Author's note
Welp. Procrastination rules my life. So much I want to do when I have stuff to do.
This chapter is stupidly long because it is actually 2 chapters combined into one. It was either two short ones or one long one. Well it doesn't make a difference anyways. (shrugs)
I probably could have edited this more but meh. Now there is the risk of inconsistencies I need to worry about...
Well as long as it is entertaining, it's fine.
Thank you for reading,
-1458
To maintain its power in this new world, the UMA of potential divided itself into two halves of six. One of its halves formed into what became known as the celestial beasts. The other half entered selected bloodlines of humans, those whose potential pleased the UMA. They formed clans, dedicated to their guardian, preserving the power for generations to come.
The UMA itself, or what would be considered the main body, was dubbed as the kirin, named after the celestial beast who refused to leave its side.
Eventually, the kirin became inspired by its sibling of fate and bore a child, allowing the child to form its own bloodline amongst the humans.
This bloodline formed the clan that eventually bore Nana.
(Obviously. It's not like it would be Iemitsu.)
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Reborn slowly flipped through Nana's files.
It was surprisingly easy to obtain a copy of them. In fact, all he had to do was ask. The woman handed it over to him without any resistance, rightfully confident that surrendering the information would only work in her benefit. It says a lot about the files if Reborn found himself actually learning about the operations of CEDEF. There was even information about the controversial and heavily covered up 'flood of blood'. Nana had a very good source.
Reborn froze.
Nana, a civilian in all terms, had connections with someone in CEDEF, a branch of the strongest familgia in the world. Furthermore, judging by the detailed and accurate files, the woman's informant was someone relatively high up. Possibly someone who worked closely with Iemitsu.
This was bad. While only Nono and Iemitsu knew who the candidate for Vongola Decimo was at the moment, it was only a matter of time before someone else found out. And once Nana's informant found out…
However, all was not lost. Reborn did have a trump card.
Sawada Tsunayoshi.
There was something that Reborn noticed in at his time in the temple, something Fon had not mentioned. It may have been because he didn't want Reborn to know, or the more likely possibility was because it was too intuitive to him.
Tsuna was a 'god' among 'humans'.
He led the temple and all of its inhabitants. His guardians, priests, mother and Fon. The power difference was unnoticeable most of the time but it was there. No one could force him to do anything. While the boy did respect the opinions of others, ultimately he had full control over all of his decisions.
Unlike what Fon had told him, Reborn did not need the support of anyone else as long Tsuna agreed. They would all him follow naturally. Even to Italy.
Reborn hid his bloodthirsty smirk beneath the shadow of his fedora. He was back in the game.
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"Tsuna-niichan~" Yuni jumped and did a perfect belly flop onto Tsuna's sleeping body. "Good morning!"
The kirin groaned.
Yuni giggled, bouncing up and down on his stomach as part of the daily routine. "Nii-chan, nii-chan, it's time to wake up."
"…5 more minutes…"
"Tsuna-niichan, should I use aunty's alarm clock-"
"HIIEEEE!" Tsuna shot up instantly, propelling the little girl to the end of the bed. "I'm up, I'm up."
Yuni laughed. "Good morning Tsuna-niichan~"
"Good morning." The boy rubbed his eyes. "It's so early."
"It's only early to nii-chan. Tsuna-niichan is always the last one to wake up."
"You're comparing me to people like Kyoya, Takeshi, Ryohei, Fon or Hana. They are crazy. It's like they are competing to see who wakes up the earliest." Tsuna stretched. "They already left, didn't they?"
"I saw Ryohei-oniisan being chased by Kyoya-oniisan out of the house."
"Chased..." He turned towards the window and spotted the huge white tiger sunbathing on the middle of the courtyard. Byakko opened one eye, sensing Tsuna's gaze, and gestured the leash beside her. Then her eyelid collapsed.
Tsuna's eyes lit up with happiness. The (brand new) leash will live for another day.
"Nii-chan, you're going to be late."
"Right... school..." Tsuna yawned. "How was your night, Yuni. Did you sleep well?"
Yuni gave a large nod. "Yup! I dreamt of a huge tornado and earthquakes and then everything became dark and I saw a dragon."
"I see. That's nice." The kirin shuffled out of bed, picking up his sister along the way. "What's for breakfast... Wait... tornado and earthquakes?"
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"Good morning, Hana. I didn't see you this morning, when did you leave?"
Hana continued to fill out the document in front of her. "Tsuna." She greeted. "Student council business. Left with Ryohei and Hibari." Hana paused and looked up for the first time, noticing that a sunny girl wasn't present. "Didn't you come with Kyoko?"
Tsuna shrugged. "She told me to go on ahead while we were in the hall. She said someone wanted to talk to her."
Hana's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Mochida Kensuke. Stupid monkey."
"Eh? Why Kensuke? It could have been someone else wanting to confess to her or something."
"Either way, stupid monkeys." She returned to her work. "By the way, the boys are playing dodge ball today."
