F:CV | cold summer wind
The first baseball game is a disaster.
Faithful to his code, Reborn shows up in a black suit and his orange-striped fedora and plops himself down in the front row, Tsuyoshi on one side and Tsuna on the other. The boy is absolutely bouncing with excitement, face alight with life Reborn didn't know he'd had, hand greasy from a hotdog he'd just gobbled not two minutes ago, and his brown hair bobbing in the wind.
It is sunny, and it is hot, and Reborn is in a suit and the ice in his drink has melted far too quickly for him to gain anything from it.
"I told you not to wear a suit," Tsuyoshi shouts above the crowd's cheers when the players come out.
"I always wear a suit," Reborn returns. But Tsuyoshi isn't listening; Takeshi has just run out onto the field, and the man is on his feet, roaring.
"MY SON IS NUMBER ONE!" he screams. "DADDY IS SO PROUD OF YOU, MY SON!"
Takeshi looks briefly embarrassed, but he raises a small hand and grins in acknowledgement before heading out to the pitching mound.
"It's just eight-year-olds playing baseball," Reborn mutters. "How is there such a huge crowd? Why is everyone so excited? People are so sweaty."
"It's not just eight-year-olds playing baseball," Tsuyoshi says.
A whistle blows, and the game begins.
"No," Reborn says rather disinterestedly, "it is what it is: eight-year-olds playing—"
And then Takeshi throws.
"…How does the batting boy still have his head?" Reborn asks after a brief pause. "How remarkable."
"Strike one!"
"That's my son," Tsuyoshi says to the woman sitting beside him. She looks a little affronted with the way he leans over and shouts it in her face. "Did you see that? That's my son! Isn't he just the cutest?"
"Cute is a questionable choice of word," Reborn mutters as the umpire calls the second strike. "For the batting boy, I'd say terrifying is more suitable."
But the batting boy is gritting his teeth and twirling his bat. Takeshi hikes his arm up and shoots the ball forward—
Crack!
The batting boy is off and running, kicking up dust behind him. Unfortunately for him, he'd sent the ball right back at Takeshi, who'd caught it easily and is now sprinting for first base.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to just pitch it to the baseman?" Reborn points out blandly, but it doesn't matter at any rate; Takeshi somehow manages to tag the runner with the ball. There's a grin on his face, one of the ones that would have shredded Reborn's soul had he any of it left under the blistering sun. For now, it just makes him feel more desiccated than a 100-year-old prune.
"Pass me a bottle of water," he says rather haggardly.
Not a word out of his mouth has been heard. Tsuna is on his feet, jumping up and down. Tsuyoshi is on his feet, jumping up and down.
"Children, the both of them," Reborn says with a stifled groan, regretting having seated himself between the two star-struck baboons.
There are two more outs and the players are changing positions when Reborn's had enough. He sheds his black blazer, and loosens his tie. The pitcher's just thrown his first ball when Reborn turns back to the game, and to his delight—
The batter is hit in the head and falls to the ground.
"Now, that's what I'm talking about," Reborn says, satisfied. He pops the first button on his shirt, tugs his tie down, feeling sweat trickle. Tsuna latches onto his arm, shaking it a little as he squeaks, "Is he gonna die? Is the batter gonna die?"
"No," Reborn assures him dryly. Then he adds, "Unfortunately."
The eight year old is taken off the field on a stretcher, and the next batter runs up. It's Takeshi, who looks like he's eager to take vengeance for his friend. That's a good look, Reborn thinks with a smirk.
"Strike one!"
"COME ON, TAKESHI!" Tsuyoshi roars obscenely loudly. The rest of the crowd rises to its feet, shouting obscenities and cursing and cheering. It's like a gladiator battle, Reborn thinks amusedly to himself. Pitting two eight-year-old boys against each other—humans are odd.
"Strike two!"
"Your boy isn't gonna get this one, Tsuyoshi," a man behind them bellows. "My son's gonna get the best of him, just you wait and see! And then you can't charge me double at your damned restaurant anymore, you filthy son of a—"
"What's that?" Tsuyoshi shouts back. "What's that, you son of a donkey? When my son's finished with your son, you'll be having to pay triple the money!"
