"...Is there nothing we can do, Doctor?" he heard the voice say, but he couldn't recognize it.
"Do? Do, do, do? Excuse me for saying this, Vongola, but you've already done quite enough. Do you want to do more?" It was a female voice, full of bloodthirsty fury. Somebody was probably going to get hurt later.
That sounds like Lal-san, but... what is she doing here? If it really is her, her voice has certainly changed a bit. Wait, did she say 'Vongola'?
"...I'm sorry," came a reply so gentle that if he wasn't so used to silence, he wouldn't have heard it. This, and the fact that he was interested. What the hell is going on? I'm too exhausted to open my eyes. It's pathetic, but acceptable. I'm sure I'll only see a little of it anyway.
"There's not much that can be done for him..." Wow... that sounds serious. He sounds like a robot. Wait, is someone going to die or what? This is starting to sound like the series Bianchi was watching yesterday on TV... "It's a miracle that he survived, but I highly doubt he'll wake up." A miracle? Don't tell me he's in a coma, too... Now he's going to say there's nothing he can do, and the poor wretch is going to die at any moment... "Everything is against us now. I'm sorry." Typical. I'm probably just dozing next to the TV.
Footsteps were heard, along with the sound of a door opening and then closing. Everything was silent for a while. And now what? Don't tell me they're just staring at the soon-to-be-dead guy, silent out of pity or something like that... It's official, I don't like Bianchi's series.
"...I'll be honest, I don't know what really happened, but I'm disappointed in all of you, especially you, Uncle Reborn..." It was a soft, feminine voice, but deadly sad and disappointed. "Uncle Reborn?!" That means... Uni is the one who just spoke. But... "I don't think Tsuna deserved any of this."
Tsuna went blank for a few seconds. So I'm the poor wretch?! What kind of dream is this?! It's not a nightmare as usual, but it certainly isn't a cute one either... How do you wake up knowing you're dreaming?
"..."
"...If this was what you wanted to achieve, I congratulate you, because you did it." A sad sigh followed. "Achieve what?" This dream is very confusing. "...I don't even want to imagine what it will be like when the rest find out." And very strange... No one would care if I died. They'd probably be happier that way, instead...
"..."
"...They deserve it. They shouldn't have done such a thing from the beginning." If Tsuna had been able to blink, he would have. "Do what, and what do they deserve?" I'm more confused by the second... "Did you forget that you're in the mafia? Horrendous things happen here." Tsuna's mind choked. Even for a dream, I never thought I'd hear that from her! And in such a chilling way...
"...We know," was the submissive reply.
"...If Tsunayoshi-san, by some miracle, recovers, he will pass into our hands." "What?!" "You understand, don't you?" "Who says I want to recover? Who says I'll pass into anyone's hands? I'm a monster, I belong to no one but myself..."
"..."
"...N-No..." "If only I could move... they wouldn't be talking about me like I was a pet... if only..."
"What was that?..." a person said, but he couldn't tell who, nor did he care. Not only had they left him alone, but they were now making decisions for him? Unheard of. Maybe a year or two ago he would have accepted it, but not now!
"Who was speaking?"
"None of us..."
"...N-no... do-on't... t-tou-ouch..." "Either I'm going to lash out, dream or not... no matter what it costs me..."
"...Tsuna?"
Great... now I'm Tsuna again. Wake up once and for all, Sawada Tsunayoshi!
A few seconds of silence passed.
"...Tsuna?" a different voice asked, a little more anxious than the previous one.
