AN: Sorry for the delay, but here's the next chapter. I find it weird that I somehow write more during school than when on vacation. I guess when I'm on break, I feel too lazy or something. Anyways, reviews and comments are appreciated like always. It's slightly longer than usual so I hope that kinda makes up for the lateness. Closed to 5,000 words so not too bad.
AN2: In this part, we start to see the beginning formation of Ombranera. I know it's kinda cheesy and lame how it started, but that's the best I got.
Disclaimer: I don't own KHR
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
English
Previously
Tsuna almost frowned but kept his face in check. "Are you sure you can finish all that food?"
"Of course. Besides, Ju Long here is a healthy boy and you know how much boys eat." Yang Qing replied.
Tsuna snuck a glance at the mentioned boy. Ju Long had a bored look on his face. But, the second he saw Tsuna staring at him, the boy's look turned smug. "Sure, would 4000 more be good?"
"I was thinking more like 10,000." Yang Qing said.
"…. Okay, I'll go add that now."
'This had better not be a scam. The old man better be one hell of a healer.' he thought.
-5 Years Ago-
The hour went by slowly and Tsuna couldn't wait until it was time to go to the hospital. Lunch was a waste. That was the only word that could be used to describe the event. It was both a waste of time and a waste of money.
They had bought a lot of food and Tsuna already expected and accepted that some would go to waste. After all, unless they literally had bottomless pits for stomachs, there was no way that an old man and a child could eat everything.
What he didn't expect was for them to take a bite out of one dish and promptly move on to the next one, never once going back to a dish no matter how good or expensive it was. One measly little bite and so much wasted food. And if that wasn't enough, when they went through all the dishes they bought once, they had the gall to ask for more money to buy more food! And of course, Tsuna couldn't help but agree for fear of upsetting the aged healer. He could only sit by and smile while the duo spent more and more money, sometimes even buying dishes that they already tried.
It was infuriating and every part of his being screamed that he shouldn't allow them to just blatantly waste food like that. Not when so many people in the world didn't have enough to eat. Not when children cried themselves to sleep when the hunger pains became unbearable. His mind involuntarily flashed back to the trip he and his friends took last year when they visited Emilia in Italy. His thoughts then were the same as his thoughts now. It was unacceptable. But what could he do? Order the potential savior of his surrogate sister to not waste food and hope that he wouldn't be offended enough to just leave?
No, he couldn't risk that. And it's not like he could ask his friends to eat the leftovers themselves. That might send the wrong message. But, he could make sure that the leftovers wouldn't be thrown away. That much he could do. He asked the workers, politely of course, to pack up the leftovers, never noticing a certain blind old man smile, and went to talk to the twins.
His friends were watching wide-eyed as Yang Qing and his grandson went through dish after dish. 1 million yen might not be enough if this continued.
"This is sick." Emilia finally said, voicing the thoughts of everyone currently watching the duo. "How can they just waste food like that?"
"Shhh! Don't let them hear you, Lia! You might offend them or something!" Dexter whispered back while still typing on his computer. There were only 5 minutes left before the stock market closed for the day and they would need every second of it. Alexandra sat beside him, also typing away. She was simultaneously selling their recently bought stocks and checking their overall earnings. It would be close, but it seemed like they would just barely make it.
"Let them hear me! I outa go over there and b-mhm hmmhm!" Emilia started to rant but was cut off when a hand covered her mouth. She glared at the offending party but softened her eyes when she realized who it was.
Tsuna gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry Lia, but you were attracting too much attention and we have work to do. Give me a sec."
He looked at his watch and waited. 10 seconds till 3 o'clock…..5 seconds…and time. He heard both Dexter and Alexandra close their laptops and motioned for them to come over. "Alright guys, I don't know about you but I can't stand the fact that those two are wasting so much food."
"It's not just you, dude. We feel the same. But what can we do about it?" Dexter said grimly.
"Well, I was watching them and I got to thinking. There's a lot of people out there in the world who are starving and homeless. We are fortunate, aren't we? We've got people to take care of us and we've got eachother." Tsuna started, deep in thought. "Hey guys? Do you remember that trip we took to Italy last year?"
