Chapter 5
Something has changed.
Yes, Kage still patrolled the neighborhood, but every morning when Tsuna woke up, blinking away the haze of sleep and tumbling downstairs, yawning and brushing his teeth, Kage was on the back porch, huddled in the spare blanket left outside for him. Two plush chairs had even made their way outside too, something Kaa-san bought with a tight-lipped smile that was outside the messy pile of fur.
Now, their mornings were spent in the warming spring weather eating breakfast, having to carefully shield his food away from Kage who scarfed down his meal as quickly as they could breathe. The sun brushing against the growing leaves on the trees in the backyard, the flower bushes returning to their usual state, smelling of honeysuckle and nectar growing amongst the petals. Grass tickled his feet, the ground half between mush from spring rain and firm from the sun growing in intensity with each passing day. It was warm – it was chasing away the cold that had for so long gripped his heart in a paralyzing sort of fear. It was a strange feeling building in his chest, this perpetual warmth that came from a stray dog turned friend turned family, whose nose pressed against his cheek and fur got all almost every article of his clothing, leaving him tempted to just run a lint roller on top to get it from the source. Comically funny, how Tsuna looked forward to waking up, racing down the steps, turning on the kettle and ready to help start or help finish up breakfast.
Even Kyoko-chan has come to hang out at the house at least twice, almost three times a week now. Sometimes, they just did homework, other times, Tsuna grabbed ahold of his Wii and offered to play a few matches of Mario Kart or Smash Brothers even if he, unfortunately, sucked at it terribly. Somehow, having to swallow his utter surprise, Kyoko-chan was amazing at Wii games, though, he still did better in Wii sports than she could do.
Her competitiveness was scary. Eyes almost seem to burn a hazy indigo at just how pumped up she could get when Tsuna barely scraped by in winning a game of Mario Kart by throwing a blue shell or by the skin of his teeth managed to win by doing some idiotic move that gave him the game. The resounding silent treatment did hurt (Tsuna pleaded for her to talk, having to eventually get Kage to lay on her in the hopes she would) until she proceeded to wipe the floor with him in the next match. Her embarrassment was short lived and so was his pride.
(Tsuna had once asked how she was so good at this.
“Oh! We used to have a television to play the kinect but my Nii-san accidentally threw the remote at it! We no longer have a TV.”
He blinked in surprise before taking a step back in fear, raising his hands up in a placating manner, shooting a worried glance at the one in his room. “Oh.” I hope she doesn’t throw a remote through my TV either.)
In return to their own hanging out, Tsuna found himself being dragged along to go shopping or try a new place to eat, like the one across the local grocery store that had really good cake but their frosting was too thick and had that weird artificial taste. Or, the cookie shop that had strange, wacky flavors every month as a special and every time they got a box, they had a sheet of paper to rank each of the flavors and proceed to debate it over the dinner table. Kaa-san offered her input often, humming in amusement at the comparisons before she tried it, managing to summarize their opinions in a sentence or less and finalizing the rankings.
Since they had to replace most of the stuff in the bathroom (Tsuna winces at the state of his bank account), the trip to the mall led to being pulled into multiple different stores, most of which didn’t even involve bath supplies and buying things he has never heard off like a curling iron or leave-in conditioner and even things like dry shampoo, Seriously! The amount of products on the shelf was mind-boggling and he really couldn’t help but look at Kyoko-chan in fear at all the choices in front of him. His head felt like spinning as he had to carry all the bags they had but, Kaa-san’s surprise at the wrapped, somewhat fancy iron made Tsuna proud and he carefully ignored the fact that she did end up depositing the money he spent back into his account, making sure to set it aside to buy something nice for Kyoko and Kaa-san later down the line.
