A/N
Ummm... HOW DO I EVEN BEGIN TO SAY SORRY?! I definitely never meant to be gone this long and time slipped right through my fingers, so before I knew it I couldn't even remember what the characters looked like! I finally caught a break over winter vacation and managed to finish this up and post it. But I'm still very sorry. I would just like to give a shout out to Black-lilycat who created art for the story and whom I have to beg forgiveness from because she did it almost a year ago. The link is on DeviantArt at: /art/Four-Princes-425905583
I'm going to shut up now and let you guys read because that's what you've been waiting for.
DISCLAIMER: Takeshi never became a famous baseball player, so I don't own it!
He woke up to the sound of chatter as the first students began to come in from their classes. That still left him with plenty of time to get food nearly line-free. Tsuna blearily wiped his exhaustion from his eyes and got up to get food. For whatever reason, food just didn't seem appetizing at the moment. After a few seconds of deliberation, Tsuna just decided to take a plate of pasta he could pick at.
Sitting back down, he waited for the rest to join him. Recalling what had happened previously, Tsuna felt what little appetite he had disappear. How could I say such a thing? I'm so dead, Tsuna thought despairingly. It surely wouldn't be the last time he was asked by the boy to fight.
While in these thoughts, Gokudera had come to sit by his beloved Sawada. He noted the troubled expression on the boy's face with concern, "What's wrong, Sawada?"
Tsuna blinked, coming out of his thoughts. "Oh, nothing big, Gokudera," Tsuna said, a weak smile crossing his face.
Gokudera looked at him, a small frown on his face, "Don't."
"H-Huh?" Tsuna asked, his smile faltering a bit.
"Don't pretend everything's fine," Gokudera said. "Even if you don't want to tell me what's wrong, don't lie about it. You are a terrible liar, Tsuna."
Tsuna blushed a bit, wondering just how unconvincing he had to have been to get that lecture. Gokudera had even used his first name. After a few seconds he nodded. "It really isn't anything major, Gokudera. Just stuff on my mind. Nothing to worry about at least," Tsuna said. "What did you do in class? We did Flame control."
Gokudera still looked unconvinced but let it go. Moving on, he seemed to take a more arrogant aspect, "We did tactics and battle strategy. We ran simulations, but of course no one could beat mine. I took the programming and changed the…" Tsuna found himself quickly losing track of what Gokudera was saying. What was a source code? And an… exe file? IP address? Tsuna gave up understanding and just nodded every once in a while to show he was, in fact, listening.
His saving grace was when Ryohei walked in, a grin lighting up his face, "Tsuna! I had the most EXTREME class!" His eyelids, which had been starting to drift close due to Gokudera's never-ending explanations of things he couldn't hope to understand, snapped open.
"Wait! Lambo should talk first! Lambo must speak before anyone else!" a voice came from nowhere. Tsuna looked about in confusion, wondering where the voice had come from. A fluffy head popping up from behind the white-haired boy's shoulder answered Tsuna's unspoken question, revealing the boy to be clinging to Ryohei's back.
"Get off of Lawn Head and talk to Sawada properly, Stupid Cow!" Gokudera shouted, personality doing a 180 the moment anyone else was involved.
"Maa maa," a cheerful voice sounded from the other side. "That's not very nice, Gokudera. Hey, Tsuna! We had a really cool class today. We went fwoosh and boom and –"
"Shut up, Baseball Freak! I was talking first!" Gokudera interrupted, irritation skyrocketing. He could deal with Lawn Head and the Stupid Cow (barely), but once the Baseball Freak got involved…
Tsuna felt a headache appearing, a steady throbbing in his temples that was beginning to wear on his mood. It didn't help when Mukuro suddenly appeared, cheerfully scaring everyone and proceeding to create illusions of gory scenes in the background for what appeared to be his own entertainment.
As his headache began to peak, a small hand landed on his arm. A small voice followed it saying, "T-Tsuna? Are you okay?" Tsuna opened his eyes and stopped rubbing his temples to look at the concerned face of Chrome. He smiled weakly before another sharp throb rang through his head, causing him to shut his eyes tightly and inhale sharply. Understanding crossed the girl's face and she pulled a small bottle out of her pocket. Untwisting the cap, she handed Tsuna one of the small white pills.
