Oh my! I am happy to receive such positive reviews from guys! :D I may not be as good as her but I am glad that it is going smooth!
Disclaimer: I do not own KHR! It belongs to Amano Akira-sama
Please enjoy this chapter~
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Chapter 14: Thank you
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3:13 a.m.—that was the time they started to move. The earlier they move, the faster things get done. Tsuna's class, along with their respective guardians, simultaneously snuck out of their rooms. All of them gave understanding nods as they tip-toed to where they were supposed to be. The rain, storm, sun, and lighting were in-charge of the party while the groups, mist and cloud, were responsible for the paperworks.
From the looks of it, Varia had left for dear life. Sadistic Tsuna was a not-so-great person to encounter. Last time they saw that was when he was really pissed-off but perhaps that was just the stress from the everyday happenings in his life.
Kyoko and Haru walked in the group, smiling that the class was really serious of doing something for Tsuna for a change. It was still dark out but their flashlights proved them right.
"So… how do we start..?" One of the students asked.
Fondly smiling, Kyoko answered, "First, we go to the rooms we are supposed to be." She stood in between Hibari and Mukuro, "Hibari-sempai and Mukuro-san's groups will follow me."
"And the rest will follow Haru desu!" the eccentric brunette finished.
They nodded and parted their ways.
-WITH Haru-
Their flashlights went round and round the area. They were definitely curious of what was what when it was dark.
Gokudera stood beside Haru as they ventured to the kitchen. The hall was creepily quiet as they passed by—only the whispers coming from the lightning, rain, storm and sun group. The two couple exchanged glances when they finally stopped at their destination: the kitchen.
In front of them stood the very familiar door they had seen every breakfast, lunch and supper—the kitchen door. Haru was first to enter, gesturing the rest to enter. A long table was at the center with ovens underneath. Two sinks at the opposite sides of the room were seen, different utensils could be retrieved in one of those drawers and cabinets, the stoves were aligned in a single file at the right, and the ingredients could be found at the huge double-door refrigerator at the left.
People had to stare and awe at the sight (refrigerator actually). It was so big and it most definitely has tons of food and delicacies!
Gokudera cleared his throat, effectively catching the attentions of the company, "Now that we are here, let's start!"
He was replied with not-so-loud shouts of 'OH!' as they proceeded with what they were supposed to do. Those who can cook go with Haru; the rest will be in-charge of the decorations.
-WITH Kyoko-
It was a seriously dead quiet walk to Tsuna's office. They could see that their idol, Kyoko Sasagawa was oblivious around the tense atmosphere. No one would dare say a word. Hibari and Mukuro were busy trying to ignore their own bloodlust towards one another. Remember! We are doing this for Tsunayoshi-kun/that omnivore.
Kyoko suddenly stopped on her tracks and turned around—now facing the group, "Shhh." She said, "We're going to pass Tsu-kun's room." Collective nods were given as a reply. They started to tip-toe on their way, as silent as an assassin—like how they were trained.
The idol made a gesture to hurry up if they don't want any more things to happen. The groups finally got pass the boss' room, and they went back to walking normally. The mist and cloud group—with the exception of their leaders—smiled at one another. Sneaking around like this was certainly fun alright.
"Ne, Kyoko-san… Sawada-san said that we will leave tomo—err… today, at what time?" Osamu whispered.
"Ahh… We can go anytime really…" Kyoko answered, "—Oh. We're here." She said, showing the huge oak door with the crest of the Vongola. Absent-mindedly opening it—which Kyoko immediately regretted of doing—the door creaked about, with its sounds echoing through the hallways with an eerie value.
Multiple sweat drops formed on the heads of every one present, which also includes face-palms from some. On instinct, they all snapped their heads to Tsuna's door… No one's going out. Good.
Kyoko slowly turned around with an apologetic face, "I'm so sorry…" Then she turned back to the office, turning on the lights since she's usually in this place.
Everyone seemed to find new respect for their boss. His office was clean. Very, VERY clean. It was hard to notice that that clean thing they were seeing was stacks of papers. So this is what kept Tsuna busy all day long. No wonder he was always in a bad mood every time he was free. Kyoko seemed to be perfectly fine but the people behind her inaudible gulped.
Hibari and Mukuro took a step back, but felt a power grip on their wrists, "Maa, we don't want Tsu-kun to suffer anymore, right?" The auburn haired girl sweetly, yet dangerously asked.
"Kufufu… I suppose so…"
"Hn."
