Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn
I am so veeeerrrrryyyyy bored. B-O-R-E-D. Bored. Today is such a boring day with absolutely nothing to do. It's so boring. I wish something would happen. ARGH!
Anyway, I am updating this because I already had it proofread a few days ago and plus, I AM BORED! So bored. Will die of boredom if this day does not end. BORED. Even writing cannot solve my boredom because I don't want to write at the moment, nor do I want to even think about writing. Life is sooooo boooorrrrriiiinnnngggg.
By the way, I start college tomorrow so my writing will probably slow down.
I'm still bored.
Just thought I'd point that out.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Precious Sky
Chapter 6
He saw red. He made a lunge for that demonic hitman that was his tutor, but like always, his friends had grabbed him and pulled him back. Someone, most likely G., had wrapped his arms around his torso to keep him back. Knuckle was in front of him, pushing him back from the tutor. Right now, though, he didn't have eyes for his guardians. He was too intent on breaking free from them to kill the stupid hitman that has ruined his brother.
"How could you?" Giotto yelled, trying to push Knuckle off him. "How the hell could you let this go on? This was no trial! You were ruining his life!"
Reborn had his head bowed so his fedora was covering his face. In truth, his eyes were staring at the small figure on the hospital bed that was being held by Elena. The female was hugging him gently to his chest so as not to upset his injuries. Tsuna, though, was staring at Reborn with an unreadable look. His eyes were dull with pain and sadness, but other than that, he had no idea of what the boy was thinking. All he knew was that things did not turn out the way they were supposed to.
*Six hours ago*
Tsuna was staring at the boys in front of him. They had once again cornered him during recess. Like always, he faced them, but did nothing to defend himself.
Ohmae grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. Tsuna gritted his teeth to keep from making any sound of pain. "Come on, Fukitsu-Tsuna. Cry like the baby you are." The boy sneered, punching Tsuna in the stomach.
Tsuna coughed violently, but didn't cry out. Instead he raised his head to glare defiantly at the bullies. "I'll never cry, Ohmae. You might as well just give up now."
"We'll see about that." Ohmae sneered and nodded to his friends.
Before Tsuna could realize what was happening, Kane had grabbed him by the arms and twisted them behind his back. Hayate then forced him down to his knees. Tsuna didn't see the point of this. He never ran when his classmates beat him up. Maybe they just wanted to have the pleasure of having Tsuna trapped when he submits to them.
Well they can forget it. No matter how many times this happens, he will never allow them to rule his life. He will forever defy them. 'Isn't that right, Reborn? Didn't you always say to never show weakness, never submit to your enemy? The moment you do, you have lost and they will always come back to get what they want. That is what you always said, right, Reborn?'
A fist connected with Tsuna's stomach. He wanted to keel over and grab his stomach in pain, but Kane pulled him back up so his stomach would be exposed to Ohmae and Hayate. The two boys assaulted his stomach and chest with kicks and punches, but Tsuna never opened his mouth to scream in pain. He wanted to, but he couldn't give them the satisfaction so he bit down hard on his lip to keep from screaming. He was biting his lip so hard that he started to draw blood, but he didn't care. All he wanted, cared about, was beating them in their little game.
As more hits connected with his stomach, pain flared up inside of Tsuna. Breathing became so difficult for him. Each time he let out a breath, his chest expanded and cried in pain as all his injuries were forced to expand. Another fist connected to his stomach. This one caused him to fall forward slightly and cough violently. His body had taken so many hits to the stomach that he was coughing up blood. The coughing hurt so much that he could only keep one eye open. His other eye was staring at the blood that was starting to form a puddle on the ground.
Apparently his torturers didn't like his lack of attention to them as Hayate grabbed his hair harshly and forced his head back so he was staring into his eyes. Hayate snarled when he saw those defiant brown eyes. "I don't like that look in your eye, Fukitsu-Tsuna."
"Get used to it. My eyes aren't changing for you." Tsuna retorted.
"Well, it seems someone still hasn't learned his place." Ohmae sneered. He slammed his fist into Tsuna's cheek, causing the boy's head to snap to the side. It was only because he was so used to this that he managed to keep from groaning in pain, though he still wasn't used to the dizziness that came when his head was hit. Black dots began to swarm his visions like always, but he forced himself to remain conscious. He would not succumb to these bullies.
