Disclaimer: I own nothing from Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
-No pairings planned.
Chapter 2 – A Storm Comes to Town
"Class, we have a new transfer student today," The teacher announced, and Tsuna glanced to see a teen with grey neck-length hair and sharp green eyes that cut over the class with cold disdain. Tsuna immediately dropped his gaze again. This person was intimidating.
A foot slamming into his desk and sending it skidding to the side made Tsuna jump and tumble out of his seat, cowering backwards as the transfer student towered over him, a dark glower on his face.
"Che," The boy sneered. "Pathetic."
In the background, the teacher yelled, "Gokudera, sit down!"
Tsuna wasn't particularly surprised when the boy, Gokudera, ignored her. Instead, he took a threatening step forward, and Tsuna drew himself as far back as possible, staring wide-eyed up at him. What exactly had he done? He had never laid eyes on this person before!
"I don't care which one you are," Gokudera spat out. "One can't be any better than the other."
And with a last disgusted scowl, Gokudera turned on his heel and dropped into the empty desk behind Tsuna's.
Shakily, Tsuna levered himself up again, hunching his shoulders against the mocking sniggers and whispers around him as the teacher futilely scolded the new student.
Still burning red with humiliation, Tsuna stared determinedly at the textbook in front of him. He didn't dare chance a glance behind him; Gokudera would probably eviscerate him on the spot, but he thought the boy looked foreign. And the only foreigner he knew of since a little over a week ago was his brother's crazy tutor. Gokudera had alluded to him and Hiko being twins so, most likely, the boy was here for his brother.
Tsuna tensed a little at this. He hoped his twin wouldn't get in trouble. Then again, with Reborn on standby, Hiko should be fine.
Still...
He peeked over his shoulder and flinched when he found icy green eyes glaring back at him. Just to be on the safe side, he would find Hiko as soon as he could after school. Tsuna was pretty useless when it came to defending himself much less defending someone else but if things got out of hand, maybe he would be able to direct whatever grudge Gokudera had away from his brother.
Reborn had to grit his teeth against his growing ire at his student's immediate answer to the young Mafioso in front of him.
He had called Gokudera Hayato over from Italy, pitted the boy against Hiko, shot his idiot student with a Dying Will bullet, and, as he had expected, the fight had ended with Hiko as the victor and promptly gaining Gokudera's respect. What he hadn't predicted and really should have was for the brat to completely ignore his advice and outright reject any and all loyalty offered up by the Hurricane Bomb.
"Are you sure?" Reborn asked sharply. "Gokudera Hayato has the potential to become a suitable Guardian for you. Perhaps even your Right-Hand Man."
Hiko shrugged carelessly, scoffing down at the kneeling figure in front of him. "I can't trust people who have attacked me," Gokudera recoiled subtly at that. "I don't need possible traitors in my Family."
"I will not betray you, Jyuudaime!" Gokudera pleaded, forehead planted on the ground, and even Reborn wanted to wince at the unrelenting scorn on his student's face.
"He would make a good addition," Reborn tried one last time, wanting nothing more than to beat some sense into the boy.
Hiko glanced dismissively at him. "You're only here to advise me, right Reborn? I've already made my decision." One foot scuffed forward, catching a small stone that bounced against Gokudera's hand. "No Family in its right mind would want some stupid bomber like him, especially one that can't be trusted."
Reborn huffed under his breath and made a mental note to torture Hiko with an extra two hours of training tonight. Not only was the boy losing a powerful ally, he had also indirectly insulted Reborn. It was a thousand years too early for this brat to dismiss his advice.
With a last unreadable glance at Gokudera still on the ground, Reborn followed his student out of the schoolyard. Had he been anyone else, he would've perhaps offered a kind word to the boy, but it wasn't his style, and he was too irritated to be nice to anyone at the moment.
Tsuna hesitated behind a nearby bush, torn between wanting to stay away from the violent Italian and apologizing to his classmate for his brother's harsh words. He had watched the fight from a distance, and in his opinion, Gokudera had done quite well. His brother's success had been partially aided by Reborn, so didn't that mean Hiko had had an advantage over Gokudera? Either way, his brother had been too harsh, and judging by the way Gokudera hadn't so much as shifted from his spot on the ground, it had struck him deeply.
Making up his mind and hoping fervently that he wouldn't come to regret it, Tsuna crept forward, shuffling closer to the prone form. He didn't want to touch the boy just in case Gokudera blew up at him, or worse, blew him up, but he had no idea what to say, any words he could dredge up getting stuck in his throat, so, ready to leap back if Gokudera's hand so much as twitched for his dynamite, Tsuna reached out and gently tapped him on the shoulder.
Gokudera, already rigid either from Hiko's rejection or Tsuna's approach, tensed even further but didn't move away. Tsuna took this as a good sign that he wasn't about to be killed.
He tried to think of something to say, but compared to his brother's earlier insults, anything he could come up with seemed inadequate and would most likely be taken for pity. He instinctively knew Gokudera wouldn't appreciate that anyway.
So, swallowing hard, Tsuna fumbled for his handkerchief and reached out to wipe at the nearest injury, an ugly gash running across the back of Gokudera's left hand. That got a reaction.
"The hell are you doing?" Gokudera snapped, exploding up from his kneeling position and snatching his hand away.
Tsuna dropped the handkerchief and scrambled away, cringing away from the flinty look embedded in Gokudera's eyes. He dropped his gaze to the injury before glancing back up, and then flinched back when Gokudera's mouth curled into a derisive sneer.
