Disclaimer: I own nothing from Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
-This one was a hard chapter to write; Kyouya isn't an easy character for me:) It's longer than the others too since I couldn't find a place to cut it off.
-Kyoko will be coming up but not quite yet. She'll appear with her brother a few chapters later; I've already got their entrance planned.
-I won't be going in depth about Mochida's past or anything but he will eventually be a part of Tsuna's Family, though obviously not a Guardian.
-And as for Tsuna's weapon, it will still be the gloves but Tsuna will also be able to use a sword, though not as well. He's always been a hand-to-hand combat kind of fighter to me.
Chapter 6 – Training Begins and the Prefect Lends a Hand
"Buchou, that's Dame-Tsuna. I don't think he'll be able to do it."
"Did I ask for your opinion? No. Do I care about your opinion? Also no. Now get back to work or I'll assign you a hundred laps around the school!"
Tsuna eyed Mochida nervously as the kendo captain sent one of his teammates scurrying away across the gym.
"What?" Mochida growled when he caught Tsuna staring at him. "Did I say you could stop? You're stance is sloppy as hell. Are you trying at all?"
Tsuna hastily corrected his posture again.
"Elbows like this," Mochida reached out to fix his arms and Tsuna automatically stiffened as he had several times already in the past few weeks. "Goddamn it, Sawada, I'm not gonna hurt you!"
"W- Well you're not helping by yelling at me all the time," Tsuna finally shot back defensively.
He flinched a little when Mochida opened his mouth, already glaring at him, and then snapped it shut again, taking a deep breath and releasing it with a whoosh.
"You are infuriating, Sawada," Mochida told him dully, running a hand through his hair.
Tsuna's shoulders sagged as he stared at the ground in dismay. He had started kendo three weeks ago and to say that Hayato was not happy about it was an understatement. The bomber had tried to talk him out of it, and when that hadn't worked, he had insisted on accompanying Tsuna to practice.
The first day had been a disaster. Hayato and Mochida hadn't been able to stand each other and had spent the first fifteen minutes throwing insults back and forth. Takeshi had also been there but instead of trying to break it up, he had laughed and remarked on how well the two of them got along. That hadn't sat well with either of them and they had spent another ten minutes swearing at the baseball player.
By the time practice had actually started, Mochida had been in a downright foul mood and Tsuna, being completely new at the sport and the one who had 'brought' Hayato and Takeshi along, had gotten the brunt of it. Needless to say, Hayato had been enraged every time Mochida had so much as scowled in Tsuna's direction, and they hadn't even managed to get through twenty minutes of practice before the two of them were shouting at each other again.
And at the end of practice in which no one had done any actual practicing, Mochida had told Tsuna in no uncertain terms that if Hayato, and by extension Takeshi, ever showed their faces during kendo practice again, Mochida would kick the brunet out the door himself.
What had followed had been Hayato alternating between accusing Mochida of being unfair and celebrating Tsuna's imminent resignation from the kendo club. Takeshi had been completely useless as he tried to get the two hotheads to become friends, so in the end, it had been Tsuna who had had to step in.
It had taken a lot of wheedling, begging, and almost-threatening before Hayato and Takeshi had grudgingly agreed to back off and stay outside the gym when Tsuna was at practice. Tsuna wasn't sure but he thought he might've earned just a little respect from Mochida after that.
Not that it was helping any at the moment. As with almost everything else, Tsuna just couldn't get the hang of kendo. Oh, he had started picking up some of the basic forms, and after Mochida had found out that his stamina wasn't as bad as both of them had thought (most likely because of all the running he had had to do when escaping from bullies), the kendo captain had ordered him to polish that aspect up. Apparently, kendo wasn't just about swinging a wooden sword around; Mochida wasn't above assigning a terrifying number of laps for his entire team.
But Tsuna had almost no muscle build and even the lightest shinai weighed heavily in his hands after a few minutes, much to Mochida's ire. So the first order of business had been strength training; Tsuna had needed Hayato to carry him home after a morning of push-ups, sit-ups, and whatever else Mochida had deemed necessary.
Predictably, Tsuna had also struggled under the clothing and armour. He had been startled when Mochida had sighed and told him to take it off, but ever since then, Tsuna had trained without it. Apparently, in Mochida's words, if there was one thing Tsuna wasn't pathetic at, it was dodging blows, as the captain had quickly realized, and more often than not, when they sparred, Tsuna was able to slip past the strikes Mochida dealt. Of course, the captain always held back quite a bit, something that still surprised Tsuna a little, but the brunet was unexpectedly quick on his feet after all the running Mochida had gotten him to do, adamantly telling him to redo his laps every time Tsuna tripped. His clumsiness had died a swift and painful death by the end of the first week. Most of it anyway.
However, that was about as far as Tsuna had been able to advance. Kendo just didn't suit him, and even three weeks after he had started, the other club members were still laughing at him behind Mochida's back. Shockingly, Mochida wouldn't stand for it, and the first time someone had openly insulted Tsuna, the captain had made him regret it. Now they kept their comments subdued and usually out of Mochida's hearing range.
Now, Tsuna glanced cautiously at Mochida's frustrated expression and suggested miserably, "M- Maybe I should just-"
"Oh, shut up, Sawada," Mochida cut him off, shooting him an irritable glare. "Is this a habit of yours, giving up every time something doesn't work out? It's annoying; knock it off."
"But-"
"I said I would teach you kendo," Mochida growled. "Not the half-assed crap you've been doing, so until you become moderately successful at it and kick at least half the club's asses, I'm not letting you quit. Clear?"
Tsuna gaped at him. He still wasn't used to a Mochida who, while still as foul-mouthed and temperamental as before, seemed to have Tsuna's interests in mind.
"Get rid of whatever sap you're thinking," Mochida snapped. "It would be a blow to my pride if you don't amount to anything by the time we're done here. Now go through the forms again."
Tsuna stifled a sigh and went back to work. Well, he supposed it just wouldn't be right if he gave up before Mochida did.
Tsuna made sure to call out a greeting when he got home and watched, still somewhat bemused after three weeks, as his mother almost bounced out of the kitchen to welcome him home.
He had never considered it a big deal but the day he had returned to school after his brief sick leave, when talking had started coming just a little bit easier, his mother had looked ready to burst into tears when he got home and said a simple, "I'm home."
"Welcome back, Tsu-kun," His mother now greeted, smiling warmly at him. "How was school today?"
"Fine," He said. "Kendo was hard."
It had been four words but his mother beamed as if he had suddenly waxed poetic for a good half hour.
"But you're still keeping with it, Tsu-kun, that's what matters," She said firmly as she ushered him inside. "I'm proud of you."
Tsuna watched her out of the corner of his eye as she told him about her own day. Was it just him or did his mother sound happier than usual? Lighter? And when she told him she was proud of him, the words didn't sound so hollow anymore. Whenever she had said it in the past, for tests he knew were bad or for homework with more red than white on them, he had hated those words. He hadn't deserved them.
But he was working for it now, working to do something he was actually kind of proud of himself.
Maybe that made all the difference.
"Hey Tsuna!" Takeshi greeted when he spotted the quiet brunet rounding the corner. Tsuna had promised to come watch his baseball game and he had been anxious to catch him before he had to go warm up.
Tsuna waved with the slightest of smiles as he jogged up. For once, Gokudera wasn't at his side, his sister having hauled him off somewhere, last Takeshi had heard anyway.
