Chapter 1: Babies, Brothers and Ancestors
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Italy
A baby walked down an expansive hallway littered with painting and decorations. Many doors lined the hall, each leading to a separate room. Now, this was not your average-looking baby. This baby was dressed in a black suit with black pants. The collar of an orange dress shirt could be seen underneath the suit. A black fedora adorned the top of his head with a matching orange stripe running through it. On the rim of his fedora sat a strange-looking lizard with large yellow eyes. A glowing yellow pacifier hung around his neck.
The baby stopped in front of large oak double doors which were exquisitely carved, laced with multiple designs. He knocked three times and waited for an answer that luckily for him, came seconds later.
"Come in."
The infant opened the doors and stepped inside. The room was nicely furnished with vases and flowers and ornate tables. Bookshelves lined the walls and a couple of windows let in plenty of light. In the middle of the room sat a large desk filled to the corners with stack of papers. Behind the desk sat an old man. Wrinkles lined his face and his hair had turned completely gray. But, a kind smile lit up his features almost whisking away a few of his years.
"Ciaossu."
"Ahh, Reborn, good timing. I trust that your mission went smoothly?" The man looked up from signing some paperwork, eyes twinkling kindly.
"Of course, Nono, who do you think I am?" The baby stated with a slight smirk.
Nono laughed heartily, "I hope you don't mind but I have a new mission for you in Giappone."
"Giappone? If you don't mind me asking Nono, but what is this mission about?"
"Ahh yes, here's a folder about your mission. Make sure you read it as you head there. And as for what it is about," Nono paused before his tone turned serious, "I am getting old, a little too old for my position as the Ninth. My three sons are dead and I'm afraid Xanxus is out of the picture. Iemitsu cannot uphold the title, as he is the head of CEDEF. But Iemitsu has a son who has potential as he has told me. Reborn, I want you to train the next Vongola boss for his position as Decimo, Taiki Sawada."
Japan
A brunet woke up with a start; sweat slowly making its may down his face. He sat up panting with his mind racing. Lately he had been dreaming of flames, powerful and burning fiercely on his hands. Then there was this man… he had fearsome green eyes held to the brim with loathing, for what—he didn't know. In his hand he held a glinting dagger bathed in purple flames. He crept closer and closer until the man stood over the brunet who was planted to the ground in fear, ready for the kill. Then he woke up. But this wasn't real right? 'It was just a bad dream' he reassured himself, 'just a bad dream.'
'Oh, Tsunayoshi you're awake? And I was just about to wake you up too!'
The young brunet turned to look at who spoke—through his mind. He stared at a tall blonde-haired man who held a pouting face.
'Ohayo, Giotto-san.' The boy yawned tiredly, his nightmare probably the cause of it.
'Mou, I told you already, drop the –san and call me Ojīchan or something like that. Wait—no, that makes me sound old. Just call me Giotto.'
The brunet sighed after hearing this a thousand times a day and only so many times a week.
He slipped out of bed and went to take a quick shower while his "Ojīchan" was still mumbling over things he didn't care to listen to. He spared a quick glance at Giotto. His body was transparent and you could see the wall behind. He was tall with longish spikey golden hair: kind of like a lion's mane. His eyes were a startling golden color that held years of wisdom yet if you looked closer there might have been something akin to pain. On a lighter note, for some reason he always wore the same clothes—a pinstriped suit topped off with a mantle. Sometimes he wore black gloves with a big 'I' on them. Giotto never changed out of this attire. But maybe that was because he was just a ghost, a spirit, the brunet's ancestor. Or at least that's how Giotto explained it but he got confused less than halfway in to the explanation and by the time Giotto was finished, he was completely lost.
But ever since Giotto appeared that one day years and years ago, life had changed. Giotto became a father to him. His real father had left, leaving a four-year-old Tsuna, his twin brother and their mother all alone to care for themselves. Their mother had always put on a cheerful façade around them but sometimes Tsuna would hear sniffles coming from the kitchen late at night. Slowly the longing to see the man he once called father changed into bitterness and loathing for him, for causing his mother so much pain. After he had left, he never showed up again, only calling once in a year saying he couldn't make it back home but he hoped they were all doing well. Then he hung up and that was the last they would hear from him until another year passed.
