Tsuna is everyone's new dirty little secret
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"Dame-Tsuna, they say you're fighting."
"Don't be like that, Lambo," Fuuta coaxes, with more maturity than he should have at eleven.
On his lap, Lambo flails, the beginning of a very familiar, very tempestuous tantrum. "That's not true! You're sleeping, so wake up!"
Tsuna pauses the video. The TV stuck on the images of teary-eyed, snot-nosed Lambo, a pained but contained Fuuta, and a silent ghostly presence of I-Pin.
He breathes deeply, holds it, then exhales. It rattles his throat on the way out.
Nana started the video earlier, and he absorbed every movement, every worried line, through the immediate rush of tears. She kept her optimism and hope, even through the news that her husband and her son and his friends were 'lost at sea.'
"There is a big search ongoing," she said. "Mama'll be ready when you come home."
This is the first in a thousand similar videos, all waiting for him.
They never stopped talking to Tsuna, or hoping, or praying.
Tsuna kind of wish they did, but also he doesn't.
He was loved. It hurts.
Tsuna plays the video.
..
..
"Mao~"
Natsu rubs his body against Tsuna's shins. Helpless, Tsuna reached down to scratch between his ears, smiling fondly.
Tsuna cried for a ridiculously long time that first night, but by the next morning Pogo found Natsu (actually the Vongola Gears). And the future seemed not better but a little brighter.
Breakfast was interrupted by Oboro, not Skull, who brought a sense of leivety to Pogo's serious old man nature. Before he left, he wheedled Tsuna into calling him aniki from now on. Through stutters, Tsuna agreed.
The hours afterward were a whirlwind. From being updated on an incredibly intimidating mountain of shots, to an unnecessary tour, to being given the essentials like his own phone, identity and clothes. The phone is too much. He's now only an Italian citizen (to his disgruntled horror). His clothes are too stiff and restricting, since Pogo got him something formal. Tsuna left it all behind, with the business card Pogo made for him, to wear the ill-fitting but more comfortable clothes Oboro gave that first day.
The castle itself hasn't changed since before Tsuna fell into some sort of flame coma.
Pogo gave him Nono's old room, the extravagant master bedroom. No matter how long he flailed, sidestepped, deflected, then outright rejected based on Japanese sensibilities, Tsuna lost that battle. Now he's not thinking about it.
That wasn't even the last battle against Pogo he lost.
It's Pogo's house, but he likes to ask Tsuna's opinion on things. As if Tsuna wants any renovations! No renovations needed to be done! No curtains to be changed! No, he doesn't want to re-tile the floor! Could you imagine how much work that would be? The only home renovation Tsuna has done was when his mother asked him to move the couch around. Actually, it would be easier if they sold this big, useless castle. While Pogo was showing him around, they met multiple mist clones of Pogo going around vacuuming and dusting every corner. Tsuna tried to mention it, but somehow Pogo mistook "the castle is too big" for "we should renovate the castle to be airy." Tsuna put his foot down for that. He didn't care if Pogo wanted to add a basketball court, as long as it's not added just for Tsuna. Cause he won't use it. They don't know how bad he is at sports, and Tsuna likes it that way for as long as possible.
He hasn't been allowed out of the castle, as a precaution. That's fine. His new reality is hard to wrap his head around. He didn't exactly feel like going out and exploring.
Currently, Tsuna slid open the drawer to Nono's antique desk, left comparatively alone for the first time that day. It's locked with a key and a Sky flame seal. Luckily, he got both; One given to him by Pogo with his blessing to anything in Nono's personal study. There are a few envelopes and trinkets inside. Browsing through them is difficult because while he's passable at spoken Italian (because of Reborn's pre-holiday Italian crash course), his reading comprehension is slower than snail pace. Still, Tsuna hunkers down in Nono's big chair and painstakingly deciphers each line Nono thought was important enough to keep private, and buries the guilt somewhere he can't dig up. (Nono's dead, he shouldn't feel—)
Pogo had other errands to do, and he worried needlessly. Tsuna assured him that even across the house, Tsuna could feel his flame signature. Apparently, this was a new thing he could do, and extremely easily. Pogo's flames especially were just background noise to him, only noticeable when it's gone.
Originally, he was planning to wile away some hours in Nono's study, if he must for Pogo's peace of mind, but the hours passed swiftly and the seconds excruciatingly. Just as painful as taking an exam.
For the first time in hours, Tsuna stops. He's barely gotten anywhere, a page and a half, and his head hurts, despair gnaws his insides, and he's so useless—!
It was easier when everyone else spoke Japanese around him, and how Gokudera spoke Italian for them, and how..
Tsuna sighs, tears in his eyes. He pushes the books away, as they turn back to ineligible scribbles of a deceased old man. With his forehead hitting the table, Tsuna crumples into himself.
"Why is everything so hard?" Tsuna moans.
