Hey guys, Naintarlow checking in.
Here comes the first half of Tsuna's solo chapter and we briefly jump back into the mafia. It's kind of funny that I thought that this will be a short chapter, yet when I finally got to write all the little scenes I dreamed up, I had to stop at almost 10k because I was barely finished with half of the original chapter. So the next chapter will continue going over what happened to Tsuna during the previous chapter.
I just went to check this and I was amazed. This fic has over 200 favorites and 250 followers. I was pretty shocked, I had no idea so many people would be interested in this story. I want to thank everyone who chose to stick with me, it means a lot to me
Now for the reviews:
As always, thank you for the support and hopefully, you will enjoy this one too.
Gold1992: That scene would have been hilarious, I agree. Had to admit, I really didn't think of something like that, but it really would have been something to see. Maybe next time (ominous much?)
Thanks for the advice, I try to keep it in mind in the future. Tsukune going into DW on his own was just a one-time thing for the foreseeable future. Tsuna did something similar to the skull disease episode. He briefly went into DW, but almost immediately was knocked out of it. That also happened here. He was so worried for Moka, that he briefly accessed DW on his own, but his control was shaky at best and at the first attack (snakebite) he was knocked out of that state. I do not see Tsukune at the very least before the second year achieving DW on his own. I hope that cleared up.
As for the questions about Lambo, they will come up soon enough, though Tsuna will try his best to dodge them.
LightJakRises: Sorry my question was rhetoric, but you are right, our favorite boxer is once again involved in something mafia.
Tsuna and Kyoko were never a couple. Yes, Tsuna confessed (with DW) but Kyoko thought it was a joke. And while in the future arc they became a lot closer, there was nothing between them. On one hand, I can understand some people so angry at Yamamoto, everybody and their sister were aware of Tsuna's crush on Kyoko, but it never became more. I plan to go deeper into Tsuna's feelings about both of them either when he goes back to the past, or at the end of 1st year when he goes back to namimori. Hopefully, I can make things a little clearer there.
Tsukune started out as a completely ordinary human so it not surprising he sticks out with his normalness. But I found his character development slightly delayed, and his whole personality somewhat lacking That's why I had a hard time writing a chapter from his pov. But don't worry, with Tsuna around I will force him to develop further.
I gonna assume that you mean shifting to Kurumu when you talk about Tsukune's feelings shifting to Tsukune. Unless he is gonna be slightly narcissistic. Food for thought at least.
DPSS: In a way, the previous chapter moved along the plot because it forced Tsuna to make contact with the mafia and gave me the opportunity to brief you on what happened on that side. About the painting, everything will become clear later, but I left it vague on purpose. The next chapter will probably shed a little light on that one.
As for the cover, I'm sorry you don't like it, but you can easily skip that one. I liked it when I saw it in some other story and thought it was a nice touch to add. But everyone's free to have an opinion, I think it's not too hard to skip thirty or so words. Hopefully, this little bit does not take away your enjoyment of the rest of the chapter.
Chapter 8: Shadows of the past – Tsuna
Cover: Tsuna is shown in a fancy suit, standing back to back with Dino who has his whip out. Dino has a huge smile on his face while Tsuna shows no emotion.
Reborn was nothing but a through and very annoying bastard, was the sole thought running through Tsuna's head as he tiredly leaned back on his chair, the faint light coming from the laptop before him illuminating his exhausted face. For the past two days, Tsuna's almost every free moment went into looking into the mystery his old mentor handed to him, without any real progress. The memory card, that Reborn hid in the charm he got from Kyoko was unfortunately encrypted, and knowing him, it was so heavily encrypted he wouldn't able to do anything with it even if he had a rudimentary understanding of the subject.
That was so typical of the strongest hitman in the world, that Tsuna was not even sure why he expected anything else. He had a few people in mind who he was sure could crack this code in a second, problem was all of them belonged to the mafia and he was leery of contacting any of them. Add to that he was not sure who to trust, and he found himself without a lot of options.
Loud knocks snapped him out of his thought. Looking in the direction of his door, he noticed that the sun came up while he was busy trying to play detective. Another all-nighter then, he thought to himself with a groan as he stood up and went to open the door. He blinked in surprise when he came to face to face with an entirely too cheery Tsukune, clad in his workout clothes.
"Good morning Tsuna-san. I'm ready for training." the black-haired teen declared full of energy. Tsuna only blinked sleepily at him, not really registering what he was talking about.
"Ah, there will no training today." he said after letting out a huge yawn. He honestly was no in the mood to tortu-train Tsukune and he doubted he would complain much about getting a free day out of nowhere. He knew he wouldn't.
"What do you mean there is no training?" he asked back, confused. So much for not complaining.
"It means I'm not in the mood to train you." was the answer to that, while Tsuna tried his hardest not to snap at the teen. Back in the day, he wouldn't have looked in the mouth of a gift like no training for a whole day.
"What should I do then?"
"No idea. I'm going back to sleep." with that he closed the door, leaving a shocked Tsukune behind.
Instead of sleeping like he told Tsukune, Tsuna only braced himself against the closed doors, putting a hand on his face. Even if he felt like it, training would be pointless for his student. He was already at the ninth bullet count, so, for now, he chose to only train the body, while he figured out what to do. The sad truth was that if he used the tenth bullet, Tsukune will undoubtedly catch the skull disease and the only way to cure it was to use its opposite the angel disease. And that meant contact with the mafia, which he would rather avoid at the moment.
The mafia. It always invoked contradicting emotions within him. It was a scary, dark organization stained by the blood of innocents and criminals alike. It produced scary and ruthless people like Mukuro, Squalo, or Xanxus. The scramble for the rings, the fight in the future against Byakugan. He had to endure and survive all of these deathly situations because of the mafia because it was decided he would be the next head of the powerful Vongola Famiglia. At least that's what he thought.
