Everything was too quiet for his liking since he came down from his room. It wasn't that he disliked it, but it just wasn't right—not at all, to be honest. His family was never calm in the slightest, only when the situation absolutely demanded it, or if their lives depended on it, and even the latter wasn't necessarily true. With a shrug, he continued toward the kitchen. At the very least, he could help his mother for a while before he left. He knew it might not be much to him, but she always told him it meant the world to her. He had never questioned her before, and he wasn't about to start now.
However, to his amazement, she seemed happier than usual. Even with all the curiosity he felt, he didn't dare ask her anything. On one hand, it was better that way; on the other, he knew he most likely wouldn't get a sincere answer. He said goodbye to the rest of the family and grabbed a slice of bread before running out the door. He wasn't very hungry and didn't want to have to answer any questions about it so early in the morning.
As had become his custom, he ran to school as fast as he could. He always did it whenever he needed to calm down and think. It also made him feel physically at ease and allowed him to forget about everything while he ran. It was a good strategy for when things started getting out of control. It wasn't that this was happening right now, but it was always better to make plans in case something happened—and something always did, sooner or later.
He just hoped his friends would take it well that he'd abandoned them again. He didn't think they were too happy with him, and he didn't remember doing this kind of "internship" until his senior year. But then again, he wasn't from this time, and it was likely that he was no more welcome here than he was back then. So he just had to wait and see. Whatever he did, he still couldn't change anything, but at least he could try to remember and help in any way he could. It wasn't much, but it was the only thing he could do in exchange for everything they were giving him. He just hoped that would be enough.
The Guardian and the Omnivore
Arriving at the high school grounds, he wasn't surprised to see no one except Hibari-san, as always. The great prefect made sure everything was in order, no matter what. Tsuna couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of a certain keychain in Hibari's pocket, and at Hibird calmly flying around his owner, singing the Namimori anthem. It was a strange, peaceful sight, and Tsuna appreciated it very much before continuing on his way inside the institution. He felt Hibari-san's serious, deep gaze behind him, fixed on his back until he was out of sight.
Hibari sighed and then took out his cell phone. It was 6:55. Although he should have been happy that the other boy arrived early, he wasn't, because he no longer had that excuse to bite him to death. The other herbivores were no match for him. He looked at the little yellow bird hanging gently from his phone.
"Hmm… There's still time, so I can't bite anyone to death yet. The wait will be worth it, though… stupid herbivores…"
"Good morning, Hibari-san."
Hibari raised an eyebrow. This was new. The Omnivore approached with a small smile, stopping in front of him—very unusual, but not impossible. Hibari felt him take one of his hands, and just as quickly as he reached for his tonfas to bite him to death for daring to touch him, the boy let go.
"I hope you like it… See you later…"
He left before Hibari could lay a finger on him and bite him to death. Hibari looked down. In his open hand lay a keychain, very similar to Hibird. A slight smile crossed his face as he clipped it to his cell phone. The Omnivore was very interesting.
"...Annoying," he muttered, putting his phone away.
An Unwanted Audience
Tsuna walked slowly and quietly. There weren't many people in the halls, and those who were were rushing into their respective classrooms, which meant classes were about to start. If they didn't hurry, they would be Hibari-san's next victims. The same was true for him, but it didn't matter much; his classroom was nearby, so there was no problem.
When he arrived at the door, he couldn't hear much noise, which was a very, very strange thing. He didn't open it. Call him paranoid, but it was better to be safe than sorry. With that in mind, he quietly leaned against the door and placed his ear on it. He wanted to hear whatever was going on in there, whether there were people in there or not, at least before he was forced to enter. It might even be a trap; there were many assassins out there who wanted his head on a wall.
"...what do you plan to do with Dame-Tsuna?" a girl's voice said. This confirmed he was not alone and there were people inside. The question, however, stopped him from entering, making him both curious and sad about what would surely follow. "He's one of the main characters of the play, and we all have to participate, no matter how useless he is."
Tsuna's face twisted, but he didn't move. He hadn't been wrong.
"I know, but we can try to talk to Hana about giving him a position where he barely goes on stage—"
"You know very well that no matter what you say, Hana won't do anything against Professor Boren's wishes."