"Thanks for coming," Takeshi slung his arm around the brunet's shoulders. "You'll be cheering me on, right?"
Tsuna nodded with a slight smile, absently rubbing at his shoulder. Takeshi's smile faded a bit.
"Tsuna?" Takeshi waited until the brunet's gaze met his again. "Why did you start kendo?"
Tsuna blinked, a frown creasing his brow almost instantly.
"Just in case," He said softly after a long moment. "There are... people who might come after Hiko eventually. I want to be prepared just in case they try to get at me or Kaa-san or Lambo or... you and Hayato-kun."
It took a few seconds for Takeshi to makes sense of what Tsuna was saying, and then understanding dawned on him. "Oh! You mean Hiko's mafia game?"
A grimace Takeshi didn't understand crossed Tsuna's face but he only got a stiff nod in return.
"Hmm," Takeshi turned to gaze out over the baseball field. "Well, maybe I should do some training too."
He jumped a little when Tsuna rounded on him with uncharacteristic ferocity.
"You can't!" The brunet said vehemently. "I- I mean, you have baseball! A normal life. You shouldn't get involved in the mafia."
Takeshi studied the smaller teen carefully before asking lightly, "You don't have a normal life then?"
Tsuna shifted uneasily. "Hiko's going to become a mafia boss. I'm already involved. A normal life's not something I can have."
Takeshi nodded, tightening his hold on Tsuna momentarily. "Then I don't want a normal life either," He said cheerfully. "It'd be boring without you in it. I've decided; I'll play the mafia game with you."
Tsuna looked horrified. "Takeshi-kun-"
"Maa, Tsuna," Takeshi interrupted gently. "You're training and getting stronger to protect us, right?"
Tsuna nodded uncertainly.
"Then there's no way I won't do the same," Takeshi said firmly. "You're my friend, Tsuna. My first real friend, actually. So I'm going to protect you too."
Tsuna was gaping at him now, still worried for him, but Takeshi could see the subtle awe slowly surfacing behind it. And under all that was a trace of delighted surprise that twisted Takeshi's heart because even after weeks of being friends, a part of Tsuna still couldn't believe Takeshi wanted to be friends.
"It's dangerous," Tsuna finally mumbled. "You could get hurt."
"Well that's what the training's for," Takeshi reminded. "Don't worry; I'll train hard. Did you know my dad knows how to fight with a sword? I'll get him to teach me, and then we'll both be ready if enemies come. Besides, Gokudera's training as well, isn't he? With those fireworks of his."
Tsuna looked a little exasperated but nodded reluctantly. "Just don't forget about baseball," The smaller teen nodded at the field. "You should get going; you still need to warm up, right?"
"Right," Takeshi grinned, though he knew a distraction tactic when he saw one. Well, Tsuna would realize sooner or later that he meant every word. He would protect Tsuna no matter what, even in a mafia game. "See you after the game!"
Besides, he could do more than one thing at the same time, couldn't he? And if it came down to it, if he really had to choose between baseball and swordsmanship, between baseball and Tsuna...
Well, it wasn't really a choice at all.
"Tou-san, could you teach me the Shigure Souen Ryu?"
Tsuyoshi paused, hand hovering over the kitchen knife he had been about to pick up. "Shigure Souen Ryu? You've never had much interest in it before. What brought this on?"
His son shrugged sheepishly, "Never had a reason to. But Tsuna's been training, for that mafia game his brother plays. He's taken up kendo recently and Mochida-senpai's been getting him to run laps a lot."
Tsuyoshi stilled even further. He had been trying to come up with a reason for Reborn's presence in Namimori and had concluded that the Arcobaleno was training Tsuna's brother to become a Mafioso, though for what purpose he couldn't say.
"What is this mafia game about, Takeshi?" Tsuyoshi asked, giving his son his full attention.
Takeshi scratched his head. "Hiko's gathering people to become his Family members. The kid is training him to become the next Vongola boss."
Had Tsuyoshi been holding anything, he would've dropped it. Vongola. So the strongest hitman in the world had been sent to train the Ninth's heir. Well, no surprise there. Only the best for the best. But even from what little he had heard about Tsuna's twin from Takeshi, he couldn't understand why the Ninth would pick someone like Takehiko as Vongola Decimo. He had never actually met the current Vongola boss but Tsuyoshi had heard that the man wasn't particularly cruel or bloodthirsty like some bosses could be. Takehiko didn't seem like the type of person the Ninth would pick.
"I see," Tsuyoshi said out loud. "And you want to join this game as well?"
Takeshi smiled amicably. "Yup, but on Tsuna's side, of course. Gokudera's playing as well, I think, so they both have a head start. I figured I'd better start training too."
Tsuyoshi sighed. On one hand, he didn't want his son involved with the mafia. There was a reason why he had quit in the first place. That world was dangerous and bloody and cruel, and Takeshi still thought it was all a game to boot. But on the other hand, he liked Tsunayoshi. The boy just had a certain charm to him, and even though he had yet to speak in Tsuyoshi's presence, he had managed to get a few shy smiles from the brunet and that was a good start in his book. And it was also quite obvious that his son would stand by Tsuna no matter what. If Tsuyoshi refused to teach him, Takeshi would simply find another way.
"Alright," Tsuyoshi agreed, watching his son's face light up. "But I expect to be serious about it. Focus on the sword like you would baseball. I won't stand for any slacking."
As Takeshi nodded determinedly in response, Tsuyoshi prayed he had made the right decision.
"Die, Reborn!"
Reborn sighed. This was getting ridiculous. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the cow flying into the wall, not bothering to look away from the homework he was checking over. At the rate Tsuna was going, the older twin would soon surpass his brother in academics, and wouldn't that be irony for you?
"Gotta... stay... calm..."
There was a rustle and Reborn stiffened before whipping his head around as he recalled exactly what happened when the cow skipped over bombs but it was too late. Eyes widening minutely, he watched silently as the bazooka went off, pink smoke filling the room and a sort of apprehensive trepidation filled Reborn.
"Again?" Reborn heard a voice mutter. "Damn, Gokudera-shi will want my head on a platter this time."
Reborn couldn't help mentally smirking at that but any humour he felt towards the situation disappeared when the future Lambo caught sight of him and their eyes met. Right eye closed, the remaining green eye froze over instantly and Reborn already felt tired.
"Where's Tsuna-nii?" Lambo asked with forced cheer in his voice as he looked around. "This is his room, isn't it?"
"He's out with his friends," Reborn responded in kind, keeping his own voice bland. "You just missed him."
Lambo twitched a little and scratched his head. "Che, I've got better things to do than spend five minutes with you."
But he didn't leave, sitting down on Tsuna's bed instead and taking everything in with a nostalgic air. His gaze landed on a stuffed cow Reborn remembered Tsuna buying as part of Lambo's birthday present a few weeks back and picked it up, hands running over the toy as if it was a priceless heirloom.
"You don't have it anymore?" Reborn couldn't help prodding, a sudden sense of urgency to find out as much as he could despite the marked danger welling up inside him.
Lambo shot him another look that was a hair away from outright glaring, and any other time, Reborn would've shot him for it, but the cow honestly seemed to have a reasonable excuse to dislike him so the hitman ignored it.
