Chapter Text
The day after Yamamoto's attempt, the baseball idol had shown up at Tsuna's house early before school.
"Good morning, Takeshi," Tsuna said, yawning. He had expected this to happen so he knew Yamamoto would show up sooner or later.
The taller boy had his arm in a cast now, a bright blue one. There was already some text written in sharpie on it, looking like it was from Yamamoto's dad, Tsuyoshi (who Tsuna had saw at the school's last parents day).
Yamamoto grinned, his face looking lighter. "Hey, Tsuna," he greeted, holding up a bag of what smelled like sushi, "mind if I come in for a moment?"
Tsuna nodded, stepping aside to let him in. The taller boy wandered in, headed to the kitchen where he could hear clanging of cutlery and plates, as well as the tap running. Tsuna followed behind, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Oh, hello! Are you one of Tsu's friends?" Nana asked, as soon as Yamamoto stepped into the kitchen. Reborn was at the table, sipping his coffee and eyeing the two of them with interest. "Tsu has brought home so many new friends recently!"
Yamamoto nodded, handing over the bag of sushi to her. "Dad said I should always bring something with me when I meet someone and he had cooked this special for Tsuna and you, Mrs Sawada," he said, giving her the bag. "I'm Takeshi Yamamoto, Tsuna stopped me from making a really silly choice after I broke my arm."
"My Tsu is always good at that," Nana giggled, taking the bag and putting it in the fridge for later. "But please, call me Mama. Mrs Sawada sounds too formal, and a friend of Tsuna's is always welcome."
Tsuna stepped over to Reborn, pulling Yamamoto's attention to the baby. "Is this the baby Hibari mentioned?" Yamamoto asked, completely unfazed by a baby drinking coffee.
"Yeah, this is Reborn," Tsuna said, gesturing to said baby.
"Ciassu, I'm the world's greatest hitman," Reborn said, standing up and wandering on the table over to Yamamoto and sticking a hand out to him.
Tsuna slapped a hand to his face, groaning. He was about to come up with something else to tell Yamamoto, when the boy burst out laughing. "Wow, Tsuna, what a funny baby!" Yamamoto chuckled, shaking Reborn's hand with as much gusto as he would anyone else. "Nice to meet ya, kid! I'm Takeshi Yamamoto!"
Yamamoto seemed completely unfazed that Reborn just admitted to being a hitman, despite his baby appearance. Tsuna really shouldn't have expected any different, and the situation just made him smile.
"He'll make a fine, new addition to your famiglia Useless-Tsuna, well done," Reborn said, nodding appreciatively at Tsuna.
Any other time, Tsuna would have appreciated the praise from the cold hitman, but this time it really just annoyed him. "No he's not going to be part of the mafia-"
"Mafia?" Yamamoto cut in, looking confused. For a moment, Tsuna was afraid that would scare the baseball idol off, but instead Yamamoto smiled. "Is this a fun game you like to play, Tsuna?"
Tsuna blinked, staring at his new friend. Did he really think that it was a game? Yamamoto's grin looked genuine, but Tsuna knew the taller boy was very good at covering what he truly felt and thought. "No, I'm training Useless-Tsuna to be the best mafia boss so he can take over the Vongola famiglia in Italy," Reborn stated simply, as if he was talking about the weather.
"Oh, okay, can I play too?" Yamamoto asked, looking genuinely interested. Tsuna wanted to cry. "I do owe Tsuna after all. And I'm happy to play any part that will help him."
Reborn smiled, and the sight made Tsuna gulp. It was his scheming smile. "I like you, Takeshi Yamamoto," he said, his voice almost a purr.
Yamamoto grinned, throwing an arm around Tsuna's shoulder and making the smaller boy yelp. "That's good kid, because I'm here to stay."
"Why are you walking with us, stupid baseball idiot? You almost got the Tenth killed," Gokudera growled as they made their way to school.
After Yamamoto's surprising interaction with Reborn, the three started heading to school and met up with Gokudera, Hana and Kyoko on the way. Apparently Gokudera was angry that Yamamoto had gotten there before him, and was not holding back.