On the other hand, by being involved in the mafia, he acquired his first friends. Gokudera his self-proclaimed and surprisingly reliable right hand, Yamamoto, Irie and so many more. Even if he stated countless times he will not be Decimo, he couldn't help but stay in that world, where he started to feel more than a failure. Yet, now that he was free of that dark world, he still looked back as if expecting answers of how to go forward. When things got tough he still fell back into his old mindset.
He could have refused the mystery his old teacher presented him with. He doubted he owed Reborn enough after everything, the backstabbing of the mafia no longer involved him. Yet, here he was, spending almost all of his time stressing over a memory card Reborn sent to him.
Tsuna walked back to his desk when his eyes caught a small, worn photo next to one of his school books. He picked up, a slightly bitter smile on his face. It showed him, along with his former guardians, Haru, Kyoko, I-pin, Futa, Bianchi, Dino, and Reborn all standing under an enormous castle made of snow, smiling brightly. Even the elusive Hibari was there, scowling a few feet away from them, along with Chrome who looked very uncomfortable. The Tsuna on the picture didn't seem to be much younger, if he remembered right it was about a month before the inheritance ceremony that changed everything.
The good old days.
With a sigh he placed the picture back where it was before he began to get ready for the upcoming school day, wanting to do something productive during the day.
-0-
"What's wrong with Tsukune-kun? Will he be alright?" Kurumu asked worriedly, fretting over his shoulder. She had tears in her eyes, her hair that always looked flawless was out of its usual ponytail and looked disheveled. Her clothes also had a lot of dirt on them, for once the usually fashionable girl cared little for her appearance. Tsukune lay on Tsuna's futon, clad in only his boxer, unconscious. His breathing was labored but slowly getting under control, sweat gathering at his forehead.
Tsuna refrained from snapping back at her, understanding her worries. He was thankful at least that Moka who was also in his room tried to remain calm, even as she paced back and forth in worry. Yukari was at the kitchen, wetting an unused handkerchief while Lambo only blinked sleepily, woken up by the commotion.
He was about to head into the school when Kurumu burst into his room carrying an unconscious Tsukune, looking scared out of her mind. According to her Tsukune was training by himself, before suddenly fainting. He was unresponsive to her attempts to wake him up, prompting her to take him back to the dorms, hoping the others could help. Luckily, that girl was much stronger than she looked.
"Here you go, Tsuna-nii." the young witch said softly as she handed him the handkerchief. By chance she and Moka encountered Kurumu on the way, helping her bring up the unconscious teen to Tsuna's room. Thankfully very few people were awake at this hour so they didn't encounter anyone, otherwise, the sight of 3 girls carrying a sleeping boy to another boy's room would have been something to see.
"Thank you." he thanked her with a brief smile, before putting the handkerchief to Tsukune's forehead. He was by no means an expert, but Reborn did beat a handful of useful and less useful skills into him in the name of preparation of boss training. It ranged from basic first aid, citing a boss should be able to look after their subordinates to juggling since a boss should have the ability to entertain their guests.
He shook his head, trying to ward off his wandering thoughts, before focusing once again on Tsukune. From what little he could determine, he seemed to be alright for the most part, with his body temperature the only thing slightly elevated, hence the wet handkerchief. His pulse and breathing were steady, he was a little paler than he should have been but it looked more like exhaustion than anything else.
He looked up from where he was kneeling next to Tsukune, meeting the anxious gazes of the girls. He tried to give them a smile, to try and calm them down a little but had little success. With a quiet groan, he stood up, stretching his sore muscles.
"He seems to be alright save for a low fever." he told them, making Moka and Kurumu practically to sag in relief. Despite this, his face turned serious as he stared at the succubus."Can you tell me what exactly happened? What was Tsukune doing before collapsing?" he asked her. He was well aware thanks to his constant training what were Tsukune's current limits and he didn't think it was simple overworking this time. That meant he needed all the information he could get.
Kurumu blinked slowly, lifting a finger to her chin as she began to think.
"Well, I brought Tsukune-kun some breakfast and we talked a little as we ate. He looked a little fired up after it and suddenly used his power, to tear through a bunch of exercises." she said as she remembered back, a little red dusting her cheeks, no doubt because Tsukune lost his clothes."Only after the fire disappeared from his forehead, he looked dizzy and fainted immediately after that."
"That boneheaded idiot." Tsuna cursed as his suspicions were confirmed, glaring down at the sleeping teen in anger. He doubted that at this point Tsukune was capable of going dying will mode without a big enough emotional stimulus, so the only option was that he got his hands on dying will pills. It didn't take long to figure out when he could have done it. Tsuna cursed his own carelessness, as he figured out the exact problem.
Skull disease. Though he did not remember having such a violent reaction after the tenth shot, he knew he shouldn't use himself as a base for something like this, since many people told him in the past that he had an unnatural growth speed. He racked his brain trying to gather what he could still remember about the disease save for being deadly and without an actual cure. He had a day maybe two if he was lucky before the disease showed up, so he needed to hurry to get hold of Shamal, the only one he knew to have the angel disease which can counter it.
He felt himself being driven into a corner. He needed to contact that womanizer doctor and make him come here to treat Tsukune, without the title of Vongola Decimo helping things along. He was a non-entity now, someone without anything to his name. He needed to call in a few favors since he didn't even know where Shamal was currently.
He felt a hand hesitantly touch his shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts. Looking up he met the soft gaze of Moka who was staring at him with worry. Worry for him, not Tsukune this time.
"Tsuna-kun?" at the sound of her voice his anger drained away, his whole body relaxing instantly. It still amazed him how easily she could affect him, just her presence dulled his instincts, made him relax his guard. A large part of him, the one most affected by the mafia worried it was too easy, she had too much control over him, but a smaller part of him, one that sounded a lot like his younger self told him it was nice to have someone you could depend on, instead of them depending on you.
