Chapter 10
"Eat your cucumbers, Tsunayoshi. It's there for a reason."
"No way! I don't like these things! Papa must have put them here on purpose. You eat it!"
"I refuse. It's not mine to eat."
"Please?"
"No."
"You're such a meanie Kyouya!"
"I wouldn't be if you just do it,"
"But…"
"Don't use your puppy dog eyes on me, it won't work."
Yamamoto smiled at the scene before him and Gokudera, while the silver haired teen only glared at the other person they were watching. It always infuriated Gokudera that the pair would emit a lovey-dovey atmosphere rivaling Reborn and Nana's. More so when the other person was Hibari.
"Haha…I somehow feel like third wheel…" Yamamoto said outwardly.
"This is outrageous." Gokudera grunted as he ate his lunch. They were currently at the rooftop eating their lunches, all but Ienari who had been called by a teacher for him to catch up on the incoming midterms in a few weeks, which meant that he would be running late, and spared from the flirting of his brother and Hibari. "We came here to have a silent lunch and these two go on flirting with each other..." he grumbled.
"Come on now, they haven't had the chance to be like that ever since Ienari came back, so cut them a bit of a slack,"
"If I feed you the cucumbers, will you eat it?" they heard Hibari say.
"Really? You'd do that?"
"Anything to get you to eat it."
"Yay~! Aah~" Tsuna said with glee and opened his mouth.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Hibari asked, but he ended up feeding Tsuna anyways.
Something in Gokudera snapped as he turned to the two, but his eyes were more directed at the head prefect. "Isn't flirting on school grounds forbidden?" Gokudera said out loud intentionally.
That got the attention of the two who were flirting. Tsuna looked sheepish and turning red, while Hibari looked like he was ready to commit murder with the victim being his own secretary. True they couldn't spend that much time together ever since Ienari arrived, but it wasn't like Tsuna didn't like it. Well, Hibari did, but that was different.
"Doing indecent acts in school is forbidden, not flirting. If it was, then all of us here would have been miserable and single. Like you." Hibari shot back at the silver haired teen.
"Damn you, you bastard!" Gokudera growled. "I am perfectly fine on my own!"
Yamamoto laughed, "So, have you told Ienari yet?" he asked, trying to change the subject a little bit so that the bomber doesn't get it in his head to blow up the rooftop again.
A flinch from Tsuna was enough of answer from Yamamoto to confirm that Ienari still has no idea of the relationship between Tsuna and Hibari. "You know, it's better if he finds it out from you than to others, right?" he advised. "He would be mad at you if that ever happens,"
Tsuna sighed and looked down, "Well…Papa said the same thing. But I can't just tell him outright! It's not the way it works…"
"For others maybe, but to Ienari, maybe assuming a simple thing might be the key to telling him," Yamamoto stated. "You get me so far?"
"I guess so." Tsuna stated.
All of a sudden, the door opened revealing a panicking blond teen.
"Ienari?" Tsuna called out.
Ienari turned to his brother, "Tsuna, if someone from outside wanted to get in the school through the gate, what happens?" he asked.
"The security will ask who they want to see, and the person will be called. Why?" Tsuna replied.
Ienari sighed, "I think…I might have a guest or two coming over either here, or at home…" he said with an exasperated look as he showed him the message he got on his phone.
Marshmallow Lunatic
Nari-chan, what do you do to gain entry in a school full of delinquents and rehabs?
Tsuna raised a brow at the name of the contact, and looked back at Inari. "Your friends?" Tsuna asked.
As expected, Ienari denied it. "No…more like…classmates who wouldn't leave me alone,"
"Imagine that." Hibari muttered while looking at Gokudera and Yamamoto. "Will they cause harm to the school?"
"Not really." He replied off-handedly. "At worst, they might just get on my nerves because of that person's antics…"
Tsuna was skeptical, "Why not call them friends, Ienari? You guys sound close," he stated. He has heard from Reborn that Ienari had some trust issues, and would always keep people he didn't know at arm's length, especially his schoolmates.
