Chapter Text
The house of the Sawada family's front lawn is filled with various herbs and vegetables. The smell of the herbs especially pleased Reborn's nose, reminding him of every Italian Nonnas's garden.
Inconvenience since nothing in the Sawada family ever notes that someone in Iemitsu's civilian family had a penchant for green thumb. He knows the head of Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia (CEDEF) can be quite unreliable, at least, not this unreliable. The files that were given to Reborn by CEDEF about the Sawada family are flimsy at best. To summarise; Sawada Nana is a dedicated housewife, a yamato nadeshiko; the perfect woman every Japanese man wants to marry. While her daughter, Sawada Yasutsuna is a clumsy, wimpy, and bottom-ranked middle schooler; a Dame-Tsuna; the word is highlighted in red.
He skimmed over in distaste to see the word 'Tsunayoshi' was scratched off with a pen crudely and the name Yasutsuna was written over the scratch. Did Iemitsu forget how to write a report or something? He's a grown man for God's sake, not a preschool toddler!
Reborn and Sawada Iemitsu have an unsaid mutual dislike that began when they first encountered each other as Iemitsu, before he became the head of CEDEF, tried to sway him into becoming his Guardian which was blatantly rejected. The whole thing was thought to be a 'gets off on the wrong foot' situation. Oh, Reborn begs to differ; Iemitsu was way over his head and that hasn't changed. Just because he's a Sky doesn't mean he can't get anything he wants. The bastardo is the most egotistical Sky he's ever known.
Why the Vongola Ninth Boss approved his spoiled distant relative to be a leader of an organization is beyond Reborn's comprehension. Timoteo doesn't inherit his mother's talent to see the whole measure of people; he may be smart but he's not clever. He chose to be the moderate faction in Vongola so Iemitsu could handle the militant faction and like a house on fire, they revel in it.
Every time Reborn stood in front of Daniela's grave, he lamented how they were really in it now.
Then God proves himself to exist as he graces CEDEF a mercy in the form of Lal Mirch, a fellow Arcobaleno, to keep CEDEF's dunderhead in line. She was the one who took responsibility for training CEDEF's agents, so they wouldn't be turned into comeuppance like their damned boss.
Don't get Reborn wrong though, Iemitsu is a good agent. He got what it takes to get the job done. A textbook good commander. Unfortunately, he and Lal share an agreement that the man's Sky Flame rubs them the wrong way, something about it feels like rotting flesh.
Speaking of the flimsy files about the Sawada family, receiving the files was the story on its own. After the agreement with Timoteo on tutoring the heiress, Reborn went straight away to CEDEF headquarters to be briefed. Entering the building, he was immediately blasted by Lal's shouts on arrival that were directed to Iemitsu, with the latter not taking her seriously. She looked like she was going to shoot the man if killing the head of CEDEF didn't count as treason.
The reason for the commotion was that Iemitsu didn't even bother to use correction fluid to correct his child's name. Nobody asks why he did such a thing and he told his defense anyway. And it was utterly delusional with crocodile tears running down his face.
"When my baby was born, I thought he was going to be a boy, I wanted to name him Tsunayoshi. But my wife already named the baby since I wasn't there!"
Reborn held the urge to barf in the spot when the head of CEDEF continued by wailing, 'Oh, my sweet Tuna-fishy!'
Good Lord, Alaudi of Primo's generation must be rolling in his grave at such behavior.
He should invite Lal for a drink sometimes as a consolation but damn their baby body making them unable to drink alcohol. A gift basket is a good substitute...or she can just shoot Iemitsu, that'll make their lives easier.
... Please shoot him, Lal. Just shoot him! I will gladly cover your trails!
To be fair, women giving birth while their husbands were away were a frequent case, even more so in the mafia. One of the commandments in it was to always be available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife is about to give birth.
Iemitsu was salty because as per tradition, the Sawada children were named after the Tokugawa shogun. After all, Gitto, Vongola Primo, used the name Ieyasu, after the first Tokugawa Shogun. What his wife did was break said tradition. How the idiot handled that he didn't get to name the baby was extremely childish. Sure there was a lack of communication between the husband and wife in the discussion about the baby's name. Though Iemitsu didn't prepare a proper name if the baby was a girl, was a mistake solely on him.
