I felt like writing this after a burst of inspiration, so please enjoy, but be warned! This chapter isn't going to be as Fluffy as usual, after all Tsuna is a part of the mafia, so things aren't always sunshine and rainbows. There's still some fluff, but it is separated by some serious topics (not enough to be m rated or anything).
Dear guest, TsuKiLo: I am thrilled that you find this cute, and of course Tsu is the sweetest child in existence! He wouldn't be Tsu otherwise! Well, here's yet another chapter, so please enjoy and thank you so much for taking the time to review!
To any one that I missed I am so sorry, I try to reply to everyone and I am so very sorry if I missed your review for any reason. I love and read them all, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much!
Please enjoy despite the spelling, grammar, and tense errors I am prone to.
Definition of Family.
Two years old: Blood, injury and training; This is your family.
The Varia were pissed.
Pissed didn't even cover the sheer annoyance they felt at the failure of a mission.
The fact that they didn't know why it failed only proved to aggravate them more.
So distracted were the moping, injured Varia members that not one of them noticed the shadow appear through the left-hand side entrance to the mansion.
A two year old Tsuna stood to the side of the entrance hall as the members of the Varia made their way into the grand foyer and towards the medical bay, Xanxus breaking off from the crowd to shuffle off to his father's office and report in.
It was like normal, Tsuna had heard news that the Varia were returning home from one of their longer missions and had immediately run off towards the entrance hall to greet them; just like normal. He didn't pay attention to the panic or unease in the maid's and butler's voices as they spoke of the squad's arrival home- his Papas, Mamas and Brother were home that was all that mattered to Tsuna.
When Tsuna had arrived at the foyer, expecting to run and tackle Papa-Xan in a hug, be scooped up by Mama-Luss and Mama-Mammon, and be able to sneak Bel-nii's crown away the little boy was shocked into silence when his family appeared, limping and tattered in the entrance way. They were covered in red and black, their clothes were tarnished and their faces grim. They walked funny too, and Tsuna was immediately assaulted with a scent that wasn't like death (usually meaning success), but wasn't like life (a scent that hung around everyone when they didn't go on a mission). He found himself shaking despite himself, and though he didn't really understand the feeling, his body was telling him to get away from the red yet investigate it.
Shuffling appeared at his side and Tsunayoshi's wide, curious eyes met with a deep, dark brown. The man was tall and wide, his hair was a tousled red- a deep red closer t brown then ginger- and his shoulders were wide set. He had a caring smile, if not a rather stern and scary face. But he was charismatic and loyal, even to the child at his feet.
"Fratello, what's tha' awl ova my Mamas an' Papa?"
Dark eyes looked up to the precession of scowling Varia members, running a wide, scarred hand through his already messy hair the man turned to answer the ever-curious child's question.
"That, little Tsunayoshi is blood. The Varia were injured during their last mission."
"In-jud?" the young boy tried to mimic.
"Yes, that is blood Tsunayoshi, it means that they were hurt and they were defeated."
Tsuna didn't really understand that 'defeated', he had never seen so much red and had never seen his family look so broken. Tsunayoshi did understand hurt; like when he scraped his knee; like when he fell over and winded himself. That Tsunayoshi understood.
"I dun like it."
The man sighed and lifted the young boy into his arms, he knew the shock of watching an assassination gone wrong- it was usually a messy affair to bring the hit back into your favour- Tsunayoshi was a little younger than they had expected, but for the family it was time he learnt.
"No, but you need to accept it. Let's go find your Papa, huh?"
Tsuna could only cuddle into the older man's neck, unsure of what he had seen and what it meant for the future. All he knew was that his Papa-Xan was covered in red- blood- and it meant he was very hurt.
No, Tsuna didn't like that at all.
Sighing to himself, Enrico held Tsuna tighter and walked back through the doors he had come through. He rocked a little as he walked back through the halls, he didn't love the child at first, but Tsunayoshi grew on you, and he wasn't really a threat to the throne so why expend the energy to hate the child when he was so easy to love?
Enrico knew that he was next in line and that Tsunayoshi was fourth, the child was too kind and too loving to do anything to try and take Vongola from Enrico or his brother, even if the entire Mafia was wrapped around his little finger already.
