Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano. The Gamer belongs to Sangyoung Seong and Sang-a
AN: This fic was partially inspired by exocara's "Game of Life". It's really funny, check it out!
Warning: Contains my first ever attempt at a fight scene, mentions of animal cruelty.
…...
Tsuna was frankly terrified by Hibari Kyouya.
All of the kids that lived in Namimori knew about the scary kid that could even beat up high schoolers. Tsuna hadn't seen him since he got the gamer ability, and he was glad about that. This, of course, meant that on the first day of summer vacation Tsuna would run into him beating up a couple of delinquents that had been smoking.
Tsuna had heard from Grandma that running was a good way to build up strength and endurance, so he was doing a lap around town a day. It was while he was running that he happened upon Hibari. Normally, seeing Hibari would be a good sign to hurry up, but today Tsuna was distracted by the sign over Hibari's head. It read "Hibari Kyouya Demon Prefect LV 10."
Wow… Tsuna thought. That was as high as some adults! No wonder Hibari could beat up high schoolers. Tsuna was then distracted by another pop-up. "Due to continuous observation, a new skill, [Observation] has been created. It shows the information of the target." That… sounded useful, Tsuna guessed.
"Observation?" he tried.
"Hibari Kyouya Demon Kid LV 10 HP 142 FP 50. Descended from Japanese warlords on one side and Chinese martial artists on the other, Hibari Kyouya is a fearsome warrior even at the tender age of ten. He considers it his sacred duty to protect Namimori and beat up weak "herbivores"."
Tsuna ended up using observe on Hibari. Who was looking at him after beating up delinquents. And raising a tonfa. At him.
"Hiiiiiieeeee!" Tsuna ran.
…
By the time Tsuna stopped running, he was somewhere in the warehouse district of Namimori. Uncertain as how to get back home, he opened up his map window. That was when Tsuna noticed he was right next to one of the weird symbols on the map, namely a red circle with a question mark inside. Tsuna hadn't had a chance to go search out these weird marks since he discovered them, as he had been too busy completing homework quests and helping Grandma.
Now, however, it was the summer and Tsuna had much more free time. So Tsuna decided to check it out. Tsuna looked around the area he was standing in. It was… actually kind of run down. There were rust patches on some of the walls and weeds springing up between the cracks in the concrete. Off to the side there was a door with blue, chipped paint leading into one of the nastier looking buildings. The door had originally been locked shut, but the chain and lock had fallen into disrepair a long time ago and now lay in pieces on the ground. It seemed like that was the place the symbol was referring to.
Tsuna hesitated. On one hand, he was really, really curious as to what the symbol meant. On the other hand, an old, possibly abandoned warehouse was really, really scary. Tsuna weighed his options. Well, if grey areas cleared up when he walked through them, maybe if he just took a quick peek he could find out what the red mark meant.
Glancing around, Tsuna walked to the blue door and carefully pulled it open. He flinched at the squeaking noises it made. Tsuna waited a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the dusty gloom of the corridor he was in. Then he started cautiously walking forward. At the end of the corridor was a door that seemingly led to the warehouse proper. It looking like it used to be an office door, with a window and everything, but the window had been broken for a long time and it was very dirty.
Tsuna wasn't quite tall enough to see through the window, even on his tippy-toes, so he carefully pried the door open a hair and peeked through the crack. The door seemed to squeak and Tsuna froze, but he quickly realized that it wasn't the door squeaking. It sounded like mice. And then one of the "mice" rounded a corner and Tsuna saw it.
The thing was massive. It had to be at least half Tsuna's height, and weighed probably as much as he did, if not more. Above the "mouse's" head was the display: "Mutant Rat LV 6."
Just as Tsuna was about to start freaking out, an unnatural calm fell upon his mind and Tsuna began to think completely logically. In the core of his mind, Tsuna knew that he had no chance of winning against the rat. Ignoring the huge gap between their levels, Tsuna had no idea how to fight. At the same time, who knew how much damage these giant rats could do? Tsuna couldn't just ignore this. What if they hurt his mom? Or Grandma, who lived nearby?
So Tsuna had to find someone capable of fighting these things. He didn't think an adult would listen to him, but… there was Hibari. Hibari who loved fighting. And Tsuna was pretty sure that rats ate plants.
Tsuna crept back down the corridor. He needed to find Hibari. A part of his mind remarked that a few minutes ago, Tsuna had thought that there was nothing that would make Tsuna actually want to find Hibari.
…
Luckily, it did not take long to find Hibari. When Hibari saw Tsuna, his eyes narrowed even more than they were naturally. "Herbivore," he said, raising his tonfas. "Hibari-san," Tsuna gasped. "There are rats, you've got to see…"
"Herbivore, are you ordering me?" Hibari asked.
In retrospect, Tsuna should have seen this coming. Hibari was notoriously independent. Well, if he wouldn't come one way, Tsuna would get him there another way. So Tsuna did what many would consider to be a suicidal thing to do. And stuck his tongue out at Hibari Kyouya.
"Herbivore!"
