A/N: I want to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows.
Narumi could practically feel the excitement from the students as she walked through the corridors. It was natural. Today was the best day of the week: it was Friday. It was the day she always looked forward to, the day where classes end for the week and she had the weekend to relax. The day, where she could leave school early and visit her second parents' graves with the sunflowers her father loved so dearly. She wondered if her second father loved the sunflowers because he simply did, or if it was due to the flowers being his fiancée's favourite flowers.
She might have forty-two years of experience but Narumi could never understand this kind of love. Naruto Uzumaki did not dream for this kind of love; her previous self never thought she deserved this kind of love. In this life, she found boys and men to be simply a waste of her time. They were either too weak, too controlling or too young for her taste.
"Do you think Sawada-sensei knows about what Dame-Tsuna did? Or what Mochida-senpai plans to do?" One of the students asked; his voice was so low that an ordinary person would not able to hear what he said. Narumi frowned. Did Sasagawa's boyfriend inform the whole school of the incident? Should she scold him? No she could not do it. As much as it pained her, she had to pretend to be harsh on her cousin. It was not like she could blame the bullet, not when it sounded insane.
However she could not deny she was curious to know what her second-year student planned to do.
"There is no way she would know about Mochida-senpai plans," his friend whispered; the confidence in his voice worried her. Narumi slipped her hands into her pockets; she pulled out her phone and pretended to be busy with it. If she wanted to know more then she needed to act like she was busy texting someone. "She would have tried to get him in a detention and she would look like a scary harpy. Everyone knows you don't hurt her cousin or her homeroom students in front of her. She is the only teacher, who gives a shit about the bullying in the school. If she finds out Mochida-senpai challenged him to a fight then you can bet the whole school is going to be a hellhole."
Narumi tightened her grip on her phone. A fight? Did her stupid student challenge her cousin to a fight because of this incident? Could he not use his tongue? She clicked her tongue. If Reborn had not told her about Tsuna becoming the next boss then she would stop the fight. She would be the one to teach her student a lesson. There was no need for her cousin to use his hands. There was no need for him to use the violence he hated.
However, Tsuna was no longer going to be a civilian.
"You are really not going to stop the fight, Naruto," Kurama asked; his voice was laced with so much amusement that Narumi wanted to throttle him. Of course he enjoyed her decision. The fox took delight in violence from the fights with the thugs to the action movies she loved to watch. The bjuu also took joy from watching the horror movies she hated to see. "I don't understand how you don't enjoy them, they are so funny."
"We can discuss about my dislike for horror movies later," Narumi growled. "I have a cousin that is going to be in a fight. Thank god I taught him how to fight or else we would be screwed."
Kurama snorted. "Do you really think he will use your teachings? You might have taught him how to defend himself but the brat dislikes using his hands to fight. He won't even consider it even though he is strong enough to defend himself."
The blond-haired woman faltered at the fox's words. The damn fox was right. Tsuna hated using his hands to fight. This was one of the things she loved about her cousin. She knew from the moment he explained to her why he never used his hands against his bullies that the boy was gentle. Too gentle for the mafia. Too gentle then the bullies deserved.
She gritted her teeth. Why did the Mafia have to be so stringent with their rules? If it was not for the fact her parents hadn't been married then she could be allowed to be the leader. Who gave a shit about her parents? She should have been judged by her capabilities. She was older. She was stronger than Tsuna. She would be able to close her eyes and hurt anyone, who dared to harm her allies and family members.
Tsuna did not have that kind of heart and he would never have that kind of heart. The boss of the Vongola was a fool if he believed her cousin could become like him. Not even a man like Reborn could make her baby cousin become a cold blooded killer.
"Maybe he could become a cold blooded killer if someone didn't mother him too much," Kurama drawled; his voice filled with so much mirth that Narumi wished she could throttle the old fox. Why did he want to blame her? Someone had to spoil him, someone had to raise him while his mother was in her depressive episode. "It didn't mean you could let him think it was okay not to raise his hands at those bullies. You should have made him realize that the only way people like Mochida and his bullies listen is if you knock some sense into them."
