Trigger: N/A
Important Info: N/A
I lied. Boredom in combination that I was more or less done packing resulted in finishing this chapter just before I left for my trip. (Normally it would have taken me another week to finish this chapter). So enjoy!
Redefine What I Know
Ayame miserably poured herself a cup of tea. The house was quiet; majority of itself occupants still asleep. She glanced over to the living room where Gokudera was still asleep on the couch. The boy never left after yesterday; something about the minute he had woken up from his nap, the bomber had fainted upon seeing his sister's face. It was already late, so Tsuna had tossed a blanket over him and let him sleep.
Speaking of Tsuna, there was something different about him. Ayame had been too exhausted to put a finger on it yesterday during dinner, but hours later in the early morning, she had noticed something had… changed. She shelved the thought for later.
It was too bloody early in the morning to be pondering on such thoughts.
Rubbing her eyes, she gave her tea cup a swirl, letting the brown liquid spin within the cup. She felt exhausted, but compared to yesterday though, this was definitely well rested. Honestly, Ayame always had issues with sleep, but over the last two months, it was getting increasingly difficult to get a good night's rest. "Probably juggling too many things in the air," she muttered to herself.
Reborn's arrival in Namimori had heralded a storm of chaos.
"They say it's dangerous to multitask."
Ayame looked down to see Fon standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
The Storm Arcobaleno jumped onto the counter and pulled out the new red cup with monkeys on it out of the cupboard. He then leapt over to the kitchen table, holding out the cup. Ayame compiled, pouring the tea into the cup.
"It is -" Ayame glanced over to the clock to confirm the time. "3:24 in the morning. Why are you up?"
"No particular reason," Fon said. "I should ask the same of you."
Ayame shrugged. "I slept all day yesterday. Is it really odd that I'm awake right now?"
Fon nodded in agreement. "No, I suppose not. Though it is rather worrisome that you slept for so long yesterday. You have not been getting enough sleep?"
"I never really do," Ayame causally admitted. "How did your conversation with Kyoya go?"
Fon shrugged, mirroring Ayame's earlier actions. "He hasn't chased me out of Namimori yet… but this is the most willing he's been in my presence since learning about my connection to the Triads." Fon paused, looking at Ayame with a wary expression. The atmosphere became tense and heavy. "And one day we need to sit and talk about how exactly you knew that information. I have not forgotten about that despites your attempts to divert my attention elsewhere." Then like dying storm, the tension cleared and the atmosphere lightened once more. "But I'm not so cruel to question you so early in the morning," Fon said.
Tilting her head in observation, Ayame examined the Storm Arcobaleno with a critical eye. "Fascinating," she mumbled.
"Hm?"
Ayame waved her hand dismissively. "There's a theory that I read somewhere about Dying Will Flames and personality traits. About how you can usually tell what type of Flame a person has, based on their personality. Suns are traditionally very happy or energetic, Clouds are often cold and aloof, Mists are natural liars and manipulators, Rains are easy going, Lightnings are eccentric, Storms are brash and hotheaded and Skies are arguably the friendliest. There are exceptions, of course. Just look at Reborn-san. While he has the ability to be happy or energetic, it very much contained and more along the lines of very controlled chaos."
Fon nodded in understanding. "You find it odd that I am not like other Storms then?"
Ayame scoffed. "No. I am well aware that you merely the eye of the storm. Calm in appearance, but still oh so very dangerous." Despite that acknowledgement, Fon was much easier to talk to, compared to Reborn. Probably because Fon wasn't so closely connected to Vongola, wasn't even that attached to Tsuna. Not like a certain baby hitman who was currently sleeping on Tsuna's chest upstairs.
"To be honest, I don't know that many Storms," Ayame said. Fon would make number five (or was it six) actually. "But yes, there was some merit in that explanation given the ones I do know do fit that description." She gestured to the sleeping Gokudera. "He hasn't awakened his flames yet, but I know they're there. Storm is his primary element, but he's got small waves of a few of the other ones."
Fon looked at her, curious. "What Flame type are you?"
A smile twisted on Ayame's face. Sensing Flames wasn't that hard of a skill to obtain, but it usually took time to gain mastery over it. Not to mention unlike other skills where you started small and worked your way up to big, the sensitivity worked in an opposite direction. That was, one would be able to sense the biggest, brightest and uncontrolled Flames first before being able to sense someone whose Flames wasn't even unlocked yet.
