Please, be patient with Tsuna, I used this chapter to show you how broken Tsuna was after all that happened to him and also began to hint at something quite sinister. Let's just say he has a long way to recovery. Also, we have Future Tsuna appear for a brief visit, so please treat him well.
When Tsukune asked his enigmatic friend, Tsuna to train him the day before yesterday, he wasn't sure what to expect. Maybe some kind of sage advice, or a couple of fighting techniques. Or even something like a training montage he saw in a few films. But he certainly did not expect this.
"Have mercy!" he cried out, terrified as he ran through the forest surrounding the school as if the devil was on his heels. From a certain point of view, it was true.
His suffering started as soon as he had woken up. The sun was not even up, when a gigantic mallet crashed next to his head, making him practically jump out of his bed. Awoken from another dream featuring Moka, and scared beyond belief, he looked up, afraid of what will await him. He found Tsuna standing at the foot of his futon, mallet casually resting on his shoulder, watching him with a grin that promised pain. Tsukune later would deny that he shrieked like a little girl.
Soon after that Tsuna fastened a backpack on him that was at least 30 kilos and told him he couldn't take it off until the end of the warmups, unless he wanted to suffer a fate worse than death. With that, he was told to circle around the forest next to them once then the actual training would begin. He felt a little relieved about finding nothing absurd about it. He should have known better.
The actual warmup consisted of him trying to stay alive by running away from the grenades thrown by the little kid he saw with Tsuna before. The weight on his back didn't help matters, but thankfully he was able to avoid most of it, through the causal clothes he put on were singed and a little torn up.
Tsuna was lazily jogging a few paces behind them, observing the struggles of the black-haired boy with a critical eye and slight enjoyment. It felt really good to see someone other than himself trying to survive a hellish course like that. He noticed that Tsukune was slowing down and called out to Lambo who was chasing his unfortunate student like a maniac.
"Time to turn up the heat!" he yelled, causing the young boy to cackle gleefully and pull out a rocket launcher from who knows where. He long ago stopped trying to work out that mystery. Mafioso always had a special relationship with their weapons, he learned.
TsuKune paled at seeing the new weapon in Lambo's small hands and redoubled his speed as rockets exploded around him.
"I'm going to die!" Tsuna doubted that there was anyone on campus who hadn't heard him with a powerful cry like that.
"If you so much breath to waste," said Tsuna as he pulled out his gun and aimed at the running teen." then just die already." with that he fired the dying will bullet at him just as a rocket exploded dangerously close to him.
"Reborn." roared the boxer-clad teen and began to swat away the oncoming missiles."Survive as I were to die."
Meanwhile, Tsuna frowned as he looked at his gun in contemplation. Making a quick count in his head, his frown deepened as he realized that this was the ninth dying will bullet he shot at Tsukune. Hopefully, he could keep him out of trouble as he calls in a few favors or the tenth bullet will be the last.
-0-
"That was fun! Let's do it again!" said Lambo cheerfully as he energetically skipped on the path leading to the dormitories. Tsuna was holding Tsukune's collar and was dragging the unconscious teen through the dirt, showing very little care. Tsukune should consider himself lucky that he wasn't leaving him alone in the forest. If he was Reborn, Tsukune would wake up in the middle of the forest alone, tied up and surrounded by landmines. Landmines. Something to consider.
Shaking his head, to clear it from the painful memories containing a certain spartan tutor, instead, he looked at the young boy walking ahead of him and thought of what he found when they returned to his room two days ago.
They found a letter along with an extra futon and child-sized clothes in his room. Years of being with the mafia made him paranoid, so he checked out the whole room before even coming close to the letter. He found nothing, but he wasn't very surprised, he didn't know much about the different abilities youkai had. In the end, he had no choice but to read the letter.
"Sawada-san. Your young companion has been placed in your room for the duration of his stay. Of course, we, the school will provide him with the necessary things for that time. Unfortunately, there won't be any buses going into the human world, until the beginning of the summer. Until then, I hope Lambo-kun will enjoy his time at our Academy.
The headmaster
Tsuna couldn't help but worry. Knowing his luck, something big would happen before he had a chance to send Lambo home. It also didn't help his paranoia that the headmaster knew so much and had so much power over him in school. There was also probably him who caused the presence of three humans on campus, while there should be none. Something was bound to happen. Maybe that's what the headmaster wants.
But it was pointless to think so much. For now, all he could do was enjoy his simple life and react should anything come out of it.
With that cheerful thought, he dropped off Tsukune after telling him to get ready for school, leaving Lambo in his room, telling him to study and not to cause any trouble. Then he left the dorm and went to visit Moka.
Yesterday it was raining heavily and she still not felt 100 percent, so she didn't come to school. Tsuna left Lambo with her to keep her company and for her to keep an eye on Lambo, but she should be fine by now. He walked to her door, but before he could knock, it was suddenly opened and a lithe body collided with his.
"Tsuna-kun!" was all he heard before he felt something warm on his neck.
"Be sure to not drink too much." stated the teen simply as he let Moka greedily suck his blood. It was a little disturbing how easily he got used to this.
"Thank you for the meal." said Moka with a bright smile. Tsuna only sighed, a little tired from the sudden blood loss. A sidelong glance confirmed the vampire looked much better.
"You okay?" he asked just to be safe.
"Yes, thank you. I feel much better."
"Great. Then let's get going." said the former mafia boss as he began to leave the female dorms. "If we hurry Tsukune wouldn't bleed out on us...again." he added the last part softly, hoping the vampire won't catch it. He should know better.
"Tsuna-kun! What were you doing to Tsukune?" cried out a horrified Moka.
-0-
"Newspaper club?" asked Tsuna with an eyebrow raised.
Nekonome-sensei nodded, an encouraging smile on her face. It was after classes and she held the three of them back to talk about clubs.
"Yes, the three of you are the only ones in my class who have yet to join a club. And since I am in charge of the newspaper club I thought I could recommend it to you." explained the teacher. She was right. After what happened with the swimming club they all forgot to look for clubs. And even if they tried to find one, from what he saw when he looked around, Tsuna found not one that looked appealing. At this point, they only had to choose the lesser evil.
"Nobody joined and it might shut down. So join the newspaper club." insisted sensei, causing Tsuna to sweatdrop. Now it made more sense that she was so vehemently advertising the club, but even so.
"It sounds like a quiet and calm club." mumbled Tsukune next to him. Poor boy was barely got through classes, his whole body sporting injuries and he even had a hard time trying to stay conscious. For a brief moment, Tsuna thought about going easier on the boy but quickly perished the thought. It's do or die and if he wasn't ready for this Tsukune will die for sure. Either by his training or the dangers of the school.
"That's great! I'll join that club!" compared to the other two, Moka was much more enthusiastic. She was like this the whole day, she must have been lonely in her room with only Lambo around while they were in class. Still, the way Tsukune's head rapidly turned to her, the typical puppy look on his face, Tsuna knew the two will join the newspaper club. And by default so will he, because someone needed to keep an eye out for the two of them and not like there were any other viable options on the table.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, he thought while they were signing up their names, with such a low number of members the club has, the chances of running into a monster that would cause trouble to them was a lot smaller. But knowing the other resident human's bad luck, Tsuna wasn't very hopeful.
"Can I also join?" asked eagerly Kurumu who only showed up so she could hang around her destined one. Nekonome-sensei naturally had to trouble with even more members.
-0-
"I'm just so happy we can go to the same club together, Tsukune." cried out Kurumu in happiness as she hugged Tsukune's head into her chest.
While the human was waving wildly, trying not to suffocate, Moka looked worriedly at the scene in front of her, completely missing the succubus's challenging glare. Seems like Kurumu still felt threatened by Moka.
