"We'll be starting serious box weapon training today. As Reborn's first student, I'll be in charge of tutoring you guys. I'm looking forward"
Ryuuichi raised an eyebrow, wondering if he would be tutored too. Probably yes, seeing that he had been called here. Though, he wondered who would tutor him. It wasn't as if he doesn't know anything. He glanced towards the others, whom were all fired up, before turning back towards Dino to find a cosplaying-Reborn suspended by wires.
"Pffft!"
He quickly covered his mouth and snickered hard, trying not to make a sound. "By the way.. This time, I'll be serving as Dino's superior, the tutor fairy." Reborn dressed as a fairy, waved his 'wand' around, his hat, Leon, blinked. "If Dino slips up, I'll lay down the law so don't worry" He swayed once before kicking Dino in the face for a few times.
"Well, I'll flutter back down if anything comes up. Ciao ciao~" And, he went back up. Ryuuichi sweated when the Arcobaleno mysteriously disappeared.
"So let's get started. But first, Chrome.." Dino turned towards the said girl with serious face. "I need to confirm your intentions. You're a Vongola Guardian but at the same time you're one of Mukuro's followers. Can we consider you an ally in the battle against the Milliefiore?"
Everyone was silent as they waited for her answers, tensed, even. Although they knew she's trustworthy, but in terms of loyalty, they didn't really know. Chrome may be with them, but she could simply turn her back against them with just Mukuro's words. Or, so they had thought. Ryuuichi, on the other hand, believed her fully. He knew that she's their ally, and will always be. Not to mention she, even though shy and timid, is brave enough to defy Mukuro. Well, not now anyway.
Chrome gripped her trident tighter and nodded. "Yes. I want to do better and become a stronger person. Because I think that will lead me back to the past" Chrome had always believed that she will always be a burden to everyone around her, but after meeting Mukuro, whom had saved her, and Tsuna and the others, it had changed. They had slowly taught her that she would never be a burden to any of them, one way or another. Though, it wasn't said verbally, she had felt it through their sincerity to be closer to her. [Especially the girls] Well, a certain bomber still couldn't fully accept her.
Dino seemed to accepted her answer and smiled. "Ok. We're counting on you. And we'll have Lambo do some serious training. The power of every guardian is needed to defeat Byakuran"
Of course, Gokudera didn't liked that decision, but had begrudgingly accepted. Tsuna had hesitated. He hadn't want Lambo to fight because he's still very young, but the child is still one of his guardians, so he had not much choices.
"I heard a few things about your Vongola Boxes from the Tsuna of this era. Going from that, I intend for you to engage in individual training regimes. I should mention that Hibari Kyouya has already begun his training with me."
"Eh? Hibari-san? Wait, you found Hibari-san?" Ryuuichi deadpanned at the brunette, but said nothing. 'Since when he was missing..?'
"Yeah, though, he's still a stubborn one. Then, Sawada Tsunayoshi. I'll start by telling you your training program" Tsuna stood straighter at that. "You have to stay alone until you figure out how to properly open your Vongola Box." He didn't take that quite well. He hadn't expected that he would be training alone, and what would he even figure out by himself?!
"You'll be alone, but you'll still have your box weapon. When there's trouble with a box weapon, the user has to stay with it" By trouble, Dino probably meant by the time when a flaming-monster came out of his box.
"Just stay with it? Uh, is that it?"
"That was your hint"
"Next is Gokudera Hayato. You will look after the box weapon beginner, Sasagawa Ryohei and Lambo as well." Gokudera shouted in question. He didn't liked the fact that he had to babysit those two. Perhaps the baseball star would be tolerable, but those two? No way in seventh hell.
But of course, he had crumbled into submission when Tsuna had praised him and immediately said otherwise, with a prideful look. "But if I can be of service, I will do everything I can!"
"I'm against it. I don't want Octopus head teaching me. Extremely depressing." Wait, was Ryohei pouting?
"Lambo-san doesn't like that fool"
Well, they didn't have other choice anyway. Dino didn't paid much heed at the commotion, and turned to Chrome. "Next is Chrome Dokuro. In order to strengthen your box weapon, half your time will be spent training from the Illusion Enhancement Program left by the Arcobaleno, Mammon. The rest of your time will be spent on improving your combat skills. With the help of those two"
Bianchi and I-Pin waved at them from the side of the room, smiling.