"You can't be serious." Tsuna face planted his desk and groaned. "Why? Why must that game exist?"
Glancing around at the equally terrified faces of their classmates, Hana shrugged. "Don't worry. Many people feel the same way… though for different reasons."
Tsuna groaned once again.
"What's wrong with dodge ball?"
Hana stared at the owner of the squeaky voice who made that inquiry. She inwardly shuddered. Oh great, a brat.
Reborn jumped from the window and landed on the desk beside Tsuna. "Ciaossu. Why would a student of Fon be afraid of dodge ball?"
"I'm not afraid…" Tsuna lifted his head and sighed. "I just… well I guess you can say I can't play properly. Don't ask. Please. I don't quite understand why myself." Groaning, he dug his head back into his arms.
Hana snorted.
"Good morning Hana." Kyoko walked up to her desk and put her bag down. "What's wrong with Tsuna-kun?"
"Dodge ball."
"Oh. It'll be fine, Tsuna-kun." The girl patted Tsuna on the back. "Ah, good morning, Reborn-san. Hana, you haven't met him yet right? This is Reborn-san, Fon-san's friend. Reborn-san, this is Kurokawa Hana."
"You're the one that Seiryu ate?" Hana snickered. "I am the shadow of Seiryu. I don't like children, but I'll tolerate you since you are like Fon-san. Plus you managed to rile him up a few times. Anyone who can do that deserves some respect in my book."
Kyoko frowned. "Both you and Hibari-san shouldn't dislike Fon-san too much."
Rolling her eyes, Hana returned to her paperwork. "It's not a matter of dislike. It's annoyance. Just because he is our mentor doesn't mean that he needs to be a walking rule book on repeat. We only break the 'rules' because we want to."
The girl blinked. "Is that why the two of you are making it your life goal to break all of the traditions?"
"Don't put words in my mouth, Kyoko. It's not our goal. It's our boss'."
Tsuna kept his face buried in his arms.
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"What's wrong, Tsuna?"
The boy sighed. "Dodge ball."
"Maa maa, don't worry." Takeshi patted his back. "Just dodge the balls."
"That's not the problem…" Tsuna sighed once more as the two of them trudged to the yard.
Takeshi laughed. "It'll be fun! I hope we get to be on the same team this time."
Around the school yard, every single student who was present froze.
"Alright! Gather around!" Enomoto, the gym teacher, blew on his whistle. He flipped through the class register. "We are playing dodge ball today. Taniguchi! Osamu! You two are the team leaders. Decide who chooses first with rock paper scissors."
The two boys scurried to the front of the group, a determined look in both of their eyes.
"Best luck to the one who loses." Taniguchi held out his hand.
Osamu pulled out his hand as well. "Yeah… no hard feelings."
They both stole a glance at Takeshi and gulped. "Rock… paper… scissors."
"YEEEEESSSSS" Osamu threw both hands up into the air. "YEEEESSSSS"
Taniguchi had paled till he was as white as a sheet.
Oblivious Enomoto thought nothing of the strange outburst. "Osamu, hurry up and choose your team mate!"
Instantly, the boy turned towards Tsuna. "Sawada, you're on my team."
Tsuna dragged himself over to where Osamu was standing and sighed. So it has begun.
Taniguchi glanced towards his classmates and inwardly cried. Every single one of them were gesturing him, begging him, to not choose them. Every time they played dodge ball, or any potential contact sport in that matter, choosing teams was like a game of tic-tac-toe. After the first person makes the best move, the second person only had two possible endings; tie the game, or lose.
Unlike a game of tic-tac-toe, 'losing' here could be quite traumatizing. Everyone still remembered the first and only time that has ever happened.
"Yamamoto, please be on my team."
Takeshi frowned for the briefest second before he once again smiled with full force and walked over to Taniguchi's side. "Aww, I'm on a different team than Tsuna again."
Tsuna gave a long sigh.
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Up in a tree, the two babies watched the proceedings. "…Fon, what's wrong with dodge ball? Even Tsuna looks afraid of it." Not a single person seemed pleased. It would be more accurate to say that every single person, save Takeshi, wanted to be anywhere but there.
Fon chuckled airily. "Tsunayoshi-sama does not fear dodge ball. Rather, every time they play, everyone throws the ball in the exact opposite direction of where he is standing. This is indirectly the fault of Takeshi-san's…"
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"Haha, we are on the same team, huh? Let's have fun Tsuna!"
"Dodge ball…" Tsuna squeezed the ball in his hands. "These balls have the potential to hurt a lot more than the ones from middle school."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you won't get hurt!"
Tsuna, and every other person for that matter, did not think much of that proclamation until much later.
Nor did they think much of the black snake that had crawled down from around Takeshi's neck to his right wrist.