Tsuna would have laughed if they weren't talking about him that way. Reborn would kill them if they tried to go against his wishes, and even if he didn't do it directly, they would regret even thinking about going against him. And to make things funnier, Reborn was one of the strongest people in the world, and they were just normal students. They were more than doomed to fail. But that wasn't the point. The point was that they were talking about him behind his back, instead of to him. If the plan was for him to listen, it had worked. They were already reminding him why he had hated high school and his life so much before Reborn showed up.
"It's hardly worth the effort. The best thing would be to just take him out of the picture."
It wasn't worth getting worked up over, but it still made him a little angry. Still, he couldn't do anything.
"Ugh, I still don't know how his mom or his family hasn't thrown him out on the street," another girl complained, who sounded like she was eating something. "He's just a nuisance that only causes problems."
This time Tsuna became depressed. They were almost right, except he wasn't just a nuisance, he was a monster. And besides causing problems, he also killed people, and he was very good at it, to his misfortune. And yet, he wanted to tell them to shut up and ask if they had nothing better to do than talk bad about him. He sighed deeply and continued to listen.
"One after another, an endless cycle," the others agreed, with a round of applause.
"And the last straw is that he knows it. It seems to me that he only wants to torment the lives of all of us, and that's why the little monster is kept alive."
At the door, Tsuna froze. That… that was true, at least the first part. But it wasn't to annoy or torment anyone; he kept himself alive because he hadn't lost hope that his family would still love him. For simple students, they certainly knew what to say to hurt people, probably without realizing it.
"We won't be able to do anything. Maybe he'll find a way to come back and bother us."
Tsuna's face hardened. "Really, I didn't come to bother anyone, least of all you. I deserve this and more, but you are not talking about me. You're talking about Tsunayoshi-sama!"
"Unless, of course, he dies… but let him do it on his own. No one deserves to stain their hands with such a terrible disgust. Just imagining it makes me nauseous."
That wasn't something that students would normally say, but at the same time it was, because when you spoke badly about someone and you were upset, you said what they were and what they weren't. Although Tsuna knew this, he still couldn't stop himself from getting depressed.
"If you get nauseous that someone ends their life, I can only imagine what their family must be like." Tsuna's heart shrank. "No wonder they haven't gotten rid of it yet. They don't want someone to have to clean up or pick up that… that blunder of the world."
"Blunder, do you even hear them? Tsunayoshi-sama is not a mistake!" Tsunayoshi thought, forgetting for a moment that he was Tsunayoshi-sama once in his life. He was sad and mortified by their words.
"Yes… you're right… what an unhappy family."
"We'll see how we scare him away, or bend him, or something like that. It won't be very difficult if no one gets in the way."
Unconsciously, Tsuna looked down, without any emotion on his face. "I see… I had forgotten these things," he thought, leaving the door and heading to no specific place, just away from there. "All my life I wondered why my father was never home, and at one point I thought it was because of me, for being so useless, so good for nothing. After all, who wants a child like that? Absolutely no one in their right mind. And now as a son, a monster… No doubt he must be quite disappointed, just like my mother. But what does that matter now? I can't change what I am or what I've done. I couldn't before, I won't be able to now, simply…"
Tsuna sighed deeply and closed his eyes. He wasn't going to cry in front of anyone. "Nothing has changed, I just decided to show my true form, to accept what I really am, and with it, to accept the cruel truth and then the horrifying reality." That was a big lie, and he knew it himself, but in a way it was a rather twisted truth. His eagerness to protect had led him to what he was: a monster, just out of love and affection, and no one saw it that way.
Hiding in Plain Sight
"By the looks of it, the guys haven't arrived yet, but then again, I'm always wrong," he thought, changing the subject. He wasn't going to cry, much less in front of anyone; he wouldn't give them that satisfaction. "They're probably in the locker room with the others who are missing. I'd better go. I knew very well that they didn't want me here, but I didn't remember for how long." The only thing that kept him in that place was the worry of leaving his friends concerned about him, but he really wanted to get out of there and hide under a rock. He wasn't even paying attention to where he was going.
