Fon was both impressed and disgusted.
He was impressed because while Tsuna evidently had enough skills to detect his presence (and didn't bother to call him on it) when he was training, he was disgusted by the living conditions the boy had to endure on a daily basis.
On the outside it looked perfectly acceptable, but if one bothered to look properly they'd see the rot festering beneath the surface.
The mother was either Sky-addled (two guesses who the culprit behind that was, and the first one didn't count), brain damaged or quite likely had sunken so deep in her depression that her general attitude had slipped into concealed apathy.
She openly disparaged her child, telling him directly that she didn't care if he couldn't do better so long as he was 'happy'. As if it was acceptable to admit she had given up on him so long as he could pretend everything was fine on the outside to fool the sheep that made up the town.
Yes, she fed and clothed him and gave him a small allowance, but that was only because it was expected of her and to maintain the fake image she had going.
And the less said about his schooling situation the better. The teachers, those that didn't discreetly harass or belittle him, had long since given up on the boy and simply looked the other way. The other students had picked up on the adult's attitude years ago and treated him accordingly...it was only fear of Kiyo's retribution if things got too out of hand that kept everything from escalating to disasterous levels.
All in all, Fon was openly appalled at the sheer lack of apathy towards the young Sky and silently commended the boy for finding a safe outlet to attempt an escape from his own personal hell. Courting the most dangerous student in his school was a far safer alternative compared to some of the other things he could have tried, and if he was successful then he would at least have one person that was actually on his side that would never take the rumors as 'fact'.
Fon knew better than to nudge Kiyo closer to the boy. It was far more likely to have the opposite effect of what he wanted.
Instead he decided to approach Tsuna himself.
"How would you like to learn martial arts? And I mean the real kind that are suited to your body type, as opposed to the 'sports play' you mentioned before."
Seeing the boy openly perk up at that, he knew he made the right choice.
"Really?"
The hope in his voice was almost painful to hear, but then again if the adults had already given up on the Sky it was only natural he'd latch on to the first person who was interested in properly teaching him.
"I hope you don't mind small children. If I'm going to teach you then I would like to bring my apprentice here."
"I don't mind kids. They're not as mean as the older ones," said Tsuna.
It only took one meeting with I-Pin before the boy practically took to her as a little sister he needed to spoil rotten with love. Even if he did have a rather vexing habit of scooping Fon up as well, he didn't mind. The boy's Sky was gentle, but not cloying and never tried to force a bond like so many others had in the past.
He did not snuggle, regardless of what Tsuna would say on the matter. Either way it didn't stop him from wishing Tsuna was strong enough to be his Sky as well as potentially being strong enough to handle Kiyo.
He could dream though.
It was during a particularly tricky sparring session when Kiyohime accidentally hit Tsuna hard enough to make his heart stop. Needless to say the stricken expression on her face was only made worse when Fon was quick to start using CPR on the boy the second he realized what happened.
No one was prepared for the sheer outpouring of pure Sky flames that came off Tsuna. Or for them to latch onto not just Hibari's Cloud and Mist to the point she was trying not to purr...but also to Fon's barely controlled Storm.
Fon had to stumble a bit when he realized that Tsuna's Sky was strong enough to contain his own Storm flames when even Luce had failed. To be fair, she already had a Storm which complicated things, but this was the first time he had felt a proper bond with a Sky without it feeling like they were trying to force things.
Come to think of it, Tsuna could have been discreetly courting him with those chocolates he often made for them laced with his Sky. It was such a small addition that it slipped right past Fon's defenses.
Tsuna gasped for air, though once he calmed down there was an odd expression on his face as he tentatively checked his flames.
"...I haven't felt this clear headed and warm since that old man poked me in the head with his finger when I was five," said Tsuna.
"Old man?" repeated Fon, Guardian instincts on overdrive considering how new the bond was.
"Iemitsu brought an old man home when I was five that he made me call grandpa. I was playing outside when Mama was out getting something to make for dinner and fell, and then I heard arguing inside the house. A little bit later the old man poked me on the head and I blacked out...when I woke up I felt like my brain was put into a cold slush and my body felt really sluggish," said Tsuna frowning.
All true, but he already knew the Ninth had put a seal on him at Iemitsu's request.
Fon looked angry enough that his eyes were now red...as in Storm red.
"Someone put a flame seal on you when you were five? Is Iemitsu a complete idiot?!" said Fon irate.
"What is a flame seal?" asked Kiyo, eyes narrowed.
"Putting a flame seal on a child is basically like shoving all their potential into a box and locking away the key. Their coordination would be shot, their mental abilities would be highly stunted and they would become a mess. They would be completely helpless and unable to defend themselves. And when you add in Sky Attraction...well, Tsuna was turned into a bully magnet from the get-go," said Fon flatly.
"...You're telling me the entire reason he's called 'No-Good' Tsuna is because his natural abilities were surpressed since he was five?" said Kiyo horrified.
Fon said nothing, but his silence was pretty damning.
"In any event, with that seal off chances are his ability to fight will have a higher chance of improving much faster...and that's before we get into Flame training. You will have to learn to share him though," said Fon.
Hearing Kiyohime growl, Fon smiled at her.
"I meant Skies tend to draw others to them as 'protectors'. I highly doubt Tsuna would go to all this trouble to court you as a female if he wanted another for a girlfriend," said Fon.
Tsuna made a face.
"I prefer Kiyo-chan over any other girl in the school because she doesn't let something as ridiculous as traditional gender roles keep her from being who she really is. I mean I'm perfectly fine with the fact she could easily kick my ass and likely has next to no training in the more 'traditional' female roles like cooking or cleaning," said Tsuna.