"Sasagawa-san… uhh… any idea of what those papers contain..?" Hibiki carefully asked.
Kyoko finally loosened her grip on the two element leaders and went to the Tsuna's work desk. She didn't bother to turn around as she explained, "These paperworks are all from everyone's hard work. They contain bills, repairs, requests, and your names." The girl turned around, now holding a random paper. It contained a request form for the repairs. It was very detailed so to speak.
"Uhh… Why do the papers contain our names?" Osamu then inquired. He looked around, and saw that his fellow classmates had the same thought.
"It's for the insurance that everyone's relatives are not to be harmed. Tsu-kun has the power to do that. He was guilty for forcing everyone to join the mafia, so he did this in exchange."
"B-But why did he have to do this?!" Ichigo stammered, "He didn't have to feel guilty! I wasn't anyone's fault—"
"It was ultimately Tsu-kun's fault—that's what he said to me. I tried to say the same thing, but he just wouldn't budge." Kyoko interjected, "But when I stopped and think about it. He was right. Your families need to have insurance so that the mafia won't go after them."
It was silent yet again. How were they going to thank their boss when he has already done so many? Tsuna had protected their lives (Before then, they were constantly bullying the guy) and he managed to pass ignore those things. And now, he was making a move to protect their families. Tsuna was beyond compare. He is too nice for his own good.
Hibari started to go in the office, grabbing his own pen from his pocket and lifted a stack, "If you don't move, I'll bite you to death." He threatened. They immediately got the message behind his words and grabbed their own stacks.
"Kufufu, before anyone gets excited, me and Skylark-kun are the only ones who can sign the paper, the rest of you are assigned to sorting duty." Mukuro reminded.
"Ne, Hibari-sempai, Mukuro-san, please keep an eye on everything while I check on Haru-chan."
"Oya, oya, ordering us now? Fine, we'll keep an eye."
After that, Kyoko left the office and to the kitchen. It was a quiet walk to the kitchen and she feeling a bit tired. 3 am was an early time to get up but knowing Tsuna, he should be up by five or six, so the earlier the better. As she entered the dining room, she saw a faint light at the opening of the door to the kitchen.
As she got closer, she heard some laughter and some bickering inside. Opening it, she saw a nice fondue cake resting at the center of the table, the girls were giggling at Lambo's attempt of stealing a bite and Gokudera cursing and stopping the cow child from doing so. Kyoko took the chance to enter the place.
"AH! Kyoko-chan! Just in time desu! Help me get Lambo-chan to sleep before he really gets a bite!" Haru exclaimed, in a happy yet panicky (?) manner.
Kyoko immediately complied and got the cow child into her arms.
"Haha! Lambo seems to be hyper!" Yamamoto commented as he went to the crowd.
"BAKA! The stupid cow is being cranky!" Gokudera hissed.
"AHH! LAMBO-SAN WANTS CAKE! LET GO!" Lambo wailed effortlessly.
"Shhh, Lambo-kun, little ones need to sleep, or else you won't grow. Don't you want to grow Lambo-kun?" The orangette said to the cow child.
Lambo immediately shook his head, "Lambo-san needs to grow to defeat Reborn!"
"Ja, be a good boy and go to sleep."
"HAI!"
Second later, Lambo was already in a deep slumber. Everyone finally let out a breath. That child was literally a handful.
"Hahi, Arigatou Kyoko-chan." Haru thanked in a tired way.
Kyoko nodded in reply, cradling Lambo in her arms. Everyone finally went back to their own business. The food was almost done and the decorations were ready and to be up for display. She watched everyone on action. Everything was going smooth as planned. Turning to the wall clock, it was already 4:45. Tsuna might wake up in a few minutes!
The girl got out her phone and texted Tsuna's best friend, Enma.
Tsuna might wake up around this time! Please stall him as long as you can!
SENT
Kyoko just hoped that Enma would take action. She went out of the room, telling that she was just going to place Lambo in a bed as she did so. There were a few dull rays of light, indicating that the sun was finally showing up. The nearest room was Tsuna's room, and she had to place Lambo in a bed as soon as possible so she could give a lending hand for their surprise.
She jogged to the room and found Enma, getting ready for something. She saw the red head got to HDW mode, his gauntlets formed and rings formed from his eyes. She saw Enma mutter something as the gravitational rings went inside Tsuna's room. A few seconds later…
"HIIEEE!"
That was the only time Kyoko ran to Enma's side then peeked at the opening of the door. Much to her surprise, it was Tsuna, who was pinned to the bed thanks to Enma's gravitational rings. She saw the brunet struggling up to no avail.