"May I be of assistance?"
"Who?!" Tsuna jerks in place, knocking his knee straight into the underside of the desk with a bang. Natsu yowls, awaking from his nap to fall off the edge of the table. Tsuna wasn't able to catch him, too busy holding his pained leg. "Ow…"
Tsuna scans Nono's study frantically to no one. No danger. Natsu crawls closer, shaking and Tsuna lifts him to his lap, running a hand over him. "Who is it? Where..?"
Suddenly, a continuous beeping sounds throughout the room. Tsuna scrambles until he finds the source from within the pocket of a jacket he had thrown against the reading couch in a corner of the room. Though Tsuna didn't remember having anything in his pocket…
It is his new phone. Nana used to have a flip phone with a keypad, this one was nothing like that. Just all glass and fragility and locked with a pin of 2772.
His phone flashes, along with bursts of a familiar voice.
"Hello, Tsunayoshi. I am V5000, an AI based on its creator, Verde."
Tsuna goggles, for on the screen is an icon of Verde, the original baby, before the first growth. Tsuna holds it gingerly with two fingers, away from his face—Verde is dead, Skull said so—but Reborn did once call him a mad scientist. So.
It's not impossible.
"…Verde? Is that you?"
The phone processes this with an alligator waving through the screen. (Why?) Then, computer Verde talks again.
"Verde, deceased, created the V-series AI tool, specifically for the use of Vongola as payment for the unpaid debt between Verde and Sawada Tsunayoshi."
Tsuna pauses.
"Oh, thanks..? What do you do?"
"Try saying, 'play some music, or 'translate this for me.'"
Natsu lays a paw over the screen. The little lion is frantically shaking his head.
Tsuna pets him.
"Okay, um, please translate this for me."
The phone lights, and the alligator appears again. "What do you need translated?"
Tsuna scrambles back to the desk, phone in hand. "Uh…" He reads the next line in stilted, probably extremely accented Italian. V5000 doesn't notice.
V5000 smoothly translates it back.
It's much easier to make a headway after that.
Nono didn't leave a note for Tsuna, but his notes were descriptive and his last journal entry enlightening.
Tsuna reads and then listens as Nono painted the hopeless scene.
How a month has passed with not a whisper nor a sign, and he's been forced to lock an entire wing of the HQ away. None of the others whose entered has escaped, and with each passing day Nono is tempted to send little Lambo too, hoping Tsunayoshi-kun needed his complete guardian set. But every time he wanted to, the words wouldn't leave his throat. It was a good sign, though he scared Coyote and the others. Even now, Tsunayoshi-kun's will burns strongly.
The situation within Tsunayoshi-kun's Sky barrier is foreign and unknown to them. Though Reborn's assessment was likely accurate: A man whose touch absorbs flames to grow stronger. That would have been a formidable foe for anyone, but surely not for Tsunayoshi-kun, who has already battled someone similar in Ghost.
They were missing crucial information.
That night, Nono and his guardians planned to enter. He could hear it in his dreams, the ghost of Vongola bosses past, imploring him to enter and help his heir in his battle. Nono had already bet everything on the Vongola Gears, and it's nature to endure. It's about time he risked his life, too.
He's already said his last order: the prohibition of Lambo to enter Vongola HQ and thus Tsunayoshi-kun's barrier. He could say that easily. Tsunayoshi-kun approves.
Tsunayoshi's barrier was a sign, the only sign, Nono hypothesised. A plea for help. Why else could anybody enter?
That's where this journal ends.
With scrunched shoulders, Tsuna could finally put pictures to words and taste the desperation dripping off this handwriting and its off-colour pages. He closes the journal with a soft thud before returning it back to where he found it.
"Thanks, Verde," he mutters.
For ages, Tsuna stares blankly. There is so much there, and for most of it, he didn't know how to feel about it. Besides horror. Tsuna has horror in spades.
(At least he spared Lambo. Somehow.)
Was it the wrong choice? Betting everything on the Vongola Gears, betting everything on Tsuna.
Tsuna survived, and the Vongola Gears helped him. It was how he outlasted people like Reborn or Colonnello or Lal Mirch. Nono achieved his goal. And yet—
It's clear to Tsuna.
It's the wrong choice.
If they trusted him so much, why didn't they just wait? How could they just walk to their doom?
(Did that make Tsuna a hypocrite too? Somehow, he didn't think he has the strength to wait either.)
Natsu lay curled on the desk again, napping, so Tsuna kept petting him. The vibrations and sounds of his purrs are soothing.
What now? There are no leads in Nono's journal, so where does he go from here?
What would Reborn advice?
"If you're stuck at the end, go to the beginning." The baby would smirk, as if he knew more than Tsuna. He enjoyed being blunt and saying outrageous things just for Tsuna to tear his hair at.
