Tsuna walked toward school in a daze. It was not the expected brain damage, it was not the world-changing abilities freely given to him, it was not even that Fate itself had her eyes on him that had him in this state. No, he was watching the world with an almost manic intensity because everything just seemed so different.
Colors seemed sharper, the air cleaner, and sounds were beautiful in a way he never thought possible. Everything was simply better. He was giddy like a schoolgirl who found out what a boy band was. An emotional high that he never thought he would ever feel.
He arrived at the school gate, and the guard let him in with a familiar roll of the eyes. Just a grunt from the old man as he was more than used to finding Tsuna wandering in later than he should be.
Tsuna looked at the old man with a frown. He could tell the old janitor thought him lesser than anyone else. That he was not even worth the standard lecture that most students got. Why bother talking to trash when said trash was never going to change? It was infuriating.
His eyes sharpened, and he opened his mouth to say something to the old man before snapping it shut and shushing these thoughts. Getting into an argument for the sake of an argument was not really him, so even if this dismissal was irritating, he dropped it and ignored the old man in turn.
Tsuna went toward his class with a frown on his face. He was usually not so irritated by everything; he leaned toward how his mother acted most days. A sunny smile and hopes and dreams for something more, even if the world felt like putting him down.
Now he felt like punching all of his problems away and yelling at the ones he could not punch... That was not normal, but maybe it was?
Before, he felt like it was not his right to be angry at the way the world was treating him, as he really was that bad, but now? Well, now he was the special one, so maybe this whole attitude adjustment was just the new norm...
There was also how he saw the old man. Every twitch yelling untold secrets, every sound striking the most vital truth. The old man did not really hide how he was feeling about Tsuna. The issue was that he was not announcing his thoughts either, but Tsuna could see everything that was left unsaid between them.
It was strange. Was it because of the things he got from those tickets? He tried to recall what those screens told, but nothing quite fit what he was seeing. It was confusing, but before he could think about it more, he opened the door to his classroom.
A bottle was flying through the air directly at his head, and he idly reached forward and plucked the projectile out of the air before he could even comprehend what was happening.
The chattering that had been going on froze, and there was a silence in the classroom as everyone got a handle on what just happened. Tsuna looked down at the bottle in his hand with a frown before looking at who threw the thing at him.
Tanaka-san was looking at him with his mouth hanging open, his hand outstretched in the position it was in when he threw the bottle. Tanaka-san usually pushed and shoved him to get a laugh from the rest of his classmates; this was just another example of that bullying.
This was normal... so why did he feel so angry about it? Why did he feel like caving Tanaka-san's face in? Why did he want to grip the boy's throat and choke him slowly till every last ounce of oxygen was squeezed out of it?
Once more, his eyes sharpened, and he faced this petulant child with the presence of a beast. Tanaka-san finally seemed to recover from the shock of Tsuna actually catching something, a familiar mocking sneer blooming on his face that had Tsuna's blood boiling.
"Wow! No-Good-Tsuna is finally growing up! Maybe now he won't be so pathetic," Tanaka-san announced with a laugh that eased some tension from the rest of the class as they sat around waiting for a show.
Weak, the boy was projecting his own worries about his inadequacies on Tsuna. Wanting all the world to pay attention to him and never wanting to be in Tsuna's position.
Tsuna clenched his fist and strode forward with his eyes locked onto Tanaka-san like a hawk.
Before he reached his target, someone else stepped in.
"That's enough! Don't bully Tsuna-san!" A familiar girl's voice rang out, and all the hostility bleeding from Tsuna faded away as he looked over at said voice.
Kyoko was glaring at Tanaka and pouting at the rest of the room. Her large, honey eyes looked at the rest of the room in disappointment. Her friend rolled her eyes at Kyoko's antics but stood beside the girl and glared at the rest of the class like they were brats who decided to mess up her day.
Tsuna felt his heart speeding up rapidly, and a soft smile bloomed on his face.
