"Tsuna-chan, wake up!"
Tsuna jolts awake, nearly summoning her Flames, when she realizes a moment later it's just Kana and there is no danger.
She falls back onto the bed with a groan. "Kana-chan, next time give warning, okay? I thought we were in trouble or something."
"Sorry," her cousin apologizes with a giggle. "I didn't think you would react this fast. Before, you would have continued to sleep."
"Remember the tutor I mentioned? He has very effective ways to wake you up whether you want to or not to make sure you don't miss his lessons."
"Sounds harsh," Kana comments with worry.
"You have no idea," Tsuna says with a wry grin. "But it turns out it was exactly what I needed to stop being clumsy and insecure," she doesn't use her old nickname - Kana-chan never liked when she or anyone else called her it. She changes the topic. "Anyway, why did you wake me up?'"
Kana looks relieved by the change of subject, away from imagining the ways Tsu-chan's tutor woke her up every morning. "I woke you up because we are going shopping!"
"Shopping?" Tsuna repeats. She considers the idea before nodding in agreement. "Sounds good. Maybe I find something for everyone in Namimori as a souvenir."
"Then get dressed. I'll be waiting for you downstairs, and after breakfast, we will meet with Maki-chan and Natsumi-chan."
And Kana leaves the room, making Tsuna smile.
She really missed her cousin and her energy when it came to their time together. And it seemed Kana didn't change much. Tsuna's grateful for it.
At least something stayed the same in her chaos-filled life.
As Kana said, after breakfast, the two of them meet with Maki and Natsumi. To their surprise, Rikuo and Tsurara are there too.
"Rikuo-kun? Oikawa-san?" Kana voices hers and Tsuna's surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"We have met Maki-chan and Natsumi-chan on their way here," Rikuo explains," and I decided to help in case there are too many bags for you to carry."
"Are sure it's fine, Rikuo-kun?" Tsuna asks. "We don't want to trouble you."
"It really is no trouble," Rikuo assures her with a bright grin. "I would love to help."
Tsuna returns the gesture. "If you are sure."
And the six of them go to the shopping district.
The shopping turned out to be really fun. Tsuna buys gifts for every one of her friends in Namimori and her mother, Reborn, and kids as well and even buys la couple of dresses and skirts at the girls' insistence. Because, to quote Saori," She can't dress in hoodies, jeans, and sneakers all the time, like a boy".
After that, they finish shopping and decide to grab a bite at the nearest cafe. They quickly find one and order the food.
"Ne, Tsu-chan?" Rikuo calls as all of them eat some time later.
"Hm?" Tsuna looks at him in askance.
"What do you say to the walk?"
Before Tsuna can reply, Tsurara jumps in:
"I'll go with the two of you."
But Rikuo shakes his head at the suggestion:
"There's no need, we will be fine on our own."
"But..!"
"Tsurara," Rikuo says more firmly as he narrows his eyes at the girl.
Tsurara stops protesting. Tsuna sees the sour face the other girl makes at the rejection, and something flashes in her eyes, but it's gone before anyone else can notice.
Decimo wonders if she's jealous.
"So, what do you say, Tsu?" Rikuo's repeated question interrupts her musings, and she looks at her childhood friend.
"I would love to take a walk with you," she agrees, then glances at the girls. "Is that okay with you?"
"Of course," Kana nods.
"Have fun!" Maki and Natsumi wish in unison, while Tsurara mumbles something under her breath that is hard to make out.
The pair says goodbye in return and goes on their merry way.
"Sorry about Tsurara," Rikuo apologizes. "She can be overprotective sometimes."
"It's fine, I understand. My friends are the same way," Tsuna says.
"The ones you told me about when Kiyotsugu-kun led us on a yokai search?"
"The very same," the brunette nods. "They are very overprotective, the guys especially. They are crazy, but I love them all."
Rikuo can hear warmth and love in Tsuna's voice as she talks about her friends, and he can't help but wonder if there's something more between Tsuna and one of her male friends, Gokudera, for example. From the way she spoke about him, it sounded like Gokudera worshipped the ground Tsuna walked upon. Did Tsuna return his feelings?
A jealously moves in his chest like an irritated beast. To hide it, he says in a joking tone:
"You have many friends now. I feel so jealous! Have you forgotten about little old me? Oh, the betrayal!"
Tsuna laughs at her friend's theatrics. Since when did he get a taste for such jokes?
"Don't worry," she replies in the same joking tone as she ruffles his hair. "You're still my favorite."
Rikuo tries not to melt in a puddle as Tsuna's somewhat calloused fingers play with his hair and feels his inner yokai preen at being called favorite as he says, "I would hope so."
Then he proceeds to change the topic by saying:
"So, I saw that you bought some children's books. Who are they for?"
"For my siblings," Tsuna says. At Rikuo's confused look, she elaborates, "We're not related by blood, but we consider each other family anyway. They had nowhere to go, so Mom took them in."
"Sounds like Nana-san," Rikuo says with a nod. "She's always loved to care for kids. She must be happy."
"She is," Tsuna's lips press into a line. "At least her mind is kept off Dad with them around," she adds bitterly.
"He's still working abroad?" Rikuo asks.
