Title: Because You're My Father

Summary: "You better get off your sorry ass soon, you pathetic excuse for a father. We still have a battle to finish, once everything is over." Because Tsuna knows, despite his hatred for him, that Iemitsu is his father.

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belongs to Akira Amano

Pairing: None

Warning: SPOILERS for the Curse of the Rainbow Arc (aka. Arcobaleno Representative Battle Arc); SLIGHT Iemitsu-bashing

Because You're My Father

"Where's Tsuna?"

The two Vongola Guardians spun around, not at all surprised at the infant's sudden appearance.

"Jyuudaime is on the roof, Reborn-san." Gokudera answered.

"Primo showed up just now, after you left. He said he had something to talk to Tsuna about." Yamamoto continued in explanation.

Reborn frowned.

Until now, there had only been two reasons for Vongola Primo's appearance. One was for the Vongola Boss' Trial of Succession and the other was when the Vongola Famiglia was in a time of strife. It was strange for the founder of Vongola to appear now because Tsuna had already passed his Trial of Succession, and the Vongola Famiglia was not in danger at the moment. Of course, given Primo and Tsuna's more unique relation, it was possible for Primo to appear to simply chat with his descendant, but…

There was no one on the roof at the moment.

The first thought that entered Reborn's mind was that the Guardians were lying, but one look at them told him that they weren't, and that they didn't even know Tsuna was gone in the first place.

So then, the question is…

Where did Tsuna go?

Tsuna popped two blue pills and immediately took off into the skies after a hasty 'thank you' and 'goodbye' to his ancestor, who had merely smiled and disappeared in the orange flames he had arrived in.

His Sky flames, wild and untamed, were a reflection of his current feelings.

Despite how flying in the skies would usually calm him, Tsuna was feeling anything but that at the moment. A variety of emotions swirled within him, making a mess out of his mind. Anger, hurt and confusion was the top three, and Tsuna had to take in a deep breath to calm himself.

Pushing all thoughts out of his mind, Tsuna focused on his surroundings, taking note that he was close to his destination. Landing in a quiet alley, Tsuna ran out into the open and dashed down two streets, turning sharply into the hospital. He skidded to a stop in front of the front desk and all but slammed his hands onto the white marble top, hissing out a harsh, "Sawada", without preamble.

The receptionist, startled, quickly worked the computer and babbled out the ward location carelessly, too surprised and shocked to remember asking for proper identification.

Tsuna barely stopped to thank the receptionist before running down the hospital hallways again. He concentrated hard and expanded all his senses. His eyes were looking out for signs as he followed hallway after hallway to the glass doors that lead to the private wards, all the while dodging staffs, patients and visitors. Tsuna knew it was late and that visiting hours were probably already over, but the brunette pushed on, running past more staffs.

It was easy to spot the ward he was heading to; no other wards had two bodyguards in suits standing outside the door.

The guards had noticed him –it was what they were trained to do, after all– but a glare from Tsuna, who has about to enter his Hyper Dying Will mode subconsciously froze them up momentarily, and Tsuna (gleefully) took that chance to slip past them, slamming the doors open. Tsuna panted harshly to regain his breathing; he had flew across town and ran through the hospital, never once stopping until he reached his destination.

"S-Sawada?" Colonello blinked. "What are you doing here, kora?"

"I think the better question is, why is he here." Lal corrected.

"Sawada-dono." Basil greeted, bowing in respect and in greeting.

Tsuna couldn't bring himself to answer any of them. On one hand, he has yet to fully even out his breathing, on the other hand, all his attention was captured on the man lying on the hospital bed.

Sawada Iemitsu.

"What the hell is going on?!" Tsuna shouted.

"Calm down, Tsuna." Iemitsu's voice came, cutting through the haze in the brunette's mind. "Sorry, Colonello, Lal, Basil. Could you leave us alone for a while?"

Colonello looked uncertain. "Is that alright, kora?"

"Yeah." Iemitsu nodded.

The three glanced over at the CEDEF leader, who nodded again in confirmation, before leaving the room. Throughout it all, Tsuna never took his eyes off the man on the hospital bed. Honey-coloured eyes, tinged with the slightest bit of orange, ran themselves across what was visible of Iemitsu's body as they tried to determine the damage that kept the leader of CEDEF hospitalized.

With a grimace, Iemitsu helpfully lifted the bed covers and moved to unbutton his hospital top, revealing thick white bandages wrapped around his waist.

Tsuna's eyes widened at the pink staining the pristine white bandage. "…Vendice…" Tsuna murmured.

