[fic] Contract chapter 5
Title: Contract
Author:
metamorcy1or Metamorcy on ff.net
Pairing: Arcobaleno27, main R27
Rating: T, might go up higher later on
Summary: AU, Earth and Meraviglie are two worlds interconnected; only known to a few. And Tsuna, who can travel to the other world, stumbles across a humanoid man with a fedora hat. Full Summary inside
A/N: More talking but we'll finally be going somewhere soon next chapter
Beta'ed by Gracefulsunshine
Chapter 5
"I've heard of something called 'religion' in your world. From what I've managed to get is that humans worships something or multiple things depending on the so called 'religion'. We Meraviglians don't have such a thing nor do such a thing."
Humming to himself, Tsuna couldn't help but think that this was a complex question. It was something that had endless possibilities, something that wasn't tangible and was difficult to explain to someone who didn't believe in anything. Tsuna took a deep breath and tried to do so to the best of his ability and with what little knowledge he had.
The visits were essentially a question and answer session between the two, wondering about each other's world. It was mindboggling to think just how the worlds were simultaneously so similar yet so different. Meraviglie ran off of science and magic and many other. This world had technology that was far more advanced then Earth, yet at the same time, far less advanced. They had cars, the ones that looked unfeasible and imaginary back on Earth, computers, and cell phones, but there were things they had that Earth could never attain. They had magical devices that could hold a large number of objects, living weapons, weapons of destruction, even ovens that could cook in a flash. They didn't have airplanes or anything that could really fly. To the Meraviglians, where half the population could either teleport or float, there was no need for such things. None of them bothered with space either; it was just something there. And of course, Earth was already well known.
Tsuna smiled happily as he gained more knowledge about Meraviglie and he absently thought to himself, 'I want to stay here.' Closing his eyes, he knew it wouldn't be allowed, he would be tracked and dragged back by his own family. It wasn't something that was against the rules or anything. His family wouldn't allow it, never allowing him to escape his fate.
Before long, the day ended and Tsuna had to go back. He vowed that he would show up tomorrow even though it wasn't a class day and he did. The next day, Tsuna found Reborn already waiting for him, settled against the rock. It was odd for the brunet to have someone wanting to wait for him, wanting to see him, compared to his usual greeting from everyone else. It made him feel a little warm at the thought but he pushed it away. Days passed as they talked continuously and Tsuna found himself waiting eagerly for when he could meet the other once more and snuck food pass the professors to present his best abikity. After a while, he brought other things along, like books and some devices to share with the raven.
Reborn didn't seem to mind the numerous hours in one day he spent with the little human. He didn't mind at all and he too found himself waiting for that time to come. The books the other brought were always interesting. The history was different yet intruding, and the stories that the humans thought up of were fascinating. But he knew all too well about the cruelty of the humankind. They were the worst; only humans could enslave each other like and treat each other like animals.
Still, the man didn't mind the Tsuna. The food and drinks he received, though hesitant at first, were delicious yet strange.
"Do you have any family?" Reborn one day asked out of the blue, lying comfortably on the grass. His arms were folded underneath his head as he stared at the passing clouds with little interest. His fedora was halfway covering his face and was coming off slightly due to the angle it was at.
"Yeah, I do. But I don't get along with them very well." Tsuna kept smiling softly, sitting next to the other without any hesitation.
The older man rolled over at that, propping his head up with his hand. His hat was beside him, fallen off at the movement, letting his spiky black hair from underneath free from its confinement. The loose strands fluttered in the weak wind, giving Tsuna a better view of those sharp eyes. "And why's that?"
"Because I'm weak and useless. My family runs a giant business and they were hoping that I would be able to help them in that area but I can't." Tsuna sighed, flashes of past memories flooding through his head. "So they shunned me away."
"Who does your family consist of?"