"Come on, Kyoko-chan. It's just a joke," Tanaka-san backpedaled as he smiled at Kyoko with a smile he no doubt thought was charming. Hana snorted at the joke she was seeing, and Kyoko frowned at Tanaka.
"Jokes like this are not funny, Tanaka-san," Kyoko spoke out with a huff and turned away from him. She approached Tsuna with some worry on her face as she grabbed his hand. Now Tsuna's heart felt like it would beat out of his chest.
A dark look flashed on Tanaka's face, but Tsuna and Kyoko did not see it.
"Are you alright, Tsuna-san?" she asked, fussing over him as a mother searching for injuries on her child, which made the smile on Tsuna's face falter and the rapid beat of his heart drop.
Right, what was he thinking? Her actions just came from a sense of worry... nothing else.
Hana snorted and poked her friend in the side with a smirk on her face.
"I think you did more damage than Monkey-brain over there," she spoke out wryly. Kyoko just blinked at Hana while Hana looked over at Tsuna with a knowing look.
Tsuna felt his face flushing again. Before he could say anything else, Hana looked him over with a furrowed brow.
"Damn, I know boys go through growth spurts, but you shot up a good ten centimeters overnight," she commented lightly as she looked him over. Kyoko blinked like an owl and looked over at Tsuna as well.
Tsuna felt his heart beating all over again... He was also feeling more than just embarrassed. He looked at the two girls before him, and his mind spun images of them naked, them posed in provocative costumes and sultry smiles on their faces. Throaty moans and whispered wants.
He felt his mouth dry, and blood started flowing in a completely different direction; his eyes went wide, and he snapped on those urges with a strength of will he did not think he was capable of.
He was completely and utterly mortified. He knew he was going through puberty, but thoughts and feelings like this were a far cry from the ones he had before. Thankfully, he was able to get a handle on himself.
He would hate having the opinion of these two girls sinking into unheard-of levels. Kyoko was one of the only people in this world who was kind to him, if only because she was kind to everyone. Hana was also kind to him. Even if her kindness was only because Kyoko dragged her along for the ride.
"Huh, you are actually putting on some muscle as well," Hana idly spoke out as she continued her observation, a glint of approval filling her eyes as she looked up at the bright red boy before her. She let out a snort and gave her friend another wry smile.
"Never thought I would see the day, but he appears to be growing up. Are you happy, Kyoko-chan? Your child is finally growing up," she prodded her friend with a teasing tone, which had Kyoko whining back at her.
The two of them were back to their own world, and before things could get more awkward for Tsuna, he decided to retreat away from the duo.
"Thanks for the concern, Sasagawa-san, and thank you for the help as well, Kurokawa-san," Tsuna spoke out quickly as he rushed to his desk, doing his best to ignore the rest of the class.
Kyoko was surprised by his sudden retreat, but Hana rolled with it like she expected something like this to happen.
Tsuna was almost at his seat when a foot tried to trip him; once again, he dodged it without even thinking. He looked over at Tanaka, who was giving him a dark look. Tsuna should have figured the boy was not done messing with him.
The anger was back, the gall of this nobody to fuck with him when Tsuna had done nothing to him. Hurting someone over and over again because of your own weakness was pathetic. Tsuna almost let out a snarl, but held back and glared at the idiot before heading back to his seat and settling down.
There was temptation to inflict as much harm as possible on the brat, but Tsuna held it back. He refused to sink to Tanaka's level; beating him would make Tsuna feel better, but random acts of violence were not who he was.
Even if he was really starting to feel like he was the type to hit things.
Tsuna was angry, and he did not like it. This feeling was strange and foreign to him, but it seemed to burn so brightly. It also felt awful, tight and wrong. Why would anyone want to feel like this?
There was something wrong with him. He knew that, and he even knew what the likely suspect was. There had only been one life-altering situation going on in his life right now.
The rewards he got from the Chaos Gacha. Once more, Tsuna went over the rewards he got and tried to figure out what was going on.