His life was changing strangely enough. Kyoko-chan was his first friend, expecting nothing but his presence, dragging him along to things she loved, her notebook of carefully penned writing full of crossed off and recently written stores to come and visit sometime soon to find the best cake. Kaa-san seemed happier now, with her own college classes beginning to wrap up at the time of their school year, she seemed to be handling it better than last quarter when he remembers waking up to piles of paper scattered haphazardly across the kitchen table and her slumped over, head buried into her arms. She even started volunteering again, finding time every Wednesday and Sunday to go to the local hospital to read to the kids in the pediatric ward. Kage had even started accompanying her, wearing a red vest covered in stickers stating “Emotional Support Dog,” That Mirami-san down the street had altered to fit him, adding her own flare with his name on the side and a bunch of velcro patches, there was talk to get him registered as a registered service animal with how good he was with the kids.
Perhaps the biggest change to their growing group was Kageyoshi, who was once a skinny, emancipated dog, now filling out with some ways left to go. Who once only stayed outside, now migrated to either Tsuna’s or Kaa-san’s bedroom depending on if the door was slightly left open and he could slip inside. Who walked him too and back from school everyday and if Kyoko-chan stayed late, walked her back home, making sure she got back safely. (That always led to aggressive petting from Kaa-san and a newfound treat of chicken bones every time he came back.) Though he did not have a collar, there was an understanding that Kage was theirs and despite his size, was a sweetheart of a dog with intelligent eyes and a mouth that barely made any noise.
Once the vest was adorned however, Kage was almost – a mother – in a strange way. Tsuna heard from the fond snippets of his mom that Kage would round up the children, herding them together and seeking out the ones that did not play to keep them company. Who strolled around the hospital, sometimes carrying things or carefully slipped into the chemotherapy wards, comforting those rocking from the sickness of radiation. The nurses were very fond of him, more so than the doctors and even took to giving him a name badge to pin on the red vest with a picture of him and Sawada Kageyoshi as his nametag. It was really sweet and the day he had been given it, for the first time, Kage had barked a soft sound that was almost inaudible but was so touching that they had been so excited to be an official member of the hospital.
Eventually by the end of the school year and mid-way into the break, after another month and a half and a standing ovation from the chief nurse of the pediatric ward (and all the countless tests and paperwork that yes, Kage was good enough to be a support dog, no, he never has bit anyone, and yes, he is extremely large and no we don’t know his breed), the emotional support vest was transformed into a support dog one, meaning Kage could go anywhere.
The excitement that came when Kaa-san ushered him and Kyoko-chan into the home when he went to pick her up in the morning, holding up the official paperwork in the kitchen that was processed and pointing to the new red vest with most, if not all the same patches just this time with Support dog on it on the counter, was enough to knock Kageyoshi out of his nap on the couch. The loud cheer and hugs all around made him stumble, head picking up from where he took up most of the couch.
“Kage-chan,” Kaa-san sing-songed, beckoning him forward that he immediately followed. “Guess what?”
Kyoko-chan broke the news first, throwing her arms around the hound with vigor, almost hanging off of his neck. “You did it!”
They blink, green eyes traveling over each and every one of them before something clicks when Kage glances at the letter, a small whine of questioning being their response. Tsuna watches with amusement when their tail starts wagging, making a large thumping noise everytime it hits the kitchen island counters.
“You are now a service dog! This calls for a celebration!” Kaa-san claps cheerfully, “Do you think any of the bakeries are willing to do a doggy cake?”
“Kage eats anything, mom,” Tsuna comments, which he's heard that certain foods can make dogs sick but, Tsuna has never seen any sort of sickness that could occur. Hell, he’s even seen Kage eat salisbury steak without a care in the world.
“I know, but maybe we should get something that may be kinder on his stomach?” She hums thoughtfully, pulling out her phone and handing it to Kyoko. “I trust you two to decide on a place. Tsuna, you have the card? Yes? Good, I’m going to grab ingredients to make a feast! How are we thinking on Lasagna for dinner tonight?”
Tsuna can’t help but cheer as his mom gives a jaunty goodbye! Before leaving the house. “Lasagna! Yes!”
