Coalesce
•••
They had grown old without him.
Nana's hands are more calloused, the skin not as firm as it once was and the veins on the back of them are more prominent under his kisses. Her face has more wrinkles when she giggles cutely at his galant greeting, just as enamored with his words as when they were young, despite so many years of only phone calls and money deposits in her bank account. She leans into him, and he can see the makeup covering dark circles, the smooth hair wispy with few silver strands amongst the strawberry blonde he loves. Her body is fuller and she looks so much older and different – in a beautiful way, one that he craves just as much, if not more than when he was younger. Nana is soft and creamy against his rock-hard body, full of scars she traces with distant eyes and a knowing touch the night he arrived.
The house is worn down, with nothing of that fresh new scent or clean-looking walls and floor from when they first bought it. The garden is greener, and less artificial with the grass fully grown and the two trees he had bought all those years back are now tall and strong, roots so deep into the earth he worries about the foundation of the house in the future. The dinner table is much bigger than he remembered, newer and sturdier. The kitchen is full of food and snacks ready for the dozens of children that come and go during the day. Toys are spread around the warm home. There are so many pairs of shoes in the entrance, his wife had bought two more cabinets. The living room is amiss, the walls covered with photos that tell the story of a long journey that didn't include him.
Familiar faces stared back at him in the photos hanging on the wall, but they weren't the ones he should know so well. His family is now strangers in his life. His little girl has grown beautiful and strong, while his boy stands taller and his wife grows older (grows happier) without him. They changed, and then Reborn appeared and that was the only thing he directly recognized. Yamamoto. Gokudera. Lambo. Fuuta. Bianchi. I-Pin. Fon.
(There are Arcobalenos following his child around and he doesn't. Know. WHY.)
One year and a half worth of memories, and the only ones Iemitsu recognized there were the ones he shouldn't. There were selfies taken by Tsuna, and many others where he didn't appear but little Dany or his glowing wife did, and through these pieces of paper, Iemitsu discovers Tsuna enjoys photography. Dany held many trophies and medals, many awarding ceremonies that tell him of the intellectual talent she holds. His wife has many photos relaxing in the sun, in a summer little inflatable pool in their garden.
Iemitsu found out more about his family in those photographs — the ones you had to burn when Nana sent to you — than he did in all those reports.
Tsuna looks at him with disgust. Their Flames clash and fight and bite and something inside Iemitsu, behind the pride and the arrogance and the bitterness, weeps in the tragedy that is his relationship with his precious son. He couldn't protect Tsuna before when he was robbed away from his soul, and now the boy doesn't remember him in the slightest other than a terrible parent figure. He first arrives from the hospital with his sister on his back (and since when has his Tsu-chan has been so strong as to walk such a distance with their little burden on his back?) and Iemitsu, the coward he is, can't even face him. He tries to do something —anything! Tsuna! Listen to me! Look at me! DON'T HATE ME, PLEASE! —with his son, take him out to fish, talk to him, but Tsuna hates—
He grabs another beer and gulps it down.
Dany is easier. Dany has always been easier. Dany — Daughter, Daniela, Master, Mother in all but blood, — loves him regardless. She always calls him 'father'. She is always curious about him. She doesn't care he is away and that he lies and lies and lies. The only thing she asks for is love. She doesn't even asks for it, just gives her love and he can't help but give it back in whatever way he can. It's like being loved back is this…foreign concept for her. Like something rare that should be treasured with all of her might. Her unshakable faith in his love and loyalty is addicting, truly. Every time Iemitsu thinks he understands it, the world shows him that he is wrong and that Dany's ability to be unwavering in her love is something to protect and hold dear. It's not to be tainted by blood like he is. So, he promises to himself, if anything, she should never have to know a loveless life.
That's why he's the stranger in their lives. So that they can love freely, without any kind of worry. They are protected. They are fine without him.
They were fine without him, and then Nono had to make Tsunayoshi the heir.
He asks his dear wife for another beer and stares at the wall full of the most recent photographs with blank eyes. Nana puts the bottles on the low desk, one hand falling on his muscled shoulder and squeezing softly before she moves back into the kitchen. He takes another big gulp.
And then that bastard had the audacity to take it back and bring Xanxus to his family.
•••
Tsuna wants to take the ring off his neck and launch it into the sun. Would Lambo's Bazooka work like that? He bets they could make it do with half the crazy shit the crazy mafia people around here are up to daily.
