AN: Thanks for all the views, reviews, follows, and favourites! You guys are awesome, although some of you left kinda scary comments. A-hahaha...should I be worried? But I suppose this means the villains are doing a good job.
To one reviewer, this story starts in Tsuna's childhood and ends in his teenage years. So you'll follow him as he grows from a child to an adolescent, and this is part of the reason why this will be quite a long story. To those hoping that Tsuna will be rescued and/or escapes on his own, if it happens this early, then the story will be cut really, really short. Heh.
On a different note, I've always thought that it's difficult being in Nono's position, kind of like being a ruler of a country. You have to know what's best for everyone, even if it means a few individuals will suffer. Even if they're people close to you.
Anyway. This chapter took longer to upload because of its length. I'd originally wanted to split it into one interlude and one chapter, but at the rate I'm going I'd probably end up with more interludes than chapters. So hooray for long chapters! And they might get even longer in the future.
WARNING: More violence, and mild swearing in English. Hardcore swearing in Italian (I offer sincere apologies to anyone who can understand Italian).
Disclaimer: I don't own Reborn!, or any of the songs used below.
The Golden Canary
Old Mother Goose, when she wanted to wander,
Would ride through the air on a very fine gander.
Jack's mother came in, and caught the goose soon,
And mounting its back, flew up to the moon.
Chapter 5: The Goose
It'd been a full week of having Leo as her student, and she felt like she was getting nowhere. Sure, he listened to her when she started him on breathing exercises, but otherwise, every time he sang, it was like the first time she heard him – barely audible, hoarse, and distracted. It probably didn't help that Massimo's suffocating presence was keenly felt by both teacher and student, even though all he did was wait in the living room.
And Leo was so jumpy that he almost fell down the stairs once when she opened the door before he had a chance to knock.
Maybe I'm approaching this the wrong way, she thought. She'd taught a handful of different students before, but none of them were ever in such a delicate situation as Leo was. Most children would readily trust an adult in a matter of seconds, but Leo's eyes and posture were always guarded. Probably always ready to be beaten, or betrayed. Or both.
She somehow had to make Leo understand that she would never attack him; that he never has to feel defensive around her. She had to earn his trust.
But how?
The sound of soft knocking drew her out of her thoughts, and she went to open the door for her student. But instead of Leo and Massimo, she was surprised to see a new face – a well-built man no taller than her, with thick eyebrows and brown hair that was plastered with sweat.
«Salve, Signorina Gokudera. My name is Piedro, and I'm here as Mas–Massimo can't make it today. I'll be the one to pick him up, too.» He fumbled a smile, and she raised an eyebrow in response. «Uhhh…He got called into an emergency at work, and so I'm here instead. Right, Leo?»
He nudged Leo with more force than necessary, and the boy stumbled with surprise. She quickly caught him, and felt his reflexive flinch at the unexpected contact.
Even though she wanted to, she tried not to be upset or get angry with this 'Piedro'. Children were very sensitive to emotions, more so for those being abused.
Instead, she smiled, and gently righted the boy before brushing the dirt off his hat.
«Salve, Piedro. Thank you for bringing Leo over today.» She smiled brightly at the greasy man, and he blushed and stammered something about it being 'no problem'.
Oh-ho. He's definitely not as wary as Massimo is. He was looking everywhere but at her, and an idea suddenly struck her.
«Excuse me? Signore Piedro?» She added a little honey to her voice, and tilted her head in the angle that best showed off her emerald green eyes.
His eyes widened, and the man started to fidget like a teenage boy.
Gotcha.
«Signore Piedro?»
«Y-y-y-yes ma'am?»
«It's awfully hot today, and I was just worrying about the fact that the milk in my fridge has gone bad.»
She put on her best puppy-eyed look, and Piedro fell harder than the Berlin Wall. Hook, line, and sinker.
«Ah…uh…wh-what?»
«Milk, Signore Piedro. Milk.» She sighed prettily, twirled a strand of silver hair around her finger and imagined it was the blubbering man in front of her. «I need someone to get me more milk, but I can't brave this summer heat. I have a very delicate constitution.» She looked at him again, pleading like a damsel in distress. «Would you be so kind - so brave - as to help me buy more milk? If you do, I'll gladly pay you back, with a little extra for your services.»
She smiled hopefully, and the man was nodding before she'd even finished.
«Milk! Sure! Right away!»
«Oh, but I don't want just any old milk from the market. You see, I'm lactose intolerant. Unfortunately, that means I can't have normal cow's milk.» She pouted for extra sympathy points. «I can only drink soymilk. Would it be possible for you to run to the market for me and get me a carton? I'd be forever grateful.»
Piedro was nodding his head off in eager assent, but suddenly hesitated as if he just thought of something.
Crap. Did I overdo it?
«Uh…w-w-well, the market's not too far, right? Massimo told me that I'm supposed to sit outside the classroom to…ah…look out for you two's safety.»
