"Eh..." Gokudera gave his companion a gentle nudge. "When was the last time you... you know...?"
"...Very good question..." It had been so long since they had seen him scream like that, cry, or be this scared... and that's not counting the three years they didn't see him on their own initiative... And they weren't—CRASH!
"WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING TO...?" Uhg...
If Tsuna wasn't in a panic attack before, he was now. If he wasn't afraid before, now he was beyond scared. Yamamoto and Gokudera looked at each other, not knowing what to say, but knowing that they had to act fast before a disaster of epic proportions occurred—it doesn't matter, maybe something of that scale always happened no matter what they did... The peacemaker was Tsuna, and if Tsuna was panicking... well, they were ready for tragedy.
"...H-Hi... H-hi... Hiba..." From his place, Tsuna was mere seconds away from screaming again and running out and jumping out of the window and who knows anything else as long as he got out of the place.
It didn't help that the mini Hibari blinked in confusion at him, smiling a little (worried and happy, but Tsuna wasn't noticing), and taking a few tentative steps towards him, which only made Tuna tremble more. Sure, of course, the boy completely forgot that he had a shotgun-laser in his hand, and that wasn't helping anything. The boy would have jumped on Tsuna if it didn't seem that his Uncle was watching him as if he were death itself or perhaps even the devil himself...
"...Hey... Dai-chan, why don't you try letting go of that and hugging it?" Yamamoto suggested with a fake smile, sneakily looking for a sedative in case things got out of hand...
Gokudera was very tempted to tell Tsuna that the child was not Hibari, but he was not sure how he might react to the knowledge that Hibari had a son... and that said son loved him very much, and he was a mini version of the ex-prefect...
"H-Hi... H-Hi..." How did Hibari-san end up so small?, and where the hell did he get those shotguns...?, had they invented something that would make people look like children?, and if so, why would Hibari want to—
"Good afternoon, Uncle." The boy smiled very big, hugging one of Tsuna's legs, because it was difficult to hug him if he had made a ball... and I was having some kind of crisis...
"...T-T-Uncle?" Tsuna's brain short-circuited for at least five seconds. If it wasn't for his Hyper Intuition telling him that this was all very real, he would say he was in a nightmare. "...If you're not Hibari-san..." If Tsuna was scared before, now he was more than ready to beg for mercy. "...T-T-Uncle?" Please, just kill him quickly..."
And as if the situation in itself were not enough, several... demons entered the room, making Tsuna turn as white as a ghost at the sight of them, many thoughts and ideas rushing through his mind at the speed of light, each and every one of them were the ways in which he would be killed, tortured, humiliated, or a horrible combination... The sad thing was that I hadn't done anything, absolutely nothing to suffer, I'd only been awake for about 10 minutes!, but... since when did they need an excuse, since when did someone need an excuse to do or say something to him...?
"Hmmm..." Hibari frowned when she saw the situation, specifically how Tuna was. "If you don't calm down, I'll bite you to death, omnivore."
"Great, now he's also going to bite me to death for not being calm...", was what went through Tsuna's mind, while his body reached new levels of fear. And of course, neither the threat, nor the other new presence in the room, who only said half-mockingly, did not help:
"What's wrong with you, Dame-Tsuna?" He only did this for testing..."
Reborn was honestly surprised, but he didn't show it. The last time Tsuna was scared of him was about five years ago, and when he really got scared was when he turned 16... Seeing Tsuna's reaction, Reborn was likewise found in the body of an infant, in Tsuna's room when they were in Japan, about to punish his student for having epically failed a round of five exams in one week. To sum up everything that went through Reborn's mind in that short span of time, it would take a few words, or perhaps just one: "amnesia". Although taking into account what had happened the other times, it could be an emotional crisis and/or identity, for all they knew Tsuna could be suffering from post-traumatic stress, the problem was that the boy was not awake for long enough to do tests... and if he was, he was not cooperative.
"How dare you call Tio that way...!"
Oh, of course, that couldn't be missing. Reborn didn't understand how the hell Tsuna got so much appreciation from the children, especially when they hadn't seen him in years... It was both surprising and irritating, and very annoying at times like now.
Needless to say, Daisuke didn't respect his father's presence; the boy was as bloodthirsty or more than he was, and it was a ticking time bomb if anyone messed with what he treasured, that included Tsuna. Now, Reborn didn't do anything to the boy, he just hit him on the head hard enough for the boy to remember who the hell he was messing with and to respect... too bad that caused a scene that they had never seen...