A bit of confusion for him was that the name Yasutsuna is no less better in the case of 'how boyish' it sounded than Tsunayoshi. It is of older origin though. It was in the Heian Era, referred to a family of swordsmiths, the Yasutsuna, and more famously, the sword Dōjigiri Yasutsuna.
It seems Nana compensates for it by the use of 'Tsuna'...perhaps.
Oh well, those problems are none of his business anyway. His task is to train the Vongola heiress, no matter how useless she is.
He's the Greatest Hitman in The World.
He doesn't fail
Reborn rang the bell of the house and waited, expecting Sawada Nana or her daughter to open the door.
The door opens to reveal a...dog?
There's no mention that the Sawada owned a pet- Right, Iemitsu is fucking unreliable.
The dog's mane is thick, various shades of gray and lustrous; a sign that it is well taken care of. It is a very well-behaved dog. It doesn't callously snarl at him or attempt to chase him out, it sits patiently in front of him as if waiting for him to say what he wants. A bit of concern was that, at first sight, Reborn was pretty sure that this was a wolf, a teenage wolf. Not a dog.
It could be a wolfdog.
He read the name tag on the dog's collar. Its name is Torgal. Then he and Torgal spent at least less than a minute in a staring contest before he realized that there were no humans currently inside the house.
"Where's your owner?" Reborn can't believe that he promptly started a conversation with a dog.
Torgal went inside the house, coming out again and setting down a small bowl with a key in it. Reborn gets a woof as the dog goes beside him, nudges the bowl, and stares at the door.
"You want me to lock the door?"
Torgal woofed again.
After Reborn locks the door, he sees Torgal lowering his body, clearly telling him to get on his back. The dog is going to show him where his owners are. He didn't expect that his day was going to be like this but he gets on the dog's back anyway.
Good thing that riding on the back of a dog wasn't the most bizarre thing he's ever done.
Namimori is a small town that keeps many secrets. Although it was unknown where the first boss of Vongola, Giotto was buried, Namimori was believed to be the last place he set foot into. This simple reason spurned an agreement to make the town a neutral ground. To enforce said neutrality, a native of the land since ancient times, the Hibari Clan set their vow to protect it, as it is their territory. Despite Vongola being the one who suggested Namimori to be a neutral ground, doesn't mean they get a leeway in the agreement. Some years ago, the Hibari was hellbent on getting rid of CEDEF's agent from their territory.
In one of Reborn's outings that needed Lal’s expertise, she supplied a story where Iemitsu and the head of the Hibari clan might fought if Timoteo, had yet to order Iemitsu to let it go. Something about Iemitsu accused the Hibari clan of killing his subordinates, but they denied it and contacted Timoteo to honor the old agreement about the neutrality pact. The subordinate's body, however, was never found or made it back to the Italian soil.
Hmm, what a mystery.
Torgal stopped near the gate of Namimori Middle School, he made no further attempt to jump over the gate as he took a respite under a tree. This is also a sign for Reborn to get off the dog's back to make his discoveries for his missions. Before he could do that, Torgal nudged him and careened his neck to show a small pouch on the side of his collar. A Greek letter of a key is stamped on the pouch.
Torgal is telling him to put the house key in the small pouch.
"Can I hold on to the key?"
Torgal growled lowly.
It's the first time the dog shows a display of apprehension at Reborn. He relented and sneaked into the school, he looked back to make sure that Torgal didn't mind being left alone. Turns out the mutt has zero care about being left alone or witnessing him trespassing.
It's as if the dog is used to this. Like there's some system he was trained into.
It doesn't take long for Reborn to find Sawada Yasutsuna. He just notices someone calling the girl's name and follows them. When he finally lays his eyes on her he is struck back to see how similar she is to Vongola Primo as he once saw his painting at the Vongola headquarters.
Well, not exactly a carbon copy of Giotto because the man was certainly not a female with a Eurasian feature latched on his face. Divides Yasutsuna's face horizontally from the nose; nose to mouth is Giotto, nose to eyes is her mother, considering he sees her photograph in the files; the likeness is supported more by the long strands of brunette bangs covering her forehead and almost her brown eyes, her pony juts out, but the back part of her hair was grown out to shoulder length that she ties neatly with a scrunchie.
