Note: I'm truly sorry for leaving this story for a long time. My internet connection broke down and will still be. so I can't update too often. to make up for it, I'll update 2 or 3 chapters at the same time.
Now, let's go to the story!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
This story is beta'd by Pure Red Crane.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D
Chapter 12
Song
'Everyone knows. They will know.' Tsuna panted hard as he thought. Just a while ago, when he was walking down the hallway, he got another attack. Some subordinates saw him fall to his knees. They ran towards him at the very moment he coughed blood. His subordinates panicked and some took out their phones to call doctor. Or they would have called the doctor if not for Tsuna's sudden shout, telling them not to. Instead, Tsuna told them to help him walk back to his room.
On their way, they met Paolo, who heard the commotion. Behind him was Rosette, who had a knowing look. Paolo was about to ask what happened when Tsuna coughed again. Tsuna motioned for his subordinates to move, walking toward his room.
After reaching his room, Tsuna lay on his told his subordinates to leave the room because he wanted to talk with Paolo and Rosette.
"Decimo! What's wrong with you? You've gotten paler and paler with every passing dayand today, you coughed out blood." Paolo asked worriedly.
Knowing that he couldn't keep things hidden, Tsuna told Paolo what was wrong. He told him everything that happened from the day he received the invitation to the very day he got poisoned.
At first, Paolo didn't take it well,especially about Tsuna leaving his guardians in the dark. "You know you can't hide it forever."
"I know. But if by hiding it I can save my guardians from death, then I will welcome this pain into my embrace." the Decimo said solemnly.
"You can't hide it. If you tell them what happened, they might help you."
Tsuna smiled painfully. "They can't..."
Paolo talked back. "No one will know if no one will try."
Tsuna grinned a little. "Everything has been tried. The only thing I can do now is do what I can do till the time comes."
"You said that as if you'll die."
"I will." Tsuna closed his eyes as he tried to steady his breathing. "Everyone will die no matter how hard we the end, we will face our deaths."
A loud sigh was heard from the blond haired man. "Your guardians will be sad. They are in the dark and will find out that their sky is broken beyond repair."
"This way they won't have to sufferor watch me die in front of them. I want them to remember the strong side of me. Not this weak and dying side." Tsuna said after calming his breath.
Paolo didn't say anything. He looked at Tsuna, whose eyes were stillclosed, and then at Rosette, who remained silent the whole time. Her gaze was set on the veranda, clearly avoiding his gaze. Paolo already knew the second he first saw the girl that she had a burden weighting on her shoulders. But he didn't expect her to shoulder this kind of burden,the burden as the only one who knew that someone important to her was dying.
Paolo looked at Tsuna again. He didn't want to stretch the argument. "What should I do if you get another attack?"
Tsuna opened his eyes, finally looking at his trusted subordinate. "Just let me rest. If something really bad happens to me, just call Shamal. He should know what to do."
"I take it that Shamal already knows about this." Paolo pointed out.
"Yes. He is trying hard to make the antidote." He raised his hand to hide his eyes. Tsuna took a deep breath. "Keep this information within headquarters. Don't let a single word out."
"I will." Paolo bowed at Tsuna. Knowing that Tsuna had indirectly finished the conversation and dismissed him, he walked out of the room. He had a meeting with the headquarters' members to make.
After telling Paolo about his condition last night, Tsuna felt like a part of his burden had been lifted from his shoulders. And because his subordinates knew about his condition, they let Tsuna take the time he needed to rest.
"Tsuna... Are you okay?"
Slowly, Tsuna opened his eyes to see a girl sitting next to him. "Of course, I'm okay. What makes you think I'm not?"
"Just making sure." Rosette looked at the bed she was sitting on.
Tsuna took the girl's hand and rubbed his thumb on the soft skin. "How was your day?"
"Fine...Lucia took me around the gardenand brought me to the green house." A smile appeared on her face. "There are a lot of flowers!"
Rosette told Tsuna about her daywhile the brunet listened to her with a soft and warm smile on his lips. Then, Rosette found herself at a loss for words. She didn't have another story to tell Tsuna. She looked at the veranda,watching the sky, which was filled with golden and purple hues. The sun was almost completelyset.
"Your day was eventful. You must be tired. Why don't you take a rest here?" Tsuna raised his hand and started to pet the girl's head.
Feeling Tsuna's hand on her head made the girl sleepy. She yawned and laid herself beside Tsuna. 'A nap couldn't hurt.'
"Do you mind if I play some songs from my phone?" Tsuna asked softly.
"I don't mind..." the girl answered sleepily. She was really tired. The girl yawned again.
