Chapter Text
/Call Me Never/
Sawada Ietsuna felt his eye twitch. It’s been doing that a lot lately. It’s starting to upset his glasses.
"HAHAHAHA! Come on, stop being such a downer Ie-kun! You’re gonna be a father! It’s a time for celebration!" Oh and there’s the reason for that.
Turning with a sigh, ‘Ie-kun’ takes in his rather red faced, glazed eyed brother, who is now laughing like someone told him the best joke.
Maybe if he smashes his brother’s face into the bar counter now he’ll stay unconscious. Doesn’t have to be long, just enough to let the younger twin slip away. It could buy him enough time to at least get to the door-
"COME ON! Have another round! It’s all on me for tonight, since my adorable little brother has finally entered the joys of fatherhood." And with that, the bastard orders another round.
Yeah, probably too drunk to feel any pain. Damn.
"Ahhhh, it feels like only yesterday my lovely wife delivered my cute little tuna-fish to the world-"
"It was only yesterday." Ietsuna says flatly, his eye twitching once more.
"And now your wonderful wife, though not as wonderful as my Nana, says she expecting! How awesome is that?" Sawada Iemitsu exclaims, as if his twin never said a thing.
Really, why did he have to have this man as his brother? Hell, why did he have to be reborn in such a world? Couldn’t he, you know, have stayed dead maybe?
Alas, life just enjoyed messing with his and screwing with his head.
But come on, Sawada Iemitsu? As his twin? They didn’t even look that much alike, being fraternal twins and all.
His brother was big and buff; he had a track star’s build. Iemitsu was blond, brown eyed, and tan. Ietsuna was ash-brown, blue eyed, and peach skined. The older twin was usually called ruggedly handsome; and the younger twin was often described as adorable.
He was a grown man! He was not suppose to be cute! (And just because he could put his hair in a small pony-tail did not mean he was ‘girly’.)
Though it was something his brother always had to remind him off.
Why did he have to be reborn again?
"Ietsuna?" oh.
Mood doing a 360, the glasses wearer smiled when he saw his lovely wife come in.
"Saki? Are you alright." He asked, going over to his wife.
"Yes, I’m fine; just missed you tonight. Have you finished celebrating with your brother?"
“Yes”
"Nooooooooooooo! You haven’t even touched one of your drinks!" Iemitsu calls, waving a sake bottle at him.
Smiling through gritted teeth, the ash-brown twin turned to face his brother, his eyes hard.
"And like I told you just last week, I’m giving up on drinking." the younger of the brothers says, his tone just an inch away from breaking of frustration, annoyance, and temptation.
"Eh? Where’s the fun in that-"
"Good night Iemitsu, call me after you sober up and your hangover passes." Cutting him off curtly, not able to deal another minute longer, he leaves with his wife arm and arm.
"Are you sure it’s alright to leave like that?" Saki, his rose colored eyed bliss in life, asks hesitantly.
"It’s fine. Iemitsu knows I can’t stand him drunk, so he’ll get over it. I don’t mind him half as much when he’s sober." Ietsuna sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses.
Still, even sober his brother is a pain in the neck. He better be lucky the assassin-turn-writer cares so much for him.
"… Are you still sure about quitting? I know your job in CEDEF was important." The mahogany haired woman asks, fingering one of her hidden knives in her kimono.
Old habits die hard.
"I said I would retire when we both are ready… I’m sorry for making you wait." Ietsuna said, pulling his wife closer to him, enjoying her warmth.
"I was ready to put up ‘Parasol Shiro’ even before I met you. You were just able to let me give it up faster, even if you couldn’t give up ‘Blood Knuckle Sawada’ yet." Saki says, her voice showing her complete acceptance of her husband’s choice.
The reincarnated man couldn’t help but smile, his eyes bright with both happiness and relief.
Things were looking up.
(And then he happened to move right next door to his brother’s family.
Screw his life.)
/Three’s The Charm/
May the gods have mercy on his soul, because his lovely Saki won’t have any for him.
