12 Feb '08 - Katekyo Hitman Reborn! - Jiminy Crickets
Title: Jiminy Crickets
Series: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Day/Theme: 12 Feb. 2008 - "The sweet fruition of an earthly crown"
Characters/Pairing: Vongola Primo, Mukuro/Tsuna
Rating: PG-13
Notes: spoilers for chapter 157.
"You've made it. You are Vongola Decimo, acknowledged and accepted by the Vongola and, to your good fortune, assorted other families. Happy now?"
Tsuna sighed and said, "A little. Sorry..."
"Don't waste apologies on me," said Mukuro. "I never expected anything else."
He fixed his gaze on Mukuro's feet as he nodded, smiling wryly. "Well, it's good to know that I can't disappoint you, at least." He remembered lifting a glass of champagne in a toast at the celebration that followed his induction as Vongola's head, and looking out over the assembled crowd. Most had been smiling, and all of them had been watching him.
Tsuna sat down on the ground. "This is your dream, isn't it? I feel too awake for it to be one of mine." He dared to look up, and was glad to see that Mukuro didn't look angry. Maybe that was stupid; Mukuro liked to keep a pleasant expression on his face no matter what was going on behind it.
"Oh? It's not quite mine. Perhaps we've ended up somewhere else." Mukuro took a thoughtful look around the nebulous, dark landscape, his eyes narrowing. Then he shrugged and sat down too. Tsuna took that to mean that wherever they were, whatever was there, they could probably handle it, so he tried not to worry.
They sat silently, in the illusion of companionability that Mukuro was so good at, and then Tsuna put his hand on Mukuro's shoulder. "I'll keep trying to do that. Not disappoint you, I mean."
Mukuro patted his hand, dismissive. "There, there, Tsunayoshi, don't strain yourself. I've told you: You can't disappoint me. I expect you to kill and cripple and hurt, and to tell your subordinates to do the same. Chrome knows what is expected of her, so you don't have to worry that she'll balk." He pulled up his knees and put his arms on them, then rested his head on his arms and peered thoughtfully into the distance. "Hopefully your other guardians won't prove too much trouble in that regard. Yamamoto Takeshi, in some ways, is more naïve than you ever were. As for the noble Sasagawa Ryohei, well."
Tsuna sat and listened with his head in his hands. "I know," he whispered from a thickening throat. "But I'll try..."
"Young fool," said Mukuro, a touch of annoyance in his voice.
"Not so young anymore," said another voice, and they instantly got to their feet and inspected their surroundings.
The mist of the dreamscape retreated some metres to reveal a black marble floor. On it was an enormous Vongola crest, and near the head of that an ornate wooden chair, from which a man was rising.
"Ah!" Tsuna hurriedly bowed - not too low, as they were supposed to be of equal stature now, but still a respectful depth. "Vongola Primo!"
His several times great-grandfather (and wasn't that an odd thought) stepped up to them and bowed too, and then put a hand on Tsuna's shoulder and studied him. "You've grown strong."
Tsuna hoped so. "Thank you," he said.
"I had not intended to interrupt," said Vongola Primo, his gaze fixing intently on Mukuro. "I was certain you'd be alone when I called you here."
"Let me introduce you two," Tsuna said, trying to keep the uncertainty out of his voice. Mukuro could be so ... Mukuro. But as he turned, he was stopped short by the undisguised disgust on Mukuro's face, and then by his saying, "Don't bother."
"It's good to see you again," said Vongola Primo, looking at Mukuro. "My guardian."
"My idiot. My burden," Mukuro said, and Tsuna swallowed a huge and heartfelt Huh? "Tsunayoshi. I'll be taking my leave."
Vongola Primo watched him stride into the mist with a troubled expression; Tsuna tried not to die of shock. "You know each other?" he yelped.
"We did," said Vongola Primo, staring at the gloom where Mukuro had disappeared. "I never meant for him to..."
The look on his face was of a private pain, and Tsuna didn't ask what had happened. Then Vongola Primo turned to him. "I came to congratulate you. You have been the tenth boss for a long time - but it is a significant occasion to have it sanctioned in public."
"Thank you," said Tsuna.
"Do you remember what you said at your trial?"
