Target One: That Guy From Italy
Three years, that's how long she had been waiting for the plot. It was bad enough that she turned out blind, and now she had to wait longer for the story she has been waiting for to actually begin?
Tsuna didn't like this one bit.
Biting on her pen, one hand traveling over the sheets of paper that lay on the table in front of her, her eyes directed at nothing as she listened to the teachers' explanations with what appeared to be great interest.
When she first came to school, Nana had called the principal informing him about Tsuna's condition, and so, the principal has informed each of the teachers Tsuna have to give her papers with everything they were going to write on the board before the lesson starts, that way she could be at the same level as the others without having to take extra classes.
Tsubasa was, once again, permitted to stay with her, and no one could even dare to question it since the Hibari Kyoya seemed rather fond of the little bird.
Of course, like in the middle school, she had been unable to follow Tsunayoshi's Dame Nature and had done much better than the original. Some still had the mindset of her being a clumsy and no-good student but they had outgrown the time of immaturity so they didn't belittle her anymore. Well, at least some of them.
It did help that her grades remained above average at worst and advance at best. Being reborn with her previous knowledge had its perks (though she would crush the tiniest guilt for being unfair with the other students).In truth, the language had been her only problem as it was difficult for her to gasp.
She hadn't been originally Japanese so she couldn't write or speak properly in that language. She had often added an accent when speaking. It was only a good thing that Iemitsu had Italian blood since it stopped any question about her accent.
In contrast to her Japanese, she's already fluent in English and other languages she remembered from her past lives. She's so good at it that even some teachers came to her for translations and pronunciation errors, much to her amusement,
She also noticed a few changes in her appearance when she had finally been able to form an image for herself. Not only from her past life, but also from how Tsunayoshi looked. Her eyes were just as big as Tsunayoshi in the anime, but they were blue instead of brown, not to mention her missing pupil.
Her auburn hair was thick, wavy and lifted of her head like a tamer version of a mane that reach her mid-back. She had just allowed it to grow since she didn't care about what she looked like. She had a petite frame with long arms and legs.
And it's exactly those features that marked her as the secret idol of Namimori.
Secret in the way, that when someone was crushing on her, they all tended to keep their interests to themselves, even among their friends. But they did it in such a lousy way that everyone found out about it anyway. Well, everyone except for the girl in question.
And so, Little Tsuna remained in school without knowing a thing about what the boys around her thought of her.
In other words, the Namimori Angel with her feathery pet remained oblivious.
After school, Tsuna had cleaning duty with three other boys and her bird sat by the corner, watching in case something bad happened.
Three boys that all thought the girl was adorable, not that anyone besides themselves knew that for certain. They were way to busy glancing at her from the corner of their eyes to even realize the others were doing the same.
Tsubasa hummed unhappily. This could not end well.
The only girl had just sat down on the ground to scoop up the dust she had gathered up while sweeping the floor.
Just then, a boy carrying a bucket filled with water was walking backwards, talking to his friend while laughing, he didn't even realize that he was walking right into someone.
And that someone was Tsunako.
The water bucket fell straight onto her head, roaking her uniform, leaving the white dress-shirt transparent for the whole world to see. Well, at least the three boys in the room.
Not that Tsuna knew that, she could only feel the fabric hugging her body and the dampness from the water. And she really didn't like the feeling.
It was starting to become cold.
Upon hearing a loud 'SPLASH' followed by a just as loud "HIEE!" from the girl, the three boys had all turned around to see her completely soaked and the most timid boy quickly averted his eyes from the sight, his faces red from blushing. The other two followed after getting back to their senses and feeling that it's inappropriate to be looking.
Lucky for Tsuna, she was wearing a tank-top under the shirt.
Water dripping down from her bangs, her face flustered from shock, her skin glowing as the light was reflected of the water and her wet clothing clung to her figure.
Needless to say, the three boys all of the sudden had a hard time breathing, even though they only just got a quick sight. The small animal let a small growl but stayed in put, knowing it would be bad if he attacked a student.
"I'm so sorry Sawada," the one who dropped the bucket said, still feeling slightly nervous and embarrassed. He had trouble keeping his blush in control as well. Not that the other two had any luck. The girl had truly captivated them by her cuteness though they would never admit it.
"It's just water. A little water has never hurt anyone," she said, trying to wipe away the water from her eyes. She moved to twist the water out of her hair. "You just gave me a scare."
She soon came to the conclusion that trying to wipe of something wet with something equally wet was nothing but futile. 'And I don't have a spare clothes, too,' she sighed. 'What am I going to do?'
She had been so absorbed from her mind and in trying to dry her hair that she hadn't even heard the footsteps approaching the classroom door. A mistake, she would find herself regretting.
The door flew open.
"What the hell is going on he-"
The person standing in the door-frame was none other than their upperclassmen Mochida Kensuke.
Mochida was known among the most wanted girls in school to be the one man they least wanted to be with. The reason behind all of this was probably because someone caught him cheating on his girlfriend with Sasagawa Kyoko during the second year in middle school. He lost his chances with any girl ever since.
But that doesn't mean he's not going to try and get one.
Sasagawa Kyoko had approached Tsunako at the beginning of the year and informed her about Mochida, and although confused to why she was warned when she wasn't pretty or popular to begin with, the girl has done her best to ignore him, to stay away from him.
The brunette never thought that it was all too serious but she did keep her guard since the upperclassman was the first person Tsunayoshi had fought.
She stared at the physically older boy and felt a cold shiver at the stare he was giving her. She didn't know what it was about but she had a feeling that she wouldn't like what was promised in those eyes.
What of the said boy? Oh, he was totally hooked.
When Mochida's eyes fell on Tsuna, he froze mid-sentence. His tactless eyes wandered from the slim body that any woman would die for to the big and round blue orbs that seemed to follow him and enchant him like honeys to bees.