"Didn't have time to get it," Lambo said stiffly. "Went up in flames along with the rest of this house."
Reborn didn't freeze but his hand tightened unnoticeably around the notebook he was still holding. "When?"
Lambo's expression mocked him for his curiosity and Reborn had to shove away the urge to do violence.
"You know I can't tell you that," Lambo countered, putting down the stuffed animal before leaning back on his hands with a sigh. "Yare, yare, this is a surprise. Who knew the great Reborn would get nervous enough to ask little old me-"
Reasonable excuse or no, Reborn took crap from no one and he had fired a bullet at the cow before either of them could blink. He could admit, to himself, that he was just a little surprised when a hand, already crackling with lightning, shot up and diverted said bullet before it reached its target, slamming into the wall behind Lambo instead.
"I'm not the little weakling you used to kick around anymore, Reborn," Lambo said, a peculiar humorless smile on his face as the lightning faded away. It was almost unnerving to see how much the cow differed from his five-year-old self.
Reborn studied him closely as Leon transformed back. In a fight, there was no doubt that he could defeat the cow but Lambo was still stronger than Reborn had expected. Even for a Bovino, the cow should have had to draw the lightning from somewhere but wherever that was, he didn't know. Instead, he picked up the lax but ready posture of the fifteen-year-old and the lazy but still alert gaze that kept the entire room in its line of sight and came to a conclusion. Reborn was not looking at ten years' worth of training; he was looking at ten years' worth of fighting.
Was the future really that bad?
His mental clock told him that the five minutes was almost up and he watched as Lambo straightened, anticipating the time jump. He couldn't help asking one last question, wanting to hear the answer but dreading it at the same time.
"Is he dead?"
Who 'he' was didn't need clarification.
Lambo scoffed, getting to his feet and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What do you think?"
A question for a question was all Reborn was given before the cow disappeared in a haze of pink and left his five-year-old self in his wake.
Pulling his fedora down to shadow his eyes, Reborn turned away, ignoring the cow as he began to rant about something or other.
It was odd. As a hitman, things like emotions weren't something Reborn invested in, and while he certainly – deep, deep down – cared about some of the people around him, Sawada Tsunayoshi was not even his student, not someone he directly worked with, and yet the mere thought of what Lambo had implied sent a shard of ice cutting into his heart.
"What are you looking at?" Kensuke scowled when he caught Sawada's sidelong glance for the third time. As promised, he had cleared it with his old man, grabbed Sawada after class, whisked him away once the younger teen had guaranteed his survival in the Mochida household to his two guard dogs, and was currently trying to light a cigarette and glare at the brunet at the same time.
Sawada shrugged and remained silent until Kensuke finished lighting his cigarette.
"I- I thought sportsmen weren't supposed to smoke," He stared pointedly at the fag Kensuke had halfway to his mouth.
Kensuke pinned the smaller teen with a withering glare. "And I thought you had enough brain cells to keep your mouth shut."
Sawada shrank away from him and said nothing more but Kensuke's hand seemed to stall on its own a few inches from his mouth, the cigarette wavering in front of him.
How the hell did Sawada manage to convey his disapproval without even looking at him?
A few more seconds passed before Kensuke gave up and lowered his hand again, rounding on the brunet who was still giving off that damnable reproachful air. "What's your problem? Doesn't your puppy number one smoke?"
Sawada scowled up at him. "Don't call him that."
Kensuke just snorted unrepentantly.
"He's down to one a week," Sawada continued, features brightening in a disturbingly bipolar manner.
Kensuke clicked his tongue in annoyance. Gokudera and Yamamato were so damned whipped it wasn't funny. Those two followed Sawada around as if the brunet would keel over dead without them there. Honestly, was it normal for a teenager to be accompanied everywhere every single day? If Yamamoto didn't have baseball practice on some mornings, Kensuke would probably see him lurking outside the south gym with Gokudera as well.
"You'll get sick and die early if you keep smoking, senpai," Sawada lectured, and then quailed a little when Kensuke turned a glare on him again.
"Like I care," He snapped, and deliberately started smoking just to deny the spark of guilt in his chest as large brown eyes blinked at him worriedly. The little pipsqueak didn't even look disappointed like his mother usually did, just concerned.
It was fucking annoying, but Kensuke was simply paying back a favour. He wasn't like those groupies that followed Sawada around; he wouldn't let the smaller teen get to him.
"Old man, why'd you get him a bokken? I'm trying to teach him kendo, you know."
Sousuke glanced to the side as his son joined him. This was the third time Kensuke had brought Tsunayoshi to the dojo and Sousuke had met them at the door with a bokken.
"The shinai is too heavy for him," He said curtly. "A bokken is not standard kendo equipment but at least he can move more easily."
To be honest, Sousuke had taken one look at Sawada Tsunayoshi and had wanted to turn the boy away. He wasn't suited for kendo, and while he could become adept at it, the teen would never become an expert.
But it was also the first time since Kensuke was five that his son had brought someone over and Sousuke wanted to know what was so special about Tsunayoshi. The boy was slight and timid and doe-eyed, wary and never speaking around Sousuke at all; usually the kind of person his son would sneer at.
"He's not entering any competitions with that thing," Kensuke mumbled around yet another cigarette. Sousuke frowned in disapproval, knowing that scolding him would be futile, and then did a subtle double-take when he realized it wasn't lit. Come to think of it, he hadn't smelled smoke for the past week or so, at least not around the house.
"I'm getting him used to moving with it first," Sousuke clarified. He had spent some time of each training session attacking the boy with a padded shinai while Tsunayoshi was blindfolded. The kid had surprisingly good instincts, so much that even Sousuke was impressed. However, in his opinion, Tsunayoshi was better suited for hand-to-hand combat instead of trying to incorporate an actual weapon into his fighting style. But the boy wanted to learn and Kensuke had asked, so Sousuke had agreed, if only to find out more about his son's new friend.
Not that Kensuke called him as such, but while Sousuke had seen his son growling and berating Tsunayoshi, he also seemed a little- not happier per se, but more open and less angry, his temper always somewhat reigned around the smaller teen. In turn, Kensuke had mellowed a little towards his family, no longer as quick to get irritated as before.
He shook out of his thoughts when Tsunayoshi finished the kata he had assigned. Time to move on to the next exercise.
"By the way, Kensuke," Sousuke couldn't help calling back over his shoulder as he moved forward. "Are you considering quitting?" He nodded at the cigarette.
His son grunted noncommittally, muttering something that sounded like 'damn pipsqueak' under his breath before stalking out of the dojo.
Sousuke stared after him, a little bemused, before turning back to his almost-student. Yes, Sawada Tsunayoshi was worth keeping an eye on.
This was too much. What exactly had Kensuke done in his life to deserve this? Sure, he smoked (now cutting back not because of Sawada), and he used to bully younger students (no more time for that now because he had an idiot underclassman to train), and his temper often got the better of him (but damn it, he had gotten moderately better because Sawada didn't particularly like people yelling at him and he froze up and made Kensuke's job that much harder, which was the only reason he was trying to keep his temper in check), and he had backed off on semi-harassing girls (he hadn't had time for that either).
But surely that didn't amount to this.
"Come in, come in. You must be another of Tsu-kun's friends. The kendo captain, right?"
Kensuke forced a pained smile onto his face. "Yes, ma'am. To the second. I'm not Sawada's friend."