Narumi slumped her shoulders. Kurama was right—she should have insisted her cousin used his tiny fists to beat his bullies. It was never right for her to let her cousin become soft and gentle when it came to his tormentors. He should have learned that there were times when his fist needed to be used. She always knew this but Tsuna was always a baby in her eyes. She could never picture him growing up, not when he used to crawl into her bed and tell her about his nightmares.
She messed things up for him.
"I am surprised you aren't going to your cousin for help with your problem with Mochida."
Tsuna clutched his hand on his chest at the sight of Reborn sitting inside the ventilation. How could the man fit into such a small thing? Was this an assassins training? Or was it because his tutor was a weirdo? The man seemed to be sipping his coffee like he had all the time in the world. Wait the bastard was not the one who had to fight an angry senior. He gritted his teeth. If it was not for this man then he would never be in this mess.
"How the hell can you fit yourself in such a tiny space?" Tsuna yelled; he flickered his eyes at the corridor. The corridor was empty, not a single student in sight. They must be too busy eating their breakfast and debating about how badly he was going to be beaten.
Reborn quirked his eyebrow. "A hitman always have his ways."
Tsuna snorted. This was not the first time someone say similar words to him. Narumi liked to make a similar comment whenever he asked her about how she knew exactly when he was about to skip class. At this point, he gave up on asking his older cousin and just try to stay at school.
"So? Why aren't you going to your cousin for help?" Reborn asked; his tone barely gave way to his curiosity.
Brown eyebrows knitted at the question. Go to Narumi? Tsuna chewed on his bottom lip. Why didn't he go to her? If anyone could fix his problem then it would be his cousin. She was a teacher; a teacher who cared about her students being bullied. She knew the truth. She would try to stop the fight but he didn't want his cousin to stop the stupid fight. He didn't want to take the easy way out, not when his classmates insulted his cousin.
They blamed her for what happened to Kyoko. They thought she must have coddled him to the point that he thought he could do whatever he wanted. There were many things he could accept. He accepted people insulting him, he accepted his mother cared more for his father then for him. He could not accept it when someone insulted Narumi, not when his cousin did her best to take care of him.
"I can defend myself." Reborn quirked his eyebrow, his black eyes twinkled with an unfamiliar emotion. Tsuna shook his head. He stared out at the window, where he could pick out the sight of his older cousin scolding a couple of third-year students. "I don't need Narumi to fix this issue."
"Even though it is the easy way out? I pegged you as the boy who would go running to his teacher."
He gritted his teeth. Why did this tutor act like he knew him? Just because he got his crush right and figured out his weakness; it didn't mean he knew him. Narumi used to tell him the easy way out never meant it was the right way. Of course his cousin had been talking about his frustrations with his homework, but it still applied to this case. If he didn't fight Mochida-senpai then he was going to torment him.
He was too tired to go through the motions of being bullied, especially by an asshole that insulted his cousin.
"Just because I didn't confess to Kyoko, it doesn't mean that I am some crybaby."
Reborn tilted his hat downwards. "I made the presumption because you never tried to protect yourself from the bullies. It was always your cousin who seemed to stop the bullies."
Because I don't like fighting, Tsuna thought; he looked down at his hands. When the bullying first started, Narumi taught him how to fight. She would always tell him about the bullies would leave him alone if he was strong enough to hurt them. She would tell him it was a game, a game he couldn't lose. Yet he could never see it like that. He didn't like seeing people getting hurt. The one time he punched the bully, the kid cried to his mum and the mum talked to his mum.
His mother scolded him even though he told her that it was the bully, who started it.
He never told Narumi. She would have gotten angry with his mum and leave them. It might have been selfish of him at the time, but he never wanted his cousin to leave him alone. He did not want the one person who believed him to leave him with a mother, who never seemed to take his side.
"I don't like fighting," Tsuna admitted. "Narumi tried to make me like it but I just couldn't do it. I don't want to fight Mochida-senpai but he insulted my cousin."
Reborn curled his lips. "A good boss should care for his family. He should take care of the people that dared to slander their family's name."
He should tell Reborn he was wrong. He was not going to become the Tenth. He was going to have a normal life. He was going to marry a nice woman and have two kids. He was going to be there for his family, not like his deadbeat father. He would get a good job because god knew Narumi would kill him if he didn't make something out of himself.