"Headache reliever," she murmured, blushing slightly at Tsuna's grateful look.
"Thank you, Chrome," Tsuna said, popping the pill back. He grabbed a glass of water from the table and washed it down, a small smile crossing his face as the headache immediately began to recede. Turning back to the commotion, he blanched at the fact that weapons had appeared in the time it had taken to ingest the pill.
"Ah, ah!" Tsuna yelped as he ran into the thick of the commotion, grabbing unlit dynamites and grenades and lowering katanas. He contemplated taking Mukuro's trident, but quickly dismissed the idea at the eerie smile said boy was sporting. "No fighting! You shouldn't fight with your friends!"
Everyone blinked, their weapons having been aimed at one another just a moment ago. As Tsuna's words sank in, various expressions crossed faces. Some looked horrified (Mukuro and Gokudera), some sported goofy grins (Yamamoto and Ryohei), and some looked happy even though Lambo would claim it was beneath him to be friends with them all and they should all just be his servants.
A growl came from across the room as one very ticked-off prefect was deprived of his chance to bite every soul in the vicinity to death. That herbivore in the middle… He was the reason that Hibari hadn't gotten a chance to properly subdue the group. Every time the group was on the verge of getting bitten to death, the little herbivore seemed to subconsciously calm the whole situation down to the point where Hibari could no longer interfere. Well, not this time.
Wrath radiating off of him, Hibari stalked towards the group, tonfas in hand. They were the only thing Hibari had brought with him to the school, aside from the colored band that declared him the head of the Disciplinary Committee.
The moment Tsuna once more felt his aura, he knew exactly what was about to happen and his smile began to fade. In the same moment Tsuna made his realization, everyone around him, even Lambo, began to grow serious at such a threat being made to the smiling brunet. They took up casual defensive positions around the brunet, hands resting lightly on their weapons as they traced the bloodlust to the figure stalking towards them.
The prefect neared, violence radiating from him. Yamamoto stepped forward, posture and aura calm, but there was tension in the hand that rested on his sword. "Hey, Hibari," he said with a smile, "how ya doing?"
"Move, herbivore," Hibari growled, moving to swipe at Yamamoto with his tonfas, the boy leaning back just in time to avoid a nasty blow to the head. "I will bite you to death, herbivore. Then I will bite that brunet herbivore to death for crowding and disturbing the peace!" Yamamoto's smile faltered as he was slowly being driven back trying to dodge the flying metal sticks. Frustration at missing built Hibari's anger to an intolerable level. How dare this herbivore stand in my way of keeping the peace? Clicking a button near the handles, metal chains dropped out of the edge of the tonfas with a ball at the end, adding a dangerous extra foot of reach. Tsuna, noting the new danger, moved to step in when Gokudera pushed forward, dynamite blazing.
"Double Bomb," he called in warning as he threw two handfuls at the boy. In perfect sync, Yamamoto stepped back, gliding between the flying objects and to Gokudera's side. Hibari's eyes narrowed, but he made no attempt to dodge. Whirling the chains, Hibari knocked the bombs away, scattering them to other, less-involved tables full of bystanders.
As the students scrambled out of the way of the explosives, Hibari sped through to the two boys, feral grin splitting his lips as he drew near enough to lash out once more. Yamamoto's sword came up to defend him from the whirling chains, and as they began to wrap themselves around the blade, Yamamoto grinned. Jerking backwards, Yamamoto felt Hibari come with it, the shifting of weight pulling the boy off-balance.
While Yamamoto kept him pinned, Gokudera had pulled another set of dynamites out of his belt. "Mini Bomb," he called out triumphantly, the small explosives scattering as they were thrown toward Hibari. They flew true, hitting Hibari in the side and throwing the boy to the floor with the magnitude of the explosion.
It, however, wasn't calculated that the fall would affect Yamamoto's position and the boy suddenly found himself lurching to the left. Hibari, seizing the chance, pulled Yamamoto forward in the same moment, sending him crashing to the floor as well. Getting to his feet quickly, Hibari retracted his chains and sent them flying at Gokudera, surprising the boy. Gokudera stepped backward to avoid the metal links but tripped himself up when one foot got caught behind the other. The chains wrapped around his forearms and he was yanked forward, the force preventing his feet from finding purchase on the floor.
