Hi guys, its been a while.
I'm sorry I hadn't updated in a while or even left a note that I was on Haitus or something. Truth is I was stuck in this limbo of 'will I' or 'won't I' as early in 2017 I lost someone I loved and with that, I felt like a part of me died with him too. My family also encountered some heavy financial issues and work had been demanding. While grieving I had to pretend that I moved on when I hadn't and throughout the year I just felt like I was slowly drowning. Nothing seemed worth it to me for a while, including writing, especially writing.
Sunset Hue in particular held a very special place in my heart. It was a prompt in passing, a challenge that person proposed as joke as I wouldn't stop whining at the lack of OC fanfics to him. He didn't think it would blow up to this. After he was gone, it was hard to look back on the memories where I use as reference for some parts of the story. The little moments Tsuna and Mia shared were one way or another based on how we were. It hurt to be reminded of him and it took me some time to be at peace with that. Actually, it took me time to get back into anything at all. Last year was practically spent on re-learning how to love living again, enjoying the little things and all that.
I hadn't checked on my stories or my account for a long time so I was overwhelmed at all the PMs and reviews that I got when I logged back in. Really, thank you guys. It means a lot to me that people still enjoy my stories. Some made me laugh, others made me cry like an idiot. It's weird for me to write this but you guys deserve an explanation.
Anyways though, I'm back. I'm still busy with work but I'd like to start writing again, starting with Sunset Hue. Some of you may have been receiving notifs about the story over this past two weeks. That's because I've gone back and fixed a few things. If you re-read the story, you might notice them but the biggest change that I've made was bumping up the character's ages and settings. I've left a few notes in some chapters, just quick reminders that hey, they're actually this old now but I'll explain more in my notes below. This by itself is long enough as it is and some of you have been waiting for the longest time for the next chapter. See you guys at the end!
First Year High School, 1st Term
Ages:
Lambo - 7
Tsuna, Mia, Hayato, Chrome - 15
Takeshi, Ryohei - 16
Kyoya - 17
Tsuna could only stare in shock at what was playing on the TV.
Their school was in flames. Firefighters were currently putting out the fire but the damage had been done. The glass was gone and the windows were charred. It looked like the entire east wing had been set ablaze – the wing where their class was at. Tsuna slowly rose from his seat, eyes glued to the TV, dread gathering in his gut.
According to what the reporter was saying, it had been a gas leak but that was ridiculous. The kitchen facilities were in another wing.
"Tsuna, hey – you like cheese or butter for your popcorn?" Mia poked her head out from the kitchen. When he didn't answer, staring just at the TV, her eyes wandered over. He heard her gasp and sensed rather than saw as she dived for her phone, no doubt to speak with his Cloud Guardian.
His own phone dinged at that moment and when he pulled it out, it was a message from Reborn.
Come home and take Mia with you.
"Mia, once you're done with that, let's go. Reborn is waiting for us back at my place." He quickly put on his jacket and grabbed hers. With a sharp click, Mia followed him out the door, taking her jacket from him and shrugging it on. When they arrived at his house, his Guardians had already gathered outside of the gate except for Chrome and Hibari. No doubt the prefect was out investigating the fire.
Tsuna already knew what they were here for and proceeded to lead the way into his house and straight to his room. Sitting on Bianchi's lap, Reborn waited as they filed in.
"Ciaossu," he greeted them.
"So what's going on?" Tsuna jumped right into it.
"Aw, not even a 'how was your trip' or a 'welcome back' for your tutor?"
He rolled his eyes. "Reborn, you were only gone for the day. Welcome back – do you know what happened with the school?"
Tsuna settled down on the floor across his tutor, his friends taking their places all around the room with Mia on his left and Hayato taking his right.
"I'm glad that you're all taking this seriously. To cut straight to the point – this is an attack from an opposing Famiglia."
They all tensed. The whole thing with the Varia may have been months now but it was still pretty fresh on their minds. Tsuna wasn't so eager to get back to Mafia Affairs so soon.
"Which of them did this Reborn-san? We'll make sure to handle it," Hayato spoke up, bringing his fist to his palm. "Only idiots would be stupid to take the Vongola on." Tsuna frowned, it was sooner than he would have liked but if they didn't have a choice...