"Yamamoto is joining the famiglia," Reborn piped up, from his spot on Tsuna's head. "Useless-Tsuna requested he join."
"No I didn't-!"
"WHAT!? Tenth! Him!?" Gokudera exploded, jabbing a finger in Yamamoto's direction. "That stupid moron doesn't even know about the mafia!"
Yamamoto grinned. "The kid told me about the game you guys are playing and Tsuna let me join in," he said, not helping the situation.
Gokudera's face turned red, presumably at the mafia being called a game, but Hana cut in before he could explode anymore. "We know about it too, monkey," she drawled, gesturing to her and Kyoko (who was giggling at the situation). "Are you going to yell at us, too? Because if you yell at Kyoko I won't hold back."
"Che. As if you could touch me, woman," Gokudera growled, fists clenched.
"Hayato, Takeshi is here to stay," Tsuna spoke up gently, stepping in to stop any fights from occurring. "He's my friend too, and I would like you two to get along, please?"
Gokudera stared at him for a moment, before sighing. "For you Tenth, I can try," he said, looking like he really didn't want to.
Yamamoto laughed, swinging an arm around the dog's shoulders in a friendly manner, making said dog growl. "I reckon we'll become fast friends, Gokudera!"
"Get off of me, stupid baseball brain!" Gokudera barked, moving out from under his arm. Yamamoto didn't seem fazed by this, and simply laughed again.
"Seems like lunch time is more lively, Tsu," Kyoko giggled, linking her arm with Tsuna's.
Hana rolled her eyes. "Gods, help me," she grumbled.
As Kyoko had said, lunch time got move lively. In fact, Tsuna's life in general got more lively.
The addition of Yamamoto had made things a lot louder, particularly between him and Gokudera. The dog Familiar wasn't happy that Tsuna was friends with Yamamoto and that the baseball idol was sticking around, but he did his best to get used to the situation.
(Really, Tsuna was impressed no physical fights had started out yet. Just verbal spars.)
Reborn kept his word, and had taught Hana and Kyoko basic self defense, giving them the option of continuing if they wanted to. Both girls declined, not wanting to really fight unless they had to protect themselves.
He and Tsuna had kept up with their practice, and study nights had now expanded to add Yamamoto to them too after the baseball idol had admitted to flunking most of his tests (it was the first time Tsuna had seen Hana angry).
"You move on instinct," Reborn stated, snapping Tsuna out of his thoughts. The two were stood in a clearing away from the town. Reborn had apparently wanted to try something different. Originally he had been showing Tsuna some moves that he could use against Hibari. "But you run out of stamina too easily. So, I've organised for you to start doing some stamina training. In order for you to unlock your full potential, your body needs to be able to withstand anything I throw at you."
The hitman grinned, and Tsuna knew he was in for a hellish day of training. "So, I've created what I like to call the Fun Run," the hitman continued, gesturing to the woods behind him. "You will run for as long as you can throughout the woods and reach the bottom of the mountain on the other side. Sounds easy, right?" the baby asked, but Tsuna knew he wasn't really looking for an answer. "I've upped the difficulty. I've called in a favour from a friend, you will be chased by some mafioso who want to kill you."
"What- Reborn!?" Tsuna exclaimed, not really believing that the hitman was going to try and kill him.
Reborn shrugged. "You can choose to believe me or not, but if I were you I would run for your life. Now, get ready to start because as soon as I say begin, they'll begin to shoot at you. Ready? Set, go!"
Tsuna didn't move, not believing what he was hearing. But one second later, a bullet went whizzing past his head and slamming into the ground. Tsuna yelped, and his legs began moving without him thinking about it.
"Have fun!" Reborn's voice chirped from behind him, but Tsuna ignored it.
He could hear bullets from all around him, but couldn't see who was shooting them. He would have thought that the bullets weren't actually real, but one had grazed his left arm and he definitely felt the pain from it.
Only one thought was present in his head as he ran. And it was that Reborn was a sadistic, hellish, devil spawn of a baby.
He continued to run, feeling out of breath within the first few minutes. He knew he still had so much farther to go, so he ducked into a small alcove of trees and crouched down for a moment to catch his breath. He thought he was safe, but realised he wasn't when a rain of bullets came from behind him.