Locked flames, of course, were in reference to people like Gokudera, who had the potential to use Dying Will Flames, but haven't activated the ability yet. Hypothetically, they were no different from a normal civilian at this level. In Tsuna's case, he was suppressing his active Dying Will Flames, tying it down with precise control that Giotto had taught him. A person with good control over their Flames would be able to relatively suppress their Flames down to the same level as a person with locked Flames. This was why Reborn did not know about Tsuna's Flames upon arrival to Namimori.
Fon and Reborn, despite being years older than Ayame thanks to being cursed into an infant's body, neither had the ability sense Locked Flames. Both Reborn and Fon could only sense flames being actively used within a set range distance. In fact, if Ayame had to guess 1 out of 100 people would ever reach the level of sensing Locked Flames. She suspected Nono could or was at least probably very close.
There were, however, machines and tests that could determine a person's Dying Will Flames type. Vongola's finest technicians had discovered that a couple decades ago. It made for a captivating read once Ayame had stumbled on that information. The genetic component of Dying Will Flames and how types are usually passed down from family member to member. Very riveting. Ayame had found the analysis reports Reborn had requested of… practically everyone with Ienari's age group, no doubt trying to find suitable candidates for Guardians. It was from these tests and machines that the theory between Dying Will Flames and personality traits had come from.
"I don't have a Flame type," Ayame answered. She held up her hand, forestalling the confused questions Fon was about to ask.
The reason for Fon's confusion was simple. The ability to sense Flames was a passive ability that was gained upon unlocking and activating one's Flame for the first time. If she didn't have a Flame type, it stood to reason that Ayame did not have Dying Will Flames and thus did not have the ability to sense Flames. Indubitably, Ayame's ability to sense Locked Flames had to do more with her… ah sensitivity than having Dying Will Flames, but Fon didn't need to know that.
Thankfully, there was a nice logical explanation.
"I read Reborn's analysis report on the Dying Will Flames that everyone in Namimori has. No don't ask me how I got that information," Ayame said. She had already established that she could get her hands on hard-to-get information, might as well milk that idea for all it was worth. Plus it was the truth; she did read Reborn's analysis report. "Beside, the personality traits and meeting Bianchi-san gives you a pretty good idea what Flame type Gokudera-kun has. Flame types run in the family and while they aren't very strong, Bianchi has been confirmed to have Storm Flames."
"While they do tend to run in families, that does not guarantee Gokudera has Storm Flames. Yun and I were different Flame types," Fon said.
"The difference is your parents both had active Dying Will Flames," Ayame said. "In Gokudera-kun's case, only his father, whom he and Bianchi both share, has active Dying Will Flames, which are coincidentally Storm Flames. Actually, the last three paternal generations all had Storm Flames. On his mother's side, there wasn't anyone in the family who activated Dying Will Flames in the last three maternal generations, except for a distant great-great-cousin who had Sun flames. Given those odds, it would be stranger for Gokudera-kun to be born with anything but Storm Flames."
Fon complemplated. "That is a fairly accurate assessment then. You are right, he is the embodiment of a Storm: Continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious Storm that never rests," he quoted.
Ayame nodded. "Yes." Morbidly, she continued, "If I hadn't known Flame types ran in the family and that Ienari was obviously a Sky, I would have originally put down his aggressive behavior a mark for Storm Flames. Not that you could tell from what little Flames he actually has."
"Well, that's understandable since his Flames are sealed," Fon remarked.
Ayame snapped to attention. "... What do you mean Ienari's Flames are sealed?"
Fon blinked, surprised. "You didn't know?" he asked, incredulously.
That was not a good sign. Considering what she knew about Dying Will Flames and how they functioned, Ayame didn't like the implications that were beginning to form in her head. Frowning, Ayame said, "No. I was not aware you could even seal Dying Will Flames."
"I do not know the method myself," Fon said. "It does not happen often as far as I know."
"Any known side effects?" Ayame asked.
"Not to my knowledge. Why?"
"I'll answer that in a minute. Do you know who sealed Ienari's Flames and why?" Ayame asked, pressing for more information. This was important, one of the missing pieces to the puzzle she had been trying to figure out since arriving in Namimori.