"What is this?! AN ENEMY?! AAAHHHH!"
Tsuna continued to shout, and then he directed his eyes to his ring, "NATSU!" Sky flames flared out of Tsuna's ring and out appeared a sky cub, "Gao." He greeted.
"FIND THE PERSON WHO IS DOING THIS!"
The lion cub 'Gao-ed' again before running out of his room.
Enma had long ran for his life the moment Tsuna shouted 'Find the person who is doing this'. His job was to stall after all.
Going back, Kyoko deeply inhaled, mentally preparing herself for entering.
With a smile, she entered, "Ohayo, Tsu-kun, can I drop Lambo-kun here?" She asked, ignorant of the fact that fact was staying still in an embarrassing position due to struggling. The girl went to Tsuna's bed and placed Lambo beside.
"A-re, Tsu-kun… why are you in that position?"
Tsuna had his shirt up, showing his abdomen and a part of his chest; his two legs were folded, making his whole body arch up. Kyoko suddenly flushed red, "I-I-I am so sorry for interrupting you!"
"WAIT! NO KYOKO-CHAN—"
"I-I-I didn't know you were into something like this!"
"PLEASE LISTEN—"
"It's alright, Tsu-kun! I can understand that you have to do something like that!"
"I AM NOT—"
"No, don't explain, as your fiancée, I completely understand… BYE!" The girl left the vicinity.
"WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME!?"
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Kyoko felt sorry, at the same time embarrassed. Sorry, for ignoring the rings surrounding him; embarrassed, because she actually thought of that kind of… well, you know it. The girl ran as fast as she can, and reached the kitchen. The dining room was already being decorated with streamers and of sorts. Ryohei was carrying a whole box filled with them. Yamamoto was holding a table cloth for the table, of course.
The Sun group held up various designs to brighten up the room. The maids and butlers available also lend a hand. The Rain group had table accessories and fresh flowers picked from the garden—a variation of Hydrangeas, Roses, Bluebells, Yellow bells, Tulips, Pansies, and other pretty flowers out there. They set up the table as nice as possible. The lightning group coordinated with the two groups while Gokudera ordered them around—and of course showed some things to be done afterward.
The food was almost done and it was practically mouth-watering. Large portions of food lay at the center table—to be served out to the dining room. All of the people who could cook shared their ways of presenting a dish. They giggled from time to time when they said something in common. Some had fun while teaching Chrome some new dishes. All in all, it was lively inside.
From the back door, Fuuta, Nana, and Bianchi went inside the kitchen, "Ohayo, minna." Nana greeted, "Everyone seems to be early today~" She commented.
"We're here to help!" Fuuta exclaimed with a huge smile on his face.
"I'll be adding some of my own foods too…" Bianchi said.
"HAHI! THAT WOULD GREAT DESU!" Haru shouted by the counter as she finished the last details on the cake, "I'm done on this side, desu!"
"Same here, Haru-san!" Misaki shouted back.
Haru took this as a yes that all preparations were finished. The eccentric brunette skipped out of the kitchen and coincidentally bumped into Gokudera, "Hahi! I'm so sorry, desu! Anyways! Haru says that all preparations are done desu!"
"We've got bigger problems! Juudaime is headed here and fast! Now get everyone to move the food out while Sasagawa-san distracts him!"
"Ha-HAI! DESU!"
Haru went barging back inside the kitchen, shouting, "MINNA-SAAANN! GET THE FOOD TO THE TABLE DESUU! HE'S COMING!"
Everyone suddenly went on a rampage, grabbing the nearest plate and rushed outside. They had to make it a displayable appearance at the table or it won't be such a good sight. The flower vases were place at the table containing the flowers from awhile ago. The huge turkey was first placed at the middle. Three large plates of pasta were evenly placed at the table, followed by two bowls of carbonara.
The others helped by placing plates for each chair, and a cupcake for each. They elegantly folded table napkins to go along the plates, and spoons, forks, knives, and a goblet for the water.
"OI! CAN SOMEONE GET ME THE NAILS AND HAMMER?!" Oga shouted as the banner almost fell from his grasp.
They were seriously being time pressured and it was nerve-wrecking. Gokudera handed the nails and hammer to him but fell from his shaking hands, earning a curse from the element leader of the Storm group.
"AAHH! I we're short on streamers!"
"I WILL EXTREMELY MAKE ANOTHER SET! DORYAA!" Ryohei grabbed his pair of scissors and began cutting another set.
