A loud slurp came from the mouth of one hitman tutor Reborn. Sitting at the modern folding table in his protégé's home, beady black eyes watched the girl bustle around the tiny kitchen, muttering to herself. Something sweet and smelling of orange was rapidly being mixed, and Reborn looked on with mild interest.
"You do know you have no oven."
A grunt was his reply.
"You cannot make madeleines without an oven."
"Yes, I'm aware, thank you," she bit back.
His hand twitched on the table where a lazy Leon was munching on a biscuit. Deciding it wasn't worth the energy to shoot her, Reborn glanced about the room. The small apartment was looking a good deal homier than the first time he'd visited, the last of the boxes unpacked and the furniture put together. It wasn't exactly welcome looking since Bella hadn't bought supplies or attempted to decorate, but the empty, untouched atmosphere had been softened by her presence.
Still…
She could do with a flower vase and a painting; the blank walls and surfaces were starting to annoy him, and he refused to debrief week after week in such a bland space.
The shriek of the electric kettle sent Bella scuttling to the counter, boiling water hissing as she filled her mug of Early Grey. Reborn couldn't help but scoff. Tea, as if it had less caffeine than coffee, and that was why she was drinking it. He kept his thoughts to himself as she slid into the seat opposite him, blowing on the steaming cup. With her glasses on her head, hair undone about her face, and cheeks pink from the heat, she looked very little like the cursed schoolgirl she was attempting to pose as during the day. Keen eyes looked him over.
"You look…pleased."
"I am."
Dark eyes narrowed.
"Why? What've you done now?"
Reborn smirked. It was such fun to play with the girl, her suspicions so easy to toy with after she discovered the bug under the kitchen floorboards. She still wasn't able to tell when he was leading her on, and until she figured it out, he was more than willing to mess with her. A flustered Bella was far more amusing then a calm and collected one. Stroking Leon's back he savored her apprehension, feeling the sudden spike of anxiety as her eyes flitted about the room, wary. She needn't have worried: he hadn't had the time to install his latest spring dummy, too busy following Tsuna around. But she didn't know that.
"It's not what I've done, it is what I'm doing," he said cryptically.
Let's plant an idea, shall we? How long until you guess where I've been, what I've been doing? Think girl, what are we here for?
"What? What do you mean? What are you talking about, what you're doing "right now?" Did you hide something stupid in my house again? You better leave the bathroom alone you freak, or I'll tell Tsuna why we're here! See if that doesn't throw a wrench in your plans!"
…too early, huh? Her focus is still too narrow to gauge my intentions…
Holding back a sigh and filing his observation away for later, Reborn smirked as he sipped his coffee and waved a hand, dismissive.
"Never mind. Tell me about your week. You've been busy, haven't you."
A deep sigh seemed to rise from the tips of her toes and Bella slumped forward onto the table.
"Yeah…I looked into the Yamamoto family like you asked…and I'm working on the kids in Tsuna's class. Just need to build the creepy factor for a little longer."
"Hn."
"I don't want to traumatize them forever; I don't know how much force to use on the brats."
Reborn looked over her defeated expression, gaze steady. Yes, this was the age-old issue every Vongola hitman faced: how much force was too much? And at what point should a gentle approach be abandoned? Depending on when and where you were, the answer changed, and he was curious as to what answer Bella would come up with to handle the problem of Tsuna's bullies. It was an interesting opportunity to gauge her self-control and creativity. They'd gone over the ground rules: no physical torture or lethal force against "civilians," but everything else he left open. Namimori was a testing ground, a place to grow the saplings of the next generation. He had permission to do whatever was necessary to preserve and support that growth, and that included using whoever he had to, children or not.
His voice was firm as he swirled his cup.
"Figure it out by Monday."
Bella's head lifted slightly, brows furrowing.
"Why?"
He took another sip, savoring the dark roast. Guatemalan; very nice. "Why" questions, not so much. Nevertheless, he answered her query.
"Monday is D-day; I want the field cleared."
She sighed again, fatigue hanging from her eyes. Monday. That left her the weekend to put everything in place and run her plan of attack. Not a lot of time, and was it even necessary? Was it suitable? She wasn't sure anymore. Turning her attention back to the hitman, she answered tiredly,
"Right, got it. I'll fix things up. The camera's I ordered came in, so I just have to install them. Shouldn't take long."