"I am sorry, but I cannot leave the play or your lives. It was never my decision or my intention, but I have never had a choice in my entire life. I am nothing more than a simple old puppet stained with the innocent blood that I have had to sacrifice throughout my journey. In addition… it's the only thing I've been able to do well, and that's why… I'm… a monster." He never chose to study at that specific school, or to be in the play, or to be Primo's descendant, or to be the next boss of Vongola, or for Reborn to be his tutor. No, many things were out of his hands. Did they really believe that he enjoyed being in a place where he was nothing more than the idiot and the useless one in the class? Obviously, he did not enjoy it, but they seemed to believe that he did.
While he was thinking about all this, he left the place without realizing it, with soft and quick steps, like a real ghost. No one could tell whether or not he had been there in the first place, and to top it off, there were no marks whatsoever on the floor or in the hallways, not even his shoe prints, which was unheard of and disconcerting. However, one thing was certain: he had been in that place, and even if he vanished like a ghost, that did not mean his presence went unnoticed. As they said there: "In a place full of people, it will not take long to notice if someone is missing from the group, since each member is fundamental even if it does not seem so." That sentence, plus a certain individual who had accidentally seen the last five seconds when Tsuna was still leaning against the door, confirmed it.
Although Tsuna would not believe that phrase could be used to refer to him, that was not entirely true. If he wasn't around, it wouldn't be long before his family realized it, whether they wanted to or not. Therefore, in this case, it could be said that it was a very accurate phrase.
Even with his desire to disappear from the site or go back and knock some heads together, Tsuna didn't go far. He didn't want to tempt his luck anymore and couldn't leave his friends alone no matter how much he wanted to. So, taking advantage of the absence of people, he climbed as high as his range of vision allowed and hid behind the lights. This was a total feat if you took into account that the entire structure was made of metal and composed of pure bars of that material. But for him, that was no challenge at all, so he allowed himself to relax for the moment, thinking about what excuse he could give everyone. Any excuse that didn't lead to a misunderstanding or a quarrel, or that they felt hurt by some god-awful excuse (God forbid). From where he was, sighing for who knows how many times, it was not easy, but it wasn't impossible either.
The Play is On
At the same time, the others were preparing to rehearse, listening to the director give them encouragement and orders on different levels. In itself, it wasn't helping at all, especially the encouragement part. On the other hand, they couldn't expect more than what they were getting; Hana was never one to give moral support, so this was a lot on her part.
Things had been too quiet for Gokudera and Yamamoto, too dull for their liking. Only one thought was going through their minds like a broken record: where was Tsuna? He was supposed to be there, since he had left before they got home, and they hadn't found him on the way. So they had no choice but to assume that he had arrived earlier, and they hadn't seen him yet. It was almost time for recess, which was very strange in their opinion, so they only hoped that he was somewhere else waiting to surprise them or something. Although they had to admit, that hope wasn't very encouraging.
"Alright, on the move, it's time to rehearse."
After many groans of disappointment and a couple of angry screams, they were in the gym, ready to rehearse, still with no sign of Tsuna anywhere. Maybe they should ask Spanner and the others for a Tsuna detector.
Things were stable, or at least you could say so, because many people had a hard time learning their lines and others had memorized them and therefore didn't seem natural. Along with those who didn't want to do anything at all, this led to many disputes over Hana. Even so, nothing was too serious and could be easily corrected, so generally speaking, there weren't many problems.
"Alright, now the first scene of the villain. Action!" Personally, Hana didn't know why she was giving them the benefit of the doubt.
"I've arrived, K-Kuran… M-show yourself!"
"…."
"D-don't stop playing and… Show yourself once and for all!"
"…."
"Is this supposed to happen? I didn't see it in the script."
Externally, Hana didn't seem very surprised; in fact, she seemed to have been waiting for it. Inside, she was laughing devilishly because of something very, very special: sweet revenge for so many unnecessary headaches.
"Who saw Sawada today?" she asked seriously and loud enough for everyone to hear.
No one answered, and Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Kyoko could only look at each other in fear. That could only mean that Tsuna was not there, and most likely it was because of something bad—that he had been attacked, or even killed. At these thoughts, the three of them were about to run out to look for him when Hana spoke again, this time more seriously than before.
"Sawada is a person who is always where he should be, even if he is not taken into consideration or even if he doesn't want to be." She said, remembering all the things that had happened to the boy. Maybe he was useless, but he was almost always where he should be and ended up cleaning everything up.