Only a few years ago when Tsuna had turned ten had Giotto appeared. Immediately taking pity on the fatherless brunet and caring for him instead. He would help Tsuna on homework, help him study for his test, and talk to him when he was feeling down. After years of being without a father, Tsuna had rarely spoken aloud because to had no one to talk to when he was feeling sad, when he needed help. His only brother was fiercely overprotective of him, shooing off bullies and talking back at teachers when they made fun of his grades. Not that Tsuna minded, but sometimes it got annoying. His mother would always coo over how cute and skilled Taiki was and encouraged him seemingly forgetting about Tsuna. Tsuna had no one at the time- that is when he tried to avoid his brother (he tended to be kind of clingy). But now Tsuna didn't have to talk, not that much anyways. After all, he could talk to Giotto in his mind, he didn't have to speak aloud anymore only to get ignored or bullied- at least not in public. With his acquaintances and family, it was alright.
But one thing was strange, only Tsuna could see him.
His mother and brother looked right through Giotto whenever they came across him. But Tsuna didn't mind. As long as Giotto was always by his side would he be happy.
After Tsuna was finished with his shower he got on his school uniform. School didn't start for another half hour or so but he liked getting there early, to avoid the rush of kids not to mention bullies. He headed downstairs with Giotto following. On the third step down, Tsuna tripped and came crashing down the stairs, landing with a painful thud.
In the kitchen his mother was humming cheerfully while making breakfast. Something she did daily.
"Oh Tsu-kun you're awake!" Sawada Nana exclaimed cheerily, waving a knife around wildly.
"Ohayo, Kaa-san." Tsuna muttered quietly, painfully getting up from his position on the floor. He walked over to the counter where he picked up a piece of toast to chew on.
Suddenly, loud thumping could be heard and soon short light-brown hair could be seen coming down the stairs.
"Ara? That must be Tai-kun. He's such a sleepyhead." Nana sighed with one hand on her cheek.
Taiki descended the stairs quickly and smoothly (unlike Tsuna who would always trip and fall on the steps no matter what). He swept his gaze over the kitchen before his cold light-brown eyes landed on Tsuna.
"What's for breakfast, Okaa-san?" Taiki asked, sitting down next to Tsuna.
"Ah! Yes, you can have the omelet that I just made." Nana set a plate down in front of Taiki. "Do you want anything else Tsu-kun?"
Tsuna shook his head and got up to get his bag for school. Making sure that Taiki wasn't close to finishing his food, Tsuna set off to school with a barely audible "ittekimasu." He had to talk, and it would look weird if his brother saw him talking to nothing. And so, no one followed him except for Giotto as he always accompanied him to school.
'Oi, Tsunayoshi.'
'What is it, Giotto-san?' Thought Tsuna.
'It feels like something is going to happen today. And I can't tell if it's good or bad.' Giotto replied, not noticing the '–san' added to his name.
'So is that what this feeling is all about?' Questioned Tsuna curiously.
'Yes I suppose so. Wait—you can feel something isn't right? Since when?'
Tsuna shrugged helplessly, 'as long as I can remember. There's this thing that tells me something whether it's good or bad and it's never wrong.'
'Oh, I see.' Giotto responded, deep in thought.
Tsuna stared straight ahead, a small frown on his face, trying to shake off the feeling that they were being followed.
Reborn set down his green binoculars that then transformed into a small chameleon. Stealthily, he slipped a flyer into a mailbox next to a nameplate that read "Sawada." 'So, this is Sawada Tsunayoshi,' the infant thought, 'he doesn't seem like much but there's something different about him, something strange.'
