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"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Precious Sky

Chapter 9

"Leaving?"

Tsuna nodded his head. He and Takeshi were sitting on the swings at the park, talking quietly to each other so they wouldn't be overheard. "Even though he is only twenty, he's heading over to Italy with his guardians and Reborn now. He won't officially become the leader of Vongola until he is twenty-one. Apparently he is going to do some training under Nono before becoming the official boss." The thirteen year old boy explained.

"So our sadistic teacher is leaving with your brother?" Takeshi asked.

"Yep. It's been declared that we are going back to a regular school for middle school."

"Wow, I never thought this would happen."

Tsuna laughed. "He's only been our teacher for four years, Takeshi."

The baseball player gave his friend a dry look. "He's a demon, Tsuna. Four years with him is like–"

"HA!" Tsuna screamed, pointing an accusing finger at his friend. "You finally admit it!"

Knocking the finger away, Takeshi grinned. "I swear you are getting more and more dramatic as time passes."

Shrugging, Tsuna scratched the back of his head. "I blame Reborn's influence. The demonic hitman can be quite dramatic himself, especially with his disguises and his spying."

"It's amazing that you can always tell when he is in a disguise. I can never figure him out." Takeshi replied, grinning.

"Because you are oblivious." Tsuna retorted as he started to swing a bit.

Laughing, Takeshi ran a hand through his hair. "Still, I was never in a million years expecting you to suddenly announce it was the mafia you were involved in four years ago. You really caught me off guard with that one, Tsuna."

"My ultimate goal in life." Tsuna said sarcastically.

Four years ago

Tsuna shook his head, eyes shut tightly. With his eyes closed, he didn't see Takeshi approach him again so he couldn't escape when the boy grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him into the window, causing Tsuna's eyes to snap open to see Takeshi staring at him determinedly.

"I can't tell you." Tsuna whispered, struggling to get the bigger boy off of him.

"Why? Why can't you?" Takeshi demanded, nails digging into Tsuna's shoulders. "Is it because of the danger?"

Tsuna closed his eyes.

"Damn it, Tsuna! Stop it! You aren't a hero so stop trying to protect me like one! We're in this together. That's what it means to be friends!" Takeshi growled.

A low chuckle resounded throughout the hall. Takeshi stared in absolute confusion as Tsuna's shoulders started to shake with his chuckles. "You don't get the danger." Tsuna said while still chuckling. "It is so dangerous. You could end up dead because of this."

"FINE!" Tsuna yelled, throwing his head back with his chuckles turning into full laughs. "I'll tell you everything I know, and then, maybe then, you'll realize you're being an idiot for saying you want to stay by my side."

Takeshi released his friend and stepped back to the opposite wall and slid down to the floor so he could sit and listen to the story. Plus, he wanted to get away from the insane laughter from Tsuna. Just maybe his friend was more freaked about everything that happened today than he let on. He had thought he was pretty calm about it all, but maybe it was all just a ruse to not worry him.

Like Takeshi, Tsuna slid to the floor. He took a few deep breathes to get his laughter under control before looking at his friend in complete seriousness. "You want to know? Alright. The mafia."

"Mafia….?" Takeshi murmured. Whatever he was expecting, it certainly was not that. Tsuna and his family seemed too nice to be involved in such things.

And Tsuna did explain like he said he would. He told Takeshi all about the Vongola Famiglia, the flames, the allies to the Famiglia that he knew about, how his brother was to be the next boss, how his friends were his guardians, how Reborn was a hitman and Dino and Giotto's tutor, and how those people were after him to get to his brother. He left nothing out. He would tell him everything to scare him away so he would no longer associate himself with such a dangerous family…..so was the plan.

But, Takeshi, once more, surprised him…once he got passed the shock and surprise and was able to speak again of course.

"I understand." Takeshi murmured, raising his head to stare stubbornly at his friend. "Your brother is the next boss and because of that, you are in danger so you need your own guardians. I will gladly take up the role of one of your guardians."