"Yes, of course," Tsuna said, nodding, and was embarrassed as he remembered the vehemence with which he'd screamed his declaration: I will destroy the Vongola. In front of the founder of the family, no less.
"Remember also that I said I'd been waiting for you." Vongola Primo's eyes flickered again to where Mukuro had disappeared. "Remember your resolution, and do what you must. As long as you hold to that, don't be afraid."
Tsuna stared at him a moment, unable to disguise his shock. Then his gaze dropped to the ground, seeing and not seeing Vongola Primo's fine leather shoes. The man's words were weighty.
"Remember that, and I'll thank you when we meet again. Goodnight, Sawada Tsunayoshi."
It all vanished, and Tsuna gasped deeply of air that could only be real. He glimpsed the ceiling of his four-poster bed, illuminated by the dim light from the windows because he didn't like to shut the curtains - and then it turned into a sky almost white with the heat of the sun. He blinked as his eyes watered, and looked around at the grass he lay on.
"Mukuro?" he said, sitting up hurriedly. He recognised this dream.
There was Mukuro, lounging in the shade of one of the garden's forested clusters. Tsuna walked over.
"I knew nothing when I met that man," Mukuro said distantly, studying a leaf on his palm. "But now, of course, I remember all that perfectly."
He offered a smile as Tsuna sat down. "That life, this life. It's all the same, of course."
His expression betrayed none of Vongola Primo's pain, but then Mukuro never would. Was that also part of the reason why Mukuro hated the mafia? What had happened to him that Vongola Primo couldn't prevent ... and would it be any worse than what Tsuna would do to him and Chrome, eventually? And it all went around and around, relentless and unstoppable.
Tsuna felt the pressure of fear coming down on him and forced himself to relax. It did no good to think that way for long, or he'd give up and do nothing while there was still something to do. He leaned forwards and touched the leaf on Mukuro's palm, as if he wanted to study it too; it was furred on its underside, but not so thickly that Mukuro wouldn't feel the warmth and pressure of Tsuna's fingers. It was difficult to offer Mukuro comfort.
Mukuro withdrew his hand and tipped the leaf off. "May I ask what he had to say?"
"I bet the two of you get along well," Tsuna said. "You seem to want the same kind of thing from me."
Mukuro raised his eyebrows to heretofore unseen heights. "Giotto wants to start World War III?"
Tsuna sighed. "He doesn't want to be disappointed either."
Mukuro said nothing for a moment. "You don't listen when I talk to you, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Why do you keep saying such a useless thing?"
"You never say what you mean!" Tsuna said. He got on to his knees and put an arm around Mukuro's neck, pulling him into an embrace. That disaffected act could get really old. "Thank you anyway."
Mukuro didn't move away from or into the embrace, and Tsuna let go and sat back. Mukuro looked solemn, which meant he was very slightly rattled, and Tsuna smiled a bit. "I feel better as long as you're around," Tsuna said softly. He wasn't much good with declarations. "It makes me remember the important things, and what I want to do, and what I want to be like. Even if I'm happy to finally be the Vongola boss."
His piece said, he leaned back with his hands on the ground, watching flickers of reaction pass across Mukuro's face, until finally Mukuro said, "I'm the voice of your conscience?" and burst out laughing. It was the kind that Tsuna rarely heard from him these days, the real type that he didn't even want to try and use for anything.
"Tsunayoshi." Mukuro crouched forwards on his knees, put a hand to Tsuna's chest and pushed him down onto his back. Scathingly, he said, "You amaze me."
Tsuna grinned (he knew) like a big dope. At least he didn't blush so easily anymore. He put his hand over Mukuro's and replied by kissing him. Mukuro's tongue swiped lavishly along the inside of his mouth, with that desperation for sensation he always had when he acknowledged a desire for touch.
"Go to sleep," Mukuro whispered, drawing back. "You have many, many long nights ahead of you."
The hand on his chest pushed Tsuna far backwards, skidding along the ground as the grass blurred; the wind swept him upwards into the finest clouds, and then he sank, down into pillows as mattress springs creaked under him. He was aware of this only faintly before he followed Mukuro's injunction and went into his own dreams. They trembled on the border of nightmares as he wondered what many, too many long nights ahead of him would contain ... but it was all right for now. On some of them, Mukuro would be there.