Everyone nodded their heads and some even frowned as they recalled the trip. It was a trip that they would never forget. In a way, you could say that it was the time when they lost their childlike innocence. Before that trip, everyone was focussed on their own little world that barely branched to a few contacts overseas. Most children their age were like that: only caring about their situations and never wondering about how other people might be living.
Sure, they each faced their own problems. Abusive parents. An indifferent yet overbearing grandfather. A sick sister and uncaring parents. A lying father. A patronizing step-family. But, they realized that even with their problems, they had a good life compared to others. They had people who loved them and the basic neccesities needed to survive.
Italy. It was supposed to be a fun trip: a surprise visit to their red headed friend who was usually forced to spend summer days out of the house in the heat by herself. Her step-family always found some excuse to make her leave and her father was always too busy to notice.
That was where they first saw the world for what it could be. Unforgiving. People lining the streets, begging for food. Children actually fighting with each other just for a loaf of bread. All of them, hungry and in need. And the worst part was that none of it was their fault. Some were just born into the wrong family. And others were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The group of children had just been roaming the streets, eager to see the whole city. It was also Emilia's first time living at this particular summer estate, so she couldn't serve as a guide to the others. That was how they unwittingly wandered into what people would call the "bad" part of town.
It was just then that something that was common place happened. Though it was common to the residents of that area, it was a new experience for Tsuna and his friends. A child was literally being beaten to death by a group of adults. In his hands was a small over riped apple. Next to them was a small girl crying out the name "Antonio" over and over again.
Now, Tsuna and his friends were anything but weak. But, even they knew that there was nothing they could do for the boy except maybe help him when the aggressors left. And help him they did along with any other nearby children. Though they were distrustful at first; but who wouldn't be of strangers? Eventhually, the street kids warmed up to Tsuna and his friends, telling them their stories and how life was like for them.
The children spent the remainder of their vacation visiting Antonio and vowing to return to help one day. Antonio, on his part, wanted to believe their words, but he knew that the world wasn't so kind as to allow him hope.
"This will be the first step. We said that we would find a way to help all those children who are suffering in the world, didn't we?" Tsuna announced with passion, "All that food that they were going to throw away… I say we donate them instead. Give them to the people who need them in Nanimori. Maybe in the future, we can branch out and eventually help everyone!"
"Did you just decide to start a charity group while watching them eat?" Emilia asked.
The brown haired boy shook his head. "No, I decided to start the group last year in Italy. But, it's only now that I have a definite plan." At his friends' confused expressions, he went on to elaborate, "I just realized. We have a lot of power, don't we? I mean, Dex and Alex are tech geniuses. With their help, we managed to make a fortune in a short amount of time. If we can do that, why can't we use the money to help people?"
"Cuz we're just a bunch of kids, dude." Dexter aptly replied. "Don't they have adults for things like this?"
"Antonio was a kid too. And did you forget? It was adults that almost killed him. If the adults can't do anything right, then it's up to the kids to do it themselves. Don't you think so?" Tsuna asked with fire in his eyes. He wasn't trying to be mean or anything, but most of the adults in his life and in the lives of his friends weren't doing a very good job at, well, anything.
"I think you're right." Sung Ha declared. "You guys helped me and my sister even when you didn't have to. I'm willing to do the same in return for others."
"A group, huh? Kinda like an organization?" Dexter mulled it over, "Dude! We could totally make a super secret organization or something! Give it a cool name and stuff! We could be like the protectors of the innocent. Working in the shadows to make the world a safer place!"
The group rolled their eyes at the blond's childish exclamation but nodded in agreement. Tsuna smiled, "Working in the shadows, huh? I like that. If we're in the shadows, no one has to know we're kids. After all, whose gonna take children seriously?"
"Hey, it looks like the wasteful duo is done." Emilia said as she tilted her head in the duo's direction for emphasis.
Tsuna groaned as he looked at all the plates on the table. "Great, I hope they don't shop as much as they eat." he muttered, "Cuz if they do, we'll go broke before we get to the hospital."
-Present-
The ride back from the airport was filled with conversation between the Future Vongola Decimo and the son of the current Boss.
"So, where are these Guardians that I've heard so much about?" the man casually asked. He glanced at the brown haired boy, trying hard to hide his contempt. The Vongola Family was arguably the strongest in the world! He'd be damned if he let some half-breed take leadership! It was his by right of inheritance! He just needed to make the Family understand that. Besides, it wasn't like everybody was gung ho about the current choice for the Decimo position.