Tsuna thanked his lucky stars that he had leveled up his sprint yesterday.
…
Tsuna smashed through the blue door and ran down the hallway, Hibari hot on his heels. Almost there… Tsuna hit the office door with everything he had and fell on the ground hard when it busted open. The squeal of the door and the crash of Tsuna's fall echoed loudly throughout the warehouse and the giant mutant rats came running. Hibari skidded to a halt behind Tsuna, eyes widening a miniscule amount. Tsuna couldn't help but grin at him. "See?" he said. "Rats."
"Herbivores," Hibari replied, smirking. Then he leapt into battle.
Tsuna stared. He had heard stories of Hibari's ability in battle, but the few times he had been present for a battle, Tsuna had had his hands over his head trying to avoid getting hit. Now that he wasn't one of the targets, Tsuna was free to stare. It was honestly hard to look away, in the mixture of the way one couldn't look away from an expert dancer and the way one couldn't look away from a car crash. Hibari was graceful as he whirled around, and the sickening crunch that occurred when he landed a hit was a testimony to his strength.
That was when Tsuna remembered he had recently gained a new skill.
Tsuna tried to [Observe] the rats. "Mutant Rat LV6 HP 50," the pop-up read. "These rats fed upon and were mutated by the chemicals left in this abandoned warehouse. The mutations also made them abnormally aggressive." Not that it mattered, Hibari was absolutely decimating them. A part of Tsuna noted that he could see health bars for each of the rats.
Then the Rat King showed up. It was massive, twice Tsuna's height and as big as a car. Tsuna used [Observe] on it. The pop-up read "The Rat King LV 22 HP 300. This massive rat killed and ate its own kind to survive. Now it's the biggest and the nastiest of them all."
"Finally, a challenge," Hibari said as he faced the Rat King. The Rat King screamed in response, then lashed out.
In the beginning it looked to be in Hibari's favor. Hibari was small, fast and deadly with his tonfas. The Rat King was large and cumbersome. But once its health bar went down half way, the Rat King started using its tail.
Hibari had a tonfa raised to crush one of the Rat King's legs when its tail suddenly smashed into Hibari's midsection. Hibari flew into one of the walls and crumpled. Tsuna's heart leapt into his chest. This was Hibari, the Demon Prefect. The Hibari Kyouya that could not be beaten. Until now. And Tsuna was the one who was responsible.
And then the Rat King was standing over Hibari, one clawed hand extended, and Tsuna had to do something, because this was all his fault and something in the back of Tsuna's mind just shattered.
And then everything was orange. "Dying Will Mode entered," said a pop-up, but Tsuna ignored it. It wasn't important. He had to protect Hibari, and fix everything he let go so horribly wrong. And to do that, the Rat King had to go down.
Tsuna ran forward, and smashed into the Rat King's midsection just as it was posed to strike at Hibari. The Rat King squealed as it was propelled sideways, away from Hibari. Tsuna reared up and started punching the Rat King's nose. He vaguely noticed that his hands were on fire.
The Rat King tried to use its tail again, but Tsuna anticipated him. He grabbed the tail and yanked it forward. There was a crack and the Rat King squealed loudly. Tsuna could see that its hit points were almost gone. He drew back, and putting all his weight into it, punched the Rat King one last time. The Rat King disintegrated into dust.
Tsuna ran to see how Hibari was, ignoring the sign that told him he had leveled up. Hibari was trying to sit up, but Tsuna could tell that Hibari was badly injured. What could he do, what could he do… Something glittered where the Rat King had died. Tsuna looked. There was a needle filled with a mysterious liquid and a stack of cash. Tsuna used [Observe] on the needle. "Basic Medi-Heal – One of the leftover chemicals meant for healing. Restores 75 HP." That would work.
Tsuna ran over to the needle and picked it up. He had seen nurses at the doctor's office give shots, so he thought he could do it.
"Herbivore?" Hibari asked.
"Just keep still," Tsuna told him, prying what looked like a cap off of the end of the needle. He aimed, and stabbed Hibari in the upper arm, injecting him with a golden-amber liquid.
Hibari sat bolt upright, rejuvenated, although Tsuna could still see cuts and bruises on him. He would be fine.
All of a sudden, the orange glow disappeared and Tsuna very nearly collapsed. It felt as though he had been full of helium that had suddenly turned into lead.
"Herbivore?" Hibari asked again, clearly confused. Tsuna smiled weakly at him. "We should get to a hospital," Tsuna told him.
"Hibaris don't go to hospitals," Hibari said, hostile again. He tried to stand up, but stumbled and ended up leaning on the wall for support. Tsuna's worry returned. "I know of an ex-nurse nearby," Tsuna said. "We can go to her."
"Hn." Tsuna supposed that was as close to an agreement as he would get.
Tsuna gathered his strength, and pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled, but was able to steady himself. He offered an arm to Hibari. Hibari tried to smack the hand away but failed and almost collapsed into Tsuna. Tsuna was barely able to keep them on their feet. He pulled Hibari's arm over his shoulder and together they staggered out of the warehouse.