-Flashback-
Reborn sat in his seat on a Vongola owned private jet headed for Japan. He took out the folder that Nono had handed him that held the briefing for his mission. Inside was a file on 13-year-old boy with short spiky brown hair. His picture was of him with some friend whose faces were obscured. But you could tell they were laughing as the boy's face had smirk, probably laughing inwardly at his own joke. His eyes held power not to mention haughtiness, Reborn realized, but that could be quickly fixed. After all, he is the world's best hitman.
Below the picture, there was a long paragraph about his future pupil. Reborn skimmed through it, not wanting to waste his time on something that Iemitsu probably wrote.
Name: Sawada Taiki
Gender: Male
Age: Currently 13
Birthday: October 14th
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 51.6 kg
Blood Type: A
Hair Color: Light Brown
Eye Color: Light Brown
Sawada Taiki is the son of Sawada Iemitsu, head of CEDEF, and Sawada Nana. He has an older twin brother Sawada Tsunayoshi. His grades are a little above average and he excels at sports. He has many friends and is popular among both boys and girls. After an incident, he has shown signs of having the Flame of the Sky but has not since.
'He definitely has the making of a Sky but he needs some work. If he truly has awakened the Sky Flame at a young age, he can potentially be very powerful. Most bosses of the Vongola went through training to be able to unlock their flame. Once I get to Japan, I'll make sure I spend part of the day observing my future pupil.' Reborn thought, inwardly smirking at the idea. He would use the opportunity to list ways to tor—he means improve his future pupil both physically, academically and socially.
Reborn turned the page that held another file, which looked similar. Reborn ALMOST mistook it as a copy of the previous file but he realized it was on Taiki's twin, Sawada Tsunayoshi.
His picture was of him looking up at the sky. A smile, small and miniscule but still a smile nonetheless played on his lips. His eyes held glowing warmth that Reborn could see despite him being a photo, just an image captured that showed only a single scene. Reborn found himself captivated by this brunet. So far, this boy seemed to be more of a sky than his future pupil did. But looking at the picture a little harder, Reborn realized that this boy was not boss material and definitely not mafia material—Taiki had more of a commanding aura while Tsunayoshi had a timid and shy one. Reborn sighed, 'Such a waste.'
Name: Sawada Tsunayoshi
Gender: Male
Age: Currently 13
Birthday: October 14th
Height: 157 cm
Weight: 46.5 kg
Blood Type: A
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Sawada Tsunayoshi is the son of Sawada Iemitsu, head of CEDEF, and Sawada Nana. He has a younger twin brother Sawada Taiki who is the candidate for the tenth boss of the Vongola Famiglia. His grades are below average and he does not excel in sports. He has no friends and he has not shown any signs of owning the Sky Flame.
Reborn closed the folder after reading it from cover to cover. He was tired and he should sleep because of the time difference between Italy and Japan. At this point, he hadn't given this 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' a second thought.
A snot bubble slowly grew from his nose showing that the baby hitman was asleep.
Tsuna arrived at the gates of school just as they were opened to let students in. Immediately he made a beeline for the doors that led inside not wanting to meet anyone unwanted.
Giotto followed him a few steps behind, ready to alert him if someone came (namely bullies).
Tsuna sighed as he slid open the doors to his classroom which was empty as he was always the first one to arrive. He walked over to his desk right next to the window. He liked his seat; he could always stare out the window to the sky. It gave him comfort that he never had apart from Giotto. Slowly, he took out his notebook and a pencil then hung his bag on the side of his desk.
Lazily, he doodled around the edges of the paper but then suddenly he jumped almost jumped out of his seat.
A sense of unease washed over him and a tingling sensation prickled under his skin. He wiggled in his seat, trying to get rid of it but it never worked. Worriedly, he shot a few quick glances around the classroom. There were no bullies in sight—it was still too early and only a few students drifted around in front of the school. So where was this feeling coming from?
A light was on in a two-story house. It looked like it was the kitchen; the residents must have been eating dinner, as it was 7:00.
Reborn took a step and knocked on the door. The door opened a few seconds later to reveal a timid looking brunet. Large chocolate brown eyes almost immediately looked down, staring into dark obsidian colored eyes.
