Chapter 1
Tsuna is afraid of dogs.
This is a fact.
Tsuna also has a strange issue. This is less of a fact and more of an internal knowledge.
There is a stray dog in Namimori that walks around his neighborhood every night that Tsuna is slowly growing fond of.
Everyone in the neighborhood knows these three things about this dog: it is a stray, it doesn’t make any noise, and it will always walk with you if you let it. The last thing is important because Tsuna has seen them walk people home before and watch over the kid's playground.
It has never once caused any trouble and therefore, no one has seen fit to call animal control on them, but the downside was that no one took care of said dog. There is even an awful scar that cuts through one of its eyes, some sort of gouge mark that is too clean-cut to be caused by another dog and Tsuna, despite his fear, knows that if he ever caught the person that did that to the hound, he would beat them (poorly) to a pulp. So, with some guilty bribing for extra pocket money and a lot of time spent in front of the school's library computer, Tsuna went out of his way to buy some chicken and rice in the hopes to lend a hand.
The dog is skinny every time he catches them walking around at night, starting their patrol from sundown to sunrise. Its fur does a good job hiding the emancipation, but Tsuna has had to gain a key eye to avoid being hurt and the shaggy black fur doesn’t do well to hide the jutting bones. Even their tail, quick to wag when approached by someone, stays close to the ground, dragged through whatever grime is possessed on the streets that its fur is a mess of thick clumps and knotted tangles as if they don’t have enough energy to try.
So, if no one will bother chipping in to help the hound that patrols at night everyday, keeping to itself, then Tsuna will step in, even if he still scurries away from the deadly Chihuahua a few blocks down the road and willingly avoids the animal shelter. It is the least he can do – the best thing he can offer to avoid feeling more worthless than he is and well, maybe he has a soft spot for lonely animals that have done nothing but keep to the shadows. Who guides lost children home and chases away bullies. It feels natural to try and Tsuna knows that this is all he can offer, but it feels okay – and he isn’t sure if he can do anything else, but he wants to try. That must be the first step.
With a blue bowl that is slightly chipped, shoved into the back of the cabinet, Tsuna carefully pulls it out, dishing leftover rice and recently boiled chicken he had to shred apart into the container. It looks unappealing, almost revolting but, Tsuna has made a promise to himself, has offered his heart and he won’t back down from his plans.
He is careful to sneak out, slipping past the front door and down the small flight of steps towards the gate in the fading rays of sunlight. The sky is a hue of yellows and reds, pink clouds mashed together, dark blues rolling in sweeping waves and it is a gorgeous sunset that maybe, he should just appreciate the sun more often just for the sight. Wind brushes past, soft, carrying the scent of honeysuckle and the rising bloom of cherry blossoms in the air. With trembling hands, he slips the dish past the bars, crouched low to the ground, and sets the porcelain bowl in front of the brick, off to the side so his mom can’t see it when she gets the mail.
Tsuna isn’t too sure on what her opinion might be on feeding a stray and so, he is going to keep it hidden.
Tomorrow, he gets to see if it works and really, Tsuna hopes it does for their sake.
–
It does.
Tsuna lets out a cheer of joy at the sight of the bowl licked clean. His excitement pressing against his ribs because something just right slots itself into place, a budding emotion that swirls tangibly around his ribs in a comforting hug. He feels like he won the lottery, like he finally got an A on that stupid English homework. It – he just doesn’t feel as useless as before and maybe, having his emotions depend on the stray dog feels strange, that truly this is the lowest of patheticness he can reach, but Tsuna doesn’t care. For once, someone is relying on him. For once, he did something that was appreciated.
“Tsuna?” Kaa-san calls, her body poking out of the door, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Did something interesting arrive in the mail?”
He jumps. Right, for the first time in months he woke up early enough to offer to grab the mail. “No Kaa-san,” he watches her face slip into confusion, “Just remembered I don’t have a test today.”