Covered with water, her transparent shirt showed the slight curves she had developed and even though her size wasn't the largest he had seen, he found himself being attracted by how the girl seemed to be untouched by anyone.
He had heard rumors. Rumors about Sawada blooming out into the perfect, fragile little Lilly that most of the male population in the school wanted for themselves.
He had heard them all, but he had never actually seen her.
Now, he knew what they meant.
The brunette had a different feeling in her. No one could deny the innocent and naivety of those serene sapphire eyes. All too seeing and seemingly unaware of the dangers of reality, she was like a blossoming white lily within a dark forest.
He wanted that Lilly.
And he would have her as getting fragile and innocent girls like Tsunako was as easy as taking candy from a baby. (He'd found out much later how he was very wrong and how some babies might just give him a run for his money if he even thought once about stealing from them, especially the baby in suit.)
Tsuna was walking home with Tsubasa still sulking for being stopped at pecking the boy, who had roamed his pervert eyes on his master. Her clothing and hair were still a bit damp from the water but at least her skin was dry. The sun was going to have the rest of her dry in a matter of seconds so she didn't allow it to bother her.
She rubbed the back on her neck without thinking.
She could still feel his burning gaze, even though she had left the school grounds over ten minutes ago. She never really saw the man but she heard the other called his name. People like Mochida scared her, even more now that she had finally met him. They were the type, who thought they could have anything and belittle anyone.
She wondered why he was said to be a future ally in the future canon of KHR. Tsunayoshi had fought him as well but the show and the manga didn't even show if he had changed ways after Tsunayoshi had defeated him.
But then again, Mochida was a minor character so it didn't really matter at that time.
'It's only just my second year in high school and I already seemed to have a problem,' she though with a long sigh, escaping her lip. She let her fingers ran through her bangs, a habit she developed whenever she felt something was wrong. 'I don't get it. Why was Mochida staring at me and why did it felt dirty?'
She knew that her looks were average at best and her eyesight unnerved other people that they backed away so it was a surprise when he didn't look away like she's an ugly sight. Still, she didn't like the way he had looked at her.
She was regretting no being a Dame now. Why had she chosen not to become Dame again?
At least, if she was Dame, Mochida wouldn't even try to look at her, and then she would have been alone in the classroom to clean up all on her own so she wouldn't have been covered in the water and then Mochida would have never showed up.
So many things might have been better if she had chosen to be Dame.
But she tried to imagine herself in the real Tsunayoshi's place. She tried to see herself as a bullied girl all through her life with no friends. She tried to think of the disappointed glances her mother would give her.
And she couldn't find herself to be like that every time.
In the first place, it wasn't her true character and she didn't want to lie to herself. She had been living in a lie in her previous life that she didn't want that anymore. She hated seeing Nana sad and disappointed as well.
Her mother with all her kindness and warmth loathed hearing lies the most.
Finally, there was the one existence she needed want to be familiarized again. It was okay in her childhood because she understood that children easily made mistakes of treating other children badly, but she drew the line when they had all grown older.
Bullies had been the torn in her two lives, and she both hated and reconciled that they were her greatest fear.
This fear stopped her from doing things she wanted to do, and she cowardly always try to avoid anything to conjure the wrath of bullies. She didn't pretend to be a Dame, and she remained average or above average in school.
Tsuna didn't try to socialize with other classmates and she kept her contact with anyone as minimum. It was also the reason why she still hadn't consulted Yamamoto about his problem…or why she didn't dare ask Hibari's reason for taking interest in her (or rather Tsubasa).
She could try as she might to get rid of her fear. She would try to talk to Yamamoto and Hibari, even Kyoko and Ryohei, but then, she didn't know how else she would continue. Her relationship became the borderline between friend and acquaintance. She didn't deserve to have friends when she's too afraid of bullies or the unknown.
She stopped dead in her track, unaware that her bird instinctually flew to the Sawada resident to warn her mother about her state.
Her insecurities and her fears mixed together to prevent her from developing. She might seem like a kind and nice person. She might seem like an innocent girl that didn't have any ill intentions. She might even seem like a brave person.
But it wasn't like that.
Tsuna was just a cowardly girl, who was reborn and had previous knowledge of the past. She wasn't anything special nor was she the best person in the world. She knew for a fact that she didn't deserve to be Sawada Tsunayoshi for she couldn't give justice to his character.
She shook her head.
"Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it...," she chanted to herself, her hands clenching around her bag, her shoulders shaking violently. "Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it…"
She supposed that it was the time of her month. Sometimes, her situation just seemed to fall on her small shoulders and she couldn't bear the responsibility. Her thoughts became pessimistic, being worse as the years went by.
She quickened her steps, wanting nothing more than to get away. She needed to get home where she could help her mother in the household chores, find something to keep her mind busy, throw herself on her bed, watch anime or read up on her manga.
Yes. Anime and manga still worked as a method of blocking everything out, as well as cooking, writing, dancing, playing, singing...
That's it.
She began walking again only at a much slower pace, as if walking to an imaginary beat. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, singing the first song that popped into her head, "Wanna find some boy, rip his heart right out."
"First man I see, gonna take him down," she briefly thought of her upperclassman before shaking her head. She allowed herself to stop walking for a second. "It ain't the Christian thing to do, they say. But someone, somewhere's gotta pay."
Her voice drew out that final note on the word passionately, closing her eyes before opening them again to start singing the next verse, only this time with more spirit and energy, "And if it wasn't for guy's like you, there wouldn't be songs like this."
"And if you hadn't gone and done me wrong, I wouldn't go of like this," she danced a little to match the beat. She felt like there was nothing that could stop. She was invisible.
She unintentionally jumped up a wall and sang with intensity and power, unaware of the tiny orange flames surrounding her, "Yeah even I'm surprised… How easy sweet revenge rolls of my lips and if it wasn't for guy's like you, there wouldn't be songs like this."