"There will be no such thing." Huh, had they heard that right? Tsuna and Mia exchanged glances, surprised. Hayato gaped at the hitman.
"Wait, you're saying that we're not handling this?" Mia repeated slowly.
Reborn sighed. "It seems that info that the Tenth boss living here in Namimori had been leaked after the Varia incident. The Varia didn't do it," he added before Mia could react. "CEDEF had been looking into this for months but regardless of what they've found, some Family is out there searching for Tsuna."
It clicked. "The attacks on the other schools, the burglaries and the fire... was it their way of luring me out?" Tsuna asked out loud. Reborn nodded approvingly at him, then turned to his other student.
"Right. Hibari had been working hard to maintain the peace as I'm sure you're aware of Mia." She nodded slowly. Well that explained why his Cloud had dumped the work on her. "Until your Inheritance, your identity will be kept a secret so under no circumstances are the Tenth Generation allowed to engage with this Famiglia."
Tsuna ended up releasing a breath he had been holding, relieved he didn't have to fight. His Guardians in the other hand, weren't taking it that well.
"But Reborn-san!" Hayato jumped up. "We can't let them keep terrorizing the town!"
Takeshi nodded in agreement. "Business got slow lately, customers don't stay as late as they used to."
"An extreme boxing match was cancelled the other day because the boxing clubs from other schools got extremely pummeled!" Ryohei added.
Reborn cut sharply through their protests with one look and they all went quiet. "Don't worry, this will be handled by the Vongola in the meantime. It probably won't take them longer now to find and take care of that Famiglia."
Tsuna leaned back on his elbows, the tension flowing out of him. "Thank god!" For once the Vongola was taking care of him. Seemingly on the same thought, Mia brought a hand to her chest, relieved that they could sit this one out. Slightly disappointed there wouldn't be a chance to flex on their enemy, Hayato sat back down.
"In the meantime however..." His tutor drawled and Tsuna sat up immediately. He knew that tone and he wasn't going to like it. Reborn smirked. "You're all going to be staying for two weeks for Summer Vacation in Vongola HQ in Italy."
Pandemonium erupted as their reactions ranged from excitement to horror. Tsuna gaped at his tutor, feeling faint. Hayato was suddenly there, stars in his eyes.
"Tenth this is great! We're going to Vongola HQ!" Taking him by the shoulders, his right hand man shook him, unable to contain his excitement. Meanwhile, Tsuna was a limp doll in his hands. This was worse than Tsuna thought – it felt like an invitation to the dragon's den.
"School isn't over yet," Mia cut in, frowning. "There's still two days left before Summer Break."
Reborn never lost his smirk. "Well, you have the enemy Famiglia to thank for that. Summer just came in early." Mia pressed her fingers to her temples, no doubt trying to soothe the incoming headache.
At this point, Bianchi spoke up. "No need to worry so much Mia, it'll be taken cared off. You should focus on what to pack, your Papa has also been very kind to help me chaperone you all to Italy."
Mia stiffened, the color leaving her face. "Huh?" She gaped at them. "You're not serious are you?" She shook her head. "No way, no just no. Pa can't come."
"Well it wasn't our idea," Reborn piped in, sounding unhappy about it. "General Matteolli wouldn't accept anything else."
Mouth hanging open, Mia just stared at them, completely and utterly in shock. She swayed a bit, like her spirit was drifting and fell backwards. Takeshi scrambled to catch her before she hit the floor.
"Woah! Mia?" he shook her but she was out cold.
Hayato let go and Tsuna scrambled to her side. She fainted, she really fainted.
"That was unexpected," Bianchi commented. Reborn sighed.
Mia's dad was coming and her grandfather insisted on it. Somehow, things got a hundred times worse. Tsuna didn't know what to do, he hadn't even told Nicolas-san that they were dating. What if he finds out about the mafia on this trip?
Hi Nicolas-san, I know this might come as a shock but I'm actually the heir to the most powerful syndicate Mafia Famiglia in the world.
No way in hell was that going to fly well. He broke out in cold sweat just thinking about it. Forget about that though, as a new terrifying thought wormed its way in.
How was he going to break it out to the man that he had been making out with his daughter?
For the second time that night, Reborn watched as his other student fainted.
"Tenth!"
"Tsuna!"