"What are they doing?" asked a clueless Lambo who was walking next to Tsuna, wearing a miniature school uniform. "Gyupaa!" he cried out in fright when Tsuna grabbed his collar and lifted him up to his eye-level.
"Ask that question again in ten years." told the brown-haired boy a bit disinterestedly, before his gaze sharpened, making the young boy cease his struggling. "First off, no word about a mafia okay?" he whispered lowly, "And also we shouldn't be here so don't cause trouble."Lambo slowly nodded, trying not to fidget as he was held up by the teen. Tsuna's gaze softened a little, before putting him down and patting his head with affection."If you behave. I have a secret stash of grape candy just for you." at that he got a very enthusiastic nod, causing him to chuckle softly.
He decided to take Lambo with him to the club because it was hard enough to keep Lambo entertained while he was in class, he did not want him to get into trouble. Also, if anything happened in the club, he could use his, or at least his ten year later versions, help. He talked about it with Nekonome-sensei and after he explained why was there a young boy with him, the teacher agreed with a glowing smile before nuzzling her cheek to the young boy's.
So that's how the five of them found themselves sitting in an empty classroom, Nekonome-sensei brightly smiling at them.
"Thank you for joining my club, everyone. So let's begin the activities of the Youkai Academy Newspaper club." she beamed at them enthusiastically while holding up a paper, presumably a previous one made by the club last year.
Moka, Kurumu, and Tsukune just gaped at her as they looked around the room, trying to find somebody, anybody else here other than them. Tsuna, on the other hand, leaned back in his chair comfortably. It suited him just fine with only them here, maybe he could find some peace and quiet, something that proved to be a rarity here, much like with the mafia.
"Are we the only members?" burst out Kurumu in confusion.
"Don't be silly. There is one more member" said the teacher in a smile. From the corner of his eye, Tsuna noticed the door quietly open and someone stepping in. "Here he is." the sensei noticed too and turned to the new arrival with a smile.
„Excuse me." called out a slightly older student with a smile. He had ink-black hair m with a white headband under his hair and light green eyes. He was wearing the standard male uniform, except for the tie, and his shirt was open a little, where a wolf head pendant could be seen around his neck. Overall, he looked like a typical pretty boy, who girls tended to get crushes on."Man, I am sorry. Here I am late on my first day." he said with a charming smile, laughing a little to himself. He also held two bouquets of roses in his hands.
"Nice to meet you." he greeted them as he stepped into the room fully. "I'm the president of the newspaper club, Morioka Ginei, though you can call me Gin-kun." he told the girls as he handed each of them a bouquet, ignoring the boys completely."Red flowers are always suitable for such lovely ladies."
While Tsukune gaped at him in astonishment, Tsuna chose to silently eye him. He didn't have a malicious air around him, like a lot of monsters that proved to be trouble these last few weeks, still, the former mafioso knew not to let his guard down.
"Gin-kun is the only 2nd-year member of the club." Nekonome-sensei introduced him. "Just ask him if there is anything you don't know about the club."
"You can always count on me." said Gin confidently, before he noticed Lambo silently sleeping on a desk. "Who is that?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, that's Lambo-kun, Tsuna-kun's little brother." explained the teacher, as she petted the sleeping boy's head."Due to a family emergency, Lambo-kun had to come to stay with Tsuna-kun. The headmaster agreed, so Lambo-kun will live on the campus until the end of the first semester. Tsuna-kun asked if he could also join so he didn't have to be alone the whole day. So please take care of him." she said with a blinding smile.
"Ah, okay." answered Gin a little hesitantly.
"Thank you once again, sensei." Tsuna smiled at her, though that was not at all what he explained to her. Their homeroom teacher was an airhead that's for sure, but she had such an honest and kind air around her that made her instantly likable. Even if she sometimes forgets to tell them the most basic things.
Nekonome-sensei looked at the clock, her eyes widening in realization.
"Oh, look at the time. I must be going, have a staff meeting to attend. Take care of the club proceedings for me, Gin-kun." she said as she began to hurriedly leave."See you soon. Make friends with your senpai."
"Right, let's get to it." said Gin as he sat down at the teacher's desk."First I'll explain just what kind of club is this. Our goal is basically to publish the school newspaper. Most of your activities will be reporting of all kinds of things and putting them into the paper." their senior actually looked dependable as he leaned on his desk with a confident grin."We will be put into dangerous situations time after time for the sake of reporting! I'll tell you right now, it ain't gonna be an easy ride. Once you joined, you should prepare yourselves." he finished his passionate speech, shocking them all.
Tsukune, Moka, and Kurumu just gaped silently at Gin, completely surprised by how passionate he sounded about this club. Even Tsuna looked taken aback, it was a long time since he heard someone sound so dedicated about something so..ordinary. Lambo meanwhile woke up, yawning loudly and completely ignoring what's going around him.
"He sure looks like someone we could depend on, right?" asked a smiling Moka softly from Tsukune, who could nod in response. Tsuna was about to comment on it when he spotted Gin's smile before the man burst out laughing.
"Just messing with ya! Let's have some fun without all the strict talk." he said before holding up a poster advertising the newspaper club."This is our poster ad. Let's put it on the back wall."
As they stood up and began to work, Tsuna eyed the president from the corner of his eye. Even he was fooled by his words for a moment and that did not sit well with him. Still, he decided to withhold judgment, for now, seeing everyone as a potential enemy was Reborn's teaching speaking to him, not his own thoughts. At least that's what he tended to tell himself.
Gin was directing Kurumu and Moka who stood on chairs on where to place the posters, while Tsuna and Tsukune sorted out the various posters.
"Senpai, is this high enough to stick the posters?" called out Moka balancing on her chair.
"Just a little bit higher." called out Gin who was standing a few feet away looking in the girls' direction contemplating."
"This is one weird poster." whispered Tsukune as he saw one featuring Nekonome-sensei advertising the club. "Sometimes he is flirty, sometimes he is serious. I wonder what kind of person Gin-senpai is." he said to Tsuna who worked next to him.
The brown-haired teen didn't answer but looked to the side where Gin stood calling up to the girls to place the posters a bit higher. His brows furrowed when he noticed the older teen looking intently at the girls, before crouching down. Tsuna wondered what he was doing, before it clicked in his head, causing him to frown furiously.
"And here I was hoping things will be different." he mumbled to himself.
Meanwhile, Gin was trying to get a look under their skirts, smiling widely to himself when out of nowhere a foot crashed into his head sending him into the wall with a large thud. Looking up, massaging his hurt face he saw Tsuna glaring at him, hands in his pockets and leg still extended from the kick he sent.
"I really should lower my expectations of people." he said to himself before looking at Gin. "I mean really? Making the girls put up the posters so you could peep under their skirts? How desperate you have to be?" he glared with such intensity at Gin, that the older student found himself scared for a second. Then, quickly regaining his with he stood up, patting himself down, showing Tsuna a charming smile.
"Nonsense." he laughed to himself."I'm not the kind of guy who would do something so lame."
"You are the kind of guy who would do this." deadpanned Tsuna, not liking the fact that Gin tried to deny it.
"What's going on?" asked Moka who along with Kurumu climbed down from the chairs to see what's the commotion was about. Tsukune and Lambo were behind them, equally clueless.
"Oh well, this guy," said the president pointing at Tsuna." says he got an eyeful of your panties." the girls instantly reddened in embarrassment, along with Tsukune. Lambo continued to chew his candy.
