ChApTeR tHrEe – What lies in front of the truth?

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own it


"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."
Oscar Wilde,The Importance of Being Earnest

"This…isn't happening" Tsuna gasped as he ran to the door. He had just gone through what was easily the worst night of his life only for his mother to not be his mother, for his grandfather to try and kill him! (Which he was still unsure about)….it was too much for his little mind to comprehend. So as any child his age or any cowardly person faced with such a dilemma, he ran. He planned to escape whatever twisted reality that presented itself to Tsuna, when he fell over his own thick comforter. Not even his grandfather helped him up. In fact, the two stood above him like menacing Gods, as though ready to decree divine punishment down on him.

"You're embarrassing yourself" his grandfather said as he sat down on the chair. Tsuna detangled his legs from the comforter but remained on the floor. "Do you wish to know the truth or not?" he asked as Nana stood beside him. This was his daughter, the feared Blue Angel* of the Matsuoka clan. (The last name bears no resemblance to any real people).

"The truth? What truth?" Tsuna half asked and half yelled. "That you tried to kill me?! That the woman standing next to you is NOT my mother?!" he shrieked. He could see the flash of hurt in his daughter's eyes and he patted her hand. I'll take care of this.

"There are many truths in this world, Tsunayoshi. The real question that I'm asking you right now, is do you wish to know the ones that we know?" he asked and Tsuna's eyes though filled with fear, narrowed a little with suspicion as well as intrigue.

"This is about your family" Tsuna said, making sure that they understood he wasn't part of whatever it was they were.

"Our family" his grandfather corrected him as he closed his hands over the head of his cane. "Your mother tells me that you like to read a lot, even books written in English" he said and Tsuna braced his back along the edge of his bed.

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked as his eyes glanced at the many books that lined his bookshelf.

"Have you ever read about the 'shinobi' that existed in our history?" he asked and Tsuna turned to him. "The elusive assassins that served in the shadows?" he followed up and Tsuna's stomach stirred with distress. He didn't like where this was heading.

"What do you mean like in that kids' show, the one where they can spew fire from their mouths or something? With that one orange kid in it?" Tsuna snorted and for the first time, he saw agitation in his grandfather's normally calm face.

"I'm not referring to that nonsense" his grandfather tersely said. (How dare you Pop pop?) He pursed his lips in a taut line. His grandson was better than they all thought. "I'm referring to real history. To real shinobi or Ninja if you would like to call them that" he added.

"And yet what you call real, some call myth" Tsuna retorted and he could see the tight smile on the man's face.

"Seems that the boy has a mouth on him, Nana" his grandfather said and his mother or rather the woman who looked like his mother but wasn't, chuckled.

"What does that have to do with what is going on right now….?" Tsuna said and his mouth snapped open. "No…" he whispered and his grandfather's smile turned sadistic.

"Before you make any assumptions or belt out any accusations, let me give a little lesson about the history of our clan, about the emergence of 'shinobi'"* his grandfather said as he leaned forward a little, ready to bring the founder of their clan to life through his tale.


During the Asuka era, there had been talk of a wandering ronin. A rumoured man who unlike most master less samurai, refused to throw away his pride by committing unlawful acts such as banditry or even murder. Some whispered that the man had travelled from Heian-kyo (Kyoto) others said that he came from Osaka to Iga. He was a man who lived by the sword, who served to protect those around him.

When he travelled to Iga, he had taken up work in one of the theatres, and had taken up the mask instead of his sword. But unknown to most, the man had been looking for someone in particular. Someone to help him with his revenge, for you see his master had been killed in front of him and in spite, the killer had allowed him to live. An unforgiveable act for a samurai, for a man. He had heard somewhere on his travels about a strange man, about a master of arts that were scarcely seen in the land, a Shina (no offense to all Chinese readers)* man whose strength revealed even the best samurai.

The desperation forced him to find the man, and when he did, he was not disappointed. Even before he could raise his sword, the man had already won the battle he had proposed himself. The man with a completely bald head, who preached the very spiritualism that had now started to filter in the land, was the very person he was looking for. The man, who had always been filled with pride, dropped to his knees and bowed his head. "I beg you….make me your apprentice!" he pleaded. The man who normally would not take anyone under his wing, found pity on the beseeching young man.

"Very well, young one" the man replied and he chuckled at the shock in his eyes. "But before I can teach you all that I know, are you willing to die first?" he asked.


Tsuna frowned. His grandfather had stopped speaking, and chose to study his face. "What do you mean die first?" he asked when his cursed curiosity won over him.

"What do you know about samurai?" his grandfather asked and Tsuna arched an eyebrow.

"They lived by the bushido" Tsuna replied and his grandfather nodded. He had asked many the same question but Tsuna was the first to say such a reply.

"Nana-chan, your son is brilliant" he said and Tsuna despite everything, blushed at the praise. Nana smirked, the pride glistening through her lethal eyes. "But you're right. They lived by the bushido. But what, my dear grandson is the bushido?" he asked.

"It was "the way of the warrior", the code of honour they should always keep until they died" Tsuna said and his grandfather nodded.

"Exactly. This bushido was ingrained in the young man who begged the master to teach him. What he didn't know was that what he wanted to learn, would go against everything he believed in as a samurai and that was why he had to die first" his grandfather said.

"You mean figuratively" Tsuna said and his grandfather nodded. He tried to wrap his mind around all of the information he had been provided, when he frowned. "But how did this master planned to kill off his 'samurai' self?" he asked.

