OpalescentGold: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
Threat
This is what they stand against.
Click
After the sun descends down the horizon and night creeps steadily across the sky, Noriko stirs and rises to her feet, disrupting the game the children have been playing.
"Sorellona?" Fuuta asks, looking startled and worried. It's ever so wrong for a child to be so knowledgeable of the darker sides of the world, but there are other things to be concerned with at the moment.
"Stay inside," Noriko says sharply, moving towards the front door. "No matter what, understand?"
The uncharacteristically brutal tone of her voice has Fuuta agreeing frantically, I-Pin and Lambo clinging to his legs, eyes wide and frightened. The swing of the door as it opens and closes, the lock clicking into place, seems terribly permanent.
Thieves
Noriko stands outside her house and waits, the wind sweeping through her hair and the streets silent. She knows that they are coming, and sure enough, shadows appear on the telephone poles stationed around her street.
The Varia, it seems, are impatient ones.
"You are not welcome here," she calls out, crisp and clear. "Cease and desist at once."
There is a scoff, a male voice speaking up derisively, "You're a civilian, right? Get out of the way and you won't be hurt."
Really, she's the one supposed to be telling them that.
"Nori-chan!" Tsuna runs down the street, Reborn right next to him. His eyes are large and worried, a clear frown on his face. "Are you okay?"
They haven't even started the assault yet. "I'm fine," Noriko says and watches as all three of her opponents jump forward, all at once.
"Hiieee!" Tsuna squeals, but before any of them are within touching distance, there is a burst of movement and a fist strikes one, an explosion strikes the second, and a sword strikes the third.
When Kyoya stalks from the shoulders with a bloodthirsty grin, it is quite nearly overkill.
At least until the true Varia arrive.
Lineage
Noriko muffles her laughter when it is revealed that Xanxus is the son of the Vongola Nono.
Do these people not have eyes? Xanxus is all but the second coming of the Secondo, a distant cousin of the Primo. His Flame even reverberates with the same wrath that colored Ricardo's.
And Tsuna really must learn some subtlety if he wishes for everyone present to not notice he is blatantly shielding Noriko from view and attack. She does appreciate the gesture even if it's entirely unnecessary.
Still, it's somewhat concerning how all of the adults present find it perfectly fine for a group of elite assassins with decades of experience under their belts to fight against a group of barely trained teenagers not out of middle school.
Referees
It's not unsurprising Iemitsu knows nothing of the Cervello even though he's the Outside Adviser. They work only under the Vongola Boss of the time and no one else.
It does not escape Noriko's notice when the two Cervello cast a lingering look at her before leaving or the thoughtful glimmer in Tsuna's eyes when he glances between her and them.
The Hyper Intuition should not be underestimated.
Tremors
"Ah, I can't do this, Nori-chan!" Tsuna wails after the Varia leave. He's on his knees on her carpet, hands clutching desperately at his head. "This is such a mess! You saw how scary that guy was! How am I supposed to fight him!?"
Noriko laughs gently, preoccupied with brewing tea. The others have left for home, although Tsuna had accepted her offer to stay with barely a second's pause. "He was scary," she concedes, handing him a cup of steaming tea.
"What do I do!? He's going to kill me!" he whimpers, staring up at her with wide, panicked eyes. His hands are shaking enough that he has to put his tea down on the table to avoid spilling it.
She thinks about it. Honestly, what can he do at this point in time? "You've already made your decision," she reminds him. "Now, it's just time to follow through with it."
"But I can't!" he cries out, shaking his head so hard she's half-afraid he'll sprain something. "W-What if someone gets hurt!? It'll be all my fault! Hiiieee, you heard what those Cervello said! It's a battle to the death or something!"
"Tsuna." Noriko reaches across the table to place her hand on his, echoing that morning back in Kyoya's house. Her gaze is steady, serene and reflective. "Trust in your family," she says. "You're not alone. We won't let you down."
Tsuna bites his lip indecisively, but visibly calms down, tremors diminishing. "W-Will that really be okay?" he asks hesitantly. "To just let go like that? C-Can I really - "
"That's what family's for."
"...okay."
Wild
It's weird, Tsuna thinks. When he first met her, Noriko was insane and crazy. She dragged him into situations where he thought he was going to die, pushed and pushed at his small boundaries until everything wasn't so scary anymore.
But now, with his head resting on her lap and gentle fingers carding through his hair, that sweet, silvery voice singing a foreign lullaby that is nonetheless reassuring and comforting, Noriko is probably the most stable person in his life.
Actually, she's most likely both, now that he thinks about it: always changing but always constant, too. Predictable, in the most unpredictable way.
She still has that streak of wildness in her though. This time, Tsuna's glad for it because anyone with it would probably have run for the hills by now.
Kami-sama knows that if he could bring his family with him and leave the mafia behind, Tsuna would have done so a long time ago. Stupid Reborn.