He smiled, pleased with himself, while Lavina sighed inwardly with relief.
«Don't worry; it's really close by. You see the street down there?»
She pointed to the left, and saw that Piedro found it hard to tear his eyes away from her delicate fingers. But she continued as if she didn't notice.
«So on that street, you make a right, then a left, and go straight until you see the tall olive tree, then turn left at the corner where there's a hawker selling handbags. Keep to the right, then when the path forks, make a right up the small hill and over. You'll see the sign for the market, and it will be on your left.» She clapped his shoulder once and smiled again, then looked at her watch.
«Oh my! Look at the time! I can't waste Signore Massimo's hard-earned money by hanging around here. But don't worry; I'll make up for any lost time by adding it back to the end of today's lesson. Is that okay?»
Piedro nodded dumbly, and was about to open his mouth when Lavina whirled around and ushered Leo through the door.
«Great! I'll see you at 10:30! Don't be late!»
She trailed off, and closed the door behind her with a satisfying click. She pressed an ear against the door, and waited until she heard uncertain footsteps clunk down the stairs and away into the street.
Then she pumped a fist in victory, and looked over to see if Leo would appreciate what she'd just done.
She got a strange stare instead, and she sweatdropped.
Right. He probably didn't understand most of what just happened anyway.
"A-ha. Don't worry about that Leo; I was just trying to make him leave."
She smiled, and tried to approach him, but he took a step back.
"Oh Leo. Please don't be scared; I only made him go away because it seems like you're always worried about your…ah…guardians." His eyes shot up in surprise, and she smiled tenderly. "I honestly just want to help you. And that's hard to do when someone you're scared of is watching us all the time."
She crouched down and made herself look as relaxed as possible, remembering all the times she'd done the same for Hayato and her other students.
Leo's hair fell over his eyes, and they stood in silence for a moment before he looked up again with a less guarded expression on his face.
She took it as a good sign, and offered a hand, which he accepted after a slight hesitation.
Lavina was happier beyond words, and grinned as they went to the music room together.
Finally! Maybe I can actually make some headway today.
She sat on the piano seat, and Leo stood next to her like he'd been instructed to previously.
And then it came to her in a rush, in the way Leo looked at her like she was the same as the other adults he's met; in the way he always looked like he was waiting for a bomb to drop, in the way he didn't speak, even though he sometimes looked like he wanted to.
He was lost, and he didn't know how to find who he was again, not when everyone around him was telling him what to do and say and sing.
She desperately wanted to tell him that it's okay, and that she's not the same as the others, but how could she make him understand that?
She cast her mind about, trying to think of something to say…and she frowned. Who says she has to say something? Maybe…just maybe, her idea will work.
"I'm sorry, Leo-kun."
He looked at her questioningly.
"It probably hasn't been very fair of me; to make you sing so much when you haven't even heard me sing before. In fact, I don't even know if you want to sing. I was probably like everyone else, making you do something you don't feel like doing." Leo, the dear, was shaking his head alarmingly at that, and she smiled sadly. "It's okay to tell me when you don't want something, Leo-kun, or when something doesn't make you happy. I want to be a good teacher, and that can't happen if I keep pushing you the wrong way. So I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way."
He stared at her with a mixture of confusion and amazement and – hope? He's still there, Lavina thought, and renewed her determination.
"I'm always telling you to sing, but now I want to sing for you." She giggled at his stunned look. "If I sound weird, feel free to let me know. Now! What to sing, what to sing…oh! I know! The festival was a while ago, and no one celebrates it here, but I've always loved this song as a child. How did it go again…?"
She played a few chords on the piano, then settled on which note to start with before clearing her throat.
Sasa no ha sara sara,
(Bamboo leaves are rustling, rustling,)
Nokiba ni yureru,
(Swaying close to the roof's edge,)
Ohoshi-sama kira kira,
(Oh, how the stars are twinkling, twinkling,)
Kin gin sunago.
(Gold and silver grains of sand.)
Go shiki no tanzaku
(Five paper wishes)
Watashi ga kaita
(I have written)
Ohoshi-sama kira kira,
(The stars are twinkling, twinkling,)
Sora kara miteru.
(And watching from the sky.)(1)
Lavina's voice was gentle like her touch on the piano, yet underneath the softness and innocence of the song was the strength of a willow tree. She sang as a mother would sing to her child, and poured all her wishes and promises in her song for Leo. I'm here. You're safe here, and it's okay to be who you are.
She tinkled the last few notes on the piano, then opened her eyes and looked over, nervous about how the boy would react.
To her horror, there were tears pooling under Leo's eyes, and she forgot herself as she scooped his small frame into her lap, rubbing circles on his back and making soothing noises. That only made him cry harder, and she saw him finally let go of his reservations and bury himself in her embrace, sobbing with a desperation she'd never seen in a child before.
