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1. “I refuse to be the father to this brat.” Says Firefighter A to Firefighter B.
Firefighter A, name: Benimaru Shinmon, age approximately twenty, peers down at the crying brat in Firefighter B’s arms in disgust.
Firefighter B, name: Konro Sagamiya, age thirty-six, live-in maid slash butler slash friend of Firefighter A smiles wryly as a bead of sweat travels down the side of his face.
“Yeah… I figured as much.” Konro does not say. Because much to Firefighter A’s disgust, the brat they’d saved from the Sawada Residence begins wailing and exploding into more flames.
“Hey! Don’t be so insensitive! The kid’s just lost his family, you know!” Konro raises his voice in a rare attempt at lecture.
Benimaru gives him a look that tells him he’s barking up the wrong tree.
Sawada Tsunayoshi continues wailing heartbrokenly, rubbing long sleeves over his weeping eyes. All he knows is that he’s seen his mother explode into flames before his eyes. His beloved Mama… who was the only member of his family! A-And these two men appeared out of nowhere with their flames… And the cross-circle-eyed man destroyed a number of houses, punching a hand through his mother’s chest.
Fact is, the neighbours are still screaming and shouting curses at them while throwing cans at the silly men.
“Ah… Gya, gya, gya, gya. What are you, bitches in heat?” The cross-circle-eyed man flips them off.
The taunt admittedly gets more of a tick mark. Tsuna jumps in alarm when empty washing powder containers get added into the array of flying banana skins and metal cans.
“Brat,” Benimaru kneels down on one knee before the kid. He takes in the flickering flames atop the brat’s head without batting an eye. “Do you get what just happened?” He asks.
“E-Eh?” Tsuna sniffles, wide and teary-eyed. “My kaa-san just succumbed to Spontaneous Human Combustion a-and—”
“We killed your mother, because she’ll go on to kill other people otherwise.” Benimaru shoves it in the brat’s face without giving much of a damn.
Beside them, Konro facepalms soundly with the heaviest sigh. “Young Master—”
“Don’t listen to this shithead no matter what he says.” Benimaru tells brunette brat. He seems like he has an ounce of intelligence in him, so, “You are now a third-generation pyrokinetic. See those flames on your head? It means that you’re free from the phenomenon we call human combustion. You are free to choose whether or not to use your ability for the people’s good. But don’t ever use it to join your mother’s murderers’ company.”
Benimaru sniffs. That should do it, right?
“Kaa-san…” Tsuna murmurs, pained. He looks from the house on literal fire, and he looks back at the cross-circle-eyed man. It takes much courage before he presses on. “E-Erm! You guys work to protect the innocent people from the fire, right?”
There is a halting pause from both adults.
Benimaru is incredulous.
“Are those ears of yours for show or are they actually worth something?” He grumbles, furrow developing between his brows. “We ruined the property of these freaking assholes.”
On cue, another can hits the back of his head and knocks it to the side.
Konro practically sparkles as he places a hand on Tsuna’s shoulder. It’s fucking creepy. He should stop it with that face.
“Yes, we do protect the masses, erm… Tsuna-kun, right?” Benimaru gives him a look. Don’t put on that nice guy face. What the heck are ya doing?
In Tsuna’s head, all he hears is that these people have protected the masses from his mother-turned-monster. It makes sense to him. These people have helped his Mama. She was in so much pain afterall, screaming at him to run, then hugging herself taut thereafter when Tsuna refused to leave just so she can keep herself from attacking him. It must have hurt so much, to be constantly burning without an escape in sight.
“I-I got it!” Sawada Tsunayoshi, age ten, announces as he looks up at cross-circle-eyed and his friend. “I… I will be good for the common people!”
“Ah. Very good.” Benimaru leans back. His job is done. Plan of foiling Konro’s plan to recruit new firefighters to become Group Dogs the Seven for the Special Fire Force, done.
“P-Please take me in so I can be of the best help possible to the civilians!” Tsuna bows his head ninety degrees from waist down, with full sincerity.