Sawada's mother waved a dismissive hand in the air as she ushered Kensuke inside the house. "Now, now, no need to be shy. Have you eaten breakfast yet? Of course you haven't; it's much too early. You can join us before you head off to school."
Kensuke dumbly followed the woman into the kitchen and promptly found himself in a madhouse.
In the far corner was Gokudera, having some sort of hair tug o' war with- was that a miniature cow? Both were shouting insults at the top of their lungs as they faced off.
Several feet away was Yamamoto, laughing without a care in the world as he watched the aforementioned two and cheered both of them on.
Then there was a lady wearing goggles standing by the stove. Kensuke would have thought her to be quite pretty if she didn't have an evil sort of gleam in her eyes and was currently elbow deep in a purple concoction that Kensuke wanted no part of.
And finally, there was another baby sitting on the counter, wearing a suit and a fedora, and drinking coffee. That couldn't possibly be legal, could it? The kid couldn't be more than two years old.
And all this just because Kensuke had had the brilliant idea to make a stop at the Sawada household to make sure Sawada got to school on time because the pipsqueak had been late for practice several times already. If this was his reward, this would be the last time Kensuke did anything out of the goodness of his own heart.
"Oh, senpai?"
Crap, Yamamoto had caught sight of him. Kensuke pinned the baseball player with a glare. It had absolutely no effect.
"Are you joining us for breakfast?" The younger teen said, smiling happily.
Gokudera looked up as well, momentarily pausing in his fight with the cow. "What are you doing here? Get out! You're not fit to breathe the air in this house!"
Kensuke wanted to say no but Gokudera pissed him off, not to mention Sawada's mom was still within earshot and even he wasn't that much of a bastard so he grunted evasively instead.
"Great! I'll get another plate out."
Apparently, in Yamamoto language, that meant yes.
"He doesn't even want to, baseball freak!"
And Gokudera understood him completely.
"S- Senpai?"
Finally. Someone he could yell at.
"Get me outta here, Sawada!" Kensuke hissed when Sawada appeared at his elbow. "This freak show of a house of yours is giving me the creeps."
Sawada blinked blearily at him and then had the gall to pat him on the arm in a vaguely comforting manner before leading him to the dinner table.
"Senpai," He mumbled. "It's too early to get into an argument. Just sit down and eat with us."
Kensuke wanted to ask what Gokudera and the cow-child were doing if it was too early to argue but before he could open his mouth, the pink-haired lady was suddenly hovering over his shoulder, holding a dangerous-looking plate of something.
"Why hello there," The woman started amiably as she placed the dish in front of him. "A new mouth to try my recipes. Enjoy, okay?"
Kensuke was quite frankly terrified as the 'food' wriggled and sent up purple smoke. Who needed horror movies? This place was the stuff of nightmares.
"Bianchi-san," Sawada said from next to him as the brunet took a seat as well. "Don't tease him. He doesn't understand."
The woman pouted but withdrew the plate. "Tsuna-kun, you're no fun. Ah well, I suppose I'll just have to test it out on that brother of yours when he wakes up later."
She flounced away, leaving Kensuke frozen in his seat and trying to find an escape route.
"Just don't eat anything she gives you," Sawada advised. "Her food is poisonous."
Before Kensuke could figure out whether the smaller teen was serious or not, the baby on the counter called out, "Tsuna, make the coffee. Granita di caffè con panna today. You still can't get the hang of that one and it's one of the simplest to make."
Sawada jumped to his feet again, obeying without question, though he did remark, "Nobody drinks that in the morning."
"If you can make it perfectly, I'll drink it," The baby said evenly.
Kensuke watched Sawada work but he found his attention drifting back to the baby. There was something about him that made Kensuke wary. When the kid looked back, unblinking and blank-faced, Kensuke looked away. The baby's stare was unsettling.
It wasn't long before breakfast was served and Kensuke was mildly astounded that it wasn't as bad as he originally thought. Sawada's mom was too nice to hold a grudge against, the pink-haired lady, Bianchi, was tolerable when she wasn't waving a plate of poison in your face, and he was already used to Sawada and his two lapdogs. The fedora-wearing baby, Reborn, sat on Sawada's other side so as long as Kensuke didn't crane his head too far, he could pretend Reborn wasn't using a fork and knife like a grown-up. The cow-kid was obnoxious and irritating though and before Kensuke knew it, he had been pulled into a three-way argument with the brat and Gokudera, snapping at each other between bites of egg and bacon and trying to out-sneer each other.
It was unexpectedly... fun.
Not that Kensuke would ever admit it, and by the time breakfast was finished and he, Sawada, Gokudera, and Yamamoto were rushing to school, they were all back to shouting or laughing or staying nervously silent.
But two days later when Kensuke trudged to school for kendo practice, his feet betrayed him and led him back to the Sawada household for another round of madness.
And by the time he realized it, breakfast at Sawada's house before morning practice had become routine.
"You're hopeless. You should just quit."
Tsuna was too tired and had heard this insult too many times to give Hiko more than a cursory glance before letting his head drop back onto the arm of the couch he was laying on. "Hm."
He could practically feel his brother fuming but all he wanted to do was sleep. Sometimes, he thought Mochida was trying to kill him after al-
His senses flared and without thinking, Tsuna rolled off the couch and lashed out with one arm as he hit the ground, sweeping the legs out from under his attacker before shifting out of the way as their body thudded to the ground.
In his mind's eye, he was back in Mochida's family dojo with Mochida-sensei, blindfolded as the older man rained blows down on him from all direction.
At the moment though, reality rushed back and Tsuna stared at the cursing teen in front of him, dumbfounded to find his brother on the ground.
"What the hell?!" Hiko snarled.
Tsuna blinked, recalling the hand that he had sensed reaching forward to yank him up by his hair and sighed. 'What the hell' should be his line.
"Your reflexes are still too slow, Hiko," Reborn piped up from where he was sitting, calmly polishing a gun as he watched on.
"Well why didn't you warn me?" Hiko snapped.
"You were trying to hurt your brother," Reborn said coolly. "At the very least, if he hadn't moved, you would've given him whiplash. Tsuna had every right and I saw no reason to stop him."
Tsuna eyed the tutor wryly. Apparently, even Reborn had gotten used to the fact that this household was so screwed up that it was commonplace for Hiko to try to hurt Tsuna in any way he could, verbally or physically.
"You're my tutor," Hiko was saying.
Reborn gave him a blank look that screamed so?
Hiko gritted his teeth. "You always take Dame-Tsuna's side!"
Tsuna grimaced and levered himself back onto the couch as Reborn answered, "I'm a hitman. The only side I take is my own."
"...So you're not actually in the Vongola then?"
Tsuna paused and glanced over at his brother. Hiko sounded too casual.
"I mean you mentioned it before," Hiko continued. "You just have a contract with the Ninth, right? What happens once it's been fulfilled?"
Reborn didn't so much as twitch as he started taking apart his gun with efficiency borne from experience.
"Everyone goes their own way," Reborn said calmly. "I am allied to Vongola but in the end, I'm also a freelance assassin. I just turn down jobs offered by Vongola's enemies."
"Oh," Hiko nodded, features still smoothed out and guileless in the way Tsuna knew meant he was scheming something. Soon enough, his twin got up, shot him a glare, muttered something about homework, and disappeared upstairs, leaving Reborn and Tsuna in the living room.