He needs this, she realised, as she held him tighter and rocked him gently, cooing at the same time. She tucked his fluffy head under her chin, his hat fallen and forgotten on the floor. And her heart ached even harder for him, but she was glad, too.
She'd found a piece of him, bright and broken like a fractured star, and she swore to herself to never let go.
They sat like this for a long time, and Lavina fought back her own tears as he cried himself to exhaustion. It was only after she lay a sleeping Leo on the sofa when she allowed herself to grieve too; for the child that was and wasn't hers.
Tsuna thought he had no tears left, but Signorina Gokudera proved him wrong. About halfway through the first verse, he realised that she was singing the famous Tanabata song that his okaa-san taught him a long time ago. He'd thought it was a simple, happy song back then, but his new sensei sung it so gently; so sweetly that he could see the same longing in her that he had in the deepest corner of his heart.
She used her voice to make the story of Tanabata come alive, and he remembered.
Before he knew what was happening, he'd clamped a hand over the 5-yen coin hidden underneath his shirt, and was desperately trying not to cry and disturb his sensei. But as he thought about what she'd done for him; the small ways she tried to shield him from Oni-san's terrifying glare, and her kindness that was so much like okaa-san's, he just couldn't help the overwhelming relief that came crashing down.
She was his answer to his 5-yen prayer, and she'd said it was okay to be himself. Just Tsuna, not a deficiente, not an idiota or pezzo di merda or even Leo. And Tsuna had never been strong before.
She held him in her arms, and for the first time in a long time, Tsuna felt safe.
He kind of woke up in a haze afterwards to an urgent nudging from Signorina, and she just managed to clean his face and put his hat back on when the short man came knocking. He'd been dragged all the way back to his prison-home, where Oni-san was waiting and looking very angry.
They were both yelled at, although Oni-san seemed to be angrier at Piedro-san than him. Then Oni-san took him inside the classroom to ask him a few questions, but Tsuna wasn't really listening, not even when Oni-san threatened him several times.
He was sent straight to his basement room without afternoon lessons and food, but that suited Tsuna just fine. He needed time by himself so he could send a thank-you prayer to kami through his coin.
There was nothing else to do after that, so he spent the rest of his free time practicing the breathing exercises Signorina showed him. He wasn't sure how learning how to breathe would help him, but now that he knew for sure that he could trust her, he did them anyway. They were surprisingly calming, and made it easier to forget his rumbling tummy so he could drift off into a deep sleep.
The next day, they were back with the usual routine with Maso bringing the child to Signorina Gokudera's place, although there was a subtle difference in the way Leo walked. He moved more lightly and for a second almost looked happy, although Maso wrote it off as gratefulness at having a bigger breakfast than usual. It was bad enough that the scheming lady picked up on Leo's lack of sustenance and signs of abuse, and he couldn't afford to have random civilians noticing either.
'Scheming lady' is the perfect name for her, thought Maso as he pulled Leo into a less crowded alleyway. He'd been absolutely furious when he heard Piedro's reason for being late. He knew the man was stupid, but he thought he'd be able to control it by giving very clear and firm instructions.
Even so, he couldn't deny the fact that the lady was exotically beautiful with her pale features, shimmering silver hair, and striking green eyes, and he'd known hardened men who have fallen for less.
But if his situation got close to being exposed, he needed a plan to get the upper hand again, although it shouldn't be too difficult seeing as the woman had a bleeding heart for children.
Note to self: make sure that if I ever send Piedro again, that I should ask Signore Marchesi to talk to him first. Note number two, he thought as they arrived on the steps of the quaint Italian home, holding hostages always works on those with bleeding hearts.
He told Leo to knock, which he did, and the music teacher opened the door with an unusually excited smile.
«Good morning, Leo-kun and Signore Massimo! How are you today?»
Yeah, way more chirpier than usual.
«G-g-good morning, Signorina Gokudera.» And then the brat fricking smiled back; a tiny, shy smile that was gone by the time he blinked, but he knew what he saw. And he didn't like it at all.
She looked at him and seemed to sense his displeasure, because she quickly waved both of them inside with a «Please come in.» But before she could retreat to the music room with the kid, he caught her by the elbow and gave her a meaningful look.
«Signorina. We need to talk.»
To her credit, she didn't bat an eye as she nudged Leo into the music room and told him she'd be with him shortly, then went back to Maso with a curious look as if she had no idea what he wanted.
Time to gain the upper hand.
«I take it that you've met my friend Piedro.»
«Of course. He did introduce himself,» she replied teasingly.
«Well, he told me you sent him off on an unusual errand. One that took him much longer than he expected.»
«Really? I did give him directions; the market really isn't that far. Maybe he's just bad with remembering instructions.»
He caught her sidelong glance. Oh no you don't.
«While I'll admit he isn't the sharpest tool in the toolbox, I'm just curious as to what you did while he was…'busy'.»