The brunet tilted his head at that. "Hmm…well, I have two older brothers. Dino, the eldest, runs a group called Chiavarone. I'm not really sure on what they do though, since I never heard the details. It's only a medium-sized organization, but it's gotten pretty well-known since my brother has taken over. He apparently changed a lot of the old rules and policies. My other brother, Giotto, is the one who's running the largest company in the world called Vongola with my father and grandfather. It's supposed to be the eldest that runs it but Dino is too clumsy and tends to break things on accident or drag down other people. But even with all that, he's really intelligent and friendly to everyone he meets. Giotto, on the other hand, doesn't have that problem and is able to run everything with ease on his own. He's also a Capturer like me with six different Assurers; I saw them before when they were helping my brother out at the company. Oh, and my mom went to live with them in one of the mansions they keep around."
"And you're stuck here." Reborn muttered, rolling back to his previous position but with his hands resting on his stomach. He was tempted to grab his fedora to cover his eyes from the sun but resisted as he wanted to still watch Tsuna's expressions.
"Yeah… more like dropped off. My family just wanted me to get out of the way." Tsuna stretched and rubbed the back of his neck, not really bothered about what he was saying. He had been hesitant at first in saying anything about his family but Reborn was his first friend. He didn't want to keep any secrets between them. "As you may already know, I didn't want to come to this school. But I guess if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met you or seen this world." Reborn waved his hand, motioning the other to continue. "You also know that I wanted to go to an art school or culinary arts since those seemed to be the only things I'm good at. And I did go to a college of arts and studied. I was doing really well there and I might have been able to graduate early the next semester with high standards until my father decided to come in and cut all my funds. He took away all my money and made the school kick me out. I had nowhere to go and ended up getting forced to come here."
"Why not run away? Or fight?"
"I tried. I worked as a cashier in a restaurant but my father didn't want a Sawada working in such a lowly position and bankrupted the place. I went to grocery store to find some work. I got hired, only to have the same thing happen once more. It kept happening over and over that I didn't bother anymore; there was no point in fighting someone that had so much control over my world." Reborn didn't bother to reply to that, letting the brunet continue on. Tsuna took a deep breath and fell back, spreading his arms out. "I've given up, every time I would try to run, my father would do something in the shadows to prevent it from happening. I have no power, no say over my own life. My voice cannot reach their ears and their eyes can only stare back at me in disgust. All I can do is follow along and hope that everything turns out okay. I'm pulled by strings I cannot cut and laughed at the entire way. My family hates me and enjoys yanking my chains hard to bring me down and my mother avoids me. She's never looked at me probably thinking I'm a failure of a son, a child that shouldn't have been born. I wonder, no, I know that there will be a day that those strings will tighten its hold on me and cut into me, strangling me, and I would still be yanked along, forced to walk a path I don't want to tread on."
Tsuna smiled sadly and glanced towards the other, who could only stare back in silence. "You know, I had a dream once a long time ago. It was an odd dream. I can't remember much about it now but there was one part that forever remained trapped in my mind. In that dream, in that one scene, I died. I could see my father in the background, saying something I couldn't hear, lips moving, but I could tell by his expression that he was disappointed in me yet again over something and then pulled the trigger of a gun. It's…odd that I could feel that pain as the bullet went through me and experience the sensation of blood pouring out of my body." The brunet sighed, clenching his fingers into a fist for a moment, before strangely relaxing. "It was…terrifying and yet…I don't really know how to explain it. I… I woke up screaming after that and tried to push it away but ever since then, I've had this really strong feeling bubbling in the pit of my stomach that that was probably my fate. I'm going to die by my father's hand."
Reborn sat up at that, face serious, and stared at the other with an emotion the brunet couldn't understand. The raven couldn't believe his ears. Such words… Those were not things that were normally said by anyone. Growling at himself for letting his emotions get the better of him, he huffed. But what should he say? He knew that the other was expecting something, anything, but he couldn't provide an answer, not to that.
Then suddenly, Tsuna laughed. The older man glanced over curiously, wondering what had just happened, and the Capturer smiled, keeping his eyes on the other. "What a serious face. That's the first time I've ever seen you look like that." And the brunet smiled as if nothing was wrong, like he hadn't spoken about his future where he knew he was going to die and that it wasn't too far off.
Reborn could only stare in shock. He had never seen anyone throw such a thing off so easily. Why? He didn't understand. Shouldn't Tsuna be crying? Screaming? It made no sense.