"I don't need help from Jyuudaime's clone!" He spat out. "I've heard about you. Dame-Tsuna, isn't it? I hear you don't even talk."
Tsuna kept his eyes focused on the ground he was sitting on, reminding himself that he didn't mind Gokudera's words, that he had heard them hundreds of times before. It didn't matter because he was used to them.
He stilled when Gokudera moved, making to stand but releasing a hiss only a moment later and collapsing back onto hard concrete as his right ankle gave out on him.
Tsuna's gaze flickered up before skittering away again when Gokudera pinned him with a death glare, obviously daring him to say anything.
"Just go away!" He snarled. "Looking at your face makes me sick! You're nowhere near as good as Jyuudaime yet you're actually related to him! You'll be nothing more than a liability to him!"
Reborn had said as much and Tsuna forced back the prickly burning feeling in his eyes at the reminder. He had learned long ago that crying in front of other people didn't help anything; it only made things worse.
Instead, his hand darted out to retrieve the fallen handkerchief and cautiously extended it towards Gokudera again, avoiding the boy's dark glower.
A hand slapped it away. "I don't need it!" Gokudera growled. "Just leave."
Tsuna wavered in place. On one hand, every survival instinct screamed at him to flee while he still had the chance, but on the other hand, he couldn't just leave Gokudera alone when the boy couldn't even stand. He supposed he could try to find the school nurse but he was pretty sure she was already gone and he didn't feel comfortable leaving Gokudera alone. Then again, he wasn't particularly comfortable staying either.
With a nervous glance around, Tsuna settled down for a wait, retrieving the handkerchief from the ground once more as he clutched his bag to his chest. He wasn't sure what he could do for Gokudera but until the boy agreed to at least let Tsuna help him home (and wasn't that a terrifying idea; his classmate would probably try to stick dynamite down his shirt or something), he wouldn't move.
"Are you stupid?" Gokudera barked. "You want me to ask for your help or something? Well you're in for a long wait. I'll never accept help from some weakling."
Tsuna said nothing, fiddling with the strap of his bag and checking his watch. It was four-thirty in the afternoon at the moment so he wouldn't have to be home for another hour or so.
By five-thirty, Gokudera hadn't stopped muttering a string of insults aimed at everything from Tsuna's intelligence to his appearance but Tsuna had relaxed enough to pull out his homework and get started on that with only a wary glance at his volatile classmate every few minutes.
By six-thirty, Tsuna mentally apologized to his mother who would no doubt be worried, but he had no phone – the one he had gotten when he had entered middle school had been stolen in a scuffle with a few upperclassmen two weeks after he had gotten it – so he could only hope Reborn, whom Tsuna was now fairly convinced was psychic and knew everything, would be able to spin one of those creative lies he always made for Hiko to lessen her concern. Gokudera was now doing his utmost best to ignore Tsuna's existence.
By seven-thirty, Tsuna wondered why Hibari, the school's feared leader of the Disciplinary Committee, hadn't come by to bite them both to death, but there wasn't an actual rule that said students couldn't be on school grounds after school hours; just no loitering. Tsuna had a hard time imagining Hibari to actually differentiate between the two and decided that he had probably overlooked their presence because something more important had caught his attention. He and Gokudera were at the edge of school property anyway. In the meantime, Gokudera had turned his back on Tsuna and was still ignoring him.
By eight-thirty, the sunset was casting a red glow over everything and Tsuna flushed when his stomach grumbled a complaint. Gokudera didn't so much as twitch.
By nine-thirty, night had fallen and Tsuna stuffed his work away at last, rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the ache and trying not to think about what his mother had made for dinner.
Just as he was weighing the pros and cons of grabbing Gokudera's attention again, the bomber abruptly twisted around, the last of the fight draining from his frame as his entire body seemed to deflate.
"Are you seriously going to sit here all night?" Gokudera demanded, his expression incredulous. "How dumb can you get? I'm not gonna grovel at your fe-"
Tsuna shook his head fiercely, cutting the bomber off. More than once, his bullies had told him to do just that, forcing him into a begging position as they held his belongings out of his reach, and Tsuna never wanted to hear someone accuse him of doing the same thing.
Perhaps the sudden flare of anger gave him a temporary push but Tsuna forced himself not to think as he surged forward and caught Gokudera's left hand in his own, a small bottle of disinfectant in his other as he tried to clean the gash before his classmate could pull away.
Oddly enough, Gokudera stayed silent and still this time, and Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief as he meticulously cleaned the wound. He had been hurt enough times that he had taken to carrying a small medical kit in his bag and he had become adept at cleaning and bandaging wounds. It was the one good thing that came out of being bullied.
Tsuna spent the next few minutes going over Gokudera's injuries, leaving the ankle for last. His handkerchief was already pretty dirty from staunching the last of the blood from a scrape that had torn through the other's jeans so he stuffed it away and pulled out the last of his bandages. He would have to restock later.
There wasn't much he could do for sprains, a fact he could attest to, but he could at least bind it to keep it steady. As he tied the last knot, Tsuna was aware of the dogged stare Gokudera had pinned him with since Tsuna had started. Unsure of what to do next, he sat back and waited for Gokudera to say something.
"...Now what are you gonna do?"
Tsuna didn't have to look to know Gokudera was already scowling again. Biting his lip, he pushed himself to his feet and gathered up his book bag along with Gokudera's as well. Before he could talk himself out of it, he scooted over to the bomber's side and crouched down again.
And waited.
