Tsuna never thought he could feel pain like this. He was already on the ropes from his fight with Reborn. He had nearly broken himself into nothing just this morning, barely scraping by on sheer will.
He had been recovering at a truly exceptional rate, but that was before.
Now his organs felt like liquid death, and every fiber of his being screamed at him to just die already. He knew the very last thing he should have done was push his body to the limit again with Time Accel.
He knew his limits. But in that moment, watching this girl about to be killed, he could not stop himself from moving.
As he continued his murmured reassurances to the shuddering frame in his arms, he could not even bring himself to regret those actions either. Her breath was labored, and he could feel her heart pounding with how close she was, but she was not a splatter on the ground.
That was all that mattered in the end.
Reborn settled onto his shoulder again. The small weight almost made Tsuna buckle, but then the baby did something.
Warm energy began to flow through his body, bright in a way words could not capture. The creeping sense of total collapse eased, though the recovery was slow.
The power felt endless, yet cautious, as if worried about giving too much while Tsuna was already in such a precarious state.
Tsuna let out a breath and looked over at Reborn with a thankful look. The baby in question was silently looking at him, a bright yellow flame flickering weakly on the pacifier he wore around his neck.
His eyes screamed he was staring at an idiot, but there was an odd sense of fondness in that look.
Before he could decipher it, the girl in his arms finally seemed to realize the situation she was in as she looked up from her position and let out a horrified gasp.
"You're hurt." she cried out, worry and fear dancing in her eyes.
The kitten clutched to her chest hissed as the panic ruined the feeling of warmth it felt between the two individuals.
"Sorry."
She stuttered out, lowering her and trembling some more.
The girl tried to scramble out of his hold, but he held tight and looked at her softly.
"I'm fine. It's just a small wound. I saved you, so I consider it a price worth paying, so don't worry, please," Tsuna spoke gently, using the same tone he had used while coaxing her earlier.
Reborn clicked his tongue but did not correct his student at this moment.
Her eyes went wide for a moment, and a blush spread across her face before she looked back and forth, clearly having issues gathering her thoughts.
"No… I… sorr… but…" She rambled, the apology came out in broken pieces, her mind clearly too tangled to form proper words.
She still had this aura of guilt about her, even if her embarrassment was the primary thing she was feeling.
Tsuna let out a light, mirth-filled laugh despite the pain he was feeling.
"I don't want an apology. A simple thank you will work," he said with a small, amused smile on his face, the energy coming from Reborn making him feel alive again.
She went still in his arms for a moment, that blush burning on her face as she lowered her head and stared at the kitten, who had recovered from the energy she was off-putting. It still looked like it wanted to be anywhere but where it was.
"Thank you," she spoke softly.
Her body shuddered and it looked like those two words took all the will she had to say.
She looked down once more, shame and self loathing consuming her.
Situations were playing out in her head over and over again in increasingly horrifying ways.
Tsuna tightened his hold on her for a brief moment, again trying to offer some semblance of support before letting go and facing her. His eyes were bright, and that same soft smile was on his face.
"You're welcome. I'm just glad the little one and you are safe," Tsuna said in a doting way.
He could see why Kyoko enjoyed treating him like this.
Now that she was out of his arms, she fidgeted, her arms clutching the kitten close to her.
Her gaze was still locked on the floor as the red on her face continued to grow.
"Still, what were you thinking? You could have died. No, you were almost certainly going to die if I did not get involved," Tsuna started to lecture.
Tsuna could not keep an eye on her for the rest of her life, and if she wound up dead in a ditch somewhere, that thought alone brought a tightness to his chest.
It was strange, feeling this strongly about someone he had just met. But her body language practically screamed a message he was far too familiar with, and that small place in his heart ached with her.
"I know, I'm sorry. I just…" she apologized with practiced ease, as if her whole life was built on that. That action brought a frown to his face. "…I did not want her to die," Nagi finished lamely.
Her eyes wet as she stared at the kitten in her arms, who had settled contentedly again.
She then looked at Tsuna and flinched away from his frown, shrinking in on herself and looking down at the ground in shame.
"Besides…" she started but shut her mouth and looked like she wanted to bolt.
She cut off her words, but he could see it.
He could see the underlying thought process behind her actions. She knew no one would miss her if she did end up dead, seeing death as an escape from her current position and maybe sacrificing her life to save this small, innocent life as something worthwhile in her otherwise worthless existence.
He took in a sharp breath and felt a churning in his gut, his eyes stinging as he looked at the girl and saw himself. He was moments away from feeling exactly like her, with only a couple of bright spots holding him back from feeling like death would be a welcome escape.
He could tell she had none of those bright spots, not even a single parent to care for her. His flames fluctuated wildly underneath his flesh, and his eyes glowed softly.
