I need to stop
No really
At this rate I will never finish anything
EVER
Journeyman
After an accident (read: kidnapping gone horribly wrong), Tsuna is left without the ability to use Flame. In fact, aside from his Hyper Intuition and the Blood, everything otherwise needed to be the Don Vongola has been sealed away, with no apparent method to undo this. Vongola needs a Don, needs the Tresnisette to maintain their superiority, but Tsuna just doesn't cut it anymore in terms of day-to-day dealings--so, aside from extreme scenarios--they generally leave Tsuna to his own devices. The Guardians are always busy doing Guardian-like things, though, and the rest of the Castle staff don't interact with him either because of awe or fear (or anger at such a useless Don), and so Tsuna gets... lonely. Enough so he decides to return to Japan and his mother. It's almost like the way it was before Reborn.
What no one bothered to check was if (instead of just taking things away) the process used actually gave something in return. A couple things, actually, and with Haru's ever so thoughtful gift of a certain costume, Tsuna finds a new path in life. And if that path takes him everywhere and anywhere imaginable, well, that's just an added bonus.
"Tsuna-san! Haru spent lots of time on that costume! You better not have ruined it!"
He held up his hands as if to fend her off, never mind that she couldn't see him doing it. "I promise that it's in perfect condition! Really! Not a tear or stain or, er, anything! I just wanted to know how you made it?"
"Hahi? Is Tsuna-san interested in costuming now? Haru has waited for so long--"
"Haru."
He wasn't sure what her reaction was (something between an annoyed huff and a scowl, no doubt), but she continued after a moment. "I got the designs off the internet, actually, for the Journey robes, and then modified them a bit and made them to fit your size--well, a bit bigger than the proper robes would be, actually, but for Tsuna-san it looks better!--and used extra cloth from the masquerade for a majority of the under robes, and the main cloak and hood is that Flame-resistant cloth from Leon dyed red. The mask is a wire frame with some plaster for the basic shape and--"
"Haru."
"Tsuna-san you asked."
He sighed, lips twitching upward in a smile. "I did. Um. What I meant was, aside from the specialty fabric, was there anything else that went into the making of the costume. Anything.. different?"
The other end of the line went perfectly quiet, and Tsuna wasn't sure if she was honestly trying to remember or if she was trying to wait until he gave in and said never mind. Eventually she returned with a quiet, "No, Tsuna-san. You know I don't have that ability."
He winced.
"Aside from my amazing skills, of course!" He could hear Haru smiling this time, but he also knew it was an empty smile. The one she and Kyoko had perfected years ago, less a week after learning the truth in the future. The 'not everything is okay but I won't let it bother me or anyone else' smile. The one they apparently learned from Yamamoto.
The one he hated.
"Haru--"
"Haru has to go now, Tsuna-san," she cut him off. "Will Haru see you at tomorrow's game?"
Why they still bothered to go to the middle school's baseball games when no one they knew still attended (or even liked the sport enough to sit through endless sub-par games) was a mystery, but tradition was tradition he supposed. "Sure. Dinner after?"
"Okay! I'll call Kyoko-chan and let her know! Bye Tsuna-san!"
And without letting him get a word in she hung up.
Tsuna let the phone drop back into its cradle and wandered towards the front room, determined to find something to distract himself with. Surely there was a good show on, or maybe he could finally finish that game he started playing almost eight years ago now and never managed to finish because of Lambo, of Reborn, of Vongola--
He blinked and found himself back in his bedroom, the red robes spread out on his bed. Hadn't he hung them in the closet? And he was so sure he had just reached out to grab the remote for the television on the table downstairs.
Absentmindedly tracing the intricate gold embroidery along the bottom hem, he pictured the stars, the sky, that beautiful, amazing feeling of bein free, of being able to soar and wander where no one else could ever hope to go. He had thought it lost, and yet here, now, was a way to return to the sky, to once again tread those untouched paths, if only for a short while.
But was it safe? Haru had only made a simply costume, if resistant to nearly everything that might harm him on the planet, and somehow it had become... more. Had someone tampered with it? Was the original material itself strange to begin with? At least some of the cloth had come from Leon, and now that Tsuna couldn't use Flame, would it also change the quality of what Leon made for him? But it was just normal cloth for everyone else in the world, aside from being largely fireproof, so what made it different for Tsuna? Was it because of the lack of Flame? Everyone had the potential for Flame, after all, even if most would never even know it existed. Could being cut off from that one inherent ability of the human race cause this?
Cause flying cloth. Right. Not only was Tsuna powerless, now, he was also becoming delusional. Wonderful. Reborn would have words to say about this. ...if he ever saw Reborn again. Probably not. Reborn wouldn't waste his time on someone useless, someone without a future. None of the Arcobaleno would. Most likely none of the Guardians would, either. Vongola as a whole certainly wouldn't, that point had been made loud and clear.
Useless. Weak. Worthless.
No good.
He tried to press his fingers against the Ring, feel the comforting warmth of Natsu to reassure him, and was surprised to feel something similar to it. He looked down, almost expecting the double rings to be there, to have suddenly returned to him. There was nothing there. Just skin.
And cloth.
