[KHR! // AC][27, 59, Nana, Vongola][2 of 3] Versus Verses
Title: Versus Verses
Author: meco (lj) / kayono (ffn)
Series: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! / Assassin's Creed
Verse: Antecedents
Rating: T / M (for language)
Characters: Tsuna, Gokudera, Nana, Yamamoto, Lambo, Vongola
Warnings: I am desperately hoping that I don't have to try this ten times before it posts correctly. If I do, beware of a distinct lack of caring re:formatting.
Notes: Have been transposed to the end, since they decided to grow from one sentence into a couple paragraphs.
Summary: A Family Vacation is always an excellent idea. Actually getting to the vacation spot is something else.
Two: Tsuna versus Travelling
They left the next morning, two suitcases of new paperwork and the Ninth's wishes for a restful (but quick, please) vacation in tow. Ryohei was back in Japan and--apparently--helping Nana get to the airport; the kids were staying back (under supervision of Bianchi and Reborn; Tsuna had already put aside a repair fund equal the value of his mother's house); the girls were taking the time to see Milan (another fund set aside); Hibari, Mukuro and Chrome were all MIA, although to Tsuna's knowledge not altogether (please not altogether); and Yamamoto was visiting the Varia, for whatever insane reason, but promised to meet up with them sometime in the next few days.
"I can't miss a family vacation, can I? Haha!"
As such, Tsuna and Gokudera found themselves sitting in the backseat of a nondescript car, dressed in normal clothing, being driven by the Vongola's head butler-slash-master at arms and a young boy who, apparently, could perfectly imitate any voice or noise after hearing it once. He also apparently had the Storm attribute, contrary to Tsuna's assumption of Mist.
Gokudera didn't approve.
"You don't sneak if you're a storm, you blow shit up."
"The airport is very busy at this time of year, touristi and all," the butler/master informed them upon turning onto the highway in the opposite direction of said airport. "So you'll be travelling via other methods."
Other methods, turned out, was a hot air balloon. Sort of.
"It looks like a balloon," the engineer said with pride, "and it is! But it is also a rocket ship."
Tsuna forced his face to stay blank, refusing to give anything away. Gokudera felt no such compunctions.
"...no."
--
Unsurprisingly, hot air balloons were not used for long distance travel for a reason. Upon landing on the first island they had seen in two days (barely kept afloat by a healthy diet of Flame), their first priority was to find food and water and maybe a toilet. Their second:
"Where are we?" Tsuna asked, in his haste slurring the words together with an accent thick enough to make him cringe.
The townsperson he directed his question to--an elderly woman with dark skin and deep wrinkles--frowned at him before answering back. Also in Italian (maybe Italian?) with a thick accent.
"...what?"
One game of charades later, Gokudera managed to figure it out. "Pantelleria!"
"Who got pantsed?"
"No, Tenth, Pantelleria! See the coat of arms?"
There was indeed a coat of arms over the doorway of one of the more majestic buildings in the town. Tsuna was sure he didn't recognize it, but he could at least recognize Latin characters by now, and he thought it actually said, "Cossyra?"
"Yes!" Gokudera beamed at him. "Cossyra!"
Tsuna was fairly certain it was sleep deprivation talking when he repeated back the word--name?--again. Gokudera nodded. "Yes! We're 60 km from the coast of Africa!"
That sounded disturbing to Tsuna. They hadn't started off anywhere near the coast of Africa.
"And how far to Italy?"
"About 100 km to Sicily, Tenth, and then we'd need to finish the trip to Taranto, so--"
"We need to find an airport," Tsuna decreed, and turned back to the woman. Who was gone. "Where is she?"
"I'm sure we can find it on our own, Tenth," Gokudera nodded, and started walking up a hill.
"Hayato?"
"Let's go Tenth!"
--
One hour later: "Have you been here before?"