"Foolish boy," Reborn murmured so quietly that Tsuna was quite sure he wasn't supposed to have heard it.
Tsuna privately agreed. Anyone with eyes could see Hiko's dislike for Reborn and his twin would most likely send the tutor as far away as possible once the contract was up, but despite his Spartan training methods and sadistic tendencies, the hitman made an excellent ally and advisor, and was always dependable in his own way. If Tsuna had been the one chosen to become Vongola Decimo, no force on earth would convince him to let Reborn go without at least attempting to keep him in the Family-
Tsuna started. Where had that come from? He definitely didn't want to become some cruel mafia boss of a crime family; that fact would never change, but if it was Hiko...
He looked up when he felt a set of eyes focused on him and just managed to catch an odd fleeting look from Reborn. Nervously, Tsuna mumbled an excuse and sped out of the room as well. He wasn't sure how the hitman's mind-reading skill worked; he just hoped Reborn hadn't picked up any of his thoughts. They were stupid and not worth thinking about and, somewhere along the way, Reborn's opinion had become important to him. He didn't want the tutor to think any less of him than he probably already did.
Contrary to popular belief, Reborn couldn't actually read minds. He was just very good at picking up tells and mannerisms and emotions and piecing them all together. Basically, he was just very good at his job.
It was even easier reading Tsuna's expressive eyes and constantly shifting features but that hadn't stopped the thrum of shock from running through him when he had caught the disapproval lurking in the brunet's eyes as the teen watched his brother leave, nor the beginnings of contemplation as the brown gaze had stared off into the distance, nor the tiny, brief glimmer of purpose that had flickered to life in a rare moment of self-confidence.
And Reborn had heard it clear as day.
I could do better.
It was amazing what a few trusted friends and a boost in confidence could do to a person. Watching Tsuna become a little more open each day and observing his admittedly slow but steady progress in his academics, Reborn had felt the same pride he would have if Tsuna had been his own student.
There were still many times when Tsuna would shrink back fearfully and the teen still preferred to stay silent rather than talk but Reborn had noticed the minute changes; standing a little taller, meeting a person's eyes when they spoke to him. Small things, but satisfying to see, regardless.
But this aspect of Tsuna had been something Reborn had worried about. Or rather the lack thereof. Tsuna had had no confidence thus far, and even if Reborn somehow succeeded in convincing the Ninth to switch to the older twin for his heir and was able to convince Tsuna into actively training to become Vongola Decimo, Tsuna himself still had to want it, want it and believe he could take it. Maybe not right away, but eventually.
The thought had been brief and Tsuna had probably quashed it as soon as it had brushed his subconscious, but it had been there.
And that, Reborn could work with.
He recalled one of the older laws of the Vongola Famiglia, invoked when others sought to claim the title. And so long as they were part of the Vongola bloodline, they would have the right. A battle for the possession of the Vongola rings that would determine the upper echelon of the tenth generation.
Tsuna was starting his training and Gokudera would only get better. Yamamoto had jumped on the proverbial bandwagon and followed Tsuna's example, getting his father to teach him swordsmanship. And if the cow could use the ten-year-bazooka and finish off his opponent within five minutes, that made three. It was a good starting lineup.
But it would be difficult. First and foremost, Reborn couldn't help them. The contract forbade him from teaching Tsuna anything, directly or indirectly, and it would be considered outright betrayal if he presented Tsuna and his friends as candidates against his own student. For another, he had no idea how to go about finding the brunet more potential candidates. He already had an eye on Sasagawa Ryohei and Hibari Kyouya but to give them to Tsuna over Hiko was, again, something he couldn't do. He was fairly certain Hiko would never get a man like Hibari to bow down to him so it was up to Tsuna's charisma and nature to reel the loner in. Ryohei might, though considering all the stalking Hiko had done to the older student's sister, his chances there had decreased significantly as well, and Reborn was sure the boxer's enthusiastic character would be good for Tsuna.
The people Hiko had chosen so far were unsavory teenagers. They were strong, and at the moment, Hiko wouldn't have trouble defeating his brother, but Reborn could see that changing. Tsuna had much more potential than his twin after all.
But he was getting ahead of himself. This might not even be possible. It would be easy enough to slip the candidate rule in along with all the other laws he was drilling into Hiko while Tsuna was in earshot but that was all he could do. Encouraging Tsuna to follow up on the rule, to try to seize the title from his brother, was also something Reborn couldn't do.
But it was a chance. One in a million chance that Tsuna would see just where his brother was headed before it was too late and give himself the push to take the step Reborn knew he was capable of.
It was all he could think of. For now though, he would let Tsuna continue at his own pace. The teen was doing fine; there was no need to worry too much just yet.
"You think I can't?" Hiko demanded angrily.
His tutor stared back equably. "Not at the moment. Not like how you are now."
Hiko flushed, fists clenching. "Well why not? I'm strong, and I can have my Family back me up!"
Reborn sighed in the way that told Hiko he was an idiot. The bitterness curled even tighter in his gut.
"Do you think that's really enough to defeat someone like HIbari?" Reborn countered sternly. "You'll need more than brute strength to take someone like him down. And even if you manage it, then what? Simply defeating him won't get him into your Family."
"I'll force him to join," Hiko announced, and gritted his teeth when he sensed the mental snort from his tutor. "You think I can't do it?"
"I don't 'think' anything," Reborn said bluntly. "I know you can't do it. Unless you get his respect, Hibari won't bow down to you. He's not one to bow down to anyone, but if you earn his respect, he'll at least tolerate you."
Hiko sneered. "I don't need him to tolerate me. He's always going on about herbivores and him being the only carnivore. When I beat him, he'll have to follow me."
Reborn just sighed. "No," He said adamantly, leaping down onto the floor from the dinner table. "You're not ready. Stay away from Hibari."
Before Hiko could shoot something back, the front door opened and his idiot brother appeared moments later, toting his bokken and yawning. A shot fired by Reborn exploded near his feet and his twin yelped, jumped, stumbled over thin air, and crashed to the ground in an unsightly heap.
Hiko scoffed loudly. God, why was he cursed with such a loser for a brother?
"Hmph," Reborn spoke up, his gun transforming back into a chameleon. "I see your clumsiness still hasn't been cured. Mochida clearly isn't giving you enough laps."
Dame-Tsuna looked up with an uncharacteristic scowl, something he wouldn't have done even a few weeks ago.
"Y- You made me trip," His twin accused pathetically as he rubbed his head.
To his growing resentment, Hiko's tutor smirked good-naturedly at Dame-Tsuna. "I was welcoming you home since Mamma isn't here to do it. It's only polite, Tsuna."
Dame-Tsuna continued to scowl but an annoying smile quirked his lips as he pushed himself to his feet. He didn't reply, nodding stiffly at Hiko before heading for the stairs, pausing only long enough to give Leon a pat on the head.
And Reborn let him. The chameleon just licked his twin's finger instead of biting him as it had done to Hiko when he had tried picking it up to see how it could change into different weapons. And Hiko would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to see how much friendlier his tutor was to his stupid brother. He couldn't understand why so many people had started being nice to Dame-Tsuna recently. Even that loser upperclassman he had beaten in kendo had taken to meeting up with his twin whenever there was kendo practice in the morning. Granted, Mochida had to pass their house when he walked to school and it was always entertaining to watch the kendo captain yell at Dame-Tsuna when his brother stumbled ungracefully outside, still half-asleep, but both Gokudera and Yamamoto were usually there already. There was no need for Mochida to walk to school with that lot.