"My, my," Reborn says, ducking as a fist swings over his head towards Tsuyoshi. "All this for a baseball game. Sit down," he tells Tsuna, who's staring, open mouthed, at the two fathers grappling with each other. "Stupidity is contagious. You'll be infected if you watch."
Nevertheless, he's rather pleased to see a tooth flying and Tsuyoshi emerging from the fight with a bloodied fist.
But the battle on the field demands attention as well. The game gears up and the crowd seethes with impatience.
The eight-year-old pitcher winds up and hurls the ball at Takeshi—
There's a crack of the bat, and the ball has disappeared—
Reborn reacts before anyone can blink; his hand is the only thing between the ball and Tsuna's nose, and there's a hole in the chain-linked fence just in front of them.
"And that," Reborn can appreciate, finally taking off his tie completely and draping it over Tsuna's head, "is how you bat a ball."
And then, with everyone watching, he very thoughtfully takes hold of Tsuna's hand and places the ball in it.
"There," he says as Tsuna gapes at him like a fish out of water. "Now you've caught the ball. Just as the baseball terror wanted."
The smile that blossoms on Tsuna's face is like golden sunlight that floods Reborn's grey world.
It almost takes his breath away.
Takeshi is sporting a black eye by the time they head back, having engaged in a tough scuffle in the outfield when the ball came between him and the opposing team. Reborn wouldn't lie; he'd called his fair share of goading commentary, some of which entailed encouragements to bite the little donkey, bite him!
In his defense, the heat had skewed his judgment.
While Takeshi is getting treated by his father, Tsuna holds his glove reverently, like it's the sword of a noble knight who's just slain a dragon.
Reborn gives Takeshi an appraising look before clapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Not bad, Yamamoto Takeshi."
Takeshi's eyes grow to the size of saucers, but the growing grin on his face is as unstoppable as the rising sun.
Tsuyoshi has a grin of his own when they reach the restaurant, a money-grubbing grin that only spreads when he sees the line at the doors. They're all people who'd been at the baseball game, some with their sons, sporting expressions of victory and defeat.
"It's not just eight-year-olds playing baseball, I see," he says, and Tsuyoshi cackles madly, ushering everyone inside.
"Do you mind staying?" Tsuyoshi asks. "I'll need a little help with so many customers."
Reborn's still sticky and sweaty, but he steps inside because assassins should know how to adapt.
That's what he tells himself anyways when he can't wipe the smile off his face.
Tsuyoshi hands him, Takeshi, and Tsuna a waiter's apron each and sends them off with little notepads and pens, which Reborn discards. He's the world's best assassin. Taking orders is a walk in the park.
He comes across the man whose boy had pitched for Takeshi and gives him a well-seasoned smile. After the family of three makes their orders, he clears his throat and very delicately says:
"Don't forget: Triple the price."
The man groans and lets his face fall into a hand.
It's been a week when it occurs to Reborn that he hasn't popped the news to Tsuna yet.
"I've registered you for school," Reborn says as the coffee machine gurgles away faithfully. "You'll start when summer break ends. Kindergarten."
Tsuna looks as surprised as Fred looks hungry, and Fred is always hungry. He's a growing stag beetle after all. And Tsuna is a growing boy, Reborn adds as an afterthought. Rather large for a five-year old.
Tsuna looks like he wants to say something, but he swallows it down. And that's the end of the matter. Reborn takes out some pancake mix—he hears it's Takeshi's favorite—and makes three pancakes, cooked to perfection.
"You can go to school with the baseball terror. You'd like that, wouldn't you? You two are inseparable these days."
And they are. The week has worked wonders for Tsuna—and Takeshi. Tsuna's skin glows with healthiness, and Takeshi is absolutely tickled pink at being able to foster a summer friendship that isn't half made up of baseball rivalry.
All in all, everything is going smoothly, and it is all thanks to Reborn and his genius idea of taking Tsuna to the Yamamoto residence.
"When are you going on your trip?"
"Soon, I expect," Reborn says. "Would you rather stay with the Yamamoto's?"
Tsuna shakes his head.
"I haven't seen my friend in a while," he says quietly.
"The girl in your sketchbook?"
Perplexed, Tsuna goggles up at Reborn, who sighs and elaborates.