Tsuna didn't think his face could get any redder but as the next few minutes dragged on, his legs straining from squatting for so long, he thought he was going to pass out from the tension pulsing between them.
And then, miracle of miracles, a rough hand clasped his shoulder, almost making him face-plant on the ground as Gokudera heaved himself to his feet.
"Just so you know," Gokudera growled as Tsuna staggered a little and slipped an awkward arm around the other boy's waist so the bomber could lean on him. "I'm only humouring you 'cause I don't wanna trouble Jyuudaime. If you stay out any longer, he'll have to sacrifice his sleep to come look for you."
Part of Tsuna wanted to point out that he could probably disappear for a week and he would be lucky if Hiko noticed he was missing, but now that Gokudera was actually cooperating, he didn't want to jeopardize the tentative truce between them.
"My apartment's that way," Gokudera muttered, gesturing down one street.
With a dutiful nod, Tsuna started down the road, supporting as much of Gokudera's weight as he could. It was slow going, especially with the bomber's ankle and superior height, but Tsuna couldn't help feeling a thrum of pride at being able to help someone else, no matter how unwelcome his help was.
Gokudera finally halted at a simple-looking complex and abruptly pulled away from Tsuna, half-hopping, half-stumbling towards the door after snatching his bag from Tsuna's loosened grip.
Tsuna remained silent, hovering a few feet behind Gokudera just in case the bomber fell again.
Gokudera pulled out a key and jammed it into the lock but paused before he pushed the door open. An awkward silence descended over them as Tsuna fidgeted on the spot. Why wasn't the bomber moving?
"...Thanks," The word was barely above a whisper and Gokudera was gone before Tsuna could register it, door slamming shut behind his classmate with a loud bang.
Tsuna stared, blinking in disbelief for a long minute before the smallest of smiles spread over his face. With the exception of his mother, no one had ever thanked him before. No one had ever been grateful, and while Gokudera had been reluctant, he knew intuitively that the gratitude had been sincere.
Spinning away from the apartment, Tsuna set off back down the street, not caring that his stomach was rumbling or that his brother would probably pick on him the moment he got home. He had been useful today, had proven that he wasn't a complete waste of space like Hiko always told him he was, and that alone made him happier than he had felt in a long time.
Reborn managed to slip in through Hiko's bedroom window, firing off a shot for good measure when the brat opened his mouth to complain about the amount of homework Reborn had piled on him that day, and had settled on a couch in the living room by the time the front door swung open.
After Tsuna had failed to return at his usual time – the boy was typically home long before his brother who tended to stay out with friends – and had been curiously absent by the time dinner drew close, Reborn had gone through all the possibilities, settled on the best one, told Nana that Tsuna was busy with something at school, made sure Hiko knew it would be a very bad idea to not be doing the work Reborn had assigned for him when he returned, and then headed back to school again.
Reborn had expected it; hell, he had half-dreaded it because a part of him didn't want it to be true, but he was still surprised when he found Tsuna sitting on the ground a few feet away from Gokudera, puzzling over schoolwork as the bomber berated him and, when that had little effect, ignored him.
Reborn had watched for a few minutes before moving off to cause a minor disturbance at the other end of the school to occupy the Disciplinary Committee for a good long while before returning to the courtyard.
And stayed there watching the sun sink below the horizon with each passing minute, waiting for Tsuna to give up and go home, to realize that someone he barely knew wasn't worth skipping dinner and risking Hibari's wrath and doing homework by the fading light of day for.
And knowing all the while that he was waiting in vain.
At nine-thirty, Reborn watched Gokudera finally relent, a bemused expression painting his features as Tsuna bandaged his injuries before helping him home.
Reborn had had to strain his ears to catch the muttered thanks Gokudera had offered – a wonder in and of itself – but what had caught his attention at that moment was the small genuine smile that dawned on Tsuna's face, lighting up his eyes and erasing some of the shadows that had previously clouded them.
It was the first time Reborn had seen Tsuna smile.
"Ciaossu," Reborn now greeted when brown eyes, guarded and wary like no child's should be zoomed in on him. "You're late."
Tsuna just nodded carefully, closing the door behind him even as his eyes flickered around, straying to the window, the doorway that would lead to the kitchen and the backdoor, and even the narrow space between the couch Reborn was sitting on and the entryway that opened to the stairs.
For escape routes, a voice in Reborn's mind supplied helpfully. A good trait for a Mafioso. A confusing trait for a thirteen-year-old teenager. Most likely reason: bullies. Useful skill for the future Vongola Decimo's brother.
For once, Reborn ignored the voice. "Mamma left your dinner in the microwave," He kept his eyes on the boy as Tsuna drifted towards the kitchen, giving him a wide berth.
Tsuna nodded again, this time in thanks before disappearing from sight. Reborn heard him scamper up the stairs, tripping on the fifth step as always, and it wasn't a far stretch for him to guess that the boy was going to greet his mother and apologize for being late.
It didn't take long for Tsuna to return, and several minutes later, Reborn entered the kitchen to find the boy starting in on his dinner. Hopping up into his seat, Reborn tilted his fedora up and studied the stiff posture and tense shoulders.
Underneath all that fear was a startling amount of sheer stubbornness.
"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked when Tsuna continued staring at him. If the boy wanted him to leave, he was going to have to work for it. Reborn wondered how far he would have to push until Tsuna said something.
For a long moment, Reborn found himself studied closely with anxious fleeting looks. He bore them patiently, curious to see what the teen would do.
Five minutes ticked by before Tsuna finally picked up his chopsticks again and started on his rice.
