Chapter Fifty-Five
Tsuna moved for the bench and sighed as he sat down. He removed his cap and closed his eyes to rest them a bit. So stressful. Good thing there was an optic doctor among them, or else he has to contact Reborn again, who is in Italy at the moment.
"Good work." He looked up to see who said that. It was Hawks, handing him a bottled water with a big smile. "Here."
"Oh- Thank you." He expressed as he took the bottle. He realized that it was already uncapped so he opened it and downed half of it before sagging further on the bench. "I feel like I can pass out."
"You're amazing out there." The other said while sitting next to him.
He smiled shyly. "Not as amazing as you, Hawks-san." He blinked and inspected the other. "Let me see your right eye." He reached out and touched the little wound there. "You were wearing a broken eyeshield when I saw you on TV." He let his hand burn yellow to heal the cut and see any other injury. "You should be careful too, Hawks-san." His eyes unknowingly flashed orange. "A lot of people may depend on you, but you also have to take care of yourself."
"A-Ah." The other blurted, reddening a little that made Tsuna tilt his head to the side in confusion. "Thank you."
"Do you want me to help you with your wings?" He asked as he retrieve his hand and let it burn orange. "I can attract them for you."
"You can do that?" The blond queried, fascinated.
He chuckled. Cute. He touched a finger on the hero's hand and let his harmony go inside the system. "There. When you go out, try it. They'll come." He stood up as the operating room door opened and Endeavor is being wheeled out. "See you around, Hawks-san. Thanks for the water. I'll treat you something next time."
He went with the others and watched as the number one hero gets settled. Tsuna didn't heal most of it, since he wants Chiyo to do most of it. But he did heal the big gash around the eye a little. He retained some to make it a little like a souvenir for the man for doing his first debut as a number one hero. He wonders if Endeavor will take it as a gag?
Once he was sure that the Todoroki patriarch got to his room, Tsuna proceeded to remove his scrubs and wear his clothes again. Taking his things, he excused himself to Chiyo and promised to come back later before flying off. He searched high and low for a familiar noiret with ragged clothing. His intuition pointed him to a port. He quickly went there and made a landing. Taking out his phone and removing the headset, he fumbled with it to open the flashlights. He let his Dying Will go and started to walk around.
"Dabi?!" He called out, wincing whenever he felt like someone is going to jump on him from the back. Fuck Daemon Spade. "Dabi?! Hey! Are you here?! Hope you are, dammit! Please don't snuck out on me! I'm scared of ghosts!"
He squeaked loudly when a ring of blue fire surrounded him. He turned around to see the man coming in. "What brought you here?"
"You little-" He reached out and struck the other on the head. "Don't scare me like that! And what's with you attacking Endeavor when he's already down?! Don't be a coward! If you want to fight your father, do it when he's in a good shape, Idiot!"
"Ow." The villain winced, rubbing the sore spot.
He sighed and pulled the other down. "It wasn't that hard." He rubbed the sore spot himself and blew on it. "Are you okay?"
"Just thought of things." He wrapped an arm around the shoulders as a solace. "Like what that Snatch guy said about thinking of the families of those heroes I killed."
He pursed his lips and hugged him tighter. "You know, what I like about you, except for your eyes and hair, is your way of thinking."
"I'm a villain. I'm corrupted."
"You are. I know. But you have Chizome-san's beliefs. You eliminate those unworthy. You're so brave."
"That's just the opposite of me, Tsuna."
"That's my opinion. Not yours, so let me say you're brave and you're wrongly kind. You're brave because for your own sake, you ran away. Did you know that running away is the most courageous thing a person can do for himself? You're wrongly kind because you're trying to do what you think is best for the world. So don't think about those naysayers' opinions. If you can't believe your own words, believe mine. Capische?" He pulled back a little and stared at those jaded turquoise eyes with a smile. "I'm saying this because I understand what it feels. So cheer up. You look better when your eyes are twinkling and you're smiling."
He gave out a whine when Dabi tightly hugged him with a laugh. "Okay!"
"I can't breathe!" He gasped before he was free. He rolled his eyes and raised his phone to see his face. There was blood on the young man's skin. He raised a burning yellow hand. "You should've told me you wanted to cry. I could've healed your skin before you burn them off again."
"I'm fine." The other assured. "Anyway, why are you here?"
