Chapter 24: Some More Daily Life

Tsuna was walking in a drug store with KT. He shuffled his feet behind her. "KT, can I go buy a drink?"

"Absolutely not."

He gave a whiny sigh. "But I'm thirsty..."

"Go to the water fountain then. You don't need to buy a drink when you can have free water."

"Ugh.."

He walked to the front of the store to the water fountains. He pushed the button, but only a little spout of water poured out. "Yeah...why buy a drink when you can have free water...psh..." He leaned against the wall. He heard a knock from inside a supply closet next to him. A voice whispered, "I have a treasure for you...all you need to do is GET ME OUT OF THIS FUCKING CLOSET...thank you..."

Tsuna laughed, then opened the closet door. "TC, why the HELL are you in a supply closet?"

"I lost a bet to Julio...but I do have something for you to try."

"Oh no...what is it?"

"A Monster Energy Drink."

"I've heard about those..."

"You've heard they're AMAZINGLY AMAZING!"

"Yeah...so lemme have it!"

TC pulled it out of his trenchcoat. "Have at it, but don't tell KT who you got it from."

"Why? What's going to happen?"

"Oh, nothing. Just don't tell her."

He shrugged. "Alright." He popped the tab, and took a whiff of it. "Rockin'..." He took a large sip. A buzz ran through his body. Before he knew it, the flames appeared on his head. He chugged the rest, already knowing the outcome was going to be disastrous, but he wanted to try it anyway. He ran through the store, and past KT. "HI KT! LOOK AT MEE..."

She clenched her fists. "T...C!"

"AW DAMNIT SHE KNEW."

She grabbed Tsuna on his second lap, holding his shirt tight. "You, are in trouble. Go outside and give me as many laps as it takes to make this wear off."

"SURE THING!" He ran off and outside, missing the door. A hole was made in the wall next to it. She saw him race past a few times in a minute. She sighed. She went to pay for her things. "I'll get him to fix your wall once he calms down. I'm sorry about all this."

"I'm not too worried about it..."

She walked outside and saw him laying face down on the ground. "Tsuna...get up."

He stood up, rubbing his face. "Damn that hurt..."

"If you ever...EVER drink one of those again, I am going to hurt you. Do you understand? You're going to stay here and fix that hole you made."

"I understand...but I'm going to need to buy a drink...that made me really thirsty."

Tsuna sat in front of a heater at home. "Too...much...work...So...cold..."

"Idiot.." KT walked past his bedroom. The doorbell rang, and she opened the door. Habira stood in the doorway.

"Hello, Kera-Taka."

"Good afternoon, Habira...you'll find your idiot sitting in front of a heater in his room. He did something really stupid today."

"Uh oh..." She walked inside. "How bad?"

"He had to fix a wall he broke..."

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT, TC GAVE THE DARNED THING TO ME."

"So he says."

Habira laughed and walked into his bedroom. "Are you really that cold?"

"Yes..."

She sat next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "You're always so warm..."

"It's the necklace you gave me...the little flame charm always keeps me warm."

He smiled. "I'm glad..." He picked up the little charm and looked at it. He looked into her eyes. "Remember that I promised..."

"I know..."

"I love you..."

"I love you too..."

He looked at her curiously. "Is there something wrong? You don't sound as cheery as usual..."

"Grandmother is getting very sick...I'm really worried about her..."

"I'm sorry..." He pulled her close, and she sat with her back to his chest, sitting between his legs. His arms were wrapped over her stomach. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm so afraid..."

He kissed her nose. "She'll be fine..."

"Grandfather died so many years ago...I just..."

He put a hand on her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Don't worry so much..."

"I'm sorry...I know."

He leaned in and kissed her lips for the first time. He smiled. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes...I feel great...Thank you..."

"What do you say...you, me...A dinner alone."

"I heard dinner, I'm in."

"ALONE."

TC appeared sitting on Tsuna's bed. "Nah, nah, I'll be at the bar. You two will be perfectly alone...I'll just be screaming out birth control."

