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.
Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
Farran - the woman who challenged Fon
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. Sun Guardian
Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian
Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian
Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
Others:
Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.
Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.
737 reviews 1738 favs 1909 alerts -eyes sparkle- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
Enter Daemon
Mukuro rolled out of bed just in time as scythe sliced through where he had been laying down. "Who?" Mukuro snarled, looking at the intruder as he grabbed his own trident.
It was like looking in a mirror. A man loomed in front of him, scythe posed to swing again. He had a lighter shade of blue than Mukuro's own hair, styled in a similar fashion and dressed French-like blue military jacket and white pants.
"Nufufufu," the man said. "Not bad, but not good enough!"
Snakes dropped down from the ceiling. Mukuro swiped at them, slicing them in half before they dissipated into a blur of Mist Flames. A Mist User. What reason did he have to be here?
Mukuro threw up a storm of feathers, using the distraction to slip out of his room. He tripped as a chain shot out of nowhere, wrapping around his feet. Mukuro flipped onto his back, just in time to see the scythe swing down at him…
And was blocked.
"Daemon-sensei!" Chrome called out, blocking the scythe with a copy of Mukuro's trident. "What are you doing?!" She stomped her foot, looking angry; her single purple eye narrowed.
"Nagi darling," Daemon said. "Please move aside."
"No!" Chrome shouted.
Mukuro stared at the hilarious picture unfolding before him. Chrome who didn't even reached this man's shoulders, dressed in her pink nightgown and visibly upset. The man, in response, took a step back from Chrome's irate anger.
Several other doors opened, revealing the sleepy and concerned faces of Ken, Chikusa and Lancia, each one armed and warily looking out into the living room.
"What the hell is going on?!" Ken grumbled.
Before anyone could say anything, the temperature in the room dropped into a freezing cold. Everyone froze as a flare of killer intent filled the area, choking any words anyone would say.
"Yes. What is going on?"
Ayame stood by the kitchen, arms crossed and frigid smile in place. Her comfortable state of dress did nothing to tamper down the simmering anger radiating from her. In the dark, her golden eyes gleamed, daring them to challenge her while she was like this.
"Ayame," Daemon started.
She didn't let him finished. "I was asleep. For the first time in the last several weeks, I have voluntarily fallen asleep at the correct time at a schedule of my own making. I didn't fall asleep at some odd hours or because I had to rely on meds or because Tsuna ambushed me and made me take naps. I willingly went to sleep, I fell asleep, I was comfortable, I was even having a nice dream. All signs pointed that this was probably going to be the first time I was going to get a good's night rest." Ayame had stalked over to Daemon and jabbed him in the chest. "So helped me, you better have a good explanation for this or I will exorcise your spirit into the next life, no matter what Giotto says because You. Woke. Me. Up!"
He stared at her.
"Neesan," Chrome whispered quietly.
Ayame took a deep breath.
CRUNCH!
Everyone jumped as the table was crushed into pieces. Ayame pinched the bridge of her nose. She took another deep breath.
"Daemon, leave," she snapped. "Before I decide to haul you out into the forest to kick your ass and in case you forgot, I was taught illusions by a kitsune and I can overpower anything you throw at me. You will come back in the morning and will explain what the hell you're doing here. Failure to show means, I get to set Alaude on you."
Wisely, Daemon faded away, disappearing.
Meanwhile, Mukuro stood, finally freed from the chains.
"Are you alright Mukuro-san?" Chrome asked.
"Fine," he curtly responded. "Who was that?"
"That was Daemon Spade," Chrome said. "Giotto-san's Mist and Vongola's First and Second Mist Guardian. My teacher for Mist Flames."
"Why the hell did he attack Mukuro-sama?" Ken snapped.
"Because he's an idiot," Ayame said dryly. "Let's figure this out in the morning." Her shoulders sunk as she let out a tired sigh.
That Mukuro could agree with.
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An Old Friend
Tsuna smiled, watching as Reborn dragged Ienari out of the house at the crack of dawn. If it was one thing, he definitely did not envy Ienari being stuck with Reborn's training methods. Being a bystander with bullets flying about was more than enough.
He turned his attention back to the rising sun, greeting the morning light.
"Tsuna!"
Tsuna blinked, looking down. Waving at him, was a redhead boy. Tsuna brightened. Now there was an old friend that Tsuna hadn't seen in long time.