“……………” Benimaru makes a face, scowling down at the little spiky head that is beneath him. “Are you an idiot?”
Why did none of the things he just said penetrate this kid’s head?
Konro, up till now the one-man advocate of Asakura Firefighters becoming Special Fire Force Company 7, laughs heartily (to which Benimaru gives a mental middle finger) and places another good guy palm on the retarded brat’s head.
“Thank you. You’re very brave, Tsuna-kun. Let’s get you well-rested, alright?”
“Y-Yes!” With another crestfallen look in the direction of his burning house, Tsuna squeezes his eyes shut and forces himself to take a step forward.
-
2. “Please tell me you’re fucking kidding me.” Benimaru scowls down at Firefighter B later on that night. “The kid’s freaking ten.”
Konro does not hiss even when Benimaru slaps the heating pad down on his shoulder, even though Benimaru hoped he’d writhe in pain for it.
Serves him right. Who told him to be a reckless fool and go ahead to sacrifice his powers for Benimaru’s sake. Benimaru’s still not over that sting yet.
“…Young Master.” Konro sighs, even though he knows how much Benimaru hates that name.
“Don’t call me that.” Benimaru says sharply.
“It’s precisely because Tsuna-kun is ten.” Konro ignores the usual point of dissention. “You’re a rare hybrid between second and third generation pyrokinetics. Surely, you’d understand what kind of inhumane experiments Haijima conducts to children in there?”
Benimaru reluctantly shuts up.
True enough. Tsunayoshi’s ten. That’s way too impressionable by a third-generation standard. Not to mention… that twisted innocence of his.
Seeing as if he’s finished binding up Konro’s burns absently, Konro smiles in gratitude and pulls himself away so he can take a good look at his much younger friend.
“It’ll only be until he’s capable of taking care of himself.” Konro assures. “We don’t have to take him in as a member of our company permanently. I just want to make sure he knows how to use his abilities in an appropriate manner. Once he does, we can let him go off to the other companies.”
“Definitely not Company 5 or 4.” Benimaru hisses. 5’s practically Haijima’s nest. 4’s been way too late to Asakusa’s rescue far too many times. Benimaru will die before he lets an asset go off to either of these bastards.
“Look at you. You’re already making out to be a perfect older brother figure, aren’t you?” Konro chuckles fondly.
Benimaru shoots him a grumpy gaze.
“You’re in charge of his food and water. Also, make sure that he’s potty-trained, because I sure as hell ain’t doing any of that.” Benimaru rises to his feet and trots outwards.
“Yes, yes.” Konro smiles in his wake, whispering exasperatedly. “He isn’t a puppy.”
-
3. “You wet the bed, that’s why you accidentally set it on fire.” Firefighter A is unamused.
“E-Erm. Y-Yes…” Tsuna is beet red, looking down, pulling at the edges of his pyjamas shirt.
“You set the mattress on fire, that’s why there was smoke bellowing from my house and the fire alarm is going off in my house.” Benimaru is totally unamused. Why does Konro have to go on a business trip to the central precisely on this date, at this time?
“E-Em. Yes…” Tsuna chews on his bottom lip, eyes starting to look wet.
“…The Asakura firefighters came knocking on their leader’s door and woke me up. Just because you wet your pants and set your bed on fire.” And that’s the crux of the situation, isn’t it?
“I-I’m—I’m sorry—” Tsuna squeaks. Oh, those are full bloom tears, for sure.
Benimaru takes one deep breath. And two. He wrestles control over his mighty anger. It hasn’t quite faded, since today is bad, since the entire reason why Konro is gone is to get the Special Fire Forces to approve the signed documents for Asakura Firefighters’ legal change of name into Special Fire Forces The Lapdogs Grp 7.
Benimaru is mature. Benimaru can not take it out on a child. Benimaru has self-control.
“—E-Erm. Y-Young Master?” Tsuna tentatively calls out.