"Touch that child again and you won't see the light of day again." What really caught everyone's attention was not the words, nor the tone "I try to sound threatening, but I sound pathetic", but what happened before the words were spoken... Tsuna had thrown a scalpel, just two millimeters from hitting Reborn's head.
And if that wasn't enough, he had entered Hyper Dying Will Mode... The most surprised were Gokudera and Yamamoto, as they knew that mentally they were dealing with a 14-year-old Tsuna... And as if that were not enough, they did not know where he had gotten the scalpel, and how he managed to point out also in those conditions (terrified to death). The least important thing in their minds was that the Tsuna they knew had done something like this to defend the children... Of course, in the time they were around, Tsuna spent time with the children or in the paperwork, and when things exploded... Well, Tsuna would take the children, take them somewhere safe, and wait for them to finish to happily (forced smile) tell them that they would have to do the paperwork for x days, depending on how much they shredded. The few times they accidentally scratched the children, Tsuna got in the way, smiled at them, and kindly told them that the third time was the charm and they would take one, and then come back with the children and take them away... that was if he was aware or present.
"You're amazing, Uncle!" It was a good thing to be so innocent, there were fewer problems to worry about.
"Hey...?" Tsuna blinked several times, returning to normal... and finally it happened: "HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
The adults in the room looked at each other, and Hibari was quick enough to tackle her son before he jumped out of the window as well. They didn't need two fugitives... jumping out of a window. Should they take it as a good sign that Tsuna was in such good physical condition being injured?, at that time they believed that he was not... For all they knew, it was only pure emotion (fear) at its best...
"Hey... Dai-chan, listen carefully..." Before he tried to break free from them and jump out of the blissful window they now had to repair. "Your uncle..." He woke up believing that he is 14 years old, he does not remember beyond that, for some reason... So, be patient with him, he was afraid of your father back then, and as if that wasn't enough, he's quite confused...
And the thousand and one questions began, along with a few insults from the boy for not telling him anything in advance and that they were bad friends if in the past his Uncle feared them (I call his father stupid, which Hibari did not deny). Hibari was the least insulted, as they both had that bloodlust that only they could comprehend, and neither was blind about Tsuna being very strong... In the end, Daisuke was somewhat upset with them, but that was in the background in his mind. In the background was how worried he was about his Uncle, and in the foreground... where did he go?
Due to his poor condition, Tsuna didn't really go far before collapsing, panting harshly, tired, and without strength. If he didn't have medicine on him, he would feel pain, a lot of pain from his legs and from all the wounds he got when he shot out of bed and the wounds he inflicted on himself with the window glass. It was a good thing that he hadn't noticed the blood yet, or he would have another scare session, which would come at any moment. Where did Tsuna end up?, in a place with a lot of flowers, it looked like a garden. For some reason unknown to Tsuna, just seeing the place, as beautiful as it was, made her want to leave as soon as possible. It was strange, because I was not afraid to be there, nor danger, I did not know why I felt the need to leave as soon as possible instead of staying to admire the beauty of the place.
The feeling was so strong that even with his legs wobbly and still panting slightly, Tsuna got up and began to walk in a direction that was random to him, and at the same time not so random. Tsuna had heard that saying about the feet sometimes guiding a person, for he could already tell that he had lived it if someone asked him. He was very confused to see a huge, somewhat dusty door in front of him a few minutes later. At any other time he would have been worried to see the area so desolate, but at that moment it did not even cross his mind. Without really thinking, he opened the door silently and in the same way closed it, finding an office... of appearance... How to say it?, ancient?, not personal?, something dusty?, I wouldn't know how to describe it.
Slowly, as if fearing to wake someone up, Tsuna walked around the room, running his hands over certain things, and at times stopping to appreciate something. Wherever he passed his hands, a light layer of dust remained on them. One of the first things that caught his attention was the large number of books, there were not many (if they counted what was in other rooms), but Tsuna had never seen so many books together until that moment. He timidly took out one and carefully began to turn its pages... He did the same with several books, gradually becoming frustrated. All the books I touch were on the same thing: reports. No matter how much I check, there was nothing that wasn't reports, so those weren't really books... Tsuna swallowed a little, why wasn't there at least a novel area or similar?, that personal touch, for when someone wanted to relax and take a moment to read...
The next thing that caught his eye were the closed curtains. It made sense that they were, if no one was there, but for some reason he had a bad feeling. He had managed so far with the light of a lamp he had turned on (by accident, and it wasn't really a lamp, but it looked like one), so with a bit of uncertainty and not knowing exactly how to move the curtains (it was too big a window for him), he opened it after a few minutes. It was greeted by dust, lots of dust, and then dust, it was greeted by an incredible view. A big blue sky, a sun peeking through the cotton clouds, and the view of what I would call a big garden, there were lots of roses and flowers, and there were birds too, and if they weren't mistaken there were puppies and bunnies (he needed binoculars to make sure).