"Is this an extreme sleepover?!"
When Tsuna woke up the next morning, it was to the heavy snoring of Onii-san and Takeshi's foot jabbing him in the ribs. Definitely not the way he was hoping to start his day but it could've been worse. It could have been Nicolas who woke him up.
Thoughts last night came rushing back and he rubbed his face, letting out a long sigh in between his fingers.
The door cracked open. Thinking it was his Mom, Tsuna pushed himself up and moved Takeshi's foot out of the way.
"I'm up, I'm up. I'll be down in a few."
"That's good." Tsuna froze. That voice was a lot deeper than his Mom's. "So, did you boys have fun last night?"
Nicolas leaned against his doorframe, arms crossed, sporting a tired smile. He waved at him. "Come down when you're ready, your Mom already made breakfast."
"N-N-Nicholas-san?" Tsuna spluttered. The older man raised a brow at him. A glint entered in his eyes that disappeared behind his glasses but Tsuna knew that look. It was something that Mia had when she knew something. Tsuna swallowed.
"Let's talk after breakfast, okay?" with a small smile, he left the young brunette alone, surrounded by his still sleeping friends, unaware of the turmoil their boss was going through.
Tsuna spent exactly five minutes, wondering if he was going to die before pulling himself together. Careful not to wake his friends, he tiptoed around a sleeping Hayato to change his shirt.
Every step he took, unease grew and his palms became colder. His heart was beating wildly in his ears. Despite feeling like he was walking to his death, it was still a normal morning. The kids were playing in the living room and he could hear his mom chattering away. It helped ease his nerves a bit and when he came in to the kitchen, Mia was already there. She was listening to his mom, looking like nothing was wrong and that she had fainted last night. Tsuna envied her, he wished he had a good poker face like she did but then again, she must have inherited it. Sitting on the same table was Nicolas. He hummed and nodded graciously as he listened to his mother while drinking coffee, the picture of the perfect listener.
It was so domestic it threw him off a bit. "Ah Tsu-kun! Morning!"
Tsuna cracked a smile for her and took his seat right next to Mia, facing her father. "Morning," he greeted. Mia uttered a soft good morning to him as his mother laid his breakfast before him. "Thanks for the food," he said before digging in. In truth, he had no appetite. Even if Nicolas wasn't saying anything and wasn't even paying any particular attention to them, his presence alone was heavy on the table.
Still, Tsuna tried his best and even made small talk with the older man. For a while, things seemed to be normal, until his mom stepped out. Then the air around them shifted.
Nicolas adjusted his glasses. "So, was I ever going to hear about this?" he started as if he was asking about the weather when it felt like he just laid down a bomb on the table.
They stilled in their seats. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Mia had slightly bowed her head. She had never looked so guilty before and it tugged at his heart. "W-We wanted to tell you on your next trip back," he found himself saying and they were really planning on it.
"Was this related to the dinner you invited me at for next week?" Tsuna jerked his head into a nod.
"I suppose I wouldn't have minded finding it out through that rather than hearing it from Nana." Tsuna wanted to groan. Mooooooom.
"I'm really sorry sir," he started to apologize. "We really wanted to tell you - "
Nicolas held his hand up and he clamped his mouth shut. "It's not that I don't understand. I do, I remember what it was like being young and to fall in love. I don't have anything against all this but I'll admit I'm not comfortable at all. I don't think I ever will."
"Pa..."
"There will be rules, understand?" They nodded obediently, sitting straighter in their seats. "But before that, I need to know - how serious are you two with this?"
Huh? Tsuna gaped while Mia spluttered at the unexpected question. "What?"
"Rule number one, I don't want the two of you in a room together. Alone. If possible."
Tsuna reared his head back, blushing to the roots of his hair. "Papa!" Mia jumped up.
Nicolas turned to him, his ferocious blue eyes zeroing in. "Tsuna, you're a young man, there will be certain urges - "
"Oh my god." Mia dropped her face into her hands.
"Which may cause you to lose your common sense and awareness for the consequences of your actions - "
"Oh my god."
It didn't help that Nicolas had his Professor face on. "Its understandable for your age and that's acceptable. You two have maintained good grades but I don't want your futures to take a backseat because of a moment of unbridled passion."
"Papa please! Do we really need to have this conversation?" Mia begged her father.