That name is the final straw on the camel’s back.
“What is it.” All guns out and blazing. Matoi at the back included.
Tsuna jumps and backs away at once.
“I’m sorry! I’m really, really sorry! I just wanted to ask if you want me to make you breakfast, since you’ll be late for work otherwise! I’m really sorry for wetting my bed! HIHH! That’s so embarrassing…” Tsuna drops off into a faint whisper, looking increasingly embarrassed of himself.
Good. He should be. He’s ten. And he still wets his bed.
“Go get those stinky clothes off yourself.” Benimaru lets his anger fade. “Konro’s taught you the basics, haven’t he? Anything will do. Just hurry up. Make me something nice to eat.”
“U-Understood!” Tsuna yelps and quickly makes away to cater to this scary young master’s orders.
Why he’s still calling him Young Master, he doesn’t really know. But since the Young Master doesn’t seem fond of him calling him as such, Tsuna wonders if he should simply term him by his family name.
“E-erm. Beni…maru-san?” Tsuna eyes the other searchingly when he’s done with two platefuls of food.
The cross-circle-eyed man’s as usual slumped face-down in the low table, groaning at every attempt to wake him up.
Tsuna finds him quite cute honestly. Such a big scary monster, easily turning into the sleepiest, easy-to-pamper brat on sleepy mornings. He wonders if this is how his Mom felt, back when she was nudging him time and again to get up, pouring her love into breakfasts and bentos.
“Benimaru-san!” Tsuna calls lightly again.
A little fucker’s waking him up and Benimaru will raze him to the ground and he will chomp his head right off if he doesn’t—
“Do you want a cookie?” Tsuna smiles as he offers a snack he’d made the day before, unable to help himself from spoiling him.
“…Oi, you.” Benimaru stares, hair still sleep-mused, blanket still draping sloppily over him. “…Why are you mothering me like Konro?”
“Eh?” Tsuna jumps, immediately uneasy. He puts his hands together and away. “S-Should I not?”
“…No. It’s good.” What’s pride anyways when Benimaru’s lived all twenty years of his life being a pampered spoiled brat? He takes a bite of the cookie, which he finds to be the best he’s ever eaten. (And he gets to monopolize all of it with Asakura. Isn’t that a good thought?) “Sit down and eat with me.”
Tsuna quietly thinks this man is quite cute, for not saying the things that he really means and demonstrating it all with actions.
“…Yes!” He beams.
-
4. “Look carefully to see what happens when the Young Master activates his powers to go after an Infernal.” Konro smiles. “His example is exactly what you must not follow in the other districts.”
“I will, Konro-san!” As per his master’s instructions, Tsuna fixes his gaze on the skies in the horizon as the alarm continues blaring and the firefighters shout out warnings over the roofs about an Infernal within Asakura.
“North-east! Approximately fifty metres from here! It’s close to Katou’s house!”
As per usual, Benimaru takes a matoi off its holding pole to march off, one hakata sleeve loosened to allow easier movement.
Tsuna makes a note to make a reinforce the clothing’s edges as he watches Benimaru light up his matoi with stark orange flames – and fly up by the end of his matoi – not very unlike a witch from his broom. Tsuna smiles softly to himself at the imagery.
“Over there! The markers have already been put down for you, Young Master!” Shouts a firefighter from the rooftops of three blocks away as he races away from the site of carnage.
Benimaru scowls deeper as he raises his arm, summoning four other matoi to create a sunshot of five blazing matois, all pointed forward in ready to start the death festival.
“I told you… Don’t call me by that name.” Benimaru hisses beneath his breath coolly and narrows his eyes.
“HIHHHH!” Tsuna screams when a series of crashes and burns resound through the entire Asakura. A district goes up in flames because of a single Infernal still yet to lose control. “I-Is this really necessary?!” He whips his head over to look at his master.
“Well… That’s why I told you not to do this in other districts, right?” Konro smiles with all the resignation of one who’s been tossed cans and banana peels because he’s suffered Benimaru’s stupidity.