Tsuna silently pulled up the map and checked the route to Grandma's house. Please, let her be home, he prayed.
It was hard going at first, but Tsuna and Hibari slowly regained their strength. By the time they were at Grandma's house Hibari was barely leaning on Tsuna at all.
Tsuna knocked at Grandma's door. "Tsuna-kun?!" she exclaimed as she opened the door. Tsuna gave her a weak smile, before his knees buckled and he nearly collapsed from relief. Grandma opened the door further and beckoned them in. "What did you do?" she questioned. "Fall from a roof?"
Tsuna paused. He wasn't sure if she'd believe the truth. "Err… got attacked by a dog?" he responded.
"Both of you?"
When he didn't reply, Grandma sighed but smiled at both of them and motioned for them to sit down while she got out her medical kit. Hibari seemed to be the worse off, so she treated him first. When Grandma go to Tsuna, she seemed sad.
"Grandma?" Tsuna asked.
"Hm?"
"Why do you seem sad?" At the question, Grandma gave him a quick, fleeting glance. She paused. "This just reminds me…" she said "…of something that happened a long time ago." Grandma gave him a brighter smile then and ruffled his hair. "But you don't need to worry about me," she continued. "Worry about yourself first."
Tsuna nodded. By then Hibari seemed well enough to get home by himself, although he was to rest for the next few days. Grandma told Tsuna the same thing when she was done with him. Tsuna smiled at her and thanked her.
She chuckled. "Just keep visiting me, and not just to patch you up," she told him.
…
Tsuna laid back in bed, guilt coiling in his stomach. Hibari nearly died today… he thought… and it was my fault. Tsuna had gotten Hibari involved because he wasn't strong enough to deal with the rats himself. They managed to eradicate the rats this time, but there were many symbols on his map and there was no guarantee what would happen next time. He needed to get stronger.
That reminded Tsuna. He had leveled up today, hadn't he. "Status," Tsuna said. Immediately the orange pop-up appeared. Tsuna noticed that the tabs for Passive Effects, Abilities and Map were flashing. He'd check those out later. For now, he focused on his Status.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi
Vongola Heir
LV 4
HP 48
FP 45
Strength 5
Constitution 5
Agility 3
Intelligence 4
Wisdom 10
Luck 3
Points: 5"
It seemed that Tsuna's Wisdom and MP had gone up without him doing anything, but otherwise he had 5 points to decide where to put. It didn't seem like he could put them in luck though, and Tsuna could tell he had gotten hurt from the run with Hibari.
Tsuna hesitated. His first thought was that he needed to get stronger, but he could easily trip and fall with his agility the way it was right now. Plus, he still remembered Hibari's grace in the beginning of the fight. So Tsuna put two points into strength and two into agility. He put his last point into intelligence, which would hopefully prevent him from making such a stupid mistake again. In the end, his status read
"Sawada Tsunayoshi
Vongola Heir
LV 4
HP 48
FP 50
Strength 7
Constitution 5
Agility 5
Intelligence 5
Wisdom 10
Luck 3"
That being decided, Tsuna pushed the status tab. Immediately he could see what was different.
"Vongola Direct Lineage Heir: PARTIALLY SEALED. +2 wisdom per LV. +20 FP per LV.
Cracked IX's Seal: -25% all abilities. -25% all experience gain."
Tsuna gave a humorless chuckle at that. Of course it would take nearly killing someone to crack the seal. What else would it be, something nice and not harmful?
He continued reading.
"Sky: PARTIALLY SEALED. +5 rep. + 10 rep with Mafia members. Able to "harmonize" with certain people who then become "Guardians" and gain bonuses by fighting at your side. Dying will mode and Sky Flames partially enabled."
Wait, the MAFIA? What did they have to do with anything? Tsuna turned it over a few times in his mind before, realizing that he couldn't figure out anything with what he knew right now.
Either way, it seemed like that was the extent of the changes Tsuna could find in his Passive Effects. He moved on to Abilities.
The only difference Tsuna could find there was that he now had [Dying Will] and [Observation] listed as abilities. The [Dying Will] ability read as "Dying Will Mode: LV1. Complete your tasks with your Dying Will! Cost: 5 MP per sec. PARTIALLY BLOCKED." Tsuna had no idea what would happen if he ran out of MP. Hopefully nothing bad.
Finally, Tsuna clicked on Map. It seemed to mostly be the same except… the red question mark above the abandoned warehouse had changed to a rat's head and there was now a red plus sign above Grandma's house. Huh? What did that mean? Tsuna peered closer. The pop-up box moved away, so Tsuna reached out to pull it closer and his thumb brushed the plus sign.
"Sato Hari's House," another pop-up said. "Free medical care available here."
Tsuna blinked. So if he poked the symbols on the map, it would show him what was there? He poked the other red plus sign. The resulting pop-up read, "Namimori Hospital. Healthcare available here."