“Lasagna?” Kyoko voices, “What's that?”
“Just an amazing Italian dish!” Tsuna can’t help but exclaim, “Do you want to bring over your Nii-chan or even Hana-san to join us?”
He has only met Hana-san a few times and although she tended to be quite a prickly character, Tsuna has come to admire her. She was a really good study buddy and quick to cut any nonsense and well, her grasp on algebra was really handy when Tsuna couldn’t recall the golden rule or remember which quadrant was which on the coordinate system. Though, square roots still stumped him.
Kyoko’s Nii-san however, Tsuna has met in passing. Kyoko didn’t talk about her home often and he felt no need to press but from the general image he was given, her brother was often working himself to the bone, a bit overbearing to be around, and had a good heart. Her parents worked a lot and weren’t home often and so Kyoko was left alone. Hana-san was busy helping her parents and couldn’t always hang out during the weekdays or she was running the debate club, hoping to get first place in the county championships. All in all, Tsuna realized that a lot of her life was almost similar to his in being surrounded by people but still alone, it – it made him feel closer to the brunette, hoping that their friendship was mutually beneficial for eachother even if the amount of “are you two dating?” questions made him uncomfortable and Kyoko look downright annoyed.
(“Why is it so hard for the idea that we are just friends?” Kyoko murmured, leaning up against the school wall overlooking the courtyard.
Tsuna gave a careless shrug. Kage was settled in the school nurse office and probably comforting those that had been on the bad-side of Hibari-san’s ire this morning. “I don’t know, I like being friends with you. I don’t – I don’t really want more than that.”
“Me too.”)
Kyoko looks thoughtful, “Hana-chan really likes Kage-chan but she’s not in Namimori at the moment.” She glances at said hound currently looking at them patiently, tail still steadily thumping against the floor. “Nii-chan…” she trails off, looking at Kaa-san’s phone.
Tsuna couldn’t be trusted to have one, after one too many broken ones, even of the cheapest models available, it was rather embarrassing so now, they just burrowed Kaa-san’s phone. It worked well enough – he just wasn’t allowed to carry it at all, but he lifts up one of his arms, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, doing the circular rub that his mom always did when he was conflicted. “You don’t have too.”
She gives a shake of her head, already unlocking the device and typing in her Nii-chan’s number. “I want to ask.”
“I’ll – I’ll give you more privacy than…”
Her hand shoots out, gripping the helm of his hoodie when he starts moving away. “Stay, it’s just a call with my Nii-chan, not my parents,” Kyoko chides, her fingers twisting into the helm of his clothes betraying her nervousness.
“Okay,” Tsuna trails off, reaching his hand back out to take a hold of her hand in comfort. “I’m here.”
The line dials for a few moments, the intermissions silently long before there is a click, and the loud voice of her brother picks up. “Hello! It is extremely nice to take your call! This is Sasagawa Ryohei speaking!”
“Nii-chan,” Kyoko blurts out, tripping over her words, “I um – I had a question for you.”
“You’re not hurt, right? Do I need to fight someone? Where are you? Are the bullies back again or Morada? Tell me who?” is fired off in rapid succession, Kyoko pulling the phone away from her ear at just how loud it was. Kage leans back, almost flailing over his own paws, ears snapping against their skull as they look down at the phone. Tsuna can’t help but squeak, leaning away as the word vomit doesn’t stop, but just keeps going. Does this guy even breathe?
“Nii-chan!” Kyoko cuts off, stopping him. “I’m not hurt, yes I’m safe, no nothing is wrong, I’m at Tsuna-kun’s house,” like I told you, every day, is said quietly. “I just wanted to ask if you want to go to a party for Kage-chan.”
There is a moment of silence. “Is Kage-chan a boyfriend of yours?”
Tsuna chokes and Kyoko gags beside him. “No!” she quite nearly shouts, “He’s a dog! You’ve seen him!”
