Chapter Text
The last day of school had let out for winter break. Even two hours later, Tsuna was still stuck inside the school building. Tsuna was filling out some documents at Hibari's desk inside of the Disciplinary Committee's office, while said Guardian was out on patrol. It was almost funny how Hibari still walked around like he owned the place when he had long since graduated.
Tsuna let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples.
'Great, the headache is back. Just what I needed.' With another long-suffering exhale, Tsuna pushed aside the signed documents and rested his head on the oak desk's cool surface.
Since it had been decided that Tsuna was going to take Vongola's throne - whether as the Decimo or the Neo Primo - Timoteo had been pushing most of his paperwork off on Tsuna in preparation for his own retirement. With Tsuna already in his third year of high school, he would soon be taking over. Tsuna winced, his headache pulsing at the mere thought of the stacks of paperwork.
"Juudaime? Do you need more tea?" Ah, thank heavens for Gokudera.
"Yes, please. Ginger tea this time, Hayato." Tsuna didn't know what he would do without the silver-haired bomber. Sure, Gokudera was the source of some of his headaches, but he helped to divide and sort out the paperwork. All Tsuna really had to do was read and sign.
The quiet clink of china being set down broke Tsuna from his reverie. He lifted his head to see the tea sitting before him, wisps of steam curling off the liquid's surface. "Thank you, Hayato. Hopefully, this will calm my headache."
Gokudera smiled gently, tucking a loose strand of silver hair from his ponytail behind his ear and pushing the red-framed glasses higher up on his nose. His fingers trembled slightly as he tried to busy himself with looking through the completed stacks of documents. Tsuna smiled somberly behind the rim of his cup even as he took a sip.
"You should take a break, Hayato."
Gokudera whipped around to face Tsuna, a small frown twisting his features. "I'm fine, Juudaime. I don't mind continuing."
Tsuna's gaze softened even as his lips thinned in a straight line. "Hayato, I know you wish to break your smoking habits, but it will take time. Trying to quit all at once is doing more harm than good at the moment. We can resume when you finish." Gokudera seemed hesitant to leave. Tsuna just smiled at him in reassurance.
The storm guardian flashed Tsuna a grateful smile before heading out the door, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. 'He's probably heading up to the roof. Let's hope Kyōya doesn't come back right now.'
Tsuna leaned back in the leather chair, enjoying this rare moment of peace as he sipped on his tea. The sun was setting behind him, long shadows falling over the room. 'I wonder how Mikoto's doing. Last I talked to him, he was in a similar situation as me. It has been a few years since we saw each other in person. Maybe I should go see him.'
He shot up from his seat, the tea nearly spilling from the abrupt movement. Tsuna carefully set down the cup - Hibari would kill him if he spilled something on his desk - and started to pace around the room. 'That's a great idea! I can visit Mikoto and have a vacation at the same time! Two birds with one stone they say. Perfect.'
He let a smirk grace his expression for a moment at the thought.
Tsuna walked back to the desk and started looking beneath some piles of reports. Finally victorious, he pulled out his smartphone from the stack. Quickly scrolling through his contacts list, Tsuna eventually spotted the name 'Suoh Mikoto' and pressed dial.
Holding the phone to his ear, Tsuna waited for the call to go through. After the third ring, it connected.
"Hmm." Tsuna laughed a bit at the familiar greeting. It was more of a grunt than anything, but Tsuna knew Mikoto didn't say much anyway. Maybe that was why Tsuna was so good at interpreting Hibari's grunts.
"Mikoto! How's everything?"
"Tsuna." Mikoto's tone didn't change but Tsuna knew what he wanted to say all the same.
"Okay, okay. I get it. I need to get to the point. I really do want to know how you're doing though. So I was hoping that I could visit you. Would that be okay?"
"Sure."
Tsuna smiled widely even if Mikoto couldn't see it. "Thanks, Mikoto. You know of anywhere that I can stay while I'm there?"
"With me."
"Are you sure? I didn't want to impose. I don't mind getting a hotel room you know."
"Yeah."
"If you're sure. Thanks, 'koto! I really appreciate this!" Tsuna was practically beaming now. He would have been bouncing off the walls in excitement if Hibari wouldn't more than likely kill him for messing up the walls.
"No problem. When?"
"Umm, I was thinking sometime next week? School's on break for me but I'll need to confirm my schedule. That alright?"
"Yeah."
"I'll call you later 'koto. Bye!"
"Hn."
The line disconnected as Tsuna pocketed his phone. 'Hmm, Mikoto must not have been in a talking mood.' The door then swung open, Yamamoto walking in. He laughed brightly. "Yo, Tsuna!"