Ienari shrugged. "Can't be too careful. I don't hand that title just to anyone in the mafia…"
Yamamoto stared at him, "You have some serious issues, man." He commented. "If I was in the mafia, I would have already known who I can trust by instincts alone." The blond flinched at his slip of the tongue. Noticing this, Yamamoto smiled brightly, "Relax. All of us here are aware. If your godmother married an Italian hitman, you had to know these things too,"
With a grunt, Ienari spoke, "I can't rely on my instincts alone. The last time that happened…"
Images of people suddenly plagued Ienari's mind, earning him a slight tinge of headache as he saw a rather familiar symbol on red eyes. Who owns those eyes, Ienari couldn't remember.
"Can you tell me that you will be there for me?"
"What kind of stupid question is that, Ienari?"
"Just answer."
"Fine. I will always be there for you. And I hope you can do the same for me."
"You drive a hard bargain, but alright."
"Is this the part where I hug you for all you're worth?"
"Don't push your luck."
"Ienari?" Tsuna's voice called out to him.
He snapped his head to look at Tsuna who was wearing a worried expression. That was when he noticed that his hand had unconsciously went to his head where the slight pain was a few moments ago. Shaking his head, he continued, "Well, that leaves to be something I don't want to remember. He texted me asking these things, and I bet he has every intention of trespassing the school," he informed.
A frown marred Hibari's features. "Trespassers need to be bitten to death." He growled, itching for his tonfas, but he remembered that Tsuna restricted him from carrying them during lunch to avoid any fights in-between the meal.
"I wholeheartedly agree, but if you do, you'd run the risk of being sent to the emergency room, and I'm serious." Ienari said, remembering the one time an ignorant fellow student challenged Byakuran in a fight and ended up bloody and traumatized. It was as if he knew what to do in that kind of situation, or he simply knew how the person fights.
But it didn't seem to faze the prefect. "Heh. I like a challenge."
"And I like my man in one piece! Don't do it Kyouya!" that was when Tsuna slapped his own mouth and stared at Ienari in horror.
Ienari wore a similar horrified face as he looked left and right from Tsuna to Hibari.
Then it all clicked. Hibari calling Reborn 'father,' his mother calling him in a nickname, being tied to the hip with Tsuna when he had the chance, and the fluffy atmosphere they emitted just moments before.
Tsuna was dating the head prefect of the Reformation Faction.
"You were…" Ienari trailed off. Before he could say something else about the matter, his phone rang. Answering it, knowing it was from Byakuran, he turned his back on the other occupants of the rooftop, missing the hurt look from Tsuna. "Where the hell are you exactly, Byakuran?"
"Hehe~ here at the front gates~ the guards here are scary. They won't believe me when I told them I was here to see you, so they told me to call you to get you out of wherever you are during lunch!" Byakuran sounded almost too proud of himself.
"Is Irie with you?"
"Of course! I do need a guide. Get down here or I won't be responsible on what the guards will see…"
Ienari rolled his eyes. "Try me."
"How about PDA?"
"Fine! I'm coming!" Ienari said almost instantly. The last thing he wanted was to scar the guards for life.
When the door closed behind Ienari, Gokudera and Yamamoto looked warily at Tsuna.
"Tsuna-san…are you okay?" Gokudera asked.
It took a moment to get a reaction from Tsuna. He immediately covered his face with his hands and moped. "Wah! I'm such an idiot! Spitting that out in front of Ienari! He's going to hate me now!" he said in a depressed voice.
Yamamoto sighed, "Hey, you don't know that. He just might be shocked, but he's not homophobic, is he?"
"I don't know!" Tsuna whined, clearly getting too carried away. "Maybe I'll just move out and live my life as a gigolo…"
"Don't get carried away that easily!" Gokudera and Yamamoto said in panic.
"Hibari, say something!" Yamamoto pleaded.
Hibari merely shrugged, clearly unimpressed with the flow of things, and the comment of his boyfriend of becoming a gigolo. "You are overthinking things. He didn't look at you in disgust, did he?" he asked Tsuna, who was now close to crying.
"No…but he was distracted with his former classmate coming at the gates…"
"You've spent three years battling from yourself regarding your self-harm and bullying trauma, and a single shocked look from your brother finding out about you dating me is bringing you down?" he lectured lightly, "You know better than to put words and thoughts in your brother before confronting him. I thought you learned that lesson when you confessed to me."