So now Tsuna peruses the section of Giotto's journals, unsure what he's even doing. How could this possibly help? But Tsuna sucks it up as Reborn has the annoying ability of being right. There's maybe five in total. Pogo probably knows where the rest of them are. Tsuna is tired, but with V5000's help, he translates them anyway. One was a book early into Giotto's creation of Vongola. The sky flames sealing it were the strongest, probably because it had a lot of details on the Vongola rings. Tsuna already knew all of it though, so he skims that. The other three are probably kept around because of how Giotto handled the disputes and problems he wrote about. It was interesting, because Tsuna knew everything turned out okay, but not helpful.
The last one was written towards the end of Giotto's reign. It wrote about his intention for retirement. Secondo was not a kind man, but he was trustworthy. He would lead well, and he could still fight for their people when Giotto was exhausted. Giotto who has been in scraps since he could remember, surviving and growing up when territory disputes were so frequent. He had a singular goal then, and in many ways he achieved it. But now, he had regrets. The complete loss of Daemon's trust extinguished Giotto's once unshakable faith in himself and his path. There was no decision he didn't second guess anymore, and he firmly believed he was no longer fit to lead the Vongola, no matter what anyone said. Not even when Secondo said them.
It is entrancing and disheartening. This man who lived seven hundred years ago hypnotises Tsuna with his words, and even through the robot's monotone recitation Tsuna could tangibly feel Giotto's guilt, bitterness and doubt, immortalised on paper. Giotto left for Japan looking for absolution. Tsuna hopes he found peace eventually, surrounded by family.
Tsuna reads further.
One of Giotto's conditions for retirement is that his line be passed over for succession. No matter what. If there is an able candidate of his cousin's line, they will always have preference. If his line wanted to meddle in the mafia, let them join the CEDEF and let them be taken out of running for the Vongola rings.
That's for the best, Tsuna thought.
At least, until Tsuna's unlucky streak hit. Now, here they are.
No closer to answers.
For Giotto's journals, Tsuna spread them messily around him on the floor, and when he finished, he pushed them away to flop on his back, eyes on the ceiling. Boxed in by antique bookcases and cabinets, a glowing fireplace, and more books than he has ever owned that wasn't a manga, there is something right about being on the floor. It felt honest.
He misses his friends and Reborn and his family.
For a while, Tsuna didn't move, until eventually Natsu came on top of him, his purrs reverberating against his chest.
"…V, do you know what happened to Uni & Byakuran? Nobody has mentioned them since I woke. I don't think Pogo-san and aniki know about them."
In the corner of his eyes, Tsuna's phone lights up.
"The key members of Giglio Nero & Gesso went missing the day before you were attacked in Italy. Their rented mansion in Namimori was trashed, and no further leads were found. Uni & Byakuran's deaths were never confirmed."
Tsuna closes his eyes, and even now, after all the crying he's already done, tears slip out the sides, a steady stream.
That…
It is everything Tsuna already suspected.
Tsuna didn't remember fighting or sleeping or doing anything these past three hundred years. For him, it passed in a blink of an eye. So, to him, he was attacked yesterday and lost it all at the same moment.
But it wasn't all forgotten. There was a slim moment just after he was attacked and the consumption of darkness that he knew:
Uni and Byakuran were there with him, and this man killed them.
Tsuna was next.
(And then his friends after that.)
A fresh wave of tears come, escaping into his hair. It's wet and cold, welcome yet annoying. Tsuna throws a forearm over his eyes and let it soak into his clothes instead.
There was so much he still wanted to do, so much—
"Dinner is ready, Tsuna-sama."
Tsuna viciously rubs away the last of his tears, to see Pogo waiting in the doorway.
"It is waiting for you in the dining room."
"Oh, that's great," Tsuna says, entirely without enthusiasm. He doesn't want to go. He actually cringes as he remembers lunch earlier. "…Have you eaten?"
"I can be persuaded to eat."
Pogo comes in unhurried, as he took Giotto's journals and slots them back into place.
Tsuna scrambles, sitting up. "No, I-I can do that!"
Pogo hums, re-arranging the desk to what it was before Tsuna stepped into the room. It's too unsettling to let Pogo clean up after him. He doesn't nag Tsuna into cleaning up after himself like Nana. He also doesn't threaten to shoot Tsuna into a neater existence like Reborn. Pogo just… cleans up after Tsuna, like that's his job.
It's not Pogo's job.
And it makes Tsuna feel worse.
But by the time Tsuna's standing, Pogo has already done it all with Tsuna's tossed away jacket in his arms. He slings it over Tsuna's shoulders and brushes the nonexistent dust away. "It can get cold in this drafty old castle. The beginning of autumn is here. Come, we have a guest. He's already waiting downstairs in the dining room."
Tsuna perks up. Expanding his awareness, he picks up strong flames of lightning and rain. He jolts twice, once in recognition and then in surprise at recognizing it.
