Summary: Tsuna wished for a simple life. Not one involving magic, towers, hunters and certainly not a powerful group of demons. Arcobaleno27
Unbeta'ed
The Final Tower
Chapter 2
1
The induction begins surprisingly well.
The chairman of the university had arrived on stage after students had filled the seats in the hall. He starts by introducing himself. Nezu Dohachiro, he says in front of the crowd. Then goes on to give a speech filled with buzzwords like 'we strive to be the best' or 'top university in Japan'. Tsuna is passively listening to the man speak as he does not bother to take in his words. It is practically the same speech as the one given on the university's open day. So Tsuna zones out and instead glances to where the lecturers are sat. He is too far away to make them out clearly, but he can tell they are sat close to the front of the hall. This causes him to wonder which lecturer will be teaching photography. He had checked up online and read the professor's name but there was no picture to match. He can only guess at this moment in time.
Tsuna fiddles with a pen which has the university's logo carved upon it. He had been given a welcome bag by one of the ambassadors as he entered the hall. It had the typical cheap merchandise he expected to be given to students like a diary to help keep track of the years or pamphlets about student services that are available. Tsuna skims through one of the pamphlets. It talks about the mental health team situated within the university and the aids they provide. Counselling being one of them. Tsuna is not surprised they have a service like this, especially with the number of hunters enrolled this year. They are going to need all the help they can get to survive the first year. Unlike the hunter course, Tsuna's first year does not count for anything. All that matters is him passing. It's only the second and third year which make up his final grade. This allows Tsuna to not worry too much about the grade he gets. All he needs to focus on is passing.
It takes another thirty minutes for the chairman to finish speaking. When he finally does, he hands over his place next to the podium to lecturers who call out subjects and expect students to stand up. The first subject to be called out is obviously the hunter course which causes a little over half the students in the hall to stand. The lecturer, who is a tall blonde-haired man with sharp orange eyes, tells the students a room number and expects them to meet him there within the next hour. The same thing happens with the other subjects; students stand up and the lecturer tells them a room number before heading off. It's finally the photography course's turn. Tsuna stands and notes only less than twenty other people stand up with him. The lecturer at the podium is another man with shaggy blond hair but this time with brown eyes. Unlike the other professors, he is not wearing a formal suit but is mostly dressed in casual/smart wear, such as black jeans and a white dress shirt. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up so Tsuna can clearly see the tattoos on his arms. A little unorthodox for a lecturer of a pristine university.
So this is Cavallone Dino?
The man looks young which surprises Tsuna the most. He previously thought that the lecturer who will be teaching him will be older. A lot older. But that does not seem to be the case. Dino snaps Tsuna out of his head as he calls out a room number – MK.03.21. Tsuna quickly jots it in the diary with the pen he received before sitting back down. After the other courses have had their turn, the chairman returns to the podium and offers thanks to students for choosing this university as their place of study. Then they are all dismissed.
2
It takes a while for Tsuna to find the room. MK.03.21, he repeats in his head. According to one of the ambassadors, MK stood for Lady Makoto who was one of the patrons of the university when it was first built. The university had named a building in her honour after she passed away, but her legacy as one of the highly celebrated female hunters of her time will always be remembered. The ambassador also said 03 means the third floor and that the number 21 is the room. With this information in mind, Tsuna heads to the building and takes the elevator to the third floor. When he finally reaches the intended room, he knocks on the door and enters when he hears a 'come in' directed at him.
"Welcome!" Cavallone exclaims with a wide smile and gestures towards the seats in the classroom. "Please sit down. We're just waiting for the other students."
Tsuna chooses to sit in the middle row as to not sit so far that he is distancing himself from his other classmates but not too close as well. He likes his space, but that is quickly taken away from him when a short, chestnut-haired girl joins their class and decides to sit beside him. She unpacks her own university given diary from her bag and places it on the table. She then turns to stare at Tsuna with an airy smile that touches her lips. Tsuna smiles back in acknowledgement. But before he turns away to do his own thing, she begins to speak.
"Hi," she says while tucking in a strand of hair behind her ear, "it's nice to meet you."
"Hey," Tsuna replies, not understanding why the girl is suddenly speaking to him. Tsuna believed that the other students would be quite shy in introducing themselves, but once again, he is proven wrong.
"So what's your name?" She asks in a polite tone. "Mine is Sasagawa Kyoko."
"Oh, um. Mine is Sawada Tsuna."
Tsuna makes the conscious decision not to say his full first name. Years of teasing has taught him not to give it away so easily. Sometimes he still wonders why his parents decided to give him such a name, but it's not like he can change it. He has learnt to deal with it and the teasing that comes along.
"So what has made you choose the photography course?"
The question reminds Tsuna of the time when his father had asked the same thing. Tsuna can never forget the look of disappointment which flashed across his father's face as he gave his reason why.
"A photographer? Not a hunter, huh?" His father had said with a voice of uninterest.
Instead of being hurt at the reaction, Tsuna felt a cool prick of fury in the bottom of his stomach which soon spread across his body. He wanted to snap at his father at that moment and tell him he had no right to be disappointed. Not when he sees him once or twice a year. But Tsuna kept his mouth screwed shut and refused to speak to him for the rest of the day. Or at least until he could control his anger without unleashing it at his father. His mother had tried her best to coax Tsuna down for dinner that day as his father would have to leave right after, but Tsuna chose to have dinner in his room which ultimately hurt her. Even though Tsuna felt bad that his mother was caught in the crossfire of emotion, he knew he would make things worse if he spoke to his father face-to-face in a time where he needed to calm down.