She gives a nod, “That is a nice thing.” Her smile is warm, and she cracks open the door a little wider, letting him back inside.
“Kaa-san, what do you call the stray dog?” Tsuna tilts his head up towards her, brushing past her, his hand naturally catching her own when she offers, taking them towards the kitchen where she is prepping breakfast.
“Oh! Well, you know Reena-san down the street?” She starts. Tsuna nods even though he has no clue who she is, but he assumes it is one of her friends that she visits every week to read a book with. “The name she chose I think is rather fitting for our furry friend! Kageyoshi . Good Shadow. Why do you ask?”
His mom pulls away, her hand replaced with a knife and a cutting board set in front of him with tofu. “Well, I just,” Tsuna feels his earlier idea that she might dislike him feeding the hound fly out the proverbial window and he sets down the knife to avoid his nervousness being an accidental cut. She did call Kageyoshi a furry friend and well, Tsuna is awful at lying. “I want to take care of them – or, just, offer…food? You know, they are really skinny and well I um – I just think that they don’t do any harm and kind of helps protect the neighborhood a bit – so, I bought some food, and I am really sorry about asking for extra pocket money by the way – so I can…feed them.”
Shyly, Tsuna glances up from the cutting board and looks at his mom’s smile. “Oh Tsuna, you could have just said that! I already knew with the extra chicken in the fridge and the leftover rice being gone.” She stretches a hand, hand settling down on his shoulder to pull him in, making Tsuna squirm as he is given a sloppy forehead kiss. In hindsight, him bothering to hide his plan was probably stupid if he was taking stuff out of the fridge. “I’ll help you, come on. Go get that bowl outside, we should make sure Kageyoshi has breakfast too. Oh! And maybe actually grab the mail?”
“Kaa-san!” Tsuna whines through his smile, a lackluster shove to escape the hug making him able to worm out of her grip. “Okay okay! Let me grab the bowl.”
Kaa-san gives a parting ruffled hair pat that leaves him pouting. “That’s my son!”
–
They fall into a routine. Every morning, Kaa-san makes Kageyoshi breakfast and at night Tsuna does. The chipped porcelain bowl eventually falls away to a ceramic one, something mom found at the store that had a “foreign sort of appeal!” that was a seafoam green at the edges and melded into a darkish brown that well, it really did make Kageyoshi feel a part of their home now.
He finds himself even waking up earlier, in the hopes to beat mom to feed Kageyoshi and most of the time he fails, slumping defeatedly into his chair while Kaa-san hides her smug smile behind her newspaper, but a few times, Tsuna succeeded and had to crow in delight. Though, that meant mom found a way to ask if that meant he would help cook breakfast since he got up early enough to help. Well, he couldn’t say no, but his grumbling earned him some pointed looks that had him quickly snapping his mouth shut to help dice up vegetables or scrambling eggs.
Now, every time Tsuna sees Kageyoshi, the dog seems to slowly be gaining a little bit of weight from what he can see in the shadows and the feeling in his chest returns. A rising thing, touching every little piece of his organs with a bubbling warmth, like little fireworks going off inside his chest. It is such a beautiful feeling, something that is so gratifying that a few times he can’t help but press the heel of his palm against his chest in the hopes his heart won’t leap forward like in those cartoons. It just – Tsuna feels so warm that even the bullies' words don’t sting as much on a good day and even just tripping down the stairs in his rush of excitement to be the first one out the door leaves him less embarrassed. He even thinks that Kaa-san smiles a bit more now at the sight of him happy – that in return it just makes him happier . A loop of positive feedback.
He knows that this is strange. He should be making actual friends, not feeding the local stray dog. Tsuna should try and maybe fix his reputation, do better in his classes, maybe even do a sport or some sort of athletic field and yet, the ideas don’t fill him with the same sort of excitement. It doesn’t leave his heart warm, and it just fills him with a chilling fear instead, making his heart ring loudly in his ears. It’s likely an issue, probably some sort of weird response that he can’t control but, it’s okay because Tsuna has Kaa-san and he has Kageyoshi who comes every morning and night and has taken to sometimes bringing gifts in return.