"Aniki's here?"
"Correct." Pogo lifts Natsu to hand to Tsuna, discretely ignoring Natsu's scared stiff form and his shaky "mao."
Tsuna pets Natsu calm.
Maybe dinner won't be as bad as lunch, where Tsuna sat alone at the head of an extremely long, extremely empty table. In a room where a hundred could comfortably feast, Tsuna felt extremely awkward and small with his buffet for one.
With Pogo's hands over his shoulders, Tsuna is lead to dinner. It's a bit unsettling. Pogo's hands are unusually long, hairy and wrinkly—cause it's a chimp's—yet still heavy and warm and reassuring. He's pretty small, only slightly taller than Tsuna currently, and Tsuna hasn't finished growing. It's terribly easy to stare at Pogo and be confronted with the fact Pogo is not a box animal but an actual chimp who talks. He's trying not to stare too long or to cringe away instinctively. It helps that Tsuna is used to Reborn's antics. Plus, Pogo isn't even the weirdest looking mafioso Tsuna has met.
"On the passport you gave me, I noticed I had a quirk," Tsuna says.
Pogo's features are easily expressed but prone to worry. He has many grey hairs, and it doesn't seem like he laughed a lot on his heavily wrinkled face. When he frowns, his already pronounced eyebrows and jaw juts out. The only time Tsuna has seen the ghost of a smile was when Tsuna hazed into waking. It was the first face he saw. Even then, Pogo's eyes were wet with tears.
"Is it insufficient, Tsuna-sama?"
Tsuna blinks in incomprehension. "..No? I don't have a quirk. That's wrong. I guess we'll have to redo the passport now."
For some reason, Pogo's eyes crease with amusement. He sounds patient and indulgent when he says, "In all essence, your Hyper Intuition—the Vongola Intuition—is a quirk. In fact, it is the first instance of a quirk evolution, while Qing Qing City's glowing infant is the public's first instance of a quirk and the most well known globally."
Glowing baby?
Tsuna pictured Reborn glowing yellow, slowly getting brighter and brighter until he can't be seen at anymore. "Tsuna," this Reborn says, "Leon made me a new suit. Doesn't it look nice?"
How unreal.
"…Okay?" Quirks are so weird. Tsuna quickly switches topics. "How was your day? What did you do?"
"It was productive. I found the storage boxes from your time. It has items you're more familiar with. I haven't had time to go through them. Finding them was trickier than I thought."
"That's great! We could look through them together. Yamamoto lent me his clothes once. He wouldn't mind doing it again."
They arrived at the double doors to the dining room. Pogo opened them. Oboro is standing casually against the chairs, attention taken from his phone at their entrance, already smiling.
"Aniki! Did you—Do you have anything..?"
But Oboro's expression drops, and Tsuna knows. "I'm sorry."
Tsuna swallows, nodding in acceptance. He thought nothing would come of asking Oboro to recheck ancient leads, but Tsuna needed to try.
"Hey," Oboro says, "hope's not all lost. Maybe if you tell me more about it, we could find a new lead."
"Yeah.."
"For now, let's eat the feast Pogo cooked."
Pogo's clones burst through the door, each carrying two platters each. In no time, the table is full of steaming Japanese dishes. With Oboro's help, Pogo is easily herded to sit with them. They take a corner with Pogo to his right and Oboro to his left. It is nice like this, and the food was great and Tsuna said so.
"How did you come to live here, Pogo-san?"
"It was a few decades ago. I was a young chimp of only five, who walked into this crumbling castle, and then didn't leave. I lived here ever since."
"At age five?" Where were Pogo's parents? "..Were you also a mafia assassin?"
Pogo chuckles. "Oh no, I was the strange pacifist of my family, Tsuna-sama. That's why I came here. I heard you were also a pacifist, and got the notion that at least here I would be welcome."
Who has been talking about Tsuna? Was it Skull?
Tsuna turns to his left. "What about you, aniki? Why are you in Italy?"
Oboro's dark eyes twinkle. "Job opportunity. The heart of the mafia is in Italy."
Tsuna purses his lips.
Pogo speaks up. "You don't approve?"
"Approve? It's not that!" Tsuna's voice hitches high with his lies. He frantically waves his hand around, not wanting to offend anyone. "It's just-um?"
"Mao," Natsu says, bumping his head against Tsuna's leg, a suitable distraction.
"That's right! We were just here for summer vacation! We were going to head back to Namimori when it's over. To kaa-san's house there, cause she lives there… I wonder what happened to that house..?"
Though Tsuna was rambling whatever to pop into his head, now it's a legitimate question.
Did Nana sell their house? Where does Tsuna live?
"House in Namimori?" Pogo says.
Oboro looks curious. "I stayed in Namimori for a while. Where is it?" At Tsuna's answer, Oboro nods slowly but with brows furrowed. "I don't recognise the address. Maybe the street names have changed?"