"Enma!"
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Kozato Enma
Reborn smugly trotted into the house. This morning's training session went off beautifully in his opinion. If Ienari was a little charred and twitching from the electric shocks, well, it was for a good cause. Next time, Ienari would dodge faster. Besides, Reborn could afford to go harder on his student. Ienari didn't know it, but the Varia would be on the move sooner rather than later.
He noted the pair of unfamiliar shoes at the door. A new guest had arrived it seemed. Not uncommon. The more Ienari stayed out, training or with his Guardians, the more Tsuna's friends seemed to relax and visit more often. The shoes were worn, so it wasn't as if Yamamoto had come over in new shoes, no it had to be someone new.
Sure enough a redhead boy was sitting in the kitchen with Tsuna.
"Ah, Reborn," Tsuna said. "Meet Kozato Enma. Enma this is Reborn."
Enma nodded. "Hello Reborn-san."
"A friend?" Reborn asked, joining them at the table.
Tsuna smiled. "Yeah… it was interesting how we met."
"Interesting," Enma said. "Sure, saving my family from a madman is interesting."
Reborn blinked. There… was a story there. His curiosity wiggled. He wondered what had happened.
"Speaking of that madman," Tsuna said. "Have you seen Daemon-san?"
Right on cue, Daemon materialized. "Tsunayoshi! Get the mean pineapple away from my Nagi darling!"
...What.
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By Chance
Tsuna was eleven when he met Enma.
It was by chance that Tsuna and Enma had met. Enma hadn't actually intended to be in this part of town and Tsuna… Tsuna could never figure out why he had boarded the train and gone to the nearby town.
On just the edges of the wards that Ayame had set up, Tsuna was wandering this new town, feeling Hyper Intuition guide him. There was something here, only he didn't know what. Behind him, invisible to everyone else, Giotto lingered, worried about Tsuna who was here in this strange town by himself.
That was when Tsuna ran straight into a red haired boy. "Oh, I'm sorry," Tsuna apologized. He froze as he noticed a taller teal haired man standing menacingly behind the boy.
Giotto pounced at that moment. "DAEMON!" Shifting downward to the physical plane, he promptly punched his former Mist Guardian in the face.
The redhead boy startled as the appearance of Giotto and Daemon. "What?!"
Tsuna was equally surprised by Giotto's reaction. But at this point he had been friends with someone like Hibari for nearly two years and he had perfected the art of coming up with a believable explanation for the very strange thing that occurred.
"My papa just knows him. They're old friends," Tsuna explained. He led the boy away as Giotto started launching into a tirade at Daemon. "They might be awhile. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi."
"Kozato Enma," the boy introduced himself.
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Reunion
Daemon had not expected to see Giotto here. In fact, he didn't expect to see Giotto ever again. Not since they had parted ways all those years ago. Said years had dulled his memory it seemed. Daemon had long considered Giotto weak and a coward.
Yet, standing before him, Sky Flames dangerously lit, orange eyes hard as stone, Daemon remembered why once upon a time, he had called this man his Sky.
"Would you like to explain where you've been all these years, my dear Mist?" Giotto asked sweetly.
Daemon ignored the way his heart lurched to be called someone's Mist, to be called Giotto's Mist. He also acknowledged that this was Giotto at his most dangerous, polite and yet so very angry.
"I owe you nothing," Daemon said. His jaw ached from where Giotto had punched him.
"No, I supposed not," Giotto said mildly. His eyes narrowed in accusation. "But you didn't come home."
Daemon had spent the centuries ignoring his Sky, ignoring his family. For all that they were tied and bound to the Vongola Rings, Daemon never appeared before the others, never sought them out, even when the Mist and Sky Rings were together in a firm handshake in the most current successor. He needed Vongola to be the strongest. Elena would never accept anything less.
Giotto stared at him; his expression slowly morphing into tired resignation. Pity. Daemon hated it. It was the same look Giotto had when Daemon betrayed him. Anger was very much preferred.
The two of them stood in the nearly empty streets, on the cusp of physical, tangible, and yet relics of the past, of a time long gone.
"You never understood," Daemon accused. "You were weak and a coward. Dismissing Vongola's military forces made us weak. It invited our enemies to attack us. We should have risen up against them and conquered them."
Even after all these years, he still didn't understand!
"Why are you here Daemon?" Giotto asked.