"Broke my TV, part of my guitar, after maxing out, my credit cards," Tsuna stopped dancing and turned around to walk calmly while continuing the song, unknowing about the figure that was watching her. "You lied much too much, and you lied again…Caught you on the couch with my best friend."
She smiled to herself despite the implication of the song. She truly enjoyed singing anything.
Her eyes closed as she once again burst into more energetic movements, it was a miracle that she hadn't fallen of the wall yet. The person watching her could only look at her as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. That girl had some balance.
"And if it wasn't for guys like you, there wouldn't be songs like this. And if you hadn't gone and done me wrong, I wouldn't go off like this. Yeah, even I'm surprised how easy sweet revenge rolls off my lips. If it wasn't for guys like you, there wouldn't be…"
She stopped for but a second before she sang again, only with a different melody, "Songs like this one that tell the whole world just what a jerk you are."
Once again, she held out the last note. Only this time a lot longer and her voice grew stronger and stronger the longer she held it. She was a good singer, anyone could see (well, hear) that.
"And if it wasn't for guys like you, there wouldn't be songs like this. And if you hadn't gone and and done me wrong, I wouldn't go off like this. Yeah, even I'm surprised how easy sweet revenge rolls off my lips. If it wasn't for guys like you, there wouldn't be…"
"No, if it wasn't for guy's like you-eeep!" Tsuna shrieked loudly in surprise as she made the mistake of misplacing her foot, causing the poor girl to lose her balance and sending her falling to the side of the wall, her back facing the ground.
The person that had been watching her made a move to catch her but it was unnecessary.
She spun her head downwards, her torso followed, making her catch herself with her hands on the ground. Her legs adjusted after the torso and Tsunako managed to make a perfect landing with many similarities of the cat, crouching down on the ground.
The mysterious person's eyes widened.
Tsunako, on the other hand, looked as if she had no idea about what just happened. Judging from the look she had as she gazed up towards the top of the wall that was about three heard above her, she clearly didn't know.
What just happened was strictly reflex, a reflex that the girl didn't know she had.
"What the hell?" she muttered to herself before turning back towards the road, wanting nothing more that to get home as soon as possible.
The person, who had been watching her, on the other hand smirked as more plans lined up at what he had witnessed.
"Interesting...," the figured muttered, the green chameleon on his fedora hat nodding in agreement.
"Tadaima…," Tsunako called out weakly as she closed the door behind her with a tired face. Her singing had calmed her down a little but she still hadn't regained her positive output. She supposed it would take some time just like the other times she had felt this way.
She didn't know when it started but she had a feeling it had something to do with her previous attempt of suicide or the fact that she didn't have the happiest life in her former life.
A gentle touch made her flinch in surprise and her cloudy eyes saw the brown color she had gotten used to. She calmed down, closing her eyes for a second before opening them again. This time, she saw the figure of her concerned mother in place of the previous color.
"Okaa-san," the girl muttered softly like she was afraid of speaking up but she didn't move away from Nana's touch. She could already tell that Tsubasa had informed the other about her previous breakdown, something she greatly appreciated. She doubted that she would be able to tell anyone herself.
"It's fine now. I'll be okay."
And what she said was the truth.
A serene smile found its way to her face as she felt her heart warming at the sight and warmth of her mother. Her mother simply had this presence that made her become lighter. It always felt as if Nana was the rain that washes away her fears and insecurities.
Amazing, really…
It was kind of funny and a little sad as well.
Tsunako had read of many fan fiction about KHR and she knew for a fact that the woman had Mist Flames in some stories. Or the authors just let her remain oblivious. She couldn't even remember if there were other Flames or if she had other roles other than being the mother of Tsunayoshi, too.
They were clearly underestimating the woman and didn't seem to notice how it was hard to be a single parent. Even worse was that she had also thought of that way to Sawada Nana at some point (and really, she didn't want to think about the stories about Nana being evil that she had once read).
She knew the truth now.
Having been brought up singe-handed by the young woman and being early friends with the two inventors opened her mindset to the many things that were not said in the anime or manga (although, then again, it couldn't always be true since this world seemed to be an alternate universe). She found out things that she never knew before and had gotten to know Nana, Shoichi and Spanner more than what was showed in the canon.
'That's right,' the girl, who was reborn in the KHR world, started mentally with a wide smile, and her posture relaxed and calmed down. She didn't notice how the change caused her mother to brighten up like the sun itself. 'I am reborn as Sawada Tsunayoshi but this is also my life. I need to get a grip of myself. I might be a coward but I'm not giving up!'
It's pathetic that she still hadn't really come to terms with things. It had been years since she had thought of these things. The way it was, she had actually gotten better. She didn't break down to tears anymore and didn't fall into the abyss of suicide.
One step at a time was her motto so she had managed to change the canon in her favor, even just a little.
In fact, she considered Yamamoto, Kyoko and Ryohei as her friends and they were really in good terms with each other. They just hadn't reached the closeness Tsunayoshi had but it was a start. She, at least, found a better luck with Hibari for some reason.
The black-haired boy never talked or something, but they did share few moments of feeding Tsubasa on the roof and taking care of the bird when it's break time, though thinking back to their first encounter on the roof was not a pleasant memory.
Almost getting hit by a flying tonfa was a scary experience. It turned even worse when her mild crush seemed to have surfaced again to her utter dismay and embarrassment, and she certainly made a fool of herself in front of the future Cloud, blushing, tongue-tied and all.
'Now, that was a fun memory,' Tsuna thought sarcastically but felt much better than before. She let out a small giggle before staring at where she had 'seen' her mother. Her glance softened earnestly, trying to convey the words unsaid. 'Thank you, Okaa-san.'