Enrico felt the sniffles as the boy let the tears run, but the stern man didn't comment. It was testament to his faith in Enrico that Tsunayoshi cried in front of Enrico, the child often held in his emotions until he was somewhere safe; namely Reborn or Xanxus if they were in the mansion.
As Enrico entered into the living room he watched as grey eyes snapped up to his face, then to the child crouched into his shoulders, the larger man, having turned 20 just last week, stood up from reading his book and stepped over to Enrico, offering his arms for the child.
"What happened?" though it was controlled, Enrico could hear the anger in his voice at the thought of their little 'brother' being injured.
"Calm, Massimo, Tsu just saw the Varia come back." Enrico let a soft smile flick his think lips when his brother's eyes widened in understating.
"A failure?" Massimo almost gasped, and Enrico was inclined to agree, the Varia rarely failed. "How bad was it?"
"They were only scratched, but it was another messy turn around."
Enrico walked pass Massimo as his brother sighed, the eldest, -twenty-five at that time- took a seat in the couch opposite the one his brother had been sitting in and rubbed his tired, brown eyes.
"Poor child," Massimo hummed as he hugged the still sniffling Tsuna close. "But you need to learn sooner or later, Tsuna, we do not live in the land of rainbows."
"I know, Fratello. Tsu knows that missions need t' be done." Tsuna hiccupped as Massimo ran a large hand along Tsuna's back, trying to coax the child to sleep. It was almost nap time. "All that red tho', Fratello. I'sat needed?"
Massimo couldn't really answer that, the twenty-year old looked up into his brother eyes' for help but even they were at a loss. Neither Massimo nor Enrico wanted Tsuna to see the gore of their famiglia. They didn't really want Tsuna to take CEDEF like the Cub of Vongola –they didn't think Iemitsu deserved the term Lion- but the child needed to understand blood and death. He would become too lenient and cruel if he didn't.
Timoteo had gathered his sons –not including Xanxus, the boy was still sorting out Varia- into his office one evening about two months before Tsuna was born. The boys hadn't really know what to expect but has sat quietly and waited for their aging father to explain why they had been summoned.
As the three boys settled, Timoteo's brown eyes softened and a kindly smile lifted his lips. If there was one thing that Timoteo never regretted it was having and raising his three, beautiful boys. Though said boys always blushed and argued against being called 'cute' Timoteo loved them very much, and not even having them be a part of the dark mafia dulled that pride he felt having raised them for the most part on his own.
"Father, what's wrong." Enrico had voiced as he settled un between his two brothers.
At twenty three, Enrico was strong and built. He was tall but not wide, he held wide shoulders, but his rib cage and hips were thinner, but no less muscular. He was not particularly intelligent, but he was adaptive and quite charismatic, he could make men laugh and dance if he so wished, he was incredibly loyal too, especially to the blood family that surrounded him. Once Enrico deemed you family you stayed that way and he would do whatever he could for you, even if he had to draw blood because of that.
"It's unusual for you to call us out so suddenly." Massimo elaborated with an air of unease and distrust.
At eighteen, Massimo was an incredibly intelligent, if not arrogant young man. Wide built and stocky, Massimo was the favoured son to be 'boss' of Vongola, but he was sharp-tongued and got into trouble because of it. Like his older brother before him, Massimo valued family above all else, though he would deny it and seem rather aloof, Massimo was strongly protective and rather vindictive of wrong doings against any of his family. He could be rather violent and sly when it came to protecting his brothers especially.
"Does a father need a reason to have a quiet chat with his sons?" Timoteo's voice held that fake hurt tone that made all three boys roll their eyes.
"No, but to call us so suddenly, even you aren't usually so flippant, father." The soft-spoken voice of Federico spoke up next as he settled comfortably into Enrico's side.
As the youngest boy, sixteen during this meeting, Federico was gentle and lean. Often Federico would be teased by his brothers for his clumsy, naive personality, but they loved their baby brother more than anyone else. Federico was light and airy, he was a natural leader, able to sway and gather anyone to his side, but he was also kind hearted and delicate, not suited for the mafia life that he fought in. That wasn't to say he was weak, Federico has a sharp mind a mix of the academic prowess Massimo held and the sheer adaptation and charisma that Enrico was growing to display, but in Federico it was not manipulative and instead was endearing. When combined with his stubborn attitude towards the preciousness of family and his duty to protect his brothers, any man or woman of the mafia felt inclined to side with the stubborn youth.