Well, he would show them, especially Reborn. He would take down Hibari Kyouya and force him into his Family. And then maybe he would teach Dame-Tsuna a lesson and send the prefect after him. If nothing else, it would be fun to watch his twin lose that stupid smile he occasionally wore nowadays.
Hibari Kyouya was a fair man. He prided himself on keeping Namimori safe and disciplined and he never let anyone get away with breaking school rules. If any students came to the Disciplinary Committee with an honest appeal, the doors were open.
So when a student was brave enough to approach him with what he claimed to be an important request, Kyouya didn't turn him away. However, he was surprised when Sawada Takehiko challenged him to a one-on-one fight after school. It wasn't Disciplinary Committee business but Kyouya was always looking for a strong opponent to bite to death and he had heard of this herbivore's prowess in sports.
Sawada Takehiko had never been someone he was particularly interested in; the teen was just another student, albeit a popular one, in Namimori. But no one ever asked Kyouya for a fight before and he was curious to see what the herbivore could do, so he agreed. The teen had also placed a bet; something about joining the herbivore's mafia group should he win. Kyouya had inwardly scoffed at this and hadn't even bothered answering.
Five hours after that in Namimori Middle's parking lot, Kyouya was more than a little disappointed that the herbivore was just an herbivore. Certainly, the teen wasn't too bad with the trench knives he wielded but Kyouya was leagues better. Besides, the herbivore was impulsive and only seemed to get more and more frustrated as Kyouya knocked him back time and time again.
"You are boring me, herbivore," Kyouya said coldly as he slammed the teen down one last time.
The herbivore snarled, glaring at him before smirking. "How about this then?"
Kyouya raised an eyebrow when several other teenagers – sixteen of them – came out, surrounding him. He had already known they were there watching the fight and he had been planning to bite them to death for crowding, but...
"You're going to join my Family," The pathetic herbivore said. "It's an honour to be invited into the Vongola."
If this was what the famous Italian Vongola Famiglia was amounting to these days, even Kyouya pitied them. He narrowed his eyes at his so-called challenger. "You think a few herbivores could force me to do anything?"
The teen gave him a superior look that didn't work too well with the black eye Kyouya had given him. "We outnumber you. Give up now and things won't go badly for you."
Kyouya smirked thinly and raised his tonfa. For one thing, he wasn't interested in the mafia. They were even more unruly than your average yakuza. For another...
"Liars will be bitten to death," Kyouya said calmly. "And I do not follow weak herbivores."
And before the teen could do more than look enraged, Kyouya rounded on the new arrivals and proceeded to bite them all to death. He saw brass knuckles and chains and even a baseball bat being drawn but none of them touched him, giving him little interest as he took them all down. Five minutes later, the last pained shout had died and Kyouya turned back to the herbivore who had broken his word. No longer wearing that cocky expression, the younger teen was merely a nuisance to Kyouya.
"W- Wait-!" The teen stumbled and fell back onto the ground.
Kyouya paid him no mind as he rushed forward. This herbivore had wasted his entire afternoon pretending to be a carnivore.
A movement at the corner of his eye made him twist out of the way of an oncoming attack before crashing his tonfa into a startlingly steady bokken. Leaping back and taking in the physical similarities, he made the connection right away. The pathetic herbivore's twin brother had arrived.
"What are you doing, herbivore?" Kyouya enquired harshly as he stopped a sword thrust with one tonfa and threw the brunet back. "I have no quarrel with you. It is your brother I wish to bite to death."
The small teen in front of him didn't say a word, didn't even snivel in fear as most people on the wrong end of his temper did. Instead, he staggered back onto his feet, one hand reaching behind him to haul his twin up as well before pressing the pathetic herbivore's head down and bowing himself. Kyouya noted with passing interest that the bokken hadn't wavered, still pointed carefully at him.
He studied the two, the younger still shaking while the elder stood firm but tense, shoulders stiff. He had heard of Sawada Tsunayoshi; the Dame student who didn't talk. At least not until recently. Kyouya had seen the boy crowding with a few other herbivores and occasionally responding out loud. And apparently, he was also more responsible than his brother.
Still, the younger twin had tried to trick Kyouya and an apology wasn't enough to make up for it.
"Liars must be bitten to death," He stated evenly, raising his tonfa again. "Move out of the way."
Brown eyes shone with a curious mix of fear and defiance as their owner raised his head and stepped forward, placing himself squarely in front of his twin. The pathetic herbivore immediately cowered behind his older brother.
"Herbivore, this is your last warning," Kyouya took a step forward. "You will also be bitten to death if you do not step aside."
He felt a spark of incredulity when the herbivore shook his head, but it quickly changed to deep disgust when the pathetic herbivore called out forcefully, "Dame-Tsuna's in my Family too. He can fight you instead."
And without another word, his would-be prey turned and sprinted away, leaving Kyouya in a temporary state of disbelief. He had no siblings to speak of but even he knew this was not normal behaviour.
With a contemptuous sneer, he made to go after him, only to stop again when the remaining herbivore stepped in his path, bokken at the ready.
"Herbivore," Kyouya started, what little patience he still had draining away.
The brunet cut off anything else he had to say with a vehement shake of his head, hands gripping his wooden sword firmly. For a moment, Kyouya thought he saw a flash of orange dart through his unassuming brown eyes.
"You would protect him?" Kyouya asked instead, not bothering to hide his scorn.
A rueful smile curled at the herbivore's lips and Kyouya finally heard him speak. "H- He's my brother in the end. I can't let him get hurt. P- Please forgive him just this once."
Kyouya studied him for a moment before smirking coldly. "No."
With that said, he dashed forward, sidestepping the brunet as he set his sights on the direction his prey had gone.
Only to raise his tonfa to block the bokken sweeping in from his right and leaping back to avoid a follow-up blow.
Kyouya raised an eyebrow as the herbivore braced himself in front of him again. "Oh? This is interesting."
He observed the gleam of orange now fully occupying the herbivore's pupils, determined and unwavering, and excitement flared in his chest.
"I'm sorry, Hibari-san," The brunet said softly. "I know Hiko shouldn't have lied to you but he's my brother and I can't just stand aside and let other people hurt him when I can prevent it."
"So you'll take his place then?" Kyouya enquired, more amused than irritated now. "You believe you can be more of a challenge than he was?"
The small teen shrugged and raised his bokken once more. "I'll certainly try."
Kyouya didn't particularly like the indefinite answer and hurtled forward instead, not giving the brunet any time to think before bearing down on him with his weapons.
They traded blows for several minutes, but while Kyouya blocked all of the not-quite-herbivore's attempts at reaching him, he soon realized that most of his own blows weren't touching anything at all. Some of them hit and he could see the not-quite-herbivore wincing when a particularly heavy strike landed but paying closer attention, he found the boy ducking and weaving around his tonfa with considerable ease, the bokken in hand more a hindrance than anything else.
Kyouya twitched as he jumped back to avoid a strike. He hated weak herbivores but he hated stupid weak herbivores even more, and this one...