Knowing that he needed to break the tension, Tsuna crawled closer, his brown locks swinging at the movement. He wanted to change the conversation to a lighter topic. The mood surrounding them had darkened and he didn't want the other to worry about him. He knew he would handle everything when his fate finally caught up…hopefully but right now, that wasn't his main concern. "Hey, what do you like to eat? If you like, I can try and cook you something you want. I'm not sure if you'll like it though, with different tastes and everything."
Nodding his head to agree, Reborn couldn't shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong with this human. But he remained normal outwardly to prevent any questioning. "I like a lot of foods. Hmm, how about pasta and espresso?"
"Pasta and espresso? Those two don't really go together, but it depends on the pasta. Okay. I take it you don't mind what type of pasta, right? I'll bring everything tomorrow for you."
The day continued to pass as the two tried to get back into their normal routine, but it was a lost cause. Reborn could not throw off that dreadful sinking feeling.
Today was odd. Reborn had that single thought repeating in his head as he headed back home. The conversation today was something he wasn't used to nor ever expected to have with anyone. After all, who would really come to him of all people to him to talk about their death? It was just strange. Yet the feeling remained after the meeting, bothering him continuously.
Taking a deep breath, he released all the tension in his body just as a house appeared through the trees. The building, quite large, was located at the edge of Stella city, a place that was well-known about in this world for its bright lights and its numerous habitants. The forest, known as Stella Woods, where he met Tsuna every day, was right next to the city, just a little ways off the outskirts. The house where he lived in with a few others was still in the main part of the city limits but far enough that it was quiet from all the traffic and flashing lights.
Stepping onto the porch, he glanced back by habit, checking to see and listen if there was anyone following him. Finding nothing but the usual silent darkness, he took out his keys to open the door. Light flooded his eyes and he blinked to adjust them while his ears picked up movement, immediately turning his head towards the direction. The first room of the building, the living room, had a blond-haired man sitting on the couch, watching TV and looking quite relaxed despite the intrusion. The man, Colonello, wore a slightly disheveled green military uniform with a headband around his head, keeping the falling golden locks from coming down.
"Yo, Reborn. You finally came back!" The blond's bright blue eyes peered over the other, taking note of anything unusual. However, there was nothing abnormal. Reborn looked the same now as he had looked when he had stepped out this morning. "Where've you been, kora?"
Reborn tilted his fedora down. "Out."
"Out?" A voice spoke from behind. A man in red garb and long braided hair stepped out from the kitchen. His robes fell down to his boots and contained slits on each side to allow free movement. He wore a curious expression on his face and put his hands together through the long sleeves. "You've been going out quite a bit these days, from morning to night."
"Fong's right, Reborn. You've been disappearing to somewhere every day. Got a girlfriend or something, kora?" Colonello shut off the TV, finding this conversation much more interesting than the rewatched movie. He placed the remote onto the table in front and stood up, heading closer to the fedora-wearing man. He grinned mischievously, wondering about all the possibilities that could keep the other away so much. It was definitely not a job or anything like that.
Reborn sighed. "Not exactly. But I am seeing someone. A curious little human."
"A human? Really?" Fong tilted his head at that, surprised. He smiled soon after. "My, you should bring her over then. I wonder what you see in her to keep your attention like that."
"Him."
Colonello glanced over to Fong, sharing some words between their eyes. "Him? The human is a guy? Really, kora?"
"Yeah, I met him by chance. After that, we talked and kept meeting each other. He's an oddball though."
"He has to be an oddball if he's to keep your attention for this long." A woman grumbled as she walked by, coming from upstairs. She went into the kitchen, opened the fridge to get a bottle of water, before coming right back out. As she passed the trio of men, she stopped for a moment. "And Reborn, bring him over here. I'm interested to see who it is." With that, the woman went back up the stairs and disappeared into the corridor.
Colonello grinned at that, putting his hands onto his hips. "Well, you heard her. Lal wants him over, kora." Fong just chuckled, bringing a sleeve up to cover his lips.
"Fine, I'll see what I can do but no promises." Reborn huffed under his breath before folding his arms across his chest. "By the way, whose turn is it to cook?"
Fong and Colonello looked at each other once more before turning to the other man with a smile. "Yours."