"To see you." He answered without a beat and smiled with satisfaction when his intuition told him that the wound is okay now. "I mean I saw you on the TV when I was about to go out to at least help Endeavor-san with his wound. So I added you to the list of things I'll do before telling Dad that I'll be staying in the hospital to see if Endeavor-san is alright and recovering." He blinked when he noticed Dabi staring at him. "What?"
"You came all the way here, from there-" The villain gestured to the other side of the port with disbelief. "-just for me?"
"Why not?" He asked back, confused. "It's the nearest place, honestly. If Italy was near too, I could've..." He blinked before shaking his head. No use of thinking about that now. "You're important to me too, so of course I'll go to you if you need someone. Although we aren't friends or-"
"We're friends." Dabi declared with a grin. "You'll be my very first friend."
"Eh?"
"I just wish your a villain so I can have you with me everytime, but since you're a vigilante, it works fine too." Then Tsuna found himself getting tugged. "Message Eraserhead already. You can go back to the hospital after we tour around this pier."
He narrowed his eyes jokingly. "Are you sure you're not gonna molest me or something?"
"I'm not that bad!" The other defended, making him laugh.
They spent an hour talking about how the league is and school. Every time Dabi teased him about sharing their next moves, he's flail and cover his ears to not hear anything. The villain will laugh at him for it. Tsuna decided to let the other get a glimpse of his world so he told him some of what happened in his life too. Like after they met because of Chisaki, he assisted to the surgery and did some things. If it wasn't time's up, he could've been persuaded to sing after he told him about the Culture Festival. What's with people making him sing these days?
Before he went back, Dabi asked him for his number. He shrugged and gave his then told the young man to say his 'hi' to the others. The villain nodded with his big grin. Tsuna flew for the hospital with a satisfied smile. When he got there, it was already eight in evening. Putting down his combat headphones, he put on his headsets and blasted on the English songs he has. Since he's new to the hospital, he went straight for Endeavor's room.
He knocked politely before opening the door. Endeavor is still asleep, so he slipped in quietly and sat on the offered seat. He inspected the hero's state. He's like a bandaged pirate with a cast on his left arm. At least he can sleep with his arm raised. That's so troublesome. It kinda reminded him of his Dad's situation months ago. He cringed. He doesn't want that to happen again.
Speaking of Shouta...
"Where in fucking hell are you, you Idiot?!" He winced at Reborn's shout from both ears.
"Hospital." He answered while blinking away the daze. "Don't shout, Reborn. I have my headsets on. You'll burst my eardrums."
"Get back here, Idiot."
"I have a patient, Idiot." He retaliated with a huff. "I'll be back tomorrow. I promise."
"I'm not there. I can't protect you if anything happens."
He bit his lower lip to think what to respond. "Reborn, we both now how capable I am in defending myself. I'll be fine. I won't go out of the hospital. I promised, remember? Since when did I break my promise?"
"When you died."
He winced before leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and a hand on the back of his head. "I'm sorry."
"I'm just worried."
"You both are." He sighed, knowing his Dad is listening since it is his phone they were using. "I'll be fine. You know my code. I have my mittens with me and pills- Oh right. No need for pills. Headphones too. If ever something happens, I'll contact you while on the run. So please don't worry. I won't get settled well if both of you are restless. Do you want me to take flight at this time of night just to get back to you?"
"Since when did you get so good in reasoning out?" Reborn asked.
"He has been that good since I took him in." Shouta replied for him, finally saying something.
Tsuna laughed softly. "I'm trying to convince two grown ups, so I need to take out my secret card. Are you two eating though?"
"We are." Shouta answered. "How about you?"
He contemplated for a second before answering. "Not yet. I'll get mine later. When Endeavor-san wakes up and someone looks after him. Don't worry about me. How's Eri-chan?"
"I read her a story for you." His Dad assured.
His brow rose. "Reborn cooked?"
"I did."
"I'm coming home." He stated jokingly.
"Should've told you that in the first place if that will make you come home." Reborn grumbled, making him laugh, only to stop short when he heard a smirk. "You know, you've been lacking training lately."
"No!" He denied vehemently as he sat up. He covered his mouth when he realized that he shouted. So he whispered. "You'd have got to be kidding me, Reborn! Don't put me in your spartan training again!"
"What spartan training?" Shouta questioned. "Why am I only hearing this now?"
