Several days later, the friends still couldn't help but be amazed that Tsuna had even collapsed on the couch and fallen asleep so immediately. It wasn't just that he had fallen asleep—he had seemed more asleep than awake on the way home. The tired look on his face wasn't the only clear sign; hearing him slur his words, the few he spoke, was another. No, none of that was what truly surprised them. The day had been hard, but who knew the amount of pressure that had been placed on him? It was more than clear that almost anything he did in the school play was going to be questioned and criticized. They felt foolish. At first, they hadn't noticed, but after a few days of witnessing this, it was the final straw.
It was almost, if not completely, ridiculous. They were never once told anything, let alone shouted at or complained to. Even being Tsuna's best friends, they couldn't do much about it without causing a stir and unintentionally calling Hibari. Though Tsuna seemed to be taking it as normal and not worth his time, he would just disappear to who knows where during rehearsals. That didn't fix anything; in fact, it probably made things worse. Now that they thought about it, Tsuna had already been an outcast from every point of view, at least in the classroom, and for a long time. It was an unfortunate reality that not many knew where to look. They were living proof of it—they had seen the wonders of the outcast everyone knew as "Dame-Tsuna" at the most opportune moments.
However, they were sure that almost everyone had an opportunity like the one they had, but they were simply too foolish or arrogant to see beyond the surface. If it weren't for Tsuna, many of them would be dead, and so would they. No matter how much they wanted to deny the harsh truth, it would always be there, intact and steadfast. It might sound silly, but Tsuna was a boy with the power to fix everything with a simple smile, help with a word of encouragement, and save whoever was in trouble by giving his own life. He was the best person they had ever met, or rather, the most self-sacrificing.
Yet... he was becoming more and more incomprehensible and distant. It was as if what they knew about him was little, and at the same time, nothing. It scared them. They didn't want to lose his friendship, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with his changing pace. Not even his mother, the only person who had known him all his life, understood him. And that was precisely what scared them the most. The surprise they had was perfect proof of that: it was the first time Tsuna had slept anywhere other than his bed or his room, and it was also the first time he had left everything in their hands. As cruel as it sounded, they couldn't understand when they had earned so much trust that he would leave them completely alone in a situation where they didn't know all the details. That didn't mean it was a bad surprise at all; it was just very strange and surprising, given what they had expected. It's safe to say their expectations were exceeded before they were even formulated.
The explanation, on the other hand, was not very surprising or difficult to make. They only had to point to Tsuna and then to their briefcases for the others to understand what had happened. It wasn't a big deal, really, but the others were just as surprised as they were. It was not at all common for Tsuna to collapse almost anywhere to sleep, and even less so without saying anything, in addition to everything they had expressed before. The action itself was more than strange; "unusual" was the best word for it. Tsuna had changed far beyond what they had initially imagined. Even Reborn was a little worried. What had happened to make him close in on himself so deeply? And... would it be a good or bad thing? However, that remains to be seen, whether they wanted it or not.
But they couldn't forget that, for the first time that week, the house was completely silent. It was a practice that was becoming commonplace. Without Tsuna, everything seemed to crumble into pieces that fell like glass, cracking into many more pieces. In a way, he was the nucleus and the central pillar of the whole family. If he fell or something happened to him... they didn't want to think about it. But it was the truth, a very close truth if they continued like this, without being able to understand what was going on behind his eyes, what he was hiding from them, and most importantly... what he protected so strongly in his heart. Everyone already knew, in some way, what was happening. Some thought of possible hypotheses of what would happen if they didn't do something in time, and others thought about what to do to help their boss and friend. It was a great challenge they had in their hands.
Back at the Sawada Home
"...I should miss school today. It's pure rehearsal," Tsuna muttered to himself with an unfriendly face. He was too annoyed, and his patience was at a critical state.
"I mean, it wasn't me!" He heard Reborn say out loud in a dark, angry voice. Tsuna looked at him curiously. Apparently, his tutor was in a heated argument... once again.
