Content Warning: sexual harassment of the type you'd expect from teenage boys who are allowed to govern themselves. The target of the harassment doesn't fully grasp the harassment, but another character strenuously objects to the implications.


Chapter 12 : the gunpowder plot


Of course this year, with Hibari Kyoya still in control of the Disciplinary Committee, Tsunayoshi is still in the position of being their free, unofficial gofer. Tsunayoshi still finds himself looking longingly into the actual club room itself, where Hibari sits at the desk with a ferocious scowl on his face while he flips through paperwork. Even though Hoshino has stepped up into Kusakabe's position, Hibari must be missing his second in command - it seems like it's been ages since the last time Hibari was able to freely investigate problems on the streets.

His temperament certainly shows just how little he's pleased with it.

"If you're done being creepy," Hoshino says, shoving a packet at Tsunayoshi, "these should go to Saitoh Itsuki."

"Saitoh-kun?" Tsunayoshi echoes, blinking as he glances up at Hoshino. "But he's moved on to a higher campus."

Hoshino gives him a flat look. "That much is obvious, since he's not darkening our doorstep," he says bluntly. "I'm not telling you so you can question me. If you're a gofer, then go."

"Ehh. Do I at least get a campus name?" Tsunayoshi says, even though the whole task in general is a bit over the top. Surely the Committee has more reliable gofers than himself? Although honestly he hasn't made special note of any.

"If you want to be Hibari-san's excellent gofer, you'll figure it out yourself," Hoshino says, and then shoves him out the door and closes it in his face.

Tsunayoshi sighs heavily. It's not exactly a feeling of 'something has to be done' about Hoshino's attitude toward him, but he's getting kind of depressed about it. That and they're already a few months into school and he hasn't had a chance to speak with Hibari since that first day.

If his resolve really is something that deplorable, then he should do something about it - but what he should do about it is a harder thing to decide. And if nothing else, then Tsunayoshi wants to consult with Hibari over this whole 'household' mess, since Hibari seems to have built something a lot similar to that with his thugs.

Although, come to think of it: can't he just join Hibari's, instead?

(Of course not, and don't be foolish: Nana has the right of it. Haru and Yamamoto want to be part of his household, not Hibari's. Of course Tsunayoshi can't just surrender that and go along with someone else. That's not fair to those two's feelings.)

Tsunayoshi isn't too worried about the specifics of his task, even though he has the impression that Kusakabe would never have sent him off campus for anything to do with the Committee. School is technically out at this time, so it's not like he'll actually get in trouble - and if anyone tries, then being on Committee business technically affords him the Committee's protection.

The few times that Yamamoto's friends tried to take issue with him away from the classroom (and Yamamoto himself), it had ended up going nowhere at all thanks to the lurking presence of one of the Committee members.

He doesn't mistake for one second that they would have stepped in on his behalf, but he can't expect rule abiding athletes like Yamamoto's baseball friends to understand that through gut instinct alone. For someone so well known for being useless in general and dull in particular, to the point of having a nickname about it, Tsunayoshi has noticed that there are many things that seem obvious to him that others don't seem to get at all.

The first place that Tsunayoshi goes after leaving the Committee office is down to the boxing club, which is across the Nami campus, a bit further than the kendo club's building. Even with all of Tsunayoshi's hard work, he doesn't feel very inclined to poke his nose into the athletics district, although the fact that they have entire stretches of the campus to themselves and buildings filled with supplies for the various clubs is a continuous source of interest to his classmates.

It must be technically true that after everyone's grades, it's the athletics department that brings the bulk of prestige to the campus. Even Midori's elite had been willing to study at Nami if only for the sake of getting closer to Yamamoto - if not for Hibari.

Unfortunately, the boxing club holds no answers for Tsunayoshi - the current members know well where Ryohei was accepted for his last three years of secondary schooling. They even have his contact information. But as for Saitoh Itsuki-

"I thought if anyone would know, that would be you, Sawada," Honda says; apparently he's graduated from being the weighted belt that holds Ryohei back to being the leader of the club. "Saitoh-kun was respected since he was a good second-in-command for Ryohei and he was good with the underclassmen, but he didn't get close with anyone. The only person he ever got friendly with was you."

Tsunayoshi doesn't have an answer for that other than a vaguely troubled expression. By now, he's figured out what it looks like when people are asking for his attention, and Saitoh never once behaved that way toward him. There was never even any indication that Saitoh considered him as anything other than a passing acquaintance outside of his odd remarks regarding Tsunayoshi's relationship with Hibari.

Even taking that final confrontation into consideration - that was more about Ryohei than it was Tsunayoshi.