Daemon didn't answer him. Instead he leapt at him, poised to attack.
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Counterparts
Enma was a nice person. Tsuna had, in the time away from Giotto, had learned how Enma had a little sister, was also bullied in his school and was the same age as him. There was something else, something that made Tsuna's Hyper Intuition hum.
It felt like Locked Flames. That small muffled sense of awareness, only tiny embers and not a raging fire yet. It didn't feel normal though. Not like any of the Flames of the Sky. Not unless it was Mist Flames. Tsuna had yet to meet someone with Mist Flames.
"So who is he?" Enma asked, warily glancing over at the two men.
"I think he is Daemon Spade. Papa knew him, but I never met him," Tsuna explained. "Daemon is a friend that Papa hasn't seen a long time. Papa has been looking for him."
"I've never seen him before," Enma said, nervously. "What did he want with me?"
Tsuna couldn't say for sure. But… maybe history was repeating itself. Enma looked remarkably like how Giotto described his best friend, Cozarto. Giotto had recently confided on the story of how he had ended up in Japan in the first place and what Daemon's role that caused Giotto leave his home country.
A burst of Mist Flames exploded. Tsuna's attention snapped to Giotto. "Papa!" he cried out. Something was wrong. Why were they fighting?
"I won't let you stop me," Daemon shouted. He swung down his scythe. Giotto caught the blade with his hands, Sky Flames lit.
Giotto jumped back as Daemon summoned a pack of tigers illusions. The illusions immediately collapsed as Tsuna pierced them with his golden swords.
"What is that?" Enma shouted.
Tsuna pushed Enma behind him to protect him. "I'll explain later!" he said. Right now, it was more important to stop Daemon from his rampage. Tsuna didn't know why Daemon wanted Enma but this was bound not good.
"Daemon!" Giotto shouted.
"No, even all these years, you still don't understand!" Daemon shouted back.
Tsuna scrambled, trying to figure out the best way to help Giotto. His Hyper Intuition flickered, urging him forward to stop the two of them. This was wrong. Behind him, Enma shivered, feeling the creeping chill that was beginning to gather.
He leapt between Giotto and Daemon, encasing them both in ice. "Enough!" Tsuna roared. "Why are you two fighting?"
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Descendant (Come Back Please)
Laughable. Who did this child think who he was? "One of yours, I supposed," Daemon sneered at Giotto. The same unruly hair, the orange gleam of Hyper Intuition, the Sky Flames, even the same freezing ice of Zero Point Breakthrough.
The same foolishness that cause the child to jump between two dangerous and more powerful opponents.
"Yoshimune's line," Giotto said. He melted ice with his Sky Flames.
Daemon meanwhile, grinded his teeth, unable to free himself. "And I suppose you're entrusting him to destroy all my hard work," Daemon said darkly.
"Tsuna won't be inheriting Vongola," Giotto said.
"So you and your line still won't atone for your failures. Well at least one of your-"
Giotto's Sky Flames roared to life. Daemon barely suppressed the urge to flinched. He supposed that was a line that shouldn't have been crossed.
The child, Tsuna, placed a calming hand on Giotto and Daemon watched in odd fascination as Giotto took a step back, snuffing out his Flames. "Why do you keep doing this Daemon?" Giotto asked.
"Elena died because you dismissed our armed forces," Daemon said. "I promised her I would make Vongola the strongest-"
"By more violence?" Giotto sharply retorted. "To become that monster that Elena was trying protect the weak and innocent from?"
Daemon reeled back as if slapped.
Giotto continued onward, "The Vongola I created was meant to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, who couldn't rely on the law to protect them. I have watched as the decades went by as my Vongola sank further into darkness, twisted and bloodstained. I have watched it become the very monster I was trying to save people from. I have watched you help it become that."
Giotto's shoulders sagged, his anger burning away. "I do not want to fight you Daemon. It's why I quietly surrendered to your coup. But…" His orange eyes sparkled. "Despite our differences, you are still mines." He stepped forward and melted the ice surrounding Daemon.
"Just come home every once in a while," Giotto asked.
He… he needed time to think. Daemon just looked at his Sky, waiting patiently and still accepting like every Sky was. He drew in a sharp breath, remembering Elena dying in his arms.
Then he vanished.
