Trigger: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Important Stuff:
Small OC Cheat Sheet
Spirits:
Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.
Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.
Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.
Ienari's Guardians
Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian
Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.
Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.
Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.
Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.
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Howl
Hayato woke up with a headache. His ears rang with the sound of a wolf's howl as images flashed through his mind: a desert, a teenager with ice blue eyes and an unbearable heat. He rubbed his forehead. "What a strange dream," Hayato muttered to himself.
Staggering out of his bed and into the bathroom, he didn't even notice the trail of sand he was leaving behind.
Human
Zephyr stretched, letting the human form he had borrowed fade away. He flexed his claws, enjoying the breeze through his mane. The human form, no matter how fond he was of the person whose appearance he was borrowing, was very restrictive and oddly shaped.
Gokudera Hayato had passed his trial. Now only time would tell if anything would come from it.
Zephyr flew off, disappearing into the blue sky.
No Going Back
"Hahi! Does Tsuna need help with that?"
Tsuna looked up to see Haru standing next to him. He looked down at the large bags of groceries he had been carrying, before a large burly man had tripped him. Said groceries were now scattered on the street. Thankfully Tsuna had not gone to market to buy anything fragile or liquid like eggs or milk. Lambo's favorite cereal was unfortunately crushed and spilling out. Lambo would just have to go without it because Tsuna was not going back to the market again, to be pushed around, again. Yes, Lambo would just have to wait until Nana went herself.
"Thanks Haru," Tsuna said as the girl bent down to help Tsuna collect his groceries. The cans were a little dented, but thankfully still intact.
"No worries," Haru said cheerfully. She shot a glare in the direction that the man had left in. "Some people can be very rude."
They quickly collected the groceries off the ground and Haru walked Tsuna back to his house. Upon their return, Nana quickly invited Haru in for dinner. Dinner, of course, was a full house with nearly everyone over. It devolved quickly as it did every night.
As one of Hayato and Hana's verbal spars got out of hand and Ryohei tossing the bowl of salad to Takeshi, Haru turned to look at Tsuna.
"Hahi, you have a strange family, Tsuna," she remarked.
Tsuna beamed. "I know."
Start of a Comedy Routine
Ayame did not have Hyper Intuition. However, due to her very… colorful childhood, she did have a set of honed instincts that had saved her life more than once.
Said instincts were currently warning her about something. Oddly, her danger instincts were not going off, which mean whatever the warning was, it wasn't a dangerous threat to her. That, however, just made her despair because that meant whatever was coming, it was interesting.
Ayame hated when something interesting happened to her. Was it too much to ask for something normal? Living in Namimori had made her soft. She was actually starting to get used to normal (or as normal as her life could get when one could run around talking to spirits and sensing emotions in things and lived in a town surrounded by a miasma of aggression). People, Irie and Koumei aside, didn't recognize who she was!
So lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice the interesting thing was starting until she was completely drenched. Ayame yelped as a cup of soda spilled completely all over her, staining her white blouse. She sputtered, pushing her brown bangs to the side to look at the person responsible for this.
It was Dino. Reborn's student. What the hell was he doing here?!
She stared as Dino panicked. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized. "Let me help!"
"No!" Ayame started. She was cut off as Dino tripped over his feet and literally crashed into her, knocking them both to the ground. Ayame gasped as the air was forcefully knocked out of her. She was already a head shorter than Dino, typical of a Japanese woman such as herself and damnit the man was heavy.
"I'm so sorry," Dino apologized, pushing himself off of her.
She merely groaned, feeling that tingly feeling in the back of her head. Whenever Fate and Destiny were mocking her, she would get that exact feeling. Glaring up at him, Ayame hissed. "If this becomes a regular thing-" which it better not given the fact that he normally lived in Italy "I will kill you."
Dino lightly chuckled, not at all fazed by her threat.
Admittedly, as a mafia don, he probably received threats like that all the time. He also probably didn't know who she was or how very serious she was about that threat.
Normality. Was that really too much to ask for?!
Kindness
Sawada Tsunayoshi was kind.
In the weeks she had come to live in the Sawada Household, Bianchi had come to the realization that Sawada Tsunayoshi was above else, kind. He had a gentle heart, opening and accepting with a soft smile. Ienari might be a brat, Tsuna might be the better choice, but there was a small part within Bianchi that was immensely glad that Tsuna was not going to be tainted by Vongola and the mafia.
There was no room for kindness in the mafia. Such a foolish notion was immediately stomped out any child's personality early on. Those that clung to that idea, were either naive fools that would die a quick death before even reaching adulthood or were nothing more than pawns in a bigger game. There were a few who could afford to be kind, those who built up their reputation and power so high that they were untouchable. Reborn was one; Bianchi was well aware that under all that chaos and sadism, Reborn had a golden heart. One only had to look no further than Tsuna and Dino for examples. Fon and Shamal were others; I-pin and Hayato were their examples.
Bianchi was not one of them. The Poison Scorpion was not a kind person. She couldn't afford to be.
She did have one weakness and that was her brother Hayato.
