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fightingthetides · 15 days

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A series of small snippets that is like an imagination of how I would change some canon events for thread/characterization rework purposes for @signorinavongola's verse. Guest muses of mine: Hibari, and Haru, mainly. Mostly manga-centric but may have taken some inspo from anime. I did write a bit of some other characters I don't personally muse, so excuse if they seem off.

Word count: 6,400+ [made an edit somehwere and am too lazy to get an accurate word count]

[No chapter number. New conent: Reborn meets Yamamoto before he meets Tsuna for the first time]

“Oi, kid! Watch out!” Reborn suddenly emerged from some bushes he was using as cover as he was making his way to the Sawada household.

A ball was quickly approaching, and transforming the chameleon on his hat into a catching mitt, the child catches the ball with each, much to the surprise of the person. Reborn himself was quite impressed by the weight behind the ball he felt when he caught it.

‘This guy has quite the throwing arm.’

“Wow, you caught that? You’re impressive, little guy! Sorry about that, normally people aren’t in this area at this time of day.” Yamamoto admits.

“I’m a talented guy. Are you practicing your pitches?” Reborn asks, quite curious to see just how skilled this guy was. He looked to be around the same age as his future charge. He had to cut Dino’s education short in favor of raising the next 10th generation Vongola boss.

Seeing as he was practicing in a park nearby the Sawada household… there was a chance they were schoolmates.

“Yeah, I’m on the baseball team and I’m always practicing hard to not let my team down. We aim for Koshien, after all!” Yamamoto grins with pride.

There was some time before he had to arrive at the Sawada household. He was intending to observe her for a bit before starting the home tutor plan anyways, so killing some time with this kid wouldn’t be a problem.

“I can catch some pitches for you. Show me what you got.” Reborn tosses the ball back to the guy. “You can call me kid for now. If you learn my name, I’d have to kill you.” Was this part of his dry humor or was he being serious? Hard to tell with Reborn, sometimes.

Yamamoto takes it as a joke and laughs. “Sure, I’ll call you kiddo then! The names Yamamoto Takeshi by the way. Are you really going to be okay to catch some of my pitches?”

Reborn waves the green catching mitt in his hand. “I caught your first pitch, didn’t I? Stop asking stupid questions and get ready.”

“Aye aye!”

[No chapter number. New conent: Reborn continued to catch some of Yamamoto’s pitches in secret without Tsuna or anyone knowing.]

Reborn was sure of it after a couple of encounters. Yamamoto Takeshi was a guy of talent. His athleticism was impressive, and he had a pleasant personality.

A talented athlete and a pleasant personality was a formula for a popular guy, and that could only help Tsuna who was a ‘no good’ who had virtually no friends.

Having done a background check on the guy, Reborn found out that Yamamoto and Tsuna went to the same school, and that his father was a user of the Shigure Souen Ryu sword style. From his investigation, Yamamoto didn’t learn the swordstyle in favor of prioritizing his love for baseball.

More and more Yamamoto was starting to stand out as a candidate for a member of Tsuna’s future famiglia.

SIGH

“You see, I’ve had to travel a long way to help raise someone on the request of an old friend of mine.” Reborn starts to speak a little bit about himself, knowing that in doing so, he could catch Yamamoto’s attention.

He was a friendly guy, so befriending others was just second nature to him. Learning about someone was the easiest way to make new friends!

“Yeah? Where did you travel from, kiddo?”

“From Italy. I can see that my work is cut out for me, but I can see the potential she has.” Having faith in Giotto’s line, Tsuna had to have the potential.

Look at Iemitsu, after all. He was a force to be reckoned with, so there had to be some potential in Tsuna that would lead her to be an exemplary mafia boss in the future.

Yamamoto couldn’t imagine why someone would travel all the way from Italy to ‘raise’ someone. Maybe he meant something else? Bringing someone all the way from Italy must be expensive, and he didn’t think anyone in the immediate area would have the funds to do such a thing.

“What, are you a part of the mafia?” Yamamoto jokes because of Reborn’s penchant for always wearing suits and being from Italy. You know, those Godfather kinda movies? That’s the kind of vibe Reborn gave off.

“Exactly.”

EH?

Yamamoto dropped the ball that he was idly tossing up and down to stare at Reborn in shock. Was Reborn really a part of the Italian mafia? He came all the way here… to JAPAN to raise someone? That had to be a really big deal then, right?

“Ah… why are you raising someone? It couldn’t be something like finding a long-lost Don or something, right? That’d be like a movie.”

“Close. You’re intuitive.” Even though he knew that Yamamoto was just joking, it was impressive that he somehow got it right. Yamamoto gave off an idiotic vibe, but he wasn’t an idiot. It was clear that he simply used all of his time to focus on baseball.