She is unlike what the files said. Her body language is too normal. She's not clumsy nor wimpy, socializing well with her schoolmates, and certainly not under pressure from the atmosphere around her. Judging by the ladle and the apron she wore it seemed she was in a home economics class. The thing is, she doesn't stand out both positively and negatively. Simply a student carrying out her daily duty to seek education.
Alright, what about her academics? Reborn took it upon himself to access the school records. Illegally, of course.
It turns out Yasutsuna wasn't a good student in her first year as a middle schooler; her grades were abysmal, only excelled in history. In the second year, her grades improved. Branching more to geography, biology, and music; other subjects were pretty average, though her math needs some work. Her physical education record is also acceptable.
He noted something strange with English because she actually excels in it, the problem was that she used British English instead of American English. Her English test was filled with spelling 'mistakes' such as colour instead of color, aluminium instead of aluminum. Also the use of nouns that only the British used; aubergine, spectacles, flat, etc.
She wasn't wrong per se. She just used the version from across the other continent.
But why?
Is she going to speak in a British accent the moment Reborn tested her English?
Reborn changed his tactic as much as he changed his position. From the teacher's room where he knocked half of the existing people with sleeping gas, to a tree that directly gave him the full view of Sawada Yasutsuna's classroom. The students are having an impromptu test from a teacher who is notoriously fond of doing this. He scoffed while sipping his espresso, observing from his binoculars, that he already that the science teacher was a fraud. It was only time until someone found out and acted on it.
From the device that he planted so he could listen to what was going on in the classroom, Reborn heard the teacher announcing the time was up to do the test. There were sounds of papers being shuffled around to be given to the teacher, and then he talked about giving back the test from last week.
Names called out; sometimes praise, sometimes a disappointment. Yasutsuna's turns come up and the teacher practically insults her for getting the lowest score. Reborn thought she was going to just accept the defeat but her next course of action surprises him.
"According to me, who's going through an elite course, you're the kind of person who will become just a baggage on the education-conscious society-"
Nezu Dohachiro's endless blabbering filled the classroom. Not that the majority of the students bother to listen to him.
"Sensei, do you know that when you're explaining, many of us have difficulty understanding what you're saying," Tsuna cuts off Nezu-sensei's prattling, "And these questions you gave us were the exact copy from the science books in the library. You don't even bother to change or make a variation of it."
"Sawada-"
"The first time, I let you off. The second time was a coincidence and you should've left it as a coincidence. If only you didn't insult my mother. Today marks the third time, you made it into a pattern."
Nezu-sensei let out a pitiful choke.
"What was it that you said to me before? Is there a reason for a pitiful trash like me to live?" Tsuna chuckled darkly, "You shouldn't have tried to trap desperate people sensei. They bite from the most unexpected place."
The classroom opened harshly to reveal a teenage boy with neat black hair. He has narrow gray eyes, often intimidating those who see them. Wearing a gakuran with the Disciplinary Committee uniform armband.
(“Huh, that boy resembles Fon.")
"Nezu Dohachiro, come with me to the Disciplinary Committee's office."
Nezu-sensei didn't even get the chance to say for himself as Hibari Kyoya practically hauls the man out. A series of unmanly screeches can be heard from the corridor.
When no screeches could be heard anymore. Tsuna twirled to face her classmates, "End scene!" She bowed.
The whole class applauded. Except for at least five kids, who majority sat at the back.
"So you were just bluffing this whole time?" A pretty girl wearing thick make-up and long black hair sneered, "We all knew you're not that smart, Dame-Tsuna."
"You know what they say, the smarter you are, the dumber you are. It's called the equivalent exchange, Sumeragi-san. Alchemy's first law."
"Stop spouting shit, Dame-Tsuna!" A boy with an unimpressed blond dye snarled.
A scoff made them turn their heads to Kurokawa Hana, "Oh please, we all know your parents placed Nezu here, so you can get a straight A mark every time. Seriously, why did you even go to school."
The previous boy growled, "Kurokawa-"
The altercation was cut off by the same Hibari Kyoya who once again, slammed open the class's sliding door.
"Torgal is at the front gate."
