"...I understand," Tsuna muttered with heavy effort.
"Don't worry so much, Tsuna-chan~," sang the other person, a smile on his face that couldn't hide the compassion he felt for his companion. "They don't know what they're missing. This is delicious." No one could tell if he was referring to the cake, the coffee, the Coca-Cola, or the marshmallows he was eating.
"Hmph. If you want, we could…," Xanxus paused slightly before continuing. "Force them to come. We still have to track them down for the little pest's graduation." He finished his glass and gestured for another. "I can't believe that trash is good at artistic… stuff." At any other time, Tsuna would have agreed; after all, Lambo was a very, very disastrous and troublesome child. However, at the moment, he didn't even care. "It's all up to you, mini-trash."
"Hey, hey," the other boss called out playfully, pulling another bag of marshmallows from nowhere. "Tsuna-chan smells great. Maybe that trash you smell is coming from outside."
"Shut up now, trash. No one cares about your opinion," Xanxus shot back before taking a sip of coffee.
"But Tsuna-chan of course cares, don't you, Tsuna-chan?" the marshmallow master asked, hugging Tsuna and using him as a shield against the "trash master." Tsuna just blinked and smiled very faintly.
"Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Byakuran-kun, Xanxus-san, but you don't need to," Tsuna said, apologizing as best he could.
Both men sighed mentally. No matter what they did when they were with him, which was only once every few months, Tsuna was too depressed to truly smile at their antics. To be honest, they didn't know what had really happened, and they were afraid to ask. However, it must have been a bad situation if he had to give them the job of locating his Guardians simply to give them a message.
"Hmph, who said I was trying to cheer you up, mini-trash?" Xanxus asked, though Tsuna could see through his lies, his faint smiles, and the fact that he never got angry with him was proof enough.
"Marshmallow?" Byakuran asked before putting one in Tsuna's mouth when he opened it to surely decline the offer. Xanxus smiled behind his cup of coffee; at least someone was drastic enough to distract him for a brief moment with a simple marshmallow.
Back in Namimori
"Ughh…" A sick boy groaned slightly as he woke up, blinking slowly to adjust to the light—or rather, to the lack of light in the room.
Where… where am I? he wondered before turning slightly on the bed and subconsciously curling up in the sheets due to how cold he felt. The last thing I remember is falling down some stairs… He tried to remember a little more, but nothing came to mind except the dream or memory he'd just had. It was a bittersweet memory, but every time he remembered it, he smiled slightly. They tried to help, but they also had their own problems, and besides, the problem was him, and there was no repair. Shaking his head a little to get rid of the depressing thoughts (it was too early for them), he tried to focus more on finding out where he was, but the only thing he could gather was that he was in a small room, and it wasn't his.
How did I get here? The obvious answer would be that someone took him here, but Tsuna couldn't think of anyone at the time, so he moved on to the next question: What happened? He could ask himself that all day, but he couldn't remember. After what seemed like 10 minutes, Tsuna came to a very important conclusion: Oh, it doesn't matter. Maybe I'll find out later, whether I want to or not. There was a reason he was the next Vongola boss; he had to know at least that, either from himself or from someone in the family. Although he had to admit… the training before he was officially the Tenth Vongola was 70% censorship of everything he really had to know, and of course, Reborn was the one who "made him know" that censored 70% plus other things that weren't vitally necessary. Honestly, being a boss wasn't worth it.
A Memory
"Grandpa, I've arrived…" Tsuna stopped as he closed the office door and looked at his grandfather, at a loss for words.
"It's good that you're here, Tsuna-kun! My flight leaves in 2 hours." He said with a big smile and gave his grandson a quick hug. "Congratulations, Tenth. May it go well. Ciao~"
Tsuna couldn't even get his mouth to work to say ciao before his grandfather left. All that time he had been staring at the smiling face of his grandfather, who, with a T-shirt and suitcases, had gone out to the nearest airport to see Tsuna. To be frank, Tsuna had never seen anyone so happy in his life, not even those who won the lottery or something like $10,000,000 on TV. After being frozen in the same spot for at least 5 minutes, Tsuna realized why his grandfather was so happy to leave… in front of him were 10 piles of paper waiting to be signed.
However, for Tsuna, paperwork had become a source of entertainment rather than a source of terror as it had been in the beginning, but there was no way he was going to forget that moment when his grandfather left the mansion like a teenager who had just won a car. His grandfather never set foot in the mansion again; if he wanted to visit him or hear from him, he had to go see him or use the phone. For some reason, his Hyper Intuition told him that the previous bosses experienced something worse when they learned about the slavery called paperwork. If Tsuna were honest with himself, he wouldn't mind his family blowing up the entire mansion if they wanted to, as long as they were close—and not destroying cities far away. The paperwork didn't matter to him anymore; he wouldn't even complain. But his Guardians wouldn't come to the mansion unless something super important happened or they didn't have any other options. Tsuna could say it out loud now without hesitation: he was surprised that none of them had given up their rings by now.