"The one with the silver hair and green eyes."
"He's not a girl," Tsuna says nervously. "He's a boy."
"As evidenced by the way you refer to him with the male pronoun. My mistake," Reborn says. "And what about that sleazy—the other man you draw with him. How do you know him?"
Tsuna shrugs, digging his fork into his breakfast.
"He's the one who brought Gokudera-kun there."
"Fascinating," Reborn says as he watches Tsuna with a keen eye. "That lecherous doctor cares enough about a boy to bring him to an orphanage?"
"What's lech-lecher-leech?"
Reborn smiles blandly and pats Tsuna on the head so hard that the boy's nose almost takes a dip in the pancake.
"Never you mind."
The DADDY LOVES YOU on all their omurices written in thick ketchup is hard to miss.
Reborn likes to smear it into oblivion right in front of Tsuyoshi and smirk when the older man weeps, though Tsuyoshi gets some satisfaction when Tsuna acts like the omelet is a gift from god.
As it is a tradition to eat omurice on the days of games, it's become almost a tradition now for Reborn to sit himself between Tsuna and Tsuyoshi. He tells himself it's for the small human's own good, that having a barrier between the man and the boy will act as a dam, preventing Tsuyoshi from infecting Tsuna with the Stupid Disease.
Of course, it doesn't work. When Tsuyoshi yells, Tsuna shrieks and hops up and down. He even gets Fred to jump along with him with a great clap of his heavy wings. Stupidity is infectious.
And when you're being attacked by Stupid on all sides, there's not much you can do.
That's what Reborn tells himself anyways when he catches himself getting too caught up in the game.
He counts three games, three incredibly busy nights of service, three sleepovers, before he notices—
"Huh," Tsuyoshi catches Reborn saying. "Was the sky always this blue?"
The rice nearly falls from his hands as Tsuyoshi guffaws and looks up. The sushi between Reborn's chopsticks has stopped halfway to his mouth, and Reborn is staring out the barred window.
An unrestrained smile spreads across Tsuyoshi's face as he answers, "Yes, the sky has always been this blue."
And very quietly, Reborn says, "I never knew."
And that's the end of that. Reborn goes back to his sushi, and the summer breeze knocks on the door of TakeSushi until Tsuyoshi throws the door wide open. With a courteous bow, in traipses the scent of freshly mown grass carrying a hint of the lavender their neighbor has recently begun to grow, and it all warms Tsuyoshi to the very depths of his heart.
It makes him want to live forever. With Reborn, Tsuna, and his son, he doesn't think he'd ever want anything more. During these summer days, in this heat daze, to continue on just like this…
He doesn't think there would be anything better in this world.
It's the evening after a long night of service. Tsuna and Reborn are upstairs in the guest bathroom, showering and brushing their teeth, and Takeshi and Tsuyoshi are cleaning the guest bedroom that hasn't been used in years. Takeshi holds a bat and his father wields a broom, and between them, they get most of the work done.
"Old man Reborn has been coming over an awful lot, don't you think, dad?"
Takeshi says this as he narrowly misses a precious porcelain vase with his bat. Tsuyoshi grabs the object and places it high out of reach. It won't do to have Takeshi destroy everything his mother left behind for him.
"Do you not like old man Reborn?"
Takeshi grins and manages to smash the vase anyways, dragging a sigh from Tsuyoshi's lips as he prepares the dustbin.
"Nah, he's pretty cool! Kind of dark and mysterious, though. You know, he's always got this gloomy look. I bet he's not drinking enough milk and that's why he's grumpy all the time. Do you think that's it? Maybe if you cook the rice with milk instead of water—"
"I'm sure old man Reborn would have both our heads if we did that," Tsuyoshi says. He groans as he stands up from gathering the broken shards. His body isn't what it used to be.
"I like Tsuna a lot, though! He's kind of clumsy, but he picks up napkins pretty well."
Tsuyoshi decides not to tell his son that he'd be hard-pressed to find a person who screws up collecting dirty napkins because the absolute pride Takeshi harbors for his friend is something too precious to destroy.