He said it as if it were the revelation of the year.
"He did? His food wasn't supposed to-" Tsuna stopped as Hibari gave her a pointed look, "I'll check him out."
"Yamamoto is accompanying him."
Tsuna nodded and got out of the class.
Kyoya sauntered and sat at the teacher's seat, "Loitering is not allowed. All of you will stay here until the next subject starts."
Some of them had the bravery to groan in despair and quickly shut up when a tonfa appeared in Hibari's hand.
Reborn sipped his espresso till it was spent. Interesting phenomenon.
Since Kyoya already encountered Tsuna's dog, that means he graciously let Torgal enter the school grounds. Considering that he said that Torgal was with Takeshi, Tsuna went straight to the field, where she found Torgal relaxing on top of the school baseball star, not letting him move from his sprawling position on the ground. The other baseball team members tended to stray away from the dog, intimidated by his size.
"Well, well, if isn't Torgal forcing Yamamoto Takeshi to get some rest." Tsuna crouched to shadow Takeshi, looking unimpressed, "Again."
Torgal wags his tail, panting happily that his master is here.
"Ahaha, hi Tsuna," Said Takeshi weakly.
Tsuna rolled her eyes and petted her dog, "Good job, boy. You can get off him now."
Torgal stood up and shook his body from the dust, effectively making Takeshi cough who was still under the mutt, circling his master to protect her back. Eyeing distrustfully at Takeshi's baseball teammates.
"It's fine, they're not going to hurt me."
Torgal huffed and refused to budge.
Takeshi sat up, "Why is he here though?"
"I don't know. Whoever it was, Torgal didn't trust them enough to let them inside the house. But somehow he willingly escorts them here." Tsuna opened the small pouch on her dog's collar to find her house key, pocketing it. "And the person is nowhere to be seen..."
"Could it they misjudged Torgal's intention and left?"
"Maybe..." Tsuna's tone is neutral, "I'm going to take Torgal to the Disciplinary Committee's office for the AC. His thick mane under this sun will get him overheated. See ya."
Reborn is in the bushes. Surrounded by his beetle minions of summer. Yasutsuna defies his expectations by having fledgling Guardian candidates around her. He watches her bid farewell from the latent Rain with her dog in tow. Judging by the interaction, she and Yamamoto Takeshi seemed to know each other beyond schoolmates.
And to think that the dog dragged him here so he wouldn't get inside the house. What a well-trained guard dog. A sly one too.
Tsuna can't seem able to make the haunting sense of caution throughout the school disappear. Whoever Torgal brought, they're still at the school ground, and they're very persistent. If she wasn't too dead on the inside to care about it then she would have done something about it.
It doesn't take long for the school to end like another chapter in her life. She went to grab Torgal at the Disciplinary Committee's office, finding the dog standing on top of Kyoya, who was lying on the floor while petting his fluffy fur quite religiously with a Warbling White-eye bird that nestled comfortably on top of Torgal's head was practically a common sight.
The Warbling White-eye, yellower than the usual mossy-green Japanese warbling is Kyoya's pet. Her name is Hibird. Kyoya was able to teach the little bird how to sing the Namimori School anthem, rather than beautiful, Tsuna thought it was rather off-pitched. Not that she ever said that to Kyoya.
"Okay, that's enough. It's time to go home."
On cue, Hibird flew away before Torgal trampled off from Kyoya. Tsuna could see the older boy pouted in dismay.
"Come now, you see Torgal every day."
"It's not the same," Kyoya grumbled, "... Who is it?"
Tsuna sighed, "I don't know."
"A trespasser."
"Perhaps, though Torgal seems to like them."
Kyoya grunted.
"Was that supposed to mean anything, Senpai?"
Kyoya grunted again.
Honestly, sometimes Tsuna can't get around his way of talking.
Yeah, okay, Torgal may like them. But he is not the one who has this ingrained ability to sense incoming dangers. Whoever they are, they're the epitome of an ambulance siren that never stops blaring.
Is this person a literal embodiment of Chaos or something!?
This person has a fondness for stalking her too. The siren echoes at every activity she does; when she enters the supermarket to shop for her dinner, pay for her groceries, receive fresh potatoes from a granny, open her house gate, pick some herbs and vegetables... Why can they ambush her already and call it a day?
