Clear to cloudy
Target 39: Kotsu and Primo
Kotsu wakes up the next day as there's some kind of commotion outside his room and someone yelling angrily which he assumes to be Tsugemora. He slowly sits up. "Tsugemora/Gokudera… stop yelling…" he says in unison with someone woke up on the floor next to him. They both look at each other and Kotsu almost jumps back as he sees Primo. "PRIMO!" He yells and Primo just smiles as he stretches.
"Good morning Kotsu. I see the commotion woke you up as well…" He says getting up. It's almost strange seeing the man who previously was in such formal dress be in nothing but his boxer shorts and a white tank-top… Kotsu slowly gets out of his bed as well quite confused and almost scared of doing something to displease the boss of the most powerful family in the world. They both get dressed in the exact same pattern. First switching boxers, then putting on a shirt, head first, then right arm in sleeve then left arm in sleeve and a few pats on it to make sure it fits well. Then pants, right leg first and pull the shirt out of the folds. Then socks in the same order. Then they go brush their teeth once more doing it in the exact same way, neither of them noticing that they're doing it. They both clean up and look themselves in the mirror as their hair has naturally set itself in the way it was the day before, oddly enough… they exit the room their stride also very much alike.
Outside Tsugemora is standing in front of Gokudera both glaring at each other. "Leave this to me kid, I'm Neo Primo-san's bodyguard!"
"And I'M Nii-san's bodyguard! I can protect Primo-san too if I have to!" They butt heads with Ren and Yamamoto standing to the side laughing nervously, as they look at the grown man fighting with the 30 year younger boy.
"Gokudera/Tsugemora… could you not do this so early…?" Both Kotsu and Primo say rubbing their eyes and both of the guardians stop fighting to smile warmly at the two of them.
"YESSIR!" They both say together then quickly give each other a glare, and both Kotsu and Primo find it a little funny seeing how much Tsugemora has to look up and Gokudera down in order to look into each other's eyes. The two leaders snicker a little. Primo has chosen a much more casual approach to dressing as he doesn't want to attract too much attention among the students. He's simply dressing in a white t-shirt with red short sleeves and ordinary blue jeans. However one thing that remains to make him stand out is the most insane ring Kotsu has ever seen. It has a big blue gem with an X over it saying vongola across it and two long flame-designs sticking out at both the top and bottom and it even has a little chain that is attached to a smaller more ordinary ring on his pinky.
They then note that there're a lot of people looking at them to see all the commotion. Primo casually waves at them. "I apologize for waking you all up…" He says before Gokudera leans close him.
"Actually you two overslept Primo-san," He says and Primo laughs a little before relaying the information to Kotsu.
"Seems we overslept Kotsu…" he says scratching the back of his neck and Kotsu falls back in disbelief. The, as far as he knows, most powerful man in the world and he oversleeps!? What kind of boss DOES that!?
"That's ridiculous!" Kotsu yells out of context.
Both Yamamoto and Ren shake their head. "Some things never change it seems…" they say in unison also before looking at each other laughing. "it's nice to see that Tsuna has not lost what's important for a boss to be successful…" the older of the two says.
Ren chuckles. "It seems whoever chose your generation ALSO had a good idea about that…"
As the girls in the crowd get a good look at Primo they all gush a little as his almost childish smile is quite handsome. "W-who IS that?!" One decides to ask and Gokudera is about get mad at them for not knowing of 'Neo Vongola Primo' When Primo just casually gives them a toothy grin taking quite a casual stance.
"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. I used to go to your school about 30 years ago… Thought I'd come back to check if it was still the same old school… these years WERE some of my most eventful after all," He says and Kotsu smiles a little. "Besides… I'm a distant relative of your friend here," He says gesturing to Kotsu. "So it was a perfect opportunity to come back when I heard about this field trip," He says patting Kotsu on the head and everyone looks stunned at Kotsu. Who knew he had such a cool-looking relative.
Primo talks to the students for a while answering all their questions and such, skillfully avoiding anything to do with his actual occupation. What's his job? Leader of a company. What does it produce? They're a company whose goal is to create peace in the world. So on and so forth. Kotsu gets a light punch in the shoulder from Fumie who smirks.
"I didn't know you had such an awesome uncle Kotsu-kun!" She says laughing happily.
Kotsu sighs slightly. Well neither did he… "Yeah… he's pretty cool. But… we've sadly got nothing in common…"
Fumie looks at him almost TOO seriously. "That's not true. You have the same eyes as him… kind eyes…" She says causing the young boy to blush faintly before looking away.
"T-thanks I guess…" He says gulping slightly as Primo just laughs apologetically pushing himself back a little.
"Alright alright. Please… no more questions. You're embarrassing me. I'm not used to getting much attention…" He says backing away and Reborn steps in front glaring at them.