It's that thought that leads Tsunayoshi to his next destination, all the way back across the campus to the school halls, to the top floor. There isn't often a lot of cause for Tsunayoshi to be in this part of the school; the staff room of all things is this high up, as well as some of the more elite clubs. Tsunayoshi remembers that there had been something of an astronomy club? Presumably they aren't at the school at night - although it's possible if there's a teacher sponsoring it, Tsunayoshi supposes. That kind of thing seems to happen from time to time.

Well, even if Tsunayoshi had no particular official reason to be up here, he's well aware of where the Student Council holds their meetings. If he hadn't known already as a function of knowing what Kyoko is up to at most times, then his gofer duties of running papers for the Disciplinary Committee would have seen to that - although he's only handed them off to the boy who'd been the Treasurer at that time.

So Tsunayoshi isn't terribly surprised when he knocks on the door, and the boy that opens it looks startled and annoyed - no, not exactly 'annoyed,' but bothered and a bit scared.

"What do you want?" he asks with a scowl.

Since he's not actually here for anything unpleasant, and being treated this way is a bit bothersome, Tsunayoshi tries a smile out for size and does his best to look as useless as usual. "It's nothing bad," he says, "I just wanted to ask Sasagawa Kyoko-chan a question. It won't take long at all."

Rather than look reassured, the boy - Yama... ? Yamazaki? No, maybe it was Yamaguchi… ah, he's never stood out enough for Tsunayoshi to really take a lot of notice of him, and Tsunayoshi hasn't been tangling with the School Council enough to recognize people who never acknowledged him as 'Dame-Tsuna' nor extended any kindness. Regardless, Yamasuke looks alarmed.

Then he clips the door shut in Tsunayoshi's face.

Tsunayoshi blinks a bit, startled and startled that he's startled. Getting a door shut in his face is a normal reaction, isn't it? Dame-Tsuna had been treated that way a lot, so the fact that it surprises him now is - well, he's gotten used to people taking him more seriously. Or maybe just dealing with people that would take him seriously, anyway.

Shut door or no, Tsunayoshi can still hear them talking inside in urgent whispers, although he can't really make out what is being said. A few sharp voices make themselves known above the rest, a hush falls, and then the door opens again. Or rather: is flung open.

"What do you want, monkey?" the girl with seaweed hair, Hana, demands with a scowl. Although she's flung the door wider than Yamasuke had, she has set her feet wide and her shoulders wider, so that she practically towered in the doorway. Although Hibari is older than her, Tsunayoshi is fairly certain that she's easily as tall as him.

"Um," Tsunayoshi says, blinking. It's easier to act useless at her than it was to act useless at Yamasuke, mostly because he doesn't want to fight her - and it isn't quite a threat that she's leveling at him. Her determination to fight him isn't the same as wanting to, if he had to find words for the feeling. "No, it's just that I wanted to ask Kyoko-chan a question?"

"Tch. And?" she demands, but at least she puts her elbows down, holding the door open with her foot as she crosses her arms over her chest and glares down at him.

Tsunayoshi really wishes that he'd grow a bit taller, but there are first years who are already taller than he is; that's pretty depressing. "Actually, I have business with Saitoh Itsuki, who graduated last year. It's just that no one knows what campus he's moved on to, and I wondered if maybe Kyoko-chan would happen to know? They got along well as a team, looking after Ryohei-senpai last year."

The explanation doesn't sooth Hana at all, but at least her hostility has lessened to the usual amount that Tsunayoshi is accustomed to being on the receiving end of. It doesn't matter either way, since apparently Kyoko has overhead the conversation.

"I told you it was nothing to worry about, Hana," Kyoko chides, though kindly, as she joins Hana at the door. Her friend's scowl deepens, but she doesn't protest the way Kyoko comes to stand next to her, smiling at Tsunayoshi. She clearly notices the packet in Tsunayoshi's hands, and says, "For Saitoh-kun?"

"Something like that," Tsunayoshi admits.

Kyoko glances over her shoulder. "It'll be just a moment," she tells the rest of the council, and then takes Hana's elbow. It's a bit funny to watch her force Hana out the door and into the hallway, because Hana isn't fighting her, but it's clear that Hana is surprised by this turn of events. Tsunayoshi has to step back to make room for the both of them as Kyoko shuts the door firmly, and then dusts her skirt.

There's a familiar pressure when she smiles at Tsunayoshi and says, "let's talk terms, Tsuna-kun."

Hana clicks her tongue, but easily falls in beside Kyoko, even as Kyoko steps toward Tsunayoshi in a way that encourages him to join up. "Terms," he echoes warily, but - well, if they're talking terms, then she probably has the information he needs. He falls into step with her.

