42Body Parts
Rating: T+
Summary:Reborn glanced at the young teenager's face, and watched the different expressions flit through his eyes: a combination of love, hate, sadness, bitterness, morbidness, nostalgia, and finally one last look that he couldn't place. He stared a few more seconds to see if Tsuna would do anything, but he did absolutely nothing. And for the first time in meeting his student, the cursed baby was perturbed that he couldn't understand a thing about him, not at all.
On behalf of the Ninth Vongola boss, Nono, Reborn was sent to Sawada Tsunayoshi to be his home tutor to teach
him the ways of the mafia. Tsuna seemed average at first-in fact, below average if you consider his abysmal grades-but then he started to notice something strange about the boy. And it seemed that no matter how much he dug and pried, the answers would either dissipate into thin air, or would lead to a dead end, where he would be placed right where he started from.
Notes:If you look on my profile, you'll notice that this is the last multi-chapter story I have committed myself to until I am done with another fanfic. Unlike Permanent Error and Darkest Desires, this story takes a dark spin from the very beginning, and it only gets lighter towards the end of the third chapter. (Edit: Ew. My original author's notes disgusted me a bit. Bleh. So I deleted some stuff. Carry on.)
Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1: Inevitable
A bird.
A dead bird.
There, at his window, was a dead robin. Its fragile wings hugged the bottom portion of the casement, and its body hovered over the flat side of his desk. It was a rather beautiful bird; its color was a mixture of a rusty maroon sword and a brilliant sanguine. The bird's eyes were wide open, revealing its blue pearls, and the legs were open and stiff, almost as if it were ready to attack. But the bird was dead, and there was nothing the poor creature could do to protect itself. Nothing.
The person tsked angrily as he picked up the cold carcass and quickly stormed into the bathroom next to his room. The smell of the rotting body was getting to him as always, but if he had thrown it out of his window, the maggots and flies were guaranteed to be there the next morning to terrorize him in his sleep, buzzing noisily by his ears. And if he had went outside to bury it, someone would notice, and damn it, he didn't want that.
He pushed open the door, hearing it creak with a soft whining sound—maybe the sound one would hear from an old wooden floor—and dropped the dead animal into the toilet, hearing the disconcerting splashing sound of the water and seeing the blood transform the once clear water into a soft vermilion color. He could only watch in horrid fascination as the bird was pushed down into the small hole, its head decapitating from its body before falling into the harsh tunnel of water and god knows what else.
The person was about to wash his hands; quite frankly, the smell of blood bothered him—and so did the feel—and he wanted to wash it off as soon as possible. He wanted to feel clean again. The blood would prevent that from happening. But first, he needed to check something.
He placed the palm of his hand to his mouth and swiped his tongue along the length of it. For a second, the person didn't taste anything particular; that is, until it got to the back of his throat. All of a sudden, a burst of flavors and emotions came into his head, even as much as when he swallowed the surprisingly warm liquid. But the most profound of what he tasted...he didn't like. Bitterness...as hate, a sweet yet tangy taste...as lust and gluttony, blandness...a sourness scorned only by the fortunate, and an unknown taste that he could not place. Richness, maybe? No, it seemed too...sour for that.
The person sighed tiredly, and in slight annoyance, washed his hands and walked slowly into his room. A rancorous expression was etched on his face, almost as if he had drank a lemon before returning to his room.
This time was no good, either. He would hit a dead end, just like how he did before.
The rays of the morning sunlight basked proudly against the window of a fourteen-year-old boy, one who squirmed restlessly under his bed. The heat was getting to him badly, but he didn't want to move. He wanted to sleep in his bed all day and watch as that horrible sun came up, and went right back down again. But...he knew that if he didn't move, his mother would move him.
"I hate school," he whined as he rolled out of bed and reached for the underarm deodorant that was sitting patiently across his table. He didn't want to take a shower; he took one at four in the morning. Taking one again would be too much. He could always just take it when he came home. The boy deprived himself of clothing to splatter a bit of the dusty substance on his body, and then brushed his coffee colored hair into a neat bunch on his head. No matter how hard he tried to keep his hair down and in order, it went right back up again.
He slipped on his uniform before grabbing his bag full of school materials and slipping out of his room. He felt his heart race as he proceeded to join his mother in the kitchen area. Slowly, he put a trembling hand to his chest, and clamped at his skin. Hard.
"Mom, what's today's date," the boy asked as he sat down at the table, eagerly waiting his breakfast meal. No matter how full he was, no matter how much he may have eaten before, he would always save some room for his mother's cooking. Her cooking was the best, after all.
"Oh, you're up early," Nana stated as she happily set down to give him his breakfast. "It is September 10. You remember what today is, right?"
"Yeah..." Tsuna's face depicted a blank expression for a short moment. Yes, today was the day he dreaded. Today was the day that he hated with all of his heart, though he would be damned to show it. He didn't want to make his mom think worse of him; god help him if he ever did that. She already worried too much for him, especially with the grades he had. He had everything from as low as a one to a thirty-two out of one-hundred on his test scores. The only thing that he did well in was lunch, and that was because he had the average amount of attendance. It wasn't because he was smart or anything. It was because he had good participation, that's all.
Nana coaxed him with: "Things will get better as time goes on, so don't look like that."
That being the somewhat sour expression on the boy's face as he suddenly got up from the table. He was upset, alright, but it had nothing to do with battling his first day of school. Of course, walking into school when it was almost half-way into the year was never pleasant, but there were things much more upsetting than that. Much more.
"I...am going to check the mail," Tsuna mumbled as he walked out of the kitchen. He quickly replaced his inside shoes with outdoor ones, and made his way to the mailbox. It was an old, beat-up thing, and the blue paint was starting to peel off of it, but it was still usable, and the handle was still in very good condition. From all the mailboxes that he has seen, he knew this one was the best. It didn't suddenly break on him, nor did it lock in place due to all the rust surrounding it. It was good and hardy, that mailbox.