Torgal barked at the gate. A bark that is usually reserved to greet someone.
Tsuna turned to see a small infant with large eyes that were almost completely black. He has black spiky hair that remains so even under his hat and unique thin curly sideburns. His outfit is an all-black suit, with an orange long-sleeved shirt. The most distinguished piece of clothing is his black fedora which features an orange stripe. A chameleon is perching on the brim of his hat.
Around his neck is a necklace that holds a yellow pacifier. Except, it doesn't look like a plastic-colored pacifier, it looks more like a gemstone.
"Ciaossu, I'm Reborn. I'm your new home tutor. Your father sent me," The small infant said, with his high squeaky voice.
Tsuna can't decide whether she should be in awe or terrified that an infant is so articulated. She did know about the tutoring from the postmails she received a week ago. Mails from Iemitsu don't have a return address so she can't do anything about it. Whenever she calls the number that Iemitsu provided, who knows whether it was his personal number or office number, it was always answered by someone else who said that the man was busy or no one answered it at all.
Explaining her whole current situation right now; it's a whole mess thrown at her unceremoniously.
"The tutoring business...that was today?"
"I arrived early today and when I see that no one is home, I take it upon myself to evaluate my new student."
I can't believe this creepy midget is the siren. Tsuna puts all the herbs she needs into a rattan basket, "... You're a baby though. What exactly are you going teach?"
"I will teach you how to be a mafia boss."
"You mean like the Yakuza?"
"No. The Italian Mafia."
Tsuna bet no amount of time reading Mario Puzo's novels can prepare her for that. Her lip shook, voice faltered, whispering harshly, "I knew my European blood is going to bite me the ass someday." Ignoring the curious look the small infant displayed after she said that, she could feel her hands turn clammy because of the profuse sweat, "Tell me, what did you find in your evaluation?"
"For starters, the information your father has given to me about you is useless."
"... Mr. Reborn, wasn't it?" The smile Tsuna gave to Reborn was stiff, "Please, do come inside."
Reborn takes one look at the interior and one word to describe the abode; Empty. Empty in the sense that it lacked personality. There were no decorations on the wall; no ornaments, no painting, no family pictures, only a lonely clock that made ticking sounds felt so loud in the emptiness. There is a TV, a cabinet filled with books that he can count with his fingers, a faux-leather sofa that Torgal uses currently as a bed, a coffee table with a simple green oval carpet underneath, and near the kitchen, a dining table; a lean vase with a single red rose is the most interesting feature on it.
Sawada Nana is nowhere to be found, her supposed yamato nadeshiko activity is replaced by her daughter who tells him to wait as she prepares tea. Reborn preferred coffee but he knew it was not the time to be picky, besides the scent of the tea smelled good.
He thought Tsuna would serve him green tea, instead, it's Earl Gray in an English tea cup and assorted elaborate sugar cookies. Reborn takes one of the cookies and bites it.
"This is good."
It's a genuine compliment.
Tsuna bowed, "Thank you, I made it."
"Oh? As a hobby?"
"I like cooking and baking. Though, I made these for sale, mostly."
Reborn widened his eyes in surprise, "Was the money Iemitsu sent not enough?"
"I used it to pay the bills... And for M- Okaa-san medical bills."
"Medical bills?" Reborn's voice turns incredulous. He noticed Tsuna's slip though, "Your mother is sick?"
"She's been staying at the hospital since the end of my elementary year."
Reborn is appalled to hear that Iemitsu's wife was hospitalized. With both parents absent in Tsuna's life, her abysmal academic record as a first-year at Namimori Middle School suddenly makes sense. Considering how her grades improved in the second year, it means she wasn't stupid at all; her situation may drive her unmotivated at first before she finds grounds to continue. He wonders what exactly it was, though.
Then something else caught his eyes. Something that is very British.
Tsuna spoons some sugar equal to two sugar cubes and adds a splash of milk to her tea. What's missing is the scone, clotted cream, and some jam.
"Are you a fan of British culture? You were going to say Mum instead of Okaa-san a while ago."
"... Technically, I'm part British."
Che?