With a shrug, because he still didn't know what was happening and it was getting worse, he took a piece of toast and sat in front of the television to see if the penguins of Madagascar were on. As he flipped through the channels, he wondered if Reborn had gotten a girlfriend or a lover and was arguing with her on the phone all this time. Bianchi would be heartbroken if she found out. But none of that was his problem, even though he was really curious.
"But Skipper, look, he's so cute!"
Tsuna let go of the remote and settled on the couch, his eyes sparkling and smiling with amusement when he saw the penguins' faces, especially Skipper's, regarding the cute duckling in their secret lair. He didn't bother to stay silent. Reborn was bothering him with his not-so-peaceful chat with who knows who, so... why should he respect the conversation if Reborn wasn't respecting what he was doing? He wanted to watch the show in peace, and he wanted to enjoy it to the fullest while it lasted (half an hour if he was lucky, counting the irritating commercials).
Reborn, on the other hand, was ready to make them eat bullets. He never lied! (Unless he had something in mind or to get something, but never for something so small.) So why did they keep accusing him? Many mobsters could blow up half a park if they wanted to. Besides, what he destroyed or sent flying was with bullets, not punches, for God's sake! Apparently, he had become very famous... for destroying parks, buildings, whatever, as long as no one was there. Every time he was very upset, it had been a very bad idea... or maybe not. What else could he do? He had to destroy or make someone suffer; it was written in his genes.
Sadly, the people on the other end of the phone line either hadn't noticed or were ignoring that little detail. Reborn was a respectable man, but considering that the only person who had caused disasters for no apparent reason in Namimori was him... it was a bit difficult not to point the finger at him. The laughter in the background didn't help the situation, first because Reborn was so upset he was about to commit murder, and second because the tutor was getting questions about who was laughing and why, not to mention the mockery and ridiculous questions involved. For Arcobalenos, they undoubtedly had a highly dangerous friendly relationship, and apparently they were immune to the danger that was their Sun companion. And it wasn't just them; even Iemitsu was there with Cervello. Only Nono and Vendicare were missing from the party.
"Will you shut up, Dame-Tsuna?!" he claimed, with huge killing intent. Any normal person or mobster who wasn't super powerful would have wet their pants.
"I'm sorry, but no. There are still 10 minutes left." Tsuna was not the case; he dismissed the danger as if it were just an insignificant insect. Once he was at his wit's end, Reborn ended the call and had Leon transform into a gun. Maybe he couldn't kill his useless student, but he would certainly teach him to take him seriously with sweat, and a lot of blood and tears.
Tsuna stopped laughing when he heard a crack. Everything was completely silent. Tsuna stared at the smoking remains of the television, which had countless holes from gunshots, numerous shots he didn't bother to count.
"You'd better take me seriously, Dame-Tsuna..." Saying this, Leon transformed into a stun gun. Tsuna didn't say anything, nor did he move... but he was trembling, and that made Reborn smile sadistically. Fear, that's what his useless student must have felt before him-
"...How dare you?" Tsuna muttered more to himself than to his tutor. "I wasn't doing anything to you..." he continued, a furious aura making its slow but quick appearance. "...if you wanted privacy or whatever you could have gone somewhere else..." At this point, the aura was huge, much more so than Reborn's. It was much darker and more sinister, dripping with deep rage. It was an aura that screamed: "Run if you want to live." "...BIG IMBECILE!"
Reborn didn't have time to analyze the aura or feel it fully, but if he had, it would have taken a lot of self-control not to shake or run out of there as quickly as possible. It was a bloodthirsty aura, full of rage, sinister and very dark, of great intensity. Anyone would be intimidated by it, and the vast majority of people would leave the area like a soul possessed by a devil or faint because of how strong and intense it was. For a boy of only 14 years old, that aura was practically that of a demon. No one so young should be able to create such an aura, but Reborn didn't have time to think about it. He could only think: how the hell could someone get so angry about a simple TV and how to calm his student down before... Ugh, forget it, too late. A few hours later...
