Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Akira Amano

Warning (s): None

Chapter Nine

Cord

Tsuna was humming absentmindedly as he walked through the corridor with light footsteps. The sunlight was soft as it fell on him. Tsuna stopped for a second and looked outside the window taking a deep breath. It was a very nice day. And since he was able to have a nice talk with Chrome yesterday he was also in a very happy mood all morning. Tsuna resumed his spirited walking.

There was no other presence lurking behind him. Hibari was acting strangely. That boy had serious issues. He would like to investigate why he was that way but that could wait. Tsuna had other pressing matters.

Tsuna's first class today was with 2-C. His intuition was saying something was going to happen, something bad. He was on his guard for anything, but that still couldn't damper his mood.

When he opened the classroom door he was greeted eagerly with beaming smiles from his students. He noted with a pleased sense that Yuni was present today. It seemed she had some problems and sorted it out. While giving his lecture he glanced towards Yuni who looked lonely, staring outside the window. Feeling his gaze she turned to look at him; a radiant smile lit up her face but even so, Tsuna could see it didn't quite reach her eyes. Or maybe she hadn't sorted anything out yet.

Not dwelling too much on that Tsuna continued the lesson with much enthusiasm that he could gather from his earlier mood. As he finished the lesson he almost got out of the class but then he remembered something and retracted his steps inside the classroom.

"Nero-san could you please meet me after your classes end in the Japanese literature room?" Tsuna asked with a pleasant smile.

Yuni seemed surprised but gave a nod. "Yes Sensei." Tsuna nodded his head in return then exited the classroom.

Tsuna was walking through the corridor and started thinking about what had happened. Something had changed during the time she was absent and that was causing her pain. What could abruptly change? What was he able to pick out from her when he met? Deep sadness and loneliness. That was still present but something more had occurred.

Tsuna brushed his hair out of his face. Thinking like this was not going to go anywhere. He had to speak with her directly. Tsuna slowly walked steadily towards the teachers' room. He then heard footsteps coming towards him from behind.

"Tsuna-sensei!" Tsuna grimaced when he heard that voice. Steeling his inner annoyance he turned around and was face to face with a beaming Byakuran.

"Hello Gesso-kun. Is there something you needed from me?" Tsuna asked normally.

"No, I was just curious about you Tsuna-sensei." Byakuran said while putting a few marshmallows in his mouth. The boy had a tendency to always smile; unlike Yuni's his seemed to make everyone freeze. He was someone who rarely had fun in his childhood as everything was easy for him.

"About me?" Tsuna had no idea what could be going inside that boy's head. But he was intrigued none the less.

"Yes…" Byakuran stopped smiling, his gazed turned serious. "I always wondered what someone like you could possibly want here."

"Someone like me?" Tsuna repeated the phrase skeptically. There was concealed annoyance in his voice. "I do hope you will be able to elaborate what you mean."

"No need to get annoyed Tsuna-sensei!" Byakuran gave a sleazy smile with his half lidded eyes. "I was just curious as to why a person whose violent streak that makes Hibari-chan's look like a child's play come and help troubled students."

Tsuna slowly looked at him with steeled eyes. His whole attention was on him. Well he wasn't hiding anything, but there was something strange. "I never thought you would be investigating about me."

"Well of course!" Byakuran gave a wolfish smile. "You are making this boring school life interesting ne? I can't wait to see what you do!" Byakuran slowly twirled and passed him by. "See you Tsuna-sensei."

Tsuna just stood there watching him go until he was out of sight. When Byakuran was gone Tsuna huffed. Interesting indeed. He had to watch out from now on. It seemed like people knew quite a lot about him than he expected.

Tsuna walked inside the teachers' room and saw Kyoko thinking absentmindedly. She was standing next to her desk. Tsuna looked around the room and noticed Mukuro wasn't here. Deciding to shrug it off he went to Kyoko.

"Did something happen? Why are you pacing around like that?"

"Oh! Tsuna–kun!" Kyoko jumped in surprised. She smiled to hide her embarrassment. "It's nothing. It's just that I was wondering what to do about the exam that's all." Kyoko said as fixed her hair absentmindedly. Tsuna could tell by her posture that she was lying but it seemed like she wasn't comfortable discussing it.