Tsuna raised his hand, tugging the piece of the costume upwards. The long scarf lifted off the bed easily. Holding it close to his face, Tsuna studied it intently: the deep red crimson of the fabric, the white-gold patterning which made up the most intricate design on the entire ensemble, the bits of careful fraying along the side. He had seen it before--a couple times, actually, thanks largely to Haru and her ability to con Tsuna into almost anythin including taring at and opining about things he knew nothing about--but this time it was different.
It hadn't just been his imagination, it turned out: the frays were moving, as if being brushed by a nonexistent wind. The symbols and patterns were, in fact, faintly glowing. And the red cloth that reminded him so much of Storm Flame and dried blood mixed together was, indeed, abnormally warm clenched in his hands. Warm and growing hotter.
Without quite knowing why, Tsuna glanced out his bedroom window, finding the sun long set and the moon and stars high in the sky.
He knew the costume had gone directly from Haru's sewing machine and mannequin to his back and from there to his closet, so no one had the chance to tamper with it; further, if it was some strange result of the lack of Flame, it couldn't be helped either way. With no way to restore his Flame to him, Tsuna had to make do with what he had at his disposal.
This cloth--costume--thes robes, he decided to simply call them, they were all he had. This was it. For better or worse, Tsuna was no longer the Vongola Decimo in practice, no longer a Sky Flame user, no longer the Sky Guardian of Tresnisette. He was a young man with no future, no prospects, and robes that let him fly.
There was only one thing to do.
"Did you hear? People over by the river said they saw a giant bird last night!"
"Oh please, a giant bird?"
"Well, they think it was a bird. It was dark, right? So they couldn't get a good look."
"How convenient."
"I'm not kidding! It was as big as a man--well, maybe a large kid--and dark red with a really long tail and a wing span, like this ig--"
"And it swooped out of the night sky and scared the shit out of everyone."
"No--well, yes--"
"Will you listen to yourself? You sound crazy!"
"Lots of people saw it, mostly around the river, but also at other places around town! Are they all crazy too?"
"...you're talking about giant bird hat swoops down and does nothing but, presumably, terrifies people. Are you sure this isn't just some weird metaphor?"
"What, you mean like those rumours about babies running around killing people? Oh please, there's crazy and then there' that."
Tsuna had to duck his head to hide his smile at the conversation. He could tell the girls behind him were looking at him strangely, but at least he could comfort himself in not being the only eavesdropper.
More than a few people had started ignoring the baseball game to listen in, being none too subtle about it. More importantly, beside him Kyoko and Haru were barely keeping their own laughter and knowing smiles hidden.
At this rate I will never finish anything
EVER
Journeyman
After an accident (read: kidnapping gone horribly wrong), Tsuna is left without the ability to use Flame. In fact, aside from his Hyper Intuition and the Blood, everything otherwise needed to be the Don Vongola has been sealed away, with no apparent method to undo this. Vongola needs a Don, needs the Tresnisette to maintain their superiority, but Tsuna just doesn't cut it anymore in terms of day-to-day dealings--so, aside from extreme scenarios--they generally leave Tsuna to his own devices. The Guardians are always busy doing Guardian-like things, though, and the rest of the Castle staff don't interact with him either because of awe or fear (or anger at such a useless Don), and so Tsuna gets... lonely. Enough so he decides to return to Japan and his mother. It's almost like the way it was before Reborn.
What no one bothered to check was if (instead of just taking things away) the process used actually gave something in return. A couple things, actually, and with Haru's ever so thoughtful gift of a certain costume, Tsuna finds a new path in life. And if that path takes him everywhere and anywhere imaginable, well, that's just an added bonus.
"Tsuna-san! Haru spent lots of time on that costume! You better not have ruined it!"
He held up his hands as if to fend her off, never mind that she couldn't see him doing it. "I promise that it's in perfect condition! Really! Not a tear or stain or, er, anything! I just wanted to know how you made it?"
"Hahi? Is Tsuna-san interested in costuming now? Haru has waited for so long--"
"Haru."
He wasn't sure what her reaction was (something between an annoyed huff and a scowl, no doubt), but she continued after a moment. "I got the designs off the internet, actually, for the Journey robes, and then modified them a bit and made them to fit your size--well, a bit bigger than the proper robes would be, actually, but for Tsuna-san it looks better!--and used extra cloth from the masquerade for a majority of the under robes, and the main cloak and hood is that Flame-resistant cloth from Leon dyed red. The mask is a wire frame with some plaster for the basic shape and--"
"Haru."
"Tsuna-san you asked."
He sighed, lips twitching upward in a smile. "I did. Um. What I meant was, aside from the specialty fabric, was there anything else that went into the making of the costume. Anything.. different?"
The other end of the line went perfectly quiet, and Tsuna wasn't sure if she was honestly trying to remember or if she was trying to wait until he gave in and said never mind. Eventually she returned with a quiet, "No, Tsuna-san. You know I don't have that ability."
He winced.
"Aside from my amazing skills, of course!" He could hear Haru smiling this time, but he also knew it was an empty smile. The one she and Kyoko had perfected years ago, less a week after learning the truth in the future. The 'not everything is okay but I won't let it bother me or anyone else' smile. The one they apparently learned from Yamamoto.