"What?" Reborn sharply asked. He starting to think that forcing Iemitsu to drink acid is a very good idea.
"Isn't that not in the files? Mum was born in Scotland. After she married Iemitsu, she stayed in Japan."
"NO! Mannaggia!"
Reborn snarled in frustration as he took the files he got from CEDEF out of his suitcase. Slamming it at the dining table with such distaste. With a father like Iemitsu, it's no wonder that Tsuna doesn't see the man as a father. Not even once did she call him in any version of the epithet that means Father.
He was glad that the girl was not even offended by the sudden outburst (but way too calm for teenager standard) as she set down her tea and took a look at the files, skimming over the papers carefully.
"I tried to tell him that Mum is sick, you know. I always thought that he at least needed to know, it doesn't matter whether he comes home or not," Tsuna flipped the papers periodically, "He once sent this postcard, it's a picture of him in his construction uniform with a bunch of penguins in the North Pole."
"Penguins don't live in the North Pole!"
Reborn growled, drank his tea in one go, and kept munching on the cookies to settle his rising temper.
"I know right? I think it's more believable if he met Santa- Oh, wow, the description of his date with Mum is very detailed," Tsuna commented when reading a certain page in her mother's file. Concern flashed in her eyes. "... Are you alright Mr. Reborn? I know you're angry but please don't break the dining table."
Reborn stopped gripping the edge of the poor furniture and coughed politely.
"It's just Reborn, you can drop the mis..." Wait a damn minute- "You called me, mister."
Tsuna twirls her forefinger at the side of her temple, "I'm loony that way."
"No, I mean you know that I'm not an actual baby the whole time?"
"Not quite. Your vibes are off, yes. Then you confirmed that for me yourself."
... This. Little. Shit.
Leon transformed into a gun at the speed of sound, Reborn cocked it at Tsuna's forehead.
"Impressive. You manage to use the oldest trick in the book at me. Maybe you're not so hopeless after all. Tell me Sawada Yasutsuna, do you have any regrets?"
The temperature went low all of a sudden. A hand grabbed the nozzle of the gun, forcing it to point upward. Reborn almost instinctively pulled the trigger when ice flowers blocked his fingers from making the motion, he breathed and fogs came out of his mouth.
Impossible. There's no way. How the Fu- Is this Vongola Primo's Zero Point Breakthrough!?
Wait, something different. The room temperature keeps dropping.
It's going below zero.
Torgal barks in a warning resounded in the house.
Dramatically, in a mere second, the temperature goes up. The ice thawing, Reborn can feel his body heat coming back.
"What..." Fog still coming out of his mouth, "Was that...?"
Tsuna panting laboriously, fog too coming out as she breathed, "What I regret is... I haven't prepared anything so Torgal and I can eat tonight. Unless you're going to stay here, do set yourself cordially... Reborn."
She practically drags herself past Reborn to go to the kitchen.
"I wasn't lying when I said that the baited trick was impressive. Who taught you?"
"Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."
Sawada Yasutsuna is a good cook; a skill she inherited from her mother; and positively tries to kill Reborn with the kindness of typical 'Japanese hospitality' by canceling whatever she was trying to cook with all the herbs and vegetables that she shoved into the the fridge; taking only basil, parsley, and cherry tomato to cook a pasta dish. Judging by the salmon, the dish seems to be Tuscan Salmon. He thinks she's trying to easily him feel grateful and guilty at the same time.
Good efforts but he's not that easily swayed.
To kill time, Reborn decided to explore the house, which in normal people's eyes may take offense. Except that he's a hitman and investigating a target is part of his job should the hit need him to be and in this case, he needed to learn the habits of his student by observing her habitat.
First thing first, Tsuna's bedroom.
Reborn finds her bedroom on the second floor. The door is slightly ajar, he tries to push it more open, only to find that is pointless to make it open completely. He looked at the back of the door to find what was holding it which turned out to be a stack of books. Her whole room is filled with books; on the floor, under her bed, on top of her study desk, on a small table that is pushed aside to the wall, on the TV, and top of her drawer. He's going to ask her to tidy up her room and possibly a bookcase- no, make that two bookcase.
It's funny that he doesn't think that the books are cluttered because he can see some sort of pathway through it for easy access to the bed and the bathroom.