So, red plus signs meant that you could get healed there. Then what did some of the other symbols mean. There were a lot of greyed out question marks on the map, a few of the red symbols like what used to be above the abandoned warehouse and a couple of odd symbols. One of them was a flower sign, which was right next to an apple and another was a black knife shape. Tsuna shivered at that one. He poked the flower symbol. "Hana's Flower Shop! Buy all kinds of plants here!"
Tsuna remembered that place. Mama had taken him there a few times, buying things for her garden. If the flower sign was the Hana's, did that make the apple the food market? He poked it. "Namimori Food Market! Buy delicious foods and ingredients!" Yep, it was the food mart. Tsuna wasn't certain he wanted to know what the knife thing meant.
He poked one of the grey question marks. "PLACE LOCKED," it said. "AREA UNEXPLORED." Wait, but he hadn't explored the warehouse either. Was it something to do with fact that the question mark had been red? Tsuna tapped one of the red question marks.
"MINI DUNGEON LOCKED. AREA UNEXPLORED."
Tsuna's eyes widened. Since he had gotten the gamer ability, he had had the foresight to research games at least a little, and so he knew what dungeons were. He also knew that most dungeon monsters didn't leave their dungeons. Did that mean that he got Hibari injured for nothing?
Tsuna hesitated, and then tapped the rat head with a trembling hand. "The Abandoned Warehouse Mini-Dungeon. Contains Mutant Rats. Currently cleared out. Will reform in 67 hours, 38 minutes, 23 secs."
Tsuna covered his eyes and wept.
…
When Tsuna stopped crying, it was starting to get dark out. Tsuna rubbed his red, puffy eyes. He still felt incredibly guilty over what had happened to Hibari. He could also still remember the yakuza he had seen going to school that one day.
The fact that the rats were in a dungeon meant nothing. There were still many other dangers in the world and Tsuna still needed to get stronger. How, he wasn't sure yet.
Still, he had learned his lesson. Always check what's on the map first.
With that in mind, he poked the black blade symbol. "Namimori Black Market! Rather small, but weapons, ammo and other illegal merchandise can be bought here." Tsuna swallowed. He was scared, but he needed to get stronger, and this seemed like this place was his best bet to start.
…
Tsuna didn't think Mama would let him go out at this time of night. But getting the gamer ability had taught Tsuna that one never knew what would happen next, and Tsuna needed to protect Mama too.
There was a tree outside Tsuna's window, with a branch right next to Tsuna's windowsill. Before, Tsuna would have never considered climbing the tree, if only because he was so clumsy. Now, however, Tsuna was much more agile and he had something to protect. So Tsuna grabbed a flashlight and prepared to climb out the window. He couldn't exactly climb down with a flashlight in his hands though, and he didn't want to go downstairs to retrieve his backpack.
Wait, he had an inventory! Tsuna opened the inventory tab. It had a picture of what clothes he was wearing, something that said how much money he had, and then bunch of dark squares. Were the dark squares places to put things? Tsuna tried to place the flashlight in one of the squares. The flashlight disappeared from his hand and appeared in one of the dark squares. Tsuna grinned. That worked.
Tsuna slowly opened his window, mindful of any squeaks that would tell Mama what he was doing. At least the branch outside seemed sturdy.
Tsuna jumped for the branch and caught it with his midsection. He let out an oof and scrambled onto it. From there, he slipped down to one slightly below him, missed, and fell out of the tree.
"Physical Endurance leveled up!" said a pop-up box. "Ow," said Tsuna. He climbed to his feet a bit unsteadily. Well, time to get going. Tsuna slipped out the gate as quietly as he could.
…
Tsuna grew increasingly nervous as he neared the black market. What was he thinking coming here? The people were probably yakuza or worse. He leaned against a wall and tried to calm himself down. Tsuna could easily imagine all the nasty things Mama had said these people could probably do to him. Who knew what little kids were worth these days...
Tsuna shook his head. He wouldn't think about it. At the same time, he couldn't forget how Hibari looked midair, right before crashing into the wall. Tsuna could still hear the horrible squeaking of the rats. Squeak, squeak, squeak…. Wait, he wasn't just remembering. He was actually hearing squeaking.
Tsuna peaked around the corner into an alleyway. A group of older kids, all labeled either delinquents or psychos by the text over their heads, had a rat in their hands and were playing with it. Not the nice kind of games either; the rat was surrounded by flames and was squeaking madly. The kids were laughing.
One of the kids noticed him. "Hey look," he shouted. "A midget!" Tsuna was terrified, but he had a feeling that if he ran away the kids would chase him. Plus these kids obvious knew how to deal with rats, and they might know how to deal with nastier things. So Tsuna summoned his courage and walked forward.
The one who was labeled as the leader looked surprised. "Well, well," he said. "Midget's got guts." His cronies laughed. Tsuna fought the urge to blush, and instead looked at the struggling rat.
"Admiring?" said a voice right next to Tsuna's ear. Tsuna squeaked and jumped. "Cute little thing, aren't you?" said one of the kids in a mocking tone. Tsuna tried to ignore the tone and instead asked "Do they not like fire?"