The Aftermath
"Happy?" Reborn asked, bitter, exhausted, and wondering if his student had become bipolar. Although he was sure of one thing...
"Yes." Tsuna replied simply, still annoyed with Reborn for making him lose something he enjoyed. Although he had to admit, the movie was good. He loved Toothless; he was a beautiful and powerful dragon, tender and comical. "Even though you still owe me for making me lose the penguins..." Reborn ignored the intimidating tone.
"You shouldn't even be-"
"I wouldn't be if you hadn't gotten into the stupid fair. Do you know what it's like to work with fools who step on you all the time and be doing something so boring?" Tsuna snorted before laughing at how Toothless gave Hippo a new hairstyle. "No, although you do know what it's like to work with idiots."
"...Whatever you say..." He gave up. He didn't want another fight; it was a challenge to keep up with him. He had to buy him a new one, for God's sake. What happened to his Dame-student? That style of combat... Reborn sighed internally. In the basics, it was the same style as always, only much more advanced... and very, very fast. He would have won, yes, but only if he had gone with the intention of killing, even if Tsuna had only wanted to beat him up for destroying his source of entertainment. Right~
"I don't care." Tsuna clarified when he saw the inquisitive look of his tutor. "I think I screwed up... but I couldn't control myself. Little patience and they ruin something I like... fatal combination..."
"I know who the culprit is." Reborn cut him off in a slash. He was in no mood to be blamed, especially after an intense battle in which he had to negotiate so that there were no broken bones. "Bring Cervello; an almost entire neighborhood needs to be repaired." The other line fell silent.
"Who was the culprit then, kora?" Curiosity would kill the cat.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi." Tsuna just looked at him in confusion before returning to the movie... and laughing at Hippo's sarcasm.
"...You must be kidding..." another voice spoke. "...It is almost scientifically impossible. If they called us all, it's because it had to do with the-"
"Tsuna, did you blow up half the park a few days ago?" the poor Arcobaleno asked, almost fuming and almost throwing the phone at Tsuna. There are definitely too many fools in this world...
"Hello~" he sang, but inside he just laughed. Today was not Reborn's day, apparently. "Yes, it was me. I had to get even with something, and since there is almost no one at that time due to the sun..."
"Y-you..." Tsuna didn't let him finish.
"And since at least someone must be watching me because I am the last heir available..." Tsuna could see the gears turning in their heads. He knew that there were several people on the other end of the line. "and I don't mean my guardians or Reborn; that would be very awkward already. I like my privacy, you know?" To kill several birds with one stone. "Also, I don't know who cleans up messes, but they should fix my house before my mother returns, don't you think?" With that, he returned the phone to Reborn, who only slammed it shut. They ended the call.
"Did you put it on pause?"
"Yes, it's going to end anyway. Rise of the Guardians?" he asked, referring to the next movie.
"How about SAW, or Jaws?" Anything that has blood or that scares him enough to be a punishment...
"Just one movie and you're tired of DreamWorks..." Tsuna complained before pressing play. "Macabre Game, the whole Saga, or maybe we could play Slenderman or Silent Hill- "
Mentally, Reborn sighed and decided to just sleep. He'll manage on his own... then he would make him suffer in his training. Tsuna smiled greatly as he saw the mucus bubble appear on his tutor's face. He looked at Leon, and stroking his head in a friendly manner, said:
"Do you want to go out with me for a while? I'm hungry and a sweet wouldn't hurt." León looked at him for a while before accepting the offer.
"Juudaime!" Yamamoto and Kyoko grimaced. What a volume that was; the neighbors must all be awake now.
"Ma Ma, maybe he just fell asleep or didn't want to go..." Actually, no one blamed him for that. He didn't need to rehearse, and apparently, he didn't even need to study. It gave the impression that he already knew almost everything they were taught in class.
"We don't know that, idiots!" Whether they knew it or not, they did nothing by making a fuss... that, and they were already there. Thank God Hibari didn't bite them to death for running away from class...