Tsuna turned to face the other teen, a bright smile already forming on his lips. Yamamoto just seemed to have that effect on people. "Hey, Takeshi. You finished practice?"
"Yeah, you should have seen it! I hit the ball with a kerwapp and a shwing! It went sailing! Haha!"
Tsuna smiled lightly, a soft chuckle escaping his lips at Yamamoto's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you had fun, Takeshi." Tsuna knew that Yamamoto hadn't been able to play baseball as often as he used to. Nowadays, he focused more on training with the Shigure Shoen styles. His katana has seen more use than his old baseball bat.
Tsuna was just at ease seeing the swordsman so excited.
"Let's get Gokudera and head to my place." Yamamoto had an easy grin as he slung Shigure Kintoki over his shoulder.
At that moment, Kusakabe walked in. Nodding a greeting to Yamamoto, he turned to face Tsuna. "Tsuna-san, Hibari has told me to inform you that you should head home. He said to leave the completed paperwork on the desk. He will look through them personally and file them."
"Oh. Tell him thank you for me please, Kusakabe-san."
"Will do. I have also informed Gokudera-san that you will be heading out soon."
"Thanks, Kusakabe-san!"
With that, Tsuna and Yamamoto headed out of the office and made their way to the school's entrance. Leaning against the lockers, waiting for them, was Gokudera. He straightened up when he saw them approaching.
"Hayato, we're heading to TakeSushi. Wanna come with?"
"Of course, Juudaime."
------
'Maybe I shouldn't have said anything until later.' Tsuna laid on his bed, glaring at Reborn's slumbering form in the corner of the room. Tsuna sighed quietly in the darkened room. He guessed that he should have known better by now.
.
Gokudera had dropped him off at the front door. Tsuna headed inside, taking off his shoes, before walking to the kitchen. An enticing aroma filled the hallway. Bless his mother! She had just finished setting the table and she cooked Salisbury Steak for crying out loud!
"Hey, mom. I'm home."
"Welcome home, Tsu-kun. I guess you're hungry?"
"Yes ma'am!" Tsuna was practically salivating over the food when she brought it to the table.
Nana giggled at her son's antics. "Go get changed first. And make sure to wash your hands. Don't worry, the food will still be here when you get back."
Tsuna ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. When he reached the landing, he heard muffled giggles. He opened the bedroom door across from his own and peered inside. Lambo, I-Pin, and Fuuta were all sitting on the floor playing together.
Tsuna gazed fondly at his adopted siblings.
"TSUNA-NII!"
He had barely stepped into the room before he was tackled by the three kids. He laughed and pulled them into a hug. "Hey guys. How was school?" The three went to Namimori Elementary together with Lambo and I-Pin in the first grade, and Fuuta in grade five.
"The teacher let us paint today!" I-Pin said excitedly. Lambo nodded in support of her words.
Fuuta just smiled shyly. "Since it was the last day of school, the teacher let our class have free time. I finally finished the book you lent me Tsuna-nii!"
Tsuna chuckled affectionately. "I'm glad you all enjoyed yourselves today. You guys already ate?"
"Yeah. Mama gave us some snacks earlier." As evidenced by the cookie crumbs still on Lambo's face.
"Alright. I'm going to change and head down to eat. I'll let you continue whatever game you were playing." Tsuna got up and stretched before heading to his own room. He quickly changed into a comfortable pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before walking back downstairs - only making a quick stop at the bathroom to wash his hands.
He joined his mother at the table, sitting across from her.
"Thanks for the food." The mother-son duo ate their meal in a cozy silence, merely enjoying the other's presence. When they both finished eating, now just sitting back to sip at some earl grey tea, Tsuna broke the silence between them.
"Mom?"
Nana set down her cup to give Tsuna her full attention. "Yes, Tsu-kun?"
"I'm planning on visiting Mikoto next week. Is it alright if I go?" Nana smiled brightly at her son.
"Of course you can go, Tsu-kun! I bet Mikoto would be looking forward to your visit! It has been some time since you two got to see each other after all. Are you going by yourself?"
"That's the plan. Mikoto said that I can just stay with him while I'm there." Nana nodded her approval and picked her teacup back up, taking another sip. Tsuna knew that meant that the conversation was over. He mentally sighed in relief. He already knew that she wouldn't have said no, but doubts don't always have to be rational.
The problem started when he entered his room to settle down for the night. Reborn was sitting on his bed, a smirk painted on his lips. Tsuna knew that could only mean trouble for him. "Ciaossu. I have already informed your guardians of your vacation plans."