In those painstaking moments, Yamamoto had regained his feet. Shaking off the slight head rush, he looked up just in time to see Gokudera come barreling into him, the chains retracting as the two slammed into each other and fell back into a table, snapping it and sending them to the floor.
With a final glare at the boys, Hibari retracted the chains and turned his sights back to the herbivores bristling at the scene. Four more of the herbivores stepped up, leaving his prey open once he got past them. Hibari leapt forward, tonfas raised as the white-haired herbivore stepped forward with a guarded stance. It was evident that he knew how to fight.
Just in a cleaner style than Hibari.
Taking full advantage, Hibari rushed the boy, meeting his fists at point-blank range. As the two clashed, Ryohei tensed and yelled out, "EXTREME!" With the echo resounding around him, Ryohei pushed back against the tonfas with a fierce expression. To his surprise, Hibari was repelled in terms of sheer force, his feet sliding backward as he was forced away from the boy.
With a snarl, Hibari separated from Ryohei, putting a few feet of space between them. Taking a deep breath, Hibari crouched and sprang forward like the predatory wolf people so often identified him with. Ryohei put up his hands to block the incoming tonfa, not paying attention to the one coming in from his left. Even as the frontal attack was neutralized by the boy's grip, the left tonfa still retained all its force.
Realizing his misstep, Ryohei put up the hand defending his left side just in time to stop the tonfa from smacking Ryohei in the head, but the hand, having been at an awkward defensive angle, snapped under the force of the blow. A hiss of air escaped Ryohei as he automatically jerked the hand closer to himself, cradling the broken wrist and leaving himself open to attack.
As Hibari raised his tonfas to attack the now wide-open teen, Tsuna yelled, "Ryohei!" from where he stood, held back by his position behind the remaining three. It reminded Hibari of his true target and – as much as he hated leaving a fight unfinished – it was his first priority to attack the largest threat. Moving around Ryohei, the prefect continued in his warpath.
The smallest herbivore ran at him next, nearly invisible behind his head of hair as he rushed the prefect. With barely a second thought, Hibari's tonfa whipped out and caught Lambo in the stomach, sending the boy into the wall where he fell and did not immediately get back up. Foolish herbivores, Hibari thought, disgusted. Can't just stand aside. Interfering with discipline while lacking their own.
"Lambo!" Tsuna cried, immediately running for the fallen boy, Chrome on his heels. Hibari smirked at the opening, ignoring the herbivore with the strange hair for his original target. What he didn't take into account was the female herbivore with his target; so when he moved to attack, he found himself confronted with a rather frail looking herbivore with strong eyes. Gritting his teeth as yet another person got in his way, Hibari vengefully swung his tonfa. The herbivore caught it on her trident, deflecting it with surprising strength. As she took a more defensive stance – drawing the trident across her body – Hibari took his own offensive posture, coolly assessing her weaknesses.
Strong stance, weak grip. Guards rather than attacks. Lacks confidence to make first move. Herbivore. Hibari felt the corners of his mouth curl up. Sustained, frontal attack will create an opening. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than when Hibari began his assault creating a concentrated area of attack that wore on Chrome's concentration. She found herself quickly tiring of the heavy blows that she was starting to just barely block.
She brought her trident up to once more ward off a blow when she found it knocked from her hands, the force sending it skittering several feet from her. As she followed its progress with her eyes, she felt a crushing strength slam into her midsection. Her vision white out for a moment as she gasped for breath, pain flooding her nerves as she curled into a ball, shaking arms covering her stomach with a ginger touch. Breathe, she thought shakily, just breathe. They are still there; you just need to breathe.
Mukuro, joining the fight a hair too late, felt his own vision go red. "Now you've done it, Skylark," Mukuro said with a strained smile. "You've touched what wasn't yours. I hope you're prepared." With no further preamble, Mukuro launched himself at the prefect, features twisting with anger for the briefest moment before smoothing back over to a crooked smile. Hibari, having lost his temper with the continued interruptions, whirled around with a snarl, meeting Mukuro's trident with his tonfa. The collision created a ripple that actually managed to throw each from the other, giving them space to clash once more.