"No, Tenth! But I've read so much about it! Pantelleria was originally settled by peoples from the Iberian Peninsula, then by the Carthaginians, so it was taken by the Romans thanks to the Punic Wars, and then in 700--"
--
Four hours later: "Look, Tenth! Look at this!"
"It's a wall."
"It's an ancient wall!"
--
Two hours: "How long have we been walking for?"
"I'm sure the airport is just around here, Tenth!"
--
Another hour: "Hayato..."
"Yes, Tenth?"
"Have you ever heard of the airport game?"
"No, Tenth! Why, what is it?"
"It's nothing. All you need to know is that we are losing."
--
Eventually someone took pity on the clearly lost touristi and pointed them in the right direction. Reaching said airport just after midnight, none of the ticket counters were open. Tsuna groaned.
"We can sleep here tonight, Tenth! The seats are comfortable enough I'm sure."
Tsuna didn't bother with the seats. He wandered over to a counter that said it sold tickets to mainland Italy (further away than Africa, but at least the right country), propped himself up against the wall beside it, and fell asleep.
--
On the fourth day of their holiday, Tsuna and Gokudera were warmly welcomed by a large number of people who they did not expect to be in Taranto.
"Tsuna! Gokudera!" Yamamoto was the first to notice them, sprinting across the room and nearly tackling them back out the door. "Haha, you made it!"
"Get off, you stupid baseball--of course we made it--the Tenth can't breath, moron!"
"Haha, sorry Tsuna, you okay? Hey, maman is here, want me to get her?"
"Tsuna-san, we were so worried about you! Kyoko and I flew down from Milan the moment we heard! You should have told someone!"
"Haru is right, Tsu-kun, we didn't know where you were. Next time you decide to take a detour, please let us know first?"
"If the Tenth wants to take a detour then he's allowed to take a detour!"
"Hahi! Kyoko-chan didn't say that Tsuna-san couldn't take a detour, she said--"
"I know what she said, you stupid woman, but Tenth makes the most awesome detours--"
"Really?"
"Of course, you moron!"
"Tsuna, why didn't you let us tag along? I bet it was really cool!"
"You were with the Varia, you--and it definitely was! Pantelleria was beautiful, right Tenth?" Tsuna nodded along absent mindedly, still trying to get the feeling of being strangled-by-hug out of his mind. "We spent a whole day there!"
"Without us?!"
"Tsu-kun, next time let's go there, okay?"
"Yes, Kyoko-chan! It will be one big family event!"
"Gyahaha! Lambo-san didn't get to go on this vacation so you better take the great Lambo-san to Pant Land!"
"Wha--Lambo--?!"
"He wanted to tag along, Tsu-kun!"
Tsuna whipped his head around, staring at the woman who had just stepped through the door to the back rooms. "K-Kaa-san?"
"I'm glad you enjoyed your side trip, but kaa-san really was worried. Please let us know next time?"
He blushed and ducked his head. "Of course, kaa-san."
"Good!" She clapped, smiling at the gathered family, Japanese and Italian alike. "Then I could really use some help in cooking dinner tonight!"
The girls--and the entire company of maids and butlers in the room, few as they were--promptly followed her back through the doorway, trailing in her wake like ducklings. Ducklings who were giggling at Tsuna's face, or his situation, or something.
Tsuna ignored them as best he could, focusing on the incongruity that had caught his attention. "Lambo, what are you doing here?"
"Lambo-san wanted to come too, stupid-Tsuna!"
"That's fine, isn't?" Yamamoto looked confused. Was confused? It was hard to tell, sometimes. "If this is actually a high-level mission, you wouldn't have brought maman along, right?"
"Of course not you idiot. Tenth just wanted a break to see maman again!"
"Haha, okay! Then why are you so confused about Lambo, Tsuna?"
