Belphegor, Mukuro and Hibari all took one look at Fon serenely drinking tea by the barrel with Rosethorn, before the trio all shared a look.
No way in hell were they interrupting Rosethorn when she had that look on her face. Especially when she was clearly picking Fon's knowledge of martial arts for new tricks to use with her tessen.
The three silently walked away.
"So now what?" asked Mukuro.
"The Prince is bored of playing with the Skylark... what else is there to do in town?" asked Belphegor.
Hibari honestly had no idea. These two were the closest thing he had come to having friends his own age, as sad as that was.
Suddenly a panicked cry filled the air, along with the mocking laughter of older boys.
Hibari smirked. Their boredom had just been dealt with...temporarily at least.
Within short order the bullies were dealt with and the skittish herbivore was rescued. He would have made a get away...except Hibari made the mistake of mentioning the boy's name in front of Belphegor and Mukuro. His full name.
"Kufufufu... Did you just say Sawada? As in Iemitsu Sawada?"
Tsunayoshi looked at the odd teen with the mismatched eyes and the rather terrifying blond next to him who was snickering with equally dark amusement.
"How do you know my dad?"
"Oh this is too hilarious. Not only do we run into Fon's nephew, but we've stumbled onto the hidden location of that idiot's civilian family!" cackled Mukuro. "Rosethorn is going to love this."
Tsuna was clearly terrified out of his wits as Mukuro and Belphegor took him to see Rosethorn. They had made it clear he didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Wait... this is that moron's kid?" said Rosethorn in obvious disbelief.
Tsuna squirmed, but gratefully accepted the tea. He found it more than a little weird to see a smaller, and considerably friendlier version of Hibari with a monkey.
"You know my dad?" he asked curiously, hiding partially behind his tea cup.
"Blond, scruffy appearance and an obnoxious attitude with the inability to actually listen to the opinion of others?" asked Rosethorn. Tsuna cautiously nodded. "We know him. Complete jackass... I don't know why Lal Mirch bothers to put up with him. If I were her I would have strangled him in his sleep years ago. What do you know about your father?"
Tsuna flinched.
"I know he married my mother a year and a half before I was born, that he claims he loves her but he never remembers important dates like birthdays or anniversaries on time if ever and that he always gets drunk off his ass on the rare occasion he actually deigns to visit. And that his cover stories for why he's never around are so ridiculous that it's obvious he can't lie at all," said Tsuna in a flat tone, almost like commenting on the weather.
Rosethorn frowned.
"You're kidding. That jackass goes on and on about his wife and son, but he's never around?"
"Last time I saw him was about two and a half years ago and he told my mother he was off 'to become a star'," said Tsuna bitterly.
Now Fon was frowning.
Rosethorn patted Tsuna on the head.
"I hate to break it to you kid, but that idiot has been pretty much living it up in Italy while your poor mother is left alone here. I know for a fact he often goes out drinking with his subordinates... there were also unsubstantiated rumors he got one of his aides pregnant a while back, but no one bothered to find out if it was true."
Tsuna flinched hearing that, and looked incredibly bitter.
Rosethorn had an evil idea.
"I wonder if the Boss would approve of sending the mooks to stalk the jackass for photos?" she mused.
Belphegor snickered.
"I sense mischief."
"Well think about it. How would your poor mother react if she had proof of that idiot's infidelity and lying? She's probably very lonely with her husband gone all the time, and I doubt you've had an easy time of it with how family oriented this country is."
"He is one of the most consistently bullied students...despite the number of times I've bitten various bullies," commented Hibari.
Tsuna turned to look at him wide eyed with shock. The fact that the demon prefect knew of him was a major surprise.
Tsuna stuck around for a bit, at least enough to finish his tea, but left after that. He seemed resigned about the fact his father had been lying to him for years and hurting his mother with his absence.
Fon noticed the look on Rosethorn's face though.
"What is it?"
"There's something odd about his Flames. I can tell he's active, but it's like there's a block on them," she said. "It was strange...it felt a lot like there was something deliberately strangling his soul and not letting any of his Flames to be used."
"Exactly what do you know of the boy?" asked Fon of his nephew.
"Very clumsy, consistently at the bottom of the class and unmotivated. Has a very strange attractant effect on bullies, both adult and those his own age. I've seen people go after him even with more attractive targets around," said Hibari.
Fon frowned.
"That sounds far too much like he might possibly have Sky Flames, and some idiot placed an inferior Seal on them," said Fon.
"There's different types?" asked Rosethorn.
"Skies require a very specific form of sealing, and even then it's never actually been used. Generally speaking if a Sky has gone that far, it's easier to simply kill them and their Guardians. I've never actually heard of someone attempting to seal one."
Rosethorn sipped her tea.
"Well Sawada is certainly stupid enough to try it, and likely wouldn't think of the consequences after. Which gives me an idea... How would you like a guarantee of me visiting in the near future long enough for us to 'play' again and possibly get some upgrades to your preferred weapons?"
"I'm listening," said Hibari.
"Keep an eye on the kid, at least until we figure things out. In exchange I'll get you an upgrade to your tonfas that will include a few surprises like chains so you can play with your Cloud flames. If I'm right, then we can really ruin that idiot's day and make things more interesting for you later. Before I forget, take this."
Hibari took a card with an emblem on it.
"What is this?"
"Proof that you're being actively scouted by the Varia," said Fon bluntly. "If you have that, then even if you go Active you have the right to refuse any invitations. It also means the Triads would be far more leery of going after you later, if only because keeping you a freelancer means they might have a chance to gain contacts within the group."