"It's natural that there are terms," she says. "Oniisan and I have already made reparations for your troubles last year, after all. Oniisan says that the situation seems to be working out well for you."

For a given value of 'well,' Tsunayoshi thinks dryly; mostly Shioya seems to be having a lot of fun giving him a hard time, but - well. It's not as bad as all that. Tsunayoshi doesn't mind the teasing since it doesn't seem cruelly meant. As reserved as Shioya is, Tsunayoshi is getting the impression that he actually might like Tsunayoshi.

Having an adult like him is a novel experience.

"What kind of things do you want for information about Saitoh-kun?" he asks.

Kyoko clasps her hands together. "I want your influence with the Disciplinary Committee," she says brightly.

It's difficult to know who is more startled by this: Hana or Tsunayoshi. "With those monkeys?" Hana demands, which Tsunayoshi is grateful for as all he can do is make a confused and distressed noise about a request like that.

"It's not a lot," she says, looking a bit disappointed with their reactions. "If Kusakabe-san were still around, I would go directly to him instead, but he's gone ahead and is preparing Hibari-san's territory for next year." She looks at Tsunayoshi. "Since there's something I can help you with, and the Committee, then it's only fair that I get a helping hand as well."

"I don't actually have an influence over the Committee," Tsunayoshi objects. "I'm a free gofer! It's the only reason I'm tolerated in the area to begin with!"

"And yet Hibari-san put himself through a lot of trouble to stay behind and watch after you," Kyoko says, pressing a finger to her bottom lip and blinking at him steadily. "Even though doing so has made it so that he can't spend time overseeing his territory himself."

Ehh - ah. Putting it that way: it's true that Tsunayoshi really hasn't seen Hibari doing his patrolling, but he'd considered that as something having to do with whatever outside pressures are being put on the Committee that had make Nakamoto so uncomfortable. Although, no, saying that it's for Tsunayoshi's sake still sounds ridiculous! Hibari breaking into his bedroom that night aside, there's no reason to think that Hibari is aware of him enough to consider him highly enough to go through that much trouble! Kyoko really has this whole situation entirely wrong!

"Well, even if you don't believe it yourself," she says, relenting, "if you want my help, I'll need yours in return."

Tsunayoshi flails his hands a bit, even as he holds tight to the packet that Hoshino had handed him. "I don't have something like that," he protests. "And even if I did, what kind of help could the Committee possibly give you?"

Kyoko lights up as if he's already agreed. "I'm glad you asked!"

-0-

The shape of the matter is the the incumbent school President has been making budget cuts to the athletic clubs, is looking for reelection and is probably going to continue on that path. Apparently she's made it an attractive deal with the events and other changes she's put into motion around the school - the decorations that Tsunayoshi had barely noticed, but others apparently appreciated.

"I can't disagree with social events for the students," Kyoko sighs, "but there are ways of raising money for that which don't require cutting the athletic clubs' budgets. Besides, not even all the money is going to these events. I suspected as much last year from the information I was able to gather, but it wasn't until this year when I managed to get Hana put in charge of finances that I was able to confirm it."

Tsunayoshi glances at the taller girl. "You're the new treasurer?" He hadn't really questioned her presence at the time - he's only really taken notice of her since the start of the term, but it had quickly become obvious that Kyoko being without Hana is an anomaly. Oddly, Tsunayoshi had expected that to be Ryohei, but - well, it's not actually as if the siblings are attached at the hips.

Hana snorts. "Well, something put the last treasurer off," she says pointedly, "and anyway, he's moved on to a new school since last year."

Well, that's not very fair, he thinks. It's not specifically his fault, he was only the messenger.

"Congratulations," he says anyway, since it can't hurt. "But then, if you have evidence of the misuse of the Council's funds, what's the problem?"

"Well, because it's an internal matter," Kyoko says.

"And that she-monkey's events are popular with the people most likely to actually do anything about it, so of course they're not really interested in changing anything," Hana scoffs loudly, then cuts a glance around to make sure they're alone in the halls and none of the classrooms are open.

And if it's in internal matter, then it's no one's business but the school council. Even if it's the money that they collect from the students themselves, and employ students for events to make a lot more, and it's the money allocated to clubs that everyone is in… yeah, Tsunayoshi could see how the idea that it's not their problem would come about.

"How do you expect the Disciplinary Committee to deal with that?" he asks. "I mean, I guess senpai could just come bite the president to death, but-"

"No, no," Kyoko says firmly, turning her hands palm out. "It's an internal matter, after all. But there's something that you and the committee can help with. I plan on running against Tomaso-chan."

Tsunayoshi stares. "Ehh?!"

