Author's Note
Warning: butchering of mythology and culture. OOCness. Overuse of the word 'gold'. I apologize in advance.
(I suppose I should put a disclaimer here as well, though its quite pointless... Reborn is not mine.)
Everyone is around 3 years older than canon, making Tsuna 16 and attending Namikou. Oh, there is one possible exception though. Her age is specified either way so it doesn't matter.
And special thanks to my friend who pre-read this XD Thank you~ 3
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It all started when a UMA crashed into the world.
Actually, it would be more accurate to say that an UFO containing 7 UMA crashed into the world. Close enough.
In any case, the UMAs entered to the barren world and stared.
"What an empty place." They collectively thought. Then, together, they gave the world life and meaning.
(Perhaps it was because they saw how bare the world was, or perhaps it was because they felt the need for more company, but most likely perhaps because they were extremely bored.)
Each UMA held considerable power, none more powerful than the other.
Creation. Knowledge. Potential. Fate. Malice. Death. Existence.
They split the world into various territories for no particular reason other than to suit their lifestyles. One staked claim on the 'East', another on the 'West', the cosmos, the afterlife and the darkness. Then there were the two who didn't claim anything, one opted to be a hermit and other lived with the humans.
Anyways, I digress.
This is the story about the child of potential.
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The three teenagers watched in anticipation as Tsuna slowly opened his eyes.
"How is it?"
Tsuna shook his head sadly. "I still can't find them."
One of the boys clenched his tonfa in frustration. "Weak herbivore." He eyed a nearby boulder.
"Maa maa, calm down, Hibari. We will find him or her soon enough."
"It's been extremely TEN years." Ryohei punched the boulder seconds before Kyoya swung his tonfa, smashing the rock to bits.
The dragon was not amused. "You…" He growled, redirecting his tonfa to his kill stealer.
Takeshi quickly stepped in between his two seniors in attempts to placate them.
Tsuna ignored the three beasts behind him, instead turning to his mentor. "I've searched the north."
The baby sighed. "Either they are strong enough to hide or too weak to be found."
"Or they are not in my territory."
"Perhaps…" His mentor nodded. "I will ask the clan to check once again. Please excuse me while I phone their head."
"No, let them rest." Tsuna raised his head to gaze at the sky. "They are as frustrated as we are, perhaps even more so." Slowly, he lowered his head, the golden flash in his eyes capturing the attention of his three guardians and mentor. "That person will appear." He smiled at them. "Now then, shall we get something to eat? I'm starving."
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When Reborn came to Namimori for the prospect of training Vongola Decimo, he was not expecting two things.
First: He was not expecting his pacifier to light up.
"Ciaossu, Fon. What a surprise, I was not expecting to meet you here."
Fon bowed in greeting. "Nihao. I'm glad to see that you are doing well. What brings you here?"
Reborn tipped his fedora. "Nono sent me here to train Vongola Decimo. Yourself?"
"What a coincidence. I also have a student living in this area. Perhaps we could let the two of them meet up sometime. Who are you training, may I ask."
"Iemitsu's son-"
Second: He was most definitely not expecting his comrade, a known pacifist by nature, to turn hostile towards him.
Reborn was instantly on guard as he felt, before saw, the storm flames. "…Fon?"
"Pardon me." Fon gave a serene smile, which would look a lot more serene if he wasn't surrounded by raging storm flames, circling its master like a battle aura. It was at times like this that Reborn was reminded that Fon was truly a storm no matter how calm he may be most of the time.
"Fon, what are you doing?" Leon was also in shock at Fon's behaviour. The only reason why he hasn't transformed to aid his master was because Fon had yet to actually attack Reborn and Lichi looked like she was about to cry for some reason.
"My apologies." The glowing red flames still swirling around Fon spoke volumes of his apology. "May I ask something for clarification? Are you here to train Sawada Tsunayoshi to be Vongola Decimo?"
"…Iemitsu only has one son."
That was not the response Fon was looking for. He got into a battle stance and-
A tonfa flew out of nowhere, forcing Fon to jump back to dodge. The air was cleared in an instant, not a single trace of storm flame left to be found.
Reborn blinked as he saw his future student and one of Fon's clan members run towards them. "Fon! What's wrong?"
"Herbivore, for disrupting peace and giving me a headache, I'll bite you to death."
