OpalescentGold: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Rings
This is how the Vongola Rings come back to them.
Arrival
Even Noriko is somewhat surprised when, after glaring at them for a full minute - she can feel Tsuna quivering on the inside, though he retains his composure well on the outside - Kyoya drags them into his house.
Such an unpredictable Cloud. She would have taken Tsuna back to her own house had he refused them, but this is much better.
After giving Tsuna a once-over, those perceptive eyes no doubt catching how shaky and upset he is at the moment, Kyoya shoves him into a bathroom, retrieves an extra set of clothes, and informs Tsuna that he had better be clean when he gets out.
Then, Kyoya turns to Noriko.
Return
She's in her school uniform, so, although his eye twitches, she supposes he finds that satisfactory, because he turns on his heel and leads her to the sitting room.
There's a pot of tea already on the table, and she sinks into the zabuton with a sigh, cuddling the warmth of the cup he pours for her close.
He sits across from her and lets the seconds tick by while they savor the tea, the sound of running water faint. When the thud of his teacup on the table sounds at last, ten minutes have passed. "What happened?"
"A very dangerous person came," she says quietly, thinking back to what she managed to make out from Tsuna's ranting. "He hurt Hayato-kun and Takeshi-kun...and would have killed Tsuna, I imagine, if there wasn't help."
Kyoya's eyes narrow, face darkening. But his words, when they come, are calm. "Who and why?"
"Squerbi Squalo," Noriko says, taking a long sip of her tea. "As for why...they came for the rings."
Kyoya goes very, very still and rises to his feet. He leaves the room and returns two minutes later to reclaim his seat. When he opens his hand, there is a half-ring on a chain resting on his palm. "This?"
Noriko mirrors his earlier motionlessness for a moment, eyes latching onto the powerful relic, before lifting a hand cautiously. He lets her take the ring from his hand, cup it in hers.
It looks...different. Not quite the same as the one Alaude wore, but hadn't Giotto said he would seal the Vongola Rings' true power after Daemon's betrayal? And the power this ring radiates, even with just a half of a whole...
"Yes," Noriko murmurs, fighting not to tremble at the oh so familiar feeling of Alaude's Cloud Flames. "Yes, they came for this...and they'll come again."
Report
When Tsuna leaves the bathroom in a slightly too big yukata, hair wet and mildly less gravity-defying as usual, he pads to the sitting room and finds Kyoya and Noriko silently drinking tea, not a word spoken between them.
He lingers at the doorway uncertainly. Tsuna's uncomfortable like he always is when he comes across his best friend with someone else, just someone else, because it's then that she becomes someone he doesn't entirely know.
It's kinda weird because everyone does what Noriko does to a certain point. Tsuna doesn't act the same with Hayato as he does with Takeshi, so he knows - it's just that Noriko's turned it into an art form.
When she's with Kyoya, for one, she goes quiet, all that exuberance fading away into calm and peace.
Even with just one more person here, it wouldn't be so...extreme, to borrow Ryohei's catchphrase, but there's only Kyoya and Noriko, so the quiet is a little suffocating, especially since she's the utter chatterbox when with Takeshi.
But she's still Nori, when all is said and done, and when she looks up and spots Tsuna, her smile is brilliant. "Tsuna, come sit," she says, pleased but voice softer than usual. "You have to tell us what happened, hmm?"
Tsuna manages a smile back and takes a seat between them under Kyoya's baleful gaze. "Y-Yeah, I guess so," he says, taking a too big gulp of his tea and almost burning his mouth on the searing liquid.
"Don't dawdle, omnivore," Kyoya commands.
Tsuna breathes a heavy sigh and does as told.
Stars
Later, much later that night when Tsuna is fast asleep in Kyoya's guest bedroom - this place is huge; there are at least fifteen guest bedrooms, most of which have never been used - Noriko sits on the veranda and stargazes.
Approximately five minutes later, there is the gentle sound of the sliding door and then cool appraisal. "I don't believe I've ever seen you so rattled," Kyoya muses, almost absently. "Are you that frightened of these herbivores?"
Noriko smiles faintly and traces a constellation with her eyes. "I'm not scared," she says truthfully, because, to be honest, these conflicts aren't much compared to the wars of several hundred years ago. "Just concerned."
"For who?" he asks, settling down gracefully a few feet away from her, close enough for her to feel his body heat, far away enough for him to be comfortable.
He has ever had a way of cutting right to the heart of the matter.
"For who indeed?" Noriko wonders.
Distribution
The next morning, Tsuna makes breakfast. It's delicious, of course. And it's over breakfast that Noriko reaches over gently and places one half of the Sky Ring down on the table.
Tsuna freezes and pales, while Kyoya doesn't even blink and continues eating his food without pause. "...Nori-chan?" he whispers at last, sounding lost and halfway betrayed.
Silly boy. She's never been on any side but his.
"You don't have to take it, Tsuna," Noriko says softly, meeting his bewildered eyes squarely. "You don't have to, understand? This is your choice. Only yours."