Moment In Time

Chapter 21

Chapter 21:Unexpected

Reborn can only remember panicking way back in the beginning of his career as a Hit Man. Even then it wasn't something he did often, only in circumstances most people would think impossible to fix.

Reborn can honestly say he panicked when Tsuna didn't show up at home after he argued with him about fighting Bermuda and the Vindice. Even as angry as Tsuna was with Reborn, Reborn knew Tsuna would come home if only to keep his mother from worrying.

At first he was fine. Reborn figured Tsuna would be a bit late getting home after a fight like that. Even when a few hours had passed Reborn didn't worry for two reasons: Tsuna had called home and told Nana he would be a Yamamoto's for a few hours, and Reborn knew Tsuna could take care of himself 99 percent of the time.

When four hours passed Reborn got a little worried- when Tsuna said 'a few hours' he meant two- so he called Yamamoto and asked for Tsuna. He started to panic when Yamamoto's voice sharpened and he was told Tsuna had left an hour ago and should be home by now.

Even then Reborn didn't drop into complete panic. Instead he got Tsuna's friends looking for him starting from Yamamoto's home and branching out from there. He only dropped into true panic when he found signs of a battle Tsuna had to have taken part in and deep gouges in the ground from what he recognized as the Vindice chain weapons.

He was quick to follow the carnage since he was the only one to find it. When he arrived at the end of the trail, he found something unexpected.

One of the Vindice- Reborn wasn't sure which though he knew it wasn't Bermuda- was hanging upside down from a sturdy tree branch, gagged and hog tied with his own chains. Tsuna was collapsed a few feet to the right, holding onto the Pacifier that belonged to the Vindice, only the Pacifier was frozen solid in Tsuna's 'Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition' ice.

Reborn wasn't sure whether he should laugh or smack his student for worrying him. Either way, Reborn knew he was very, very proud of him in the moment, and that maybe Tsuna did have a chance at winning against the Vindice and Bermuda. If anyone could win it was Tsuna.