A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter.
"You don't do that to your friends or subordinates when they need you."
Reborn tilted his hat downwards and focused his black eyes on Tsuna. The brown-haired boy was currently dashing through the school yard, curling his hands around the bombs in order to defuse them. If it weren't for the fact the kid was just a bit too slow for his taste, he wouldn't have to shoot the kid. But time was of the essence when it came to bombs.
But he wouldn't deny that the kid had some guts. No ordinary civilian would be willing to defuse the bombs with their bare hands. A small frown crept up on his lips as his eyes continued to follow the boy and his movement. If he had simply went with what Iemitsu gave him, then he would have believed the kid was a complete coward. But Iemitsu didn't take into account about his niece.
The man believed only the words of his wife and Reborn guessed in Iemitsu's eyes, Sawada Narumi would always be that little girl who lost her father at the ripe age of seven. He didn't consider of asking his own niece about what his son was really like. Reborn pushed his hat upwards and took a step back as a bomb landed near him.
Tsuna curled his hand around the fuse and Reborn just stared at those brown eyes that were filled with a crazed determination to destroy the bombs. I'm debating about whether or not to let Gokudera stay with us. Those words echoed in his ear, reminding him again and again that Sawada Narumi was a kind person. Even if she did become angry, she did have the same kind of heart that Nana had.
He shouldn't always presume Sawada would just simply let a kid stay by himself. When I think I have her figured out, she surprises me. Reborn almost chuckled at the thought but held himself back. Instead, he focused his eyes on Tsuna. Black eyes widened at the lack of flame decorating Tsuna's forehead and a quick scan told him that the boy was completely done with defusing the bombs.
"I will follow you!" Gokudera screamed, dropping down to his kneels. Reborn tilted his hat downwards and darted his eyes to his watch. The time taken for the boy to defuse the bombs had been good. Faster than he expected but it could be better. She was right about a need to improve his speed. He tapped his foot as Tsuna just blinked.
But I will have to find a new way to improve his speed or else Sawada will smack me again. His cheek still stung from the time she smacked him against his face. While it was fun to tease her, Reborn had no desire to have a second slap from the pretty blond-haired woman.
"W-What do you mean?" Tsuna darted his eyes from Gokudera to him and Reborn sighed. Leo shifted back to his original form, crawling his way back onto his shoulder and the black-haired man looked at his student. Not only did he have to improve his speed but he would have to get rid of that stutter. No one was going to take that kid seriously if he always stuttered.
"Since you defeated Gokudera, he will have to serve you." Reborn answered, picking up the defused bomb and looking down at the ground. The only clues of what happened were the black shoot. "That's the rules of the Mafia."
"I don't want that!" Gokudera hunched his shoulders before straightening his back and Reborn had to applaud him for getting back to his feet. It was not an easy thing for a kid like Gokudera to hear. He took a deep breath and gazed at Tsuna, who gazed back at him with confidence in his eyes. I need to hear what he had to say. This kid had surprised him before so there might be a chance he could surprise him again.
Beside the boy knew that he was the only one to inherit the title.
"You can't say that!" Gokudera growled from his knelt position. Tsuna flinched but did not tremble at the glare directed at him."I have to serve you! You saved me from my own bombs! When you put your life on the line like that, then I have to place my life in your hands."
The brown-haired boy chewed on his bottom lip and darted his eyes at him. Uncertainty shone through his brown eyes and a question seemed to burn through his eyes. Reborn looked away. It would be easy for him to give him the right answer but he would rather have the kid figure it out. If he chose to reject Gokudera then he would have no choice but to accept the kid's answer.
He couldn't force a kid to accept someone in his family.
"Gokudera-kun," Tsuna cleared his throat and knelt down till he was at eyelevel with Gokudera. Reborn tilted his hat upwards as the teen offered a small, hesitant smile. "It isn't like I'm not grateful for the offer but I don't want you to serve me. Actually I would rather prefer if you became my friend rather than just a subordinate."
That woman has a lot of influence over Tsuna. Reborn curled his lips into a smirk as green eyes widened at the request that Tsuna made. If Sawada Narumi had never been apart of Tsuna's life, he doubt that the kid would ever had such courage. If the reports had been true then that glare from Gokudera would have made the kid too scared to even say such things.
I guess she also influences me in a way.
He looked up at the bright blue skies and looked to the windows, where a blond-haired woman had a grin playing on her face. Reborn blinked and then waved his hand before tilting his hat downwards. Only one thought ran through his mind as those blue eyes sparkled with an undeniable joy for what happened.
I don't think I would mind the harmonizing with Sawada.
Not even Luce was capable of making him even think like this.
"I'm going to be honest with the two of you and tell you that I didn't call the both of you in here as a teacher."