He wants to rage and cry and call everyone crazy. He wants to scream in their face that it is simply not happening. Tsunayoshi Sawada will absolutely not be part of – much less so lead the greatest group in organized crime!
Gokudera and Yamamoto show off their rings with serious faces, something like battle lust in their eyes, bodies tense and prepared to fight for him. It makes him want to cry seriously. They are kids! They shouldn't have to deal with this!
"WHY?" He gasps out, gripping his hair dizzy in confusion. "Why do you guys have these rings too?!"
"Because they were chosen." Reborn's squeaky voice replies behind him. The three of them turn to face both the assassin and Dino Cavallone as they approach the group. Reborn sits on the windowsill of one of the hospital's rooms and explains with a calm that Tsuna envies. "There's a total of seven Vongola rings, and when seven members of the family are in possession of them, they fill a purpose."
Reborn pauses and Tsuna is sure they would usually settle for such a vague explanation, but his next words surprise even the mafia boss standing beside him. "For the common masses, the holders of such rings are the chosen bodyguards of the Vongola boss, the inner cycle to a mafioso godfather." He tilts his fedora down, and waits a dramatic second before nodding resolutely and staring down at Tsuna. "But that is not the truth."
Dino gasps and snaps his eyes toward Reborn. "Reborn, you can't possibly–"
The Cavallone boss doesn't finish his interruption before Reborn's very real (and very scary) gun is put directly to his face. Tsuna knows (he just knows!) that this time the gun is for real and Reborn will very likely shoot if Dino doesn't shut up exactly now!
"HIIEEE! WHY ARE YOU POINTING GUNS AT OUR FRIENDS?" In an instant, Tsuna tackles Dino away and puts his own face where the guy's dumbfounded one was previously. He is shaking at the sight of the nuzzle so close to him, but he knows that he is also the only one in the whole building that Reborn will absolutely not kill for real.
Reborn stares back at him with absolute serenity and lowers his gun. "Tsuna," and the boy gulps, something in him saying that this is the very first time that Reborn is facing him as somewhat of an equal. What the hell does Tsuna have that could ever be a threat to Reborn?! He doesn't want it! " What do you think it means to be the holder of the Vongola Sky ring?"
Black eyes turn toward the other two kids. Gokudera and Yamamoto step back at the sheer weight of the abyss that stares at them. Tsuna doesn't hesitate to stand between his friends and his tutor. "REBORN! Hieee, what is wrong with you, y-you've never acted like this? What the hell brought this up?"
The baby stares at him and never looks away as he turns his words toward Gokudera. "Gokudera, do you know what it means to be a Guardian?"
Before his friend even responds, the answer instinctively comes out of Tsuna quicker than anyone expected because everyone is suddenly looking at him in a new light. I'm not that stupid, he thinks, even though he has no idea why he says the words.
"That's just what you are to Dany, isn't it?"
Dino sputters out a string of curses and Gokudera shrieks in confusion while his tutor just looks at him with a tilt to his head, a small smirk grows on his mouth as he nods. A small hand goes up to lower his fedora over his face.
"Saa, I shouldn't underestimate Daniela's older brother." The Greatest Hitman in their world looks up at them with a fire in his eyes. "Tsuna. Yamamoto. Gokudera. Sasagawa." They snap at attention even as Tsuna turns on his feet with a yelp, seeing his sempai stand beside his friends with a confused but eager look on his face. He shrieks again when Reborn kicks him down. "Pay attention. Today, in preparation for the battle against the Varia…" Tsuna scrambles to his feet with Gokedera's help, one hand massaging the back of his head where the baby had just kicked him.
"I'll tell you about the truth of this world, and the power of Hadou, the Wave energy that resides within bodies and souls and transforms Wills into Flames, and what these rings truly mean for the Vongola."
Tsuna's eyebrow ticks in annoyance. Don't tell me the mafia has magic too…
•••
"Tell Kyouya Hibari the truth about the Cloud Vongola Ring, just as I did now."
Those had been Reborn's direct orders after they had that little chat (Reborn had gone crazy?) but Dino Cavallone wonders how this could be helpful in making Tsuna actually accept being the holder of these rings.
Dino breathes out, breathes in. He tries to stop his hands from shaking. The answer is very much obvious.
