Burning Resolve

By gracetheworld

In a world where those who couldn't use magic are treated lower than trash, Sawada Tsunayoshi struggled to find a place in this world. Though in the heart of whom everyone called 'Useless', was a burning flame of resolve waiting to be unleashed. Magic AU.

Chapter 1

"Buried deep within you…"

IV

Vongola Family. Who wouldn't know of that particular family? The Vongola was one of the families who produced top magic users every year. Everyone in the Vongola was elite, by people's standard. Vongola was one of the heads of the Tri-Ni-Sette Magic Council, along with the Arcobaleno and the Millefiore. Vongola was by far the most influential of all top family in the world, practically the ruler of the world.

So why was the Sun Arcobaleno here, in Tsuna's house, telling him that he, useless and magic-less Sawada Tsunayoshi, was to be the next head of such powerful family? He shouldn't even be nominated as a candidate due to his zero magic potential at all! For someone without magic to be the next head of the most powerful family in the world? That was preposterous!

"Why—Why me?" His voice was quiet when he uttered that question, but the fact alone that he could actually ask that question despite his currently confused and shocked mind actually surprised him. "I-I—I don't have any magic. I should have been ineligible to be an heir at all."

The Sun Arcobaleno, Reborn, regarded him coolly with his inky black eyes, no particular emotion reflected on said eyes. He was studying Tsuna from head to toe with just a single glance, silently judging. Tsuna knew, once he got a good judge of character of Tsuna, Reborn would deem him a hopeless case and leave him.

Reborn let a small, cool smile crept up to his lips once he was done with his assessment. "Then that means I should just help coax the magic inside you to wake up." He replied simply, slowly approaching the brunet. He poked Tsuna's chest once with his wand slash familiar. "No one has an absolute zero magic potential. The magic aptitude test only measures in whole numbers, after all."

A swell of hope blossomed inside Tsuna's chest. "Do you mean…?" Tsuna did not dare to complete his sentence. No, he didn't want to get his hope up only to be crushed later on. What the Sun Arcobaleno said—it was too good to be true, right? For him, for Tsuna to have…

Reborn nodded. "That you still have a magic potential within you, even if it's very small? Yes." He raised his wand slash familiar up to the brunet's forehead, poking it none too gently. "And it is my job as your new home tutor to make that potential blossom."

"Still, why is Tsu-kun chosen as the next head? Not that I am not happy about it, but…" Nana trailed off, frowning. Tsuna understood why his mother asked that. Nana was anything but blind. Nana knew that Tsuna would never reach the level of a mid tier magic user, let alone a top tier one, like the Vongola magic users were. Not as Tsuna was now, and the both of them had lost hope of Tsuna ever awakening his magic. Nana was terribly happy that Tsuna could still awaken his magic, but it still confused her.

"The Vongola's leadership has always been passed down through bloodline, unlike the Arcobaleno leadership. The Vongola Nono's three eldest sons are dead, his youngest missing." Nana and Tsuna weren't surprised. The deaths of the three sons of the Vongola Nono had been reported in the news. His youngest being missing had been old news, in fact, as it happened eight years ago. "Through your father, Tsuna, you are the descendant of the first boss of the Vongola Family."

Tsuna's breath hitched. There was no one in this world who did not know of the Vongola Primo. The Vongola Primo was the strongest boss of the Vongola and one of the top magic users in the world, with his unique magic called the Dying Will Flame. Nobody had ever been able to replicate his magic. The closest being the Vongola Secondo and the Vongola Nono's youngest son, Xanxus.

If what Reborn said was true, then not even Primo's descendants had been able to replicate their ancestor's unique magic. Tsuna certainly never saw his father using said magic in all his life; neither did he ever see his grandfather used it as well. It was why Primo's Dying Will Flame was not only categorized as 'unique', but also a 'lost' magic.

Tsuna felt a heavy pressure in his mind. Not only was he chosen as the next boss of the Vongola, he also had such a great ancestor. People will put a lot of heavy expectations on him, and Tsuna wasn't sure he could do it. He was Dame-Tsuna after all. He was clumsy, useless and had no magic. He wouldn't be able to be the boss Reborn expected him to be.

"Why can't Iemitsu be the next boss, then?" Nana questioned, eyes narrowing. "If Tsuna is the descendant of the Vongola Primo through him, why can't Iemitsu be the next boss?" Nana knew what the turmoil in her son's mind right now. She knew the pressure Tsuna was feeling, and there was no way Nana was going to let the pressure torture Tsuna. If there was an alternative way to free Tsuna from the burden…

"It's the other reason why Tsuna must be the next head." Reborn did not sound joking at all. He was completely serious. "The Seer, Aria di Giglio Nero, had learnt of a new prophecy last week—of the inheritor of Primo's Will."

It was said that whoever inherited the Vongola Primo's Will, the First's Dying Will Flame, would be the true heir of the Vongola and the true bearer of the Vongola Sky Ring. None had appeared thus far, two hundred and fifty years after the era of the First Vongola. For a prophecy saying that an inheritor had appeared?

"No, no, you—you must be mistaken! I can't be that person! Isn't there any other descendant of Primo around?" Tsuna vehemently denied, not understanding how anyone could think that he was the person referred in the newest prophecy of the Seer of the Tri-Ni-Sette. "I'm just Dame-Tsuna!"

"There isn't anyone else, Tsuna." Reborn firmly stated. "That's why, I'm going to train you and coax that flame out of you, even if you die trying." He grounded. "You'll have to do it with your Dying Will."

V

Tsuna couldn't sleep. How could he, after a day like that? It was not every day that the Sun Arcobaleno came to your house and announced that not only were you chosen as the next boss of the greatest family in the world, but apparently, you were also the inheritor of your ancestor's unique and lost magic. It sounded outrageous, even hours after Reborn first told him of this.