Gokudera and Yamamoto nodded their heads without thinking. Kyoko just looked down, wondering what her friend had planned with this. The others only mocked her words and began to make fun of Tsuna, causing Hana to lose what little patience she had left. She decided to get straight to the point without ceremony: it was time for revenge.
"What did they do this time?!"
"We haven't done anything! Surely he hid or got lost."
"I haven't even seen him today. He could be at home sleeping for all I know!"
Hana just sighed and shook her head. It was obvious that she didn't believe a word of what they were saying. For their part, they agreed with Hana; more than once, Tsuna was hurt by something that was done to him either by them or the other students, and they had to try to solve all those things, which they were sure was somehow in vain. Tsuna always ended up with emotional scars, so it was not possible for him to forget them, even if he said otherwise. In addition, having been a victim of many things similar to these since he was a child, they doubted that what they did to help would be enough to make him believe the opposite of everything they had planted for him all his life. It was more than obvious that it would not be easy at all to erase those marks that had been given to him with blood ink. Even so, they didn't lose anything by trying.
The Prefect's Judgment
Mentally, Hana smiled from ear to ear as she saw her special guest move and come out from behind a curtain, walking slowly and silently towards her prey.
"The Omnivore entered these facilities on time." With that, he took his tonfas and continued walking, not caring about the loss of voice and color of his future victims.
"H-hi-ba-r-i-s-a-a-n…"
"…and he has not left this place since."
If they hadn't known better, they would have thought the prefect was playing cat and mouse. Most of them turned the color of the wall—white—when they heard those words.
"Herbivores… harm to another student as well as intentional isolation is highly prohibited in these facilities." If it had not been Hibari saying this, they would surely have denied it. "If for some reason the Omnivore has been a victim of any of these things…"
He left the sentence in the air and proceeded to leave the room, ignoring a completely shocked and terrified group.
"B-but… we have not done anything to him…"
Hibari stopped slowly and looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Hibird entered singing at that moment through the window, and Hibari held out his fingers for him to land on without taking his eyes off that student, who now regretted having opened his mouth.
"…Sometimes what is said in secret can also harm, and even more so when they believe that they are not being heard."
Hibari narrowed his eyes a little more before resuming his exit, and as if what he had said had not been enough:
"Omnivore, omnivore."
The little bird seemed to smile at them before winking, as if he knew something they didn't know yet.
"Thank you very much, Hibari-san."
"Hm."
With that, Hibari finally left, and many people looked at Hana with anger and fear. However, they weren't the only ones who were furious; three people were burning with barely contained anger after they had connected all the dots.
"You planned all this," a student accused. Hana didn't even bother to recognize who it was.
"You could say yes, but the truth is that the answer is no. Hibari-san was here before me. I don't know his motives or intentions, I just thank him for his visit." That was the pure truth, but revenge was revenge; at least that way they wouldn't bother her so much today either.
"I mean…" Uh oh…
"Hibari-san knows something that you don't." It was her turn to mock; she was not going to waste it. "How funny."
Hana loved to see people running for something they had done, especially if they weren't sorry for it. She would enjoy this, and a lot. And not just for her "revenge," they might even leave their best actor in peace for a little while, but that was already a lot to hope for. Monkeys were monkeys; they wouldn't learn, that was for sure.
"...What…," a student stammered. Oh, how Hana wanted to just blow them up into thousands and thousands of pieces. "...what were you doing this morning?"
"We?" Yes, the answer was yes; that murderous look was enough of an answer. "J-just talking…"
"Just talking?" Kyoko asked sweetly, her voice a clearly fake tone.
This time, Hana didn't get involved. Kyoko was a very sweet, affectionate, and kind person, but if you made her angry, she could become your worst nightmare. Hana knew that very well; she was her best friend, after all. Kyoko, like Gokudera and Yamamoto, had probably connected all the dots. If Tsuna didn't show up soon, Hana was almost certain there would be a big fight, and she wouldn't intervene; she wasn't suicidal. And even though she didn't get along with Sawada and knew so little about him, she never thought that what had been done to him all these years was fair. There were some things she wouldn't say to Kyoko or the other two. It was better that they didn't learn about it from her; if they had to know, it would be best if Tsuna himself told them. However, she hoped he was okay. He must have overheard something big to not be present at this moment. Poor boy.