"Wait, allow me to first speak with my friend." Fon gesture the friend he was a second away from attacking and smiled. "We were discussing some important issues."
Tsuna turned to Reborn, not reacting to Lichi as she climbed up his back and onto his head. "Your friend?"
Reborn was certain he saw the pits of his pupils glow gold for the briefest second before returning to their natural chocolate brown.
Fon nodded.
Both his future student and Fon's relative stared. Reborn inwardly sighed, very used to these types of stares. It was like waving the fact that he was cursed in his face-
"A gaijin?" [lit. outside person]
Well that was new. Was it that shocking for a foreigner to appear in this small town?
"Yes, Tsunayoshi-sama. This is Reborn… a gaijin."
Reborn wasn't sure what puzzled him more, the fact that Fon addressed his future student this respectfully or the fact that the boy's companion grew feral at the confirmation.
"Herbivore." The boy pulled out two tonfas. "State your purpose."
Reborn twitched at the blatant tone of disrespect but decided to humour the boy regardless. With Fon here, there wasn't really much point of hiding anything. He gestured the brown haired teenager, who was standing behind his black haired friend and slightly hidden from Reborn's view. "I'm here for Tsuna-"
Once again, he found himself under attack. Seriously, these two relatives were exactly the same. They even had the same trigger. Reborn sighed as he dodged the tonfa. Leon morphed into a gun at his prompt. He was about to shoot when his future student suddenly clung onto his attacker's arm.
"Kyoya stop. He's strong."
Tsuna continued to grip the limb, evidently having no intention of letting go. Handicapped with a stubborn dead weight leeched on his arm, the boy reluctantly lowered his tonfa but did nothing else, remaining in a battle ready posture and still sending Reborn a death glare that could burn into hell and out the other side. Seeing no imminent danger, Reborn took it as his cue to continue.
"As I was saying, I'm here for Tsunayoshi." Good, he finally managed to say Tsuna's name without being attacked again. This is progress. "To train him into becoming Vongola Decimo."
Tsuna turned to Fon, who was silently observing everything from the side. "Vongola Decimo?"
"Vongola refers to a mafia famiglia. It is and has been the strongest famiglia ever since it's founding." Fon readily gave the information. "The current boss of the famiglia is Nono, the 9th. Decimo, the 10th, refers to the person who is to take over Vongola after Nono. Your father is the External Advisor for the Vongola and your ancestor is Vongola Primo."
Kyoya's eyes widened whereas Tsuna's blink in confusion. "Mafia?"
"Mafia, underground organization originating from Italy." Seeing the confused look remain on Tsuna's face, Fon tried a different approach. "They are a bit like the Triads and yakuza conceptually, except they are located in the West."
"Oh." Tsuna nodded in understanding. "So they deal with the drugs and weapons in the West." Turning back to Reborn, he smiled. "Please continue, Reborn-san."
"…" The boy obviously didn't comprehend what situation he was in. Seriously, that was the most nonchalant reaction he had ever seen. Reborn sighed inwardly once more, prompting Leon to transform into a gun. "I am an assassin-"
This time, he was not surprised that he was attacked him again. Not at all. It was expected at this point.
What Reborn didn't expect, most definitely didn't actually, was the huge snake-like dragon that charged at him, her jaws wide open and ready to consume him in one gulp. Ready as in gracefully but viciously pouncing at Reborn at every opportunity. The only thing saving Reborn was the fact that the dragon flinched slightly every time a bullet hit her.
Kyoya was most definitely not impressed at his dragon. "That Herbivore…" He growled, like it was the greatest insult in the world. Considering what a dragon's diet was, the insult wasn't that far off.
Tsuna tugged on his sleeve. "Kyoya, Reborn-san said he was here to train me, not kill me."
The dragon sighed. "Tsunayoshi, you do realize that the baby is here to train you into being a mafia boss. A boss that leads his herd in Italy."
"Italy? I've always wanted to visit the West! Can we go someday?"
"Until we find The Herbivore, don't even think about it."
Tsuna pouted. "I know." He watched as Reborn once again dodge a strike from the dragon. "Fon, your friend is pretty good."
Fon nodded as he approached Tsuna and Kyoya. "Reborn has been proclaimed as the world's greatest hitman."