“But even so, why…” Tsuna’s voice drifts off when he sees the cross-circle-eyed man standing in the heart of the dissipating smoke and still alit embers.
His arm’s stuck through the chest of the blazing Infernal. He’s murmuring something beneath his breath, eyes too worn to even shed a tear when the Infernal raises a hand and places it on his shoulder.
As thanks.
Brown eyes widen as it occurs to him what exactly’s going on between the two of them.
The Infernal disappears in ashes, accompanied by a barrage of seven houses to fit it.
“Time to open up another barrel of sake!”
“It’s time for partying!”
Asakura’s villagers laugh rampant as they poke their heads out of their windows, toss streamers that’re always collected at the end of every festival, each stopping their work to celebrate the life of a human-turned-Infernal who has just passed on to the netherworld.
Two people stand silent in the edges of this festive occasion.
“But… Konro-san…” Tsuna sheds a tear. “I-I can’t—I can’t imagine this being any easier on our finances.”
“Yeah… Why do you think I always work overnight for it?” Konro smiles with all the resignation of one who’s given his powers and every night for the sake of his Young Master. If it’s for the sake of Asakura, he’ll offer his beating heart and more. (Though how much that’s worth, again, he’ll have to recalculate the costs.)
-
5. “You think he is one of those rumoured fourth-generation with multi-coloured flames and shitty blood-type attitude things?” Benimaru lifts a brow that’s a 100% judgemental.
“It’s a thing that has been popping up in the western countries lately.” Konro says without batting an eyelash. “More reports have been coming in of criminal associations misusing flame abilities like his. They are apparently in all colours of the rainbow.”
Benimaru personally thinks all of this is shit. But what does he know about it anyways?
“What makes you think Tsunayoshi’s flames are so special from ours anyways?” He looks at Firefighter B.
He knows Firefighter B’s been getting lonesome because Firefighter C’s been off completing his theoretical education elsewhere.
Konro seems to find it hard to explain.
“…There was a… pull, Young Master.”
“Ho?” Benimaru lifts another brow.
“Something that’s like gravity when I accidentally brushed against his flames. Even though I’m supposed to be in Tephrosis after I overused my flames, it felt like my flames was getting called up to the surface, and it didn’t hurt.” Konro looks a little bewildered himself. “It felt odd, but it certainly coincides with all that talk about orange sky flames and harmonization abilities.”
“Basically, your hard disk was broken and he’d almost managed to revive it.” Benimaru summarizes dryly.
“To put it in a more blunt way, that’d be correct.” Konro states.
“Then, there’s definitely no way in hell we’re letting Tsunayoshi get close to Haijima or Company 5. Ever.” Benimaru hisses.
There is a pause.
“…Konro?”
Benimaru swears. He will light up all his matoi’s and storm Company 5 in an army of broomsticks if Konro’s lack of colour turns out to be because—
“I… must apologize, Young Master.” Konro whispers, pale. “Tsuna-kun insisted on handling all the procedures for his formal integration into our company as one of our own. Now that you mentioned it, the integration procedures does include a flame check up by the resident company’s medic, and since our company does not have one, he must have gone to company 5 or Haijima by default—”
“I will tear Haijima piece by piece into absolute garbage.” Benimaru rises to his feet.
“I shall arrange the firefighters to put out the flames in your wake.” Konro smiles smoothly as he prepares his blade. “Please don’t worry.”
-
Thus begins the SFF Company 7’s legendary infiltration of Company 5 for a kid that’s not even there, before they run into Tsuna on their way to tear down the SFF’s sponsors.
“Ah, Benimaru-san!” Tsuna’s face lights up when he sees them.
Delight converts into worry when he sees the worrying group of traditionally-dressed firefighters marching after them, army of matoi’s in hand and all that.
“…What are you guys doing?” =.= He thinks he might not want to know.