CRASH!
Some water goblets fell from the tray held by Saotome, "O-Oh God… I'm sorry! I'm usually not this clumsy!"
"Don't mind it desu! Just clean this up!"
They fretted over so many things and they prayed that Kyoko can hold him for a little longer. Their hearts raced as if they were being chased by something—in this case, TIME.
"Oi! Close the damn curtains!" Gokudera commended.
Kiyoteru, Gakupo, Michi, and Takao closed them immediately and went to using their flames for light. The place was suddenly lit up with another color. (Red, blue and yellow)
How they wish time could stop, or at least slow down. The banner was finally up, the shattered glass was already cleaned, the food was already placed at the table, and the ones who used their flames took this as the signal to finally closed the lights.
Now it was dim in the dining room. Everyone went quiet as they waited for their boss to come in.
"Wait, Tsu-kun!"
"Come on, Kyoko-chan, I have to eat breakfast first before I finish the rest of my paperworks!"
"Why can't stay in bed for a little longer?!"
"I don't need to! I can do that if I have my free time."
Tsuna entered the dining room—and Kyoko immediately covered his eyes and closed the door behind them before removing her hands. On cue, Gokudera signaled the class to do something special.
In the dark dining room, Lucy lit her ring, it was sparkling green, and she enlarged it, making it a lot more visible to the brunet. She started to move about, and after images of the flame's path was seen. Tsuna's eyes stayed glued to the moving flame. The lightning flame suddenly split into two, then four. The four lightning flames were suddenly replaced by sparkling yellow flames and one flame was at the middle. The two flames flicked alternate then came a calm blue flame that circled the two now steady flames. Not long enough, red storm flames came flaring out of nowhere, and joined the rain flames. All four flames went into a circle and they slowly approached one another until it was just one mixed flame at the center. It grew larger and larger and larger, until it flickered out—then exploded into a mini firework.
With a contented smile, Gokudera lit his own flame, same did Yamamoto and Ryohei. Out of instinct, Tsuna lit his sky flames. All flames were full of resolution, burning fiercely and purely. Tsuna stuck his right hand, where his ring was, forward, and he saw something react to his flames. They were circular in shape… were they rings..? But from who..?
For some reason Tsuna was yet to know, he felt like tearing up. All four flames slowly resided and the people by the curtains opened them, allowing the light to enter.
The first thing that entered Tsuna's eyes was the huge banner found at the top part, infront of him. It had a huge 'THANK YOU!' at the middle and some personal messages coming from his classmates and friends. The table infront of him was tons of mouth-watering foods.
The brunet instantly turned around, "W-Why did you have to do this..?" He stammered.
The people took this as if he was offended, "Ju-Juudaime, you don't like it..?"
On cue, the mist and cloud group quietly entered the place; they wanted to ask something but the atmosphere proved them to do it some other time. Mukuro and Hibari took note of Tsuna's expression as it continued.
Tsuna remained silent, shoulders shivering… Was he mad? Angry? Or maybe furious?
They waited for the brunet to answer and it finally came out, "I wasn't ready for this really…"
"Why would you say that?!" Gokudera shouted, earning a flinch from his boss.
"T-THEY HATE ME RIGHT?! I DRAGGED THEM INTO THIS WORLD! I HAVE ENDANGERED THEIR LIVES FOR ALL I KNOW!" Tsuna shouted. "I don't even think that I deserve something like this coming from them…" He whispered but loud enough to be heard.
"WHY WOULD WE EVEN HATE YOU, HUH?!" Osamu shouted, much to Tsuna's surprise. "You saved our butts the first time, and we weren't even aware of who you really are… If anyone had to hate someone… Wouldn't you be the one who should resent us?"
"He's right!" Yuki shouted. "We bullied you daily for all I know. You were always the center for that, remember!? It's quite the opposite if you think that we hate you!"
Tsuna flinched yet again. God, it was getting hard to handle his emotions.
"Well, as your teacher, I know I have been harsh and embarrass you infront of the school body, so even I know that you are to resent me in some way…" Nezu admittedly blurted out.
"Sasagawa-san told me that you even went through the trouble of insuring the lives of our families, who do you think in the right mind would do that to the people who had constantly bullied him every day?" Hibiki reasoned out.
"Kyoko-chan told you that..?" Tsuna slowly questioned.
"I did, Tsu-kun." Kyoko answered instead of Hibiki.
"Kufufu, I think it's quite clear now don't you think, Tsunayoshi-kun?" The brunet nodded.