"Is that so?" Tsuna didn't want to pry. If she wanted him to know she would tell him. Besides it didn't seem that important. But Tsuna stored this incident in his mind anyway.

It was almost lunch time. Walking through the corridors Tsuna looked at the baseball field. He was trying to see Yamamoto. From the angle he was standing it wasn't hard to see the players. Tsuna watched closely as Yamamoto stood at the batting area. The pitcher fixed his pose and threw the ball. Tsuna was focused on Yamamoto when he noticed something very odd.

"What is he doing?" Tsuna said seeing Yamamoto's posture. The ball was honestly going at a relatively normal speed. It should be an easy one to hit for someone of Yamamoto's caliber. But Tsuna knew he wouldn't be able to hit it.

Tsuna's hunch was right as the ball went past Yamamoto; he only stood there. It seemed to Tsuna he was thinking too much and was not able to feel his guts as he should be able to.

Tsuna was analyzing the problem before him when he heard a peculiar noise. He stopped his inner rambling. It was as if someone had slapped the wall. Tsuna wondered if he heard the noise or if it was just his imagination. Then he heard it again. On the empty corridors the sound echoed far.

This time Tsuna decided to investigate. Glancing at the baseball field for the last time Tsuna walked to the opposite corridor. There wasn't anyone walking around here as it was class time. As Tsuna got closer to the end the noise was getting louder.

"Shut up." Tsuna instantly recognized the voice. "It happened because you were weak and it was just my job."

'What is Mukuro doing?' Tsuna thought as he slowly sneaked up from behind. He saw Mukuro standing facing the wall and talking. There was no one there but Mukuro was acting like he was conversing with someone.

The way Mukuro was speaking it was obvious that the one on the other side was like a worm to him. He felt no empathy, just disdain for him. The raw emotion of disgust was so strong that Tsuna was surprised.

Deciding not to startle Mukuro as he seemed so immersed in his talk that he didn't notice Tsuna, Tsuna decided to make his footsteps known.

"Is someone there?" Tsuna slowly walked towards Mukuro's location with carefully calculated steps. Hearing Tsuna's voice Mukuro quickly composed himself.

"Tsunayoshi-kun I didn't expect you to show up." Mukuro said while turning to face him, his voice was hoarse and raspy. Mukuro flipped his hair to seem nonchalant but it only showed how rattled he felt inside with his shifting eyes. Tsuna didn't look impressed but kept any comments to himself.

"I could say the same. What are you doing here?" Tsuna made a show of wondering his eyes around the empty hallway before turning to look at Mukuro again. "I heard some strange noises, I thought some students were doing it in the deserted hallway or something."

Mukuro stared at Tsuna for a second before his face carved into what seemed like a genuine smile. "What an interesting notion. Do you always think like that?" Tsuna noticed Mukuro's posture wasn't so ridged anymore. He seemed a lot calmer than before. They had started to head towards the teacher's lounge.

"I used to do that." Tsuna muttered under his breath with a shrug.

Mukuro stopped and turned to look at Tsuna with a shocked face. Then he suddenly burst into laughter.

"What is so funny?" Tsuna asked being irritated.

"Ku fu fu fu…. Tsunayoshi-kun you aren't anything like you seem."

"What?" Tsuna faked his annoyance this time. Mukuro shook his head in strange fondness. He seemed to have gone back to his normal and usual teasing self.

They were walking side by side with a pleasant aura. The tense atmosphere was gone. Tsuna thought this wasn't so bad.

Surprisingly Tsuna didn't see Hibari today. Usually he would be staring or glaring at him from somewhere. But he couldn't feel his presence constantly anymore. Perhaps he had lost interest but that didn't seem like it could be the case with someone like Hibari. Tsuna would think about that later as he was waiting for someone else.

There were so much paperwork again. Tsuna tried not to be annoyed. As he immersed himself in grading the papers there was a knock on the door. Tsuna turned his attention there.

"Come in." Tsuna turned to face the door and put his reading glasses down on the table beside the papers. He had an idea who that was.

"Sensei…" Yuni peaked inside the room before entering. Tsuna smiled at her warmly and gestured at the chair put in front him.

"Sit down Yuni-san." Tsuna crossed his legs.

They were at the Japanese literature room. It wasn't the end of class but it seemed like she had a free class currently. Yuni seemed sure of herself the way she always was. There was a regal way that she moved, a beautiful elegance.