When they were expecting a child, they were pretty much expecting that,a child. So when the doctor does the sonogram and tells them they’re having twins, they are both excited and nervous. But it was still okay, they could handle twins. And if necessary, Nana has offered to watch them from time to time.
(Though they rather not, since she does have her own child to raise, no matter how well behaved little Tsuna is.)
So yeah, they were still pretty excited, picking out names, getting the nursery ready. Nana would even join in on the fun, her and his wife bonding over the shared experience of swollen ankles, gained weight, and cravings.
(The assassin-turned-writer can now never look at a sandwich the same way again… or hot sauce.)
So when the big day came and Ietsuna was snapping his fingers so fast it nearly burned, the doctor finally approached him, big smile on his face.
"Congratulations! You have two healthy baby boys and one healthy little girl. Would you like to see them?" The doctor says with a grin, as if to mock him.
… Might as well see his children before his wife decides to slaughter him. Maybe if he’s lucky, she’ll change her mind and have him suffer the sleepless nights with her.
(In other news, the boys were named Ienari and Satoshi, and their girl named Nami. He was allowed to name one.)
/Okay Then, Moving On/
Raising four kids soon became a group effort for the in-laws.
While all were good when it came to money, when it came to taking care of the kids, who would cry(Satoshi), yell (Ienari), whimper(Tsuna), and bite(Nami) for attention (or food), the two Sawada neighbors decided they could always use more emotional support and another pair of eyes. And while there was the ups and downs, after a few years they were going at it like champs, able to take care of each others children to the degree the kids might as well have three parents.
There was even times where shy little blond-rose eyed Satoshi and their red haired brown-eyed Nami would sleep over at Nana’s, while brown haired and eyed Tsuna and twin in looks to his brother Ienari would snuggle down in the pillow fort in the living room.
Really, why they bothered living in two houses when they were basically one household was anyone’s guess.
And that was how it’s been, up to now, when Tsuna turned six, the triple terrors five.
/That’s Hot/
"So their eyes are okay? I mean, they’re still pretty, but it would be terrible if they couldn’t see because of their pupil’s shape." Nana fretted as she prepared cookies for the kids, Ietsuna getting the ‘lick the bowl privilege’.
(Don’t judge him, cookie dough should be considered an addictive substance.)
"Yeah, apparently they can see alright, even if their pupils are shaped like a compass. Saki was just worried about the kids because usually only those in the main line of her family can get off scot free if they develop them. At most, it looks like Satoshi and Nami aren’t going to go blind, but I won’t be surprised if they need glasses in the future." The author said thoughtfully, slightly sucking on the cookie dough in his mouth.
To be honest, while he was worried about his children’s eyesight, he was more worried about what their eyes mean.
Satoshi and Nami were going to be Earth Flame users; Cozarto grade Earth flames.
That had been a surprise for the both of them, as Saki herself was an orphan who never knew her biological family. But as she wasn’t a Earth flame, but a Desert flame, it could explain a few things.
(Ever since she found out, she has been studying all she could on her family, trying to learn all she can. Last the ash brown man knew, she was debating with herself on whether or not to approach them.)
And while this didn’t change anything for the proud (and sarcastic at occasions) father, it also meant that he didn’t know what to do when their flame surfaces.
Despite his medical condition which sucks up over half his flames, he is still a Sky user, so he knows how to place limiters and seals for any flame of the Sky. (He made sure to learn all he could about anything that could help his babies.)
Earth flames… not so much.
(Really, how the hell is this his life! He should be worrying about his kids crying in stores or scraping their knees, not them blowing up buildings!
God, why did he have to quit drinking again? He- Ietsuna stops himself right there; he promised to himself that his kids would not have an alcoholic for a father and he is going to keep it. He is not going to follow the footsteps of his own mother.)
And of course while things are calm and he’s thinking something happens.
"TSUNA!" "NI-SAN" is suddenly yelled, and with skills that he can never bring himself to dull, the retired mafioso is out there before Nana can even turn, cookie dough all but forgotten.
