KHR: Decimo Primo

The morning sun streamed through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. Tsuna groaned softly, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed. The events of the previous day felt like a blur, a strange mix of exhilaration and confusion. Between Hayato's abstract recital performance and Bianchi's chaotic cooking, he wasn't sure how to feel. What had started as an escort mission had quickly turned into a whirlwind of unexpected moments, culminating in a narrow escape from a kidnapping attempt?

After everything that happened, Tsuna was still trying to process the weight of it all. After Hayato's recital, Tsuna escorted him and Bianchi back to their family mansion, where they were offered shelter for the night. Aldo, the patriarch, had been grateful, inviting Tsuna to stay in one of their rooms as a token of thanks for protecting his children. It was in that brief, tense moment of gratitude that Tsuna felt an unexpected bond forming with Hayato and Bianchi. The life-or-death scenario had forced them closer together, and Tsuna could see glimpses of the more human sides of both of them. Hayato, usually aloof and distant, had revealed a more vulnerable side during their shared experience, and even Bianchi, despite her eccentricities, had shown a level of care that Tsuna hadn't expected.

But something was different about Hayato today. Tsuna had noticed the shift in his attitude the wildness in his eyes, the restlessness that seemed to radiate from him. Hayato was no longer the calm, collected boy Tsuna had met initially. He was someone more intense, more dangerous, and Tsuna couldn't help but wonder what had caused this change.

A knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts. Before he could answer, Reborn let himself in, his small figure carrying an air of authority as always.

"Rise and shine, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said with a smirk. "We've got a new day ahead of us."

Tsuna sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "Can't I get a break? Yesterday was… a lot."

Reborn tilted his fedora. "No breaks for future mafia bosses. Besides, there's nothing urgent today. Consider it… free time."

Tsuna blinked. Free time wasn't something he'd expected to hear from Reborn. "Really?"

Reborn nodded. "You should use it wisely. There's still plenty to learn, even on a quiet day." With that, he hopped onto the windowsill and disappeared, leaving Tsuna to his thoughts.

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After a quick breakfast—mercifully untouched by Bianchi's culinary experiments—Tsuna found himself wandering the expansive grounds of the mansion where they were staying. The gardens were meticulously maintained, with vibrant flowers and neatly trimmed hedges lining the pathways.

He paused by a fountain, watching the water sparkle in the sunlight. The peaceful atmosphere was a stark contrast to the chaos of the recital and the earlier kidnapping attempt. For the first time in a while, he felt like he could breathe.

"Tsuna!" Hayato's voice called out, breaking the tranquility. Tsuna turned to see the silver-haired boy jogging toward him, a wide grin on his face.

"Morning, Hayato," Tsuna greeted, his tone warm. "How are you feeling?"

Hayato's grin faltered slightly, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "Uh, about yesterday… I hope my performance wasn't too weird. I got so into it, I kind of lost track of everything else."

Tsuna hesitated. Should he tell Hayato the truth about Bianchi's "cooking"? He decided against it, not wanting to ruin the moment. "The audience loved it. You should… uh, be proud of that."

Hayato's face lit up. "Really? That's great to hear! I've been working on that piece for weeks."

"It showed," Tsuna said, offering a small smile. "You've got talent, Hayato."

The compliment seemed to catch Hayato off guard. He scratched the back of his head, looking both pleased and embarrassed. "Thanks, Tsuna. That means a lot."

Before the conversation could continue, Bianchi appeared, her presence as commanding as ever. She carried a picnic basket, and Tsuna felt a sense of dread creep in.

"Hayato, Tsuna," she said, her tone sweet but firm. "I thought we could enjoy a little picnic together. I made some special dishes to celebrate Hayato's success."

Hayato's expression shifted, a mix of excitement and unease. "Wow, thanks, Bianchi!"

Tsuna forced a smile, silently praying for a miracle. "That's… really thoughtful of you, Bianchi."

As they settled on a blanket in the shade of a large tree, Bianchi began unpacking the contents of the basket. Tsuna's fears were confirmed when he saw the assortment of… unique dishes she'd prepared. Each one looked more hazardous than the last.

Hayato, however, dug in with gusto, his enthusiasm masking the underlying dread in his eyes. Tsuna watched as the younger boy forced himself to eat bite after bite, his face twitching with suppressed reactions to the horrific flavors. Despite hating the food and visibly struggling to keep it down, Hayato continued, his determination unwavering.

"This is amazing, Bianchi!" Hayato declared between bites, though his voice wavered slightly. "It's no wonder I felt so inspired yesterday."