But as more kicks and punches met his body, he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. These stupid bullies never went this far. What were they doing? Why were they being worse today? Nothing out of the ordinary had happened today. So why was it so much worse?
Black.
His vision was going almost completely black. The only thing keeping him conscious at this moment was the fact that he kept coughing up blood. He couldn't stop coughing. It hurt so much. Everything hurt, but the coughing made it hurt a hundred times worse. Maybe he was wrong. He couldn't handle this. He should have submitted to him, but he just couldn't do it. It would disappoint Reborn if he did something stupid like that.
Just as he was ready to completely fall into darkness, he heard something he thought would never happen.
"What are you doing?"
It was that voice that had Tsuna forcing his eyes open to stare in disbelief at the figure that had found him. A tall figure, one that was glaring at the boys. That glare scared them enough to drop him to the ground and go running away.
Tsuna stayed lying on his side. He was in too much pain to get up this time. All he could do was stare at his savior in gratitude because he didn't think those boys would ever stop. "Alaude-nii." He whispered, voice hoarse from all his harsh coughing.
The blond hair teen kneeled next to him. "Shh. Don't talk, Tsuna. I'm going to call an ambulance to come pick you up, okay?"
Tsuna grabbed Alaude's pants so he couldn't move. "Why?" He croaked. "Why are you here?"
"Nothing escapes my information network, little sky."
Tsuna's attention became even greater when he heard that name. He only heard that name from Reborn once. After that one time, it was never said again until now. What did that name mean? Why did they call him it?
"I just never told because you needed to grow on your own." Alaude paused as he took out his cell phone. Before dialing the number, he looked down at Tsuna with a frown. "But it's gone too far."
Tsuna's hand was pried away from Alaude's pants by a bigger hand. His eyes slowly moved to the man that had joined them: Reborn. "You're still watching me?" Tsuna muttered.
Alaude's eyes snapped to Reborn at Tsuna's words. That damn hitman had been watching Tsuna and did nothing about the bullying? Oh, they would be hell to pay later. But for now, getting Tsuna out of here was more important.
It wasn't long until an ambulance had shown up at the school, confusing the students and teachers. They were all ignored though as Alaude approached the ambulance with a bloodied Tsuna in his arms. He was filled with anger when he heard some of the kids mutter about "Fukitsu-Tsuna" and how he deserved what he got. Those kids understood nothing. They were just cruel.
As the paramedics got Tsuna situated on the gurney, Alaude turned to the boy's teacher, Mina, with an indifferent look, while on the inside he was burning with rage. They were many people who had to pay.
"I will meet you at the hospital then, Alaude." Reborn said when he saw where the Cloud guardian was looking.
*End*
After that, Tsuna was rushed to the hospital. While he was in the waiting room, Reborn called Giotto's school and told the school to release him and all his guardians, Dino, and Elena from school immediately. When they all reached the hospital, they demanded to know what happened, but it wasn't until Alaude showed up that they learned. Reborn refused to give them information as Tsuna was still in the trial. Being the home-tutor, he couldn't interfere so it was a blessing to him when Alaude showed up to stop those boys.
That was Reborn's reply when he was asked why he didn't interfere. Of course the answer was met with anger. Both of his students were yelling that Tsuna wasn't his student to train. They were wrong. He was not training the boy to be a mafia boss, but he was helping him grow. He was part of the Famiglia so Tsuna was just as much his responsibility as were Giotto and Dino.
The real anger wasn't released until Tsuna was out of surgery and in his room. It didn't take long for him to wake up and be smothered by Elena. But upon seeing those dull eyes on his little brother, Giotto had finally lost it and wanted to kill Reborn.
*Five hours ago*
What Alaude, Tsuna, and Reborn didn't notice was the little black haired boy in the bushes. He had come over looking for the baseball he lost when he stumbled upon the three boys gaining up on Tsuna like usual, but what was different this time was that they weren't stopping. They were going too far.
Yamamoto stared at it all in horror. His heart was beating ferociously against his ribcage. It was yelling at him to go over there right now and stop this. If no one stopped them, they were going to kill the boy. He desperately wanted to approach like always, but those words from Tsuna constantly rang in his head.
"I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to be seen with you. I don't want anything to do with you, Yamamoto. Go away and leave me alone forever. I don't need you. I can take care of myself."
What was he meant to do? Tsuna didn't want his help. But watching all this for months was driving him insane. Why did he ever listen to Tsuna? What was he meant to do? He was so confused. He had no idea of how friends were supposed to handle something like this.
