Sorry for being late with the update everyone.
I was stuck in an alternate dimension that wouldn't let me out unless I completed its trials. I didn't get the thing I wanted at the end though *cry*, but hopefully I will the next time I get sucked in.
This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, so the next one should be longer. Thanks for all the support everyone! Also, some of you are speculating what might happen or what might not. I'll keep it a pleasant surprise *wink*.
Title is from a song by the band Rascal Flatts.
Chapter 6 - What hurts the most
Tsuna yawned and looked up. The ceiling was white and clear. Last night was bothersome to him. He didn't really want to use his Dying Will Flames, but if he hadn't, Hibari would have been critically injured.
Truthfully he didn't really care about the Triad or what they would have done if Hibari died. Baron would fix things like he always did for Tsuna, and for Tsuna only. No one else in the Famiglia had the same privilege. "If only they knew why," Tsuna thought somberly.
Tsuna didn't care for the Triad, but he hated it when people died. It was his weakness and bane. Tsuna had killed before, but each and every time he felt a little bit of his Dying Will Flames scratch at his chest. Maybe that was the reason that his chest looked like one similar to a tortured man?
Still, even if Hibari died, his flames wouldn't have scratched his chest. He didn't save Hibari because he feared his Dying Will Flames, he saved Hibari because Hibari had sad eyes, eyes almost as sad as his own. Sure, the school prefect wouldn't show it to anyone, but Tsuna could see right through most people. Hibari wasn't a bad person.
He gazed at the empty ceiling, just as Tsuna liked it. It reflected how his heart sometimes looked like.
"Mom likes me better you idiot," Tezuka yelled in their shared room.
"She loves us both Tezuka, stop being so mean!" Tsuna cried with hurt in his voice.
"Ha," his brother stood, "tell that to your imaginary friends, mom always leaves you behind and takes me to the playground," Tezuka opened the door, slammed it and left Tsuna crying.
When was it that Tsuna's chest stopped aching at that memory? He didn't feel anything actually, just hollow.
"So are you done decoding the files Shoichi-san?" Tsuna asked as he yawned again from his position on the black colored couch.
"You can just call me Shoichi, Tsunayoshi," Shoichi said as he didn't remove his gaze from a laptop in front of him. A thin cable attached a small hard drive to the laptop. Shoichi was typing away, hundreds of letters per second if Tsuna could hear correctly.
"Well, stop calling me by my full name then Shoichi-san," he made emphasis on the suffix as he stretched and sat straight on the couch.
It was only two weeks ago since they had met Irie Shoichi. Shoichi lived in the same apartment as they did.
"Senpai, hurry up, I want to eat," Fran said as he waited impatiently next to their apartment building.
Tsuna sighed, "if you didn't' eat so much, we wouldn't have to go to the grocery store today, or wait in that endless line to pay for our groceries," Fran stuck out his tongue, "do that again and I might decide not to make you any dinner tonight," Tsuna was tired from working in the laboratory all day, if Fran didn't beg him to go to the grocery store with him to help buy 'whatever ingredients you need to make your delicious meals senpai', he would have probably stayed in the lab to continue his work on the weird gun that Baron stole from the Bovino family. Fran was horrible with lists, so knowing him, he probably would have forgotten to buy half the supplies Tsuna needed to make dinner for tonight.
"Senpai, I didn't mean it," the eleven year old said as he looked at Tsuna with puppy dog eyes.
"Fine," Tsuna was no match for Fran's 'look at my cuteness' eyes.
Just as Tsuna was about to open the building's front door while Fran held the grocery supplies in a large bag, something slammed into Tsuna making him fall.
"Ouch, what was that?" Tsuna asked surprised.
"I'm really sorry, please don't hurt me!" A boy with red hair and glasses said in panic as he bowed repeatedly in apology.
That was how he met Irie Shoichi. It wasn't until he invited the boy in and left him in the living room with Fran to get them something to drink, that he discovered a remarkable skill that Shoichi had.
He was a genius in anything to do with technology.
Tsuna came back with enough drinks for the three of them when he noticed Shoichi working on Tsuna's broken phone. Tsuna left the phone on the living room table before going to the kitchen.
"Here you go Tsunayoshi-san, as good as new," Shoichi said before he bowed again as Tsuna looked at his previously broken phone, "I'm sorry for breaking it earlier when I made you fall!"
