"Wait... your friend Hayato is actually Sesshomaru's grandson?" said Kagome gaping.
"Yup. I figured out it was him because Hayato reminded me way too much of Inuyasha, only with more trust issues and the fact he's allergic to lavender. Only took a few pictures of Rin and a few words to convince Sesshomaru to visit, and it spiraled from there. You know that acid-whip thing he does, or the really bad breath that literally melts things in his canine form?"
Kagome nodded.
"Well apparently Hayato inherited more than just the silver hair and Inuyasha's tsundere attitude. He's a natural at using both, and Takeshi's really hoping Hayato picks up on how to use a sword so he has a sparring buddy. Apparently Sesshomaru hasn't found anyone worthy to wield the Tensaiga and he's hoping his grandson will learn how to use it. If not, then perhaps he might have better luck with the sword Inuyasha carries since Hayato is half-human."
"But he doesn't have dog ears!"
"Lavina found a spell to hide them. They're so cute though!" said Tsukiyo, giggling. She pulled out her ever trusty phone and Kagome had to giggle at the sight of a shorter-haired, green eyed Inuyasha with a few Italian features.
"Wow... with the ears it's really easy to see the resemblance even if the eyes are wrong."
"I know, right? Think Inuyasha would be willing to show Hayato how to use those claw attacks of his?" asked Tsukiyo.
"You could always bribe him."
"He likes ramen, right? I know a good place and if anyone asks I'll tell them he's cosplaying for something later."
Kagome face palmed.
"Why didn't I think of telling everyone he's really into cosplay? It's not like the ears are that weird and with his age everyone would assume it's a fashion statement!"
Because in all honesty, even Kagome had seen weirder fashions and trends and Inuyasha could easily pass for an older teen with a penchant for period clothing and weird ears.
Inuyasha and Hayato's meeting could be summed up in one word.
Explosive.
And no, that had nothing to do with Hayato's penchant for bombs or blowing things up.
On the plus side, Inuyasha now had a very healthy respect for Tsukiyo's boyfriend Kyouya, even if the girl had blushed brightly at hearing him called that.
The fact he didn't bite her to death for the 'false presumption' said a lot. The fact he took her out on a proper date to make it official, more so.
She hadn't even realized they were technically dating, though of course Kyouya would jump at the chance to stake his claim on the only female in his territory able to match him blow for blow. Especially after the training sessions she had with Fon in Aikido, among other things.
And that had nothing to do with the fact that half the time after a training session, in which Kyouya would try to bite Tsukiyo to death with her viciously swearing in increasingly more creative threats every time he hit her hard enough, he would end up in her lap with her treating him like a particularly grumpy large predatory cat.
In the words of Tsukiyo, when Fon asked her what her impression of his grandson was... Kyouya had the grace of a large panther or tiger, with the territorial instincts of a lone wolf and all the stopping power of a dragon when it was pissed off.
Fon had been particularly pleased hearing that description and so had Kyouya, if the smug look in his eyes was any indication.
"By the way, Sesshomaru said that if you can graduate high school he'd be happy to hire you as his new secretary or a PA. At most you'd do his scheduling and act as a shield between him and the rest of humanity," said Tsukiyo.
"How big is his company again?"
Tsukiyo smirked, and pushed an envelope.
"He said this was the basic contract and the starting figure if you were interested. He's mostly offering because he can use you as his assistant in both worlds and he doesn't have to hide anything from you. You already know what he is and don't care. That and you're sensible enough not to try and rob him like his last one."
Kagome made a rather impressive spray pattern with her tea the second she read what her starting salary would be.
"Is this for real?"
"He is the head of a multinational company and he does actually like you. After all, you're not afraid to fight and you were able to keep his hot head little brother in line. Anyone who can keep up with him in a fight is worthy of respect. Besides, it's still lower than what he paid his daughter when he pulled her from Italy."
Kagome's mouth opened and shut in disbelief.
"This comes with health benefits, dental and an apartment. Why on earth didn't he offer it to you instead?!"
Sesshomaru actually liked Tsukiyo far more than he had Kagome, even in the past. So why was he offering it to the one he barely tolerated?
Tsukiyo coughed.
"Probably because I'm already the last heir of a company bigger than his and Reborn was sent to train me in how to run it?"