Tsuna blinked once at the question, certain that it held a deeper meaning. Was that smugness he sensed? Nah, that couldn't be right. "They're-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, he was cut off. "They're probably busy, right? They have to be doing something extremely important if not even a single one came, right?" Frederico was playing a dangerous game. By interrupting Tsuna, a person who now had a higher rank in the Family than him, he was insinuating that he held no respect for the boy.
But Tsuna was never one for rules and regulations so he let the rude interruption slide; something that caused Frederico to lower his respect for him even more. "Yes well, they each have their own things to do. But, since you insist on meeting them, I'll make sure they are at my house to greet us when we get home." Tsuna said with a strained smile.
Tsuna inwardly groaned. He had to get his Guardians to his house before the limo arrived home. He silently pulled out his cellphone and started to text his Guardians Not his Vongola ones, but his Ombranera ones: the ones he knew would follow his orders without hesitation.
Guys, I want my V Guardians at my house within 2 hours. Frederico wants to meet them. - Tsuna
Almost immediately, his cellphone vibrated 6 times to show that he had recieved 6 messages. Each message basically had the same thing. Tsuna smiled at how fast they replied. Truly, his friends were the best.
On it Boss. - Everyone
Yamamoto Sushi
Yamamoto Takeshi sat down at a table and smiled as he watched Lambo eat another plate of sushi. He had spent a lot of time trying to convince the 6 year old that sushi was just as good, if not better, than grape flavored candy. But Lambo wouldn't give in and kept begging for the candy that Tsuna always stocked at his house. The teen had tried looking at several different stores, even going so far as to visit the neighboring town, but couldn't seem to find the right brand that Lambo loved and it was only extreme hunger that made the child start eating the sushi. Upon searching on the internet, Yamamoto had discovered that the candy that Tsuna always gave to Lambo had to be imported all the way from America. Only one store sold it and it didn't have any oversea branches.
Tsuna.
That was someone he didn't want to think about for to think about Tsuna would be to also think about that gruesome scene he and the other Guardians had walked into. The sight of the blood covered Sawada standing over the body, if one could still call that piece of quivering flesh a body, of Alberto Genovesse still haunted him at night.
That wasn't the Tsuna he knew. Or maybe, had he just judged the brown haired boy wrong all along? Maybe Tsuna was always the cold-blooded killer and had just been hiding his true self?
Yamamoto looked down at the ring he wore on his right hand: the ring that he had fought with his life for. The catalyst that ultimately led to his decision to give up baseball, the one game that made him feel connected to his deceased mother. What had possesed him to do so? Why was he taking this Mafia game so seriously that he had actually stopped playing his favorite sport?
Though, a small part in the back of his mind nagged him, telling him that it wasn't just a game. He vaguely remembered all the times when Gokudera would scoff at him whenever he mentioned how fun the game was. Deep down, Yamamoto knew that what he had been participating in for the better part of his middle school career was not a game. What kind of game regularly invovled dangerous weapons and semi-death matches? Unless he was in some sort of reality TV show...
Still, the teen had gone with the flow. He had thought that even if this were the real Mafia, as long as he followed the kind hearted Tsuna, everything would be okay.
But, Tsuna wasn't a kind hearted as he thought if what he had seen was any indication. Though Tsuna did try to explain himself on the plane ride home. But honestly, what kind of explanation 'I had to do it'? Maybe it was time to return the ring? Yamamoto looked at Lambo again and frowned at the thought of putting a child in danger. Maybe Lambo shouldn't have that ring either.
He absentmindedly noticed that the last 2 customers in the shop had gotten up to leave. 'Must be foreigners' he thought as he noted the blond hair both of them had. 'Siblings, maybe? They look like it'
Before the two opened the door to leave the sushi shop, one of them turned to face Yamamoto. This one was clearly male. The blond customer's piercing blue eyes bore into Yamamoto's own eyes before moving his gaze onto the still eating 6 year old. After giving a look Yamamoto couldn't quite figure out, the blond haired foreigner turned around and left.
It was only then that he noticed a piece of paper sitting almost right next to him. 'Strange, when did this get here?' Thinking that a customer had left it behind, he picked it up only to find his name on it.