Iemitsu nodded simply, not saying anything else.

Wait… 'tou-san was at home…! Tsuna stared at Iemitsu, "'kaa-san?!"

"Don't worry. Your mother is alright." Iemitsu replied. "She passed out when she saw me just now though. We made sure she wouldn't remember seeing me in that state. I have my men watching over the house; Lal and Colonello were going over in a bit."

Tsuna nodded as he took in everything.

"What about you? Reborn said everyone was attacked by Vendice." Iemitsu asked.

"I'm –we're fine. I was with Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun. We managed to hang on until Reborn got back." Tsuna answered. He let out a frustrated growl, "They waited until the Arcobaleno were in a meeting to attack… I won't let them get away with this…!"

"Calm down, Tsuna…" Iemitsu sighed.

"How do you expect me to calm down?!" Tsuna shouted.

Iemitsu's eyes widened as he caught sight of his son. Tsuna spun around quickly, but Iemitsu still saw it. Still, out of respect, the blond decided to keep quiet and instead asked the other question that was bugging me, "How did you know?"

"…Primo… told me." Tsuna answered quietly.

"As in, Vongola Primo?" Iemitsu arched an eyebrow.

"Primo watches over the Vongola Famiglia… He came to me after Reborn left and he told me, 'The Sky is cracking'." Tsuna explained.

"I see…" Iemitsu nodded.

"…Does Reborn know?" Tsuna asked.

Iemitsu knew there was no point in lying. Despite both of them being the direct descendents of Vongola Primo, he knew that Tsuna had a sharper intuition than him –one that could very well match that of the founder of Vongola.

"Yes. He came by after checking on you." Iemitsu answered.

"…And I suppose, you told him not to say anything to me?" Tsuna questioned.

"…Yes." Iemitsu replied. "I didn't want to break your concentration."

Tsuna spun back around, eyes a blazing golden as he glared harshly at his father. "Again… Again! You're always like this!"

Iemitsu was taken aback. After the past few days, he was well aware of Tsuna's hatred for him, but the brunette had always held back –out of respect, perhaps– and chose instead to avoid him. To hear his son yelling at him outright like that was… shocking.

"Ever since I was a kid, you always do this! You disappear for months at a time, then you come back all-smiles, thinking that everything is fine when it's not!" Tsuna clenched his fists.

"I had to." Iemitsu replied calmly. "I'm the External Advisor of Vongola. We're not a part of Vongola, yet we are. If I kept staying by your side, I'd only be inviting assassins and hitmen."

"…So, you're saying that's you trying to 'protect' us?" Tsuna hissed.

"That's right." Iemitsu answered.

"…That is just a load of bull." Tsuna gritted out. "All that tells me is that you chose the Vongola Famiglia over us."

"Tsuna, you're being ridicul–"

"–who's being ridiculous?!" Tsuna cut him off, glaring harshly at him. "You were never at home! You never saw how sad 'kaa-san was when you weren't around! You never saw 'kaa-san quietly sobbing in the middle of night because she was worried about you, not knowing if you were safe! You never saw the looks other kids gave me when it was always only 'kaa-san that came for my school functions! You were never around!"

Tsuna knew he was crying. His vision was getting blurry, and a blink of an eye was the only thing required to clear them. His fists were clenched, harder than ever, and he could feel his fingernail pressing into the palm of his hands. His entire body was aching from the fights they had, and he was so, so tired. He wanted to break down; to just fall apart.

"You disappear for the bulk of my life and you suddenly threw me into the life of the Mafia… Have you ever asked me what I wanted? You always decide things yourself; you decide that it was 'good' for me, and you made me do it… But what about me? Have you ever thought about me?" Tsuna choked out. "Just because you think I can do it… Don't I get a choice?"

"You do have a choice…" Iemitsu murmured.

"Do I?" Tsuna demanded. "The choice was out of my hands from the very beginning! Because of you, I fought with Varia for the inheritance. Because of you, I followed the path of a Mafia. Because of you, my friends –my family were constantly putting their lives on the line! Yamamoto nearly died! I don't have a choice! Even if I had, I can't back out anymore!"

Iemitsu fell silent again, having nothing else to say.

"I have gained friends; people I can count on, people that I can trust my life with. I will fight with my life on the line if it means keeping them safe. I will take on the blood splattered throne of Vongola, if it means I have the power to protect my loved ones." Tsuna continued quietly. "…But I will still hate you. For all that you did for Vongola… you failed as a husband and a father. Was it worth it? Making your wife and son cry for you when you were out there, protecting your chosen Famiglia?"