“What about you, goofing around with your friends when you should be working?” Benimaru takes note of the three kids that are following after his not-charge. They sure look free. Free school-skippers, that is.
“Ah. It’s just—I ran into these guys while I was off going back to Namimori for grave-visiting!” Tsuna smiles as he waves his hand to his new… erm. ‘Friends’ will be asking for a bit of a beating with one of them. “This is Yamamoto Takeshi, Sasagawa Ryohei, and Hibari Kyouya! They apparently have this really weirdly coloured flame!”
Oh no.
Benimaru thinks as he stares at the natural manner in which these flame-children have already gravitated towards his not-charge.
Not even eleven. And he already has to beat away pursuers left and right?
He lifts a hand and smears off that duty on a gaping Konro’s bandaged shoulder unrepentantly. The graceful swordsman lets out a frog-like croak that suggests he’s on his last line.
“Food, water, and training, all yours.” Benimaru reminds him once again in a low whisper that has Konro breaking out in a waterfall fit of sweat.
“Wait! Young Master!” Konro’s last cry goes dutifully ignored.
It is Benimaru’s duty as ‘Young Master’ to relegate tasks and spend his days fighting fires. (And causing them at the 5th’s.)
SFF Company 7 shortly gains the title of the strongest within the army of Blue Stripes itself. Not only because of that incredibly young but incredibly strong platoon, but also because of their Commander who throws himself full heartedly into his training, determined to ignore all his lieutenant’s pleas for help.
The Asakura dwellers will say that their territory is expanding; not only does their benevolent Commander want to protect Asakura, he is big-hearted enough to want to cover all places that were previously being neglected by the 4th before. Namimori is, of course, one of the first to get involved in this territory-snatching. Tsuna is more than fine with bringing protection to a place that was an old home for him, so long as it means more people will be safe.
-
6. “How did things become this way?” Says Benimaru on New Year’s Eve, not even surprised anymore when Tsuna brings home yet another stray.
“T…These girls are newly orphaned. T-They don’t have a place to stay…” Tsuna allows the twin girls to bury their faces into his sides.
Benimaru does not even bother to roll his eyes anymore.
On the side, Konro seems to be on the verge of yet another hyperventilation fit. He still hasn’t gotten over the last one which brought about a generous portion of explosions and triumphant screaming.
“A-Are they one of the coloured ones too?” Konro smiles kindly (pleadingly).
“Eh? No, they’re not, but…” Tsuna looks down at the girls who barely reach his chest level.
Lowering their eyes in tandem, they grasp each other’s hands and flaming ears and tails shoot out of their heads and behinds, two humanoid foxes standing in their places at once.
Benimaru lowers his teacup to the table at once and flicks a finger at Konro dismissively.
“Your one.”
“No, Young Master, I can’t—”
“Ahaha! Master! What’s wrong? You look like you’re at your wits’ end or something!” Yamamoto cheerily points out as he claps a hand amicably against the back of the thirty-plus year old’s shoulder.
“EXTREME! We’re here to visit and play again!” Screams one Sasagawa out in the rain.
“Shut up! What are you doing, being all noisy when we should be incognito?” Hisses one Gokudera.
Benimaru is frankly just really enjoying his fair share of washing his hands of this business. And torturing Konro, because who insisted on taking in Kid A aka. Sawada Tsunayoshi back then? Karma is a good gift that never fails to keep giving.
“Well, if it’s only just for a while. We can transfer them to other companies thereafter anyways.” At Benimaru’s laidback quip, Konro chokes and decides to drown his sorrows with another cup of sake. Only, sake must be water because there is still paperwork which has to be done.
-
“A…Are you sure we hadn’t mistaken a nursery for Company 7 or something?” Asks the newbie devil kid from company 8 when they come over to visit.
“Gyahahahaha! Lambo-san wins this round!” Laughs the lightning brat as he runs.
“Stop it, Lambo!” Tsuna screams, flustered as he tries to get the child to stop.