And he gets there in time to see the large amount of Sky Flames Tsuna is emitting, big tears in his eyes as he starts to curl into himself.
Judging by the fallen branch burning merrily next to him, it seems the little brunet fell from the tree and his flames reacted to save him.
Definitely worse ways to activate Deathperation flames.
"TSUNA!" Is screamed, Nana obviously wanting to run over to her child, but not sure if she could.
Well, now he knows why his intuition was telling him to bring the draining limiter every time he was going to be around Tsuna.
Because nothing else would be able to contain those flames, and seals could just screw the kid over with that much blocked. So a limiter that would drain excess flame into the earth/air safely. (And in rare occasions, can even be used to defend yourself.)
But before he can give him the belt-like contraption, he needs to calm both mother and kid down.
"Saki, could you take the kids and Nana-san into the house and explain what you can about the situation to them? I need to calm down Tsuna-kun." Iestuna asks his wife, his eyes meeting hers as she nods, a soft smile on her face as she gently, but firmly leads those mentioned all out of the backyard and into the house.
Turning to the very much scared little boy, the man holds back a sigh.
"Hey, Tsuna-kun? Can you hear me?"
After a pause, the kid nods through his knees.
"That’s good. Now, can you please look at me?" The gentleness in his voice must be convincing, as watery red-orange eyes look up at his, his flames preventing the tears from leaving their tracks down his face.
"Hey there my little lion cub, how you feeling?" Probably rather crappy and scared, but he needs to have it confirmed. Besides, he needs the brunet to calm, and what better way then to talk it out? (At least that’s what all the parenting books suggest. Personally, he thinks most of them are full of crap.)
"I-I-I’m -hic- scared." Tsuna hiccups, his arms wrapping around his knees tighter.
"Yeah, those flames can be pretty scary, can’t they? But they’re still rather pretty too."
"P-pretty? -hic-."
"Hmmhm, haven’t you looked?" and cue childish fascination with all things shiny.
Soon, Ietsuna had the draining limiter on, which Tsuna seems to like very much, even though it made the ‘sparkly fire’ go away.
(And just what the hell was with this kid’s flame purity? That stuff was potent! He nearly harmonized with the kid, and bonding with other Skies is never easy.)
Taking the kid inside, after a stern order to never take the ‘funny belt’ off, (“Even when I take a bath?!” “Don’t worry, it’s water proof.”) they went in side for explanations and cookies.
Yum.
(Nana took it rather well that her son could some make fire anytime he wanted. Though Ietsuna left out anything mafia related; that was Iemitsu’s to tell.)
/You Make a Point/
"…Are you sure we’re cousins?" Nami asks her siblings in blood and bond.
"Well, Tsuna-nii is our cousin, but you, me, and Ienari are brothers and sister." Satoshi explains quietly, shyly peeking over his pillow. They’re in Tsuna’s room as they’re going to sleep soon.
"But Tsuna doesn’t feel like a cousin. He feels just like you guys to me." the red-haired girl puffs up, daring either of her brothers to disagree with her.
"…Well, you’re not wrong. Tsuna-nii is just like a big brother." Ienari shrugs, agreeing.
"And you guys are still my family, no matter what… But what brought this on, Nami-chan?" Tsuna asks, turning to the only girl.
"Well… I over heard some of the ladies on the corner talking about our family.They said things that made me want to get the kitchen knives, but Kaa-san won’t let me play with them until I’m eight. Though the thing they said that got my attention was something about how Tsuna-nii was probably our half-brother.” the adorable little girl pouted, as if her mother was being so unfair, before looking curious.
"How can I be half of anything, though? That doesn’t make sense." Tsuna asked, ignoring the girl’s violent tendencies; all of the family was used to them (though her Tou-san would on occasion start banging his head against the wall when reminded).