He woke up feeling very warm for some reason and very upset to boot. What a strange dream... just voices. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything but listen. How frustrating. I didn't want to hear any of that, pure lies. A truly stupid dream. This is why I prefer nightmares. He yawned and stretched slightly, staring at the ceiling for a while, thinking about what he would do that day. He knew it would probably be the same as the last few days: think and remember. What was it that I even dreamed about? What a memory... I don't even remember anymore. But what does it matter, anyway? I would have preferred a nightmare instead of that, although I don't remember why anymore. It would have been nice to dream of something soft and cozy. Tsuna stretched lazily. He didn't want to get up; he was too comfortable to care that he shouldn't be acting this way, even though it was Saturday. It would have been great to dream of a way to break, disintegrate, or completely or partially destroy the paperwork on the day I first saw it. He doubted that he would ever forget that nightmare day. He hadn't for years, so he doubted he would anytime soon. He was also sure he had some kind of trauma from it... He closed his eyes, letting the memory appear in his mind...
He walked over and opened the door to his office for the first time, with Reborn sitting on his shoulder. One, two, three, four, five, six... twelve stacks of paper! Twice as tall as he was. He felt like he was going to cry.
"Do I have to do all that?"
A gun to his temple let him know that, yes, he did. He was tempted to cry on the spot and beg for a quick death, but... he couldn't leave his family alone. Who would protect them afterwards, and his mother? How would she take it?
"This is just the entrance, Dame-Tsuna. There are still twelve more piles at the back. You need to locate the errors and make sure everything is fulfilled to the letter. And you must finish it all today."
"WHAT?!"
That was the worst day at work he ever had. It wasn't very pretty, but he was continuously grateful for Reborn-san's help. He wasn't beaten, threatened, or anything like that. However, that was just three days after that incident. It was his first day of being taught in a kind and understanding manner, as if he were a normal person. Reborn-san probably had compassion on me, or maybe not; he was just being careful to avoid more trouble than it was worth.
Or, more precisely, because of what happened afterwards, which he was unable to remember and therefore couldn't consider as a possible reason. According to several sources, after that cry, he cried and cried like a small child who had a toy unjustly taken away as punishment—something very unfortunate for an adult, not to mention a mafia boss. His blood pressure even dropped, and he almost fainted. He didn't even care when he was threatened with a gun to his forehead to stop that behavior. In fact, Reborn didn't even get to finish the threat before he was hit by Leon, who was sent flying across the room in desperation. Tsuna didn't remember any of it, absolutely nothing, and he didn't think he could have done that, even if he had been drunk. Leon bit his master every time he tried to point it at him after that, but only when he was working. Tsuna only believed that it was because Leon didn't want to interrupt him—something quite wrong, but no one was going to tell him.
And it wasn't just poor Leon who paid that day. According to what he was told: he hit and sent everyone who came close flying, saying something about not wanting to go to hell, a very exaggerated reaction. But even if it had been real, who could blame him? Tsuna was a little perplexed, but almost everyone in the mansion told him pretty much the same thing: he blew up half the mansion with his flames, using the X-burner before they could lay a hand on him or bring him down from the sky, before he lost consciousness from stress.
To be totally honest, he wouldn't have believed that part if he hadn't seen most of the mansion torn to shreds and burned down several days later. If it hadn't been burned down as if someone had just detonated a bomb, he would have thought of Hibari and Mukuro. Perhaps it was because of this that no one left him alone with more than three piles of paper, and he never had more than eight in a day. And they tried, especially the maids, to entertain him for a moment with some news or a sandwich. Something about "stress is bad for you," he didn't dare to ask. Not only did that remain, but unlike the previous time, this was a little more permanent: the enemy families moved away a little. No, that's a lie. In any case, very few families had the guts to go kill or bother him after that, and the treaties were made with fewer complications. It didn't help that events spread like wildfire and that Dino and Enma, despite not having witnessed any of it, laughed until they were told to stop, saying that they had to blow up half of the mansion like him to be important—out of Tsuna's earshot, of course. Sadly, that incident brought much more attention than desired. For better or worse, many alliances were made soon after...