("That's just what you are to Dany, isn't it?")
He hadn't even seen the barrel of the gun when Reborn had turned to him. The threat had been real. It had been the very first time his ex-tutor turned killing intent onto him. His eyes at that time were of a desperate man.
"..." Dino stares at the polished floor of Nanimori Middle's reception room. He closes them when he finally finds the courage to face the truth. "No," he whispers, and Romario doesn't move beside him.
Those had been the eyes of a desperate Guardian.
Is an Arcobaleno actually Bonded? How could this have happened? What does that make Vongola now? What does that mean for their world? Reborn was the Unattached Sun, the Dutiful Sun, forever roaming the underground world, and now he was attached, Bonded, to a Vongola civilian of all people?
Dino snapped his eyes up to the door standing between him and a bigger job than he expected. Reborn telling the kids about the truth of the mafia; about the bonds, about what they mean, and how that would reflect onto their capabilities and responsibilities within the Mafia World had not been what they had agreed on…They should have kept it simple. Seven rings for seven Vongola members, six of which were chosen to protect the boss.
Dino smirks bitterly, opening the door as he remembers Reborn's desperate and resolute face.
But now, he guesses, the Greatest of them all had a reason to put Tsuna on the throne, and for making the boy actually want to be there.
•••
"Dany, I am the heir to a magical crime organization, there's a battle for the title of Vongola Decimo and Reborn won't let me refuse my claim, and I want you to help me make a plan where we can successfully run away from this madness."
Dany blinks at her aniki, baffled and endeared as he sits in seiza on the floor in front of her. Previously to this random request, Tsuna had requested to have lunch with her on the rooftop, just the two of them as it used to be, and had been sullen and silent the whole time. She had decided then to show off her new penguin photos and had been cooing softly as she showed each one of the gifts their father had given her.
Now, she finally had found the root of his uncharacteristic quietness.
"Aa," she nods sagely, carefully piling up her photos and putting them inside her skirt pocket.
"And you know this, of course," Tsuna squints at her, his doe eyes, little frown, and pout making him all the more adorable. She holds back a smile and gazes at him serenely, silent encouragement in her eyes as she patiently waits for him to catch up. "Because Reborn is your Guardian, and that's 'guardian' with a capital G because it's a magical connection to you that basically means that Reborn is never moving out of our lives. Of course, this also means that he doesn't spell random bullshit to you, but actually explains stuff so it makes sense for you and you don't go around like a headless chicken." Her mouth twitches a little at that, nodding in a sheepish acquaintance at the untold truth that, if Reborn were to forever be in her life, then he would never leave Tsuna behind. "There can only ever be one Guardian to each Element for one Sky, it's a very rare thing when there is more than one, and those are usually twins or something like soulmates cause–"
"They share the same Wave energy, yes, Tsuna, I understand."
"WELL, that's fantastic because I certainly don't!" With that, he throws his hands up in desperation, wide eyes back into their usual scaredy cat look. "This makes absolutely no sense! Not only will I do crime, but also magic? And to my friends? I have NEVER had friends in all my life and now that I do we somehow have a magical friendship that involves fire somehow? Also, shouldn't the mafia be about, I don't know; drugs, weapons, or corruption? OR ALL OF THOSE TOGETHER? Why, suddenly, there's this Guardian, succession, and ring bullshit? I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME FIGHTING PEOPLE IN UNDERWEAR! What the fuck is going on and why is everybody so insistent that I be the successor? I don't get it!" Tsuna stands up, something especially honest in his desperation.
Dany looks at him, looks at the way his hands shake and how his mouth runs wild. It dawns on her that Reborn doesn't let him digest everything that happens to him. Reborn has coddled her since he entered their lives; had answered all of her questions, given her time and patience, and support that he didn't care to afford her brother. This leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.
I'm sorry, Tsuna, she looks down at her lap, cradling her soft hands there and biting on her lip. I've been a bad sister.
"Ah, Dany, don't make that face!" Tsuna roughly grabs her face cradling her between his two hands as he throws himself back into seiza and makes her look into his eyes. They are beautiful caramel, soft and wielding to their familial bond, and it makes her nuzzle into his hold as something in her relaxes. "It's not your fault, It's not my fault either. It's not even Reborn's fault! It's Vongola! Vongola Nono declared me heir and now there's another crazy dude who actually wants to step up as boss, and there's no possible way that they will leave us alone even if I don't become Decimo, especially because now you are Reborn, Fuuta and Fon's Sky, right?"
