A/N: Don't mind me, just posting an old word prompt that was collecting dust on my computer.
Word prompt: Henchmen
They're my Friends, not Henchmen!
As a descendant of the Vongola line, Tsuna was expected to be the next villain that heroes would aspire to defeat. There was just one problem: he didn't have an evil bone in his body. When he stole candy as a child, it only took a few seconds for him to return it out of guilt. He wanted nothing more than to be a normal child and have friends. Thankfully his godfather had three sons that could take up the tradition of being villains. There was another problem: Tsuna had inherited his family charisma. Normally this was seen as a positive trait and was a sign of a successful individual. Tsuna would have agreed if it wasn't for the people his tended to draw in.
The first one to fall for his charisma was, ironically enough, the grandson of one of Timoteo's henchmen. Tsuna's father wanted to introduce him to the family at a young age in an early attempt to sway him into becoming a villain like his ancestors before him. Any time Tsuna tried to point out that Giotto, the first in their family documented to have powers, was a vigilante his father would give him an unnerving smile. "There's a reason he decided to run off to Japan Tsuna-fishy. It's our job to protect what he left behind, no matter the cost." All he knew as a child was that his relatives in Italy would blow up buildings and send people to the hospital with their powers.
Gokudera was the bastard son of his family, half Japanese and half Italian. Being Coyote's grandson only earned him respect from Vongola members on the surface. The moment his grandfather and father left the room they treated the boy with the same disdain one had for gum stuck on the bottom of a shoe. It didn't help that he had a short fuse and often threw dynamite at anyone who dared disrespect his mother. His grandfather had brought him to the Vongola manor to introduce him to Iemitsu's son. The silver haired child scowled, expecting Tsuna to have his head up his own ass like his father.
When Gokudera saw Tsuna, the brunet was trying to convince one of Timoteo's subordinates to share his snack with him. He wanted to laugh when he saw a fully grown man look torn between continuing his duties and humoring the adorable child. The man took one look at Gokudera and gave a smile that was so forced that both children could tell it wasn't genuine. "Hayato, why don't you keep Tsunayoshi company while the adults work?"
Tsuna's first impression of Gokudera was that he seemed… sad. Sure he was glaring at everything but seeing the exchange between one of his godfather's men and Gokudera showed that maybe the boy needed to be angry. He needed something to protect him from the world. Gokudera stood beside him, towering over Tsuna. "Your eyes are pretty." Tsuna says sweetly, causing Gokudera to freeze.
"What did you say?" Gokudera demands, positive he must not have heard Tsuna correctly. The brunet smiled. "Your eyes are green and pretty. Mine are boring." The child admits, pouting over the fact he had more common brown eyes. Gokudera's expression softened, giving Tsuna a small smile. "Thank you, I inherited them from my mother." "Really? What is your mama like? Mine likes to cook a lot, sometimes she lets me help!" He says cheerfully.
One of Gokudera's nannies spotted her charge and was surprised to see the young master laugh, both children waxing poetic about their mothers. There was a light back in his eyes that disappeared the day Lavina died. The conversation afterwards, bizarrely enough, shifted to aliens and cryptids. "One time I spotted a tanuki around the old Namimori shrine." Tsuna whispers, Gokudera looked at him in confusion. "What are those?" Gokudera asks. "Tanuki are usually harmless, they're raccoon dogs that can transform into people. They aren't really good at it though, sometimes they forget to hide their tails." Tsuna says with a shrug. "I wonder if there's anything like that here in Italy." Gokudera wondered aloud. "We can ask Papa!" Tsuna says excitedly, almost falling out of his chair. Gokudera laughed.
XoXoXoXoXo
The next person to fall for his charisma had kidnapped him for a ransom. The man had purple hair and multiple piercings, muttering under his breath to himself. "Um, mister? Are you okay?" He wiggled on the ground, testing the strength of the ropes tying him. They were tight but not to the point of cutting off circulation. If anything, the kidnapper had treated him more humanely than most villains would. The man let out a surprised laugh. "I took you from your family and you're asking if I'm okay?" Skull asks incredulously.
Tsuna wiggled again, pouting. "Why not? You don't seem like a bad person." Tsuna flinched as the adult picked him off the ground and started to sob. "It's not like I wanted to be a villain! People just thought I was because of the piercings and no one would believe me when I said my hair was naturally purple! And now it's been ten years and Reborn is still blackmailing me!" Skull wailed, squeezing the boy until he let out a startled squeak.
"I don't wanna be a bad guy either. Grown-ups are stupid." Tsuna declares, Skull laughed. "If only everyone could be as honest as a child. I could return you but your father will probably kill me." His shoulders slumped, death by fire was always painful. Tsuna patted his knee to soothe the distraught adult. "Papa says every good villain needs a henchman. You can pretend to be mine!" The child blinked in confusion as the grown man sobbed, pulling him into a tight hug. "Thank you!"
The Vongola family had been surprised when Skull the Immortal pledged his loyalty to Tsunayoshi. He wasn't a powerful villain, but he'd make a wonderful bodyguard for the young boy. "I'm surprised that man hadn't defected from Arcobalenco years ago." Timoteo states, well aware of how Reborn used the man for target practice on a daily basis. "My Tsuna is NOT riding a motorcycle!" Iemitsu yells. Tsuna, being held by the leather wearing Skull, pouted. "But Papa, it has a sidecar!" Timoteo looked at the ensuing chaos and sighed. "Coyote, I believe I shall retire sooner than I expected."