Timoteo sighed warmly, his sons were perceptive and witty, they rarely missed anything, and he was again overwhelmed with a deep pride in his chest to know that he had raised them.
"I am just wondering how you'd like to have a new little brother."
All three brothers were startled, none of them were against their father moving on form their late mother, the man was so full of love that he deserved someone more in his life to soften the void the widower was left with, but after Xanxus' arrival not ten years ago they were not so certain their father meant a blood brother.
"What do you mean, father?" Massimo had that calculative, angered expression on his face, as if the wool was being pulled over his eyes.
"Young-Lion, Iemitsu, is about to have his first child. I've agreed to move him and his wife to the mansion so his young son can live amongst us where he is safe."
Enrico reacted violently immediately, "But I was only aware that Young-Lion's family were to be raised as civilians." As far as he was concerned moving the family to a mafia mansion was not keeping them 'civilian'.
"Ah," Timoteo sighed, "recently the family has been under heat from various assassins, hoping to throw Vongola off."
Federico was silent, his mind whirling over the idea. Though he wasn't as smart as Massimo, he was quick, and something didn't seem right about the whole situation. "Why would killing a CEDEF's child threaten Vongola? It's not as is the child would be guaranteed to take the company over; besides that, CEDEF is an external advisory division, not anything to do with Vongola's higher echelon."
Massimo continued from his brother's point, "Last I knew CEDEF had found the child they were going to raise as next head, some child of a subordinate with extremely high potential. Already displaying rain flames, if I heard correctly."
Timoteo sighed again, this time rubbing his tired eyes. He didn't really know how to explain it to his sons, as paranoid and intelligent as they were. The elderly man could almost see the cogs whirring in their minds, trying to find the clue in his words.
"They found out that this child is a direct descendent of Primo."
A deep, dark silence descended onto the room, all three boys knew that Iemitsu was a Primo descendent, but with his ties to CEDEF it was an impossibility for him to take over Vongola, and with his child being raised a civilian life it was guaranteed that he could not take Vongola either. But now-
"I won't stand for it. The child will try to take fratello's place." Massimo stood then, "I won't have anything to do with it father, do what you life, allow the child in, but I won't have anything to do with that scum."
Enrico stood and bowed his way out of the room respectfully, not saying anything in favour of or against the new child that would be joining the 'family' all he did was comment that Xanxus would not be amused by the turn of events. Of course, Timoteo could not argue that.
"What about you, Federico?" Timoteo looked tired, his years gaining on him as he watched the expressions shift on his youngest son's face, "What do you make of this?"
"I have a feeling that things will not be as smooth for this child as we think." Federico moved to kiss his father's cheek before exiting the room. "But he is my brother now, and family is family, father."
Timoteo was relieved, but Federico was perceptive and had the strongest intuition of all the brothers. If he was saying things would not be smooth sailing, well, Timoteo was about to batten down the hatches and prepare.
It is fair to say that Enrico and Massimo were immediately threatened by Tsunayoshi's presence in the mansion. The child was a direct Primo descendent, and of anyone currently living in the mansion, it was Tsunayoshi who held the primary right to take on the Decimo generation.
So from the time he was born, as he grew and aged, gathering people quickly to his side and around his finger, Massimo and Enrico stayed away. They acted coolly towards the little heir, and despite knowing that he would be raised to take on CEDEF or be a minor leader in the mafia, they had little if anything to do with him.
Massimo even went as far as to outright be vicious to Tsunayoshi, not mentioning his name without some kind of disgust and distrust in it. Of course, Federico soon put both his brothers in their place.
Federico was kind-hearted and eternally loyal to family and children. He was the first to warm to the baby, playing with him when his father was looking after the child, and even going as far as spending time around the other people who seemed to naturally fall into the child's whims and charismatic, magnetic air of love and trust.
Federico was not threatened in the least, he didn't want to take on Vongola, knew he wouldn't have to, and he felt a kind of kinship in the child. They were the same, in a way; both could have lived happily as civilians. Both could have made great things of themselves, saved any lives. But still, Federico saw the fire of determination in his eyes, saw the love and compassion. He also saw the sorrow and abandonment.