Fon stared at her questioningly.
"Please," Ayame asked.
"I do not know much about it. Just whatever Reborn had seen fit to share," Fon said, slowly. "The extent of what I know was Nono sealed Ienari's flame as a child. They trickle out slowly, leaking from the seal, but are active Flames nevertheless. Most cases I have heard of sealing a person's Flames are those who seek to leave the Mafia and Omerta is involved, but few ever succeed in that. There were a couple cases of extremely dangerous criminals. Sealing a child's Flames are usually not done unless they are completely overwhelmed by them and unable to control it. Most people much rather teach the child how to control their flames. I suspect the only reason why was Ienari's Flames were sealed were because of his civilian status. Had the tragedy of Nono's heirs not happened, neither Tsunayoshi or Ienari would be up for candidacy and would have continued on with their lives undisruptive."
Ayame paled, burying her face into her hands. By Inari-sama! That was! As a child?! She had spent the last five years operating under the assumption that Ienari had absolutely no Flames. That the recent swing of leaking of active Flames had to do with the fact that Reborn had somehow either managed to coax out Dying Will Flames buried so deep that she couldn't feel them or some sort of transfer process, like a blood transfusion, that managed to jumpstart the capacity that was in the Sawada bloodline.
There was only one record she found of Nono traveling to Japan and that was when the twins were five. If that was truly the only time the twins had met Nono, that meant Ienari's Flames had been sealed since age five! Five! Based on what Fon had just said and the fact that she had combed through Vongola's extensive research of Dying Will Flames, no one knew the bloody consequences of sealing (SEALING) Dying Will Flames. In. A. Child.
Damnit. She was starting to actually pity Ienari. If this was truly the case, it explained so much. It didn't excuse his behavior, but it did explain it.
Five years of on and off studying of Dying Will Flames and she still didn't know enough. She need to do research. Someone… somewhere had to have looked into the consequences of sealing Dying Will Flames, if only to confirm her own suspicions. Dying Will Flames had been around long enough that someone must have.
"Are you alright?" Fon asked, breaking her thought process. He looked at her with concerned eyes.
No. "I need to go," Ayame said.
"It's four in the morning!" Fon said.
That didn't matter. She needed to go and find more information. Preferably now. Sealing a child's Flames. That was. There weren't any words! "I need to go," Ayame repeated. "Please tell Nana-san that I won't be needing breakfast and keep an eye on Tsuna please."
She didn't let Fon say another word as she stood up and left in the dark of night.
Fight or Flight
Fight or Flight was the body's natural reaction to danger.
It should be noted that 9 out of 10 times, Tsuna would flee. This was not because he was a coward, but rather because he didn't like violence. It did not matter that he had the superior strength and could win if he fought. Naturally the one time where he would fight was if the enemy managed to threaten his friends. Beyond that, Tsuna had seen no point to fight, not even for himself. It was Reborn's words to him that brought forth a change, a shift in mindset. This change would bring forth a greater understanding of when to fight and when not to and when peace talks would go nowhere and when action was needed to get the point across.
Ienari was the opposite. 10 out of 10 times, Ienari would fight. One could admire the courage in that, or call him a fool. Whether he was weak or strong in comparison to the enemy, Ienari always tried to fight. It was this relentless aggression that led Ienari to gain his black belt by age twelve and promoted him to Captain of the Karate Club upon entering Namimori Middle. To be honest, it was unknown if the concept of 'retreat' existed in Ienari's head.
It could also be said that Tsuna's gentle heart and pacifist nature were what endured Giotto to Tsuna in the first place. And that despite Giotto having the ability to shift down to a lower plane to interact with Ienari and could have helped shaped Ienari into a better person, he choose not to. For when it was all said and done, Giotto was, once upon a time, human and thus capable of making mistakes.
Because, you see, Ienari's reckless aggression reminded Giotto of another person and Giotto couldn't bear to watch history repeat again. This decision would be one of many in the divide between the Sawada Twins, isolating them and twisting their fates even more.
Fuuta de la Stella
Tsuna basked in the warm morning sun, leisurely walking to school. Ayame had vanished overnight, according to Fon. Hayato had gone ahead to grab his school bag from his apartment and Takeshi had yet to show up. That suited Tsuna just fine. As much as he appreciated his friends, the rare moment of peace was soothing.