"Good. Report."
Bella nodded, sitting back as she fiddled with her sleeve and pulled out a few photographs of a sushi restaurant and house taken from different angles, along with several headshots.
"So, I figured the easiest way to investigate Yamamoto would be to case his house, so I went for a visit. Turns out it's the top half of a sushi restaurant…"
.
.
~ Three days ago, after school ~
I stared up at the wooden sign of the shop, squinting to make out the words "TakeSushi" written in calligraphy. Each of the large purple flaps of cloth tacked down across the latticed siding bore an abbreviated version of the name in white "ink," loudly announcing to any passersby that they had reached the sushi shop.
Even for someone like myself it was startlingly easy to find the place.
I was still in my long, unfortunate looking uniform, braided tails falling around my chin while the large glasses I wore glanced and caught the afternoon sun, edge pressing into and gathering sweat along the bridge of my nose. It was hot and uncomfortable in the school get up but I had sacrificed my comfort for the sake of snooping around without the annoying presence of Yamamoto Takeshi to distract me. All day long he'd been almost unbearably friendly, putting a rather irritating wrench in my plans to scare the less deserving members of my class. It was hard enough thinking of benign ways to get them to back off and leave Tsuna (and me) alone, if he kept interfering, I'd have to actually draw blood! I did not want to take drastic measures, but if he kept screwing up my plans, I would.
Ugh, that boy was a mystery, and today I intended to get to the bottom of it all.
TakeSushi was a fairly old-fashioned looking establishment of the Kyoto Machiya type, the dying architecture in remarkably good shape given its age, and not a single gray roof tile was missing. Clearly this shop was well loved and decently successful to pay for the upkeep. After a surreptitious glance to check that I hadn't been followed and that no one was around, I lifted my glasses up to scrutinize the building for anything out of place. The glasses helped with my far-sightedness, but more than that they preserved the peace of those around me. The clarity of my eyes came with an unfortunate and unsettling red tinge under the brown of my irises, and depending on the lighting, I'd been told the color resembled the blood of a fresh corpse.
Flattering, don't you agree?
Jack always thought so, the fool. Ah whatever, focus!
Without the hindrance of my thick bifocals, I picked up on the worn wood of the second story, small carvings of flowers on the old storm shutter on the right-hand window. They looked to be handmade and were obviously being preserved: compared to the other storm shutters, only that one had the shine of a waterproof veneer.
Walking to the corner, I slipped into the ally way between the restaurant and the smaller sweets shop next door. The shadow off the high roof offered a welcome relief from sun's heat and for a moment I admired the traditional roofing, tiny little koma inu decorating the edge of each roof point. The cool, damp air smelled faintly of moss, dirt and wood, turning my sweaty face sticky as I followed the wall back, one hand lightly dragging over the rough gray stone. A few feet past the end of the machiya I noticed a shift in the wall and crouched forward to look at the base, feeling for any weakness in the make. It had been cleverly masqueraded by matching the new stone almost exactly to the old, but the crumbling mortar, difference in the level of the ground, and the hairline crack moving up through the side indicated that part of the fence was built well before the rest.
I stood in front of that crack in the wall for a solid five minutes, stepping back as far as I could to gauge the size of the land included in the Yamamoto's yard. Compared to the other shops it was at least twice the size and far more sturdily built. I frowned. Namimori wasn't as pressed for space as, say, Tokyo or Hiroshima, but it was still odd to find a chunk of land stretching from one side of the block right out to the other.
Circling the house led to the dumpster of the sweets shop, a gap between that store and on the other side of the back ally a shop dedicated to kitchenware, specifically knives. The older part of the wall continued to an ornate gate with a heavy overhang and well locked door, those same koma inu in statue form guarding the back entry to the property. Tall shoots of bamboo prevented me from gaining a peek into the Yamamoto plot and resigned I made my way back to the front of the store, fixing my glasses in place.
I guess I'd have to go in after all.
.
.
"Iterashai! Sit anywhere you like little lady; I'll be with you in just a moment."
"Ah, hai."
Stepping under the cloth noren, I glanced around the room. Small and clean it was well lit and smelled faintly of tea. Taking up a seat at one of the two person tables near the window, I adjusted myself so that I was facing both the sushi bar and the door that looked like it connected to the rest of the house. On the other side of the room and up at the bar sat several older men and women chatting idly about their day and enjoying tea and fried squid. I grimaced.