Despite their rocky relationship, Bianchi doted over her half-brother because family was family regardless. She, in her own way, watched over him as best as she could. It was her that lead him to Shamal and his perverted tendencies aside, Bianchi was in Shamal's debt for taking in her brother. To this day, Bianchi held out to the idea that somehow, she and Hayato could be functional siblings together. She would like at least one face to face conversation with Hayato that didn't result in him collapsing or her having to wear goggles.
Bianchi had come to Japan for two reasons. One was of course to see Reborn, but the bigger reason was because Reborn had told her Hayato would be here.
She hadn't been expecting to arrive to witness some bastards had kidnapped Hayato or, later, to find out that Hayato gravitated to, willing chosen Tsuna over Ienari, regardless of the fact that by doing so, he would never amount to anything in the mafia world (something she knew had been a dream, a desire, to prove everyone, their father included, that Hayato could do something for himself, bastard status be damned.).
As for her… Tsuna accepted Bianchi with nothing more a grin, barely batting an eyelash and allowed her, a trained assassin who he didn't even know, into his home. Nana was everything she had wished her mother would have been (everything she had found in Lavina before her death). The kids adored her and Hayato's friends didn't shy away from her, treating her with respect that Bianchi had to normally prove that she was worthy of.
"Good morning Bianchi," Tsuna greeted her.
A smile spread across her face. "Good morning, Tsuna-kun," she responded. "You're cooking breakfast today?"
Tsuna nodded. "I figured I'll give Kaasan a break and I don't have to rush off to school since it's summer break. So any requests? I'm not a great cook like Kaasan though." He put on a blue apron.
"How about waffles?" Bianchi asked.
Tsuna grinned. "That, I can make. One order of waffles coming up."
Ten minutes later, Bianchi sat down at the table with a plate of fluffy waffles before her. She poured the strawberry syrup over them, cutting into the waffles with her fork. Tsuna poured her a cup of coffee before moving on to ruffle a still sleepy Fuuta's flaxen golden hair.
Bianchi smiled to herself, relaxing in a way she hadn't thought would be possible. So this was what real home felt like? 'Perhaps, Hayato had the right idea,' she thought. 'Perhaps staying with here in Namimori, staying with Tsuna, would be a good thing.'
If that night she dreamt of orange rivers, yellow skies, strange physics and a teenage boy with black hair and ice blue eyes, it was passed off nothing more than a dream.
Solar
"Ne, Hayato?"
"Yes Tsuna-sama!"
Tsuna smiled. "Just Tsuna, Hayato," he gently corrected. "I was wondering if you knew anything about renewable energy and solar panels?"
Hayato nodded, whipping out his glasses. "Of course I do Tsuna-sama! Would you like me to teach you?"
Tsuna huffed at the '-sama- honorific, but didn't say anything about it. It seemed correcting Hayato of that habit would take some time. "Yes, please," Tsuna said instead.
The pursuit of knowledge came first.
Ghost
"Tsuna-nii?"
Tsuna looked up to see Fuuta staring not at Tsuna, but at the space next to Tsuna. The brunet followed Fuuta's sightline and landed on Giotto. Blinking, Tsuna turned back to Fuuta and asked, "Fuuta, can you see Giotto?"
Giotto, of course, snapped his head in Fuuta's direction. "Fuuta?" he asked tentatively.
"Hello," Fuuta said nervously.
"Huh," Tsuna said. "Why can you see Giotto?" Tsuna knew that Giotto was still on the spiritual frequency, not the physical one. That meant, technically, Fuuta should not be able to see Giotto, much less hear him.
"Passive ability for those born with spiritual abilities," Ayame said, entering the room. "First time seeing a spirit, Fuuta?" she asked.
Fuuta asked. "Or as far as I can tell. I just know for a fact that Primo-sama is dead."
"It's fine to call me Giotto," Giotto said.
"His Sight is probably a little watered down then," Ayame said. "Given that he's a few generations removed from Uxie, that's really not a surprise. That or he hasn't been around enough spiritually charged areas to kick start it until he got here."
"I thought Namimori wasn't spiritually charged enough, that's why the wards to let Giotto come here had to go up," Tsuna asked.
Ayame snorted. "There are so many spirits and gods visiting Namimori that it's becoming spiritually charged. Haven't you noticed? Giotto has been able to stay longer and longer over the years."
"Oh. I thought I was just getting better at managing it," Giotto said with a frown.
Fuuta looked at them confused. "I don't understand," he admitted.
"It's a bit like how solar panels work," Tsuna started off. "You can get energy from sunlight. Papa, Giotto runs on spirit energy. He absorbs the spirit particles from the air and that allows him to maintain his form here in the physical plane. Namimori didn't have much spirit particles, basically not enough sunlight for Giotto to run on, so every so often he has to return to the Spirit World which is rich of spirit particles."
"But as more and more spirits pass through Namimori, leaving behind imprints, Namimori slowly becomes spiritually charged," Ayame added.
Fuuta nodded. "That make sense."
