Chapter Text
Police HQ, Japan
"Sir!" A police officer stood at attention in his commander's office. "Dino Bronco has been spotted in Namimori!"
The commander, who was relaxing with his boots on his desk, shot to his feet. "What?" The officer flinched and held his clipboard like a shield. "What is a Mafia boss doing in the middle of nowhere?" the commander demanded.
"Apparently, he went to visit someone in the..." The officer checked his clipboard. "The Sawada Residence..."
"Sawada? What connections do they have with the Mafia? Who the hell are they?"
"Sawada household includes a mother, Sawada Nana; a father, Sawada Iemitsu, who is travelling; and their fifteen-year-old son, Sawada Tsunayoshi."
The commander frowned with each name. A mother, who probably stays at home, a father who travels, probably for work, and a teenage son... Nothing struck the commander as "mafia" from that description alone. "They seem to be a normal family. Why is Dino there?"
"Sawada Tsunayoshi is the tenth Vongola boss, sir...he had the Inheritance Ceremony two weeks ago—"
The commander slammed his hands on the desk. He glared at his subordinate with annoyance. "Why haven't I heard of this until now?"
"W-We just found out ourselves...sir..."
The commander blew out a breath and lifted a hand towards his subordinate.
"... S-sir?"
"The file, give me the file on Sawada Tsunayoshi!" He snatched it and flipped it open to see a picture of a brunet with soft brown eyes and an awkward smile wearing his school uniform. He blinked twice. "Are you sure your information is accurate?" he asked as he went through the records of Sawada Tsunayoshi.
"What's wrong with the information, sir?" the police officer asked. "The source is reliable."
The commander threw the file at the officer. The pages scattered all over the floor. "He's at the bottom of his class! He isn't athletic, strong, or particularly delinquent. He probably can't even give anyone a scare, let alone be the next Vongola boss! If anything, his profile suggests that he's a victim, somebody who had the misfortune of encountering the Mafia."
"But sir, even if he's a victim, he is a victim who has some sort of relationship with Dino Bronco. I believe it's worth checking."
The commander blew out a breath. He had a point. But really, this kid is the tenth Vongola Boss? Yeah, right. "We have other problems to deal with, so we don't have the resources to dedicate a team to Sawada. Find a detective who doesn't have something hot on their plate to follow this lead."
The police officer gave him a snappy salute and ran out, closing the door behind him.
The commander growled. I forgot to get him to pick up the damn papers. He rounded his desk to gather the papers and came across more photographs. Still kneeling, he looked at the five photos. The accompanying note on the first one indicated they were all friends and schoolmates who were in Sawada's circle. They ranged from innocent to suspicious characters, delinquents to disciplinary committee members. There was no pattern or reason for why they were Sawada's friends.
And then came the final photo. The commander frowned as he held the photograph with a thumb and forefinger. It was a picture of Dino Bronco laughing, his face bright and welcoming. Of all the photographs the commander had seen of Dino, this was the only one where the Mafia boss wasn't grim or serious. Dino Bronco sat on a porch next to Sawada, who was relaxed. After all his years as a cop, the commander could tell with just a glance at a person's posture how they felt. Sawada was no victim of Dino Bronco's. He shoulders were relaxed, his eyes and smile relaxed, unforced. He was leaning toward Dino, his arms at his side, not crossed or fisted.
Although the commander still didn't believe that Sawada Tsunayoshi could be a Mafia boss, the certainly had something to do with them. Maybe Dino's distant cousin? The commander sighed and closed the file. He left his office to hunt down the first detective he could find.
Sawada Residence, Namimori
"Dame-Tsuna, wake up."
Tsuna groaned and turned over in his bed. He pulled up his blanket to cover his head. "Five more minutes."
"I said wake up!" Reborn transformed Leon into a green hammer and knocked Tsuna off the bed.
Tsuna yelped as his face met the hardwood floor. He hissed and glanced at the clock hanging off his wall."It's only seven-thirty! Why are you waking me up so early when it's not even a school day?"
The baby wearing a Mafia suit jumped onto his student's chest. "Mama wants you to go grocery shopping. And, as a Mafia boss, you should always wake up early."
Tsuna sat up and scratched the back of his head. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to be Boss?"
"You had the ceremony already. There's no going back. Once you graduate from high school, Vongola Nono plans to retire and travel the world. You'll be taking his place then. You better get used to the idea. Oh—that reminds me. I need to teach you, Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Hibari how to speak fluently in Italian, starting tomorrow after school."
Mid-yawn, Tsuna snapped his head to his tutor with a look of horror on his face. "No way! That's terrible!"