«Signore Massimo! I assure you I know my duties as Leo-kun's teacher, and will never overstep my boundaries.»
«Ah yes, of course, your duties as a 'teacher'.» He pretended to wave it aside. «But I'm not talking about overstepping your own boundaries; I'm talking about you possibly overstepping Leo's. You see, I can't help but think that your…abundant curiosity will one day lead to questions. Questions that will be quite dangerous to ask the child.»
He gave her a calculating look, and she took the slightest of steps back.
«Dangerous to whom?» she asked warily.
«To both of you! While I must spare you the details, I can assure you that if anything about our arrangement or whatever you may or may not find out is leaked, I'll be the first to know. And do you know what will happen after that?»
She squared her shoulders and gave a derisive huff.
«I'm not afraid of death, Signore.»
«Yes, yes. Death does not scare a dying woman. I am aware of your failing health, and you do not want to ask me how I know.» He cut her off before she could retaliate. «But you do have something to lose, do you not?» He nodded towards the music room, and smiled suggestively. «Let me tell you now, if you're planning to help him, the fastest way to get him killed is to let your curiosity get the better of you.»
She paled imperceptibly, and Maso knew he'd won this round.
«And yet, you still need me. For some reason or another,» she said slowly.
«If you don't want to be his teacher anymore, by all means, go ahead and quit. But that will mean you'll never see Leo again.»
He crossed his arms and shrugged as if he didn't care either way, even though he knew neither of them could jump ship, not when they're in so deep.
«What if…what if I made him one of the best singers in the whole of Italia?»
Now THAT is an interesting possibility. Unlikely, but interesting.
«Lady, if you do that, I will personally guarantee that he will survive anything we have to throw at him.»
It was the most honest thing he's said this week, and she seemed to sense his sincerity too as she exhaled and squared her shoulders, determined again. For more helpful reasons, Maso thought with approval.
He saw her open her mouth, no doubt to have the last word (because women were wired like that), when he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Being a trained Mafioso, he honed in on it, only to find it was his charge peeking from behind the music room door with a scared expression.
He hadn't seen that face for a while now, not even when he'd yelled him the other day.
He could only draw one conclusion: the boy was scared for her.
At that point, said woman also noticed they had an eavesdropping audience, and quickly moved towards him with a smile.
«Leo-kun! Did you get bored of waiting? Don't worry; we're just about finished.» She moved towards the boy, but Maso caught her by the arm before she could leave and shot her a meaningful look, keeping one eye on Leo's reaction.
«Remember what we talked about,» he murmured before releasing her, but not before catching the widening eyes and slight tremble from the prisoner behind the door.
«Alright. And now, if you will excuse me.»
She went to start the lesson as if nothing happened, although Maso knew how good her poker face was.
As the door to the music room closed, he sighed, and could only wait and think about how to beat the bleeding heart out of Leo, at least enough to be sure he wouldn't do anything stupid.
Tsuna's music lessons became like a bubble of safety for him – a place where he can breathe easier. Life hadn't become easy; not by a long shot, but this was the break he'd been wishing for. He had an extra slice of bread for breakfast, an extra glass of milk sweetened with honey for lunch, and he wasn't punished as often, even though he still made the same mistakes sometimes.
Little things, but they made life more bearable.
He had something to look forward to, and Signorina was like the wrench that would help fix things. She was a nice teacher; one who gave gentle pushes up a mountain instead of throwing him off a cliff and expecting him to fly.
That didn't mean she let him take things slowly, though.
"Do it again, from the top."
"What? You can't read this? Hm…your cousin seems to be slacking in his efforts to teach you Italian. Here; I'll read out each line and what it means, and you repeat them after me."
"Breathe, Leo-kun! You're not getting enough air!"
"Do you do the breathing exercises every night like I told you to? Yes? I think it's time to double the amount. Oh don't give me that look; I know you can do it."
"…You know, it'd be a good idea if you did some stamina training. What is it? Well, I was thinking it would do you a lot of good to go running every afternoon, after your lessons. Don't worry; I'll talk to your cousin about it. I'm sure he'll agree. We might have to increase your lesson time as well so you can learn some music theory, sight-singing, intonation…you're giving me that look again."
She'd gotten quite good at reading his thoughts even when he didn't say anything (which was most of the time), and could see something in him that even he couldn't see. It was…refreshing, especially when she got carried away and start talking in what he secretly called "music-alien-speak".
She also bought him more time away from his previous hell, as his routine changed to a 2-hour music lesson in the mornings, followed by running laps around the mansion's inner courtyard, then a quick shower and late lunch, before Italian lessons with either Oni-san or the teenagers began. Dinner wasn't dependent on how much he learned that day anymore, and when he was alone in his room he would do his breathing exercises before going to bed.