"Get out into your groups. All of you," In an instant everyone is doing just that.
"Reborn-san… I think I want to spend a day with Kotsu is that's alright with you…" Primo says and Reborn just tsks as he leaves with Ren, Fumie and the others.
"Suit yourself No-good-Tsuna…" He says and Kotsu is quite curious as to what he might experience being alone with Primo for an extended period of time.
The two lock gazes for a second. "It's nice to finally meet you properly Kotsu…" He says smiling a very kind smile.
"Yeah… s-same to you… Primo-san…"
-NII-
The two take the subway to the place where Kotsu first met NM-5 and Zaccaria. Repairs are still being made there where Kotsu was bashed into the ground and where NM-5 hit things with his lasers. "From what I heard… this is where you first encountered your adversary Zaccaria correct?" Primo asks stepping out of the train and looking around at the damage. He has a sports-bag hanging off his shoulder.
"Y-yeah… I got quite easily beaten up by NM-5…" He says and Primo chuckles. "W-what's so funny!? I nearly gave up on winning after that!"
Primo looks at one of the holes which is blocked off with a 'do not cross' tape. "However it makes me happy that you took on the fight because it endangered your friends… if you must fight and lose, it's not a sign that you're weak. Or a sign that you should give up. It's a sign that you're human. We win and we lose and that's just something we need to live with. I can already tell you Kotsu… this will not be the only time you lose." He says chuckling a little as they exit the station. "I remember being defeated many times in fact. Even still there're people I cannot best in combat. Such as your older brother's teacher Hibari. Or Reborn…" He says getting the same face that Kotsu gets when he's annoyed thinking back to his losses.
"Wait… wasn't Hibari YOUR guardian!?"
"That's right… just because he's my guardian he can still be stronger than me… he still calls me herbivore too. But what about you Kotsu…? How are you holding up?"
Kotsu is a bit taken aback. He's not used to being asked how he feels since Reborn is pretty apathetic in that aspect. "I uhh… I'm doing better… I… don't know if I can win the ring conflict… but… I want to know something Primo… why do 'I' need to train when it's only my guardians that fight? That makes no sense,"
"That's pretty simple… each of you have six fights in total. Three against one of your opponents and three against the other. That makes nine fights total… which means you can end in a tie in multiple ways. But two of those will leave two or more winners. 4-4-1. And 3-3-3. Which means…?"
Kotsu catches on and gulps a little. "Which means that there will be a final match…"
"Exactly. And if I know anything about how this works out… you'll probably be one of the two winners,"
"W-why is that!?"
Primo winks at him as they enter the park where Kotsu unknowingly met Ywan. "That's classified until AFTER the ring conflict. Now… shall we?" He says taking out a baseball and two gloves. Kotsu is quite confused. He's never really done this before since his father left them.
"Um… sure…" He says catching a glove and Primo tosses the ball gently at him. "So um… why're we doing this?" he asks throwing it back.
"Well it's to my understanding that you've never really done this with your father as he left your mother while you where young… I've also never done this… so I thought I'd at least not let you be without a memory like this," He says tossing it back.
"I guess that's true…" He catches the ball and Primo smirks.
"Alright! Give me a hard one!" He says and Kotsu gulps a little as he's never really been a good thrower but he still needs to give it a shot since this is Primo asking for it. He winds up as best he knows and tosses it WAY over Primo's head. However it seems Primo hasn't really given up on catching it as he runs backwards to get it. "I got it! I got it!" He says before tripping over a bench he didn't notice running backwards making Kotsu pull a pained face as he watches the poor boss tumble back hurting himself like a klutz. However he sits up laughing his ass off having gotten some branches and leaves in his hair. A little boy's picked up their ball and he sees Primo get up and gesture for him to throw which he does.
"So um… I still don't get why you chose me…" Kotsu says slowly and Primo turns around catching the ball without looking.
"Why I chose you? You're still confused about that?" He says throwing the ball back. "Well that's simple… You're a lot like me…"
Kotsu blinks a little losing focus and doesn't quite catch the ball. "I'm… like you?" he asks picking the ball back up throwing it back.
"That's right. Is it really so hard to believe? Back when I was your age I was chosen by the external advisor, my father, to be the boss… but to become boss I had to defeat someone quite powerful. And now I have chosen you to do the same…" Primo says smiling happily almost.
Kotsu smiles a bit weakly. "Yeah… I don't know if I should be angry with you or thank you… you've put not just my life… but the life of my friends and brother in danger… but… you've given me an unbelievable opportunity in return… I guess when I put it like that it's unforgiveable…" He says tossing it back once more.
