It was already late and Tsuna and Cielo just put the younger ones in their beds. Just as Tsuna was about to lay his weary head down after a long day, a hesitant knock came from his door. That was all the warning he got before Lambo tackled him to the floor.
"What's wrong?" he asked sleepily as he sat up from the hard floor to see who knocked on his door (because Lambo never knocks). There stood Fuuta and I-pin, looking rather hesitant in entering. With a wave of his hand while the other held on to a crying Lambo, he invited them to enter. Soon enough, he found himself tackled by the other two, making him lie back down on the floor again.
"Maman's not in her room," was Fuuta's muffled response as he buried his head on Tsuna's chest as Lambo and I-pin took to the crook of his shoulders. Despite how awkward and uncomfortable he felt, he stayed on the floor as he stroked their heads and rubbed their backs.
"Of course she's not in her room. She just left, remember?" Tsuna replied rather dumbly and callously earning another round of tears and wails from the children. He winced at his own stupidity and sleepiness for answering like that and at the loudness of the children's cries. He tried to soothe them by continuing his gentle ministrations and saying soft nonsensical words. Neither seemed to work, much to his displeasure.
Unsure of what to do next, he started humming a lullaby from his memory instead of whispering comforting words. A deep bass sang along from his memory, though the words of the song weren't clear. As he continued humming with the voice in his memory, an image formed in his mind. His father was singing to him when he was younger because he woke from a nightmare and was unable to sleep. Losing himself to the recollection, he started singing along with his father.
After singing the lullaby, he noticed that the children weren't crying as much. Their wails have been reduced to sniffles, much to his relief. He repeated the lullaby a few more times, watching that their eyes were drooping and their sniffles were becoming yawns. "Come on, wash your faces before you sleep," he urged the children to get off him. Despite their whines and protests, they listened to Tsuna anyway and he herded them to the bathroom.
After he washed and wiped their faces, he said, "Now let's get you guys to bed." They agreed sleepily and made their way out of the bathroom. Tsuna followed them, expecting them to go to their own rooms. But instead, they went to his room. He let out a groan as he took some pillows and blankets from their own room before entering his own.
They made themselves comfortable on his bed, all three of them sprawled on each other with a peaceful look on their faces, as if they just didn't cry their heart out. With a sigh and a grin at the sight, he put the pillows and blankets on them as he tucked them in properly on his bed. Noticing his wet pajama top, he changed to a large shirt before laying down on the floor beside his bed with the spare pillow and blanket he got from the other rooms.
He was fairly sure it was only about an hour before he was up again, due to his instinctive alarm clock, courtesy of Reborn of course. He wasn't sure whether he should be frustrated or thankful for it because he was still very tired and he hasn't recovered his energy yet. But his sleep wasn't all peaceful, and there was a lingering sense of danger coming from the dream he just had. He shook his head, trying to wake himself and remove his thoughts from the nightmare that he barely remembers.
He got up, silently groaning at his aching muscles, which were complaining because he slept on the very uncomfortable floor. As he was about to change into his uniform, a gentle knock came from his door again. He turned around and saw Cielo casually leaning on the doorframe. But Tsuna could obviously see that there was relief and annoyance in his stance. With a look that said "Follow me", Tsuna found himself walking towards the door and following Cielo to the kitchen silently, in fear of waking the children.
"You look like shit," was Cielo's morning greeting to Tsuna who just sat down on the table.
"So do you," replied Tsuna, obviously cranky at his lack of sleep and at the eloquent greeting Cielo gave him.
"Not true," whined Cielo as he looked for the ingredients to make breakfast.
"The cupboard right in front of you has the coffee, sugar, and creamer. The kettle is in the cabinet next to the stove. The cups are in the cupboard to the right of the coffee. If you want milk, it's in the ref door," Tsuna said as he laid his head down on his arms, which were on the table. He laid it to its side, so that he could see what Cielo was doing to his mother's kitchen.
"Hate coffee," Cielo whined again as he followed Tsuna's instructions and made a cup of coffee for himself. "Say it's not true. I do not look like shit. If I did, then I'd be in big trouble if he caught wind of it," Cielo whined at Tsuna while waiting for the water to boil as he sat down in front of Tsuna.
"Fine. It's not," Tsuna replied with a groan as he shut his eyes. It really wasn't true. While Tsuna was a complete mess, with his rumpled pajamas and messier-than-usual hair, Cielo was the complete opposite. There wasn't a wrinkle on the shirt and pants Nana lent him. His hair was neatly tied at his nape, like yesterday. And his glasses were as clean as ever. 'It's not fair,' Tsuna mentally whined, wishing he had Cielo's ability to stay neat and orderly all the time. Reborn wouldn't hit him as much since the baby tutor was trying to instill cleanliness into Tsuna. "A mafia boss must look neat and respectable all the time." Another reason why Tsuna didn't want to be a mafia boss.
