Katekyo Hitman Reborn Oneshots

Thank You (Storm)

"Umphf!"

Gokudera Hayato was harshly kicked onto the ground, clutching his stomach in pain. He raised his head, and saw a mafioso walk up to him.

The mafioso placed a foot on his face and pressed him against the ground, snickering, "Don't blame me for doing this, loyal puppy. It's the boss's order. If you want to blame someone, you can blame yourself for not being stronger. Boss only accepted you because he thought you could be useful, but now that your usefulness has run out, there's nothing else worth keeping you for."

Gokudera clenched his teeth as he struggled to get up, "Why?! I'm not useless! I can kill whoever you want, as long as you let me stay! Why do you need to get rid of me?!"

He looked at everyone around him, unable to understand what was going on. During the past five months, he had carried out every order he was given without fail, so why was he being disposed of?

Gokudera looked at the boss who was watching from the side and saw his eyes flash in impatience. The mafioso in front of him also caught this and immediately kicked Gokudera away, bringing out his gun. "Shut up! If the boss says to get rid of you, then we'll get rid of you!"

He aimed the gun at Gokudera, and was about to shoot when a bunch of dynamites were thrown at him. The mafioso cursed loudly and shot blindly, not expecting the brat to counterattack at the last second.

Soon, the place was filled with smoke and gunshots, giving Gokudera the opportunity to escape. He tossed a few more dynamites and ran, not stopping until he was miles away from the alley.

::

Leaning against a wall to catch his breath, Gokudera heard a growl from his stomach. He glanced around the street and noticed an apple stall by the corner, feeling his hunger grow.

He swallowed his saliva and decided to try his luck. Walking over to the stall, he asked the man standing by, "C-can I have an apple? Just one! I don't have any money on me, b-but I can help you clean..."

The man didn't even glance at him and continued reading his newspaper, scoffing, "Don't have any money? Forget it. Who needs you to clean here?"

Gokudera lowered his head, telling himself that it was only expected. He had originally hoped the man would have a little pity, but after his few years of roaming in the underworld, he had learned the hard way that nobody would do something that wouldn't benefit them.

Gokudera peeked up at the man, and made sure that he wasn't paying attention before snatching two apples and instantly bolting. He ignored the shouting behind him, muttering a silent apology as he ran.

He also had to survive, after all.

::

For the next couple of years, this was how Gokudera lived. Join a new family, get kicked out, offend people, get chased after, search for a new family, repeat.

Although Gokudera convinced himself that it didn't matter if he was rejected, he still secretly hoped for someone to truly accept him someday.

Lighting up a cigarette, Gokudera had just barely touched it when his phone rang. He clicked his tongue, and his irritation showed as he answered the call. "What do you want?"

The person on the other side greeted, "Ciaossu."

With just one word, Gokudera immediately regretted talking.

This was the Ninth's most trusted hitman, and the World's Greatest Hitman, Reborn. Gokudera unhesitatingly distinguished his cigarette and changed his tone.

"R-reborn, I apologize for my rude behavior just now. I've disgraced myself. Is there anything you need from me? I'll be more than glad to help."

"There is," Reborn replied straightforwardly. "I want you to come to Japan in the next few days and meet the future Vongola boss. His name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, age 14. It'd be a great opportunity for you to test him. I'm counting on you."

With that, he hung up, leaving Gokudera with his thoughts.

Another boss... At least this one was the same age as him, unlike those overly arrogant adults who think they're everything. Maybe—just maybe—this Tsunayoshi would be different from all those other people that he had met.

Without realizing it, a small spark of hope had ignited in Gokudera's heart.

::

"DOUBLE BOMBS!!!"

Gokudera threw his handful of dynamites at Tsuna, astonished as the boy defused them all with his bare hands. He then pulled out a whole armful of dynamites and lit them up, shouting, "TRIPLE BOMBS!!!"

But before he could throw the dynamites, one of them suddenly slipped from his hands. Gokudera cursed, watching as the rest of the dynamites also fell onto the ground.

This was going to be the end of him.

From all his years of scrambling to survive in the underworld, he had engraved one thing into his mind—it's every man for themselves. No one will help you, and no one is willing to help you even if you're on the brink of death.

The strong survive, and the weak die.

That was the law. And Gokudera knew of this the best, being rejected over and over again just because he was weak.

And because he knew of this the best, it was especially shocking for him to see Tsuna defuse the thirty-something dynamites around him—all for his sake.

As Tsuna distinguished the last dynamite, Gokudera fell onto his knees, head lowered. At that moment, he had decided to dedicate the rest of his life to Sawada Tsunayoshi, the person who risked his life to save him.

He understood how rare it was to find such a kind person in the cruel world, and understood even more that he had to treasure him properly.

::

Tsunayoshi carefully pushed the door open, and showed the Vongola mansion to Gokudera with a smile. "This is our new home. What do you think?"

Gokudera took one glance around the place and looked at Tsunayoshi seriously, "It's good, but anywhere is home as long as you're there."

Tsunayoshi let out a chuckle at his words. "Really, I wonder what heroic thing I did in my past life to deserve you all. Although I originally didn't want to become a mafia boss, I'm glad that I got to meet you guys because of it. Thank you for coming into my life, Gokudera."

Gokudera smiled and lowered his eyes. "No, it's me who should be thanking you."

Thank you for giving me a place to call home.

-

Well, despite how long this seemed to take, it actually took me like five days to write this (with a lot of breaks in between). Also, I think Gokudera should be about 8-10 in the beginning? And then he should be 14 when he gets the call from Reborn. He is the same age as Tsuna, right?

Beta'd by CatalusAndOtak (aka CAO/Dare/0473)

Started: around 6/15/21
Finished: around 7/18/21
Published: around 7/21/21