"Through an initiation phase" his grandfather said and sweat dribbled down his brow. "There are three tests in this initiation phase" he continued as he stood up. He could see his grandson connecting the dots in his head as the white kabuki mask in his hand glowed in the light. "The first test was to examine the man's courage, the way through which the man could shed his weaker skin" he said as he dropped the mask on his grandson's lap. The boy squawked and threw the thing away from him as though it burned him.

"That…..when you threatened me on the street with Kyoko-chan…the daifuku…..the nightmare…it was a test….wasn't it?" Tsuna puffed and his grandfather nodded.

"The very first test of the initiation phase" his grandfather said as he looked down at the boy. "Which you passed by the way" he added with an upward curve of a smile.

"Do you think I care about that?!" Tsuna shouted as he shot up to his legs. His pupils wide blown with fear, clutching onto the strands of his hair as though trying to keep his sanity in check.

"When I approached you on the street that was to see if you would be able to sense my presence…." the grandfather said, approaching him while Tsuna scampered away. "….when I pushed my bloodlust onto you and you placed yourself in front of your female friend so as to protect her, I knew then that you would be ready for the second half of the first test" his grandfather finished.

"I don't want any part of this!" the ten year old shouted at the top of his lungs, uncaring that the people next door could hear him.

"Whether you like it or not, you're already part of this" Nana said and Tsuna covered his eyes as tears travelled down his cheeks.

"The second half of the first test had to do with the daifuku" his grandfather said to him as he picked up the discarded mask. "We….I placed a special herb in them. One that creates hallucinations" he told him.

"You…..drugged me?!" the boy cried out.

"In a matter of saying, yes" his grandfather said as he stood in front of the window before he drew back the curtains. The boy hissed as the sunlight flooded into the room. "Following in the footsteps of our founder, we made sure that all potential candidates had to undergo the three initiation tests. These tests would be challenges that when passed, would create a new sense of freedom and power for our kinsmen. It was designed from the start to test courage, so the initiates would discover who they really were. So that they would see what they really are capable of" the man explained but Tsuna didn't want to listen. He walked towards the boy and placed his hand on his hair. The boy flinched but allowed his grandfather's touch. "The herb was meant to challenge you. It was either you defeated whatever hallucination it wrought or you died" he added and Tsuna shuddered back.

"You mean….that herb or drug or whatever it is….could've killed me?" Tsuna whispered and Nana was the one who nodded.

"What did you see, Tsuna-kun?" Nana asked and Tsuna used his knuckles to wipe away the wetness from his cheeks. Images of the nightmare tried to squirm in his brain but he immediately shut them down.

"That mask thing, but it was wearing a white kimono. It tried to kill me and Teruko….it succeeded with father though" Tsuna whispered, agonizingly clasping his hair.

"I see" his grandfather said watching as the boy started to uncontrollably shiver when he looked up at them both.

"There's one thing I don't understand" Tsuna said but then stopped himself, afraid of the answer they were going to give him. "Seeing as I passed the first test….does that mean I have no other choice but to be a part of whatever this is?" he asked.

"You do have a choice" his grandfather said, as he found himself in front of the window again. He could see Iemitsu and Teruko walking down the street, already back from the market. "You can continue to the second test…" he paused, watching the happy faces of the ignorant man and little girl. He was a little remorseful that Tsuna would no longer be able to share such an idyllic life but he knew that Tsuna was meant for so much more. He was Matsuoka despite his last name of Sawada. The boy had proved that to them all. He was right in choosing Tsuna as his heir just as Nono chose Teruko as his. "….or we erase your memory of all of this" he finished and he could see that his daughter was surprised at his given ultimatum. It was usually along the lines of "You do the test or die". Tsuna sighed in relief but he could see that the boy was torn about his decision. "Nana-chan, they're back" he spoke to his daughter who nodded. She knew the true meaning of such a sentence. Give us a little more time.

"See you downstairs, Tsuna-kun" Nana whispered and Tsuna watched as his 'Mama' returned to them once more.

"Wait!" he shouted and the woman smiled at him with a gentle face. "Does he know about this?" he asked.

"There is no reason for Iemitsu-kun to know" Nana said to him and Tsuna looked away. He could hear the underlying threat in her words. "Their world is different from our own" she added.

"Are you really my Mama?" he asked and he was right to. This woman was different from the mother he grew up with, the one who nursed him when he was just a babe, the one who held him when he had nightmares or when he couldn't sleep because of thunderstorms, or bandaged his wounds when the bullies ganged up on him. Nana bent down to place a kiss on his forehead.

"Of course I am, Tsuna-kun~" Nana hummed and twirled out of the room. Tsuna who didn't want to believe any of it, buried his face on his knees.

"Now that you know some truth of our world, what do you plan to do, Tsuna-kun?" his grandfather asked.

"I…..don't know" he rasped. His grandfather understood how devastating it was for such a young boy.

"Let me ask you one thing, Tsuna-kun. When you defeated whatever it is you saw, how did you feel?" he asked, and Tsuna tiredly rolled his eyes.

"I felt relieved….and a little happy" Tsuna confessed and his grandfather chuckled.

"Do you think you would find that same happiness if you remained as is?" he asked and when Tsuna couldn't answer him, he took that as his cue to leave. "We'll be waiting for your answer by this evening" he said before he left. The boy would need time to think about the decision he had to make.


*I'm actually thinking of the Blue Dragon the sea slug that is often referred to as the Blue Angel of the Sea or something like that. It's quite beautiful but deadly.

*I would like to say that all the 'history' mentioned in this fanfic was based on half-truth lies and such, it's not real…it's fantasy. So please….if you see any inconsistencies, ignore them.

*Shina (word) used in history to refer to Chinese people. Went out of disuse after the Second World War, is seen as derogatory term now.