In many ways, the new routine was more tiring than the previous one, but it was a good kind of tired. The better days were when Oni-san was free in the late afternoon, so he didn't have to suffer through the older boys' treatment (which was the only thing that hadn't changed). But even that was a little better as he picked up a few more Italian words and phrases, and he was slowly learning how to avoid making them mad, which usually consisted of hiding either physically, or if that wasn't possible, somewhere inside himself.
One afternoon, he was waiting inside his classroom when the three teens stumbled in with scrapes and minor burns, and singed hairstyles that made Tsuna's eyes widen in surprise.
Paulo, the one who looked the least frazzled, pinned him with a glare.
«Don't. You. Dare. Laugh.»
Tsuna shook his head quickly, knowing even the slightest sound would be taken as a laugh. But he was still curious, so concentrated hard to try to understand their rapid conversation and hand gestures to find out what happened.
«Che cazzo! What the hell was that…that…thing?»
«…I'm pretty sure that was a vacca, Enzo.»
Tsuna blinked, wondering if he heard right. A cow attacked them?
«A crazy one! God, where the hell did it come from?!»
«I think it's a kid that just entered the mafia prescolastico next to us. Most likely from the Bovino famiglia.»
«Gee, I wonder what gave that away.»
«I don't care where he's from; I wanna know why he has a freaking pistola and granate in his freaking hair! And why the cazzo he would use them on me! It was like…like he was waiting for me outside the school gates!»
«Boss, he did introduce himself. "I'm Lambo! My favourite foods are candy and grapes, and I'm here to kill Paulo!"»
«Thanks, Rossi. If you ever try copying a child's voice again, I'll rip your tongue out. And what the hell's with that introduction?»
«Dunno. Probably got a few screws loose.»
«And some guts. I'll give him that much,» Paulo grunted, rubbing a sore spot on his shoulder. «But next time we see him, I think we should teach him a lesson about respect.» He grinned, the same expression he had before he'd beat Tsuna to a pulp. «The good ol' mafia iniziazione.»
«Sounds good to me, boss.»
They huddled together and started talking in whispers, having completely forgotten Tsuna who had a small headache from concentrating so hard. But it was better than having his own lesson, so he kept quiet, and tried to disappear into the background.
It wasn't until about a week later when he had a peek of the three boys' new routine. He and Oni-san happened to be walking back after his music lesson, and Oni-san had stopped at a convenience store and told him to «Wait outside where I can see you». This wasn't so unusual, so Tsuna had waited, until the sound of a yelling child came from somewhere to his left.
It was abruptly cut off, but Tsuna heard enough to pinpoint where it came from, and he dared to peek around the corner.
When his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit alley, he could see the three bulky teenagers surrounding…a baby cow?
He squinted, and realised it was actually a child about three years old dressed in a cow-print onesie and a pair of horns sticking out from his black afro.
He was wondering whether the horns were part of a hat or actually part of the kid's head when the kid stuck a hand in his hair and pulled out a pink-coloured, pineapple-shaped ball.
«Oh no you don't!»
All three teens lunged at the cow at the same time, although it was Paulo who managed to grab him by the scruff of his clothes.
The pink pineapple ball fell to the ground, and everyone froze in comical horror for a few seconds before Rossi frowned and said «Ah. The pin's still in.»
The other two share a moment of relief before turning their attention back to the struggling boy, who was yelling at them to «Let Lambo go! I'm gonna kill you!»
Tsuna saw Paulo roll his eyes, then all three proceeded to…proceeded to…
Tsuna's eyes widened in horror, desperately wanting to tear his eyes away and yet was unable to unsee the violence being inflicted on a child half his age. They'd covered the boy's mouth with a hand so he couldn't scream, but the muffled yells and sounds of ugly bruises being formed rang much too close to Tsuna's heart.
I…I need to do something! But what could he do? It wasn't like he could take on the three bullies by himself, but maybe Oni-san could help.
He turned around quickly, and smacked his nose into said person's leg.
«I told you to wait outside, where I can see you.»
«B-b-bu-but Oni-san–»
«We need to go. Now.»
He cast a desperate look backwards, and found a tiny spark of determination for the strange boy he didn't even know.
«We…we need to help him! They're gonna kill him!»
He was about to take a step forward when a giant hand yanked him back.
«You didn't see anything. And I suggest you stay silent unless you're allowed to speak. Trust me – you'll live longer that way.»
Oni-san dragged him away from the scene, but Tsuna's eyes were glued on Lambo's screaming ones, and they followed him into his nightmares.
"No Leo-kun; the fifth note was a little flat. Try again, from the very beginning."
It wasn't obvious, but Tsuna could tell Signorina Gokudera was nearing the end of her great patience – a very rare occurrence, even though he knew he wasn't the easiest student to teach.
He cringed, dipping his head in apology.
"Oh Leo-kun, I'm not mad." She misunderstood his bow, so he shook his head in response and looked up with a wan smile. That was something else she'd brought back to him – the ability to smile, no matter how small it may be.