"'World's greatest' huh." Tsuna's eyes glowed gold. After staring at Reborn for a few seconds he sighed and shook his head. "Reborn-san really is a gaijin after all."
"My apologies, Tsunayoshi-sama. Would you like me to remove him from your territory?"
Tsuna shook his head once more, the gold fading away. "I've never met such a strong gaijin before! Kyoya, please don't hurt him. I want to talk with him! Besides, Sei-chan looks a bit tired."
Kyoya narrowed his eyes as the dragon chasing after Reborn reacted a fraction of a millisecond slower than usual. That was most definitely unacceptable. He whistled sharply. "Seiryu. Capture the baby unharmed within 5 or prepared to be disciplined." He watched the dragon perk up in fear of her master but still not speed up. "If you desire to be an herbivore so much, I'll turn you into one."
Reborn paused as his pursuer suddenly stopped moving. The beast was currently visibly trembling.
"5"
The dragon snapped her attention towards Reborn.
"4- 3- 2,"
Holy Kirin that was not fair. Then again, Hibari Kyoya was never fair. Seiryu instantly glowed blue and now it was Reborn who was shivering. The dragon shot forward and, in a blink, engulfed the baby into her mouth.
"1"
The dragon rested her head on the ground in front of Kyoya and Tsuna, watching wearily as her master looked absolutely annoyed at her.
"Sei-chan, could you let Reborn-san out?"
The baby was spat out without further prompting.
Reborn was in daze, not quite certain what had just happened, adrenaline leaving his system.
Being the only person who knew what was going on, Fon stepped forward. "My apologies Reborn, but unfortunately your mission from Vongola Nono cannot be completed." He placed a hand on Reborn's shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly. "My student already belongs to the East. He has been the moment he was born and will continue so until his death."
All Reborn could do was blink, feeling very sluggish for some reason.
"After all, Tsunayoshi-sama is the kirin."
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Reborn woke up in an unfamiliar room, the faint smell of incense in the air. He instantly stiffened in alarm, before finally remember the events that transpired before he lost conscious. At this point, he wasn't sure what was more shocking, the fact that mythical beasts existed, the fact that his potential student was called a mythical beast or the fact that he had actually faint- I mean, lost conscious.
"Ah! He's awake!" A bright cheerful voice brought him back into the room. Reborn opened his eyes and turned to see a girl smiling at him. Fon entered his view before any bullets were fired.
"Are you alright, Reborn?"
Reborn nodded. "Where am I?"
Fon sighed, sounding slightly exasperated. "Tsunayoshi-sama insisted that you were to be brought to his temple." He smiled and held out the fedora as Reborn sat up. "My deepest apologies for the unsavoury greeting yesterday."
"It's fine…" Reborn took his hat and froze, running what Fon said in his head once more. "…Yesterday?"
Fon gave him a sheepish smile. "I'll keep it a secret."
The girl beside him clapped, distracting Reborn into forgetting his embarrassment. "Reborn-chan right? My name is Sasagawa Kyoko. Pleased to meet you!" She dipped her head in greeting.
"Likewise." Reborn nodded back, noting her clothing. They were a traditional priestess garb except it was accented with glittering silver. Reborn could make out intricate weavings of tigers along the stash.
"Would you like something to eat? "
"…A cup of espresso."
"Kyoko-san, get Reborn some of mama's wagashi as well."
"Alright!" Giving one last bow, Kyoko left to get Reborn's breakfast, sliding the screen door closed behind her.
The two friends shared a moment of silence as Reborn put his fedora back onto his head.
"Care to tell me what is going on?"
Fon hummed pleasantly. "I will merely tell you the basics. The rest isn't my tale to tell."
Reborn nodded in thanks. Leon crawled onto his shoulder and stared at Fon, also ready to hear the story.
"Tsunayoshi-sama is the kirin, as I have stated before. Kyoya, my nephew, is one of his guardians while Kyoko, the girl just now, is one of his priestesses."
"Quick question." Reborn continued after a nod from Fon. "Your nephew is the azure dragon, Seiryu?" He was given another nod from Fon. "He was able to summon the dragon. So can Tsuna do the same with Kirin?"
"He can."
"I thought the Kirin only appears when a great leader rises."