Everything looked normal before they opened the door, but when they did, it was like entering another world. To put it nicely and sweetly: everything was reduced to ashes and debris! It was as if a tornado followed by a stampede and then a fire had passed through and had a party. The stairs were gone; there was no second floor, apparently. The kitchen and dining room were unrecognizable, and the rest was not even a shadow of what they should be. They slowly entered the war zone, still unable to believe what they were seeing; it was too unrealistic. Or at least it was until they noticed something out of place: Reborn asleep on what was left of a sofa that had lived better days, in front of an open laptop that was turned off. Whatever had happened in that place, it was obviously nothing bad-good, just bad for the poor house that surely had no fault of anything.
"Hi, hey, sorry to wake you up but, what happened here, and Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked before Gokudera could react and scream at him for trying to wake someone as dangerous and important as Reborn in such an indecent way without realizing that his screams would do exactly what he just said. The bubble burst, and Reborn gave them a slightly annoyed look before simply saying:
"Never destroy or change your boss's source of entertainment..." He fixed his hat. "He becomes a beast and you surely will not come out unscathed. The house is the proof." Although in reality, most of the destruction was his fault, even if Tsuna was the one who had destroyed the house piece by piece... "He must have been bored and left." He dismissed it as if nothing had happened.
"Ma Ma, he's also been very irritable lately with rehearsals..." Reborn raised an eyebrow. Irritable?
An Unexpected Confession
In a nearby candy store, both Tsuna and Leon were having an amazing time. Who knew that ice cream and chocolate would be so good for making friends? "Nono will bother me, but as his heir, I can use certain privileges, can't he?" Tsuna thought, almost irritably, about the last part. No matter how many years passed, he wasn't able to have a good relationship with him. Reborn was more of a father to him than his own father. Of course, it didn't help that Iemitsu was more devoted to the Vongola family than to his wife and son, and then there was his dear and beautiful wife... Yes, Tsuna harbored a certain anger toward his father, because in a way, everything happened thanks to him, both for good and for bad. And then it was a formal treaty between them. He couldn't hate him; he was a good man and took care of them, in his own way, but that didn't mean he was happy with him.
"Shall we try tiramisu now, León?" They had already finished a small glass of chocolate ice cream, and they could still continue; there was a lot to try.
The green chameleon nodded, swallowing the last piece of chocolate. With a gesture, Tsuna indicated the next order, and they only had to wait a few minutes. Surprisingly, people stopped looking at them and asking questions about 20 minutes after they arrived, deciding not to mess with either of them. It was better not to get involved in weird things. Taking advantage of the calm and peace of not being the center of attention and the excuse that the tiramisu had not yet arrived, Leon decided to ask once and for all something that had been bothering him for a while.
"Hey?" Sadly, Tsuna didn't speak chameleon, so he transformed into gloves for a few brief seconds and then stared at him. "Oh..." Tsuna wasn't going to tell him that the look was a bit uncomfortable... especially since he didn't blink. "Well... I'll only tell you, okay? Don't tell Reborn." Leon nodded.
"I know it will sound weird, but the reason I'm not using them is because I forget them." Tsuna tried not to look at anyone as he said that. "It's not that I don't like them; I love them anyway." Then why the hell do you forget them? Leon wondered, almost crying. He didn't know if it was anger or sadness or both. "Excuse me, Leon... I've spent years without using anything in my fights. Nothing... I couldn't, and it's hard to remember that I can now." What? "I am not the Tsuna of this time; that is the reason..." he muttered softly. "I'll be here for a while, so forgive me for forgetting something so important... Don't blame my self for this time, please; it's not his fault." However, Leon puffed up his cheeks. Couldn't he? Future or not, he had to fix that. "Hey, Leon, that tickles..." His complaints were ignored.
When Reborn and the boys found Tsuna a few hours later, they found him coming out of a candy store, holding a bright, fat Leon in his arms. Reborn only smiled inwardly. At least he knew that Leon was in good hands and under his consent, and that he would give Tsuna something later. On the other hand, who the hell gave them permission to go out and with what money? Oh boy, he was going to take it out on Tsuna later...