Lifting up the cover, Tsuna came face-to-face with a white, manila letter. It was sealed with a red insignia, and the boy had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly who sent it.
"..." He could feel the desperation and panic rising up in his throat like a volcano waiting to happen, and without so much as another thought did he rip the letter into a hundred shreds. He was half tempted to burn it, but he knew that the smoke would attract others and the burning paper would get people curious. Oh god, the last thing he needed was someone being curious.
He hurried back inside and closed the door, locking it tightly before slowly returning to the kitchen, where his eager mother was waiting. He could feel his heart beating in his chest at a rapid speed, and he idly wondered if it would beat so fast that it would come out of his chest. He could taste the bdump bdump on his mouth, and hear the muffling cries that his heart made. He hoped that infant would look into the mailbox and somehow figure that they were the wrong party, because if not, they were screwed.
Correction: he was screwed.
"Did anything come in the mail?"
"No," the brunette replied shakily as he sat down to eat the scrumptious food his mother so graciously made him. The delicate foods touched the back of his throat, and forcing down a bitter laugh, he tried to smile genuinely, ignoring the burning sensation in the back of his throat.
"This is good, mom."
"Is it? I wanted to try something new this time. I'm glad you like it."
"Yeah, but anything you make is good." They continued to eat, Nana occasionally asking her son questions and Tsuna dutifully answering them, when a knock was heard at the door. If his heart was beating fast before, now it pumped incredibly fast as the boy shot up out of his seat and gave his mother an attempt at a bright smile. It worked. But then again, it always did.
"I'll go see who it is. Don't worry about it." Nana only smiled at him, and quickly waved him off so he could answer it and come back. But Tsuna didn't want to go, and he didn't want to come back. He just...wanted to stay between everything. But he couldn't. So with a nervous gulp, the boy opened the door and immediately looked down.
What greeted him was a baby with a small fedora on his head, a chameleon hugging his shoulder, and a suit as if some rich mother wanted to dress up her baby in the most expensive clothes to attend a ceremony. It was ridiculous, indeed, but Tsuna knew it was far form that when it came to him.
"Chaossu," he said, his voice slightly higher than what Tsuna was expecting. "I'm Reborn, your home tutor."
This was the moment that he was waiting for.
"I'm sorry, but I think you might have the wrong household," Tsuna boldly announced, his voice not wavering. He could do this. He could make it. He could do this, and Reborn wouldn't come back. Not now, not ever.
"This is the Sawada family, correct?"
"No..."
But he didn't have a chance to say anything else; his mother wondered out there with her shoes, staring at Tsuna.
"Tsu-kun? What's taking you so long?" At once, he immediately cursed himself at his stupidity. Of course his mother would wonder why he was taking so long. This was a thirty-second affair, not a five minute one.
"Someone just got the wrong house," he quickly answered her as he cracked the door. "I'll be there in a second." He was about to turn back, but his mother started to walk towards him, a concerned look on her well-shaped face.
"Oh, but you're bad at directions. Let me at it."
"But-"
"Don't worry about it. Now don't you have to go to school?" School could wait. Breakfast could wait. Homework could wait. Hell, anything could wait. But if he didn't send Reborn away now, everything would be up to naught. No no no, not again. He had to do this. This would be the last time.
"School can wait, mom. I want to help him." But she refused adamantly, and he knew that if he didn't do something fast, something fast...
"Do you know where the Sawada household is? I thought it was here, because a letter was addressed to here, but-"
"There was no letter here," Nana cut in, giving the baby a quizzical look. "But this is the Sawada household. What is it that you might need?"
"I'm the home tutor for Sawada Tsunayoshi," he declared, flicking his fedora upwards as he sometimes did. "Do you know who he might be or where he might be?" A flicker of recognition came into her eyes.
"Oh, you're talking about Tsu-kun, then!"
"I don't need a home tutor," the boy quickly bit out as he ran into the kitchen, grabbed his bag, and proceeded to run down the sidewalk. "Mom, can't you send him away?"
"You'll have better grades," Nana retorted as he ran down the street. "Don't be late!"
He could only wish that he were late. Because there was nothing more heart wrenching than knowing that things were going to fall into place again, and that things were going to go sour.
"You're a student of Namimori Middle, yes?" Reborn had caught up to him, and sat on his shoulder while Tsuna ran. "I can-"
"For your sake and mine," Tsuna suddenly stopped running and stared at the baby sitting on his shoulder, who stared back at him.
"Please leave me alone. I don't want to have anything to do with you." He placed the baby down again, and started to run. When he didn't hear tapping behind him, he assumed Reborn gave up and went ahead to badger him when got there. If there was anything he knew about the baby, he knew he was stubborn as hell. And there was no way that Reborn would give something up without a fight.
Maybe that's why Tsuna didn't freak out when he felt something crawling up his body.
"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"
"I don't give up easily," the Italian boy countered as he sat on Tsuna's shoulder. On one hand, Tsuna appreciated it. He could use the company, especially since he knew that when he got to school, he would be bullied. Again. He always was.
But on the other, he was panicked. He knew that he was screwed. The baby already found him—thanks to his mom—and he was on Reborn's radar as a 'student'. But honestly, it would get worse if he didn't do something. Fast.
But he was all out of options and had no way to get rid of Reborn. After all, he did them all already.
A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed. I didn't change much on this chapter, simply because, for the most part, I was satisfied with the way I wrote back then. If you don't mind, could you just let me know what y'all think? Anything I could improve on, anything that maybe wasn't to your liking? I won't change this chapter, but I can keep an eye on your suggestions when writing new chapters.
Thanks!