"Tsu-kun," his mother called from downstairs. "Could you go to the market and take I-pin and Lambo with you? They've been asking to go out the entire morning."
Tsuna moaned at his bad luck. Knowing Lambo, he'd probably run all over the store and leave Tsuna with the job of chasing after him. He felt tired just thinking about it.
"Hai!" he said and stumbled out of his room.
Half an hour later on the doorstep, Nana handed Tsuna the shopping list. "Go ahead and buy a treat for yourself with the extra money. Come back soon! I'm going to my dentist appointment, so you'll have to put away the groceries, too."
Reborn hopped onto Tsuna's head. "Let's go."
"Tsuna! Lambo-san wants to buy candy! Lots and lots of candy!" Lambo said and ran ahead of them.
I-Pin caught up to him. "Lambo! Don't be greedy! We are going to buy groceries, not candy. Candy isn't healthy for you."
"Yeah, Lambo," Tsuna said, "listen to I-pin."
Lambo pouted and reached into his mass of black curly hair. "No!"
Tsuna's internal alarms rang at the movement and he walked two paces to the left of Lambo.
Reborn grinned. "Good job, Tsuna. You have the quick instincts to sense danger. If only your reflexes were that good."
"Eh?" Tsuna tried to look up at Reborn, who still perched on his head. In that instant, he felt something tap his shoe. Looking down, Tsuna saw a pink grenade. Dimly, he felt Reborn jump off him as his eyes widened and his face paled.
BOOM!
As the smoke cleared, Tsuna and Lambo were covered in debris. I-Pin and Reborn, with their quick reflexes, landed a safe distance away, unmarred by Lambo's latest tandrum. Lambo began to cry and Tsuna sighed. His blue sweater was covered with holes and soot as he picked up Lamb, holding him so that they were eye-to-eye.
"We'll buy you one piece of candy after we finish shopping, alright?"
Lambo sniffed and nodded.
A block away, a man dressed in a navy blue t-shirt and blue jeans watched them. He could have sworn that was a grenade blast, but that didn't make sense. Who would give a child a grenade? He shook his head and wrote some observations down.
...
Day 1: Sunday
08:02
Target is accompanied by three babies: black, cow-print, and red.
Cow-print baby carries what appears to be grenades.
The weapon caused no lasting damage to the target, who was next to the explosion.
If the target is really a Mafia boss, maybe he is used to the violence and has a certain tolerance to pain.
Target does not act rationally to the sight of an explosion.
Perhaps it happens often?
Target heads to the market.
...
Reborn looked behind them as Tsuna spoke with a man selling apples. He saw a man in his late twenties with short black hair looking at them behind a newspaper, sitting on a bench. No one other than the best hitman in the world would have noticed the tail. Reborn smirked. His student, none the wiser, entered the air-conditioned store with Lambo and I-Pin trailing in after him. Reborn jumped to Tsuna's left shoulder.
"Tsuna! Do you notice anything strange?"
His student looked at him and frowned. "Yes... I'm being followed..."
Reborn's eyebrows shot up. Had his student lost some of his stupidity and learned to trust his Hyper Intuition? Tsuna continued with a grim smile, clearly not thinking before opening his mouth. "I'm being followed by three very annoying babies." Reborn's tiny fist dug into the back of his ear. Tsk. He has only gotten snarkier. He needs more training.
"Ow!" Tsuna screamed. Everyone in the store stared at him. He apologized with a slight bow and whispered, "You didn't need to punch me!"
"Well?" Reborn demanded. "Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?"
Tsuna hesitated, giving their surroundings a quick glance. He returned his gaze to Reborn. "Ever since we left the house, I had the feeling that someone was watching me—but it's just a feeling, right?" he asked in a panic. "I don't want any more trouble, since Enma-kun and his guardians already left to go home. Please tell me there isn't another danger around us?"
Reborn smirked and lowered his hat. "You tell me, Dame-Tsuna."
On their way back, Tsuna juggled the paper bags and nearly dropped the apples twice. "Reborn, a little help!"
"You can't get babies to help you carry things, Dame-Tsuna. Do it yourself."
"But it's heavy!" he whined. "I was joking about calling you a baby!"
"Then treat it as training. Or else I will shoot you right here and now." Reborn had Leon ready.
Tsuna sweatdrop. "Never mind! Just don't shoot me!"
With a glint in his onyx eyes, Reborn shot him.
Tsuna fell to the ground and the pedestrians screamed. Then, a flame lit Tsuna's forehead. "RE...BORN!" His clothing tore as he released a mighty roar, wearing only his red hearted boxers. "I WILL CARRY THESE GROCERY BAGS HOME WITH MY DYING WILL! ARRGGH!"