Well, at least that hell of a day was never repeated. Thank God, I didn't think I could withstand another one like it. But I miss my paperwork! There's almost nothing to do without it! And even though at that time he was barely 18 years old, just one day after having formally accepted his position and having gone to Italy... what a great way to celebrate his arrival! If only... it felt more like a nightmare, but knowing Reborn, that was to be expected. Tsuna sighed and decided to think of something else. It couldn't have been long... No, it wasn't. His internal clock read 6:15 in the morning. That was another thing to thank his Hyper Intuition for—his only friend he had since he was left alone. He couldn't live without it.
Not only did it let him know when he or they were in danger or needed to do something, but other little things too. He always gave it the highest attention and priority for a few years. Maybe it wasn't alive or anything, and it could only let him know, but it was a part of him, and... it was always right. It was never wrong, even if he didn't understand until things happened or he wished with all his might that it wasn't right. Besides, as strange as it sounded, his Hyper Intuition was either adaptable or evolved according to... according to what? He had no idea, but it would have to do with its owner, without a doubt. He no longer even needed to see a calendar or a clock. Either he had a very good sense of time, which he knew he didn't, or it was his Hyper Intuition. He had no other explanation. Lately, it was impossible for him to be lost or not know what was around him, let alone know when the hell he was being watched. It had to be his Hyper Intuition, although the latter was not new; it had just become more usual and precise. Many times he could tell who, where, and from what direction. It was a good thing, but strange. Surely Reborn's training had something to do with it. It taught him things that to this day he didn't want to know and others that have been very useful.
He was cruel, but even before all that, he was already a monster. These were just additives that made him more dangerous than before. Even if he only used them for small things or nothing at all, well, what for? Many times the best thing was just to observe. His Hyper Intuition had come to warn him more than once that if he continued like this, in his true timeline, bad things would happen. But it also told him that if he forced the Vongola family or tried to get everything back to the way it was before, bad things would also happen. But in a way, it pushed him to do something. What could he do and why? He was a coward. He always had been. He was known as Dame-Tsuna for various reasons, and that wasn't going to change. Even if he was no longer useless, he was still a coward and a fearful person. Even if he could change everything, he wouldn't do it. For what? They were fine, very good without him, and it had been his decision. For something they had done several times before, was it a condition that he did it to be a monster? Even if he did it for them? Whether it was a "yes" or a "no," not only was it done, but they would end up the same or worse for anything else they didn't like him to do. It was okay that they were upset. There had been a ritual, a promise... but it had saved their lives too... that they were dead. He was happy with this, even if he didn't really feel that feeling. They were fine, and that was all that mattered. Even if he would be alone for the rest of his life, he accepted it. He couldn't last long anyway, right? Besides, once he found someone who could take his place as the Tenth Vongola... he would leave, knowing that he left them in good hands, much better than his. Someone who loved and cared for them, someone who... deserved them. And if he didn't succeed, at least he had tried. He would leave in peace in any case. In any possible case...
However, apparently, looking for someone else was not an easy task. His ring had been denied to any candidate he looked for. A rejection too forceful for his liking. If the ring did not accept anyone... he could not change his position. It was an essential requirement to take the leadership of Vongola, to be the head of all the bosses to be able to use that ring. It was really hard. No matter how he looked for them, nothing worked. And now he couldn't do it anymore, right? Reborn would kill him if he tried in this timeline. If he found out, of course. The question was... would he want to take that risk? Although it was true that he was the last option... there must be someone other than him, somewhere, but there must be. His Hyper Intuition had never failed him; it wouldn't with this.
And speaking of Hyper Intuition... maybe he didn't know it back then, but his Hyper Intuition had taken care of him since he was a child. It always told him when he should run or what to do if he was going to be beaten to lessen the damage, and sometimes how to avoid it completely. He was grateful for it. Without it, he wouldn't have lived until he was even ten years old, and he wouldn't have known his family. He wouldn't have known what to do to protect her. He not only owed his whole life to it but also the lives of those he protected.