Hm. Reborn couldn't quite figure out why he was so pleased the kid hadn't run away.
Loud footsteps coming down the stairs broke the peace between them and Reborn cursed mentally at his student's bad timing.
"Hey, Reborn!" Hiko swept into the kitchen, eyes immediately landing on his brother. "I'm finished. What are you doing down here with Dame-Tsuna?"
Reborn ignored the question and snatched the worksheets he had given Hiko earlier. Giving them a cursory glance, he reached up for Leon, letting his partner transform into a gun and cocking it in Hiko's direction.
"You got eighty-two percent," Reborn said, firing off a round off shots that had the brat screeching and jumping on the spot. "Not good enough."
"You said I only had to get eighty percent or better!" Hiko yelled, scooting around the table to crouch behind Tsuna. Reborn's hand tightened around the sheaf of papers.
"I changed my mind," He said coolly, tilting his gun and firing so that the rubber bullet bounced off the opposite wall and hit the back of Hiko's head. "Do the wrong ones again."
Mumbling darkly under his breath and rubbing the back of his head, Hiko grabbed the worksheets back and demanded, "Why do I have to do this? What does math have to do with becoming a mafia boss anyway?"
A dozen reasons instantly popped into Reborn's mind, first and foremost calculating the trajectories of incoming bullets. Out loud, he said sharply, "Figure it out yourself. Now get back to work."
Hiko's face twisted into a glare as the hand holding the papers rose, and Reborn readied his gun. He had seen this a few times before when the brat had lost his temper and decided going against Reborn was a smart idea.
Apparently, Tsuna was also quite proficient at gauging his brother's moods because the older twin hastily stood up, chair scraping back as he reached out and clamped a hand firmly around Hiko's raised arm.
Hiko's head snapped around, staring dubiously at his brother and the cloud of fury cleared enough for the brat to bark out a laugh.
"What do you think you're doing?" Hiko jerked his arm away and sneered at the way Tsuna was barely meeting his eyes. "A loser like you has no say in what I do."
Reborn lowered his gun and wondered if his student knew just what his brother had done as Hiko headed out of the kitchen. While it was obvious Hiko looked down on Tsuna, it seemed Tsuna could redirect and dissipate the brat's anger before it got completely out of hand.
However, Reborn pointed his gun at Tsuna next who leapt back clumsily, eyes wide once more.
"As interesting as I find the fact that you can make your brother focus on something else," Reborn lectured. "He also has to learn to control that temper by himself, and I can't have you interfering every time. Don't do it again."
Tsuna stared back at him, eyes flickering in the direction of the stairs before glancing back and slowly nodding his agreement.
Satisfied, Reborn let his gun dip down, waiting until Tsuna had relaxed, and then fired twice over his head. The teen ducked and scrambled for cover, but terrified brown eyes peered over the table at him in a clear question of what was that for.
Reborn smirked and let Leon crawl back onto his fedora. "I felt like it," He said simply, his smirk widening when some of the fear ebbed and Tsuna actually rolled his eyes a little (sadistic Spartan thinking he can do whatever he wants).
Well, it looked like Reborn had finally found out just how Tsuna communicated.
At seven in the morning, Tsuna rushed out of the house, tripping over the front step before righting himself and hurrying onwards. He had decided last night that he would wake up earlier and head over to Gokudera's apartment just in case the bomber needed a shoulder to lean on again. Logically, his classmate would probably shout at him and refuse but Tsuna could follow behind and make sure Gokudera didn't injure himself further.
"What are you doing here?"
As expected, Gokudera met Tsuna with a scowl five minutes after he arrived, eyeing him with no small amount of irritation.
Tsuna half-shrugged and nodded timidly at the bomber's ankle.
Gokudera scoffed loudly as he limped forward. "This is nothing. You wasted your time coming here. Besides, I'm going to Jyuudaime's house."
Tsuna's eyes widened and he hurried to keep up with Gokudera's longer strides, no doubt painful but he was hiding it well.
"I have to protect Jyuudaime," Gokudera explained, probably catching the confused frown on Tsuna's face. "Someone might try to kill him on his way to school. And I'll prove my loyalty to Jyuudaime by protecting him."
Tsuna's first thought was that Hiko didn't, in any way, deserve Gokudera, not after what he had said yesterday. His second thought was that if Gokudera really wanted to become Hiko's Right-Hand or Guardian or whatever else Reborn had said, then it wouldn't do any good for his brother to see Tsuna with Gokudera.
Tsuna would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. Gokudera disliked him and Tsuna couldn't blame him for it but what little time he had managed to spend with the bomber hadn't been all bad. But if it made Gokudera happy to become Hiko's friend, then it was best if Tsuna stayed away, wasn't it? Gokudera's chances would be much better if Tsuna wasn't around.
Resignedly, he followed Gokudera until his house was in sight and he caught a glimpse of his brother through one of the windows before parting ways. If he made it to school early and reached his classroom before any bullies caught up to him, he wouldn't have to hide today.
Tsuna almost squeaked with alarm when two hands slammed down on his desk, making a few of the papers flutter to the ground.
"Where were you?" Gokudera hissed, looking even more annoyed than he had been this morning. He had avoided eye contact with the bomber when Gokudera stomped in this morning, ignoring the teacher's reprimand per usual and taking his seat behind Tsuna. Now that it was lunch break, Gokudera hadn't wasted anytime confronting him. For what, Tsuna didn't know.