She reluctantly nods but doesn't say anything, just lets him talk to his heart's content and watches closely to see what exactly he wants out of this conversation.
It's not something people often do for her brother, so she'll be the one to step up and be there for him.
"Everything that is happening, it's all due to things that are out of our control, and now–" Tsuna looks down, his features twisting in a thoughtful frown that she pays close attention to. "And now we are tangled in this strange world's game, and there's so much we don't know. There's so much we can't do! How can I expect to win this battle? How can I lead these people? I don't want to be part of this kind of world. I am not a criminal, and I'm a terrible Sky, I bet, and–"
Grim silence falls over them, and it pains Dany to see her brother finally put words to the terrible situation their small family is in.
"I'm so lost, Dany," Tsuna whispers.
It breaks her.
"If you truly do not desire this crown," she stops, gulping down the chilling fear that tingles down her spine. Taking a deep breath and gripping tight to Tsuna's thin wrists, Dany scoots closer and lays her forehead against her brother's. She breathes in and breathes out a wisp of Sky Flame. It disperses between them, and Dany closes her eyes so the words come out easier. "I will take your place."
The words feel like both shackle and freedom, something in them similar to a dying will of a past life.
They make Tsuna's grip on her even tighter.
Now that she put this out, she can't take it back. The conqueror in her won't let her do it.
"You will put forth your denial of succession, and I'll stand beside you as the next in line. My Guardians are suitable for this position, even though my body is not," The image solidifies in her mind, plans and contingencies forming like a storm. "I have Fon and Reborn as my fighting Guardians currently, mayhaps we can inquire for enough time with Nono as regent to prepare Fuuta and find me a complete set? Another sudden succession change should give us enough time to figure out something while they deal with the bureaucracy. My academic performance should be enough to sustain me in the position as long as I secure it, and the fact that I have two Arcobaleno as Guardians should give me enough political sway within their circles, and enough power if I survive the clash against Varia. And if not…"
She opens her eyes to look into Tsuna's wide eyes and pale face.
She had married a man she had never met for a brother she never truly loved.
For Tsuna? She'd marry a thousand more, and die twice those times.
She smiles gently, resolutely, "If not, I will still try so that you can have your freedom, onii-chan."
Tsuna cries. He cries silently, none of his usual weeping or screaming. He pulls her closer, cradles her face to his chest and she closes her eyes and listens to his heartbeat wildly. He pulls her to his lap, curls over her tiny body, and hugs her close. Dany buries herself in him, the same as he does in her, taking a deep breath into her hair. She still uses the same baby shampoo as when she was a baby.
This makes him cry harder.
•••
Tsuna will not think about it.
Tsuna will not think about it.
Tsu na wi ll no t thi nk a bou t it.
.
.
.
(Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never.)
•••
"So all your Bonds until now have been of this Instinct Aspect?" Tsuna holds tight to Dany's hand and scowls heavily at Reborn, who accompanies them a few steps behind. Today, Tsuna doesn't want to see that bastard baby one step near his sister.
"Of course not, only those that are closest to Guardian."
Tsuna frowns, thinking hard as he turns his sole attention back to Dany. His hold on her tightens and when she smiles at him, he feels warmer and it shows in his own grin. "Because you can have Bonds that are not Guardian Bonds, and they have their own Aspects."
"Aa," Dany agrees absent-mindedly. "It is rare to have even one Bond starting as an Instinct one – to have had five of those is especially surprising. It should be the reason why most of them are all Guardians. I've always been Flame active, just as you before Nono sealed your flames, and maybe that is the reason, even though I had never known about them before Reborn and Fon." She smiles at him mischievously. "Maybe if the old man had not dared to gamble with your Flames, you'd be just as sensitive to Flames as me."
"Aah, now that I understand this, it makes me really confused." Tsuna frowns. Thinking back to her words while they gossiped about Nono. "I mean, what's this about protecting me by sealing? Skies are about Harmony and all that stuff right? So wouldn't sealing me make it harder for me to 'Harmonize'? Like, maybe like how you were prematurely born and then had not developed well, so now you are more sick." Dany said she had five Instinct Bonds currently active, but not all of them were Guardians. There's Reborn (the bastard) and Fon (the not-so-bastard), whom he knew for sure. "Is Fuuta one of your Instinct Bonds?"