"You mean that weird not-baby with the lizard."
"Ciaossu. And it's a chameleon, actually. His name is Leon."
Kagome nearly shrieked, before giving Reborn a very foul look.
"I officially hate your home tutor."
"Who or what are you anyway?" asked Kagome.
The fake infant smirked.
"My name is Reborn and I'm the World's Greatest Hit Man. Also Tsukiyo's home tutor."
"...I believe you," said Kagome.
Reborn blinked.
"Just like that?"
"I can feel the curse on you from here," she deadpanned. "And your aura is far too defined to actually be that of a toddler. Besides, I've seen weirder."
Reborn shot Tsukiyo a look.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. You're the one who hasn't figured out who Ieyasu-nii is yet and I know Fon has been dropping hints."
Time travel to the future might be a thing, but he refused to believe she was learning directly from Giotto Vongola and the Primo's generation.
"I swear this time travel thing must be genetic or something. How else can you explain both of us able to do it?" complained Kagome.
Reborn twitched.
"At least you have someone to vent about it to. I'm just glad I have one relative I actually like that's supportive. Well, outside of Tatsuya."
"Tell me about it," groaned Kagome. "At least here I have friends who just raise an eyebrow at the fact I can travel four hundred years in the past and have a half demon who can follow me through!"
"Where is Inuyasha anyway?"
"Having another argument slash training session with Hayato. I swear your puppy is trying to corrupt him with talk of aliens," said Kagome, rolling her eyes.
"With all the weird youkai you've seen, including those from the continent, are aliens really that far fetched?" said Tsukiyo raising an eyebrow.
Kagome opened her mouth, before closing it, silently conceding her point.
Reborn looked very confused and more than a little irritable.
It was official. Tsukiyo hated Reborn and his antics.
It had started innocently enough. She had been in class when Mochida, one of the more prominent members of the kendo club, started to harass Kyoko Sasegawa, younger sister to the boxing club captain and class idol.
Tsukiyo, as a result of several months of encouragement and learning to grow a backbone against Kyouya, decided to step in. If only out of female solidarity...and because Hana wasn't in the room to intimidate Mochida into backing down.
"Leave her alone. Can't you see she's not interested in dating you?" said Tsukiyo firmly.
"Shut up, Dame-Tsuna. No one cares about your opinion," sneered Mochida.
"What did you say, asshole?" snarled Hayato.
"I said leave her alone. Unless you want me to bring Ryohei-sempai here? I'm sure he'd be very interested in your attempts to date his little sister," said Tsukiyo flatly.
Mochida flinched at that. Say what you would about Ryohei, but he was very protective of his little sister.
It did not help that Hayato and Takeshi were already subtly backing Tsukiyo up, or that Chrome had a particularly dark gleam in her good eye.
"Think you're a big man now that you have a few lackeys, Dame-Tsuna? Let's see how tough you are later today! I challenge you to a fight in the gym!"
Tsukiyo glared at him.
By the time lunch came around, word had already spread about the fight.
This was the source of Tsukiyo's current ire with Reborn.
It wasn't enough she was protecting a fellow classmate from a creep. It wasn't enough that for the first time in years she was showing an actual spine among her classmates.
Oh no, Reborn had to bring those thrice-damned bullets into the equation. The bullets that had a very annoying habit of burning off all her clothes save for her under garments!
When this was over she was going to make Reborn see hell, she swore it.
"Holy shit...Dame-Tsuna is a girl?" was the general shocked whisper in the gym.
Tsukiyo didn't bother to hide her reaction to the fact her gender had been forcibly outed.
She started swearing, in multiple languages before kicking Mochida's ass halfway cross the gym. Displaying a terrifying competence in martial arts that no one had ever seen before.
The fact Hibari gleefully charged at her and she was able to keep up without any issue at all meant that a lot of people were looking at her with a bit more respect (read: fear) now.
In the Disciplinary Committee office...
"I am going to get Reborn for this. I had it handled!" fumed Tsukiyo, shivering under Hibari's jacket.
"You do remember the deal we had, don't you?" said Hibari.
Tsukiyo froze. Then an evil idea occurred to her.
"Hand me your phone a minute."
"Why?"