Narumi clasped her hands together and darted her eyes from her cousin and his new subordinate to Reborn. The black-haired man offered her a small smirk before taking his spot right beside her. Those black eyes glinted with amusement and curiosity, which almost made her bristle. What was so funny? Her tone was professional and she wasn't even smiling like usual.
"Then why did you call us here?" Tsuna shifted in his seat while Gokudera stared at her with curiosity and uncertainty shining through his eye. He is treating me different now that Tsuna defeated him. The thought made her frown but Narumi had no desire to call him out for it. If she could take advantage of it, she would.
If it meant using his devotion for Tsuna to improve his life then Narumi would act manipulative. Living alone at his age isn't something I would want for anyone. She could still remember those sick days spent alone. Those lonely nights in her apartment. Uzumaki Naruto didn't have anyone to care for her when she had been a kid but she wasn't going to let her first life's past be repeated by this kid.
No way.
"I want to make an offer to Gokudera," Narumi locked her eyes on Gokudera and the boy stiffened, almost shifting back and forth as if concerned that she might just pay him to leave her cousin alone. "An offer that I highly recommend that he considers."
Gokudera clenched his hands into a fist and straightened his back. "What type of offer?"
"I just want to confirm one thing with the both of you: my cousin defeated you, right?" The silver-haired teen nodded and Narumi allowed her lips to curl into a sly smirk. Tsuna blinked while Reborn tilted his hat upwards, his black eyes flashing with surprise. "Then that means you are now under Tsuna's subordinate or am I wrong?"
Tsuna grinded his teeth together and slammed his hand against the table. The tin of biscuits jumped up as Gokudera and Reborn blinked at the action. Narumi only raised an eyebrow at her cousin and the boy scowled. "He isn't my subordinate, Narumi-neechan! He's my friend now!"
"He can be both," Narumi took out a biscuit and locked eyes on her cousin. "Just because he works under you, doesn't mean he can't be your friend. But that was not my point! My point is that you have to deal with his living arrangement."
Her cousin blinked and Gokudera stiffened at her words. Man, it is exhausting acting so serious. She could only imagine the nightmare she would have if she had actually survived against Sasuke's attack. Hinata-chan and Shikamaru would have a problem making her act like a politician. She bobbed her head.
But she would have done an amazing job.
"What do you mean?" Tsuna asked.
Reborn cleared his throat. "Your cousin wants Gokudera to live in your house."
Brown eyes widened while the silver-haired teen shook his head. Green eyes flashed with uncertainty alongside another emotion Narumi knew all too well from her first life. Mistrust. He didn't believe she was serious about the offer or rather he wasn't certain whether Tsuna would be pleased with the offer or not.
"I can't have that honor," Gokudera choked out as his green eyes locked onto her own blue eyes. "I am just happy to be around Juudaime so—"
"—This isn't about honor," Narumi answered, holding her hand up to the teen. The boy blinked while Tsuna just stared at her with brown eyes flashing with curiosity. Only Reborn curled his lips into a smirk. "This is about your well-being and the honor of the Vongola Familigia. How will it look to the Mafia if they find out my cousin doesn't take care of his own subordinate?"
Narumi darted her eyes to Reborn and the man offered her an amused smile. If it weren't for the fact Gokudera and Tsuna perked up at her words, she would have given the man the middle finger. Just because Iemitsu left her in the dark, didn't mean she had no understanding of the Mafia and their bosses.
"It will look terrible." Gokudera answered, hunching his shoulders.
She bobbed her head. "You may be 14 and you may be capable of taking care of yourself but you won't be useful to Tsuna if people find out that he didn't take proper care of you. Right now, if you want to help Tsuna and his Familigia, then gattino you need to take care of yourself."
"What does gattino mean?" Tsuna muttered.
Narumi replied. "It means kitten in Italian."
Her cousin blinked while Gokudera coughed, not looking one bit pleased by her word choice. If he didn't remind me of a cat then I wouldn't use that name. She curled her lips into a smile as Gokudera regarded her with eyes filled with caution. It would have surprised her if he immediately agreed to her offer but she had to further elaborate.
"But that isn't also the only reason I need you to live with us," Narumi explained as she locked eyes on the boy. "Neither Reborn nor me are around Tsuna 24 hours and as the heir of the Vongola Familigia, he will need someone to protect him. That person has to be you."
Her cousin swirled his head at her. "What? Why?"
"Other than for the reason that I just gave?" Tsuna bobbed his head while Reborn regarded her with thoughtful eyes. "You are just not strong enough to defeat a low-level hitman."
Narumi ignored the surprised looks from Reborn and focused her eyes on her cousin. This was all for his own well-being. If he had just continued on with his training from when he had been a kid then she wouldn't have to use that excuse. But Nana just had to interfere. She clenched her jaws together as Tsuna hunched his shoulders.
"Look I will resume your training again but Nana should never know about it," she locked eyes at Tsuna and the boy bobbed his head. "If you are going to become a boss then you need to learn how to defend yourself from a first class hitman."