Tsuna's stomach churned just looking at the food. He took a cautious sip of water, hoping to avoid Bianchi's gaze. Thankfully, she seemed content watching Hayato enjoy—or endure—her creations.

After the picnic, Tsuna excused himself, claiming he needed to check in with Reborn. In truth, he just needed some time to recover from the secondhand stress of watching Hayato's culinary bravery.

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Hayato's Perspective

Hayato stumbled into his family's mansion, his stomach in revolt from the traumatic experience of the picnic. He made a beeline for the nearest bathroom, barely managing to keep his composure as he pushed open the door. The sounds of his retching echoed in the small, sterile room. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't hold back the flood of discomfort that his sister's cooking had caused. It wasn't the first time he'd found himself in this situation, but the intensity of the flavors and the strain of pretending to enjoy it always left him in a haze of nausea.

He rested his forehead against the cold porcelain sink, taking deep breaths to steady himself. As the dizziness subsided, his mind wandered back to the events of the previous day the kidnapping attempt. That had been too close for comfort. Still, it seemed like an afterthought compared to what he'd just endured. Bianchi's endless enthusiasm was both comforting and tormenting, a paradox he was all too familiar with.

With one last deep breath, he stood up and wiped his mouth, looking at himself in the mirror. His reflection seemed a little less sure than usual, and for a moment, he questioned everything. He had long accepted the oddities of his family Bianchi's eccentricities, his father's aloofness, and his mother's bizarre way of showing affection. But today, something felt off.

Just as he was about to leave the bathroom, he froze. He heard voices coming from the next room, his father's and his "mother's," muffled but unmistakable. Curiosity tugged at him, and he quietly edged toward the door, trying to catch snippets of the conversation without being noticed.

"I told you, Aldo, it's not safe! If you keep letting that boy play these dangerous games" his mother snapped, her voice harsh and urgent.

"You don't understand," his father replied, his voice heavy with frustration. "I do what I must. He has a role to play, and there's nothing you can do about it."

There was a long pause, and then his "mother" spoke again, her tone cold and biting. "He's not even my son why should I care, Aldo? He's a bastard, a reminder of your mistake with Lavina. And now, you're going to use him to clean up your mess? You can't hide it forever."

Hayato's world tilted on its axis as the heated argument between his father, Aldo, and his "mother" spilled into the air. He could feel the words hammering into him, each one a painful revelation that dug deeper than the last.

His breath caught in his throat when his "mother" spoke again, her voice cold and venomous.

"Do you understand what you've done, Aldo? Bianchi was almost kidnapped because of him!" she spat, her tone dripping with disdain. "And now you're telling me that this bastard this boy you've kept hidden from everyone was never even meant to be part of this family? He's your son! He's not ours!"

Hayato's knees buckled, and he slumped against the bathroom door, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. Bianchi his sister, the girl he'd always loved and protected—had been put in danger because of him. Because of this secret, this lie that had been buried for so long. He could hardly breathe, the suffocating weight of the truth pressing down on him.

Aldo's voice was low, a hint of bitterness threading through it. "I did what I had to do. You know how mafia society works. A bastard child, especially one born from a woman like Lavina they would never have accepted him. He would've been killed before he could even speak his first word."

There was a moment of silence. Hayato could hear the heavy, uneven breaths of his father. The words his father spoke now made sense, but they twisted his gut even more. He wasn't his son. Not truly.

"But you still let me call her 'Mom'," Hayato thought, his body trembling. He clenched his fists as if somehow trying to force the truth back in. "I still thought…"

But it was too late for that.

His "mother" didn't give him the chance to gather his thoughts. She continued, her voice rising in fury. "This boy this bastard is nothing but a liability. Bianchi could have died because of him! And you're still pretending like nothing's wrong?"

Hayato staggered back in shock, feeling his world shatter. He had never known the truth, not until this moment. He had always felt something was off with his relationship with Bianchi. Why did she seem so detached sometimes, so distant? Why did his "mother" act as if he were some sort of burden to them?

He had long suspected that his father wasn't fully invested in his life, but this… this was a truth he was never prepared to hear. His "mother" had never really been his mother, and now, everything he thought he knew about his place in the world felt like a lie.

The next words from his father brought his mind to a standstill. "Enough, Carla," Aldo's voice was steady, but his words held an edge. "Hayato is my son, and I've kept him hidden all these years because the world isn't kind to men like me. To men with bastard children." His voice dropped, laden with regret. "I never wanted him to feel like an outsider. Never wanted him to know the truth"

"But it doesn't change what he is!" Carla snapped, cutting him off. "He was never supposed to be part of this family! And now, his existence has put our family in jeopardy! You hid him from the world hid him from Bianchi, from everyone. And for what? So he could sit at our dinner table like nothing's wrong? This" her voice shook with anger, " this is why I never trusted him!"