Then, the blonde walked to Yamamoto. "Yamamoto Takeshi" The said teen cheerfully greeted back, and was even excited for the training but to his surprise. "You get a pass. On standby. Beside, I can't touch you. If I teach you something wrong, that guy will send me flying"
"The person who understands your talent the best is dead serious. Yamamoto Takeshi, this training may turn you into something crazy" And he said no more, letting the teen figure it out by himself. And lastly, he turned towards Ryuuichi.
"And Shiroki Ryuuichi" Ryuuichi simply nodded, waiting for the man to continue. Dino had paused for a while as he observed Ryuuichi. Sure, he was the same as the older one, but he could tell that they weren't. In terms of stamina and fighting skills. He did knew that Ryuuichi took up self defenses and could fight against Hibari, but that wasn't enough. The older Ryuuichi had much a crazy level. How he reached it was unknown to Dino.
Though, perhaps it was unnessary.
Ryuichi raised an eyebrow at the long silence. "Dino?" The man immediately cut off his thoughts and continued. "Sorry. Right, your training will be more focused on close combat, supervised by me."
Ryuuichi nodded and shrugged, before holding out a hand. "Sure, but with one condition" He smirked, knowing that Dino wouldn't deny it. And he was right when Dino nodded. "You'll only train me for a day. The rest would be focused on Hibari"
"W-what?! But-!"
"The main one isn't me at the moment, Dino. You should know that" He shoved his hands into his pockets. "And besides, one day is enough"
Dino ended up accepting that reluctantly.
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'Shoulder' A punch to the left shoulder. 'Waist' A chop down the sides. 'Legs' A leg swiftly swiped the two legs off the ground, making the man fall onto the ground. Ryuuichi panted, tired after training for almost the whole day non-stop. Dino rubbed his sore back and waist on the ground. Briefly, he wondered how did the teen managed to improve in such short time. 'Then again, he is a genius...'
A hand was held out in front of him, indicating him to take it. He smiled at Ryuuichi, grabbing the hand before promptly tug the teen down. They rolled on the floor til the older pinned him down. "Never underestimate or let your guard down to your enemy, Ryuuichi" He smirked.
Ryuuichi huffed in annoyance, lightly punching Dino in the stomach as he no longer have much energy. He sprawled on the ground, sighing. They had sparred ever since the blonde had given them their regimes, not even resting for one second. They have decided to forgone their weapons as Dino had wanted to teach him more about hand combats and all. Well, it's a good lesson, Ryuuichi must say.
Dino chuckled breathily at the teen's tired face. He rolled over and laid down on the floor too, beside Ryuuichi. They stayed in that position for a while, calming their breathing in silence until the younger one spoke. "Thanks for the training" He muttered. Dino simply hummed in acceptance.
"So, Ryuuichi. Do you think we'll win?" Dino asked, surprising the said teen. Ryuuichi then smirked. "Of course"
With that, Dino felt as if a weight had been taken off his shoulder. He would always believe everything Ryuuichi said, and would never doubt it. At first, he, as others, wouldn't really believe Ryuuichi, but after one time where what Ryuuichi had said came true, he did, and from then on, not once did he take whatever a serious Ryuuichi said lightly.
(He rather not get another bruise in the stomach after all)
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"Uwaaaa.. You guys look roasted..." Ryuuichi said, walking towards Tsuna and the others as he rolled his shoulders. He sweated at Lambo, Ryohei, Gokudera and Uri's condition. 'Must be Lambo's...'
"Ah Ryuuichi. How's your training with Dino-san?" The said teen shrugged, massaging his neck. "Yeah it was alright" It did went well, but after they cooled down their body, Ryuuichi's muscles were starting to get quite sore as heck. Hell, it even hurt when he was walking.
"Um... We know this is sudden..." "But we need to talk"
He blinked at Bianchi, Kyoko and Haru's sudden appearance. He sighed inaudibly, knowing what would they do already. He locked eyes with them briefly, smiling softly, as if accepting whatever they would do. "W-what's wrong? Did something happened? Uh.. Did we do something?" The brunette asked, somewhat nervous.
He felt that whatever they would be talking about, it wouldn't be easy to answer. Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei went into defense mode, denying that they had done something wrong. Haru shadowed her eyes. "There's no point in trying to fool us, so I'll get right to the point"
"We want you to tell us about the Milliefiore and Byakuran and boxes. Give us more details about what's happening right now" Her eyes showed seriousness that most hadn't seen before. They, minus Ryuuichi, were surprised that she, and Kyoko, knew and wanted to know more. How did they knew? They were especially careful about it.
"W-w-what are you talking about? Byakuran? Milliefiore? W-what are those?" Tsuna stuttered as he avoided their eyes.