“Oh!” Tsuna ignores the stare Kyoko shoots at him, the wounded, narrowed eye-look when she gets annoyed. “Sadly, my dear, amazing, lovely sister who is so beautiful and wonderful –” wow, Tsuna thinks at the spiel of compliments, “--there is a tournament in two days, and I need to be extremely in shape to be prepared!”
He manages to swallow his saliva back in time to do a reassuring squeeze at the denied invitation. “Okay, I’ll see you at home, Nii-chan. I love you.”
“And I love you too! So much! Hugs, kisses, you are wonderful, Kyoko! Have fun and stay safe tonight.”
The phone call ends with a click and Tsuna can’t help but try and ignore the fact laughter is bubbling in his throat at the pure exuberance of the call.
“Is he…?
“Yes,” but Kyoko is smiling, and Tsuna returns it, “He is always like that.”
“Is that why you keep me away from him?” Tsuna can’t help but comment.
She raises her brow at him, “You would be so overwhelmed you wouldn’t be able to speak for a week.”
“That’s,” Tsuna follows her towards the foyer, watching her grab Kage’s new vest off the counter before they head towards the door. “That’s an under-exaggeration right?”
Kyoko looks at him amused, clipping the clasps into place around Kage.
“Right?!”
She says nothing but her smug look makes fear pass through his face.
–
With Kage being a support dog that meant, by law, he could enter any establishment which was downright hilarious. Truly, the most exciting thing about this entire spectacle was that their large hound could enter any place and not be kicked out like before, or when he had to wait outside. Tsuna may have a vindictive streak, watching the color of some of the stringent, stuck-up store owners that had given them a hard time, swallow their pride and let them in. Not that Kage did anything even remotely bad, but he heard from some grumbles that they had stolen a few bouquets before which made sense. Kyoko was no better, grinning cheerfully that had too many teeth to be normal as she led the charge, looking and asking the front of the house if they could make dog-friendly cakes.
Despite the vest and the countless patches, Kage was intimidating. It was hard to not be used to how he was taller than Tsuna with his neck stretched, or that he could use Kaa-san's head as a pillow. The fact that he could even pick up children if he dares tried, not even winded from the sudden addition of twenty or more pounds just added more fright to the otherwise kind-hearted canid. Tsuna had a feeling that those teeth of his could probably crush bone if they dare so desired and they were only used to chow down on any sort of food that was placed in front of him. Now that Tsuna thought about it, was Kage conscious of his teeth well enough to avoid showing it? There was that time he did flash them, but that was to get Mori-san to back off from touching him so that meant that Kage-san was aware his teeth scared others and therefore, carefully kept his jaws shut.
Tsuna watched with amusement as Kage carefully had to take a treat from a shaking, petrified worker who was close to almost fainting when his teeth carefully grabbed the bone-shaped treat before stepping back, walking towards him and sitting down, quickly scarfing it down in one bite. It really was sweet, how he was conscious enough to avoid terrifying the worker even more as Kyoko chatted with them, debating the merits of having pumpkin or blueberry, or even combining both as a flavor. To him, Tsuna couldn’t say it sounded appetizing, but Kage’s electric green eyes were perked up, following the conversation back and forth every time a food he liked was mentioned.
“Kage,” Tsuna murmured, his hand stretching up to scratch underneath his chin, “Thank you.”
A nose is pressed into his arm, and he can’t help but smile.
For such a terrifying hound, Kageyoshi truly was a sweetheart without a bad bone in his body. It made Tsuna wonder who would abandon such a dog. Who would bother to throw away a friend, a family member?