That was what truly got Enrico and Massimo to warm to the child; they saw the way their baby-brother acted and loved the child, there for the major milestones as the child grew; they grew resentfully jealous. One day, after a major outburst from both Enrico and Massimo about their baby-brother spending more time with the 'orphaned-trash' Federico had had enough.
Never in all their sixteen years with Federico had Massimo or Enrico ever seen their brother so distraught and furious with them- or anyone. He was crying, throwing a fit of rain-lightning flames that the whole mansion felt.
He cussed them out; their gentle, cuss-hating brother called them every name under the sun until the elder men saw their mistake. They realised that the mafia was tainting and unforgiving. It disgusted them to realise that they had felt threatened by a child over a position he was never meant to take.
"He's a child, fratello, he is a baby who has been abandoned by his parents. How can you cuss at him and call him trash. All he wants is to love you, fratello! All he wants is to be held and know the love of a family! How can you bastards call yourself Vongola if you abandon a child who needs you more than your fucking mafia does?!"
From then it was like they woke up. Both older men took the initiative to get to know Tsunayoshi before cussing him out and calling his useless.
Never had the brothers been so glad to have been wrong.
Federico was right, Tsunayoshi was quickly proving to have signature Vongola intuition and intent in his being. Loyal and quick learning, it amazed Enrico and Massimo daily to see just how similar young Tsunayoshi was to their brother at the same age. They were disgusted in themselves for allowing something like an 'heir-right' blind them to the need of their cousin. Because like it or not, believe it or not, Tsunayoshi was a direct descendent of one of their own descendents.
It didn't take too long after Tsunayoshi turned six months old for them to truly and wholly feel like Tsuna was family. For Enrico, Massimo and Federico, family was family. To their deaths they were prepared to protect their newest, sweetest little brother.
"Fratello, why is Tsu crying?"
Enrico almost sighed when Federico stormed into the room. The young man, only eighteen years old now was the most protective of Tsuna out of the three of them. Though, Enrico knew that Tsunayoshi and his youngest blood-brother were kindred souls.
"He saw the Varia come back from a botched mission."
"What are we going to do with you Tsuna? We can't protect you from everything, even if we want to." Federico smiled sadly as he ran his nimble, pale fingers through Tsuna's thick hair.
Federico knew he was the weakest of his brothers. He was sickly and physically weak, but he loved his family more than anything, and he protected them with his utmost power. It didn't seem fair that he wasn't able to protect Tsuna from something so simple as blood and wounds.
"It was the same for you, little bro." Massimo confesses as he looks up from his quantum physics book. "We didn't want you to know our world either."
"Federico, do you regret knowing about the danger we're in?" Enrico spoke from the corner, though his eyes did not move from the fireplace.
"I can't say yes can I? If I did then all my work to help protect everyone is for naught, by telling me you trust me to care for myself and everyone else, so no, I don't regret it."
"Then you see why we, as Tsunayoshi's brothers, need to teach him." Massimo smiled softly at his brother.
"We can only try and teach him right and wrong and the same importance for family that we were taught." Enrico finished, though his words were sterner than Massimo; he has seen more hurt than his brothers in the end.
"It still doesn't seem fair though."
"No, it's not."
It was later that afternoon when Reborn arrived back in the mansion to train with Tsuna that he heard of the Varia's failure. He had cornered Xanxus to explain, but the man couldn't give him any answer as to how they failed, or how they hadn't noticed the distraught Tsuna watching them come home.
To say Reborn was annoyed was an understatement, but he had his duty and went to collect Tsuna from the Vongola Brothers so they could get to their meetings and Tsuna could get on with his stamina training.
As he entered the living room, Reborn was greeted with a tense air and a rather subdued Tsuna. The child was slinging to Federico while said man read a book, brushing his fingers through Tsuna's hazel tresses.
Enrico caught his eyes and through subtle body language and years of practice, the two assassins passed on their messages and each one was disappointed with what they found.
The Varia figure anything out?
Not a chance, is he feeling better yet?
Only more confused.
Reborn could do nothing more than sigh and step towards his ward. Sitting down and rubbing tight circles on Tsuna's back, Reborn coaxed the boy out of his stupor and towards the door. He bid the brother's good bye, a silent promise in his body-language to sort their little brother out, and he was please to see each of the men relax, of only a little, at the silent declaration.