Giotto reached out to hug Fuuta, shifting down to the physical plane so he could touch Fuuta. "Yay," the blond cheered. "That means another person can see me!" He spun Fuuta around.
Fuuta laughed. "Are there anymore like you, Giotto-san?"
Giotto smiled. "Yup. There's a whole lot of us. I'll introduce you!"
Fruits
"Oh you have a roommate, Ineari-kun."
Ienari looked up and blushed a bright red as Inmen entered the room. He took a quick moment to glare at his new roommate, (one very beaten up Koujin) before smiling at Inmen. "H-hi, Inmen-chan. Yeah, Hibari-sempai beat us both up," Ienari said.
Inmen frowned. "That brute. Honestly, what is his problem? I heard you had to stay in the hospital until October now."
"Oi, Iron Fan Girl! Is that for me?" Koujin called out.
Inmen glared at Koujin. "No, these are for Ienari-kun." She set the basket of fruit she had been carrying down on the table.
"Shut up, Koujin," Ienari quietly hissed. He did not need Koujin to make him look bad in front of Inmen!
Koujin flipped him off and threw a kunai at Ienari.
Clang!
Inmen deflected the kunai with her iron fan. "I would appreciate it if you didn't go throwing dangerous weapons, Koujin-kun," she said sharply. "Or I will finish what Hibari-san started."
"Whatever," Koujin said, laying back in his bed.
Inmen's ocean blue eyes narrowed, but she tucked away her iron fan and pulled out a small knife and an apple from the basket. She took a seat at Ienari's bedside and began to cut the apple. "You're going to need to get better soon, Ienari-kun," she scolded. "You're missing so much school!"
Ienari blushed a brighter red. 'Inmen-chan is cutting apples for me!' Nodding, he said, "Ye-yeah. I'll do my best."
How could he not?
Report IV
Nono,
Have you been receiving my reports? I am not convinced that Ienari is the best choice as a candidate for Decimo.
Reborn
Report IV Revised
Nono,
All is well.
Reborn
Doctor
"You've been teaching Ryohei medicine."
Shamal suppressed a groan as he heard Reborn's voice. He knew this conversation was long overdue. Honestly, he was surprised Reborn waited until this long. Then again, this town was strange and that probably took priority over everything.
"The kid had active Sun Flames and more control than I imagined. I figured a proper Sun Flame User would not be remiss in this town," Shamal said. "I told the kid I wasn't going to teach him how to be a doctor, medical school exist for a reason. But the kid wanted to know how to heal with Flames, and that is something you can't pick up in medical school. Admittedly the kid has been soaking up that knowledge fairly quickly, which is surprising given his general airheadedness and young age. He doesn't understand the theory behind it too much, but already has a good practical basis already."
Reborn quirked an eyebrow up. "He has active Flames?"
"You didn't know?" Shamal asked. That… was not like Reborn at all.
"No. I knew he had a strong potential, that was why I originally had him tapped for Ienari's Sun Guardian," Reborn said. "That, of course, was before I figured out things were terrible between the twins and that Ryohei had picked Tsuna."
"Ever figure out why?" Shamal asked, curious. He was largely removed from the heart of the situation, especially now that summer had come and Shamal no longer ran into the older twin or even his own protege as often.
"A little bit," Reborn said. "But not the root. No one wants to speak of the situation."
Shamal could tell that fact irritated the hitman greatly.
Reborn pulled out a yellow charm. "When you get the chance, ask Tsuna for one of these," he instructed.
"What? Why?"
"You won't regret it. Consider it a precaution that is worth investing to," Reborn said.
Well, when Reborn put it like that…
Dino
Dino was having a bad week. Sorta. Kinda.
In many ways, it wasn't any different than his usual weeks. He was still clumsy without his subordinates, had to pay out for quite a bit of broken dishes, cups, and other items, tripped over people, got threatened a couple times and overall, nothing too unusual. What was different was that Reborn had ordered him to come to Japan (but didn't specify why).
Upon his arrival, he had crashed into a pretty girl with brown hair and golden eyes, upsetting her even more with his offers to pay for the cleaning of her outfit. That… happened two more times. Accidently! It wasn't like Dino planned on crashing into the same poor girl three times! Then Reborn dragged him off to the hospital to meet the Decimo Candidate, Sawada Ienari.
That was… enlightening.
Ienari looked at Dino with an expression that clearly said 'I'm superior to you in every way, bug'. "He just tripped over thin air, Reborn. Are you sure you didn't mean to introduce him to Dame-Tsuna?" Ienari asked.
Either Dino's Japanese was not up to par (which was laughable because Reborn would have him in remedial training faster than Dino could say 'Nihongo') or Ienari really did just call his brother 'no-good'. It wasn't even said with the touch of fondness that Reborn embedded into his own insults. (Baka-Dino was both an insult and a term of endearment when it came from Reborn.)
What kind of person insulted their blood brother like that, in front of a stranger no less?
And now Dino had to meet the other twin, Sawada Tsunayoshi?
Dino didn't have high expectations. He had been subjected to Iemitsu's ramblings at one point or another, and considering Ienari called his twin 'Dame', Dino was more or less expecting a younger version of himself before Dino had met Reborn.