-0-

Kyoko gives him the name of Saitoh's new school even though he hasn't agreed to anything. It's a bit vexing, all told.

-0-

Hoshino was prompt in giving him this mission, and Saitoh's higher secondary school isn't so far that Tsunayoshi figures he can't arrive before the clubs are done with for the day. It's still far enough that rather than walk, Tsunayoshi chooses to take the public transport. Namimori is certainly big enough to support a rapid transit system, but Tsunayoshi figures the probably has only happened within the last generation or so, because rather than that, they have a tram.

Nishi High is a bit startling after Nami. Nami might have a prestigious record - or did - but it has been around for ages and Tsunayoshi is pretty sure nothing new has been built in recent memory for it. Nishi might be more recently built than that, but - somehow it feels oddly a bit lacking. But it is on the edges of the town, and Namimori residents aren't the only ones to attend it - Kyoko had named it the school someone attended to build connections with those outside of Namimori.

All in all, a very puzzling idea for Tsunayoshi, who had more or less resigned himself to NEET-hood or homelessness for some time, and even if that isn't true anymore, hasn't really found himself a new goal yet. The idea of the world outside Namimori is equal parts terrifying and arresting. If he has no idea what lays out there, then how is he expected to look after his household to the best of his ability?

Although what out there could possibly have any interest in a group of random kids from Namimori is a question he hasn't entirely asked in the first place.

Regardless, he knows his duties.

One - two - three - the fingers that count over his ribs tip up along the breastbone. "How terrifying," the boy with milkspill hair murmurs, sitting beside him on the tram, his overgrown fingernails thumping painfully against the broad bone in counterpart to Tsunayoshi's beating heart. "How old were you then? And you were already like this."

The boy sighs, pulling away and falling against the seat in a slump. "We could have been peers, you know," he laments, eyelashes sharp white wedges over his cheeks, eyes closed. "Why is it that only the worlds where things are the worst for me do things turn out fine?"

It's bad enough to suffer and not really know the extent of it, Tsunayoshi thinks: but to suffer and to be able to compare that to a different existence? Tsunayoshi used to be happier, he thinks, before he understood the extent of how he was different from other people. He's gained a lot, that's true, but that only means that he's so incredibly aware of what he stands to lose - of what 'capable of anything' means.

It's not a good thing.

The boy looks at Tsunayoshi then, his pale eyes glittering like broken mirrors, dangerous and mad. "Say, Nayo-tan. Some others might think it's fine for one to suffer for the good of many, but doesn't that sound frustrating for the person who's suffering?"

Something stretches. More than something: everything stretches. The tram stretches. The scenery outside. The distance between him and the boy with shattered memories of forgotten flowers in his eyes. It stretches and the boy stretches and Tsunayoshi stretches, too.

It isn't that Tsunayoshi's body changes into something strange and unfamiliar, but he knows that how his not-body rests on the not-seat isn't the same as it was just before. Still comfortable, natural, relaxed, but different. A kind of power curls through his limbs, a certain awareness, a certain conviction. He doesn't feel confused or disoriented by the situation at all. It's crystal clear. Everything is in its place and as it should be.

The boy that sits next to him -

The young man that sits next to him with hair too long that hasn't seen a brush, with nails too long since their last clipping: he's the furthest thing from a bonsai cut just so and expected to grow a certain way. He's been forgotten and he's wasting, his cheeks not childhood plump but lean and growing hollow, the sharp angles of his skeleton poking corners out of his skin with sharp, mad, haunted eyes-

(a thing left so long alone in the dark that it begins to think: if only i had the power to destroy all things good i was never allowed-)

Tsunayoshi, with perfect calm, says: "In the first place, who was the person who said that we weren't peers? That's not something you get to decide on your own without consulting me first. And as for that other matter-"

It stretches. The young man beside him sits with wide eyes and washed out skin that pales, almost blue. Madness has become terror in his eyes, though Tsunayoshi isn't sure what about him could possibly be as worrisome as that. The world and all things in it continue to stretch around them, and they stretch with it. In the end, it's easy to breach the distance and grab one of the hands that have been reaching out for him all this time, grasping desperately like a person drowning.

It isn't a tight grip. Tsunayoshi doesn't squeeze, but his hold is firm all the same. The young man next to him already has pinpricks for pupils, his heart already beating so fast that his thin, papery skin flutters with it. It's a bit like catching a butterfly between cupped hands, trying so hard not to scrape or bend a fragile wing by accident. It would be a terribly easy thing to do, especially for someone like Tsunayoshi whose hands are only good for things that leave them sticky and numb.

"A system that puts undue weight on someone for others' benefit is intolerable," he says to his peer with absolute conviction. "I'll crush something like that beneath my heel even if I have to die doing it."