"Come on Tsuna, it's time for some training." Reborn reached down to grab Tsuna's hand and lead him towards one of the smaller training rooms.
The training was a quiet affair, Tsuna was still tired and confused about everything he saw, and Reborn was trying to figure out the kindest way to explain to the child. This wasn't something he ever wanted to explain to him. Tsuna was his son, after all, and though Reborn was Mafia it didn't mean that he wanted Tsuna to be. Not with how delicate and gentle the boy's soul was. Those flames were new and strong, but such purity was tainted by even a speck of blood upon it.
"Papa." Tsuna asked, and Reborn just looked down with slight unease as teary, confused brown met his own dark eyes. "Why do the Varia need t' get in-jud?"
"What does it mean to go on a mission, Tsuna?"
"My family has work to do."
"Such as?"
"Papa, the Varia, even Fratellos make people disappear." Tsuna knew the mechanics of their jobs, but the jobs never came home. It was always a concept and not a reality for the child, and that was making it both hard and frustrating to try to make him understand.
"Exactly, when we make people 'disappear' we hurt them, Tsunayoshi, and they never come back. It has to be done and we cannot stop."
"To protect the famiglia." Tsunayoshi stated with a resolve uncommon to children, "To keep awl my Mamas and Papas and Nii-sans and Fratello, and Nonno, and my famiglia safe."
"That's right. We hurt bad people; we make them bleed, all to protect the people we love."
Tsuna was silent for a moment, his gaze unwavering as he bore into Reborn's eyes, looking for truth and deceit; something the young child was almost flawless at finding.
"But hurtin is wowng. hirtin people is wowng and it hurts you." Tsuna resolved. "It hurts you and makes you covard in red. I don' like it Papa, I don' like my family red!"
Reborn knew that he could not explain it fully to the child. This wasn't something he alone could convince him of. So scooping the boy up, foregoing the physical training for some mental training, Reborn stalked towards the Varia wing to gather someone Reborn was sure would be able to explain as simply, yet gentle as needed.
"Mammon, you and I need to chat." Reborn's voice carried over the living room and Mammon sighed and stalked out immediately. Not one Varia member argued, and that was simply because it was rare that Reborn call them out at all. They knew that it was serious business.
Reborn simply handed Tsuna off to the cloaked woman and began to walk to the shooting range; somewhere he knew they would not be disturbed.
"Are you awl right now, Mama?" Tsuna sniffed as he snuggled into his Mama's embrace, he encircled his arms around h
Mammon was not sentimental, not like Reborn, but she was more maternal than others gave her credit for. She thrived on the feeling of being needed and loved, and when Tsuna gave that to her without asking for money or anything in return she latched onto it while she could.
She didn't care much for emotions or for bodily desires- except money, that was her one true love- but it was uncomfortable to imagine the pain her child was going through having seen all the people he loved come back covered in something that usually meant danger.
"Of course, Child, I'm not one to let some scratches keep me down. I was not one of the ones heavily injured."
"I'm glad." Those soft words made Mammon's heart clench rather uncomfortably.
As they reached the training ground Reborn took his place at the firing stall and prepared Tsuna for the gunshots. He was practical, and he could thing of no way better to put respect and fear into the child than to show him.
Firing off a few clips of rounds, Reborn turned to Tsuna with a hint of his killer intent present in the onyx hues of his eyes. "These bullets, Tsunayoshi, they hurt people and they kill." Hous voice was cold, and he could see Tsunayoshi begin to quiver in the confines of Mammon's vice-like arms, "but these bullets can be used to protect many things, if they are used right."
"A weapon is dangerous, Tsunayoshi, it can hurt people and protect them. But it also hurts its wielder. If you decide to use a weapon to hurt people and make them disappear you need to be prepared to feel that life and that hurt here," mammon placed a hand against Tsuna's chest, to try and illustrate her point, "injuring another isn't to be taken lightly."
Mammon sat Tsuna on the table usually meant for clips and different guns, kneeling she made the child meet her gaze, she watched the brown light with confusion and pain, comprehending the frightening words in feeling, his hyper intuition working against him as his mind could not understand the threat behind the feelings and meanings.