He wasn't wrong. He wasn't completely right either.
Sawada Tsunayoshi was skittish, nervous, but not as clumsy as Dino once was. There was strength and resolve reflected in his eyes. The majority of his nervousness seemed to come from the fact that Dino was an unknown stranger because Tsuna barely flinched when Reborn fired a bullet at Dino who lingered too long. That kind of calm usually came with the acceptance that Reborn was Reborn and best to go with the flow when it came to the Sun Arcobaleno.
The most interesting thing?
Dino's Sky Flames were resonating.
Dino couldn't remember ever feeling like that. He had gotten a tiny resonation meeting Nono and a few other mafia bosses, practically nothing from Ienari, but meeting Tsuna? Dino had to stop his Flames from rushing out like a broken dam. Tsuna had Sky Flames and they were resonating with Dino's and Dino was so lost, he wasn't even funny. He struggled to focus because Tsuna didn't have a small amount of untapped Sky Flames, but rather a large amount as deep as the ocean and Dino wasn't careful he was going to drownandthatwasbadnonono….!
Then, like most things, Dino fumbled, his control slipped and his Sky Flames came rushing out. The feeling of drowning vanished, replaced by harmony. Suddenly Dino felt like he had been wrapped in a fluffy warm blanket. He felt safe and warm, as if he had just arrived back home to his famiglia.
This was so confusing.
"Dino-san? Are you alright?"
Dino snapped out of his thoughts. (Somewhere in his mind, he mourned as the warmth faded away.) "Yup," he said, with false cheer, trying not to betray the turmoil he felt.
Given Reborn's look, Dino had failed at that, but it was Reborn. Dino didn't really have any hope in fooling his ex-tutor. (Oh god, what was he going to say when Reborn asked what happened? Dino didn't know how to explain it! It was one of the few things that Dino would never be able to explain to Reborn because it was something so intrinsic to Sky Flame Users that Reborn would never understand! Dino didn't even understand himself!)
What surprised him was when Tsuna's eyes flashed orange ('He has Hyper Intuition too?!' his mind wailed.) and Tsuna pinned him with a look too similar to Reborn's.
"Dino-san," Tsuna said.
"You're… you're not what I expected," Dino admitted. A half truth to deflect from the actual problem.
A bitter smile twisted on Tsuna's face. "What were you're expecting?" he asked self-depreciating.
Dino frowned at that tone. He didn't like that. There was far too much self loathing in Tsuna's voice that Dino was comfortable with.
"A younger me," Dino said. "But you're doing a lot better than I was at your age."
Tsuna blinked, surprised. He looked at Reborn for confirmation.
Reborn merely nodded. "Baka-Dino was far worse than you when I first met him. He couldn't walk more than ten steps without tripping over something."
"Oh," Tsuna said. Then he grinned, "I use to be like that too actually. Still am on most days. So really, if you had come to Namimori earlier, I would have been exactly what you expected."
Dino felt his heart warmed. Why wasn't Tsunayoshi the Decimo Candidate? Dino could foresee a long and abundant alliance with Vongola if Tsunayoshi was to become Decimo.
Dino got the distinct feeling that Ienari would do nothing but mock him. That was not a good thing because old alliances aside, Dino still had his own pride. There would be only so much he would be able to take before Dino snapped and did something that would result in remedial training from Reborn that would make his original training look like a walk in the park and Dino was not looking forward to that.
"So how are you liking Namimori so far?" Tsuna asked.
Dino laughed lightly. "So far it's pretty cool! There's this one girl I keep accidently crashing into though. I keep offering to pay for the cleaning of her clothes and to buy her a new set, but she just rolls her golden eyes at me and storms off."
Tsuna choked and Dino felt his stomach sink.
"You're the one who keeps running into Neesan?" Tsuna asked in disbelief.
Well… judging from Tsuna's voice, that was apparently not a good thing. "Who?" Dino asked.
"Ayame-nee," Tsuna clarified. "A young woman with brown hair in a braid and golden eyes. Maybe a head shorter than you?"
"Sounds about right," Dino said, fretting. He glanced over at Reborn who looked impassively at him. Dino was getting a bad feeling about all of this.
Tsuna reached over and patted Dino's hand. He looked oddly sympathetic. "Don't worry," Tsuna said. "I'll make sure to head off any plans she has to murder you."
Shit. What did Dino get himself into?!
Bo Staff
Ienari looked at his wooden bo staff. One of the many karate disciplines was the use of the bo staff. It was a talent that Ienari was quite good at, even better than his hand to hand combat. Reborn had mentioned that it was possible to channel Flames through weapons. (Which, now that Ienari thought about it, did explain the yellow energy that Reborn sometimes fired at him.)
So by that theory Ienari should be able to channel his Flames through his bo staff.
Taking a deep breath, Ienari fell into his meditative state, reaching for the burst of warmth. To his delight, a tiny ball of orange flames appeared on the tip of his bo staff. Quickly followed by the smell of burning wood. Shit. Flames plus wood was not one of his better ideas. Water! Water!