Eyes wide and teeth bared with an awful, animalistic kind of fear, the young man with impossibly lengths of tangled white hair recoils, and with him: the world.

The reality that has been stretching to the edge of its endurance around Tsunayoshi - rebounds.

The fact that he manages to make it off the tram before he vomits is barely any kind of relief, the way his head pounds ferociously. It's embarrassing to sick up right there off the side of the rails, his lunch and endless streams of mucus and tears pouring from his face. He shivers. He judders and shakes. It feels a bit like there are ice shards digging into his brain in sharp, pulsating stabs.

It's a mixed blessing that no one stops to ask him if he's alright, though a few loiter around the station, watching him. It doesn't really help at all. Tsunayoshi miserably drags himself away from the edge of the station and sets out in search of a convenience store to get a bottle of water from.

Yamamoto really is helping him with those episodes more than he suspected, he thinks ruefully. His episodes have never been so bad outside of school before, but it feels like every bone in his body has abruptly shattered and is flaying him, even inside his skull. His eyes throb. From now on, he'll definitely have to keep someone close - Haru or Yamamoto or Hibari, if he can manage it.

(Something faint echoes, ahh, but - it's not all that important at the moment. He said himself that it isn't time yet, no matter how impatient he's feeling about it. Tsunayoshi is always patient in these things.)

There's no time to linger if he wants to catch Saitoh on campus, so Tsunayoshi moves on while still feeling tender and sore. He feels worn and wan by the time he arrives on Nishi High's campus, and that said, is grateful that it seems to be organized in a way similar enough to Nami Middle that Tsunayoshi feels confident enough to locate the athletic clubs on his own.

Actually, the security of this place is a bit pathetic? Tsunayoshi has to wonder if that's something to do with Hibari. Before he'd become entangled in the Committee's business, it hadn't exactly been easy for him to come and go on school grounds, either, but he'd compensated by just leaving as quickly as possible and arriving as late as he could without chancing Hibari's ire.

In either case, finding the boxing club isn't difficult at all.

"Please excuse the interruption," Tsunayoshi says politely to the boy that opens the door when he knocks. He does his best to look useless and good for nothing, blinking and smiling. "I have business with Saitoh Itsuki. Is he here?"

The boy is older than Tsunayoshi by a couple of years, and his surprised expression upon seeing Tsunayoshi turns into something like a smirk. "Wait here," he says, and doesn't completely close the door. So Tsunayoshi hears very well when he calls back into the club. "Itsuki! Some cute kid is at the door for you! I should have realized your tastes were that way."

Cute kid?! It's probably just them mocking him, but - ah, Tsunayoshi feels the edges of his ears grow hot. He's not happy to hear it at all - but, even if they're making fun of him and belittling him, that's… that's still something kind of like a compliment, isn't it? It's just Tsunayoshi's luck that he'd get a sideways compliment like that.

"What the hell? You're asking for a beating," Saitoh says, so at least he's there, and it's the right Saitoh Itsuki. Tsunayoshi can't really judge him for sounding harsher than usual, the way he normally does when facing off against Hoshino, but -

The door opens wider again, and Saitoh blinks before he sees Tsunayoshi, and the harried scowl on his face transforms into something a lot more agreeable. Even with that scowl from just before, it's hard to reconcile Saitoh with the boy who stood against Hoshino toward the end of the last school year. It's a bit troubling, but Tsunayoshi isn't sure how to address it.

"Sawada-kun!" Saitoh says brightly. "What are you doing all the way over here?" Then his face begins to darken as he looks closer, and he says, "don't tell me the Disciplinary Committee-!"

"That's not it," Tsunayoshi says quickly, heading Saitoh's temper off. "Or - not entirely it. They haven't been causing me problems at all."

Saitoh only barely looks assuaged by that, but before he can relent or press the matter either way, they both abruptly become aware of the cluster of boys hovering behind him.

Rather than be embarrassed that they've been caught being nosy, the Nishi boxing club lean forward, jeering. "What's this? A cute kohai that's followed you all the way here?" and "Itsuki! You didn't tell me there were cute kohai at your school!" and "He's almost cute enough that I could do it if he keeps the sweater on!"

"I dare you to try," Saitoh snarls, at that last boy in particular. "You'd better hope I catch you before Hibari Kyoya of that Hibari house does! He wouldn't stop at biting you to death!"

This is apparently is impressive enough to cow him, although his friends cackle with mad delight, elbowing him. "Itsuki-chan is so cute, defending his old kohai!"

"Look at Itsuki being so sharp!"

"Guard-dog Itsuki!"

