Friends are more important than you think.

Sorry for the very long wait!

Chapter 3

It was a new day and Tsuna automatically wakes up one early morning. He shifted his body and groaned at the ache and pain he felt. Those assassins were pretty rough on him.

Slowly, he pushes himself off his bed and turned to his clock. He still had some time to prepare… and probably figure out a way on how to hide his injuries. He swung his legs to the side and experimentally pressed his foot on the floor. There was a slight sting on his ankle, but it wasn't as bad as before, much to his relief.

He slowly made his way to the bathroom and checked himself in the mirror. He touched the bandages on his face before slowly peeling off the one on his cheek.

Maybe he could hide the bruises with a concealer.

Without further ado, he slowly snuck out of his room and heard his mom cooking downstairs whilst humming cheerfully. He quietly made his way towards her room and entered. He carefully shuts the door behind him with a soft wince before heading to her drawer.

As he rummaged through her make-up set, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. His dignity as a man was crumbling.

"Ahh… I don't even know what it looks like." He said as he took out two round containers.

"What are you doing?"

Tsuna stiffened as he undoubtedly heard Bianchi. He immediately turned to the doorway and saw the pink-haired woman looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Tsuna hides the make-up behind him.

"I-it's not what you think!" He exclaimed while slowly turning red.

"Really now?" Bianchi frowned, "Where are the bandages on your face?"

"I-I uhh… they came off."

Tsuna shifted a bit, feeling a little uncomfortable under the scorpion's piercing gaze. He suddenly heard the other sigh and approached him. The brunet was suddenly pulled up by Bianchi, much to his surprise.

"B-Bianchi?"

She grabbed the containers Tsuna held and dropped one of them back to the drawer, "Come on." She gently helped him out of the room and back to his own.

"W-what are you-?" He was cut off when Bianchi dropped him on his bed and pulled his chin up, tilting it side to side as if inspecting something, "B-Bianchi?"

"Why do you want to hide them?"

Her emerald eyes bore into his caramel ones and Tsuna couldn't help but look away. He clutched the sheets trying to relieve his trembling and spoke, "I-I don't want people to see m-my injuries. T-they might get s-suspicious."

The brunet knew that Bianchi knew who he meant by 'people' and 'they'. Fortunately she did not say anything and just stepped back, "Wash yourself up first before we put this on, to avoid infection."

Tsuna felt a sense of gratitude as he nodded up at her and quickly shuffled towards his bathroom.

"Bianchi's good at this…" Tsuna muttered as he stared at his reflection in awe. Not a single wound or bruise could be seen. If he didn't know any better, he could've fell for it and actually thought that his wounds had healed overnight!

"Tsu-kun! You'll be late!" He heard his mom call from below and immediately he left the bathroom and messily stuffed his things in his bag, "H-Hai!"

Making a small sigh, he grabbed his unfinished notes for math and put it in his bag as well. He had fallen asleep while in the middle of doing it and how he wished his friends were there. At least with their presence it would've made the night less boring. He bit his lower lip and shook his head. No point on indirectly blaming them for his unfinished work.

He shouldered his bag and winced as it hit his back.

"Tsu-kun~!" Nana called once more.

"Hai, hai…" He muttered as he slowly made his way downstairs.

"Hurry, your friends are waiting!"

Tsuna missed a step after hearing this. He only managed an "Eh?" before roughly falling down the stairs while screaming (in Reborn's opinion) pathetically.

"I-itte…" He gasped. Fortunately, he did not land on his back which would have been very painful. He heard footsteps rushing towards him and looked up just in time to see her mom and Bianchi with worried looks.

"Tsu-kun! Are you alright?" She held him by the arm and helped him stand, Bianchi did the same.

"I-I'm fine…" He said looking embarrassed.

"Don't go to school. Your injuries could be-" Bianchi was quickly interrupted by the small teen.

"NO!" He clamped his mouth shut as he realized he just shouted and watched as both women looked at him in surprise, "I-I'm sorry… I-I mean, I-I-I really should go to school because w-we have this quiz and y-you don't have to worry about my injuries, I'm really fine!"

Before either one could make a comment, Tsuna had already rushed off for the door.

The brunet clutched the doorknob and pulls it open.