Present
Whoever said that the worst headache was like getting hit on the head with a builder's hammer was a tremendous fraud, he complained in his head, even though he was already more than used to headaches due to his Guardians making a mess and his own carelessness with paperwork and battles. This is the worst headache I've ever had, at least for this guy, he complained again, but he wasn't really right. He just wanted to complain and couldn't help but get irritated. It was too "early" for a headache even if he was sick. With a slight groan of discomfort, he turned on the bed and felt something wet fall near his face. Blinking in confusion, he picked up the strange object and looked at it before smiling slightly. It was a wet cloth. That only meant that…
The smile was immediately erased, and without thinking twice, he dropped the piece of cloth somewhere else, then closed his eyes in discomfort. Connecting the dots had been a very bad idea, apparently, because he really wanted to vomit. To add to the combo, he couldn't breathe very well, and his body felt as heavy as lead. Probably none of the latter was the product of the fever, but the guilt and disgust of everything he had done, and perhaps the fear about how his family would take it. Even if he was healthy, the same thing would surely have happened. He knew himself well enough to know something like that.
However, no matter how much he wanted to get under a rock and never come out again, he needed to go to the bathroom. He didn't think he would be able to contain his urge to vomit for long. He unconsciously looked at the door of the room, and it was still closed. No surprise there. There was no one with him, and the light was off. All this accentuated the fact that he was alone. He sighed and looked away from the door. No one would come. With that in mind, he sat up. He had to lean on one of the bedposts and close his eyes tightly. He laughed lightly before getting up. Once again, his body felt like it was working against him—nothing new. He stupidly stumbled on the floor, but Tsuna didn't care much. So, very slowly, he started walking in the direction of the bathroom. If he was going to throw up, at least he would have the decency to do it in the bathroom.
However, after a few steps, he lost his balance and fell hard to the floor, at which he could only sigh instead of groaning in pain or irritation like anyone else. For some reason unknown to him, Tsuna glanced briefly at the door as he sought the strength to get up. They won't come anymore… he thought, closing his eyes, and with some effort, he managed to sit up. He took a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm his stomach.
The next thing Tsuna knew, the light was turned on, and he had to close his eyes immediately. That only caused his discomfort to increase. He heard footsteps approaching, and then he felt hands take him by the shoulders and lift him up before carrying him to his bed without much effort. Somehow, he prevented himself from being put to bed with all his might, which, frankly, was not much. He assumed that whoever was in his room understood and respected his wish. He sighed heavily. He was going to vomit.
"…Bathroom," he managed to say, containing the urge to vomit as best he could. He didn't want to do it in that place.
As best he could, he got up blindly. He needed to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Tsuna didn't believe he would arrive on time with his legs shaking and blinded by the light. Tsuna almost jumped when he felt a body next to him grab him by the waist. He hadn't felt it move; in fact, he hadn't felt anything move.
"Hmph, Omnivore…" Unable to help himself, Tsuna shuddered, but Hibari seemed to have compassion on him as he said, "Go at your own pace."
Is… is… he… here?… he thought in amazement, forgetting for a moment that Hibari was the one with him and was not a very patient person. It shouldn't be possible… It wasn't, at least not in his time, and not in his mind, thanks to what he had done and for which he was sure he would never be forgiven. Why is he here? After all, he almost committed another unforgivable act: taking a life. Then he recalled: Oh, right… they are Tsunayoshi-sama's family, and I am in his body, but… that didn't make much sense if they didn't already know. But whether they knew it or not, Tsuna was very clear: If they are here, it's only because they love Tsunayoshi-sama, despite what I've done… of all the mistakes I've made… and I have no way of making up for them, but at least I'm not totally alone… which was his only consolation. Honestly, he was already more than tired of being alone, and although he was more than used to it, he was grateful for the change no matter the reasons, even if it was the product of bad things.