"He made me run around Namimori for a lot of rounds on gunpoint, Dad! Sometimes with meats on my back, causing some dogs to run after me too! He made me climb the cliffs and mountains! Mountains, Dad! High and mighty mountains! When I got older, he will try to make me dodge a lot of times using his rubber bullets and it hurts when I get shot! Do you know how hard that was for a clumsy kid at the age of fourteen, without even a proper training, no bodily activities except for running when I get bullied, and a dame?! Don't make me start when he wants revenge on something and he'll drag me to the training room to 'train' me, only to beat me up! Who does he think doing all the paperworks for him?! Bianchi?! Fuuta?! Dude, I did!" He whispered, panting at his nonstop complain.
"Reborn." Shouta's stern voice cut through his heavy breathing. "Don't traumatize the kid further."
"He's fifty-six." The hitman argued.
"Doesn't mean he's not traumatized." His Dad shoots back. "If you want to get a revenge on him, do a harmless prank. Tsuna can do something about it to adjust."
"But that's bullying!" Both of them exclaimed.
"And I'm a hitman. I torture people." Reborn emphasized.
"You didn't prank anyone all your life?" Shouta asked.
Silence.
"He did." He snickered. "A lot."
"You're so dead." Reborn threatened, which caused Shouta to laugh.
"Oh no. You love me." He teased and looked up to see turquoise eyes staring at him. "Oh damn. Endeavor-san is awake."
"It's fine. Talk to you later?" His Dad assured.
"Yup. I'll talk to you before you go to sleep." He stood up and pressed a button above the headboard. "Same to you, Reborn."
"I hate you." The hitman harrumphed.
He snickered. "I love you too." He sat down again when the line cut off, and stopped the music. "Sorry about that." He apologized sheepishly as he took the bed control remote and slowly let the bed incline. "My parents are worrywarts as I am. So it takes a lot of time for them to be convinced that I'm okay."
"M'ine." The other said in a muffled way. Tsuna took that as 'It's fine'.
"So since I'm here, I'll tell you what happened." He started off. "You suffered multiple injuries, including your arm and your eye. I could've healed the arm, but I rather have that heal naturally or with Chiyo-san's help. Your eye though had serious damage that needed surgery. You had a large gash on it too, but I healed it a little bit. I healed some of your broken bones too, the bandages are for the wounds that I wanted to at least heal naturally. No worries, I'll know if you're in pain later so I'll give you rain flames to numb the pain."
"Choto."
"Ah. Shouto?" He repeated. "He's at the dorm. I'm here on his behalf, since he couldn't come under school rules, and I'm allowed because Chiyo-san asked for me. You almost gave him a heart attack, by the way. But I did message him that the surgery was successful and you'll recover." Then he gave a proud smile. "Generally, you were awesome back there. Great job making them believe in you as the number one hero."
He didn't see how Endeavor's eyes widened in fraction at his praise. He stood up when doctors and nurses came in. He was greeted by one of them, earning curious looks from the others, before he excused himself. Wanting to have dinner, he decided to check if the cafeteria is still open. He winced when he arrived there at a 'close' sign. He decided to go for the convenient store outside.
Stepping inside, he looked around to see what's available. Maybe he should get a chocolate too? To munch on? He winced when he remembered something. Not enough money. He went for the noddles section and took an instant ramen. He also went for the packed toothbrush and toothpaste before moving for the drinks to take a bottle of water. He was by the counter when he saw some chocolates. He contemplated a little, before sighing and taking one. The counter lady chuckled at him and started to take the prices of his purchases then directed him to the hot waters. He gave a 'thank you'.
Sitting down on a stool, Tsuna waited for some minutes for the ramen to cook while watching news. He was in the middle of it when his phone flashed an incoming call. He blinked at Katsuki's name before answering it.
"Good evening, Katsuki. What can I help you with?" He questioned while checking the time. Two minutes more and its eating time.
"You're not back."
"My patient just got conscious. Dad decided to let me stay instead of taking flight. I don't want to give inconvenience to anyone too, so yup. But I'll be home tomorrow. You only called for that?"
"No. I want to know why you called Dabi an idiot." Tsuna froze. "I heard it, Tsuna. It wasn't Hawks or Endeavor you called that. It was Dabi."
Momentarily biting his lip, he finally gave in. His intuition, isn't saying anything. "We're friends."
Silence.
"We officially met when you got kidnapped and I tagged along. When Dad and I had a misunderstanding because of the truth, he picked me off from the street and let me sleep in his quarters."
"What?!"
"Relax." He placated. "It was a day after I left your house. I couldn't find a place to stay, so opted for the streets. He saw me sleeping, picked me up and let me in their hideout. They were accommodating since I don't really take sides, except if one of the two is completely wrong. In exchange for their kind hospitality, I stirred away from their meetings. And my mind was too jumbled up about Dad so it was pointless for me to listen either ways."