"Not sure, but you are basically our brother in everything but blood. And Kaa-san, Tou-san, and Oba-san have raised all of us, we might as well be siblings." Satoshi says thoughtfully, tilting his head as he does so.
"If that’s the case…Do you think your Tou-san wouldn’t mind being mine as well?" Tsuna asked, eyes warming up with hope. His was always busy with work, but the triplet’s daddy was always around, always there if something scary was in the closet or if a hurt needed to be bandaged and kissed.
He was there when Tsuna was going to his first day of school and his mommy couldn’t take him because she was sick. He helped him with the dreaded maths and English and got them snacks as they did it.
He even took everyone out on the day that his mommy always cried on, doing fun stuff and making Kaa-san smile and laugh instead.
He was there.
He was Tsuna’s father already, the little boy just fooled by the title of Uncle.
And it looked like his cousin agreed.
So when Ietsuna went to check for monsters (or assassins) and kiss them all good night, he got a surprise.
"Good night guys, see you in the morning." The glasses wearer said, a fatherly, gentle smile on his face.
"Night Tou-san." said Satoshi.
"Sweet dreams!" chirped Nami.
"You too!" yawned Ienari.
"See you tomorrow… Tou-san." Tsuna shyly spoke, a silly smile on his face as he did.
Though Tou-san must have been more tired then they all thought, cause his face suddenly hit the ground so fast.
/You Will Regret This/
'Damn it Iemitsu, pick up your damn cell.' Ietsuna thought, listening to the ringing.
Damn it, why was this his life!
Being reborn in this crazy world where physics were questionable and flames were normal in the mafia not enough? It needed to add drama and a bunch of crap to the pile.
Seriously, if he didn’t know better, he would say he was reborn in a freaking anime.
(If he is, oh god please say it isn’t a tragedy.)
After being sent to voice mail once again, the author threw the phone at his bed, (while he was emotional, he didn’t want the phone to break).
Sitting down on the corner of the bed, the retired assassin sighed, putting his head in his hands.
This whole situation was screwed up.
After escaping the room (Ietsuna didn’t have it in him to break the boundless sparkles of happiness around Tsuna, so he just left), the younger of the adult Sawada twins went to tell Nana and Saki what happened.
His brother’s wife had broken down in tears, Saki comforting her even now.
They would have to clear the situation up with the kids tomorrow, but none of the adults missed how this could have happened.
Nana was a helpful person by nature, so she tended to volunteer for anything in town. Saki actually had a job teaching at a dojo here, as she would have otherwise been bored.
But Ietsuna was a writer, for children’s books mostly (and the here and there more ‘adult’ books), so he was usually the one at the house, babysitting the kids who were his greatest muses.
Iemitsu couldn’t stay more then a week at the house. (Though it was weird that every time he came over, Ietsuna’s own family would be off somewhere else. He would have thought his brother was doing this on purpose, but the bastard wouldn’t ever pass up the chance to embarrass him or to compare wives.)
Rubbing his temples, the ash brown haired man sighed.
If his brother ever regretted how he treated his family, that would be up to him. If he ever got his damn act together, that would be great.
But until then (if it even happens), Ietsuna has his own family to take care of.
All six of them.
/How Violent/
It was said one night over a shared dinner between both households, just as if Ienari was asking someone to pass the peas.
"Nami-chan joined a cult because of a crush." the blond middle child of the triplets answered when asked if anything had happened at school.
Ietsuna choked, swallowing the fish he just put in his mouth violently, "What?"
"Now Nami-chan, I know at times they may sound tempting, especially when someone you care for is a part of it, but me and your father told you that you couldn't join anything that may contain such violence and possible sacrifice until you are at least fifteen." the triplets mother scolded, the father sighing when he finally got himself under control.
(And yes, they may have different standards then other parents, but when your children are interested in becoming hitwoman (Nami) or world class hackers (Ienari) it pays to set any boundaries early so they don't accidentally maim themselves or blow up China.)
"I didn't join a cult; I joined the Disciplinary Committee as Secretary." the pouting red headed child explains, looking to cute.