"And he's really nice! The other day some kids were about to step on this huge beetle, and then Tsuna dives in screaming and saves the thing! I mean, I guess it was Fred, and if I had a cool stag beetle friend like Fred, I would be screaming to save it, too. But isn't it super cool that Tsuna can be friends with bugs? Like, you've gotta be pretty amazing to be friends with bugs! I never thought too much about bug lives, but I guess I wouldn't like it if a gigantic cockroach came and squished me. Hey, dad, do you think that's what happened to old man Reborn? A bug came and squashed his parents or something like that, and now he goes around with that gloomy expression all the time?"
Tsuyoshi reminds Takeshi that his bat is swinging too close to the window before saying, "I don't think that's quite what happened to Reborn."
His son is adamant on this idea and doesn't let go of it for a while. Tsuyoshi busies himself as Takeshi babbles on. It makes him smile to hear his voice. It's like a burbling creek, the kind that splashes on your feet after you've trodden a thousand miles.
He loves his son. Loves the way a single smile washes all his worries away like a rain shower.
Suddenly it's quiet. Tsuyoshi looks up and sees his son chewing his lip, like something's bothering him. He doesn't ask. It'll come out on its own. Those honey brown eyes have a light in them that makes Tsuyoshi a little sad, because it tells him that his son is growing up too fast.
"Hey, dad," Takeshi says. "Do you think old man Reborn's okay?"
The question startles him even though it shouldn't. It's coming from his son, after all. Takeshi, the boy who's blamed for not having a care in the world when he cares for everything in the world, the boy Reborn hates and envies.
Yes, he knows Reborn better than the hitman will ever admit. He knows Reborn's jealous of children with their rainbow-infused worlds, knows he hasn't the faintest clue what to do with Tsuna, the boy in his care, which is why day after day they find their way over to the Yamamoto residence. It's an unhealthy dependency, but Tsuyoshi is willing to foster it until Reborn is able to make it on his own.
Which is a funny thing to think about. It's like Tsuyoshi's raising three children; two real children and one adult who doesn't know how to use his hands for anything but killing.
Tsuyoshi sets aside his broom and dustbin and takes his son to the porch, where they sit and enjoy a glass of water under the moon.
"Do you know why Reborn comes here so often these days?"
Takeshi looks down for a bit.
"It's because of Tsuna, isn't it?"
Tsuyoshi nods. "It's because of Tsuna. Tsuna's not Reborn's kid, you know. Reborn sort of—adopted him recently, and he doesn't really know what to do with him. It's like when you held a baseball bat for the first time. It wasn't all swish, bam, ping right away. It took time to get used to. And that's what Reborn needs. Time. And a little guidance. A lot of guidance. A lot of subtle guidance, because Reborn will never take direct lessons. And you know what? Tsuna needs time and guidance, too."
Takeshi giggles a little, and Tsuyoshi knows he doesn't quite understand everything. But there will come a time when he does.
"Hey, dad, guess what," Takeshi says.
"What?"
"You're the best dad in the world."
"I know," Tsuyoshi says. "And guess what? You're the best son in the world."
"Mind if I join you elderly men?" says Reborn from behind.
Takeshi jumps to his feet, paying no heed to the water glass that sprays across the floor, and tackles Reborn, who quickly assumes the position of a wretched tree accosted by a determined woodcutter.
"Old man Reborn," Takeshi says, and Reborn can feel the happiness bubbling inside the small body. "Thanks for bringing Tsuna here."
And then he's off without another word, shouting as he bounds up the stairs. They hear a loud thud, presumably Takeshi landing on top of Tsuna, and a spattering of laughter.
Tsuyoshi doesn't miss the smile that flickers across Reborn's countenance. He holds up a bottle he produces from underneath a floorboard and invites Reborn to drink.
"It's a fine night," he says, pouring Reborn a small cup.
"Quite," Reborn agrees. With his legs crossed and his grey yukata slung a little carelessly around his waist, he takes a sip, eyes fixed on the moon.
"How's parenthood?" Tsuyoshi asks with a twinkle in his eye.
"Extended babysitting," Reborn corrects for the second time that month. He holds his sake dish up for a second serving, and Tsuyoshi obliges. They drink in silence, listening to the cicadas and the muffled voices from upstairs.
"It's not bad."
It's quiet, it's quick, but Reborn has said it all the same. Tsuyoshi breaks into a chuckle, raising his cup in Reborn's direction.
