his parents, to Shouta and how he showed his power in the festival were all of the factors that pushed to the number to reach three thousand eight hundred forty.
He just has to pick the right agency then with the right conditions.
"Based on this, regardless of whether or not you received any nominations, I'll be having you all go get some so-called 'working-place experience'." His Dad announced, surveying them. "Well, you all dipped a toe in the world of the pros, unfortunately. But I think experiencing the activities of pros at firsthand will prove to be more fruitful training than before."
"And cuz of that, we need hero names, huh?!" Satou concluded in a hyped manner to his seatmate Uraraka.
"Things've gotten fun all of a sudden!" Uraraka cheered, equally excited.
"Of course, placeholder names are fine too, but something appropriate-"
"Because if not, it will be hell from there!" A woman's voice cut off Shouta's explanation.
Tsuna can't help his mouth from quirking a smile as Nemuri came in with a grace of a strong woman and a professional hero. She's wearing her hero costume with her usual glasses perched above her hair. It looked like she's fine with her hangover from yesterday's five-persons only party. She and Shouta kept on getting into arguments that he and Hizashi never tried to placate with Shinsou. But she's still productive, although easily distracted. She was the one who finished all the liquor Hizashi bought for the two of them, since his Dad seldomly drinks.
All in all, she's awesome. They get along well, and she's not insensitive even when drunk. She can hold her liquor well, sober enough to go home with Hizashi last night. She even offered assistance in cleaning up all the things they used, but he and Shouta shooed her away. But before they went out, she hugged him and expressed her gratitude of everything she could think of in one simple 'thank you'. Tsuna only replied 'don't mention it' which got a simple smile.
"The names you pick now! The names you come to be known by the world as now! In many cases, they stay that way after becoming pros!" She elaborated while walking for the podium.
"Midnight!" Some of his classmates exclaimed in awe.
"Well, she is correct." Shouta seconded while picking up his yellow sleeping bag. He surely missed that bag. "I'll be having Miss Midnight to evaluate your naming sense, since I definitely can't." Tsuna chuckled at that because he knew who thought of the name 'Eraserhead' for his Dad. "The way your future end up will approach the image you projected by the names you choose. It's all down to that old phrase, 'The names and natures often agree." Shouta gave them a look. "For example, All Might."
After that, they were given some boards to write what they think are their hero names. While he watches the others figure out their own names, he kept his empty while propping his chin over his hand.
He honestly didn't think of his hero name when he was a kid. Well, he never imagined himself as one until he got put in some circumstances that landed him in his current state right now. So thinking what he wants to be called whenever he is outside as a 'hero' is quite nerve wrecking. He's not even good at naming things. He suddenly remembered Reborn calling his naming sense 'lousy' after naming Natsu as Natsu.
He put his head on the table and groaned in despair. At least he's not doing math. But it feels like he is doing math. He sat up again and stared at the ceiling for inspiration. He thought of things, but nothing feels right. When he was about to look down to his cardboard again, he caught sight of his Dad's sleeping figure.
He mused how Shouta looked cozy in his yellow sleeping bag. He remembered falling asleep last night on the couch after cleaning up and just wanted to watch more of the news. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he found himself staring at his Dad's sleeping face, peaceful and contented, with a fluffy blanket draped on them and Shouta's arms around him. He snuggled close after that, wanting more heat and feeling those arms tightening around him.
Then his eyes roamed over his classmates' thinking and contemplative faces. His eyes caught Katsuki's mischievous eyes and everlasting ambitious smirk, Izuku's considering expression, then Shouto's neutral but soft face. Tsuna blinked when the teen glanced at him. He gave a soft smile that was rewarded with a small one too.
Then he saw it. He can't help his grin when he thought 'why not?' as he pulled the cap of the marker with his mouth and used his other hand to upright his cardboard. He wrote what he wanted to be his hero name and the name he wanted others to call him.
"All right, it's almost time for those who're ready to present their names in class!" Midnight announced.
Tsuna watched as Aoyama bravely stood up and went in front of the classroom before he presented his name. He was laughing at the literal and pun intended on the name. He just Can't Stop Twinkling. Mina came next, but she was rejected because she'll look like a villain. Asui's hero name was Froppy, the rainy season hero. It was pretty creative and cute. Tsuna could imagine her being friendly with kids with her name. Kirishima presented his own with the title: the hero of virility: Red Riot. He said the name was inspired by his own idol Crimson Riot.
Jirou came in with a board written with Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack. She got chided, but kept it. Shinjou's were Tentacle, the Tentacle Hero. Sero went for Cellophane as the Taping Hero. Ojirou and Satou went for simple names, the Martial Arts Hero, Tailman and the Sweet Taste Hero, Sugarman, respectively. Satou went from Sweet Taste Hero to Sweets Hero. Mina came back with 'Pinky' as her name. Tsuna giggled when it got accepted. Charge plus Inazuma, which means bolts of lightning, is equal to the Stun Gun Hero: Chargezuma from Kaminari. Midnight suggested Chargebolt. Hagakure went for a simple name, The Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl.
Tsuna looked in front of him when Yaoyorozu stood up with her board. When she presented hers, he nodded in approval. The heroine of all creation: Creati. When Shouto stood up and presented his name, the brunet hid his grin at how cute the other looked. He simply went for 'Shouto'. He looked like a child. Tsuna had to hide his blush. He should tell that Rei. That her son is just too adorable. When he and the other glanced at each other, after the latter sat, both blushed and made Tsuna snicker.