"That's good to hear," Cielo sighed in relief as he turned off the stove and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Sorry. I'm not that coherent in the morning," Tsuna opened his eyes at Cielo's apology as his babysitter changed from being whiny and immature to being calm and collected. "Especially if I haven't slept all," he said with a sheepish grin as he took another sip from his coffee.
"Sorry," Tsuna mumbled, feeling it was his fault why the older man.
"It's not your fault that the children sneaked into your room and cried the night away," Cielo replied, then he looked rather thoughtful. "Though it would have been nice if I knew that they ran to your room instead of worrying where they were crying their hearts out. For all I know, they could have been on the roof," Cielo added.
"Still, I should have made them stop crying so loudly," Tsuna replied guiltily. "Did you really check the roof?" Tsuna asked suddenly and Cielo gave a guilty sheepish grin in reply before he took another long sip from his coffee cup. Tsuna's eyes widened at the revelation. "Why?"
"Well, I did tell Signora that I would take care of you kids and I'm doing horribly if I didn't know where they were in the middle of the night," Cielo replied, looking away from Tsuna, ashamed. "I'm sorry for that. For making you do all the work."
"It's alright. You didn't do anything wrong. I am their big brother after all," Tsuna replied, a blush spreading across his cheeks at his proclamation. It was the first time he called himself their big brother, and he kinda liked the sound of that.
"Your mother would be proud of you," Cielo said warmly and Tsuna's blush receded at the thought of his mother. She hasn't been gone for longer than a day and he misses her already. "You miss her," Cielo said, as if he could read Tsuna's mind.
Tsuna looked up in surprise at Cielo's words. Then he found himself replying, "You too."
"Excuse me?" Cielo replied, looking obviously lost at Tsuna's response.
"You miss your own mother," Tsuna replied confidently, though he wasn't sure where that confidence came from. He wasn't even sure why he said so, but it felt right and at the look of Cielo's face, he was right.
"Of course I do. I miss my whole family," Cielo replied, his expression wistful.
"What's she like?" Tsuna asked, curious at the woman who raised someone like Cielo.
"She's strong. Determined. Beautiful. I could go on and on about her because she's a wholly wonderful woman," Cielo replied with a grin as he finished off his coffee and made his way to the sink to clean his cup.
"Is she part of the Vongola, too?" Tsuna asked, hoping to meet such a magnificent person such as Cielo's mother.
"Yes she is," Cielo replied casually as he rinsed his cup and started preparing breakfast. Only the sounds of Cielo cooking were heard in the kitchen as Tsuna realized just what they said.
His eyes widened in shock and surprise as he stuttered, "I meant, I—I don't mean—"
"Hush," Cielo said as he patted Tsuna's head while the other held a spatula.
"You know?" Tsuna looked up at Cielo's grinning face in contrast to Tsuna's pale shocked one.
"Of course I do. I'm a Vongola Mafioso, remember?" Cielo replied with a bit of pride in his voice as he returned to the stove to finish what he was cooking.
"I'm sorry," Tsuna apologized once more, his head bowed down as he watched his fingers on the table. Suddenly, two fingers went underneath his chin and lifted his head, making Tsuna look directly into Cielo's eyes.
"It's alright," his tone was light and amused but his brown eyes were another story. "But do remember that curiosity killed the cat," he added, his tone turned from amused to slightly mocking. Tsuna's eyes narrowed, remembering that it was the same tone Byakuran used in the future. And he hated everything about that white-haired devil. Everything.
"Well, this cat won't die," Tsuna replied calmly and coldly as he jerked his head to get away from Cielo's grasp. But in spite of Cielo's thin fingers, he had a strong grip and refused to let Tsuna go just yet.
"But Tsuna-chan," he replied, his tone more sarcastic than earlier. "Everyone dies." And Tsuna knew that. He just came from the future. A future where he supposedly died. He would never forget the depressing future and the somber mood his friends were always in because of his death.
"I know," Tsuna replied, growing angrier at the mocking tone his babysitter was using. Add to that his eerie grin and glinting eyes behind his glasses, he freakishly reminded Tsuna of the certain devil. "But I won't die 'til I'm ready."
"But Tsuna-chan, death always catches people unaware," he replied, raising his brow as if waiting for Tsuna's reply.
"But death also knocks, doesn't it? So it shouldn't surprise me," Tsuna answered back, and judging by Cielo's wide eyes, he knew that he caught the older brunette off guard. He jerked his head from his grasp but he still glared into the older man's eyes. "I'll just have to finish everything I need to do before I let it in," Tsuna finshed rather smugly, turning away from Cielo.
