...mundanity or confusion?

Chapter 15: The First Day (Again)

Tsuna lazily rubbed his eyes and blinked numerous times before stretching his arms. He looked outside the window and narrowed his eyes at the brightness. Standing up, he debated over fixing his bed or going down promptly for breakfast. He shrugged, deciding on the latter. It was Saturday. He had the whole day to laze around.

"Good morning, Tsu-kun. You're up early. Do you have any plans for today?"

"No—" He stopped abruptly, grimacing at suddenly remembering Reborn. "I mean, yes. I'll be leaving for lunch with someone."

Nana flicked her eyes towards Tsuna before replying, "I see."

Tsuna felt awkward, knowing that his mother knew the person he'd be going out with is Reborn. "Um, I know I've said it before, but Reborn and I aren't really like tha—" Nana began stretching Tsuna's cheeks.

"I know, Tsu-kun. I believe you. You should trust Mama more." She stood on her toes and kissed her son on the forehead. "Mama's always here to talk if you want to, so don't worry too much, okay?"

Tsuna softly smiled. "Thanks, Mom, but I can smell the pancakes burning."

"Oh, no!" Nana returned her attention back to cooking. Tsuna chuckled and began setting the table for the two of them.

After eating, Tsuna went back to his room and changed his clothes. There was still half an hour left before Reborn's arrival, but he didn't want the wardrobe fiasco with Hibari to happen again. The doorbell rang and it was followed by Nana's shouting, "Tsu-kun, you have a visitor!"

Is Reborn already here? Tsuna hurried outside and was astonished to see who it was. "M-Mukuro? What are you doing here? How'd you even know my place?"

Mukuro chuckled. "I have my ways, little rabbit. Anyway, can we talk for a bit?"

"Why?" asked Tsuna warily.

Rolling his eyes, Mukuro replied, "Oya, so cautious of me. How hurtful."

"C-come in then."

"Here outside is fine."

Tsuna was grateful at Mukuro's words, not wanting his mother to start asking questions about him. "So what do you want?" Tsuna leant on their metallic gate, which reached just below his chest.

"How have you been?"

Vigilant against the odd query, Tsuna immediately raised his guard. "Is this a trick question?"

"You really don't trust me, do you?"

"You're creepy, but it's not like I don't trust you."

"Why do you say that?"

"Uh. Intuition?" he replied sheepishly.

"I see." Mukuro had a faraway look in his eyes, and Tsuna begun to become curious of his real reason of coming.

"So why—"

"You like birdfreak, right?" Tsuna only stared at him. "What do you like about him?"

Tsuna raised his chin defiantly. "Who says I like him?"

Mukuro chuckled. "How cute. Being all denial."

Annoyed, the brunet replied, "Look, I have to go in a bit. If you don't need anything else..."

"Where are you going?"

Why is he so nosy... "Just out."

"With?"

"Why do you care?"

"Yeah, Mukuro. Why do you care?" Tsuna and Mukuro watched as Reborn approached them. "Hmm?"

"You know why." Mukuro smiled. To Tsuna, the gesture felt hostile. He glanced warily at Reborn who was chuckling. "Well, I guess I should go. Have fun, Tsunayoshi-kun."

I'm surrounded by bizarre people.

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Reborn was similar to Hibari in several ways. One, they were incredibly intimidating. In all honesty, Tsuna wanted to go back home and pretend the Vongola dating fiasco never happened. Two, they were enigmatic. No one in Namimori High knew of Reborn's background, but when he transferred to school this year, there was an uproar. A young charming, smart Italian man had entered the school, and Tsuna would have been rich if he gained a nickel every time the girls mentioned his name and how amazing he was. Three, they both had black hair.

Tsuna scowled at his train of thought: most of the people in school had black hair. He shook his head and tried to continue. Four, they were nice in their own way. He nodded, recalling the time Reborn saved him from Hibari when he was late, as odd as the situation was back then, and when Hibari came to his rescue from Suzuki. Five—

"For a small guy, you sure think too much."

"For a herbivore, you think too much."

Tsuna looked at Reborn, finally noticing that Reborn was staring at him the whole time and that he hadn't been paying attention to him at all. "S-sorry, were you saying something—Oh, we're going to eat here?" Tsuna looked at the restaurant in front of them, a bit shocked at Reborn's choice. Italian? I ate in an Italian restaurant with Hibari-san... No, Tsuna. Bad, Tsuna. You've only been thinking of Hibari-san since meeting up with Reborn.