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That's Life
If, you had asked Enma what he was going to do today, he would have said something along the lines of "be bullied, survive school, and go home and play with Mami". If you had told him, it would have involved meeting someone his own age with the ability of manipulate light, summon ice, and turn his head on fire, being stalked by what he assumed was a ghost, and witness a strange fight that made no logical sense, he would have laughed and dismissed it.
The latter was what happened and Enma was still having trouble wrapping his mind around what he had seen.
"What is going on?" Enma asked after the teal haired man vanished.
Tsuna looked at Giotto who stood still, staring at the spot where the man had vanished. Turning his attention to Enma, Tsuna dragged Enma away.
"It's kinda a hard story to believe," Tsuna started. "But it starts off with ghosts are real."
That… that was probably not a good way to start the conversation.
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Will You Stay?
-Present Day-
"That's how we met," Enma said. "Of course, I later learned that things like that were completely normal for Tsuna."
Reborn nodded. "Why did you come to Namimori today?"
"I haven't seen Tsuna in person for awhile, I like to physically see him to make sure nothing too crazy hasn't happened and he just didn't tell me," Enma said dryly.
That Reborn could empathize with. Honestly the amount of trouble that happened in Namimori, it was wonder no one had noticed. Or perhaps that was the willing blindness? The Triad attack should have garnered more attention, and yet it didn't.
He looked over to where Tsuna was still trying to calm down Daemon. "And him?" Reborn asked.
Enma shrugged. "It's pure coincidence that we're both here today in Namimori, I think. Daemon comes by once and while to check up on me, for reasons I never really quite understood. I'm not sure why he is here in particular."
"Enma," Tsuna said, walking over to them. "Can you calm down Daemon? I have no clue what he's talking about."
"I doubt I'll be able to do, but I'll try," Enma said, wandering over to Daemon who was still complaining about how his darling Nagi was being corrupted.
"So that's the missing Mist," Reborn said. He had met all of Giotto's Guardians, except for Mist.
"Yes," Tsuna said. "Daemon, unlike Papa and the others, can be wander more freely throughout the world."
Ah. That would make sense.
"Reborn?" Tsuna asked after the beat of silence.
"Yes?" Reborn asked, curious. Tsuna's body language had immediately tensed, shifting in nervousness.
Licking his lips, Tsuna hesitated. "After… after you're done tutoring Ienari, will you stay?" The last part was whispered so quietly, Reborn strained to hear it.
Stay? Reborn was stunned, as if the air had been knocked out of him. Tsuna was asking him to stay?
Tsuna didn't wait to hear Reborn's response. "IshouldhelpEnma!" he said, rushing off to reassure Daemon.
Reborn stood, stock still before quickly slipping out the door. He needed to think about Tsuna's request.
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Newspaper
Hana scanned the newspaper as she munched on a piece of toast.
Kinga Elementary School Now Open!
The final part of the elite elevator school is finally complete. Originally the elementary school division was supposed to open before the middle and high school divisions but setbacks during construction delayed its opening by near two years. Kinga is now accepting applications for students who wish to enroll for the next upcoming school.
"They finally finished huh?" Hana's father said. "They had been working on building that school for awhile."
"You should apply to the High School division, dear," her mother said. "It's one of the elite schools in the area still close to home. The best of the best, you will be able to get into any university you want if you attend there."
"I'll think about it," Hana said. It really depended on the rest of her friends.
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Meeting Mists
"I don't approve of Mukuro," Daemon announced as he barged in on the Ayame's Household during breakfast. He had left a confused Tsuna and Enma behind, wanting to make sure Chrome was fine.
Lancia placed a plate of sausage on the table, dressed in a frilly apron which had been a gift from Nana. Ken stabbed at his eggs. Chikusa paused, chopsticks halfway up to his mouth. Chrome looked up at him, a curl of steam rising bowl of miso soup in her hands. Mukuro glance his way, reaching for the pepper. Ayame was resting her head on the table, wrapped around a cup of green tea and ignoring everyone as they ate breakfast around her.
It looked terribly domestic, warm and full of the fresh smells of breakfast.
"Have a seat sensei," Chrome said. "Lancia cooked breakfast today."
"But," Daemon started, at a loss of words.
Chrome gave him a look.
Daemon conceded defeat and materialized a chair. His precious Nagi had grown into a fine woman. Chrome was a smart girl, brilliant and talented and so help him, far better than Alaude's students. But it was simply unacceptable.