Not only that, Reborn had also told him that since Reborn would be his tutor from today onward, it was required for Reborn to follow him everywhere (thankfully, except the bathroom and toilet), which meant that Reborn was also going to go with him to school where everyone would know who Reborn was. The existence and identity of the Arcobaleno wasn't a secret, after all, and the telltale of their infantile body and colored pacifier screamed that they were Arcobalenos.

They would question why the Sun Arcobaleno was following Tsuna everywhere, and regardless of how Reborn would answer that question, Tsuna was sure he would be bullied even more by his peers for the fact that he did not deserve someone as great as Reborn to be his tutor.

Shuddering at the very thought of what was coming the next day, Tsuna curled himself into a ball, hugging his knee close as he desperately closed his eyes, trying to wash away the anxiety and fear of what was going to happen the next day, though he was failing miserably at doing so.

His heart was racing, beating faster and faster than before. He could just feel a panic attack coming, but he didn't want to alert his mother or Reborn about it. It was becoming harder to breathe, he noticed, but he did not dare call for his mother or Reborn. He did not worth enough for them to sacrifice their sleep over.

"Calm, Dearest Sky." A soothing voice whispered inside his mind. It was the gentle voice he had always heard in his dreams ever since he was young. "Close your eyes and feel the warmth spread." Tsuna did not hesitate to do so. He followed the instruction down to a T, and felt calming warmth spread upon his very being, calming him down slightly. "Stay strong, Dearest Sky. Soon, you wouldn't have to be alone anymore."

After that, the voice didn't speak again, but Tsuna found himself smiling at the words as the silence lulled him back to sleep.

IV

"Reborn, what are you going to tell people if they asked why you're with me of all people?" Tsuna asked quietly as he tried not to stare at the infant magic user who was sitting on top of his head, preferring to stare down at the path he was walking at to make sure he did not trip instead.

"… you can see me?" Although the voice was bland and not filled with any emotion, the way he phrased the question itself meant that Reborn was surprised, because it meant that nobody was supposed to be able to see him. "Nobody can see through Leon's camouflaging cloak."

"So… you're supposed to be invisible right now, and no one is supposed to be able to see through that, but I did anyway?" Tsuna was surprised at the fact. Now that he thought about it, Reborn was wearing Leon, his familiar, as a cloak. Considering that Leon was a chameleon, it was no wonder that Leon was very good at invisibility magic.

"Yes. The fact that you can see through Leon alone means that your Hyper Intuition is more powerful compared to Vongola Nono and Iemitsu." Reborn mused, an amused smile made its way to his lips. "The Hyper Intuition isn't a magical ability, but it is inherited through blood from the Vongola Primo. The fact alone means that you inherited a lot more than just looks from the Vongola Primo."

"I'm still not convinced that I inherited his Will." Tsuna insisted, frowning. "Why would I and not someone more capable like dad or Vongola Nono's late sons? Or even Vongola Nono himself?"

Reborn shrugged. "Magic's mysterious that way. Even centuries later since magic was first discovered, there are still many mysteries surrounding it." He said solemnly. "Perhaps, in the future, we will know why, but not now."

Tsuna hummed understandingly, not aware that he was closing in on someone till he bumped into them hard, causing him to fall on his butt. Wincing in pain, he looked up to the person he bumped into, and felt dread fill him when he saw who it was he had just bumped into.

It was Mochida Kensuke, leader of the Kendo Club and one of the strongest magic users in their school. He was also one of Tsuna's more violent bullies. He looked very mad at the moment. "Oi, Dame-Tsuna! Watch where you are walking, you useless dumbass!" he growled. "Magic-less trash like you shouldn't even walk the streets! Should I teach you a lesson?"

"N-No, Mochida-senpai…" Tsuna murmured, flinching at the Mochida's loud voice. He was aware of people gathering around them, looking at him disgustedly as well. This was the peak of a Social Darwinism society like the world was, where the stronger ones trampled over the weak ones like Tsuna, and Tsuna couldn't do anything about it.

"Hah! I have enough of you! I'm challenging you on a magic duel once and for all, Dame-Tsuna!" The Kendo Club leader announced angrily, pointing his index finger at him. "If you lose, you will never show your face in the school again, is that clear?!"

Everyone around them cheered upon Mochida's challenge, demanding the brunet to accept it. Tsuna had no way to decline that challenge. Tsuna was never given a 'yes' or 'no' option in the first place. As he was weak, he should accept the challenge. That was the rule of the world. He was also not given a choice to win either. He would lose, one way or another. It was another rule of the world. Even if you were right, if you were magic-less, then you were wrong.

All the while Mochida and his supporters were jeering at Tsuna, Reborn stayed quiet as he assessed the situation carefully. A smirk bloomed on his lips. This was the first step for Tsuna— if he had the resolve to win, then Reborn was sure, his resolve would burn brighter than anyone's.

What Reborn had to do right now was to plant the seeds of resolve in his student's heart first. Tsuna just did not know yet of his full potential, but Reborn would make his student see it.

Reborn might not be a seer, but he could just see it—in the future, the burning bright flame of Tsuna's dancing so fiercely to show the world his resolve.

"—is a potential waiting to bloom."

To Be Continued

A/N: I apologize for not updating this fic for months! I have an incredibly busy schedule for the past few months, and now that I'm on my last year of high school, things have been becoming more hectic than before. That being said, I finally found my free time and saw this file lying inside one of my folders in my laptop, and once I read the prologue again, I found myself motivated to continue this, but I am not promising another update any time soon. Still, I hope you enjoy this new chapter! Thank you for everyone who read, favorite, and followed this story!