Dead silence. There was a predator in the area and it was on the hunt. All the prey knew this, but also knew that it would not attack their young.
Amber eyes narrowed in on one particular target... a lithe, small form stalked through the trees. Muscles tensed.
The target was locked on and ready. It just had to wait for that perfect moment to strike. It was nothing if not patient.
The birds in the trees tensed...before suddenly taking off as the scent of fresh blood filled the air. A body thudded to the ground, as the animals around it scattered to the four winds.
They would regroup later, but for now they wanted nothing to do with the predator.
The clouds above parted to reveal a boy about fifteen or sixteen, with wild caramel colored hair, eyes the color of twilight, and a lithe figure meant for speed and precision. His clothing was old, but well loved. He had no shoes on and he had no weapon with which to take down the deer.
He didn't need one.
He bent down and managed to pick up the decently sized doe. It was bigger than he was, but he had no problems carrying it. His body was built for compacted muscle and speed, rather than overt power and bulk. The sort of thing perfect for a large cat.
He carried to deer to a small cottage that overlooked a cliff. It was ten miles from town, but the two that lived there didn't mind. Once the shock of isolation wore off, the two learned to appreciate the peace, quiet and privacy of the location.
"Tsu-kun! Welcome home! Have a good hunt?"
Tsuna growled and chuffed, before setting the deer down outside in an area that was cordoned off for cleaning prey.
His mother walked outside and beamed when she saw his catch. She ruffled his hair while bringing out a large cooler and some very sharp knives. What they wouldn't eat would be tossed over the cliff for the foxes and other scavengers to eat.
One would think that the two would worry about wild animals following the scent of the prey back to their house and making a mess.
Nana and Tsuna never had to worry about that sort of thing, because all the animals in the forest knew that the house and most of the area around it was their den. And no one wanted to piss off a predator bigger and more vicious than they were.
Nana cooked one of the best cuts before tossing it to her son...who grabbed it with his hands and started chewing without bothering to use utensils. The only reason she even bothered to cook it at all is because she's well aware that human bodies sometimes have adverse reactions to uncooked meat.
Though she only cooked it enough to be safe, but still very bloody.
Tsuna curled up on the beaten up couch and purred once he finished his meal. He had worked hard today, and since it was one of the days he hunted, he had been allowed to skip out on the 'school work' his mother insisted was necessary. Most of his body was on the couch, though his arms and legs tended to casually lean off the side, almost touching the floor.
He was the very picture of a large cat that was dosing off in the sun after a hunt.
Nana hummed as she continued with her housework.
Neither of them knew anything of what was to happen within a few short days.
Reborn frowned, before he called the "Idiot Lion" as he called him.
"Ciaossu. Iemitsu, you moron, I thought you said your family lived in Namimori?"
"Did something happen?" said Iemitsu in shock.
"According to all the neighbors they moved out of town almost nine years ago. Though wherever they are, it's still close enough for them to make the festivals."
Reborn was openly cursing Iemitsu's stupidity. How the hell did that idiot miss the fact his wife and son moved out of the house, when he supposedly made the occasional trip here?
Now he was going to have to look for the two, without any clues to where they were.
Well he did like a challenge. Imagine his confusion finding them living ten miles outside town in an area he would have chosen to train his new student to learn how to unlock his Hyper Dying Will mode.
The boy was lazing on a tree like a great cat, his right arm under his chin, with his left and both legs dangling off the branch. The second the wind shifted, the boys eyes shot open and he nearly caught his breath from shock.
Those were shifter eyes.
"Ciaossu," he said cautiously.
If Tsuna was a shifter, that meant his mother was as well. Which meant he would have to be a lot more delicate about how he handled this situation.
Shifter laws went before Omerta, and the Vindice were doubly pissed if someone broke them. Though they mainly allowed the few shifters that were in the group handle it if the topic came up.
The boy didn't respond, merely stretched before he jumped off the branch with the nimbleness of a cat.
There were a variety of shifters in the world, though Reborn only had contact with one type.
Somehow he had the feeling he would have to call Fon in the second he found out why they were living just outside town this far out.
Nana's nose twitched, which only confirmed which side of the family Tsuna's shifting genes came from. As far as he was aware, Iemitsu was purely human. So was the rest of the Vongola though he suspected the "bastard" son Xanxus might have shifter blood in him. It would explain a lot.