Reborn hopped on for the speedy ride. Tsuna shoved I-Pin and Lambo onto the top grocery bags and charged home, ignoring the gasps and stares they gathered. He arrived at his doorstep in five minutes, just as the bullet wore off. He stiffened when he saw Gokudera and Ryohei arguing in front of his house.
"Gokudera-kun! Onii-san!"
They paused their argument and looked at Tsuna in surprise.
"Yo, Sawada!"
"Juudaime, good morning! Out for a morning run? You should have called!"
"Good morning... what are you two arguing about?"
"Juudaime," Gokudera said. "I was just walking around and happened to come by here so I dropped by for a visit. And then this Lawn-Head just happened to finish his jog around the town and came here for a cold drink! Then I told him that he can't just come by and ask Juudaime for a drink!"
"WHAT'S EXTREMELY WRONG WITH THAT?" Ryohei roared. "You're just coming by for a visit! I'm just asking for a drink to the EXTREME!"
"Ah..." Tsuna said as they bickered. "Why don't you both come in? Kaa-san went out today so I'll be taking care of the kids on my own."
"Yes, Juudaime!" Gokudera said with a blinding smile.
"Yosh! I will help you to the EXTREME!"
They all went in. Lambo and I-Pin went to the backyard to play while the others went to the living room, where they had a good view of the two kids through the sliding doors. Reborn looked over his shoulder to see a huffing shadow lurking near the street corner. He narrowed his eyes. So he wasn't able to shake off the stranger. This will be interesting.
"Here you go, Onii-san," Tsuna put the energy drink in front of Ryohei and an espresso for Reborn. "Gokudera-kun, would you like anything to drink?"
"I'll get it myself, Juudaime!"
"Thanks to the EXTERME, Sawada!"
Tsuna smiled. He was used to Ryohei barging in at random hours, asking for a drink each time he visited. His mom also knew of this and admired Ryohei's ability to run around town at least twice every day. She kept their fridge stocked with Ryohei's favourite sports drink for those times. Gokudera came back with juice and sat down across from Ryohei, making it obvious that he was annoyed. Tsuna sat between them, used to the hostility.
Reborn sat in front of the three of them and sipped his espresso. "Tsuna was followed today to the market," he said.
Tsuna's friends exclaimed in shock. "What? Who was following him? Why?"
"Reborn, we don't really know that," Tsuna said.
"Dame-Tsuna!" Reborn whacked him on the head. "Your Hyper Intuition warned you about it but you didn't pay any attention to it. I actually saw the man following us."
"Who is he?" they asked in unison.
"Is he trying to get you to join his boxing club?" Ryohei asked.
"Tch—you Lawn-Head, no! Juudaime might be in danger and all you can think about is boxing?" Gokudera raised his fist at Ryohei.
"Eek! Gokudera-kun! Calm down!" Tsuna urged. Then he noticed the sliding door open. He yelled again and got everyone's attention. No one appeared. Gokudera had his dynamite ready.
A heartbeat later, Yamamoto popped his head in. "Yo!" He greeted them with a laugh.
Tsuna sighed in relief.
"Tsuna, you scare too easily," Reborn said.
"You baseball nut! Why didn't you use the front door?" Gokudera yelled.
"Now, now, Gokudera. I heard Lambo and I-Pin outside so I just came in to play catch with them!"
Gokudera and Tsuna blinked. Ryohei nodded his head in approval. "Playing with the little ones is good," he said.
"You played catch with them?" Tsuna repeated. "Just now?"
"Were you the pitcher?" Gokudera asked.
"Yeah! Is there a problem?" Yamamoto asked, all the while smiling.
Tsuna rushed outside with Gokudera at his heels. Lambo was lying on the grass with a red mark on his face that looked like it was made from a baseball. "Lambo! Are you okay?" He and I-Pin shook Lambo and got a soft whimper for a reply.
"Gotta...stay...calm...WHAAAHH!" Lambo screamed. He thrashed around and took out the Ten-Year-Bazooka and pulled the trigger. It hit Lambo, I-Pin, and Gokudera.
"G-Gokudera...kun?" Tsuna asked.
"Eh?" a deeper voice exclaimed. The pink mist cleared and a ten-years-older Lambo, I-Pin, and Gokudera appeared. All three of them were cloaked for battle.
"EHH!" Tsuna yelped. "What's going on?"
Gokudera didn't even glance up. He was feeling the front of his black suit anxiously, then patted his head and looked at his hands. "Eh? What happened? How come I'm not hurt?" he wondered out loud. He finally looked at his surroundings. His gaze landed on Tsuna. "Fifteen-year-old Juudaime...? I'm in the past?" He looked shocked and relieved.