"Can't you do something about it?" Daemon asked Ayame.
Ayame lifted her head long enough to glare at him. "Imagine if it was red."
That was a terrible idea!
Satisfied by his reaction, Ayame continued, "Then be happy it's just green and yellow."
"Daemon-sensei, Mukuro-san wants to learn how to do real illusions. Will you teach him?" Chrome asked.
No! "Nagi, dear, are you sure you want him as a partner?" Daemon asked. "After all, he's-"
"A mass murderer and wanted criminal?" Mukuro finished dryly.
"Pot meet Kettle," Ayame muttered.
Daemon glared at both of them. That was not the point here. The point was Nagi was an innocent girl who deserved far better than that pineapple.
"Mukuro-san and I do work well together," Chrome said.
"Think of this way," Ayame said airily. "Now you'll have as many students as Alaude."
That… was quite promising. Alaude had been too smug when Daemon had come back and he was studentless until he had met Chrome.
"Can he keep up?" Daemon asked, looking at Mukuro.
"Of course," Mukuro answered.
"Daemon-sensei is a strict teacher," Chrome said.
"It should be easy enough," Mukuro said with smug confidence.
Cheeky child.
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Stay or Go
Tsuna's words rolled around in Reborn's head.
'Will you stay?'
He would never admit it, but he felt adrift, bewildered, and confused by those words. Had it been anyone else, Reborn would have shrugged it off. But Tsuna was his Sky. His Sky was asking him to stay.
But why?
It was pretty clear that Tsuna wanted nothing to do with Vongola and by extension the mafia. Even disregarding Tsuna's connection to Vongola, why would Tsuna want him, a hitman, around? That was inviting needless danger, if Tsuna truly didn't want anything to do with Vongola.
Reborn had every intention of leaving to protect Tsuna from his enemies. There would be more than enough people ready to hunt down Tsuna and kill him if anyone ever learned that Reborn considered Tsuna his Sky. Reborn hadn't climbed to the top without making a few enemies.
Tsuna could, given what Reborn had witness so far, take care of himself and Ayame guarded Namimori like a jealous dragon guarded its hoard. But it wasn't perfect, it wasn't infallible. The Triad's last attack was more than enough proof that no matter what sort of protection was on Namimori, there would always be someone who would slip through the cracks.
"You should ask yourself what is Tsuna worth to you."
Was Tsuna worth staying? ...Yes. He was.
Honestly at this point, Reborn should throw in the towel and just wait to see what happened. It chafed him to concede defeat but he had to admit there was a plan in place, a plan he wasn't privy to. Which was understandable, trust was a rare commodity. It wasn't like Reborn was used to having trust. (But it still hurt, honestly, not be trusted. Whether it was because of Ayame's pettiness, or the fact that he was technically still on Vongola's side as long as he was Ienari's tutor, it hurt that he wasn't trusted enough to know.)
The better question was perhaps could he stay? Tsuna was worth staying for, but could he, forever the traveler, settle down here? Reborn had traveled all over the world for wherever his hits had taken him. Italy was his home country more because he had been born there, a familiarity that he allowed himself to indulge in.
There were still his enemies to contend with. Most won't think of him switching his primary headquarters to Japan, but a few would probably ask why and start digging.
'Or I could leave the mafia.'
Reborn froze as that thought crystallized. That… that was an option too. It wasn't a complete impossibility. He was a freelancer, no loyalty ties anywhere. His secrets were his own, though Nono might object as he knew a great deal of Vongola's secrets.
But Reborn was skilled enough that he could, fake his own death and wipe out Reborn the World's Greatest Hitman from existence.
Now, could he stop being a hitman?
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Rust and Water
Spanner blinked, unsure why Shoichi had brought him to a dojo.
"Shoichi!"
"Takeshi-san!"
A black haired teen came out, grinning at them. "You're Spanner huh?" he said.
Spanner gave a short salute. He vaguely recognized this as one of Tsuna's many friends that Tsuna, Ayame and Shoichi had mentioned. Spanner was still going through the motions of adjusting to life here in Namimori and had yet to meet everyone as Shoichi and he had jumped straight into experiments. "Yo."
"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. Has Shoichi explained to you Dying Will Flames yet?"
Spanner nodded. They had talked extensively about Spirit Energy and Dying Will Flames. It was a fascinating subject and Spanner had millions of experiments he wanted to try. Which was partly why he wasn't sure why Shoichi had brought him here, now, today. There was so much more Spanner wanted to test first.