"I…I know. But I'm sorry anyway."
She raised an eyebrow at his rarely-heard speaking voice, but then furrowed it in concern.
"Something's going on, isn't it. It's been distracting you ever since a few days ago." He looked at her with surprise, and she sighed again. "Music is about expressing your feelings in a way that can be heard and move others into feeling a certain way, but the same can be said the other way round. What you're feeling will also affect your music – in this case, the way you sing. So." She patted the empty space on the piano bench next to her; an invitation for Tsuna to sit. "Tell me. What happened? And feel free to leave out any parts you'd rather not share."
Tsuna looked nervously at the proffered seat, then to the door where he knew Oni-san was waiting. It was a fixed rule that had been drilled into him ever since he arrived in Italy – to never tell anyone about his situation, not even if they asked about it.
"Don't worry; I can keep a secret." She smiled softly, persuasively, green eyes glowing with a promise.
Tsuna shook his head, indicating that he didn't doubt her trustworthiness. But he went to sit next to her, pulled by the temptation and longing to let someone know.
He played with the hem of his shirt, thinking furiously about what to say when a sudden thought – or maybe it was more like instinct? – surfaced in his heart.
Don't tell her, it said. He'll kill both of you if he finds out, and he will.
B-but…I could leave out…leave the details, and tell her about okaa- and otou-san–
She's already helping you. It's your turn to help her.
He waited a few more seconds to see if the voice would clarify, but it left as suddenly as it came.
"Helloooo? Leo-kun?" Signorina waved a hand in front of him teasingly, even though she sounded worried at his silence.
Wait…Oni-san said I couldn't talk about myself, but he didn't say I couldn't talk about outsiders. It was a little loophole, and maybe he was stretching the rules a bit, but he would be asking for advice instead of help.
"Um…well…what do you do if you see someone in trouble? Very bad trouble, and you want to help, but you're not allowed to?" He whispered, casting a wary eye to the room's closed door. But he didn't miss the strange look on Signorina's face.
"Oh. Ah...If I may ask, whom are we talking about? Is it someone I know?"
He shook his head, doubting that the teacher would've come across a boy dressed like a cow.
"Okay. What kind of trouble are they in?"
He shrugged helplessly, unwilling to reveal too much. She doesn't need to be caught up in this fight.
She hummed in thought, sweeping her loose hair to one side as she did. Tsuna noticed she often played with her hair when she was concentrating, so he waited patiently. She was one of the smartest adults he knew, and whatever she said next will be important enough to memorise.
"Leo-kun, do you remember that day I first taught you about vocal range? The day when your cousin wanted to have a very serious talk with me and you had to wait in the music room?"
He nodded, although confused as to where this was going.
"Well, we were just about done when you peeked out of the room, even though Massimo told you not to. Why did you do that?"
He blinked. He thought the answer was obvious to a clever person like Signorina, but he answered anyway.
"Be…because I thought…I thought he was bullying you." He caught himself before adding a "too" at the end of that reply.
But Signorina beamed and ruffled his hair, for some reason happy with his answer.
"Exactly! Even though you were going against what you were told, you still decided to help me. Why?"
Why does she keep asking me questions as if I'm the one who has all the answers?
He shrugged, wishing he were half as smart. She merely giggled at his confusion and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially.
"My silly uccellino. You did it because it was the right thing to do. You did it because you have a kind heart, and those with kind hearts don't let others stop them from being kind, even if it means breaking a few 'rules'." She patted his shoulder affectionately, then clapped her hands. "Alright! Are we ready now? All distractions gone?"
He nodded slowly, and understanding cleared up some of the fog that had settled in his head. Maybe he couldn't make the right choice last time, but if he gets a second chance…he set his mouth in determination, and hopped off the bench to take his usual place next to the music stand.
I'll try. Even if I can't do much anyway.
His second chance came about a month later, when Oni-san stopped by the same convenience store again. He was just thinking about how the moment seemed very familiar to him when he heard a child's voice from around the corner, solidifying the sense of déjà vu.
«Yo, Paulo! It's me, Lambo!»
He peeked around, and sure enough, the three teens were there too, taking their usual cigarette break. The kid Lambo was also in his cow attire again, although he had a few plasters on his face.
The three groaned collectively.
«Haven't you given up yet, stupid cow?»
«Lambo can't stop until he's killed the strongest Mafioso in school! So die, Paulo!»
He promptly threw one of those pink-looking balls, but Enzo smacked it away with practiced ease. It blew up a few feet away with a sharp bang, startling Tsuna enough to fall backwards onto his butt.
HIEEEEEE! Was that a-a-a…b-b-b-bomb?!
«Look. You're an annoying pezzo di merda. What do we have to do to get you off our backs?»