A feather from an owl of some sort. A five-dollar yen note. A bouquet of wildflowers that was wrapped with twine (Mom loved that gift) and even gemstones like quartz and citrine. Tsuna isn’t even sure how they got their paws on this stuff, but it really was a sweet gesture that he hoped they weren’t becoming too tired in the search of giving them basic kindness. Even so, there is a steady collection of trinkets now adorning their house, a few in his room, but mostly scattered around. Sometimes, he can’t help but wonder what item it will be this day — or the next.
Then one day after four weeks, two after all the gifts, and even a few later days where Kageyoshi waited to receive food from the shadows; Tsuna had failed to Kaa-san once again, slung his school bag over his shoulder, ready to start the trek all the way to school, spotting the figure of Kageyoshi quietly sitting still beside the gate. Their body pressed against the bushes, loose fur full of twigs and leaves.
He pauses, freezing in his next step because for one: this is the first time he has seen Kageyoshi up close. Two: Kageyoshi was massive.
Seeing them afar was one thing, but up close, in the daytime? Kageyoshi reached his neck, and their fur was a dark, shaggy black, covered in grime and didn’t smell all that great now that he was in close proximity. It was a weird sort of wavy, giving them thick eyebrows and an unkempt appearance. The fear returned at such a powerful hound, but then, their head angled towards him, eyes almost seeming to just brighten , their tail beginning to wag along the pavement and Tsuna could feel his fear fall away, the bile in his throat slipping back into his stomach as he carefully opened the gate, stepping outside and beside the large dog.
“Kageyoshi,” Tsuna said, and realized that it really was fitting for them. Their eyes were a paralyzing green that was almost human-like, looking at him with curiosity and maybe, this was the first time they had seen him up close too. It was really sweet that despite them already eating breakfast, they had waited.
Waited for him.
“Are you walking me to school?” Tsuna asks, stretching a hand out that Kageyoshi draws away from initially, flinching back in a way that makes Tsuna burn , but holding it suspended in the air, leaves them comfortable enough to push their head against the palm of his hand. He definitely, definitely needs to wash his hands once he gets to school but, he can’t help but card his fingers through the shaggy, tangled fur that is offered, careful to go slow.
His mouth feels dry when Kageyoshi starts walking forward in the direction of his school. Tsuna can tell they are going slow for his sake, strides much shorter and his insides feel like mush — all warm and fuzzy at such a thing because, how can such a kind creature be a stray? Who casted aside such a dog? Who did such a thing to their face? Even now, Tsuna can see the echoing of scars that are slowly growing fur and it makes his head hurt, heart beating uncomfortably in his chest at the idea. The idea of getting retribution is floating around, his fingers softly digging a bit more firmly into Kageyoshi’s coat and he knows Kaa-san would join him.
Tsuna knows he's a coward. He's weak, he's pathetic. His moniker is Dame-Tsuna and it has stuck with him since preschool and up, but he is not weak enough to stoop to hurting animals. To give a gentle giant like Kageyoshi those terrible scars. His fingers gently trace their boney body as they lead the way down the road, a few people from their porches staring at the behemoth of a dog almost dwarfing Tsuna himself. The back of his neck prickles uncomfortably at the attention, but he knows they are not trying to look at him.
“Tsuna-kun!” Kageyoshi turns their head around so fast that Tsuna jumps back, watching as they seem to scoot a bit closer to his side, blocking most of him from view as their head drops down, fur bristling. Protecting him .
Kyoko steps forward, her arm in a jaunty wave that slowly comes to rest by her side at the sight of the dog. “Oh!” She says, a bit quietly even as she still steps forward. “Do you have a dog now, Tsuna-kun?”