"Do you want to learn?" Yamamoto asked.
Spanner blinked. "What?"
"Dying Will Flames?" Yamamoto said. "Tsuna mentioned you're a Lock Flame User. Rain Flames."
"Takeshi-san is also a Rain Flame User," Shoichi explained.
"I can learn those?" Spanner asked. He hadn't considered that.
"If you want," Yamamoto said.
"Yes," Spanner said as thousands different ideas popped into his head.
"Great!" Yamamoto said, grinning. "Let's get started."
Coming to Namimori was the best decision ever.
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Catch Up
After Daemon had disappeared, Tsuna and Enma shared a look and shrugged. Daemon was a bit of mystery all things considered.
"How are you doing Tsuna?" Enma asked.
"It's been alright," Tsuna said. They moved their conversation into the living room. Tsuna grabbed a pillow, sitting on one end of the couch. Enma took the other end, sitting cross legged facing him.
"And Vongola?" Enma asked.
"Everything… everything is going according to plan," Tsuna said. "As far as I know. Neesan might be worried about things and hasn't mentioned it yet, but I believe it's fine." It was a gamble to rely on this plan, but Tsuna didn't want to fight, didn't want to resort to violence unless he absolutely had to. So Plan C was the nice peaceful attempt.
"I am worried though," Tsuna confined.
The absolute best part about Enma was the fact that he was an outsider. He was a friend and he was the heir to the Simon Famiglia (which if they chose so, could continue to remain unknown to the mafia; Simon was more of a relic of a past, a proud heritage and none of their family members were rushing to become criminals). He was outside of the insanity of Namimori, with no real connection to the active underworld, except for the blood flowing through his veins.
As such, Enma has always provided a different perspective at Tsuna's situation. Tsuna carefully filled in his friend everything that had happened since the last time they had met. He told Enma about Mukuro, the approach of the Varia, the Triad attack, even his worries regarding Ienari and Vongola.
"I get it. I'm an older brother too," Enma pointed out. "Your situation with Ienari is nothing like mines and Mami though. I understand the urge to protect our siblings, but Ienari has done nothing to deserve that from you."
"But-"
"No," Enma cut him off. "No buts. Tsuna, he's not worth it. He isn't worth you sacrificing your heart, especially when he doesn't deserve it."
No, Ienari did not. Tsuna felt his shoulders relax. Ayame had told him something similar, but it was different to hear it from Enma who was also an older brother.
"Any suggestions about the rings?" Tsuna asked, lips curling into a smile.
Enma shrugged. "I think a battle royal is the best way honestly. Hibari-san and Kyoko-chan won't accept anything less. The stronger one between them gets the Ring."
"That's going to cause so much damage," Tsuna groaned into the pillow.
Enma laughed. "Think of this way, they'll finally settle which one of them is stronger."
"I hope Neesan knows somewhere that no one will mind it disappearing off the face of the planet," Tsuna said, scrunching his nose up.
Honestly, his Clouds were so destructive.
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Can't Stop Me Now
"You look like shit man," Hachirou said, hauling Ienari onto the beat-up couch in their base. He had found Ienari twitching on the ground from Reborn's training.
Ienari merely groaned. His entire body ached and throbbed. "Reborn has been brutal lately. More than usual."
"Oh?" Hideki asked. The light reflected off his red rimmed glasses. "Any idea why?"
"He mentioned some rival coming," Ienari said dismissively.
Twin looks of bloodlust gleamed in both Hisen and Fuun's eyes. "Oh really?" Hisen purred. Her iron fan snapped open, just barely hiding the delightful grin on her face. "That sounds perfect."
"Maybe they'll be stronger," Fuun said, twirling a kunai. "The Triads weren't any fun."
"Not everyone thinks fighting is fun," Kensuke grumbled. No one paid any attention to his words.
"What can I do?" Kaori asked, leaning forward and eager.
"I'm sure Reborn will be by to run all of you through your paces soon enough," Ienari said. Ienari would take down anyone who came his way. Nothing would stop him.
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Blessed Light
Tsuna sat down with Lambo. There was one more thing Tsuna wanted to confirm.
"Tsuna-nii?" Lambo asked.
Tsuna smiled. "Did you have fun today?"
