My Storm, My Cloud, My Sun, My Sky
Summary: Reborn met Fon, they became Arcobaleno and went separate ways, not seeing each other for years. Kyoya was born, Fon had to leave to protect his family and they didn't see each other for years. Tsuna met Reborn, the adventure starts. Hibari met Reborn, craziness starts. Dino met Kyoya, Fon returns and secrets are revealed. Better than it sounds, I promise! D18, RF, LalCol possible others.
"Ciaossu, Dino," the greeting made the blond whip user in question look up from where his head had been buried in his hands. He has been sitting by Kyoya's bedside with Romario just outside of the hospital room for the entire night, his other men stationed around the rest of the hospital to make sure Tsuna and his other guardians were okay and that the Cervello or Varia won't get up to any funny business. Most of his most trusted subordinates were placed around one particular room, with a patient of utmost importance for the Ring Conflict, but Dino himself couldn't be anywhere else but here, by Kyoya's side.
"Reborn," he greeted his former tutor, though he lacked almost any emotion in his voice. He sounded drained even to his own ears and he didn't care.
He should have gone. He should have been there for Kyoya's match.
Sure, Kyoya won. In two strikes, no less, but he had never doubted Hibari's fighting ability. No, what he had always worried about was his impulsiveness, his desire to fight. He's been getting better at tamping that down. Not taming it, because the desire to fight was so crucial to who Hibari Kyoya was that Dino doubted his student would ever be himself if he could not fight. Kyoya lived for that rush. Lived for the pain, the strain of muscles, the blood that can be shed. So it can't be taken away without destroying everything that is Hibari Kyoya. But the boy can be taught to control that impulsiveness, even if only just a little, if only just so he can wait a few more minutes before he rushes in.
If Dino had been there last night, Kyoya would have won the fight but maybe he wouldn't have went at Xancus right after. Maybe he would have, maybe he wouldn't. But if Dino had been there, perhaps one of them would have noticed that Gola Mosca wasn't fully deactivated. Kyoya had crashed its processor, so it went berserk. Kyoya would have noticed the robot wasn't done for if Xanxus had not taunted him just before the match had started. He'd gotten the full story from Yamamoto, Gokudera and Ryohei. Kyoya had been calm throughout the whole thing, but Xanxus had laughed. And when Kyoya had stunned everyone with the ease with which he took down the Varia's 'Cloud', he had turned to the 'Monkey King' and challenged him. He had waited until no one had any 'lawful' reason to stop their fight or declare him as the defeated party because he broke some rule or the other. He had gone through an obstacle to go for his true target when he could without consequences. That was already a visible influence made by his time spent training with Dino. The ease with which he and Xanxus maneuvered around the mounted guns and ground grenades was another, as Dino had quickly acknowledged the truth of Reborn's words that there was very little in regards to fighting that he could teach the teenager, so the thing they had worked on was his awareness of his surroundings. It had come in handy.
Who knows how Kyoya's showdown with Xanxus would have ended if Gola Mosca had not went berserk at the moment it had and shot a highly concentrated laser beam through Kyoya's left thigh? Xanxus had had to start using his Flames to stop Kyoya's direct attack that would have no doubt cracked his skull. Dino had seen what the prefect was capable of with those tonfa of his. He and Xanxus would have put on quite the show.
But he was kind of glad that Kyoya couldn't continue fighting. Dying Will Flames were more often than not the deciding factor and Kyoya wasn't Flame Active. Hell! They couldn't even be certain that he really has Cloud Flames! Flames and personality don't always match! Look at Reborn! He uses a gun when most Suns are expected to be close combatants, masters of some fighting style or several. Colonello, too. Rains were supposed to be tranquil, calming, and while the blond Arcobaleno can keep a cool head, he's not exactly the type to induce calm. And what about Belphegor? Storms were usually the most loyal ones to the Sky, but in the Varia, that characteristic is Levi A Than's while the knife user only cares about his own life and that he remains 'the best'.