"Tadaima, Okaa-san!"
Nana smiled as if everything was perfect, feeling the house with warmth and affection, "Okari, Tsunako-chan!"
'You're welcome.'
Tsunako felt even lighter at the usual communication they said without saying the exact words. It felt natural and just right for their close relationship. She wondered if this was what it's like to have a parent.
"Ah, let's go to the kitchen. Tsubasa is waiting," the light-haired woman suggested and gave the girl a look, a hand stretched out for her to take and the said girl couldn't help but pout.
She didn't really want to held hand like she was some child but she could never turn her mother down. She sighed slightly and took the hand while her mother beamed at her. Mentally, she smiled. The things she did for her mother…
They went to the kitchen, the kindhearted mother laughing when the girl was immediately scolded by her pet as soon as she was at the bird's eyesight. The two females and one animal worked together in preparing the meal, the future Decimo wondering why they seemed to have a larger amount.
Somewhere in her heart, she knew what was happening even without her intuition acting up.
Her throat felt dry but she shook her head, deciding her next action. She gulped, trying to keep the confidence she had left. She asked, already knowing the answer, "Okaa-san, did something happened?"
Nana visibly tensed before some emotions Tsuna couldn't identify flashed into her caramel eyes. She sighed slightly, looking a little drained, "A home-tutor is coming over today."
Tsuna's pupil-less eyes widened.
'Three years delay. It's finally time,' she thought, not understanding why it was delayed, and her ears still heard the voice of her mother being slightly angry. 'Why was it delayed? And what's wrong with you, Okaa-san?'
"Okaa-san?" her soft voice echoed in the silent room and the girl could only watch as the colors around them became wild. "Is something the matter? Are you okay?"
"I know that your scores are perfect sweetheart," Nana said, relaxing her arms so that she could look down, into her daughter's eyes. Her voice held the tiniest anger and she pulled out a sheet of paper. "But Iemitsu recommended someone."
Tsuna said nothing, a vision of her mother gripping a paper in her hand and by the sound of it, she could tell that something unsettled her mother about what her father did. "Okaa-san?" she called out again in worry.
Somehow, she had a feeling that Nana wasn't going to stay oblivious in this universe, and she didn't know if it was a bad thing or not. One thing she did know was that she couldn't lie to her mother like how Tsunayoshi and Iemitsu did.
The woman deserved more than false reassuring lies.
"I don't like looking too deeply about things but I do know that there is something Iemitsu isn't telling me," the unusually keen mother confessed the harsh truth that she had noticed since Nono's visit eight years ago. Her delicate hands trembled a little. "I hate it, more so, since it involves you, Tsunako-chan."
Opening her mouth, the teenager was about to reply when a warm finger touched her lip, interrupting whatever words wanted to be heard.
"I think that you know more than I do," she formed a bitter smile at her words but she felt better now that she had spoken her thoughts aloud. "I won't pry nor will I stop you from whatever it is as long as you know what you're doing."
Her tone became softer and gentler, her eyes full of emotions that she wanted to convey, "Just promise me that you'll come back home."
Home. The way she had said that word almost made Tsuna cry and rage. The girl felt them, the misery, the betrayal, the sadness, the tears, the despair, and the hope her mother carried on her shoulders.
'Are you scared that I won't come back like Iemitsu?' she wanted to ask badly but she kept her mouth shut. This really wasn't fair for Nana.
"I promise you," usually dull blue eyes flashed into determined orange hues in a split second. "I'll always come back home no matter what and I'll tell you the truth."
'And I'll drag that pathetic excuse of a father-husband of ours here to finally spend time with you,' she continued in her mind. She didn't hate her father that much anymore, but the blond was truly an idiot that she needed to fix that.
And Nana laughed like her usual self, her posture relaxing and relieving the previous pain and hurt she had.
"Now, let's continue to prepare!"
Tsuna just shook her head as things returned back to normal as if they never had the serious conversation…as if she wasn't going to be trained by the greatest hitman to be a mafia boss.
"Okaa-san, I think I should go change first," she said sheepishly for forgetting that her clothes had been soaked just a moment ago, turning back towards the door. With a final smile, she left her mother in the kitchen.
She had told her mother that she was going to change.
Well she did, but she took a shower before that. Who knew what was in the water that had soaked her? Well it was enough to turn some points of her dress-shirt yellow, and so, she decided to wash the stuff off of her.
Once she was back in her bedroom, she changed into a dark blue sweater that appeared to be way too big for her since it was sliding of her shoulders and reached down to the middle of her palm, white jeans hot-pants and striped thigh-socks.
What she did next was sitting down in front of the mirror that stood on her desk and beginning to dry her hair.
That's when she heard it.
"Chaossu."
She dropped the hairdryer.
Slowly, she turned around, spinning her chair towards the source of the voice.
There he was, the little baby she had been waiting for three years, of course, she made sure that she didn't think that, just felt it. Knowing Reborn, he could read minds and all.
The baby in front of her looked exactly like she had expected him to look like.
Colorful, mostly the color black, green and yellow.
However, she knew that the baby had a smile on his baby face.
"Hello, Sawada Tsunako," the baby said, looking up at the teenage girl in front of him. What caught him of guard the most was the girl's eyes, but he brushed it off. "I am Reborn, your new tutor."
He looked up at her face, expecting to see a disbelieving look on her face, but to his surprise, she was staring into the air above his head. Just what is going on, what is she getting at?
Tsuna had decided to actually act as if she was blind. Partly because she wanted to show the man that she was serious about her handicap and because she thought it would be funny to see his reaction when she said it.
She tilted his head, still staring into space.
"Are you...," she trailed of, making Reborn's smile fade away slightly. "Some type of dwarf?" Reborn raised an eyebrow. Couldn't she tell? "It's either that, or you're lying down on the ground."
