AN: This isn't edited, so sorry with there are too many mistakes. I need a beta...
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Chapter 1 - That Girl of Namimori
"Tsuna-nee...?"
Her little brother's voice coming from the other side of the room shook her out of her stupor. Tsuna looked at the clock on the wall opposite her and cursed. Hastily rising from the battered orange couch, she called out "I'm awake! Just -ouch!- wait a minute!" Tsuna rubbed her knee where it had bumped on the edge of the living room table as she made her way to the tiny kitchenette in their apartment.
Her back hurt from the long hours spent lying in an uncomfortable position, but by now, it was a familiar ache; it was hardly the first or last time she had spent the night on the couch. "I'm going to make you guys breakfast and then I need to go work!"
Fuuta, already dressed for college and looking as fresh as a daisy, stared at the spectacle that was his big sister. "Tsuna-nee, don't worry about me and Lambo, we can take care of ourselves. Just go take a shower and I promise that by the time you get out I will have a toast ready for you."
Tsuna bit her lip, clearly divided, before she gave a firm nod and sped down the corridor towards the bathroom.
This was usually how their mornings would go; Fuuta, as the early bird of the family, would rise with the sun and start making breakfast while Tsuna yelped and hopped all over the place in a panic, trying to get herself ready for work.
Lambo, meanwhile, would sleep till noon if they allowed it.
Unless, of course, his growling stomach roused him, demanding tribute.
He's growing so much these days. He's gonna get taller than me if he keeps eating the way he does, Tsuna thought fondly inside the shower, only to stop when the showerhead made an ominous noise over her and spit out freezing water.
"HIIIEEEE!"
Ah, it seemed they were out of hot water again.
"Bye, bye Tsuna-nee! Have a good day at work!" Fuuta chirped happily at the doorway of their apartment, a yawning, bleary-eyed Lambo at his side, half-heartedly waving goodbye at the fire extinguisher on their floor.
Tsuna sweatdropped at the sight (she didn't look anything like that fire extinguisher, did she?) before shrugging and calling back "I will! And don't forget to take your bento boxes with you when you go! Yours is the blue, and Lambo's the green one! What's left of yesterday's dinner is in the fridge, you just need to heat it up when you get back. And if there's any problem, you know where the emergency money is, and please for the love of God, call me if that happens. Ah, and don't forget your keys, your homework, and, and, oh! Remember to check your backpacks for umbrellas, the weather channel said that today might rain-!"
"Hai, hai. We know what to do. Off you go, Tsuna-nee! You're going to get late if you don't get a move on."
Tsuna looked down at the time showing on the cracked screen of her old cell phone, let out a quiet 'hie!', and took off running down the stairs, well aware by now that waiting for the elevator was an exercise in futility.
From the door leading to their apartment, Nanashima Fuuta shook his head in amusement.
"Tsuna-nee never changes, does she?" he asked out loud.
Still in his near-comatose state, Lambo grunted what might have been an affirmation in some long-lost caveman language.
Late late late late, I'm so late, so late!
Tsuna practically flew through the streets of Namimori, avoiding collisions left and right and periodically checking her cell phone for the time.
09:49 A.M.
Eleven minutes! her mind cried at her in hysterics. She could still remember her boss's last words to her yesterday.
"Nanashima, if you arrive late again tomorrow, even by a single minute, I won't have any choice. You will be fired!"
Tsuna blanched at the memory. She couldn't afford to lose this job! Not when it was the third one that year! How would she ever be able to pay the house bills, Lambo's school, and Fuuta's college tuition without it?!
The young woman was so lost in thought of the impending doom, she failed to realize she was running straight into moving traffic until a car honked as it sped past her. Too frightened to scream, Tsuna tried to backtrack, return to safe shores, only for her clumsiness to strike again. She tripped over her shoelaces that had come untied during her mad run and, for a second, saw the entirety of her life flash before her eyes.
Goodbye, cruel world.
And then there was a hand gripping her elbow, pushing her back until she crashed face-first into a firm chest.
Blinking dazedly, Tsuna turned her head away until her cheek was resting into the white shirt of her savior. So soft, she marveled, unable to resist rubbing her cheek against the smooth material like a cat asking to be petted. This was clearly very good-quality stuff, which meant her savior had to be rich to afford it, which meant he was probably...
Slowly, her eyes wandered towards one of the hands that still held her close. No tattoos that she could see, but then they could be hidden under the long sleeve of the man's dark jacket. The sword strapped to his back certainly led credence to a higher position in life.
And of course, there was also the possibility he could be a Foundation member.
Tsuna stiffened. If he was, then...
"Hey, miss, you alright? That was quite the scare, huh?"