Kyoya may act like a Cloud, but he can very well be a Mist or just about anything else. Kyoya always insists that logic can't restrain him, that nothing can restrain him. Dino is rather inclined to believe him. So far, Kyoya has exceeded all of his original expectations. In fact, Hibari rather reminds him of Reborn every now and then. He can be just as brutal, just as sharp and yet those he genuinely comes to care about, he readily helps. He'll never make it obvious, but a lot of strange things must have been going on in Namimori since Reborn started using his spartan training methods on Tsuna and yet none of them had ever been arrested. Well, except that one time, but that had been an accident that had only happened due to hilarious circumstances. The scientists should seriously do something about how the Deathperation Shot affects one's state of dress. Dino had nearly been shot by dozens of people and got arrested three times for running around in nothing but his boxers. Tsuna couldn't have had it much better, though his woes were more due to embarrassment than dangerous people. Again, probably because Hibari had stepped in. Maybe the first few days were luck, but after Reborn and Kyoya officially met, there's no way the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee would have remained idle. Kyoya likes control. He'd want to control how much chaos goes on in his life due to Reborn's sudden involvement. That includes making sure Gokudera doesn't ever have to break himself or someone else out of jail, that Yamamoto's new 'game' doesn't affect his baseball games since he was Nami-chuu's star player and that Ryohei's new association with Tsuna and Reborn doesn't rob Nami-chuu of its boxing club's captain. Or that Tsuna doesn't get expelled for whatever craziness Reborn's presence brings into his school life.
In his own way, he was taking care of them all without getting involved.
Damn, he probably really was a Cloud!
"You beating yourself up over Hibari's injuries?" The hitman asked, coming to jump on the prefect's bed, sitting on the edge so that they were relatively face level with each other, careful not to disturb Hibari's sleep which Dino was grateful for. It worried him already that Kyoya hadn't so much as stirred since his leg was treated. He was usually such a light sleeper that a rustle of leaves could wake him up if it wasn't meant to be there as usual background noise. Kyoya could sleep anywhere, but he was always ready to jump into action should he perceive something is the slightest bit out of place, different from when he had settled down for his nap. Reborn's entrance should have already had a tonfa flying at the Arcobaleno's head, and yet Kyoya remained asleep on the bed. "You know it's not your fault, right? I'm not saying it's his, either, but it's definitely not yours."
"Then why does it feel like it is?" The Cavallone boss asked with a dark look in his eyes. "I failed him, Reborn. I should have been there. I could have gotten him immediate medical attention, if nothing else. I should have been more insistent that he listen to me about the Rings, the fights, the danger, but he just ... wouldn't listen. I thought if I trained with him enough, it will be enough but I guess I was wrong."
"It was enough, Dino," the hitman assured. "I already told you, didn't I? There's not much you could have taught him where fighting is concerned. You might be a close to mid range fighter and you night have a lot more experience under your belt, but Hibari's not some helpless novice, either. He knew what he was getting into, if for no other reason than because he's used to fighting for his life."
"Then why assign me as his tutor? Why assign me at all, while we're at it? Surely you know plenty of people who have a more similar fighting style to the one Kyoya uses! For goodness sake, you got Ryohei an Arcobaleno to train him! Kyoya could have used one, too, you know!"
"I assigned you because you can be trusted, Dino Cavallone." That actually made the blond pause, a look of incredulous surprise slipping over his face. "More importantly, I could trust you with him."
"Wha-? Are you saying you picked me personally for Kyoya especially, not for helping Tsuna overall?" The young boss asked, sounding even more incredulous. And that incredulousness turned to suspicion. "Why?"
"Because I don't need his uncle to come after me for endangering him." The hitman sighed and actually reached up with a small hand to massage the ridge of an even smaller nose. "Look, wimpy Dino, it's complicated. All you need to know is that it is by sheer luck that I am still alive at all considering the injuries Hibari sustained during the whole Rokudo Mukuro incident at Kokuyo Land some months back."
"But you're the best hitman in the world!" Dino argued, mind boggled by this revelation. "I saw you take down a hundred men with only one round of ammunition left! You don't fear anything!"
