Title: The Anomaly
Genre: Romance, Angst
Pairing: Xanxus X OMC
Summary: When two angry souls find each other and one is a girl from another world who is murdered and finds herself being reborn in a world where it is normal for people to catch fire. Literally. Did I mention that said girl is now a boy?
Warning: OC (NOT Self-Insert), Slash (Yaoi, Boy X Boy…), Reincarnation, Language

Chapter Fifteen

Tsunayoshi kept close to him the whole way home and even during dinner. Naoki was not complaining; while they still both felt awkward around each other, it was comforting staying at each other's side, particularly after what had happened recently. They did not know how to interact with each other but right then, they did not need to.

Naoki had barely closed the door behind him when Reborn appeared in his room. It was not like he had not been expecting this though; the baby had kept him in his line of sight since they had left the hospital. Even during dinner – which Naoki had chosen to have with the family for once since he knew his mother had been worried – while he got up to his usual antics, Reborn had kept a close eye on him. It was expected, really, because of everything that had happened recently.

Still, Naoki could not stifle the weary sigh from leaving his lips. He was physically, mentally and emotionally tired; he felt raw, and exposed and vulnerable. Honestly, he only wanted to go to bed and maybe get into a good fight with Xanxus if he managed to go to the dreamscape this night. However, he also knew Reborn would not just let everything go without trying to pry.

"Baka-Nao, you have some explaining to do," the baby hitman opened the conversation before Naoki even had the time to say anything. Stifling another sigh, he made his way to his bed and sat down heavily. Spending a few weeks inert in a hospital bed had set back the physical improvements he had managed since Reborn had first appeared in their life a year and a half before. Thankfully, it had only been a few weeks and not more so mostly he just felt tired and that his muscles needed a good stretching. "What happened with Rokudo Mukuro?" Reborn asked promptly, not waiting for Naoki to answer his previous statement.

Naoki glanced out the window, at the starless sky, trying to think about what to tell Reborn. He... did not want to lie. Not anymore. He wanted to lie to Reborn even less; the not-baby had earned his respect and lying to him, much less now after everything... It felt wrong. Yet at the same time, Naoki did not feel ready to tell anyone anything. He wanted to put everything behind him, forget about what had once happened, what had only just happened and... what would never happen.

However, he also knew Reborn would not accept going without explanation.

He turned back to the baby hitman. "There's a lot to say," he started, trying to make sense of the jumbled mess that was... well, his life.

"Start from the beginning," Reborn immediately commanded, almost making a wry smile twitch it's way on Naoki's face.

"It's not that simple." He sighed and buried his head in his hands. "I – Look, Reborn. I will tell you. But just... Give me some time, okay?" He looked up and gave the baby a pleading look. And that was enough to show that things had really changed since before the whole Rokudo Mukuro fiasco. He had changed. Before he would have stayed quiet, maybe hint at the issue, but never before would he outright tell Reborn what was going on with him. He was a private person and he still was, but even he knew that some things needed to get out.

The baby hitman tugged his fedora over his eyes. Naoki had no idea what was going on in his mind but honestly, right now he really did not care. All he wanted to do was go back to bed.

"You will tell me."

"I will."

"Everything."

"...Everything."

With a long indecipherable look at Naoki, Reborn acquiesced and left the room.

Naoki let out a long sigh and allowed his body to fall back on his mattress.

Things did not necessarily go back to normal after everything was said and done. For one, the Sawada twins' relationship seemed to look up. While both were still awkward with each other, they did not avoid being near each other.

Unfortunately, Tsuna felt guilty about what had happened to his brother. He knew that Naoki would not have been in any kind of danger if it had not been for him. Tsuna had brought the mafia to his brother and had put his brother in danger. A part of him felt like he needed to take everything more seriously. He never wanted to be a mafia boss, and he did not think he ever would, but he also knew that – if Reborn was anything to go by – it was also not something he could avoid by screaming his denials, protesting and still go along with the chaos.