"No, he isn't." Then who are the other three? His sister hums quietly, one finger tapping her chin in thought while she swung their joined hands. "And that makes sense, I think. It quite fits the Flame theory that I know of. It may be the reason why you have difficulty in social environments for so long too. I could not imagine how I'd be without the warmth of my Flame while also having to endure this fragile body. Fon said I was sustained by my own Flames and my strong Bonds with you and Mama as I grew, and if I had been sealed I would most likely have died off already."
"Hieee, don't even say that! No one will ever seal your Flames, Dany! I promise!" Tsuna shudders. "Anyways, that makes our bonds of the Sentiment Aspect, right?"
"Hmm, according to Fuuta, most of all familial Bonds start with Circumstance and either degrade into Duty or upgrade to Sentiment. Of course, such classifications only apply to Flame Active users such as us and Papa. Connections to non-active ones such as Mama are special but mostly Sentimental in a one-sided way for the Flame user."
"That doesn't seem fair," he whined, feeling sorry for his poor mom. Then it clicks and he freezes midstep and snaps his eyes to her. "P-papa?"
Dany stops and looks at him gravely. "Yes, Papa."
"Daniela," Tsuna jumps at the warning in Reborn's voice, but Dany frowns heavily at the baby and that seems to put a stop to his tirade.
"I don't understand why all of you make such a mystery of who is behind this mess." Daniele, brave and inspiring Dany, lets go of his hand and turns to face her Guardian. For the first time ever, she stands for Tsuna against the baby and points an accusing finger at Reborn. "This is our lives, Reborn, and not a game. I will not have you, or anyone else, make a fool out of my brother. Our Papa has thought as much of us for too long, and now we are being hunted by assassins for a claim to what may as well be his crown."
Again with the crown thing, this is not a kingdom! Tsuna doesn't let that out though because his sister is giving Reborn a tongue lashing and he must show a united front in solidarity!
His sister stands tall and glares at his tutor with such ferocity Tsuna yelps. Reborn looks at her as if she hangs the sun. So this is the Guardian Bond…
"This is an order, Reborn. You will not let Tsuna fail! And for that, I need you to stop treating him as if he needs to know only the basics and what you deem enough." She narrows her eyes and crosses her arms, one challenging eyebrow rising as she looks down her nose at him. Scary… "Are you training a mere figurehead that can't make one decision for himself or a Vongola king?"
Reborn's black eyes glint dangerously at the challenge, and Tsuna fears for his future as the baby smirks. What's this about kings now? WE ARE NOT A MONARCHY!
•••
Reborn eyes the heir to Vongola as he wakes up on his own makes a bag with training clothes and then sets out to the bathroom to take a shower and prep for school. The house has already awakened and he can hear the lively voices of the family in the rooms nearby and downstairs.
The warmth of his Sky settles in his heart and calms his distress that never seems to drop since the Half Vongola Rings appeared in town.
It's been three days since Tsuna vehemently denied his claim to the rings, and Reborn can't shake away the bad feeling in his gut that says that this does not count as a victory.
Tsuna has a tendency to ignore things, bottle them up and make a problem of what is not a problem. Tsuna needs time they don't have to digest things, think them through and see that his own feelings align with his logic. Usually, Reborn would have more patience and would give him just enough so that everything would be simpler for the boy to go ahead with what he needs to do.
And he had settled for that tactic; until the Half Vongola Rings.
Because; if there is a dividing decision on the succession, this means that Tsunayoshi Sawada can, at any time, concede his right to another of his line.
The Rings being the way they meant that Vongola Nono and the External Advisor are at odds, and Reborn knows that Iemitsu is backing up his own blood (that dog would support his blood for the Vongola throne, obviously), which then only leaves one option.
Nono is supporting Xanxus' claim, and if that is the case, why would he send Reborn all the way here?
Tsuna returns to their room just then, and Reborn remembers Dany's orders.
That girl would truly be a beast of a boss…
Sighing, Reborn straightens himself and hopes that Tsuna does not disappoint them all by going the cowardly route.
"Dame-Tsuna, if we are going to this as Dany told you, I need you to know something."