"Why are you here?" she asked bluntly.
To the point. He could work with that, even if the 'oblivious' part he had heard repeatedly about had been worn out by living this far away from others and having to raise her son alone without help.
Reborn decided to cut to the chase.
"Your son is the last heir that can inherit a certain den that belongs to the mafia. All the ones before him are either dead or are currently imprisoned because they did something to harm the current 'Elder' of the den. As such I've been sent to train him in how to be a mafia boss," said Reborn bluntly, using what little shifter knowledge he had to make it easier.
Nana's eyes narrowed. She was definitely a shifter, because she was displaying all the warning signs he knew from Fon that said she was not happy and would be more than pleased to show that in as vicious a manner as possible.
Calling Fon in was becoming more of a priority than ever.
"I will not let that false lion Iemitsu anywhere near his son. Not when it's his fault we were forced to leave our home."
Reborn inwardly cursed, though he kept his face blank.
"Iemitsu Sawada has no say in how I train your son, and if necessary we can remove all custody rights. Not that he'd have much to begin with, since he's the external adviser. Your son could easily have him fired and forcibly relocated someplace unpleasant. Since you two are shifters, that renders any interference from him moot," said Reborn bluntly.
Shifters were still eligible as heirs, though it made things far more complicated.
Nana looked rather happy to hear that.
"May I ask why you moved to this house, rather than stay in town?"
Her face became tired, and Tsuna hugged his mother. It was clearly a sore topic.
"We were cast out of the den. The Elder made it clear our presence would not be welcomed in Namimori any longer, and considering Tsuna's condition it was safer for us to live outside the den limits than to press the issue. He studies hard and he does help around the house. We've been managing."
"His...condition?"
Tsuna looked at him oddly, before he moved his hands slowly in an odd pattern. It took Reborn a moment to realize he was signing, though most of them he was unfamiliar with. He only knew a few of those signs because of repeated exposure to Colonello and Lal.
"He's mute?"
This could be a major problem.
Tsuna growled in irritation, before he made an annoyed chuffing sound. Reborn's eyebrows raised up at that, before understanding came across his face.
He was calling Fon the first chance he had. This was beyond his area of expertise. It also looked like he'd be learning how to sign.
"Can he still understand human language?" asked Reborn.
Tsuna nodded.
"For some reason he is unable to speak Japanese, and he can no longer shift. I have no idea what Iemitsu did to my son, but Tsuna is trapped in this form," said Nana upset. "If not for the fact that the leopard and the human coexist as one, regardless of what form they're in, he might have been driven insane. Unfortunately his leopard side is too strong now, so we had to leave."
Reborn openly cursed.
"I know an Elder who might be able to help, or at least figure out what's causing this problem. It will be some time before he arrives though. He's a black panther."
Nana looked relieved. Then she looked at her son with concern.
"We've had to avoid our own kind all this time, because they sense something wrong with Tsu-kun... they've reacted almost worse than the humans in the past."
"The Elder I speak of won't make rash judgment, especially when I explain the situation to him. He's one of the calmest people I know."
Later that night, after one of the oddest dinners he had ever had (cooked to perfection, but with more meat than he was used to... thank god she had some decent coffee beans) Reborn had Leon turn into a phone and dialed a certain number.
"Hello Reborn."
"Ciaossu, Fon. I have a problem."
"It must be unusual if you can't handle it yourself."
"My student is a shifter. As is his mother, though according to her, her leopard has yet to sync with her human half properly."
Fon paused at the other end. For him to openly admit a shifter problem, that meant he would have to handle this far more delicately than normal.
"What area?"
"They live ten miles outside Namimori."
"I think I know of who you're speaking about. I've heard rumors one of the leopard mothers had to move out of town because of a dispute with an Elder over her cub. I never bothered to inquire further," said Fon calmly.
"According to her, the 'sire' did something that 'locked' her cub's ability to shift and for some reason his leopard side is more dominant. The Elder bluntly told her that she could either leave the den, or kill her son."
Fon was not happy, and Reborn didn't have to be near the Storm to know that.
"I'll be there to assess the situation, though my interference would be limited at best. If I were the Elder of that den, I might be able to help out more but I belong to a different one. The only reason I can act at all is because my niece is part of that particular den."
"The boy is the heir of the Vongola familigia. Any help at all would be appreciated," said Reborn tiredly.