Gokudera released an irritable sigh. "This morning, idiot. Where'd you go?" He clarified, but forged on before Tsuna could blink. "Look, you... helped me yesterday. I don't like being indebted to anyone, especially weaklings like you."
He glared when Tsuna made to shake his head.
"I have to pay you back," He insisted flatly. "So tell me what you want."
Tsuna stared before slowly shaking his head, flinching back when the glare intensified but refusing to give an inch. Behind Gokudera, groups of students were staring openly at them and Tsuna quickly ducked his head.
"Look, just pick something!" Gokudera snapped, looking frustrated. "It's not that hard. What do you want? Food? Money? Everyone wants mon-"
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, Tsuna cut the bomber off, this time with a rough shove, and, having not expected it, Gokudera staggered back, wincing as his weight landed on his bad ankle.
Tsuna was shaking too badly to care and there was a strange thrum of heat stirring in his chest, wrapping around his heart as he crammed papers and pencils and textbook into his bag without looking. He didn't notice the shock flooding Gokudera's face when he turned back and said the first words that came to mind, the heat somehow curling around each syllable as they slipped off his tongue.
"I don't want anything," He said clearly, stunning the class into silence. "I was just helping you because I wanted to. I don't want anything from you."
And with that said, Tsuna shoved past Gokudera and scooted from the classroom, running blindly down the halls.
It wasn't fair. The first time he hadn't run, hadn't done something to protect only himself, had done it instead for someone else, and they automatically thought he had another motive. Was it really so hard to believe that Dame-Tsuna could do something right, something good?
He didn't stop until he reached the roof, the empty rooftop no one ever came to because the only bench was old and the fence was getting rusty and the floor was worn and scratched. It was his place because no one ever followed him here. Even the bullies had better things to do during lunch, and there were a few plants that would shield him from sight if anyone stepped through the door.
Gasping for breath, Tsuna collapsed onto the floor, huddling close to the bench so he could lean against it. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and a light drizzle had started. It didn't matter to Tsuna. Rain or shine, Tsuna always came up here. It was the closest he could get to the open sky, the freest he could be without feeling like he was completely restricted.
As the rain came down even harder, flattening his hair, and the distant shrill of the school bell rang to signal the end of lunch, Tsuna remained where he was. Nobody would care where he was anyway.
To be honest, Hayato had never met a pair of twins as different as Sawada Tsunayoshi and Sawada Takehiko. Granted, he was only fifteen but he had met his fair share of twins from his travels with Shamal and the many people coming and going in his old home.
Jyuudaime was good, good enough to beat Hayato and he had wanted to serve someone that strong, but... whenever he thought of Jyuudaime's words, the cruel words that Hayato had heard from more than one Family (half-breed, weak, mistrusted, disloyal) and should be immune to by now, a part of him couldn't help but wonder if a man like that was one he would be willing to follow.
But Jyuudaime was Jyuudaime, Vongola Decimo, and someone like Hayato had no right to question him. Jyuudaime was honourable, kind, strong, respected, compassionate; everything Sawada Takehiko... was?
And everything Sawada Tsunayoshi... wasn't?
Hayato glared irritably at the empty desk in front of him and then switched his glare to the stupid teacher who dismissed the brunet's absence with an indifferent sigh of Sawada isn't here? Well, no surprise there.
With an aggressive kick that sent his desk sliding forward, Hayato stood up, grabbed his bag, and strode out of class, tuning out the teacher's demands for him to sit back down.
He had seen Jyuudaime's brother turn right so he headed in that general direction, pausing only when he passed the classroom Jyuudaime was in. Through the window, he caught a glimpse of the younger teen's face, looking bored as he scribbled something down in a notebook.
Hayato recalled the times Jyuudaime's brother had been called up to answer a question, and a few of the teachers had always looked suspiciously like they were enjoying picking on the older twin. Yet Jyuudaime's brother had never protested, keeping his head down and returning to his desk with a flush of embarrassment high in his cheeks. Out of boredom, Hayato had taken a peek at the brunet's notebooks and had found all the questions carefully copied out and worked on throughout class, albeit with little success.
With a sigh, Hayato continued on his way, pausing at a stairwell as he remembered where he had followed Jyuudaime's brother yesterday when he hadn't been sure which one was which.
It took him a minute to get up to the roof and he frowned when he realized it was raining. Muttering a curse, he was about to turn away when a brown mop of hair caught his eye and he jerked to a stop.
"How stupid can he-" He cut himself off, tossed his bag onto the ground before dashing out into the rain. Without warning, he hauled the smaller teen up, ignored the instant struggle the brunet put up, and hauled him back inside.
"Are you stupid?" He rounded on Jyuudaime's idiot clone, glowering critically at the shivering teen. "Who the hell sits out in the rain without even an umbrella? Are you trying to get sick?"
Jyuudaime's brother didn't say a word, wiping at the water dotting his face with a wet sleeve. Hayato snorted and grabbed his bag, rifling through it before thrusting his own handkerchief at the shorter teen.
For several seconds, Jyuudaime's brother only stared at it as if Hayato had produced something new and exotic, but just before he opened his mouth to snap at him, the brunet reached out and plucked the cloth from his hand, nodding silently in thanks.
"The hell were you doing out there anyway?" Hayato scowled harder when a flash of concern rushed through him at the thought.
The brunet only shrugged and didn't reply. Apparently, Jyuudaime's brother had used up his quota of words for the week. Or month.
With a huff, Hayato dropped down onto the first step, running his fingers through his wet hair. He didn't complain when Jyuudaime's brother sat down beside him.
