Wait for it [KHR]

Wait for it

Chapter 1

"Hey, hey, mister? You wanna buy this? C'mon mister, I'll make a great deal for you."

Tsuna stops and looks at the little girl. She can't be older than seven. Her hair is matted and clothes dirty, the oversized jacket she's wearing definitely not enough to keep her warm. Clinging to her back is a smaller child, just as dirty, but looking remarkably warmer in a worn coat.

The girl is holding a bracelet in her small crummy hands. The design is simple and feminine with two thin silver wines looping each other and seven colourful stones embedded into the metal in a seemingly random manner. The morning sun makes them glimmer and glisten like a rainbow.

Tsuna catches a glimpse of a similar bracelet peeking out from the cuff of the girl's oversized jacket. He doesn't need his intuition telling him they were stolen.

"Mister? I know you want it so I'll give it to you cheap. You need to buy p-presents for this Christmas thing, right?" she stumbles over the unfamiliar words, likely not knowing what exactly they mean, but there's a dull hopeful glow in her eyes.

Tsuna doesn't hesitate. It takes him a moment to come up with a plan, then he squats down to the girl's eye-level, leaning the plastic bag with groceries on the snowy street.

"I'd love to buy it!" he says with a warm smile, careful not to scare the children. "How much is it?"

"Seventy thousand," the girl chirps immediately and Tsuna's suddenly very glad Gokudera's not with him. Stray kid or not, his forever loyal right hand does not take well to people trying to hassle the Vongola heir. Tsuna, however, doesn't falter. The kid is obviously not very familiar with money issues or she wouldn't have asked for such an outrageous sum. She probably hasn't been on the streets for too long.

He takes out his wallet and feigns counting his money, then turns back to the child with a regretful smile.

"Sorry, little merchant, I don't have that much cash on me. I don't suppose you take cards?"

The kid hesitates, then bites her lip as she shakes her head.

"I see. That's a problem. I really do want it." He pretends to think for a moment with a finger on his lips and just before the kid can offer her own solution, he says, "Oh, I know! If you don't mind walking with me, my house is a few blocks that way. I can get you the money."

He looks with silent satisfaction as the girl thinks it over, not very subtle with checking Tsuna out from head to toe. At least she knows the dangers of following strangers to their homes. Finally she deems Tsuna as safe, or at least as a naïve idiot, and nods.

Tsuna gives them another bright smile, then turns to walk to his house. He's met enough slum kids in Italy to know not to look back, and to keep his pace slow. Kids like that are cautious and smart and skittish, and he needs to act like a gullible idiot for them to follow. The moment he's too eager for them to come along, they'll flee.

He would feel guilty for dragging Nana into this, but he knows exactly how much his mother loves a full house and taking care of strays. When she sees these kids, dirty and hungry and cold as they are, she'll drag them into the house by force if necessary, and not let them out of sight until they're well fed, dressed, and have a place to call home.

And the best part of it all is that Iemitsu has no right to complain because the situation is perfect for the mission Nono assigned for them, too.

Later he'll contact Hibari to scan Namimori for other homeless children. If there are more than a few, he'll ask Kyoko and Haru to see if an orphanage or a shelter can be established. Even if he isn't the head of Vongola yet, there are still things he can do. Especially if it means saving starving children from the streets.