The murder in Hibari's eyes met its twin in Mukuro's and he couldn't help the smirk that slid over him, "Nothing but an herbivore." Mukuro narrowed his eyes, spinning his trident with a false calm. They faced off, neither making the first move as Mukuro spun his trident once, twice. On the third turn, Mukuro used the end to push him forward, driving him toward the skylark. Hibari tightened his grip on both of his tonfas as he brought them forward, bringing them up in time to stop the trident's tines from making an appearance in his chest. As quickly as the guard was up, it came down to transition into an attack aiming for Mukuro's head.
Mukuro's smile slipped as he swung his head to the side, dodging one but being clipped on the cheek by the other. In retaliation, he swung the bottom of the trident up, smirk returning as the end came up to deal a glancing blow to Hibari's chin, causing the prefect's own smile to disappear.
Both fighters warily took a step back, watching the other for an opening, a tell. As the stalemate stretched for more than a few moments, they prepared to clash again. As Mukuro prepared his trident once more, a boyish voice called out, "Mukuro!" with just the slightest note of command beneath it. Daring to take a glance behind him, Mukuro saw Tsunayoshi kneeling next to Chrome, the girl still curled in pain.
Mukuro felt the slightest pull of hesitation, but was quickly reminded of his opponent as the prefect barreling at him. A quick push off his trident was the only thing that kept the tonfas from smashing into him, grazing his bangs instead. Mukuro felt his own teeth clench. He was distracted now; he needed to get undistracted if he expected to win.
Hibari rounded on him once more, sensing weakness. But as he came to once more clash with Mukuro, a small object appeared in front of him, ducking the blow and preventing Hibari from going any further.
The object – Tsunayoshi, Mukuro dimly registered – didn't take his eyes off the prefect as he said, "Take care of Chrome, Mukuro. I don't know how to help her." Mukuro, hesitating at the implied order, took one last glance between the two boys now facing off before stepping back to Chrome's side, meeting Hibari's eyes the entire time.
With that taken care of, Tsuna, eyes blazing, concentrated on both hands, feeling the heat begin to well up in him as it had earlier. Taking a deep breath to ground himself, Tsuna gave himself over to the calm, letting go of the urgencies clamoring for his attention in favor of clear-headedness.
Hibari's eyes leapt from Mukuro to Tsuna at the sudden change in demeanor, curious but wary like a cat who found a mouse that would bite. The herbivore has teeth, he thought, a smile stretching across his face before widening into a more feral grin. Abandoning all other targets, Hibari whirled on Tsuna, tonfas bringing the chains up to wrap themselves around his arm. A fluid movement to the left took Tsuna away from danger, but it was a jerk to the right that prevented the serpentine metal from snapping him in the head. With that jerk, his calm drained, slowly leaving Tsuna in control of the situation. In its place rose the panic that came from confronting Hibari, adding a surge of adrenaline and terror to his movements. Hibari noted with disdain the sudden loss of strength, his irritation giving rise to harder blows that began to splinter Tsuna's defense.
Bringing his arms up to block the next set of attacks rather frantically, Tsuna found the chains instead wrapping around his forearms, dragging him forward. His feet falling out from under him, Tsuna twisted in an attempt to regain his footing, using the chains as a counterbalance. In the midst of his turn, the chains slackened, causing Tsuna's twist to once more throw off his equilibrium, sending him stumbling right into a vicious blow from Hibari that hit his exposed chest squarely.
Tsuna gasped as the breath was forced out of him by the blow, hands instinctively covering the sore area. Huffing, Tsuna looked up to see Hibari once more whirling his chains. Cringing at the anticipated blow, he curled into himself. Before the blow could fall, however, a crushing pressure filled the room followed by a gunshot, turning every head in the cafeteria. At the entrance stood Reborn, who regarded the scene with an inscrutable expression.
Hibari stopped mid-swing, the ball and chain dropping back to his side as he straightened from his aggressive posture. His bloodlust was tempered by his surprise at the sudden presence before skyrocketing as he acknowledged a new, stronger opponent. With a speed that burst from within him, Hibari launched himself across the cafeteria at Reborn, tonfas raised to attack.