A cup of chocolate was shoved into his hands, catching him off guard as he looked back at Cielo who was sporting an honestly amused grin as he ruffled Tsuna's hair. With a chuckle, he said, "You're so cute, Tsuna-kun."
"Hiee?" Where was the Byakuran look-alike a few moments ago? Is the man bipolar? Cielo just turned his back on Tsuna who was still gaping at the abrupt change in demeanor he saw in the man.
"Don't ever forget what you just said, okie?" Cielo said in reply as he put a full plate in front of Tsuna. "Now eat up before you dress up."
'What the hell just happened?' Tsuna thought as he ate his breakfast and drank his hot chocolate, which was laced with coffee. He gave a sour face at the bitter taste of coffee and glared at the maker, who just gave him a cheeky smile and replied, "You'll need it for the day."
After changing as quietly as he could, since the children were sleeping in his room, he went back downstairs just in time to hear Gokudera and Yamamoto at the front door of his house.
"Take care of yourself," Cielo said as he handed Tsuna his bento with a grin. Tsuna gave a half-grin in return, unsure how to treat the older man after his bipolar tendencies this morning. It was the same reason he was so uncertain around Gokudera. He's a wonderful friend and all, but he takes things to the extreme. Tsuna finds himself unable to keep up with the jumping emotions of his friend. And right now, his babysitter too.
"Morning, Tsuna!" "Good morning, Jyudaime." His friends greeted him simultaneously, and he grinned back at them.
"Good morning, Gokudera-kun. Yamamoto," Tsuna greeted them after learning his lesson that Gokudera would never accept being second to Yamamoto. Even if it was just a greeting. The holes on his front yard and his neighbors' glares are a constant reminder.
"Fuuta's not coming along?" Yamamoto asked, noticing that the younger boy wasn't tailing Tsuna as usual. Nana enrolled him to elementary school, since it was compulsory. He was in fourth grade in Namimori Elementary School, which was right beside his school. That's why he also walked with Tsuna and his friends in the morning and afternoons, if their schedules matched up.
"He stayed up last night," Tsuna replied, not elaborating any further. Not that he needed to since they were aware that Nana was going away for at least a week.
It was a quiet walk to school, if one could ignore the bickering the two made. Or rather the one-sided argument they were having. Tsuna just grinned while listening at their newest source of argument as he walked slightly behind them, since his shorter legs can barely keep up with their much longer strides.
"You make a pretty awesome magician, Gokudera," Yamamoto said out of the blue, earning a spluttered shock from the bomber.
"What the hell, baseball freak?" Gokudera's eyes widened in shock as he barely managed to speak without stuttering.
"I mean, you can easily make your toy dynamites appear and disappear," was his nonchalant reply as he wore a grin.
"The hell? Wait 'til I make you disappear!" Gokudera said as he produced his dynamites out of thin air, earning a sparkle in Yamamoto's eyes and an eager applause.
"You see! Just like that! You think you can teach me that trick so I can bring home more balls for practice?" Before Gokudera could reply to Yamamoto's enthusiasm in the form of explosives, Tsuna interrupted their conversation with ease. With his Hyper-Intuition, he's been able to notice when things would get violent and divert the incoming disaster. But it took weeks of practice and several encounters with a certain Disciplinary Officer who bit them to death for disrupting the peace.
"Calm down, Gokudera-kun. We're already at school," Tsuna said as they stood in front of the gate.
Tsuna felt that the day was even longer than yesterday as he sat through his classes. If it weren't for the coffee that Cielo force-fed him this morning, he was sure he would have fallen asleep halfway through his morning classes. Right now, he was barely awake as he took notes for his last class for the day. As soon as the bell rung, signaling the end of classes, he could have jumped for joy, if he weren't so tired. But that didn't stop him from grinning at the thought of sleeping on his bed again.
As he packed his notebooks in his bag, he groaned, remembering that Fuuta was absent. And exam period was just around the corner. He sighed as he made his way out of the room, where Gokudera and Yamamoto were waiting.
As soon as they were out of the gates, Tsuna turned to the opposite direction of his house, making Gokudera exclaim, "Where are you going, Jyudaime?"
"I need to get notes for Fuuta," he replied tiredly as he faced his two friends. 'That's what brothers do after all,' he mentally added. "You guys can go ahead," he said out of habit. But he already knew the answer before he offered.
"I'll follow you anywhere, Jyudaime," was Gokudera's eager response.
"I'll come along too! I haven't been there for ages. I wonder if there's anything new there," was Yamamoto's excited answer.
"Thank you," Tsuna said with an honest smile. For some reason, he knew that his friends wouldn't leave his side no matter what and he was grateful for their unconditional support.
He was lucky that he found one of Fuuta's classmates, a girl who visited their house a few times. He was doubly lucky that the girl seemed to have a crush on Fuuta and was eager to lend her notes to Tsuna and let him copy them for Fuuta. In fact, she even helped copy her own notes for Fuuta.