Saitoh's resolve to punch the offending boy in the face is rather impressive, even if Tsunayoshi isn't particularly concerned himself; he doesn't entirely grasp the implications of what was said other than a vague discomfort, but the boy's resolve is weak. He is, as Hoshino would put it: a yappy dog that's easy to intimidate with a look.

Of course, Tsunayoshi dreads few things more, but people who are like those awful monsters are somehow not intimidating at all.

In an obviously foul mood, Saitoh nudges Tsunayoshi back so he can step out of the door and slam it behind him with a huff and a ferocious scowl. He's obviously in no mood for being pacified, so Tsunayoshi follows him peacefully for a little bit as he puts some distance between them and the club, which is still being so noisy that Tsunayoshi can hear them laughing and jeering without even trying.

"Sorry about that," Saitoh says roughly, tugging at his hair unhappily. "You came all this way, and-" He glances back toward the club with a frown.

Well, now Tsunayoshi just feels guilty. Maybe Honda had been onto something when he'd said that Tsunayoshi was the only one that Saitoh was reaching out to all along. He'd been ready to forget all about Saitoh come this school term, and it's only because of Hoshino's mission that he's bothered to find out where Saitoh had been accepted.

Although perhaps that's on Saitoh, too. How is Tsunayoshi supposed to know if he isn't told? Saitoh should have said so himself. There's no reason for Tsunayoshi to refuse.

"I said it wasn't like that," Tsunayoshi reminds him. "Although the Committee isn't giving me problems, I am on Committee business."

"Tch. This term, too?" he asks, turning to give Tsunayoshi his full attention. If he's disappointed by the fact that Tsunayoshi isn't here of his own accord, it doesn't show.

"Well, I benefit from the arrangement, too," he excuses, and leaves it at that. His circumstances haven't changed so much that Saitoh isn't already more or less familiar with him. "I was asked to deliver this from the Committee to you." He removes the packet from his satchel and hands it over, although Saitoh is automatically reluctant to take it the moment he sees what it is.

"This," he says with the same sharp, seething tones he used against Hoshino.

Normally, Tsunayoshi would be on his way back to the Committee offices by this time. Normally, the people he delivers the packets to aren't interested in even acknowledging those packets exist until they're alone - but Saitoh isn't really all that typical of a person. Without even looking at Tsunayoshi, he opens the packet, breaking the seal on it and looking inside. Whatever he sees causes his face to twist in a way that Tsunayoshi thinks should worry him, but -

It's a bit complicated, and quickly becoming moreso. The fury drains from Saitoh's face and becomes twisted and confused. The contents of the packet are still being shielded by the fact that he hasn't pulled the papers out, but Saitoh flips through them, jaw setting and brow buckling.

"Sawada," he says at last, "you're friends with Hibari, right?"

Tsunayoshi startles a bit at a presumption like that, but - ah, even though 'friend' isn't right for Hibari, just like it's not right for Yamamoto, the same way 'friend' or 'girlfriend' isn't right for Haru (fiancée, he thinks, is closer but still inaccurate, itself)... that's not wrong.

"Um, I guess we're like comrades," he says thoughtfully, and then shrugs helpless with a smile. "I can't really leave Hibari-senpai alone, and it seems the feeling is mutual, so I guess that's 'friends.'"

"Nmh." Saitoh seals the packet again and looks at him searchingly. "And what kind of person do you think he is?"

"Hibari?" Tsunayoshi echoes again, sincerely confused. Hibari is - Hibari. "Hibari Kyoya…" He rolls the name over his tongue, thinking of 'Tsunayoshi' and the weight of a name versus a person's reputation versus their attitude on life. "Well, obviously senpai isn't the kind who suffers the constraints of expectations. Or no - Hibari follows very specific rules, they're just not rules that a normal person is aware of. His behavior is strict, so I think that his thoughts must be fairly straight forward? I think he understands behavior well, but for him, it's really not that complicated. Which isn't to say that his thoughts are inflexible, but they're very black and white. Something is either good or it isn't, even if his idea of what is good or bad may not precisely align with a 'normal' person's."

It's about then that Tsunayoshi takes note of Saitoh's rather overwhelmed expression. He pauses, blinking.

"That's a lot more than I was really expecting, Sawada-kun," he says. "You've really thought about this."

"I've been trying to understand things more, recently," he says with a frown, hunching his shoulders. "Being able to connect with others is something I've been struggling with, you know. Of course I have to think about things like that."

It puts that look on Saitoh's face, the one that says he thinks of Tsunayoshi as some kind of benevolent devil, trying to stand between the Demon of Nami Middle and the population of the school. Tsunayoshi isn't comfortable being looked at that way, because he doesn't attempt that at all.