"We've had enough of your lies! We know that the rest of you have been keeping information from us. We have a right to know the truth when we're living together!" Haru pressed on as Kyoko silently agreed beside her.
Tsuna wondered what had brought on it, and had asked whether it was Bianchi who told them, to which she denied, saying that they were the ones who found it out by themselves.'How-?'
"Tsuna-kun.." Kyoko finally spoke. "We want to fight with you!"
Ryuuichi looked towards the brunette and despite he was looking at his back, he could see the turmoil in him. The brunette thought that it was a very very bad idea letting them know about it. Ryuuichi sighed again, shoving his hands into his pocket whilst leaning against a leg as he watched things unfolded.
"I'm glad you feel that way, but it's just a little longer. Just a little longer and everything will be over, and we can return to our original world. So could you have faith in us and hold on a little longer?"
The girls had already expected the answer. They knew that it wouldn't be easy, and had prepared for that outcome. This would show them petty boys to not underestimate girls. They reached behind and grabbed a wooden stick. "As long as you refuse to tell us the truth, we won't do any housework!" They took out the banners. "And we'll boycott living together!"
Tsuna and the others sweated. Although they briefly knew how to do housework, but that's just that. Not to mention boycotting? Tsuna tried to look for help from Bianchi but the woman supported the girls. Chrome and I-Pin, suddenly coming out of nowhere, too, supported their decisions.
Of course, they tried to convince them, but it was a futile attempt as they were firm with it. And then, Reborn dressed as a girl, with both Fuuta and Giannini, also dressed as girls, appeared. They were siding Kyoko and Haru. If anything, Giannini looked hilarious. Ryuuichi quickly covered his mouth, whole body shaking from silent laughters.
He finally stopped when the Strike group walked away, shaking his head at that.
"This is an unexpected turn of events" Gokudera deducted. Ryuuichi rolled his eyes behind him. 'No shit, Sherlock' They had somehow went to the kitchen and sat in a circle, discussing. Of course, Tsuna still felt that the girls shouldn't know about it. He wanted to protect them from the dark side of the world. They didn't wanted them to be involved.
"Man... They have no idea how the boss feels. I agree that we shouldn't tell them" Gokudera clicked his tongue. Yamamoto then added his own two cents "Well, I feel bad about how they're the only ones who don't know"
"That's true.." Ryohei, of course, strongly disagreed on letting them know, especially his younger sister seeing that she's his only sister. What an overprotective brother.
"W-what about you, Ryuuichi?" Ryuuichi blinked out of his daydreaming and stared, before huffing, leaning back to the chair. "It's your decision. Though, I'll tell you that they would definitely know about it one day"
"But.."
"You know, you shouldn't simply think that girls are weak and needed to be protected. They are stronger than you think. And, never underestimate a girl" He smirked the I-know-something-you-don't-smirk before standing up. "Welp, you're the one to decide since you would be the one answering them."
He laughed at the dreaded face of the brunette's.
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And so, they ended up doing all the houseworks themselves. Ryuuichi somewhat got the cooking job, to which Ryuuichi deadpanned and said that he can't cook, unless they wanted him to die, that is. Tsuna sweated at that and switched with him, so Ryuuichi ended up with the laundries with Ryohei. Well, at least he didn't have to clean Lambo.
Everything went quite well for their part, but they ended up eating sushi-not-sushi. Ryuuichi face-palmed and went to search for cup noodles or ramen. Well, it wasn't as if they weren't edible. It was just that he couldn't really eat them. Especially those wrapped in cheese, rather than seaweed. Not to mention Gokudera literally burnt the stove when he cooked.
The others gave up and followed Ryuuichi, resorting on eating cup noodles.
The next day, Ryuuichi ended up the one cleaning everything as everything was a mess. When he had stepped into the kitchen, he literally gave the condition of it a disgusted look. The others, on the other hand, were all stressed about it even though it has only been a day. (Ryuuichi then gave them the I-told-you-so-stare)
Though, they were all still stubborn about telling the girls about what has been going on, which Ryuuichi had enough. He scoffed and threw away the rubbish, before going off, feeling irritated for various of reason. As he walked back to his room, his hands were clenching and unclenching all the time.
Right after locking the door, he leaned against the door and slid down, sitting on the ground with his eyes covered. He was actually losing control of his temper since the moment the girls declared strike and boycott. Perhaps it was because everything was coming closer to revelation that had him all but calm. Although he looked collected, he was actually annoyed most of the times and had to suppress the bloody urge to maim something, or someone. Well, not like he would actually do it.
He sighed, rubbing his temple before forcing himself up again. Perhaps he should de-stress first before he actually really did hurt someone, physically and mentally.