Realistically, if it weren't for his Hyper Intuition, he would be in a tomb somewhere in the world, if he was lucky and his body wasn't dumped somewhere out in the open and served as food for the animals. Even now, that idea was tempting. Serving as food for some animal was a very noble thing from his perspective. At least then he would be useful for something and, at the same time, he would help someone. Well, he would have time later to continue with all this, but now he needed to get ready and take a good bath. He needed one, and he had nothing and no one to stop him from staying there for hours. And to make it something funny: even if it was Saturday, something always happened. Besides, it wouldn't be good at all for his family to see him depressed or something worse than that. He had already caused enough problems, and he didn't want to see them more worried than they already were. Rather, he was surprised that his door was still intact.
"Get u- huh?" Why couldn't I get up, or move my arms? He looked down and thought in amazement: Wow, I didn't expect them to stay. It's not that I didn't want it or anything, but... how am I going to get out of here now? And another thing... How the hell did they end up in my bed?! And their quilts?
Simply put, Tsuna was in the middle of a double embrace, and if he wanted to get out he would have to move them or wake them up. Not knowing what to do, he sighed deeply. In either case, he would end up waking them up, whether he wanted to or not. It was 6:30; it would be a long wait... unless...
"...Yes, I did it." He whispered to himself in a low voice when he finally managed to free himself.
Even if it took me half an hour to do it, quite a long time, but it didn't matter... I'm free! And they're still sleeping soundly! It didn't matter in the least that he had to do the whole process like a caterpillar. It didn't matter that his muscles hurt and that he was dying from wanting to scream in frustration on several occasions. He was free! He could finally take his shower quietly and then go downstairs and eat something and relieve some people in the process. He could barely pass food now, a great advance for him, but that was another topic for another day. Now: to the shower.
He went into the shower and stayed there for a long time. He loved the cold water and didn't mind the hours. It was very relaxing and woke him up without any problems. Besides... he identified with it. He was different from the others, and he was often as cold as ice, although behind that frozen shell he was nothing more than cold water. Changeable and malleable, but inexplicable, even to himself. It could cause pain, it could save lives as it could destroy them, it damaged as it consented, it could be anywhere or not. Something similar to what he was: he hurt his family when he comforted them before, he killed as easily as he forgave, and no one wanted to know about him, so he was anywhere out of sight when he used to come and go as he pleased if no one forced him to go out somewhere.
Perhaps it wasn't very similar to such beauty as water, cold or not. It was loved and feared at the same time. It was a source of life as well as a destroyer of it. He was only feared and was neither beautiful nor pretty. He was just a mere creature made to kill, in short: a monster. A monster who did not want to be what he was but had no choice but to be. He could no longer change anything, but in exchange, his family was fine.
"Please, come back to us..."
"Sorry!"
"Forgive! We never wanted to do this to you..."
"...Don't leave, please. We need you. You don't know how much..."
"Huh?" He unintentionally asked aloud, opening his eyes and looking slightly sideways, attentive, but he didn't see anything out of place.
What the hell was that?... Great, perfectly great, just what I was missing... I'm hearing imaginary voices or I'm hallucinating, or both... I'm going crazy, aren't I? Hearing voices is the first sign of madness, isn't it? The mafia must have finally roasted my brain. Now I have to be careful if I don't want to see things that don't exist and then go to an asylum. I've had enough of having to go to three, just to see the prisoners tied up and crazy... even Vendicare isn't as bad as that. It would be better for me to get dressed and get out of here before I also get sick and they force me to stay in bed, which would not be bad if they don't accompany me and stop making accidents that in the end always end up with me as the cause and the victim and look even worse.
"No thank you very much..." he said, something annoyed and fearful. He wouldn't take so much attention without going crazy and doing something that he would surely regret later.
He woke up feeling like something was missing, but he didn't pay much attention to it before yawning loudly and stretching hard, waking up his partner with a kick in the process, getting an annoyed look in return. They looked at each other before realizing what was missing. Their green eyes met his before they started searching all over the place... and yelling at him in the process...
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Yamamoto stopped and smiled stupidly.