Ienari looked at his ash covered bed and his ruined bo staff. "Reborn cannot know about this," Ienari said.
"Dame-Ienari, as if you could keep a secret from me."
"Reborn!"
Bedtime Story
"And so the musician reached out to the blue dragon. His small human hand was as large as one the many blue scales that covered the dragon's body."
Reborn let Tsuna's soft words washed over him. He nestled against Tsuna's chest as the brunet held the book in one hand, and threaded his fingers of his other hand through Lambo's black curls. The cow had already drifted off to sleep minutes ago, with both I-pin and Fuuta both looking as if they weren't that far behind joining Lambo in dreamland.
The three kids shared one bedroom and every night Tsuna would read them a bedtime story and tuck them in. On occasions, Reborn and Fon would sit in and join them. Reborn found Ayame sitting in the hallway outside once. Tsuna drew them all in, gentle as a mother's touch.
"'Human,' the dragon warned.
'You're hurt,' the musician replied. 'I am no healer, but let me play you a song for your soul?'"
Reborn was a grown adult, but ultimately he was trapped in the body of a baby and thus subjected to the physical limits of said body. Against his will, he felt himself drifting off, Tsuna's words lulling him to sleep, warm and content.
"The dragon nodded his consent and the musician pulled out his violin and began to play. The beautiful melody filled the air, promising peace and healing. A new friendship was born that day."
Faint
Ayame read over the report Irie had just handed her. Her jaw dropped as she read. She had never considered that before. Her mind reveled at the endless possibilities. This would require a whole lot of testing and experimenting. Would any metal work? She highly doubted it. But this was a possible solution to their entire problem.
"This is brilliant, Irie-kun," Ayame said, stun and wide eyed.
"R-really?" Irie asked, fretting nervously. "I didn't think it was possible to do."
Ayame didn't lift her eyes from the report. Genius she may be, but Irie was clearly going to surpass her in this field, which was a good thing because Ayame started off not even aware of this particular field and she had struggled to adapt to this field's way of thinking.
'They think so small,' Ayame grumbled to herself. 'Not that Irie-kun isn't brilliant or is only capable of thinking small, but the main reason why I was having trouble with this experiment was because I was aware one of their fundamental rules of the field was… flawed and I couldn't convince myself to look past it.'
She scanned the report once more, marveling at Irie's simple but extraordinary solution. 'This solution, it's incredible,' she thought. 'Within the limits of the field, Irie-kun is right; it is impossible to do. But since I know which of their fundamental laws is flawed, that makes this solution possible. It is just a matter of finding the right balance, the right combination of materials and being very very careful.'
A loud thud drew Ayame out of her thoughts and she looked up to find Irie on the floor passed out. "Irie-kun!" She rushed over to him, checking over him. "He fainted," Ayame blurted out.
Pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration -Irie needed to stop fainting on her-, Ayame lifted him onto her couch. Once she was sure he was comfortable, she pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number. Upon hearing the other person pick up, she wailed into the phone.
"Tsuna! Irie-kun keeps fainting on me!"
Inter-Middle School Kendo Championships
"Congrats, cousin," Hisen chirped.
Kensuke puffed out his chest. "First place! Told you I would take it." He slung his shinai over his shoulder. "How did yours go?"
Hisen unfolded her tessen to hide her smile. "We won of course. I did not expect anything less."
Kensuke rolled his eyes. "Again, not everyone is a battle genius like you Hisen."
Hisen scoffed, a touch of arrogance in the normally ladylike girl. "Please. It's only to be expected. I push my teammates the same way I push you."
Kensuke just sighed. There was no talking to Hisen when she was like this. Strength was the core of Mochida and Inmen families' teachings. It was no surprise that Hisen thought like that.
Actually, speaking of strength. "I heard the Karate team took second place," Kensuke remarked.
Hisen frowned. "Ienari-kun is still in the hospital. Without their Captain, it was frankly amazing that they even made it that far," she said in an even tone. "Ienari-kun was upset that he had to miss the summer tournament. But there is still the winter one. I'm sure he'll seek vengeance then. We cannot let Namimori's winning record go tarnished under our watch."
"Of course Hisen."
Return to School
'Hiiieee,' Tsuna thought to himself. Summer break had come to an end. Today was the first day back to school and already Tsuna had found himself cornered by his usual bullies. He flinched as one of them slammed his hand near Tsuna's face, shrinking into himself.
"If it isn't Dame-Tsuna," the bully jeered. "No bodyguards to protect you, which means we can beat you up without Yamamoto or Hibari from interfering."
Tsuna froze. 'No,' his mind hissed. 'No. I promised to better than this. I promised to take care of myself as well as my friends.' He straightened, standing tall and stared back at the bully unwaveringly.
Surprised by the sudden change, the bully took a step back.
Tsuna narrowed his eyes. This would not continue. Ienari may be a different type of mess that Tsuna would have to eventually confront, but bullies? They were small fries, most likely influenced by the miasma, not worth his time or grief and Tsuna would not let them walk over him anymore. "No," Tsuna said firmly. "You will not bully me anymore. I am not your punching bag, a target you can lash out. I will no longer accept your hurtful words or fists. I. Am. Not. Afraid. Of. You."