"I would care," Tsuna stated simply.
She froze for a moment, looking up at him with confusion. Then she saw the tears slipping down his cheeks, the fragile, aching smile he wore.
She took a sharp breath at the sight and looked completely and utterly lost as she stared at him.
"I would care if you died. If you were not here tomorrow, I would mourn. I would cry and wail because a kind, gentle girl lost her life," Tsuna continued.
Walking toward her again, the tears still falling from his face as he hugged her.
Her eyes were wide in shock, her mouth hanging open dumbly.
A sour feeling filled her chest, and she felt hiccups building between sharp breaths.
She was confused, shocked, and completely lost, but the warmth of this hug and the tears running down his face into her hair as he whispered softly to her had her breaking.
She let go of the kitten in her hands and clutched Tsuna's chest, sobbing and letting all the emotions she held back spill out. The fear of death, the crippling loneliness, the bitterness, the longing, everything she thought but dared not feel spilled out of her in a tide.
Tsuna cried with her, clinging onto this one shared moment of connection.
Tsuna felt the weight on his shoulder leave as Reborn hopped off and almost let out a laugh, but the baby caught the kitten and watched the two teenagers sob together.
Those emotions seemed to pour endlessly, but eventually the emotional highs faded, and Nagi was left feeling spent. She let out an occasional hiccup as she clutched his chest like a lifeline, but she did not continue sobbing.
"My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada, but my friends call me Tsuna. Will you be my friend?" Tsuna asked softly, not wanting to startle the girl but desperately needing to make this connection with her so she did not end up in that dark, lonely place she had been in before.
He was lying slightly. His only friend called him Fluffy, but his Kaa-san called him Tsuna, so that counted as well.
Again, she looked up at him in hesitation, hope in the lone eye he could see but fear at reaching out to him. He matched her gaze and tried to push all the sincerity he was feeling, and eventually, after a long moment, she lowered her head shyly.
"My name is Nagi, Nagi Yukimura. I… want to be your friend," she said firmly but nervously.
Tsuna let out a light laugh and held her close in a tight hug again. She melted into that embrace, and the blush started to spread all over her body, but she held on.
"Good. Thank you for the honor of being your friend, Nagi-chan," Tsuna said softly.
He was being a bit too forward with his words, but she needed reassurance that he truly did want to be by her side.
It looked like it worked, as she almost seemed to glow at his words before lowering her head again.
Tsuna looked at her again and hesitated. His plans were going to be a bit extreme for someone he had just met, but he could tell that all that was waiting for Nagi at her home was an empty room.
"Do you want to hang out? My Kaa-san would love to meet a sweet girl like you," Tsuna asked. He figured if he managed to get her to his house, it would be easy to convince Kaa-san to let Nagi sleep over. After that, it was only a matter of getting the girl to want that as well.
Not exactly difficult, considering what he was reading from her.
Nagi hesitated for a moment, her own sensibilities holding her back, but she nodded shyly after a moment, not having the emotional strength to say the words she wanted in this moment.
Reborn let out a snort at the interaction between the two, holding the cat in his hands and giving Tsuna a flat look. The boy was still half dead, but here he was flirting.
He would reprimand the idiot for his actions, but he could see they were working, and the girl was a monster. He could feel her Dying Will Flames pouring out of her. For a girl with seemingly no will of her own, the potential in her blood was astounding.
"Great. Follow me, Nagi-chan," Tsuna said brightly as he grasped her hand and led her away. Again, it was forward, but the girl desperately needed physical contact.
As he led her away, he felt warmth traveling up his arm and settling in his chest, a new flame seed born in his sky.
[Feat Achieved. Gain a positive impression with the character Nagi/Chrome Dokuro.]
[Received one silver ticket.]
[Feat Achieved. Harmonize with character Nagi/Chrome Dokuro.]
[Received one gold ticket.]
That was nice, and the reward was certainly tempting, but the giddy feeling in his chest was not for that. He had another person he could call a friend, one he made all by himself instead of letting Kyoko drag Hana into his orbit.
Everything really was going far too well for him.
He chatted with Nagi. He had to do most of the legwork, but she seemed almost on cloud nine just listening to him ramble. Reborn was unusually silent, but he was back on Tsuna's shoulder, healing the mess Tsuna had made of himself.
By the time he made it home, a quarter of the damage he dealt himself had healed, and Reborn stopped channeling flames into him, saying it was better to heal normally now instead of overdrafting his cells to keep him out of the danger zone.
As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of his mother smiling happily as she cleaned the foyer. She blinked at the sight of him and froze for a moment as she caught sight of Tsuna holding the hand of a rather pretty girl and leading her into their house.
Then a sly grin appeared on her face as she turned toward her son.