The boy stops by the bed, a seriousness to his face that he rarely sees. He's eerily still, like prey under the predator's gaze. But his eyes are not that one of prey.
"Your father was the one who backed up your claim as Vongola Decimo, and Nono personally to me as being your tutor. All of this had no mention of a battle for succession, and yet," his eyes narrowed down to the Vongola ring hanging on the boy's neck. "But if the Vongola rings are divided, that means the External Advisor and the Nono have different opinions about who should be Decimo and that is…strange."
Tsuna doesn't say anything, but Reborn sees how his hands curl into tight fists.
"Currently, there are only three possible candidates for Decimo, but one of them had been out of the picture for far too long, and was at odds with Nono even before that. Xanxus has never been the favorite heir, and I don't see that changing so suddenly."
There, he thinks. He has given a bone, now he will see what the boy will do with it.
"That useless dad of mine…" the boy starts, voice low and insecure as he pulls the training bag onto his shoulder. "Why hasn't he said anything?"
Orange eyes meet Reborn's own black ones and the bay holds back the smirk. Tsuna really is a surprising brat, isn't he?
Dany asked him to be honest, so that's exactly what he will be.
"Because you didn't want to know about it, and would do nothing about it either. So I decided that it was something you didn't need to know."
The boy grinds his jaw and actually takes one step forward, one fist rising and actually sparking Hyper Dying Will Flames for a second. Reborn's heart actually beats a bit faster in excitement. Oh, full of surprises today.
It's only for a second tho, and the boy turns on his feet and runs out of the room.
Sighing, Reborn looks out the window at the sky above. "I hope you're not wrong about him, Daniela."
•••
Bianchi looks at the small slip of a girl through narrowed eyes. The Sawada family is reunited in their backyard, the only ones missing being Reborn and the Vongola Decimo candidate. Iemitsu, the Young Lion of Vongola, plays carelessly with the children, ignorant of the narrowed gaze of the Storm Arcobaleno sitting by the porch overlooking the small backyard. A feat Bianchi wasn't sure how to accomplish because no one ignores something as piercing as an Arcobaleno's glower.
The kids are running around the blonde girl as she is lifted over her father's shoulders, laughing freely as the man runs from the screaming brats. The sun makes her hair look silver-gold, with her blond waves lifted by the wind and bouncing with the constant running of the girl's father. Her eyes, so soulful and clear, were amethysts that glinted with a hidden power Bianchi, as a woman, could acknowledge.
But even though the beauty of her most obvious features, Bianchi could see the hold of sickness over her. Daniela Sawada has very fragile health — it was in the way she couldn't run because of her skinny, weak, legs. The way her skin was always a shade too pale, or her muscles a bit too frail. The way her voice was a little breathy, and her breath had a constant scent that reminded Bianchi of the various flasks of drugs and medicines all over the house. The way her diet was perfectly measured by her mother, and the way no one really let her alone.
The girl has no chance to live for long — yet the whole of her family looks at her with such fondness, despair, and hope it made Bianchi sick.
It made her sick and disgusted, because couldn't they see?
Daniela will die.
Pursing her lips, Bianchi remembers her first day in the Sawada family house. When she met the Sun Arcobaleno, her dear Reborn, under the night sky upon the house's roof. She remembers the feel of his gun pressing to her temple with her first words regarding the girl. The cold pit of his gaze as he rendered all her abilities and power as a professional assassin useless.
("What do I think of the girl? It's obvious Reborn — their hope is useless, the girl is too sick and will be soon dead and useless.")
Her previous words were harsh and perhaps bitter from a civilian's perspective, but it was the truth of their world. Reborn knew that knew of the bitter way of their lives and how they couldn't, shouldn't afford the optimistic way of a civilian's life — and yet, the barrel of his gun was firmly pressed to her temple as soon as those words had left her lips. His presence pressed her down and his killing intent completely focused on her in a way that made her own heart almost come to a stop. She had coughed and pressed her hands around her neck in a blind hope for air, laying on the ground, forced into it by the sheer pressure of the baby's power.
Reborn had not spoken, not uttered any kind of threats — only stared at her with a black gaze that seemed to swallow her whole. He then flipped, small feet lightly landing on the roof tiles while he hid his face under his fedora, turning around and entering the house once more.
Bianchi took almost the entire night to go back to normal. She spent the night kneeling on the roof, breathing harshly and almost crying in pure fright at the way she almost lost her life — at the hands of her beloved and with no known reasons so far!