He brushed past his bullies and head off to class, leaving his stunned classmates behind.
Exam
"Sit," Shamal ordered the minute Tsuna walked into his infirmary.
Bemused, Tsuna took a seat and waited patiently as Shamal examined him.
"No injuries as far as I can see," Shamal mumbled. "Who beat you up this time?"
"No one?" Tsuna asked. He held up an indigo charm. "I just wanted to give this to you? Reborn mentioned you wanted one."
Shamal collapsed into his chair, running a hand through his hair. "Shit, kid. I don't normally even treat guys and you already have me conditioned to the point where I automatically look for injuries on you."
"I'm sorry?" Tsuna said meekly.
Shamal just sighed. Oh the things he did.
"But I am trying to take a stand against my bullies this semester," Tsuna said, smiling softly. "So hopefully I won't be coming into your infirmary injured so often anymore."
Shamal stared at him. He had heard the story from Reborn, but it was another thing to see it in person; that strong resolve burning in Tsuna's eyes. What Tsuna didn't know was that Shamal had spread his mosquitoes around the school and Shamal had known that just minutes ago, Tsuna had been cornered by bullies. That was why Shamal had expected injuries on Tsuna. People were just empty words, most of the time; action was proof. He was beginning to see what Hayato saw in Tsuna.
"You'll do fine," Shamal said softly. "And being injury free doesn't mean you can't visit an old man like me."
Tsuna smiled at Shamal's offer, buzzing with happiness.
So this was the Sky that captivated his protege.
Birthday Gift
"Happy Birthday Hayato!" Tsuna cheered. He handed the bomber a red present. "This is from Neesan and me."
Hayato teared up. "Tsuna-sama you are too kind!" He opened the box to reveal a new metal skull necklace. Hayato's eyes lit up. "This is perfect!" he said, throwing it over his neck.
Tsuna smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Now come on! We have to meet everyone at the movie theaters."
Hayato blinked. "What?"
"Kyoya-sempai gave us all passes for the day," Tsuna said. "Birthdays are important and they only come once a year. Haru and Kyoko worked very hard to plan out the entire day so we can't be late. First up, movies!" He linked his arm around a stunned Hayato and dragged him off.
Hayato had friends who wanted to celebrated his birthday with him. Coming to Namimori was the best decision ever.
Release Date
Ienari grinned. Finally, his release date was approaching: October 15th. Granted, it would be a day after his birthday, which meant he would be celebrating his 14th birthday at the hospital, but anything to be free of these five months of hospitalization. He would have been freed earlier, if Hibari hadn't set back his recovery by an additional two months.
But he had been cleared of his injuries; wouldn't even need crutches when he was released as all his fractures and broken bones would be completely healed. Honestly the staff was just keeping him on at this point because of his physical therapy and observation.
Koujin had already been released, much to Ienari's displeasure and delight. Ienari hated the fact that Koujin got to go home nearly two weeks ago, but having no roommate again, especially when Inmen visited, was a plus.
'Thud!'
"What the hell, Reborn!" Ienari shouted, nursing his new bump on the head from being hit with a Leon Hammer.
"Pay attention, Dame-Ienari," his tutor mocked. "You cannot even keep your Flames lit for more than a minute and no bigger than a 100 yen coin. You've been slacking."
"What! No! I have not," Ienari protested.
"That's what they all say," Reborn said darkly, hitting Ienari's knee.
"Damnit Reborn. Stop hitting me before they don't release me for another week!"
Preparation
"Tsuna!"
Tsuna turned around to see Dino waving at him excitably. "Dino-nii," Tsuna greeted. It had been a few short weeks since he had met the older man. Dino had loudly professed that Tsuna should call him Dino-nii after Tsuna had inverted one of Ayame's many plans to hurt the mafia don. Ayame sulked about it for days.
"Reborn's birthday is coming up," Dino said by way of a preamble. "Wanna help me set up a party?"
Tsuna brightened. Reborn's birthday was coming up? "Sure, when is it?" Tsuna said.
"The 13th," Dino said.
Tsuna blinked, surprised. "The 13th?" he asked.
"Yup," Dino said.
"No can do. We have something planned that day," Takeshi cut into the conversation.
Tsuna jumped, turning to glare at his friend. Takeshi needed to wear a bell and stop appearing out of thin air!
"Can it be rescheduled?" Dino asked with a pout. "Birthdays only come once a year."
Takeshi nodded. "I agree."
"I'm sure we can still make it to Reborn's party," Tsuna said. "We don't have to do..." He let out a small 'hiee' as Takeshi's eyes grew cold for a split second.
Then Takeshi let out a bright laugh. "I guess we'll just have to make a double birthday party then!"
Dino looked between Takeshi and Tsuna. "Wait… is the 13th Tsuna's birthday too?"
Takeshi nodded. "Yup," he said. "Ayame-nee already started planning it. You should probably ask her for the details."