He groaned, pushing through the pain in his chest and swerved to avoid the shots. Luckily, the strange intuitive feeling he had all his life was helpful, and he relied on it to avoid getting shot anymore. One lucky shot managed to hit him and went straight through his right upper arm. The pain and shock made him stumble, but he regained his footing and ran faster.
It must have taken him over an hour to reach the other clearing, where Reborn stood on a tree stump looking unimpressed. He dropped to his knees struggling to catch his breath, blood running down both arms. The adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was setting in.
"97 minutes. Terrible. But I don't think that was difficult enough, so next time I'm gonna make it even harder."
Tsuna groaned, falling onto his back on the grass. "You're... evil..." he managed between gasps as the baby wandered over to him.
"Keep up Useless-Tsuna," Reborn grinned, teeth bared. "I'm worse than the devil herself."
Gokudera wasn't happy when Tsuna returned home with his arm in a sling and his other arm bandaged. It took Tsuna all his remaining strength to calm his guardian down before he conked out in bed.
He woke up the next morning too sore to react to a giant golden retriever laying across his stomach. He groaned as he slowly sat up, the dog waking up with the movement.
In a second, Gokudera was standing in front of his bed and the dog had disappeared. "Tenth! Good morning!" he cheered, a grin spreading on his face. "I wanted to make sure you were okay after yesterday! Damn Reborn for getting you hurt."
"What was that?" Reborn growled, and Tsuna looked up to see the baby standing on his windowsill.
"Reborn! I mean-"
Reborn huffed, Leon transforming into a gun that aimed at Gokudera's face. "Continue what you were saying, Smokin' Bomb."
Tsuna groaned as his guardian began to stutter an excuse, and gingerly pulled himself out of bed. "Hayato is sorry," he said, stepping in front of the bomber. "Isn't he?"
He turned to glance at Gokudera, and that look was all it took for Gokudera to mumble out an apology towards Reborn.
The baby nodded, the gun transforming back into Leon's chameleon form. "Good. Useless-Tsuna needs the training, and the pain will help drive the lessons home," he said, completely unapologetic towards his student's pain.
"It's okay Hayato," Tsuna smiled, though the pain in his arm was coming back. Reborn wasn't completely heartless and had gotten him some painkillers to have when he needed so he grabbed a couple and swallowed them.
"Oh! The Tenth's mother told me to let you know that breakfast is ready!" Gokudera spoke up, looking as if he had suddenly remembered it. "So we should go down before that stupid baseball idiot eats it all."
"Takeshi's here?" Tsuna asked, eyes widening. His friends were crazy. He didn't know anyone else who had friends that showed up to their house at 6 am.
"As well as Kurokawa and Sasagawa," Gokudera nodded, not looking happy about it.
Reborn jumped down from the windowsill. "Mama made enough for everyone, but if you don't hurry and get dressed then I'll eat your share too."
At the threat, Tsuna kicked out the baby and his Familiar quickly and tried his best to get dressed quickly. His uniform wasn't easy to put on with the gunshot wounds, but he somehow managed. He knew Reborn would follow through on his threat.
Once he was dressed he headed downstairs. The kitchen was lively - his mother was dancing around as she started cleaning dishes, the table was full of food and juices for the kids (with Reborn's coffee in front of him), Kyoko and Hana were talking to each other with smiles on their faces while Yamamoto was laughing while Gokudera was yelling at him.
"Good morning, Tsu!" Nana greeted him, coming over to give him a kiss on the cheek before turning back to the dishes.
The others looked up at him, Yamamoto and Gokudera giving him a wave before turning back to their 'argument'. Kyoko and Hana, however, lingered on the sling his arm was in. "Are you okay, Tsu?" Kyoko asked, worry seeping into her voice.
"Copying the baseball monkey now, Sawada?" Hana added, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm fine," Tsuna replied to Kyoko, smiling at them both. He knew Reborn had told them that it was simply an accident during training, which it was he supposed.