"Why don't you use your eyes and see for yourself," Reborn was starting to become annoyed with the girl but he had a feeling that there was something he was missing about the way her eyes seemed to see through him, trying to identify his location.
"I can't," Tsuna muttered, scratching the side of her nose as the baby narrowed his dark eyes in realization, taking note of the pupil-less and pale eyes.
"You're blind," Reborn stated, mentally cursing girl's unfortunate father and began to mutter under his breath about "keeping valid information a secret" or something similar. He spoke too quietly so Tsuna was never able to actually hear his words.
Had she been any other person she probably wouldn't have heard him at all, but since her ears were so highly developed, hearing him was an easy matter, telling what he said was a completely different matter all together.
"So…," Tsuna finally spoke after a moment of awkward silence between the two, making the Arcobaleno look up at her. Her voice shook slightly. "You're the new tutor?"
Reborn tilted his fedora with a heavy sigh and answered, "Yes, I'm your new tutor but-"
Tsuna cut him off. "You're not the average tutor," she said, turning back towards her desk. "I know, since my grades are above average. I don't really need help but to think you're here for some other reason."
Reborn raised his eyebrow and said, "Your grades are above average? According to the information I received from Iemitsu, you still need so work with your school work."
"That man doesn't even know that Okaa-san didn't enroll me to a normal school," the brunette sighed, holding the urge to insult her father. She did understand why the man wasn't home for all those years. "He hasn't really been home for years by now."
"He wouldn't know about my development," she spun her chair around, still staring into space. "Okaa-san didn't really tell him that she asked money from her parents so that she could enroll me to a special school for disabled children like me. I asked my mother to transfer me into a normal school when I was starting middle school."
"The last time he was here I was still struggling from the change ofschools but I have gotten used to it now," running her hand through her still damp hair, she frowned. "My dad probably believes me to be a helpless little child that can't do anything without some type of guide, but in that case, his information is way outdated."
The baby just nodded, showing that he had understood.
Crossing her legs, Tsunako placed her hands on her knee and asked, "So what is your business here?"
"Right," he muttered. Stepping a little closer to the girl, the hitman couldn't help but to feel that what he was doing was wrong. How could they have a blind woman as a boss? But then again, when he was done with his training, she would be more than capable of taking over the position, wouldn't she?
He sighed yet again. "I have been sent by the ninth Vongola boss to train you." he looked straight into her blurry eyes. "To become his successor."
Then, he fell silent, awaiting her reaction, and watched as she tilted her head to the side, still staring into space.
"Me?" she placed her hand against her chest. "A mafia boss?"
Reborn gave a confused look. He was pretty sure that he had never said a word about any Mafia family. "How did you know it was the mafia?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the girl.
Tsuna's eyes widened for but a second. How could she have made such a stupid mistake? She made sure not to think that of course, all the while making up an expectation in Swedish.
Reborn looked at her with a confused look. She knew Swedish? Of all the languages he had to skip, he had to have skipped that very language.
Sweden is such a calm country that hasn't had any real conflict for 200 years so he didn't think knowing the language would be necessary.
Finally, Tsunako allowed a sigh to escape her lips.
"I found out about Dads profession about some time now," she brought up her legs to her chest. "You don't expect me to believe that he actually travels around the world to navigate the traffic of construction sites, did you?"
She opened one of the drawers in her desk and pulled out a small postcard. She did this without taking her eyes away from the nothingness she was staring at. She handed the postcard to the baby.
"Especially in Antarctica."
"Iemitsu…," Reborn shook his head at the man's stupidity.
It was then that Tsuna raised her head, catching the smell coming from downstairs. She stood up and said, moving towards the door, "We should go."
"Dinner will be ready in a few," she turned her head slightly in Reborn's direction before she disappeared into the hall.
Reborn just stood there, staring after the girl. He sighed.
"There is one thing that I can agree with Iemitsu," he tilted his fedora and sighed heavily. "You are a perfect, fragile little angel Sawada Tsunako. It kind of makes me feel guilty that I'll have to pluck those wings of yours."
With that said (well, muttered), he made his was towards the door as well, but with slower steps than he had used to get in there.
After dinner, Reborn took time to analyze his new student.
'Perfect posture,' he noted, watching her clear the table. 'Long legs, nicely developed body, confident movements even though she's blind. She acts as if she's not blind at all. Organized.'
When they were finished, Tsunako took off towards her room, well aware that Reborn was following her. Thus, when she entered her sanctuary, she sat down on the bed and asked the baby the question she had been dying to ask for two whole years.
"Ne, Reborn...," she stated, bringing her legs up to her chest.
"What is it?" the baby asked, trying not to sound surprised that she knew he had followed her.
"Please be honest with me," she looked up from between her knees. "With my eyes like this..." she trailed off.
"Do you really think I would be a good enough mafia boss?" her voice quivered as she spoke. "I mean, being blind must bring me down in my work right?"
Reborn raised an eyebrow yet again. How many times did he have to do that in one day?
"You're surprisingly acceptant of this," he muttered before he straightened his back. "As long as you learn how to fight even without your eyes, you'll be just fine."
Tsuna nodded in understanding. "But...," she trailed off, moving to sit on her knees and asked. "Isn't there other candidates other than me?"
Now, this was a question that Reborn had expected.
"Vongola Nono's sons were all taken out ahead of time," he stated simply, not wanting to mare the poor girls head with the story about how they died. Even he was not that evil.
"But what does that have to do with me?" Tsuna asked, looking quite confused.
"Vongola Primo retired when he was still young and emigrated to Japan. He's your great, great, great grandfather and so, you are of the Vongola bloodline and a legitimate candidate for Vongola Decimo," the hitman explained, still observing how the girl would react. Leon changed into a hammer randomly.