Whether he liked it or not, Tsuna was in now and ignoring the fact might just put his family in more danger. He could only buckle up and make sure that at least he would be strong enough to shoulder the responsibility of keeping his friends and family safe. He had to.

It was only by chance nothing more had happened to Naoki or Fuuta and neither were seriously hurt. That did not mean this would happen the next time. Reborn had brought the mafia into his life and whether he liked it or not, that also meant that to a certain extent, those close to him were also involved. All he could do was make sure nothing happened to them.

He had worked harder after TYL Naoki had told him to but back then, it had been more because he wanted his brother to acknowledge him, to see him. But would it really matter if he was not strong enough to make sure Naoki was at least alive?

He did not think he would be able to live with himself if something happened to those he loved because he was not strong enough to protect them.

His mother – as much as he loved her – was completely oblivious. She could very well invite the freaking assassin in for tea without knowing. The children were just children. While I-pin could fight, Tsuna would rather she did not have to. Lambo... was an idiot and Tsuna really worried about him insulting the wrong people – he had been lucky Reborn did nothing more than kick him around but he could not say anything for others. Fuuta already had to go through enough already and Tsuna wanted to protect him and give him a safe haven in their home.

Naoki... well as great as his brother was, he was still a civilian. He had nothing to do with the mafia and already he had been put in danger because of him. He was lucky to be safe and if Tsuna had been only a little bit weaker, who knew what would have happened? Being helpless as he watched his brother lying on a hospital bed for weeks made Tsuna realise that he needed to be stronger. He had to.

Naoki would never admit that he might be a little bit worried. Two weeks after waking up from the incident with Mukuro and he still could not reach his usual dreamscape. For all he knew what Mukuro had done to him to keep him trapped for so long had damaged something – whatever kept the link between him and Xanxus going – and now he could no longer go the dreamscape. He had never gone so long without being able to reach there before. The longest had been for a few days at best. He was not worried for Xanxus; why would he be? He worried that he would have his usual, constant night training.

(And maybe he was a little frustrated but no one was there to know it.)

And then one night as he fell asleep, he found himself in a dreamscape. What gave him pause though was that instead of the stone dungeon that he had gotten used to when he met Xanxus, Naoki found a familiar field spreading out before him. What had once been dead, dried grass started to sprout some new grass.

"Honesty." A voice called behind him and Naoki's jaw tightened. Briefly, he closed his eyes and exhaled, a part of him already feeling resigned.

"I thought we agreed that anything between us is over, Mukuro." Turning around, Naoki frowned at the other male standing before him. Absentmindedly, he noted the haggard look the other supported and filed it away for later perusal.

The other raised his hands placatingly and offered a wry smile. "I know and if it was in other circumstances, I would not have bothered you." At Naoki's dubious look, he conceded. "Or at least not so soon."

Naoki sighed and crossed his arms, levelling Mukuro with a look. "What is it then?"

"Ah," Mukuro shifted uncomfortably. Naoki stared. "I know I have no right to but… I would like to ask for a favour."

"I could not leave her… She reminded me of you… of me…"

Naoki looked at the decrepit building on front of him and felt an eyebrow twitch. He hoisted the bag higher on his shoulder before he determinedly stepped forward, jaw tightened resolutely. Since waking up that morning, he kept asking himself why he was even doing this. He certainly did not owe Mukuro anything and if anything, he had every right to ignore the other. On the other hand, his conscience would reproach him if he ignored what Mukuro had asked of him.

After all, he sighed, the girl was not the one responsible for Mukuro's mistake. If anything, she showed that the Mukuro Naoki had known was still present even in this new, more jaded one.

'Tsunayoshi, I wholeheartedly blame you for this,' he thought grumpily. Oh, he had been content to ignore others around him for years, but now as soon as he started to get along with his brother, he could not find himself ignoring someone he knew needed him, someone who did not deserve everything life had thrown at her in her young age. He was becoming a bleeding heart.