I'm selfish, very selfish, but I can't help it. I'd like to be… to be treated as they treat Tsunayoshi-sama, and not just anyone… but by my family. But that… he thought with sadness and even nostalgia, is impossible… Impossible because they didn't even want to see him in a photo anymore. But frankly… was what he did so bad? He only did it for them, to protect them. So is that bad? Unfortunately, he never got an answer to those questions because he never said them out loud for fear that they would tell him yes. He was almost certain that he couldn't stand that. On the other hand, what Tsuna did not know was that Hibari, the person next to him, knew very well that he was not the Tsuna of that time, or rather: the Tsuna that belonged to that place, because he was not clear where he came from or any other information about the Tsuna that was next to him. Even with this great lack of information, Hibari knew very well that this Tsuna was not so different from the one he knew, and he must have very good reasons for not telling them anything. After all, the Tsuna they knew was very kind and very well-intentioned, and this Tsuna must not have been much different.
"Better?" Hibari asked, almost with a sigh. He was not the best person to help with these things.
A series of gagging was enough of an answer. He could only sigh softly as he looked impassively at the other boy without saying anything. At any other time, he would have left the place, but he did not do so because he did not trust Tsuna's state much. Although the fever had gone down, the boy had nothing in his stomach (and if he had it, it was gone), and surely the effect of the medicines had already worn off. Not knowing what else to do, he went to the kitchen to fetch cold water and the medicines he was due, and gave a warning look to everyone present before returning to Tsuna.
Honestly, Hibari wanted to bite the baby to death. What she had done wouldn't help much in this situation; it had only made her even more problematic, if that was even possible. In addition to showing him the degree of intelligence they possessed, a rather mediocre one in his humble opinion, it showed him perfectly well that Tsuna was the only one in the whole family who had not doubted anyone (actions and decisions were another matter). He had never shown hatred, anger, or sadness about any of them, even when they made his life miserable (something that he included himself in) or did something that was not at all nice. And now, even though it was just a fight, a video of something that happened, something simple, the vast majority were confused, hurt, and/or angry with Tsuna.
None of that would help the situation, nothing! This Tsuna had done nothing to hurt them; he had not done anything to deserve the treatment that they were going to give him surely. With the other two herbivores, it had been more than enough, but now… he didn't even want to think about it. He didn't want to have to see his friend even more shattered than this. What a herd of herbivores he had gathered… they couldn't even see what was in front of them: someone totally harmless to them, but not to others. It was something quite simple and easy to see. With a mental sigh, Hibari decided to drop the topic and offer:
"Water?" He handed him the glass as kindly as he could, but his voice was still the same as always.
Honestly, Hibari wasn't even sure what he vomited, and he didn't want to know either, so he pulled the lever without looking once Tsuna had taken the glass gratefully. Tsuna also had no idea what he had vomited, but he didn't care because he felt a little better, and he wasn't so dizzy anymore… although he only hoped that Hibari hadn't put anything in the water; he didn't want any weird effects.
"Come on, omnivore…" Seeing that Tsuna did not move a millimeter, he added, "I will bring a bucket."
Tsuna looked at him somewhat bewildered, and then smiled slightly before taking his hand and standing up. After brushing his teeth and washing his face under the watchful eye of the prefect (something quite uncomfortable to feel), he returned to bed. Tsuna wanted to ask him how everyone was, what had happened, how they were taking it, and why only he was there with him… but unfortunately, Tsuna was not a fool. He already had a very good idea of the answers to all his questions, not very encouraging ideas. Because of this, Tsuna silenced any questions that might come from his lips and simply forgot all his worries and enjoyed the company he had. However, Hibari was not stupid either. He had a pretty good idea of what Tsuna was thinking, but for his sake, he let it go. If Tsuna was not going to bring up the subject, he would not either.
After a while in that comfortable silence, Hibari sighed softly and lay down next to Tsuna and then stroked the sick man's hair gently, in a vain attempt to comfort him and assure him that everything would be okay (something he was beginning to doubt when he saw that no one had come to see Tsuna, knowing that he was awake).
"Don't wake me up, Omnivore," he said seriously before closing his eyes.
Tsuna only smiled slightly to himself and didn't say anything, letting him do what he wanted. He didn't even bother to tell him that he might get sick too because it would only annoy him and earn him a murderous look. Tsuna had no choice but to laugh or just smile in amusement. He already knew him well enough to know that nothing he said would be heard, and that if he got sick, he would expect the best treatment in return (that included a few good shovels so that he wouldn't cause trouble while he recovered). And obviously, he would never admit that he was sick and who had half bothered him… he wouldn't live to tell the tale. Knowing that moving or making a sound would lead him to a problem with Hibari, Tsuna decided to just go to sleep too. What else was left for him to do? Stare at the ceiling? Better just to go to the world of dreams and pray that he wouldn't get nightmares.