"It's a cult dedicated to violence and sacrifices of plant eating creatures to the great Hibari-sama." Ienari deadpan, giving his little sister a look.
"It's purpose is the safety and well being of Namimori and her citizens."
"Lead by a crazed and bloodthirsty Carnivorousness Skylark."
"It's leader is the amazing, skilled, and noble Hibari-san, protector of our beloved home and ever so skilled with his Tonfa." And yeah, that sigh was the sigh of a girl smitten. Unfortunately, Ietsuna knew his growing daughter's taste in crushes.
"And just how many people has he beaten up violently?" the father figure in the households asked, wondering if it was too early to explain abusive relationships to his daughter who seems to have an attraction to anything violent, just so she would know the signs of it.
"From the gossip I hear around school it's 37 so far Tou-san," Tsuna chirps up, the title making Nana wince while the ash brown man bit back a sigh. While they did have a talk, it was hard seeing as the kids not only had logic on their side, but there really no way to defend Iemitsu here.
So Ietsuna was still Tou-san, at least in the houses only.
But back to the recent topic.
"Is this what you've chosen as your mandatory club?" seeing his daughter nod he continues, "Remember to behave yourself, don't go over board and no dating until you're around thirteen to fourteen. That goes to the boys as well."
"Yes Tou-san!" is said in chorus.
"Good, so anything else we adults should know or can I get through dinner without worrying about your principle calling?"
"Well..."
/More of Them/
"Tou-san, is it okay if I have a friend come over?" blinking at his oldest Satoshi, who is shyly standing beside one of his grinning little baseball teammates from the unofficial games played in the neighborhood, the glasses wearing book writer thinks it over.
Ienari is actually over at one of his computer club's (and yes, the young father made sure to tell his son no hacking in school) member's house, all of them looking over some new program. Nami will be assisting in gathering reports and dishing out her own brand of violence around town, so he doesn't expect either of them to be home until dinner, someone else giving them a lift home. Tsuna doesn't have a club so he'll probably be at the house about now.
Which means they'll only have to worry about looking after three kids instead of five all at once.
This can't be too bad.
"I don't see why not; just make sure... Yamamoto right? That Yamamoto-kun's family is okay with it."
"My dad is; I usually stay out late to play baseball all the time with the others, so he won't mind." the smiling boy (doesn't that hurt after a while? Ietsuna knows he couldn't possibly smile that long) says.
"Still, you should give him a call, so he knows where you are. You can use my cell if you need it." and so saying, he hands the tech to the kid, who shrugs but calls anyway.
After that, It was like Takeshi almost lived with them, when he wasn't at home or playing baseball he would be at the house.
This could have been because Ietsuna and the raven had a heart to heart talk about the boy's mom and how her lost effected him.
(And damn that had been awkward; did he have something about him that made people cry their worries and fears out to him? His brother did it more often then not, then Nana would cry with him and Saki on occasion, and then there was also that time with the grocer. He thought his sarcasm would scare most people off; apparently not in this crazy town.)
Though today was a day you could almost say it was a calm, the two baseball lovers playing catch together, with Tsuna joining in as well. (Nami and Ienari probably off doing their own things.
"Okay guys, dinner is almost done, so wash up!" the adult calls out to the kids, who all stop playing to turn to him.
"Okay Tou-san/Sawada-san." getting that confirmed, Ietsuna turns away just in time to miss the confused look on Yamamoto Takeshi's face.
"I thought he was your uncle Tsuna-kun?" The raven asked, confused; this was the first time he's ever heard Tsuna-kun call the man father instead of Uncle like he does at school.
"By blood yes. But in everything else he is my Papa and the only one who matters." brown eyes flash orange for just a brief moment before it is gone.
(For some reason, as he stirs the curry for Nana, the father of three (+ one through bond) feels the great urge to smack Iemitsu and bang his head against the wall a couple times. He settle for vigorously stirring the pot.)