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

That was all Tsuna could do for a minute: blink. Was Takeshi really that damn reckless or was he just stupid?

"That is not what I was asking at all!" Tsuna shouted, collapsing onto all fours to stare pitifully at the floor.

"I won't run, Tsuna. I'll stay by your side. You'll need someone to help you. You can't do it all by yourself." Takeshi argued, but was smiling reassuringly at his friend.

Present

"I still think there is something wrong with you or you're just severely reckless." Tsuna muttered.

Rolling his eyes, Takeshi stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back slightly to stare at the sky. "How is there something wrong with me when all I want to do is help out a friend?"

Nee futari de chikatta hi no mabushiku hagayui eien hontou wa donna mono yori ibitsu datta koto sou hajime kara kizuite–

Tsuna pulled his phone out (the one that Giotto forced on him after the events of that night four years ago). It was a blue flip phone with a curved square screen on the front. The screen would light up with his wallpaper if he pushed a button on the side, got a text, or was receiving a phone call. It would also alert him to who the text or call was from if he had the same ringtone for everyone in his contact list.

As it was, he already knew that it was Giotto calling his phone from the ringtone. "What is it, Gio-niichan?" He asked innocently. "Eh? But I thought…Seems crazy. Have fun with that….No, Gio-nii. I am content here. I don't need to be watched over so much…..Well, I know it's dangerous, but no one knows about me, right? Weren't we hidden from the underground world to keep us safe?...Yes, I know people can still find out and come after us, but I'll be fine. You're on speed dial. If anything happens, I'll call you right away so I am fine here."

Next to him, Takeshi had covered his mouth to keep his snickers quiet. Tsuna shot him a glare, but didn't say anything as he had to focus his attention on what his brother was saying.

"Yeah, I'll be right there. See ya soon, Gio-nii." Tsuna replied before quickly hanging up.

Takeshi raised a brow. "Doesn't Reborn get on your case when you talk like that?"

"That's why I hung up before Reborn could get on the phone and reprimand me for using 'ya.'" Tsuna said, waving his phone in the air.

"Huh, and here I thought you hung up to get away from your overprotective brother." Takeshi said sarcastically.

Tsuna scowled. "It's ridiculous!" He shouted, earning a few scared looks from the kids in the park, but he ignored them in favor of standing up and pacing in front of Takeshi.

"And there is the rant." Takeshi said, grinning.

"What do I have to do to prove to him that I can take care of myself and I don't always need him looking over my shoulder? I have come a long way since I was that little boy who got beat up all the time at school! Why does he constantly feel the need to call me whenever I am out and about having fun and have me stalked by his guardians when he thinks something is wrong? I am not a little weak boy who is ignorant to all the dangers in this world!" Tsuna growled to Takeshi, ending with a kick to the metal pole of the swing set, which ended up bending it inward.

Takeshi gave a low whistle of appreciation. "As strong as ever, Tsuna." He said, smirking. "But you must recall that Giotto and his guardians don't know that you've been training or studying up on the mafias around the world. Hell, they don't even know that you learned how to do a bit of hacking to keep up with illegal information. You've kept it all a secret. All you've shown them is that your grades are improving because of Reborn's tutoring lessons and that you have grown out of your clumsiness. Why keep it a secret anyway? Just tell them what you've been doing."

Sighing, Tsuna collapsed back on the swing he was sitting on earlier. "I've told you a hundred times why I can't. Dad and Nono made an agreement that only one of us would be brought into that dark world. The other would stay innocent and out of the mafia world. I can't just go up to my brother and tell him, 'Hey, Gio-nii, I've been learning martial arts and hacking to get information about the mafia for the past few years. Do you think I could be useful to the Vongola Famiglia now?' How do you think my overprotective brother would feel if I just told him that? He would freak out. Even though I would be in a lot of danger if I couldn't fight, he doesn't want me to know how to fight. He just wants me protected. Though Reborn thinks that stupid and he's being naïve when it comes to me."

"You could at least tell Reborn." Takeshi muttered.