“You deserve the best,” Tsuna can’t help but admit because his life has changed since Kageyoshi walked into it. He has a friend, his mom is happier, and there is something to look forward to waking up to everyday. His grades have even steadily improved and now his clumsiness is being chipped away, he hasn’t even fallen down the stairs in almost a week now. Though he now has little to no articles of clothing without black hair on it and his favorite blankets are always being stolen, and if Kage jumbos onto his bed he is pushed off the edge nine times out of ten, Tsuna wouldn't trade it for the world. There is an understanding, some sort of warmth that has filled the cracks of his soul, the damages of his bruised heart that easily slip into heal with each breath, the warmth that coils deeply inside of him, slowly being chipped, slowly being able to fill his entire body and not just his chest.“I’m happy you’re here.”
A low whine is pressed into his hair. Tsuna will probably need a shower to get out the black strands, and he shoves half-heartedly at the beast playfully, glancing towards Kyoko who does nothing to get Kage off, only quicking whipping out the phone to snap a picture of his demise before going back to the cashier.
“Oh!” Kyoko turns back to him, “Tsuna it will take about a few hours so we can swing back here around four to grab the cake for the celebration tonight.”
He nods, jerking his head to get Kage off to walk over to the counter, his eyes tracing the still somewhat terrified look of the worker. It is a little heartbreaking, and he can’t help but try and reassure them in the hopes of not looking at the price he is paying. “He doesn’t bite,” Tsuna reassures, “He’s just kind.”
Perhaps dogs were born to love unconditionally. Perhaps all dogs could do was love despite the hard hand they could be dealt with. Tsuna’s mind thinks, twisting and turning, thoughts chasing each other at the thought of what may have happened, what was the origin of Kage? What did it mean to be a stray and now a family dog and a service animal for people alike? Was it hard? Was it easy to change? There was something about this situation that was sad, that tasted like fresh tears on the back of his tongue of changing from love.
He can’t help but look before he pays, watching Kyoko point at the cakes on display, talking to Kage. To be loved, Tsuna thinks, watching his friends and family together in the morning sun along the checkered tile and the pastel pink windows, was to change.
–
(“I love you,” Tsuna croaks, his fingers curving the moon and back along Kage’s fur. Stars shining, fading and existing all at once as he can’t help but sob from the overwhelming feeling of love. “I love you so much.”)
–
It’s a sunny morning with clear blue skies and warm, humid air on an April afternoon. His window is slightly cracked open, smelling of wet grass and blooming flowers that sway softly in the wind, the bushes of hyacinths and magnolias along the fence a beautiful mix of blues and pinks. Kage is in his Kaa-san’s room, likely sprawled out across her king bed and hogging the blankets like he always does and Tsuna sleepily yawns, stretching his arm overhead and grimacing at the slight mess from last night's homework on his small table, making note to tidy up his room tonight since Kyoko-chan should be coming over to keep him company, something about Kaa-san wanting to attend a last minute seminar at the college and not wanting him to be all alone. Tsuna appreciates the thought, but he can’t say he wouldn’t mind it, Kage would be with him after all. He hopes it’s exciting – for her sake – and he slips out of bed, one fuzzy green sock left on his feet as he makes his way down to the adjacent bathroom hearing shuffling from the room across the hall.
Doing his business and with clean hands, a toothbrush jabbed into his mouth, Tsuna made his way down the hardwood stairs, his hand tracing the railing as he stumbled his way towards the kitchen, filling up the red teapot and setting it on the electric heater. His eyes move along the cabinets, reaching up above the fridge to grab the box of cereal, not caring to put in the effort to make anything substantial at the moment and pulls it down, setting it on the marble countertops before reaching into the cabinet to grab a bowl, setting it beside each other.
He hears Kage before he sees him and can’t help but mumble a good morning, before hobbling over to his food dish underneath the window covered in herb plants. There should be some leftover rice and meat from dinner – though maybe not a whole lot so he should add an egg? Kage didn’t mind raw eggs but he didn’t enjoy eating the shell. Did that mean he should go shopping for food today to cook? He wasn’t sure Kaa-san would be back from the seminar but he should ask when she comes down.