Just as he turned the corner, a flaxen blond boy ran straight into him. He clung to a giant red book in one hand, the other grabbed Tsuna's shirt, knuckles turning white.
"Help me please!" The boy pleaded.
Tsuna's eyes narrowed as four large men in black suits appeared a few feet away. They loomed over them; the shortest was a good head taller than Tsuna. Gently, Tsuna shuffled the boy behind him, stepping forward to shield the smaller boy from view.
"Give us the Ranking Prince and no one gets hurt," a man with a scar over his nose demanded.
Tsuna bit back the growl. The Ranking Prince? The boy behind him was Fuuta de la Stella? He had decided he wasn't going to let these men have the boy; the knowledge that the boy was Fuuta de La Stella just solidified the decision.
Fuuta's name had come up in the long list of profiles that Ayame had accumulated about Italy's mafia notable players. From those profiles, Tsuna had only managed to remember half of the upper echelon of Vongola and CEDEF and practically no one else from the other numerous famiglias, but Fuuta's name had stood out. Despite having no direct connection to Vongola, it was Fuuta's profile that Ayame had paused in her explanation, letting something that looked too close to grief and despair over her face before softly saying, "So young to be burdened with that ability."
Yes, Tsuna was well aware of Fuuta's ability and the abuse he suffered from it.
"How about no," Tsuna said boldly. His Flames began to stir, growing warm, responding the desire to protect.
One of the man lunged forward. Tsuna dodged that, hitting the man with a right hook. The man crumpled like a sack of potatoes, falling to the ground. Jumping over the fallen body, Tsuna grabbed the outstretched hand of Goon Number 2 throwing him over his shoulder and to the ground with an Ippon Seoinage technique. He caught Goon Number 3's punch, twisting the thug's arm and drove his knee into the goon's unprotected stomach. Number 4 pulled out a knife, but in a flash, one of Tsuna's golden swords appeared, disarming the knife from his superior distance. It disappeared in another flash, as Tsuna lunged forward for a swift uppercut. All were down for the count.
Tsuna turned back to Fuuta. He smiled gently. "Are you okay?"
Fuuta hugged him. "Thank you so much!"
Tsuna patted him on the back. "No problem. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna."
Fuuta looked at him, surprised. "Not Sawada Ienari? The Vongola Decimo Candidate?"
Tsuna shook his head. "No, that would be my identical twin. Are you looking for him?"
Fuuta opened his red book. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is ranked 1 out of 86,203 mafiosos to help someone in need. Ranked 1 out of 86,203 mafiosos who can never turn down a request."
Tsuna smiled at the rankings. That certainly sounded like him, but why on earth was it out of 86,203 mafiosos? Tsuna still had no intention of inheriting the Vongola Decimo position. That would go to Ienari, regardless of what happened. "I guess you're looking for protection, ne Fuuta?" Tsuna asked softly. He would too, if he had been chased after his entire life and caged like an animal like Fuuta had been.
Fuuta bit his lip, unsure. "Will you?" he asked, hesitating. "I don't want you to get hurt if you don't have the weight of Vongola to help you. I-I'll be okay." His voice wavered at the last sentence.
"It's fine," Tsuna said, ruffling Fuuta's hair. "I know someone who's just as good as Vongola when it comes to protection. We'll go see her later today, okay?" He offered his hand out to Fuuta.
Fuuta grasped it tightly. "Who is that?" he asked.
"Ayame-nee," Tsuna replied. "But for now, if you want, you can come with me to school and stay in the Disciplinary Office. Kyoya-sempai is also an excellent protector. Don't worry. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to go. We'll protect you."
Fuuta looked up at him with wide eyes.
"I mean it," Tsuna promised.
"Thank you," Fuuta said.
Tsuna smiled and the two headed off to Namimori Middle.
Wards
When the wards to allow Giotto and his guardians passage into Namimori went up, another set of protective wards followed. While simple in nature, they were powerful enough to deter most would be assassins. There were two wards.