The game began peacefully, everyone playing with different levels of enthusiasm. Tsuna fell into the minimally motivated category, only tossing balls that rolled over to him. Spotting a ball next to him, he casually bent down to pick it up-
Everyone turned to Tsuna as they heard a strange 'bam'. Tsuna snapped his head up in time to see Takeshi standing in front of him and, presumably, blocking a ball that was intended to hit him. All would have been fine… had Takeshi not used the snake as a baseball bat to hit the ball back to where it came from.
"…T-takeshi…?"
"Are you alright, Tsuna?" Kogenbu had reformed herself around Takeshi's wrist, both of them innocently looking at Tsuna with concern in their eyes.
Tsuna dumbly nodded. Across the yard, the person who had attempted to throw the ball at Tsuna, Osamu, fainted as he remembered how the ball had flown across the yard at 100 km/h, barely missing his face. The said ball was had embedded itself into the fence a kilometer away.
"Takeshi, you shouldn't use Bu-chan for something like this." Tsuna scolded lightly, stealing a quick glance at Enomoto. They gym teacher was currently coordinating a student to get Osamu to the nurse's office. He had miraculously not notice the black baseball bat that appeared out of nowhere. Come to think of it, he never chided Takeshi for bringing a snake to PE either. Maybe he thought Kogenbu was a wristband or something.
"Haha, sorry Tsuna. I'll try not to."
"…" Everyone took a large step away from Takeshi and Tsuna.
There is a reason why the Genbu duo, not the Seiryu duo, is secretly the most feared in the school. They are spontaneous.
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"…Takeshi-san has very good natural reflexes and could be quite intimidating. He takes his role as Tsunayoshi's sword and shield very seriously, even when playing something as simple as dodge ball. Their classmates have learnt to not endanger Tsunayoshi-sama in any contexts."
"I see…" Literally. A bubble of empty space had formed around Tsuna the moment the game began. The students were even deliberately staying on the other side of the court. Reborn watched as Tsuna helplessly tried to join the others, only for the bubble of empty space to move wherever he travelled. The boy eventually gave a long sigh and settled on huddling in the corner, moping about his life.
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"Um Lambo…"
The cow stopped walking and turned around. "Yes, Fuuta-nii?"
Fuuta bit his lip slightly. "I was just wondering… we are going to Japan right?"
"Yup~ Tsuna-nii and everyone lives in Namimori Shrine."
"How are we…" Fuuta took a deep breath. "How are we even going to get there?"
Lambo blinked once before staring at Fuuta like he was an idiot. "We fly, duh."
"By plane?"
"Of course. I can't fly like Tsuna-nii does." Lambo paused. "Unless, Fuuta-nii, can you fly?"
Fuuta shook his head.
"Then come on, we need to head to the airport quickly." The little boy grabbed the older one's hand and attempted to drag him further, but stopped after feeling his companion not move.
"Lambo." Fuuta got down to Lambo's eye level. "Um… Do you have money?"
"Nope. Why?"
"Err, well, you see, you need money to buy a plane ticket. Without a ticket, you can't board a plane."
It took a few seconds for Lambo to process what Fuuta said. "Oh."
The ranking prince gave a sad smile. Money was the only thing preventing him from leaving this place. Aside from being hunted by the mafia.
"Tsuna-nii never said anything about a ticket… Wait here, I'm going to go ask."
The bazooka swallowed Lambo before Fuuta could even open his mouth, replacing him with an older, suave Lambo holding a fork full of chocolate cake.
Older Lambo blinked. "Oh hey, younger Fuuta-nii. Did my younger self give you any trouble?"
Fuuta, stunned at the sudden shift in character, managed to give an automated answer. "Ah, no."
"I see. Sorry in advance." Lambo looked at the cake in his hands and sniffled. "My cake is going to be all gone when I get back… Wait… Little me will make a mess then Ipin will find out that I snuck cake into my room and yell at me and then Hana-san will hear her and punish me and then Kyoko-nee will find out I stole her cake and…" The man burst into tears. "Younger Fuuta-nii, can I stay here instead?"
Fuuta, though dazed, insightfully figured that he should stay clear from whatever the women were planning to put Lambo through and merely patted the cow's back consolingly.
Older Lambo sobbed loudly. "Five minutes are almost up... sniff... Fuuta-nii, thank you for being a great brother and always being here for me. Thank you for forgiving me even after I accidentally destroyed your room and books more than a dozen times. Younger Fuuta-nii, even if I don't live through this, I hope that you will never forget me. Please hide my secret stash of candy in-"
There was a pink burst of smoke and younger Lambo happily jumped over to Fuuta, cake all over his face. "Fuuta-nii~ I'm back."
Fuuta dumbly nodded.
"Tsuna-nii said that he will book us a plane ticket. He told me to return back to the future 3 days later to pick up the tickets. Let's go to the airport now!"
This time, Fuuta let the little cow drag him along. "Tsuna-nii is giving us a plane ticket from the future...? But Lambo, isn't that a time paradox?"
"Don't worry about it. Yuni-chan said it would be fine."
"...Ok then."
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Tsuna was never good at school.