Reborn cursed.
Late is late
Author:
metamorcy1or Metamorcy on ff.net
Pairing: Arcobaleno27, main R27
Rating: T, might go up higher later on
Summary: AU, Earth and Meraviglie are two worlds interconnected; only known to a few. And Tsuna, who can travel to the other world, stumbles across a humanoid man with a fedora hat. Full Summary inside
A/N: More talking but we'll finally be going somewhere soon next chapter
Beta'ed by Gracefulsunshine
Chapter 5
"I've heard of something called 'religion' in your world. From what I've managed to get is that humans worships something or multiple things depending on the so called 'religion'. We Meraviglians don't have such a thing nor do such a thing."
Humming to himself, Tsuna couldn't help but think that this was a complex question. It was something that had endless possibilities, something that wasn't tangible and was difficult to explain to someone who didn't believe in anything. Tsuna took a deep breath and tried to do so to the best of his ability and with what little knowledge he had.
The visits were essentially a question and answer session between the two, wondering about each other's world. It was mindboggling to think just how the worlds were simultaneously so similar yet so different. Meraviglie ran off of science and magic and many other. This world had technology that was far more advanced then Earth, yet at the same time, far less advanced. They had cars, the ones that looked unfeasible and imaginary back on Earth, computers, and cell phones, but there were things they had that Earth could never attain. They had magical devices that could hold a large number of objects, living weapons, weapons of destruction, even ovens that could cook in a flash. They didn't have airplanes or anything that could really fly. To the Meraviglians, where half the population could either teleport or float, there was no need for such things. None of them bothered with space either; it was just something there. And of course, Earth was already well known.
Tsuna smiled happily as he gained more knowledge about Meraviglie and he absently thought to himself, 'I want to stay here.' Closing his eyes, he knew it wouldn't be allowed, he would be tracked and dragged back by his own family. It wasn't something that was against the rules or anything. His family wouldn't allow it, never allowing him to escape his fate.
Before long, the day ended and Tsuna had to go back. He vowed that he would show up tomorrow even though it wasn't a class day and he did. The next day, Tsuna found Reborn already waiting for him, settled against the rock. It was odd for the brunet to have someone wanting to wait for him, wanting to see him, compared to his usual greeting from everyone else. It made him feel a little warm at the thought but he pushed it away. Days passed as they talked continuously and Tsuna found himself waiting eagerly for when he could meet the other once more and snuck food pass the professors to present his best abikity. After a while, he brought other things along, like books and some devices to share with the raven.
Reborn didn't seem to mind the numerous hours in one day he spent with the little human. He didn't mind at all and he too found himself waiting for that time to come. The books the other brought were always interesting. The history was different yet intruding, and the stories that the humans thought up of were fascinating. But he knew all too well about the cruelty of the humankind. They were the worst; only humans could enslave each other like and treat each other like animals.
Still, the man didn't mind the Tsuna. The food and drinks he received, though hesitant at first, were delicious yet strange.
"Do you have any family?" Reborn one day asked out of the blue, lying comfortably on the grass. His arms were folded underneath his head as he stared at the passing clouds with little interest. His fedora was halfway covering his face and was coming off slightly due to the angle it was at.
"Yeah, I do. But I don't get along with them very well." Tsuna kept smiling softly, sitting next to the other without any hesitation.
The older man rolled over at that, propping his head up with his hand. His hat was beside him, fallen off at the movement, letting his spiky black hair from underneath free from its confinement. The loose strands fluttered in the weak wind, giving Tsuna a better view of those sharp eyes. "And why's that?"
"Because I'm weak and useless. My family runs a giant business and they were hoping that I would be able to help them in that area but I can't." Tsuna sighed, flashes of past memories flooding through his head. "So they shunned me away."
"Who does your family consist of?"