What a combination…so smelly…
The man behind the counter washed his hands quickly after carefully laying aside the medium size fish he'd been in the middle of filleting. Stepping out onto the restaurant floor he was at my table in a few short bounds, white apron and head band almost pristine despite his work. I immediately scanned his movements, from the confident strides to calloused hands up to a broad and kind looking face and my heart jumped when I inadvertently met his gaze: intense brown eyes stared sternly down at me, only a shade darker than his son's. A tension crackled in the air for a fleeting moment before the crinkles around his eyes creased and a bright smile transformed his face.
"I haven't seen you here before, so welcome to TakeSushi! I'm Yamamoto Tsuyoshi. What can I get you today?"
I blinked rapidly, eyes flitting over the complicated mash of characters littering the paper menu in my hands. I'd picked it up to look busy, more interested in looking about the room then deciphering the coded food items I could order.
"I ah, sorry, um…"
Flustered, I tried to determine which part of the menu I should be looking at, and what would be acceptable for a middle schooler to pay for in the late afternoon. Yamamoto senior looked on with a gaze that seemed to grow heavier with every passing second and my shoulders hunched in as I tried to find words that I'd memorized in the tangle of kanji. I could feel my pulse hammering desperately in my ears, the whisper in the back of my head that if I wasn't convincing, if I couldn't get through this, I'd be caught in my own scheme. Sweat beaded on my forehead for entirely different reasons from before and after clenching the paper hard enough to warp its edges, I finally gave up and just jabbed randomly at the page.
"Th-that, if you please. And some tea. Green, o-or jasmine, please."
Tsuyoshi-san didn't move and for a moment an extremely awkward silence hung between us. I kept my eyes glued to the table, feeling red come into my cheeks the longer the silence continued. This was terrible, just terrible. I was trying to graduate from the V-player and I purposely left the thing in my bag, not even a foot away from me to practice my language skills without the use of my crutch. I hadn't thought I'd be interacting with the older Yamamoto directly and I was vastly unprepared to be reading without a prompt. This was all so stupid, so completely unnecessary! I hadn't wanted to turn it on again because the break from Verde's nasal voice was such a relief, but at this particular moment I would rather listen to him for the rest of my life then sit in my classmate's home, being stared at by his father, in complete silence because I couldn't read the menu. THE SHAME, UUUUUGGHHHHHHHH!
I never in my life wanted so much to poof into smoke and float away. Turn me into a cloud or a potato or something, anything that can't feel all of the everything going on inside my head! I want to disappear! Pleeeeeeaaaaaasssseeee! Let it eeennnnddd! UUUUHGHGHHHHHHHHH!
I jumped when a pair of weathered hands gently took the menu from me and broke my inner wailing. His voice was lower and less boisterous than before as he said apologetically,
"I might be overstepping my boundaries, but it seems to me like the menu isn't too straightforward to you. I'm sorry about that, I wrote it for my regulars, not hip young kids like you. I have some snacks that would be good for a hot day like today, if you're interested?"
The blush on my cheeks burned fiercer than before and I nodded my head jerkily. Oh, the shame… Did my brain have to turn off right now?! Tsuyoshi gave me another smile, and I caught from the corner of my eye the smiles and laughter of one of the old men at the bar. I turned my gaze away and glared at the table.
Stupid! This is why you have to study; this is why you have to try harder! What if he was an enemy, what if he was trying to trick you? What then? Actually…there's no proof that he's not trying to pull one on you right now. This is younger Yamamoto, Yama-chan's father. He could be exactly like his son…
That thought circled in my head again and again, the brief moment where Tsuyoshi's eyes pinned me adding to the mix of nerves twisting tighter and tighter as my nails dug into my palms. All at once I didn't want to be here, I didn't want to be sitting out in the open on enemy turf trying to weasel out answers for his weird behavior. I wanted to be home, and a brief ache in my chest reminded me that there was no home here, not really. Not yet.
"Here we are! Ayu and kakigori, and one bottle of blueberry Ramune! Just the things to stave off the last of the summer heat."