He gave her a small smile in answer to her unspoken question, before turning toward the still worried succubus.
"His power simply went out of control." he lied without a single moment of hesitation and deep down a part of him cried at the realization of how easy it became to lie to his friends."That's the reason he usually uses his powers when I am there to help if anything happens. His power backfired on his body, leaving him in an exhausted state. He will probably sleep for most of the day but by this time tomorrow he should be fine." he explained."I will put him back to his room, so he could rest comfortably." he said as he picked up the unconscious teen.
"Are you sure?" Moka asked, stepping closer. She eyed him with a semi-stern gaze, feeling as if he wasn't one hundred percent truthful.
"Absolutely." Tsuna tried for a reassuring smile but even he knew how weak it was. Still, the vampire decided to let the matter go, opening the door for him. He stepped out, Moka and Kurumu following closely.
"Tsuna-nii's and Tsukune-san's power sounds very dangerous and hard to use." commented Yukari to herself as she went last, closing the door, leaving behind Lambo who fell asleep with his face in his bowl of cereal.
"There we go." murmured Tsuna as he put Tsukune down in his room to his own futon, before straightening out.
As soon as he stepped away Kurumu kneeled next to the sleeping teen, quickly wiping away the sweat from his face, wearing a caring expression. He was sure that if the room's occupant wasn't unconscious she would have been looking around with interest, finding herself in the room of her destined one, but now she only could look in worry at the slumbering Tsukune.
"I'll stay and look after Tsukune-kun." she said resolutely, not even looking back at them. Tsuna simply hummed in acknowledgment, while Moka tried to object.
"But-" she began to say but stopped when Tsuna placed a hand on her shoulder, subtly shook his head. The vampire may not notice, but Tsuna heard clearly the resolution in Kurumu's voice. It was the kind that you couldn't change with simple words.
Tsuna had to admit his initial assessment of the girl was wrong. There was no trace of the vain and manipulative girl he first met, instead she was a bold, caring, and affectionate young girl who he was proud to call his friend.
"We'll be back after school." he said in the end."We will also get some food for you. If you need anything you can send Lambo for us, but Tsukune probably will just sleep like a baby." Kurumu responded with a simple nod to that, still keeping an eye on Tsukune.
Moka stood in place, biting her lip in worry before giving in and heading out. Yukari also followed her with a quick goodbye to Kurumu. Tsuna was the last to leave, staring intently at Tsukune. He felt responsible for his condition, even if it occurred because of the raven-haired human's own carelessness. He was the one who introduced him to the dying will bullets and subsequently made him part of the dark world of the Mafia. He owed it to him to try everything in his power to save him.
"Don't you dare die on me, idiot." he murmured before exiting the room.
"Guess, it's time to go to class." Moka whispered, looking a little uncertain as they left the dorms. It was later compared to when they usually leave and a lot more students were awake and rushing towards the school building. She walked with Yukari next to her and Tsuna trailing behind them. Thankfully the appearance of one of the school idols made the students leave a comfortable berth around them so they could walk without any real problem.
"About that." he said with a sheepish chuckle, scratching the back of his head."You guys go ahead, I have some business to attend. I will catch up to you later." he told them, turning toward a smaller path, about to part ways with the girls.
"Tsuna-nii? Is everything alright?" asked Yukari, eying him in worry as they stopped.
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious." he reassured them with a small smile. "I had a few things I had to do this morning that got delayed by the situation with Tsukune. I'll probably make it back in time class." he told them.
Both Moka and Yukari looked uncertain, ready to protest, but after a moment the vampire given.
"Alright, please don't be late Tsuna-kun." she said as she took Yukari's hand and they started to walk once again.
Tsuna's smile faded as soon as he turned away from them, grateful for them not questioning too much. He took a slight detour to his destination, needing the time to put together his thoughts. For him to be able to save Tsukune, he needed to step back into the bloodthirsty world of the mafia and a lot of conflicting feelings arose. A sense of nostalgic familiarity, of the peaceful times he spent with his family, but it was overshadowed by the pain of betrayal, the hurt of being abandoned. He gritted his teeth as he remembered the aftermath of the inheritance ceremony how many people turned against him, but also those who remained firm on his side.
Despite his own failing body he had yet to try and find a cure from the mafia since it was obviously related to his dying will flames. Part of it was wariness, not knowing who to trust, part of it was sheer stubbornness after what happened to him, but there was also a part that simply didn't care. Until he came to Youkai Academy and befriended Moka and Tsukune he simply went through the motions, not having any feeling behind them. But now things changed, too many things piled up for him to put off contacting someone from the mafia any longer. Tsukune probably catching the skull disease, his own budding will to live and walk forward and there was also Reborn's mystery.
A soft growl came from his ring and he gave his partner a small smile.
"At least you will be with me, buddy. Nothing can go wrong if the two of us are together." he told Natsu fondly, as another growl came, sounding happy.ú
He soon arrived back at the dorms, most of the students already left for class. He went to the telephone and he was thankful there was nobody there, he rather no one eavesdrop. Just to be sure he checked around to confirm no one was around before he began to dial a number.
As he waited for the other side to connect, he felt an odd sense of nervousness. It has been months since they talked, before coming to the school he made a point to stay away from anything mafia-related, he wondered how the one he was calling would react. Nonetheless, he was probably the only one he knew for sure that he could trust for now and had the necessary influence to help him get hold of Shamal and a few other answers he was seeking.
With a click, the phone was picked up, an older, steady voice coming from it.
"Good afternoon. Who am I speaking to?" came the question in Italian, a little suspicion coloring the voice. It was not surprising since he was aware that not many people knew that number.