"What are you talking about?" demanded Tsuna as he grabbed Gin by his collar, teeth clenching in anger. The older student didn't dare do anything, caught flatfooted by the sudden show of strength. "It was you pervert, who was doing it-" he cut himself off, his free hand moving on instinct and catching the hand that was about to slap him. His eyes widened he turned towards his attacker."What are you-?"
It was Moka who tried to slap him. She looked just as surprised for a moment before she looked away embarrassed.
"I...I don't like dirty guys." she told him, not meeting his eyes. She let out a quiet cry of pain when the hand holding her wrist tightened and looked up into her friend's eyes. She gasped at what she saw, causing her to try to take a step back in fright.
Tsuna's eyes never were particularly warm, not even once since she met him. His eyes always spoke of large burdens, pain, and loneliness. Most of the time he viewed the world with a neutral, indifferent gaze as if nothing could happen that would interest him. There were a few times when he looked at her when his eyes lit up with a warm, soft glow but those times were far and few between. But now, he looked at her with eyes she never saw. They were cold, dead and as she gazed at him, she feared him and what he would do. The human boy, who was sarcastic, indifferent, but under all of that a very kind one, who always had time to talk to her. Now, his eyes were of a killer, a monster who only wanted to destroy.
"You are the same as all the others." he murmured so softly, she was the only one who could hear him. He let go of her hand and she instinctively stepped away from him, clutching her aching wrist.
"What's gotten into you?" demanded Kurumu who stepped to Moka's side, placing her arm around her for support.
Tsuna didn't answer, he turned towards Gin who was watching him warily and clutching the hand that was holding him by the collar. Then suddenly the former mafioso spun around with the older student and thrown him into a couple of desks, sending him tumbling down to the floor.
Tsukune stepped towards him, not even himself sure why or what he wanted to do, but stopped when the cold gaze of his friend zeroed on him. For a moment, he thought he stood against another Youkai, something simply not human. Then Tsuna began to walk towards the door, ignoring Tsukune as he passed him, the young human unable to even turn his head, frozen in fear.
"See if I care anymore." he growled as he stopped by the door. "No more. I'm out of here!" with that he slammed the door behind him.
The room descended into silence, Kurumu hugging Moka who was looking fearfully in the direction her friend went, while Tsukune helped up Gin who winced a little. The silence was broken when Lambo jumped on his feet at ran after Tsuna.
"Guess, this is it for today. Let's continue tomorrow after everyone calmed down." said the president gingerly touching his head. With soft agreements Moka, Kurumu, and Tsukune began to leave as well, none of them noticing Gin's pleased smile.
-0-
He had no idea where he was going, but he had to leave. Leave and get as far away from them before he hurt someone. His anger was boiling under his skin, threatening to overwhelm him and unleash all those negative emotions he tried his hardest to repress since he was a little kid.
Other students who saw him tried desperately to get out of his way, like frightened children. Part of him hoped one of them would cause trouble, threaten him, give him a reason to fight, to let loose. But they didn't and without anything else to occupy him Tsuna's mind drifted to what happened a few minutes before.
She was supposed to be different. He let himself hope, he let himself believe that she would be different. That she wouldn't leave him the first chance she got and what does she do? But she just like all the rest. Like his classmates in middle school, his guardians, his father! She is just another backstabber. No more. No more will be used, no more will he even trust anyone but himself. NO MORE!
Tsuna clutched his head as he staggered into a wall, his legs giving out as he slid down to the floor. The world around him kept spinning, his body felt so hot like it was literally on fire and all he could hear was someone signing. It was a beautiful, but also very sad song. He felt his eyelids slowly closing, feeling all his strength leave his body.
"Tsuna-nii!" he faintly heard Lambo call out to him, but he was far too gone to react. All he could do was stare blankly at the figure who seemed to stand before him, looking down on him. He was a rather short man, with a thin body that didn't make him look intimidating at all. He had shoulder-length black hair and emotionless black eyes. He wore a finely made Italian suit, looking like the poster child for mafioso. He was grinning smugly at him, gesturing at a very familiar ring on his right hand.
"Massino...Von...gola..." Tsuna ground out before losing consciousness.
-0-
Miyamoto Haiji was always an early riser. Thanks to his dedication to his training, hours before dawn he was already up and warming up. When the first rays of the sun broke through the clouds he was already in the karate club's dojo going through various techniques. Though he was just a second year, thanks to his strength and diligence he was already the president.
Though he didn't let any of the members slack off, he also didn't expect them to adhere to his own admittedly strict regiment, so it was usually only him who was here this time of day. Though he would have liked to have a good sparring partner.
"Excuse me for the intrusion." said a quiet voice, causing Haiji to internally wince. He didn't sense anybody coming in, whoever it was, he was good at erasing his presence.
He looked to the side towards the entrance where a first-year was standing. He had an unassuming face, brown hair, and brown eyes that seemed to stare into his soul. He was a little pale but as he took off his shoes and stepped in, Haiji could see his moves were firm and strong, he had a lithe build to him. He didn't let it fool him, he learned that appearances were deceiving especially with monsters.
"Good morning- It's rare to see someone other than me here so early." he greeted the underclassman good-naturedly."You are not a club member are you?" he asked face slowly turning serious, though he knew the answer very well. Yesterday was the first day the clubs met with the new arrivals and he made sure to remember all the new members' faces.
The other teen nodded with a blank face, before bowing though his eyes never left his.
"No, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, first year." he introduced himself."You are Miyamoto Haiji-senpai?" he nodded in answer, crossing his arms in front of his chest, waiting to hear why he wanted to see him. The younger boy sheepishly scratched his head, the blank look on his face finally disappearing."The thing is, back home I had a friend" at the world friend his face darkened for a moment before it disappeared into a blank look once again, but Haiji caught it." who was into boxing and we had frequent spars. Since the year began I became more and more restless. I tried out some exercises, but it wasn't just the same. I asked about who I could spar with from time to time and I was directed toward you." he finished with a small, but genuine grin."Care for a friendly spar, senpai?"
"You want to spar with me?" he wondered out. Few wanted to spar with him, because of his dedications and simple overwhelming strength. He simply didn't believe in holding back."I'm not known for holding back." he said, though his body subconsciously slipped into a stance.
"Wouldn't be a point to that." said the boy grinning, taking his own stance. It was not one he recognized, even though Haiji saw quite a few martial arts to this day."My friend was incapable of holding back, so it suits me fine. Ready when you are, senpai."
Even though the kid looked like he would be blown away by a gentle breeze, Haiji couldn't help but smirk. He often followed his guts, and now it told him, that it would be quite an interesting fight.
"Bring it on."
-0-
"Tsuna-san already left?" asked Tsukune crestfallen. Lambo only nodded sleepily in answer, leaning on the doorframe.
The human decided to check on his friend early morning, to see if his training would continue and also talk with the other teen. He personally didn't think Tsuna peeped on the girls, from what he'd seen from him didn't indicate he would do anything like this. Still, his reactions were very extreme. And that presence, he couldn't find a better word to describe it, was something very frightening. He hadn't even met a single monster, with the exception of vampire Moka who could terrify him like that.
"What made him react so violently?" he asked more from himself, than from Lambo, though the young boy decided to answer in a small voice.
"He was like this ever since that time.." Lambo trailed off, eying the black-haired boy uncertainly." ever since he lost his fire.."
"His fire?" asked Tsukune incredulously, before noticing Lambo had dozed off, leaning on the door, drool coming out of his mouth. With a sigh, he scooped up the seven-year-old kid and went to Tsuna's room, and placed him on the bed. After making sure Lambo would be alright, Tsukune left, closing the door behind him, thinking about what he heard.