Tsuna faced Reborn, intending to apologise; he did, after all, took the time to take him out. But the idea immediately fled from him upon seeing the Vongola member smirking at him. Assuming he was being made fun of, the brunet grabbed Reborn's wrist and went inside, wanting to get this day done and over with.

The restaurant was homey; there was woody decor coupled with simple wooden chairs and an open kitchen. On the walls were varied paintings, a staple of Italian restaurants. "Sir, sir!" The two watched as one of the waitresses hurried towards them. "No pets allowed." Tsuna covered his mouth, muffling his laughter, because Reborn wasn't looking pleased at what the girl said. Leon had been sleeping since Reborn arrived at the Sawada household, and now, perhaps sensing the impertinent words towards him, was now awake and moved from his owner's fedora down to his shoulder.

Reborn idly scratched the chameleon's head, then moved his face close to the waitress' ear. Tsuna couldn't hear, but the girl looked stunned for a moment before slowly bobbing her head, swaying as she led the way to their table. The brunet rolled his eyes and was about to grab his seat, when Reborn pulled it out for him, making Tsuna grit his teeth at the absurdity of the act. "Reborn, I'm not a girl."

"Just sit down."

Tsuna sat down.

Realising his scary position, Tsuna straightaway mentioned his order the very moment he opened the menu – not wanting to anger the frightening teen – to which his date sniggered. "A-aren't you going to take your f-fedora off?" Tsuna wished the waitress stayed after she took their orders, because right now, he had no idea how to deal with Reborn. "It looks like one of those yakuza things, huh? I-I mean, I'm not calling you a yakuza; it just looks like one of what the bad guys wear. I-I mean, I'm not calling you a bad guy." Dame-Tsuna, stop rambling!

"So you think I'm a good guy?" Reborn took his fedora off and placed it on his side.

"No," replied Tsuna swiftly. "Er, I mean...," the other simply stared, pressing him to continue, "I don't know much about you is what I'm saying."

"It's only our first day. Let's take it slow and get to know each other." Reborn brought his elbows up on the table and laced his fingers together.

Numerous questions swirled in Tsuna's mind. Why was Vongola created? Why did Hibari join and Mukuro, Gokudera, and Yamamoto? Did Hibari talk about their week? Why did Reborn even want to continue with this week? How come he always wears a fedora?

"You chose this restaurant because you're Italian?" Out of all the relevant questions, he came up with this. But he managed, managed to say something without stuttering, and he felt proud.

"Maybe."

"What does that even mean—"

Reborn wagged his finger. "My turn. What do you think of Sasagawa Kyoko?"

Oh, come on. You already know I like her. But Tsuna was happy to oblige, proud of his best friend and crush. "She's amazing. I've known her since second year of middle school, and she always treated me kindly. Even though the other students tease me, she never left my side. In third year of middle school, there was this guy named Akito who tore my homework. Kyoko-chan knew I stayed up all night for it. After finding out, she spoke with Akito and ended up punching him. Ryohei-san has been teaching her some moves!"

"Also, last year, Mochida coaxed a bunch of guys to hide my things in school. I spent the entire day looking for them. When Kyoko-chan found out, she got so mad and went to talk to Mochida. He stopped bullying me for a while, then continued. I don't think she knows, though; he's been doing it subtly, and I don't want to trouble her anymore. I owe Kyoko-chan so much..." Tsuna sadly smiled. "Sorry, I ended up rambling."

Nodding at the waitress as she placed down their orders, Reborn said, "It's fine. Your turn."

Tsuna twirled his fettuccine alfredo, and popped it in his mouth, savouring the creamy flavour. "Why do you always have Leon with you? I'm surprised you don't get scolded for bringing him." He paused. "On second thought, I'm not surprised."

"He's my partner," Partner in crime? "and I live alone. Who knows what might happen to him."

"That makes sense. You're very caring, just like Hibari-san with Hibird." Six, they both have pets they care about.

Smirking, Reborn stared at Tsuna and asked, "What do you think of Hibari?"

Tsuna opened his mouth, and it wasn't because he was going to take a bite of his garlic bread. "W-wait a minute. Why are your questions so personal? Mine are simple!"

"We never discussed what kind of questions should be asked or not." When the brunet still didn't budge, he added, "Just answer, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna slammed his hands on the table, garnering the attention of the few customers inside the establishment. "I-I... I have Kyoko-chan!"

"And that answers my question how?" Caramel eyes found its way on the floor.