"Is something wrong Sensei?" Yuni asked while tilting her head to a side. This emphasized her cerulean eyes.

"I am concerned about you." Tsuna stared into her eyes. He paused to gauge her reaction. "You came back to school after quite a few days."

"Yes." Yuni seemed a bit saddened as she looked at her hands which she had curled on her lap. "but I don't think that is quite alarming." Yuni replied softly.

Tsuna shook his head as he combed his hair back with his hand. "I know that you left because of family business. That's not why I'm worried."

"Then..?" She looked at him with puzzlement.

"The problem is that after you came back you are more distant than you were before." Tsuna said locking his eyes with her. His eyes were conveying his serious attitude towards the situation.

Yuni was looking at him with a lost look. Tsuna smiled sadly at response. "You are talking to me yet you are not here, you smile yet I can feel the loneliness that is seeping out."

Tsuna could see that he had stunned her. Yuni looked petrified as she clutched her skirt tightly, crumpling it. She looked down at her lap, trembling like she was afraid to be discovered. Tsuna looked at the clock hanging on the wall. They haven't been here for more than 15 minutes. Perhaps he shouldn't have done this.

Tsuna stood up with a sigh. "If there is something going on that you feel like you have to hide, you can tell me. I'll try to help you the best way that I can."

Yuni just nodded her while looking down at her lap. Tsuna stared down at her. From that position Yuni looked very fragile like glass.

Tsuna wondered if he spoke too much. He was contemplating while walking through the corridors. Unconsciously he was behind the gym storage room. He noticed the small cat playing with a leaf that Chrome was waving before it. She was smiling softly and seemed to be at ease.

Tsuna also felt himself stretching his lips to a thin smile. He went near the window next to the place she was and stared. Well at least she seemed happy and content in her world. He didn't want to disturb her. He turned to leave when he noticed chrome shyly staring at him. She nodded towards him with a soft smile, Tsuna couldn't help returning it. He then slowly walked away to his next class feeling better once again.

Tsuna yawned as he walked out of the convenience store. He had bought quite a bit of things today. He had decided to go to Gokudera's apartment. The boy seemed to survive by only eating cup noodles. That was not healthy. Besides he had already promised that he would show up.

As Tsuna made his way to Gokudera's apartment he wondered about today. He had looked for Yamamoto, The boy seemed more and more depressed. If he doesn't snap out of it, bad things will happen. But Tsuna couldn't find him anywhere. It was frustrating him to no end. He decided to think about that later.

Tsuna was right outside Gokudera's apartment when he heard loud voices coming from inside. Becoming worried he quickly pushed the doorbell urgently several times. The door suddenly opened with a strong pull. Tsuna moved back a bit because of his old habit, always ready for counterattack. The one who opened the door wasn't Gokudera but a very beautiful woman with long flowing purple pink hair. She was tall, with beautiful curvy figure and was wearing goggles over her eyes.

"Uh…" Tsuna was at a loss for words. She seemed oddly familiar though.

"Hey! Why the hell did you open the door?" Gokudera shouted from inside and turned towards the door with a horrible scowl. But when he saw it was Tsuna his scowling face changed to that of his admiring one in an instant.

"Sensei! You came!" His voice showed his happiness and enthusiasm as his face was glowing with sparkles. He seemed positively elated to see Tsuna.

Tsuna was a bit taken back. "Maybe I should leave…" He felt hesitant to intervene.

"No!" Gokudera panicked and tried to push the woman out of the apartment but failed. "Go away Aneki!"

Tsuna just raised his eyebrows. That was his half-sister then. They seemed to be arguing about something important. He should have notified Gokudera before coming here.

"Hayato since when did you let foreign older men get inside your apartment?" She seemed to be bewildered for a second. Then something clicked inside her head. Her eyes widened. "Could it be you are!?"

Tsuna didn't like the direction this was going at all. She definitely thought of something weird just now.

The woman turned to look at her brother with mortification. "Hayato do you know how dangerous it is to go out with a man like that?"

Tsuna shook his head. He should have guessed. "Excuse me I'm his teacher."

"With your teacher!?" The woman seemed even more surprised. Then she shook her head and flipped her hair. She smiled pleasantly and seemed gleeful. "It's fine. Love has no bounds."