"Unbelievable," Saitoh says, and then drops the look a bit to pay attention to the matter at hand. "Trying to build a connection with Hibari Kyoya… I don't know that it's possible, but if anyone could do it, that might be you, Sawada-kun." He sighs and tucks the packet between his arm and his ribs. "If you think he's worth it, then I guess it doesn't hurt to hear them out."

"I'm not as good of a judge of people as that," he objects, because he never asked to be anyone's character endorsement. Hibari probably wouldn't appreciate it, anyway.

"It's good enough for me," Saitoh says firmly, in a tone that suggests that's the end of the matter. "Even if it was for something like this… thanks for coming all the way out here so soon."

That sounds more or less like Saitoh 'saying so,' Tsunayoshi reflects, and so: "if you're taking my comments so seriously, then we should probably exchange numbers."

Judging by the look on Saitoh's face, Tsunayoshi had judged the situation correctly.

Tsunayoshi only has his house phone for the time being, although Saitoh already has a personal mobile of his own. With the way things are going - Tsunayoshi now has the home phone numbers of two people who have their own personal mobiles - he should probably ask Nana about them both getting their own mobile phones. There hadn't really been a need for it before now; although his peers had joined clubs, and gotten phones to keep in touch with their friends and their parents while spending so much time away from their homes, Tsunayoshi had never needed to. He'd only ever left the house to go to school, and then he'd come right back.

Now he's taking tram lines all the way out to the outskirts of Nami to see to friends in different schools. Being able to spontaneously contact any of his household within seconds, no matter his location in the city, is swiftly becoming a necessity.

-0-

It's probably a really bad sign about the way Tsunayoshi's personality is developing that he's starting to have an endless source of entertainment where it comes to having study sessions.

He should have more or less expected it after the way Haru was behaving when it came to going to TakeSushi, but Haru had made a few gambles at quitting her clubs again, just for a chance to come to study sessions with Yamamoto. A few delicately posed questions and comments to Tsuyoshi had Tsunayoshi picking nights where TakeSushi wasn't so busy as to need Yamamoto chipping in. A phone call to the Miura house when Tsunayoshi knew Haru would be away also allowed him to have better insight into her after class schedules.

After that phone call, Tsunayoshi feels a lot more confident about the idea of Hideki being willing to adopt him if it became necessary.

So Tsunayoshi had scheduled the study sessions all of his own accord, given how much he's been struggling with his classes. Haru had been a strange mix of ecstatic and hysteric over the whole situation. They've already gotten through a few such sessions, but Haru's starry eyes have had yet to fade.

That's the entertaining part, Tsunayoshi is discovering. Haru's endless well of stubborn, heedless optimism versus Yamamoto's default lack of reading the atmosphere. Yamamoto keeps making bunny eyes - wide and terrorized and a bit desperate. He really doesn't know how to deal with Haru, and Tsunayoshi has a bit too much schadenfreude at the moment to be of any help.

Although sooner or later, he will probably come to Yamamoto's rescue. This will be their third session where they don't actually get any studying done, and Tsunayoshi really would like to be able to make some kind of attempt at actually passing his classes. Hibari and Haru won't want to hang around a street sweeper or NEET.

Even if it's more like Tsunayoshi thinks: as head of household, I won't be able to provide for them that way.

He's slowly coming around to understanding the strange twists his thoughts take. The idea of Tsunayoshi providing for anyone is a bit laughable, but it seems to be the shape of the wishes his heart is making, so he should probably be trying to achieve those kinds of things.

A knock at the doorway disrupts the session for a moment. "I've made more snacks!" Nana chirps. "Maybe a bit too much - would one of you come help me?"

"I'll help, Mama!" Haru declares, even raising her hand before she scrambles to her feet. Even though this is the third such session, her cheeks are still flushed. Her emotional stamina really is amazing.

Although maybe no less so than Nana, who had gotten so happy about the idea of both Haru and Yamamoto coming over for study sessions that she'd almost burst into tears. Tsunayoshi really had been so pathetic that he'd never noticed just how badly his situation had been stressing his own mother out.

Then again, maybe she's over compensating a bit, because these study sessions really have been more like tea parties, in that there's such an extensive array of snacks and drinks that it might be a good thing that they've only made token attempts to have their school books and homework out.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto says the moment they're alone in the room, despite the door being open, "I'm really sorry about this."

Tsunayoshi blinks, turning back to Yamamoto who is still making bunny eyes. "Sorry about what?"

"Your girlfriend, of course," he says, but at least he's calming down a bit from terrorized to just apologetic. He anxiously runs a hand over his short cropped hair, brow buckled. "Usually it gets a bit more manageable if I just ignore it, but - haha, Tsuna's girlfriend really is special, huh?"

