A/N: This chapter is only very short, because the next snippet doesn't really go with this part well.
Basically, yeah, the next chapter will be longer.
"Hm, you've healed up nicely boys." the blond woman told her two charges as she fixed the last bandage on Gokudera's arm. An obvious improvement from the mummy look he'd been sporting only few days earlier. Days they'd been confined to this very infirmary and subjected to her scrutiny. Takeshi scratched at the adhessive bandage on his cheek awkwardly smiling before Ayumi swatted his hand away from the bandage.
"No scratching, because if that wound gets infected during your games I'm tying you to your infirmary bed."
Takeshi smiled brightly.
"Ok. And thanks for looking after us these past two weeks, Ayumi!"
Ayumi returned his smile with a very soft and fragile smile of her own.
"That's alright. I'm oath bound to do so anyway. I'm a doctor. But do remember to thank the girls for doing most of the cooking." she replied softly, "Now try not to get back in my care any time soon."
The two teens seemed surprised at her admission but Ayumi didn't let them think on it too long.
"Come on, I'll take you to the training rooms. Can't have you getting lost, can I?"
The blond teen watched from the background while Gokudera, Yamamoto and Tsuna were told that they'd be working with their own tutor each. She had been fast to move out of the way after Tsuna lit his flames and tried evading Hibari's attacks.
She sighed fondly.
"Hibari-kun's playing games again, isn't he?" she muttered mostly to herself however loud enough to be heard by Fuuta who she was standing next to, "Honestly, they're such pyromaniacs the whole lot of them."
Fuuta chuckled as he made his way to stand next to her outside of the danger zone and looked at the young woman as he did so.
It was thanks to her quick thinking that Fuuta didn't miss the opportunity to watch this training session. Or even worse, walked straight into an ongoing fight when he entered. Instead Ayumi-nee had pulled him along when he was bringing Lambo to the girls so he could enter his information into the general Vongola network. Well he could still do so later...
However her pulling him along while en route meant Lambo was still with him. And naturally upon spotting her the five-year old had held his arms out to her in silent demand.
Fuuta glanced at her apologetically once again, but she just shrugged as she held the five-year-old, who was completely content to simply be hugged close.
"They always did like you better, Ayumi-nee.", he commented idly as they watched Hibari-san attack the ten years younger version of Tsuna-nii.
Ayumi-nee hummed absently.
"That's why it was easy for me to take over looking after them three years ago, so you could for once act upon your wishes and not your sense of responsibility." she replied with an easy smile. Then presumably upon remembering how long it had been since they last talked properly she added: "It's been a while, hasn't it, Fuuta-kun."
She looked back at the past-Tsuna-nii fighting their time's Hibari. Or at least trying to fight Hibari as Hibari had just landed a rather nasty hit on Tsuna-nii's face with one of his tonfa. Ayumi-nee frowned in annoyance. Must be her inner medic acting up at the sight of a potentially nasty wound, he figured.
"Huh, perhaps I have to amend that Tsuna-kun is both a pyro- and cryomaniac." she mused out aloud as Tsuna-nii used the Zero Point Break Through, "though I never saw our Tsuna-kun use ice as much as his past self."
Fuuta chuckled, since he knew very well how much she liked to call them pyromaniacs for using flames, but kept his eyes trained on the two fighters avidly following the exchange of blows.
"Being more agile Tsuna-nii doesn't have to block that many attacks anymore.", he added absently analysing the younger boss' moves. Perhaps he should rank him again?
Looking down at the boy in her arms who was fascinated by the display he thought were fireworks Ayumi-nee smiled sadly.
"I just wished the children weren't involved with this mess."
Fuuta nodded in silent agreement. Nothing more needed to be said on that behalf. After all most of their group shared this sentiment with their boss, who had strictly kept the younger members of their group away from the more unsavoury side of their life.
The silence was only interrupted by the sounds of the two opponents clashing for the next few seconds before there was an unexpected twist.
"Ah, the appearance of Hibar-kuni's ultimate time-out sphere!", Ayumi-nee commented just as the spiky purple sphere of cloud flame enclosed Tsuna-nii. Fuuta just shook his head at the girl. She didn't exactly have the most apt naming sense.
Past-Tsuna-nii's Guardians were now kicking up a fuss because of it when they were told to attend their own training sessions, but they were quickly interrupted by Ayumi-nee as she stepped in front of them calmly smiling.
"Don't worry, Hibari-kun is just making him take a time-out. He'll be out of there in no time. I'll make sure they play nicely."
The boys didn't look convinced at all until Reborn explained the reason to them. And even then they only left reluctantly.
Fuuta saw Ayumi-nee looking at the watch on her mobile phone impatiently.
She was carefully monitoring the time and he knew Hibari was too. No matter what he said, there was no way they could afford to kill the Decimo at this point in time. (Not to mention the paradox it would create.) And neither could they afford the Decimo having permanent brain damage.
No matter how incomprehensible Hibari's behaviour might be sometimes, their Tsuna-nii had assured Fuuta Hibari knew what he was doing to train his past self. (No matter how much Fuuta was sure to have heard a muttered 'maybe' after that statement and despite Hibari for some reason being in the top three people most likely to create a time paradox.)
But safe was better than sorry: so Ayumi-nee, as the one in charge of the base's infirmary, was present to determine the point where Tsuna-nii would inevitably fall unconscious from lack of oxygen and then from then on how long they could leave him in Hibari's so-called time-out sphere before anything happened.
After all the past Guardians could only change the future as long as they remained alive.
He noticed she held Lambo's ears closed, just a second before Tsuna-nii started crying out. Quite frankly he agreed, the boy didn't need to hear the desolation in their brother figure's voice. He would be fine to remain oblivious a little bit longer.
Even Lal was getting antsy and starting to protest.
Lambo looked at Ayumi-nee in question but she just smiled at him and started mouthing words at him to give him the impression they were playing a new game. Lambo happily joined in, trying to guess what she was saying. They continued to do so until a glance at her watch revealed to Ayumi-nee that Tsuna-nii's time was almost up. Notably the screams of desolation had quieted. She handed Lambo back to Fuuta and got up from her spot on the floor next to the wall to walk over to the spiky sphere ready to tell Hibari to break it off. It was however unnecessary as just as she was halfway across the room the sphere burst into brilliant orange flames completely obliterating the purple flames. Fuuta would even say his flames were burning more brightly than ever when Tsuna-nii finally burst from the sphere.
Ayumi-nee smiled gently at the boy as she met his eyes standing in front of him calmly.
"Yes, yes, you're all pyromaniacs. Now let me check you over for brain damage."
She got to work quickly, lifting each eyelid looking for ruptured blood vessels while shining a pen light at them, had him move his arms in an intricate movement and checking his attention span by telling him to follow her finger with his eyes before she was interrupted by Hibari addressing Tsuna-nii.
Ayumi-nee huffed, but deemed it safe to let the train, as Tsuna-nii didn't seem to suffer from Hypoxia, nor did he seem to have burst a blood vessel in his brain. Well, as safe as training with Hibari could ever be. Which on second thought wasn't safe at all proven by Hibari sending Tsuna-nii crashing into the wall and doing substantial damage to said wall several times over just a moment later.
Ayumi-nee sighed and turned to Fuuta who was still watching the fight.
"I'll be out getting some medical supplies."
The young adult nodded absentmindedly as he held Lambo securely in his arms and continued to watch the fight now with slight trepidation.