Tsuna's phone vibrates. He takes it out of his pocket.
Out comes the clear robotic voice of V5000. "Your residence is still there under the name of Sawada Ietsugu. Currently, Skull holds the house deed and keys."
"Thanks, V." Tsuna smiles, a substantial part of Tsuna settling within his chest. It would have felt.. wrong to never go back to that house. It's the house he's always known, the one he grew up in. The one Nana lived, and loved, and cared for. It wouldn't have felt right to not visit at least one last time, and it would have been disconcerting if someone else owned it now. "I can't believe Skull kept it. It's been a long time."
"Yes," Pogo says, tone light and ringing off to Tsuna's ear. "How fortunate."
Even Oboro is unsettlingly quiet.
Tsuna is no mind reader, like Reborn, but he has gotten better at reading people.
But why would Tsuna's house upset them?
"Were you born in Japan or Italy? I'm guessing you grew up in Namimori," Oboro says quickly, and Tsuna shuffles the thought to later. He didn't want to upset them.
"Yeah, I was born there, and I grew up there with my mom. Reborn only came two years ago."
"The Sun Arcobaleno, Reborn? The man who was the World's Greatest Hitman?"
Tsuna rolls his eyes. Of course, everyone would remember that.
Well, if they are looking for stories about the past. Tsuna has plenty that star Reborn. It's only fair, right? It's Tsuna's right as a student of an impossibly brutal teacher. Besides, it's Reborn. He never cared about mincing words for anyone. He shouldn't dish out what he can't handle.
"—And Reborn would cosplay randomly! In these ridiculous outfits! It was so obvious it was him. Once, he was a potted plant and a giant spider and a tutor fairy?—"
Oboro whistles. "Wild. Skull was Reborn's lackey?"
Tsuna nods. "Reborn & Colonnello's."
"Indeed. I can see why you miss him," Pogo says.
All at once, it comes crashing down again; his reality, his friends gone. Tsuna wilts, fighting back the tears. "Yeah, I do."
Pogo clears his throat and stands up. By now, the table is cleared and the dessert eaten. They've been talking for over an hour. "I'll need to head off. Oboro, I'll leave things to you?"
Oboro nods, as Pogo throws a coat over his suit. "Count on me. I'll take care of otouto here."
"You're going somewhere? It's late. How long will you be gone?" Tsuna says, scrapping his wooden chair against the floor and rushes after the mammal. Pogo is always dressed to the nines. Tsuna didn't realise he had plans.
"Five hours. Seven with complications," Pogo says.
They enter the largely empty garage with footsteps that echo against the floor. Pogo slides into the car which was parked beside a motorcycle.
"Where are you going?" Tsuna asks through the rolled-down window.
"Pogo has a surgery," Oboro says.
Tsuna whips his head to look at Oboro and then back at Pogo. His pitch raises. "You're sick?"
"Worry not, Tsuna-sama. I am performing the surgery."
"Oh." Tsuna rocks on his heels and leans away, nerves abruptly falling. It's Pogo's job. He sticks his hands in his hoodie but still feels silly for worrying. His fingers shake a little. "That's cool. Do your best at work, Pogo-san."
The chimp's eyes soften and transform his face. "I implore to."
Pogo drives away, and Tsuna and Oboro watch him go. Even after Tsuna can't see him, Tsuna tracks the Mist flames as it slowly travels further and further away.
Oboro claps his back with a smile. "Cheer up, otouto! I brought board games, books, painting sets, even a ball. What did you want to do?"
Oboro herds Tsuna to a living room with a humongous TV and three seater couch. Beside it, the aforementioned stuff is in plastic bags and stacks of boxes. It's too much, at least three different towers of boxes and double the pile of bags. He can't read the Italian but the pictures say plenty.
Oboro went on a shopping spree and splurged, didn't he? For Tsuna? How much money was this?
It's only after Oboro promises to bring most of it back that Tsuna feels guilt-free in rummaging through. Maybe he wouldn't have felt so guilty if Gokudera and Yamamoto were here with him. They had a special way of relaxing Tsuna. Oboro though is a tentative friend, and adding that the first thing Tsuna did was ask a large favour… Tsuna is still walking on eggshells with him.
It doesn't take long before Tsuna spots it, lifting it out into the light.
"Is this a video game? How do you play?"
Oboro grins. "I'll show you. We'll have to set it up first. Bring that box closer to the TV."
They spent ages in front of the TV, and Tsuna loves every moment, even when the language turned out to be incomprehensible to Tsuna. It didn't matter. Video games were an old matter, and Tsuna a seasoned pro. He wasn't better than Oboro, but that didn't matter. The boys laughed and groaned and competed.
This is the moment Tsuna felt they became real friends.
Then—
Explosions, too real to be from the game, are heard in the distance. No vibrations with it.