"Birth control?"

"He's insane, don't listen to a word he says."

"Hey guys...How you doiing..."

"TC...what the hell is wrong with you?"

"They kicked me out of the bar..."

"Why?"

"I drank all their alcohol..."

"Did you pay for it?"

"No..." He waggled his finger in the air a few times and then poked Tsuna's face. He was EXTREMELY drunk. "Of course not."

"Great...I have a job for the next ten years..."

Habira giggled.

"But you see, I didn't need to pay-a...they gave it to me for free-a."

"Of course they did..."

He sat in the booth, and started to blow his lips. "You know Habira, I don't know how you stand his constant complaining and whining..."

"I would hit you, but my arm is still in a cast."

"I can break your other arm..."

"No thank you, Mr. TC...it's quite all right..."

"You see, Tsunayoshi? She's nice...she is a nice person. You're not. You're a horrible person."

"Thank you TC...I do not need you to tell me that again."

TC was looking around. "Oh, shit...I think they're coming for me."

He slid off the seat and under the table, banging it on the way down. "Fuuuck..."

"That's so not obvious..."

"Shhh...they won't see or hear me if you would SHUT UP."

Tsuna sighed. "Why did I agree to this?"

"It was a nice thing to do..."

He sighed again. "TC, I'm going outside...don't do anything stupid..."

Habira got up with him. "We'll be right back, Mr. TC..."

"Okaay..."

Tsuna collapsed onto the bench. "Ugh! Why can't this ever be normal?"

"It's not so bad..."

She sat next to him and adjusted his scarf. He smiled, and leaned in to kiss her.

TC stumbled out of the restaurant in the middle of them making out. "HE HAS AIDS! SYPH! HERPEEESSSS!"

They didn't acknowledge him. He walked up to them. "EW. When did you learn how to use your tongue, boy? Your dreams?"

He flicked him the bird with his free hand. "AIDS!"

"Will you shut UP!" He broke off and stood up. "I'm trying to help cheer my girlfriend up, is that so bad? I don't need your help! I don't know what kind of guy you think I am TC, but I know I'm not like you!"

Habira got up. "Tsuna-kun..."

"I will never be anything like you! It's not like I don't know my actions have consequences, I know that! I would never try and ruin her life like that...I have morals!"

TC laughed. "Funny..."

Tsuna lunged for him, but TC, even while drunk, swatted him away like a fly. He landed in the parking lot. Habira ran up to him. "Tsuna-kun!"

"He's on my last nerve..."

"Don't fight over it, you'll get hurt...let's just go home..."

He got up and wiped blood from his mouth. He took her arm and walked away.

KT was sitting in the living room when they got back. She got up when she noticed him limp into the room. "What happened now?"

He didn't reply. He just walked to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She looked at Habira. "Mr. TC made him mad..."

"What did he do?"

Tsuna walked back out of the bathroom. "I can't ever have any time alone anymore! I wanted to take my girlfriend out on a date, ALONE. TC took this to mean I wanted to take her somewhere to have sex. I completely understand that he would do that, but not me! He drank everything at the bar, and...and...GAH."

TC walked into the house. "Hey guys..."

Tsuna looked at him. "Here we go again! Screw it, I just won't even try anymore..."

He walked past TC.

"You can't kill me, I'M A POKEMON."

"You wanna try it?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Try me, shortie! I will SQUASH YOU LIKE A BUG!"

"SHUT UP! DAMNIT I JUST WANT TO PUSH YOU DOWN A WELL!"

"Why a well?"

"BECAUSE..."

KT stepped forward. "Enough...Tsuna, go to your room."

"I'm not a child!"

TC laughed. Tsuna threw the closest thing he could find. TC disappeared, and the object went out the doorway. "JESUS CHRIST..."

He walked down the hall and slammed his bedroom door. KT sighed. "This is going to be great!"