"Don't make so much noise or you'll wake up Tsuna..." Better hurry up or use the fireworks... If he wanted to threaten, why did he use fireworks of all things? Yes, it was dangerous if they weren't used well but... It was a stupid threat in his opinion, it was even laughable. "It's cold and Tsuna's bed is big... besides, I don't think he got upset, and I don't want to wake him up to ask him..." He could imagine it very well: a half-asleep and annoyed Tsuna, growling a "yes" while giving him a sleepy look and calling him a fool, before going to bed and continuing to sleep as if nothing had happened.
"Idiot... don't assume anything you don't know!" He broke into a cold sweat; he must have expected something like that.
"You can't tell me you're not freezing..." he continued before he denied what he said. "Do you want to wake him up and ask him? You know how Tsuna is if he's tired... I don't want him to chew my head off and then say, 'Of course,' and continue sleeping as if nothing happened..." Gokudera closed his mouth. He had a point. He didn't want to see his boss like that. If he was very sleepy, he would kill them just with his gaze before falling asleep again as if nothing had happened.
"But-"
"See you tomorrow, Gokudera~" Without giving him a chance, he got into bed before starting a very possible argument. He was sleepy, and he wasn't foolish enough to want to wake up an almost certainly tired Tsuna.
Apparently, Gokudera had also come to the same conclusion as him, but hell... where was Tsuna? You couldn't hear anything, and he wasn't there. And speaking of the Devil... he thought, amused when he heard footsteps very close.
"Why is there so much commotion? It's 7:35..." Tsuna stopped when he saw them, but continued as if nothing had happened. "Are you awake? I'm sorry I woke you up so early." They heard him say right behind them, making Yamamoto laugh and Gokudera begin his apologies.
It's not that he was calling Tsuna the Devil; it was just the perfect thought for the occasion, and he didn't like the King of Rome. A little mental joke doesn't hurt, does it? He hoped not...
Tsuna came out of the bathroom in a hurry and, why not say it, curious because of the noise that sounded as if someone was looting something very big. Curiosity was what won the most, because who would want something from their house when there was nothing valuable to steal, and if there was, it was not worth all the fuss? And even more so if they were going to be discovered. Not to mention that almost everyone entered this house. All only to find out that his friends were awake and looking for something like it was the end of the world.
"We woke up on our own, don't worry about it..." Yamamoto reassured him, omitting that Gokudera had been awakened by him and not by himself. He then asked, perplexed: "Why are you in a towel?"
"I was taking a bath..." "Isn't it obvious? Why else would I use a towel?" But on the outside, he remained neutral. "If you want, you can get one. I think I have clothes your size." He began to check the closet and quickly found what he was looking for. "If it doesn't bother you, I'm going to get dressed. Here."
They felt even more embarrassed than they should have been when they received the pre-prepared set of clothes, as if he had known that something like this could happen. By the way, they had a style and taste similar to theirs, very sophisticated in their humble opinion. Otherwise, it was perfect. When had I achieved all this? He knew them so well if he knew what kind of clothes they liked. Tsuna completely ignored Gokudera's thanks and praises. If Yamamoto wasn't so surprised, he would surely have just laughed and said "thank you," but... only one question prevented him from doing so: how did he know their sizes? Gokudera and he were more or less similar in build but different in height, and Tsuna was even shorter. So, how did he know? Did he talk to the girls or something? That was... he was going to ask him, but he was completely cut off when he saw Tsuna halfway to get dressed. It was a simple garment compared to the ones he had given them. Well, at least he wasn't embarrassed enough to hide or make sure they didn't see him while he was changing, although maybe it was just for allowing them to use the bathroom, or maybe he thought the surprise he just gave them would give him time to do it without them seeing him. Whatever the reason, they had already seen him anyway... halfway, and it was nothing they hadn't seen before. He was probably already half-dressed before he got here.
"Hm, ready..." he murmured to himself, buttoning the last button. "I'll wait for you downstairs."