"Kyouya…" Tsuna remembered that day very clearly to his liking. He had thought too much about what he might think based on his personality, which disabled him from ever telling him of what he felt, and it fell badly through himself.
"Listen to me Tsunayoshi. I don't know what your herbivore brother is thinking about this revelation, but I want you to talk to him when you have the chance to clear things up. Am I clear?"
Tsuna nodded meekly.
Gokudera scoffed, "Why can't you just tell him that in a gentler way?"
Hibari glared at the ex-mafia, "I wasn't raised to be soft." He stated and stood up, "Now, we better get to the gates before something happens to the school, or so help me, Sawada Ienari and his visitor will be spending the rest of the week in the hospital." He said as he turned to leave the rooftop, followed by the three.
…
Ienari felt like being annoyed with his older brother. Not because he was dating Hibari (he still doesn't like him), but because he was keeping it a secret from him.
But he reminded himself that everyone is entitled to several secrets, even Tsuna. What hurts is that he didn't tell him of his relationship with the prefect even if it was already slapping him in the face. 'Well…it was my fault for being dense. I can read the affectionate atmosphere, but I thought it was just a thing between close friends…'
Maybe that was why he lacked friends. He couldn't tell them apart that much, and it irked him. Or maybe it was just because his brother was worried that he would judge his relationship with another boy. Now that, he understands. But does he really think of him as judgmental?
'After all, I did see Byakuran and Irie making out in the gym storage room one time…' he thought as he shuddered at the memory.
Sighing, he walked faster to the gates, since running will earn him a reprimand to those who sees him doing it and would get into small trouble.
When he arrived, there they were, Byakuran and Irie standing at the gates while being monitored by the guards. He shook his head. Byakuran knows when to show up at the wrong and inconvenient time most of the time.
"Byakuran," Ienari called out to him as he approached the school gates.
The white haired teen turned to see him. Purple eyes glinted happily as he waved his hand to greet the blond. "Nari-chan~!" he greeted.
The security looked back at Ienari, "Hey kid, you know this guy?"
He wanted to deny it, really, he did. But he was already called so familiarly by the teen that he had to nod. "Yes."
Afterwards, the security at the gates let Byakuran and Irie in, but they told Ienari that they could only stay at the front grounds of the school and not lurk around unless they were potential students. Ienari had to inwardly snort at that. The school would instantly spit the Gesso heir out of the school the moment he gets the chance to wreak havoc in it. And he has a feeling that a certain prefect would not like it.
"What in the world prompted the two of you to fly to Japan two weeks before your school year begins?" he demanded. "And coming here during school hours no less!"
Irie looked at Byakuran wearing the 'I told you so' face, "I told you he would be displeased. You didn't listen." He then looked at Ienari, "Sorry about this Ienari-kun. The moment he slept off the jet lag, he wanted to come to see you immediately," he excused.
"Won't surprise me if he falls asleep suddenly in the afternoon. Truthfully, I hope he falls asleep soon," Ienari stated. "You have no idea what you got yourself into, didn't you? What if another family detected your presence? Then I would be found out, and Reborn would have been in deep trouble, and my family too," he said with an annoyed look.
Byakuran raised his brow, "Did you really think I wouldn't know that? Of course I derailed any dogs that came to sniff! I inputted that we were bound for Hokkaido, and Sho-chan and I took a flight to Namimori under false names,"
Ienari knew that when Byakuran says it, he says the truth. He has a weird way in derailing any spies from detecting where he goes. It was something that Ienari admired about the teen, but his annoying personality pretty much destroys a good impression on him. The Gesso Famiglia has a very talented heir indeed.
With an exasperated sigh, Ienari ran his hands through his hair, "So, where are the two of you staying? And for how long?"
"The rest of the week. Sho-chan wanted to move his stuff to his new dorm assignment by next week, so we're pretty much on a tight schedule for sightseeing! Want to accompany us this Saturday?"
Ienari shook his head, "No thank you. I'm helping out at the restaurant on the weekend and the rest of the weekends of the year."