Fon's ire with Iemitsu was tempered a bit as he chuckled.
He found it amusing that the traditional roles of a man and woman had been flipped with these two. While Kiyo was a good warrior and provider, she was not very good with small children and taking care of the little details that made a house a home. And while Tsuna was improving with his combat ability, he prefered to be the peacekeeper and was very good with children as well as basic chores, never mind being an excellent cook.
Fon about melted when Tsuna found a recipe to make a special mapo tofu that would reduce him to tears from the spice content while still maintaining the same flavoring that his favorite food had.
If Tsuna hadn't harmonized with him by accident with the seal gone, he would have stuck around purely to get more of that!
(As a result Fon did not break Tsuna of the habit he had of cuddling with him like he did I-Pin. It was a small price he would happily pay for such good food he didn't have to buy that he knew wouldn't be poisoned.)
Fon was rather unhappy, but it was the yearly meeting with the Arcobaleno and the others would hunt him down without hesitation if he missed it.
At least Tsuna packed enough food for him to enjoy to tide him over, and to share with a few of the others.
As it was, he suspected the Vongola's Hyper Intuition at work because several of the treats he was bringing seemed catered to specific people...like the fresh strawberry milk for Viper or the brownies with little rivers of espresso and caramel in them for Reborn.
Fon fully intended to bribe Skull into helping Tsuna ease into the fact he would inevitably be drawn into the mafia because he was Flame Active. If anyone could relate to being thrown in headfirst from civilian to psuedo criminal, it was Skull who had a similar crash course. At the very least Tsuna wouldn't bully the inverted Cloud like some would and Skull had always loved Japan so it evened out.
Predictably, it only took one bite before the food was quickly devoured and the other Arcobaleno were secret converts to whoever made the treats. Even Lal and Viper dropped their usual masks to turn into puddles of goo after finishing theirs, whereas Reborn had hoarded all the brownies the first chance he had.
It was a high compliment to Tsuna's ability to cook that Reborn would shoot first, rather than even consider sharing.
Fon had to fight the urge to show how smug he was about the whole thing, because none of them even noticed the little tidbits of Sky flame in the food.
Instead he kept his silence to the fact he knew who made the treats and that he got to eat such delicious things all the time, catered to his personal preferences.
Tsuna certainly had no end of volunteers when he cooked.
It took a day or two before Fon could quietly corner Skull away from the others.
"Skull, I have a favor to ask. And before you say anything please remember you don't need to put up a front around me."
Skull dropped the usual blustering and looked at Fon seriously.
"What do you need sempai?" asked Skull somewhat cheerfully. Fon was always nice to him.
"You remember those treats I brought with me? The ones everyone practically devoured in a few hours once they had some? Well the one who made them had a seal on their Active flames that was recently removed, and they live in a civilian neighborhood. Now since I am an Active part of the Triads, I can't keep an eye on them...but you're a freelancer and this way you can honestly claim you're doing me a favor to turn down any demands Reborn makes of you for a year or two," said Fon.
Skull perked up at that. Reborn and the others had been so stingy about the food Fon brought with him that he barely got any.
"I have it on good authority the mystery chef is always looking for volunteers, and I can switch off with you so that you can get a break to travel the world for a bit," offered Fon.
"Where's this guy live?"
"Namimori, Japan, and he's courting my granddaughter as his potential girlfriend and Cloud so you should be safe from being pressured to join his Sky," said Fon.
Skull paused at that.
"The kid is a Sky and you're not trying to pressure him to join a Family?" said Skull slowly.
"Technically he's already part of one, but considering the don of the family and his own father put that seal on his flames, one could reasonably argue that they cast him out shortly after he went active," said Fon.
He had checked the lawbooks the Vindice had about Flame Actives, and if necessary he could claim that the Vongola cast Tsuna out years ago through Iemitsu's actions. If Tsuna were to join another famiglia, they would be hard pressed to have any claims over him at all.
A seal like the one Tsuna had on his own was generally used to cast out Flame Actives that went rogue and were causing too much trouble, and considering the time frame one could argue that Nono had done it to avoid any conflicts regarding succession as his own sons were still alive at the time. The fact Tsuna could literally count the number of days his father was around him only made it harder for the Vongola to claim the boy.
It did not help their case that the family was entirely undefended, as Fon had checked repeatedly for watchers or other plants to keep the two safe. It was as if Iemitsu expected anonymity to keep his wife and son protected from the darker elements of the underworld.
He was certainly self-centered and foolish enough for it.
Skull seemed to think the offer over.
"So basically you want me to give the kid a crash course on the underworld and all the little things that no one ever told me, as well as act as taste-testing dummy for his creations and as a bodyguard," said Skull.
"You also have a ready defense against any demands from Reborn, since he isn't likely to bother you while you're helping me. And if he does try to press the issue I would be more than happy to sort him out," said Fon smiling.
Fon was one of the few who could make Reborn back down.
"I'm in," said Skull grinning. "I hope he likes Oodako."
"Tsuna is a sweet kid and is very gentle. Odds are the worst you'll have to suffer is being cuddled," said Fon. "That, and he did express an interest in learning how to drive a bike so you can have fun teaching him how."
Skull perked up at that.
(It took him all of a week to settle in and he didn't regret it one bit. He bonded to Tsuna within a month, which made Hibari crankly until she realized Skull wasn't trying to take her spot as Tsuna's Cloud guardian. Skull was just a secondary element.)