Shivering, Bianchi focus back on the present. She watched the kids play with one of the Mafia's most feared operatives, all the while trying to ignore the hard gaze of another Arcobaleno who also seemed to have a strange thing for the sick girl.
(Bianchi fears — such an immense attractive trait the girl has. It is a characteristic of a Sky. But the father and the brother were two confirmed Skies already — to have one more would be pushing.)
Daniela Sawada is, without any doubt, one of the most charismatic human beings Bianchi had ever met.
Even when the girl had been almost dropping dead to the floor just because she wasn't sleeping well, she was a cute girl and good company to be around. In no way the girl ever made Bianchi or even her little brother, Hayato, feel unwanted. She was like a beacon of sunlight and acceptance and Bianchi feels for her.
She feels for the small slip of a girl who could never truly open her wings and fly — because she was too damn fragile.
She would never see her true potential.
But Bianchi is a hardened woman — she is an assassin of the Mafia and so, it's with little effort that she ignores the girl's imminent death and moves on. She will deal with it as it comes.
•••
Tsuna wants to snatch his mom and sister away and run as fast as he could. They'd paint their hair and use contact lenses and become hippies and live in the jungle. They could become pirates — no, that's bad and dangerous. They could become a family of janitors. Working to clean buildings and passing down perfect cleaning technics in Canada. Maybe they could become nomads and live in Mexico or something; just anything to be as far away from mafia as possible.
Gulping, he looks at the other side of the clearing where the Italian boy, Basil, stands with freaking blue fire on his head and glowing blue eyes. Those are Rain Flames, his Intuition says.
"I request a match." The dude got some pills in his mouth and suddenly he is bursting fire.
Tsuna is not dressed enough for this kind of shit.
Do I have to knock this guy out?!
Dany would be pissed at him if he hurt the boy. She also would not like to be informed of the dude eating weird pills. Probably would say something about it messing up with his medicine.
"W-wait!" The dude crouched down, fists raised and stance ready to pounce on him at any moment. "H-HOLD UP!" And the guy punched him so hard, he was thrown across the field and into the cliffside. His back hit the wall and he gasped out in pain before falling face-first on the grass. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!
Bitterness swells up, rage clouds his mind for just a fraction of a second while he's on the ground. This boy comes around out of nowhere to punch him and fight him. He doesn't even listen when Tsuna asks him to stop! Tsuna doesn't even know him! Something unfamiliar unravels inside him. The desire to fight back is impossible to ignore. It's a scream of furious anger inside his chest. He wants to defeat this guy. He wants to fucking trash him to the ground because hell yeah, he can.
But no. He's Dame-Tsuna. He's weak. He's stupid. He's normal Tsuna, who can't fight and refuses to fight this strange boy and anyone else.
I want to go home, it's the lie he uses to bury the desire to fight back deep inside him.
Dany would fight back, his traitorous mind tells him. He looks at the boy and thinks of her facing off against him.
Against anyone really.
(Tsuna will not think about it.)
Tsuna sits back and he swears and curses fucking Reborn and fucking mafia, deaf to the pair looking at him and speaking about how he would've passed out if not for his first training. It makes him angry. He should never need to tolerate so much pain. He should be at home with his family, preferably running away to Uruguay, not training to fight fully-fledged, professional, mafia assassins. Tsuna would've preferred to pass out in pain, and he tells that to Reborn.
Of course, his tutor's answer is to shoot him in the head.
Fire blossoms up all around. He is burning. He is dying. He's dead.
No.
He will die, but not before…
"REBORN! I'LL DEFEAT YOU EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!"
•••
Silence.
Her dreams are…darkness.
It's too dark.
Too cold.
"Mukuro!"
She can't see.
Under her feet, snow crunches.
The moon is high.
And blue glares follow her.
"Mukuro!"
Blood. Rot. Death.
"Mukuro!"
Something grabs her from behind. She falls on the snow.
In the distance, an owl rooted and a lion roared.
"Mukuro!"
The snow becomes a lake, freezing, frigid. Ice cold.
She drowns.
She looks up and the moon is high in the sky, distant as the darkness is washed away by the orange light of dawn.
They drag her, pull her, tore her apart with teeth and hunger.