"Boo~ and we came all the way here to see you too…" Byakuran said with a pout.
"That's too bad. By the way, did you ask my tutor for permission in seeing me?" he asked, remembering the Ninth's rules. He must not communicate with people in the mafia without the approval of Reborn.
Byakuran smiled cheekily, "He gave you your phone, didn't he? Of course I did! I don't want to be gunned down by that scary hitman." He then changed subjects, "Well then, if you can't come with us, why don't you introduce me to your brother?"
"No." Ienari said. "The last thing I want you to do is to blurt out what his life would have been in a parallel world like what you did to me and Irie." He said as he eyed the ring on the Gesso heir's finger. The Mare Ring of the Sky which grants its owner the ability to share memories with his parallel selves. He could still remember when Byakuran shared him his secret and showed him his power, he told him that there were parallel worlds where he didn't exist, or when he was a little hellion to his younger and older siblings—also in a parallel world.
He was thankful every single day he didn't turn out to be a little devil himself.
"Perish the thought! I would never blurt out something like that to a civilian!"
"As if I would believe that." Both Irie and Ienari said in unison.
Byakuran puffed his cheeks, "Really you two! Why do you always go against me?!"
"Because you need someone to go against you and your crazy antics." Irie replied.
"Arguing loudly in school grounds is not allowed, Sawada Ienari."
Ienari froze and turned to see Hibari along with Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera—but they were running towards the prefect getting ready to restrain him should he resort to violence.
Byakuran looked at the direction of the four and smiled. "Ah…sorry about that Mr. Prefect. Ienari is the one being unreasonable." He said pushing the blame on Ienari casually.
"Don't push the blame on me!" Ienari complained.
"But the prefect is scary…"
"As if you would be scared! You've never been scared of anything."
"Not true. I'm scared of Sho-chan and Vino getting mad."
Tsuna decided to break the bickering, "Are these the former classmates you told us about, Ienari?" Tsuna asked rather awkwardly, considering that he just found out that Tsuna was dating Hibari.
"Ah, yeah. This is Byakuran, and Irie Shoichi." Ienari introduced. He turned to Byakuran and Irie, "Well, you got lucky this time. This is my brother, Sumeragi Tsuna, the head prefect Hibari, Yamamoto and Gokudera."
Gokudera choked, "Byakuran? Not the Byakuran of the Gesso Famiglia, is it?"
"The very same one, Smoking Bomb~" Byakuran replied. "Long time no see! The last time I saw you was when we were still grade school kids in the meeting between our dads. Now I see this is where you've been," he mused.
"Tch. Didn't know you associated with the Vongola Decimo. How did you come across that?" he asked.
"Got out of private tutoring, and I was sent to the Academy as expected." He informed. "We've been classmates since we were in middle school,"
Tsuna smiled, "Ah, I see. It's nice of you to put up with my little brother," he said as he bowed.
"Me too!" Byakuran said as he bowed while scratching the back of his head.
"More like Ienari-kun had to put up with you, Byakuran-san," Irie said with a frown.
Byakuran straightened up and looked at Tsuna, "You look a little bit like Ienari, minus the hair, but you're cuter!" he complimented.
Tsuna could only smile, "Why thank you. But I must object with me being cute. Ienari is cuter than me," he corrected.
The other teen laughed, "I guess he is a bit cute when he turns red either from being embarrassed or mad as hell,"
"Don't talk about me like I'm not here! Seriously!" Ienari said exasperatedly. On his back, he could feel the killing intent that Hibari was restraining, while Yamamoto was trying to hold onto his shoulder, trying to calm him down. He could just see an imminent bloodbath here and now.
As if to save them all from seeing violence in the morning, the bell rang to indicate five minutes were left before classes resume again.
"Ah, It's time already?" Yamamoto commented.
"Afraid so," Tsuna said. "It was nice meeting you, Byakuran-san, Irie-san. But I'm afraid we have to get to class,"
"That's too bad," Byakuran sighed.
Tsuna brandished his natural smile, "If you want, you could come over to the restaurant this Saturday. I think Mom would love to meet the two of you," he stated. "I don't think Papa would allow you in the house…"
"Ah, it's fine Sumeragi-san! We'll be here until Sunday, so we could come over. We can meet up with Ienari that way after I show Byakuran-san around,"
"I'd like to serve the two of you on Saturday. I'll be looking forward to it then." Tsuna stated with anticipation.