He blinks because he doesn’t exactly recall ever meeting Kyoko-chan on the walk to school, but it isn’t exactly something he is going to take for granted. She, after all, has never once bullied him or talked behind his back, or tripped him, or sent him careening down the stairs, she just never noticed him. Now that he thinks about it, the bar is rather low, but it was okay because Kyoko-chan did not seem like the type to take people like him into back alleys and ask him to fork over any money he may have or get punched.
“Kyoko-chan!” He gives a short, abrupt laugh that feels caught in his windpipe. “No, this is Kageyoshi, they wanted to walk me to school.” Wait — what gender exactly are they? It feels rather rude, but he looks underneath the shaggy hound and ah, male, okay.
She gives a large smile, clapping her hands together and leaning forward. If Tsuna stares long enough, he thinks she might even have stars in her eyes. “That's really sweet of Kage-chan here!” Kyoko holds out her hand letting Kageyoshi sniff before tentatively pressing his nose against her fingers. Since she was of similar height to him, she wasn’t dwarfed too badly, but looking at it from an outsider perspective really did drive the fact home that Kageyoshi could easily pounce, and he would suffocate.
“Cold!” Her laugh is really sweet that he can’t help the blush that warms his cheeks at the sound. "Do you mind if I walk with you Tsuna-kun? Haru-chan is sick and can’t walk with me like normal.”
“Oh!” He can’t help but be surprised, blinking rather stupidly at the question. “Sure? Kage seems to like you.”
Kyoko hand scratches behind Kage’s fur, though a flash of what may look like a grimace and disgust comes. That, Tsuna gets and has to smother a chuckle at the expression from her demise. “Yeah, he — he’s a stray so he needs a bath.”
It almost seems like Kage…droops? It’s a bit of a sad thing because his head drops down like he is embarrassed at being so dirty, and even gently pushes Kyoko’s hand away with his nose. A sad sounding breath being huffed.
“Kage-chan!” Kyoko leans forward, placing each of her palms on the side of his muzzle, “We’ll give you a bath today, nee Tsuna-kun?”
“Of course!”
Wait — we?
But it’s too late to retract that statement because Kage perks up from it, looking happy at the idea of a bath, which, from his Wikipedia purge of dogs, may be a little bit of abnormal behavior. Though, if he was caked in grime twenty-four seven, then maybe he would come to enjoy baths too.
“Oh! Come on Tsuna-kun! We’re going to be late to class!”
Shit . Tsuna immediately panics, following after Kage’s gentle trot and Kyoko’s speedwalk. He definitely does not want to be on the wrong side of Hibari-san’s ire, Tsuna still feels a shiver wrack through his body last time he was late and he had purple eyes pinned on him and the not-so-gentle end of a tonta ready to rip him to shreds.
Yet, Tsuna thinks he just may have made a tentative friend so perhaps Hibari may see some of that positivity and not crush it.
Fat chance.
–
Most of him, if not all of him, does not expect Kyoko-chan to follow through on her promise. Everybody plays pranks and it isn’t far-fetched for him to think she’ll leave him at the front of the door and smash whatever hope he has into millions of pieces. It’s just something he’s come to expect, and it hurts — it always hurts no matter how many times he braces for it, no matter how many times he hopes this will be different, but it lessens the blow. Softens it against his muscle instead of bone.
It’s easier to be right than wrong.
But his heart is a stupid thing wrapped in stupid because it beats loudly, drowning out lecture and questions, and the usual harshness of taunts thrown at his feet. His heart hopes this will be different, it knows it will and his mind, as slow as it may be, can’t wait for the inevitable crash and burn. For today to be a fluke, for her eyes to turn cold. He expects it, he wants it . It would be kinder and life can just grant him that little bit of mercy, he will be okay.
His day travels slowly, the clock his friend and enemy all at once. His eyes traveled to the window, looking outside at the school entrance, hoping it would be true.