Fon nodded. "That is officially true. The Kirin appears to signify a leader who will create an era of peace and prosperity. However, it is unreasonable to believe that the kirin would exist to merely appear as a symbol right?" Reborn noted the slight distasteful tone in Fon's voice. He nodded his head in agreement. Fon smiled. "The kirin serves as the mediator, both in the lawful and unlawful world, and actively gets involved to maintain peace and stability. Also, one of the guardian's jobs is to disrupt malice while the priests serve to purify it. To answer your question, the Kirin is always there, only appearing before humanity to serve as a reminder that they are watching."
Reborn mused over the information thoughtfully. "That's good. So he still has time to be the Vongola Decimo." He lifted his hand before Fon could explode into another storm. "Fon, the Vongola need him."
"I do not believe that."
"It's true. You know that all of Nono's sons are dead. There is no one else that has the blood of Vongola but Tsunayoshi."
"That, my friend, is not true." Fon gave an alarmingly peaceful smile. "Yes it is true that Tsunayoshi-sama has the blood of Vongola, but he is not the last person to carry that blood. Rather he is the most convenient person to use, being the son of the External Advisor. I do not believe that you are unable to produce a single person who also has Vongola blood if you dig into the family tree."
"You don't understand, Fon. The Vongola needs an heir as soon as possible. Nono is already straining himself."
Fon merely shook his head. "No, you don't understand, Reborn. You don't understand the frustration of going through every single person in a clan, every person who could potentially possess fluid from the bloodline, to merely find the one person fate has chosen. You don't understand pain of watching both your clansmen and allies go through every single possible lead, leaving their homes to scout uninhabited areas, foreign lands and so on, just to find a needle in a haystack." Lichi worriedly patted his head. Fon took a deep breath, dispelling the storm around him. There was no point of venting his years of futile searching at Reborn.
"Vongola does not need to find their fated one. All they need is someone with the right blood. Use your time trying to convince everyone around Tsunayoshi-sama into becoming Vongola Decimo to instead find some other lucky person who possesses the right blood. Tsunayoshi-sama has been chosen as the kirin well before Vongola has made their decision. Even you would have difficulty fighting against all of the East, much less the celestial beasts."
Reborn's response was cut short as they heard footsteps approaching.
"Fon? Are you alright?" Tsuna slid open the door, followed by Kyoko, Kyoya and Takeshi.
"Yes. I was just thinking of something stressful. My apologies, Kyoya."
The dragon glared at him as he took a seat on the ground in front of the futon. He was in a casual dark blue yukata. Takeshi wore a similar one in black, collar hung low revealing a large black tattoo of a turtle on the top left of his chest. Seated between the two boys, Tsuna's hoodie and cargo-pants stood out like a sore thumb.
"Reborn-chan, here are your coffee and sweets." Kyoko smiled as she gently set the tray in next to Reborn. "Mama made them herself! Her cooking is simply divine~"
"Thanks." Reborn took a sip of espresso. It was alright, he had both better and worse. Actually, considering where he was (in a very oriental shrine in a small town) this coffee was very good. He took another sip, satisfied, as he watched the priestess take a seat behind the row of boys, between Tsuna and the boy he had yet catch the name of.
"Well… allow me to formally introduce myself, though I guess you already know a bit about me." Tsuna scratched his face sheepishly and smiled. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, please call me Tsuna. This is Yamamoto Takeshi, a guardian, Hibari Kyoya, also a guardian and Sasagawa Kyoko, a priestess. Unfortunately, everyone else is busy at the moment so I'm afraid you won't be able to meet them until tomorrow."
"I am Reborn, a long time friend of Fon's." He lifted his fedora slightly. "And this is Leon, my partner." He looked Tsuna up and down. "I have to say, I was given information from your father's spies, evidently false, that you were a failure at everything."
Tsuna, Takeshi and Kyoko blinked while Kyoya stared on impassively. "Spies?"
Reborn nodded. "I was told that they were sent here recently and had reported back to your father that everything was 'the same as always'."
At that, Tsuna had an epiphany. "Oh! Those funny-looking gaijin!"
"Haha, I remember those guys. Hibari got rid of them, right?"
Kyoya yawned. As if he could remember every herbivore he had bitten to death.