Tokoyami went for the Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi, which literally means the God of night and moon who was the husband of Goddess Amaterasu. The Hero Who Gives a Pluck: Grape Juice of Mineta went to Fresh Pickled Hero: Grape Juice. It was cute, only if he doesn't have any perverted tendencies. Koda wrote Meet and Greet Hero: Anima. Since he has animal whisper quirk, he got suggested with Petting Hero: Anima. He laughed when Katsuki's King of Explodo-Kills got rejected. He came back with Baron, and got rejected too. Tsuna can't help himself from writing something on a piece of paper, formed it into an airplane and let it fly to the blond with the help of physics (Courtesy of remembering Hayato's tutorials) to have a good aim. Next was Uraraka who gave Uravity, which Midnight commented as snappy, sleek and classic.
It only left for him, Iida, Izuku and Katsuki, who started to write.
He was about to stand up when Iida went on. He went for his name 'Tenya', just like Shouto. Then Izuku came next. The brunet's lips quirked to a smile when he read 'Deku' on the board. He said he didn't like his name, and up until now he still doesn't. It can't be helped that it brings back memories. But he remembered that one time Izuku told him that Uraraka changed the meaning of Deku for him. From zero to hero. From someone who is worthless and useless to someone who does not know how to give up. Yup. He really solidified his name.
He was already standing when Katsuki stood up too. The blond isn't as aggressive anymore, like the first. Then when he presented his name, Tsuna blinked and grinned. His suggestion was taken with a little tweak. What he wrote on the paper was 'The Destructive Hero: Explodo', Katsuki changed it to: 'The Violent Hero: Explodo'. At the lower part, there's the catchphrase: Die! Before the newscast of 'Explodo had 'killed' the villains once again!' He only put the catchphrase, and Katsuki added the newscast. And it has colors, someone like Katsuki will really really use. Midnight praised it even. Katsuki did state that he will change it in the future.
"Okay, Sawada. You're the last one." Nemuri signed him up.
Tsuna went to the front with his board. He presented it with a smile. "Encompassing Sky: Vongola Decimo."
His classmates stared at him while Shouta and Nemuri shot him shocked looks.
"How do you explain that?" Uraraka queried, interested.
"Well, if we think about it, even if we are in the different parts of the world, we only have one sky. It's vast and wide. Encompassing. What I want to point out is that as long as someone calls for help in wherever part of the world, I'll be there to help. Even just as a support. Just imagine, you're having a hard time and when you look up to the sky or just remember the word 'sky', you'll remember me supporting you even from a far." He explained.
"That's..." Kaminari trailed off. He was in awe.
"So cool." Kirishima uttered, starstruck.
"Vongola or Vongole means clam in Italian." He continued. "Clam has protective shell, hard to break when at best. When it has something to protect, it's impenetrable. When it has nothing, it only has himself to keep safe. Like I said, it's like the sky. In terms of science, the sky is like a clam's shell protecting its pearl, the Earth."
"But isn't Vongola known to be a bad organization?" Aoyama quizzed, making everyone look at him. "They're famous in Europe a long time ago as the king of the underworld."
"I know that." Tsuna nodded, thinking who might be leading the family at the moment. "But I wanted to give it a different connotation because such significance needs justification of how beautiful it is."
"What about Decimo?" Izuku questioned from his seat. He looked intrigued.
"Decimo means ten in Italian." Yaoyorozu answered for him. "It is known to be the perfect number."
"But I'm not striving to be perfect." He negated. "When one starts, two changes everything and keeps it like that until it reaches nine. And ten is the one that changes everything back to where it started. To one."
"Oh."
"But what I know is that," He cheekily smirked. "ten is known to be the greatest."
His classmates went for an uproar after what he said. He laughed and ducked away from Katsuki's explosive insults. It took Shouta to rose from the dead to shut them up.
"It's unique and creative." Nemuri smiled. "A name that will be remembered by many."
"Thank you." He expressed.
To get away from Katsuki, he went for the other way, which made their classmates laugh. After he got seated, Tsuna's mind swirled with the thoughts of the current Vongola. If they're still alive and doing those works. If someone is even leading him. Or if mafia is still alive. Well, he already chose his hero name. There's no coming back. If some mafiosi thought they could rustle him up, they can come at him all the want.
He isn't Vongola Decimo just by name.
"Good work everyone." Midnight praised them before stretching her arms. "That's all there is, Eraserhead."
"Okay." Shouta nodded as he peeled off his sleeping bag. "In regards your on-the-job training, your field training will be one week long. And these are all good workplaces. But those with nomination will receive personalized list. Pick one."
Tsuna received his from Yaoyorozu after theirs were passed by his Dad.
"Those who don't," Shouta lifted a paper with list of names written on them. "Get this list of forty participating workplaces from across the country. Choose one from the list." He handed them out. "Their areas of operation and expertise vary. For example is Number Thirteen, who focuses on lifesaving activities, rather than combat and such. So put a lot of thought into it before you choose. Turn them in by the end of the week."
Tsuna turned his attention to his list and scanned it with keen eyes. Well, he doesn't really need to choose since he already knows what to pick and where it is. He just needs to write it down and pass it.