And then, a dolphin passes by her and she reaches her hand to it, barely grabbing its fin as a tentacle wraps around her midsection.
She reaches the surface, breathing once more.
•••
Resentment grows as the days pass. She feels anger towards him now, frustration for his disappearance. But even as she rages in her mind, even as she cries for him in her nightmares, worry still nags deep in her gut.
She wants to rage at the world. She wants to rage at him.
(She wants him back.)
But Dany can do nothing. She can't contact him and she can't speak about him without raising some alarm bells from her Guardians.
To distract herself, she agrees to accompany the children to the park with Miura and Sasagawa. This night, something dark lurks in her mind, nagging her to stay, to grab Lambo, I-Pin, and Fuuta, and stay at home. But they want to play and she needs to go out. Fon is buzzing softly in her heart, close to Reborn. Today Tsuna would enter his final training stage and Fon was there to watch.
Mama warns them to come back early for a special dinner and Papa hugs her tightly before letting her go. Their caring nature brings a smile to her lips and a spring to her steps, and she grabs Fuuta's hand, swinging it between them as they follow Miura and Sasagawa out.
They first head to the train station and then head to the nearest shopping mall. They grab candies that make Dany's mouth water, and she's even allowed to get ice cream! Fuuta gets the same as she and I-Pin grabs a strawberry one. They even exchange flavors to see how the other's treat tasted! Lambo cries because he wants more candy but Miura manages to drag him away to Fuuta's relief. They enter the arcade with far too much giddiness, giggling, and running around. Dany uses all the money Papa had given her and it makes her feel a bit guilty afterward, but she has had so much fun, she didn't think Papa would mind.
Finally, it is time to return home for dinner. It all goes well — until Lambo loses his horn at the train station near home and they get separated from the girls, ending up walking home alone, in the dark.
The feeling of dread she felt earlier returns tenfold and spikes when she feels Reborn and Fon's sudden panic through their bonds.
Their panic is all-consuming, and she freezes midstride, I-Pin almost falling onto her face as the guide tying them both together tugs her back. Fuuta is immediately at her side, worried as he senses her own answering fear. Dany looks around them, and her eyes are soon attracted to the treeline looming over them.
They're on a low street between a residential district and the Nanimori forest. To their right is a house's wall, and to the other walled mural, sunken down into the ground as the florist floor rises high over them. They have no way out. They can only go back to the station, go into the forest or continue ahead into the district.
There's no way out, her mind screams.
"Fuuta…" Her violet eyes scam rapidly around them as she tightens her hold on the leash tying her to I-Pin. Fuuta does the same to the one tying him and Lambo together. "Who are the people most likely to attack us at this moment? And from which direction? And how long do we have?"
Her Lightning doesn't even take out the book to note down the answers as he immediately, no hesitation even though he had told her he didn't feel comfortable with his rankings after Mukuro. "Varia Lightning Squad, Une, Due, and Trei, in this sequence. They are coming from the forest side, behind us." He gulps down. "We have two minutes."
Her hands tighten into a fist.
"And who closest to us can help?"
"Tsuna-nii." She is proud of the fact that he doesn't hesitate or cut the connection, or even let himself get lost in the planet's grasp. Only his hair floats, and there's a green fire in his eyes.
"What's the quickest way for him to reach us, and how long?"
His eyes grow sharp and he suddenly grabs one of her hands, pulling her into the residential area. "We have one minute and thirty seconds, we cannot outrun them, but if we keep going in this direction we should decrease the distance and Tsuna-nii will stop the first attack." He lowers down and grabs Lambo, and then I-Pin. "If you carry I-Pin you'll tire quickly, and I need you to focus."
Her chest already hurts, but she doesn't dare stop and only listens as her Lightning sees the best route for them to survive this just long enough for Tsuna to find them.
"Dany, I need you to go into Hyper Dying Will Mode."
•••
Dany? Fighting for Vongola?
.
.
.
Dany dying for him?
.
.
.
For Dame-Tsuna?
.
.
.
(Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never.)
•••
A/N:
*slides into the fic after years*
here, is a chapter.
*slides back into the ether*
(AKA i forgot i wrote this for myself and now i reread every chapter and then every single review since 2016.)
Thank you, every single guest, every single plotter, I see you all!
i wanna see the rest of the story now too! i lost all my notes but who cares lmao
see you next, whenever that may be
Mari