Lifting his face to reveal his expression, Reborn side-stepped the teen, grabbing his wrist as Hibari flew past him. Using the momentum of being suddenly stopped, Hibari flung himself back, tonfa raised to strike the man's face. With the eerie ease of practice, Reborn deflected the tonfa, sending it and its owner into the floor with an almighty crack! Hibari, momentarily stunned, remained on the floor, collecting himself.
Silence pervaded the room as Reborn walked to Tsuna, each step clicking in the quiet. Coming to a rest several paces short of the boy, Reborn smirked at him, much to Tsuna's confusion. Adding to Tsuna's confusion, Lambo – having recovered his breath – came forward blustering, "R-Reborn? Why are you…? Well, I'm gonna get you this time! Die!" Following the words, the boy removed several explosives from his being, much to Tsuna's bafflement. How had I not noticed? Then again, I don't know where Gokudera hides all of his…
Before Tsuna could stop him, Lambo threw the explosives at Reborn, who didn't even flinch. Pulling out a strange green gun, he fired an equal number of bullets, the force behind them knocking the grenades back to the cow child. Startled, Lambo was frozen, unable to react. In the desperate seconds that followed, Tsuna covered the child and Yamamoto, with a speed that challenged Hibari's, crossed the room and swept the grenades into the air with his sword, placing them a safe distance above the group.
The resounding explosion deafened all those within the cafeteria, setting their ears ringing. As the smoke cleared, Tsuna removed his arms from around Lambo and shook his head to clear his hearing. Gripping the child's shoulders hard, Tsuna knelt before him, face serious, "Lambo, no matter why you did it, you cannot throw grenades at people!"
"B-But Reborn… That time…" the boy began, only to be stopped by Tsuna's worried look. The teary child, recognizing his close call, nodded and Tsuna sighed in relief.
"I'm glad you're okay though," he said with sincerity. Rubbing the teary child's soft head, he pulled out one of his grape candies and offered it to the boy with a soft smile. Lambo's face lit up with glee as he stuffed the candy into his mouth. Getting up from the floor, Tsuna faced an amused Reborn who had one eyebrow cocked. "What were you thinking, Reborn?" Tsuna yelled, a lot panicked and a little angry as he faced the man. "Lambo could've been hurt!"
"I was merely defending myself from an incompetent moron," Reborn said, no hint of apology in his voice. "And who are you to lecture me, Dame-Tsuna?" he continued, letting a bit of his demonic aura leak, the one that gave Tsuna the feeling that he should choose his words carefully or run. Right now.
Tsuna shuddered at the aura, the emotions raging through him dissipating in the face of the monster who was Reborn. "N-no one… W-why were you here anyways?"
Reborn seemed to ponder for a moment, scanning the cafeteria, "Besides saving your sorry butt, I figured we could have a talk." There was no suggestion in his voice and Tsuna knew it.
"O-oh, okay," Tsuna stammered, stepping forward. Reborn smirked and began to walk out, knowing the brunet would follow.
As the pair began to leave the cafeteria, Hibari regained his feet shakily, slightly more disheveled than he would like to admit. "You," Hibari demanded, pointing at Reborn. "Fight me!" Tsuna blanched at the teen's reckless declaration, looking fearfully at Reborn from the corner of his eyes, watching the intimidating man for any sign of violence.
With a blink of an eye, Reborn was back in front of Hibari, a curious glint to his look. It wasn't everyday that someone dared to challenge him; most of them run screaming at his mere presence, let alone demand a fight. Well, except Colonello, but his idiocy was incurable… So with a smirk befitting of a man of his ability, he said the two words that would bring him the most amusement: "Let's go."
With a snarl that was half in defiance of Reborn's arrogance and half in excitement, Hibari once more launched himself from the floor. Tonfas raised high, his fingers clicked the button, once more ejecting his metal ball and chains. Hibari would not underestimate his opponent again, and this man before him was definitely worth the precaution. He flung the chains, eyes narrowed as they flew perfectly aimed directly for the opposing man's head. Reborn's eyes narrowed as well as he leaned forward, ducking under the arching chains, racing towards the teen's now unprotected chest. Hibari's eyes widened before he brought the chains down, winding them back around to hit Reborn and protect himself at the same time. But it was too late.