The fridge is already open when he turns around, the cartoon of milk placed beside the cereal and Tsuna nudges Kage aside who looks at the fridge hungrily, grabbing the leftover rice and meat – and yep, there wasn’t a whole lot – so Tsuna grabbed one of the eggs from the cartoon, carefully balancing it to avoid it shattering on the floor, though it would be eaten either way.
It’s muscle memory, months of adding rice, flattening it down before placing meat and cracking open the raw egg is familiar. Kage flutters around, grabbing two mugs out of the cabinet, having to stretch onto his hindlegs and placing them down gently before grabbing the teabags in the shelves below the microwave, setting it beside the mugs before returning to the back of the table where Tsuna usually sits. Tsuna leaves the eggshell on the counter – he’ll need to crush it up and add it as fertilizer for the plants or he’ll get a stink eye for forgetting again – before making his own breakfast.
Awkwardly, Tsuna multitasks. He dumps out enough cereal and spits out his toothpaste into the sink, washing it down with water before washing his mouth. He’ll need to take his toothbrush upstairs but for now, it's beside the sink, as he adds milk into his bowl, grabbing a spoon and taking it towards the table, slipping into his seat with a thud before remembering the tea kettle.
He’ll get up for it later.
One of the most endearing things really was that despite his family hound being able to eat anything quickly, he still patiently waited for the signal to eat or when they took their first bite. Tsuna’s spoon taps against the edge of his bowl, digging in before Kage follows soon after. Cornflakes were pretty delicious but not filling. Kaa-san doesn't particularly enjoy him eating them again, but they were there for a reason even if at best, it took around two weeks for him to finish a bag. It was an easy meal to make (just two ingredients) that didn’t involve a hot stove or cleaning up a bunch of dishes.
“Morning Tsuna, Kage-chan,” Kaa-san greets tiredly, shuffling into the kitchen and placing a sloppy good morning kiss on his forehead before repeating it on Kage. Tsuna can’t help but gag, using the back of his hand to wipe off the saliva as she heads towards the mugs and boiling kettle, setting up tea for them to enjoy. It seems that the beginning of the quarter was always the hardest and she never did wake up as early as before, not that Tsuna didn’t mind, he was always going to let her sleep-in.
“Morning mom.” Tsuna eats slowly, talking in between mouthfuls of food. “What time does your seminar end? Should I go out to the store after class?”
She hums. Despite the warm weather, she has on a soft, overly loose cream sweater and long, black checkered pajama pants that is matching with what he has on too. Though, he just grabbed an old fading t-shirt and threw it on to cover himself up. “The seminar starts at five P.M sweetie and ends around seven,” she places a steaming mug of Osmanthus tea in front of him, sitting down next to him, her own mug of Oolong tea blown on softly, “I don’t mind making dinner, it will just be late…”
“It’s okay,” Tsuna pushes his half-eaten bowl of cereal away, already deciding that he was full. “I don’t mind making dinner tonight. Would you like anything?”
“Noodles.”
He blinks, “Yakisoba or soba?”
“Yakisoba!” She takes a sip of her tea, a minute wince flashing across her face from the scorching temperature. She stretches out a hand, letting it linger on his forearm. “Thank you.”
Tsuna can’t help but soften and puff up in pride at the same time. The image makes his Kaa-san let out a small but fond laugh, ruffling his hair and taking another sip of her tea.
“Hey, what’s the seminar about?”
“Oh well, you know how I mentioned that microeconomics class I took last quarter?” Kaa-san starts, her finger twisting into her hair. Tsuna nodded, though there were a lot of details that she had explained about her two classes. “I guess my final paper was really good and Professor Tanaka reached back out to ask if I may attend this seminar since he believed I may enjoy it.”
She smiles, looking down at her tea. “We’ll see if it has any merit.”
“I think you’ll like it,” Tsuna reassures, even though he has little knowledge of what microeconomics could be about. It…sounds vaguely interesting from what he’s heard about statistics and probabilities and a bunch of other terms like stocks and international markets – a lot of words thrown into the mix that Tsuna can’t help his head spinning at all the unfamiliar words.