"We were blessed with two kids who aren't that bad," Tsuyoshi says. "We ended up with a good roll of dice. We could have gotten two terrible monsters."
"I don't know how I would have handled that," Reborn says darkly. "Probably with my gun."
Tsuyoshi laughs.
"I used to ask myself that question back when Takeshi's mother had just passed away. 'How will I handle this? How can I raise him on my own? How can I be a good father to him such that he won't miss his mother?' Those were dark days," Tsuyoshi chuckled. "Darker than the ones when I was still an assassin. But he showed me."
"Who?"
"Takeshi."
"Your son showed you," Reborn says flatly. "Your son showed you how to handle being a parent."
Tsuyoshi grinned at him. "Yep. It was all in the little things, the ones that made him smile. When I saw him smile, I would think to myself that everything would be okay. So long as he could keep on smiling, I thought I was doing alright. That's how I survived eight years. No matter what it took, what sacrifices I had to make, as long as he could smile, it was worth it. Seeing him run around as he does, seeing him becoming friends with Tsuna, seeing him growing up—it's all been worth it. And now, there's so much to look forward to."
Tsuyoshi nodded to the sky, where the moon hung lazily in its bed of stars.
"I think to myself: there will come a time, many years in the future, where Takeshi and I can sit like this on a warm summer night, sharing sake under the moon."
"A humble aspiration."
"And I wouldn't switch it out for anything in the world. So, you, too," he says. "Follow the smiles."
And those are the last words Tsuyoshi ever says to Reborn.
Tsuyoshi heads out before dinnertime the next day to restock on supplies. While Tsuna and Takeshi entertain themselves in the corner, Reborn dozes off. When he wakes up, it's dark, and there's no sound in the restaurant other than the sullen sound of a ball hitting the wall.
On retrospect, maybe Reborn should have seen it coming. Though the ripe June sun had promised them a sweltering day, the breeze had clawed its way into his bones with a strange chill. But even so, it should have been like any other day. The monotonous life in Namimori had promised him so. Coaxed him into believing that maybe a life with two brats and an old man could be possible.
Tricked him.
"Dad's been out for an awful long time," Takeshi says demurely when he sees that Reborn has woken up. There's no sun shining from his face anymore, no soul-melting smile. No blues or any other color, really. Reborn stands on sleeping feet and asks Takeshi for the time.
Eleven p.m.
He's at the door already when something tackles his leg and restrains him. The small human. Reborn's tempted to kick him away.
"W-Where are you g-going?"
He sounds scared.
Terrified.
"I'll be back," he reassures him dismissively. "I'm just going to go get Tsuyoshi."
"You know where he is?" Takeshi asks.
"No," Reborn replies honestly.
"Shouldn't we call the p-police, then?"
Takeshi looks petrified at the prospect of getting the police involved. But there would be no calling for help. The wind whips at him, tearing the doorknob from his hands and sending a shiver running through the marrow of his bones. No, police would not be able to help in such matters.
Absentmindedly, he turns back to the two small children, who have drawn close to each other in the wake of this cold summer wind. Reborn realizes they're subconsciously waiting for him to say something, some sort of consolation or reassurance. He balks. Thinks. What would Tsuyoshi say?
"You are doing well," Reborn says stiffly, and he places two cold hands on the tops of their heads. "There's no reason to be afraid. Everything will be alright."
His eye discerns subtle relaxation, but they still resemble turtles that have almost been run over. The wind is pulling at him. There's no more time to waste.
His heartbeat tells him that there's a high probability that Tsuyoshi may be dea—
The wind roars at them through the open door like it's the mouth of a monster. Tsuna whimpers.
And Reborn realizes that leaving the two of them alone would be like tossing bones to the dogs.
"You'll probably be safer if you come along with me," Reborn says, though every fiber of his being wants them to stay here, out of the way. "Just stay out of my way, don't scream or cry. Agreed?"
They nod wordlessly and trundle after him like ducklings, and together, they're swallowed up by the summer night.
Apologies for the absence; was traveling all last week. Thanks to everyone supporting the story! Means a lot to me. School's approaching, and it makes me want to crawl under the covers and sob till the world ends.