Tsuna startles with a yelp, ducking automatically, even when his hyper intuition stays quiet. It's a reflex at this point. Lambo likes his grenades thrown straight across the room.
He peaks out of the cover of his arms. "What is happening?"
Pressing pause on the game, he scrambles to a window. It's nighttime and too dark to see anything. All the trees blend into one mass. If he went to the roof, he would see more. Or he could go outside and see what it is in person.
"Oh, that?" Oboro flippantly throws out, joining Tsuna by the window. His unhurried movements stop Tsuna from moving. "That's Primo's Sanctuary."
More loud sound interrupts Oboro. Multiple canons.
What is going on out there?
"Giotto's?" Tsuna asks, worryingly.
Tsuna doesn't remember that. Reborn didn't mention that the forest had a name, only that it was a protective measure in case of sudden attacks. (Tsuna then asked how frequent 'sudden attacks' were. It was… too often for Tsuna's liking.) It's odd to call it sanctuary when Tsuna is pretty sure a fight is happening at their doorstep.
Oboro shakes his head, somehow ignoring the forest with ease. "No, yours. You are Neo Vongola Primo."
Tsuna shrieks, flailing.
"No, no, no, no! I'm really not!" Tsuna grimaces, pulling his face and wringing his hands. Somewhere beyond the grave, Reborn is smirking, toasting the devil or dressed as the devil or promoted to the devil. He's celebrating a job well done.
Tsuna could wring his neck.
Oboro shrugs, though ultimately he's smiling. "It's been like that longer than I've been around, so the name stuck. I think it's pretty cool to have something named after you."
But it's not his name.
"Shouldn't you go break it up?" Tsuna points outside, but Oboro laughs.
"No, they're just playing."
Pointedly, more explosions—it's definitely dynamite this time—punctuate Oboro's statement.
At Tsuna's face, Oboro laughs harder. He steers Tsuna away from the window and towards the couch.
"You're a worrier, aren't you? You'll get stress lines just like Pogo if you keep it up. C'mon, I'll give you a brief history lesson." Oboro smiles, indulgently, especially when Tsuna isn't as comfortable ignoring the explosions as he is. "Man, you aren't anything like I thought you would be."
Tsuna smiles, wryly. "A scary mafioso?"
Oboro shakes his head. "Definitely not. You look so overwhelmed every time I see you. No wonder Pogo keeps you indoors." He pats his chest. "You don't have to worry about anything as long as Pogo or I are by your side. We'll die first before anyone harms you. Trust us."
—That's not reassuring at all actually—
"Let's see…" Oboro continues, oblivious, "Quirks, of course, you saw that first day. Omerta, you know already, I'm sure. Got it! I'll give you what I give all the new recruits."
Oboro claps his hands together, his eyes narrowing in seriousness. "Listen up. The Neo Vongola has many parts. You would know the CEDEF & the Varia. That's brought over from the time of Vongola, your time. But now there's also the Vertice, Bovino, Corbezzolo, and Cervello."
Bovino! Like Lambo's…
"I'm head of Vertice. Broadly, we handle goods and transportation of goods. The Bovino handle weapons, cyber security, and keeping on top of technological advancement. They make things like Vongola batteries, weapon maintenance and everything we use for technology. Nice guys, smart people. They're the group who made our teleportation network. Corbezzolo is head of international intelligence—like hero news—and advanced planning. It's a lot of work, and CEDEF and them usually split the difference with on the ground intelligence gathering. Last but not least, Cervello is in charge of recruitment."
"Recruitment?"
Oboro nods. "Into the famiglia.
"The Earth's population is ten point two billion. Even with All Might, mafia population is four hundred and seventeen thousand." To Tsuna's dropped jaw, Oboro reconfirms, "And every year it increases. A third of the Italian population is connected to mafia circles. It's a lucrative industry, and where there is opportunity, there's growth."
Tsuna splutters. "But that's too many people!" Four hundred thousand mafia members? Of ten billion people! Fuuta ranked eighty-six thousand last time!
There weren't seven billion people yet last time he checked!
Oboro shrugs. "That's for the Vindice to handle.
"Listen, otouto, the Neo Vongola is richer than the ocean, but much cheaper too. Few are satisfied to stay in a mafia like us. It's too... static. So the active recruitment is necessary. I was actively recruited, and without Neo Vongola, I would've died.
"But the people who leave usually move on to another famiglia like the Cavallone or the Shimon: Vongola allies." Oboro sends Tsuna a pleading look he doesn't understand. "You understand, right?"
No. Not at all.
"Don't worry. We're still considered the number one mafia famiglia," Oboro quickly reassures.
Tsuna is not worried about that.
At.
All.
He wishes the Vongola was no longer a mafia famiglia so it wouldn't be his problem.