"Well to pick up the conversation from yesterday, I am a hitman sent by your father and Vongola Nono to train you into becoming Vongola Decimo, the next boss of the largest mafia famiglia in the world."
There was an awkward moment of silence. Reborn inwardly began to doubt himself, wondering if he had brought the subject up a little too soon.
Kyoko giggled. "Wow, you're a hitman? That's so cool!"
Takeshi openly laughed. "That's some interesting role play you are making, kid. Hey Tsuna, can I join your team?"
Tsuna, who Reborn believed still wasn't understanding what this mafia thing was all about, merely shrugged.
It was depressing that the owner of the dragon that had basically swallowed Reborn yesterday was the only person reacting sensibly, namingly glaring at Reborn.
"However, it has been brought to my attention that you had other duties to attend to and could not be Vongola Decimo."
Everyone but Tsuna and Reborn nodded at that statement.
"So allow me to bring forth a solution. You are 'the Kirin', correct? Then would you use your powers to find the next leader of Vongola instead of taking the position yourself?"
Everyone but Tsuna and Reborn looked highly offended at that suggestion.
"Reborn, the power of kirin doesn't work that way."
Takeshi had a sharp glint in his eyes. "Seriously kid, Tsuna is the kirin, not a seer or a fortune teller. You should go look for one of those types of people instead."
Kyoko nodded in agreement. "Would you like me to introduce to you to our friend? She might be able to help you."
Kyoya continued to glare, however this time he was joined by Seiryu. The huge dragon had appeared in a flash of blue and was now floating behind him, posed to attack.
As for the potential heir…
"Pfft." Tsuna tried to hold in his laughter before a few chuckles escaped. He slid himself towards Reborn and gently lifted him up so they could speak face to face, ignoring the commotion and protests behind him. This time Reborn could clearly see the golden glow in his eyes. Tsuna gave him a wide smile. "I like you!" He declared, laughing some more. "Reborn-san is so interesting! Are there a lot of gaijin like you?"
Reborn scoffed. "Of course not. I'm the world's greatest hitman."
"As expected of the greatest~" Tsuna laughed a bit more before calming himself slightly. "I'm sorry though, I'm bad at finding people and I most definitely can't find someone I've never met before. Especially if they are gaijin. I am only sensitive within my territory, you see. But if you bring someone here I can check their potential for you! How does that sound?"
Reborn found himself quite liking this kid. Seeing the flabbergasted looks behind Tsuna made Reborn simply like the kid even more. "Alright."
"Would you be my friend, Reborn-san?"
The look on Fon's face at his peripheral, especially his rapid hand gestures, made the answer obvious. "Sure."
And that was the start of a beautiful friendship.
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Tsunayoshi was definitely one of the most hospitable people in the temple, insisting that Reborn should stay in one of their guest rooms (the room he woke in) since they are friends. Considering how it was his temple and Tsuna was a very stubborn person when concerning the people he cared about, everyone else eventually gave up arguing against him. Takeshi and Fon merely followed behind Tsuna as he showed the baby on his shoulder around the temple.
"Behind this door is the kitchen." Tsuna slid the door open. "This is mama's territory. She doesn't like people touching her tools unless you are a Yamamoto."
Takeshi laughed. "Hey Tsuna, let's take the kid to Takesushi later."
Tsuna agreed. "That's a good idea. I haven't had Tsuyoshi-san's sushi in a while now. We should all go this weekend."
"Ok~ I'll tell oyaji later."
They all turned as the door from behind the kitchen slid open.
Tsuna dipped his head in greeting. "Mama."
"Tsu-kun! I thought I heard voices. Are you boys still hungry?" Sawada Nana gently slid the door closed behind her and walked towards them. From the brief view, Reborn guessed that it was probably Nana's study. She paused after she noticed the unfamiliar figure on her son's shoulder. "Ara, who's this?"
The baby lifted his fedora slightly to give Nana a better view of his face. "Ciaossu. My name is Reborn. I am an acquaintance of your husband's-"
Reborn had heard a lot about Iemitsu's wife from the lovesick man. That was all he talked about half the time. As such, Reborn was absolutely stunned to see 'sweet and innocent' Nana's aura do a complete 180. The smile on her face, which haven't moved the slightest, looked horrifying. At least Reborn knew he wasn't the only one affected by it, as he felt both Takeshi and Fon tense behind him. Tsuna, on the other hand, didn't react in the slightest. Either it was due to oblivion or immunity.
