Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn for it belongs to Amano Akira.
Enjoy the story. R&R, plz!
Chapter 1: Changes
5 years later
As the announcement was made about the plane arrival, reporters, journalists and fans that had been waiting at the airport for the whole morning hastily made a beeline for the terminal in hope of meeting the homecoming superstar. Reporters and journalists were there to take pictures and gather information for their new headlines while the fans, along with their banners, autograph notebooks and smart phones, were eager to catch the glimpse of the famous idol. Not long after that, the airport was bustling with screaming, cheering and camera flashing as the brown-haired star walked down the passage that led where a black limousine was waiting for him. Such was the fanatic crowd that the bodyguards had to form a circle around the brunette to prevent any crazy fans from doing anything crazy to their boss.
"Shirosaki-sama! How do you feel about being the youngest actor and also the first Japanese to receive the Golden Dragon Award?"
"Many fans have been shocked to hear about your upcoming one-year hiatus in Namimori. Is there any particular reason besides taking a break after shooting "Prince of Lucifer?"
"Is it true that you're planning to release a new album when you come back, Shirosaki-sama?"
"Can you describe your feelings when returning to Namimori after spending 5 years in Tokyo?"
"Kyaaaa, please look this way, Tsuna-kun!"
"Marry me, Tsuna-sama!"
"Oh my god, he looks so handsome in real life!"
Despite the uproar and many questions bombarded at the same time, the young star still managed to keep a bright smile on his face and answered the questions fluently.
"It felt really great to be back my hometown after leaving it for 5 years. However, I would like to clarify one thing: I'm not on hiatus. I will still perform on stage and accept offer to act, but I will not be as active as before. What's more, I think it would be best for me to have a change of scenery from the busy showbiz world and enjoy the life of a normal teenager once in a while. About the recent award, words cannot describe how happy and honored I am to receive such a prestigious award and I sincerely feel that, from now on, Japan's movie industry will step closer to the world. However, above all, it brings me great joy to be loved by all of you, my dear fans in Namimori. Please take care of me during my stay at here!"
After that, the idol took off his shades, revealing his beautiful brown eyes and smiled charmingly at the crowd that instantly melted at the sight. Journalists wouldn't stop asking more questions and pressing their camera' button while fans just kept screaming his name and their eternal devotion to Tsuna.
After a long struggle, the group of bodyguards managed to squeeze their way out of the growing crowd and get the idol into the car. As soon as the brunette set his weight on his seat, the driver immediately started the engine and drove away from the airport. Even after the car had left, the fans still continued their squealing; some of them even chased after the vehicle. Only after 5 minutes of driving did the sound die down and Tsuna began talking.
"Men, I'm totally exhausted. Four years and I'm still not used to dealing with the crowd. They always suffocate with their insatiable curiosity and over-eagerness. Don't they know anything about personal space and privacy?", Tsuna leant his back against the leather seat and propped his arm on his forehead.
The driver lash personal manager, Hamada, simply chuckled at his employer's dramatic gesture. "That is to be expected after you snatched the trophy of both the Academy Award and The Golden Dragon Award for best actor of the year, not to mention your album is currently topping the Oricon Chart. The number of your fans is gonna rise more and more, you know."
"Whateveeeer! I'm so hungry and sleepy!"
"I'm taking you to the apartment where you're gonna stay while you're in Namimori. I'm pretty sure you…"
"No…", Tsuna interrupted curtly, gaining Hamada's attention, "before you take me there, I want to go to Namimori orphanage first."
"But you said that you were tired, so why not rest before going there?", Hamada couldn't help but express his surprise at Tsuna's sudden change of mind.
"Just drive, Tadashi and don't ask any question" was Tsuna's harsh reply before he turned his face to the window.
Complying to his employer's wish, the manager drove the car along the road that led to the place where the brunette used to live before leaving for Tokyo. The older man was surprised at the young teen's outburst, for he was always calm, but then he understood the teen meant no ill-intention to him.
Looking at the scene passing by outside the window, Tsuna let his eyes absorb the changes in Namimori while his mind unconsciously wandered back to the past memory of this place. Not a single good childhood memory about this damn place, just bitter and miserable memories that would rather forget.
Spring had come to Namimori, bringing along the warmth and sunshine and driving away the cold winter. The sakura trees bloomed beautifully and scattered his pink petals to the breeze, decorating the scenery with its color and liveliness. 5 years had passed but there still wasn't much change happening to Namimori's appearance: still the same old houses, familiar trees that might have grown taller, the faded trash cans arranged neatly on the street,… And the people here didn't change much, too.