"Sawada-san!" I-Pin greeted with a bow.
Tsuna looked at I-Pin. She was breathing in deeply in short breaths in a fighting stance. Her hand had a red healing gash and her face sported a bruise. Lambo was in his Vongola Gear and so was Gokudera.
"What's going on?" Tsuna asked again, worried about the answer.
Gokudera collapsed on the grass. "For once I'm thankful for you, stupid cow!" He hit Lambo on the head. He looked up at Tsuna and explained. "We're in the middle of a small battle with another Mafia familiga, Juudaime. I was just being shot at, and then I ended up here without getting hit."
"Hie!" Tsuna's knees buckled and he sat down hard on the lawn. "Why does this always happen?"
"Oi! Octopus-Head! Do you want me to help heal you to the EXTREME!" Ryohei asked although he was already using his sun flames to heal the three of them.
"Ah... good idea, Onii-san..." Tsuna sighed. "Good thing I wasn't hit with the bazooka this time..."
"That is called wishful thinking, Dame-Tsuna. And if Gokudera is fighting a Mafia battle, then that means you have become Vongola Decimo," Reborn said with a wide smile. "Congrats."
"Yeah," Gokudera agreed. "Juudaime is a magnificent leader!"
"I can't take this anymore!" Tsuna yelled. He rolled around the grass trying to calm his head. Then he stopped. "Gokudera-kun, is everyone else alright?"
"Ah, that. We're winning the battle." He grinned at his boss. "You were awesome, Juudaime! You took out a dozen of them in just three seconds!"
"No!" Lambo said. "It was more than three seconds! Stop exaggerating, Bakadera!"
"This is great news, Tsuna. Now let's start training you some more." Reborn kicked Tsuna behind the neck and his student fell forwards.
"Juudaime! Are you alright?" Tsuna lifted his head to see that Lambo, Gokudera, and I-Pin had returned, although now they had a few scratches and Lambo was wailing all over again. Gokudera of the present also had his Vongola Gear out, with his Systema CAI activated.
"Lambo-san doesn't wanna grow up! IT'S TOO SCARY!"
"You were awesome, Juudaime!" Gokudera cried. "Now I'm absolutely sure that you'll be a great leader!"
That's the same thing your future-self said! Tsuna thought despairingly. Now I know I'll never be freed from being Vongola Decimo...Not like I had any high hopes anyway.
The next day, Tsuna left for school ten minutes earlier than usual. This was all because Reborn kicked and punched at him all the while he was waking up, getting dressed, and eating breakfast.
"I'm off," Tsuna said and closed the door. His Hyper Intuition was bothering him again, but he was too tired to care about it.
...
Day 2: Monday
07:30
Target's house shakes.
Something that may be a bomb is set off and I heard a scream.
There is some yelling heard from outside.
There is something going on with his family.
08:00
Target leaves his house to go to school. He looks tired with the baby in black following him.
Nothing is unusual other than this morning's commotion and yesterday's odd events.
...
"Oi! What are you doing, sneaking around Juudaime's house?"
The detective whirled around and hid his notepad in one swift motion. The young, fierce teen who spoke so rudely glared at him. He recognized the boy as Gokudera Hayato, a friend of his target. If he could somehow get close to him...the detective inhaled and smiled. "Hello! I just moved here, and I was just admiring the houses!"
Gokudera blinked at him.
The detective cringed at his own excuse. That is the lamest excuse I've ever heard in my life...
Gokudera seemed to have the same thought. "Tch! You were definitely sneaking around! What's your business with Juudaime? Tell me, or I'll stuff you with bombs!" He produced three sticks of dynamite in each hand out of nowhere.
"Hie!"
The detective turned to see Sawada Tsunayoshi, his target, emerge from his house at a run.
"Gokudera-kun! What are you doing? Put those away!" Sawada said.
"Juudaime! What brings you here?" Gokudera hid his dynamite as if nothing happened.
Juudaime? The detective thought. That means tenth... Tenth Generation...Mafia boss? Impossible! But there was no other reason for Gokudera Hayato to call his friend by such a title, unless they were role-playing. This little whelp is the boss of the largest family?
Tsuna glanced at the stranger, who was looking more bewildered by the second. "Gokudera-kun...you're scaring people," he said.
"If you say so, Juudaime...but I found this man lurking in front of your house! He was following you but says that he just moved in!"
Before Tsuna could react, Lambo ran up to them.
"Reborn! I'm going to get you this time! HAHAHAHAH-ahhh!"