An involuntary flinch went through me again as Tsuyoshi carefully placed a small grilled fish and a bowl of shaved ice in front of me, topped in cubes of mochi and strawberries. Wide eyed, I looked at him in astonishment. There was no way the menu specified anything like this, I knew what the word for strawberry looked like at the very least and it certainly hadn't been on there. As if to corroborate this point the elderly man at the bar, the one who'd been laughing earlier, called out jovially,
"Ya, Yoshi-kun, what are you playing at? What is this special treatment? If I knew you sold kakigori I would've ordered some myself!"
"Here, here!" added his friend, and Tsuyoshi laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ma, ma; if I let everyone in on this secret menu Takeshi would never forgive me, haha! Don't you worry about them, little lady, just enjoy the food. My son is very fond of the blueberry flavored soda, so I'm afraid that's all we have right now."
I shook my head rapidly, trying to process everything happening. Words spilled from my lips like marbles out of a bag.
"N-no! Please, I'm very grateful to you for doing this…I'm sorry if it was a nuisance, and I don't mind blueberry at all, it's good for your eyes you know," what in the HELL am I saying?! "um, and I've heard of Ayu before, it's served at festivals, right? For fireworks?"
That kind smile had returned, a sort of nostalgic look in his eyes as he popped the top of the soda bottle, a small bark of laughter chasing away the bright smile that appeared on my face in response. I took the glass bottle sheepishly, wiping the condensation on my skirt. Sipping from the fizzy bottle I shivered a little as the ice-cold liquid streamed down my throat. It was delightful. Stabbing at a strawberry, I tilted my head to listen as he answered in a knowing voice.
"Right you are miss…?"
"Kan."
"Kan-san. I usually grill Ayu for the festivals, but I thought it'd be nice to give the season one last hurrah. I thought so before, but you're not from around here, are you?"
"Er, ah…no…"
That barking laugh returned, and he continued proudly,
"Then I'm happy to be the first one to serve you Ayu! It's a family recipe, I'm quite proud of it. I'll leave you to your food now, but feel free to come up to the bar if you need anything, no need to be shy."
I could feel the blush on my cheeks again despite my heartfelt attempts to dispel it. Leaning down a little to whisper conspiratorially, he added,
"Don't let old man Fujiwara scare you, he's a harmless fellow who likes to laugh. I've known him since I was eight years old, there's nothing to worry about."
I nodded, a weird feeling in my chest. Why in the world did this man make me feel so embarrassed and at the same time so…welcome? Strange, going to all this trouble to reassure me, as if I needed it. Well, considering how I looked right now, maybe that's why he was trying so hard. Still, weren't the reassurances a bit much? Digging into the kakigori, I watched him banter back and forth with his customers, listening intently as they joked around.
"Well Yoshi-kun? Still up for a spar? I bet you 1600 yen I can still flip you on your back!"
"Ah, I'm not sure I can take that bet, Fujiwara-san, it's not fair to make a bet I know I'll win."
"Nonsense!" here the old man slapped the bar, a determined look in his eye as he added with a grin, "Don't tell me Yoshi-kun is too scared? I thought Okuni and I trained you better!"
Tsuyoshi laughed and said with practiced ease,
"Maybe another time. For now, won't you just enjoy what I've made? Takeshi will be back soon, and I'll have the evening crowd to handle."
"Oh alright, I'll let you go, this time. But one of these days we'll have to have a true spar! I know you've got room in that dojo back there, don't be so stingy!"
My ears perked up at this and carefully I kept my face turned towards my food as Fujwara continued to push Tsuyoshi and he continued to laugh him off, skirting his demands. My eyes focused on the door across from me, dark wood and white rice paper the only thing separating me from the rest of the house.
A dojo. So that was what took up the rest of the yard.
Slowly, a sinking feeling of dread started to pool in my belly with the soda and the ice. Kendo. That was what Fujiwara-san wanted to spar. Tsuyoshi-san was apparently good enough he didn't want to embarrass the old man (as evidenced by his own tactful behavior to me, a complete stranger, when I couldn't order properly), which meant he must still be skillful, i.e. he practiced. So then…did Takeshi…?
.
.
"The only people that have skill like Takeshi's and skill with a blade are people like us, the mafia. So, I think there's a possibility his father has…connections…the name Okuni is also associated with the sword style the Emperor knew…at least, if I remember correctly…"
There was a deep reluctance in her voice, and Reborn watched Bella's expression closely. Her gaze had shifted off to the side, refusing to meet him head on.