"I never said I was afraid," Reborn countered, glaring at his former student. "I'd just rather not have him pissed with me. And I may be the best hitman and strongest Arcobaleno, but the second strongest isn't that far behind and is the best martial artist in the world who can, from time to time, hand me my ass on a silver platter. I don't need that, thank you very much. Colonello and I will be in enough trouble as it is if he learns that we let Hibari become a part of the mafia world without notifying him beforehand. I don't want to think on the pain that will ensue should Hobari be permanently maimed or worse."
"Kyoya's related to an Arcobaleno!?" Dino felt like his mind was going to go boom. Because this? This was not what he was expecting when he had been asked by Reborn to train one of Tsuna's Guardians.
"Yes, so you can see why I'd rather not see him here, either."
"Which one?"
The fedora wearing baby looked away, all but dismissing him. "That's not my secret to tell. If Hibari hasn't told you, or anyone else for that matter, then it's because he either has a good reason or because he simply doesn't want to."
"It can't be Colonello, right? Or that Mammon from Varia?"
Reborn snorted, as though the mere idea of it amused him, but said nothing more on the topic. "My point is, I trust you, so I knew I could leave Hibari in your care and he will come back stronger and still perfectly safe and healthy. This?" He gestured at the hospital room, as if to encompass their current general situation. "This was Xanxus fault. He's the one who cheated. I don't know why the Cervello are letting this farce continue, but we have no choice in the matter. Not if we don't want them to be killed just because they will register as potential usurpers of the new 'legitimate' boss."
"But how can we let them to continue this fight!?" Demanded the enraged Don. "All of them are injured! Gokudera spent two days as a living mummy! Should still spend several days like one so he doesn't reopen his wounds! Yamamoto can't use his right eye and has various injuries besides, namely his left shoulder! He won't be able to freely wield a sword! Ryohei nearly shattered most of the bones in his right hand and wrist! That Dokuro girl relies on Mukuro's illusions to live! And with Kyoya's injured leg, their best fighter is slowed to a stop! Against the Varia, even if they're injured and down a few members, if they actually are that is, not counting that robot, that's not very good odds!"
For his efforts, Reborn has Leon turn into a mallet and he's hit over the head until he's a twitching mess on the floor. "Don't underestimate them. Tsuna's Guardians are not ordinary people. You alone should know that. Haven't you learned anything in your ten days with Hibari?"
"Are you saying we should just let them go to their deaths and see if they make it?" Dino challenged, for once not backing down from his former tutor. "I'm sorry, Reborn, but I can't allow that. I'm not that kind of teacher."
The Arcobaleno's face darkened and he tipped his head down so his fedora shadowed his face ominously. "Do you seriously think I enjoyed watching you in true pain or in a real life or death peril? That I enjoy watching Tsuna now? I may love seeing things succumb to chaos, but I do not enjoy it when someone under my care actually gets hurt. I am here to teach you, not to torture you, no matter what either you or Dame-Tsuna think of my methods. What do you think my training would be like for someone like Hibari? Or even someone as inexperienced in fighting as you and Tsuna were when I first came to you? It's not my fault I need to turn clumsy idiots into capable fighters and mafia bosses! And you both keep resisting! I don't care whether you want to be a mafia boss or not, I have a job to do with my reputation on the line. With your lives on the line. With the lives of others on the line. So, no, I don't enjoy watching someone get actually hurt. Because when that happens, it's my fault, my responsibility because I didn't teach you better. And no, it's not the same as what happened with you and Hibari. Hibari can fight by his own power. He has chosen to fight, even if it is Iemitsu and I that gave him the option. You trained him where you could. He fought to the best of his abilities and won. The rest lies at Xanxus feet. You are not in the least responsible for this injury or for him. I, on the other hand, am responsible, for you, for Tsuna, for his friends and his Guardians because you don't just train a future Vongola boss, you train him and his Guardians. I am pissed that they got hurt, but it is not up to me to call out the Cervello on the shit that's happening now. It is not up to me to decide whether they want to continue the fight or not. I can only be there in case Xanxus and his Varia try to get up to some funny business. That's all I can do to not endanger them further. Do you think I am content with not being able to do anything more? I may be sadistic, I will never refute that, but I do not enjoy watching those I come to care about truly suffer."