Before Hibari could even manipulate the chains lower, Reborn kneed him in the stomach, causing the student to keel over to protect the now sore area. As he did so, the knee mercilessly came back up to hit his chin, clacking Hibari's teeth together with a audible crunch! The boy immediately reversed directions, bending backwards from the force of the blow, blood leaking from his mouth where he had viciously bitten his cheek.
Reborn, caught up in the moment, took a page out of Fon's book and kicked the prefect square in the chest, sending the already reeling boy into the wall with a crack! Another crater to fix, Reborn thought dispassionately as he walked over to the boy, now at a slower pace as the dazed teen tried to figure out what had just happened. It was a scene that inspired fear in every single student in the cafeteria as many shivered and many more ran for the main hall, fearful they would be the next victim to fall to the apparent rampage.
He's gonna get killed! Tsuna screamed in his head, wondering how this could possibly end otherwise. I've got to do something! But Tsuna had no inspiration, no idea and he despaired. Reborn was slowly nearing the teen; in his eyes was a need to reassert his authority, to once more prove that he could be messed with only in jest. Tsuna had no idea what the man could do, but he was sure from what he had seen so far that it wouldn't end well for Hibari, even if he was demonically strong. Tsuna couldn't stand by and watch Hibari get tossed to the floor once more. It felt morally wrong to see another person kicked around like that, but it was more than that. It was Hibari and for whatever reason, Tsuna – the Dame, unathletic, weak loser – felt the need to protect the bloodthirsty teen who had just been about to "bite him to death". No, no, no! Tsuna screamed in his head, someone help him! Don't let Reborn kill him! No, no, no, no, n —
Something in Tsuna snapped.
All the tension and stress that had been building up, weighing on Tsuna, just… broke. The same feeling – the same one that took him over during the test – stole over the teen, making Tsuna feel as though he was merely in a dream, disconnected and an observer. His body moved without conscious direction, one moment standing by the door, the next in front of Reborn, arms spread out to block further progress towards Hibari.
Reborn halted, his eyes widening slightly in surprise before narrowing, "Move, Dame-Tsuna."
Tsuna momentarily felt the instinct to flee, but it was quickly squashed by the internal calmness, the one that asserted he was right, that he was supposed to be doing exactly what he was. This feeling flowing through his veins, Tsuna tilted his head and said cautiously, "I can't."
Reborn didn't react for a few moments. "Can't or won't, Dame-Tsuna? Because I assure you that you can be moved," he asked, a sliver of curiosity lacing the annoyance in his voice.
Tsuna wanted to quail from Reborn, wanted to run, wanted to apologize on his hands and knees for his audacity, but he was still on the sidelines of his consciousness. Instead, knowing Reborn would understand, Tsuna stated calmly, "It's happening again."
Reborn's eyebrows shot up minutely before relaxing back to their normal position. Ah, Reborn thought, he's beginning to awaken. Took him long enough. "And what's it telling you this time?" Reborn asked, feigning nonchalance.
Tsuna struggled with his words. "There… There's something… I can't… It isn't… I won't… I can't let you hurt Hibari," the brunet finally declared, divining the key message from within the raging, conflicting emotions and words floating around his head.
To everyone's surprise – not the least of which was Tsuna's – Reborn nodded and walked away. Tsuna could barely breathe as the man walked by, collapsing to his knees as the feeling dissipated, leaving behind the built-up fear. Tsuna laughed breathily in relief, happy to still be alive.
A sudden gun shot rang out and a bullet, which Tsuna could only pray was rubber, struck the ground centimeters from legs, galvanizing the boy to his feet with a hieeee. "Don't make me ask again, Tsunayoshi Sawada," Reborn called as he began to leave the cafeteria. Tsuna, remembering his original purpose of talking to Reborn, started to follow him out, frowning a bit at the use of his whole name. Why would Reborn bother after calling me Dame the whole time?
"Herbivore," a voice from behind him called. Tsuna turned, watching as Hibari struggled to his feet, his head undoubtedly sporting a headache. The skylark glared, his eyes flashing purple, "Don't get in the way of my fights."
Tsuna, reading the bravado in his words, simply smiled and said, "Of course, Hibari. Sorry you didn't get that fight you wanted." His eyes watered a moment later, a dryness burning them. Another shot sparked next to Tsuna's foot, causing him to let out yet another hiieeeeeee, the burn disappearing as he was distracted. With a whine, Tsuna turned and ran after Reborn yelling, "Stop that!" It was rewarded with the sound of gun going off and the boy's girlish shriek echoing from the hall.