"It means you wouldn't be chained the same way Fon is," said Rosethorn. "The Varia has a strict policy of only accepting the strong... weakness is more likely to get you eaten alive and killed than encouraged."
Hibari certainly liked the idea of that.
Daniela frowned at the question.
"You think you found a sealed Sky?" she repeated.
"Is there any reason why Sawada's son might have Sky Flames? I know the jackass is Active, but I've never figured out the type."
"He's a Sky... more than that he's of the Primo's bloodline. His son could have easily inherited Sky Flames from his side of the family. But sealing the boy? That makes absolutely no sense at all... Skies are cherished and encouraged to find Guardians, not sealed."
"So if there was a possibility Sawada sealed his Flame Active son..."
"Then it seems we'll have to make a visit to Japan and remove it. Sealing a Sky isn't healthy for the victim. There's a reason why they're more likely to be killed outright than sealed," said Daniela.
"How's Andromeda working for you?"
"She is a true delight. It's been far too long since I had someone I could share baby pictures with," said Daniela.
That, and Andromeda was just strong enough to act as Daniela's new Mist. It wasn't a full bond, but it was enough to skirt the laws of Omerta.
"Well in that case I'm sure we could draft a small contract so your idiot son won't get suspicious...and we could bring pictures! I'm sure Iemitsu's wife would love a chance to share some of her son!"
Daniela beamed at the idea.
A week later they were back in Japan...this time with a less than happy Daniela, an amused Andromeda and a slightly fussy Teddy.
Tsuna was made the unofficial babysitter of the precocious metamorph. Fortunately he didn't do more than yelp once when Teddy showed off his trick and soon enough the two were playing in Tsuna's room. Apparently he had a knack for handling small children.
"I cannot believe how foolish that boy is being. Honestly, while I approve at least marrying before having a child, leaving his wife alone for years at a time is ridiculous," said Daniela exasperated.
Nana had a tired smile. She had believed them at once when Daniela had shown up and explained who she was. Namely that she was the mother of the old man Iemitsu had brought home once when Tsuna was much younger and she had been appalled when informed that Iemitsu had been leaving his wife alone for years at a time.
Family takes care of each other, and Iemitsu was doing a very poor job of it. A situation Daniela was determined to rectify immediately.
If for no other reason than to give her son a good hiding for the sheer amount of stupidity he had displayed, and give Iemitsu a very stern lecture for his behavior.
Head of CEDEF and External Adviser or not, there was no excuse for this sort of behavior.
Rosethorn was playing with Hibari for a few hours. He was very pleased seeing the female carnivore back in town.
Tsuna officially liked Daniela and Andromeda. They were like the grandmother's he never had and didn't treat him like a kid.
Andromeda mostly treated him like a second grandson... her daughter had been just as clumsy as Tsuna at his age, but far more adventurous. She was also very loyal and the woman missed her dearly.
In an out of the way location...
Tsuna wasn't sure how to feel about Daniela poking him with her finger while it was on fire. Fortunately it was over very quickly and a strange sense of relief filled his body. Like something had been holding him back for a very long time, and was finally allowed to breathe properly for the first time in years.
Sure he passed out, but that was apparently normal.
Daniela was not happy with her son. She knew she had raised him better, and this sort of idiocy did far more damage to the poor boy than good! Timoteo had better have a damn good explanation for this sort of foolishness.
Fortunately for Tsuna, there were ways to hide the fact his Sky Flames were now freed without dragging the poor boy into the mafia so soon.
More importantly, it gave Daniela a chance to deal with her son and Iemitsu without either of them realizing she had unsealed the poor child.
Rosethorn cast a basic fidelius over Tsuna. The charm would keep most Flame sensitive people from registering the fact that Tsuna was a Sky without interfering with his ability to gather Guardians or leave him a complete mess like the seal had. And only Tsuna could tell people what the secret was, however he wasn't likely to do so considering he had a panic attack when Daniela explained about the mafia.
Tsuna couldn't help but feel like his life was finally looking up. Sure, odds were he'd get dragged into the underworld at some point, but Rosethorn had at given him her contact information so he had someone to talk to about being dropped in the middle of something so life changing without any warning.
Finding out the violent and strange woman was in fact a former "Savior" of an entire society in the UK had been a shock...mostly because she had been so quick to join a group of elite assassins rather than play off her fame or stick around her old life.
However when she explained the burdens of being famous and so well known, Tsuna had understood.
She never asked to be famous. She had basically had all the hero-worship and admiration shoved on her for surviving something her parents didn't, and everyone had an unrealistic expectation of her as a result. Add on top of that the fact her 'mentor' had basically tried to force her into being a willing martyr for people who should have gotten their act together and dealt with the problem themselves but had relied on children to do most of the dirty work instead...well, Tsuna could completely understand why she had left.
The fact her training had left her unable to properly rejoin normal life without a lot of trial and error, never mind her own instincts, it only made sense she'd be drawn to the most dysfunctional family in the mafia.
The way she talked about the Varia, Tsuna could fully believe it was one big, dysfunctional family. They might be assassins, but it didn't make them any less human.
Just look at Belphegor and Mukuro! They were violent sociopaths, people who would never fully "fit in" with civilians and yet they had found a home that was uniquely suited for them!
Tsuna couldn't help but feel sorry for Hibari. As far as he knew, no one had ever really bothered to try and befriend him. Everyone was simply too afraid of him, or were put off by his anti-social personality.
Now that he thought about it, he could think of a few people who were outsiders, despite being fairly popular or well known. They had people around them, but they always felt like they were outliers in their own group.