Tsuna bobbed his head and flickered his eyes at Gokudera. "If Gokudera comes to live with us then how do we explain it to Mom?"
"We aren't explaining it," Narumi replied. She stood up from her seat and waved her hand at Reborn. "He is going to do the job for us."
Reborn raised an eyebrow at her. "And why should I be the one to do it? This is your idea, not my idea."
"But you were the one that called Gokudera in without even bringing a guardian for him," Narumi said dryly. Black eyes glinted with irritation while the silver-haired teen shifted in his spot. Tsuna paled. "Also Nana would do whatever it takes to please the handsome gentleman staying in our house. She does have high hopes that you will date me."
Reborn snorted while Gokudera just gawked at her.
"Fuck no!" Tsuna yelled, crossing his hands into a cross. "Please don't date this devil!"
Narumi slapped her forehead.
"Nana wants me to date Reborn." She deadpanned as her blue eyes locked onto her cousin. "Both Reborn and I have no desire to have that kind of relationship."
The teen relaxed his shoulders while the black-haired man pulled out a notebook from his pocket. Narumi raised a single eyebrow at Reborn and he just clicked his tongue, not looking one bit pleased about her words. She knitted her eyebrows together. She hadn't been wrong about where they stood in their relationship.
Nothing about their interaction hinted that he liked her in a romantic way.
"I need to improve his observational skills."
Now that sounded like Reborn.
"Do you mind telling me why you said that it would be a good thing I didn't become the leader of the Vongola Familigia?"
Narumi looked up at the twinkling stars before darting her eyes at Reborn. From below the roof, she could hear Gokudera trying to help Tsuna understand the concepts that were going to come up in the science quiz. I really can't believe I was right about Nana. She curled her lips into a frown and let out a sigh as the black-haired man darted his eyes at her.
"If you have been the boss then I would have to act very professional towards you," Reborn explained. He tilted his hat upwards and curled his lips into a smirk. Narumi blinked and bobbed her head as the man locked eyes on her. "All that teasing would have to go away and I would have to watch my mouth."
She snorted. "Y'know if I have been the boss then I wouldn't give a shit about your attitude towards me as long as you did your job properly and don't treat me like a stupid little girl that doesn't know shit about the world."
"With the way you acted today, only an idiot would think like that." Narumi curled her lips into a smile as the black-haired man gazed at her. There was almost a slight crinkle around the edge of his eyes as if he was almost proud with the way she handled the situation with Gokudera and Tsuna. But the crinkle faded and Reborn tilted his head. "Why did you become a teacher?"
The blonde hummed a small tune and tilted her head up. With the gentle cricks from the grasshoppers, Narumi could almost picture herself back at Konoha. The gentle cricks alongside the chirps from the birds reminded her of the home that she lived in her first life. Whatever happened to it? Sasuke and her had died before unleashing the genjutsu on everyone.
Well Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan would have handled it.
"It isn't because of Tsuna," Narumi explained, closing her eyes. She might be an excellent student in her second life but she would never forget of the headache that she gave to Iruka-sensei or her terrible scores. "I became a teacher because I had a teacher who believed in me and helped me through my darkest time."
The black-haired man nodded. "So you became a teacher because you want to be the same kind of teacher to students just like you?"
"That was the main reason," Narumi admitted. She curled her hands into a fist and looked at the shooting star that seemed to be zooming through the sky. "The other reason is that I didn't know what I should do with my life when school was over."
The black-haired man snorted and narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't believe that for one second. There must have been another job that you wanted."
"Your parents wouldn't want you to have that kind of life!"
Nana's words echoed in her ears and the image of warm hazel eyes flashed before her eyes. Her heart throbbed and ached as images of her second father flashed through her mind. She hadn't been a good daughter to him. Not once when he had been alive, did she ever acknowledge him as her father.
He might have taught her Italian and gave her those piggyback rides, but Minato and Kushina had always been her first parents. But since she disrespected him while he had been alive, it was only fair that she respected his wishes now that he was dead.
"I wanted to be a soldier," Narumi finally admitted. She shook her head and curled her lips into a smile. "I like getting into fights and I love protecting my loved ones. I always believed that the best way to show my love for my family and country was to be a solider."
Reborn frowned. "Then why didn't you become a soldier?"
"Nana and Iemitsu talked me out of it," She sighed and clasped her hands over her head. "They kept telling me that my Father and Mother wouldn't have wanted to see me go through war zones and risking my life every single day."
Reborn frowned. "But you don't seem to be the type to give a shit about what people think."
"I'm not," Narumi admitted. "But I was a terrible daughter to my father before he died. I can't go back in time to make up for how I acted around him but I can honor the wishes that he had for me."
It wasn't that bad if you asked her.
She was going to see Tsuna grow up and that was good enough for her.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about the chapter.