He could not believe what he was seeing. After days and days of being used to see his gate cleared of any people as he walks out; he now sees his two best friends standing there, bickering like how they always would.

He was so stunned he couldn't move for a moment. But then Gokudera noticed him and he had no choice but to snap out of it. He didn't know if he should greet them or not. Or ask them what they were doing there. Last night's calls flashed into his mind and he couldn't help but purse his lips. He noticed that he wasn't the only one who was lost for words.

The two had stopped their argument and had stared at the brunet, unsure of what to say.

Finally, Yamamoto decided to speak up, "We heard you fall down the stairs, a-are you okay?"

Tsuna couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, and Gokudera seemed to have took this as an opportunity to yell at the baseball jock, "You idiot! Can't you get any blunter? You're making Juudaime uncomfortable!"

Tsuna sweat-dropped before shutting the door behind him, "I-I'm fine. It's alright, Gokudera-kun."

Gokudera straightened up as he heard the brunet address him. Yamamoto chuckled at this before opening the gate for the brunet to pass by.

"T-thanks."

"No problem."

And with that they started walking towards their school. And it was a little awkward thanks to the silence that had fell upon them. Neither one did not know what to say until Gokudera noticed that his boss was limping. He was about to ask if he was okay, but Yamamoto beat him to it.

"Tsuna, is something wrong with your foot?"

They did not miss the flinch once the question was asked and secretly exchanged looks.

"I-it's nothing. P-probably got it from my fall."

Something told them he was lying, but they did not make much of a comment about it and thus ending up into another awkward silence.

Until…

"N-neh… a-aren't you supposed to be busy with your clubs?"

Guilt washed over them as they heard this and remembered last night's event. They couldn't help but answer at the same time;

"There's no harm on being late for practice. / Those idiots can wait, Juudaime."

The brunet was surprised to hear this and he quickly looked away, trying to push down the happiness he felt. It was good to know his friends were actually trying to give time for him. A tiny hope sparks within him that maybe there could still be a chance for them to be reunited; for them to hang out again; for the old times to come back.

"Did you… did you finish studying?"

Tsuna stiffened at the question. Should he tell them his humiliating attempt of actually trying to study? He scratched the side of his face, "I-"

"You can have these notes Juudaime!" Gokudera suddenly handed him a notebook while bowing down ninety-degrees. The young boss was surprised at this and he couldn't help but stare with wide-eyes.

"E-eh?"

"I made this just for you Juudaime! I hope it helps!"

Tsuna was speechless as he accepted the notes and flipped through it. He sweat-dropped as he realized he couldn't understand the random equations and notes written on it. Suddenly Yamamoto also took out a notebook, "You can have my notes too Tsuna!"

"E-eh? But don't you need it?"

"That's right baseball freak! You probably need it more than Juudaime, anyway."

"T-that's not what I mean."

Yamamoto merely grinned as he placed it on his friend's hands, "Maa, maa, it's fine! I don't need it anymore."

"B-but…" Tsuna quickly shut his mouth as he looked at the messy notes comically. There were arrows that pointed at every equation as if to define and explain how this number turned to this and so on. Well, in a way it was more understandable.

"What the- these notes are terrible!" Gokudera who happened to be looking behind Tsuna, exclaimed.

"Haha! Maa, maa. They make sense to me."

"Maybe for a baseball idiot like you! You're insulting Juudaime's intelligence with this- this-!"

"G-Gokudera-kun, it's fine!" The brunet turned to both of them, "Thanks a lot guys. I-I appreciate it, really."

Despite the fact that the exam will be starting this morning and that he wouldn't actually have enough time to read and master all the topics in their notes, he was inexplicably happy. Tsuna was beyond grateful. He was touched by their thoughtfulness.

He looked up and watched as their faces brightened up. He couldn't help but smile as well. Silent apologies and forgiveness were exchanged and before they knew it, they were back to their normal walks, with Gokudera and Yamamoto arguing once more and Tsuna trying to calm his right-hand man.

Unfortunately for Tsuna… that moment of happiness was short lived as they met up with the baseball team and Occult club's members by the school gates.

End of Chapter

Sorry if it's kinda short, this is just a small scene I wanted to insert to this fic, noticing how too depressing it is. Just to remind you not everything is always darkness... just often. OwO

Review?