Tag to: Semblance of a Prayer

"With his brows always furrowed and fists swung as if in prayer, that is Vongola Decimo…" Tsuna let the words he had heard so often, fall from his lips.

Over the years he had come to hear a wide variety of various similar phrases spoken… well about him. Nono was the first to say it to him and the time they had traveled to the future, he had heard Yuni say it as well. But where had the phrase come from? When had they started using it to describe him?

Tsuna chewed on the end of his pen, ignoring momentarily the stacks of paperwork on his desk. It had been four years since he had become Decimo and he had yet to trace down the source of that particular quote.

It… didn't exactly bother him to be described like that. It was just… odd. It painted a mental image that Tsuna couldn't even begin to relate to himself. Why would someone ever use those words to describe him? It just simply didn't make sense. What part of his hands looked like they were in prayer? The starting pose of Zero Point Breakthrough?! He supposed the brows furrowed part was an effect of Hyper Intuition. That at least made somewhat sense.

THUD! "Dame-Tsuna, a mafia boss does not slack off on his paperwork."

"HIIEE!" Tsuna let out a shriek. He nursed his head where his former tutor had hit him. "Mou, Reborn," Tsuna said pouting. "I'm not slacking off on my paperwork!"

He glared up at the taller form of Reborn. At the physical age of twenty six, Reborn had finally returned to his previous age before the Arcobaleno curse. Leon transformed back, scampering back to his usual spot on Reborn's hat.

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn drawled, tugging at Tsuna's hair. "What's bothering you?"

"It's nothing," Tsuna said, swatting Reborn's hand away. He blushed slightly, embarrassed. "Just something stupid that I was wondering about."

"And that is?" Reborn pressed.

"With his brows always furrowed and fists swung as if in prayer, that is Vongola Decimo," Tsuna repeated. It was fruitless to keep a secret from Reborn. His advisor would just continue to press until Tsuna gave in. "I… don't know where that comes from?"

To his surprise, Reborn looked surprised at Tsuna's words. Visibly surprised. Tsuna couldn't ever recalled a moment where he had caught Reborn so off guard with such a phrase. He couldn't recall ever catching Reborn off guard. It was wiped away in an instant and that confident smug smirk was back in place.

"Why does it matter?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna frowned, his nose scrunching up in thought. "It's not that I hate it or anything. It… just doesn't sound like me?" Tsuna squeaked out.

Reborn was quiet, sticking his hands into his pocket.

"Reborn?" Tsuna asked hesitantly. What was wrong with Reborn today?

"The original quote was 'With his brows furrowed and fists swung in the semblance of a prayer, that is Sawada Tsunayoshi'," Reborn said.

"W-what?" Tsuna asked, confused.

Reborn scoffed. "You were such a naive kid back then. Still are. Dying Will Mode and later Hyper Dying Will Mode, forced your concentration. You acted cool and composed, but your hands spoke a different story. You swung them wildly, desperately, as if praying that each blow you had to throw was the last one to end the fight. You fought because you had to, not because you wanted to. So unwilling, because even now you don't like violence. Because your fists were never meant to hurt."

The hitman leaned close to his former student, until their faces were inches apart. "Isn't that right, Tsuna?"

"I…" Words failed Tsuna as he stared back into Reborn's onyx black eyes. While it was true that Tsuna hated violence, hated fighting, but always fought for his friends, for his family, it had never quite been put into words like that. Wait…?! Did that mean Reborn was the one who started that description?

That was…

That was mind blowing.

Tsuna had always been aware of Reborn's faith in him. After all, the World's Greatest Hitman looked passed the cowardly, timid fourteen year old boy and shaped him into a man. Reborn took everything about Tsuna's life, turned it upside down and made Tsuna better for it. Tsuna thrived under Reborn's tutelage, going so much farther just because Reborn believed in him. Reborn's standards were set so impossibly high, but Tsuna always, always tried to reach them (and sometimes shattered those expectations completely.)

But this was different.

Tsuna didn't have the words to explain it.

Reborn pulled away, a self satisfied smile on his face. Whatever he had seen in Tsuna's eyes, had been enough for him. His next words were downright fond. "Don't let anyone ever change who you are, Tsuna. Not even me."

Tsuna ducked his head, blushing a scarlet red. Who knew Reborn could be so poetic? Then again… Reborn had always known what exactly to say to Tsuna to wipe away any doubt that Tsuna may have had been feeling.

Lifting his head to meet Reborn's eyes, Tsuna smiled. "Thanks Reborn." For everything. For believing in me. For the simple faith that what I do, I do because I think it's the right thing to do.

That faith would never misplace.

Wordsss. -Throws them all over the place- It still feels like I'm not really explaining the impact of this quote. OTL

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