He eyed the brunet carefully, taking in the small stature and nimble feet. If Kyouya sped up a little, the fight would be over soon enough. While the teen was stubborn and, in Kyouya's opinion, certainly more respectable than the pathetic herbivore, the smaller teen was also already panting.
But there was potential there. In fact, Kyouya had never been interested in fighting weaker people but this one made him curious. For one thing, the not-quite-herbivore was admittedly good at escaping attacks but someone of this teen's calibre shouldn't be able to escape all of them.
As the brunet swept in again, Kyouya narrowed his eyes and deliberately knocked the bokken out of his hands before swinging his other tonfa around and aiming for the teen's head.
Within the span of a second, Kyouya's opponent ducked, his tonfa met empty air, and his feet were suddenly kicked out from under him, bringing him to the ground with a jarring thud.
He was back on his feet again in the blink of an eye but the brunet had also scrambled away for his weapon instead of following up on the attack and Kyouya found himself highly fascinated and equally annoyed.
"Enough," He said flatly, and watched the brunet pause, still guarded as his weapon tilted in Kyouya's direction again.
"Who taught you how to fight?" Kyouya asked abruptly.
The not-quite-herbivore looked taken aback but slowly replied, "Mochida-senpai did. I'm in the kendo club."
Kyouya scoffed. "He taught you wrong."
The brunet had the nerve to look mildly indignant. "I'm not that bad. I got you once just now."
Kyouya raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Without your weapon," He pointed out. "You are unsuited for kendo, herbivore."
The brunet was clearly at a loss for words, and now that their brief clash seemed to have run its course, Kyouya could see the orange fading, the interesting omnivore sinking back behind the ordinary herbivore once more.
And he found himself wondering what would happen in a fight when this person was at the height of his potential strength.
"I will teach you," Kyouya announced decidedly, slipping his tonfa away. He ignored the gaping herbivore and turned on his heel to leave.
"W- Wait, Hibari-san-"
"I will teach you," Kyouya repeated with finality, not bothering to look back. "Or your brother will be bitten to death. Your choice, herbivore."
He didn't receive another objection.
By the time Tsuna managed to limp home, having fallen down quite a few times after the beating he took from Kyouya, it was almost dinner time.
He supposed it was lucky that Yamamto had a late practice today and Gokudera had already gone home. Both would have thrown a fit if they could see him now.
Leaning against the gate of his house, Tsuna took a deep breath and then winced. He really hoped none of his ribs were broken.
Stumbling towards his front door, he paused as he tried to figure out how to get past his mother without being seen. His head jerked up when the door swung open and it took him a moment to look down and realize it was Reborn.
"Quickly," The tutor said tonelessly. "Up the stairs."
"Hiko?" Tsuna asked faintly as he staggered into the house.
He distantly saw Reborn tug his fedora down, hiding his expression. "Your mother's busy patching Hiko up."
A flash of relief ran through him. Hiko had made it home alright then. He had been pretty roughed up by Hibari as well.
Dragging himself up the stairs was a chore and a half and by the time he reached his room, his entire body was aching, the last of his adrenaline dissipating as he collapsed face-first on his bed, trying his best to not jostle any of his injuries.
"Roll over, Tsuna," He heard Reborn say.
His sluggish brain tried to prod his limbs into action but all he wanted to do was sleep until the pain went away.
"Tsuna, those injuries need to be treated. Roll over."
Reborn sounded more demanding this time and Tsuna forced himself to move, not quite able to bite back a whimper as his ribs throbbed. He started struggling into a sitting position but a tiny hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Just lay back, Tsuna. Sleep. I'll take care of the rest."
Lethargy began dragging him under but Tsuna couldn't miss the bright yellow light flaring from his left where Reborn was standing. He felt the sting of wounds being driven away and the light was so peaceful that Tsuna wanted to see what it was.
"Stop moving. Go to sleep."
Eyes closed now, he picked up the sharp edge buried in Reborn's voice and stiffened a little.
"Are you angry?" He whispered, clinging to awareness as he waited for the hitman's answer. "I'm sorry. Was Hibari a test for Hiko? I didn't mean to interfere, but Hiko was in trouble. I had to cut in."
Reborn was oddly silent even as the light washed over him in soothing waves.
"No, Tsuna," The tutor finally spoke, the anger no longer there or maybe just better hidden away. "You did nothing wrong. You did a good job."
The rare compliment unknowingly put a smile on Tsuna's face and it was the last thing he heard before he drifted off into a restful slumber.
Reborn didn't dare face his student that night, afraid he might actually shoot the brat for real. Instead, he left the house and a forested area in Namimori, where he then proceeded to put holes in everything until the sun came up. He wanted to kill something but it wasn't as if he could ask the Nono for a mark to assassinate. Trees would have to do.
By the time he returned to the Sawada household, the dark near-consuming rage had retreated to a simmering anger and Reborn didn't hesitate to kick Hiko's bedroom door open, closing it quietly so he wouldn't wake Tsuna up, and then fired off several bullets from a Leon-turned-silencer. The shots were close enough to graze his student and Hiko jerked awake with a cry before tumbling off the bed.
"Reborn! Don't wake me up like-" Hiko fell silent as soon as his eyes landed on the hitman. Perhaps his intuition caught something or maybe Reborn hadn't hidden his fury well enough but the boy didn't dare say another word as he pulled himself back onto the bed.
"Explain yourself," Reborn said quietly, almost pleasantly.
Hiko swallowed, his gaze skittering away from him.
"I specifically told you to stay away from Hibari," Reborn continued, his voice controlled and level. "You are no match for him the way you are now."
Hiko had the audacity to open his mouth and Reborn cut him off before he could say a word. "Are you going to sit there and tell me I'm wrong?"
Hiko's mouth snapped shut with a click and he scowled sullenly instead.
"And not only did you disobey me, you left your Family members and your own brother behind," Reborn's hand clenched around his gun. "You are a failure as a boss."
Hiko's face flushed and the boy jumped to his feet. "What else could I do? The boss is the most important! I had to get away!"
"The Family is the most important," Reborn said icily. "The boss' job is to protect the Family, and you didn't just fail to do so, you left your brother behind to clean up your mess."
The red darkened and Hiko spat out, "Well if you were there, why didn't you do something? You could've helped me!"
"I had no idea you had done something so foolish!" Reborn barked out as his anger spiked again. "By the time I arrived, you were in the process of running away."
"So you stayed to help Dame-Tsuna!" Hiko accused hotly. "You're always-"
Reborn fired another bullet, nowhere near satisfied when his student flinched.
"I would have cut in had Tsuna been unable to handle it," Reborn said harshly. "Fortunately for everyone involved, Hibari isn't the type to strike someone down without cause."
"So what's the problem then?" Hiko said defiantly. "Everyone's fine. Dame-Tsuna-"
"Tsuna came home with two cracked ribs, a sprained wrist, and more bruises than you've had in your entire life," Reborn interjected. "And the first thing he did was ask after you. Have you no shame at all?"
Hiko slowly sat down, and for a brief, hopeful moment, Reborn thought he had gotten through.
"...So what? It's just Dame-Tsuna."
Reborn stared emotionlessly at his student. "Why do you hate him so much?"
"Because he's a pathetic loser," Hiko crossed his arms. "I'm not talking about this again, Reborn. You might like him for some reason but I'll always know how pathetic he is."