"…Tsuna… You're right." Iemitsu admitted.

Tsuna had long since decided to stare at the ground, and even at that admission, he still didn't look up.

"I… I have chosen the Vongola Famiglia over you and Nana. I forced the position of the Vongola Decimo on you, because I didn't trust Xanxus with it. You're my son, yet I chose to involve you with Vongola, and as a result, made you throw your life on the line." Iemitsu said softly. "An apology is not enough, but… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a terrible husband and an even horrible father. I'm sorry for making Nana cry. I'm sorry for not being there to see you grow up."

Tsuna fell to his knees, his hands pressed hard against his eyes that just wouldn't stop leaking tears.

"I hate you… I hate you, dammit!" Tsuna screamed. "But I can't bring myself to lash out at you because -godammit– my head, my mind, my heart still recognizes you as my father!"

Iemitsu felt his throat tightened. He yanked everything out –the IV, the device monitoring his vitals and anything else attached to him– and he slid to the ground, pulling his son into his arms, holding him tightly. His side screamed in protest, but that pain was nothing compared to the one that was about to completely crush his heart.

Tsuna didn't struggle. He had no strength left to struggle.

"…Tsuna… At a place far, far away, I've always kept an eye on you –you and Nana both." Iemitsu murmured softly. Tsuna's tight grip on his upper arms were getting painful, but he didn't complain. "You grew so much… Every time I see you, you've already grown. As though… As though you were already moving on to the next part of your life. Yuni passed me the visions of what you did in the future too. And… I'm proud of you, Tsuna. I'm proud of you."

"…You're the poorest… suckiest excuse for a father…" Tsuna croaked out. "…But like an idiot, I still care about you anyway…"

"Must be the genes." Iemitsu joked.

Tsuna unceremoniously shoved an elbow into Iemitsu's wounded side. Iemitsu hissed out in pain.

"Shut up. If Reborn came by, he must have healed you to some extent." Tsuna grumbled. The brunette pulled away from the embarrassing position and wiped at his eyes furiously.

Iemitsu grinned and chuckled, despite his body's complain. He spoke again, quietly and in a serious tone, "…I know I'm being selfish, but… will you forgive me? For being the poorest… suckiest excuse for a father?"

"I still hate you." Tsuna stated. "…And I'm not going to forgive you. Yet."

"…So… someday?" Iemitsu asked hopefully.

"Depends." Tsuna answered. "Just be prepared to be sacked in a few years time."

Iemitsu grinned.

Tsuna arched an eyebrow and whacked at him again, "You're looking too gleeful for someone who's going to be sacked."

"If it means–"

*tiriririri*

Tsuna glanced down at his Boss watch in horror.

"1 MINUTE UNTIL THE BATTLE STARTS!"

"At midnight… Damn." Iemitsu cursed.

Tsuna's communicator rang. "Tsuna! Where are you?!"

"I'm coming right back! Stay where you are!" Tsuna replied hastily. As he got off the ground, he quickly called behind him, "Basil!"

The younger Italian returned immediately. "Sawada-dono, you have to hurry!"

"I know. Take care of him." Tsuna gestured to Iemitsu as he ran over to the window, pulling it open. Tsuna yanked on his mittens and quickly swallowed two blue pills. He waited for a moment, allowing the calmness to wash over him as he slipped into his Hyper Dying Will form.

"Forty-two seconds." Basil announced.

"More than enough." Tsuna answered. He climbed onto the window, one foot on the window sill as he grabbed the side of the window. Tsuna hesitated for a moment, glancing over his shoulders at Iemitsu. "You better get off your sorry ass soon, you pathetic excuse for a father. We still have a battle to finish, once everything is over."

Iemitsu grinned and nodded.

Tsuna turned back and pushed himself out of the window, dark orange flames flaring from his gloves as he took off into the sky.

Iemitsu smiled.

It may take them some time –a lot of time, actually– to get on a relatively good term, but he was willing to try. And he knew Tsuna was, too, even with hatred of his father.

Because after all, they were father and son, bound by blood.

And blood is truly thicker than water.

A/N: Argh. Me and my need for fluffy bunnies and rainbows. I wanted to bash Iemitsu –I mean, I did– but I still had to make it good for him. I am such an utter failure. But I admit, I had fun writing this.

To the peeps who read 6 Times the Guardians Came Back Injured, it'll be up in the next two days –I promise! It's just... Someone stirred up the bunnies and they were haunting me, demanding that I write this, and umm.. Yeah.

Anywho, thank you peeps for reading this! Ciao Ciao~