He honestly couldn't tell how long he was admiring the scenery, and he really didn't care. The next thing that followed was the desk, which, if it took a while, since I tried to make everything stay in the same place where it was originally. Again, he didn't find anything personal, just more reports, pens, highlighters... office equipment, to sum up. Or at least that's what he thought until he came across a picture frame in one of the drawers. Tsuna grimaced slightly, feeling a cut in one of his fingers, and soon realized the problem: the glass of the frame was broken, as if it had fallen. The photo made him smile, but somehow he felt that the smile was more of someone else than himself. He was nowhere to be found in the photo, and if he was, he didn't recognize himself. They were all there... except him, and they were all taller, different, more... old, for lack of a better word.
At no time did Tsuna check the sofas, nor did the bedside table... I check most of the room, more specifically the places where the user should spend most of their time. In the end, Tsuna ended up with a strange nostalgia, and a slight heaviness in his body. If, by chance of life, this was the office of one of his friends, once he found out whom, he would beg Reborn, Nono, whoever, to put this person with a psychologist... Because spending so much time in a place of one's own, even if it was for work, and not having anything personal there, gave a lot to worry about. At no time did it cross his mind that this office belonged to him, until he accidentally tripped and several papers fell... He had not noticed until that moment, by accident, to review the signatures. After a moment, he realized that the vast majority of the firms were... they were his, it was his handwriting and everything. Sure, it was a more elegant, refined handwriting and so on, but it was his handwriting... how could he not have noticed it before?
Almost desperately, he reviewed several of the reports kept in what he had called "books" before, and to his horror, they also had his handwriting... And as if that wasn't enough, he had finally seen "Vongola" written on the top of the door in gold. Yes, by itself that wouldn't mean anything... but according to what he remembered, the place and the color was a clear indication of who this office belonged to. Just as Tsuna didn't feel the blood slide down his arms and drip onto the floor, staining the floor a beautiful red color, Tsuna also didn't notice the tears that began to fall from his eyes, with the same fate as his blood...
The reason for the tears was simple, and at the same time complicated. Generally, according to what he had read in one of his sleeves, when a person did not "personalize" a place that belonged to him and frequented him, it was a sign that that person did not want to be there, did not feel that he belonged, or distrusted those who were nearby or went to that place. Tsuna very much doubted that it was for the latter, as he didn't have much trouble with his family entering his room. He was not going to deny that in a certain part he distrusted them with some of their things, and he would not say it out loud. His family made so many disasters that he often feared that they would destroy things valuable to him... once, by pure accident, they destroyed an anime DVD that had cost him a month of searching to get it... He couldn't get upset, it was an accident, but that didn't mean that he didn't totally trust them with respect to his things. His family loved chaos after all, there wasn't a day where something didn't happen, he loved and hated that aspect... If there were quiet days in between, I wouldn't hate it. It didn't help that, most of the time, he had to repair and/or replace his things... he was almost certain that only a few, like Reborn, knew the full damage of disasters.
He would probably keep his most valuable things in his room (if he had it at this time, he didn't have many currently), instead of the office, but... I wouldn't leave it that empty... It could be that he didn't want to be here, he didn't want to be a mafia boss yet, he was afraid of it, even though he had already told Reborn that if... No matter how much I looked for a different solution, I didn't see it, everyone was already involved in the mafia, so they were safer if he agreed... Then again, all situations, even Reborn and the others, even his friends, somehow pushed him into this... Sometimes he hated being the last option, because he was pretty sure that if at least one of Nono's children were alive, they would never have looked at him, and he would still be living a boring life, alone and like a total useless. He wouldn't deny that he loved his family very much and was happy with them, but sometimes he felt that it was a farce, a pressure, and sometimes he couldn't help but think that they only saw and believed what they wanted... Shouldn't it be obvious that he didn't feel comfortable with Gokudera flattering him all the time, for example? but no one did anything, nor did they pay attention to him when he said it, or asked Gokudera himself to please stop doing that and just call him by his name and treat him like a normal person... And that's just to name an example.