"She doesn't like me very much," Dino said.
That was an understatement. Dino brought the number of times he had crashed into Ayame to an even ten in the few weeks he had been here. It happened enough times that Tsuna could see Ayame's paranoia triggering. Ayame was currently convinced Dino was cursed or possessed.
"Nothing over the top please," Tsuna pleaded.
Takeshi just looked amused. "It's Ayame-nee," he pointed out.
Tsuna had to concede to that. Though he had hope that if it was a double party, Ayame's dislike for Reborn would prevent her from doing anything… drastic. In fact, Tsuna could probably bank on it. A double party was starting to sound even better.
Dino latched onto Takeshi. "You're coming with me and telling me all about Tsuna's party. Sorry Tsuna, I'm borrowing your friend!"
"Tsuna! Walk home with Hayato," Takeshi called out, letting himself be dragged away by Dino.
Tsuna waved goodbye as Dino and Takeshi disappeared around the corner.
So… he and Reborn shared the same birthday? Awesome.
Celebration (Happy Birthday)
Tsuna was partly right.
All in all, the celebration his friends planned were rather tame, compared to last year. But adding Reborn to the mix (and whatever the hell was a Vongola Style party) increased the chaos and craziness by tenfold. In short, it was an entire mess. The couch would need replacing, Hayato was knocked unconscious thanks to Bianchi's poison cooking, Takeshi was laughing carefreely and Ayame already tried to throw Dino out the window after he had gotten cake on her shirt. Kyoya took shelter in the kitchen, willing helping Nana with the food preparation if only to 'stay away from the noisy herbivores'. Everyone else was sitting around, chatting and eating. Loud, noisy, and messy with everyone cramp tightly into the living room.
But Tsuna wouldn't change anything in the entire world.
"Enjoying your birthday, Tsuna?" Reborn asked, holding out a plate of chocolate cake to him.
Tsuna took the plate with a smile. "Yeah. Happy Birthday to you too, Reborn."
The hitman offered him a rare smile in return and he settled next to Tsuna, observing everyone. Irie had just became an unfortunate test subject to one of Fon's gyoza and I-pin just tackled Lambo to the ground. Kyoko moved to break up their fight and Fuuta looked like he was one step away from ranking the many types of sushi Tsuyoshi was showing him.
"My birthday have never been this lively before," Tsuna commented happily. "Not to say that my friends and Neesan can't be over the top. But… it wasn't that long ago that I use to celebrate my birthday with just Kaasan. Ienari never wanted to celebrate with me, and eventually Kaasan stopped trying to force him." His eleventh birthday was the first time he had a proper birthday party, ten was tainted by the memories of his suicide attempt at the bridge, the less said about nine the better and everything before that was isolated, lonely and with the fear of Ienari.
"What about Ienari's parties?" Reborn asked.
Tsuna shrugged. "He didn't want me around for them. If the party was here, I was would be in my room for it. It wasn't worth it, especially since majority of Ienari's friend didn't even like me. Ienari was always popular; his parties were never small or quiet."
"And Iemitsu?" Reborn asked; his black eyes flashing with anger.
"Tousan barely remembers to call for his wedding anniversary," Tsuna calmly remarked. "It isn't really that surprising that he doesn't even remember to call for my birthday. Half the time he doesn't even remember Ienari's either."
Reborn's narrowed. He was clearly hearing what Tsuna wasn't saying in his words. "He remembers to call for Ienari more than he remembers to call for you," Reborn said darkly.
"... Yes." Iemitsu was an odd topic for Tsuna. On some level, Tsuna understood. He got why Iemitsu choose to throw himself into his work, doing his best to protect his family. He understood, but that did stop the child from inside Tsuna from lashing out, angry at the man who had more or less abandoned them (no matter how good of a reason), for making Nana depressed, for never being the father Ienari and Tsuna needed.
On some level, Tsuna still loved the man, but not as, never as, a father, but more like a distant relative. It was enough that Tsuna could acknowledge that they were family, tied by blood and connected in a way that no one will ever be able to sever. It was enough that Tsuna had a few happy memories of Iemitsu.
"That idiota," Reborn grit out.
Tsuna huffed at Reborn's tone. It read as someone who was immensely familiar with Iemitsu's personality, long suffering and clearly done with all this shit.
"It's alright," Tsuna said. "Beside, I got Papa." He looked over to the corner of the living room where Hana and Ryohei were chattering with the rest of the first generation. There was a loud roaring cheer from Knuckle and if spirits could get drunk (Tsuna was actually sure they could), the first generation was well on their way, rosy cheeks and all.
Reborn looked at him sharply. "Giotto is here?"
Tsuna laughed. "He's been here for the last five days. Don't look so alarmed Reborn. I mean you can't see him, so is it really a surprise?"
Reborn looked at him pensively. "Is it something I can learn?" the hitman asked.
Tsuna raised one of his eyebrows. Before he could answer, though, Ayame wandered over to the both of them and handed Reborn a yellow box.
"Take it before I decide against giving you a gift," she practically ordered.