To Yamamoto Takeshi,
It is requested that you and Lambo Bovino present yourselves to the Sawada household to greet an important guest.
Yamamoto raised an eyebrow after reading the message. A summon? What perfect timing. Maybe he could take this chance to return the rings. Maybe even arrange Lambo's living conditions.
With that thought, the young swordsman picked up the empty plate that sat before Lambo and put it into the sink. With a cheery smile, he hoisted the child onto his shoulders. "How 'bout we go visit Maman now?"
Taiyo Apartments
Gokudera Hayato was conflicted. He laid on his bed and thought about his life thus far.
For the majority of his life, his goal had been to join the Mafia. But, no one would take an oriental half-breed like him. Even after he had studied under Shamal and earned the name Hurricane Bomb Hayato, only small time Families that were just starting out wanted him.
But, he knew he could do better. No, he needed to do better for his mother. For revenge. Revenge on his father for letting his Family kill his mother. Revenge for lying to him all this time. Revenge for belittling him and proclaiming that he would never amount to anything. To do that he needed to be stronger, smarter, and most of all, belong to a top notch Familiy. One that could beat his father's Familgia with their eyes closed.
That was why he literally jumped at the chance to become part of the Vongola when Reborn approached him with the offer. All he had to do was test out the Vongola Decimo candidate. A few well place words here and there, and he would be well on his way to having a prominent position.
When he first saw the candidate, the only thought that ran through his mind was 'weak!' How in the world had that stuttering mess manage to become the Decimo candidate? But, the boy had managed to defeat him in battle, even if it was with the help of the special Vongola bullets. And so, according to rules, Gokudera had vowed to serve the Vongola Decimo and become his right hand man.
Nothing else mattered. In a few months, it would be official. He would be the Vongola Storm Guardian and one step closer to achieving his goals.
He had gotten used to working with the kind hearted Tsuna. So much so that when he saw that bloody scene, his brain failed to comprehend. To walk the path of the Mafioso was to walk the path of death. He knew that. But, he thought that someone like Tsuna would be able to change that. Change it so that the thing that happened to his mother wouldn't happen to anyone else.
The silver haired teen frowned as he remembered his actions. If only he could go back in time and change some things. He shouldn't have left Tsuna alone. He should've reigned in his disapointment and done what a good right hand man should've done. That might come to hurt him in the future.
The teen got up and shanged his clothes. Prehaps an apology would make things better?
Tsuna was a good friend and all. Gokudera hadn't even had to put up an act. He would prefer to be in a Family that the brown haired boy led. But, Vongola was the strongest and so as long as he remained the Vongola Decimo, Gokudera would remain at his side. But, his goals would always come first.
Up on the rooftops, a black haired red eye boy was watching the sivler haired teen. He gave a disapointed sigh when he realized that all the planning he did to make Gokudera Hayato go to the Sawada household had gone to waste. But if the teen was willing to go there himself, then that was for the better.
Nanimori High School Boxing Clubroom
Sasagawa Ryohei jabbed his left fist out before finishing with a right punch. The sandbag never stood a chance as it flew back. Just as it was coming back down, the teen pulled his right hand back and threw another straight punch with all his might. His fist punctured the bag instead of pushing it back, causing the sand inside to fall out.
The boxer exhaled and pulled his fist out. Just as he was about to remove the now unusable sandbag, he heard someone clapping behind him. He turned to find a girl about his age with the reddest hair he had ever seen. Rhoyei grinned a fierce grin at the fact that someone was interested in his beloved sport, though if anyone who knew him well saw him, they would notice that his grin didn't have it's usual intensity.
"I'm EXTREMELY happy that you like'd that. How about you join the Boxing Club? Anyone is EXTREMELY welcome!" the boy shouted.
The red haired girl twitched at the sudden loudness. "Sorry, but I don't wanna. I've got better things to do. I only came in here cuz I was curious about the noise."
"Why not? Boxing is an EXTREMELY fun thing to do!" Ryohei shouted with confusion. What could be better than Boxing?
The girl smirked, "Then how about we play a game? If you win, I'll join the club. But if I win, then you'll have to do any one thing I say without complaint."
The boxer lighted up with childish glee. He was a kid at heart and all kids loved games. To top it off, he was getting a chance to share the love of his sport with someone else! "You're EXTREMELY on! Let's do this!"