Oboro must see some acceptance in his face, for he continues more relaxed now, "Pogo is the only one who doesn't belong to any of that. There's only Pogo in the main branch: the stereotypical Neo Vongola. For decades, he claimed he works only beneath you. It mostly means he fixed up this place and kept unwanted people out. He did a good job, didn't he?"
Tsuna looks around, his renewed appreciation overshadowed by sadness. "Yeah."
Oboro smiles. "He'll be glad to hear that. That's his pride, right? He looks grumpy all the time, but this is the happiest he's ever been."
Tsuna looks away. "Has he been living here alone this whole time?"
Oboro shrugs. "Yes, but nobody forced him. He could've left at any time. Look at it this way: he had you for company."
Tsuna was inside a flame barrier, ignorant of everything outside it. What kind of company was that?
Pogo looked dangerous, with his severe expression and his animal features, but he's also been extremely kind and attentive to Tsuna. He didn't have to. He wasn't asked to take Tsuna in, though neither Skull nor Oboro expected differently. Pogo simply met Tsuna at the door, whether that be to wish Tsuna off or to take Tsuna in.
Tsuna never had to do anything. Pogo was just there.
In a way, Tsuna's very lucky to have someone looking after him. He's lost everything, but he isn't alone.
There's comfort in that.
..
..
It is later that night when he felt it.
As if a switch flicks, illuminating a single truth inside a room of his mind:
Someone's coming to visit him.
He immediately slipped, landing on his naked butt with a crash, water spraying directly into his face. Tsuna spluttered, flayed, and could have sworn he almost drowned in that shower. With frantic slapping, Tsuna turns the water off, shampoo dripping off his hair into his eyes, stinging them fiercely—But that didn't matter! He snatched his towel and wiped himself quickly down, stickiness or no. By the time Tsuna stepped back out into his bedroom, prepped and clothed, barely fifteen seconds since that first warning from his Hyper Intuition, his Vongola Gears has changed form into blood red gloves, it's metallic weight a comfort to Tsuna.
Only… There's nobody waiting for him.
Only Oboro registers in the sphere of his new flame awareness.
Tsuna tried to expand his new awareness further—his current range being the Vongola Castle—but found it incredibly unhelpful. There are more flame signatures, a lot of them, but without context the most Tsuna could do would be to count them, and most of them are just minding their own business.
To top it off, it doesn't feel like danger incoming. Just…
A late night visitor. Tsuna glances at the clock. Correction: Early morning visitor.
Natsu deflates like a balloon with a tired "mao." Tsuna sighs, coming over to scratch him under the chin. Then heads back into the bathroom for a quick washing up. If Tsuna didn't have to be uncomfortable with his improperly buttoned clothes and tacky hair, he wouldn't be.
Who is visiting at this time?
Who would know to visit?
And why? Tsuna whines to himself.
As he hurries through his absolutions, he debated heavily between waking or letting Oboro keep sleeping. His flames beat in Tsuna's awareness, stable and slow, and Tsuna knew that meant he's already fallen asleep. Pogo was still away at work (which has gone for a long time), but apparently Oboro says that's normal. So technically, Tsuna's only backup is Oboro. But… Tsuna didn't want to be a bother…
This visitor doesn't feel malicious.
And surely Tsuna would know, right?
Reborn said to listen to his Hyper Intuition.
So, Tsuna guesses, that settles it.
Besides, if he needed to, it'll be pretty easy to wake Oboro. His friends always came at the sounds of battle.
Tsuna sits down to wait, choosing a chair just opposite of the open balcony (which he opened). Nono's master bedroom is huge, with a king-sized bed, two bedside drawers, multiple decorative sculptures/vases, and multiple empty cupboards. Despite that, there's plenty of floor space. He waits for so long, Natsu purring in his lap, that his eyelids weigh heavier with each second and inevitably he drifts off.
Only to startle awake some time later, with his visitors almost upon him.
Tsuna shakes the last vestiges of sleep away, sitting up. Natsu too straightens in his lap, eyes serious. Clenching the fist, Tsuna takes comfort in the familiar weight of his Vongola Gear upon his fingers. Barring the time Oboro implored him to leave all his mafia artifacts behind, in his thrown away chance to run away, Tsuna never takes it off, not even to sleep. A habit he's picked up after Yamamoto's attack and leading up to the fake Inheritance Ceremony.
It's an eternity, but with newfound patience, Tsuna waits.
It becomes clear who he's waiting for the moment long pink hair on two lithe figures alight swiftly upon the balcony. Tsuna unclenches his fist to run down Natsu's back, meeting their surprised gazes straight on. The women enter his bedroom, past large windows and drawn back curtains before stopping illuminated both by his standing lamp and the light of the moon. They still wear blank eye masks and complementary clothes in black and white; this time styled suits. It's a blast from the past, and some intellectual part of Tsuna settles at knowing who is before him, long after some instinctual part of Tsuna has calmed.
"Cervello."