Tsuna looked between Lambo and the other two, trying to put his thoughts into words. Wondering how they hadn't noticed that there was a five year old Lambo currently hanging off of Tsuna's hand instead of the teenager who was native to this time. Sighing uncomfortably, Tsuna properly picked up Lambo and settled him in his arms. "Let's go see if we can help kaa-san in the kitchen, alright?"
"Gyahaha, Lambo-san will be the best helper ever!"
"Of course you will."
Within two minutes Lambo had effectively pissed off everyone in the room and more than a few outside. Gokudera looked nearly ready to throw some TNT around but, in deference to Nana, refrained. Instead: "Eat this and shut up," he ordered, grabbing the nearest edible item and shoving it in Lambo's mouth.
"Hey, Tsuna?"
"Yeah, Yamamoto?"
"Does Lambo even eat corn?"
Tsuna looked over, watching his little brother gnaw away at the corn cob like a typewriter. It looked familiar. "I think he has before. Well, he's definitely now."
A sudden puff of pink smoke obscured that corner of the kitchen, dissipating quickly enough that Nana, so busy over the stove, didn't notice it at all. Teenaged Lambo appeared then, looking rather beat up and worse for wear, but overall pleased with himself. "Yo, Vongola! You'll never guess what I--GUH."
Gokudera nodded in approval to himself for the karate chop to the head, grabbing the whining Thunder Guardian and tossing him into the dining room next door. "Go see if the table is set, stupid cow!"
"Aho-dera is a meanie!"
--
Notes: There is an indirect reference to, er, I think it's Lambo's Pride Battle vs. Large/Raruji. Sort of.
Also, Pantelleria is a little volcanic island in the Straits of Sicily not-quite halfway between Africa and Sicily. It's technically part of Italy, but it's been ruled by so many different people over the years they have their own customs, names, basically dialect. Lots of borrowed Arabic words interspersed with Italian. I kind of want to visit.
The airport game. Not quite sure where it originated from, but I've seen it almost exclusively on the tumblr side of things. Here is an explanation. And apparently it is actually called the mapcrunch game, I did not know. (For reference: I've played six times, and every time given up from frustration.)
Author: meco (lj) / kayono (ffn)
Series: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! / Assassin's Creed
Verse: Antecedents
Rating: T / M (for language)
Characters: Tsuna, Gokudera, Nana, Yamamoto, Lambo, Vongola
Warnings: I am desperately hoping that I don't have to try this ten times before it posts correctly. If I do, beware of a distinct lack of caring re:formatting.
Notes: Have been transposed to the end, since they decided to grow from one sentence into a couple paragraphs.
Summary: A Family Vacation is always an excellent idea. Actually getting to the vacation spot is something else.
Two: Tsuna versus Travelling
They left the next morning, two suitcases of new paperwork and the Ninth's wishes for a restful (but quick, please) vacation in tow. Ryohei was back in Japan and--apparently--helping Nana get to the airport; the kids were staying back (under supervision of Bianchi and Reborn; Tsuna had already put aside a repair fund equal the value of his mother's house); the girls were taking the time to see Milan (another fund set aside); Hibari, Mukuro and Chrome were all MIA, although to Tsuna's knowledge not altogether (please not altogether); and Yamamoto was visiting the Varia, for whatever insane reason, but promised to meet up with them sometime in the next few days.
"I can't miss a family vacation, can I? Haha!"
As such, Tsuna and Gokudera found themselves sitting in the backseat of a nondescript car, dressed in normal clothing, being driven by the Vongola's head butler-slash-master at arms and a young boy who, apparently, could perfectly imitate any voice or noise after hearing it once. He also apparently had the Storm attribute, contrary to Tsuna's assumption of Mist.
Gokudera didn't approve.
"You don't sneak if you're a storm, you blow shit up."
"The airport is very busy at this time of year, touristi and all," the butler/master informed them upon turning onto the highway in the opposite direction of said airport. "So you'll be travelling via other methods."
Other methods, turned out, was a hot air balloon. Sort of.