At the raised eyebrows, Tsuna ducked his head and gestured at the rat. "Yeah," said the leader. "Why ya asken'?"
"I had to deal with a pest problem earlier today. Only they were much, much bigger." Tsuna was trying very hard to hide the tremble in his voice. Something told him that acting scared was the worst thing he could do right now.
"Then of course they hate fire. Chuck at Molotov at one of the big ones and watch 'em squirm."
"A Molotov?" Tsuna asked carefully.
"Yeah, like a fire in a bottle." The leader had a sick grin on his face now. "Throw one and boom! Flames everywhere."
That could be useful. Tsuna vaguely remembered fire coming from his hands during the fight with the Rat King. It would probably work against anything else that tried to harm him.
"Could you teach me how to make one?" Tsuna asked, quietly. His hands balled the edge of his shirt into his fists.
"What's that?" said the leader. He cupped a hand to his ear.
"I said, can you teach how to make one?" Tsuna asked, looking up into the eyes of the leader.
The leader looked surprised. "Oho," he said. "Guts indeed." An orange question mark flashed over his head.
He squatted down. "Tell you what, kid. I'm feeling good tonight, so if you can bring me a bit of cash, I might part with some of my secrets. Whadda ya say?"
The pop-up box read "Quest Alert! Goodness Gracious Great Bottles of Fire. Acquire 1,000 yen for the group of delinquents. Time Limit: 1 hour. Rewards: [Basic Molotov Cocktail] recipe. Increase reputation with delinquents +100 XP. Fail Penalty: Decrease reputation with delinquents. Chance to get beat up."
"Okay," said Tsuna, as he tried to keep his voice steady. The leader flashed him a grin. "Try not to take too long," he said.
Tsuna ran out of the alley, relieved to get away unharmed. He didn't stop running until he was at least a few blocks away. Those boys scared him.
As for the quest , Tsuna remembered seeing some money in the rat dungeon. He had ignored it because he was more worried about Hibari. Hopefully, it was still there and he just needed to pick it up.
…
It was. In fact, the money sign in his inventory said that Tsuna now had 2,040 yen, more than enough. The warehouse still gave Tsuna the creeps, even more so in the dark. He was glad to get out of it.
The delinquents were surprised when he showed back up. Tsuna suspected that they thought Tsuna would just run for it and not return. The leader raised an eyebrow.
"So, midget came back, did he? You got the money, kid?" he asked.
Tsuna swallowed as he pulled out 1,000 yen from one of his pockets. The leader took it and thumbed through, counting the money. He smirked. "Nice. Looks like you came through this time kid. Don't worry, I won't tell. I don't think you want people knowing how you got this money."
Tsuna's heart seemed to stop. Did they know about the gamer thing?
"Took it from his mummy's purse, didn't he," called one of the delinquents. The leader laughed. Tsuna relaxed. No, they didn't know.
"Well, then," said the leader, pulling out some materials. "Here is how to make a Molotov Cocktail."
…
Tsuna thought it lucky that he could get most, if not all, of the ingredients at home. After all, Mama had a cabinet full of the bottles he needed for when his dad came home. And since Dad never came home, she wouldn't notice if several of those bottles went missing. There was a lighter in the kitchen too.
"Then, you throw it and bam! Fire. Everywhere," the leader finished.
Tsuna nodded, eyes wide. The delinquents laughed at his expression. "I think that sums it up, midget. Anything else?"
Tsuna was about to say no, when a particularly loud squeak stopped him. He looked to the side. There was the rat he had seen earlier. It was now being held by its tail about a meter above the ground. It also seemed to be in pain.
Tsuna hesitated. On one hand, these boys scared him and he did not like rats, especially after today. On the other hand, he felt bad for the rat. It wasn't the rats fault, and it seemed in so much pain…
Sometimes Tsuna hated his conscience.
"What about the rat?" Tsuna asked quietly.
"Eh, the rat?" said the leader. "I guess it doesn't really matter. I might just kill it, now that I have enough money for something better. Why?"
"I, er, can I have it?"
The group laughed. "For all your cute looks, you're really a psycho in the making, aren't you? Sure, go ahead." The kid with the rat tossed it to Tsuna, who barely caught it and the boys left, shoving and jostling each other.
Tsuna let out a shaky breath. For once he could understand Hibari's dislike of crowds; some people were scary in a group.
Tsuna set the madly wiggling rat on the ground and watched it take off. He wasn't sure why, but freeing the rat gave him a feeling of having done some good. It was a nice feeling.
"You have performed a good deed! At risk to yourself and expecting no reward, you have performed a good deed. You have gained positive Karma and one point of Luck. Continue treating the Group [Rats] with kindness and you will become their ally!" said a pop-up.
And then there was that. Tsuna had no idea what he felt about that.
…
By the time Tsuna got home, it was definitely night time. He had debated whether or not to apologize to Hibari, but Grandma had told Hibari to rest, so Tsuna wouldn't wake him up and would instead apologize tomorrow. He made a note to himself to ask Mama to help him make an apology gift for Hibari.