No, he didn't hate anyone, least of all his family, but sometimes it was just too much... He was weak, dumb, and scared, and frankly that didn't help the situation. I had hoped, I had really hoped, that in the future everything would be better, more pleasant, calmer, happier... but obviously it was not like that. Maybe I shouldn't accept being the Tenth Vongola?, Neo Vongola Primo?, was it better if I just went back to being Dame-Tsuna and pretending that the mafia didn't exist?, would everything be better that way?, I wouldn't be the first to ask her, and I probably wouldn't be the last either... Maybe he should just give up, even though that would imply a disappointed and upset family, and an angry Reborn. I couldn't forget that Reborn was only doing his job, nothing more and nothing less... After all, who would want to train him, be his tutor, his friend, part of his family, just for the sake of wanting to, no one... To be honest, he wouldn't be surprised if everyone was just looking for some benefit like Hibari, for example, he had only agreed to be their Cloud Guardian in order to have more powerful opponents...
"Hmp, if you know that what I was paid to train you could have been obtained in the blink of an eye in a much shorter time, Dame-Tsuna?" A deep voice behind him said, making him jump and then shrink into place. "No matter what they gave me, I wouldn't, nor would I waste my time on someone who isn't worth it..." Reborn ignored how the boy trembled under his touch, and simply stroked his head, slowly, trying to relax him. "In a nutshell, Dame-Tsuna, you're worth my time, never think otherwise." Reborn paused, and asked almost sadly, "So much time with me, and you couldn't figure that out on your own, kid?"
No, obviously not... And he didn't remember meeting Tsuna with these kinds of thoughts, so... I was just grabbing it now simply because Tsuna thought he was totally alone... If he really believed that he was 14 years old now, and he didn't remember anything beyond that age, did it mean that he continued with this line of thought during...?, if it was a yes, he was a very bad tutor... How could he not realize something like this?, was... very depressing, and at the same time everything he had been thinking was true...
"This office used to have more life, you know, even when they flew it up at least once a week... in the last three years it became like that. Something happened, but at this moment I don't plan to explain to you, let's talk, really, there won't be any threats, no blows or interruptions..." Tsuna should be comfortable enough with him for this a long time ago, not after the age of 16, and still afraid of disturbing him. "Do you want some hot chocolate?, you used to enjoy it a lot when you got nostalgic or had a bad night..." It used to happen, especially with so much paperwork.
"...The... I'm sorry..." Tsuna really expected a scolding, a blow, or something similar, but not what he got. "R-Reborn?"
"You don't have to ask for forgiveness, Tsunayoshi..." If anyone should ask for forgiveness it was him, and the others, not Tsuna.
Tsuna blushed slightly, and could only stare at Reborn in surprise for a moment before smiling slightly and allowing him to carry him without difficulty in his arms. Reborn had never kissed his forehead, and at that moment... He needed it, and it seemed to show. Reborn didn't take him to the dining room, or anywhere they could find them. At that moment Reborn wanted to have a serious talk with this Tsuna he was holding, and he was sure that Tsuna didn't want to be seen like that by anyone... They ended up in Tsuna's room, only he and his daughter had gotten into this place, no one else had gained enough courage to enter there, so for the time being they would be safe in that place.
"...This is your room..." It wasn't as bright as it used to be, but it still retained its warmth. Just like its owner. "Do you want to take a bath, how did we use to do it?" I wasn't going to leave him alone, not in these conditions. Maybe it wasn't a baby and that made Tuna uncomfortable, but she wasn't going to leave him alone in the bathtub.
"Yes... if it's not a nuisance..." Internally Reborn made a face, he couldn't blame him for being afraid and shy... but was it bad for him to love the Tsuna he got used to?
But again, I had to remember that this Tsuna as such was born he was 16, a few months before he was 17... and that particular event. That Tsuna had learned that he didn't have to be afraid of him, because he wouldn't hurt him just because, and if he really needed help, he just had to tell him... Sure, I wish he hadn't realized that thanks to a kidnapping and a lot of blood involved, but still... Perhaps he never made the best impression on Tsuna from the beginning, and that's why... Well, what else?
"Agr, that hurts..." Even so, Tsuna did not move.
"They have to be cleaned well, they could get infected..." And the worst thing was that he didn't need any more wounds... "You can squeeze my hand if it's too much..." That, or curse, both work.
Reborn didn't expect him to do the second one, at least not verbally, so he took his other hand, and the first one happened. After cleaning them and making sure everything was fine, I sell them. He would use his flames, but he wasn't sure whether or not that was a good idea at the time. If everything was resolved with sun flames, they wouldn't need an infirmary after all.
"Better?" Carefully, I wipe away the last tears of the moment.
"H-Hai..."
"Well, let's find you something comfortable..." Would you have remembered to buy him new pajamas?, who knows... Oh yes, it did.
"That one looks good..." Internally Reborn smiled, this boy and his orange...
"Then this will be." With that, he proceeded to put his shirt on top of him.