"I d-don't know, okay? I'm confused. I'm just really confused right now," whispered Tsuna. All he wanted to do now was snuggle his orange blanket back in his house and be at peace. He had Kyoko. He liked Kyoko. He owed Kyoko so much. Tsuna was frightened at his anxiousness towards his actions and feelings. He couldn't understand why he was unable to fully and straightforwardly support Kyoko, whom he believed he could never completely compensate for her compassion.

Reborn stayed silent, and at this moment, Tsuna wasn't grateful for his silence. He wanted to be disturbed from his thoughts, away from all the emotional turmoil that threatened to suffocate him, away from his selfishness and cowardice. He was afraid of making decisions, because whatever choice he made, he knew he was bound to hurt someone.

The idea of selflessly giving someone happiness in exchange for his own scared him.

To help or not to help Kyoko-chan, that is the question. Tsuna chuckled at his wittiness. What the heck am I thinking?

He didn't know whether Reborn didn't see him randomly chuckling or he chose to ignore it. "I did say we'll take it slow, so today we'll only have lunch. But I do have a schedule for our week, Dame-Tsuna." Not waiting for Tsuna's acknowledgement, Reborn went on, "First day, lunch. Second day, amusement park. Third day, movie and dinner. Fourth day, lunch with the others. Fifth day, we can only have lunch since I have some business to handle. Sixth day, karaoke. Seventh day, we'll take the time to talk again."

The brunet furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why the schedule sounded strange. "Okay, I don't have anything against it."

"Do you now?" Reborn waved his hand, signalling for the bill. "Ignore him," he said as Tsuna told the waitress to split the bill.

Sighing in frustration, Tsuna asked, "What does that mean?"

"You'll see."

Seven, they both like talking in a confusing language.

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They walked home, with Tsuna giving up on conversing with Reborn. He already had Hibari's problematic character to deal with, and another problematic guy has somehow attached himself to him. However, much to his surprise, Reborn was popular in the neighbourhood. Every person they had passed – from children to old people – had greeted him, and he greeted in return. I have six more days with him. I'll probably learn more about him. Tsuna frowned. Or maybe I shouldn't.

They arrived at his house and the image of his bed only a few metres away comforted him. "Thank you for today—"

"Yo, Tsuna!"

Tsuna looked at the house and saw Yamamoto getting out. "Yamamoto? What are you doing here?"

"I was passing by and thought I'd drop by, but you were out so... Hello, Reborn-senpai." Yamamoto glanced at Reborn, then at Tsuna, and repeated the process twice. "Uh, guess I should go."

"No, I was just seeing Dame-Tsuna off. See you tomorrow." Reborn nodded at the two and walked away.

Tsuna could already feel the questions Yamamoto wanted to ask. Rubbing his temples, he invited him to his room. He didn't mind his friend's sudden arrival; he needed to blow off some steam. After sitting down on his bed, and not giving Yamamoto a chance to speak, the brunet started, "First off, yes, apparently Reborn-senpai and I are dating. Second, I don't like him." Tsuna covered his face with his hands. "W-when we had dinner at Kyoko-chan's place, she suggested Hibari-san and I walk home together. I stupidly told them I was going out with Reborn-senpai, so that she'd stop."

"Knowing Reborn-senpai, he wants to finish this week, doesn't he?" Yamamoto sat down on the floor. "I can talk to him. I don't think he'll listen to me, but I'll try."

I'm sure he won't listen to you, Tsuna thought, but genuinely appreciated his concern. "Thank you, Yamamoto, but it's just a week. I'll be fine, hopefully."

"No problem, Tsuna." Yamamoto grinned. "If there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask, all right?"

"I will. Reborn-senpai is a very thorough guy, huh? He already has our entire week planned." The strange feeling was still there.

"He does? That's weird; we don't plan—"

Oh! I get why it's strange. Tsuna jumped off his bed, elated at coming to an answer. "His schedule was identical to what Hibari-san and I did, aside from some shifting of the days, but that's understandable because we can't go to the amusement park on a school day." He laughed. "We even ate at an Italian restaurant, which Hibari-san and I also did. I guess it's a normal Vongola schedule? I didn't think you guys had one."

"Identical to Hibari's?"

"Karaoke, movie and dinner, even the day where he has business and the lunch with other Vongola." Yamamoto's reaction wasn't what he expected. He found his friend clenching his fists coupled with an unusual frown. "What's wrong? Yamamoto—?"

"Sorry, Tsuna. I have to go. Catch you later." Not waiting for Tsuna's reply, Yamamoto ran out of his room and the brunet could hear him apologising to his mother followed by the slamming of the door.

How come these Vongola guys never listen to me?