However, some changes had definitely occurred on the inside. Tsuna couldn't wait to see those changes himself.
At that thought, the brunette's usual brown eyes turned into a dangerous orange.
-o0o-
At the same time, in Italy
In a garden filled with beautiful flowers situated secretly inside the Vongola castle, a young man with dazzling gravity-defying blond hair could be seen having tea with a red-haired man. Calmly sipping the lukewarm liquid, the blonde exuded the aura of a true gentleman and a dignified leader.
"Giotto, my friend, my buddy, have you reconsidered my suggestion?", the redhead spoke and locked his red eyes with unique compass-like irises with his companion's orange eyes.
Putting the teacup down, Giotto directed his attention to the redhead and let out a tired sigh. "Cozart, how many times have I told you, I have no intention of dating anyone right now. In fact, I'm too busy to have time to pursue any romantic relationship, let alone dating."
Not giving up, Cozart continued. "Oh, come on, you seriously don't have time for just a simple dinner! You're passing a golden opportunity here. She is one gorgeous beauty with great manner; what's more, she's from a prestigious Famiglia in Vongola Alliance. Let's also not forget the fact that she's been harboring a not-so-secret crush on you for years."
Whil Giotto understood his friend's good intention, the blond couldn't bring himself to accept the invitation to have dinner with that lady. Gorgeous and refined as she might be, Giotto had closed off his heart since long ago and it was likely to remain that way for the rest of his life.
"I'm sorry, my friend, but I must reject your offer", Giotto sent the redhead an apologetic look, "I don't think I'm ready for any relationship yet."
Cozart heaved out a sigh and chomped down a biscuit in frustration."Seriously, Giotto, how long are you planning to wait before you get yourself a decent relationship and settle down, huh? Look at your Guardians! They are already happily married and have kids; even Lampo, your youngest Guardian, is a father. Do you intend to stay single forever?"
The question had no reply. Looking at his friend, who was venting his feelings onto the snack, Giotto ruefully smiled, his forlorn gaze directed to a pair of birds that were bathing in the nearby fountain. The peaceful scene brought back many memories of the time when he was still young and chasing an ideal love.
The blond's full name was Giotto Vongola – ninth Boss of Vongola Famiglia, the most powerful mafia organization in the world. Hailed as the most powerful Boss of all time, he received acclaim for bringing the bloodiest Famiglia back to its original purpose as a Vigilante Group. His current position gave him power, fame and fortune beyond imagination; despite the death threats and constant dangers, he had friends who would always stand by his side and reliable comrades who were more than willing to sacrifice for him.
Yet , he always felt lonely-a fact nobody has yet to know.
He needed something else…something that his fortune couldn't buy…something that would last forever.
Before his train of thought could continue, a butler came forward to deliver Giotto an urgent message.
"Master Giotto, Master Alaude has requested for an emergency meeting which requires the presence of you and all Guardians. He also said that the subject of the meeting had something to do with you and that your presence was a must."
"Thank you, Joseph."
The butler bowed at his master and promptly took his leave. Soon after that, Giotto bid goodbye to his friend and headed to the conference room. Something about the sudden nature of this meeting set his intuition on edge; it felt as though as an event was going to transpire and change his life forever.
-o0o-
"It's such a great honor for me and the orphanage to be visited by such a great individual as yourself, Tsuna-sama. Oh, where's my manner? Would you like some tea or coffee? I assure you that the tea and coffee are of high quality that's befitted your status."
Tsuna stared blankly at how the orphanage's director seemingly revered every step he made and treated him like a god. The director's appearance, Tsuna mused, didn't experience much change and neither was his personality: there were the familiar overly fat body that threatened to tear up the shirt any second, the saturated rows of teeth that was faded due to excessive drinking and smoking, the overwhelming cologne that upset Tsuna's nose, the gold rings decorated his fingers that didn't go along well with impoverished state of the orphanage, and above all, that detestable rotten personality that reeked of phoniness.
The brunette still remembered as clearly as daylight, how the childhood he spent in this run-down orphanage was made more miserable by this man. He was the one that instilled in the mind of many that trash as useless as Tsuna was better-off dead or, if still kept alive, should make himself useful by "becoming the sandbag for everyone to vent their stress on". He, along with many staves, used to lock him in the broom closet for not passing the tests or doing something that displeased them. However, most despicable of all, the so-called director used most of the donations for himself and spent little to invest in the place he was supposed to pay attention to.