Slowly, she looked up to stare at bright brown eyes, surprised that she could actually put a name to the face.
"You are... Yama... moto...?"
The young man laughed, a cheerful smile lighting up his face. "Haha, you know my name! Yup, I'm Yamamoto Takeshi! But you've gotten me in disadvantage. I don't know you. What's you name, miss?"
She opened her mouth to tell him when she noticed the stares the two of them were attracting, as well as the compromising position they found themselves in. She was practically cradled against Yamamoto's chest, with one of his hand still gripping her elbow, and another resting on her waist, keeping her close. Flustered, she tried to step away, only for the grip to tighten minimally.
She pretended not to notice the narrowing of his eyes, or how they seemed to darken slightly at her attempt to escape. "A-ah! Yamamoto-san! Thank you so much for saving me! I'm so sorry, but I'm super late and can't thank you properly right now, but later, I will definitely make it up to you! Definitely! So, until then, byegottagoseeyoulater!" She ducked under his arms, surprised at her own swiftness, and then continued on her way, this time trying to be more aware of her surroundings.
She dared a glance at her cell phone.
09:55 A.M.
"HIIIEEEE!"
Behind her, standing stock-still next to the road, Yamamoto Takeshi's gaze followed after her retreating figure, amber eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
That girl... she felt... so warm.
He knew her. He had seen her around in town over the years, always in a hurry for a reason or another. Takeshi was fairly certain they had even shared the same classes back in school, some ten years ago...
Wasn't she the girl who had dropped out midway through Junior High School? What was her name again...
"... Dame-Tsuna?"
"I DID IT! I did it! Oh, my God, I can't believe I did it!"
Tsuna, weak legs shaking like wet noodles and lungs crying for relief, gasped out as she finally fell to the ground in front of the Ramen Shop of her employer, praising all the gods and smiling through joyous tears. She could almost believe she could hear a heavenly choir echoing through the morning air as the sun shone more brightly and flower bloomed.
The time on her cell phone read 10:00 A.M.
Her boss, a bald, heavy-set man nearing his fifties, with flinty eyes and a permanent scowl called Wataru, frowned at her.
"Get up girl, I don't pay you to lay on the ground. We've already got four deliveries to be made. Come on, chop chop. Remember-"
"Time is money," Tsuna finished dutifully as she crawled towards the bike used for home deliveries parked in front of the shop, already loaded and set to go. "I remember Wataru-san."
Her boss huffed and waved her off. "Just get going Nanashima. If you manage to complete all the deliveries today before your shift ends, I might be willing to give you a raise."
Just like that, Tsuna's spirit lifted until it nearly touched the sky.
"An r-raise?! Are you serious, Wataru-san? You're really going to give me a raise?" She went misty-eyed at the mere prospect.
"If, and only if, you do all the deliveries in a timely fashion before your shift ends," the man said firmly. Tsuna had to stop herself from hugging him.
"Don't worry, Wataru-san," the young woman said with unusual confidence. Her boss gaped at her a-hundred-and-eighty degrees attitude change. "I'm going to deliver every last order, or my name isn't Nanashima Tsuna!"
Why, out of everything, did I have to say that?!
"Go away! This isn't for you! Someone! Help! HELP!"
Tsuna pedaled down the street for all she was worth, but her legs were still tired from all the day's exercise and the dogs were quickly gaining on her, their frantic barking making her head hurt.
Oh, how she hated dogs.
She wanted to cry. Why did these things always happened to her? What did she do to deserve this?!
Then Tsuna narrowed her eyes. This was her last delivery. If she completed it before six, she would receive a much-needed raise. She could use the extra money to fix the air conditioner, or the broken window, or the leak in the living room's roof, or the hole in Fuuta's bedroom they had to cover with a piece of cardboard...
There was something waiting for her up ahead. A lonely figure, sitting in the middle of the street, against the backdrop of a setting sun that cast eerie shadows around it. As she got closer, Tsuna's jaw dropped. It couldn't be...
But it was. Oh, it was.
The Chihuahua from Number 7, with its little soulless black eyes and an evil, fanged grin that seemed to say We meet again old foe.
Primal terror took a hold of her and Tsuna tried to veer off the path, momentarily forgetting the pack still behind her in hot pursuit.
By divine intervention (because it clearly could be nothing else), the young woman grabbed her package, steadied the bike for a minute longer, and just a second before one of the dogs - an unusually big Akita - clamped it's jaw on the back wheel, she jumped off it, rolling with the momentum and not even pausing to look back before she was running again, the precious bundle carefully cradled in her arms like a newborn baby.
The Chihuahua barked, drawing the others attention, and the chase was on again.