"I didn't know you had a sweet tooth, Tsuna..." Yamamoto commented, watching Tsuna finish off a candy he didn't recognize. At the voice, Tsuna looked at them, realizing he had company.
"Good morning, guys. What are you doing here? Are the rehearsals over yet?" Before they could answer, he continued: "Or did they run away and Hibari didn't bite them to death, just because they realized he wasn't there?" He said the latter almost laughing. Reborn only sighed internally before kicking him, knocking the air out of him and staggering him, just because of Leon. However, Reborn wondered why he allowed himself to be beaten. Thanks to this morning's fight, it was obvious that he had very good reflexes... too good, he added with slight irritation.
"Juudaime!" The right hand tried to help his boss, but it was unnecessary. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Gokudera-kun..." "Great, what a great way to act after eating... if I vomit, I will do it on someone's shoes." "Have they fixed the house yet?" he asked just to divert attention. It was too early for this, in his opinion.
"They're working on it, Dame-Tsuna." And when you're done... "You'll have visitors later-"
"And we're supposed to be in the mafia? I'm the last of the available heirs of one of the most powerful families in the world..." Tsuna sang, almost sarcastically. Leon only laughed, knowing all the implications. Even if Tsuna hadn't said it, it was too obvious to Leon that he was the Tenth Vongola in his time, and as such, he knew a few tricks and wouldn't take well to being scolded at this point in his life. "...and I'm not allowed to get into mischief? How cool!"
Reborn only took his words to analyze later, while the others only looked at him in surprise. What happened to the part where he didn't want to be the Tenth, didn't want to have anything to do with the mafia, and his desire for a normal life?
"I see you've accepted your position..." Less work for him.
"What else do I have left? You and the rest of Vongola will leave me alone about it, even if I have my father as a possible successor."
"Your father does not meet the necessary requirements." The ring doesn't accept him anymore, Reborn thought grimly.
"That doesn't interest me." He coldly cut off that line of dialogue but didn't give them time to analyze the sentence well. "The point is, you can't expect me to be cute, holy, and obedient all the time, especially having the best hitman in the world as my tutor." Tsuna earned a few fewer torture points for this. "Chaos, that would be asking for a miracle. I have something to learn from someone as incredible as my tutor, incredible and sadistic." This time, Tsuna didn't win much, but Reborn certainly wouldn't be ready to rip his skin off for the rest of the week.
"Eh..." What could they say here? For some reason, they were only afraid of what was said. They couldn't imagine a sadistic Tsuna or him doing something like Reborn, not without saying: "how cute" or "hell, this is going to hurt."
"You can come down from the roof, Colonello. You already have your answer, so I don't want a visit later. I don't want to fight twice today." "It would be a lot of fun, but this body is not used to so much, so it's better to take it easy. I already have Reborn very suspicious; I don't need to be the center of attention of one of the most respected and strong groups out there..." he thought sadly. "That will only make things a lot more complicated, and I... I just want to be here for a while, like Tsunayoshi-sama..."
"Kora." He greeted, jumping on Tsuna's head, who managed to somehow not cry or scream, jumping at least two meters high. But it was clear that it hurt; his eyes were glazed, ready to shed tears, and his mouth tightened. Internally, Reborn thanked Colonello, but at the same time, he was curious... with the flexibility he showed just a few hours ago, dodging Colonello must have been a baby's game (not for children, for ordinary babies). "Maybe the others want to see you, but it will be in a few weeks, kora."
"I figured. Find a good place to play because I don't want Hibari-san biting me to death from any disaster, okay?" "He's going to want to bite me more than usual after Monday... Oh, great!"
"We don't- Of course." He corrected himself when he saw Reborn's malicious face, who almost pouted at the change. Colonello mentally wondered what the hell that face was due to... But despite his great curiosity, he knew very well that whatever made Reborn smile like that, no matter how slight, was not good at all... for others other than him, of course. And frankly, he didn't want to risk it. Reborn was a sadist and had been bullied for days; he must have been planning his revenge.