Aldo's voice hardened. "He is my son. I don't care about the rest. This is what the mafia demands, but don't you dare tell me he's less than mine. He has every right to be here, just as Bianchi does. And I've kept him safe from the moment I found him." There was an emotion that Hayato couldn't quite place in his father's voice now—something raw, something almost desperate. "I've protected him. Because that's what a father does."

But Hayato could hear the cracks in his father's voice, the layers of guilt and remorse that piled up in each word. His father was telling the truth in a way, but he had hidden this truth in his existence because the mafia world had no place for someone like him.

The realization hit Hayato hard: his father had kept him away from the life of the mafia, not out of love, but out of fear. Fear of how others would see him, how his father's enemies would use him to break him, to break their family. He had been kept in the shadows for so long loved but kept distant. He had been raised to be a secret.

The thought twisted his insides. The truth wasn't about his worth it was about survival, about hiding him to protect him from the very world his father had sworn to be a part of. But in doing so, Aldo had made Hayato a ghost in his own family.

Hayato's chest tightened, and as if on instinct, he pushed open the bathroom door. He couldn't stay here anymore. The truth was suffocating. His father's confession, the anger in his "mother's" voice, and the crushing weight of his identity all pushed him beyond his limits.

He ran.

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Tsuna's Perspective

Tsuna wandered through the lush garden of the mansion, the vibrant colors of blooming flowers surrounding him, though his attention was focused elsewhere. He was sitting on a stone bench near the fountain, casually conversing with Bianchi.

Bianchi was talking animatedly about something, her voice carrying a certain warmth that Tsuna couldn't help but be drawn to. There was an easy confidence in the way she spoke, her movements graceful as she gestured toward the flowers, explaining their origins. Tsuna couldn't help but watch her how the sunlight danced through her hair, how her eyes sparkled when she was excited.

He'd been spending a lot of time with her lately, and in truth, he found himself looking forward to their conversations more than he cared to admit. Bianchi had always been a little more serious than the others, but there was something about her quiet strength that made Tsuna feel oddly at ease. She never treated him like the fumbling, unsure Tsuna that others did—she treated him as if he were capable of more than he often gave himself credit for.

He found himself laughing at her teasing remarks, his chest light with a mix of genuine enjoyment and something else something he wasn't sure how to name. There was a certain warmth in his chest, a flutter that made him question if it was more than just the comforting companionship of a friend.

"...and then I told him that if he didn't stop acting like such a child, I'd—" Bianchi's voice trailed off as she noticed Tsuna's distracted expression. She tilted her head, a playful glint in her eyes.

"Tsuna, you're not listening, are you?" she teased, a small smirk playing on her lips.

Tsuna snapped out of his thoughts, his face flushing slightly. "No, no, I am! It's just… you were telling me about that story with your brother, right?" he stammered, trying to cover up his moment of distraction.

Bianchi raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it, but she simply laughed and gave a knowing shrug. "It's fine. I'm sure you were just lost in thought." She paused, her expression softening. "But hey, it's nice to see you more relaxed for once. You're not always running around like a headless chicken, huh?"

Tsuna felt his cheeks heat up a little more at the compliment. "Well… I've been trying, I guess. It's just been… a lot, lately."

Before Bianchi could respond, the moment was abruptly interrupted. One of the mansion's butlers appeared, rushing toward them with a look of urgency on his face. Tsuna and Bianchi stood up immediately, sensing that something was wrong.

"My lord, my lady," the butler panted, slightly out of breath. "I regret to inform you, but… Master Hayato has gone missing. We've searched the grounds, but he's nowhere to be found."

The words hit Tsuna like a punch to the gut. His heart began to race, and the warmth that had filled his chest moments before evaporated in an instant. Hayato, missing? That couldn't be right. Just this morning, he had been fine, his usual intensity barely tempered by the weight of his emotions.

"What do you mean, 'gone missing'?" Tsuna demanded, his voice more forceful than he intended. "How long has he been gone?"

The butler bowed quickly, his face drawn with concern. "We noticed about an hour ago. He wasn't in his room, and when we asked the staff, no one had seen him since he left the house earlier this morning."

Bianchi stepped forward, her demeanor shifting from relaxed to sharp. "We'll go look for him," she said, her voice firm. "You can stay here and coordinate the search. Tsuna, let's go."