"It looks like a balloon," the engineer said with pride, "and it is! But it is also a rocket ship."
Tsuna forced his face to stay blank, refusing to give anything away. Gokudera felt no such compunctions.
"...no."
--
Unsurprisingly, hot air balloons were not used for long distance travel for a reason. Upon landing on the first island they had seen in two days (barely kept afloat by a healthy diet of Flame), their first priority was to find food and water and maybe a toilet. Their second:
"Where are we?" Tsuna asked, in his haste slurring the words together with an accent thick enough to make him cringe.
The townsperson he directed his question to--an elderly woman with dark skin and deep wrinkles--frowned at him before answering back. Also in Italian (maybe Italian?) with a thick accent.
"...what?"
One game of charades later, Gokudera managed to figure it out. "Pantelleria!"
"Who got pantsed?"
"No, Tenth, Pantelleria! See the coat of arms?"
There was indeed a coat of arms over the doorway of one of the more majestic buildings in the town. Tsuna was sure he didn't recognize it, but he could at least recognize Latin characters by now, and he thought it actually said, "Cossyra?"
"Yes!" Gokudera beamed at him. "Cossyra!"
Tsuna was fairly certain it was sleep deprivation talking when he repeated back the word--name?--again. Gokudera nodded. "Yes! We're 60 km from the coast of Africa!"
That sounded disturbing to Tsuna. They hadn't started off anywhere near the coast of Africa.
"And how far to Italy?"
"About 100 km to Sicily, Tenth, and then we'd need to finish the trip to Taranto, so--"
"We need to find an airport," Tsuna decreed, and turned back to the woman. Who was gone. "Where is she?"
"I'm sure we can find it on our own, Tenth," Gokudera nodded, and started walking up a hill.
"Hayato?"
"Let's go Tenth!"
--
One hour later: "Have you been here before?"
"No, Tenth! But I've read so much about it! Pantelleria was originally settled by peoples from the Iberian Peninsula, then by the Carthaginians, so it was taken by the Romans thanks to the Punic Wars, and then in 700--"
--
Four hours later: "Look, Tenth! Look at this!"
"It's a wall."
"It's an ancient wall!"
--
Two hours: "How long have we been walking for?"
"I'm sure the airport is just around here, Tenth!"
--
Another hour: "Hayato..."
"Yes, Tenth?"
"Have you ever heard of the airport game?"
"No, Tenth! Why, what is it?"
"It's nothing. All you need to know is that we are losing."
--
Eventually someone took pity on the clearly lost touristi and pointed them in the right direction. Reaching said airport just after midnight, none of the ticket counters were open. Tsuna groaned.
"We can sleep here tonight, Tenth! The seats are comfortable enough I'm sure."
Tsuna didn't bother with the seats. He wandered over to a counter that said it sold tickets to mainland Italy (further away than Africa, but at least the right country), propped himself up against the wall beside it, and fell asleep.
--
On the fourth day of their holiday, Tsuna and Gokudera were warmly welcomed by a large number of people who they did not expect to be in Taranto.
"Tsuna! Gokudera!" Yamamoto was the first to notice them, sprinting across the room and nearly tackling them back out the door. "Haha, you made it!"
"Get off, you stupid baseball--of course we made it--the Tenth can't breath, moron!"
"Haha, sorry Tsuna, you okay? Hey, maman is here, want me to get her?"
"Tsuna-san, we were so worried about you! Kyoko and I flew down from Milan the moment we heard! You should have told someone!"
"Haru is right, Tsu-kun, we didn't know where you were. Next time you decide to take a detour, please let us know first?"
"If the Tenth wants to take a detour then he's allowed to take a detour!"
"Hahi! Kyoko-chan didn't say that Tsuna-san couldn't take a detour, she said--"
"I know what she said, you stupid woman, but Tenth makes the most awesome detours--"
"Really?"
"Of course, you moron!"