“Careful with your opinions there.” Benimaru scratches the top of his head as he sinks deep down at his house’s entrance. He points. “We’ve got plenty of pyrokinetics over here.”
Hibari looms over the back of these crowding etiquette-less assholes. Because 1) who are they to intrude upon the FireMan’s turf when they belong to a separate company? 2) Hibari has long since gotten full monopoly over Company 5 from the insides (via afro), he doesn’t need them messing around. And 3) They haven’t filed in the proper paperwork. That is going to lead to Mom-Guy being upset again, and when Mom-Guy becomes upset, Sky-Herbivore always end up over-salting his hamburgs, possibly with his tears.
That is absolutely unacceptable.
“I’ll bite you to death.” Hibari hisses.
“Oh? Are we holding another festival?” Ryohei perks up when he’s coming back from school.
“Go on ahead, my loyal guard dogs.” Benimaru says languidly as he points a finger to allow his rag-tag troop of fire brats to unleash all their repressed teenage hormones on these idiots from Company 8.
“Wait a minute-! We’re just here to talk—”
Company 8 saw neither hand nor foot of the renown Strongest Firefighter thereafter. The corruption within SFF is resolved by Company 7 Platoon 1 single-handedly anyways.
-
7. “Our house’s Ryohei and Kyoko are not home. Usually, around this time, they’d be over in Asakura doing their usual club activities—”
Reborn is already strutting away from the intercom before the older Sasagawa can finish.
He is pissed. Ultra-mega-super levels of pissed. Because Iemitsu is clearly shit, and he deserves to die when he hasn’t even realized his own wife got turned into an infernal three fucking years ago.
The Sawada brat vanishes himself off to somewhere, picked up by two firefighters. To make things worse, it seems like he has already gathered his own group of guardians from around here. Reborn hasn’t even gotten the chance to check on their background.
Evidently, more investigation will have to be done on the current state of Sawada Tsunayoshi’s flame harmonization before he can make more decisions—
Reborn stops, binoculars still pressed to his eyes.
Because is that blue flames he’d just seen over there?
As if on cue, more explosions erupt and the vicinity is swarmed by the blazes of seven-coloured flames.
“Uwah~ Tsunayoshi-sama and his friends’ flames are a beau to see as always!”
“Tsunayoshi-sama, please grant Kotaro-san a kind and merciful death.”
“Make more of a chaos this time round!” Cheers another villager, who Reborn had clearly just seen exit one of the houses in close proximity to said area of calamity.
The people of this small traditional Japanese town, Asakura, are fucked up.
In the midst of the seven rainbow colours, Tsuna trots forward to this poor townsman who’s burning up. Kotaro turns to look at him, face unreadable through the scalding of flames burning away at rotting flesh. Tsuna offers a hand and he grasps Kotaro’s hesitant one firmly.
Tsuna smiles.
“Thank you for all your service to date.”
Kotaro nods. In the burn of the flames, it seems as if even his tears have evaporated.
Tsuna wastes no time to freeze Kotaro to death.
He’s seen enough.
Reborn lowers his binoculars.
The kid is kind. That’s a liability. Kind enough to kill someone to spare them of their pain? Goddamn it. It’s this kind of children that are the hardest to raise. They’re brought up with the careful instillation of the fragility of life, and they’re fully conscious of it. In most cases, it’s even worse than an oblivious, ignorant little sheep. At least those start off as unchipped blocks of clay easily mouldable.
But come to think of it. There were seven flames lighting up Tsuna’s vicinity. Is there another sky that is interfering with Tsuna’s growth—?
Reborn stiffens the moment he senses a sky standing behind him. He spins around. The man's cross-circled eyes are glaring down at him like he’s a bug on the foot of his sole.
“Do you have some sort of business sneaking around my town, arcobaleno? Cough it up or you’ll be sorry.”
Reborn curses as his gaze darts to the blazing army of matoi’s the man has surrounding him.
Sawada Tsunayoshi got taken in by a firefighter.