"You don't want him to be part of the yakuza."
She flinched and Reborn raised one eyebrow, surprised she would let him see that he was dead on. Whatever was eating at her must be more concerning then he thought. She fidgeted a little, dragging her feet around the legs of the chair before kicking them out again.
"…yeah…"
"Bella."
"Yes. Yes, I don't want him…them…to be involved with the yakuza."
"Because?"
Her gaze fell to her lap, worried expression creasing her brow. Bella's voice came out soft after a brief pause.
"Because I don't want to fight them. He's weird, Yama-chan, Takeshi I mean, but I don't think he's a problem, not really…"
"Not yet, you mean."
She winced.
"Yeah. Not yet is probably the better way to say it."
Reborn sat back in the chair, crossing his arms and mulling over Bella's words. Interesting, it was all very interesting, and very unusual, especially for her. He decided to say as much to see what would happen.
"It's not like you to get attached. Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Well…"
.
.
"Thank you, Yamamoto-san, for the food. It was really delicious."
"Not at all! Please, come again! Next time I'll have you try the real food! Take care, Kan-san!"
"Hai!"
Bowing, I made my way out of the noren, almost running into the boy I'd been avoiding all day. Jumping backward I nearly tripped, grabbing the edge of the door to steady myself.
"S-sorry about that! Didn't see you the-oh! Kan-chan, wow, hi! I didn't expect to see you here!"
For about half a second I was frozen in shock. No. Nonononononono, I was not supposed to be running into and having conversations with the little Yamamoto. That was not in the cards, that was not the plan! I specifically timed everything to be well away by the time he came back! Ugh, no. I was already off balance enough because of the father, I really didn't want to deal with the son! Righting myself I immediately bowed and edged past him murmuring a quiet,
"Ah, sorry for bumping into you, I'll be on my way," before booking it down the street. Unhappily, I didn't get very far.
"Wait up! Why're you running away? Why don't you come inside, have a snack or something? My old man runs this place, he'll treat you if he knows you're my classmate, come on! You don't need to be shy!"
My shoes skidded a little as I came to a stop hearing him parrot almost the exact same words his father had said, and I turned back only to sigh. Lord this boy was persistent. I was already several shops down from the sushi place and Takeshi was right along beside me, still decked out in his baseball uniform. I could see the dust and sweat sticking to the white polyester uniform and tall red socks plastered to his legs. I couldn't help wrinkling my nose in disgust. That had to feel like the nastiest, full body, wet sock in the world. Takeshi laughed.
"Nah, it's not that bad! Although I guess I kinda stink huh?"
I blinked. Oh. I said that out loud. My forehead wrinkled. I wasn't that loud when I muttered to myself, did this kid have super hearing too? Geez! Couldn't I just get a break for once! Turning full to face him, I said firmly,
"No, you don't stink. That was rude of me; I just meant that you must be uncomfortable, that you'd like to change. I appreciate the offer, but I actually…well, I actually ate earlier."
"Huh? Really?"
"Er, yes. I think I…your father gave me one of your soda's, so I've already had something. Don't bother with me, go ahead and go home. I'm sure you'll want your space after such a long day, and there's really no need to concern yourself with me."
I paused. That sounded a little harsh, and I wasn't trying to get myself on the popular kid's bad side. Belatedly I bowed and tacked on,
"Thank you though, for your concern."
Standing straight I was met with the sight of the baseball star looking at me with a slightly quizzical expression.
"Um, you know you can come back, you don't have to leave just because you had something to eat earlier. And you're not bothering me, I want to invite you. You're new here, and you don't really know anyone, right? You seem like you're kinda having a hard time in class…and I thought it'd be nice to just, make friends I guess."
I stared. Well. Theory confirmed, he has ABSOLUTELY BEEN WATCHING ME! He knows what's happening in class, he wants to be friends, so then…all this time…has he been trying to help me or something?
My expression must have been one of extreme confusion and surprise because not a moment latter Takeshi had his hands out waving back and forth in front of him as if trying to soften the blow.
"Ma, ma, I don't mean to embarrass you, I just wanted to say I'd like to be friends."