So, Tsuna played the song at a low volume, yet still loud enough to be heard. Rosette closed her eyes as she listened to the melodious sound. She listened to each word the male singer sang. Even though she didn't understand the language, she could feel a little hint of sadness in his voice. Rosette opened her eyes slightly. Tsuna's eyes were opened and they were looking at the ceiling. She saw wetness in those brown eyes. 'Tsuna...are you crying?' She wanted to ask it. But her eyelids turned heavy and before she could utter a single word, her consciousness slipped away.
Time flew by quickly. It was almost the end of March. Tsuna sat behind his office desk. His widened eyes were fixed on the calendar sitting on his desk. Today was the 27th of March and March 31 was his mother's birthday. He had to visit his mother in Namimori. Without another thought, he checked his schedule. 'There is nothing important or urgent.'With that mind, he called one of his subordinates, Paolo.
Tsuna only waited for 2 minutes for Paolo to come into his room.
"Do you need something, Decimo?" he asked.
Tsuna eyed the man with short and rather spiky blonde hair in front of him. Paolo was in his late 40s. His handsome face was tainted by a long scar on his left cheek. He had soft, gentle eyes that you rarely saw in mafia world. Tsuna looked at him like he was his father. After all, Paolo was the one who often helped him when Tsuna inherited Vongola when his father, Iemitsu, wasn't around to guide him.
"Yes, Paolo," Tsuna replied.
"And, what is it that you need?" Paolo's eyes looked at Tsuna curiously. His boss' face looked pale, much paler than the day before. Paolo was worried that his boss got another attack.
"I have to go to Namimori." Paolo felt relief wash over him as he saw Tsuna's eyes shine with happiness. Something that Tsuna rarely showed since that day.
"Are you going to celebrate your mom's birthday?" After receiving a nod from Tsuna, Paolo asked again, "When will you depart? And with whom?"
"On March 30, at noon. I'll go with Rosette, and maybe some subordinates to guard me." Tsuna answered. He smiled softly at the thought of visiting his mom.
Paolo nodded at seemed pleased that his boss finally let out a smile, "Would you like to go in Vongola's private jet or a commercial plane?"
Tsuna thought for a moment, "Vongola's private jet should be fine."
"Okay, then, I'll prepare everything for your trip to Namimori." With that, he bowed and started to walk towards the door. He walked out of the room. When he was about to close the door, he looked at Tsuna with unreadable expression, "Decimo?"
Tsuna looked up from his paperwork to face the older man. "Yes?" He eyed his father-figure with confusion.
"Are you okay?" Paolo's question made the brunet stiffen a bit.
Tsuna eyed the paperwork he was holding. He then looked up at Paolo. With a sad smile he answered, "…Soso…"
Paolo frowned sadly and bowed to Tsuna once more. When Tsuna waved a hand, showing that he acknowledged the older man, he closed the door and left the room to prepare Decimo's trip.
Rosette was walking around the big garden surrounding Vongola Headquarters. Right now, she was heading for the green house, which was settled on the opposite side of Tsuna's private Rose Garden.
She pushed the door open and the smell of flowers rushed towards her. Immediately she stepped into the big green house. There were a lot different flowers in there. Sadly, not all of them were in full bloom, but she glad that the roses were.
Rosette sat at one of the benches. She looked very happy as she watched the red roses bloom proudly. She closed her black haired girl could smell the nice and alluring smell of the roses. She hummed a song she recently listened to days ago, thoughshe didn't know what the song was about since it was in Japanese. She never had a chance to ask Tsuna about it. Keeping her eyes closed and with a relaxed expression, she hummed the only part of the song she remembered.
The girl opened her eyes with a frown. That was the only part of the song she remembered. She tried to remember the next part, but she couldn't remember it, no matter how hard she tried. She sighed.
Instead of thinking about the song, Rosette decided to look at the roses in front of her. 'The flowers are beautifully is nothing to make them imperfect. But, the roses won't always be perfect. Once the time comes, they will start to wither. The once perfect flower will lose its beauty and leave nothing but the memories of it. Just like...'
Her train of thought was cut off when she heard a bell ring. The girl turned her head to where the sound was coming from. There, she saw Tsuna close the door of the green house,a bell was attached to the opening. She stood up and was about to approach Tsuna when she caught a smile on the man's face. "Tsuna?" she called uncertainly. After that day, Tsuna almost never smiled widely like this.
"Did something good happen?" Rosette asked as a smile blooming in her face.
"Nothing happened." Tsuna replied with a hint of happiness.
Her eyebrows narrowed in confusion, "Then what is making you so happy?"