Tsuna switched his attention to her, staring at Ayame incredulously. Given their antagonistic relationship, Tsuna had assumed Ayame wasn't even going to give a gift to Reborn.
The look of distrust on Reborn's face told Tsuna Reborn was thinking the same thing.
"It's not a bomb or a trap," Ayame said defensively. "If you don't want it, I'll take it back. But I'm expecting you to wear it, if you accept it."
Reborn pulled off the cover of the box, revealing a yellow band for his fedora. The hitman looked surprised to receive a gift that was something he would actually use, and not a gag gift.
Tsuna's jaw dropped for an entirely different reason.
"Thank you," Reborn said. He replaced the orange band on his hat with the yellow one.
"You welcome," Ayame said stiffly.
An explosion went off and purple fumes began to fill the room as Shamal got knocked out by one of Bianchi's purple cakes. The doctor fell back, bumping into Dino who tripped (again) and hit Kyoya. Which in turn triggered Kyoya and out came the tonfas. "I will bite you to death," the skylark said, leaping at Dino.
"You might want to save your student," Ayame remarked in a deadpan voice. "Though I think he deserves it."
"Baka-Dino," Reborn said. But the fondness in his voice was evident. The Sun Arcobaleno leapt off the couch and jumped straight into the fray.
Ayame took Reborn's seat as Tsuna continued to stare at her, inquisitive. "Neesan," he started.
"It's fine," Ayame said tensely. She relaxed, shoulders slumping and she resignedly repeated, "It's fine."
"That's not a gift you give to someone you don't like," Tsuna probed. "So why?"
Ayame didn't look him in the eye. Tsuna got the distinct impression that she was seeing, something he couldn't see. Ayame closed her eyes and sighed once more.
"I'm trusting the future," she said quietly.
Another Celebration
"Ienari-kun!" Akemi burst into Ienari's hospital with her gift. With this perfect gift Ienari would definitely accept her love.
"So noisy," Koujin said. He tossed a box at Ienari.
"Oh there are already other people here," Inmen said as she walked in a platter of chicken with Mochida who was carrying a sheet of cake.
"Bam! A new bo staff from your best friend," Hachirou said, dumping the staff on Ienari's bed.
"It seems I'm late to the party," Hideki said.
Ienari rolled his eyes, but otherwise grinned. It was great to celebrate his birthday with friends.
Bad Omen (Cracked)
It was a quiet autumn morning. The air was crisp and just a little chilled. Ayame pulled her pot of tea off the stove and turned to pour herself a cup of tea.
'Crack!'
Ayame gaped as her gray teacup cracked in half, splitting apart. She despairingly set her pot of tea down and picked up her two cracked halves. With a sigh, Ayame went to grab her stuff.
"All right. Which one of the kids are in trouble this time?"
Dino's been introduced! (I think that's all the characters from the Daily Arc right?) Speaking of which, I didn't use it in the chapter because I wasn't sure, but is Dino's last name/Famiglia Chiavarone or Cavallone? I see both in use and the wikia lists Chiavarone but also has a note the original Japanese was Cavallone. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that one of them has a negative meaning. If both are acceptable, which is the more widely popular one? (Also in that same vein is it why is Yuni sometimes called Uni?)
As for Gokudera's trip to the Spirit World, well at this point it isn't important to know what happened in the Spirit World (spoilers) but the knowledge that he went. Haru has joined the craziness that is Tsuna's friends. Ienari is finally coming out of the hospital (oh dear he's been stuck in there for over ten chapters haha). Birthday celebrations all around.
The Daily Arc is coming to an end. Just a few more things that need to be set up. Again thank you so much you guys for all the reviews you send in. They give me so much motivation you have no idea. Thank you.
Guest Reviewer Response
Omg
Traditionally, birds are messengers and harbingers so it's no surprise. Haha. But surprisingly not many people commented on the falcon.
Guest (9/24)
Aww thank you! -hugs-
Lacie
As for why only Namimori, it's the same thing. Time and proximity. Say if Ienari traveled to Tokyo. If he stayed there for a month, he would have started a small miasma at the hotel room he was staying at. It might influence his neighbors, it might not. If he stayed there a year, it might cover the entire block the hotel is on. Live there for ten years and it'll cover probably half of Tokyo (assuming Tokyo is huge compared to Namimori). And should Ienari leave, it will actually begin to dissipate over time, if he never returns to reinforce it. The miasma in Namimori is permanently there because Ienari lives there and the range grows stronger as Ienari grew older. It's entirely possible that if Ienari had remained sealed for the rest of his life that the miasma would start affecting neighboring towns (depending on how close they are to Namimori).
Basically… think of Ienari as open fire hydrant. It'll get everything close soaked and the water eventually spreads to everywhere else. Ayame draining the miasma is like putting a temporary patch on open fire hydrant, letting things dry out, but since it's temporary, the fire hydrant starts spraying water again, getting everything wet again.
Riana
Thank you 8D
Alpaca
Happy to improve your day! I'm so glad you're enjoying this story (and that you like Ayame too!)