"I'm doing this for you as well Mia so yes, absolutely we need to have this. Even if this turns out to be some school fling, I still want you two to be prepared."
"It's not a fling!" Tsuna interrupted the both of them. Both blue sets of eyes turned to him, surprised at his outburst. Tsuna cleared his throat, trying to shove his awkwardness away. "I - I really like Mia and I have nothing but out most respect for her. She's smart, kind and amazing. She's still my best friend and if she wants to pursue a career or something - I won't stop her. As long as she's happy that's all I ever want."
Nicolas' eyes softened. "Its good that you feel that way Tsuna." Then, he followed up, "So, do you know how a condom works?"
Dear god, this man dropped things harder than Reborn's kicks. Tsuna choked and Mia let out a strangled cry.
"Papa!"
"I'll show it to you on a banana." He reached into his pocket. Tsuna nearly fell off his seat. This was not what he imagined when he woke up.
At this point Mia had let out a small wail, mortified meanwhile Tsuna wished he could have died on the spot.
Listening from the second floor, the boys listened in on Reborn and Bianchi's insistence, their expressions ranging in different shades of red. Hayato had hidden his face in his hands as if he could stop the second-hand embarrassment, Takeshi was in a cross of look like scrubbing his ears or his face and Ryohei had turned into stone.
Perched on Ryohei's head, Reborn fought the urge to chuckle. Bianchi leaned closer to him.
"Mia's papa is really something else," Bianchi murmured. Reborn hummed in agreement.
Sitting with them, Nana had her hands pressed against her mouth as she listened to Nicolas guiding her son with a banana. "I'm glad that Nick-kun is here - I wouldn't know what to do with something like this."
When everything was said and done, both teens wouldn't even look at each other and had taken spots on either far side of the house. Tsuna hid himself in his bedroom and Mia had tucked herself away in the garden, both dead in the eyes. Their friends had quickly excused themselves, saying that they needed to pack. Right.
Nicolas had his glasses tucked away in his front pocket and he was rubbing his face tiredly. Nana felt sympathy for the man and poured him another cup of coffee.
"Good work!" she told him brightly and he sighed.
"I can't believe I did that," he muttered. He was barely keeping it together.
Nana took the seat in front of him with her own cup of tea. "Maa maa, I think you did great. I don't think I could have been that stern with them."
He blew into his coffee, his brows knitting together. "Just so you know Nana, I don't have a problem with Tsuna. He's a good boy, I just... worry."
He made a face then, like he swallowed a lemon. He aggressively sipped his coffee.
"They'll be okay."
"They're teenagers," he corrected her. Mia was turning sixteen soon and Tsuna was going to follow in a few months!
She laughed him off with a wave of her hand. He mused his hair with a sigh. Still, he appreciated her support. The Japanese weren't usually open on this sort of topic so it meant a lot that Nana let him educate Tsuna. Teenagers were resourceful, especially Japanese ones, but no matter the nationality, they didn't always think things through. He was aware he wasn't Father of the year material but by god he was going to make sure these kids knew what they were getting into.
Even if he was incredibly uncomfortable with the mere thought of it.
He also liked to think he did well in comparison to what his Dad put him through. He shuddered at the memory.
Finishing his coffee, he got up. "I'll take Mia home with me now so we can start packing. Tsuna should too. Its going to be a long, and I mean, really long flight."
"How many hours?"
He put on his glasses in one smooth motion with one hand. Nana thought if it wasn't for his dreary expression most of the time, it would have made him look really cool. "Twelve, give or take."
"Hai hai, I'll make sure Tsu-kun will be ready." Nana waved him goodbye.
Later on that night, a large black van had been parked outside of Tsuna's house that was to take their group to Narita Airport at Tokyo. Even if this morning was the most humiliating experience in his entire life, Tsuna couldn't help but look forward to the trip with his friends. It was his first time out of the country.
Most of his Guardians were already there with their luggage and were chatting with one another.
"All ready for the trip Tenth? Its going to be long one." Tsuna turned to the bomber with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm good. Ne Hayato, what's it like at Italy?" A shadow passed through his friends eyes that quickly went away.
Hayato brightened. "Its really nice Tenth, you'll love it."