Tsuna nodded, his mind already racing. He didn't have time to waste. Hayato couldn't be too far. If something had happened, they needed to find him fast.

As they moved toward the gate, Tsuna couldn't help but glance at Bianchi, who was already walking ahead of him, her brow furrowed in determination. There was no time to dwell on it, but for a brief second, Tsuna wondered if she felt something more than just concern for Hayato. The idea made his chest tighten—his emotions conflicted as he tried to focus on the task at hand. The worry for Hayato's safety consumed him, but a nagging feeling lingered in the back of his mind, urging him to pay attention to the silent connection that seemed to grow between him and Bianchi.

They stepped out into the grounds together, the urgency of the search outweighing anything else at that moment. The rest of the world faded as they focused on one goal: finding Hayato before it was too late.

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Hayato's Perspective

The wind whipped through the trees as Hayato sprinted through the dense forest on the outskirts of the estate, his thoughts a blur of frustration and anger. He wasn't even sure where he was running, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting away from it all the expectations, the lies, the suffocating family he had been trapped in for so long.

He couldn't stay there. He couldn't be a part of that world any longer. The truth had cut too deep. The revelation that he wasn't truly part of the family, that he had always been considered a bastard, was something he couldn't forget.

The cold, harsh words from his "mother" Carla still rang in his ears, tearing at his insides. "You're a liability." "You don't belong." Her voice echoed, and with each step, the need to escape became more urgent.

As he continued to run, the sound of something moving in the underbrush caught his attention. His heart skipped a beat, and before he could react, a wild beast leaped out of the trees, its sharp teeth gleaming as it lunged toward him.

Hayato froze, his instincts taking over as he prepared to fight. But before he could defend himself, a figure appeared out of nowhere. A man with dark brown hair parted neatly in the middle, and brown eyes, dressed in a long white coat, moved swiftly. With a single movement, he struck the beast aside with ease, saving Hayato just in time.

The wild animal snarled but retreated, vanishing into the trees. Hayato stood frozen, heart pounding in his chest, trying to process what had just happened.

"Who... who are you?" Hayato gasped, still reeling from the shock of the encounter.

The man, with a faint smirk, turned toward him. "Name's Doctor Shamal. I've recently been hired as your family's physician."

Hayato blinked, still trying to steady his breath. He looked at the man more closely, finally recognizing him. "Wait a minute. You're Doctor Shamal? The guy who's always hitting on the maids?"

Shamal didn't seem fazed by the comment, instead chuckling lightly. "I'm sure you've heard a lot about me then."

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Tsuna's Perspective

Tsuna's search led him to the outskirts of the estate, where the dense forest began. His worry for Hayato grew with every step, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling that something was off. He needed to find Hayato he just couldn't shake the thought that something terrible was happening.

"Hayato!" Tsuna called out into the forest, his voice echoing through the trees. "Where are you? We need to talk."

Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure Hayato, standing with someone Tsuna didn't recognize. His heart skipped a beat. What was going on?

The figure next to Hayato was a man, tall and imposing in a long white coat, with dark brown hair and an unshakable air of confidence. Tsuna's instincts told him this man was not someone to be taken lightly.

"Hayato!" Tsuna called again, stepping forward. "What are you doing out here?"

Hayato turned to face him, his expression hardening as he locked eyes with Tsuna. "I'm leaving, Tsuna," he said, his voice colder than usual, but with an underlying tone of resolve. "I've heard everything. About who I really am. I don't belong here anymore. I've made my decision. I want to apprentice under Doctor Shamal and learn how to be a true mafia member. One day, I'll catch up to you. I'll repay you for everything you did for me."

Tsuna's heart clenched. He hadn't expected this, not in a million years. Hayato, the boy he had grown so close to, was leaving. Not just for a day or two, but leaving for good. Tsuna stood there, speechless, as Hayato turned away, walking alongside Doctor Shamal.

Hayato's departure was like a knife to Tsuna's chest. The boy he had once seen as a potential ally, as someone he could protect, was now stepping away from everything. The bond they had formed in that brief, terrifying moment seemed like it was unraveling right before Tsuna's eyes.

Without saying another word, Hayato disappeared into the woods with Doctor Shamal, leaving Tsuna standing there, a quiet ache filling his heart. It was the first time Tsuna had truly realized the weight of what it meant to be a mafia boss the people you cared about, the people you fought for, didn't always stay by your side.

The sound of the wind rustling through the trees was the only thing that broke the silence as Tsuna turned away, his heart heavy with the loss of his friend.