Tsuna nods grimly. He squeezes her shoulder in support in reply while frowning himself.
He never understood Tsuna's dad. What kind of work takes you away from your family for nearly all of a year? Definitely not that of a construction worker. His own dad was a yakuza, busy with paperwork and such, but he always found time for him and mom.
Unlike Tsuna's dad.
Rikuo never liked his friend's dad either. There was something false about Iemitsu-san. Like he wore a mask around his loved ones.
Not to mention his constant absence hurt Nana-san and Tsu-chan.
Hating seeing her so upset, he looks around for a way to cheer her up. He notices an ice cream vendor, and brightens, having an idea.
"Hey, would you like an ice cream?" he asks.
"Yeah."
"Then wait here," Rikuo says, going to the vendor. He returns a couple of minutes later, holding two ice creams. He hands one of them to Tsuna.
"You still love the chocolate flavor, right?"
"I do!" she replies, eyes sparkling, and takes the offered cold treat. "Thank you, Rikuo-kun!"
Rikuo smiles, happy he was able to cheer her up, and they continue with their walk, laughing, joking, and eating ice cream.
"Thank you, Rikuo-kun," Tsuna says as they approach Ienaga Household. "I had fun today."
"I'm glad. Oh!" Rikuo perks up. "I almost forgot," he says, going through his pockets before taking out a charm. "Here."
Tsuna takes it. It was a charm made in the form of Simba from Lion King.
"I don't know why, but when I saw this charm, I thought about you," Rikuo explains sheepishly. "I probably sound silly."
"No, not at all!" Tsuna assures him. Then, quick as lightning, she kisses him on the cheek. "It's a very nice gift. Thank you."
"Y-you're welcome," Rikuo says, stuttering a bit, face hot. He couldn't believe Tsuna kissed him. On the cheek, mind you, but his heart still beat like crazy. "I need to go. See you, Tsu!"
"See you," Tsuna says. She watches him go until he is out of sight as her mind replays the kiss, cheeks painted red.
"Can't believe I did that," she mutters to herself, then goes inside.
Her lips continue to tingle until the evening to Giotto and Daniela's amusement.
Traitors, the two of them.
She examines the charm - oh, if only Rikuo knew the Vongola's connection to lions, he would have found his choice of the gift funny, - when Yoru makes his appearance known.
"Knock, knock," he says as he jumps into the room. "Your night friend had arrived, Princess."
"Hi, Yoru-kun."
Rikuo notices her dreamy expression as she holds his gift, and can't help, but say:
"Oh, a gift from an admirer~?"
Tsuna blushes at the remark to his delight.
"He's not an admirer," she grumbles as Yoru snickers behind his hand.
"Whatever you say, Tsuna~"
She rolls her eyes, suddenly reminded of Mukuro. If he were here, he certainly wouldn't have passed the chance to have fun at her expense.
Like Yoru-kun is doing right now.
"Are all yokai this annoying, or it's just you?" she wonders.
He gives her a wink, just like the night before. "Yep, I'm a special case."
"Or you're just shameless, given you sneak in the girl's room in the middle of the night."
The young ayakashi just laughs in reply to that. "Well, you got me there. "
They continue to bicker playfully until Yoru suddenly calls:
"Hey, Tsuna?"
"What, Yoru-kun?"
"Would you mind showing me your Flames? It's okay if you don't want to I'm just curious."
Tsuna considers the idea. She listens to her Intuition - it's silent, meaning she can trust Yoru with her Flames. She nods in agreement:
"Okay, I'll show you."
Rikuo waits patiently. He watches as Tsuna takes a deep breath and a small ball of Flames comes to life on her palm a moment later.
"Wow," he breathes out in amazement.
Tsuna gives him a shy smile. "You can touch it if you want," she says, "It won't burn."
Rikuo does. True to Tsuna's word, her Flame doesn't burn as he touches it. Quite the opposite, it's warm and brings Rikuo a sense of home, of belonging.
It makes him think of the big blue sky, full of acceptance and love.
It makes him think of Tsuna who symbolizes all these things.
Rikuo wonders if it's possible to fall in love more with someone, because of one special moment.
It's possible because he is experiencing this right now.
Suddenly, as if reacting to his feelings, his Fear came out, causing both of them to gasp.
"Stand back!" He shouts, afraid his Fear would hurt her.
What the hell is going on?! His Fear never acted this way before!
But instead of hurting Tsuna, his Fear reached toward her Flames - they did the same - and two powers interlaced together, creating a harmony.
Rikuo and Tsuna watch it in amazement before it all fades, both Fear and Flames.
For a while, they don't utter a word. Just look into each other's eyes as if seeing a new side to one another they haven't seen before.
Rikuo is the first to break the silence. "I need to go," he says softly. "Thank you for showing your Flames to me."
"Same goes for you, "Tsuna replies in kind. "Even if it wasn't intentional."
"Yeah," he says, smiling gently. Both of them feel that something changed between them, that they became closer after tonight. "Night, Princess."
"Night, Yoru-kun."
Rikuo smirks and disappears into the dark.
As he jumps across the rooftops, he feels happy at having spent time with Tsuna, and takes a piece of Sky home that night.