The brunet tilted his head at that. "Hmm…well, I have two older brothers. Dino, the eldest, runs a group called Chiavarone. I'm not really sure on what they do though, since I never heard the details. It's only a medium-sized organization, but it's gotten pretty well-known since my brother has taken over. He apparently changed a lot of the old rules and policies. My other brother, Giotto, is the one who's running the largest company in the world called Vongola with my father and grandfather. It's supposed to be the eldest that runs it but Dino is too clumsy and tends to break things on accident or drag down other people. But even with all that, he's really intelligent and friendly to everyone he meets. Giotto, on the other hand, doesn't have that problem and is able to run everything with ease on his own. He's also a Capturer like me with six different Assurers; I saw them before when they were helping my brother out at the company. Oh, and my mom went to live with them in one of the mansions they keep around."
"And you're stuck here." Reborn muttered, rolling back to his previous position but with his hands resting on his stomach. He was tempted to grab his fedora to cover his eyes from the sun but resisted as he wanted to still watch Tsuna's expressions.
"Yeah… more like dropped off. My family just wanted me to get out of the way." Tsuna stretched and rubbed the back of his neck, not really bothered about what he was saying. He had been hesitant at first in saying anything about his family but Reborn was his first friend. He didn't want to keep any secrets between them. "As you may already know, I didn't want to come to this school. But I guess if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met you or seen this world." Reborn waved his hand, motioning the other to continue. "You also know that I wanted to go to an art school or culinary arts since those seemed to be the only things I'm good at. And I did go to a college of arts and studied. I was doing really well there and I might have been able to graduate early the next semester with high standards until my father decided to come in and cut all my funds. He took away all my money and made the school kick me out. I had nowhere to go and ended up getting forced to come here."
"Why not run away? Or fight?"
"I tried. I worked as a cashier in a restaurant but my father didn't want a Sawada working in such a lowly position and bankrupted the place. I went to grocery store to find some work. I got hired, only to have the same thing happen once more. It kept happening over and over that I didn't bother anymore; there was no point in fighting someone that had so much control over my world." Reborn didn't bother to reply to that, letting the brunet continue on. Tsuna took a deep breath and fell back, spreading his arms out. "I've given up, every time I would try to run, my father would do something in the shadows to prevent it from happening. I have no power, no say over my own life. My voice cannot reach their ears and their eyes can only stare back at me in disgust. All I can do is follow along and hope that everything turns out okay. I'm pulled by strings I cannot cut and laughed at the entire way. My family hates me and enjoys yanking my chains hard to bring me down and my mother avoids me. She's never looked at me probably thinking I'm a failure of a son, a child that shouldn't have been born. I wonder, no, I know that there will be a day that those strings will tighten its hold on me and cut into me, strangling me, and I would still be yanked along, forced to walk a path I don't want to tread on."
Tsuna smiled sadly and glanced towards the other, who could only stare back in silence. "You know, I had a dream once a long time ago. It was an odd dream. I can't remember much about it now but there was one part that forever remained trapped in my mind. In that dream, in that one scene, I died. I could see my father in the background, saying something I couldn't hear, lips moving, but I could tell by his expression that he was disappointed in me yet again over something and then pulled the trigger of a gun. It's…odd that I could feel that pain as the bullet went through me and experience the sensation of blood pouring out of my body." The brunet sighed, clenching his fingers into a fist for a moment, before strangely relaxing. "It was…terrifying and yet…I don't really know how to explain it. I… I woke up screaming after that and tried to push it away but ever since then, I've had this really strong feeling bubbling in the pit of my stomach that that was probably my fate. I'm going to die by my father's hand."
Reborn sat up at that, face serious, and stared at the other with an emotion the brunet couldn't understand. The raven couldn't believe his ears. Such words… Those were not things that were normally said by anyone. Growling at himself for letting his emotions get the better of him, he huffed. But what should he say? He knew that the other was expecting something, anything, but he couldn't provide an answer, not to that.
Then suddenly, Tsuna laughed. The older man glanced over curiously, wondering what had just happened, and the Capturer smiled, keeping his eyes on the other. "What a serious face. That's the first time I've ever seen you look like that." And the brunet smiled as if nothing was wrong, like he hadn't spoken about his future where he knew he was going to die and that it wasn't too far off.
Reborn could only stare in shock. He had never seen anyone throw such a thing off so easily. Why? He didn't understand. Shouldn't Tsuna be crying? Screaming? It made no sense.