He didn't fail at every subject, just everything besides history. Math in particular was his sworn enemy. He was absolutely hopeless at that, the terrible teacher didn't help.
"Zero again, Sawada." Nezu sneered as he held out Tsuna's test paper for the whole world to see. "Why am I not surprised. The only thing you are successful at is maintaining your perfect zero streak. When I was your age I had grades that you could never even dream of matching."
Tsuna lowered his head, ashamed. Fon, Hana and even Kyoya had helped him study for this test. Unfortunately, his potential was allocated elsewhere. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll try harder next time."
"'Next time'? Next time, huh. That's what you say every time, dame-Tsuna. What are you even planning to do with life, since obviously it's impossible for you to become remotely close to being an elite like myself. Oh, I know, how about you start by not engaging in your little cult. Take this as a word of advice, quit prancing around like an idiot while you can. They will surely leave you once they learn what a failure you are. Stop wasting everybody's time."
Tsuna bowed once more. "I'm sorry."
Behind him, Hana, Kyoko and especially Takeshi tensed. "Nezu-sensei-"
"Yamamoto. 20%. Much better than dame-Tsuna did, not that it says a lot. Dame-Tsuna, even if you want to engage in questionable extracurricular activities, you should refrain from dragging your peers down with you. Not that I'm surprised, birds of a feather flock together."
Takeshi raised his wrists-
"Don't." Tsuna whispered as he held a hand out. He gave his guardian and priestesses a quick glance. "Don't."
They very reluctantly backed down.
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"Tsuna-kun, are you ok?" Kyoko looked like she was about to cry.
"I'm fine, Kyoko. I should be asking you that instead." Tsuna patted the priestess' head. "It was my fault anyways. I should have studied some more."
"It was not your fault." Hana growled, rapidly typing on her cell phone. "It is that degenerate's fault. How dare he."
"Tsuna." Takeshi clamped his hand on Tsuna's shoulder, the black snake on his wrist licked Tsuna's cheek to comfort him. "Why."
"Nezu-sensei-" Tsuna received a glare from Hana. "…Nezu-san-" This time Hana looked like she was about to rip apart someone's neck. "…Fine, Nezu. Nezu is a gaijin."
Kyoko gasped. "A non-believer? In Namimori?"
Takeshi narrowed his eyes. "He will become a believer."
"Don't." Tsuna sighed. "Unlike Enomoto-sensei, who is oblivious to what he sees, Nezu is actively choosing to reject the legends. He can't see celestial beasts. Attacking him won't help-"
"SAWADA! YAMAMOTO!" A student ran into the classroom. "MOCHIDA IS FIGHTING NEZU IN THE COURTYARD!"
"What?!"
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"You…"
"Mochida-kun?" Nezu blinked in surprise at the rude tone. Mochida had always been one of his favourite students.
His favourite student was currently carrying a kendo sword and giving him death glares. "Nezu Dohachiro. The kirin may forgive you for your sins but I am not as benevolent to do the same. I will pulverize you!" He charged forward.
Fortunately, Nezu happened to have a black belt in judo and a lot of luck. He managed to defend himself against the rapid blows despite not understanding what was happening. "Mochida-kun! Explain yourself!"
"How dare you insult the kirin-"
"Herbivores." Hibari Kyoya leapt down from the roof just as Tsuna, Takeshi, Hana and Kyoko ran outside the yard. "For disrupting peace, I'll bite you to death."
"Oi Hibari, catch." Hana tossed Kyoya a cell phone, which he deftly caught.
After a brief 10 seconds, the phone was crushed to pieces. "…I'll bite you to death."
Tsuna gaped as Seiryu flew out in rage, already trying to bite the teacher. "Hana! What-" Unfortunately for him, Hana had already left. Even more unfortunately, so have Takeshi and Kyoko. The latter had walked to the side of the school where the clubs were located while the former was laughing cheerfully in the middle of the yard trying to make human sushi with Kogenbu, who had become a black katana. And he had released Genbu.
"HIIIIEEEE! YOU GUYS! DON'T KILL HIM!" Tsuna hurried over to the yard and managed to push Nezu away just in time to avoid a dive from Seiryu. Nezu would have gratefully appreciated the gesture… if he could see the huge blue dragon in front of him.
"SAWADA?! YOU AGAIN? GO CONTROL THESE CRAZY MONSTERS! THEY EVEN CORRUPTED MOCHIDA!"
Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows. Now that one stung. His friends aren't monsters. Even so, he turned to the all of them, eyes glowing gold. "St-"
"EXTREMEEEEE" Ryohei ran into the yard, followed by a huge white tiger, screaming with the top of his lungs like usual. "IF YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE AN EXTREME BATTLE YOU SHOULD HAVE EXTREMELY TOLD ME! GO BYAKKO TO THE EXTREME!"
The tiger roared.
"HIIIIEEEE W-wait, Ryohei, we aren't battling-"
"LET'S BATTLE!" Ryohei yelled once more as both tigers ran into the middle of the yard. "BATTLE FOR TSUNA'S PRIDE TO THE EXTREME!"