Tsuna didn't remember that he had this much notes in one day when he was in elementary, since even Gokudera and Yamamoto were helping out. 'But then, I was Dame back then. Even up to now,' he mentally said to himself as he copied her English notes. 'But maybe not so much,' he added with a grin.
As they were about to finish copying the notes, the door opened revealing the head of the Disciplinary Committee. "Herbivores," he said, earning a surprised and fearful gasp from the elementary student while Gokudera glared at the newcomer. Yamamoto just grinned at his upperclassman while Tsuna groaned, just wanting his day to finally end.
"You're loitering after school," Hibari continued, reciting out of memory the rule they broke from the handbook. Ever since he entered high school, even though he's just a freshman, he took it upon himself and his committee to impose discipline in all three schools. "I will bite you to death."
And then he gave that look to Tsuna, ignoring the rest of the people in the room. It was the look that Hibari has been giving him ever since they returned from the future. It was as if Hibari was looking for something in Tsuna and couldn't find it in him.
Usually, Tsuna would just ignore it or cringe under the gaze because he knew there was really nothing that would interest Hibari in him. But his lack of sleep affected his usual temperance when it came to such things. He was tired of all the mind games he's been put through for the day. From the nightmare that he can barely remember yet chills him to the bone to Cielo's bipolar attitude and odd question and right now at Hibari's piercing gaze. He just wanted to go back home and not deal with any of this anymore.
"Then bite me, Hibari-san," Tsuna answered back and glared at his upperclassman straight in his eyes. This action surprised everyone, including the usually stoic disciplinarian. His brow was raised as he wore a smirk.
Fuuta's classmate was gaping because no one answered back to the Hibari Kyouya and lived to tell the tale. And yet her scrawny upperclassman was not only answering back but was also glaring at him.
Yamamoto let out a low whistle at Tsuna's newfound confidence while Gokudera was both proud that his boss could stand up to the strongest Vongola guardian and at the same time scared because if Hibari attacked, there was no way he was letting Tsuna get hurt. But Hibari wasn't the strongest guardian for nothing.
"You have fangs, herbivore," Hibari said as he turned around and walked away without bringing out his tonfas.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsuna said to Hibari's retreating back, making him stop in his tracks.
"And what is that, herbivore?"
"My name," was Tsuna's irritated reply. "I have one too, so use it, Hibari-san." Hibari said nothing as he left the room.
AN: And here is the next chapter~ Two weeks late, but ah well. It's not my fault (well it is, kinda), but school butted in and my life went to hell with the examinations and stuff.
And to my anonymous reviewer z: Thank you for reviewing. X3 And your votes, even though I'm too lazy to keep track of them. Not that I don't listen to your opinions of course. This story's going to be long and a mentor-fic. Slash will be in another fic, a companion fic most probably in Cielo's POV. But I'll probably start on that when I'm finished with this or when it's summertime (for me). And I'm really sorry that I'm using my reply to your review as an announcement to the rest of the people who are reading (if they're reading) the AN.
Um, other notes~ apparently votes don't matter coz I've decided already on what I'm gonna do with the fic. Kinda. But I'd still love to hear from you people nonetheless. X3 And I refuse to apologize but I do acknowledge that Tsuna was mostly OOC in this chapter, but he was sleepy, hence cranky. He's kinda like me when I'm lacking sleep, but I'm much much worse. Next chapter (which will be most probably sometime in February so expect it in March XP), he'll revert back to his Dame-ness. But he'll grow and change throughout the fic, but that's something you should have expected since this is a mentor-fic.
But if you think any other character were OOC, please inform me and I'll do my best to fix it.
Since I promised one month, the story is about 33 chapters because a month is about four weeks or 30 days and the whole timeline of the fic will be 32 days (chapters 1 and 2 are the same day). To make it easier for you people to imagine the timeline, chapters 1 and 2 happened on July 17, 2011. So this chapter is Monday, July 18, 2011. And the most probable date for when this fic will end will be on August 17, 2011. Don't worry too much about it, I'll put a timeline in every chapter in the AN. Just to clear up the days and dates.
And can you believe that this started out as a filler chapter? That's another reason why it took me so long to type, coz I hate fillers. But it doesn't feel like a filler to me, so I don't mind it much anymore. Do expect filler chapters or time jumps if I don't feel like I can write the day/chapter properly.
And as you can see, I'm a very talkative person and it shows in my fic since I put a lot of emphasis in their conversations. I'm also a very family-oriented person and that also shows. XP
Questions, comments, suggestions, and anything else you would like to tell me is love. So don't forget to review. XD
P.S. I'd love if you give suggestions on what the characters can talk/argue about. Like Gokudera and Yamamoto. X3