'Lambo said he lost his fire.' thought Tsukune as he slowly walked towards the school. 'Come to think of it, I never saw Tsuna-san use the dying will bullet, he only fired it at me. Maybe there is a reason for that aside from placing me in embarrassing situations?' his musings were cut off when a voice called out to him.
"Good morning Tsukune-kun!" greeted Kurumu with a small smile, but a little subdued than normal.
She was walking with Moka, gently supporting the vampire. Kurumu herself looked a little tired. If he remembered right, she said something about having a sleepover to cheer Moka up after what happened in the club. Though from the looks of it, it was not as successful as either Kurumu or Tsukune hoped.
Moka looked unlike herself. Her hair was messy, there were dark rings under her eyes, she looked like she didn't get much sleep. He looked away in sadness for her or himself, he didn't know. Yesterday, Moka was devastated when Tsuna stormed out and it took both him and Kurumu to at least console her a little. No matter, how much he wanted to get closer to Moka, the irrefutable proof was before him, Tsuna was more important to her. It's not like he didn't know it before, maybe it was because she always drank Tsuna's blood, but there was a special, deeper connection between them like they understood each other.
"Hey guys." he greeted them weekly. Kurumu beamed at him, giving him one of her hugs, causing him to almost fall over from her momentum, while Moka only gave him a small smile.
"Did you...I mean..." she tried to say, a hopeful look on her face, making him instantly guilty that he didn't have any good news.
"Sorry." he scratched the back of his head. "He left by the time I arrived. Don't worry, we can talk with him after class." he added, Moka giving him a thankful smile in response.
But it looked like luck was not on their side. Tsuna arrived last, just after the teacher, looking worryingly pale, his uniform had a few tears in it and Tsukune even spotted a bruise forming on his arm. Both he and Moka tried to catch Tsuna's eyes during lessons, but he refused to look in their direction. He skillfully dodged them after class, quickly disappearing in the halls. Likewise, they couldn't find him during lunch break and Moka looked even worse because she did not have any appetite. Soon their classes ended for the day and they once again lost sight of Tsuna.
Disheartened, Moka simply asked to be left alone for a bit, while Tsukune began to walk towards the newspaper club, in the vain hope that Tsuna went there. He wasn't even halfway there when he was intercepted by Gin, the older student smiling kindly at him.
"Hey there, Tsukune-kun." greeted him the older student." Lucky, I found you in time."
"Gin-senpai." greeted him Tsukune, automatically bowing a little, before his words registered."What do you mean in time?" he asked bewildered.
"Today's club activities will be held outside." explained Gin, while he began to lead him away."I already caught the girls and told them about it, then I went and searched for you so you won1t be left out."
"Thank you, senpai." said Tsukune, before a relevant thought came into his mind."Did you also talk with Tsuna-san?" he asked a bit hopefully, hoping at least someone caught sight of his elusive friend.
In response, Gin instinctively grabbed the back of his head where he was hurt after Tsuna violently threw him yesterday, before shaking his head.
"That violent guy." he said, actually sounding sad." He came by today and told me he quit the club." he told Tsukune, causing him to gape in disbelief."He told me he already talked with Sensei about this and it's official.
"But why would he...Do we matter so little to him?" Tsukune muttered to himself, looking down in thought, not noticing the sly smirk on the club president's face.
"We're here." said Gin, breaking him out of his thoughts. As Tsukune looked up, he couldn't help but feel unimpressed. They were at the back of the school, in a small alley between buildings, there was nothing interesting there.
"Isn't this just the back of the school." he questioned looking around, feeling a bit wary. There was no one in sight."Is it okay to have our activities here? And where are the girls?"
„Haha, don't worry, everybody will come soon." laughed Gin, though Tsukune wasn't convinced. Something just felt off about the whole thing, starting with the incident between Tsuna and Gin yesterday.
"Shouldn't Moka-san and Kurumu-san be here before us, because you told them before looking for me?" he couldn't help but ask, something telling him that not everything was what it seemed. That was one of the things he learned from this school.
"There we are." said Gin, completely ignoring the question."Look over there, there's a little window up there." he pointed towards a window, that had a conveniently placed box placed underneath to help peek in."Why don't you peek inside?"
"What? Why?" asked Tsukune, confused.
"Don't worry about it, it' s not gonna bite you. It'll be interesting." assured the older student, pushing the human toward the window.
Tsukune stopped before it, hearing sounds of people talking, making him even more suspicious. He hesitated, feeling something amiss. He remembered Tsuna telling him to don't trust his eyes, trust in his guts when unsure.
Meanwhile, Gin turned his back towards Tsukune, as if checking if anyone was coming.
"One more thing." he said when he noticed he has yet to even stand on the box. "Moka-san is even better than I heard, you know. I really like her." he declared, Tsukune turning in surprise. Gin didn't look at him, but he still had something sinister in his eye, causing Tsukune to subtly back away from the window. "She even got me falling in love, at first sight." he looked straight at Tsukune, a confident grin on his face. "I'm serious. I'm gonna make Akashiya Moka my woman. And nothing is gonna stand in my way." he took a threatening step, causing the human to unconsciously ready himself for a fight.
"I don't really understand what are you planning, but guess I'll have to miss today's club activity." Tsukune told him, desperately wishing for Tsuna to pop up and hit him with a dying will bullet. Seeing no other choice he rushed forward, intending to run past Gin and find Tsuna. But before he could pass the older student he felt a blow connect with his stomach faster than he could even see, making him fall down to his knees.
He looked up only to see Gin smirking down at him smugly.
"This is the girl's changing room, you know." he told him, his hands in his pockets, acting like he didn't just punch him a moment before."And peeping is a crime Tsukune-kun." Tsukune tried to say something in protest, but Gin continued. "I'll stop at nothing to get a woman in the palm of my hand. So I need you to stay away for a bit." before the human could reach he grabbed him by his collar and thrown him against the wall, alerting the girls changing inside."See you later, Tsukune-kun." then Gin disappeared as if he was never there in the first place.
By the time Tsukune was able to get his bearings and try to stand up, he was surrounded by a horde of half-dressed, furious girls holding all sorts of weapons from a broom to a bokken and even a hairdryer.
"Wait, it's a misunderstanding." he tried to talk to them, but they ignored him and advanced on him."Help!" he cried out, various males in the school wincing in sympathy.
-0-
After a very painful beating, the girls tied him up before stringing him up on a tree, in an abandoned part of the school and leaving him there. His face was full of bruises, they showed him no mercy, even kicking him a few times after he lost consciousness for the first time. Even now, just staying awake was taking almost all of his energy.
"Why are you hanging like that?" asked a young voice, causing Tsukune to blearily open his eyes. Lambo stood before him, looking up at him curiously while loudly chewing some kind of candy."Are you a pinata?" he asked hopefully with wide eyes, causing the human to sweatdrop.
"Of course I'm not a pinata!" cried out Tsukune, causing Lambo to let out a shocked 'Gyupaa'."Can you let me down, Lambo-kun?" he asked with more calm than he currently felt. Before Lambo could answer a new voice cut in.
"Oi, Lambo. Where did you wander off?" asked Tsuna as he leisurely walked closer to them, stopping and tilting his head at the sight of Tsukune."Why are you hanging like that?" he asked a little confused.
"Tsuna-san." he breathed in relief, though he had to blink at how different he looked. His vest was undone and the top of his shirt was also open. He was pale, paler than he was in the morning, yet he seemed to sweat like there was no tomorrow."Never mind that, we have to help Moka-san! It's Gin-senpai. He said he wants to make Moka his, that's why he peeped on her yesterday and framed you. He wants her and he isn't afraid to hurt anyone for it. Please, you have to help her or-" he pleaded but was cut off by Tsuna.