"Hey, Romario, it's me, Tsuna." he greeted back Dino's second-in-command in Italian, a pleasant quality to his voice. He always liked Romario, mostly for his ability to appear unexpectedly and stop Dino from making situations worse with his clumsiness. Aside from that, he was reliable and had a kind disposition, that he knew was completely genuine, something quite rare in the mafia.
"Tsunayosh-kun." Tsuna could practically hear Romario's smile through the phone."It's good to hear from you, sir. Boss was worried since it had been a while since he heard from you. How are you doing?"
"Could be better, could be worse." he answered, trying to sound upbeat. "Sorry to cut the small talk short, Romario, but could I talk to Dino? It's kind of urgent." he explained.
"It seems you are in luck then, the boss just finished a meeting and is currently free." answered Romario as Tsuna heard the sound of moving along with a door opening. He faintly heard a few words in Italian, before an exuberant voice practically screamed into the phone, forcing him to hold it away from himself, less his ears receive damage.
"Little brother! I was so worried, you didn't call for so long. Then I heard you went to a boarding school, and I was tearing up, my precious little brother is growing up." his voice somehow was cheery all the while he whining about how abandoned he felt, now that his little brother didn't need him anymore. Hearing him talk like that, not many people could be convinced that he was the head of the Cavallone family, the third strongest in the Vongola Alliance, a bona fide mafioso."How are you doing? Did you make any friends? Maybe meet a nice girl? Don't tell me you are bullied? Just give the word and I will be over there with a few of my men to teach them some manners. I will even unleash Enzio on them." he rattled on. It was endearing and Tsuna honestly felt touched, but it was not the point of this call.
"Dino." he spoke softly but with a firm edge to it, using the so-called boss voice. Dino abruptly shut up then, and Tsuna instantly felt bad about cutting off the man who was nothing but supportive and friendly ever since he met him. He gave a loud sigh, his hand massaging his temples, trying to ward off the oncoming headache. "Sorry, I know it's been a while since we properly talked, but I need your help." he admitted. As much as he tried to look all-knowing and self-assured to Moka and the others, he was aware that the truth was anything but that. Dino was one of the few he felt able to admit it.
"Are you in trouble?" came the question from his older brother figure. It always amazed him how quickly Dino could slip between his goofy and boss attitudes.
"Not really, but one of my friends is not exactly in good condition right now and I need help." Tsuna admitted though he tried not to say anything definitive. Who knows who's eavesdropping on the call. "I need to talk to you, face to face as soon as you can." he said, knowing at best Tsukune had a few days to live."I also need you to contact Shamal and bring him with you if you can."
There was a long silence from the other side and for a moment Tsuna feared that Dino would refuse. Truth to be told he had very few people he could turn to right now. Thankfully after a long moment, Dino answered.
"I'll see what I can do. If I push a few things to a later date I can be at your school tomorrow morning in your timezone." he told him, and Tsuna couldn't help but frown. He was aware Dino could not just throw everything away and fly to Japan with Shamal in tow, and it was really the best response he could hope for, but it still left little time to him.
"Rather than the school, let's meet in Tokyo." he hurried to say, not wanting the mafia to meet the world of monsters. The introduction from that strange girl, made him hesitate, wondering how much either world knows of the other. But until he could be sure of that, he would rather avoid mixing up the two, not to mention he wouldn't classify this place as a safe meeting spot. "I also have some other business there so I already planned to go back to Tokyo." after all, he should really visit that mysterious merchant if she decided to give him an invitation. Probably before she tries more drastic methods to have him come to her.
"Alright, there is a hotel that I own where we could meet." agreed Dino, before giving him an address, that he hurried to write down."I'll bring my men and one more person with me. Don't worry, they are trustworthy, but it would be better if they were also present." he added, surprising Tsuna.
"Why?" he asked simply. He knew Dino was not the sort of person to do something like that without good reason, so it would involve something serious, especially if he was careful not to give any information about this mysterious third member.
"A few things happened around here, that I think you should know before you are caught unaware." he explained somberly, with a little frustration seeping in."That person also has information that I don't have access to, so we should compare what we know."
"But I'm no longer directly involved with those guys." Tsuna said, referring to the mafia in confusion.
"Still, the way things are going around here, it would be better to be prepared." the boss of Cavallone said, a note of finality in his voice."There is one other thing I better tell you now. Reborn is missing."
"What"? he asked back in shock.
"He's missing. No one heard anything about him in weeks and from what little we found out, he was investigating something on the side, before disappearing." explained Dino. He stayed silent for a long moment, waiting to hear Tsuna's reaction, but in the end, he simply sighed."I'll see you tomorrow Tsuna, and I'll explain everything properly." he said before the line went silent. He knew that his adoptive brother needed time to come to terms with the information he gave him.
Tsuna stood there, blankly staring at the phone, his mind whirling in shock. He tried to think things through, take stock of the situations. Reborn was missing, probably quite a long time ago if even Dino became worried, who knew very well their old tutor's penchant of disappearing at random. It was probably no coincidence that he sent him his gloves, along with a note warning him about something and that memory card. He must have realized someone was onto him and made necessary precautions.
No matter how much he didn't want to admit it, it made a lot of sense. He was in a remote location, separated from the human world for the most part and he was a non-entity. Not many people would think that the strongest hitman in the world would turn to his failure as a student for help. It made sense from a purely logical standpoint. It didn't mean he had to like it.
He stared at the phone, deep in thought. Even if he wanted, he couldn't back out. It was no longer one of Reborn's schemes, his old tutor was in real trouble by the sound of it. And a lot more things were looking none too good if Dino's tone was any indication.
"Damn me and my idiotically soft heart." he cursed to himself, knowing he couldn't back out in good conscience. Instead, he began dialing another number, the one Reborn sent him with the memory card.
As the other end picked up, his eyes widened in disbelief as he heard a most unexpected voice.