"Well, too—"
"And exactly who and what were you talking about?" Gokudera asked with a dangerously low tone, his hands trembling—a clear sign he was holding back from taking out his dynamite.
"W-this…"
In short, no one wanted to admit what they had been talking about, much less what they had said in the room. They hadn't connected the dots at all. They just knew that if they answered incorrectly, they would suffer like there was no tomorrow.
"Forget it, it's obvious who you were talking about," Yamamoto spoke normally, but the absence of his usual smile was a clear indication that he was just as angry, or even more furious, than the other two. "So just say what you were saying."
A stupid or brave person—depending on your point of view—stepped forward without any fear while the others stood like statues, unsure of what to do.
"…We were just talking about how monstrous Dame-Tsuna has become," he summarized, commenting as if he were talking about the weather.
That summed up their actions in a few words, though… what did that have to do with the useless guy's disappearance? Oh, he had screwed up… completely. If the furious looks he received weren't clear enough…
"You…" Don't kill them, don't blow them to pieces, don't kill them, don't blow them to pieces…
For some reason—which they didn't know but were thankful for—Gokudera and Yamamoto were holding back from talking and hitting them (or worse). It was quite a feat, considering their obvious anger at the time. It was as if something was holding them in place, preventing them from doing what they wanted to do at that moment. This was a great blessing that they were grateful for. Even if they didn't understand Hibari's purpose or why the people in front of them wanted to get rid of Dame-Tsuna, they knew they were in serious trouble. If their hunch was true, they hadn't witnessed this spectacle before because of Tsuna himself. She was sure that if he were here, they wouldn't be seeing what they were seeing now. However, like any group of mindless monkeys, they didn't regret anything—or at least most of them didn't.
"They really are stupid. I can't believe Tsu-kun has been protecting them for so long," Kyoko said, tempted to ask Gokudera for some dynamite to light and throw at them. "It's obvious that they don't deserve it. They should be ashamed. I'm completely sure that the only reason they aren't unconscious right now is because Tsu-kun asks that we not defend him or hurt them every time we notice the blows they give him or anything else like that… stupid…"
Out of nowhere, a hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her. Before she could turn and see who it was, a voice she knew so well echoed in her ears, making her smile unintentionally.
"I think enough is enough, Kyoko-chan," a murmur before he raised his voice. "Hey, I've never seen anyone so pale before. Are you okay?" The students in question fainted at that moment. "...I guess not."
"They'll wake up," Hana dismissed it as if it were no big deal before pointing out, "You took a long time to appear."
Tsuna broke out in a cold sweat. "Actually, I've been here for a long time… all the time, actually… but it's hard to get down from the lights without being heard or without breaking your neck, you know. That and I didn't want to come down in the first place, but things were going down the drain." That was a tremendous lie; the jump was not difficult at all, but what did that matter? "Even so, my excuses are not valid, Miss Headmistress. Choose the punishment you think is most appropriate for me, your honor."
There was a great silence after that statement. He never wanted to come down, and now he regretted having done so. The only thing he wanted was not to hear or see anything that had been happening. However, the real reason he had decided to come down was because he was proud of all his family's self-control. Otherwise, he would have only come down if things had exploded into a war. He sighed. He was useless in these things; it would have been better if he had stayed up there or gone somewhere else. He was a failure in every sense of the word. Unbeknownst to him, the others were taken by surprise by his choice of words and the way he used them; he wasn't a manager, nor were they in a butler movie.
"Tsu-kun!" the girl exclaimed before hugging her new teddy bear.
With no other choice, Tsuna only smiled slightly before reciprocating gently. Even with all his years of not having seen her, and despite the fact that he never had the courage to confess to her, and that she named him as her best man on their wedding night and he had to see that great moment from beginning to end… he still loved her. Perhaps not as passionately as before, but even so, things would have been better if he hadn't been there. He would help her in any way he could until she got her other half back, because from then on, she wouldn't need him anymore. Besides, she was too happy with him to spoil it with his presence. Just like the rest, he would be there only when they needed him; otherwise, he would not appear in their lives if he had a choice.