Tsuna ran through the deserted street, trying so hard to find a place she could hide in she didn't realize she had entered a dead end until she almost crashed into the brick wall.
Now what?! She couldn't scale the bloody buildings!
A poke at her mind made she turn around to stare the trash cans put against the wall and she shuddered. No. No. Her days spent hiding in the trash were long gone, she had more dignity than this now, she would not-
The mad barking grew louder, and at the forefront of it, the dreaded, high-pitched sound of a rat-sized beast...
She eyed the trash can again, imagining the way Fuuta's eyes would lit up when she presented him with a new notebook and writing supplies, the bright smile on Lambo's face if she handed him one of those imported grape candies from Italy he seemed to adore.
Fuck dignity.
It was with sore feet, hurt pride and a terrible smell that Tsuna finally arrived at her final destination.
She knocked on the door, paranoia forcing her to look over her shoulder again while waiting for someone to answer. She had lost the pack a few blocks away, but who knew...
The door opened, and Tsuna, head lowered so she wouldn't have to see the face of the person when confronted with her sorry state, spoke the customary words.
"Delivery from Wataru's Ramen Shop, to Kawahira-san."
She waited for an answer, but when none seemed to be forthcoming, the girl dared to glance up. Kawahira, a plain, white-haired man wearing a simple white and green yukata, was staring at her with a baffled expression.
She felt her cheeks darkening under the layers of sweat and grime. Tsuna could only imagine what must be going on inside the man's mind. She only hoped he wouldn't shut the door on her face, this was her last delivery, if she could just do this one thing right...
A hand appeared on her field of vision, holding out bills of yen. She blinked, flabbergasted.
"Uh- wait, that's not- that's too much! Kawahira-san, it's too much, you don't need-!"
"Take it. This is my tip for you. It seems you went through a great deal of trouble just to bring me my dinner," he smiled at her, eyes crinkling behind his glasses. "Thank you for all your hard work."
Abruptly, Tsuna's throat closed up. Horrified at her own reaction, she tried to blink away the wetness gathering at the corners of her eyes, to no avail.
When was the last time that someone, anyone, apart from her brothers, thanked her for anything she did?
"Ara, Tsu-chan, thank you so much for doing the groceries for me this week. What would I do without my darling daughter?"
Okaa-san...
Tsuna tried to put a lid on her emotions. She must look so pitiful right now, so pathetic, so dame...
But Kawahira-san didn't loot at her with pity or disgust, but understanding. As if him too, had to deal with grief-filled memories. "Would you like to come in? You can use my bathroom to clean up, and I can offer some tea..."
Tsuna shook her head, dispersing the painful thoughts. "Thank you so much for the offer, Kawahira-san, but I have to go back. My family's waiting for me."
The man nodded. "Of course. Goodbye then, Tsuna-chan. I hope we see each other again."
It was only when she was halfway back to the Ramen Shop that Tsuna realized.
She never gave him her name.
Her employer wasn't happy with the bike's battered condition. He wasn't happy at all.
"B-But the deliveries, I-I completed them all, before sundown, I-" she stammered, backing away from an advancing middle-aged Ramen chef.
"Look at that!" The man yelled, pointing at the bicycle's sorry state. There were bite marks on the wheels, the front basket was destroyed beyond repair and the metal had bent at some places. "That bike was older than you! It belonged to my father, and his father before him, and now it belongs in the trash!"
Spit flew from his mouth as he screamed, hitting Tsuna's face. She whimpered.
"I should have known," Wataru lamented, holding his head in his hands. "Everyone warned me not to hire Nanashima Tsuna. 'It's bad luck, Wataru, it won't be good for business', 'Dame-Tsuna will only give you problems'. I should have listened to them!"
"Bu-but the deliveries, I did-" Tsuna tried again, voice growing faint. A bad feeling was mounting inside her stomach but she refused to acknowledge it.
"You think I care about that right now?!" Wataru advanced on her, causing Tsuna to almost trip while backing away.
"But the raise- you said you would give me a raise..."
It was clearly the wrong thing to say, judging by the way his face reddened with fury.
"Raise? Raise? There is no raise! There's only the street for you. You're fired!"
No. Nonononono. She needed this job. She needed it.
"Please. Please, Wataru-san, just give me another chance. I will do better next time, I promise I will!"
"There won't be a next time! I took you in because I felt sorry for you. Dead mother, deadbeat father, two young ones to feed and care for... but no more. You're more trouble than you're worth. Now get out."
"Please..." she whispered.
"OUT!" He slammed the door on her face.
The sky went dark, and it began to rain.
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AN: What did you guys think? Also, Reborn will be appearing next chapter, as well as His Carnivoreness, Prince Kyouya.