Shop of Secrets (Kawahira's a jerk)

~()~

The antique shop by the station is creepy, many people say. The lighting is dim, the air cold, the bell on the door oddly dissonant. The owner, if they truly exist, seems to always be away, leaving a young boy to sit behind the counter in his stead.

It's the middle of the night. The shop is closed and the boy is absent when Chrome walks in. The bell signals her arrival with a clear note and the murmuring from below comes to a halt. She walks past the counter, towards the curtain that separated the store from the living area. When she lifts it, there is no one sitting on the sofa, no one standing in the ill-equipped kitchen, and no one in the bathroom.

No note either. Dismayed that no one had the decency to leave a note (anger rises up before she instinctively bottles it up), she opens the trapdoor that's hidden beneath an illusion of a potted plant. Soft orange flames light up the cellar underneath, revealing Tsuna, Byakuran, and Kawahira sitting around a table.

"Hi Chrome," Tsuna greets with the poise of an elderly man.

"Hello, Boss," she greets as she descends. Kawahira lifts one hand in greeting, and she nods back. She casts a wary glance at Byakuran, who seems content to keep his hands folded on the table.

"Tsunayoshi," he says, deceptively calm. Not quite, though. Chrome notes the tightness in the corners of his eyes, the sharpness in his smile, the undercurrent of a warning in his tone. His fingers twitch towards his ring.

This is the man who hunted them down in the future. Danger, her mind whispers, and she shoves that feeling in a bottle as she takes a seat, slightly moving the chair so she can put even an inch of space away from him.

"She knows," Tsuna says. His eyes are warm, accented by the light of the flames.

"Know what?" she wants to ask. She doesn't. Across from him, Byakuran loosens the tension in his shoulders.

Kawahira hums. "Shall we return to our discussion? About your plan for the Representation Battle," he clarifies, less to remind them and more to inform Chrome.

So that's why they're here.

"Honestly, I know nothing about what's about to happen. All I know is that Talbot builds these devices that uses the Vindice's Flames to somehow power the pacifiers. That's it."

"Tsunayoshi, how old are you right now?" Byakuran asks.

"Eighty-seven, and yes I know that I should know more at this age, but I don't, so shut up. No one tells me anything about the past, including you, so this is all your fault."

Byakuran side-eyes Chrome, and she stares evenly back. She knows about Tsuna's...condition. Has known ever since Kawahira told her that Tsuna "harmonized with the Vongola Ring."

"Very well then." Kawahira leans back in his chair. "The Representation Battle will continue until someone is able to come up with a more substantial solution."

"But!"

"You are not naive enough to believe that I would try and implement a solution we know little about. If the future is as you say it is, then you will find your solution. But until then, I will keep doing what I must."

Tsuna sighs. "Chrome?"

Chrome shakes her head no. "Sorry Boss." She can't exactly to convince Kawahira otherwise. He's stubborn like that, aggravatingly so.

He hangs his head. "Ugh, this means I might actually have to fight my dad. You know how hard it is holding myself back from killing him?"

"Nana will cry." Because Nana truly loves her husband. How nice, even though Chrome shares Tsuna's misgivings about his father.

It's nice how Nana loves both her absent husband and her son who's sometimes older than her.

(If only her family had been like that.)

Byakuran laughs, only to stop when Tsuna tells him to. "You're worried about your dad when you could fight Enma? The Shimons join as Skull's representatives, you know."

"No, I now I wish I didn't. And then there's the Varia being Mammon's. That leaves Verde and Fong. Wait, no, Kyouya's his representative, isn't he?" He groans and rests his head on the table. "Kill me now. Why is it always my allies? No one fights their friends as much as I do. Why is this my life?"

"For someone older than twice me and Chrome's ages combined, you're whining a lot."

"Shut up. I'm in a teenage body with teenage hormones. This is normal. Just tell me who Verde's teaming up with? A bunch of robots?"

"You don't know? He declared war on you this afternoon."

"Listen. I fainted literally thirty minutes before you dragged me away. How old was I before?"

Byakuran shrugs. "Forty-nine," Chrome answers for him.

"Too long, can't remember. So, who declared war?"

"It's Mukuro and his gang," Byakuran replies, gleeful.

A pause. "Oh good. A valid reason to punch his face." Tsuna lifts up his head. "Chrome, please tell me you're not joining his side."

She shakes her head again. "Neutral party."

"Huh," Byakuran says. "She usually joins you."

"Not in this world. Besides..." Tsuna trails off, eyebrow furrowed in thought. "Wait. Wait. I remembered something." He points at her. "Wonomichi."

"What is it?"

Byakuran stares hard.

Wonomichi notes the open mouth, the widened eyes, "I didn't expect to see you guys again so soon. Was there something about the rules I need to explain more?"

Byakuran stares harder. "Tsuna."

"Chrome lives here. What did you expect?"

"She lives here," Byakuran repeats flatly, pointing from Wonomichi to Kawahira, "with him. Tsuna, what."

"It's not as great as you'd think. Everything's checker-patterned. It's tacky," Wonomichi says before Kawahira nudges him under the table with a foot. "Very tacky."

Tsuna tilts his head while staring at Byakuran in curiosity. "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you so shocked before."

Kawahira claps his hand. "All right, that's enough. I have a store to run now. Leave if all you'll do is gossip."

"You don't even get customers," grumbles Tsuna, but he gets up and dismisses his flames. Byakuran copies him, letting only the light from above guide their way up.

"We're talking about this," she hears Byakuran say when the two are above.

"We are talking about abolishing this stupid Arcobaleno system so little me can crush on Reborn and Yuni can grow up."

"No, first we're talking about your crazy Mists."

"Yours is a disembodied mask, so you have no room to..."

"...about...Tsunayoshi..."

Their voices grow softer until finally, the bell rings, low and echoing to fill in the silence over the shop.

Wonomichi looks towards Kawahira, who drums a finger on the table. "Wonomichi."

There's resignation in his tone, a spark flitting through his eyes, a twitch in the corner of his mouth.

"Yes?" he replies, smiling.

"The checkers are fine."

This is the only time he will disagree with him. "I prefer skulls."

"I let you into my house, I give you food and clothes, and this is how you repay me? How dare you. Get out of my home."

His words are harsh, but he is not unkind. His eyes are not warm, not like Tsuna's, but not cold either. His smile is genuine.

Wonomichi laughs as he taps his foot on the checkered floor. "Tacky."

"Out."

~()~

AN: I'm just going to leave this here and y'all are free to speculate on what's going on. Or don't.