He eliminated Time Accel as that was just the ability to separate his own timeline and accelerate it in direct opposition to the native time stream. Impressive and something he never dreamed of having, but there was little to no chance it was the cause of his mood swings.
Disillusioned was off the block as well; all it did was let him see through disguises and traps. Nothing that would point at his current feelings. Besides he had Time Accel in his Ability Slot at the moment.
That left Hanma. This reward was the thing that changed him the most, and he did feel an overwhelming amount of anger after he first accepted it, but what was the thing that caused this? He went over what he knew over and over again, only to blank on the problem.
Increased physical capabilities, genetically gifted, poison resistance, and talented in martial arts. Again, all of those things were impressive, but they were not something that would cause these feelings. Which left one part of this ability he did not understand.
'In addition, you have so much testosterone in you that any other man may as well be a girl in comparison.'
That should be the part affecting him, but he had no idea what that even meant... Tsuna knew he was an idiot; his countless failed tests could point to that, and while he did not want to be one any longer, his ignorance on a variety of subjects was vast.
Testosterone sounded really familiar; it sounded like something he should know, but he was blanking on what it is. Tsuna frowned as he tried to recall where he heard this word, only to be interrupted by a familiar voice again.
"You sure you are alright, Fluffy? You got the same look on your face you wear when you are going to take a test," Hana piped in from her seat as she looked over at him with a frown and some worry.
That knocked Tsuna out of his funk as he looked over at her and blinked. He knew Hana was one of the nicer people in this class, but he never thought she would show worry for him so blatantly... or was it blatantly?
Why did it feel like he could read people so much more easily now?
The worry intensified in her eyes as he remained silent. That broke his train of thought again, and he hurried to answer.
"I'm really fine, Kurokawa-san," Tsuna hurried to reassure the girl, whom he found was more kind than he thought.
Emotions flashed on her face. Irritation from the distance Tsuna was throwing up, but it was undercut by the understanding of why he was doing it. Concern mixing with a tired weariness of having to deal with a problem, but not being able to reach for the small animal hiding away.
Tsuna's eyes went wide as his mind spun; he really did not think they were that close, but... she clearly thought differently. She might be treating him like a small wounded animal, but there was a sense of connection between them that he never dared to notice before.
"I'm not worried about Tanaka-san; he is an idiot, and his taking his own weakness out on me is nothing new. I... finally feel like I can deal with it properly now. Still, thank you, Kurokawa-san," Tsuna spoke out brightly, his smile coming alive, and the wide doe-like eyes of his softening and glowing like soft embers.
Hana paused the words that were building up in her, and surprise seemed to overwhelm her for a moment before a hint of happiness appeared in her gaze. She had never noticed before, but there were moments when this little bird could shine in an utterly captivating way.
"Well, you really are growing up, Fluffy. Keep that attitude up and don't let the idiots hold you down. You are a lot better than the rest of the monkeys here; don't sink to their levels," Hana offered with a smirk and a teasing glint in her eyes.
Tsuna let out a light laugh and looked away from the girl, feeling heat building underneath his skin again.
[Feat Achieved! Gain a Positive Impression with Hana Kurokawa]
[Received one Bronze Ticket.]
A bronze ticket appeared directly in front of him in a flash of light. For a brief moment, he panicked. He knew this Gacha thing was strange, and he did not want the world to find out about it. So he looked around the classroom, hoping that no one noticed what happened.
That panic faded as something deep in him told him that no one noticed. He found that strange, but it was the same feeling that had been telling him what people were thinking.
He looked over at Hana, who was watching him in amusement. Her gaze had never left him, but she did not see that bright light. He hesitantly picked up the ticket on his desk and looked over her reaction.
She could not see the ticket; it was not just her not seeing the light. She literally could not see the ticket he was holding in his hand. That notion relaxed his tense mind a little. He did not want to end up dragged into a secret laboratory because the government found out how strange he was now.
He ripped the ticket he just got.
[Mantis Flip Coin]
|Common Item|
Xiaolin Showdown - A Shen Gong Wu coin tied to a rope fashioned into a necklace. When worn around the neck or anywhere around your body, the coin grants you the ability to jump high and enhances your acrobatics skills.