Ugh. Xanxus would definitely laugh at him. Except the jerk had still not shown himself yet in Naoki's dreams…

"What are you doing here!?" the growl greeted him as he finally found the room Mukuro had told him about. He side-stepped the swipe from the feral looking teen the question had come from and eyed him warily at a distance. Quickly, he glanced around the decrepit room, taking in the other two teenagers standing not far, another boy not far from the first one and a young girl huddled against a wall.

Naoki frowned.

"I'm here on Mukuro's behalf," he attempted to explain, not wishing to deal with the teenagers attacking him again. He had after all not completely recovered from having left the hospital and he would rather spar with Hibari as a physical exercise instead of dealing with starving teenagers.

"What does Mukuro-sama have to do with you here?" the other boy asked as he fingered a yoyo in his hand.

However, before Naoki could explain further, a whispery voice asked, "You're Naoki-sama?" It was the girl. She looked as thin as a stick, with slightly sunken cheeks. When he looked closer, Naoki was almost taken aback: that was definitely Mukuro's hair style. It was almost ridiculous the extent to which, when he tilted his head just so, the girl looked like Mukuro. Like a young, female Mukuro.

"What the hell do you mean!?" the feral boy growled again but this time at the girl.

"Mukuro-sama… told me… Naoki-sama was coming to see us," the girl explained, her voice soft and almost hesitant, as if she was waiting for someone to interrupt or tell her to shut up. Knowing what he did, Naoki pursed his lips.

"Yes, I am Naoki," he said. "Mukuro asked me to look after you guys –"

"We don't need looking after!" the feral boy interrupted with a giant scowl on his face.

Naoki frowned back at him. "I don't care what you think you need. I promised Mukuro I'll look after you and that's what I am going to do."

The feral boy opened his mouth, probably to growl at him again, but he was interrupted by the other boy who said a simple, "Ken," and the boy closed his mouth. "If that's what Mukuro-sama said." With that, he gave a look at the girl who nodded back at him.

Well, at least he did not have to fight them to accept his help, Naoki thought gratefully.

"Right," he said, lowering the bag from his shoulder. "He said you probably will have trouble to get food by yourselves. There are bentos in there for you three."

He gave the bag to the closest of the three who was the boy with the yoyo. Said boy opened the bag and riffled through it. The other boy, Ken, came behind him and looked over his shoulder as he removed a bento that Naoki had made himself. The girl came closer, hovering at the two boy's back before she was given another bento by the boy with the yoyo. The three then decided to sit around the room and dig in, apparently ignoring Naoki's presence for the time being. At the way they stuffed their faces with the food, though the yoyo-boy and the girl were more discrete, they were clearly starving. Maybe that was also why they accepted his help so easily.

With a frown, Naoki looked around the room, finding mostly dust and rubble. A broken window allowed in the cold air which made him shiver for a moment.

"Where do you sleep?" he could not help asking. Yoyo-boy replied by looking at a little pile of thin blankets at the far side of the room. Naoki took in a long breath. "Do you go to school?" he asked instead of commenting.

"We go to Kokuyo," the girl replied when neither boy made to answer.

With pursed lips, Naoki nodded. "Right. I'll be coming in the mornings with breakfast and bentos for lunch." When Ken made to protest again, Naoki gave him a hard look – one he would never admit he learned from Xanxus – which made him snap his mouth back close. "In the afternoon, I'll come with dinner. I'll leave for now but I'll be back in a couple of hours with a few… things." Like sleeping bags, actual blankets, hygienic necessities, etc. Good thing he still had a lot of money from his savings.

Mukuro definitely owed him.

With one last look at the three teenagers, Naoki turned and left the abandoned Kokuyo Land.

Well, it would seem like he had just taken three teenagers under his care. Thankfully, it was only until Mukuro got back from wherever he had left for.

And he had better hurry up.

AN: I've had this chapter sitting away 3/4 complete pretty much since the last update. Finally, I got to complete it. And all I actually had to add was a couple of paragraphs.

Next up: The Varia finally arrive.

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Leight