"With this settled, he took me to Tsuna, so if you'll excuse me..." Yamamoto said with a giant smile as he grabbed Tsuna by the wrist before running off as fast as he could. Colonello was left in the air thanks to his seagull, looking confused at the teenager dragging the other—or rather, carrying the other as if he were a balloon: he was in the air thanks to the acceleration, with an even more confused face than his own.
"Gra-gra-great idiot! What do you think you're doing, you miserable?!" And the other bullet came out.
"The boys are energetic today..." the girl commented to herself, laughing slightly. "See you later, children, behave well." That said, she set out to follow them, walking. She couldn't run so fast even if she wanted to.
"...What's gotten into them, kora?" he asked aloud. That was very sudden...
"Someone who wants to try their luck with Dame-Tsuna for a-"
The Last-Minute Study Session
"You have to be kidding, Yamamoto..." Tsuna complained, almost hitting the table. "Aren't you supposed to be asking this to someone else, like Gokudera?" "The exam is tomorrow and now you're coming to ask?"
"I'm sorry, hahahaha..." He laughed lightly, scratching the back of his neck.
This time, Tsuna let his forehead kiss the table, leaving a cute crimson mark in that area after the blow. Inside, he was strangling his friend. "This time you outdid yourself, Yamamoto-san, asking for help from one of the most useless beings there is..."
"Alright, what's supposed to be on it...?"
A few hours later, Tsuna had managed to get Yamamoto to understand everything but one thing in particular. Even though that wouldn't be on the exam, he still wanted to learn... but it was a bit of a complicated subject.
"Actually, this is done with a formula..." "That's not really the problem..." "You remember they were talking about tights and so on, right?" "With that face you're giving me, obviously not..." "They were talking about an electrical network. It had resistors (R), current (I), and even power sources and current... something like this drawing. "
"Wow, Tsuna, I didn't know that-"
"Don't even comment on it, okay?" "Maybe none of this will be on the exam. This was pure filler like the other questions, at least this one was practical... And I'm sure they wouldn't have had the luxury of solving it." "Now, the question was how much is the power (P) generated by one of the voltage sources? Which one? I don't even remember, and you only wrote down the question, not the drawing." "Thank God, I don't want to think anymore... and even less on how to explain something like this to someone who doesn't even know the basics of this particular subject." "In a nutshell, you apply Thevenin to find a much simpler equivalent circuit and then apply the power formula... obtaining not only the amount, but also if it absorbed—ate, imagine it as eating it, just as you eat, only that he eats electricity—or if he delivered—gave away the food." Yamamoto grimaced. Poor Tsuna.
"But-"
"The formula is P = V*I." He cut him off. He didn't want to hear more about the subject. "Anyway, none of that is going to be on the exam so forget it. What other doubt do you have?"
"Well, you'll see..."
A Little Fun
Tsuna finally touched his sweet, quiet bed at almost ten o'clock at night, mentally exhausted from trying to find explanations for Yamamoto to understand. But it actually seemed more like a horrible excuse to spend time with him. The only good thing is that Gokudera hadn't found them. Tsuna highly doubted that he would have endured the arguments, shouts, explosions, insults, and flattery all in one package. Thank God it didn't happen. He was about to fall asleep when some loud music started playing. That was the last straw.
"Gao." Natsu meowed.
They both looked into each other's eyes before a sadistic smile appeared on their faces. Tsuna because he was exhausted and not in the mood to be patient, and Natsu... It was very simple: his ears were too sensitive, and that noise was a torment for the poor puppy. The first to leave was Natsu, followed by Tsuna before any of the others came out to complain, and soon it would not be necessary.
"Gao~"
"Come here, and give your best-"
"GGGRRRR!"
Tsuna and Natsu laughed when they saw people running, and continued... No one would forget that night; that was totally certain.