"Is that so? How is my darling doing? He must have mentioned his useless son a lot. Really, the only redeeming trait of my useless son is his kindness-"
"Mama, it's alright. Fon told Reborn-san that I am the kirin."
Nana blinked before her aura shifted once more. This time her smile did drop. "I see. Tsu-kun, would you help me do some shopping? I forgot to buy soy sauce."
"Ok." Tsuna turned towards the door. Both Takeshi and Fon had already taken a few steps back and effectively exited the room the moment Nana stopped smiling.
"Tsu-kun, mama would like to talk to Reborn-kun."
Tsuna nodded, gently lifting Reborn off his shoulder and setting him onto the table. "I'll be back in an hour." He walked out the room only to pause at the doorway, remembering something. "Ah, mama, Reborn-san is my friend."
Nana gave him a sweet smile. "He's Tsu-kun's friend?" She clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful! Tsu-kun, it's good to have many friends but make sure you choose them carefully."
"I know mama." With that, he disappeared behind the door.
"Do not interfere with my son."
Reborn has honestly never seen anyone change auras that many times and variations within a span of 5 minutes.
"If you know Iemitsu then that means you are from the mafia aren't you. Are you a part of CEDEF?"
"No." Reborn was never told that Nana knew of the mafia but he supposed it wasn't a surprise considering how Fon had been literally living 4 rooms down for at least a couple of years. "I am affiliated with Vongola."
"Vongola… and what is your purpose for coming here?"
"I am here to seek help from the kirin in choosing the next leader of Vongola." That was probably the safest response to give to this mother bear.
Considering his situation, it was the best response. However, that didn't make Nana any happier. "You want Tsu-kun's help?" She frowned. "It would be much appreciated if you don't lead other gaijin here."
"I won't make any promises."
Nana sighed. "If you weren't Tsu-kun's friend, I would have made you leave." She stared into Reborn's eyes with an unreadable expression. "If you do anything suspicious, I will destroy the CEDEF."
The woman didn't blink even when a gun was pointed at her. Instead, she smiled sweetly. "Ara, the West really does think with their fists after all. If you shoot me, you would have contributed to the destruction of CEDEF. I wonder how my honey would react."
"…" Leon crawled up to Reborn's shoulder and licked his cheek in attempts to calm him down. Reborn patted the chameleon. "So you will injure yourself to throw Iemitsu into panic?"
"I don't need to." Nana stood up and walked to a nearby hanging scroll. Lifting the scroll, she revealed an indentation in the wall and pulled out a file. She smiled once more as she slid the documents in front of Reborn. "All I need to do is submit this. Injuries can heal, but I doubt my husband would be able to ever fully recover from a divorce."
Within the file was a detailed account of the reasons why Nana would desire a divorce, including how all legal assets between the couple were to be split. Anything that Iemitsu had given to the family would be returned to him, except for his son. In the event she was to die or lose the ability to make decisions, the legal guardianship of Sawada Tsunayoshi was to be transferred to Yamamoto Tsuyoshi. What really stood out though, was how the file was updated at least every half a year. Reborn recognized some of the dates. They were shortly after major events in both the CEDEF and Vongola, including the flood of blood, deaths of each son and the cradle affair. At this point, Reborn wondered who exactly was spying on whom.
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Rather than heading out, Tsuna turned to walk in the other direction and into the inner parts of the temple. Fon leapt onto his shoulder. "Tsunayoshi-sama, why do you want Reborn to be your friend? It's dangerous if you befriend a gaijin."
"Reborn-san had stopped being a gaijin the moment he agreed to be my friend."
"Even so, Reborn is part of the Italian mafia. He would surely lead other gaijin into Namimori."
"Maa maa, Tsuna can be friends with whoever he wants to." Takeshi helped Tsuna slide open another door. "I'm curious though. Does the kid have a lot of potential?"
Tsuna stopped walking. He turned to the turtle with a huge smile on his face, momentarily glancing at the open door they just passed through, knowing that the dragon was eavesdropping. "Reborn-san has potential." His eyes glowed gold. "He has the potential to guide me. Guide me to people, places, destiny. I've never seen that type of potential in anyone else." The gold receded as Tsuna turned back around. "Besides, he is Fon's friend."