But first he had to get up this tree.
Tsuna jumped up, managed to grab ahold of a branch, and promptly fell off. Hard. On his butt.
"You fell down. -5 HP"
Tsuna rubbed his tailbone, glaring at the offending branch. He had stuck his tongue at Hibari, faced down a giant mutant rat, and dealt with a group of delinquents today. He was not going to lose to a tree.
Tsuna jumped up again and managed to clamor onto the branch. Which meant that he fell off when he tried to climb onto the next branch.
Tsuna sighed. It was going to be a long night.
…
Tsuna fell out of the tree three more times before he was able to get climb into his bedroom via the open window. In the process he had gained a point to his constitution, whatever that was, which caused him to gain 5 HP. He also gained a point of strength and leveled up his physical endurance.
Setting aside that Tsuna could apparently gain points just by doing things, not just leveling up, Tsuna also looked at his new [Manufacturing] skill, and the pop-up for a Molotov Cocktail.
"Molotov Cocktail," it read. "Is set on fire and thrown to create an AOE attack. Blast radius of 1 meter and causes -5 HP damage per sec. Burns out after 30 secs."
If Tsuna was right, that meant that if he set the Rat King on fire he would die after only 1 minute… if he stayed on fire. Tsuna had no idea if he would.
Still, it would definitely hurt whoever would want to harm Mama or Tsuna, so in Tsuna's mind it worked.
With the thought that he was getting stronger, Tsuna went to bed.
That night, he dreamt of a man with a checker-patterned face and an iron hat who sat on a throne and said nothing as he watched Tsuna.
…
Tsuna woke up the next morning feeling both dread and guilt. The guilt was obviously because of what happened to Hibari. The dread because now he was going to do the right thing and apologize to Hibari the Demon. Who would most likely beat him up as soon as he saw Tsuna.
Tsuna gulped.
Still, the guilt was stronger and so Tsuna asked his mom to help him make a get-well-soon basket for Hibari, which would double as an apology gift. After that, all he had to do was ask for directions to Hibari's house and he was off.
Tsuna walked slowly, head down. The night had not dimmed his memories of the day before, and Tsuna could still see Hibari's body, almost in slow motion, flung into the wall like a limp rag doll. Tsuna would not be surprised if Hibari blamed him for what happened. After all, Tsuna blamed himself. Who else could he? If he hadn't been so stupid and thought it through like the teachers at school constantly told him, this would have never happened.
Tsuna sighed. He was almost there. Then he looked up.
Wait, he thought that Hibari lived in a house. This was a freakin' mansion. Tsuna gawked and looked for the nameplate. Yep, this was Hibari's house.
Tsuna swallowed and rang the doorbell. It took a few moments, but Hibari opened the door.
Tsuna was momentarily surprised. Didn't Hibari's parents answer the door? Or, considering the state of things, a servant? And yet it was Hibari that answered, with his tonfas at his side.
"Herbivore," said Hibari, breaking Tsuna out of his mental dialogue. "H-here," Tsuna stammered, holding out the basket toward Hibari and looking down. "For yesterday."
Hibari looked at the basket but did not say anything.
Tsuna closed his eyes and stammered out, "I-I'm sorry. For yesterday. It was my fault. What happened. It was all my fault."
Tsuna hunched over, terrified and guilty. When Hibari still didn't reach out for the basket, Tsuna looked up at Hibari. Hibari was looking at Tsuna, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Herbivore, what do you mean it was your fault?" Hibari asked.
"W-well, I didn't know it was a dungeon, I mean I didn't check, and then I led you there, and, and, and I'm so so sorry!" Tsuna exclaimed. Then, realizing what he had said, he flinched and looked away.
As he made a movement to leave, however, Hibari said "Come in."
Tsuna glanced up at Hibari. He seemed impatient, and yanked the basket out of Tsuna's hands. Then, with a touch of irritation in his posture, gestured for Tsuna to come inside.
Tsuna swallowed and followed.
Hibari's house was very traditional, Tsuna noticed as he took off his shoes. Even so, it seemed almost cold. It didn't really feel like a home, just a house. Still, Tsuna was more concerned with his upcoming death at Hibari's hands than what his house was like.
Tsuna followed Hibari to what looked like a room for receiving guests. Hibari pointed at a mat. "Sit," he ordered. After Tsuna had sat down, Hibari sat on a mat across from him. "Explain," he said. "Clearly."
So Tsuna did. Tsuna explained from the start, from the day he had woken up with orange pop-ups everywhere and names and LVs. He explained about his status and his inventory and the seal that had made his life horrible. And if he had wondered why he was baring everything to a complete stranger, Tsuna wouldn't have been able to really explain, only that he felt like he could trust Hibari.
"…and so I came here, because if I hadn't been so stupid you wouldn't have gotten hurt and it's all my fault!" Tsuna wailed. Then he fell silent, head tilted downwards and tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.
Hibari was silent.
"Herbivore," he finally said. "It was not your fault."