Later on Tsuna and Fran would discover how incredible Shoichi was with programming and hacking.
Lollypop had encrypted the data that Fran managed to get from the school. Instead of waiting for Lollypop to give the decryption key, which could take at least a day because of Lollypop's other responsibilities in the Famiglia, Tsuna gave Shoichi a call. Ten minutes later Shoichi knocked on their door and five minutes later Shoichi was breaking down each and every firewall that Lollypop had set.
"Now I'm done Tsuna," Tsuna was both happy that Shoichi finally called him Tsuna and that the data was accessible.
"Good job Shoichi," the redhead beamed at that, "now scoop," Tsuna nudged the boy aside and set his eyes on the screen.
There were many files. Schedules for students and teachers, student/teacher personal information such as address and phone number, student/teacher history , birth certificates, grades, budgets, members of the board and much more. Lollypop outdid himself this time, but what Tsuna was really looking for was stored in a folder called 'Vongola Japan'. He clicked on it and saw other folders and files appear.
He looked around, frowning sometimes. There were copies of letters sent between the Ninth boss of Vongola, Timoteo and Reborn, even ones between his father and Timoteo. He opened one that was sent just after Tsuna had died.
October 22, 2002
Dear Iemitsu,
I send my grievance for your son's death once again. I can only tell you to stay strong one father to another.
I know that you don't want to come back to lead the CEDEF again, but I ask you to reconsider. Lal Mirch is threatening to go to Japan and drag you back to your office. Oregano approves of her actions and wants to join in. Turmeric is adjusting to his new position in CEDEF, but still wants you back.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
Timoteo
Tsuna widened his eyes in shock. He knew that Iemitsu lived in Japan since Tsuna had left, but to actually leave CEDEF completely? He didn't believe it. How could a man that only visited every three years actually care enough about a son dying?
He opened the next file.
October 26, 2002
Dear Nono,
Thank you for your soothing words.
With Tsuna away, I don't know how much longer I can stay sane. He was so young. Sometimes when I open the boy's bedroom, no, Tezuka's bedroom, I see Tsuna sleeping in his bed. But he's never going to sleep in that bed again. I won't have that room completely empty.
Tezuka and Nana are my top priority. I will die protecting them if I have to.
The rest of CEDEF won't be bothering you anymore. I've sent them all a message. Lal Mirch will probably protest, but she won't come after me anymore.
Yours dearly,
Sawada Iemitsu
"Impossible," Tsuna gaped at his father's words.
"Senpai?" Fran looked at him curiously over the white table in the living room. Shoichi sat beside him quietly. Tsuna chose to ignore them as he saw more files that he wanted to read.
It was a while later, Fran gone to his own room and Shoichi having already left for dinner with his mother and sister, that Tsuna breathed more easily.
He finished reading all letters between his father and Timoteo, and even to this day his father, to his surprise, was still mourning Tsuna. He was mentioned less and less in each letter, until only once every few years. The last one was this year, about two weeks before his arrival.
August 27, 2010
Dear Nono,
It's almost eight years since Tsuna died. In two weeks he would have been sitting in class with his brother, but it wasn't meant to be. I have a large scar in my heart that's healed, but it's still there. Only Tsuna can heal that scar, but Tsuna-fish isn't here anymore.
You asked me how Nana and Tezuka are doing. Nana is still in the hospital. Ever since Tsuna died she hasn't been herself. Maybe if I saw how depressed she became a few years after Tsuna's death, I would have been able to help.
Tezuka is his usual self. He never shows being sad about his brother or mother, he never talks about his brother either. We made the right decision when we named him your successor. A boss who doesn't waver is better for the Famiglia.
How is Xanxus doing? I know that you released him from his punishment after the 'Crib' incident a year ago. You made him Varia's leader, so maybe that has cooled down his anger. I still don't know why he's so angry most of the time. You don't suppose that he knows?
In any case, take care of yourself Nono, you're not getting any younger you know.
Yours dearly,
Sawada Iemitsu
Tsuna cursed. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to happen at all. His father was supposed to be the jerk who never cared about his family. And his mother was supposed to be the devoid and emotionless woman towards Tsuna. Instead his father cared for him after all, and his mother…His mother was hospitalized.
He wanted to close the laptop and take a long walk in the park, but then he noticed a folder on the screen that caught his interest. He opened it and saw many files. One file made him widen his eyes in disbelief when he opened it.
"No way," he whispered shocked.