"Who the hell are you? How do you have this number?" an angry, impatient voice demanded, along with a plethora of curses. Still, despite the tone, he could recognize the voice anywhere.
"Gokudera." he mumbled softly, but still loud enough to be heard. Shocked silence greeted him as his former right-hand man recognized him.
Gokudera Hayato was someone he had mixed feelings for. He first met him as the scary hitman, intent on taking the spot of decimo from him, yet after saving him he became an overeager puppy, calling himself his subordinate. At that time, he feared Gokudera. He represented everything from the mafia he didn't want anything to do with, he was a constant reminder of his so far inevitable fate. It also didn't help that instead of a friend, he insisted he was a subordinate, making Tsuna even warier of him.
But over time, over many hardships, he proved himself as a true comrade, a friend he was proud to have at his side. He was the one who followed him anywhere without protest, who was behind him, even if he did not want him to. For a time, he was not sure who was Gokudera really loyal to. Him, Tsuna, or the Juudaime he created in his mind.
When Gokudera went back to Italy, swearing vengeance on his name he was feeling torn. Part of him wanted to believe him, it was the sort of hair-brained thing that his usually hotheaded storm guardian would do. But there was that traitorous part of him, that believed it was just an excuse to abandon him and as time passed these doubts just grew without him noticing.
"Juudaime!" Gokudera cried out in the phone, the sound of people yelling in worry coming from the background as he also heard of something hard colliding with stone. Knowing Gokudera, he was in the middle of a street and began to bash his head into the ground while in traditional seiza, not even bothering with the fact that Tsuna couldn't see it. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea you would be calling me Boss. Please forgive me for yelling at you, it was completely uncalled for, I sincerely apologize for that." he rambled on and Tsuna felt amusement hearing him ramble on after so long.
Still, he tried to keep his emotions under control. No matter how he felt toward Gokudera, the truth was he needed his help. After Tsukune was not dying anymore and he had time to process all the things that happened he could go back and think about how he felt. Until then he would keep Gokudera at arm's length.
"You do remember I'm no longer vongola juudaime?" he asked with a tired voice, but there was a definitive edge to it.
"To me you are. And always will be." the heartfelt words shocked him so strongly, he could only gape in silence at the phone for a long moment."How did you get this number? I only got this one around a month ago." Gokudera asked curiously when he didn't answer.
Tsuna put a hand on his face, feeling drained beyond belief. He had to concentrate on the matter at hand, he told himself, everything else can come after that. If he is even alive by that time, he noted to himself, perfectly aware of his own condition.
"Reborn gave it to me." he said and that was the only explanation needed. "Gokudera, I need a favor from you. You are still in Italy?" he asked, wanting to make sure.
"Of course Juudaime, I will do whatever you need. As your right-hand it would be my greatest honor." came the eager response as usual."Yes, I'm still in Italy. Unfortunately, the plan to avenge the slight against you is slow going and I had to try more indirect methods." he explained in a completely serious manner and Tsuna felt the odd urge to laugh. Good old Gokudera, he thought with fondness.
„Good. Please meet with Dino in a few days." he explained and heard the question of „Bucking Horse?" from the other end. "I'm meeting with him tomorrow and I'm gonna give him something I would like you to give a thorough look." he said, trying to be as cryptic as possible, he hoped he could give Dino a more thorough message.
"Understood." thankfully the former hitman understood easily enough how unreliable a simple telephone line could be. "I will go back to Japan as soon as I met up with the Bucking Horse." he promised, a strange calmness in his voice. Sometimes Tsuna forgot that over the years he wasn't the only one who changed. He got more used to the mafia, got a little jaded and less naive, while Gokudera was still a hothead, he was able to think calmly and logically when the situation called for it.
"No, I rather you stay in Italy for the time being." he told him, not wanting his overeager friend here in the volatile pit called youkai academy, especially while who knows what happens in the mafia side of the world."I will call you later, but for now, we shouldn't be seen together." Reborn probably had a reason to encrypt that memory card, while also giving him his storm's newest phone number. He rather no one with ill intentions connected the dots for as long as he could.
"Yes, Juudaime." Gokudera's voice sounded so sad, that he could almost taste it. He always felt like he killed a puppy, whenever he said no to the bomber.
"Okay, I'll talk to you after my meeting with Dino." he promised."Take care, Gokudera."
"Of course, I will complete your orders without error." he promised before Tsuna had enough and ended the call. He numbly stared ahead, mentally drained from the conversation with his former storm. Trust Reborn to force him to face things he would happily postpone for at least ten years.
Well at least he was able to set up a meeting, now to find a way off-campus.
-0-
Despite his words to Moka, in the end, he didn't go to class. Instead, he skipped the day and went to find the ever so elusive headmaster of the school. But just like the day he arrived, his search proved fruitless. By the time he went another round around the school, sent from one place to the next, the classes were almost over and he was not a little frustrated.
He once again began to walk toward the teacher's lounge, trying to talk to Nekonome-sensei as a last resort, though he was unsure if she had the authority to let him leave when an amused voice stopped him,
"Don't space out too much, boy, Youkai Academy is full of dangerous monsters." he heard from his left, accompanied by a quiet laugh. Whirling to the side, Tsuna was dismayed to find the bus driver who had taken him and Tsukune to the school, leaning casually on the wall, smoking a cigar without a care in the world. He had a small mustache and his eyes gloved in a yellow light beneath the shadow of his hat. "Long time no see." he greeted him lazily with a smirk on his face.
"You are-?" Tsuna gaped in shock, reflexively taking a step back. He was unnerved by the creepy man who was somehow able to sneak up on him. Thanks to the awareness granted by his blood, he was almost constantly aware of his surrounding, making it hard for others to sneak upon him. Reborn worked him to the bone to master this ability and he was proud of it. Either he was so distracted that he slipped up to that extent, or this bus driver was more than meets the eye.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." the strange man laughed to himself, completely relaxed. Too relaxed to be genuine and it put Tsuna on alert. He subtly changed his stance, to a position that he could quickly get away if this turned ugly.