"How many days?"
"Twelve? Thirteen? Fourteen? I don't really remember." He looked outside as he thought of what happened. "Like any of you, they didn't really treat me like a special person, but they didn't know what really happen. If Dad and I had a misunderstanding or a fight that caused me to go off the street. They kept quiet about it. Not even he asked me about it. The sense of normalcy was there. Maybe because they're that and it reminds me of my organization."
"You could've stayed longer with us if you opted for the streets."
"I couldn't overstay, Katsuki. Even if I'm welcome, I can't stop feeling paranoid that I might have overdue my stay, or Dad will suddenly visit and ask you about me." He reached out to take the chopstick off the top of the ramen and opened the lid. He looked over to see and smell the aroma. "Better be careful than through."
"If... If your parents didn't die, would you have still stayed with them?"
Tsuna mixed the noddles. "As much as they made me stay longer, I won't overdue my stay in there too. I know my limits." He took his other bud and made it loop around his nape to take the wire out of the way. "And even if they have a plausible proposal for me to be one of them, I won't accept it. The hero department didn't give a good proposal, do you think they'll give me one? I rather stay neutral to at least have all of you within my reach, even if you don't see the point of being friends or something. Itadakimasu." Then he slurped in.
"You're just eating dinner?!"
He chewed before gulping. "The surgery was done by seven, I met him at the port and we talked for an hour before I came back to the hospital to wait for Endeavor-san to get conscious, which was just awhile ago. I mean heroes have a lot of tolerance for pain. Imagine, they're already up within half a day they were operated or just a day? Not like I don't do the same back then, but mine were just scratches." He took more of the noodles to chew.
"It means the doctors are good at their jobs, dumbass."
"Oh." He interjected after gulping. "I should've thanked Ryohei and Shamal a lot back then. Not that Reborn didn't do much too." He took a swig on his open water.
"I'm hanging up. Eat your dinner properly, idiot. I don't want you to have any indigestion or something."
He laughed. "Yes, Sir."
After eating and purchasing another bottle of water, he went back inside the hospital. He didn't mind the whispers circulating around, most probably about him since it's about the teenager who helped in Endeavor's surgery. He went straight for the bathroom to brush his teeth and do his thing so he could at least find refuge on some bench there. He was brushing his teeth when three men came in and were talking about him.
"No. I saw it. There was a teenager among them." One of them said.
Tsuna continued to brush his teeth at the lavatory.
"That's against the rules. Even if he is a medic and good at it, he should've let us do the job. Not like he can save everyone with his healing abilities."
"He was called out by Recovery Girl. It's not his fault that he got requested."
"He could've denied. He's not even a professional yet. He can't do this kind of stuffs even under a hero's supervision."
Tsuna's grip on his toothbrush slacked a little as he listened more.
"We don't even know where he came from. If this happens a lot, we'll lose our jobs."
"Yeah. Remember when we were going to respond to hero Nighteye, but a bunch of doctors were called and they said among them was a teenager. What I heard, he healed Nighteye by doing some miracles, and even invited some unknown person to do it with him."
"It's disgusting."
Tsuna bowed to the lavatory and spat the foam there. He let the faucet ran water to rinse his mouth and wash toothbrush.
"I think he's doing his best to help." Caramel eyes raised to the other who defended him. "Nighteye's injury that time was irreparable. It was a hole on the torso, around the lower stomach, and his spinal cord was almost crushed. If you were there, what can you do? What can we do? The kid did his best and it saved a life. Same with Endeavor this time. He almost died, could've got a nasty scar that will remind him of his victory or failure, but the kid helped us save another life."
"What were saying is it's against the rules, Narazaki."
'Narazaki' went for the lavatory, three sink away from him, and washed his hands. "We vowed to save lives, not follow the rules. Clearly, the kid has more knowledge on that than us. Those who can't break the rules for the sake of a life is far revolting than those who break it."
Tsuna stashed his toothbrush and toothpaste away and washed his hands. After taking a tissue to dry him, he went for the door. Before passing by, he patted the Narazaki on the shoulder with a grateful smile and said, "Thank you."
For a moment there, he thought his heart was going to sink there. Tsuna isn't the kind who breaks the law just for the heck of it. He knows there are consequences that will direct to him and the authorized ones. It's the reason why he never wanted to inform anyone that he helps with the surgeries, or that he is a vigilante in the first place. He knew how harsh the backlash is. But at least someone out there knows he has good intentions.