"Why should I care?" he shouted at him instantly furious, shocking the black-haired teen. His eyes were unfocused like he couldn't see Tsukune before him, but something else instead." Why should I do anything? It's always like this. Make nice while I'm useful, then stab me in the back the first chance they get." he shook his head furiously, and gripped his right hand as if he was fighting with himself. Then after a moment, his shoulders seemed to sag and his movements stilled. He looked directly at Tsukune, his eyes were cold and unforgiving. "I'm out of here." with that he walked away, Lambo scrambling to keep up.
"Tsuna-san!" he called out in alarm. "Please, Tsuna-san!" he cried out, but Tsuna didn't seem to hear him, leaving him alone, still hanging on the tree.
-0-
He had no idea what was going with him, but he had to get away before he hurt someone. His body felt as if it was literally on fire, he had trouble walking straight, let alone think. And when he couldn't think it was the worst. He felt as if he had no control over his own body like he was becoming trapped in his own mind. He thought if he was tired, exhausted it would help but it was only temporary. His morning spar with Haiji helped to keep him grounded for the day, but classes were over and he once again felt whatever was happening to him growing stronger. If he couldn't find something to help he was afraid of what would happen.
He braced himself next to a wall, trying to gather the breath that insisted on escaping him. From the corner of his eye, he caught the smugly grinning face of Massino Vongola but he ignored it. During the day, no matter where he went, where he looked he saw that annoying face of his, waving to him with the hand that held the Vongola ring. He had no idea why, but pretty soon he caught on to the fact that he was nothing more than a hallucination, which was pretty worrying in itself. Usually, he could easily spot an illusion, his intuition letting him see through most of them, and even with stronger ones he knew deep down, it wasn't real. Yet, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that the figure in the corner of his eye was not real, every sense of his told him the opposite.
His thoughts were cut off when he felt something small hit his shoulder. It didn't hurt at all, so instead of any sudden action, he looked down curiously. It was a candy, a grape candy was lying on the floor next to him. The strangest thing was that candy looked very much like the ones he gave to Lambo.
Suddenly he felt something fly toward him, so he acted on instinct and caught the piece of candy that was thrown at him. He frowned as he looked over the direction it came from and found Lambo glaring at him, tears in his eyes and hand still outstretched.
"What are doing?" his frown deepened as his body began to tense as if it was readying for a fight. He forced his body to relax, it was ridiculous to think Lambo was an enemy. He was annoying, yes, and prone to temper tantrums, but he was still just a little kid. He was not his enemy, he chanted in his head as he felt the urge to fight grow.
„You're not Tsuna-nii!" cried Lambo, much to the former mafioso's shock."Tsuna-nii is kind, he always helps even if he doesn't want to. He takes care of me, and I-pin and Futa, he always smiles! But you are not! You are just like that scarred meanie, who was always shouting, wanting to hurt others around him. You are even worse than Bakadera." finished the young boy, tears, and snot falling freely.
"What are you..." Tsuna started to say, but quickly bit back the angry retorn on the top of his tongue as he realized how much like Xanxus he sounded. Xanxus, who Lambo was comparing him to.
He staggered back in shock, not noticing Lambo run off crying as he contemplated. He was aware he was more distant and bitter, but he felt it was understandable after what happened to him. Still, this anger was shocking even to him. Tsuna gripped his head as a new wave of pain hit him. He knew he was far from alright, his actions spoke for themselves, but it wasn't that but until...until...
"Until yesterday." his eyes widened in realization. He tried to focus, think through what happened yesterday that could've triggered whatever was happening to him. The first meeting of the newspaper club, Gin, and the whole peeking incident... "Ginei..." he growled softly, feeling as if the older student held the answer to his questions. Feeling the pain subside, he took a few shaky steps, shaking his head, trying to clear the cobwebs.
He stopped when he heard a soft growl, causing him to look around, trying to spot where he heard the sound. When he felt something moving in his pocket, his eyes softened as he pulled out a ring from there. It was a simple metal ring, with the face of a lion cub on top of it. The ring seemed to move around a very little, another soft growl coming from out, with a reproaching quality to it.
"I must have fallen quite a lot, for even you to tell me off." said Tsuna with a small smile as he absently put the ring on. The next growl had a pleased feeling to it, with a little bit of smugness. "At least, I still got you, isn't that right old buddy." his former box weapon, Natsu agreed with another soft growl, before falling silent, leaving him to his thoughts.
"Damnit." he cursed as he slowly began to walk towards the school."Guess I have to get involved once again."
-0-
Moka was leaning on the railing of the roof, silently watching the evening sky. The last two days she felt horribly alone, even though she still had Kurumu and Tsukune trying to cheer her up, keeping her company. But it wasn't the same without Tsuna. Tsuna, who was distant, aloof yet always gave small signals to tell he was listening, that he cared. He seemed to understand her more than the others, sympathize with her pain, cheer her up with a few words or a simple act. He was her first friend, the one she felt the most comfortable with and the one who was there for her ever since she came to this school. And his absence hurt more than anything, even the scorn and loneliness she felt in the human world.
She walked up here to the roof, to think for a while. She knew Tsukune and Kurumu meant well, but she needed to be alone for a while. She may not have known him for long, but she felt she knew Tsuna well enough to know that he was acting out of character and she wanted to figure out the reason herself. She felt her rosary warming as her other self tried to talk to her, but she chose to ignore her for now. She kept talking about both Gin and Tsuna being dangerous and staying away from them, but she didn't want to give up on her friend, no matter what was happening to him
"So this is where you were Moka-chan." said a smooth voice, causing Moka to turn around in shock, she didn't hear anyone come up. Gin was walking towards her, hands in his pockets and grinning at her."It's evening already. Look, a beautiful full moon." he said, looking mesmerized on the moon up in the sky.
"Gin-senpai..." she murmured, not feeling comfortable being alone with him, not after what happened between him and Tsuna the other day.
"Did you hear? Your friend Tsukune was caught peeping on the girls changing room and if I heard right he was still being detained." Gin said as he stepped closer to her, Moka not noticing the way his eyes roamed over her." And then that other guy, Tsuna. Getting all violent out of nowhere and then he just goes and quits the club." she looked away in distress, the older student's smirk widening went unnoticed by her.
Gin put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him, though Moka resisted a little, feeling more and more uncomfortable. He smiled down at her, ignoring her fidgeting as he rubbed her shoulders, the scene looking very intimate from the outside.
"Forget about pathetic guys like that. Tonight, I'll console you." he charmingly smiled at her as his hand slowly slid lower, until Moka cried out and tried to push him away, face red from embarrassment.
"No! Let me go!" she cried as she tried to shield her chest from him."What are you doing, senpai?"
"What do you mean? I was just holding you tenderly." Gin continued playing dumb even as he continued to trap her within his arms.
"You just felt me up!" she had enough and stepped on his feet with all her might, causing him to let go as he hopped on one foot. She took a few steps back warily watching him.
Gin stopped nursing his foot, charming smile back in place as he stepped towards Moka, who continued to move back until she bumped into the railing.
"On nights with a full moon, I'm overcome with a feeling of power and lose all control. So let's give in." he put his arms around her, trapping her as he leaned forward intending to kiss her."When I go wild, my sudden urges make me go crazy!"
"No! Stop!" Moka finally had enough and remembered that she still had her vampire strength. She slapped Gin with all her strength, sending the surprised man flying into the nearest wall. Moka stood there panting, all the emotions that she tried to hold back the last two days came pouring out. "Tsuna-kun...he said he didn't peep. So rather than believe you, I'm waiting for him. I want to believe him more than anybody else." she said, tears of sadness and frustration gathering in her eyes.