"What do you want?" he demanded, watching every move of the man with narrowed eyes. The driver only chuckled at how wary he acted toward him, content on smoking his cigar instead of answering, further annoying the brown-haired teen who was not in the greatest of moods. "Forget it, I have better things to do." he said as he finally ran out of patience, turning around, intending to leave when he was once again stopped.
"No need to be so hasty, boy." he said, finally stepping away from the wall, closer to Tsuna. There was no ill intent from the man, only a general creepiness, that made people keep their distance. He instantly tensed as the driver made a move to pull something out of his coat, but relaxed when it was some kind of envelope."I got a very interesting paper from the headmaster, one authorizing one Sawada Tsunayoshi to leave the school campus for an indefinite time. And as your luck would have it, I just happen to plan to go into the human world tomorrow morning." he informed him with a sly smile.
Tsuna eyed the man seriously, while he silently cursed himself. It was too much to hope that he could remain hidden from the headmaster, but it still grated him slightly, to be overplayed like that. He was already at that man's mercy, being a human, a former mafioso at that in a school for monsters, but it just confirmed that the headmaster was very aware of that too. He once again reminded him of Reborn.
"What's the catch?" he asked, going over the very convenient solution to his current problem, his thoughts whirling. Does the headmaster know about the skull disease? How much he knew about the mafia and dying will flames?
"Let's just say, you will owe the headmaster a favor." the man's smirk widened as he pointed his smoking cigar at him. Tsuna knew he was cornered, he couldn't afford to decline, but it didn't mean he had to like it. No one liked it when they were offered choices, that weren't really choices in the end.
"Fine." he agreed, taking the envelope. "When will the bus depart?" he asked.
"Let's say 5 am. The crisp morning air is a good way to preserve your health." he said, giving the teen a pointed look, who tried not to show any reaction. So they were even aware of his condition.
With a simple nod, he walked away, leaving behind the bus driver who chuckled to himself. His mind was working overtime. Who was the headmaster? All he found out that his name was Mikogami, but it meant little to him. Who was the bus driver? What was the connection between them? But most importantly, what were they planning that involved him?
-0-
"Looks like his fever finally went down." commented Moka as she gently wiped Tsukune's forehead with a towel.
Tsuna and Moka were in Tsukune's room, taking care of the still sleeping teen. After classes they met up, where Tsuna had to endure Moka's pouting for skipping the whole day, before they went to the newspaper club, informing Gin they would skip today's club activities to look after Tsukune. The older student let them off easily, he seemed to be preoccupied with something else.
After that, they sent Kurumu back to her dorm to fresh up and eat, promising to alert her if anything happened. With his fever gone, Tsukune looked like he was simply sleeping, and from what Tsuna could observe this was exactly it. He was just simply exhausted, the dying will fire, simply drained his reserves, to the point he collapsed.
"Give him a few hours and he would be up as if nothing happened." he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. It was clear she spent the whole day worrying about their friend, so he tried to reassure her as much as he could. Even if he was quite worried.
"I'm still angry you didn't come to class." she said, looking up and once again bombarding him with her angry pout. Tsuna sheepishly laughed as he scratched the back of his head and looked away. 'Don't look into her eyes.' he told himself, 'that's how she makes you guilty.'
"About that," he gave her an apologetic smile as he decided to break out the bad news. "I'll be gone for a few days. I skipped today, so I can arrange it with the school. I'm leaving tomorrow morning." he told her, trying to make it sound not important."It will only be a few days at most."
"You're leaving? But why?" asked Moka, who looked shocked at the idea of him leaving. She stared at him for a second, before something seemed to click into place and she gave him a worried look. "Is something really wrong with Tsukune? Is that why you are going? To get help for him?" she pressed. It amazed Tsuna, how accurately the vampire could read the situation.
"That's not it." he said, the lie giving a sour taste in his mouth. Still, there was no need to tell her, she would only worry that wouldn't help anybody. It was better to let her think everything was alright."The reason I have to go back is because of a family emergency. Well not really an emergency, but it's better if I go back and check a few things out. I promise Tsukune will be alright and if it helps you keep calm I also look into making sure Tsukune has nothing wrong with him." he promised and it helped that the last part wasn't really a lie.
"By going back, you mean that hidden society you were talking about? The one where you got that power of yours, the dying will flame?" she asked, looking more worried by the second. Tsuna stepped back in instinct, that girl was just too sharp sometimes. It was easy to forget, that despite her cute looks and generally naive personality she was an intelligent young woman.
"Yeah, but don't worry. It's nothing serious, as I said I only want to check back, something I can't do over the phone." he explained, trying to find some way to change the subject. It was sounding more and more like an interrogation.
"How can I not worry?" the vampire cried out in frustration, surprising him. He looked at her as she glared at him, even though tears gathered in her eyes."You always turn guarded and distant whenever this topic comes up. It's clear to me that place caused you a lot of pain, that made you mistrust your friends and yet you just told me you are going back! Especially now that Tsukune is ill after using that very same power you got from there!" she bowed her head, not looking at him anymore. Her shoulders trembled, she seemed at the end of her rope."You tell me nothing about it, all I know that that place is dangerous. I already dislike the human world because of my experiences and the thought of an even more dangerous part of it...Of course, I worry."
She was cut off when Tsuna suddenly embraced her, catching her completely off guard. As her body was pushed to his, she noticed maybe for the first time how thin her friend was. He was a little taller than her and ever since she knew him he stood strong, looking like nothing could shake him. He had muscles, yes, but he was also lithe, so it didn't show. And as he clutched onto her, he seemed so frail to her.