"Haha, well said Senpai!" Takeshi jumped onto Genbu's shell, the snake sword posed to attack. "For Tsuna!"
Kensuke flipped before using the turtle as leverage for an aerial strike. "FOR THE KIRIN!"
Kyoya didn't bother with the battle cries, opting to charge straight at Nezu instead, Seiryu mirroring his moves.
"W-wait!" Tsuna, who was still standing in the middle of everything, frantically looked around at his friends. It spoke years of their experience for Tsuna to be able to remain perfectly unscathed even while they were attacking the thing that was literally right beside him. Tsuna turned to the only being that hasn't attacked Nezu yet. "Gen-chan… help me stop them…"
The turtle responded by lifting her foot and stomping hard onto the ground in attempts to get everyone's attention. The earthquake caused the ground to split. The attackers, on the other hand, found no handicap from the tremors and continued their assault.
All Tsuna could do was moan in horror. "…That doesn't do anything…" His eyes brightened as Fon and Reborn leapt in front of him. "Fon! H-"
Fon politely handed him a phone. "Conference call with the clan heads."
"Oh, thank you." Tsuna held the phone to his ear. "Good day-"
"Tsunayoshi-sama. We will pay for all the damages."
Of all the greetings Tsuna was expecting, that was most definitely not one of them. "W-wha-"
"Our men will arrive in an hour. We will take care of all the legal issues."
"How dare that human disrespect you like that!"
"Tsunayoshi-sama, you need to be more aware of your status as the kirin."
"Haha, strict as usual. See you at the festival, Tsunayoshi-sama. Tell my nephew to do his worst."
"I expect none less from Takeshi."
"Ryohei-kun will defend your honor! That despicable human will pay!"
"Ah… yeah… Thank you Kurogame-san, Shirotora-san, Aoryuu-san. See you at the festival, bye…" Tsuna stared at the phone as the call ended. "…Fon, what did you tell them?"
Fon was smiling innocently while Reborn had the hugest smirk on his face. "I did not tell them anything, Tsunayoshi-sama."
"I am vouching for Fon. All he did was send them a file he got from Kurokawa."
Tsuna narrowed his eyes for half a second before sighing and dipping his head in defeat.
Fon still had the most innocent, serene smile anyone had ever seen. "Tsunayoshi-sama, may I inquire what the heads said to you?"
"…We are backed by the clans." Tsuna muttered, sighing once again. "All of them."
If Tsuna had any hope that none of his guardians heard him, it died the moment he felt all three of the celestial beasts' aura double. The ax-crazy look on everyone's faces trampled all over his hope's dead body. Tsuna mumbled the tiniest prayer to Nezu (it said a lot about Nezu's fate if even the kirin was praying for him) and walked away from the battlefield followed by Fon and Reborn, joining basically the entire school at the building. The look on the student and staff's faces were a mix of awe and fear. While most of the school, probably all at this point, were believers, there was quite a difference between believing a myth and seeing it in real life. Seeing it and feeling it. Tsuna rubbed his temple as he felt the ground shake once more. Was this what they called 'respect through fear'?
"Tsuna-kun!"
The kirin turned to see his priestess running towards him holding a huge metal box. "Kyoko, what is that?"
She smiled. "I think this is a time capsule! I found it in that crack in the ground over there that Genbu-san made."
Genbu was currently creating more cracks on the ground. She looked like she was considering whether or not she should jump. Please don't.
"Tsuna-kun, would you help me open this?"
Glancing suspiciously at Kyoko and the box, Tsuna reluctantly knelt down and examined it. It looked as if it had been opened recently but sweet Kyoko wouldn't ever do anything malicious so Tsuna ignored the signs and removed the lid.
"Eh? Isn't that Nezu-sensei's test paper? He was a student here and he failed at every subject?" Kyoko loudly exclaimed as she picked up the test papers that were oh so conveniently lying on the very top. "But didn't Nezu-sensei say that he had an elite education and had grades that Tsuna-kun would never dream of beating?" The innocent angelic school idol gasped. "Tsuna-kun, I'm going to show this to Hana-chan! I'll be right back~"
Tsuna swore that Kyoko was practically blooming with flowers and sparkles as she skipped into the school. Dear brothers and sisters, who was it that corrupted sweet Kyoko?
"SAWADA! GET OVER HERE! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! IT'S ALWAYS YOUR FAULT!"
"…Nezu-sensei, please calm down-"
"SAWADAAAA!"
Tsuna gave a long sigh. Reborn watched curiously as Tsuna's entire demeanour changed. He could see a faint golden aura surrounding the boy along with his piercing golden eyes. "All of you cease your actions this instant."
Even against the loud ruckus in the middle of the field, Tsuna's voice carried. Everyone froze except for Nezu, who was being held down by an annoyed Byakko's arm.