"Reborn!" The boy complained embarrassedly, but cooperating.
"Just shut up and let me help you." This was not said seriously, it was more joking.
Before long, they were both dressed and back in the room, there was only one detail... one that prompted Reborn to give Tsuna a sideways glance and ask:
"Do you want to do it, it always looks good on you." Hey, it wasn't that he was lazy, Tsuna seemed to want to do it... that, or he wanted to know if he was still indomitable.
"Ok..." Yes, he was still untamed, and difficult to comb... Curiosity satiated. "And Leon?, I haven't—Gah!"
León 1, Tsuna 0. Leon, tired of waiting to be noticed, decided to do something evil to Tsuna when he remembered his existence... which was to jump in his face and stick out his tongue before settling back into one of the pillows on the bed.
"I'll be back in a moment, don't leave here." It would be a problem to find him again if I did..."
Tsuna only nodded at him, a little intimidated. Leon only laughed a little before jumping on his lap and letting the boy pamper him, he would win a good time, and Tsuna would relax, what better situation than that?
"Ten, it has marshmallows." As long as it won't burn, everything would be fine."
Tsuna didn't say anything to him, but it was pretty obvious that he was a little confused by how Reborn was treating him... It wasn't common, but that didn't mean he didn't like it. Reborn didn't say anything to him, at least until he ran out of chocolate, feeling calmer and warmer inside... Honestly, why the hell hadn't I done this before, it was delicious... I was going to look for how it was done...
"It is not necessary, you can simply order it. Do you forget who you are, child?"
"Give me-Tsuna, why should I—"
"You're the Tenth, Tsunayoshi. You are the owner, master and lord of this mansion, you have personal chefs and everything. You don't need to learn how hot chocolate is made... but if you want to know so much, it's milk mixed with cocoa powder, simmered, with sugar, and there you go. Marshmallows are an add-on." It wasn't complicated..." "You like me, huh?"
"Hey..." He blushed at embarrassment, but nodded anyway.
"Feeling better?" Reborn asked seriously, leaving the game for a moment.
Reborn hadn't been able to read Tsuna's thoughts since he was 18, almost 19, so it was a little nostalgic for him to be able to do it now... but it was something useful in the current situation.
"Pretty much." He admitted without embarrassment. He hadn't felt this calm in days...
"Good, good..." Reborn ignored how Tsuna squealed in surprise as he was pushed against the bed, being gently laid on it. "I want to talk to you, and these will be the rules, so listen carefully, okay?"
"...H-Hai..." It was so strange that Reborn treated him like this...
"You are not obliged to respond if you do not want to, and you cannot lie either. I want you to be honest, but I'm not going to force you to answer anything you don't want, okay, if you want to ask questions, you can, but there are things I can't answer at this point and I hope you understand."
"...This is still strange..." He couldn't help but comment on it, a little uncomfortable, a little embarrassed. "Can I ask why the change is made?"
"First of all, there has never really been any change." At this Tsuna blinked. "Have I ever had a hard time being hurt or tired of something, Tsunayoshi?"
"...The truth... no." If anything, I'd been understanding and left him alone..." "You can tell me just Tsuna..."
"Do you want me to call you Tsuna?" Reborn closed his eyes for a moment, coming to a decision: he would hear everything Tsuna had to say, if he wanted to be called only Tsuna, he would be called that way. Perhaps all this would have been avoided if I had heard more...
"Tsunayoshi is very long, don't you think?" If I said I wasn't, I'd call him a liar." "Tsuna is fine, you can call me something else if you like, but Tsunayoshi..." it's kind of awkward, you know, and for God's sake... please, nothing to do with prickly pears or fish..." He had enough with his father, and frankly hated him, he was not a fish...
"He..." Even after he was 20, Tsuna would get upset with anyone who called him tuna, and he could become violent if he persisted. "Tsu, it's short, simple, and doesn't sound like prickly pear." The last thing was a joke, but instead of Tsuna laughing, I just look at him, as if evaluating what he had just said.
"I don't see why not. It can't get any shorter than that... and it's not a challenge!" He added, remembering that the vast majority in his family could take that as a challenge.
"Second... You're not only hurt, you're amnesiac, the last thing you need is to worry about me getting upset with you and trying to punish you, or teach you something." Yes, it was sad, I couldn't have fun as usual..." he wouldn't even have his playmate available for who knows how long... "Third, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but it's pretty obvious... Things aren't right around here, and they revolve around you. It's not your fault, so let it go... I'll fix the problem, I promise." Because... As far as I could see, the problem started much earlier than I had thought.