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Ryuuichi was burying his face into his arms, again, on the table. They were all called into the meeting room as Dino had wanted to check on their progress. He was the first to arrive, and had immediately sat down right after answering the blonde, feeling tired and flame deprived, once again. (He did released a large amount of flames before he was called. And, pity the walls)
And slowly, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei and Tsuna tumbled in, with the brunette as the last one. As he was talking about his box weapon when the large monitor on the wall showed this picture of, mutated 'pac-man's? Ryuuichi couldn't seem to see whatever the thing was, and there was this annoying tune. The white things were all gathered into the center, when suddenly a white haired chibi appeared, saying Byakuran in a cheerful voice.
Suddenly, the picture of the chibi shattered as a familiar laughter was heard and they were connected to Byakuran eating a large parfait. Ryuuichi lifted up his head and leaned on his propped up arm.
"Well? Was that amusing? I was bored so I came to play" Ryuuichi scoffed at the childish excuse. As if that Marshmallow Freak came to play just because he was bored. He even taunted everyone with his desert. "I'm actually making a courtesy call about Choice"
"Courtesy call...?"
"I said that I'd give you the details later, right? Be at Namimori Shrine at noon in six day" The others were surprised, thinking that they would be fighting in Namimori, which wasn't exactly correct.
"For now, make the necessary preparations and bring everyone with you. You'll at least need to bring all your friends who came from the past" Byakuran's smile dropped as they protested. "It's more meaningful this way. You'll be disqualified if anyone's missing"
And with a good luck to them, he cut off the connection, leaving most of them in shock. "I won't allow that to happen!" Ryohei shouted. Though, they couldn't do anything. If the condition wasn't met, they would be disqualified. It was frustrating, but they had no choice. Reborn just had to spill the beans about Tsuna already told the girls about everything, huh.
"S-sorry. I told them. I felt that Kyoko-chan and Haru also deserve to know the truth" The brunette flinched a little when Ryohei's fist impacted with the aluminium wall, making a large dent. He had somewhat expected that the teen's reaction. "How did Kyoko react.."
The others tried to calm him down, to which he was actually tearing up as he asked the question again. "Sh-she listened to everything I had to say." Tsuna's head was down as he suddenly found the floor even more interesting to watch. Dino then said that it was the right decision. They couldn't really hide this secret forever anyway. Not to mention that if the girls were to know it even later, they would be hurted.
Ryohei didn't took that very well, but he slowly accepted it. He really didn't wanted them to know. The dark side of the world wasn't, and isn't something nice, and perhaps never will. He simply stayed silent, fists clenched tight.
Still, how did Byakuran access our network" Reborn question, which were answered by a certain long haired man who was carrying a large fish, Tuna to be precise. Dino smiled at his appearance. "Your security's a joke. Damn amateurs" It was Squalo. Ryuuichi deadpanned at the still dripping water dead fish, barely noting that Squalo's bangs were longer.
The man walked towards Dino, handing him the fish. "A gift" "Thanks" Tsuna couldn't comprehend why Squalo would present someone a fish, not to mention a Tuna.
"You're late, Squalo. Your student's tired of waiting" The said man was silent as he walked towards the baseball star, giving him a punch and kneed him on the stomach, rendering him unconscious. He hoisted him up onto his shoulder as if Yamamoto was a sack of potatoes.
"I'd rather kill this scum myself. I'll be taking this scum with me" And with that, he had walked away. Tsuna tried to stop him, but Dino had prevented him to, saying that Squalo's the one who understands Yamamoto, and is the one most suitable as a tutor for him. "Sawada!" Tsuna was suddenly punched in the face, the force pushing him back onto his butt.
Gokudera rushed towards the brunette, in concern. "What are you doing to Juudaime!?"
Ryohei's raised fist were trembling as he spoke. "I can't forgive you for getting Kyoko involved. But I'm also a man! One punch and I can move on!"
Ryuuichi sighed at the commotion as Gokudera tried to fight with the boxer. He simply boredly stared at them whilst Dino tried to calm the bomber down.
'Well, at least this wasn't a full blown fight'
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A/N= The next chapter will be where all the actions of Choice Arc begins~!
Dino would never doubt Ryuuichi's words ever since the time he had accidentally pissed off Reborn and was tortured by the hitman. The bruise actually lasted a month plus.
The tutor thing was just that I've no idea what to write for this chapter and it just, popped out.
Well, there's not much to say about this chapter... So yeah. And it wasn't really Ryuuichi centric...
[I apologize for any spellings, grammars, etc.etc. mistakes]