The teacher took a few quick breaths before regaining his composure, acting as if he wasn't pinned to the ground by a force he didn't believe. "SAWADA! STOP STARING LIKE AN IDIOT AND DO SOMETHING RIGHT FOR A CHANGE."
Behind Tsuna, all of the students and staff frantically searched for an escape route. This school building would not stand much longer. Was Nezu suicidal? Even if he was, he didn't need to drag everyone else down with him.
Tsuna, on the other hand, was actually amazed that Nezu still didn't believe what was blatantly in front of him. However, that wonder was short lived as he noticed the dark aura the celestial beasts were giving off. They wouldn't be able to control themselves much longer. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Tsuna drew a quick symbol in the air. "Down."
Byakko was suddenly forced onto the ground, looking as if something in the atmosphere was weighing down on her. The tiger's size and fur effectively covered Nezu's entire body, preventing all believers (aka everyone) from seeing him.
Sighing once more, Tsuna turned around to face the innocent bystanders. "Flee."
They didn't need to be told twice, all of them stampeding around the battlefield, out the gates and as far away from the school as possible.
"Wow, you monkeys caused a lot of damage." Hana and Kyoko casually walked out of the school. Hana held out a piece of paper. "Tsuna, as of 5 minutes ago, that degenerate has been fired from Namikou due to submitting fraudulent information to a government institute." She then held out another page. "This incident will be documented as divine retribution for disrespecting the kirin."
"…Hana, isn't that an exaggeration?"
"No. It's an understatement." Hana handed the files to Fon. "Be glad I didn't write 'insult' or 'verbal abuse' instead."
Kyoko patted Tsuna's shoulder. "Tsuna-kun, don't worry, we will take care of everything."
Tsuna opened his mouth to voice his protests but decided against it. This was a losing battle. With a groan, he resigned to his fate. He was selectively oblivious to the sadistic triumphant looks around him.
Fon, Reborn, Hana and Kyoko followed behind as Tsuna crossed the school yard and battlefield, ignoring Nezu's shouts and demands. He stopped beside the gate, drawing another symbol in the air. "…3 minutes. Don't kill him."
They answered him with roars of thunder.
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Tsuna huddled behind a tree after they were a good distance away from the school, eyes closed and hands over his ears, mumbling "I don't see anything, I don't hear anything, I don't know anything" Fon and Hana had left to meet with the clansmen, leaving Reborn with Kyoko and an out-of-service Tsuna.
"Tsuna-kun's quite vindictive today." Kyoko remarked, watching calmly as what appears to be a tornado that had sprung from nowhere travel around where the school was located. "Usually, Tsuna-kun would only give them one minute."
For some reason, Reborn wasn't really surprised, steadying himself when another earthquake erupted. "This happens a lot?"
Kyoko hummed thoughtfully. "This would be the first time they annihilated the school."
"The school or a school?"
The priestess acted as if she didn't hear the question, instead pulling out her cell phone to check the time. The action proved to be unnecessary though as Kyoya, Takeshi, Ryohei, Kensuke all walked over seconds later, smiling happily.
Feeling them come over, Tsuna lifted his head and shrieked. If Hibari Kyoya was smiling then… He ran passed them back to the school gate. "HIEEE!"
In hindsight, Tsuna shouldn't have been so generous just because Nezu insulted his friends. Two minutes would have been more than sufficient.
Reborn was actually quite impressed at the carnage 4 high school boys and their huge pets had caused. There were meter wide craters everywhere most likely caused by that oversized collection of scrap metal formed into a mallet in the corner, large slabs of wood were piercing the ground like darts and there was even a huge ice formation that sprung from the ground where they had last seen Nezu. As for the school… what school? Where the school once stand was now dust and pieces of concrete. All the metal was part of the mallet in the corner and the wood had been used as darts. If anything, the boys were very resourceful.
While Reborn was admiring their handiwork, even taking photos with Leon, Tsuna frantically searched around for Nezu. Sure, his guardians would respect his wishes and leave Nezu alive, but that did not entail that Nezu would still be a whole.
A hand was suddenly clamped on Tsuna's shoulder. "Haha, don't worry Tsuna. There are no longer any gaijin in Namikou."
While that may seem like a weird way to comfort someone, Tsuna brightened. "Really? What did you do to Nezu- wait… I think I can guess."
Kyoya huffed. "That herbivore only has potential in his stubbornness."
"Extreme stubbornness." Ryohei agreed.
"Sorry, Tsuna. I should have realized that the trash was a gaijin." Kensuke bowed in apology.
Tsuna closed his eyes. "It's not your fault. Besides, it's fine now." He smiled, sensing that Nezu's potential had not changed drastically (which meant that he at least still had all of his limbs intact), and opened them, revealing their gold shine for a brief second. "I don't think anyone would still be a non-believer after seeing…" He sheepishly glanced at the destruction. Giving one final sigh, Tsuna turned away from the ex-school. "Let's go home. The clans will deal with everything else."
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"That boy is not a guardian."
Tsuna blinked before nodding. "Mochida Kensuke is my priest."
