To say that the walk to the Sawada house was awkward would be the understatement of the decade. Ienobu was striding ahead, grumbling incomprehensibly to himself, while Tsunayoshi was trailing behind, wondering in silence what his mother had to say. She hadn't manifested any interest in his existence since he went to live with Kyoya (not that she actually noticed him before, but she still provided him with most basic necessities).
After exactly 7 minutes of uneasy silence (Tsuna counted), the brunet couldn't bear anymore and asked. "So... Nobu, do you know why Mama wanted to see me?"
The blond boy didn't turn his head and replied "She just said it was for our 10th birthday. I don't know any more than that." Tsuna's intuition ringed : that was a lie. He figured that his twin didn't want to share information, or just wasn't keen on talking to him.
The rest of the way was spent in heavy silence.
()()()()()()
There they were. His old house. Tsuna was surprised by how quick he took to Kyoya's home, and how fast he dropped the concept of the house in front of him being his home. Maybe it was because it never really was. He was always an unwanted stranger in the eyes of Nana and Ienobu. He knew that Iemitsu still saw him as family the few times he came back, but the blond man had always been unable to make his eldest feel like he belonged here.
Tsunayoshi followed Ienobu to the door, the blond unlocked it (Tsuna never had the keys) and let his older brother in first, saying their mother should be waiting for him in his -old- room with a surprise, and that she had prepared juice on the table for them both.
Tsuna's intuition was flaring, but he ignored it. He was after all, still a 10-year-old child, he craved the attention of his mother and couldn't let go of a chance to have it. Even if said chance was highly suspicious. He drank the juice, after absently checking from the corner of his eye that Ienobu drank first. The blond then prompted him to go see their mother in the bedroom.
The door to his bedroom was closed, Tsuna opened it and stepped inside.
The door closed behind him and he heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.
Nana was not in the room.
()()()()()()
Ienobu was overjoyed. His plan had worked perfectly. He had managed to convince his disgusting twin to come with him to his house, and to keep his face dissatisfied to avoid suspicions. The excuse of Mama wanting to see him for their birthday worked like a charm. He noticed how Tsuna always cast wishful glances their way when October the 14th was around the corner, and concluded that he wanted Nana to wish him his birthday. It was the best pretext to drag him along, and Mama was actually in the nearby amusement park waiting for the blond to celebrate Ienobu's birthday, with no idea of what was happening here.
And that idiot had stepped in the house without questioning, he had drunk the juice laced with his mother's sleeping pills. Ienobu just pretended to drink and the liquid merely touched his lips, he never swallowed. And now, Dame-Tsuna was locked in his room, with the window sealed and the door locked. Truly a fool. Ienobu only had to put the finishing touch to his plan.
He pulled a box of matches from his pocket. He had stolen them earlier that day. He lit one (he had practiced for a few weeks before, to make sure everything worked perfectly), and threw it on the trail of alcohol going from the front of the stairs to Dame-Tsuna's room. The previous day, he had made sure to soak as many things as he could in there with the stolen cleaning alcohol, and even let the window open all night to lessen the smell. This morning, he had closed the windows and taped it. The alcohol hadn't completely evaporated, it was too cold.