Series: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Day/Theme: 12 Feb. 2008 - "The sweet fruition of an earthly crown"
Characters/Pairing: Vongola Primo, Mukuro/Tsuna
Rating: PG-13
Notes: spoilers for chapter 157.
"You've made it. You are Vongola Decimo, acknowledged and accepted by the Vongola and, to your good fortune, assorted other families. Happy now?"
Tsuna sighed and said, "A little. Sorry..."
"Don't waste apologies on me," said Mukuro. "I never expected anything else."
He fixed his gaze on Mukuro's feet as he nodded, smiling wryly. "Well, it's good to know that I can't disappoint you, at least." He remembered lifting a glass of champagne in a toast at the celebration that followed his induction as Vongola's head, and looking out over the assembled crowd. Most had been smiling, and all of them had been watching him.
Tsuna sat down on the ground. "This is your dream, isn't it? I feel too awake for it to be one of mine." He dared to look up, and was glad to see that Mukuro didn't look angry. Maybe that was stupid; Mukuro liked to keep a pleasant expression on his face no matter what was going on behind it.
"Oh? It's not quite mine. Perhaps we've ended up somewhere else." Mukuro took a thoughtful look around the nebulous, dark landscape, his eyes narrowing. Then he shrugged and sat down too. Tsuna took that to mean that wherever they were, whatever was there, they could probably handle it, so he tried not to worry.
They sat silently, in the illusion of companionability that Mukuro was so good at, and then Tsuna put his hand on Mukuro's shoulder. "I'll keep trying to do that. Not disappoint you, I mean."
Mukuro patted his hand, dismissive. "There, there, Tsunayoshi, don't strain yourself. I've told you: You can't disappoint me. I expect you to kill and cripple and hurt, and to tell your subordinates to do the same. Chrome knows what is expected of her, so you don't have to worry that she'll balk." He pulled up his knees and put his arms on them, then rested his head on his arms and peered thoughtfully into the distance. "Hopefully your other guardians won't prove too much trouble in that regard. Yamamoto Takeshi, in some ways, is more naïve than you ever were. As for the noble Sasagawa Ryohei, well."
Tsuna sat and listened with his head in his hands. "I know," he whispered from a thickening throat. "But I'll try..."
"Young fool," said Mukuro, a touch of annoyance in his voice.
"Not so young anymore," said another voice, and they instantly got to their feet and inspected their surroundings.
The mist of the dreamscape retreated some metres to reveal a black marble floor. On it was an enormous Vongola crest, and near the head of that an ornate wooden chair, from which a man was rising.
"Ah!" Tsuna hurriedly bowed - not too low, as they were supposed to be of equal stature now, but still a respectful depth. "Vongola Primo!"
His several times great-grandfather (and wasn't that an odd thought) stepped up to them and bowed too, and then put a hand on Tsuna's shoulder and studied him. "You've grown strong."
Tsuna hoped so. "Thank you," he said.
"I had not intended to interrupt," said Vongola Primo, his gaze fixing intently on Mukuro. "I was certain you'd be alone when I called you here."
"Let me introduce you two," Tsuna said, trying to keep the uncertainty out of his voice. Mukuro could be so ... Mukuro. But as he turned, he was stopped short by the undisguised disgust on Mukuro's face, and then by his saying, "Don't bother."
"It's good to see you again," said Vongola Primo, looking at Mukuro. "My guardian."
"My idiot. My burden," Mukuro said, and Tsuna swallowed a huge and heartfelt Huh? "Tsunayoshi. I'll be taking my leave."
Vongola Primo watched him stride into the mist with a troubled expression; Tsuna tried not to die of shock. "You know each other?" he yelped.
"We did," said Vongola Primo, staring at the gloom where Mukuro had disappeared. "I never meant for him to..."
The look on his face was of a private pain, and Tsuna didn't ask what had happened. Then Vongola Primo turned to him. "I came to congratulate you. You have been the tenth boss for a long time - but it is a significant occasion to have it sanctioned in public."
"Thank you," said Tsuna.
"Do you remember what you said at your trial?"