Gin stood up without any difficulty, shaking the debris that landed on him away, not losing his smile. His face darkened with desire as he eyed her body without any shame.
"Are you serious? How admirable." he chuckled lowly as he straightened out and once again stepped towards the vampire, who this time stood her ground defiantly. "I'm falling for you harder and harder, Moka-san." he made a move towards her but stopped when a small rock struck his head.
"You really are a perverted animal, aren't you?" asked a familiar voice mockingly.
"Sawada Tsuna." growled Ginei as he spotted the figure slowly walking towards them.
"Tsuna-kun?" Moka turned towards the voice with a hopeful look on her face, but it soon gave way to worry as Tsuna reached her. His face was red as if he had a fever and he was panting a little, though it may have been because he ran to reach them in time. Still, he didn't look at all his usual self and she couldn't help but worry about his well-being."Are you alright?" she asked slowly.
His gaze drifted to her, the cold look in his eyes softening for a moment, but she still caught it, before once again facing the older student who has yet to make a move.
"Don't worry I'll be alright. Probably." a soft growl was heard from the direction of his hand, causing him to give out an annoyed puff of air and roll his eyes."Yeah, yeah. Sorry about yesterday. Guess I overreacted." he said as he stepped past her, not breaking eye contact with Gin. "Natsu really likes you for some reason." it was small, but there was a slight upward quirk to his lips.
"Natsu?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion. She already seemed to forget about Gin and his previous advances, feeling oddly safe with Tsuna close by.
"How dare you get in the way of our special moment." Gin growled as he stood up, bored of being ignored. "I told you before, didn't I? That on nights with a full moon my control weakens." he said as he hunched over, his body slowly transforming.
"From what I have seen, you don't have any control no matter the moon's position." quipped Tsuna, masking the unease he felt as energy poured out of the body of the older student. The violent storm that raged around him was nowhere near the raw untapped flames that Moka radiated whenever the seal was lifted, but it was still bad news, coupled with his body's current condition and without access to his own flames. At times like these, he would have liked to be born a lot more uncaring towards others.
"I'll make you my woman by force, Akashiya Moka!" roared Gin fully transformed, now as a humanoid wolf, the light of the full moon shining on his form.
"A werewolf!" cried out Moak in realization. Tsuna didn't react visibly only walking towards the transformed upperclassmen."Wait, Tsuna-kun. You have to take off my rosary."
"No." was the simple answer, making Moka step back in shock. Taking his eyes of the werewolf, Tsuna looked back at her, a small grin on his face. "Call it male pride if you want, but I don't want to use the other you as some kind of monster deterrent." his smile turned a little savage as he once again faced Gin."Besides, I was itching for a good fight."
"So be it. I'll deal with you first." declared Gin before he ran towards Tsuna so fast, he disappeared for a moment. Even so, Tsuna simply turned his body to the side, avoiding the swipe the werewolf sent at him, before countering with a punch that Gin avoided easily.
After this first exchange, the fight began in earnest. Tsuna had to realize quite soon that the werewolf was fast, extremely so. Ginei's speed was comparable to his own speed in hyper dying will state, without the vongola ring, making it very hard for him to keep up. Thankfully his body and reflexes were much better than the regular humans, a simple necessity so he could handle the hyper dying will. This and his intuition helped him keep the fight even, but just could already feel his body slowly, but surely tiring, the blows he couldn't avoid and had to block taking their tolls on him. He also had yet to land a punch, Gin used hit and run tactics, quickly getting away before he could retaliate. The werewolf was cautious, never staying in one place, using his speed to try and confuse the brown-haired teen.
As much he hated to admit, Gin was much stronger than he first anticipated. He had gotten complacent, thought that other than Moka most monsters wouldn't be so powerful, that he could deal with them even without the dying will bullet. But here he was struggling to even keep up and why? Because something was wrong with him, and he made mistake after mistake.
Moka could only watch the fight, feeling powerless to do anything with her powers sealed. Tsuna was always so confident, so sure that it was easy to forget he was a simple human. Mysterious sure, but still without the powers of a monster. Now, this fact was staring at her face, watching her friend's becoming more and more bruised after each failed block. She felt her rosary moving slowly, the other her watching as well.
"Moka-san! Tsuna-san!" cried out a voice, causing all three of them to look up, stopping the fight for a moment. Kurumu was in the air in her monster form, Tsukune dangling from her arms. Lambo was also there, desperately clutching onto Tsukune's legs.
"What are you doing here?" growled Gin, causing the three newcomers to take note of his transformed state.
"Is that senpai?" asked a shocked Tsukune as they touched down on the roof.
"Scary dog!" cried Lambo hiding behind Kurumu.
"Be careful Tsukune. Werewolves are strong monsters said to be equal to vampires." she warned him as she took note of a still sealed Moka standing to the side and the beaten-up Tsuna.
"What are you doing idiots? Grab Moka and get out of here." Tsuna made the mistake to take his eyes off of Gin for a minute and he paid for it dearly. Using the lapse in attention, he quickly closed the distance between them, sending a powerful punch to the human's chest. He was hit with so much force that Tsuna fell into the rail, his legs shaking, barely able to stand up.
"Tsuna-kun!" cried Moka and tried to run to him but was held back by Kurumu and Tsukune, because Gin was in front of them smirking widely at Moka.
"Now that the distraction has been dealt with, time to finish what we started Akashiya Moka." he started walking towards them but stopped to catch a small rock that was thrown at him. "You again?" he growled, seeing Tsuna stand up and smirking at him. Though the image was ruined by the small trickle of blood that escaped his mouth.
„You got to do better than that, wolf-boy." he said confidently as he wiped away the small trail of blood from his mouth and took his stance. Unknown to all but him, this battle was his loss. He felt it clearly, that at least one of his ribs were broken and it wasn't as if his body was in a top condition before the fight. He could posture all he wanted, but he was out of options Unless...
His eyes slid to Moka and the others watching worriedly and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn't enter dying will mode himself, right now it would be less than useless and he also couldn't fire one at Tsukune because of the risk the skull disease carried. He could try to unseal Moka, but doubtlessly Gin would try to stop him, so it couldn't work without a distraction. He cursed himself for not releasing her sooner, he shouldn't have underestimated the second year. That left him with only one option.
„Tsuna-san!" cried out Tsukune, who had enough standing only sidelines. He ran forward to the werewolf intent on attacking him, or at least distracting him but before he could register Gin already punched him, sending him back flying to the girls. He landed in front of them in a heap, groaning in pain.
„Tsukune." Kurumu and Moka called out to him, kneeling down at their side. Tsuna had enough of it and decided to gamble everything on his last resort plan.
„Lambo!" he called out to the shaking boy with a rarely heard authority in his voice, the 'boss' voice as dubbed by Reborn. "Use the bazooka on me, now!" he yelled as he rushed towards Gin, the werewolf only smirking in what he imagined was a sure victory for him.
„But-" the boy protested even if he moved his hand towards his hair. After their fight in the future against Byakuran, they took great care to teach him to use the bazooka cautiously. They did not want anything like that ever happen again, no matter how remote the possibility was. Still, even though Lambo was reluctant, soon he had the familiar pink weapon on his shoulders, trying to aim correctly.
Once Dino joked that whenever Tsuna used his boss voice, people around him couldn't help but follow his orders without question. He thought he wasn't serious, until one time where the Varia and his guardians were left alone and destroyed a whole hotel while waiting for him. When he arrived back to see nothing but destruction, he was so pissed that he yelled at them until he was hoarse and then told them to clean up. Later, he would find it very funny, how even Xanxus was dutifully cleaning up with a shell-shocked look on his face.