"Because I want to pay Fon to prank the living hell out of Reborn by stealing every coffee bean in Namimori and the neighboring towns, and then send them to Viper. If he wants his damn coffee fix he's going to have to pay them for it," said Tsukiyo darkly.
Hibari heard a knock and took the uniform Kusakabe handed him.
Tsukiyo winced when she saw what it was.
"You know our deal. I ignore the fact you wear the wrong uniform so long as your gender is never disclosed to the rest of the school," said Hibari flatly.
She pulled the jacket around her tighter. Thanks to the fact that she rarely dressed in feminine clothing, when the bullet hit she had been left with a pair of boxer shorts and a sports bra.
If not for the very obvious bumps on her chest, she might have gotten away with pretending to be a boy a bit longer.
Tsukiyo whined, but didn't argue. Hibari wasn't going to let her get away with wearing the boy's uniform for much longer.
She was going to kill Reborn for this.
At home...
"You are a monumental asshole. I had that handled!" said Tsukiyo glaring at Reborn. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"And what does that mean, Dame-Tsuki?"
"I mean thanks to the deal I had with Kyouya, I'm forced to wear the sailor fuku from now on because you decided to use a Dying Will Bullet! That was completely unnecessary!"
Reborn blinked.
"What does that mean?" he asked baffled.
"I made a deal with Kyouya years ago when he found out I was wearing the wrong uniform for safety reasons. He'd ignore the fact I wasn't wearing the 'correct' uniform so long as no one knew I was a girl. And now, thanks to you, the entire school knows!"
Tsukiyo shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.
"I really, really don't want to wear that uniform."
"How long has it been since you've actually worn feminine clothing? And I don't mean yukata or kimono," asked Reborn seriously.
Tsukiyo winced at the question.
"How long?"
"Not for years. It doesn't help Mama thinks I'm a boy and has for a long time."
"...Exactly when did you start fearing for your safety due to your gender?" asked Reborn, switching to a different tact.
"...When I was around eleven or twelve."
Right before puberty would have hit, Reborn noted. Add on top of that the sheer animosity and apathy towards her and it was no wonder she had very little comfort in wearing girl clothing.
It would seem he needed to bring in reinforcements...if only to give Tsukiyo a better female role model to encourage her. Her cousin was good, but her visits were sporadic at best. Mama had clearly lost touch with reality a long time ago, and Chrome was modeling herself after the girl who saved her.
For now though, he had to deal with this headache.
Tsukiyo looked in her closet. Closed it, then looked again.
She took deep calming breaths before a growl of pure rage came from her.
"Reborn...where are all my clothes?"
"A mafia boss does not wear clothes that barely fit, or have patch holes in them," said Reborn.
Tsukiyo hissed at him.
"Did it ever occur to you that the reason I wear worn clothes is because I can't afford to buy new all the time?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Your trust vault alone would have paid for several wardrobes of brand name clothing every year. To say nothing of any hobbies you might have."
"My what?" said Tsukiyo baffled.
Reborn gave her an odd look.
"Your trust vault. Every confirmed Vongola heir has one, even if they're low on the line of succession. I know the Ninth would have at least kept it topped up every month with the bare minimum."
"Reborn, I don't have a trust vault. I don't even have a bank account," said Tsukiyo slowly.
Reborn looked at her hard to see if she was lying. Then he went to find Mama to get to the bottom of this.
"Oh, I completely forgot about that! Tsu-kun is so clumsy with his things that I keep forgetting to give him his card. And Tatsuya always spends his allowance too quickly," said Nana with an indulgent smile.
"...Which account have you been using to pay the bills with?" asked Reborn seriously, already having a headache.
It was starting to sound more and more like Nana's absentminded nature was the source of this particular headache.
"Oh, I use the account darling set up."
Which meant she likely hadn't touched her children's vaults at all.
Reborn plastered his best fake smile on, before calmly saying...
"Mama, Tsuna has outgrown the last of their clothes. I think now would be a good time to see if they can be trusted with their bank card, don't you?"
Nana seemed to think that over, before going to one of the drawers and pulling out an envelope. Inside was a card that had never been used and was already expired.
Reborn dragged Tsukiyo to the bank to get a new one and explained what happened to the manager. She walked out with a new card and a little less annoyance with her tutor.
That is, once she got over her fainting spell upon seeing exactly how much was in the account.