"I knew you were trying to impress a girl, Tsu-kun. Never thought you would be bringing your girlfriend back so quickly. Oh, you must have inherited your Tou-san's charm," Nana said with a bright smile as she went to face Nagi and examine the girl.
Nagi tensed at the sight of his mother at first. Then she tightened her hold on his hand at the mention of impressing a girl but eased up when his Kaa-san called her his girlfriend.
"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Nagi said politely in picture-perfect manners. Tsuna gave her an odd look, seeing such a mature greeting from the shy girl, but ignored it.
"Oh my, you are just a precious one. Come on. I was just about to start dinner, and I'm sure Tsu-kun would love to eat a homemade dish from you," Nana said energetically as she rushed Nagi into the kitchen with her.
There was some hesitation in Nagi, and she shot Tsuna a look, but she soon grew determined and followed his mother into the kitchen.
"You're a freaking moron, you know that," Reborn finally said with the girl out of earshot.
Hearing that, Tsuna shrank in on himself and looked guilty.
"You almost killed yourself to save that girl, and for what? You knew I was stronger than you and that any action at all was already pushing it. So why rush forward? It's not like you knew I could heal you. For all you knew, you were signing your death warrant again," Reborn continued his rant, and Tsuna flinched at every word as the confidence he had been feeling crumbled in the face of the cold, hard truth.
"I know, I know, but I was not thinking in that moment. The moment I saw her, all thoughts just left my head. I don't think I could have stopped myself from acting if I went through that scene a thousand times over," Tsuna said quietly, not ashamed of his actions at all but admitting they were stupid.
Reborn took a long look at him before sighing.
"Alright, you are an idiot, but you did well, kid. Actions like that inspire loyalty like nothing else. If your famiglia knows you are willing to throw down your life for them, they will throw everything they have to make sure that never happens," Reborn said, patting his head from his position on his shoulder before hopping off and heading toward the kitchen.
Likely to bum a cup of coffee and some snacks before dinner.
Tsuna felt his lips twitch at Reborn's attitude but just ignored it. He was feeling itchy, and he had some free time to use his tickets. He headed up to his room, closed the door, and started to roll, beginning with the silver ticket.
[Sharpshooter]
|Rare Ability|
You are able to conjure a bow and arrow made of energy in your hands to shoot down enemies and targets, while aiming with the bow your shooting mastery is increased and your senses are sharpened. The more energy you put into the arrow, the stronger it is. You can also change the shape and size of your arrow.
Tsuna looked at the ability and hummed. It did not really fit his style and it was unlikely that he would add it to his rotation of abilities but adding another Ability to his storage was always good. Having Time Accel, Speed, and Shock Absorption on all at once would be amazing.
He ripped his next ticket. The gold advantage one, hoping this pull would bring his luck stat up.
[Mud Manipulation]
|Rare Ability|
Allows you to conjure and control mud, creating swamps underneath your feet or bombarding your opponents with mud.
[]
Or
[Altar of Water]
|Rare Item|
HOTA - An altar of fire that collects mana from nature to give birth to spirits of water and ice, as the owner of the altar these elementals are naturally loyal to you.
[]
Tsuna let out a sigh. He expected something better from a gold ticket. It was not nothing but it was also not something he cared for. The altar was interesting and might mesh well with his future leadership over the Vongola but there were bound to be similar items later anyway. The mud ability was completely and utterly mid but it added another count to his ability total, so he selected it.
He took out his last ticket and prayed that Lady Luck was not going to take him for a ride. He then ripped the last golden ticket.
[Lucifer the Ceo of Hell]
|Elite Familiar|
Helltaker - Lucifer is one hell of a Ceo. As actual Lucifer herself, she is a powerful demon, possessing strength strong enough to rip steel in half like paper and being able to enslave people with a kiss, melting away their flesh and turning them into bone demons, possessing the abilities of a Fiend(Elite Trait) and being capable of using basic demonic magic. Having ruled hell for thousands of years and being a CEO, she is an incredible manager beyond human standards. She can manage hundreds of businesses and still be minimally inconvenienced compared to running Hell itself.
What?
That thought bounced in his head as he read that only for the space in front of him rip apart as a being entered through the cracks in space itself flickered.
A pale woman entered the room. Her eyes were blood red and her hair snow white. A black and red suit, with a black crown resting on her head. A smug smile was worn on her face, and a glint of amusement filled her gaze.
"Oh my, I suppose you are my new Master. Not exactly what I would want myself, but what can we do?" Lucifer herself commented, and Tsuna's brain continued to stall.
"Are you alright, Master? I know my beauty is unmatched, but surely you can still function?" She asked with amusement filling her words. Clearly not that worried about him.
No, seriously, what!?