"Tsuna?"
Sasagawa's voice breaks him out from his thoughts.
"I hope it's all right if I use your first name," she says as she fidgets with the edge of her diary. "You can use mine. We're going to be classmates after all."
"Oh, sorry," he apologises. "I got lost in thought. Haven't been in school for the past two years. It's weird being back in the education system. That's completely fine, too. Feel free to use my name."
Sasagawa – no, Kyoko – takes no offence and her airy smile softens. "It's no problem. I didn't take time off. I've come straight from high school and was given a place after I passed my conditional offer."
"I had to create a portfolio of photos as my conditional offer," Tsuna explains. "Did you do the same?"
Kyoko nods. "What theme did you choose? I chose the human condition. Thankfully, I was able to get a few of my classmates to help out."
"That's a good theme," Tsuna states. "I decided on urban exploration. You know, like dilapidated buildings or abandoned homes and such. I did it safely, of course. I had to ask for permission to even get into those buildings or else I would have been arrested for trespassing. I don't think the university would have liked that."
Kyoko muffles a snicker. "Yeah, first time entering university and you're ready causing trouble."
Tsuna cannot help but laugh along with her. With that, he decides that Kyoko seems nice and fun to speak to. Hopefully with her, he will have a good time in this course. They continue to chatter until a few other students enter the classroom. Then Cavallone speaks up.
"I think that's all of us," he says with a blinding grin. He then turns to the computer on the desk in front of everyone and turns on the projector. A PowerPoint presentation appears on the white wall with the words 'Photography – An Introduction' on the first slide. He then begins the lesson.
3
Tsuna's first day at university has come to an end and he is still buzzing with excitement from all the things he had been told by Cavallone. Firstly, the university will be providing them with cameras from the equipment room, so the students did not have to worry about buying their own. They will be getting a Jay FA2 III camera which is said to be the best on the market and Tsuna cannot wait to test it out. The camera is well known for having an incredible dynamic range and can create detailed images. With this, Tsuna can create so many unbelievable photos with ease. Tsuna isn't going to throw away his old camera, that's for sure. Not after its been with him for the past six years. He had got it as a birthday present after begging his mother for weeks on end. He has too many memories with the thing to just toss it away.
Secondly, the course is completely coursework base meaning no exams. Tsuna would have kissed the floor if he could. He has a bad history with exams. It's not like he fails them, but he certainly is not the best. He always averaged them. Despite this, Tsuna excelled at coursework because of the amount of effort he can put in with the longer deadline. It did not have to be done within an hour. Most coursework like written works, Cavallone had explained, would have a two-week deadline while photography portfolios would take up the entire semester and be due at the end. This is all Tsuna can ask for. He is so glad he chose this university and got accepted. Tsuna had also said his goodbyes to Kyoko as he left the classroom. She had chosen to stay behind to speak to Cavallone because she had more questions about the course. So Tsuna heads off without her.
He is no longer in the Makoto building but back in the west courtyard. There he sits on one of the open seats to help calm the adrenaline that rushes through his veins. Even though the day is over, Tsuna does not want to leave. He wants to go to the library and bury his head under one of the many photography books they have in their art section. That reminds him. He has to get the books which were on the reading list given to the class. It is a total of five books which will be a heavy read but Tsuna is looking forward to it. He wants to learn more techniques and theories within photography. Maybe then he will have hopes of winning competitions and becoming well-known. He is thinking too far ahead, but he can't help it. Things are changing for the best.
"Tsuna?"
A deep voice calls out from behind him, and one he instantly recognises. Tsuna had seen the owner of the voice earlier today and wished to not bump into him, but it seems like his day is taking a turn for the worst. Tsuna slowly turns his head. There he sees the spiky blonde-haired man with orange eyes staring back. The man is the complete opposite of Cavallone as he is dressed in a completely black suit and a white shirt. Tsuna would think that the man is heading off to a funeral with the way his lips curve downwards in a frown and his eyebrows crease together.
"Giotto," Tsuna grits out. "Pleasant surprise seeing you here."
Tsuna knows he should be nicer to his cousin so he is holding in all the things he truly wishes to say in order to be civil. He does not wish to create a scene. Not when his day started out good. He does not want to ruin it.
"A surprise? Surely your father must have told you I am working here. Or are you still that forgetful?"
Tsuna wants nothing more than to wipe the growing smirk off Giotto's face.
"I guess I am," Tsuna decides on saying. "When was the last time we spoke? Was it a year ago? I can't seem to recall. After all, who can remember a plain face like yours."
Giotto looks at him with a strained expression of annoyance. "I see you still haven't learnt any manners."
"What's that to you?"
Giotto ignores him and continues with his own line of questioning. "If you're not in the hunter course then why are you here?"
"It's none of your business," Tsuna snaps at him knowing where this is going.
"You're my cousin. Of course, it is my business. Wouldn't want you shaming the family name."
Tsuna clenches his teeth tightly together to stop himself from saying anything worse. He takes a deep breath.
"Do people know? That you are apart of the Vongola Hunting Corporation?"
Tsuna shakes his head, not trusting himself to speak.
"Good," Giotto tells him. "Keep it that way."
Before Tsuna finally opens his mouth, Giotto turns and walks away.
Tsuna is left with a wave of blazing anger that rages in his chest.
Author's note:
I'm back again! And a special thank you to all those who reviewed, favourited and followed this story.
And to answer Nephilim-Diafire5's question, I am mostly inspired by Solo Levelling which I love with all my heart. I have not read Tower of God but am looking forward to the anime.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to give your thoughts and constructive criticisms.