'But that was just it, isn't it, Takeshi?' Yamamoto's mind said to him. 'You aren't friends. You were never friends. How could you two ever be friends? You're popular, surrounded by people who like you, and have a great skill at baseball. What does he have? He has nothing. You'll have nothing if you're with him.'
Yamamoto clutched his head, desperately wishing for his traitor brain to shut up. Did any of that truly matter? What was more important in life? Was his reputation more important than someone's life?
Before Yamamoto could even come up with an answer, he heard a quiet voice snarl, "What are you doing?"
He looked up to see a teenager with blond hair and sharp blue eyes glaring at the boys who were beating up Tsuna. At the scary expression on his face, they dropped Tsuna roughly to the ground and ran away. The scary teenager didn't follow them though. Instead he dropped to Tsuna's side and they spoke quietly to each other. He watched as another man approached them and peeled Tsuna's hand off of the blond haired man's pants.
He watched them until Tsuna was picked up and carried to the ambulance that had arrived. That man gave Tsuna to them then turned to Mina-sensei. He glared so hatefully at her that it made shivers run down his spine. He didn't blame the man for being mad though. Mina-sensei always ignored the fact that Tsuna was covered in blood and bruises whenever he came back to class after lunch or recess or breaks.
Not wanting to stick around anymore after all that, Yamamoto ran to his class, grabbed his stuff, and ran from the school, pulling a Tsuna. He ran and ran until he reached home.
His father was shocked when he barged into the restaurant. He stopped what he was doing and looked at his son, who was glancing around the restaurant frantically to make sure he wouldn't bother anyone. Seeing only two people there at the moment, he approached the bar and sat down, staring at his father, who was worried when he saw his son was extremely pale.
Tsuyoshi put his knife down. "Are you ready to tell me what's been going on the last four months?"
"I'm sorry, Dad. I just don't know what to do." Yamamoto replied. He leaned on the counter and buried his face in the palm of his hands.
"Start by telling me what's wrong." Tsuyoshi suggested.
"It's Tsuna." Yamamoto whispered.
Tsuyoshi nodded his head, having already guessed that. "Go on."
"The day after we met, I found out that all my classmates tease him and insult him daily. I defended him, but Tsuna got mad and said I shouldn't destroy my life by trying to help him. After that, Tsuna got beat up by a few boys in my class. Now they call him Fukitsu-Tsuna. They say if you hang with him, you get all types of bad luck. Ever since that day, he skips school, leaves early, or comes in late. Every time he does come, he gets bullied, beaten up, and our sensei doesn't do anything. She doesn't see it, but she sees the bruises and blood after it happens. She doesn't care what happens to him." Yamamoto explained bitterly.
"What about you? What have you done?" Tsuyoshi prompted.
Yamamoto glanced up at his dad to show his pain filled and regretful eyes. "Nothing. I've done nothing, dad. The first day, I went to talk to him, but he yelled at me to stay away from him and he wanted nothing to do with me. I listened, but I could never go back to being oblivious to everything that happened to him. Every time it happens, I see it. I see all sneers, jeers, punching, kicking. He takes it all. He never runs. He never fights back. He accepts all the bullying and it kills me that he doesn't want my help. He won't let anyone help him. He doesn't even report it. And today…" He paused to bury his face his hands to hide his sob, but his dad still heard it. "To-today it went too far. T-th-they went to-too far. He….oh god….he's in the hospital now. And I don't know what to do! Help me!"
"Takeshi, I can't tell you what to do." Tsuyoshi said, crushing the hopeful look that the boy had given his dad. In truth, he wanted to do so much. He couldn't believe that this is what was going on for the last few months. Both boys needed so much help and he wanted to give it, but he couldn't. These boys had to fix this themselves. "You have to figure that out for yourself. The only way for you to know what to do is by listening to your heart. What is it that you want?"
What is it…..?
Takeshi stared blankly at his father. What was it he wanted?
Yamamoto glanced up from his lunch to see a filthy Tsuna coming in the class. His clothes were covered in dirt and blood. When he raised his head, Yamamoto saw the strange orange tint in those eyes again. It made Yamamoto wonder what those eyes meant. To him, Tsuna was a mystery. Something he wanted to learn all about.
*K*H*R*
Chuckling slightly, Tsuna scratched the back of his head. "Well, my brothers are being annoying. They keep insisting I'm going to be kidnapped the moment they take their eyes off me so I'm escaping from their protective grasp."