"For Genbu right? Why does Genbu have a priest instead of a priestess?" Reborn turned to Tsuna, curious. "Does Suzaku also have a priest?"
"Your terminology is incorrect, Reborn-san. I, the kirin, has priests and priestesses that serve as the shadow of each guardian. Traditionally, the shadow is the opposite gender of the guardian." Tsuna drew a circle in the air. "Yinyang. Balance between the roles. Well it honestly doesn't matter though, since the celestial beasts are already assigned the opposite gender at birth. The shadows were included into the system later and the clans wanted balance amongst the humans in addition to the pre-existing balance within each guardian."
"It's a choice? You can choose who your guardians and their shadows are?"
Tsuna shook his head. "The guardians are predestined. Part of the celestial beasts is born in each guardian while the other part is within the kirin, a new set appearing alongside the next kirin. The clans go through their bloodline to test every single person once the kirin is born to see who is destined to serve the current kirin."
Reborn mutely nodded, understanding the implications. "So if you die…"
"The celestial beasts will leave my guardians and appear in the guardians predestined to serve the next kirin." Tsuna sighed. "Unfortunately, destiny does not care for age. So a guardian could be anyone, from an elder to an unborn child. They usually are around the same age as the kirin but exceptions happen too many times to be treated as outliers. There was a case where Byakko's host was a very elderly man who passed away a week after they realized he was Byakko. The Byakko that succeeded him, still serving the same kirin, was a boy who was born over 20 years later. To add to the tragedy, the average of the two Byakkos' ages would have matched the kirin's."
Wow, no wonder Fon was so stressed when he ranted about finding the guardians. "That is quite tragic."
"Indeed. The kirin isn't spared either. There was a period of time where none of the clan leaders knew who the kirin was until they finally found her living in the woods nearly 50 years later. They were lucky that the kirin had happened to have been living with… a hermit who knew the system and the duties of the kirin very well. The shadows, on the other hand, are personally chosen by the guardians. The only exception is my, the kirin's, shadow, which is also predestined. For the others, as long as they are part of the respective clan, anything goes for a shadow…"
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"I have to choose a wha?"
The head of the Kurogame clan stared at his 10 year old grandson. "A shadow, Takeshi. Like those girls Byakko and Seiryu have chosen.'"
Takeshi nodded, still not understanding what was going on at all. "Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan? I need one too? How about Tsuna?"
"Tsunayoshi-sama does not need one. His void will fill that role and he has all of you protecting him regardless." The head sincerely hoped that that was what the boy meant. "Takeshi, go look around the clan and find someone you like. Don't forget, that person will become your shadow. She will serve you for the rest of her life, acting as both your proxy and aid."
"Oh… I'm finding a new best friend? But Tsuna is already my number one best friend, is that ok?"
"That is fine. Much preferred, actually. Now run along and seek your shadow. She needs to be approved by Tsunayoshi-sama and all of the clan heads."
"Haha gotcha! The three of us can be best friends~ Hey gramps, can I choose a best friend that likes sword fighting and baseball and sushi and milk and-"
Kurogame placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder. "Find the person you and Tsunayoshi-sama are willing to spend the rest of your life with. Do not forget that."
"Ok!"
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"Gramps! This is my new friend, Ken!"
The Kurogame stared. "Takeshi, have I not mentioned that you were to look for a girl?"
"Eh? You did? Ahaha, sorry gramps I forgot."
Poor Kensuke was not at all used to the deadpanned stare of his clan head gave, especially the one that was most definitely expressing his annoyance. "Takeshi, choose a new one."
The boy's eyes widened. "But gramps, Ken is already me and Tsuna's best friend! We even had a sleepover together and played with Hibari-senpai and Sasagawa-senpai! It was fun!"
If wack-the-genbu with Hibari was considered fun, then yes, Hibari had fun. Sasagawa dragging them along to have an extreme 'walk' with Byakko was also probably much more fun for him than anyone else. Combine the two together and Kensuke had a night he would never forget. Kensuke thanked all of the stars for the existence of the beautiful angel Kyoko-chan and the benevolent god Tsunayoshi-san. Had they not been there, he would be probably still out somewhere, with Takeshi, taking a walk with Byakko and Sasagawa while being hit by Seiryu and Hibari. Well, honestly, Kensuke wouldn't mind reliving the experience if that gave him the chance to see his angel. Kyoko-chan…
"Look child, this boy is a poor choice, you shouldn't choose someone who makes strange faces while his head is in the clouds."
"But gramps, Ken's perverted and borderline paedophilic actions are what make him so fun to be with." Takeshi happily defended a spluttering Kensuke, who wanted to protest to the accusations against him but was too afraid of his clan head to say anything.
"…Who taught you those words?"
"Haha, I learnt it from Tsuna's aunty."
Takeshi had the greatest impression that his grandfather was inwardly rolling his eyes. "That woman. Of course. Still a savage."
"Don't say bad things about aunty, Kurogame-san."