Needless to say, Dino was speechless. He had never seen Reborn lose his cool like that. The closest to it that he had ever seen was probably just last night, when Nono was revealed to have been Gola Mosca's battery and even then it hadn't been like this. In a few instances, Reborn had actually raised his voice! Clearly, this was something which he had been sitting on for a long time if it all came out this explosively.
"I'm sorry, Reborn," Dino said, racking a hand through his hair. "I ... I shouldn't have accused you like that. I know - I know - you're not that kind of person. If you were, Tsuna and I both would have been dead a long time ago. You never let it get so out of hand and you never actually let us really get hurt. I shouldn't have said those things."
"No, you shouldn't, but I understand why you did," Reborn all but dismissed it. "You're worried and under a lot of stress right now. It's not just Vongola's future that's at stake here and you just so happened to have grown attached to your first ever student. Needless to say, you have a lot on your mind and everything looks like it's going to shit."
"You don't even realize how spot on you are," the blond mumbled to himself, only to receive a flick to the nose that hurt much more than it should, but, then again, this was Reborn.
"Just have some faith in them, wimpy Dino. They may not be Varia Quality, but they have their own qualities that may just pull them through. You just have to believe in them and everything will turn out just fine." The hitman smiled and Dino felt himself relax, if only just a little. Reborn was rarely, if ever, wrong and he was the one who had put these kids through hell just so they can get stronger. If he was this confident that they'd pull through, where does Dino go off, doubting them?
"Thanks, Reborn."
"I'm serious here." Well, he definitely did look dead serious. "These guys were all in a rather depressing place when I came. Tsuna was bullied, if not physically but that's mostly because he's from Nami-chuu and no idiot would dare break the rules there, and he had no friends except his mother; he had given up on trying and accepted that he's Dame-Tsuna and that he can't be better. Yamamoto was surrounded by people who didn't really see him; he wore a fake smile and had no true friends, only baseball to define him as a person. Ryohei had no goal in mind; he went through his life with the same machinations as a machine, trying to get stronger so he can protect his sister but not really knowing how to do it. He would have ended up with several life-threatening conditions that most sportsmen who overdo it suffer from. Who knows what Chrome has been through, but both she and Mukuro must have been in a very dark place for them to connect the way they did. Gokudera was practically suicidal; he was living on the streets and despite his talent, he had little worth in the eyes of other mafioso, no one would accept him. He was alone until I introduced him to Tsuna. He gave his life no worth. Hibari existed for no other reason than Nami-chuu, to get stronger than anyone else. I have no idea what happened to his family and I only know for sure that he has an Arcobaleno as an uncle, but that's it. These kids might have been somewhat content with their lives, but they weren't really living them. The life they have now is dangerous, but they have friends, goals, a place to belong, people willing to accept them, sanctuary. It's not ideal, but then again, nothing is. I don't want them to become family just because that's how the mafia works. I want them to be family. Now that they're not wandering aimlessly, they will only become stronger. When that happens, I will have fulfilled my duty as a home tutor."
"Jeeze, you're full of surprises today, Reborn!" Dino said with a laugh, definitely feeling better than before this little chat. "You should probably go check up on Tsuna. Tonight's his big night. He might be a bit nervous. I'll hold the fort here, so to speak."
"I'll leave that to you, then." Not long after that, the hitman was gone and Dino was left alone to watch over Kyoya. He sighed and looked at his student's sleeping face.
"Honestly, you're not cute at all and yet you have me this worried," he grumbled to himself goodnaturedly. "I do wonder how you became like this, what happened to your family, how come you're related to an Arcobaleno at all. But I rather doubt you'd ever tell me." Dino sighed and propped himself up on the edge of the bed by Hibari's hip to take a little nap himself. Romario was just outside should anything happen so maybe he could take a nap. Just a minute.
"Perhaps I would if you would ask and stay quiet to listen."
The sudden familiar voice had him jerking upright in a second, all thoughts of sleep gone from his mind as if they had never even been there in the first place. His whole face was bright enough to light up Tokyo at night what with the relieved smile stretching across his lips when amber eyes met silver blue. "Kyoya! You're awake!"
"Yaa, Bucking Horse. Now shut up and listen."