In order to keep things remotely on schedule, Reborn decided to call in a kid he long suspected to be shifter, but didn't care enough to confirm.
Hayato Gokudera was a Storm Latent with decent prospects and almost terrifying loyalty once you had his trust. He jumped at the chance to be Tsuna's Storm even if he wondered why Reborn said things were complicated.
Hayato was very confused as to why he was introduced to the mother leopard first though. He thought she was a civilian.
"You can try introducing this little cub to Tsuna, though I would advise doing it slowly," said Nana after a moment.
"Cub?" repeated Reborn.
Hayato blushed. Of course she could tell he was leopard. But this was still the best shot he had at becoming the right hand man of a powerful figure.
His first reaction was to balk when he was introduced to Tsuna. Except Tsuna smelled more wary than he did.
On instinct, he tried something he used to do with Bianchi, before his human sire put an end to it saying it was "creepy" and "wrong". His mother had always done it with him, when she was allowed to visit.
He purred low in his throat, before rubbing his cheeks cautiously with Tsuna while hugging him. Tsuna perked up and did the same with a much louder one.
"Fascinating. Can I ask why they do that?" asked Reborn with open interest. Fon had never given him more than the basics, with the understanding Reborn would let him deal with any shifter matters if it came up.
"Think of it as a scent marking. There are scent glands in the cheeks, both in human and leopard forms, where the whiskers would be. It's basically a way for us to say we're 'friendly', or non-threatening," said Nana. "It allows us to mingle our scents, so that we know friends from foe without having to look."
Even Reborn had to smile when Tsuna playfully pulled Hayato into a little wrestling match on the floor. The silverette turned into a rather handsome snow leopard cub, half grown.
He was rather confused when Tsuna didn't follow his example, but he got over it when Tsuna's body language replied the same way it would as a leopard, right down to the happy growls and chuffs. The two of them ended up in a giant pile on the floor, purring.
Nana looked more pleased than Reborn was at the way they were bonding so easily.
Seeing as the two wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, Reborn decided to speak to Nana about shifter hierarchy and the headaches he would be dealing with later. This was one time he couldn't exactly dump everything on Fon.
"You said his mother was a shifter and she died, correct?"
"His father would happily dump his son on a strong familigia if it meant using that connection later, and his sister had a different mother," said Reborn.
"Well the easiest way to bring Hayato into Tsuna's den would be to make him a litter mate."
"Litter mate?"
"Basically they'd be all but brothers in blood. There are lesser degrees of it, but I think he would benefit most from having Hayato as a full adopted litter mate, rather than a pack mate. Fortunately we have more than enough rooms, though odds are Tsuna wouldn't mind overly much about sharing. He's been rather lonely since we only ever get permission to go to town during big events and festivals, when it's open to everyone," said Nana sadly.
"May I ask why you were driven out? I would have thought that the den would have put you into seclusion in the shifter community rather than kick you out."
"They might have...except one of the Elders is rather notorious for his dislike of human/shifter pairings. He managed to spin the whole thing as 'damaged genetics' because Tsuna was born from a human/shifter pairing, despite the fact he was presented as was tradition before his fifth birthday as a full shifter. The only reason they can't drive us completely out of the area is because his mate happens to live in the den, though we've been leery of trying to find out who it is."
"Mate?"
"Shifters can either marry normally, or they can wait to find their destined mate. Either can produce children, but the older generations tend to favor those who will only marry those their leopards find a perfect match. Tsuna bumped into his when he was about eight or so, but outside of knowing she's a full shifter we haven't gone looking. They might drive her out as well," said Nana. "As such he'll never look towards another female with any real interest save for familial bonds. His leopard would never allow it."
"And the sign language?"
She smiled sadly.
"It's easier to claim he's a mute then explain to humans that he's unable to speak like them. And it means a lesser risk of hunters catching on, so long as he hides his eyes. He can write fast to make himself 'heard', but he learned to sign just in case his whiteboard and markers aren't available. However anyone with leopard or cat-shifter blood would be able to understand him if he 'spoke'."
Reborn had a headache. His student wasn't mute, but he could only speak in leopard-tongue. He had all the instincts of a leopard trapped in a human body, and the local shifter community had made it clear they didn't want him around because he could accidentally bring hunters to their doorstep.
He could only hope Fon had a solution to this mess.