The first extended ten miles beyond Namimori's borders in all directions. The two nearest airports to Namimori were also included and eventually every airport in Italy and China. Its single rule: 'Turn back anyone with intent to hurt the Sawada Family and Hibari Family.' Intent to hurt was simply defined as anyone who 'physically wanted to harm'. Any assassin (and certain informants) with intent to harm those two families, immediately found themselves dazed and sick or under a set of extremely bad luck whether they tried to enter Namimori via car, bus, train, plane or walking. It prevented the majority of the attempts from both rival Famiglias and the Triads. The majority of these failed attempts were written off as everything as bad food to a cold, or coincidences due to everything from broken down cars to being arrested.
The second ward was within Namimori itself. It was possible to make it past the first one by focusing on a different type of intent. There were a couple assassins that followed Vongola's men in, curious to know why Vongola was occasionally checking up on a small Japanese town. Triad members often had no desire to harm their precious hostage, merely looking onto him. In the case of Fuuta, they had come after the Ranking Prince, but it would have been entirely possible that if they had succeeded, after they had obtained Fuuta, those men could have targeted the Sawada Family in order to gain leverage over Vongola.
Thus the second ward's rule was 'Anyone dangerous in Namimori'. Anyone 'stronger' than an 'average' person was immediately labeled as 'dangerous'. This was nothing, but a mark against the person, invisible to their eyes. However the information was sent to different people so that the intruders, if a threat, could be taken care of. Mainly as they were low level thugs, the Disciplinary Committee often received the information on them and took care of them quietly. Anyone related to the Triad was sent to Ayame and she handed that personally as per the agreement she had with Kyoya's father. It should also be noted that many spirits had come to call Namimori home over the years and sometimes they took matters into their own hands. Giotto had more than enough fun dealing with the few that came after Tsuna. Sometimes the wards took it upon itself to deal according with the (repeat) intruders, dumping them outside of the first ward, confused and memories modified.
These wards were, but one of the many safety precautions in place in Namimori. They were also something Vongola was blissfully unaware of it. Vongola was able to safely enter Namimori because they had no intent to harm the Sawada Family and even though they were dangerous, they were never confronted in fear of drawing Vongola's attention to this small town. Ultimately, the same could be said for both Fon and Reborn.
The same wards would be Fuuta's first line of protection.
Fire in Your Eyes
"What needs to be done in order to get Fuuta the same level of protection as Kyoya and me?"
Ayame looked up from the stack of papers she had been reviewing. Work had eventually interfered with her research of Sealed Flames, causing her put it on the side for now. She blinked, soaking up the image before her.
Tsuna stood in front her, shoulders squared and spine rigid. His hands were clasped behind his back and an air of calmness radiating off him. More importantly were his eyes. There wasn't a hint of orange in them, nothing to show that this new confidence was a result of relying on Hyper Intuition as a support. They were clear, that soft shade of brown and they didn't waver, looking straight into Ayame's own golden ones.
Ayame could feel her jaw drop. What had happened yesterday? Tsuna wasn't like this the day before and since she had spent yesterday asleep, something must have had happened.
"Fuuta? As in Fuuta de la Stella? When did you meet him?" she asked, trying to regain her balance.
"This morning," Tsuna answered her. "He was being chased down by some men and I intervened. Sweet kid, Takeshi is currently taking him out for ice cream. I know he can be added to the wards, but is that only thing we can do?"
Her vertiginous thoughts still spinning, Ayame fumbled for the response to that. "The three options, outside of the wards would be first to spread the rumor that Fuuta is under the protection of the Vongola Decimo Candidate. While you haven't been acknowledged as one, no one can deny that you have the bloodline and the right as the eldest twin, so it's technically true. However, worded that way most people will assume Fuuta is under Ienari's protection. I don't like this one because I don't want Vongola's attention on you though.
"The second would be legal method. Have your mom legally adopt him. Won't stop them from trying to to kidnap him, but we then have the reason to arrest and lock up every idiot that tries. Or hand them over the Vindice. Legal adoption after all is just as if Fuuta was to join a normal famiglia."
Ayame took a deep breath, hesitating on the last option. "The last is… well you know what the last one is. You could do it, but it's kinda pointless at this time because it won't offer any protection from the people who are after Fuuta because they're unaware mindless sheep. Depending on how you look at it, it's more binding than any other cage Fuuta had been locked in before. Only this time there would be no escape for him."