"...What's Jyuudaime like?" Hayato refused to glance to the side even as he felt the brunet's gaze on him. "You live with him, don't you? What's he like?"
Half of him was counting on the teen's continued silence; he wasn't completely sure he wanted to hear what Jyuudaime was like, and for a long while, the muffled drum of raindrops was all that permeated the air.
"...He can be nice," The brunet said at last, and Hayato couldn't help looking over at him in disbelief. He really was talking. His voice was softer than Jyuudaime's, less carrying and hoarser, most likely from lack of use.
"He- He can be really helpful, e- especially to Kaa-san," Jyuudaime's brother continued, tripping over his words. "A- And he used to be-"
"I don't care what he used to be or what he can be," Hayato cut off bluntly, his fingers knitting together tightly as he steeled himself. "What is he like right now? What is he like to you?"
He stared directly at the brunet this time but received no response. The teen remained silent, head bowed and misery written in every line of his body.
Hayato's shoulders slumped.
"He mentioned you this morning," He eventually revealed. "Said you were..." He cleared his throat and fumbled for a cigarette instead, making a face when he found them wet. Just thinking about that conversation pissed him off. It had been why he had verbally attacked the smaller twin earlier. If Jyuudaime could say such harsh things, surely his clone would be worse?
"Lazy? Irresponsible? Skipped out on after-breakfast clean-up so he had to do it when it should be Dame-Tsuna's job?"
Hayato stared at the humourless not-quite-smile on the brunet's face. It didn't really match the tired eyes or nervous hands still playing with his handkerchief.
"I- I've heard it all, G- Gokudera-san," The teen seemed to at a loss for words for a moment. "Y- You shouldn't t- take it to heart. H- He's usually j- just like that w- with me."
"That's not a good thing!" Hayato snapped without thinking, and then flushed when the teen glanced over at him, clearly stunned.
Scrubbing a frustrated hand over his face, Hayato tried to explain. "He said a few other things too. They weren't... They weren't the words of a boss."
"H- He's still in t- training," The brunet offered feebly.
Hayato couldn't help the snort that came with this statement but didn't bother elaborating.
The two sat in an almost companionable silence for the next ten minutes. Surprisingly, it was the smaller teen that broke the quiet first.
"H- How is your a- ankle?"
Hayato shot him a sidelong glance, a half-hearted gesture to make sure his question was genuine.
"Fine," He muttered. "I've had worse."
"Th- That doesn't make it f- fine," The brunet objected, barely holding Hayato's gaze as if he was waiting for him to lash out, but there was a certain anxiety there that Hayato really wanted to disperse.
He shrugged, shifting his legs. "I'll be fine," He amended. "It really isn't bad."
The brunet blinked at him, looking for a lie, before dropping his gaze again with a nod.
"...Why don't you talk?" Hayato asked next, a completely different topic but he was honestly curious about it. "I mean talk more. Half the class thinks you're mute and the other half thinks you're stupid."
Hayato winced, regretting the tactlessness of his words when the teen's shoulders drooped.
"No point," The brunet shrugged. "N- No one cares what D- Dame-Tsuna has t- to say."
"You're talking now," Hayato felt he had to point this out. His jaw almost hung open when he was rewarded with a small shy smile that made the brunet's entire expression light up.
"Y- You care a- about what I h- have to say," He explained, and then recoiled a little as if he thought he had crossed some sort of line. "I- I mean, y- you listen even though I- I don't have m- much to s- say."
Hayato just stared at him, eyes sharpening to take in the wringing hands that said he was nervous, the continuous flicker of his eyes to Hayato's ankle that said he was still worried, and the red tint highlighting his cheeks that said he was embarrassed about blurting out something like that.
And Hayato wanted to know where Sawada Tsunayoshi had learned how to talk without words. Surely Jyuudaime, Takehiko, didn't treat his own brother like he had this morning all the time? But the younger twin had already proven his ability to be cruel. It hadn't only been Jyuudaime's brother, Tsunayoshi, that he had belittled. Takehiko had also brought up every one of Hayato's faults and thrown them in his face once more, refusing Hayato's pledge of loyalty with contempt.
And Tsunayoshi didn't really have friends as far as Hayato had seen.
Calmer now than before, he thought back to yesterday, to the long hours Tsuna had spent waiting until Hayato had relented and allowed the brunet to take care of him. He thought back to this morning, when Tsuna had rushed over to his apartment just to see if he would need help, and then disappearing before his brother had seen him, no doubt to give Hayato a better chance at getting back into Takehiko's good graces.
And since when had Hayato been someone who groveled at the feet of someone else to get back into their good graces? Takehiko had beaten him in a fight, but did that really mean he was the right person to follow?
His mind cast back to the beginning of the lunch break. The surprising amount of anger resulting from Hayato's rash words, the sincerity in Tsuna's own assertions, and finally, the unmistakeable flash of burnished orange that had replaced the usual brown in his eyes, clear and bright as sky flames when Tsuna's newfound – hidden? – resolve clashed with Hayato's own and beat it down with unrelenting conviction, all in the span of a handful of seconds.
Not to mention Tsuna had talked. Judging by the whispers ('Dame-Tsuna can talk? I thought he was mute.' 'No way; he's just stupid most of the time.') that had followed after his departure, Tsuna didn't talk much, at least not to people he didn't know well, which amounted to most of the world's population, but he had spoken to Hayato. Was speaking to him now.
Thinking of all that, Hayato could only wonder if Vongola, Nono, and even Reborn had made a mistake.