"Sounds intriguing." Takeshi said with a chuckle. "Can I play your little game?"
*K*H*R*
Light brown eyes stared in horror when they saw Horio kick Tsuna harshly in the ribs one last time before the boys left the boy on the ground. Yamamoto almost took a step forward when Tsuna pushed himself up, spatting blood out of his mouth. He raised his head and his eyes connected with Yamamoto's. They were glaring at him, saying to stay the hell away.
He wanted so badly to defy those eyes and approach the boy, but before he could resolve himself to do it, the bell to end recess sounded. In the chaos of students rushing to get to class, Yamamoto lost sight of Tsuna and he didn't see him for the rest of the day.
*K*H*R*
Tsuna rubbed his head sheepishly. "Um, I don't have any friends."
Yamamoto blinked. "Seriously? Why not? You seem nice, just a bit quiet."
"Because I spend more time being an observer than joining in." Tsuna explained quietly.
*K*H*R*
He watched. He knew. Not a single student ever approached Tsuna. How could he never notice this before? Unless it was to bully or mock him, no one went near him. Even Mina-sensei ignored him, unless it was to yell at him for missing so much class or not paying attention when he was here. She got into a habit of embarrassing him in front of their class. This caused anger to bubble up inside of Yamamoto. She wasn't helping him. She was just making everything worse for him.
*K*H*R*
"Hello, Takeshi." Yamamoto's dad's eyes paused on the brown haired boy with his son. "Ah, greetings, young one. I am Yamamoto Tsuyoshi."
"Sawada Tsunayoshi." Tsuna gave the older gentleman a bow. "It is nice to meet you, Yamamoto-san."
"Dad, Tsuna and I are playing a game. We're going upstairs, kay?" Yamamoto asked.
*K*H*R*
This wasn't how it was supposed to be. His classmates weren't supposed to be this cruel. He was walking with some friends behind Tsuna when one of them "accidentally" bumped into Tsuna when he was in front of the stairs. Yamamoto jumped forward by instincts to grab Tsuna, but his hand missed and the boy fell down the stairs. With each thud, Yamamoto winced.
"Tsuna." Yamamoto whispered in horror when Tsuna finally landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs.
Tsuna struggled to push himself off the ground. It took a few minutes but he finally got up, wiping the blood from his mouth. "Stop, Yamamoto-kun." He whispered back, not that anyone would have noticed anyway.
Yamamoto stared at Tsuna as the boy limped away in the direction of their class, not even bothering to go to the infirmary. When he was gone from sight, he glanced over his shoulder at the students that saw Tsuna get pushed down the stairs to see that they were laughing. His hands curled into fists. He wanted so badly to slam his fist into the face of the one who pushed Tsuna. Pushing someone down the stairs was dangerous.
*K*H*R*
To Tsuna's surprise, Yamamoto started laughing. He was laughing so hard that he fell forward and buried his face in Tsuna's shoulder. His whole body was shaking with his laughter. "O-one person, Tsuna. Name one person who would be my friend if not for popularity or because of my skills in baseball."
"Me." Tsuna said quietly without an ounce of hesitation. "I'll be your friend."
*K*H*R*
"You do not insult Tsuna ever again, got it? He has never done anything to you and you know nothing about him. He is a much better person then you."
"Takeshi!" Tsuna shouted in dismay, jumping up from his seat. "Please, stop. You don't have to waste your time defending me."
"I'll say he shouldn't. Nothing good ever comes from associating yourself with an idiot like Sawada." Ohmae sneered, despite the fear he was feeling of Takeshi so it either made him really brave or really stupid.
*K*H*R*
"I think not. If anyone shall be leader, it shall be me, Takeshi!" Tsuna argued mockingly, grinning at his first friend.
Takeshi stood up and bowed to Tsuna. "Of course. I am deeply sorry for undermining you, boss."
When Tsuna's and Takeshi's eyes met, they both burst out laughing. "Boss!" Tsuna cried, grabbing his sides as he laughed so much. "That's a good one. Neither of us will ever be a boss."
*K*H*R*
"Your reputation will be ruined because of a nobody." Tsuna answered.
"Tsuna," Takeshi said desperately. "We are friends. I can't just sit back and watch you get hurt. And don't try to say you're used to the teasing and it doesn't hurt. I saw the pained expression you were trying to hide earlier when Ohmae started."