The one he hated.
"Haru--"
"Haru has to go now, Tsuna-san," she cut him off. "Will Haru see you at tomorrow's game?"
Why they still bothered to go to the middle school's baseball games when no one they knew still attended (or even liked the sport enough to sit through endless sub-par games) was a mystery, but tradition was tradition he supposed. "Sure. Dinner after?"
"Okay! I'll call Kyoko-chan and let her know! Bye Tsuna-san!"
And without letting him get a word in she hung up.
Tsuna let the phone drop back into its cradle and wandered towards the front room, determined to find something to distract himself with. Surely there was a good show on, or maybe he could finally finish that game he started playing almost eight years ago now and never managed to finish because of Lambo, of Reborn, of Vongola--
He blinked and found himself back in his bedroom, the red robes spread out on his bed. Hadn't he hung them in the closet? And he was so sure he had just reached out to grab the remote for the television on the table downstairs.
Absentmindedly tracing the intricate gold embroidery along the bottom hem, he pictured the stars, the sky, that beautiful, amazing feeling of bein free, of being able to soar and wander where no one else could ever hope to go. He had thought it lost, and yet here, now, was a way to return to the sky, to once again tread those untouched paths, if only for a short while.
But was it safe? Haru had only made a simply costume, if resistant to nearly everything that might harm him on the planet, and somehow it had become... more. Had someone tampered with it? Was the original material itself strange to begin with? At least some of the cloth had come from Leon, and now that Tsuna couldn't use Flame, would it also change the quality of what Leon made for him? But it was just normal cloth for everyone else in the world, aside from being largely fireproof, so what made it different for Tsuna? Was it because of the lack of Flame? Everyone had the potential for Flame, after all, even if most would never even know it existed. Could being cut off from that one inherent ability of the human race cause this?
Cause flying cloth. Right. Not only was Tsuna powerless, now, he was also becoming delusional. Wonderful. Reborn would have words to say about this. ...if he ever saw Reborn again. Probably not. Reborn wouldn't waste his time on someone useless, someone without a future. None of the Arcobaleno would. Most likely none of the Guardians would, either. Vongola as a whole certainly wouldn't, that point had been made loud and clear.
Useless. Weak. Worthless.
No good.
He tried to press his fingers against the Ring, feel the comforting warmth of Natsu to reassure him, and was surprised to feel something similar to it. He looked down, almost expecting the double rings to be there, to have suddenly returned to him. There was nothing there. Just skin.
And cloth.
Tsuna raised his hand, tugging the piece of the costume upwards. The long scarf lifted off the bed easily. Holding it close to his face, Tsuna studied it intently: the deep red crimson of the fabric, the white-gold patterning which made up the most intricate design on the entire ensemble, the bits of careful fraying along the side. He had seen it before--a couple times, actually, thanks largely to Haru and her ability to con Tsuna into almost anythin including taring at and opining about things he knew nothing about--but this time it was different.
It hadn't just been his imagination, it turned out: the frays were moving, as if being brushed by a nonexistent wind. The symbols and patterns were, in fact, faintly glowing. And the red cloth that reminded him so much of Storm Flame and dried blood mixed together was, indeed, abnormally warm clenched in his hands. Warm and growing hotter.
Without quite knowing why, Tsuna glanced out his bedroom window, finding the sun long set and the moon and stars high in the sky.
He knew the costume had gone directly from Haru's sewing machine and mannequin to his back and from there to his closet, so no one had the chance to tamper with it; further, if it was some strange result of the lack of Flame, it couldn't be helped either way. With no way to restore his Flame to him, Tsuna had to make do with what he had at his disposal.
This cloth--costume--thes robes, he decided to simply call them, they were all he had. This was it. For better or worse, Tsuna was no longer the Vongola Decimo in practice, no longer a Sky Flame user, no longer the Sky Guardian of Tresnisette. He was a young man with no future, no prospects, and robes that let him fly.
There was only one thing to do.
"Did you hear? People over by the river said they saw a giant bird last night!"
"Oh please, a giant bird?"
"Well, they think it was a bird. It was dark, right? So they couldn't get a good look."
"How convenient."
"I'm not kidding! It was as big as a man--well, maybe a large kid--and dark red with a really long tail and a wing span, like this ig--"
"And it swooped out of the night sky and scared the shit out of everyone."
"No--well, yes--"
"Will you listen to yourself? You sound crazy!"
"Lots of people saw it, mostly around the river, but also at other places around town! Are they all crazy too?"
"...you're talking about giant bird hat swoops down and does nothing but, presumably, terrifies people. Are you sure this isn't just some weird metaphor?"
"What, you mean like those rumours about babies running around killing people? Oh please, there's crazy and then there' that."
Tsuna had to duck his head to hide his smile at the conversation. He could tell the girls behind him were looking at him strangely, but at least he could comfort himself in not being the only eavesdropper.
More than a few people had started ignoring the baseball game to listen in, being none too subtle about it. More importantly, beside him Kyoko and Haru were barely keeping their own laughter and knowing smiles hidden.