Yup, Tsuna's intuition was never wrong.
At that moment, Tsuna's phone buzzed incessantly in his pocket. Already dreading what could be on his phone, Tsuna took out the device and whined quietly in distress. His screen lit up with the many messages that his guardians had sent him to ask about the trip, the majority being from Gokudera of course.
.
Tsuna burrowed further beneath the warm blankets, already drifting off to sleep. He realized that he would have to call Mikoto in the morning to notify him of the change in plans. Guess he wasn't going to be staying in Mikoto's apartment then. Maybe a hotel would have to suffice.
------
"Good morning, 'koto!"
"Mornin', Tsu." Tsuna laughed softly at the nickname. It had been years since he heard Mikoto call him that.
"You sound like you're in a good mood today! Anyway, I called to let you know there's been a slight change in plans."
"Hmm?"
"So, remember those guardians that I was telling you about?" An affirmative grunt. "Well, my tutor told them about my plans to come visit you and now all of them, except Lambo and Ryohei, are tagging along. I'm going to rent hotel rooms instead to fit all six of us."
"Alright. Did you confirm what day you'll be arriving?" Always straight to the point, I see.
"Next week Tuesday, my schedule will be clear for at least a little while. Is that a good day for you?"
"Yeah."
"I'll call you when I get there. Bye 'koto!"
"Bye Tsu."
Tsuna hung up and put the phone on the desk. Open in front of him was a small laptop. He was looking at available hotels within the general vicinity of HOMRA. None of the ones he wanted had rooms availa- oh look at that! A hotel owned by Vongola within walking distance of the bar. How convenient. Tsuna sighed. 'It'll have to do.'
After calling the hotel to book some rooms - "Oh Vongola-sama! We'll have the luxury suite ready for you when you arrive!" "You really don't hav-" "We insist!" - Tsuna was going to start packing when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. He turned to stand face-to-face with Mukuro and Chrome.
"Hello little Vongola. When are we planning to leave here?" The damn pineapple was already wearing a smug expression on his face.
Chrome smiled sheepishly at Tsuna. "Sorry Bossu. I hope we didn't inconvenience you." Tsuna's eyes softened in Chrome's direction.
"It's fine, Chrome. I expected this anyway." He turned back to face Mukuro's self-satisfied smirk. "I'm hoping to be at the train station by seven o' clock Tuesday morning at the latest. Are you sure you want to come?"
"Kufufu, of course, little Vongola. We shall see you then." Mukuro swept into a mocking bow as he started to fade into mist. Chrome waved at Tsuna before she too vanished. Tsuna sighed, packing a small carry-on luggage bag for his two week stay in Shizume Town.
He already couldn't wait and it was still only Saturday. Glancing at the clock, Tsuna let out another sigh.
It was gonna be a long wait.
...
"Little animal."
Tsuna turned towards the voice, having already expected this visit. He nodded in greeting with a sheepish smile. "Kyōya, did you need something?" Tsuna knew exactly why Hibari was here. Hopefully playing dumb would lessen the brunt of the Cloud Guardian's ire.
Hibari stepped down from the balcony railings into Tsuna's room. He sat on the neatly made bed - another habit Reborn had beaten into Tsuna - and crossed his arms. Gray eyes narrowed further at Tsuna's blatant avoidal of the subject. The Vongola heir took one look at that glare and gave up the ghost. He straightened up and returned the stare.
Sunset orange clashed with steel gray.
"As you already know, from Reborn's meddling, I will be traveling to visit a relative of mine on Tuesday. I initially planned to go alone. We both know that is no longer a feasible plan. Will you be joining, Kyōya?"
Hibari finally broke eye contact and looked out the window he entered from. He grunted softly in confirmation to the question. Tsuna followed the other's gaze outside. There Hibird was perched contently on the railing, preening bright yellow feathers. Tsuna smiled at the sight and turned his attention back to Hibari. "We're leaving the station at seven. You can bring Hibird along if you want."
"Hn." Hibari stood up smoothly from the bed and made his way back to the window. Carefully resting the canary on his shoulder, the D.C. leader jumped from the second storey home. Tsuna just shook his head at his guardian. He froze for a second before running to the window.
Hibari was almost through the front gates of the Sawada residence when Tsuna stuck his head out of the window to yell at him, "And try not to pick any fights with Mukuro!" Hibari continued walking, completely ignoring Tsuna.
Tsuna sighed in dismay. He could already feel the headache that this trip was gonna be.