Tsuna bit his bottom lip and glanced at Ohmae, who was glaring angrily at him as if blaming him for this surprise turn of events. "I just don't want to be the reason that your life becomes ruins. I am a no-good invalid that messes up everyone's lives." He said quietly.
*K*H*R*
Takeshi grabbed Tsuna by the neck and pulled him closer to him. "Tsuna and I are best friends now, Dad."
*K*H*R*
Tsuna snorted. "You laugh because you think I am joking."
"Tsuna, there is no tutor like that out there." Takeshi said once he got his laughter under control.
"You say that because you haven't met Reborn." Tsuna retorted.
"I think you've been reading too many mangas." Takeshi quipped.
Tsuna raised a brow. "You say that because you haven't met Reborn."
"Is that going to be your answer to everything?" Takeshi asked, raising a brow in amusement.
Tsuna blinked up at his friend, but allowed a small smirk to grace his features. "You say that because you haven't met Reborn."
"That one doesn't even make sense!" Takeshi half-shouted.
"You say that because you haven't met Reborn." Tsuna commented.
"Neither does that!"
"You say th–"
"You say that one more time, I swear I'll," Takeshi paused to think of a threat. He didn't know Tsuna all too well since they only met yesterday, but he knew one thing about the boy. He liked being a quiet observer. "I'll make you the center of attention and make you talk to everyone and be distracted from your observations and dragged you around so people will swarm around you, not giving you any space."
Tsuna shuddered. "I don't like my personal space being disrupted, Takeshi."
The taller boy looked at his arm which was still wrapped around Tsuna's shoulder and removed it. He didn't realize he was making his new friend uncomfortable because his personal space was invaded.
Surprisingly though, Tsuna just glanced up at his friend with a frown. "By strangers, Takeshi. I don't mind family and friends being in it cause I can trust them not to harm me. You're a friend, Takeshi."
A grin broke out on Takeshi's face as he threw his arm back over Tsuna's shoulder.
*K*H*R*
Did any of that truly matter? What was more important in life? Was his reputation more important than someone's life? Was being popular more important than having true friends?
No. It never was. He always knew that, but he always convinced himself it was so he could honor Tsuna's wish and stay away.
But seeing that bloody body of Tsuna being carried away to an ambulance, he realized he was wrong all along. He should have ignored Tsuna's cry to leave him alone and helped him. Tsuna needed all the help he could offer and he ignored him.
He was a horrible person!
*K*H*R*
"I want Tsuna." Yamamoto's muffled voice cried. "I need him back. Being around him was the most fun I ever had. I need my friend back."
Tsuyoshi allowed himself a brief smile before it disappeared and he bopped his son on the head to get him to look at him. Giving his son a stern look, he said, "Sitting here crying isn't going to get him back."
*Precious*Sky*
That was how Yamamoto found himself standing in front of the receptionist at the hospital. She was a kind woman that was more than happy to point him in the direction of Tsuna's room. Before he could head there though, she gave him a lecture of being quiet and to not make a ruckus because she didn't want to have to kick him out like she did to the last group that came to see him.
Yamamoto was at first confused when she said that a group of people came to visit Tsuna before he realized who she meant. No one at their school liked Tsuna. And Tsuna said he only interacted with his brother and his friends. So they had come to see him and caused a racket. Maybe it was because they didn't know about the bullying before?
Shrugging, Yamamoto entered the room. Tsuna was already small, but he looked even smaller in that big hospital bed with all the medical equipment around him.
The brown haired boy looked away from the window when he heard the door open. He turned to greet the person, but froze when he saw who was standing in the room with him. "Yamamoto-kun! What are you doing here?"
*Precious*Sky*
"Mom?"
Nana looked up from folding the laundry to smile at her oldest son. "Hey Giotto. How was school?"
Giotto didn't smile like he usually did when his mother asked how his day was. He walked over to the table and stopped her from folding the towel by putting a hand on top of it. "Mom, Tsuna is in the hospital. It seems–"
Nana's smile fell from her face, leaving her to stare in horror at her eldest. She knew something had been wrong with her youngest for the past few months, but whenever she tried to talk to him, he always brushed it off as if nothing was wrong. He just wouldn't talk to her so she let it go. Why did she do that? She should have tried harder to help her son!