Lambo nodded. He had gone with Nana, I-pin and Fuuta to the aquarium. "Yes!"
"That's great!" Tsuna said. "Lambo, do you remember how we told you to be very careful with your Ten Year Bazooka and not to use it so often?"
"Lambo-sama has been good!" Lambo protested.
"I know, I know," Tsuna said. "I do have a request if you don't mind. I would like to talk to your ten year later self."
"Okay!" Lambo pulled out the purple bazooka and disappeared in a smoke, revealing behind his older counterpart.
"Tsuna-nii!" Lambo greeted.
Tsuna recognized the ring with a green gem on Lambo's finger. Well that answered the first question. He was a little disturbed to learn that his future self had given Lambo the ring. Lightning, like Rain, was one Tsuna thought he only had one choice in. Haru didn't have great control over her Flames yet, but Lambo was only five. It felt irresponsible of him to give Lambo something so potentially dangerous. "So I guess you do get the Lighting Ring," Tsuna said.
Lambo glanced down at it, following Tsuna's line of sight. "Honestly, Tsuna-nii, you never told me why I got it instead of Haru-nee. But Haru-nee had her own ring so, I assumed that was why." He shrugged. "You can always change your mind too, Tsuna-nii. Just because I currently have it doesn't mean you have to give it to me."
Ayame most likely went ahead and made the extra rings and Haru probably turned Tsuna down when he had offered it to her. Still, it was very responsible for Lambo to make the offer in the first place. His youngest little brother grew up well.
"If it makes you feel any better, you didn't give it to me until recently," Lambo said.
That actually did help.
"I know our time is short," Tsuna said. "So I'll make this quick. Lambo, have you heard of this phrase? Let Justice be done through Blessed Light."
Lambo paled. "Tsuna-nii, be careful." He disappeared in a puff of smoke and younger Lambo reappeared waving around the piece of grape candy he had received.
"Grape candy!" Lambo said.
Tsuna smiled, hugging Lambo. "Thank you, Lambo."
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War Council
Three days after Enma had left, a meeting was held.
Tsuna looked around. Sitting around the table were his oldest friends. To his left was Kyoya, to his right was Kyoko, his two strongest elements. On the other side of Kyoya was Takeshi and on the other side of Kyoko was Hana followed by Ryohei. Directly across from Tsuna, in between Ryohei and Takeshi was Ayame.
'A war council,' Tsuna thought, amused. Everyone currently in the room was armed and dangerous in many different ways.
"I don't think we had one of these in awhile," Tsuna opened up the conversation. "And I think we should all get up to date on everything."
The recovery from the Triad attack had finally settled. The last repairs have been accomplished and everyone's wounds were fully healed.
There was much to discuss. So many different moving parts, many different things that had be covered. Some decisions had to be made. Tsuna wanted to make sure that everyone was on the same page.
"Is this about bring the others into the loop?" Hana asked, crossing her arms.
"Hayato, Chrome, Haru. How much does Shoichi and Spanner know?" Kyoko asked.
"More than those three, but not as much as the rest of you," Ayame said.
It went unspoken that no matter how fond Tsuna was of Reborn, Reborn was still in a contract with Nono. As long as his (temporary) loyalty lied with Vongola, they couldn't risk it.
"What about Fon?" Ryohei asked.
"No," Kyoya said. "Not until the baby hitman is cleared. Same for the herbivore doctor and poison scorpion."
"Make sense," Takeshi said. "They are friends. Wouldn't be nice of us to bring one of them in when they can't tell Reborn. Tsuna can't tell Reborn yet and Tsuna likes Reborn."
"And Mukuro?" Ryohei asked, addressing the elephant in the room.
Silence fell. "Chrome can decide that, whenever you fill her in," Ayame said. She rubbed her forehead.
"Well, all of that aside," Tsuna said. He placed a box on the table and opened it, revealing seven innocent rings. Across from him, Ayame let out a small 'oh', realizing what exactly this meeting was about.
"Kyoya-senpai, Kyoko-chan, would you two like to fight it out which one of you gets the Cloud Rings?"
The sharp look from both of his Clouds was their answer.
Counting down to that battle royal... Ahaha. And look Enma showed up! (And for the record this does mean no Shimon Arc). All those references to Daemon being missing, you'll find them only mentioned in the flashback sections. owo b
Happy Holidays to you all.
Please leave a review on your way out. :3