Reborn was slightly impressed. Not everyone would notice him right away seeing how tall he was.
"Ciaossu." Reborn greeted, stepping inside without permission and walking past the boy.
"Ara, Tsu-kun, who is it?" Nana came walking out of the dining area with a hand on her cheek with another brunet who Reborn quickly identified as his student.
"Ciaossu I'm Reborn the Home Tutor."
"Eh really? My, you're so cute! For a second I thought you might be lost!" Nana laughed completely ignoring the fact that the tutor was a baby.
A scoff came from behind and a boy with narrowish brown eyes appeared from beside his mother. "A baby as a tutor? You must be joking, you should get out of here if you know what's best for you."
"Ah, you must be Sawada Taiki, you are my new student."
"WHAT, you're just a baby?! Why me? Kaa-san, do I really need a tutor? My grades are perfectly fine!"
"Tai-kun, your grades still aren't the best." Nana scolded lightly, "and I called him here for you see?" Nana held up a flyer that read: Home Tutor Reborn! I will raise your child to become the leader of the next generation. "And all he needs is a place to sleep and a meal and he'll teach you for 24 hours for free!"
A scowl on his face, Taiki hid behind his brother. "At least have us tutored together instead of just me!"
"I only teach one student, no more." Reborn said, looking up at all of them with a blank face.
"See Tai-kun? But don't worry, I'm sure you can help Tsu-kun yourself, ne?"
"Fine, fine." Taiki grumbled, still clinging to his brother.
"Reborn-kun, you can sleep in Tai-kun's room." Nana walked up the stairs with Reborn following, Taiki came reluctantly.
"Kaa-san, does he have to sleep in my room? Can't he sleep somewhere else?"
"Taiki!" Nana reprimanded, using his full name, shaking her head.
"But Kaa-san." Taiki whined.
"Taiki, leave it." Tsuna whispered into his brother's ear, "I don't think you have a choice."
"Aww Tsuna, how can you betray me?" Taiki pouted, turning around to face his twin.
"Haah." Tsuna sighed, "Please."
"I was just teasing you." Taiki picked up Tsuna's hand and continued upstairs. "Anyways, why didn't Kaa-san get the tutor for you? Don't you need more help than me?"
Tsuna shrugged, "She must have her reasons."
"Alright." Taiki pulled Tsuna into his room where their mom was already setting up Reborn's bed. When she left, Reborn turned around to face the two twins.
"I need to talk to my student, go somewhere else."
Tsuna nodded but Taiki didn't agree. "No, let him stay, I don't want to be left in here with a baby."
Suddenly Reborn jumped up and slapped Taiki's face.
"Oww!" Taiki fell down, rubbing his cheek.
"You'll be fine, Taiki, I'll come back later." Tsuna helped his brother up then exited the room. Immediately, as soon as he closed the door, the pressed his ear to it, wanting to eavesdrop on the conversation. Just in case.
"I'm really here to train you into becoming a mafia boss, I was requested by the current boss of the Vongola Famiglia, Nono, to train you into becoming an admirable Mafia boss."
"NANI?!"
"Here." Although Tsuna couldn't see the actions, he could tell that Reborn was giving Taiki something.
"Your great-great-great grandfather, Giotto, was the first boss of the Vongola, in other words, you as the grandson, have inherited the Vongola blood."
"B-but, doesn't that mean that Tsuna should be the heir?"
"Don't think about him, you were chosen so you will be trained to become a mafia boss. Do not bring your brother into it, he's not mafia material."
Thinking he had heard enough, Tsuna pulled away from the door and entered his own room with Giotto following.
Tsuna stared at his ancestor hardly. He sat down on his bed while he watched Giotto shift uncomfortably on his feet.
"You have some explaining to do."
Giotto let out a heavy sigh. 'It was inevitable.'
Hey minna-san! I hope you liked the chapter. I read all of your reviews and I've decided to make Taiki nice. He won't be mean to Tsuna; he'll actually act like a brother. So, do you think he was nice enough in this chapter? Tell me what you think in your reviews!
Ciao Ciao!