Tsuna gave him a dry look. "Then Reborn would get in trouble. He was never supposed to tell me about the mafia, but I asked him to. It would be counted as his fault for everything that I have been doing because he is the one who told me."

"You should have been given a choice."

"I know, right?" Tsuna sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Eh, anyway, something has come up so Giotto and his guardians have to leave today for Italy. It's a good thing the Vongola private jet is already here. And I have to go to the airport to see them off."

"Cool. I'll come with." Takeshi said, jumping up from the swing. He stopped to pick up the blue cloth that was lying on the ground. Wrapped in the cloth that was tied at the bottom and top in black straps was the Shigure Kintoki, a bamboo sword he inherited from his dad. The bamboo cover would disappear to be replaced by a real steel blade when the Shigure Soen Ryu style was being used.

Four years ago, after Takeshi learned about the mafia from Tsuna, he and Tsuna explained everything to his dad. To both of their surprise, Takeshi's dad was actually a part of the underground world at one point. He agreed to train in his son as a swordsman after much pleading and him showing that he was serious about this. Takeshi just wanted to help protect Tsuna. Takeshi's dad was also the one to contact an old friend to come to Japan and help Tsuna learn martial arts as a favor. Of course, this was all done in secret so none of the Vongola knew about it.

"By the way, what middle school are we attending?" Takeshi asked as the boys set off towards the airport.

Tsuna glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Well," He said slowly. "I may have secretly signed us up for a certain school so the Vongola couldn't get involved with us anymore."

Takeshi smacked his forehead. "Tsuna, I know you want to prove yourself to your brother, but aren't you maybe doing too many secret acts and going behind their backs a bit much?"

"Never." Tsuna snarled. "I'll show him that I don't always need to be babysat."

"Alright, just thought I'd asked." Takeshi said, grinning once more. "Man, it's always fun hanging out with you. I never know what you'll throw at me. So, what is this school we are attending in secret?"

"Namimori Academy." Tsuna said, silently laughing when Takeshi halted in his step. He walked a few more steps before turning around to stare at his frozen friend. "Is it really that shocking?"

"Y-you….." Takeshi pointed a shaky finger at his friend. "You actually got us into that place?!"

Tsuna laughed. "Who do you think I am?"

"I'm not sure if you are manipulative, deceitful, cruel, sadistic, or just becoming evil." Takeshi said with a cheeky grin.

Rolling his eyes, Tsuna spun back around and continued to his destination. "How about none of the above? I'm not Reborn. I'm just improving my intelligence."

"Which will, in the end, help with your manipulation and lying skills." Takeshi pointed out, running to catch up with Tsuna.

"Unbelievable!" Tsuna shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "Do you think I am a bad person?"

"Nooo," Takeshi drawled. "Just a wee bit influenced by that dear sadistic tutor." When Tsuna gave him a half-hearted glare, he chuckled. "I'm just surprised we got accepted to such a prestigious school."

And prestigious it was. Namimori Academy was a giant school that was on an island. Actually, the island only had the school. [1] That was what the entire island consisted of. And the only way to get to the island was by a train that connected to the island. Only the students and teachers had a card that allowed them access passed the paying station. Only on special days were guests allowed in. It also consisted of grades K-12. There were three separate buildings for the schools. One was for grades K-4. The second was the junior high building which was grades 5-8. And finally was the senior high school building which was 9-12. [2]

Since the school accepted students from all over the world, it was difficult to get into the school and that was why it had dorms. There were six dorm buildings. There were so many because they wanted a building for each section, meaning elementary, junior high, and senior high. Plus, they had to divide the buildings into girls and boys so there were six. Because there were such young kids attending this school, their dorms had two or three dorm heads. The senior high dorms only had one dorm head and dorm president while the junior high one had two dorm heads and a dorm president. The students who lived in Namimori could commute to the school if they so desired or they could move into the dorms. It was totally up to them.