The Interruption
"Tsuna-saaaannnnnn~"
Tsuna, who had already been close to falling asleep again, woke up completely, and a shiver ran through him from top to bottom. He swallowed dryly at the growl he heard right next to him. No matter how funny the whole thing was, if he was in the middle, he wouldn't even smile. And just now he was in the middle of a newly awakened carnivore and a girl who, if he wasn't careful, would hug him to death. The question was, who would kill him first and who would repair the damage?
"Hmph…" the prefect complained silently, giving them a death look.
Tsuna could only do one thing first of all:
"Good morning, Haru…" He had no idea what time it was. "Could you let me go?" The girl was so close that Tsuna was afraid she would kiss him. It wasn't that he would complain; Haru was a cute girl. "I don't want to catch a cold…"
Thank God, the prefect had decided to go back to sleep. Tsuna didn't want any conflict so soon; he hadn't even been awake for half an hour, please.
"But Tsuna-san!" Mentally, Tsuna grimaced and shuddered, but the girl either didn't notice or didn't care. "Haru hasn't seen you in a long time, desu! And Haru doesn't think a simple hug would make anyone sick."
Tsuna didn't want to ruin her joy, not at all. He wasn't a heartless being, but heck… This was extremely uncomfortable for him. A bear hug brings out souls, and a cute girl by his side while he was sick wasn't exactly an undesirable situation, but he wasn't exactly welcome either. Now, regardless of being sick or any other valid excuse that the girl was obviously going to deny, how could he tell her to let go without hurting her feelings and without waking up (again) the beast that was peacefully sleeping on his other side? It seemed an impossible mission because he could think of absolutely nothing for his great misfortune.
"You must be hungry, Haru!" Tsuna blinked, not at the affectionate and singing tone, but at the information. For a millisecond, he wanted to refuse and tell her to stay as he was, but the girl had already taken him by the hand and made him run outside the room to keep up with him.
Hibari opened one eye to see that, and when they were out of sight, he closed it again. At least someone had decided to continue believing that he was their Tsuna, or that if he wasn't, at least he deserved to continue to be treated the same. It was not his problem if Tsuna felt extremely uncomfortable with such a display of affection; at least he should be happy and grateful that one of the herbivores in his herbivorous herd remained loyal to him. Now, if only others could think like her… they were so suspicious and foolish. In truth, he wanted to bite them to death many times in a row. Hibari smiled slightly, amused for a second. He had never brought the bucket in the end.
Haru carried him (dragged him) happily to the dining room, and between her and his mother, they served him so much food and attention that he was red with shame and not fever, as ridiculous as it sounded. He had to refuse almost all of the food; there was no way that all of that would get into his stomach and stay there, and the worst thing was that he wasn't even hungry. But how could he tell them that without worrying them or hurting their feelings? It would be incredibly wonderful if he had a positive response to that. Unfortunately, both girls felt bad even though he said that he was not hungry and that it must be a product of the fever.
"Let's see, Tsu-kun~, say ahhh~"
Internally, he hit an imaginary wall repeatedly, while externally, he just looked at his mother in surprise. What am I, a 5-year-old boy?
"Tsu-kun, don't be mean and open your mouth." She was trying anything to get him to smile, and if she managed to make him eat a little more, then she would kill two birds with one stone. "Tsu-kun~"
Little did she know, however, that instead of making him feel better or even relaxing him a little, she was making him very nervous and depressed. After all, it was a bit difficult not to remember that he was not the one who should be there, enjoying and being ashamed of the cuddles at the same time. He also wondered how she would react if she found out the truth; he didn't think it would be a very nice reaction. Moreover, what was happening didn't give Tsuna a chance to think deeply about those issues or remember his other friends, so maybe she was doing something good without knowing it.
"Come on, Tsuna-san. If you don't eat on your own, Haru will help you, desu~," Haru said with a big smile.
Why is all this, Lord? Tsuna thought with a shiver, trying as much as possible not to show his fear, something almost useless. In reality, Haru was just taking advantage of the fact that Nana was doing all that, while said mother… she had her reasons, and some very good reasons. Even if she had to treat him like a small child, Tsuna would eat, and she would make sure of it. Her Tsu-kun was a good boy, a rather affectionate one, she had to admit, and although she had been very happy with the grades he was bringing home (very high grades), that happiness went to hell when his friends brought him home passed out and with a fever, and then she had the unpleasant surprise of seeing how thin he was under his clothes (someone had to change him from his school clothes).
It wasn't a terrible change, but it wasn't a pretty or healthy one either. Honestly, Nana could only think that her son wasn't eating regularly, at least outside the house. A few weeks of normal eating would surely fix it. Now, that wasn't what was on her mind for the longest time, not at all, but: what exactly was the reason for this change? Depression? Worry? An eating disorder? She couldn't say. Tsuna always seemed happy when he was with her, and although he kept her alone or with his friends most of the time, from what she saw of them (and she knew there was something strange), she couldn't pinpoint the cause.