That alone already made him among the top in Tsuna's black list.
Much as Tsuna wanted to lash out at that pig of a man, all of his negative emotions were suppressed to the deepest pit of his mind, for the sake of a saintly look and a good show that would later guarantee him the satisfaction of the other's suffering.
"Please don't trouble yourself too much, Mori-san. Water will do just fine."
"Eh...eh...okay. Hey, bring Tsuna-sama the best, freshest water we have and hurry up! Don't let him wait any second", the director shouted to the door and Tsuna mentally snorted.
"What a totally fake pig!"
After the water had been served in gaudy glass with a pink straw and an intricate spoon-Tsuna had to restrain himself from dumping the water onto that irritating bald head, the brunette took the initiative to begin the conversation.
"It has been four years since I last stayed in this place and nothing has changed much. How nostalgic! You must have worked really hard to keep this place the same."
"You're flattering me, Tsuna-sama. I have done my best to reserve this place, waiting for the day you came back. It's not a big deal."
"What a dumb pig! He was referring to the fact this place was still as bad as ever and the pig decided that he was being praised. How stupid can he be?"
Still maintaining a smiling facade, Tsuna continued, "I have heard about what happened to Ohmae Company and I must say, it was such a pity that due to that company's own mistake, the orphanage has to suffer, too."
Among the donators to the orphanage, Ohmae Company was the one that contributed the most to the fund, most of which was undoubtedly used to feed that pig's stomach, and with the downfall of the most generous donator, the current fund had decreased dramatically to the point of barely covering the orphanage's needs, according to the detective that Tsuna hired to investigate. The brunette smirked in the privacy of his mind. The recent bankruptcy of the company, as quoted by the local newspaper, was mainly due to the fraud annual report that usually stated that the company always yielded profit, but the harsh truth was that the company had bribed another audit firm to make up the report, covering the company's loss and countless debt. When the ugly skeleton was brought out of the closet, bankruptcy was inevitable to the Ohmae Company and the audit firm as investors lost faith and interest in both. It was one of the greatest scandals in Namimori and also brought about many adverse consequences.
The newspaper praised the police for having done a good job in solving a hard case, because the investigation required the force to gather lots of evidence and make correct deduction. However, little did the public know that Tsuna also play a tiny little part in shedding some light on that tough case.
But then, it wouldn't hurt if they didn't know, right?
To Tsuna's immense pleasure, everything was going according to what he predicted.
Returning his attention to the orphanage's director, the brunette watched the man fidgeting nervously at his seat. He seemed to have trouble with what he was going next. However, it was not that hard for the star to figure out where this conversation was heading to.
The man was in dire need of money, whether for himself or the orphanage, and he was planning to ask Tsuna to make some donations.
"I'm gonna go straight to the point, Mori-san. What is your purpose of this appointment? Surely, you don't plan to have some random chit chat with me, right?"
The director immediately tensed at Tsuna's words. Then, he quickly went to the working table and pulled a box from the drawer. Tsuna cocked an eyebrow, feeling rather interested in what the older man had in store for him. Mori returned to the coffee table and slid the box towards Tsuna.
Upon closer look, there was nothing particularly interesting about the object, aside from it being old and rusty. However, when he laid his eyes onto the center of the lid, he noticed some faded writing on it. His heart nearly stopped at that.
"For Tsunayoshi-my beloved child."
"This…", Mori spoke up, gaining the brunette's attention, "is from your late mother. Before she passed away, she had entrusted this box to me, telling me to give this to you when you were old enough. I think now is the right time for you to receive this box and know the truth about your birth."
For the first time in a very long time, Tsuna was at a loss for words.
-o0o-
Giotto, like other occupants in the room, couldn't believe his ears anymore. He stared at the screen, and then, at his trusted Guardian Alaude for confirmation.
"Alaude, i…is this some kind of j…joke? A…are you in your right mind?"
Giotto was too shocked to notice that he was stuttering, a trait he deemed unbefitting of a boss. Staring into the blue eyes of platinum-blond man that was standing across the room, the blond searched for any trace of mischief or hint of lie, only to find pure seriousness.
"Giotto, allow me to tell you one more time, and I won't repeat it anymore. This boy here is your son."
TBC
Thank you so much for your support and comments. The main reason why I felt my fic was shabby was because there are a lot of great fics out there with high quality, good plot and good writing style. Moreover, I do feel that the plot in which Tsuna is abused has been used a lot, so readers may feel tired of this.
Your support has been a great motivation for me and it spurred me to write faster :).
Thank you everyone!