Tsuna's smile was getting bigger as he replied with enthusiasm in his voice, "We're going Namimori!"
"Namimori? The place you're from?" Rosette asked uncertainly.
"Yes. Why? You don't want to?" Tsuna frowned a little.
Rosette was taken aback. "No! It's not like that! Just...I was just wondering why you suddenly said we'll go there."
Tsuna smiled widely. "For my mom's birthday."
"Oh..." She smiled too. "When will we leave?"
"March 30. We also had to get some subordinates to guard us."
"How about your private assassins come?" Rosette suggested cheerfully.
Tsuna knew that the girl was close to his private assassins, so he decided to go with the girl's suggestion. He would inform them later. "Now, go to your room. Bertha and Eliz are waiting for you. They will help you to pack your clothes and everything you need for the trip."
It was March 30. Tsuna had announced his leaving to his subordinates. They wished him a nice trip and they also smiled widely when they finally saw a wide, happy smile adorning their boss' face. They couldn't get happier than this. But their smiles soon faded when they realized that their boss wouldn't be accompanied by his guardians like he used to. Tsuna said that the guardians were busy with missions and wouldn't be able to come back for a while, but his subordinates knew better.
In the morning, Tsuna checked his luggage. The private jet had already been prepared, ready to take them to Namimori. Then, he talked with Paolo the whole morning, discussing about Vongola's business and about the upcoming trip he would have. From where he was at, he could see Rosette talking excitedly to the twin assassins. He smiled. Not noticing that Paolo was eyeing him.
"She's interesting." Paolo said.
Tsuna looked at the man and nodded slightly before he glanced back at the girl. "She's always full of passion and energy. Her childish actions always cheer me up."
It was almost noon when Rosette came and told him that it was time to depart. Tsuna nodded at her, knowing that the girl couldn't wait to go to Namimori. He stood up, and with Rosette and Paolo, they walked to the private jet.
When they reached it, 5 figures had already gathered. Tsuna eyed them one by one. Smiling as he did so. It was Lucia, Luciano, Erick, Antonio and Ruby. Rosette walked towards them and said that it's time to depart. They smiled and nodded, ready to jump into the spacey private jet anytime.
Tsuna looked at Paolo. "I'll leave Headquarters to you. Please take care of it. I'll go back soon."
"No need to rush, Decimo. Just stay there as long as you want. You need a lot of restand your parents must miss you so much since you didn't spend much time there last year." Paolo answered with hope that his Decimo wouldhave a nice holiday and rest.
Tsuna thanked Paolo and got into the private jet, followed by Rosette and the five assassins.
Paolo moved to the far side. He watched as the jet began to move and then took off. 'I hope nothing bad will happen.'He thought as he watched the jet flied high. Then he went back back to Headquarters to do his job.
The jet had already taken off a few minutes ago. Tsuna was in his private room, lying on the bed and looking at the ceiling. He felt tired, yet his body wouldn't succumb to it and kept him awake. He closed his eyes. 'It's weird. Usually, at this time, they would cause a commotion in the main room. It was always started with 2 people shouting at each other. And then someone would wail, laugh, and then growl, saying something about disrupting the peace, and then someone teasing another. After that, the sound of fighting, something breaking, that it would last until the sound of gun clickechoed throughout the room. Then the jet would fall into deafeningsilence.'
Tsuna sighed at the memories. 'I really miss them. I miss their voices, their ruckus, and their presence.' How he missed his guardians and it hasn't even been a month since he last met them. The silence only made him feel lonelier. The brunetslowlyopened his eyes. He sat up and his brown, dull eyes wandered around the room absentmindedly. Suddenly, he heard a scream.
His eyes widened as he recognised that the scream was Rosette's. Immediately, he stood up and ran towards the door. In panic, Tsuna searched for Rosette, only to find that the scream was indeed from a traditional Japanese room, which was requested by a certain someone. He opened the door cautiously and found Rosette hiding behind Lucia, who was scoldinga laughingLuciano.
"…What…happened?" His voice lingered in uncertainty and confusion.
Hearing her boss' voice, Ruby approached the brunet. "I'm not really sure why, but Luciano started to tell horror stories and Rosette got scared."
Tsuna sighed in relief, glad that nothing bad happened. "Tsuna!" Rosette ran into his arms. Tsuna patted the scared girl's head until she calmed down from her fear. After Rosette calmed down, he ushered the girl back into the room, butnot before scolding the blonde haired man.
He was about to leave the room when suddenly, Luciano asked him to join them. Tsuna looked at his subordinates and Rosette. It was clear to him that they wanted him to join. So, Tsuna nodded with a slight smile and sat between Rosette and Erick.