"Tsunayoshi, we hurt people and we get hurt. Xanxus broke his collar bone; Levi needed stitches for his lip. I've broken a rib and Belphegor broke his ankle." She watched the boy's growing fear and panic, and despite her own growing disgust she forged on, watching brown flicker with resolve and the invading orange of HDW. "Our bullets kill people Tsunayoshi, they disappear forever."
"They will never laugh again, Tsuna. They won't smile, or be with their family. The people we kill deserve to die. We make sure we kill those who need to die, and only those. We hate killing. All of us hate ending lives."
"Then why do you do it?" Tsuna was crying now, not understanding, and not seeing the point.
"Because we love you." Mammon finally relented. "We do not do this lightly, Tsunayoshi. Not one of our family members likes killing. But sometimes it needs to be done. It needs to be done because we love you too much to let you disappear too."
"Remember Tsuna, a life is precious. When someone dies they never come back. When you grow up you will see killing and you one day may have to kill too." Reborn's voice was tense and dark. His throat wanting to constrict and stop the words. His child would never kill. Not if he could help it. "if you do one thing as you grow, Tsunayoshi, please, please never let the people who are killed, the enemies you or your family kill or the family that die, never let them become just a number."
"Life is precious. Never ever let life become something to throw away."
Tsunayoshi nodded as he let the sobs of confusion, disgust and understanding bubble and overflow. His sobs were broken and loud, disgustingly painful to listen to as Tsuna tried to compile and accept the horror and the pain that he would be subjected to in the future. At two Tsuna imagined the nightmare that scared him now, and to him they were the basis of the pain he would have to accept. He did not want to watch his family come home red and broken because they protected him. He didn't and he wouldn't'. He would be just as strong. Just as welcoming and make sure his family didn't come home hurt and broken.
He threw himself at his Mama and she allowed Reborn to embrace the both of them, it wasn't time to let either of their pride get in their way. This child, the child that they and everyone else loved and cared for, was hurting and needed support.
Such purity, it was never going to be lost to the mafia, they wouldn't let it get lost.
"This is your family, Tsunayoshi. If you want to stay with us you need to accept it and learn to adjust. You need to accept the blood and the injuries and be the warm arms they can come to for help."
"Your family love you, Tsuna. Be the sky to hold and care for them, even if you aren't the boss to rule them."
"Settle down everyone!" a soft woman's voice called out over a loud chorus or chatter and whiney children. "It's time for your nap."
"Che, I don't need to sleep, woman."
"Now now, someone is cranky!" The woman chirped happily, she scooped the once scowling, now shocked child into her arms and walked towards the bedroom, a horde of nine children toddling quickly after her, like ducks in a row.
"Oya, it seems someone needs to sleep~"
The child in the woman's arms started to kick up a fuss, trying to kick out, though not as aggressively as his words seemed to make out.
"Stop that, Mama said its nap time!"
"Ma ma, Tsuna come lie down!" An enthusiastic child called out to Tsuna as he looked between the various groups of children that were lying down to sleep.
Tsuna ended up lying down next to the two quietest, most withdrawn children; one had strikingly red hair, and the other a lazy, uncaring air to him. Smiling and snuggling up to the children, Tsuna quickly lead the others to go to sleep to.
...
As things quietened down, the woman went to check on the children, hoping the silence meant that they were finally sleeping. The sight she was greeted with had her scampering to find Lussuria and a camera.
It always amazed the black-haired woman, Tsuna had unknowingly gathered every one of the nine other children to his side. Surrounding him, some touching in a tight embrace, others just birthing hands and hair, each child was in some way close to Tsunayoshi who sat in the center of a sleeping mass. Each child faced him, sleeping peacefully though they were fighting with each other just hours before.
So that was a little dark... I'm sorry... to make up for it, the next chapter will be overflowing with so much fluff that you might just die and get cavities. I promise it's cute and fluffy and warm next time.
Here's your hint! for next time: 20 months old: Nap time with...
Yes, yes Mammon is a girl and OoC... so is Reborn... well, not female... but anyway.
Thank you for reading, I would appreciate reviews, I love you all from the top and bottom of my heart. You are amazing, wonderful people. Thank you, all my love,
~~Bleach-ed-Na-tsu :3