"Tsuna...-kun?" she asked, shocked by the gesture. She embraced him plenty of times, especially when she sucked his blood, but every time he was slow to reciprocate, and he was never the one to initiate. Until now.
"Please don't ask this of me." he whispered next to her ear, his voice tense with emotion. "The darkness of that world, I want to keep it away from you, as long as I can." he confessed to her."Even now, I'm not sure how I feel about my past. It made me the man who I am today, the one that met you, Tsukune, Kurumu, Yukari, even Gin. But for now, I want to live in these carefree days, where I don't have to worry either about the past or the future. Please, let me keep you away from that, just a little longer." he pleaded to her softly.
"Okay." she answered back softly, her heart aching at the pain she heard from his voice. Abruptly, Tsuna let go and stepped past her, going back to stand before Tsukune's futon.
"Why don't you go back and help Kurumu a little?" he asked, sounding too cheerful to be genuine. She didn't need to look at him, to know he had a fake smile plastered on his face."Maybe you could make some food for Tsukune when he wakes up? He ough to be famished."
"Right." she nodded, brushing away the tears. Before she exited Tsukune's room, she looked back once again and could only think of how lonely Tsuna seemed to be as she looked at his back.
-0-
Tsuna yawned sleepily as he trudged through the barren leading to the bus stop. The first rays of the sun were barely peeking through the clouds, most of the school still shrouded in darkness. It was spooky as hell, but he has gotten used to the general frightening quality of the place that he could ignore it and concentrate on something important. Like trying no to doze off while walking.
Unfortunately, he got very little sleep the night before. A lot of conflicting feelings decided to wage war inside him, so instead of sleeping, he ended up in Tsukune's room, watching over the teen in case anything was wrong. He managed to catch the black-haired teen just as he finally woke up and ended up letting out a threatening, angry tirade of his own, cursing himself and Tsukune as well for the whole situation.
"Tsuna-kun." a voice too chipper for the cool morning rang out behind him, causing him to turn around.
He wore simple jeans, along with a black shirt and a white hoodie with the number 27 in red on the front. He had a backpack over his shoulder, filled with only the bare essentials so it was light.
Moka, clad in her school uniform was running toward him with a bright smile. The crisp morning air, along with all the running brought a nice shade of red to her cheeks. Though as soon as he realized where his thoughts headed, Tsuna carefully shoved it to the back of his mind.
"Morning." he waved lazily to her, he was never really a morning person, his current sleep-deprived state not helping any.
"I'm so glad I caught you before you left." she said as she stopped before him. She was barely out of breath, even though the dorms were quite far from there. Vampires and their stamina.
"You do realize, I'll probably back by tomorrow?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing will happen." he said to her, noticing the worry in her eyes.
"I know that." her blush remained as she looked away, not meeting his eyes. "But, I want you to promise me that you will come back and everything will be alright. I treasure these peaceful days with my friends, and I don't want them to end." she admitted, placing a hand on her heart. Tsuna couldn't help the soft smile on his face at her words.
"I promise." she looked up, meeting his soft smile. "After all, I also treasure these days, just as well. I will come back." he promised her.
"Thank you, Tsuna-kun." she said, her eyes suspiciously misty.
Noticing her gaze slightly sliding away from his face, he gave her a wry gave as he pushed aside the neck of his hoodie, giving her free access to his neck.
"Take your fill. Don't want you to go hungry because of me." he told her and Moka blushed brighter even as she approached him.
"Thank you." she said, before leaning down and biting him. They stood there, embracing while she took her drink, though she didn't let go even when she was finished, instead she let herself simply bask in his arms."Stay safe." she whispered to his ear as she finally let go of him.
"Yeah." he answered back softly before they stepped away from each other. A quick check of his watch confirmed it was time to go. "I visited Tsukune just before I left, you should go see him. He seemed alright for the most part." he informed her before he turned around and started to walk."See you." he called to her back once more.
"See you later, Tsuna-kun:" she also said her goodbyes, before she went back to the dorms.
Tsuna walked quietly for a few steps, before stopping. Making sure that Moka was far enough, he looked to the side, into the dark forest.
"It's awfully courteous of you to announce your presence like that." he said with a blank look as the chuckling bus driver came out of the forest, smoking a cigar all the same. Unlike yesterday he sensed his presence, though he had no illusions about that it was because the man let him.
"You had such a nice little moment with your girlie, I would have hated to disturb you." he said, before fixing his gaze on him. Tsuna felt wary of the intense glow that came from his eyes."Are you ready?" he asked, and Tsuna felt that he was talking about more than just his trip to the human world.
"Yeah." he agreed, before following the bus driver, leaving Youkai Academy for the time being.
-0-
The trip was short, shorter than he expected, but he guessed he shouldn't have been surprised. They exited the academy and entered the human world through a long tunnel, that the bus driver calling it a dimensional portal or something like that. As they made their way to Tokyo the both of them remained silent, though the driver introduced himself as Nurari after asked by Tsuna.
Tsuna sat at the front of the bus, looking out toward the bustling city of Tokyo with a nostalgic expression. He got so used to the world of monsters after these few months it felt strange being back. He also noted with increasing annoyance that they seemed to head in the exact direction where his meeting place with Dino was.
"There goes any semblance of privacy." he made his annoyance known, causing Nurari to chuckle of himself.
"You talk as if your kind is any different." he said with a knowing glint in his eyes as he looked at the former mafioso's way. Tsuna scoffed, but couldn't refute his worlds.
They once again fell into silence, and at least it gave Tsuna time to prepare. He was about to make contact with the mafia after avoiding it for so long, and from the sounds of it, Dino didn't have good news from him. Coupled with Reborn going MIA and Tsukune's impending fate, he didn't have a lot of room for his own emotional troubles.
"We arrived." commented Nurari quietly, shaking him out of his thoughts.