They smile and bow, which Tsuna doesn't need.
"Good evening, Tsunayoshi-sama."
"I was under the impression that only three people knew I'm currently walking around," he says, more exasperated than searching for answers.
Couldn't they call? At a reasonable hour?
This can't be an emergency. They would've hurried if it was truly that. It's not Tsuna's experience for the mafia to take their time in those kind of matters.
"We have our ways," the first one says enigmatically, with tight wavy hair paired with a blazing white suit.
The Cervello is a mysterious figure to Tsuna, arriving only to meditate mafia matters, from internal Vongola matters on the inheritance of the half Vongola rings, to inter-famiglia matters on the possession of two-thirds of the Tri-ni-sette. They truly weren't fighters but mouthpieces.
It's a reflection on how Reborn has corrupted Tsuna that Tsuna considered that a matter of worry at all.
"Why are you here?"
The woman in black and straight hair steps forward. "For this."
From within her jacket, she pulls out a ring box, holding it out with two hands.
The sight of it immediately raises all the hairs from his wrist to elbow, pinging his hyper intuition on its way up. Tsuna's eyes narrow, and Natsu's ears flicker up, head lifting with gravity. He won't like this, and no wonder. Nothing good ever came with rings.
But despite his unease, Tsuna lets them lift the lid.
There six rings sit in rows of two, framed by metal wings, in all the shades of the rainbow except orange. It shines tauntingly in the moonlight. Technically, Tsuna's never seen them with such focus, but it's not an artefact he could forget. No matter if he saw it half a year or three hundred years ago.
"The Mare rings…" he breathes.
"These are yours now, to use as you will."
Tsuna's eyes snap up, voice hard. "Uni sealed them. They can't be used."
Their expressions didn't falter.
"That is what Uni of Giglio Nero said, and that is the truth most know. Unbeknownst to everyone else, she could only seal the Sky Mare ring from being reused by Byakuran. It is not within her power to seal them away permanently, nor would she have chosen to. The first Sky Mare ring holder might have been ill chosen, but eventually there will be another. A better choice. The Sky Mare ring will be kept safe until then."
To Tsuna's horror, they offer him the rings reverently.
"The rest of the set is performing optimally and is a great boon for any famiglia. It was the privilege of the Giglio Nero to safeguard these rings, but her line has ended. A new line will be chosen: the one most capable of passing them on."
Oh no. No, no no no.
This is going nowhere good.
Tsuna shuts the case decisively, pushing it away. "I don't want it."
In this light, their otherwise pink hair is more silver than colour. Their faces shadowed and enigmatic.
"We are merely messengers, Tsunayoshi-sama."
Tsuna's face hardens. Too fucking bad, they mean.
With their piece said, they place the box on the dresser to leave the way they came in, with Tsuna helpless to stop them.
One hand on the balcony railing, one turns back slightly.
"Welcome back, Neo Vongola Primo."
With that, they jump off, gone from sight.
...
...
1. I don't subscribe to Harmonization theory. It bores me. Tsuna is grieving, but he's not grieving magic bonds
2. I wanted to keep the numbers low but apparently ReDestro's army was 100k.
3. Its hard balancing grief & Tsuna's uncanny ability to bounce back from anything. 13yo friendless loser Tsuna was so damn resilient. (Izuku: 'I want to be great!' | Tsuna: 'I wanna do nothing&skate by in life') If Izuku replaced Tsuna, Reborn would succeed in breaking him down to a perfect mafia boss. He would probs be Dino 2.0. If Tsuna replaced Izuku tho (& is quirkless), he would just shrug it off. He has 0 ambition. He would save his bully, aggressively reject OFA, & AM would then infiltrate the Sawada residence. UA would send a scholarship & Nana would accept it for him (the horror). He would accept OFA to defeat AFO (obvi in a moment to save his friends), & then retire from heroism. It's not his job to be the Symbol of Peace. He doesn't want it!
3. We'll speedrun these connections. I don't have patience. Aniki was going to come later, but there is no subtlety in khr mafia. Tsuna accepting aniki is like Nana telling everyone to call her mama. Tsuna is building a new fam. He knows it
4. Will Verde's AI be Jarvis? Dunno. Tsuna isn't savvy enough to take a picture & have it be translated. It sounds like mist flames
5. HC: Tsuna's hyper intution is a mutation. It changes like height changes. It never switches off, and only gets stronger when exposed to danger. Tsuna's been in a lot of danger…
6. How do the Vindice work? Who is their information specialist?
7. You: UA? | Me: We going to Japan, but when... Not much Izuku. He's vanilla & very hero. khr mafia would break him with peer pressure. It's so interesting how surface-level similar but fundamentally diff TsunaIzuku are. They will be clash eventually. Tsuna will clash with everyone eventually. He's very opiniated
8. I am taken by the HC that Cervello works under Kawahira to protect Trinisette balance.