Tsunako twirled the end of her hair a little, nodding in understanding and commented absentmindedly, "I don't know what it is but I'm hoping that the green thing with you isn't that dangerous."
"Green thing? You mean, Leon? You can see him?" he asked in surprise and confusion at her comment. "But you're blind."
Tsunako sighed. "My blindness is a bit different from others. The doctor said that there were rare cases that people do not see blurry images or darkness but sees many colors that blinded them instead. My blindness is like that but I see dominate colors and guessed what I don't see," she explained.
"It's kind of confusing but I don't really need eyes to see," she moved forward to the green hammer and touched him gently, the owner watching the exchange with narrowed eyes. "If I touched something, I feel their texture and an image will be formed by my brain. The color dominate will be the color of the object. Then, I can finally 'see' something."
"But it's mostly try-and-error," she concluded with finality before she frowned in confusion. She already knew that the hammer was actually Leon but she didn't need anyone to know that she knew things already. "This is a hammer? But it feels wrong to think of it as one…"
Reborn smirked at that, "So you're not as held back as people may believe? And it seems like you also have intuition that tells you stuffs."
"You're correct that Leon is a hammer but," Leon transformed back into his real form. "Your intuition is also correct that it is wrong to think that he's one when Leon's a chameleon."
"I'm pretty sure that chameleons don't transform into objects," she deadpanned because she had always thought about this in the past when she first watched the show. For the first time, she faced the baby directly. "They changed skin colors, though."
Reborn chuckled. The girl wasn't what he was expecting but it was a whole lot interesting than what he expected. He could already tell that this little angel would create a revelation.
The next day, Tsuna changed into her uniform.
She had woken up when the alarm clock rang so that Reborn didn't have to use his hellish way of waking people up. She had taken a shower, brushed her hair before braiding it over her right shoulder.
Her uniform consisted in a white button-down shirt the sleeves resembled a T-shirt of course, a dark-blue skirt that reached mid-thigh. She also wore white knee-socks. The black Marry-Jane's stood by the door, just waiting for her to leave.
She sighed as she tied the ribbon around her neck. "This is gonna be a long day," she muttered to herself before she grabbed her bag from her desk. Tsubasa, her faithful bird, stayed on her shoulders as if sensing her discomfort. For that, she was again grateful.
She had remembered that Mochida had challenged Tsunayoshi to a duel the day after Reborn arrived. She had to prepare herself for the worst. Grabbing her bento on the kitchen counter, along with a piece of bread from the storage, she left the house with only the worst in mind.
"Let's do this, Tsunako," she muttered to herself and a thought came to her, 'After this, I should probably ask Reborn if it's alright to tell Okaa-san about the mafia…'
From her bedroom window, Reborn was looking down at his student and the bird by her side with great interest hidden in those emotionless eyes of his.
"This is going to be interesting," he muttered to himself.
Tsunako took a deep breath before she placed her hand on the classroom door.
She really didn't want to do this, but she had to. She breathed out as she forced her arm to move, slowly pushing up the door.
The whole class turned towards her as she stepped inside.
"Sawada...," one of the boys muttered as he got up from his seat, walking over to the fragile looking girl in front of them. "Is it true?" he asked.
Tsuna could tell from the sound of the guy's voice that he was disappointed. Why is that?
"What?" she asked, readjusting her bag.
"Is it true that you confessed to Mochida yesterday afternoon?" oh, so that's why they were so worked up. They all believed that Tsuna was in love with that guy and so, all their dreams were crushed. But of course, Tsuna didn't know about that.
Her eyes widened and she was tempted to shout. She stopped herself, not wanting anyone to mistake it as denial. "No," she stated in conviction and although it was not loud, everyone heard it clearly. "I wouldn't confess to someone like Mochida-senpai."
The boy's stared at her with wide eyes along with some of the students in the room, but then they relaxed again. "Thank heavens." some of them muttered.
Tsuna gave the sounds confused looks.
"Guess they're relieved that you're still single, Sawada-chan," the baseball star next to her chair commented quietly, getting a blush from the girl. "You're really famous."
"Your jokes are really not funny, Yamamoto-kun," the girl muttered in disbelief at what her friend was suggesting, not believing that people had a crush on her. "There's no way that I'm famous or anything like that."
"Anyway, did you already finish your homework? I'm worried that you've been playing baseball too much that you don't have enough rest," she said, tone filled with concern, not seeing how her words warmed the boy's heart.
She didn't noticed how Yamamoto smiled at her, real smiles no one had received in ages except for her. But of course, they would all be way to dimwitted to notice the difference, and the only one, who did notice, couldn't see the smiles.
Pity. The boy had reserved it for the girl, who became her true friend in the past years. "You're really interesting, Tsunako-chan," he muttered to himself.
Just then, the classroom door filled with a bunch of Kendo club members. Some of them looked rather shy when their eyes fell on the angelic girl in front of them. One of them gulped before finally calling out to her.
"Sawada," the girl turned around towards the voice, in a way that made her braid fly slightly before reclaiming its position. All she saw were different kinds of nervous colors clashing. Why were they nervous?
"Yes?" she questioned, her grip tightening around her bag.
"Eh...," the boy trailed off as he scratched the back of his head. As he thought, talking to the most innocent girl in school was a lot harder than people let on.
"Captain Mochida is waiting for you at the dojo." he finally said, making the people around them whisper. He had to be nice. None could be mean to Sawada. "Would you please come with us?"
"What does he want?" Tsunako asked, not letting go of her bag.
"We don't know," he said, walking up to the girl and reached out a hand to her. "We were just sent to get you. Now, would you please come with us?"
Tsuna didn't know what the boy looked like, but she could tell that he was pleading with her.
She sighed, gently placing her hand in his. "Lead the way," she said softly.
If the boy had died right now, he would have died a happy man.