The red head explained the game rules to the simple headed boxer who never knew that the odds were stacked against him from the beginning. How he ended up at the Sawada household, well I'll just leave that to your imagination.
Nanimori Park
Hibari Kyoya spun around and brought his prized tonfas out, blocking the attack of a thug who dared to loiter the streets of his beloved Nanimori. This fight wasn't enjoyable, not even a tiny bit. But that wasn't something unusual. Fights hadn't been enjoyable in a long time. The only time that they were even remotely interesting was when he was with that herbiv-, no omnivore.
Hibari frowned. Omnivore indeed. His outer appearance and demeanor screamed herbivore. But occasionally, something would chnage and that herbivore would turn into a carnivore. Truly a wolf in sheep's clothing. But a true carnivore would never hide itself, so he was stuck as an omnivore at best.
He had been avoiding the omnivore though. But he realized that if anything, the boy was persistant. Hibari didn't know what to make of the situation so far. He had never really cared much about death. He never killed, of course. All his victims were left alive after he taught them their lessons. Whether they remained alive after he left didn't matter to him. So, he had mixed feelings about what had happened.
The skylark mentally shrugged. As long as the omnivore continued to bring him good fights, he supposed that he could stay a Guardian. If not, then well he would just bite them all to death and move on.
He watched as a herbivore that he recognized from Nanimori Middle School slowly walk up to him. This particular herbivore was nothing special. He didn't stand out in either a good or bad way. Such an unremarkable person clearly did not deserve any attention.
Then, just as the herbivore was about to pass him, Hibari noticed the teen do something no one in Nanimori would ever dare to do. The herbivore sneered at him. Sneered at Him! Can someone say dead man walking?
"I'll bite you to death, herbivore!" Hibari snarled before aiming a well placed tonfa to the other teen's head. With surprising speed, the suicidal teen ducked and shot Hibari a smug smirk as if taunting the disciplinary committee head before dashing off towards the residential district.
Hibari gave chase, never once noticing that the very direction he was heading to also housed the brown haired omnivore that he was just thinking about. Too focused on the chase was he, that he didn't even remember that this particular black haired soon to be dead herbivore happened to be the same herbovire that used to hang out with Tsuna in elementary school: a person who, suspicioulsy, barely even spared the omnivore a glance in middle school.
Kokuyoland
Rokudo Mukuro sighed as he felt a disturbance in the force... he really shouldn't have let Chrome talk him into watching that Star Wars marathon. All six movies. But, it did give him some ideas to incorporate into his illusions.
But, the point was, that someone was using a powerful illusion in his domain. Kokuyo was his! From the abandoned theme park to the middle school. It was all his! For someone to dare to do anything, much less use an illusion, was unforgivable.
Mukuro closed his eyes to filter out all the extra annoyances in the environment and concentrated, trying to pinpoint exactly where the power was being emitted from. It didn't take long for him to find the source.
"Kufufufufufu" Mukuro laughed out as stood up. He stuck out his right had and a distortion in the air started to form. Out of nowhere, a trident appeared. He grasped it with his hand and twirled it with ease. "I think I'll go teach someone some manners." he said with sadistic glee.
As the illusionist approached the spot where his target was, he felt the foreign illusion drop. Clearly, the target had sensed him and was trying to run away. With a smirk, Mukuro gave chase without missing a beat. "Kufufufufuf...You think you can outrun me? I've got a taste of your power now, so no matter where you go or how fast you run, I'll catch you!"
So, the Vongola Mist Guardian ran, never noticing that he was steadily making his way out of Kokuyo and into Nanimori, to a certain brown haired teen's house.
Sawada House
Tsuna didn't how they did it, and he didn't care. All that mattered was that his friends had somehow pulled through and completed his request.
Okay, maybe he should have cared a little since some of the Vongola Guardians were looking a little flustered and confused. But, oh well. Tsuna plastered on a smile as he led Frederico into his house. "Welcome to my house, Frederico-san. I hope you enjoy your stay here. How about I introduce you to my Guardians?"
Frederico, for his part, looked surprised. He hadn't thought the boy's Guardians would actually show up. But, the man could literally feel the tension in the air. There was definitely some unresolved issue here. Perhaps its a good thing that they're here. It'll make it easier for him to turn them to his side.