Moments later, he could only laugh when Gokudera and Yamamoto ruffled his hair in an attempt not to interrupt the moment and to tell him that they were also happy to see him there. Although he knew that none of them were very happy with the fact that he had hidden and hadn't told them anything. They would probably talk to him later about it. However, he was not going to change their way of acting or thinking; it was not good for them to fight his battles. Besides, they didn't deserve that misfortune, and he didn't deserve this miracle.
When he was released, Hana decided to speak. After all, she couldn't interrupt the moment; she didn't want to die, thank you very much.
"Well, the whole thing is over," and thank God she didn't have to put up with all those monkeys for the rest of the day. "Your punishment will be that you accompany Kyoko in the performances, at least until she learns her lines."
A moment of silence… Tsuna blinked and asked her like a little child:
"Kyoko-chan hasn't learned your lines yet?"
"…No, and I don't want to."
"What the hell?"
"Don't tell me it's because of Mochida," he muttered to himself, but he was heard by everyone, and by Kyoko-chan's gaze, he had hit the target without any doubt.
He would probably regret all of this, but he was sure that Tsunayoshi-sama would too. After all, he was him once. That and the fact that he would probably be helping them with various things (none of them could act to save their lives at this time, to their misfortune). They might even come to understand their past self better, and avoid all those disputes that would arise when he ascended to power. They were very funny, actually, and all because they realized, in some way unknown to his day, some things like this that happened that he had refused to tell them. And in the end he had to do it, so with this, he killed several birds with one stone, so…
"Let's do something, as this is not a matter of learning but of acting," he sighed to himself. "Imagine that Mochida is someone you know and love very much. You have to make sure that it is not him."
"Hey, Sawada—"
"Now, between us… if it were a girl this wouldn't sound so weird, but it would sound different…" "If he is too smart, just hit hard, and if he continues to be difficult, you know where to aim," the boys swallowed dryly, while she blushed and Hana looked at him surprised at such a suggestion. "And if on the day of the play he tries something funny… Chaos, I need a good black coffee… step on him or give him a good pinch; the audience will take it as part of the play… And maybe a candy… As if they know what's going to happen, ha, you have all the cards in your hand, Kyoko-chan. It just depends on how you want to use them."
He finished with a slight smile, trying not to give much importance to the faces his friends had. They were too impressed. Maybe she had gone a little too far, but she needed to give her all the cards to play, because otherwise she wouldn't know what to do in the play and she would only do it out of obligation. It was better to give him all the tricks now, even going against the manly norms (which he never cared about, and even less now), than to expect a big disaster and then have to intervene somehow. And he didn't think that would be well-taken by the public or by the majority of the student body, not that he really cared anyway.
"Wow," she was tempted to applaud. "I don't expect to ever see something like that from you, Sawada."
"No one does," he admitted as if it were the most common thing in the world. "I said all this because I know very well that if I'm there, it's only going to bring problems, and Kyoko-chan is going to end up defending me and the play will be a disaster," he changed his tone. "It's not a good idea to leave such a beautiful lady in the hands of a great villain like me… then she will take a liking to me and will not want to go back to the hero. Whahaha…"
A minute of silence…
"Juudaime… you've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"
Tsuna snorted and looked at him in surprise. "They still have a lot to learn… too much. They must have thought about it before. After all, what else do you think I do when I'm alone? Daydreaming all the time or sleeping? Even Tsunayoshi-sama had that problem, but he wasn't as critical as me. I liked to analyze all possible scenarios, possibly because of my job, since it was necessary to do it for almost everything… not so much anymore…"
"Looking for the cat's five legs is the only thing I know how to do more or less well, and it's not like I have anything else to do, besides…" At least that's partly true in my normal state… ugh, what else are you going to ask? "I know very well that with Mochida, things will be very complicated with you, not only in rehearsals, but on the day of the play."
They nodded their heads, but they seemed somewhat annoyed with the first thing. But it didn't matter much; it was the truth. Too bad for them, he wasn't done yet; they had to understand him more and better, or else there would be problems, many problems and many annoying questions later. And Tsuna didn't think he had the patience for them.