"Thank you for having us then. Byakuran-san and I should be leaving now," he said as he pulled the said teen away, "See you soon!" Irie said as he pulled the teen from the group so they could go back to their own classroom.
Gokudera and Hibari went ahead to the Reform wing, while Tsuna, Yamamoto and Ienari headed to the Rehab wing.
It was then when Ienari remembered something, "Crap! I hadn't eaten yet!"
Yamamoto laughed and handed him a melon bread, "Here. I was saving this for practice, but you can have it while we return to class."
"Thanks!" Ienari said as he accepted the bread.
"They're interesting…your classmates, I mean," Tsuna commented.
"Yeah. Byakuran is a bit nuts, but Irie keeps him in line," Ienari said. Then he remembered the little issue he has with Tsuna, "Did I mention that they are going out?" he told them.
"Eh?" Tsuna flinched.
Ienari rolled his eyes, "You really need to give me a little more credit, you know." He said with a deadpanned voice. "The only complain I have is why him of all people?"
Trying to break the tension, Yamamoto laughed, "You know, Gokudera and I are still wondering that too,"
Tsuna pouted, "You two are mean. What do you have against Kyouya?"
"He's a prefect and he's scary?" Yamamoto and Ienari said at once.
"Well, that is true, but still! Kyouya is nicer than you think," he defended.
"If beating up your unwanted and forceful suitors is what you think of kind, then fine," Yamamoto stated.
Ienari smiled, "If you think I would blow a fuse in knowing you were dating another boy, then you have another thing coming, Tsuna. I'm not prejudiced in that topic."
That was when Tsuna felt their bond as brothers grow closer. All Tsuna could do was smile.
…
"So, what do you think of the Sawa—ah—Sumeragi Tsunayoshi of this world?" Irie asked.
They were currently at a nearby café after leaving the school grounds since Byakuran was demanding his daily overdose of sugar.
Byakuran ate a large scoop of his parfait before he answered, "A bit different from what I anticipated. But that is to be expected. Having divorced parents can really change you, not to mention being in a rehab school like that. It really shaped him differently." He looked at himself at the spoon, "But he is still the ever accepting and kind sky that I knew in the other worlds. I just hope that Nari-chan develops that personality of his by being around Tsunayoshi-kun. He really needs it."
Irie smiled. "Always looking after Tsunayoshi-kun after the fiasco about your other selves?"
"Hey, a Sky has to look after his fellow Sky, even though he is no longer the Sky of one of the Trinisette. He's meant as a Sky for another group of people."
Irie sighed, "You're not making any sense." He said.
"Not right now, but let's say…seven or eight years from now, you would understand," Byakuran said simply as he continued to eat his parfait.
TBC
Well, this took a bit longer than expected.
I've been paying attention to the Eurovision Song Contest recently, so I got a bit sidetracked in writing. Seriously, I cheered for every country that are also Hetalia characters, and I couldn't resist imagining if they were the ones performing or watching the performances of their citizens! XD
I was so into it that I always watch the live stream of the song contest from the two semi-finals to the grand finals. Of course, since it's in Austria, I had to wake up at 3AM to watch it live here at my place. But it was all too worth it, even if I couldn't vote. Sad but true. I actually rooted for Belgium, Italy, Spain and Sweden, and they ended up in the top five! And Sweden won! Haha, the stoic country won again after his victory in 2012.
But I have to admit, the song that hooked me up is Il Volo's Grande Amore, the song that Italy submitted.
Speaking of which, I actually imagined Reborn singing Grande Amore with Colonello and Verde. I know, my mind is going nuts. Maybe I'll sneak in the song next chapter. Haha!
So! Byakuran now meets Tsuna, and Ienari discovers Tsuna's relationship with Hibari.
It's not that hard anymore to accept the fact that your brother is gay when you are friends with two people who are dating. Ienari was simply mad because Tsuna thought of him as someone who does not like the thought of two guys dating.
Well then, see you again next chapter~!