He finally faced the whole class, eyes still hidden behind his fringes. Everyone anticipated what the brunet was going to say. They saw that his shoulders were still shivering—a bit violently this time though.
"We did this to say thank you, Sawada-san…" Kaeda spoke out.
"It's the opposite." Tsuna muttered out. Everyone suddenly felt tense of what Tsuna was going to say next. "If someone is going to say thank you… shouldn't it be me..?" His voice finally cracked and tears of joy flowed out. "Thank you, for saying that you didn't hate me! Thank you, for staying! Thank you, for being able to cope with me! AND THANK YOU… for accepting me…" He smiled with tears still flowing out.
Some managed to hold their own tears, but others didn't bother to hold them in—especially the last part. Accepting him as a boss and friend—that was one of the things Tsuna desired from his classmates when he was still in school… And now it was granted.
"We're still not done." Kyoko whispered, and led the brunet outside. They went to a very familiar path—to the brunet atleast. They found themselves standing infront of the brunet's office.
"K-Kyoko-chan… Don't tell me…"
"Quite the opposite." She opened the door to the office. All stacks of paper were equally divided inside the room. Tsuna scanned through them and they were all signed. Only the official papers that required Tsuna's signature was left on his desk.
"You mean—"
"Yes."
"And they—"
"They did."
"But why?"
"To say thank you."
Two surprises in one morning. The brunet smile whole heartedly for the efforts of everyone around; this was certainly his best, emotional day. Under the light, Tsuna's eyes shined even brighter with happiness. They went back to the dining room and ate. Perhaps this wasn't really bad.
From behind, Reborn smirked at the side lines, "Hn, a boss needs to earn his comrade's full trust. Not bad." His binoculars then morphed back into his chameleon, Leon. He smirked as he continue to sip on his morning espresso.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
-OMAKE!-
-Personal messages-
Tsuna and his gang was finish with eating breakfast. Kyoko and the other girls cleaned the table and the boys helped in cleaning the area. The banner was given to Tsuna and he read it while the rest was cleaning.
"YO! Did you know that this was Gokudera's idea! It was so great and the best part was that I get to write first! Here it goes! Thank you for always being with us, Tsuna. I hope everything would be the same in the future—Yamamoto Takeshi"
"When we get older, promise that you will never change. I love you the way you are—Sasagawa Kyoko"
"JUUDAIME! As your right-hand man, I will protect you even if it cost my life! Errr, of course I'll be careful not to waste it—Gokudera Hayato"
"LAMBO-SAN WILL BE A GOOD BOY!—Lambo-san"
"Kufufu, be aware that I shall be taking over your body when the time is right, Tsunayoshi-kun, kidding (I don't want to watch princess movies anymore, thank you—Rokudo Mukuro"
"Hn. If you ever lose, I'll bite you to death, omnivore—Hibari Kyoya."
"I promise to stay healthy, Bossu—Chrome Dokuro"
"Hey… uhh, look, I'm so sorry for being such a jerk to you—Osamu"
"It feels so weird that I work under you now… when you usually go by my rules. Say, I'm sorry for bullying you… friends?—Yuki Nagasaki"
"I never knew it until now… but you are actually cute! Ne, ne! When do you intend to cross-dress again!?—Saotome"
"I'm the one responsible for throwing you stuff out the window one time. Okay, so I was jealous that you and Sasagawa-san were close so I did that, sorry 'bout that bro. –Hibiki Kanzawa"
"I don't hold anything against you or anything but I just went 'go with the flow' and stuff, I'm so sorry if I ever did something that offended you.—Kaito."
"I never knew you were so cool until I saw you flying! Teach me how to do that sometimes!—Rumi Amato"
"When you are in a pinch, don't hesitate to call for help.—Ichigo Kurosaki"
"HI! Okay… weird hehe. When the time comes, can you teach me your cool moves?!—Kagome Kaeda"
Tsuna smiled at the messages, but as much as he wanted to read the rest, duty calls. Perhaps while they're on the way to Rome, maybe he'd have the time to read the rest. He folded the banner with the smile still plastered on his face. He was still grateful.
.
.
.
"Thank you so much…"
-OMAKE-
-end-
I have no idea if this was early or late. I find parents to be slave drivers why..? I am always ordered around, that's why. But here's my real question:
How did you find this chapter?
Oh yeah, I don't know when to update next, I have this stupid book report that contains 300+ pages. Alpha male fixed this for me, anything else that you see if off, is my fault.
-Review?
-Ciao~!