Tsuna hummed in approval. "Okay. Let's do the wards and the first one then. I'll talk to Kaasan about the second one and we'll leave the third one alone for now. That would be Fuuta's choice in the end. What can I do to help with that? Oh, and after we finish this, can you update me on everything and I changed my mind, I do want to go with you."
"Want to go with me?" Ayame repeated, baffled at Tsuna's words. Tsuna was always surprising her, but never this drastically. "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this change of attitude on?"
Tsuna paused, thoughtful. "Yesterday… yesterday Reborn talked to me. He made me realize that you, everyone, does a lot for me and… I don't really do anything in return. Don't take care of myself as well as I should which in turn cause you to worry about me constantly; passively sitting back and letting you handle the majority of the work. Everyone worries about me and I guess I'm tired of letting things just happen and coping with them."
Resolve burned in his brown eyes, stronger than before; the resolve to protect himself, others, and his beliefs and desires. Tsuna continued, "I want to take an active part. I want to protect everyone I love, want to be strong enough for that. I cannot sit by and just let the world happen, I can change things for the better, but I need to do."
Ayame stared in quiet awe. She had never seen Tsuna like this. It was amazing. This was the person she knew he could be, the person she had tried to coax out, but always failed to. Her heart clenched painfully. She could never inspire people, not with words. That had been Asher's ability.
"Reborn-san really inspired you, huh?" she said softly.
Tsuna smiled brightly. "Yeah," he said. There was a gentle and fond look in his eyes.
Ayame closed her eyes, feeling her respect for the hitman raise a few more notches. Bitterly wistful, she thought, 'Well, always did know that Reborn was going to be the one raise Tsuna to new heights.'
"Alright, take a seat. We got a lot of work to get done."
Judgement
Reborn sipped his espresso, feeling his irritation spike once more. He scowled darkly, remembering yesterday's events.
"Are you alright Reborn? You are looking… stressed." Fon joined his fellow Arcobaleno at the table, a cup of tea on hand. Lichi scrambled off of Fon's shoulder, greeting Leon, who sat on the table.
Reborn scowled even harder. "Yesterday the Koujin heir attacked Tsuna."
Fon choked on his tea. "What? Why?"
"Don't know," Reborn said sullenly. If Tsuna hadn't been in such a critical condition, if Reborn's Flames hadn't called out to him to comfort his Sky, the hitman would have interrogated the ninja boy for answers. "The only reason why he isn't dead is because he's the only candidate left in this town that could serve as Ienari's Cloud Guardian as nothing would convince your nephew to leave Tsuna's side."
Fon contemplated for a moment. "Would Ienari…?"
Reborn sneered. "Even if he did, what could I do other than put my student through hell for setting an assassin on -" 'my sky' "-his twin brother? I, unfortunately, cannot kill Ienari for doing that, especially when Tsuna isn't my charge."
Something very close to pity reflected on Fon's face; Reborn ignored it.
"And there is no telling what Ienari would do is there?" Fon mused. "Could cause a rift between you and him, could cause him to seek other assassins, or maybe could even learn why attacking his family is a bad thing?"
"I highly doubt that," Reborn said. "Tsuna is his big red button. All of Ienari's reasons seem to go out the door when it comes to Tsuna. The best I could do was set your nephew on the Koujin's boy trail and let him dish out whatever he deemed fit as punishment."
Fon smiled. "Kyoya does have a way of sniffing out the truth. He gets that from his father."
Silence fell. Reborn felt his frustration flare once more as he took a calming breath. There were too many mysteries in this town. He didn't have enough information. Timoteo had yet to respond to his report either. Reborn prided himself on being several steps ahead than everyone else, but Namimori was forcing him to wait patiently to see how things played out. It was maddening.
"You might be interested in the conversation I had with Ayame this morning," Fon calmly remarked.
That peaked Reborn's curiosity. "Oh?"
"She claims not to have a Flame type and is very interested in the consequences of sealing a child's Flame. She didn't have any idea that Ienari's Flames had been sealed by Nono."
"At least that is proof that she doesn't know everything," Reborn said amused. "Why was she interested in knowing about Sealed Flames?"
Fon shrugged. "I didn't get any answer out of her, but considering she paled and disappeared into the dead of night after learning that, I say it was very important to her."