He sat down at the table and began to eat breakfast, the others joining him and building up conversation once more. Kyoko and Hana gave him worried glances, so he knew he'd have to help ease their worries.
Reborn's hellish training continued after that, and true to his word he did up the difficulty each time. He also took into account Tsuna's injuries and made sure whatever they did wouldn't make them worse.
Somedays it was the same life-threatening run through the forest. Other days, Tsuna would have to try to land a hit on Reborn without getting hit himself. Reborn changed it up each time so Tsuna wouldn't get used to one thing.
He had thrown himself into his studies, and continued to spar against Hibari each Friday - though the prefect still wasn't happy with his progress and made sure Tsuna was aware of that fact.
"I can still beat you with one hit, herbivore. Not good enough."
And then the cycle would continue.
It all came to a head one day when Yamamoto showed up to Tsuna's house early in the morning, on a Sunday. When Tsuna was woken up by a knock at the door, he was surprised to see Yamamoto stood there with a bag in his hand and a grin on his face. "Hey Tsuna, I come bearing breakfast!"
"What are you doing here so early?" Tsuna asked, eyeing the bag for a moment then looking back at Yamamoto.
The baseball idol's face turned serious, eyes hardened. "I think I need to talk to you, can I come in?"
Tsuna blinked, the sudden change in attitude catching him off guard. "Sure. Come in," he said, confused and worried as he stood to the side to let Yamamoto in.
Yamamoto wandered in, putting the bag gently on the dining table. "Hey kid," he said, and Tsuna followed him to find Reborn stood on the table sipping at his coffee. It was still so early that Nana wasn't up yet, so Reborn must have gotten up when Tsuna did. "Sorry if I woke you up."
"Takeshi Yamamoto," Reborn nodded, not looking fazed at all. Tsuna had come to realise that Reborn had his eye on Yamamoto, slightly different to the way he had one on Tsuna. "Are you two busy? What are you up to?"
Tsuna rolled his eyes. "Nothing, dad. Takeshi said he needed to talk to me," he said, still kind of tired from waking up so early. Reborn's eye glinted dangerously, and Tsuna knew he'd pay for that one later. Instead, he turned back to Yamamoto and gestured up stairs. "Come on, if you need to talk we can do it in my bedroom."
He led the taller boy upstairs, a bit worried about Yamamoto's mood. His friend seemed anxious and depressed, like he was before they became friends.
Once they were in his room, he closed the door. "Are you okay?" he asked, sitting down on the bed.
Yamamoto sat at his desk, across from him. His expression looked tight, like he was fighting something in his own head. Tsuna thought back to any fights they might have had, or anything that happened recently but he was drawing a blank. He knew Yamamoto and Gokudera were worried about the training (well mainly Yamamoto, Gokudera knew what being in the mafia was like) but he didn't think it was this bad. "I've been thinking about something. I don't think I'm able to protect you like this."
"Protect me?" Tsuna blinked. "You don't need to protect me, we're friends."
Yamamoto shook his head. "We are friends, but I owe you Tsuna," he said, looking Tsuna in the eye. His eye contact was fierce, it wasn't anything that Tsuna had seen from him before. "What you're involved in? I feel like I should be doing more to help. You keep coming home bruised and hurt, and I can't do anything about it."
"You can't really protect me from Reborn," Tsuna said, a small smile on his face. And it was true. Tsuna wouldn't really want anyone else subjected to his schedule right now. He is in a constant state of pain. "I'm safe."
"Gokudera told me what Reborn is here for," Yamamoto said, shutting Tsuna right up. "I knew it wasn't a game. Of course it wasn't. But I want to be able to be there to protect you, so Reborn actually offered to give me some training too."
Tsuna's eyes widened. "What?" he squeaked. He was going to KILL Reborn. The hitman hadn't told him about this at all. "Takeshi you don't-"
Yamamoto held up a hand to stop him. "I spoke to him last night. And I wanted to ask you if you would bond with me."
That somehow shut Tsuna up. He blinked, eyes wide as he stared up at Yamamoto. The taller boy was deadly serious it seemed, his face giving nothing away. "You want to bond with me? Why?"