The loneliness he felt earlier was beginning to fade as he talked and drank tea with his famiglia, the silence in his mind changed into a loud laugh.
They talked for hours. But once again, tiredness seeped into his mind. Tsuna checked his watch. They had talked for 3 hours nonstop. No wonder he felt tired. So, he decided that they needed to rest.
Tsuna told his famiglia to take a rest to prevent the jet lag. Agreeing with Tsuna, they stood up and stretched. Then, they went to their respective cabins while Rosette and Tsuna went to their rooms. Soon, the plane was filled with soft snores.
They had reached Namimori when it was past midnight. They went to the Vongola Hotel, which stood proudly on one of the busiest streets in Namimori. They decided that Tsuna would have a single room. Rosette would stay with Lucia and Ruby, while Luciano, Erick and Antonio would be in another room.
Once Tsuna was settled, he dropped his luggage on to the floor and without another thought, he let his body fall to the soft and comfy bed. He took out his phone and typed a message. Soon after sending the message, his consciousness fell into darkness.
In the morning, the Vongola Decimo groaned, squirming under the blanket. 'It's today.' Tsuna thought. Somehow, the thought of his mom's birthday didn't please him as much as he thought it would. 'Is it because I'm alone? Is it because my guardians aren't here with me? Or...is it because I'm dying?'
His eyes slowlyfluttered open and fixed on the ceiling. Finding nothing interesting, his eyes wandered around the room. The curtain was closed and the lamp on his left was on. He reached out to turn it off. That was when he realized that he hadn't changed his clothes yet. He sat up. He didn't even unpack his clothes yet.
He stood up and walked to his luggage. He was about to unzip it when he heard a knock on his door. He slowly walked to the door, wondering who it was. But, his thought flew away when a voice called out to him, "Tsuna! Are you awake?" He smiled at the thought of the voice's owner.
He immediately opened the door. Before he could utter a single word, the figure in front of him jumped and hugged him. He chuckled and patted her head. She took a step back, "Tsuna! Have you had your breakfast?"
"I haven't, Rosette." Tsuna answered with a smile. "Actually, I just woke up."
"Then, let's have breakfast together! Where would you like to have it? Here?" she asked excitedly as she made her way into the room.
"Here is fine." Tsuna replied as he closed the door. He watched as the girl head towards the window.
"Then, what would you like to eat?" She opened the curtain, letting the sun rays lighten the dim room.
Tsuna went back to his luggage. "Anything you want," he said as he unpacked his belongings.
"Okay." She took the phone and called the room services.
While the black haired girl ordered their breakfast, Tsuna finished unpacking and decided that he needed a hadn't had a bath the night before.
Once Rosette had ordered breakfast,her eyes looked for the man who owned the room. She found no one, so she walked towards the bathroom door. She could hear the sound of the water peltingdown. Knowing that Tsuna was showering, she walked back to the bed. She sat there with nothing to do. She then decided to watch TV while waiting for breakfast to arrive.
Tsuna closed his eyes and raised his head, enjoying the warm water that continuouslyhit his face. Opening his eyes as he looked down, he thought. 'I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss my guardians. They used to be by my side all the time.' Tsuna clutched his hands tightly. He couldn't bear the loneliness anymore. Sooner or later,he would break down.
But, an image of Rosette suddenly came to mind. Tsuna remembered when he met the girl in the burning mansion, then all of her expressions. Her sad expression stuck inhis mind. 'I don't want her to feel sad anymore. She is very dear to me, now. Within these few weeks I had lived with her, she has become important to me. She has become one of my reasons to keep on living. She...' Tsuna shook his head. 'I can't stay like this. I have to be strong. I still have Rosette and Vongola to take care of. I can't let myself break now.'
Tsuna walked out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed. As soon as he walked out, he approached Rosette and was greeted by the smell of their breakfast.
"Miso soup?" questioned Tsuna.
Tsuna's sudden question and appearance surprised the lone girl. She turned to face Tsuna. "Oh, yes. I thought you would like it and I wanted to taste it."
Tsuna smiled. The girl looked over her companion from head to toe. "Rosette?" asked Tsuna.
The girl replied uncertainly, "Eh? Umm...You look much healthier."
Tsuna raised his eyebrow and smiled a bit, "Thank you." The girl only nodded.
"Let's eat."
They settled into their own chairs and began to eat. It had been a long time since Tsuna ate Miso. He really missed the taste of it. Even though his chef would sometimes make him Miso soup, the taste would always be different. The feeling was different. They ate in silence, devouring each taste as if it was their last meal.
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To be continued.
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