"And not only because of the fact that a useless person like me is going to play a great character, even if he is the villain, and incidentally that he plays the role well," To my misfortune… "but you already know me, and it will be difficult for you to act as if you didn't, and also as if the color palette was not enough, we must add another color to the mix…" Tsuna sighed tiredly. "I know you don't like Mochida very much, and that's why I say to pretend that she is a person you love very much, and instead think that I am the one you hate the most," That tactic always works.
Nobody said anything, making Tsuna sigh again. If they told him that they could not do that even in his dreams, he would turn around and go get a coffee. They would have to do it in the end, whether they wanted to or not. He had few other easier suggestions, so they would have to stick with those, unless someone else helped them.
"…It will be much easier this way."
"It's not that simple," he thought ironically. "For I am just a bloodthirsty, horrifying monster. I am the creature you will hate with all your might in the very near future… None of them have learned to act, and even if they do… they will never be able to go so far as to disguise their true form as I do, and I hope they never will. This art that I have practiced since my childhood is the art with the darkest intentions that I know."
"Maybe," she began, unsure. "that's how you say, Tsu-kun, but…"
"…We don't want to…"
"…Lying to ourselves."
He sighed and began to head for the exit. One day they would be forced to do so. The worst thing was that they wouldn't be doing anything wrong with it. He was just a monster; he deserved it anyway. There was nothing wrong with that, nor would there be, for what he told them would be more than true someday, even if they didn't know it. He hoped that his past self could avoid harming them like he did.
"Even with advice as useful as that, I couldn't achieve such a feat… how did you get to them?"
Tsuna stopped. He would regret answering that, but he couldn't escape without making the situation worse.
"As I said, looking for the cat's five legs is the only thing I know how to do more or less well," Forget the cup of coffee, I want the whole jug. "What solution do you think I got in my childhood so as not to torment my mother with my wounds?"
Silence…
"Your…"
"It took me a lot of practice, patience, and blood… and it still doesn't work quite right, but at least I prevent the few people who cared about me from doing just that. They took it as a natural talent of being clumsy… and it stuck."
He shrugged his shoulders one last time. It was partly true, on the other hand, they were just bad decisions. "I could never do anything right… I'm just useless and a total failure as a person."
"I also had to figure out how not to be beaten or robbed very often, or at least very badly. I didn't want to earn anyone's hatred or resentment… It was better if they had fun; they would get bored over time."
"…."
"Maybe it wasn't the best solution in the world, but if I could make mom happy then I would do it without complaint… it could be said that over time it has only taken hold and now… I'm just tired… very tired… On the other hand, maybe it works better for you than it does for me, if only for a little while… just remember why you do it and that will be enough… it's better that way…"
"You… you're a genius…"
"Yes, it is—Wait… WHAT?" Who gave this girl drugs and how?!
"I knew that there had to be something for you to act so clumsy and fearful, and that you didn't know anything and pass the exams with average grades…"
"I had also wondered before… but I didn't think the answer was so…"
"Hangover."
Silence…
"…Of all the things they could say, it was: a genius?… No, no, and no, if that were the case, I would have already found a solution so that Mom would not cry thinking that it was her fault that she was almost every day made into a bleeding punching bag…"
"I knew it! Juudaime is—"
Tsuna sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, not bothering to stay to hear the rest; rather, he had lasted a long time in shock. "Thank God today is Friday…" The others only heard amused shaking their heads as he left. He would be back, because as Hana said, Tsuna was always where he was supposed to be… but… With this, they only had one thing clear: they did not know what he was really like, because what they knew had fallen apart, or at least the gaps in his behavior did. In both instances. However, at least they reaffirmed something else: he trusted them enough to reveal advice and part of his mentality to them. Apparently, they just had to know how to ask, and he would answer them depending on what he thought was appropriate. It was very difficult to say what was happening in a head, maybe he was self-reprimanding himself right now for something.
Unknown to them, that was just what happened with Tsuna, but this time not because of the answers he gave, but because he let out part of himself in them… even if it was something they should know about their past self… that and…
Juudaimeeeeeeee! Where are you going?! Juudaimeeeeeeee!
"Don't kill, don't kill, don't kill—it doesn't matter."
"Gokudera-kun, could you please bring me a coffee?" At least that way he would "get lost" while he was looking for coffee, but he had to be deadly fast to escape from all of them.
"Juudaime at once!"