"You gave me a chance," Yamamoto shrugged, as if he wasn't essentially pledging his life to Tsuna. "You saved my life, Tsuna. I owe you, and I want to be able to protect you better than I can at the moment. Reborn sees something in me that can protect you and I want to take that chance."
Tsuna bit his lip. "I was what got you onto the ledge though."
The taller boy tilted his head, confusion showing on his face. He took a few moments to really understand what Tsuna had said, and then he shook his head. He reached out, gently grabbing Tsuna by the upper arms and pulling him into a tight hug. "You had nothing to do with that, Tsuna," he said gently, as if Tsuna was the one who needed comforting rather than the other way around. "I made that choice. You helped me see how silly I was being. I would have ended up there even if you hadn't talked to me originally because I was already struggling. So I don't want you to be feeling guilty over that, especially when it's because of you that I didn't jump."
Tsuna said nothing, simply breathing into Yamamoto's chest as he took in the words. He knew he had a tendency to blame himself for something outside of his control, but part of being a friend, to him, meant taking on his friends' struggles as his own to help him through it. But still, he didn't know if he could take what Yamamoto was saying as truth.
"I'm sorry," Tsuna said instead, pulling away from the hug. "Are you okay, Takeshi?"
Yamamoto grinned, though it was softer than it's usual shape. It felt more personal. "I'm better now, and I hope you are too," he said, letting his arms drop back down to his sides. "But you aren't distracting me! I want to bond with you. Would you want to bond with me?"
It was such an honest question, Tsuna was almost convinced the entire friendship was a joke. But the smile on Yamamoto's face was genuine and hopeful, and Tsuna knew his answer immediately. "Of course I do," he said, smiling back at his new Familiar. "Do you know how to do it? Hayato showed me."
"I've never done it," Yamamoto laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
Tsuna knew that was the case. He pulled away from Yamamoto and moved to his bedside table, where he kept the pocket knife that Gokudera left him after their bonding ritual. He gripped the knife in his hand as he turned back to Yamamoto, staring down at the blade. "Um, so first we have to draw blood," he said, suddenly feeling unsure with Yamamoto's eyes on him, watching him earnestly. He knew from experience that sitting down was better for this, so he decided to drop into a cross-legged position on the ground. Yamamoto followed, and he continued. He reached out, drawing the blade against his palm quickly and wincing at the sting. As soon as he was done, he passed it to Yamamoto who did it the same as him. Once the two of them were ready, Tsuna took a deep breath as he tried to remember what Gokudera had said, word for word. It was difficult, but he focused on the warm feeling of his bond and grabbed Yamamoto's hand gently.
As the two of them held hands, he repeated the strange incantation that Gokudera had uttered, and felt an intense calm wash over him almost immediately. He looked at Yamamoto - the taller boy had his eyes closed, with a soft blue flame radiating around him. His entire essence felt calm and supportive, different to Gokudera's fiery warmth. It felt like the very core of Yamamoto's being, and Tsuna let the feeling flow through him.
After what felt like hours, he opened his eyes again to feel Yamamoto's hand on his shoulder. The baseball idol looked concerned, so he smiled up at him. The cuts and blood on their palms were gone too. "Takeshi. How do you feel?"
"I feel perfect," Yamamoto said softly, his face looking relaxed compared to the tightness from earlier, which Tsuna was glad for. "Thank you, Tsuna. I'm really happy you decided to bond with me."
Tsuna stood slowly, helping Yamamoto stand up with him. The two were still alone, which meant that at least Reborn hadn't barged in during the ritual. But the baby hitman was the one who was insistent Tsuna recruit some members for the Famiglia. "But you have to promise not to step in and get upset if I'm sore from training," he said, trying to make his tone definitive and leaving no room for argument - like Reborn often did.
Yamamoto smiled, reaching forward to ruffle his hair. "You don't have to worry Tsuna, I trust you."
The two of them decided to head back downstairs to join Reborn but something stopped Tsuna. He blinked, turning around to look at the window. He could have sworn that he felt someone watching him, but when he actually looked there was no one there. He shook the feeling off and followed Yamamoto, forgetting about it for the time being.