Tsuna looked up at him incredulously. "Yes it was!" he argued. "If I hadn't been so stup-ack!"
He was forcefully silenced by a tonfa to the head.
"Be quiet, herbivore," Hibari hissed. "Listen. I am a carnivore. Carnivores are responsible for themselves in battle. Not herbivores. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"But!"
"Not. Your. Fault."
Tsuna sniffled, and then gave Hibari the biggest, brightest smile he could. It felt as though Tsuna had been carrying around some great burden that was suddenly released. It wasn't his fault.
Hibari looked nonplussed. Tsuna didn't think that Hibari got smiled at that often.
Hibari gave a light cough, as though clearing his throat. "So," he said. "According to you, the rats will respawn after about 3 days from yesterday." Tsuna nodded. Hibari gave him a feral smile that sent shivers up Tsuna's spine.
"Then, herbivore, be at the front door at eight in two days."
"E-eh? Hibari-san? Are you sure-"
Hibari swung a tonfa at Tsuna. Tsuna ended up flat on his back. "Yes," Hibari said. "Now leave." And he turned away in clear dismissal.
Tsuna left Hibari's house wondering just what he had done.
…
Tsuna had spent the days he had been given by Hibari preparing. It was depressingly easy to sneak the necessary materials for Molotov Cocktails out from under Mama's nose, and what he couldn't find in the house he could generally find in the garbage, although Tsuna didn't like doing that.
He had also used the remainder of his money on bandages and a cheap rolling pin. Hopefully the rolling pin was sturdy enough to survive a few good hits, as the only baseball bats he could find in his price range were hollow plastic.
All that being done, Tsuna hoped that Hibari would agree to his plan. He knew that saying Hibari was fiercely independent was a massive understatement, but he hoped that Hibari wouldn't mind too much if Tsuna used the Molotovs to funnel the rats.
Still, as he packed everything in his inventory the night before, he hoped everything would be fine tomorrow.
…
Tsuna ended up waking up late.
He shrieked as he saw the time and hurried to get his clothes on. This, of course, meant that everything took twice as long as normal and Tsuna barely had time for a slice of bread before running out the door to meet Hibari. Tsuna just counted himself lucky that his increased agility score meant that he didn't trip over his own feet coming down the stairs.
As he ran for Hibari's house, Tsuna counseled himself with the thought that, even if he died young, his Mama would be well taken care of. His father was a No-Good Dad who was constantly missing, but he still sent home hefty checks.
"Herbivore," said Hibari as Tsuna ran up to his house. "You're almost late."
"P-please forgive me," said Tsuna, bowing.
Hibari stared at him for a moment. Then he said, "Invite me to be in a party."
Tsuna looked up at him, startled. "What do you mean," he asked, "Invite you to a party?"
Hibari clicked his tongue in annoyance. "In certain games, a player can invite another person to be in a party with them so that they can quest together," he lectured.
"Wow, Hibari-san, how did you know…" Tsuna started to ask.
Hibari raised a tonfa.
Tsuna immediately closed his mouth. Then he tried "Invite Hibari-san to a party."
"You must first create a party before adding members," said a prompt pop-up.
Acutely aware of Hibari's growing impatience, Tsuna quickly said "Create party." When prompted to name the party he said "Party", and quickly confirmed it.
This time, when Tsuna said "Invite Hibari-san to Party," he could see a purple pop-up window in front of Hibari. Hibari raised an eyebrow, but otherwise seemed unaffected by the strangeness of the situation.
Tsuna watched as Hibari hit "Yes" on the pop-up. He could see how the other's eyes widened as he took in the game world.
"Status," Hibari demanded. Then he whispered "Wao," at the resulting window. His mouth slowly widened into a smirk. Tsuna could tell that Hibari was definitely pleased by all the new options this ability gave him. Since he was pleased, maybe this would be a good time to suggest his plan.
"A-ano, Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked meekly. The resulting scowl sent his way almost made him backtrack, but Tsuna swallowed and continued. "I made some Molotov Cocktails, you know, for the fight. I thought we could use them to, like, kill off the small ones before they get too close?" Tsuna smiled hesitantly.
Hibari stared at him a moment, then said, "Just don't get in my way, herbivore."
Tsuna sighed in relief, and then promptly straightened up as Hibari started striding forward. He blinked a few times than quickly ran to catch up. Wow, he walks fast, Tsuna thought, as he found himself having to speed up to a light jog in order to stay next to Hibari. At their current pace, it only took a few minutes for them to get to the warehouse.
Hibari didn't even pause to look at the warehouse; he just strode right in and busted open the office door with a tonfa.
Immediately he was attacked by rats.
Tsuna was right at his heels. As Hibari diverted the attentions of the various rats, Tsuna took out a Molotov, lit it with trembling hands, and then threw it to one side where the rats were coming from. He repeated the process on the other side, forcing all the sane rats to come at Hibari head-on and hurting the crazier rats before they even reached Hibari.