"Mom," Giotto whispered, brushing away a stray tear that fell from his mother's eyes. "He's been getting bullied horribly the past few months. These boys have been beating him up. They went too far today. If Alaude hadn't been passing by…." The blonde hair teen trailed off as he choked on his words. What would have happened if Alaude hadn't been there? He couldn't even think of that!
"Tsu-kun," Nana cried. "Not my Tsu-kun!"
"He's conscious. The doctor said he'll be fine." Giotto reassured her. She collapsed in his arms and sobbed for her little baby. Why hadn't she tried harder to help her baby? She noticed the drop in his grades and that fact that he barely went to school and when he did go, he didn't go for a full day. She noticed it all. Why hadn't she helped him more?
*Precious*Sky*
Yamamoto didn't reply. Instead, he approached the bed until he was standing next to Tsuna, who was following every single one of his moves. It hurt him to see Tsuna so wary of him. He just wanted the boy's trust. He had no reason to hurt him. Then again, neither did those boys from school. "No more. Tsuna, no more please."
"Ya–"
"Shut up." Yamamoto bowed his head so his eyes were hidden by his hair. "This time, Tsuna, I want you to shut up and listen to me."
It was mostly out of surprise that Tsuna shut his mouth and stared at Yamamoto. The only time he had ever heard the boy's voice this harsh was when he was scolding Ohmae for teasing him.
"Okay," Yamamoto took a deep breathe. "I listened to you. I stayed away from you. That was what you wanted. You wanted nothing to do with me. You didn't want me to defend you. You let those boys beat you up all the time. You are hardly at school anymore. And now, because of those same boys, you have been sent to the hospital. Mina-sensei doesn't even like you. She couldn't care less about your injuries. I may have not have been happy with my life, but I realize the obliviousness was great. I didn't have to see all the pain that others went through. I only had to see mine. But then you just had to appear in my life and open my eyes. Open my eyes to the fact that I wasn't alone. I was glad to learn I wasn't alone, but then you! You had to go and push me away and that hurt so much. You hurt me worse than all those false friends I have."
Tsuna winced. He hadn't meant to hurt Yamamoto so badly. He just didn't want to be the reason that his life was ruined. "I'm–"
"Tsuna, shut up. I'm not done." Yamamoto growled. "I listened to you. I ignored you. Now you have to listen to me. It. Was. A. Mistake!"
"Mistake?" Tsuna asked confused.
"Where are we?" Yamamoto asked.
"A hospital." Tsuna answered, even more confused. What was Yamamoto trying to get at?
"Exactly." Yamamoto said. "We are at a hospital because I made the mistake of not going through with my threat. I told Ohmae no one was to pick on you, but then, you told me to leave you alone so I did. I chose to ignore you, instead of stopping all those people from beating you up. And because of that, they went too far and sent you here. I'm sorry."
Tsuna stared at Yamamoto in shock. He was sorry? The once oblivious baseball star who was doing what Tsuna asked him to was sorry? "You have nothing to be sorry for." Tsuna muttered, still a bit shocked. "You were doing what I asked and ignored me. It was for the best."
"Why?" Yamamoto asked quietly, still not looking at Tsuna. "Why won't you be my friend? I need a real friend, Tsuna."
"Fukitsu-Tsuna." The boy replied.
Yamamoto's eyes snapped to Tsuna, hardening in anger. "That's why?" He asked, shaking with rage. "You've refused to be my friend because you let those idiots get to you! Don't listen to them, Tsuna. You aren't bad luck! All those bad things that happened to you were because of them! Ignore them. What they say doesn't matter."
Tsuna stared blankly at the boy. "Why do you care so much?"
"Because you saved me." Yamamoto replied, smiling at Tsuna. "And I've seen who you can become. Everyone else has no idea of who you can truly be because they are too busy degrading you. But I see it. I've seen the potential you have. I've experienced it. Tsuna, don't listen to them. Be that boy that I met when you were running from your brothers. That is who you truly are."
"That's easier said than done." Tsuna said bitterly.
Yamamoto blinked. "But you're already doing it. Even when those boys were beating you, you still defied them. You never submitted to them. You're stronger than you let yourself believe, Tsuna."
Tsuna glanced at him, giving a brief smile.
"And besides, I'll be there to help you." Yamamoto added, grinning at the surprised boy. "This time, I'll do it right. I'm sorry, Tsuna. I'll be a better friend this time."
A/N: Once again, keep in mind, they are nine!
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