Leader

Title: Leader
Author: Lewis
Writing: Fanfiction (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)
Word Count: 553

For Tsuna, the month before finals is always wrought with a sense of foreboding. Of course, it’s a given that it will be a time eaten up by Reborn’s intensified Spartan teaching methods, and he can probably expect a score substantially higher than a 6% on all of his exams. His baffled classmates might still believe that he’s acquired a new brain, but Tsuna knows otherwise. It’s not necessarily that Reborn’s guidance has allowed him to finally grasp the concepts, but really that Reborn would have him strung from a very tall building if he failed. But it comes with being trained to succeed the Ninth of the Vongola mafia.

Tsuna’s a little worse for wear than usual. There’re Gokudera’s study sessions, where while it’s still apparent that Gokudera is still a genius and he is trying his hardest for Tsuna, the Tenth, he’s not the kind of genius capable of getting anything through the thick skulls of two incorrigible idiots (read: Yamamoto and Tsuna). Today Reborn is out of the house for once, so things start quietly. But the meeting erupts in an explosion of smoke as little Lambo finds his way into the room and (after loosing a couple of grenades out the window with his poor aim) lets fly with his bazooka. 10-year-older Lambo sits up with a sigh, dandy and lazy-eyed as usual, when the squabble starts up again.

This time Gokudera begins flailing and bawling something about a stupid cow and the baseball idiot while Tsuna cowers beneath a table. Yamamoto laughs again, carefree as usual amidst the chaos: “Is this a game?” Tsuna wishes he weren’t in this room. Somewhere far away would be nice.

Unable to handle himself as usual, the grown up Lambo promptly bursts into tears. Gokudera is still shouting and Yamamoto is still laughing and doing nothing to help the situation.

The door opens.

The room goes deathly quiet. It’s not Mama (thank god) but Reborn (even worse). The Arcobaleno slowly raises revolver-Leon to point at Tsuna, who blanches and begins to uncurl from the fetal position.

“I told you to finish those practice problems. Are they done yet?”

Yamamoto breaks the silence with ease, cheerfully replying that the study session’s been going well. Lambo’s sniffling quiets and with a poof the infant Lambo is back; the five minutes of time travel are up. Gokudera lurches forward and prostrates himself before Tsuna, spewing gibberish about how it’s all Yamamoto’s fault for spoiling the lesson and how he’s so sorry for failing the Tenth. And Tsuna reluctantly drags himself upright and sits at his spot at the table, hyper-aware of Reborn’s critical gaze.

They try again. Reborn has again somehow rigged the room without Tsuna’s notice so that each wrong answer ends with an explosion or a harsh blow, but within an hour or so they are getting through the study material at a steady pace. It’s not until Tsuna sees Gokudera and Yamamoto off at the door when he realizes how relieved he feels. Gokudera and Yamamoto are his friends as well as his right hand men- no matter what Gokudera might say about being the only one- but he still doesn’t feel like a leader worthy of them yet. When he doesn’t know what to do, he always turns to Reborn.

Artist's note: Sorry we haven't posted in so long. Things have been rough. I'm hoping to get to some semblance of posting regularly. Thanks for checking up on us! :)
~Lewis