Reborn mentally reviewed his knowledge of Sealed Flames. It was oddly lacking. But perhaps he could use what little information he did know to gain information from Ayame. After all, she knew what happened between the twins at age eight.
Now it was just a matter of cornering her.
Report III
Nono,
Poison Scorpion Bianchi has arrived in town to help further training for Ienari. Fine Arts, Poisons, Manners and Etiquette are being handled by her. She reports Ienari's training is progressing smoothly. I will begin soon meditation techniques to help Ienari unlock his Flames.
Have you given any thought to Tsunayoshi's candidacy yet?
Reborn
Report III Revised
Nono,
Poison Scorpion Bianchi has arrived in town to help further training for Ienari. Fine Arts, Poisons, Manners and Etiquette are being handled by her. She reports Ienari's training is progressing smoothly. I will begin soon meditation techniques to help Ienari unlock his Flames. Another colleague has arrived in town to assist with that.
Reborn
Thick with Tension
Warily, Tsuna looked back and forth between Ayame and Reborn. He could hear the silent crackle of thunder between the two as they glared at each other impassively. This was bound to end in destruction; Tsuna just knew it. He had woken up this morning, came downstairs and arrived to this scene.
Tsuna cast his eyes upward, silently pleading with whoever would listen to him that this meeting would not end in blood. The air was already oppressive, so thick with tension that you could cut it with a knife. He was well aware that Ayame was not fond of Reborn (for whatever reasons) and that her secretive and odd nature annoyed Reborn.
"Go to school Tsuna," Ayame ordered. Her eyes never broke contact with Reborn's.
"Neesan," Tsuna said cautiously.
"Go. You are going to be late and Hibari doesn't accept tardiness," Reborn said.
Tsuna narrowed his eyes. "Kaasan will be very upset if you two destroy the house." He felt quite proud as he caught both minute flinches from the two of them. No one upset Nana. "I'm going to be upset if you two hurt each other, physically, mentally or emotionally." Another set of flinches. Tsuna was going to ruthlessly take advantage that both of them didn't like Tsuna upset either.
Satisfied that they had both been warned, Tsuna stood up. "Be nice," he added.
He prayed the house would still be standing by the time he returned this afternoon.
Compromise
Once Tsuna had left, hearing the door slam shut, Ayame spoke. "Here's the deal. You tell me everything you know about Sealed Flames, when Ienari's Flames were sealed and why, and I'll tell you why this town is odd."
Reborn frowned. "I want to know what happened between Ienari and Tsuna at age eight."
"No. I don't trust you with that information yet," Ayame said. She didn't know what Reborn could do with that information. Perhaps use it as leverage to convince Vongola that Tsuna was the better Decimo Candidate? Over her dead body. Besides, Tsuna had expressed, in not so many words and not very confidently that he wanted to be the one to tell Reborn that. She would wait to see what would come from that decision first.
"I don't actually need the information you have," Ayame said brazenly. "All you would be doing is confirming without a doubt a theory that I have related to why this town is so messed up." In the end though, it would still be a theory, just one she was certain that was correct. There was no time, nor was she willing to risk people's lives to test the theory to confirm it as fact. Plus trying to replicate all the variables would be close to impossible.
Grinding his teeth, Reborn conceded. "Fine."
"Then we have a deal."
Fuuta has made his appearance! \ o / Tsuna is taking an active step in his life now! Reborn is frustrated, Ayame just found out about Sealed Flames and next chapter you get to find out a whole bunch of information regarding the weirdness of Namimori.
Okay, so now that I'm about to board the plane, I can now say, this is my last update until I return from my trip. (Since somehow I managed to finish this chapter between my frantic packing and deadlines before my trip). I haven't been able to respond to reviews or PMs. Sorry! D: So I'll see you guys in a couple weeks!
Guest Reviewer Response
Lacie
While I do enjoy All27, I consider that be a crack-ish pairing and for this type of story, where I'm trying to keep things somewhat serious and logical, it would not fit. But like I said we have a long way to go before we even get to R27 part of this story.
Crucifix HiME
Haha yeah. I wanted to showcase all the major players in the story so far and since none of them were gathered together in a group, constantly switching POVs
GiottoBabe
:O Thank you! (Though I only know about DRRR in passing haha)
alpaca
owo b That makes my day better to hear that!