Dead-Eyed Tsuna (KHR!)

Chapter 4: The Introduction Of A Gang Leader

"Tch. I should have known. Some spoiled kid figures he's got some influence, so he can get away with anything," Hayato growls menacingly.

Tsuna blinks. "What?"

"I bet you thought your dad could scoop you out of any trouble you got into, huh? Well tough shit! A life of crime is a hell of a lot more complicated than that! If you know where you stand, then you better know that I'm here to whip your ass back into shape! I don't have time for self-righteous brats! The mafia would never have time for worms like you!"

There's a long silence where Hayato stands seething over Tsuna, and Tsuna sits on the bed, staring blankly up at Hayato.

"...What?"

A little of Hayato's bravado seeps out of him, which is saddening, because he almost looked cool and assertive for a second. The fluster is quickly returning in its wake, though. "W-whaddya mean, 'what'? You heard me! I'm whipping you...I mean, I'm your tutor, so I'm responsible over you, and stuff..."

"When did the mafia come into this?" Tsuna asks, more exasperated than confused now. "Why would the mafia want someone to watch me?"

"Well...Uh..." Hayato has completely lost his wind now. "It's not the mafia, I mean...your dad told me to..."

"But isn't my dad in the mafia?"

"What? Of course not! He's just...no, wait, I'm getting off topic here! Your dad told me that I was the best person in all of Italy to get his son back on the right track! I mean, we're the same age, have Japanese heritage, I'm way smarter than you, and I've actually lived on the streets, so I know what kind of bad shit you're getting into—"

Ah. Aahhhh geez.

"I'm not getting into anything," Tsuna mumbles, shrinking back on the bed. His cheeks feel oddly hot, and it's suddenly very hard to look Hayato in the eye. "...I just wanted to get a...a reaction..."

"So you're just going around- uh...huh?" Tsuna can't see his face, but the confusion in his voice makes him sink even further towards the comforter he's sitting on.

"...I was mad that he never talked much with us...and was never home, so..." He pulls his legs up so he can hide his mouth with his knees. "...so I might have said something a little extreme to get a rise out him."

"You..."

Silence.

Hands suddenly twist into Tsuna's collar, and he's yanked up into the air, where Hayato can glare at him good and close. "You mean I came all the way over here from overseas, passing up dozens of job opportunities, for a practical joke?"

"I-it wasn't a joke!" Tsuna says, feeling his entire face flare up with heat now. "I just told him what was going on! It just...might have sounded more dangerous when I said it..."

Hayato seems to be choking on something, and Tsuna thinks he may actually punch him right then and there. But he's too upset for even that - with a trembling sigh, he falls back onto the carpet and stares at the ceiling as if it could tell him the secrets of the universe. Tsuna is too embarrassed to look any farther than his feet.

"I just wanted to prove myself," Hayato mumbles, almost to himself. "If I could earn the confidence of someone like that, then..."