Another system the school had was a spring sport festival, a golden week festival, a parents day, a summer festival right before summer break, and a winter festival right before winter vacation. There were so many activities so the parents could come see their kids often because they were away so long because of going to a boarding school.

Then there was the matter of the student council. Because they were all in one place and all part of the same school, there was only one student council. One student council means one president in charge of all that craziness. And they really mean in charge because the owner of the school said that the kids should be in charge because it would help them in the future. Many thought he was crazy, but the kids liked the idea. Well, most did. Those who became president, not so much. There has never been a president that lasted past one semester term because of everything that goes on in that school. The president could be from junior high or senior high. It depended on who the students thought was reliable. After that, all the heads of clubs reported to him and the president picked who worked directly in the student council for him. Normally it would be voted on, but the Dean of the school thought to let the president pick them so he could pick people he trusted and relied on. There was also one representative from each building section that reported to the president.

Then there were all the uniforms. The basic uniform (black dress pants/skirts, white button up shirt, a black blazer) had a few different aspects to it. Those in the elementary section had to wear yellow ties with a black pin that was a K, 1, 2, 3, or 4 (and A, B, C, or D for class) to show what year they were in. The students from the junior high section wore dark blue ties with white pins that were a 5, 6, 7, or 8 (and A, B, C, or D for class) to show their year. And the senior high students wore black ties with white pins that were a 9, 10, 11, or 12 (and A, B, C, or D for class) to show their year. [3] Of course, the student council uniforms were a bit special too. Besides their class pin and tie of their section color, there also wore a red band on one of their sleeves to show they were members of the student council as they got a lot of respect at the school. The president wore a red band too, but he also wore a white cape. [2]

Which is why it was such a difficult school to get accepted into. It was not an easy process, and finally getting into it, the students ended up with difficult classes and a lot of physical activities as they also valued health and physical education at the school. And that was why they had such a great cafeteria and great chefs that went to great culinary schools all over the world who could make healthy, but also great tasting food for the kids.

"You better appreciate it. It wasn't easy." Tsuna said, sighing. "It's just a good thing that Reborn pushed us so hard to learn these past four years."

*Precious*Sky*

Tsuna turned his head to Takeshi so his friend would see him rolling his eyes, which caused the slightly taller boy to chuckle. They were at the airport where Tsuna was getting crushed in a hug by his older brother.

"Take care, Tsuna. And remember if you get in any trouble, just call me. I'll help in any way that I can." Giotto whispered to his brother.

"I'll be fine, Gio-niichan. You're the one I should be worried about. After all, you're the crime lord." Tsuna said with an amused smirk. "I'm just the cute, innocent younger brother."

G. snorted with laughter. "You forgot modest, little one."

"What's there to be modest about?" Elena huffed. "He is cute and I constantly tell him that."

"Nufufufu, you're going to give him an ego, Elena." Daemon said, smirking as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. He gave her an affectionate kiss on his cheek.

"I do not have an ego." Tsuna huffed while Takeshi snickered next to him.

"No, you just like to–" Takeshi started until Tsuna kicked him in the side. "Oooow, Tsuna. That hurt."

Giotto raised a brow. "Like to what?" He asked suspiciously.

Giving an innocent grin, Tsuna blinked up at his brother. "Oh, nothing for you to be worried about, Gio-niichan. Takeshi just says weird things at times. He is much too cheerful, just like Asari-nii."

"What's wrong with being happy?" Takeshi asked.

Tsuna raised a brow. "I said too happy. I never said there was something wrong with it. But there has to be times when you aren't happy…..Oh! Like that day we met….almost five years ago, was it? You clearly weren't happy that day."

"Moving on." Takeshi said, turning back to Giotto and his friends. "Have a nice trip."

"Thanks."

"Time to go!" Reborn ordered.

Tsuna and Takeshi waved to the adults as they all boarded the plane until only Reborn was left. He stopped in front of the two and gave them a suspicious look. "Are you two plotting something?"

Tsuna blinked. That was a new one. "What would we plot?" He asked, sharing a confused look with Takeshi.