Habira walked to the door. "I'm sorry, Kera-Taka..."

"It's not your fault..."

"Good night..."

She walked out and up to her own room.

Tsuna was stabbing a pillow with a knife. She opened the door. "Tsuna...come on now, put the knife down."

He left the knife pierced in the pillow and set it aside. "Why does he do this to me!"

"To be honest? Because he loves you."

"What kind of love is that!"

"A fatherly type of love...he was trying to protect you..."

"No...that wasn't trying to protect me, that wasn't anything close!"

"I asked him to go with you."

"Do you not trust me either!"

"It's not that I don't trust you...I just know what you've been thinking about lately, and I wanted to make sure-"

She heard sobbing. "Tsuna..."

He was crying into a jacket sleeve. She walked over and sat next to him and placed a hand on his back. "Don't cry..."

"She probably hates me, and he probably hates me, and you hate me too, don't you!"

"No, Tsuna...no one hates you..."

"I just...wanted to help her...she's so upset about her grandmother...I wanted to help!"

"I know...I'm sorry...I'll make it up to you..."

He fell asleep, and she wiped away the tears that hadn't fallen. "You're still the little boy I knew...on the inside...he's hiding there, I know it..."

(A few months later...)

Tsuna crashed to the ground. "Tsuna!" KT ran through the smoke and grabbed him. "Tsuna, are you alright?"

He nodded his head weakly. The smoke cleared. TC was walking toward them. "Get up, Tsunayoshi..."

"Give it a rest, dad! He's at his limit!"

"Nonsense...We already know my brother will not spare him."

"He's trying! Just give up for today."

Tsuna got up. "He's right..."

"See? He's fine...let's go, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna took it back to the skies, but was shot down just as fast. TC stood infront of him. "Pathetic...how do you expect to protect anyone if you're so weak? You're a wimp...I should have known that you'd fail...your girlfriend...KT...your Guardians...they're all going to die because of you...how does that make you feel? Your own mother knew you're a failure..."

KT ran up to him, and knelt down. "Tsuna!"

He got onto his hands and knees. He was shaking. "Don't touch me..."

She stopped her hand. "What...?"

"I said...don't touch me..."

"But, Tsuna..."

"Leave me alone!" She was pushed back by a very strong force. He stood up, his fists clenched.

"So, you've finally grown a pair..."

He lunged at TC quickly. He was batted away, and rolled on the ground. He came to a stop, then got onto one knee. "I hate you!"

He lunged at him again, using his flames as jets. "I HATE YOU!" He got TC in the face with a fist, then fell to the ground on the other side. KT stood in shock. TC rubbed his face. Tsuna stood up again, and looked at them both. His eyes were burning with flaming fury. With one last glance, he took off into the skies, and flew away.

He walked through the park, his hands in his pockets. He kicked a rock, and it flew into the sand. He climbed the slide and sat at the very top of the playground. He sat overlooking the city. He heard a noise behind him. "What are you doing up here, Tsunayoshi?"

"You know, Kyouya-san...I think I understand you a little bit more..."

"You didn't answer my-"

"I think I know how it feels to actually hate someone..."

Hibari sat next to him. "Why?"

Tsuna pulled his legs up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around them. "I've tried so hard to achieve perfection...I want to protect everyone...but I'm still so weak..."

"You're not going to become strong over night...it takes a long time."

"But I don't have that kind of time!" He looked at Hibari. "Any day now, I might have to protect the entire world! I'm not ready for it!"

Hibari shook his head. "You're not alone, Tsunayoshi..."

"He said I was the only one with the power to destroy him."

"Then you should do your best..."

"I have been..."

"Well done is better than well said...There is always room for improvement, even if you're giving your best effort."

Tsuna looked at his hands. "Thanks, Kyouya-san..."

"Yeah...now, can you leave? This is my spot."

"Oh...yeah, sorry. Thanks for your help, though."

"Yeah..."

He jumped from the top of the playground, and started to walk home.