"A- Are you alright, G- Gokudera-san?"
Hayato turned, studying the pensive face with new eyes. "Why did you stay with me yesterday?" He asked bluntly.
Tsuna looked taken aback. "B- Because you were hurt," He mumbled, looking slightly bewildered as if he didn't understand why Hayato had asked that question. "A- And because Hiko sh- shouldn't have s- said those things t- to you. A- And..."
He trailed off awkwardly, fingers tightening around the crumpled handkerchief before finishing determinedly, "And because you looked lonely."
Hayato scoffed. "You mean pathetic, crouching on the ground like that."
Tsuna shook his head, vehement enough to catch Hayato's attention again. "N- No. You didn't. I- I know what loneliness looks like."
The brunet glanced away, turning red again but not taking his words back.
"Are you stupid?" Hayato grumbled, quashing the flutter of warmth in his chest. "What does it matter anyway?"
"Of course it matters!" Tsuna exclaimed, and then flushed even harder at his outburst. "I- I mean, Hiko d- doesn't think before he says something, a- and he sometimes hurts other p- people because of that. N- None of it was true anyway."
Hayato had stopped breathing at this point, inexplicably drawn to the brunet's words. "...Wasn't it?" He prompted quietly.
Tsuna frowned. "Of course not. H- How would Hiko know whether y- you're trustworthy or n- not? H- He doesn't even kn- know you."
Hayato's eyes closed and he dropped his head forward, releasing a deep sigh as he felt the last of his anger drain away. His head shot up again when Tsuna started panicking.
"W- Wait, I- I didn't m- mean t- to offend y- you or a- anything! A- Are you m- mad? I- I didn't mean t- to-"
"I'm not mad," Hayato interrupted. "Just- I just realized something, that's all."
Tsuna's head tilted inquisitively and Hayato rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't used to apologizing but it came surprisingly easily now.
"I apologize for calling you his clone yesterday," Hayato twisted around and bowed his head for good measure. "And all the other things I said. And I didn't mean to imply that you wanted anything in return for it."
Hayato glanced up and quirked a slight smile as Tsuna flailed helplessly, trying to tell him he had no need to apologize.
"Y- You shouldn't-" Tsuna swallowed hard before murmuring despondently, "I- I heard you want to b- become Hiko's Right-Hand. Y- You shouldn't really t- talk to me i- if you want that."
The last Hayato's doubts left and he dismissed Sawada Takehiko from his thoughts. Mouth set in a grim line, he rose to his feet, descended a few steps, and then turned and bowed to a completely dumbfounded Sawada Tsunayoshi.
"No," He said firmly. "I apologize. And Jyuudaime- your brother; he's not someone I want to follow for the rest of my life." He paused before admitting, "If you would be willing, I would like to stay by your side."
Hayato caught a glimpse of the shock on Tsuna's face before the younger teen was waving his arms frantically.
"N- No!" Tsuna protested, and Hayato felt his heart plummet until he heard his next words. "I- I'm not going to be a mafia boss! Y- You won't be able to become a- a Guardian or-"
"That's fine," Hayato said resolutely, and, to his amazement, found this to be completely true. "You'll still be connected to the mafia so you'll be in danger. I'll protect you. I'll be your bodyguard."
The silence that ensued was one of the longest Hayato had ever had to endure and he waited with bated breath to see what Tsuna would say.
"I- I don't want a bodyguard," Tsuna finally said, but before Hayato could feel more than the beginnings of crushing disappointment, he forged on.
"But I- I'd like a friend."
Hayato's head shot up and he found himself staring into uncertain brown eyes, fearful of rejection and uncertain of acceptance.
How many times had Hayato looked into a mirror and seen the exact same thing?
I know what loneliness looks like.
They both did, didn't they?
"I'd be honoured, Tsunayoshi-sama," Hayato couldn't help grinning, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders.
Tsuna's mouth dropped open, surprised and delighted and just a little afraid all at once. And then he shook his head, one of those rare genuine smiles tilting his mouth. "Y- You can just c- call me Tsuna."
"Tsuna-sama then," Hayato said stoutly, ignoring Tsuna's protests as he extended a hand to help him up.
He didn't think he would be as happy as he was when Tsuna's smile grew and a hand reached out to take his.
Reborn had seen the altercation between Tsuna and Gokudera, too far away to hear, after the harsh words his student had branded the bomber with. He had made sure to scold Hiko and kick him a couple times for good measure but it wouldn't do any good if the brat himself didn't step down from his pedestal.
Following Tsuna up to the roof without being seen wasn't hard; the boy was too upset to notice much around him. When it started raining, Reborn waited for the teen to move back inside and when that didn't happen, he had planned to ask Leon to transform into an umbrella so Reborn could whack the idiot over the head with it. Both twins were infuriatingly hard to deal with in their own right.
But then Gokudera had arrived, a brief spasm of horror crossing the bomber's features when he had caught sight of Tsuna, and Reborn hadn't had to do anything after all when Gokudera took the initiative and dragged the brunet back inside.
When both students failed to reappear in the school hallways, Reborn considered sending in one of his beetles to listen in on their conversation but decided against it. Tsuna wasn't his responsibility, and with what Hiko had said this morning, it would be a long while before his student would consider taking Gokudera on as a subordinate, if ever.
Besides, Hiko had fallen asleep in class again. Reborn didn't mind being the one who woke him up.
As Hayato soon found out in the next few days, while Tsuna could talk and Hayato had done his best to assure him that anything he had to say would be welcomed, the smaller teen was either so used to staying silent or simply preferred staying silent that he didn't talk much at all.