Nothing about his plans had anything to do with the Mafia.
"Whatever plans you made about your future, you should just get rid of it." Tsuna swirled his head at the older man. The seriousness in Reborn's eyes made his knees wobble. "The moment the Ninth chose you as his heir was the moment that you could kiss your normal life away."
"I don't want to be the boss! Isn't there anyone else more suitable for the job?"
Reborn twisted his head away from him and stared out at the window he had made for himself. Tsuna felt a burning sensation in his throat when he followed the man's line of sight. Narumi. The only other person would be his cousin. Their fathers had been brothers. If Tsuna was connected to the first boss by his father then the same went for his cousin.
It wasn't fair.
There was no way he could ask his cousin to do this.
Reborn raised his eyebrow at the sight of Narumi standing on the second floor of the gym. The young woman had her back against the wall, her blue eyes showed almost no emotions. If it was not for the fact her hands were clenching the rails like it was her lifeline then he would be fooled about her state of mind. The two cousins were contradictions. Tsuna was a coward but when his cousin was insulted then he was willing to stand his ground. Narumi cared for her cousin, coddled him to the point that she blurred the lines of mother and cousin, yet she was not doing anything to stop the fight.
"You know about the fight." Narumi nodded but she did not tear her eyes away from her students. He frowned. "Why aren't you trying to stop the fight? You made it very clear to me that Tsuna is your number one priority."
The blond-haired girl did not tear her eyes away from the students. Her small hands seemed to tightened against the rails and the flare of her nostrils told him enough about how angry she was. "I can't fix all his problems. I can try to fix them but what will be the point of me fixing it? I know Mochida and that boy won't leave Tsuna alone even if I intervene. My cousin needs to beat that boy up and show him what happens when you try to ruin him."
The calamity in the young woman's tone unnerved him. How could she have such good control of her emotions? How could she make such a claim when her eyes looked like she wanted to murder her student. He tilted his hat downwards; he curled his lips downwards and stared at his approaching student.
"You seem certain Tsuna could defeat Mochida."
Narumi twisted her head at him. "I am confident that if Tsuna puts his heart into it then he could beat Mochida but it won't matter if he doesn't want to hurt him," she chewed on her bottom lip. "You might think my cousin is weak. I know a lot of people think Tsuna is weak because he doesn't try to stand up for himself, but it is not really the case. For as long as I could remember, my cousin is a gentle boy. He doesn't like getting into trouble and he doesn't like seeing people get hurt."
There was no denying Tsuna was a gentle boy. In the week leading up to his stay, Reborn took the time to observe the boy. He saw the way he winced at the mere sight of blood, the way he seemed happy to help his cousin but most of all he saw the lack of desire to fight. This gentleness needed to go. A gentle boss was a boss that was going to get his subordinates and himself get killed.
"I have to be harsh on your cousin," he tipped his hat upwards and stared at the blond haired woman. "You might not like my methods but the mafia isn't kind to gentle people."
The blonde snorted. "They eat them alive," Reborn felt his lips twitched at the girl's words but schooled his expression. This was not the time to be amused by some brat's words. "But harshness doesn't mean you have to humiliate him. There is a difference between harshness and humiliation. You wouldn't know that since you are taking out your anger on my cousin."
Anger. There was that word again. Narumi believed he took his emotions out on his student, which was in a way true. If he could not shoot someone then he needed someone to take his anger out on. Dino used to be that person but the boy was grown now. Still how did the girl knew his emotions? He had years of practice in containing his emotions, had kept it on a tight lid. Yet this young girl seemed to have figured out his emotions.
"You always mention anger." He flickered his eyes towards Tsuna, who had just entered the gym. The young boy held his head high. There was fear in the boy's eyes but there was a desire to win. A desire to prove his senior wrong. Perhaps there really was no need for him to shoot the bullet on the boy. "What makes you think I am angry? I haven't given anything away."
"You can try all you want but your eyes betray your emotions," she closed her eyes. "And your actions speaks volumes about your emotions. A hitman should be able to think in calamity, should see the best course of action but your action towards Tsuna didn't show that. If you want to toughen him up then there is a lot of better ways to do that."