"Yes, of course," Tsuna said, nodding, and was embarrassed as he remembered the vehemence with which he'd screamed his declaration: I will destroy the Vongola. In front of the founder of the family, no less.
"Remember also that I said I'd been waiting for you." Vongola Primo's eyes flickered again to where Mukuro had disappeared. "Remember your resolution, and do what you must. As long as you hold to that, don't be afraid."
Tsuna stared at him a moment, unable to disguise his shock. Then his gaze dropped to the ground, seeing and not seeing Vongola Primo's fine leather shoes. The man's words were weighty.
"Remember that, and I'll thank you when we meet again. Goodnight, Sawada Tsunayoshi."
It all vanished, and Tsuna gasped deeply of air that could only be real. He glimpsed the ceiling of his four-poster bed, illuminated by the dim light from the windows because he didn't like to shut the curtains - and then it turned into a sky almost white with the heat of the sun. He blinked as his eyes watered, and looked around at the grass he lay on.
"Mukuro?" he said, sitting up hurriedly. He recognised this dream.
There was Mukuro, lounging in the shade of one of the garden's forested clusters. Tsuna walked over.
"I knew nothing when I met that man," Mukuro said distantly, studying a leaf on his palm. "But now, of course, I remember all that perfectly."
He offered a smile as Tsuna sat down. "That life, this life. It's all the same, of course."
His expression betrayed none of Vongola Primo's pain, but then Mukuro never would. Was that also part of the reason why Mukuro hated the mafia? What had happened to him that Vongola Primo couldn't prevent ... and would it be any worse than what Tsuna would do to him and Chrome, eventually? And it all went around and around, relentless and unstoppable.
Tsuna felt the pressure of fear coming down on him and forced himself to relax. It did no good to think that way for long, or he'd give up and do nothing while there was still something to do. He leaned forwards and touched the leaf on Mukuro's palm, as if he wanted to study it too; it was furred on its underside, but not so thickly that Mukuro wouldn't feel the warmth and pressure of Tsuna's fingers. It was difficult to offer Mukuro comfort.
Mukuro withdrew his hand and tipped the leaf off. "May I ask what he had to say?"
"I bet the two of you get along well," Tsuna said. "You seem to want the same kind of thing from me."
Mukuro raised his eyebrows to heretofore unseen heights. "Giotto wants to start World War III?"
Tsuna sighed. "He doesn't want to be disappointed either."
Mukuro said nothing for a moment. "You don't listen when I talk to you, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Why do you keep saying such a useless thing?"
"You never say what you mean!" Tsuna said. He got on to his knees and put an arm around Mukuro's neck, pulling him into an embrace. That disaffected act could get really old. "Thank you anyway."
Mukuro didn't move away from or into the embrace, and Tsuna let go and sat back. Mukuro looked solemn, which meant he was very slightly rattled, and Tsuna smiled a bit. "I feel better as long as you're around," Tsuna said softly. He wasn't much good with declarations. "It makes me remember the important things, and what I want to do, and what I want to be like. Even if I'm happy to finally be the Vongola boss."
His piece said, he leaned back with his hands on the ground, watching flickers of reaction pass across Mukuro's face, until finally Mukuro said, "I'm the voice of your conscience?" and burst out laughing. It was the kind that Tsuna rarely heard from him these days, the real type that he didn't even want to try and use for anything.
"Tsunayoshi." Mukuro crouched forwards on his knees, put a hand to Tsuna's chest and pushed him down onto his back. Scathingly, he said, "You amaze me."
Tsuna grinned (he knew) like a big dope. At least he didn't blush so easily anymore. He put his hand over Mukuro's and replied by kissing him. Mukuro's tongue swiped lavishly along the inside of his mouth, with that desperation for sensation he always had when he acknowledged a desire for touch.
"Go to sleep," Mukuro whispered, drawing back. "You have many, many long nights ahead of you."
The hand on his chest pushed Tsuna far backwards, skidding along the ground as the grass blurred; the wind swept him upwards into the finest clouds, and then he sank, down into pillows as mattress springs creaked under him. He was aware of this only faintly before he followed Mukuro's injunction and went into his own dreams. They trembled on the border of nightmares as he wondered what many, too many long nights ahead of him would contain ... but it was all right for now. On some of them, Mukuro would be there.