Blinking at that, the amber eyed boy looked thoughtful, thinking of how warm, kind, and nice if a bit sarcastic the man he has gotten to know is, before coming to a decision.
"Then do you think he could be my Uncle?"
(To say that Ietsuna is surprised by how he suddenly gains a nephew is an understatement. On the other hand, Yamamoto senior is just happy that Takeshi smiles more real now, ever since the ash-brown haired man had a talk with his son about how he felt about his mother's death, something the sushi chef still didn't have the strength to talk about. Nana and Saki are just happy to have more people to feed and another adult added to the babysitting list.)
/Tell Me How You Feel/
Something to note about Vongola is how it has two separate branches; Varia and CEDEF. Now, to encourage better relations with each other, sometimes members will do simple missions for the other, from training new recruits to teaching others how to use a computer.
To even bodyguard/glorified babysitting (though this was usually about punishment then internal relations).
Which 20 year old Ietsuna had the luck to get stuck with the latter when he still worked at CEDEF; he had the honored (and very feared) job of looking after the Ninth's youngest, Xanxus on occasion.
The young six year old boy, ever since he came into the fold since last year, had been a terror for his guards, slipping them constantly at best and challenging them and winning at worse. No one wanted the 'honor' of watching him, so being his 'guard' became considered a harsh punishment.
Which the ash-blond assassin at the time got because he didn't show a 'Superior' the right amount of 'respect'.
(It was worth it, punching that perverted bastard to a pulp.)
Everyone thought that the 20-year old would join the other traumatized mafioso; no one expected the unholy combination the two would make and all the snark they could carry.
("Wow, I never knew someone could mess up so bad, nice job brat."
"Like you could do this at my age old man."
"At your age I was in the hospital with my body eating nearly over half my flames; you don't have an excuse, what with being a living furnace."
"Bite me, imbecile ."
"And your vocabulary is improving I see; decided to stop calling others trash?"
"No, you showed that you at least have some use unlike the others."
"I'm flattered, really, I am.")
Needless to say, when after four years Ietsuna retired, no one was really happy with that, least of all the now ten year old who had bonded with him through random guard jobs whenever the older man's true job didn't get in the way. So the man had given his number to the kid, who took it.
("Don't cry brat; if you need me i'm just a call and a country away."
"I'm not crying you bastard! Why the hell would I miss you!"
"Yeah, here's the number if you happen to get bored enough then."
"... Thanks, for everything."
"Anytime Xanxus.")
Of course, when he gave the little brat the number to his cell, he didn't expect a call six years later out of nowhere in the dead of night.
"Grmarph... 'lo?" was the sleepy answer Ietsuna gave, slowly leaving the warm bed with his lovely wife in it as he went into the hallway, not wanting to wake her up.
"Ietsuna." that woke him up; brat had always called him half-wit (he apparently liked it better) or bastard, with the occasional old man thrown in.
"Xanxus? What's wrong?" the ash brown haired man asked, hearing and almost feeling the anger on the other line.
"Fucking everything!" and then it just spilled out, finding out he was adopted, was never able to become boss, how his father had encouraged every single one of his sons to do so despite that, and just even general treatment he got for being a bastard.
Every frustration, every worry, it all poured out over that call.
"...Okay, I'm going to give you my opinion, you don't have to follow it, but I do want you to at least listen to it. You need to get out of there." the experience father suggested, speaking over the yell that sounded out at that. "No really, Xanxus, you need to have a vacation, a trip, heck go and take a day at the spa if you want. This situation you are in is not only toxic, it's deadly. And not just for those around you; it could kill you as well brat, if you go off into an actual uncontrollable rage, your wrath filled flames destroying you as well in the process." The 30 year old ex-assassin said, his worry leaking through to his voice, his hand shaking.
"... I'll consider it, bastard." and with a click, the call was over, Ietsuna's worrying bothering him for days afterwards.
(He wouldn't have bothered worrying if he knew Xanxus and the Varia higher ups would be on his doorstep one morning. He would have been planning murder instead.)
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