With that, he left them to their fate, not wanting to see the fight that would soon arise between the two regarding the bathroom. He just hoped they wouldn't make his room even more disastrous than before. He sighed and then took a sip of coffee, before thinking about what he should make for food. It was more than obvious that they were going to stay; he was almost sure that they would take him somewhere... or they wouldn't have appeared out of nowhere yesterday. But what was he talking about? The whole family had the habit of appearing out of nowhere and at any time as if it were magic. Maybe I should ask them how they do that, so maybe I can do it too... let's see if I can give them a taste of their own medicine. It would be really fun... Wait a minute, I think I can do it alone... with Natsu's help...
Whether they wanted to or not, they always did, although the truth was that he didn't want to go anywhere. But knowing them, they wouldn't take that into account before taking him out or dragging him somewhere or to do anything. He knew it in advance. So he didn't blame them for doing it. They must be extremely worried and confused about him, but he couldn't help it. It could never be as it was before, not even pretended, and sooner or later they would notice the great difference between their Tsuna and a monster. They would discover the truth.
But it would please them, both then and now. He would die, and they would no longer have to worry about a threat like him. His Tsuna would keep them safe with the help of what he was giving him, which wouldn't be much, but it would be enough to make a huge difference in these future battles they would face, battles that could destroy everything. He just hoped that it was enough, and... the right thing. It's not like he could say, "Mirror, mirror, can you tell me what the future will be like if I do this?"
"Hey, Tsuna-"
He spat out his coffee. So fast? It shouldn't be possible. He hadn't finished anything, and he couldn't pretend that he had already eaten. Oh God, help me, I don't want to do this so early... He felt especially nervous as he felt them behind him, looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. He glanced sideways at his coffee. Just like him, it would never be the same if he didn't manage to get out of this.
"It looks delicious..." It smelled and looked great. Too bad he couldn't get his hands on it. If Gokudera didn't start a ruckus, Tsuna would surely hit him with either a jumpen or the knife if he was like his mother, which he would grab first.
"What are you doing, Juudaime?" Gokudera also did his bit.
He sighed and wondered briefly if he should answer them, debating their reactions in his mind. It must not have been very bad, right, as long as they didn't overreact? It would be better to lie to them, but it wouldn't be appropriate, and Reborn would punish him harshly for hiding something like that and lying in front of his Guardians. And as if that were not enough, he would make him confess, and everything would become a holy chain that would never end or be forgotten. The best thing (for his well-being) would be to cut it off and that's it. Otherwise, there would be a lot of pain and suffering for everyone, and he didn't want to be the cause of it. One minute... He had the perfect idea to end it all without revealing the truth. "Hehehehe... thank you, ingenuity of the Vongola family's Guardians..."
"I'm just cooking something that Mom left in the fridge..." He lied calmly, dancing in his head a little. "Take that, Reborn-san!"
"Nana-san?" they asked, a little confused. Since when did she leave food half-prepared?
"Aha," he said before looking at them. The look said: "If you don't get out of here in the next 5 seconds, you'll be the next thing I cook this week."
With that, they sat down in the dining room and let him finish in peace. It worked! Thank you very much, Holy God... not even Reborn-san will be able to make me speak now. Besides... they are all liars when they are in front of me... They deserve it~ He brought them the plates of food and sat in the living room. Surely those pancakes wouldn't last long, knowing them. He sighed and changed. If his Hyper Intuition wasn't wrong, which was impossible unless it was misinterpreted, he wouldn't have much time before he—
"Hey, Tsuna..." a voice called from the dining room, "are you ready to go out?"
...It was too late... I have no escape, do I?...
"By the way... The food was very good. You have to congratulate your mother; she really outdid herself."
"Juudaime's mother is the best!"
Little did they know that Tsuna was the true author of the work, and little did they know that he cared little about their compliments. He had learned not to take words into account more than actions. The plates were empty; that was proof enough that they liked it or were hungry. Done. In any case, he wouldn't bother. He only cared that they were well and happy.