Kage nudges Kaa-san’s head, moving it enough to get a few head scratches even if he’s bent down awkwardly, paws splayed out in the attempt to lower himself without his vertebrae doing a sharp ninety-degree angle. “Maybe I could bring you along, Kage-chan,” Kaa-san murmurs. Although there was no collar on him, there was an understanding in Namimori that Kageyoshi was their dog and really, he only followed orders from them, if anyone else tried to get him to do something that was out of his comfort zone, the hound would put his paw down and act snobbish.
It was a little bit funny, even if the child that had been warned not to bother Kage because he was working had ended up screaming at the unfairness. Tsuna still feels his eyes morph into a glare at the memory.
“Maybe,” Tsuna murmurs, joining his mom in scratching at the long fur. Maybe, they should take him to get a haircut. The groomer? Since he acted really well-behaved in baths, almost jumping in it himself, there was a fair shot that he would be okay with a groomer too.
There’s a knock at the door and he looks up at Kaa-san who stares at him.
“Did you order a package?”
She shakes her head, getting up with him. “No…but that does remind me I need to order a few frames.”
Kage takes the lead, guiding them to the door and pausing.
It is strange to watch as Kage suddenly becomes tense, fur puffing out and head dipping down as far as it could go, paws sliding to widen his stance. Tsuna looks at Kaa-san and steps forward, though really, maybe he shouldn’t open the door anyway with how their very docile friend was now, and much too his sheer fright had lips pulled back, a low reverbed noise echoing from their throat that Tsuna guesses is actual growling.
What has Kage spooked? Tsuna thinks hysterically. The person at the door knocks again and he can’t help but jump back, a noise he’ll deny too, his dying breath escaping. He only has one sock on and scrawny arms to boot.
Okay, Tsuna breathes, in and out. Carefully, holding his breath, one leg stretched impossibly far in front of the other, Tsuna yanks back the door as fast he can and… stares at nothing? Huh, Tsuna relaxes, his feet locking back together in a normal stance before he hears another low and menacing growl.
“Ciasso.” Someone says and Tsuna, following Kage’s angled form, spots the small toddler at his doorstep.
He blinks. What.
“Are you lost…little guy?” Tsuna trails off, wondering why Kage would still be growling, pushing forward to block his sight of the child who was wearing a black suit. Again, strange, but – actually, very strange because why was there a toddler just walking around in open daylight? Where were his parents? Why a black suit in spring? “You might have the wrong house…”
“No,” the child cuts in strongly. Now that Tsuna looks there seems to be a chameleon on the rim of their fedora for some odd reason and even a watch on their wrist. “I have the right house. You see, Dame-Tsuna.”
Tsuna’s eyes narrow, “How do you know my nickname?”
“Information gathering is all a part of the job, Tsuna.”
“Can you stop calling me Tsuna! My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi! I don’t know you; you don’t know me!” Tsuna huffs, having to lean over Kage’s head to look down, noticing the pacifier around their neck and the way green eyes were pinned on it. “You should go find your parents.”
“Tsuna!” Kaa-san calls, having stepped a little further back into the house, “Everything okay over there?”
“Yeah!” Tsuna yelled back, looking at the toddler annoyed, “Just a kid that is lost.”
It seems that the comment is enough to make the toddlers' previous passive smile dip into a neutral line that bordered on a scowl. “You see, I’m here because I’m a tutor–”
“Mom didn’t hire one, she would have told me.”
Their eye twitches, it’s rather cute. “Not in school…but in other fields. May I come inside? We have much to discuss oh and,” there’s a look in their eyes that Tsuna doesn’t like. He can’t help but stay on guard, the feeling of danger, danger in the back of his mind, watching Kage try to protect him. “Call off your mutt before a bullet lands in their skull and you’re down a family member.”