"Mom!" Tsuna exclaimed, embarrassed by the sudden attention.
"Let's make a deal then, darling…" Nana said with a knowing smile.
Tsuna accepted almost immediately. His mother was scary when she wanted to be, and he didn't want to have to go through that again. He had already been through those moments enough to recognize the signs. Haru's laughter didn't help much. In the end, Tsuna had no choice but to eat an entire bowl of soup and pray that he wouldn't vomit it up, along with the medicines and water. Out of nowhere, the front door rattled, startling Tsuna and almost making him jump out of his chair.
"I'll go see who it is," Haru announced.
About five minutes later, a thought went through Tsuna's head: Lord God, I know I don't deserve your mercy or kindness… but please help! The reason was quite simple. Lambo didn't understand that he was sick; I-Pin was about to explode because she had seen Hibari (who, thank God, was still asleep) while chasing Lambo to apologize to him; Fuuta was trying to calm things down without success; Kyoko was just laughing, amused, while handing him homework and notes; his mother was happily in the kitchen preparing lunch for everyone; Haru apparently thought he was a great and very comfortable living pillow; Bianchi kept looking at him curiously while she prepared her "chicken soup" (only God knew what was in that); and...
"Kufufufu…"
Yes, that summed it all up.
"Let's train EXTREME, Sawada!" With that, Ryohei took him by the arm, and the next thing Tsuna knew was that he had swallowed a fly or maybe a bee. He realized that if the boxer didn't stop soon, he was going to "bathe" a few people with his vomit due to the speed at which he was going.
He was rescued thanks to Mukuro, who decided to let the boxer go with an illusion of Tsuna, but the real Tsuna owed it to Chrome, as Mukuro had been scaring the children with his evil laugh. Unfortunately…
"Kufufufu, you are green. Try not to vomit, my dear Chrome," he said, before whispering softly in her ear, "You don't fool me, not quite. I still hope for an explanation from you in the near future. Ciao~"
With that, he faded away, leaving Chrome who was smiling slightly despite not knowing what the hell had happened while he wasn't present. The big idiot did it with all intent… But she couldn't get upset, or faint, or whatever. She had too many things on her mind for that to happen, for example: Had they destroyed the house yet?
"...Boss," the girl murmured, touching his forehead to check his fever, getting his attention. "Why are you in your pajamas?" she asked, noting his attire and the fact that they were in the middle of the street.
At any other time, place, and perhaps even dimension, Tsuna would have blushed with shame at his situation and surely said some stupid thing trying to make amends. However, this time Tsuna didn't even have the decency to feel embarrassed, not at all. In any case, he was already more than used to the strange and generally ridiculous events that happened exclusively to him (and perhaps Enma) when he was with his family, but none of that was his reason. No one could get used to being embarrassed in public, at least not him. No, his reason was quite simple:
"I was the victim of a kidnapping against my will, Chrome," he said seriously, not caring about the redundancy, his look almost irritated.
"Chief—"
"But a diabolical purple pineapple saved me and left me here," he continued without even blinking, completely ignoring the girl's concern. She was now looking at him, not knowing what to believe.
Honestly, the girl didn't know what to believe about Tsuna, but if Mukuro and Hibari didn't have a problem with him, then it must not have been anything serious. Although he was certainly very strange, he was still the same affectionate, overprotective, and scary (though to a lesser extent) boy as always. I knew he was too good to be true… she lamented to herself. With everything that has happened, I don't blame him… Taking Chrome's hand to go home, she thought, Although… I must not be on his blacklist, or he would not have told me about the end… She thought curiously while asking Chrome if they had enough food at home. Too bad he didn't have money, or else he would have sent her straight home with bags of food. He will deny it or not, they needed it for everything he knew.
When he arrived at his house, everything looked fine on the outside, but that didn't stop Tsuna from opening the door carefully, as if he was waiting for a bomb to go off. Tsuna sighed with relief. Everything was still intact. Thank God, he wasn't in the best condition to have to endure explosions or arrest anyone. Actually, forget about the conditions, because that was a pathetic excuse; he wasn't in the mood. They might as well light a nuclear bomb in his room, and he would put it out with the same effort a hibernating bear would take to wake up.
"How was the walk, Tsu-kun?" Nana asked.
"Only you can call that a walk, mom…" he lamented internally, but what he said was, "Very relaxing. What do you say to someone else at the table?" As he had thought, she was delighted by the news.