"Why?" I couldn't help feeling intrigued, and a part of me knew I was leaving the realm of work into something more personal. Why did this kid have any interest in me? Why? I was purposely making myself the ugly duckling, the weirdo, the freak. Why did this kid want anything to do with me? I watched him closely, eyes narrowing as something solemn flashed over his face before disappearing. The sun glanced off my glasses as my eyes narrowed to slits.
What…was that. What are you thinking of, baseball boy?
"Well…you seem…interesting. And, I don't think it's right…what the other guys are doing in class. You're new, they shouldn't be pranking you the way they are. I mean, you're a girl and they shouldn't single you out just because you're new."
That mask, that façade was back. I could see something else lingering behind those words, the safe answer to the question. Disappointing. Drawing myself to my full height, I looked over the edge of my glasses to pin him with what I knew was a piercing glare.
"You're lying. I don't make friends with liars. I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't need saving, Yamamoto-kun. And if you wanted the pranks to end, you could probably stop them yourself by talking couldn't you? You know what I mean. But you don't, so don't try to play white knight now. Anyways, I don't need it. I have my own plans, so don't get involved, got it? I don't need the help of someone who can't honestly say what he wants."
I turned and walked away, my face cold, lips pressed into a single line. I'd said it, what I was actually thinking, no sugar coat, no pretend because it was so annoying! Seeing that face, the smile and the laugh trying to push me to play along and I refused to do it. I can lie to high heaven if I need to, and I will if I must, but God help me if I'll play along to someone else's lie because they're too cowardly or weak to face up to the truth. Nothing good lies down that path, the path of collusion. I know. I know.
I was late for the bus, which was unfortunate. TakeSushi isn't that far from Namimori-chu and so it isn't that far from my apartment, but I needed food again and that meant a trip to the grocery store. Rocking up and down on my heels, I sighed and glanced down the street to watch the sparse traffic on either side of the four-lane street. Twenty minutes to the next bus, what a chore. Popping in my earbuds and playing the horrid recording of Verde's voice I stared up at the sky from under the lip of the metal roof and started looking for shapes in the cloud. A car zoomed by, ruffling my skirt and a group of students walked behind the bus stop on the way home from cram school. A prick of guilt stabbed at me and I ignored it. Someone had to tell the boy.
But did it have to be you? Were you really the right person for such a message?
I straightened my shoulders. It didn't matter. What's done was done.
You were too harsh.
I swallowed hard trying to people watch the few pedestrians on the other side of the road.
That wasn't your place.
The sweater vest was clinging in an extremely uncomfortable way to my stomach, but there was no way I was removing it to reveal the drenched button down underneath.
Say sorry.
I glared. Stupid bunny shaped cloud, no way was I saying sorry! I told the truth! I shouldn't have to apologize for the truth.
But you weren't very kind, were you?
There was cacophony of cars honking as a biker cut across the street and I sucked in a breath. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't. I wasn't wrong. I wasn't.
Then why are you still thinking about it?
I ordered take out instead.
~ The next day ~
In the morning, plodding my way to school I tried to quell the dread creeping through my veins. No matter how right I was to say what I'd said, it would do nothing to make class less awkward. Crossing the gate to the school, I noted with relief that the most persistent of my tormentors had dropped off and were avoiding me. Switching to my indoor shoes went without issue, and it was only when I got to class that I saw why. My desk had mysteriously disappeared, and glancing at the giggling, whispering knot of kids near the cleaning closet I counted the five usual suspects. Tsuna glanced at me from his seat and for the first time I experienced the urge to slap the concerned look from his face.
If you're too weak and pathetic to look after yourself, don't bother to wasting your pity on me.
Turning on my heel I stormed out of the room only to see a very serious looking Yamamoto carrying what was undeniably my desk from wherever the idiots had put it. Students up and down the halls whispered and pointed, heads popping out of the doors to watch as Yamamoto deftly slid the table through the classroom door to set it in its spot. I didn't know what to do, what to say. Leaning over my desk, the baseball player seemed to gather himself and lifting his head he pinned the class with a stern look.
"Kan-san is our classmate now, she's our friend. This sort of prank is too much, it's wrong, so don't do it again. We should all get along, that way we can have the best school life, haha!"
He ended his scolding with his trademark smile and laugh, breaking the stillness in the room and flipping the air all at once to something far lighter than before. Miwako-chan ran from the room, Yuri-chan following as Yamamoto's friends circled around him, slapping him on the back and praising him for his "manliness." He did what he always did, easing into his own seat as the teacher came into the room and the group dispersed. Slowly, I took my seat. Class went on as normal with one noticeable difference.