"What the Fuck are you even talking about?" Gokudera was chagrined. "Sensei... sensei isn't my boyfriend." He then blushed in embarrassment. Tsuna raised hie eyebrows at that.

The woman was going to reply something but Gokudera quickly pushed her out of his flat and pulled Tsuna inside quickly closing the door.

"And don't come back Aneki!" He shouted from inside. Gokudera crossed his hands in triumph.

"Aneki?" When Gokudera turned around Tsuna asked raising his eyebrows. "That was your older sister?"

"Older-half-sister." Gokudera grimaced at the memory, he was looking at a side. He turned to face towards Tsuna, his disposition quickly changed into fear. "Sensei I hope you aren't angry. Aneki just doesn't know better!"

Tsuna shook his head. "That's fine. Is her name Bianchi?"

Gokudera was perplexed. "How did you know that Sensei?"

"Well let's just say, some unfortunate circumstances." Tsuna sighed as he combed his hair with the hand that was free. He made his way to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Just as he expected, it was devoid of food. Tsuna slowly racked the produce that he bought today.

"Sensei? Did you come here to check up on me?" Gokudera seemed exhilarated. Tsuna thought as though he could see dog ears popping from his head.

"Yes, I was hoping you'd be eating something other than cup ramen but it doesn't seem to be happening. I did come to check up on you, also I thought I would teach you some things. If you still want to that is."

"Of course sensei!"

Tsuna smiled at him fondly. The boy was oddly innocent.

The next day when Tsuna entered the classroom for homeroom, he noticed some interesting changes. Unlike usual Yamamoto was missing and Haru was back.

Noticing the teacher's gaze at her Haru gave a smile. It was genuine, unlike the one she used to show around. There wasn't any drastic change but the way her eyes lit up when her face stretched to a smile showed she had finally emerged from her darkness.

Gokudera seemed like euphoric. Tsuna shook his head. It was so very hard to teach him anything. He tried to methodically make a very simple dish with quantum physics! But he just couldn't be annoyed at him for long. The boy was so earnest to get his praise.

Chrome was like usual. But this time she didn't turn her eyes away when they met.

After the class ended as everyone passed him by. As Haru was walking out of the classroom she bowed towards him a bit. Tsuna nodded at her direction.

As Tsuna was walking towards the teacher's lounge to get ready for the next lesson, Tsuna found his mind wondering. What was happening here? Yamamoto was no where to be found. And with Yuni... perhaps he should have been less blunt with her and only hinted at it. Then he shook his head. No, that girl would have avoided the issue. She was able to deflect things from her that way. Tsuna was walking along the corridor absentmindedly.

Feeling something coming towards him Tsuna abruptly stopped, turned around and grabbed the object in less than a second. He looked at the object that was trying to hit him. Tsuna gave a deep sigh when he noticed it was a tonfa. Well there went his peaceful time. Tsuna looked up to see Hibari slowly walking towards him.

"I thought you weren't going to disturb me anymore." He stated with a sigh.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi" Hibari greeted Tsuna. "You were distracted."

"Well there can be things on my mind that may make me forget my surroundings even for a moment." Tsuna was irritated, he knew he was acting a bit petulant but still.

Hibari didn't reply anything. Tsuna ruffled his hair and sighed as he crossed his hands. Hibari nonchalantly looked at something through the corridor window. Tsuna could hear the noises coming from the baseball field. The thump from the bat hitting the high speed ball.

"I thought you were looking out for that herbivore." He nonchalantly said.

"What?"

"The herbivore went to the roof." Hibari slowly walked towards Tsuna. When he was close enough he grabbed his tonfa from Tsuna's hand turned to face him. "I won't tolerate it if my school's reputation is tarnished."

Tsuna looked into Hibari's eyes for a few seconds before realization drew back to him. He quickly ran through the corridor passing the classrooms.

"Shit, shit Yamamoto!" he muttered as he hoped that he would make it in time.

Hibari just watched as the new teacher rushed to the rooftop. He wanted to see what would unfold now.

Preview: Vision

Yamamoto does something foolish, Haru realizes her talent, Yuni feels her heart cracking

Sorry life happened. None of my stories are discontinued. Thank you for your patience. I hope you review !