Did he say something incredibly insensitive again? Tsuna wondered, troubled. Come to think of it, Hayato never really did talk about his life before he came to Japan - except for that one time about Bianchi poisoning him as kids and his family being messed up.
"Ne senpai, what does your family know about this trip?" Takeshi asked Ryohei.
The boxer crossed his arms. "That I've been scouted and that I'm going away to an extreme athletes camp." He didn't look too happy about it. Tsuna could feel the familiar rise of guilt in his gut. He hadn't meant for his friends to lie to their families...
"Its such an extreme shame I couldn't bring Kyoko!"
Tsuna felt like slapping himself as Takeshi laughed. "Right right? I wish dad could come with us but no one would man the bar. I promised I'd bring a souvenir."
"Tsuna-nii, Tsuna-nii!" Tsuna looked down. Lambo tugged at his pant leg. He knelt down and picked the young boy up. Lambo had outgrown his onesie cowsuit and was wearing cowprinted overalls instead. Seven and still rocking the afro, Lamo peered around his shoulders.
"What are you looking for Lambo?"
"Is Mia-nee not coming?"
"She's on the way actually," he assured the younger boy. Lambo pouted.
"Hope she brings some candy." Tsuna booped him on the nose. Lambo was still a bit of a snot-nosed brat but he was a sweet kid. Pun not intended.
"Its really nice of honey to set all of this up," Nana gushed from the porch. "Oh I'm so excited to see him again." Bianchi nodded along.
His mother seemed to especially brighten at the mere mention of his Dad. He was glad that his mom got to come along for once but he really wished it didn't have to be under these type of circumstances. As far as his mom knew, they were going on a family vacation to visit his dad at work. He hoped nothing too crazy happened. Was he getting used to the crazy? Maybe.
"All ready to go?"
They looked around. Nicolas was standing outside the gate, his coat on one hand and his bag at the other. Beside him, Mia waved and right next to her...
"Chrome!" he exclaimed, surprised she was there. She was dressed casually and if it hadn't been for the pineapple haircut, he probably wouldn't have recognized her. She waved shyly back at him.
He still didn't know what to make of Mukuro and Chrome being his Mist Guardian but after the Varia, he couldn't help but open up to the younger girl. Mia told him what happened in Tokyo and how she met her in much greater detail. Compared to Chrome's mother, Mukuro must have been a saint. As for Mukuro... well he still wanted to smack the pineapple around. Mia had gotten better but she still experienced the occasional nightmare. He doesn't think he'll ever forgive Mukuro for what he did but he doesn't hate the guy, at least not as much as he used to.
Nicolas nodded at the van. "Alright everyone, lets load up."
Once they've set their bags, they filled the van. It was a twelve-seater and incredible comfy. The boys occupied the backseats, followed by the girls and Reborn, then the kids with Nana. Nicolas turned to them from the front.
"All good?" He was answered with a chorus of "Hai sensei!" Expression dry, he nodded to the driver and they were off.
One by one his friends and family went asleep, the drive proving to be really smooth. Tsuna could hear however the music playing from Mia's headset. From her reflection in the glass, she was deep in thought. When she noticed him staring through his reflection, she smiled.
Maybe this would actually be fun, he thought as he settled himself against his seat. And who knows? Maybe it'll be an amazing summer.
It was only sixteen hours later however that he would be eating those words.
Author's Notes:
1. First thing first, the age up. I adjusted their ages so I can have more freedom with more mature themes in the Future Arc. It will be a sequel and rating might be higher. There's a lot to cover but I'll handle that when I get there.
2. This will be the last Arc for SU. I've planned 12 chapters in total, including this and Rosy Skies. So there would be only ten left. Basically, the gang gets to go to Italy. Shenanigans ensue. I've had a lot of fun writing this. I'm sorry if it seems short but the next one would be a lot longer.
Also, I'd like to give a shout out to mintDesco for their wonderful fanart! Give it a look guys, they're great :)
mintdesco . tumblr post / 188802399786 / mia-matteis-an-oc-from-this-story-sunset
mintdesco . tumblr post / 189075845451 / sunset-hue-chapter-1-boy-meets-girl-a-katekyo
As FF still doesn't have the power to add links to the platform, kindly delete the spaces in between. Thanks for reading guys and see you all on the next chapter!