That was okay, Hayato had decided. He could understand his friend (and boss, though that was something he kept to himself) well enough. For someone who never said anything out loud, Tsuna could actually convey a lot.
Another thing Hayato had discovered was the large number of bastards who came after Tsuna, for his lunch or his belongings or just to hurt him for no reason at all. It didn't take long for Hayato to convince them that this was a very bad idea. Tsuna didn't condone violence though so Hayato had grudgingly aimed his dynamite around the bullies to scare them off instead of blowing them up on the spot (which would've made him much happier but it would've made Tsuna sad, so he refrained).
At the moment, over a week after the rooftop incident, Hayato had his schoolbooks under one arm and was hurrying over to Tsuna's house. The brunet had tentatively asked for help in his studies and Hayato had jumped at the chance. They had agreed to meet up at Tsuna's house on Sunday since there was more room there. The only downside was Tsuna's twin but Hayato had assured Tsuna that he wouldn't let anything the brat said get to him.
Fortunately, when Hayato rang the doorbell, it was Tsuna's mother who answered, and she waved him in with a warm smile almost before he had said hello.
"Tsu-kun said he had invited a friend over today," The woman told him happily. "I'm so glad he's finally socializing a bit more, even if he doesn't like talking."
"Tsuna-sama doesn't have to say a word ever again and I'd still stay by his side," Hayato pledged staunchly. He didn't quite understand the sudden overwhelming gratitude that flashed across her features for a split second.
Unfortunately, before either of them could say anything more, Tsuna's twin appeared, Reborn not too far away.
"Back again?" Hiko sneered, and Hayato eyed him irritably. Now that he had accepted the fact that Tsuna's brother wasn't worth following, the brat was annoying at best.
"Your begging is so pathetic," Hiko continued. "I'm not accepting you into my Family and that's that, now leave."
Hayato snorted. "I'm not here for you, clone," He snapped, unrepentantly satisfied when Hiko gaped at him. "Where's Tsuna-sama?"
Hiko was openly gawking at him. "'Tsuna-sama'? Dame-Tsuna? Why would you want to have anything to do with him?"
Hayato twitched at the tone of disbelief but before he could retort, steps on the stairs made them all turn and watch as Tsuna stumbled into the living room, expression brightening when he caught sight of Hayato.
For his part, Hayato couldn't help smiling at the genuinely pleased look on his boss' face. Tsuna always seemed thrilled whenever Hayato spoke to him or walked him home and he felt a little guilty for being so happy because of this, but it meant Tsuna valued him, and Hayato had never had that before.
"Good morning, Tsuna-sama!" He greeted now, moving over to his side. "Ready to get started?"
He grinned at the decidedly sulky look his boss sent him when he waved a math text in front of him and promised, "Don't worry, Tsuna-sama. You'll be an expert in math by the end of the day!"
Tsuna sent him a wry look (I don't think that's possible) but, nevertheless, humoured him with a nod.
"Tsu-kun, I'll call you both down when lunch is ready," Tsuna's mother called, and Tsuna nodded again while Hayato thanked her for the trouble.
"Wait, you're hanging out with Dame-Tsuna now?" Hiko demanded when she had bustled back into the kitchen. "Why would you do something like that? You think you can worm your way into my Family that way?"
Hayato growled and automatically went for his dynamite. "Tsuna-sama is a thousand times better than you," He said coolly. "I don't want any part in your Family. I'm here as Tsuna-sama's friend."
The floored expression on Hiko's face was priceless; the glowing smile on Tsuna's face was even better.
"Well," Hiko recovered, plastering a look of derision on his face as he glanced between Hayato and Tsuna. "I suppose it suits you. Dame-Tsuna's level is all you'll amount to."
Tsuna flushed but Hayato tilted his chin up, keeping his gaze steady as he confirmed, "Yes, I serve the best. Tsuna-sama is the very best."
And with that said, he marched past the younger twin and joined Tsuna by the stairs. "Shall we, Tsuna-sama?"
Tsuna didn't smile a lot. As they ascended the stairs, his boss' mouth curved upwards all the while, Hayato realized he had subconsciously made it one of his lifelong goals to see as many of them as he could.
"Che, how pathetic," Hiko scoffed as he threw himself down onto the couch. "Settling for Dame-Tsuna because he can't serve me."
Reborn tilted his fedora down, hiding a tired sigh. Did the brat really have no idea what he had just lost? Reborn had never seen that proud resolve in Gokudera Hayato until a few minutes ago. The bomber would never be a Guardian or the boss' chosen Right-Hand but Reborn knew tenacity when he saw it. Even if Hiko changed his mind and offered both positions to the bomber, Hayato would never accept it. He had chosen Tsuna and nothing would sway him now that his loyalty to the older twin had cemented.
And the worst part in all this was that Reborn couldn't blame the bomber. He had no idea how two siblings could turn out so differently but Hiko had almost none of the innate kindness Tsuna had. His student would've been smug at befriending Hayato if their positions were switched and Tsuna had been the one to reject the bomber, but Tsuna had only been quietly pleased at Hayato's mere presence.
With an audible sigh this time, Reborn pointed a gun at Hiko and ordered, "Did I say you could rest? Time for training. Twenty laps around Namimori Middle. Hurry up."
As Hiko ran out the door, covering his head from the gunfire, Reborn couldn't help thinking what it would've been like if Iemitsu had suggested his eldest as the next Vongola boss instead.