"Just do it!" yelled out Tsuna as Gin swiped at him. He lowered his body, anticipating the move, and ran past the surprised werewolf. Lambo following his orders fired the bazooka, a small missile heading towards Tsuna. Gin attempted to intercept him, not knowing what that weapon could do, but he was too late.
A pink cloud enveloped Tsuna's form.
-0-
Though it was only his second trip through time, Tsuna could already tell he would never like this nauseating feeling that involved it. For a long moment, he didn't know where was up and down, he closed his eyes because the swirling lights just caused him a headache. He didn't know if he was falling or rising, but he knew that it felt like an eternity passed before he arrived whenever his future self was, ten years later.
But instead of staying on his feet, he landed on a bed a little more roughly than his beat-up body would have liked. He let out a pained groan as he decided to lay around for a minute, just until he finds the strength to get up and look at what sort of future he had now. That was until a plan until he heard an amused chuckle right next to him.
"I almost forgot how cute you were back then." a husky, seductive voice reached him, causing him to instantly stiffen, opening his eyes wide trying to look around. He could only glimpse a wooden ceiling before a feminine hand obscured his vision. "No peeking." told the voice, far too amused by him.
He tried to struggle, to get up but his weakened body stood no chance. To make matters worse, he felt a body drape over him, holding him down and from the curves he felt, it was definitely a woman. To make the blush forming on his face all the worse, from what he could gather without the use of his eyes, the woman laying on him hardly had any clothing on her.
"Oh, look at you blushing. It is just so delightful. Nowadays you blush so rarely." cooed a voice, her free hand caressing his face, prompting an even larger blush Tsuna.
"Who are you? What-" he tried to ask, but a finger was pressed on his lips, silencing him.
"Hush. The future you told me to make sure you don't learn much of your future if you ever get switched." she told him, the finger leaving his lips and slowly, began to trail down towards his neck. Tsuna squirmed as his body reacted to her presence, despite him trying not to. "You said you don't want to influence yourself with a potential future, least you decide to do something drastic and dangerous like someone called Irie." she said, though she seemed a little uncertain at the end, though he instantly remembered about Irie Shoichi who inadvertently caused Byakuran to awaken his powers and almost destroyed their future. But he also remembered him after the inheritance ceremony, telling him that he remembered the future with Byakuran and promising to help him if he ever needed his help. Before he left for the youkai academy they met once again, Shoichi telling him that he was leaving to meet up with Spanner and giving him his contact information.
"That makes sense." he mumbled a little distracted as he felt his insides practically melt from the fire that burned inside of him. It was easier to ignore when he had something else to focus on, namely fighting against Gin, but now, with his body weaker than ever, he was genuinely afraid. The pain and the anger were too much, he felt as if he was slowly dying over and over and he wanted it all to end.
He felt a cool hand caress his face, his neck before the woman above him leaned even closer.
"It's already started to affect you, isn't it?" she asked a little sadly before she placed a small kiss on his neck much to Tsuna's confusion. "You should have let younger me suck your blood more often, you know?" she teased before he felt a small pain in his neck, gasping more from the realization than the pain. The voice was familiar, very familiar, but he couldn't place it anywhere up until now. It was Moka's voice, but not the one he usually spent time with, her voice resembled more of the released Moka.
He didn't bother to struggle, though he was not sure why. Maybe he was too weak to resist, or maybe he trusted her that much, which was hard to considering his issues with trust. Still, there was always something about this Moka that put him at ease in a strange way.
As Moka was taking her time with drinking from him, Tsuna noticed another strange thing. He felt himself grow tired, a natural reaction to losing so much of his blood, but his turbulent emotions that were getting harder and harder to rein in seemed to simply drain out of him. Similarly, the fire that threatened to burn him out from within receded, giving way to a coolness that relaxed his tense body. He had no idea what was going in, but he felt better than he did in the past days.
"Delicious as always." she cooed from above him as she stopped her meal."This is only a temporary solution, but drinking your blood should keep down the dying will flames from burning you out. You should also check that charm of yours. Your old teacher left you with a small surprise." her fingers began to trail down to his chest, sending shivers down on his spine that had nothing to do with being afraid."Oh, the five minutes are almost up." she added sadly, though she did not stop with her ministrations at all.
"You are awfully chatty, despite my older self telling you not to tell anything." he couldn't help but say that, even as he fought to keep his body to show any reaction, knowing deep down that it would only encourage her.
"I'm a very, very bad girl." Future Moka told him with a teasing voice, just as she took her hand off of his eyes. Tsuna could only get one glance at the mesmerizing red eyes before his vision was obscured again, his body feeling weightless, no doubt he was going back to his time."Don't keep me waiting too long." he heard call out one last time, though he had no idea what she was talking about.
-0-
"Tsuna-kun!" Moka cried out worriedly as her friend disappeared inside a cloud of pink smoke. Kurumu and Tsukune could only look on in shock while Lambo lowered the bazooka, biting his lips in worry as he watched.
"I don't know what kind of trick is that, but you can't fool me this easily." boasted Gin, and using his speed he rushed at the figure stepping out of the smoke. He tried to punch him, but the figure easily stepped out of the way and tripped the surprised werewolf, sending him to fall down on his face.
"Still rushing without a single thought, senpai?" asked Tsuna amused, but his voice was different somehow.
Moka and the others gasped in shock as he stepped out of the smoke, revealing he also looked different. He was a little taller, his hair longer and if it was possible even messier, his face thinner, more mature. Instead of the school uniform, he wore a very fine-looking suit over a simple white shirt that fit well on his now slightly broader shoulders.
Still, even more than the clothing or the voice the most different thing about him was the air he carried himself. His posture was relaxed, his face was much more open and expressive than any of them save for Lambo ever saw. He walked towards them completely comfortable in his skin, a pleased smile on his face that just wasn't like the Tsuna they knew.
"That look on you, how nostalgic." he said, his voice a little deeper as he stopped in front of Moka. That soft look in his eyes sent butterflies flying in her stomach, causing her to blush even from his proximity. She started to imitate a tomato when he absentmindedly grabbed a lock of her hair and studied it, as if he found it unusual, before he placed the lock behind her ear, caressing her face as he pulled away.
"Tsuna-kun." she breathed, not knowing what to say, but wanting to make sure he was who she thought he was. He only smiled in response before looking down at her rosary which seemed to shake a little, trying to communicate something. His smile grew founder as he reached down and caressed the rosary just as he did to her face, causing the center of the seal to redden in response.
"It was a while since I even thought about these peaceful days." he commented to Moka, a slight longing in his voice.
"Tsuna-san?" called out Tsukune a little disbelievingly as he limped over them leaning on Kurumu. The older Tsuna looked at them with a little wonder.
"Tsukune and Kurumu? It must be really early days for me." he commented to himself, further confusing his audience.
"What is going on?" asked Kurumu at last, getting fed up in being left in the dark.
"It's Lambo's youkai power." he explained with a smile, though Moka and Tsukune quickly realized he was lying through his teeth."He can swap someone with their future self from ten years later for five minutes. Since he had a hard time controlling it, his family made him that bazooka so he could safely direct its effects. Though it is a dangerous power so he uses it as little as possible, from what I remembered my younger self was in desperate need of help." Kurumu nodded in understanding, but it was easy to tell from her face she felt totally lost."Speaking of which," Tsuna's gaze shifted to Lambo who standing not far from them nervously. He walked to him and knelt before the young boy."Thank you for sticking by grumpy, young me." he patted his head causing Lambo to with a cry rush forward and hug him with all his strength.