Tsuna braved another look, and this time, Rossi held a struggling Lambo by his outfit's tail and was shaking him roughly, causing all sorts of candy, pencils, grapes…bombs…and weapons?...to fall out of his hair.
«Ah! Stop it stupid grass-head!»
Enzo and Paulo snickered at the nickname, but it only made Rossi shake him harder until even a horn fell off. He then threw the cow against the opposite wall with a loud smack.
«Gyupaa! That hurt!»
«It was supposed to, dumbass. Now, we'll ask again: what do we have to do to get you to stop annoying boss Paulo here?»
«I, the great Lambo, three years old and a hitman from the Bovino famiglia, fell down! Favourite foods are candy and grapes, and I, the great Lambo, who is trying to kill Paulo, just fell down!»
The teens smacked themselves in the face with a frustrated groan, then looked at their leader. Paulo rolled his eyes, and nodded.
«Waste him.»
This is it, Tsuna thought with dread as they started using Lambo as a punching bag. I-I have to help! He glanced back, surprised that Oni-san hadn't come out yet. But maybe…it was a sign.
He steeled his shaking nerves several times, and stepped into the alley.
The teens were slow to notice him - probably instinctively knowing he didn't pose a threat - until Enzo paused long enough to look around. He straightened in surprise, then frowned in recognition.
«What are you looking at, huh?»
The others paused too and turned, apprehensive at the idea that they were seen by a stranger, but when they saw Leo they raised a brow in surprise.
«What? Whaddya want, brat?»
Go on, Tsuna, say something. ANYTHING. He opened his mouth, gaping like a fish, but no sound came out. Not even a squeak.
«'Tch. Just ignore him; it's not like he knows enough Italian to say anything anyway.»
«But if he's here…do you think Signore Maso's here too? I mean, it's not like he'd stop us, but it doesn't look cool to be ganging up three-on-one on a kid from a different famiglia.»
Rossi's observations made the others hesitate, and Paulo scowled, swearing under his breath. He glanced back at the crying cow, then made up his mind.
He wrenched Lambo's head to stare at him dead in the eyes, and warned, «Cow, if you ever come near us again, I'll make sure you won't live to tell about it. And no one will care, because who cares about the weak-ass Bovino famiglia?»
He spat the name like an insult, and punched him one last time before dumping him in a sniveling mess on the ground.
«And as for you,» Paulo turned his attention on a pale-faced, trembling Leo, «if you breathe one word about this to anyone, especially Signore Maso, we'll teach you a lesson in a subject other than Italian.» He waved a hand at Rossi to translate, which he obliged, and just to make sure Leo understood him completely, he punched the frozen boy hard in the stomach before kicking the crumpled heap several times for good measure.
The leader of the teens straightened his school uniform, and nodded in satisfaction at his handiwork.
«Let's go.»
Tsuna heard rather than saw them leave, the dust they kicked up flying everywhere and making his eyes sting with more than tears as he whimpered and hunched in on himself, trying to control the pain by controlling his breath.
The sound of a wailing child forced him to look up again though, and through the dust and tears, he saw Lambo with blood and snot running down his nose, and a large bruise beginning to form around one teary eye.
Tsuna gritted his teeth, and with supreme effort, crawled over to the younger child.
«A…are you okay?» It was almost funny how he found his voice now, but the child didn't seem to hear him. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out a hand to touch him gently. «L…Lambo-kun?»
The baby cow suddenly launched himself at Tsuna, crying blood and snot and tears into his shirt and clutching his arms around him in a death grip.
Owowowowowow! He bit back from screaming, his own injuries flaring with the sudden pressure.
«Uh-um, Lambo, c-can you let go? Please?» He choked out a breath, and although the grip lessened slightly, it didn't help much as the toddler continued to cry.
He's really scared, and hurt. Kinda like…like me when I first arrived in Italy. He slowly eased himself into a sitting position against the wall, carefully wrapping his arms around the boy in the same way Signorina had done for him when he'd cried.
The question is, how to get him to stop crying?
Tsuna was no expert on kids, being an only child and having no younger cousins or friends to play with when he was back in Japan. So he thought of what his okaa-san would do when he came home crying from bullies or scrapes from being clumsy.
Okaa-san…she would sing while putting bandages on me. He had no bandages, nor did he know how to fix injuries, but he could sing.
"Itai, itai, deteke!"
That seemed to make Lambo pause for a second and look up, before he burst out crying again.
Oh right. He probably doesn't know any Japanese. Umm…then what should I sing? He thought about his singing lessons. Even though Signorina usually stuck to the basics (she said something about "learning how to walk before running"), she did teach him a few easier songs.
Hmm. There's that one song that she said is from a kids' movie. Maybe Lambo would like that.
He took a few moments to even his breathing and gather his thoughts, the foreign lyrics coming easier to him once he remembered the tune. He couldn't recall what all the lyrics meant, but hopefully the Italian-born Lambo would know more than he did.