Knowing that he needed to break the tension, Tsuna crawled closer, his brown locks swinging at the movement. He wanted to change the conversation to a lighter topic. The mood surrounding them had darkened and he didn't want the other to worry about him. He knew he would handle everything when his fate finally caught up…hopefully but right now, that wasn't his main concern. "Hey, what do you like to eat? If you like, I can try and cook you something you want. I'm not sure if you'll like it though, with different tastes and everything."
Nodding his head to agree, Reborn couldn't shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong with this human. But he remained normal outwardly to prevent any questioning. "I like a lot of foods. Hmm, how about pasta and espresso?"
"Pasta and espresso? Those two don't really go together, but it depends on the pasta. Okay. I take it you don't mind what type of pasta, right? I'll bring everything tomorrow for you."
The day continued to pass as the two tried to get back into their normal routine, but it was a lost cause. Reborn could not throw off that dreadful sinking feeling.
Today was odd. Reborn had that single thought repeating in his head as he headed back home. The conversation today was something he wasn't used to nor ever expected to have with anyone. After all, who would really come to him of all people to him to talk about their death? It was just strange. Yet the feeling remained after the meeting, bothering him continuously.
Taking a deep breath, he released all the tension in his body just as a house appeared through the trees. The building, quite large, was located at the edge of Stella city, a place that was well-known about in this world for its bright lights and its numerous habitants. The forest, known as Stella Woods, where he met Tsuna every day, was right next to the city, just a little ways off the outskirts. The house where he lived in with a few others was still in the main part of the city limits but far enough that it was quiet from all the traffic and flashing lights.
Stepping onto the porch, he glanced back by habit, checking to see and listen if there was anyone following him. Finding nothing but the usual silent darkness, he took out his keys to open the door. Light flooded his eyes and he blinked to adjust them while his ears picked up movement, immediately turning his head towards the direction. The first room of the building, the living room, had a blond-haired man sitting on the couch, watching TV and looking quite relaxed despite the intrusion. The man, Colonello, wore a slightly disheveled green military uniform with a headband around his head, keeping the falling golden locks from coming down.
"Yo, Reborn. You finally came back!" The blond's bright blue eyes peered over the other, taking note of anything unusual. However, there was nothing abnormal. Reborn looked the same now as he had looked when he had stepped out this morning. "Where've you been, kora?"
Reborn tilted his fedora down. "Out."
"Out?" A voice spoke from behind. A man in red garb and long braided hair stepped out from the kitchen. His robes fell down to his boots and contained slits on each side to allow free movement. He wore a curious expression on his face and put his hands together through the long sleeves. "You've been going out quite a bit these days, from morning to night."
"Fong's right, Reborn. You've been disappearing to somewhere every day. Got a girlfriend or something, kora?" Colonello shut off the TV, finding this conversation much more interesting than the rewatched movie. He placed the remote onto the table in front and stood up, heading closer to the fedora-wearing man. He grinned mischievously, wondering about all the possibilities that could keep the other away so much. It was definitely not a job or anything like that.
Reborn sighed. "Not exactly. But I am seeing someone. A curious little human."
"A human? Really?" Fong tilted his head at that, surprised. He smiled soon after. "My, you should bring her over then. I wonder what you see in her to keep your attention like that."
"Him."
Colonello glanced over to Fong, sharing some words between their eyes. "Him? The human is a guy? Really, kora?"
"Yeah, I met him by chance. After that, we talked and kept meeting each other. He's an oddball though."
"He has to be an oddball if he's to keep your attention for this long." A woman grumbled as she walked by, coming from upstairs. She went into the kitchen, opened the fridge to get a bottle of water, before coming right back out. As she passed the trio of men, she stopped for a moment. "And Reborn, bring him over here. I'm interested to see who it is." With that, the woman went back up the stairs and disappeared into the corridor.
Colonello grinned at that, putting his hands onto his hips. "Well, you heard her. Lal wants him over, kora." Fong just chuckled, bringing a sleeve up to cover his lips.
"Fine, I'll see what I can do but no promises." Reborn huffed under his breath before folding his arms across his chest. "By the way, whose turn is it to cook?"
Fong and Colonello looked at each other once more before turning to the other man with a smile. "Yours."
Reborn cursed.
Late is late