As the boy's footsteps faded, sound returned to the cafeteria, students who remained witness to the scene trying to make sense of events as they milled around in confusion. Hibari, who hadn't visibly reacted to the sudden orange glow that came from the boy's eyes, let out a feral grin at the unmeasured skills behind the boy's weak exterior. Tsunayoshi Sawada, is it? I will bite you to death one day soon, Hibari thought as he swept away to tend to himself. And that carnivore… A rematch must be held.
Tsuna trotted after Reborn, the older man unrelenting in his pace as he led the way into the Sun hallway. Right before he crossed into the corridor, Tsuna halted, hesitantly putting out a hand for the barrier he was now aware of. As the tingling overtook his hand, he yanked it back to his side and looked up at Reborn who had started down it. "Come on, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn called over his shoulder.
"B-but, I'm not supposed to, right?" Tsuna said haltingly, rubbing the last of the sensation from his palm.
A bullet struck to the left of his foot, making him dance sideways at the close proximity. "Dame-Tsuna, I know you can walk through them, so get over here before I lose my patience," the man demanded, the beginnings of a frown twitching at his lips. The itchy trigger finger was the deciding factor, and Tsuna leapt through the barrier without a second thought as he attempted to catch up with the hitman.
They continued in silence, Tsuna nervously wringing his hands as he was led ever deeper into the Sun hallway. Glancing around, Tsuna noted that, unlike the Sky hallway, there were rooms lining the hall itself, each one holding a classroom, a workout room, or what appeared to be – and Tsuna shuddered at this – a steel table in the midst of a bland room, reminiscent of a morgue.
They entered a yellow room, subdued in its hue, but the desk in the middle commanded attention, the dark wood imposing in such a bright room. Reborn strode in and placed himself into the padded chair behind the desk, placing his feet on top, causing the papers piled to the side to wobble precariously before settling as though they had never been rustled. Huh, Tsuna thought dryly, even Reborn's papers won't fall without his permission. The room barely looked lived in, the shelves lining the side walls bare of everything except nondescript books that seemed hardly touched. There were two windows on the far side, dark yellow curtains drawn back to allow the sunlight in.
After a moment of standing in the doorway, observing the room in its entirety, Tsuna brought his gaze back to the hitman behind the desk staring intently at his. As Tsuna noticed the look, Reborn smirked in condescension before saying aloud, "First time in an office?" Blushing slightly at being caught gaping, Tsuna quickly grabbed the seat across from Reborn and perched on the edge, wringing his hands.
"Stop that," Reborn commanded as though affronted, "Mafiosi don't wring their hands. Consider that lesson one." Tsuna immediately stopped, pausing before making the executive decision to sit on them to prevent further misbehavior. Clearing his throat, Tsuna looked up at Reborn.
"S-So…" he began, wary of the man's reaction, "w-what was that in the cafeteria? D-Do you know Lambo? Or –?
Reborn cut him off with a wave of his hand, "Bar, alcohol, and idiots. Fool thinks he can actually beat me. I blame his father." Tsuna looked on in bemusement. That didn't really answer my question… He let it go, deciding it wasn't worth pushing such a dangerous man, Tsuna tapped his feet nervously and began glancing about the room again, searching for anything to dispel the awkwardness that had arisen in the silence.
He was saved after a moment when Reborn asked, "What do you think?"
"O-Of what?"
Reborn raised an eyebrow before saying, "The school."
"I-It's interesting," Tsuna said cautiously, "but you never said it would be for the Mafia."
Reborn shrugged. "You never asked. You seem to be adjusting fine though."
"N-not really. I-I mean, you saw what just happened. I'm not even close to the level of the others," Tsuna bit his lip as he glanced down at his hands, fingers digging into his thighs. "Even Lambo, a kid, could probably beat me."
Reborn waved the words away, dismissively saying, "You just don't have enough training yet. If you were given a reason, you could compete. After all, how else would you explain the incident in the Storm hallway?"
Tsuna flushed in shame as he remembered. "I… I don't want to be like that. I'm different from everyone else."
"Then why did you come?" Reborn asked quietly, gaze intense.