The next two hours could be summed up as "uncomfortably quiet." It was calm because the troublemakers weren't there, just the boys and girls. The only one trying to cause trouble was Lambo, apart from stealing food, of course. It was uncomfortable because Tsuna couldn't remember the last time he had been at lunch (in this case, accompanying him because they had their eyes on him as if he was going to disappear for some reason unknown to him) without half of the house being destroyed or ending up in what he liked to call "Who can shout more" fights. Honestly, Tsuna should be thankful that everything was relatively quiet and everyone present was entertaining him and doing their best to have a good time, without saying anything to him, of course.
Okay, Nana didn't know anything, but with what happened while Tsuna was asleep, everything had gone to hell. Maybe they weren't sure who this person they called Tsuna really was now, but that didn't mean they had to treat him badly, ignore him, or whatever, because he hadn't given any reason to deserve that. On the other hand, if it wasn't Tsuna, who could it be? Maybe he was quite different from what they knew, but at the same time, he was very similar and, most importantly, who else could it be than Tsuna? They had no idea what to think or how to take all the facts that Reborn had thrown in their faces—metaphorically speaking, even though it felt like he had actually thrown them in his face.
"...Later, I'll go take a shower, okay?" he said casually with a rather happy smile.
Tsuna didn't give them enough time to answer, or at least enough time for any answer to reach his ears without shouting or raising their voices. Ignoring Hibari, who was still sleeping peacefully, he went into the bathroom to take a well-deserved shower. Thanks to the fever and the kidnapping a few hours ago, Tsuna felt that he had already bathed, but with sweat, and that was certainly disgusting. He hadn't gotten in the shower before because of his guests, but no one could blame him. They had been there for about an hour or two (he didn't know, and he hadn't seen a clock all day), and they didn't look like they were going to leave anytime soon. Besides, it wasn't like anyone was going to—Blam!
"Here's a towel, Tsu-kun, I forgot to change it," Nana said happily, placing the towel in its place, right on Tsuna's face, who looked like a deer about to be run over by a bus. If his eyes got any wider, they would pop out of their sockets for sure.
Unable to react, Tsuna watched his mother hum and leave the bathroom. Almost a minute later, Tsuna remembered how to breathe and how to move, and with great discomfort, he continued his bath, even though he was alone again. He couldn't stop fearing that someone else would open the door just like his mother, who didn't even knock, to his great misfortune. On the ground floor, everything was going great (except for Lambo, because they didn't let him explode at all), until…
"I'm impressed that you came," Haru commented coldly, unable to contain herself, supported by Bianchi, who gave them a very bad look and—
"Ani-k-ki!" Gokudera exclaimed before falling and writhing on the floor, pale as a ghost, his stomach growling, and not from hunger.
"Ma Ma, we just came to see how Tsuna is doing…" Yamamoto wasn't going to lie; he didn't know what to think of the whole situation, and the warning looks from the whole room—
"Oh, Hayato, let your dear sister take care of you…" Gokudera couldn't even open his mouth to deny it and was led to a cruel fate with ease.
Yamamoto broke out in a cold sweat and felt sorry for the smoker. Tsuna was the one who usually saved him. Yamamoto didn't have the courage to stop her or tell her the truth. As Tsuna did, he didn't know, but he didn't want to have anything to do with her "food." Besides, how the hell was he supposed to intervene in a sibling affair peacefully for something "normal"? Gokudera had already survived a few years with her; surely he could—
"Bianchi, look what I found!" said a male voice coming out of nowhere.
Even Lambo stopped playing with the bombs Gokudera had dropped when he saw his sister. However, that did not stop Tsuna, who went crazy, his eyes practically bouncing to where Bianchi was with beautiful sunglasses. Bianchi smiled, amused; she had never seen him do that. Internally, Tsuna was reevaluating the steps of the "Plan 112," but he was so calm and happy to see almost everyone in his house without killing each other. It was something that surely wouldn't be repeated, so he had to enjoy it while it lasted!
"Do you like them? I think they would look good, very sexy, actually…" he said. What one has to do for one's fallen friends… "Don't say I told you, but Reborn likes girls with glasses; they are a little more attractive to him…" This part could only be heard by Bianchi and Gokudera, and the latter didn't count because he was more than gone. "…But this is just a little secret between the two of us, okay?"
With that said, Tsuna smiled mischievously for a few brief seconds as he put the glasses on her, and then said kindly:
"Why don't you see yourself in a mirror? There's one nearby."
"Brat, I hope you're not telling lies…" the woman threatened playfully before going to look in the nearest mirror.