None of the books visible to Reborn's eyes are light-reading though with a more thorough search, crammed on top of her drawer, it turns out his student does enjoy manga too. He found some series: D. Gray-man, Xxx Holic, Natsume Yujinchou, Eyeshield 21, and Kitchen Princess. After briefly reading all of it, he found that his students in comics were rather random with a touch of fantasy. The first three titles' genres are supernatural, then somehow American Football, and the last one, he was pretty sure she read them for the cooking recipes, not the romance plot.
Under the TV, Reborn spots a gaming console and a DVD player. It is a relief to know that Tsuna does enjoy a normal form of entertainment like video games and movies. Her games collection is not a lot, consisting of some classics such as Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Out of his expectation though are Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and as if trying to call him out, Hitman 1 and Hitman 2. She certainly has a unique taste in games.
What piqued Reborn interest more was the violin and guitar, kept in their respective cases. He wonders about her musical taste, she has a good mark in music after all. The musical instruments are well taken care of; she owns a Cremona violin and a Martin guitar; based on his knowledge of the musical world, they're good brands for intermediate players. He found no music sheets, either she hadn't played it in a while or she knew some song by heart.
Checking her drawer, her clothing choices are very plebian; a ton of shirts, a ton of pants, owns three nice (not in his books) blouses and that's it. Unacceptable, no future mafia boss should have such embarrassing taste in fashion. A trip to a nearby department store will suffice.
So aside from being an avid bookworm and able to play some musical instruments, nothing stands out about Sawada Yasutsuna.
Except that she was able to use some sort of form of Zero Point Breakthrough.
She knows about Flame, that's for sure.
Dinner is splendid, it would have been more perfect if there was wine. Savoring the constant uncomfortable look that plastered on Yasutsuna when she ate was a good exchange. Reborn considers not taking a drastic measure by taking out his gun again to test whether the girl has Flame or not, the display of cryokinesis is enough evidence, even though it's kind of the opposite of what the shape of fire is. Besides, he entered the once-bitten, twice-shy situation here.
For dessert, Tsuna serves homemade Portuguese custard with rooibos tea as a pair, and the taste is superb.
Damn, she's spoiling my tastebud.
"So, as I mentioned earlier, I'm your new home tutor and I'm here to make you a mafia boss. The Famiglia you're going to inherit is called the Vongola Famiglia, the most powerful Mafia family in Italy. Or so you put eloquently, your European blood biting you in the ass."
Reborn sipped his tea. He thought it was weird that instead of panicking, Tsuna looked solemn.
"I didn't know that mum has Italian blood."
"I meant your father. He's the descendant of the first boss of Vongola, who retired in Japan."
"Oh."
She's really disinterested in her father. Reborn noted.
"Why me? Is Iemitsu dead or something?"
"No. He can't take over because he's the head of the external advisors, nullifying his right. The current boss of Vongola had four sons; Enrico the eldest died in a gunfight; Massimo, the second, drowned; Federico, the third, died in unknown circumstances, only his bones remained, and the fourth, Xanxus, is missing."
"The 'is missing' is not 'was missing'."
"The external advisors had the right to disapprove an heir."
Tsuna took an awful long of quiet, her lip shaking, not daring to say the word she was going to say.
"... I shouldn't have climbed that tree in the first place..."
Reborn cocked his head to the side, "Tree?"
"When I was five, that current boss of Vongola, once visited this house before. It was also the first time I saw Iemitsu in an image that I could remember. I was just a little kid, playing around..." Tsuna made a lazy gesture with her hand, "To be precise I climbed a tree, I fell, chased around by a dog, I cried. And in that order, I manifest my Flame."
Sounds lame. In the mafia, it is almost unheard of to manifest Flame in such a lame event.
"And then Nonno sealed my Flame-"
"What!?", Reborn spats out his tea, "He didn't tell me that."
"I'm sure he meant well about his action. The adults wanted me to have a peaceful adolescence. But... I'm sure you know in the world of Dying Will Flame users, there's no such thing as Peace. Once you unlock this power, life extends its gracious hand and says welcome to Chaos. You have Sun Flame, right, Mr. Reborn?"