Tsuna watched as Lambo tripped over Reborn's feet and dropped the grenade. When it rolled to a stop, he saw the pin was nowhere to be seen. "Reborn! What did you do that for?! Now we're all doomed!" Tsuna quickly looked at the man who was, apparently, his new neighbour. It took him a second to see that the man was calm and ready to run. And that was exactly what he did. But not fast enough. Lambo's grenade blast caused the man to lose his footing and he fell a few metres away, stunned.
"Juudaime! Look out!" Gokudera pushed Tsuna just as the bomb went off.
"Ow..."
"Juudaime! Are you alright?" Gokudera asked in a worried tone.
"Ah...yeah. I just made it out with my life. Thanks, Gokudera-kun!"
Gokudera sighed with relief and stood up, offering a hand to Tsuna. "Now..." Gokudera marched up to the man, who was just standing up. He pushed the man against Tsuna's house. "Why are you spying on us?"
"I'd like to know as well," Reborn said. He landed on the short wall above the man. "If you don't answer truthfully, I will kill you." He aimed Leon, in gun form, at the man's forehead.
"Don't kill him, Reborn!" Tsuna yelled. He bowed to the stranger. "I'm really sorry! Were you injured?"
The detective looked at his target, stunned. The boy was telling the baby to not kill him? Shouldn't he be saying, 'Stop joking around and leave the poor man alone'?
"I-I'm just an honest man who has an honest job, who lives in a humble home."
Reborn didn't believe him. He looked deep into the man's eyes. The detective felt as though he was being read like an open book.
"He's a detective investigating the tenth Vongola Family," Reborn announced.
"Say what?" Tsuna, while knowing Reborn's mind-reading was never wrong, couldn't help but be dubious. The police had never been called for any of the commotion that came from his house before, so he thought there was nothing to worry about! But now, there was actually a detective looking in on their every move? I think I'll try to play out of this... Tsuna thought. "V-Vongola Family? As in the Mafia family? Why here? Mafia gathers in Italy, right? Ahaha..." Wait a second, would normal people know the Vongola is a Mafia family? Tsuna paled. Ah...I'm dead.
"N-No! You are mistaken! I just moved here!" the man said in a panicked tone.
Eh? Tsuna thought, his face serious for a moment. He's lying... Well, not about him just moving here...that much is true, but...he really is investigating the Vongola Family! What am I going to do?!
"Yo!" Yamamoto greeted. "What's up? This is a big gathering."
"Yamamoto!" Tsuna felt relieved. "Do you think you can stop Gokudera and Reborn from hurting this man? They just started questioning him out of the blue about the Vongola! Reborn also says that this man is a detective!"
Yamamoto laughed. "Now, now, Gokudera! Just let the poor man go! We're going to be late for school if you don't! And didn't Tsuna already ask you to let him go?" he asked. He hinted that Gokudera was disobeying Tsuna's order, which brought Gokudera back to himself. He immediately released the man and gave Tsuna a deep bow.
"I'm terribly sorry, Juudaime! I refused to listen to your orders! Please forgive me! I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay, Gokudera-kun! No harm done! But we have to get going now, or else—"
"Herbivores."
Tsuna froze and slowly turned around. Hibari, the leader of the disciplinary committee has arrived.
"H... Hibari-san!"
"Herbivores. Get to school. You'll be late. And stop crowding. Or I will bite you to death." He took out his pair of tonfa.
"H-Hai!" Tsuna yelped and quickly ran towards the school.
"Juudaime! Wait for us!"
"Yeah, Tsuna! Slow down!"
Hibari noticed the man and the baby.
"Baby," he said.
"Ciaossu."
"Who are you?" Hibari asked the detective. "Why haven't I seen you here before?"
"I-I just moved here," the detective said. He could feel that this man had a dangerous aura around him.
Reborn corrected, "He's a detective, looking into some Mafia family called Vongola." Reborn frowned at his own words. To hear he himself call the Vongola 'some family' was insulting. To redeem himself, he knocked the man out cold.
"Hn. If he is what you say he is, then there will be more trouble. Get rid of him."
Reborn smirked. "I was just planning on interrogating him under Dame-Tsuna's house. I made a room there without him knowing. Wanna help me after school?"
HIbari thought for a moment and smiled, though nobody who saw it would call it one. "As long as none of the Herbivores interfere. Now fight me." He raised the tonfa.
"If you don't go to school now, you won't be able to bite latecomers to death," Reborn said in a plain tone.
Hibari seemed to think this over and put his weapons away. "Another time then, baby."
"Ciao-ciao!~"