Once she was out of sight, Tsuna sighed lightly and, with a plastic knife, crouched down next to the fallen soldier and began to poke him gently to see if he reacted and to make sure that he was still alive. However, Bianchi returned before Gokudera made any gesture that he was alive, although his very happy stomach made sure to inform everyone present that he was alive, just… not available at this time.
"Well… what can you tell me, Yamamoto?" Tsuna joked slightly, the act already finished.
And not only the act, which only appeared because it was necessary to save Gokudera from his beloved sister, but all the distractions that had made him forget about his two best friends for most of the day. Imminent awkward encounter… AHG, should I—
"Ma Ma, we're sorry, Tsuna, we were talking and we ran out of time…" Yamamoto didn't have to say it; it was too obvious, and his slight nervousness made it even more obvious, if that was remotely possible. "Frankly, Tsuna… I don't know what to think, but that doesn't matter now. Do you want to play? Although girls definitely know how to treat a sick person…"
The last part was a thought aloud as he looked at how Tsuna was a few minutes ago: well-dressed despite being at home, calm, and even a little happy. Wow, he didn't know that being sick was like that; he had to get sick more often.
"...As you say…" Tsuna answered uncertainly, because he didn't know what exactly he meant by the last one. The only thing he did know was that he didn't want to have anything to do with it. The girls will kill him alone; there are much nicer ways to die.
"Ma Ma, then video games?" he asked, approaching and casually slinging an arm over his shoulders.
"Video games! Lambo-sama wants video games! Lambo-sama wants to play as—"
After about 10 minutes of dodging and putting out bombs, Tsuna found himself kicking ass as Lucario as he analyzed all the weirdness of the situation, Yamamoto as Lucas trying to hit whoever he saw in front of him, Lambo as Charizard being thrown back and forth and losing epically (and saying the opposite), and Haru as Ike waging war on Tsuna to see who would kill whom. Along with the audience comforting and cheering on the players, especially Lambo so that he would not cry.
"Wow…" Yamamoto said in amazement as he flew off the screen for the fifth time in the last two minutes.
Tsuna didn't even blink and took Ike out of the stadium, who thought that reaching him from behind would be a good idea. The stadium was a Pokémon one; unfortunately, they didn't remember the name. They were playing a 15-minute game to see who could win with so much fighting time. There were 5:43 minutes left in the game, and Tsuna still hadn't died and had 346% damage (which was very incredible considering that one hit and he was dead), and not even Giratina or Palkia had taken him out of the stadium.
"Why don't you die, Tsuna?" Yamamoto complained, tired of being kicked out of the stadium over and over again.
"Endorsement," was the simple answer.
The next thing that happened next left even Lambo speechless. Tsuna only made Lucario jump out of the stadium and fall…
"...You know I don't—Blam!"
"I know," he said in the same way, watching Lucas crash against the screen without even blinking.
By chance, a bomb appeared at his feet at that precise moment. Tsuna did not miss the idea, and with an incredible throw, Lucas was dead… once again.
"...Why did you commit suicide then?" Yamamoto asked. He didn't understand, and maybe he didn't want to know.
"Because that's what you wanted…" "It's what you'll want if you don't want it now… But just like this game, you're incapable, they're incapable of putting an end to me…" "…and if I don't do it, who would?" "…for some reason or another…" "A bomb, maybe? Time is going to run out…"
"Well, you would have let that happen…" Kyoko murmured, still looking at the game.
"Maybe next time, Kyoko-chan…" A pause. "Time to throw bats."
Even though Tsuna was killing them now by throwing a bat at them, some were still cold from the response from before. Although they didn't know why, the carefree and calm tone had given them goosebumps. In a way, he said it as if he had said that the sky is blue. And perhaps that tone with the words "That's what you wanted" was what scared those who left them cold the most. The others, despite not being scared, saw something strange in that answer. However, no one said anything about why he didn't die in the game again, for fear that he would kill himself again as before.
"J-Juudaime…"
Tsuna glanced at him sideways and said, returning to the game, "Better, you should go get some water. You're still pale as a ghost…" Gokudera broke out in a cold sweat when he saw what they were doing.
"Ahg, Tsuna!" Yamamoto complained, now as Toon Link.
"It's your fault," Tsuna simply said. If he didn't get close to him, he had to hunt him, and that included throwing things at him and putting bombs on the floor. Although this time, the bomb had hit his leg.
"A sphere!"
Toon Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf received what Lambo called a "super Kame Hame Ha," and only Zelda was left alive while Lucario fell into the stadium and on top of a green turtle that killed her due to all the damage she received.
"I give up!" Yamamoto exclaimed, almost throwing away the control. "That Lucario is immortal."