"... Just Reborn, please." Shit. With the way Tsuna phrased her words, he didn't like where this was going. "You know about the Mafia then?"
"I'll tell you the continuation only if you swear not to spread the information."
In command, Reborn has Leon transformed into a gun, aiming at Tsuna's forehead, "Do not test my patience."
Tsuna extends her hand for a handshake, ignoring the gun, "Do not underestimate that I am willing to die for this secret not to spread."
"... This isn't about Omerta, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid this leans more toward magic."
Reborn raised one of his eyebrows. Is she going to pull a Harry Potter on me?
"Threading on dangerous ground already, Yasutsuna."
"It's Tsuna. Reborn of the Arcobaleno."
Reborn didn't bristle. He did not.
Contemplating the extended hand in front of him, he weighted the gamble. He's the Strongest Hitman in the World with mastery over a thousand arsenal that rivals some of his fellow Arcobaleno, Sawada Yasustsuna was just a budding noob and not even a Vongola boss yet. He could kill her, made a run for it from Vongola, made them play goose-chase, and Tsuna couldn't do anything; the thing she bet was her existence for only the information she knew.
Oh. He gets it. This was like Dino all over again with a different spice. Just like how his previous student doesn't want to be a mafia boss, this is her telling him that she doesn't want to be a mafia boss. She's clever enough that she won't die stupid if he strikes her because that's the fanfare of it. Since she knew what the Arcobaleno were and not many could cross them without low effort; killed by them can be considered an achievement.
Ha, two can play that game~
"Only if you swear that you're going to be a Mafia boss."
He smirked in victory as Tsuna gritted her teeth, pulled back her hand, and grumbled in defeat.
"You know what, you're a bastard. Have this."
She gave him a middle finger.
Reborn cackled, "Now, now, it's not proper for a mafia boss to be crass."
"Crass my arse!"
My God, she said arse, not ass. How very British of her. He snickered, "Still, congratulations, it's a stalemate. None of us getting what we want."
"Good. Leave me alone."
Tsuna got up from the dinner table and stomped out of the house.
Reborn linked his arms and rested his chin on it. Timoteo sealed Tsuna's Flame and she knew about the Arcobalenowas were news to him.
Leaving the fact that Timoteo has touched Tsuna's Flame was a clear decision of the Vongola boss. He asked him before when they talked about training the prospective heiress. The Ninth was so damn sure that Tsuna will have Sky Flame and now it made sense why. He was given the freedom to use the Dying Will Bullets on Tsuna to situationally activate her Flame was a ruse, rather than activating potential, it was more likely to crack the seal temporarily.
He gets the idea that sealing Tsuna's Flames was to prevent her from getting inducted into the mafia at a young age. Timoteo knew that he wasn't the best father, he didn't want Tsuna to end up like his sons.
To seal a Flame...
Reborn wasn't sure what to make of it. Buffer a Flame he's seen it and does it often but how does one seal a Flame? Is it a thing within Sky Flame's capabilities? Maybe he should ask Aria about this matter.
Now to the matter of Tsuna's knowledge of the Mafia. She knew about Flame and the Arcobaleno. Who told her about it? If it wasn't in the realm of Omerta then what?
"She said it leans more toward magic..."
Why choose the word magic...?
He looked at Leon in his gun form in hand and decided to go after Tsuna, thirsty for answers.
Tsuna shivered under the moonless night. The street light doesn't lessen the darkness, the coldness bites, and the sky shy of stars. She dislikes how lonely the sky is when the moon phase hasn't started. Her heart beat erratically because of a foreboding fear, something that has come and gone ever since Reborn showed himself. His appearance is a sign without a doubt. Sooner or later, she's going to confront her biggest fear.
Tsuna sighed shakily. Forming a fist and opening it to bloom a beautiful orange flame.
In that mere moment, there was light.
"I wish I didn't have this Flame... It'll made my life less..."
Less...
Less...
... Less hurt.
Suddenly, her senses went haywire.
She stopped, turning her head conspicuously to a nearby bush on her right, she stared at it, and stared at it; waiting for something to strike her.
"Close but not quite."
When Tsuna's sight is at the front again, a gun is waiting for her.
"Be faster next time. Die, Yasutsuna"
Reborn shot her in the forehead.