He felt the necklace appear around his neck; this time, he froze as the same voice that was speaking to him earlier told him that unlike the ticket, people could see this. Once more, panic bloomed, but it settled as he knew the necklace was under his clothing, so no one should see it.
But this did teach him an important lesson. He should only rip tickets when he was prepared; he did not want to leak the secret so easily.
"Seriously, what's up with you? The idiot is not messing with your head, but something is bugging you," Hana spoke out after a moment of watching Tsuna.
Tsuna froze for a moment and let out an awkward laugh. Right, he was acting really weird.
"Sorry, I was just trying to remember something we were taught, but I just can't," Tsuna offered lamely. It was true, but it was not the mood swings that Hana had been seeing. Tsuna's eyes flashed as he remembered that Hana was one of the top students in their class.
"Wait, do you know what testosterone is?" Tsuna asked Hana with a glint of expectation. He may be an idiot, but the rest of the world was not!
Hana paused for a moment and gave him an odd look. After seeing the sheer earnest expectation in his eyes, she dropped the look and let out a light laugh.
"Testosterone is a vital hormone that the human body produces. It is responsible for muscle growth and various growths. It is predominantly responsible for the various male characteristics in men," she explained, and for once, Tsuna felt like he understood something being taught to him.
Some stuff flew over his head, but he got the gist of it.
"In short, it makes boys well boys," she explained after a moment, trying to lighten the knowledge as she knew Tsuna was... slow. Or at least he was slow before.
"What would happen to a body if it produced an overwhelming amount of testosterone?" he asked, trying to confirm the idea brewing in his mind.
Hana frowned as she looked over at him with a more thorough look.
"You're not asking this because you are going to take steroids, right?" she asked with some concern. Tsuna looked at her blankly and tilted his head like a lost puppy.
"What's a steroid?" he asked after a moment, confusion dyeing his words fully. Hana paused, trying to figure out if he was being genuine or not. After a moment, she let out another light laugh.
"Don't worry about it, but if someone offers to inject you with something to make you more manly, reject them. A large amount of testosterone would encourage muscle growth, bone density, hair growth, and it would make your voice deeper," she offered after a moment.
Tsuna blinked. That made sense from what he read from the Hanma trait, but it did not explain his mood swings.
"Would testosterone affect a person's emotions or personality?" he asked with nervous energy.
Hana took in his words and looked at him. Looking over the new height he gained and the small amount of muscle growth he had. She then let out another snort and rolled her eyes at him.
"Right, you are going through puberty. Look, this is awkward, but since you asked. Yes, puberty will make you a horny little monkey and will make you angry at everything," she spoke out and rolled her eyes at him.
Tsuna took in her words and went bright red. He looked away from her and felt sheer mortification building in him. He knew that this trait was making him angrier, but he never thought the naughty thoughts running in his head were because of it as well.
If he had known that, he would have never asked a girl! Let alone a cute girl like Hana-san.
"Sorry, Kurokawa-san," he spoke out quickly, bowing his head and avoiding eye contact. "I had just been feeling angry all day, and I wanted to know why. Sorry!" he explained while apologizing again.
Hana looked over at him and let out a snort.
"Alright, cool it, Fluffy. I'm not mad; this was just awkward. You must have asked someone about why you were mad, and they said something about testosterone. Knowing you, you were probably too embarrassed to ask more questions and just accepted that answer." Hana excused him while making a plausible scenario for this awkward confrontation.
She was wrong, but he was not going to explain that to her.
Tsuna just quietly nodded and looked away. God, he wished someone would shoot him. He just gained a positive impression with Hana-san, and he probably ruined it.
Tsuna paused at that thought. He knew he gained a positive impression with Hana-san because of the ticket. It appeared because of that impression... which meant he got a ticket for certain things.
That brought a lot of questions. Like, why in God's name did he have a bounty on his head, AND WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE SEAL THAT WAS ON HIM?