"Tsuna-nii!" he wailed as the older man returned the embrace.
"There, there. Everything will be fine, Lambo." he said calmly, handling the young boy with surprising care. Lambo soon calmed down and stepped away, rubbing his eyes and looking away, embarrassed.
"Are finally done?" growled their almost forgotten club president as he finally stood up."You may be from the future, but it won't help you. I'll defeat you and make Akashiya Moka my woman!" he declared for the nth time that day.
Tsuna only smiled at him bemused.
"Come now. We know how it will end. You try to attack me, I defeat you and in the end, you will rethink your life choices. Make things easier for everyone and skip right to the end." he told him with a smile, further angering the werewolf.
"As if! In a night with a full moon, a werewolf is invincible." Gin said before with a roar he started to run around them in a zigzag pattern, using his incredible speed to disappear in a blink. Moka and the others looked around confused, trying to spot him, but could only catch his fading afterimages. Tsuna, on the other hand, was standing there calmly with his eyes closed, looking like he had no care in the world. "Got you!" roared Gin in triumph as he appeared behind him, sending a punch at him. Tsukune who noticed him too tried to shout a warning, but it was not needed. Without looking behind him Tsuna reached out and grabbed the werewolf's wrist stopping in his tracks. "What the-? How did you?" asked Gin flabbergasted, prompting Tsuna to look over at him smiling, pointing at the sky. All of them looked up, seeing the full moon obscured by clouds. "I can't use my full powers if the moon is out." it slipped out before he could stop it, causing the others to mentally face-palm at him.
"What kind of weakness is that?" asked Tsukune, feeling completely flabbergasted.
"It is kind of lame." agreed Kurumu, an invisible arrow striking Gin in the chest with the words lame.
"Don't be hasty!" he said, shrugging off the mental damage. "I can still beat you with or without moonlight. I'll show you what the natural energy of a monster is." he boasted, though they could still see he was struggling to get out of the grip Tsuna had on him.
"Sure, you do." he said with a mocking smirk before tightening his grip, electing a small cry of pain. He suddenly pulled the werewolf towards him, kneeing him in the stomach."Know your place!" he roared, punching Gin in the face with his free hand, some kind of energy erupting from him, sending him flying away, off the roof.
The others could only look shocked, completely surprised by the turn of events, until Lambo let out a huge cheer."Do it again!"
"If that was impressive, just wait for the fights in the near future." told him Future Tsuna cryptically, subtly shaking his numbed hand. "The five minutes are almost up, so I should be going. See you!" he told them as he turned away and began to walk towards the end of the roof. They called after him, but he only turned back when a sudden thought struck his mind. "Before I forget, do watch out for-" his words were cut off as he was engulfed by a pink cloud. As it dissipated, the younger, bruised form of Tsuna was revealed.
He was looking a little more disheveled than the last time they saw him. He spun around in surprise, spotting them before his legs gave out and fallen on his back.
"Tsuna-kun!" alarmed, Moka ran to his side with Kurumu and Lambo, Tsukune limping behind them."Are you alright?" she asked as she kneeled at his side.
"Never better." he chuckled softly, but it ended up in a pained groan, much to Moka's worry."This is the last time I used the bazooka. The future is...confusing." he said uncertainly as he opened his eyes and looked around at the worried faces of his...friends? Maybe he should begin to call them friends. "Where is pervert-senpai?" he asked calmly, feeling actually much better than he felt in days despite his wounds. Whatever the future Moka did to him was helping a lot.
"The older you punched him off the roof." explained Tsukune while he smiled, relieved that it was over.
"Convenient." Tsuna said blankly, before eying Moka who was clutching his right hand with tears gathering in her eyes. "Sorry about being an idiot." he told her, too embarrassed to meet her face.
"Sorry about believing that you would peep." she lightly caressed the back of his hand with her thumb, relaxing his still tense body. Tsuna desperately tried not to blush at the soothing feeling.
"Next time, let's try talking first?" he asked her with a slight grin, Moka giving an enthusiastic nod. "Then I'll go sleep then." he said, placing his head down on the floor, trying to find a comfortable position.
Hearing the others laugh around him with amusement and Moka telling him to at least go back to his dorm, he couldn't help but feel whole for a small moment. Like he was once again the Tsuna he was supposed to be, not that broken mess that taken to masquerade as him.
-0-
"Extra! Extra from the newspaper club." Kurumu and Tsukune called out to students going to classes, passing out papers to them.
They spent the early hours of the morning to make a paper about Tsukune's innocence in peeping on the girls and revealing Gin's true nature to the unknowing girl population. Well, Moka, Kurumu, and Tdsukune did spend most of the time working on the paper, while Lambo worked on a coloring book and Tsuna napped. It could be argued that the brown-haired teen did help if you count his not always helpful half-asleep mutterings.
"Though I never excepted that this would become the newspaper club's first job." commented Tsukune as he gave out the last of the papers on him. He could already hear a feminine cry for war from the other end of the school and also the cries of a certain werewolf.
"Justice prevails isn't that right?" asked Kurumu, smiling brightly at him. Tsukune was very glad of her presence, she believed in him when everyone said he was a peeper and also helped treat his injuries. It was good to know that when he thought she was not a bad person, he was very right. "Though next time he has to help out or I will do something." she said in mock-anger, pointing at Tsuna who was sitting contently in place.
Moka was placing a copy of their paper on the notice board, standing on the top of a desk. Tsuna was sitting on the same desk, facing the other way, resting. He looked already much better than he did yesterday, his mood swings also mostly disappeared. It looked like things were about to fall into their normal rhythm.
"I've had enough of pervert already. So no peeking." she said with a slight blush to Tsuna who only laughed in response.
"Don't worry. Promise." he said, leaning back. He had too many questions to find answers for, a lot of things looked uncertain, but right here, right now he felt happy. He felt like he was where he was supposed to be, something he didn't feel for a long while.
-0-
"Good night, Tsuna-san, Lambo-kun." Tsukune bid them goodbye as he went to his room. Tsuna absentmindedly waved at him too tired to say anything, while Lambo completely ignored him, busy eating a candy, apple favored for once.
They finished handing out the first paper they made as a club, no matter how ironical that they were doing a reveal on their club president and each of them went their way, completely spent, especially Tsukune and him, who were still recovering from their respective injuries.
'I should probably warn Tsukune that his training restarts tomorrow.' he thought to himself as he opened his door, but soon shrugged his shoulders in his mind.'Nah, he will learn about it when I start throwing grenades on him.'
Tsuna stepped into his room and immediately froze. He couldn't tell just by looking but something was out of place and he just knew it. With a silent hand sign, he told Lambo to stay put as he slowly inched inside, his hand reaching to his gun in instinct.
"Greetings, Sawada-dono." a quiet, musical voice greeted him, confirming his suspicion of someone already in there. Knowing that it would be no use to hide he boldly stepped into the main part of his dorm room, trying to block Lambo from the figure standing in the middle of his room.
She was a girl around his age, dressed in a violet cheongsam which had flower motifs on it in lighter violet color. She had long black hair tied in a bun behind her head, held up by two elegant pins. A few strands escaped the bun, framing her violet eyes. Overall she was very pretty, especially in the body-hugging dress she wore.
Tsuna still ignored all of that, instead of sending her a glare. She stood in a neutral pose, her hand at her side, no threatening move on her part. He saw no weapons on her, or anyone else in the room, but he knew better than something like to reassure him. He almost pulled out his gun when she suddenly bowed to him, reaching an impressive 90 degrees with her body, her head low.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sawada-dono."