"Tsuna, why didn't you let us tag along? I bet it was really cool!"
"You were with the Varia, you--and it definitely was! Pantelleria was beautiful, right Tenth?" Tsuna nodded along absent mindedly, still trying to get the feeling of being strangled-by-hug out of his mind. "We spent a whole day there!"
"Without us?!"
"Tsu-kun, next time let's go there, okay?"
"Yes, Kyoko-chan! It will be one big family event!"
"Gyahaha! Lambo-san didn't get to go on this vacation so you better take the great Lambo-san to Pant Land!"
"Wha--Lambo--?!"
"He wanted to tag along, Tsu-kun!"
Tsuna whipped his head around, staring at the woman who had just stepped through the door to the back rooms. "K-Kaa-san?"
"I'm glad you enjoyed your side trip, but kaa-san really was worried. Please let us know next time?"
He blushed and ducked his head. "Of course, kaa-san."
"Good!" She clapped, smiling at the gathered family, Japanese and Italian alike. "Then I could really use some help in cooking dinner tonight!"
The girls--and the entire company of maids and butlers in the room, few as they were--promptly followed her back through the doorway, trailing in her wake like ducklings. Ducklings who were giggling at Tsuna's face, or his situation, or something.
Tsuna ignored them as best he could, focusing on the incongruity that had caught his attention. "Lambo, what are you doing here?"
"Lambo-san wanted to come too, stupid-Tsuna!"
"That's fine, isn't?" Yamamoto looked confused. Was confused? It was hard to tell, sometimes. "If this is actually a high-level mission, you wouldn't have brought maman along, right?"
"Of course not you idiot. Tenth just wanted a break to see maman again!"
"Haha, okay! Then why are you so confused about Lambo, Tsuna?"
Tsuna looked between Lambo and the other two, trying to put his thoughts into words. Wondering how they hadn't noticed that there was a five year old Lambo currently hanging off of Tsuna's hand instead of the teenager who was native to this time. Sighing uncomfortably, Tsuna properly picked up Lambo and settled him in his arms. "Let's go see if we can help kaa-san in the kitchen, alright?"
"Gyahaha, Lambo-san will be the best helper ever!"
"Of course you will."
Within two minutes Lambo had effectively pissed off everyone in the room and more than a few outside. Gokudera looked nearly ready to throw some TNT around but, in deference to Nana, refrained. Instead: "Eat this and shut up," he ordered, grabbing the nearest edible item and shoving it in Lambo's mouth.
"Hey, Tsuna?"
"Yeah, Yamamoto?"
"Does Lambo even eat corn?"
Tsuna looked over, watching his little brother gnaw away at the corn cob like a typewriter. It looked familiar. "I think he has before. Well, he's definitely now."
A sudden puff of pink smoke obscured that corner of the kitchen, dissipating quickly enough that Nana, so busy over the stove, didn't notice it at all. Teenaged Lambo appeared then, looking rather beat up and worse for wear, but overall pleased with himself. "Yo, Vongola! You'll never guess what I--GUH."
Gokudera nodded in approval to himself for the karate chop to the head, grabbing the whining Thunder Guardian and tossing him into the dining room next door. "Go see if the table is set, stupid cow!"
"Aho-dera is a meanie!"
--
Notes: There is an indirect reference to, er, I think it's Lambo's Pride Battle vs. Large/Raruji. Sort of.
Also, Pantelleria is a little volcanic island in the Straits of Sicily not-quite halfway between Africa and Sicily. It's technically part of Italy, but it's been ruled by so many different people over the years they have their own customs, names, basically dialect. Lots of borrowed Arabic words interspersed with Italian. I kind of want to visit.
The airport game. Not quite sure where it originated from, but I've seen it almost exclusively on the tumblr side of things. Here is an explanation. And apparently it is actually called the mapcrunch game, I did not know. (For reference: I've played six times, and every time given up from frustration.)