The men around him gave him looks of envy, their hands itching to have the girl touch them as well, but they all knew that there was very little chance that she ever would do that.
The boy led the girl out of the classroom at a slow pace, careful to make sure that the angel holding his hand wouldn't trip, but then again, if she did trip, he would have an excuse to touch her, wouldn't he?
The whole club followed after the kendo club, anxious to know what was going on.
Once inside the dojo, the boy stopped, gently letting go of her hand. "Here we are," he said before stepping away from her.
"Ah, there you are," Tsuna looked in front of her, and there stood Mochida, dressed in his kendo armor while looking at Tsuna with such intensity that it made the girls knees quiver just feeling those eyes on her.
What did he want from her?
Tsuna started to rub her arm without even knowing about it.
"I challenge you, Sawada Tsunako." Mochida declared. Tsuna's eyes widened while the students around them started whispering.
"What's his deal?"
"Isn't she blind?"
"How horrible can a man get?"
And so they continued. All the while Tsuna was trying to figure out a reason behind why he would want to challenge her.
So far, nothing.
"If you win, I will turn around and never look at you again," Tsuna tilted her head cutely to the side, making the boys around them blush and the older student walked up to her, lifting his and placing his index finger under her chin to make her face him. "But if I win, you'll have to be a girlfriend."
The entire hall fell silent.
However, that only lasted for a second before roars of outrage erupted from the men around, some of the girls even. They found it unbelievable that a man would actually do such a thing, but it was Mochida, so they weren't that surprised really.
"You do know I'm blind, right?" Tsuna asked as she stepped away from the man.
Mochida just laughed.
"That's why I'm giving myself a handicap." he smiled at her. "I get to wear heavy armor that weighs me down, you don't get to, and you only have to get one point of me to win, while I'll have to lay three points to win."
He looked down at her small figure. "Is that alright?" he didn't know that Tsuna knew what he had done to the sword she was going to use now, did he?
"Alright," she muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose, and turned away from him. Mochida smirked, so sure of his victory.
"What kind of guy challenges a girl to get her?" she asked herself, shaking her head as she walked. "Oh, right, it's Mochida," she reminded herself.
"Let's get started." Mochida declared.
"Wait!" Tsunako said loudly, hearing the joyful shrieks of her bird meant that the prefect was her. She looked around the room for that familiar 'don't fuck with me' aura and found it.
"Hibari-senpai!" she called out, trying hard to keep her blush down. Really, of all the people she had to have a crush on, it just had to the Hibari Kyoyo, (Then, again, no one could blame her. He's just really handsome and he has soft spot for small animals and is just so…)
Anyway, the people around them were surprised at the girl for calling out the demon of Namimori High while said young man looked up at the girl with a raised eyebrow.
Seeing as her face was still quite red, she bowed gracefully to hide her blush. "I would like to have HIbari Kyoya as the judge of this match instead of Mochida-senpai's club members if no one would mind," she requested, seemingly innocent at her explanation. "I think that it's only right for the Disciplinary Committee to judge for a fair fight, right?"
"What!?" Mochida exclaimed angrily as he stared wide eyed at the bowing brunette. "You can't do tha-"
"Very well, herbivore," the scariest yet handsomest guy in school said as he walked through the crowd of students, they parted in front of him like the red ocean. The colorful small bird followed obediently at his side.
"I'll be the judge," he said, stopping next to the girl as he walked, he smirked at the way she bit her lip. He could tell that the girl had already found out the tricks the Kendo Club had done and was trying to counter them. Still, the main reason why he had agreed was… "I expect that Tsubasa will stay with me for a week."
Tsunako should have seen that coming. The black-haired boy had always been fond of her bird and the only reason why he had bothered with her was because of Tsubasa.
She really didn't realize that even if the guy was fond of the bird, he still wouldn't have bothered with her unless he was interested in her.
It seemed like obliviousness ran strong in her.
As Hibari took the flags away from the terrified Kendo club member, Mochida thought that he was still safe as long as her bamboo sword was heavier than two people could carry, but his thought stopped when the blind girl once again yelled something, "Yamamoto-kun!"
The said baseball star didn't even blink and just went to her side with a bright smile like it was the most normal thing to do. It was the first time everyone began to notice that the girl seemed to be oddly close to the two black-haired boys.
"Would you mind bringing me a sword?" she asked slightly confused when the he moved by her side. It seemed weird that they were close to each other outside their classroom. "I have this strange feeling that the one Mochida wants me to use is far too heavy."
Just then, the two that had been carrying the sword dropped it, making it fall to the ground with a strangely loud noise.
After hearing the noise, Yamamoto grinned at the small girl and nodded, even though he knew that she wasn't able to see him. "Sure thing, Sawada-chan," he called. "Just you wait. I'll be right back."
"How did she..?" Mochida asked himself, mentally fuming as he growled at how the angelic girl was somehow able to see through his plan, and was now changing it to her advantage. Who knew a blind girl could be so observant?
Yamamoto soon ran inside, the much lighter bamboo sword in hand as he approached the petite girl. "Here you go," he said, handing it to her.
"Thank you," Tsuna smiled brightly in gratitude as she allowed her hand to wrap around the swords handle. She didn't seem to notice the way a few, who saw the smile, had blushed.
"No problem, Sawada-chan," Yamamoto said, patting her on the shoulder and he chuckled lightly, trying to show his support, slightly blushing at her cuteness. "Good luck out there, okay?"
Due to the fact that the boy's face still appeared to be simple colors, Tsunako never caught his blush. She just bowed gratefully before she turned around towards her offender. "Alright." anyone could tell by the tone of her voice that she was slightly nervous.
"Let's do this." her grip on her sword tightened. Her heart beat rapidly, pounding loudly as she took a step forward. She knew that she was probably stronger than the canon version since she did try to train once (which failed to do much since her mother didn't like it so she had to stop), but she also knew that her blindness was a huge disadvantage.