Once that was done, Tsuna pulled out his rolling pin and started trying to hit some of the rats attacking Hibari. Of course, since the pin was a piece of cheap plastic it broke after a few hits and Tsuna had to result to punching the various rats. One even turned its attentions to Tsuna, but Tsuna was able to kick it into one of the Molotov fires.
The fires winked out just as the Rat King showed up. "He's mine," growled Hibari. Tsuna nodded and backed away. It seemed like Hibari's fight anyways.
This time Hibari did not fall for the tail. Instead he smashed the tail with a tonfa and continued with the brutal beat-down. The rat died quickly.
Hibari stepped back as the remains of the rat dissolved. He clearly saw the rewards but dismissed them.
"A-ah, Hibari-san," stuttered Tsuna. "Don't you want the items?"
"I have no need for them," said Hibari dismissively.
Tsuna looked at Hibari as Hibari pulled up his Status window. During the fight, Hibari had leveled up, and now appeared to be considering where to put his points. He seemed to really enjoy that fight, Tsuna thought as he picked up the items. This time, along with the healing needle and the stack of cash, there was also a "Rat's Skull" which was listed as a crafting item. Tsuna looked around. There were also a few rat's teeth left behind, scattered here and there, that were also listed as crafting items. Tsuna shrugged and picked them up. It looked like his inventory space was infinite anyways.
Tsuna looked up as Hibari closed the stat window. He seemed happy. Tsuna wasn't sure why, but he was glad that Hibari seemed happy. If fighting monsters made him happy, then maybe…
"Hey, Hibari-san," Tsuna said. "You know, there are other dungeons, if you want to check them out."
Hibari's grin was both terrifying and exhilarating.
…
It turns out that Tsuna and Hibari could only get into two other dungeons. All the others required more than one person or had to be unlocked by something. Hibari scowled at the pop-ups informing them of this and Tsuna quickly suggested that they look for others.
Of the two they could get into, one was a haunted house. The ghosts were insubstantial most of the time, until they jumped out of the walls at you. Tsuna thought that Hibari destroyed more walls than ghosts. He also was ridiculously glad that this gamer thing kept him calm in dungeons. Hibari would probably beat Tsuna up if he shrieked like he normally did. The ghosts did leave these cool headbands behind that made people less noticeable. Even Hibari was interested in one after Tsuna explained what they did. Tsuna suspected Hibari was just interested in sneaking up on people and freaking them out.
The less said about the second dungeon, the better. Tsuna would forever be terrified of giant cockroaches. He wasn't interested in the meat either.
Once Tsuna and Hibari had gone through the entire town, checking every dungeon, it was mid-afternoon. Tsuna hoped that Mama wouldn't mind him missing lunch.
"Sawada-san," said Hibari.
"Y-yes?" asked Tsuna.
"All of these dungeons respawn after three days?" asked Hibari.
"Y-yes," said Tsuna.
Hibari nodded once, to himself. Then he addressed Tsuna. "Herbivore. You will come to my house every three days. On Sundays, we will spar."
"HIEEE?" Tsuna was startled. Him? Spar with Hibari?
"Don't make me repeat myself," Hibari said.
"Y-yes, Hibari-san," said Tsuna, resigned. He'd never understand Hibari.
Hibari smirked and walked off, breaking up the party. Tsuna was distracted by a pop-up.
"Hibari Kyouya is now a Friend."
"HIIIIEEEE!?"
Tsuna wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. One thing was certain however. He had never pictured his life getting this strange.
Then Sasagawa Ryohei happened and Tsuna's life got even stranger.
…
AN: This is not slash. It is just the beginnings of harmonization. The only relationships shown will be canon. Sorry!
Also, I apologize if any characters seem OOC. I tried to make them realistic while making allowances for age, the gamer ability and experience.
About skill level: in general, an adult will have a level between 10-20 for a basic skill all have, 20-30 if the human's hobby involves that skill, 30-40 if their job involves that skill, and 40-50 if they are considered an expert. So, for example, for the sing ability, the average adult is level 10-20, a person that regularly goes karaoke singing or is in an amateur choir would be level 20-30, a singer in a professional band would be level 30-40, and multiple platinum record singers would be level 40-50. For skills that aren't basic skills, like computer programming, simply take down 10 levels from the above scale. That isn't to say that level 40 or 50 is LVMAX. The only time there is a LVMAX is when it's a question of can you do it or can't you. Like can you speak fluent English or can't you. It's just that going beyond level 50 in any skill requires so much time, effort and natural skill that only a few per generation are capable of it. Like the Arcobaleno.
Also, luck is wonky. It depends on a mixture of Karma, willpower, family circumstances, and environment. Tsuna's luck is partially bad because he was sealed and partially bad because he has Primo's blood and yet is not in the mafia.
Is Hibari a gaming fan? I leave that up to your imagination. He certainly isn't going to confess. Also, I had to cut this chapter in half, it was taking so long.
Tsuna's Stats:
Sawada Tsunayoshi
Vongola Heir
LV 4
HP 53
FP 50
Strength 8
Constitution 6
Agility 5
Intelligence 5
Wisdom 10
Luck 4