Kurogame looked up at the new arrivals mildly impressed that they were able to soundlessly enter the room. "Tsunayoshi-sama, Kyoya-kun. I believe you have gotten well acquainted with the priest candidate that Takeshi has chosen."
Tsuna nodded. "I have accepted Mochida Kensuke as my priest."
Kurogame sighed, not surprised at the current development. "This boy does not fit the archetypes of Genbu's shadow. He is too rash, absent minded-"
"Archetypes are fictional." Kyoya rudely interrupted. It was a pain traveling all the way to Tokyo and he wanted to get back to Namimori as soon as possible. Not to mention they still had to join Fon at the Akatori mansion for a meeting in regards to Suzaku. "By your argument, Sasagawa Kyoko would be unsuitable as Byakko's shadow. You had no issues with her."
"While it is true that Sasagawa Kyoko does not resemble the archetype, her nature and abilities makes her a perfect addition to the temple. This boy-"
Kyoya twitched, fuse shortening. "The herbivore will be Tsunayoshi's, not yours or the clan's. You have no right to decide for him-"
Tsuna abruptly turned, covering Kyoya's mouth with his hand. "Hie, sorry Kyoya. Please don't get mad. I just don't want you to start a fight. We can go home faster if you don't fight. Okay? Please?"
The dragon glared at Tsuna before pulling the hand off his mouth and swiftly walking out the room. Tsuna turned back to the clan head, knowing that Kyoya was still within hearing range and ready to bite everyone to death if they take any longer on this matter.
"Kurogame-san, Kensuke is our friend."
The man sighed. "Regardless, Tsunayoshi-sama, I believe it is best if Takeshi finds a girl as his shadow instead. A girl would balance his nature better than a boy."
Tsuna shook his head, eyes glowing gold. "Balance comes in many forms. That was one of the first things Fon taught me. Takeshi has chosen Kensuke and I respect his choice. Kensuke has the potential to be a great shadow."
"…" Kurogame closed his eyes for a few seconds and sighed. "Does young Kensuke have the potential to meet my expectations?"
The kirin turned to the boy and sized him up with sharp golden eyes. Kensuke trembled under the gaze, feeling like an animal at the fair. Tsuna slowly nodded to himself, satisfied with what he saw and turned back to his friend's grandfather.
"Yes."
"Very well." This time it was the clan head's turn to analyze Kensuke. "Your training starts now. Go get dressed. Do not disappoint me."
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"…While traditionally, a shadow of the opposite gender and a similar age is preferred, that is hardly illustrated based on precedent cases. The most extreme example is of a kirin who only had females serve directly under her, even replacing clan leaders in the process." Tsuna shrugged. "Can't disobey the kirin, especially in regards to their personal choices. Though it still doesn't stop people from trying to enforce the traditions."
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"Tsunayoshi, Tetsu."
Kyoya continued into the room and sat on the other side as Tsuna put his book down. Yuni pouted slightly in Tsuna's lap, unhappy that he stopped reading to her at the climax of the story but turned bright at the sign of Kusakabe Tetsuya.
"Kirin-san, Yuni-san." Kusakabe prostated before the two of them.
Yuni waved. "Good evening Mayor!"
"Kusakabe, please rise. You don't need to bow that deeply." Tsuna gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry about the school. Are Hana and Kyoya overworking you?"
Considering how one of the said people were in the room and the other probably bugged him a long time ago, Kusakabe's answers were quite limited. "No, not at all." The man inwardly sighed before continuing. "Everything has been taken care of with the cooperation of your clans. The school will need at least 3 weeks to rebuild. We will post a public notice tomorrow."
"Nii-chan has no school?" The little girl bounced up and down, already imagining all the things that she could do with her brother.
"It seems like it. Though considering all of the damage control that needs to be done there isn't much of a difference. Kyoya quit glaring at me. You did a third of it."
Kusakabe trembled as his boss redirected the glare towards him. "Kirin-san, may I suggest that you, Kyo-san, Hana-san and everyone else take a vacation? It has been a while since you had one."
"I have a place in mind." Reborn jumped in through the window. "It's a little island not far from here."
Seiryu appeared in a flash of blue, unknowingly scaring Kusakabe, and circled around her master. Both dragons eyed Reborn suspiciously but refrained from acting aggressively as they caught sight of the kirin's calculating gaze.
Tsuna's eyes flashed for the briefest second before he closed them. He picked up his folding fan and drew it above his mouth. "Yuni..." he muttered, "were you afraid of the dark?"
The girl shuffled around and looked up at Tsuna questioningly. "...?" She shook her head. "Nope. It was just there."
"Is that so." The kirin opened his golden eyes and made eye contact with the dragons. "Yes, let's go on a day trip to that island. Yuni, you're saying behind."
A huge pout appeared across her face. "Awww. Then if I said that I was, would you take me?"
"Nope. Because I would have known you were lying." He patted his sister's head. "We'll be back soon."
Yuni turned around and glared at Reborn.