"Why don't they all change characters?" It couldn't be—
"Lucario is the easiest to kill," Tsuna killed the idea almost boringly.
If they didn't kill him as Lucario (who did almost no harm at first), with another character, they wouldn't kill him, except maybe Ganondorf. It was too slow for his liking.
"Hmph, herbivores…"
Timidly, Yamamoto stood up from the spot before the laser gaze of the prefect, and as if to make things worse…
"Let me show you what a good kufufufu adversary really is…"
At this point, Lambo and Haru decided to retreat for their safety. Surprisingly, they both managed to make Tsuna play with gusto, and they managed to kill him as well. But Lucario killed Marth and Olimar more often than they killed him. There came a time when Tsuna began to laugh at them due to their angry looks and Mukuro's complaints. Nevertheless…
"Chrome plays a thousand times better than all of you combined," Tsuna said, laughing as much as he could.
Silence…
"...My beauty—"
"Every cute girl has her dark side. Now go, I want to play with her; she is a real adversary. Chu chu~"
With an unusual rage but having fulfilled his mission, Hibari left. Those herbivores don't even know how to play…
"...Tie…" Gokudera stupidly read the bomber, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"...Since when have you…?"
"That's confidential information," was the mocking response. "A few weeks, really…"
On the screen, Lucario and Pikachu looked at each other, each with 300% damage… or at least it was until they both threw themselves at each other and shot to opposite sides of the screen. But the computer first recorded Lucario's death, which meant that…
"Revenge?" Tsuna asked playfully, smiling, amused.
"...Of course…"
Moral: they would never, ever play against those two again unless they wanted to die a horribly painful and agonizing death.
After the game, dinner, medicine, and a few explosions, Tsuna was in his room playing with Natsu while some left and others were arranging certain matters before taking him out, even laughing from time to time about what had happened. However, this was interrupted by:
"How are you doing, Juudaime?" As a faithful right-hand man, he had to make sure that his boss was in the best condition.
"Not bad," he replied simply without even looking. He didn't want to be bitten.
"Well…" Gokudera coughed a little uncomfortably. "I don't know what you think about what happened yesterday, but…" Magic words, because Tsuna looked at him automatically, and Natsu bared his teeth, daring him to say something wrong. "We don't want to see you hurt, even less dead. You know that, don't you?"
"Of course…" "But… you want me dead, and you want me dead too. I'm not Tsunayoshi-sama—"
"And… I don't think you're really Juudaime." He paused to see what reaction he would have.
"...I see…" Nothing. He had only put on a poker face, but he had spoken so quietly that it was as if he hadn't really said anything.
"And yet… you don't look bad…" "Or I would have already killed them or done something crazy, but…" "…Who—"
"Who are you, really?" Tsuna didn't even blink at the gun on his forehead.
"R-Reborn!" What the hell was he doing here?
"Who are you really, and where is the real Tsuna?" he repeated patiently.
"...Why…?" It was the simple answer, a rather mild one, as if he did not understand what was happening. At this point, Natsu had already drawn his claws and was growling deeply.
"Because…" Reborn paused slightly. "You have no qualms about attacking this family or killing anyone, or hurting, and you don't even mind dying…"
"..."
"I don't know what your intentions are, but we'll get to that, and as you can see, even your friends think the same as me…" He smiled darkly. "…and don't think that because you look like Tsuna, we won't do anything to you. Now, speak!"
Tsuna only hid his face and said tremblingly, "Get out…" Natsu changed his form in a whisper. "OUTSIDE!"
In his dragon form, Natsu threw himself at them with all his might. The promise not to hurt them would go to hell. He was tired of them hurting his master! He hadn't done anything wrong to deserve this, nothing!
"Tsk…"
Natsu wasn't the only thing that happened; something else had taken them out of the room, and before they could enter again, ice began to form quickly, covering all the entrances. Natsu didn't let them focus on anything other than defending themselves from him. He was furious and attacking them in such a way that he seemed to want to kill them on the spot. The commotion caught the attention of the other people in the house, except for Nana who had gone out to buy some things for Tsuna (ice cream, medicines, etc.), and perhaps they went up at a very bad time, because…
"Excuse my vocabulary, ladies and gentlemen…" Tsuna said this only out of mere formality while gesturing to Natsu to stop, which he did very reluctantly, returning to Tsuna. "I didn't think I would have to do this…" His orange eyes were so angry and disappointed that they seemed to want to kill them himself. "You are perfect idiots even now. If you do something like that again, I will kill you one by one…" His gaze burned. "You don't know how much it has cost me to keep him alive, and I thought he would be able to heal here, and instead you come and do this!"