Tsuna, stinging at the implication, snapped, "You forced me to be here!"
Reborn looked at him sharply before saying, "I never forced you to come. Your parents made that decision and you did not object to it either. Something about a chance to start over."
Silence reigned for a moment. Tsuna gulped, before trying his most pitiful excuse, "That was before I knew it was a Mafia school! How could you ever believe I belong here?"
"Technically, you've been part of the Mafia since you were born," Reborn said rather casually, watching Tsuna from the corner of his eye.
"…Huh? How's that possible?" Tsuna asked, mind reeling at the revelation. Reborn was not forthcoming with any answers. Tsuna racked his brains… How can that be? I don't know anyone in the Mafia, so there's no connection, right? B-But Reborn doesn't lie… Part of the Mafia means that there is a relation, but I don't have any family connections aside from my parents… And there's no way that Mama or Dad… A cold feeling curled in Tsuna's stomach.
"R-Reborn?" the man looked up, "Is my… is my father Mafia?" Tsuna hesitantly stuttered, overcome with shock. The man's gaze was answer enough and Tsuna felt as though the floor had fallen out beneath him. Sure his father had always been a little distant from home, frequently leaving without warning and returning in the same manner, but… He leaned back in the chair, shell-shocked. The oil driller story had never rung true with Tsuna and he'd concocted stories that could be the truth, but Mafia… That hadn't even made the list.
"Was," Reborn corrected, eyes intent on Tsuna. "Iemitsu recently retired after years of good service. Although, the Mafia never just disappears. He'll still be looking out for any signs of revenge from the many enemies he's created, if he's as smart as they say."
Tsuna nodded numbly, mind racing without any real conclusions being made through the swirl of information. It's so surreal, Tsuna thought, my father's Mafia, I'm sitting across from a killer, and I'm in a school for killers…
Reborn had apparently had enough of Tsuna's silence and placed a foot on the desk rather loudly, casually crossing the other in a more fluid, quieter motion. "So now, are you going to answer my question?" he asked, adjusting his hat to tip slightly over his face.
"W-What question?' Tsuna asked, puzzled.
"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" Reborn asked, leaning back in his chair, "That memory just may be the death of you, Dame-Tsuna. Needing things repeated for you is a bad habit; getting distracted by anything in the presence of someone much deadlier than you is a grave mistake. The question was what do you think of the school?"
Tsuna was silent for a moment, dispelling the cold shiver that had crept up on him before tentatively saying, "I-I already said I think it's interesting."
Reborn stared at the boy, making him shrink in his seat. "What kind of an answer is that? 'Think' is a very passive word; it has no conviction. Give a proper answer."
"T-Then…" Tsuna took a deep breath, steeling himself to look at Reborn's face, "Then, the school itself is a new experience, but not necessarily a bad one. The classes haven't started yet so I can't say much about the schoolwork, but Flame control doesn't seem to be too hard. The people…" Here he hesitated before continuing, "The people aren't what I thought they would be. I don't think they're bad but… There is more to them than what I can see and that… that scares me. But they don't scare me. Well, except for Mukuro but I think that's just him." As he spoke, Tsuna felt a revelation dawn on him; one that scared him. "I want to stay here; I want to become strong enough to stand on the level of those who protect me. And for once I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be."
Reborn considered the boy in front of him silently before saying in a low voice, "Even if it means you're stuck in the Mafia forever?"
Tsuna flinched at the question, thoughts tumbling to a halt as the word Mafia bounced around his head. Would I? Would I be willing to throw away any chance to have a normal life in order to stay here? But the answer was clear. It was just one that he hadn't been brave enough to acknowledge. "Yes," Tsuna said firmly, "I would still stay."
Good-bye to a normal life…
And somehow, watching Reborn look at him with something akin to pride, Tsuna couldn't bring himself to regret it.
A/N
Word Count: 6,415
This is the end of the first arc so I hope it came out alright. I originally wrote it so Hibari and Tsuna never had to fight. None of the guardians had to either. I figured that was a little boring, so I ended up rewriting the entire middle part again and again and again. This is my first fight scene, so a comment about how it came out would be great. If that's not for you, thank you for sticking with the story and I'm going to try to never fall that far off the grid again.
See you next time!