Yamamoto Takeshi wasn't looking at me anymore.
Finally.
I think…
I didn't have any trouble for the rest of the day, and as I gathered the last of my notes on the various bullies now cowed by Yamamoto's show of strength, I couldn't help looking at Tsuna. I thought Yamamoto never did anything to step in, I assumed his cool calculation of the boy was a disdain for his troubles. I never once considered that maybe he was waiting for Tsuna to step up, for Tsuna to change things on his own rather than fidgeting and taking crap from everyone else. I don't know if I would've considered it if I hadn't momentarily seen in Tsuna what everyone else did: the infuriating propensity to pity others while being unwilling to face one's own pathetic state. Tsuna was mocked, Tsuna was used, Tsuna was left behind, but people otherwise let him be.
There was a reason he was called useless. That was all his fault.
But the lack of "pranks" and cruel physical punishments…
Did Yamamoto have anything to do with that?
.
.
"I see."
Reborn was thoughtful, black eyes glancing now and then to Bella's bowed head as he considered the boy in a new light. The possible ties to the yakuza were still there, and there was always the potential that this was a ruse, but he doubted an inexperienced hitman would be able to fool Bella, himself and the flame Tsuna had inherited. No, it was far more likely that this version of Yamamoto Takeshi was the one closest to his true self and, for better or worse, Bella had managed to uncover it.
Clearly she felt it was for the worst, and the baby hitman could see that she was still confused about what his actions meant, for Tsuna and herself, both as a professional and as a "friend." Good, she needed more of these conflicts to shake off her Academy habits and ingrained defense mechanisms.
Leaning across the table to tap her forehead with Leon, the hitman waited until she looked up, dark eyes swirling with indecision and guilt.
"You did a good job."
Her voice was weak when she responded.
"I did?"
"Yes," he replied firmly. "You did not intend it, but you managed to force Yamamoto Takeshi's true nature to surface, and you managed to ease the burden of your own and Tsuna's tormentor's by doing so. You did a good job."
She was looking at her hands again, wringing them in her lap.
"…it doesn't feel like it. It feels like I misunderstood him, like I misunderstood the whole situation. I feel like an idiot, like I don't know him or-or myself..."
Reborn nodded.
"You feel stupid and unsettled because you thought you knew everything, and you don't. That is normal for someone your age."
Bella looked up at this, a pinprick of hope in her eyes, a sense of relief already at hearing his words. Stepping onto the table, Reborn patted her head and said,
"Foolish Bella, what is our goal? To protect Tsuna. To guide him and guard him. In the end it doesn't matter how many mistakes you make as long as you learn from them and keep going, as long as you ultimately fulfill this goal. You misunderstood the situation, so what now? Are you going to run away? Or are you going to accept that you need work, that you need to train, and that knowing this weakness you are closer, not further, from being able to guard Tsuna at your best? You must make that choice. Not me."
"I…I see."
Reborn gave her one long critical stare and hopped down from the table, adjusting his jacket and tie. Making his way to the door with Bella trailing behind him, he suddenly stopped and turned back to the girl. She still looked tired and conflicted, but he could see that some of her unrest had settled. Leon morphed into a scooter and standing astride his partner he gave one last order,
"Stop thinking about it and go to bed. You've spent enough time beating yourself up over this, and it's done with. Over. If there's anything else to worry about it'll be taken care of. Don't worry anymore; you aren't dealing with this alone you brat. Go sleep."
With a wave and chirped "ciaossu!" he scootered out the door and Bella waved back, small smile on her face.
"Thanks, Reborn."
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A/N
I did it! Please heart and review, let me know your thoughts;) I personally think it's really funny that Bella thought Yamamoto was so weird for trying to be a nice guy, but as always, there's more to this then what we see! I'm super pleased with how this chapter turned out, although I was looking up nonsense things in google like "cloth flap over door Japanese" to figure out what the heck they call a noren. I think everything else in this chapter is clear enough without translations, but if it feels unclear just let me know! Always love knowing what ya think;)
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Next Update: 05/23/2020 (I count this entry as reseting my updating schedule properly :p)
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Stay safe, stay sane, and wash those hands!
- DumDeeDum