Ah - something that Tsunayoshi had been having fun about really had been upsetting Yamamoto all this time. Now that he thinks about it, Yamamoto's bunny eyes are making a lot more sense - it's not just Haru terrorizing him. Smiling slightly with sympathy, he says, "I guess the baseball club members with girlfriends get a little tense about it?"

Even though Yamamoto tries laughing it off, there are fine indications of tension and stress around the corners of his expression. For all that Yamamoto tries to play things off, he really is the high-maintenance sort, Tsunayoshi supposes.

He'll work harder to keep that in mind from now on.

"Don't worry over nothing," Tsunayoshi says gently. "For now, it seems like Haru still has some idea of getting married to me, but to be honest, this whole situation has been something of a relief. I'm not the sort of person that people should get married to, if they can help it."

It's obvious that those words won't be enough to let Yamamoto rest easy about the situation, but he's the avoidant type anyway: he changes the subject. "Pfft hahaha! I don't know, if I were the type, I'd probably marry you in a heartbeat!"

"Yamamoto," Tsunayoshi objects loudly out of reflex as his ears burn up - although he's not the only one, since it seems Yamamoto managed to embarrass himself with that remark. Scowling, which only makes Yamamoto laugh louder, he says, "there's nothing about people wanting to marry me that makes me happy in the first place! Anyway, fight it out with Haru if that's how you feel about it!"

That just makes Yamamoto reach over the table to poke Tsunayoshi's flushed cheek, making him sputter. "Maybe I will," he teases. "Although, Pops would probably be moody about it if he doesn't get grandkids."

"Something like that is impossible for me, so find someone else to marry!"

Yamamoto smiles a bit at that, but it's kind of a complicated look, as if he's remembering something a bit unpleasant. "So things with Haru really don't bother you at all?" he asks instead.

Tsunayoshi is still in a bit of a bad mood about getting teased about something like that, but he relents. "I'm serious," he says firmly. "It doesn't bother me at all. It'll feel a bit weird, but if Haru can find a better prospect, then that would be for the best."

He frowns at the thought, not entirely due to the idea of their relationship lessening from 'fiancée', although the word continues to be an ill fit. "That shouldn't be hard in the first place, considering that it's me."

Yamamoto doesn't look entirely impressed with that line of thought, but he doesn't pursue it either. "Haru seems a bit hard headed," he observes with a tight smile. "So I should probably wish you luck on that."

Tsunayoshi can only really respond with a smile, although it's probably about as pleasant as Yamamoto's. He has anywhere from six to eight years for it to happen, though, depending on the kind of career that Haru is studying for, so the matter isn't really all that urgent.

He's a bit relieved that Yamamoto dropped the matter though. There's no way he can explain it plainly, and he thinks that Yamamoto probably wouldn't understand the meaning of it anyway, nor would he agree. Even though Yamamoto thinks that being accepted as someone who has the capacity to 'hit someone in the head hard enough so they won't get back up' - ahh. It's different. It's bad.

People aren't supposed to be like that.

Even if he technically has a choice not to go to any possible lengths - at the same time, Tsunayoshi really doesn't have that choice. 'Doing nothing' is not an acceptable outcome for the situations in which he becomes 'capable of anything.' If he has the power to change the situation, then wouldn't it be worse for him not to use it? In that case, doing anything is the lesser evil, isn't it?

It's that kind of way of viewing the situation that he doesn't want his friends to have to experience. It's why he hopes that Haru never has to learn about that kind of thing. People with futures who don't even hit people until they don't get back up shouldn't get married to deadbeat slackers who decide that death is an acceptable manner in which to make someone 'stop' and don't even cry about it afterwards.

Tsunayoshi would be better off marrying Yamamoto, putting it that way, except that Yamamoto's hands aren't even sticky and he's already managed to get along with everyone else without Tsunayoshi's interference. A guy like that has a future ahead of him.

Not that he wants to marry Yamamoto, of course, Tsunayoshi reminds himself, coughing abruptly over his own accidentally swallowed spit. Yamamoto thumps him on the back over it and isn't much of a help at all.

-0-


NOTES:

* Reborn should have had those kids on cell phones pronto. I've placed the story as happening in around 2004, which may be a bit early for people who aren't adults or business people to have cell phones, but? Mafia.

* RIP Takeshi. The confusion of a bunch of 13-14 year old kids who have good flame compatibility but don't know it and get it confused with like-like.

* RIP Byakuran while we're at it, he thought he was just yelling at the TV screen until one of the characters turned and said "hey... listen..."