Primo can definitely see his point of view. Thanks to him all his guardians, most of which are ordinary civilians, are in danger but he simply smirks. "Believe it or not Kotsu… but my guardians were also civilians. But we made it through for one simple reason… we had some amazing people to train us. So you really shouldn't worry at all… as I said… you're like me. And I'm sure your guardians will risk everything to protect you… this isn't just an opportunity for you. It's a chance for you to make bonds no enemy can break, no matter how strong they may be…"
The two throw a little in silence getting a bit fancy with their throws here and there. Mostly ending in hilarious failure. In the end they both pack up and head down the street. "So from what I hear you have no hobbies to speak of…" Primo says and Kotsu finds himself laughing a little.
"Yeah… I guess I have hobbies now. Survive Cotton living with me. Try not to die when Tsugemora crashes into me. Live through Reborn's training… man… a lot of my hobbies are just surviving…" He says and Primo laughs lightly.
"Believe me I know the feeling Kotsu. I was in a similar situation when I was a candidate…" The two walk in silence for a little both wondering what on earth they both did to deserve such cruel treatment arriving at no real answers in the slightest. "You know… I'm curious Kotsu… when I was your age… that was when I started really paying attention to the girls in my school…"
Kotsu instantly catches on to what he's going to ask. "Oh… NONONO! Y-you know I'm um… I'm too indecisive… It's pretty embarrassing but… I could never make up my mind as to who I should have a crush on… so I decided not to bother…" He says rubbing the back of his neck.
"Really? What an odd thing to decide… it's not like one can control such emotions…" he says before letting on a slight smirk deciding to tease his protégé a little. "But you know…? The Vongola family needs a Miss Vongola! So you'd better make up your mind… from the looks of your circle of friends you have a few good options…!" he says smirking and Kotsu's face is flushed with a red tint.
"H-hey! T-that's none of your business!" He says but Primo just takes a very parental tone.
"Oh but it is! I'm retiring, but I STILL want the family I leave behind to be stable. So it's important to me indeed!" He says and Kotsu looks forward really annoyed.
"Yeah yeah… excuses excuses… but even then… I suck at talking to girls in that way… that's much more Ren's cup of tea… they just fall for him like dominos… because he's so handsome. And then there's 'Average at best' Kotsu…" He says in a hopeless tone and Primo just laughs.
"But you see Kotsu! That was my problem as well… but look…" He says pulling out a picture of his wife who's what one can only describe as incredibly beautiful. Long orange hair and pretty yellow eyes both on a gorgeous face and Kotsu blushes. "Yes… I DID meet her in middle school,"
"S-she's really pretty Primo… I hope a miracle happens and I find someone like that…" He says blushing as it seems a little improper to talk like that about someone's wife.
But Primo doesn't really mind. "Well you know… you DO have two girls whom you're on talking basis with isn't there?"
"Y-yeah? B-but that…"
"Fumie," Primo starts holding out his hand to count her pros. "She's outgoing. Kind. Very pretty. Sporty to keep you in shape. Strict to hold you in check if you start getting a little crazy. AND you've known her for a long time!" He says and Kotsu just crosses his arms annoyed.
"Yeah… but she likes Ren! No way I got a chance with her!" He starts and Primo just raises his eyebrow.
"Well then… that leaves Rinoka doesn't it? She's shy and cute. Inward. She has incredible manners. She's a careful girl who needs protection. It'll be a good motivation for you that she needs you to make her feel safe," He says smiling. Reborn DID tell him about the letter she wrote on Valentine that Kotsu never got to read, but it's best to keep that a secret for now…
"I… I guess… h-hey! Can we STOP talking about my non-existent love life!?" He says annoyed with the man.
Primo chuckles happily as they enter a shop to go and get something to eat. "my… what a casual tone you're taking with a person you regard as one of the strongest eh?" He says leading Kotsu to realize he almost forgot that Primo was… well… PRIMO! He was just so friendly and… kind of goofy that he forgot he's actually probably one of the top ten STRONGEST people in the world. After getting a little drink each, Kotsu a cola and Primo a… also a cola…?
"Shouldn't you drink like… coffee or something?" Kotsu asks with a raised eyebrow.
"I like cola. Nothing wrong with that Kotsu… now… I want to talk to you about something serious…" He says as they once more enter the park. Kotsu gets a little uneasy as Primo's face is a lot more serious now. "You think you can win the ring conflict if it comes to a one-on-one-on-one with Ywan and Zaccaria?" He says looking down at Kotsu with almost scarily serious eyes.
After gulping Kotsu takes a deep breath. "I… I'm not sure… I've… never seen Ywan fight… but… after seeing him attack Jute yesterday… I think I can beat him…" He says which honestly takes Primo by surprise. If that had been him at that age he'd have definitely thought it impossible to defeat. "As for Zaccaria… I think he's the stronger of the two… he talks so… seriously and he's pretty scary…"
Primo nods a little as they sit down on a bench. "I see… let me tell you a few tales Kotsu… about Ywan and Zaccaria…" He says and Kotsu tenses up a little.