Looking out the window he was met with the sight of a beautiful five-star hotel. Its architecture was clearly western and stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of Tokyo, but was impressive nonetheless. Tsuna withheld a small grin as he stood up and approached the open doors. Dino, ever since he knew him was anything but subtle.
"When will the bus go back to the school." he asked, before taking off, looking back at the grinning driver.
"Don't worry about it, I'll be here waiting for you by the time you are ready to go back." Nurari grinned in response, lighting up a cigar that appeared out of nowhere in his hands.
Tsuna couldn't help but feel unnerved by the man. He got the faint sense that even if his body was in prime condition and had access to his flames properly, even then he wouldn't be able to pose a threat to the creepy old man. It was a feeling similar that he sometimes got from Reborn when the hitman wanted to make a point. It was an eerie feeling.
"One more thing." he called back with an eerie smile on his face. "You better watch your temper, boy, or your blood will boil you alive." he told Tsuna ominously, before closing the bus door and driving away.
Slightly caught off-guard by those words, he hesitated for a moment, before shrugging it off and entering the hotel. Immediately he felt out of place, it was the definite of high class. Everyone wore expensive dresses and tuxedos, representing the rich and famous. And there he was, an ordinary high schooler in baggy jeans and a hoodie, standing around like an idiot.
He already noticed a stuffy man who by his clothes must have worked here, stride his way a severe, disapproving expression on his face, already judging him as someone worthless and obviously not belonging here. But before he could reach him another man reached him, greeting him warmly. He had short black hair, a small mustache, and wore rectangular glasses. It was Romario, one of Dino's subordinates.
"Good morning, Tsunayoshi-dono. I trust your trip was to your satisfaction?" he asked loudly, catching the attention of people around them. Tsuna wondered for a moment why would he address him like that, when he caught the older man wink at him conspiratorially, and with a small grin decided to play along.
"It was adequate, Romario." he said, subtly correcting his stance, to give the impression of a rich boy, pompous and arrogant beyond measure. Representation was everything, that was one of Reborn's frequent lessons. "Has my big brother arrived yet?" he asked as he handed Romario his backpack.
Both of them struggled to hide their grins as the people around them stopped giving him disdainful stares, instead choosing to evaluate him with a critical eye. They recognized that Romario worked in some capacity for some high-class family and seeing how he treated Tsuna, they made their assumptions.
"Yes, he did. Dino-san and his guest are currently having breakfast. If you could follow me?" he asked, indicating toward the elevator with his arm. Tsuna nodded in acceptance and went to it, Romario following behind him. They soon were in a thankfully empty elevator and as the doors closed they saw the calculating expressions on many of the hotel's occupants.
Tsuna couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him as the elevator started moving and even the older man sported a grin on his face. He held out his hand and took back his backpack from Romario, letting his tense body slowly relax, safe in the knowledge that Romario was one of the few people he could trust.
"It's good to see you, Tsunayoshi-kun." Dino's second-in-command said as he straightened his glasses, a genuine expression on him. Tsuna only noticed now, that he seemed a few gray hairs, mostly at the front. 'He's starting to look like he did in the future:' he thoughts with a wry grin.
"You too Romario." he answered, but he soon lost his smile and stared ahead with a serious expression. "Dino's guest. Who is it?" he inquired, but the older man only shook his head.
"Boss told me not to reveal until you meet them." he admitted, though added as Tsuna's face darkened."Safe to say, that both Dino-san and I trust them, so please reserve judgment."
The young teen stayed silent for a long moment before he gave a nod in agreement. A moment later the elevator stopped and they stepped out into a floor just as lavish as the entrance, though there was one glaring difference. The floor was full of Dino's men, ready and alert for anything. They gave him respectful nods as Romario led him to one of the doors.
The mafioso opened for him, before gesturing him to go ahead. Stepping in, Tsuna found himself in a large dining room. At the center of it was an equally large dining table, a familiar figure sitting at the head of it.
Dino Cavallone, the 10th generation boss of the Cavallone family didn't change much since they last met. His shaggy, blonde hair seemed to be a little longer, but otherwise, he was the same. He wore a red shirt and his green leather jacket was on the chair he was sitting. He was just finishing breakfast when he noticed Tsuna's entry, enthusiastically waving with his tattoo-covered left hand to his little brother.
"Tsuna, you came at a perfect time." he called out to Tsuna who was slowly walking toward him."Come, have some breakfast."
Tsuna gave a fond smile to Dino and was about to join him when he noticed a figure sitting at the mafia boss's right. He stopped in his tracks, his body suddenly tensed, his eyes wide in shock as he noticed the small person, looking at him.
She was a small infant at first glance, with dark blue hair and red-brown hair, and tan skin. She had a crimson cape colored cape on her, her infrared visor rested next to her on the table and a grey, discolored pacifier hung around her neck. She was an arcobaleno, but more importantly, she was one of his teachers during his time trapped in the future.
"Lal Milch!" he mouthed as she placed down the teacup in her hands to look at him with a neutral gaze.
"Sawada." she greeted him, but Tsuna didn't let himself relax. He had a large amount of respect for her, but there was one thing: she belonged to the cedef, worked under his father, and had direct contact with the vongola family. And while with Dino, the man had his absolute trust, he was not sure of his former trainer's loyalty.
"Sit down, Tsuna." Dino told him, with a hard to miss edge to his voice. Despite his reservations, he was well aware that it was Dino that currently held the cards."We are all friends here, despite what you may think." he told him, before gesturing the wide range of food around the table."Please, eat. We have a lot to talk about and it will be easier with a full stomach.
Tsuna followed his instructions sat down, across Lal Mirch, his whole still tense. Only the fact that he trusted Dino with his life and Natsu's reassuring presence in the ring made him lower his guard slightly. Neither DIno nor Lal Mitch missed his tense posture but refrained commenting on it.
This was sure to be an interesting meeting.