"Tsuna."
He looked up to see who was calling him and smiled automatically. "Chiyo-san."
The old lady smiled back. "Where have you been? Have you eaten yet?"
"Ah. I did." He answered as he hears footsteps coming in. "I ate ramen at the convenient store nearby. The canteen was close, so I went there."
"You did? You could've at least taken Hawks with you. You know Class A students are guarded because of your usual situation, and you just finished the surgery an hour ago. You must have been tired." She chided.
They both turned to the three doctors who were passing by. They looked at him in shock, high possibility that they heard what Chiyo said about him.
"Carry on, boys. Nothing to look here." The old lady waved off before turning to him again. "I asked some of the staffs to transfer one of the couches from the lounge to Endeavor's."
"You don't have to do that-"
"Excuse me." They gazed at Narazaki, who stopped just behind Chiyo. It cause his other colleagues to stop too. The doctor gave an amicable smile. "I can offer an extra blanket of mine."
"Hie! No!" He shook his head. "I'll be fine! Really!"
Chiyo gave him a deadpan look. "And where am I supposed to see you later if I didn't put there the couch?"
He winced and bowed his head in shame. "The bench. It's comfortable enough. Like when... You know..."
The old lady sighed. "It's the reason why I put it to Endeavor's room. To give you a space to rest because you did most of the work in the OR. You still have school tomorrow too." Then she turned to Narazaki. "We'll take on the offer. Room two-o-five."
Tsuna gave a bow to Narazaki. "Thank you." Then to the old lady. "And to you too, Chiyo-san."
"It's fine. I'll take care the person who looked out for my pesky staffs too." The medic assured, which made him smile.
Chiyo joined him to the walk for Endeavor's room. The lady excused herself to rest before he went inside. Endeavor is awake and Hawks is with him, sitting on the provided seat. Tsuna gave a smile and a wave of hand and was about to close the door when his hero name was called out. It was Narazaki with a small pillow and a sky blue blanket in arms. He stepped out and closed the door a little so he won't disturb the heroes inside.
"Thank you." He expressed as he took the items.
"I'm sorry about my co-workers a while ago." The man apologized. "They're just a little off since they both heard about Juno-san greeting you inside Endeavor-san's room."
Tsuna blinked before making an 'o' with his mouth. "The optic doctor?" He got a nod. "Ah. But I think a lot of them know that already since everyone was watching when Chiyo-san directed me to the changing room. So it's not really a big deal."
"It should be." The doctor insisted. "I heard great tales about you from my sister. She said you're so young yet you try to help people as much as you can. To even study how organs work and their complex structures from nook to cranny is incredible as it is. Students like you should be praised regardless of the breach on protocol. They don't know how much you sacrificed just by being here. You could've done a lot of fun things instead of helping on surgeries. Saving lives is much important than following the rules. You have my respect, Decimo."
Tsuna can't help blushing before giving a thankful smile. "Thank you, Narazaki-san."
The man hesitated on something, but he still raised his hand and ruffled the brunet's hair with a smile. "You're welcome. Have a good night sleep."
When Tsuna came back to the room, he dived for the couch and sighed in relief. "Argh. I missed sleeping on couches."
"What happened back there?" He stilled at Hawks' question. "It sounded serious."
"Ah." He blurted. "Just rumours, that's all." Then he patted his pockets for the chocolate he bought and flung it to the hero. "Catch."
"Eh?" The blond uttered while looking down to the chocolate.
"I had a feeling I needed to purchase that, so I did. I was contemplating why, you know." He explained as he removed his shoes and put them aside. "Then I remembered I promised I'll treat you, so I took the one I know you'll like cause I recommend it." He put the pillow on the right place before glancing at Endeavor. "You can't eat one, so sorry."
The flame hero raised a brow on Hawks who blushed, unseen by the brunet who was arranging his blanket.
"Thanks." The blond expressed.
Tsuna waved off a hand as he laid down and tugged his blanket. "No probs. Don't be shy to wake me up if you need anything, Endeavor-san. Or like throw something at me with your good arm, I'll wake up eventually." He faced the rest of the couch and covered his exposed ear with it. Caramel eyes were about to close when he remembered something. He looked back to Hawks and smiled. "Nice wings. Good night."
Endeavor blinked at Hawks' flushed and surprised face. He eyed the brunet who was already asleep. The kid is a heartbreaker.