Takeshi laughed. A black snake slithered out from the sleeves of his yukata and coiled herself around his wrist. "Which means he is strong, which is good for Hibari, and he can agitate Fon-san, also good for Hibari."
Fon gave an exasperated smile while Kyoya, who was still leaning against the wall out of their view, smirked.
"Mmhmm." Tsuna finally reached the room he was heading for and slid the door open. "Yuni, do you want to go shopping with me?"
The 5 year old girl perked up, handing Kyoko the ball they were playing with and then running to her brother. "I want to go! I want to go!"
Tsuna ruffled her hair. "Wear a coat, it will get chilly soon." He turned to Kyoko as his sister ran off to the closet, dragging the turtle along to help her reach her coat. "Is Ryohei still taking a walk?"
The priestess giggled. "Onii-chan was feeling very energetic today."
"Do you want to come with us, Kyoko? We might bump into him on the way."
"It's alright. I need perform a purification ceremony later. Ah, but could you buy some cakes, Tsuna-kun?"
"I will." Tsuna held his hand out for Yuni, who happily grabbed it. "See you later then. Don't strain yourself."
Kyoko smiled. "Yes."
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"Tsuna-niichan, Kyoko-oneesan told me there was a guest."
"Yeah." Tsuna watched as Kyoya carefully examined every jar of soy sauce. The dragon was very picky about each aspect of his food. "His name is Reborn. He's probably going to be staying here for a while-" He blinked as Kyoya shoved 2 identical bottles of soy sauce in front of his face, looking at him with a bored expression. With a sigh, Tsuna's eyes glowed, looking back and forth between the two jars. "…This bottle." He tapped the bottle on the right.
Takeshi laughed as Kyoya put away the other bottle. "Good thing Fon-sensei isn't here." Fon had repeatedly expressed his exasperation each time Tsuna was used to compare the potential of products, much to Kyoya's annoyance. Incidentally, the baby was currently watching over his friend back at the temple. Both to keep an eye on Reborn and for his protection.
The kirin shrugged. "Oh right. Yuni, Reborn-san is similar to Fon so don't treat him like a kid even though he looks younger than you ok?"
Yuni nodded obediently. "Ok. Tsuna-niichan, can I pay?"
The girl giggled as she was lifted by her brother up to his chest, wrapping an arm around his neck to readjust herself. Takeshi handed her the money and Kyoya placed the soy sauce on the counter. "Don't forget your manners."
"I know!" Yuni smiled at the owner. "Good evening!"
"Good evening." The man nodded back, scanning the soy sauce. "Sawada-sama, Sasagawa-san walked past here not long ago. He was headed west. That would be 1280 yen."
"Thank you!" Yuni placed the money into his palm.
Tsuna sheepishly smiled as Takeshi took the soy sauce. "Did Ryohei disrupt business?"
"Nah." The owner wave the idea off. "The customers are used to it. They just cover their ears and walk around him. It's quite funny actually."
"Haha, as expected of senpai." Takeshi grinned. "West right? Let's go~"
"Yeah. He shouldn't have gone far." The kirin nodded at the owner. "Thank you."
"Have a nice day!" Yuni waved as Tsuna carried her out of the store. "Ah! It's Ryohei-oniisan."
Indeed it was, or at least most likely was. The four of them stared at the huge dust cloud travelling around a hill. Takeshi scratched the back of his head. "Haha, I thought senpai was taking a walk."
"…Ko-chan probably got annoyed." Tsuna sighed and put his sister down. "Takeshi, take Yuni and get Kyoko some cakes. We'll go get Ryohei and head back."
"Cakes!" Yuni hopped over to Takeshi and held out her hand. The black snake slid from Takeshi's wrist and coiled herself around Yuni's. The girl giggled and waved back at her brother as they headed off to the cake shop.
The kirin waved back before turning back to the hill. He rubbed his temple. "Now, how should we do this?"
Kyoya shifted his left arm, summoning Seiryu. "Bite the herbivore to death."
"He isn't a herbivore…"
The dragon ignored him. Seiryu rolled her eyes at her master and floated over to Tsuna, gently wrapping herself once around his shoulders. She laid her chin on top of his hair, silently waiting for orders.