"Don't get cocky!" Mochida yelled as he charged at the girl.
Taking a deep breath, Tsunako closed her eyes, opening her senses to the world around her. She felt the air change not too far away from her and stepped to the side, succeeding in avoiding a blow from a pissed off upperclassman.
"Why you!" Mochida growled as he charged at the girl once again, swinging his sword wildly as he did.
The brunette allowed her sword to fall, kicking it to the side as she jumped backwards, bending her back. She caught herself with her hands, throwing her legs up. Then, she kicked the boy's sword out of his hands before landing safely on her feet not too far away from him.
The whole hall fell silent.
"Onii-chan," Kyoko muttered, feeling awed at her blind friend as she clutched her big brothers hand, and she turned towards the extreme man. "Do you think that's something all blind people can do?"
"I don't think so Kyoko," the man answered. "I think that's something only extreme girls like Sawada can do."
Their attention returned towards the match.
"Woa," Hibari muttered with a smirk. He had known there was something special about that girl the second he laid eyes on her. He had observed the girl since their first meeting and had noticed the potential in her despite being blind. In fact, she didn't let her blindness stop her from anything and had tried and succeeded in walking confidently without any help.
And now, his theory had been proven.
Mochida, on the other hand, stared at the girl with a disbelieving look. He hadn't expected something like this. But she was still blind, right?
He smirked to himself as he charged towards her as silently as he could, catching her off guard as he kicked her feet out from under her body, making her fall to the ground with a painful grunt and the sound of something braking.
Yamamoto's eyes widened. "What did he just do?" he asked, his voice trembling with fear for his young friend, who seemed delicate yet strong.
"That is so not fair!" Sawagawa Ryohei shouted as he noticed the petite girl squirming on the ground in obvious pain, but she didn't say anything. She held it all in.
"This match ends here!" Mochida stated as he brought his newly retrieved sword over his head, ready to strike the girl with as much power as he could master, no longer caring if he hurt her or not. He was too blinded by rage to do anything.
Just as the sword swooped down at her, Tsunako rolled out of the way, clutching her left wrist in her free hand.
"Don't try to get away!" Mochida stated, charging at her for the fourth time.
Tsuna got to her feet as fast as she could with only one good arm. Her eyes still shut she waited for the last moment before she jumped into the air, spun around while up there and delivered a powerful kick to the man's head, knocking him out cold.
Tsuna fell to the floor as well, panting as she tried to make the pain go away in her wrist.
From somewhere near, Reborn smirked at his student.
"She's already got some skill/ I'll just have to get rid of the more fragile side of her." with that noted, he went home.
Back in the hall, Hibari smirked as he raised Tsuna's flag, cheers filled the room but Tsuna didn't notice any of this. The pain in her wrist was way too much for her to handle, and her fear was coming back to her.
She hadn't thought that it would be that hard to fight Mochida. Tsunayoshi had made it seem so easy when he went into Dying Will Mode. And Kami, she was starting to doubt herself.
It was just Mochida, the one of the weakest enemies among the other people the canon Tsuna had faced, but she had a hard time already. What would happen if she had fought Mukuro instead? Or Xanxus? Or Byakuran?
She would die and she really feared her thoughts. A part of her also didn't want this. She didn't want to be a mafia boss. She just wanted to be normal.
She began to cry.
Hibari just stared at the girl as four figures ran up to her.
Sasagawa Ryohei grabbed hold of Tsuna's shoulders to steady her while Yamamoto grabbed her injured wrist gently. Kyoko sat down beside the brunet, taking her good hand in hers while Hana stroked the girl over the forehead.
"You were extreme Sawada," Ryohei said with a surprisingly low voice.
"Thank god," Yamamoto said in relief as he pulled out a piece of tape from his pocket. "It's just a sprain, nothing broken."
He wrapped the now swollen limb in the thing and advised to the girl, he had thought of his friend, "But we should get you to a hospital anyway."
"You were so brave, Tsunako-chan," Kyoko smiled proudly at her unusual shy and innocent friend. It had been a while since she had talked to her. Maybe now, they could finally become much closer than before?
"You taught that creep not to mess with us girls," Hana smiled slightly at the girl, who she had once thought to be too weak. She didn't know her much but it seemed to be time for her to get to know and be her friend. She was Kyoko's friend, too, after all.
It was here that Tsuna remembered something, turning her head weekly to the side and was just able to spot the silver-haired silhouette before everything darkened for her.
Outside of the dojo, a young, sixteen year old boy, smoking a cigarette glared at the young girl who apparently just lost consciousness judging from the screams that could be heard from the people that were around her.
He blew out smoke, the cigarette safely between his index and middle finger. "That's her eye?" he muttered.
"Vongola Decimo candidate, Sawada Tsunako." he put the cancer-stick back between his lips. "What a weakling."
With that said, he walked away from the place, not wanting to spend time there anymore. He had seen what he needed to see.
Jade-chan: Well, that was a slow update. Sorry. I couldn't use my laptop since the charger broke and it wouldn't open. Plus I had my exams and Intrams (or sport festival)… The song that Tsuna sang is Songs like this by Carry Underwood.
Anyway, Tsunako's character is kind of confusing since she has moments where she seemed quite cowardly and quite brave. This is intentional. She has two lives, her previous and the KHR one, and it makes her character somehow confusing. She's gonna develop a personality later as the story progressed because Reborn won't have that confusing character of hers. In the mean time, her unchanging traits are obliviousness and awkwardness in any kind of relationship. Reborn will also try to change this. At least, Reborn doesn't have problem in her knowledge skills. Her fighting skills? She has only little skills (great reflexes) but she's stronger than canon Tsuna.
I actually did change some stuffs here but not much. Thanks for the previous supports and hope you guys still like this!