Reborn didn't look away for a long minute, wondering how someone so young could be so cruel. And then, wordlessly, he placed Leon back on his fedora and left the room. The boy's character couldn't be changed. Not by him, anyway. Reborn would continue training the boy and finish gathering his Guardians, but that was it. Somehow, someway, he would convince Tsuna to make a bid for the rings, and after Tsuna won (because there was no doubt in Reborn's mind that Tsuna would win), he would wrangle a new contract with the Nono, even if he had to argue himself blue in the face, and take Tsuna under his wing instead.
"Herbivore, Sawada Tsunayoshi will no longer be attending kendo practice."
Mochida looked flummoxed for all of a second before snapping out of his stupor when Hibari began dragging Tsuna out of the gym.
"Hey, since when did the President of the Disciplinary Committee concern himself with the kendo club?" He demanded, taking a step forward and making everyone within hearing distance wonder if the captain had a death wish.
Tsuna eyed them both warily as Hibari stopped and glanced back sharply at Mochida.
"He is unsuited for kendo," Hibari said coolly, a warning flashing in his eyes. "I will be teaching him instead."
The entire gym stopped breathing at this announcement. Tsuna thought he saw someone faint near the back.
Mochida twitched but didn't back down. "Oh, and I suppose he's going to do so much better with a pair of tonfa?"
Hibari narrowed his eyes ominously. "Watch your words, herbivore. It is none of your business what I wish to teach him."
A splotch of red was slowly rising in Mochida's face, most likely from anger, but his fear of HIbari seemed to curb his usual caustic remarks as well. "He's on my team, Hibari, and we're not breaking any school rules. What right do you have to interfere?"
Tsuna couldn't tell whether Hibari was interested (because HIbari was never impressed) or pissed off at Mochida's display of defiance but he could see where all this was heading, and as much as he had come to respect Mochida's skill in kendo, the captain was no match for Hibari.
"I- It's alright, isn't it, HIbari-san?" Tsuna said timidly and promptly found himself on the receiving end of two annoyed stares. "I- I mean I can still come to practice in the morning, and then I can m- meet up with you after school."
Hibari's studied him for a moment before turning a disdainful eye on Mochida. A muscle in the captain's jaw jumped but he stood his ground.
Finally, Hibari closed his eyes and turned away, releasing Tsuna's arm. "Three o'clock sharp, herbivore," He instructed as he left. "West rooftop. If you are late, I will bite you to death."
Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind the violent teen but shrank back when he turned and found Mochida towering over him, glowering dangerously down at him.
"How many weirdoes are you gonna bring here before you're satisfied, Sawada?" The captain hissed. "And Hibari of all people? What did you do to impress him?"
"I- I didn't!" Tsuna protested.
Mochida's jaw worked. "Are you stupid? Do you even know what you've done? He's not just teaching you; he's taken you under his fucking wing!"
He jerked his head to the rest of the gym and Tsuna blinked when he found all of them gaping openly at him with no small amount of fear.
"Anyone so much as looks at you the wrong way and they'll probably have Hibari on their ass before they can even get their hands on an overseas transfer application!"
Tsuna waved his hands frantically. "I- It's not like that! H- Hiko tried to trick Hibari-san and Hibari-san was going to bite Hiko to death for it so I h- had to cut in and I just did what you taught me since I had my bokken with me. H- Hibari-san could've taken me down with no problem but he stopped after a bit a- and then he told me I- I wasn't suited for k- kendo and that he would teach me instead. I- I didn't even get a say in it!"
Tsuna had no idea what to make of the thoroughly exasperated expression on Mochida's face but at least the annoyance had faded and the captain simply shook his head instead.
"I give up," Mochida grumbled half-heartedly. "Get back to work, Sawada. Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you just because Hibari's gonna put you through hell after school."
Tsuna grimaced. Yeah, hell was probably an apt description.
"Herbivore, I thought you were faster than this," Kyouya said irritably as he tossed the brunet back again, sending him crashing into a nearby wall.
The herbivore groaned but rolled to his feet, shaking his head as he got up and slid into a ready stance again. In spite of himself, Kyouya had to admit he was just a little impressed. It had been four weeks since their sparring sessions had started and he had to give the younger teen props for coming back day after day. Kyouya had sent him home with bruises each time; anyone else would've given up ages ago.
As the brunet rushed him again, low and fast, Kyouya let a pleased smirk surface on his features when a sudden upper kick just missed his chin.
Yes, Sawada Tsunayoshi was much better suited for hand-to-hand combat. He had no idea why the herbivore insisted on sticking with kendo but as long as it was done in his own time, Kyouya could overlook the stupidity.
Another fifteen minutes and Kyouya called for a halt. The herbivore was slowing down and the prefect had no interest in sparring against him when his body couldn't take it.
"Same time tomorrow, herbivore," Kyouya ordered as he turned to leave.
"A- Ano, Hibari-san," The herbivore struggled to his feet and half-walked, half-staggered in Kyouya's direction. "W- Would you like t- to come over for d- dinner?"
Kyouya stared at him for several heartbeats, torn between wanting to bite the herbivore to death for presuming he wanted to crowd or sending him to a doctor because the teen had quite obviously taken one too many blows to the head today.
The herbivore must have caught his disbelief because he flushed deep red and scratched his head in obvious embarrassment. "I- I told Kaa-san a- about you t- training me and she w- wanted to th- thank you for t- taking care of me so she told me t- to ask you if you want to come over."
Kyouya frowned at him and turned to continue on his way again, tucking away his tonfa. "No."
He ignored the palpable disappointment from behind him and disappeared back into the school. Eating at the herbivore's house; it was a ridiculous notion.
*Ten Years in the Future*
"Kyo-san, Ryohei-san just reported in. The Bronco's still alive."
"Of course he is. It would be embarrassing if he fell at that pathetic herbivore's hands."
"Most of his Family's gone though. I hear most of the Chiavarone estates have been burned down. ...Kyo-san?"
"Pack your bags. There is one last place I wish to go before we return to Japan."
"Where are we going?"
"Italy."
*Ten Years in the Future*
"VVOOII! THIS IS NO TIME TO BE ENJOYING FILET MINGON, SHITTY BOSS! OUR WESTERN DEFENSES HAVE JUST BEEN TAKEN DOWN!"
"Shut up, trash. If you can't handle it, die."
"I wouldn't be having problems if Bel would just stop fooling around! And Levi is fucking useless! Why is he still alive? And the recruits on the western side are dropping like flies!"
"Scum deserve to die. It's your own fault for hiring them."
"VVOOIII! I RAN THEM ALL BY YOU BEFORE I HIRED THEM! DON'T BLAME IT ON-"
*Line Disconnected*
"...THAT SHITTY BOSS JUST DESTROYED ANOTHER EARPIECE! I'LL SKEWER HIM WHEN THIS IS OVER!"
"Squalo, honey, calm down. There's really no need to get so uptight-"
"You're not the one who has to deal with the boss and the brats in Japan! I should've retired when I had the chance!"
"Now, now, you don't mean that, dear. We both know you would be bored out of your mind if you ever retired. Who would you get to kill then?"
"...Lussuria, if you don't shut it with the fucking endearments, I'll cut out your tongue and stick it where the sun doesn't shine."
"My! How-"
"VOOOIII! JUST GET BACK TO WORK!"
Granita di caffè con panna – Iced coffee with whipped cream; popular in Italy
Next Chapter: I-Pin, Fon