"Hmm, good point." Reborn said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black cell phone and handed it to Tsuna. "This is a private cell phone that can't be traced. It will connect you to my personal cell phone. Call in emergencies only, Tsuna. I know that you can't always rely on that idiotic overprotective brother of yours, especially when he is going to be busy being the Vongola Tenth. I am a freelance hitman and can travel when I need too."

Tsuna took the phone with wide eyes. It wasn't the gift that shocked him. Reborn seemed to have grown attached to him in the past few years so this wasn't all that surprising. The surprising part was that he said this all in front of Takeshi. "But Take–"

"I see no reason why Takeshi would carry a sword around with him after that night four years ago unless he knew about the mafia." Reborn said, looking over at Takeshi with a small smile. "Try to make more loyal friends who will protect you, Tsuna. Vongola enemies will come after you too, just for being Giotto's little brother."

Tsuna nodded, gripping the phone tightly.

*Precious*Sky*

"And there they go!" Takeshi said as the plane disappeared into the distance. "How long do you think he knew?"

Tsuna shrugged. "Who knows? I wonder if he knows that I learned how to defend myself. He wasn't really clear on what he knew and didn't know."

"Aw, that's just like him." Takeshi said, folding his heads behind his head.

Tsuna nodded. "Let's get out of here. We have to tell our parents that we're heading to Namimori Academy and staying in the dorms."

"Seriously?" Takeshi said. "I thought since we live here we would just commute."

Tsuna stubbornly shook his head. "That would mean we have to get up extra early in the morning to get there in time and I want to sleep in the mornings."

"Right, right. I forgot that you are a morning hater."

Grinning, Tsuna spun around and ran off to the exit of the airport. Takeshi, smiling as brightly as ever, ran after him. They were just nearing the exit when a boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of Tsuna. Neither of them had the time to stop so they rammed right into each other.

"Argh," Tsuna groaned.

"Tsuna! Are you okay?" Takeshi gasped, skidding to a halt next to his friend.

"Been better." Tsuna muttered.

"Damn it, you damn idiot. Watch where the hell you are going." The boy that was in the wreck snarled as he sat up rubbing his head.

Tsuna frowned. "You were at fa–" He started, but froze when he saw the boy in front of him. He had sharp steel green eyes and silver hair that was styled in the same way as another person Tsuna knew. But how was it possible?

"G?"

A/N: It was my goal to annoy you people by not continuing with the moment from the last chapter! Well, that and I wanted to get a move on with the story so we are going to do this with flashbacks now. And plus, I could probably write a whole story on just the beginning of all this and then go back and include chapters from when Reborn first showed up at the Sawada household and all that. But we are not going into that!

[1] I just decided to move the school to an island, which the idea came from K (anime). I love that anime so much! Well, anyway, I moved it there for more fun for me. So, since I moved it, I also tweaked the position of Namimori a bit, it seems. The town is now near a giant lake or there is a lake somewhere in the city. So confusing. Here to make it easier: k-project. /wiki/ Ashinaka_ High _School. If you want to understand about the school and island thing, there is a picture here.

[2] I used American grades (K-12) because it is less confusing for me and those kids in the story that come from America. And by cape, I mean that black thing Giotto wears and Tsuna wears when Natsu transforms. Well, it's something like that.

[3] This means that their classes are like 2-B. The pins are KB, 1A, 2A, 3C, 5D, etc. so you get the idea of what the pins look like.

To save any confusion, Tsuna and Takeshi did not attend this school when they were 9. Also, Giotto and his guardians did not attend here. It is a difficult school to get accepted to and students from all over the world try to apply to it because it is a great school. So the amount of students attending it is high because they come from all over the world, but it is still difficult to get into.

Any other confusion about the school, please ask and I will give you the answer in the next chapter so all the readers can get the answer in case they were confused as well. But I hope I explained everything pretty well.

Ah, I hate this. I hate having this many notes at the bottom of the story. It gives you false hope when you are the beginning of the chapter that the chapter is super long.

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