There were many better ways to toughen the boy up, Reborn knew this but he also knew the boy was the type to resist the gentle measures. If the boy refused to defend himself because he didn't like hurting people, then he deserved to be treated harshly. He deserved to be humiliated for him to finally realize just how cruel the world was. His cousin might not like it but he had experience in the art of toughening people up.
"Are you going to shoot the bullet?" She asked; her shoulders tensed at the sight of the kendo sword being given to her cousin.
Reborn leaned forward at the rails. His black eyes focused on his young student, noting the determination and the tightened grip on the sword. Nothing about Tsuna's stance indicated he planned to run away. The straightened back, the resignation in his eyes but most of all the desire to protect his cousin's honour seemed to shine through those eyes. If the boy fidgeted, if he showed signs of running away then he would have done it.
"Does your cousin look like he is going to run away from the fight?" Narumi shook her head. "Then no. If he tried to run away then I would have dragged him here and waited for the right opportunity to shoot the bullet."
He saw no point to lie to his student's cousin. Sawada Narumi earned some of his respect when she slapped him before he could even see her hand move. It had been so long since someone slapped him in the face, the last time was when his mother learnt he joined the Mafia. Did it hurt his pride? Yes but Reborn knew better to disrespect her.
"…The prize for this match is Sasagawa Kyoko!" Reborn felt his lips twitched when he saw the fury in his student's eyes. He glanced at Narumi. The blond-haired woman showed no emotions but the furrowed eyebrows, the clenched fist on the rails told him about the anger she felt.
"Why?" Tsuna asked; his tone hinted of his hesitance but there was more anger in his tone. Respect to women was not something he needed to teach him, Reborn mused. This fight was showing him a different side to what he observed of his student. Perhaps this was his cousin's doing and not his mother because Nana was a lot of things, but she did not really focus on her son. She fed the boy but she did not really teach him anything.
The black-haired boy blinked. "What do you mean why! I challenged you to a fight because of what you did!" Tsuna frowned and the boy growled. "Why are you judging me, underwear boy!"
"I was wrong to confess to Sasagawa-san," the boy tried to keep his voice even and calm but Reborn could almost hear the nerves and anger shaking from his tone. "I know that but she is not a prize. She is a person! If you really like her then you should never make her seem like some trophy!"
The whole gym turned quiet at Tsuna's words. The shocked faces of the students spoke volumes of how they never expected him to speak his opinion. In Iemitsu's notes, the man spoke about how the boy never had the courage to do anything for himself. It seemed like this was not the complete truth. Perhaps the boy needed a little push and maybe insulting his cousin, making his crush seem like a prize, was just enough for the boy to open himself.
"Guess my constant drilling of respecting women to his head was enough for him to speak out," Narumi finally said. The blond-haired woman was perhaps the only one who didn't seem surprised. It made sense. Out of everyone in Tsuna's life, the blond haired woman was the constant in his life. Nana might have given birth to Tsuna but it was his cousin, who raised him. "That kid is going to get annihilated. If Tsuna is talking out then he is going to try his hardest."
"Why did you drill it to his head? Why didn't you leave it to Nana?"
The blond-haired woman kept her eyes focused on Tsuna, who picked up the kendo sword. "Because Nana doesn't realize when she is being disrespected," she curled her lips into a smile when Mochida gawked at the brown-haired boy. Reborn raised his eyebrows. Was it possible she knew about her uncle? Or was there another reason? "Uncle Iemitsu loves Nana but he always lies to her. I don't know why he is lying about his job but he seriously gives the worse lies."
At least one person in Iemitsu's family knew his lie was completely stupid.
"You want Tsuna to be different from his father."
"I want him to be better than his old man," Narumi admitted as Tsuna blocked Mochida's attack. "If he ever gets into a relationship then he needs to know how to respect a girl. He needs to know why lying to his wife or girlfriend is the worst thing to do. It is the worst thing that you can do the partner."
The tiredness and sadness in her voice made him wonder if she was keeping a secret from her family.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. What do you think of the subtle changes that Narumi brought to Tsuna's upbringing?