( “After school, can we walk to my home?” Tsuna bravely asks, pulling whatever courage he has, no matter how miniscule it is. “I — can we bathe Kage there?”
Kyoko’s eyebrows scrunch forward, tapping her finger against her cheek to think for a second. “Okay! I’ll be there. Bye, Tsuna-kun!”)
And that was that.
Not a promise, not a declaration, just a question. A lead that won’t be followed through. The papers were thrown out. It makes him sick, almost ready to hurl his breakfast into the toilet at the nausea gripping his side. Let it be true; Tsuna prays and prays as it gets closer to let out. He just wants it to be true, for once. For just a small chance. It’s so stupid to wish and it’s driving him crazy, but — what if it is true? What if the slim possibility happens? The one in a million? Or in those imaginary numbers like a gazillion or a bajillion? What if, what if?
Hope is such a deadly thing
But the clock rings, and school is let out and for the first time, Tsuna is dreading going home.
His feet carry him out, and it's a bustle to slip past everyone, his shoes scratching against the tile. Tsuna’s hands grip his schoolbag until it's white-knuckled as he makes it outside to the busy courtyard, catching whispers and a crowd congregating, with students slipping past without a care and some lingering, dispersing into afternoon clubs. He keeps his head down, careful, quiet – walking to the front and past the crowd, wincing at each hiss and sharp bark when he brushes past too quickly.
Tsuna slips to the front and there — Kage is. Waiting. Just like he did this morning.
Oh. Oh .
He steps forward and he can feel every eye snap to him, a laugh or two and a few taunting comments about getting eaten and Kage? Kage sits there, so quietly, afraid, standing his ground with all his schoolmates, looking at him with a shine of excitement and fear.
“Kage.” Kage stands, and he swears he hears a few shrieks. A cold nose is pressed into his awaiting palm and his fingers glide through the fur. He hopes Kage didn’t stay the entire day waiting for him but he can’t help but feel so touched – just, being counted on by someone.
“Dame-Tsuna? Got a new guard dog now?” He hears behind him, a clear sneer on their lips. There are even a few laughs amongst the crowd that leaves him shrinking back towards the open center, ready to book it in case they give chase. “This mutt looks just as bad as you.”
His eyes narrow and Tsuna can’t help but fidget. “What? Can’t make normal friends now?”
A hand is reaching out to him, and he can't help but wait to be dragged off to who knows where, but a muzzle flashes in front of it, teeth on display. And oh.
That — that is terrifying.
Folded on top of each other, sharp and large, Mori’s arm snaps back immediately at the sight. Even the slight crack of Kage’s mouth leaves most of the crowd scrambling, not wanting to be on the wrong side of a stray dog's ire and it is even a better dispersal than what Hibari-san could do. It makes Tsuna puff his chest up in pride. Shows them!
Kage lips slowly drop back down, covering back the fearsome fangs that left the crowd by the gate scattering into the winds except for Mori still standing there, a look of utter contempt on his face.
“Be careful Dame, or that dog of yours is going to be put down along with you.”
Mori huffs, slinking past back towards the school. The crowd having dispersed leaves him letting out a wheeze at the relief of being free from everyone's gazes. Such attention makes his skin crawl, not able to flee without running into somebody? How terrifying.
“You should wait for me down the street, okay? You are rather large.”
He can’t help but rub his fingers back and forth, like how his mom does with Tsuna’s own hair.
“Tsuna-kun! I hope you didn’t have to wait too long!” Kyoko’s voice sounds, “I had to grab Haru-chan's homework.”
Shock colors his features, whipping his head around towards her. His mouth opened and closed, gaping like a fish. “N-No. Not at all! I just —” didn’t think you were coming “Not long at all.”
She gives a determined nod, holding the homework she went to grab, “Good! Do you think we can stop by her house on the way back? Before going to your house?”
He nods, dumbly. Kage makes the choice for him since he clearly likes her, pressing forward his nose against her hand.
This was probably the strangest day he has ever had.