Non devi piangere, mio dolce amor,
(Don't cry, my sweet love,)
Il fiume ti cullerà.
(The river will rock you.)
Fa che il mio canto ti resti nel cuor,
(Let my song stay in your heart,)
Così insieme a te crescerà.
(So it will be with you when you grow up.)
Fiume che scorri, gentile per me,
(Flowing river, flow kind for me,)
E grazie a te lui vivrà.
(And thanks to you he will live.)
Conosci un luogo, che libero è,
(You know a place, in which he is free,)
Fiume, conducilo là.
(River, lead him there.)
Ora sei salvo, sicuro vivrai,
(Now you are safe, you'll live secure,)
La nostra speranza sei tu.
(You are our hope.)
Cresci fratello, ritornerai,
(Grow up brother, you shall return,)
Libererai tutti noi.
(You will free us all.)(2)
He rocked Lambo like his mother did, and miraculously, the wailing boy calmed down to listen, blinking back his tears. When the song ended, he let go enough to lean back and look up at Tsuna, as if trying to decide whether he liked him or not.
This made the older boy panic a bit, wondering if Lambo would pull out another bomb if he leaned towards dislike.
Um, what else can I do to make him happy…oh! Right!
He didn't have grapes, but he had a piece of honey candy that Signorina had given to him that day for doing a good job. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Lambo with a crooked smile.
It was snatched out of his fingers and stuffed into the boy's mouth before he could say anything, and he breathed an inner sigh of relief.
«La…Lambo's dream is to be the boss of the Bovino famiglia, a-and make everyone bow down to me.»
He sweatdropped. Wow. Lambo-kun sure is a weird kid. But he guessed that meant he was in the clear, and he was okay with that.
Speaking of being in the clear…he looked up, and sighed with relief when he didn't see an angry Oni-san glaring at him from around the corner. I should go back.
He spotted Lambo's things not too far away, and helped him put everything back into his…afro…and having no idea what to do with it, put the horn that fell off into Lambo's hands.
«I have to go.» He stood up and untangled himself from the child, but Lambo immediately latched on to his legs.
«Where're you going? The great Lambo didn't say you could leave!»
Tsuna's reply was cut short by the sound of gunfire and breaking glass really, really close by, followed by a shrill scream. All the blood drained from his face.
CrapcrapcrapcrapCRAP.
«I gotta go! Lambo-kun, let me go!» He tried to pry the kid off, but to his dismay, this three-year-old was stronger than he was. «Lambo!»
He heard Oni-san's gruff voice spit out some foul remark, then more gunfire, and he scrambled.
«Look, Lambo! There's candy over there!»
«Oooo, candy! Where?» The kid loosened his arms for a brief second, and he took the chance to bolt back towards the convenience store. «Where's the candy? HEY! You tricked Lambo!»
Luckily (or not so luckily), he ran straight into one glowering Oni-san, who seized him by the shoulder.
«And what the hell have you been doing?»
Tsuna shook his head frantically.
«Piece of - ugh. Save it for later. We gotta run, pronto.»
Tsuna nodded and practically pulled at the man to start moving, and although Maso-oni was surprised, he went along.
«WAIT! Wait for Lambooo!»
Tsuna winced inwardly but kept going, not wanting Lambo to catch the attention of his Oni-san. And although Oni-san cast a suspicious look behind him, he seemed to decide that whatever called out to them wasn't worth waiting for, as he picked up the lagging child and ran like his life depended on it.
(1): This song is Tanabata-sama, also known as Sasa no Ha Sara-sara. Lyrics and tweaked translation from Mama Lisa's World.
(2): This song is part of the Italian version of Deliver Us, from The Prince of Egypt. Lyrics from Dreamworks, and modified translation from a combination of Google Translate and Bestkazamagirl93 (from YouTube). It's a bit different from the English lyrics, which I prefer, but oh well. Most of the meaning is still intact.
AN: Lavina is awesome; I love writing her. I hope you can see a bit of Gokudera in her.
On the other hand, Lambo was always one of my least favourite characters. I guess his "Most Annoying Mafia Member" title extends even to reality. But after writing him, I find him more exasperating and kind of funny in a really weird sort of way, which is an improvement. I also want to note that I picked a goose for him, because while geese are often viewed as being quite silly and lazy, they're traditionally viewed as a symbol of faithfulness and bravery. Perfect for one Lambo. I made him a bit older in this story as well (canonically, he's supposed to be 9 years younger than Tsuna, but he wouldn't have been born yet if I followed this).
Fun fact: I had to check the colour of Lambo's grenades, and they're pink. For real.
For those who didn't catch it, Maso is in charge of extorting money from the people who own the convenience store, in exchange for "protection". And when they can't pay up, bad things happen.
Finally, the songs will serve as support to the plot rather than being the focal point; I'm not planning to turn this into a songfic.