Tsuna once again sighed. He graced his hand over his right arm and glowed. "Ko-chan, come here."
A white tiger appeared before them and laid her head down on the ground. She looked very annoyed, much more annoyed than usual.
"I thought Ryohei was going on a walk."
Byakko responded by flinging a broken body leash onto the ground beside her. She stared into Tsuna's eyes, making a deadpanned expression, as if saying 'it's not my fault'.
The kirin rubbed his temple and groaned. "Does Ryohei really need to break one every time? This leash uses the material used to pull trains." He sighed. "Oh, who am I kidding? I knew that it didn't have enough potential from the very beginning."
The three beasts watched impassively as Tsuna continued his almost daily rant. "Just bite him to death."
Sighing once more, Tsuna reluctantly agreed. "Sei-chan… paralyze him." Seiryu instantly flew off Tsuna and towards the hill, jaws wide open, ready to bite and inject poison into unsuspecting Ryohei. "Ko-chan, could you help Sei-chan drag him back to the temple?"
Byakko sighed in annoyance before running off. She was so going to have a long nap after this.
Tsuna picked up the broken leash, examining how worn it looked. It was brand new. Honest. "…Kyoya… how many of these are left?"
"Kurokawa ordered a box of 50."
"50." The kirin hung his head, depressed. "If he goes on a walk once a day, then that's a month and a half." He muttered. "Let's go back. I'll ask Hana to find some stronger leashes."
.
.
.
Fuuta quickly ran into a park and hid in the bushes, ignoring the shouts and threats towards him. He was tired, so very tired. 13 years of running and hiding. 13 years of being treated like an object. He hugged his ranking book even tighter, slowly backing out of the park as he heard the voices and footsteps leave his general area. So far so good-
"Owww." Fuuta spun around in panic. He sighed in relief as when he saw who he bumped into. An 8 year old child wearing cow print clothing.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." He held his hand out for the child. The cow lifted his head and widened his eyes.
"Fuuta-nii?" The cow leapt up and grabbed Fuuta's shoulders. Fuuta was absolutely confused as he watched the child examine his face. He has most definitely never met a cow before and 'Fuuta-nii'? That was definitely Japanese. Fuuta has never even left Italy before.
The child ignored Fuuta's weariness and distrust. He nodded to himself. "Yup, you must be Fuuta-nii. 10 years younger Fuuta-nii… YESSSS" The cow leapt up and pumped his fist into the air. "Lambo-san found Fuuta-nii! Now Lambo-san can finally go to Tsuna-nii. Let's go!"
There were a number of reasons why Fuuta didn't move as the child tugged on his sleeves. Aside from the fact that he had no idea who this child was and who this 'Tsuna-nii' was, well… the child's excitement and shouting attracted the attention of the mafia men who were trying to abduct him.
The child chattered on, oblivious to the mafia men, still tugging on Fuuta's sleeves and rambling about how he had been looking for Fuuta for 2 years because some '10 year bazooka' took him to 'Tsuna-nii' who told Lambo to find Fuuta before going to 'Namimori Shrine'.
"Lambo right? Uh…" Fuuta tried to pry the child off his sleeves, not wanting to get Lambo involved. "Could you let go? I need to run from these people."
"-then Tsuna-nii drew a picture in the air and bam! the scary meany fell from his throne and huh?" Lambo finally noticed the large group of mafia men. "Fuuta-nii, who are these people? Are they your subordinates?"
The men laughed. "Subordinates, hahaha good one. Ranking Prince, come with us or we will kill that brat."
"Kill? Oh. Then that means you guys are 'bad' right?" Lambo pulled some cow horn out of his pocket and stuck them in his hair. "Lambo-sama promised Tsuna-nii that he would protect Fuuta-nii from all bad people. Thunder Set!"
Everyone's eyes widened as Lambo literally summoned lightning from the sky to strike himself. The cow was currently bouncing on the balls of his heels. "Fuuta-nii, you know you know, Tsuna-nii said that my lightning has a lot of potential~" The lightning flashed. "Gyahaha, bow down to Lambo-sama. Elettrico Cornata!"
The results were as expected. Lambo took advantage of Fuuta's dazed silence and dragged him away from the twitching charred bodies on the ground. Next destination: Namimori Shrine.