That kind of drive was impressive and a desired trait for a guardian. Someone who could keep focus was important. If he could move some of that loyalty to baseball to his boss, then Tsuna would be safer from attack—and betrayal.

“She is going to be a future mafia don, and she’s been fighting me every step of the way about it.” Reborn sighs, a bit for dramatic effect to catch Yamamoto’s attention. “She has so much potential that she’s wasting, what a shame. I want for her to make more friends, ones who wouldn’t be afraid of her background.”

Yamamoto was all for making new friends, but there were obviously some circumstances to consider. What school did she go to, how far away did she live, did she even want to make friends with someone like him, etc?

It would be more convenient if they went to the same school, but considering how the kid didn’t give much else information about his charge, it was clear that he was being secretive for a reason.

‘Guess that makes sense, if she’s a future mafia boss, the less people who know, the better, right?’ It made all the more sense why the kid had yet to reveal his name yet. Knowing the name of the next mafia boss’s teacher was big information.

“Right, I think she goes to your school. She’s a good kid, not meant to be a mafia boss.” Reborn laments with another (fake) sigh. It was true that Tsuna wasn’t a good fit for the mafia as things stood now, but he was confident in his ability to raise good mafia bosses.

Look at Dino, he was a great student… if you ignore the fact that he’s useless if his famiglia isn’t around. Tch. It would’ve been fine if he had more time to train him.

Well, that’s history. He’ll be fine in time.

“Why does she have to be a mafia boss then? Can’t someone else take the job?” Yamamoto couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

“She’s the only one left who can take on the role. Every other candidate died. She’s our last hope, so I’ve been sent to protect her and raise her to be the next mafia boss.” It was a bit risky to reveal this information, but the results should outweigh the risks.

This Yamamoto guy seemed to be a righteous fellow. Knowing that a girl had no way out of a situation that was forced upon her and her life could be in trouble… it would stir something in him.

Chivalry never died, and he could tell that Yamamoto was worried by the way his eyebrows furrowed with the news.

“It’s that dangerous for her, huh?” The kid said that she went to the same school as him… so they should be around the same age, give or take 2 or 3 years. He couldn’t imagine a girl around his age being forced to train to be a mafia boss at such an age.

The fact that all the other candidates died was also worrying him, to know that she might be targeted next.

“If… fate has it so we cross paths, hopefully I can help you look after her. Maybe we can be friends.” It would be hard for him to do if he didn’t know her identity, though.

Reborn smiles. Excellent, all according to plan. He’s gotten Yamamoto somewhat interested in joining the mafia for Tsuna’s benefit. “Thanks. We won’t force you into anything.”

Tsuna wouldn’t tolerate it if another person was forced into the mafia against their will and he didn’t want to act against her wishes.

Still, it was good enough that Yamamoto was willing to consider helping out, even if a little bit.

“Alright, you rested enough. Let’s practice your swings next. Let’s see if you improved from the last time.”

“Yes sir!”

[Chapter 4- Gokudera attitude change towards Tsu-chan]

It was only just a day and the new transfer students attitude towards Tsuna changed. It was like night and day with him starting off by kicking over her desk and now…

“Good morning, Juudaime!” The guy suddenly bows respectfully towards her. The whole class is understandably shocked by this change in development.

Yamamoto couldn’t help but think that the way this Gokudera guy was acting now was almost like… a dog? Maybe something like a Lonewolf who decided that it was okay with joining your pack.

Hearing some of the hushed whispers around him, he notes that it was mostly coming from the girls. Probably the jealousy. The girls had banded together and made a fanclub for Gokudera within a day and some girls were already seething with jealousy over how Gokudera was pouring all his attention into Tsuna.

The athlete makes a mental note that he may look out for her for a while, just to make sure that the girls wouldn’t go too far with their jealousy. The hazing or the bullying that some girls go through because of guys wasn’t new to him, but it wasn’t something he liked.

It may have been the reason why his own fans were more tame in comparison to Gokudera’s fans. They knew that he wouldn’t like underhanded methods and getting caught put you on the fastest track of Yamamoto having a bad opinion of you for the rest of… well… forever!

‘Ah… so Gokudera doesn’t have a filter when getting mad at girls, does he?’ Yamamoto mentally laughs to himself at how the transfer student was getting peeved at the girls. ‘Maybe he’s sensitive to attention? Could be that he’s just crabby 24/7. He needs to get more calcium in his diet.’

This Gokudera Hayato guy is real interesting. A real funny guy.

With that, it made Tsuna interesting as well, considering it only took a day for the two to become friends…?

‘Juudaime, huh? I wonder… is the girl that kiddo is training, Tsuna?’

[Ch. 5 So I did discuss it before that the rooftop scene would have to change for several reasons, but it could be kept if we take into the account that I changed how Reborn and Yamamoto met. Seeing as he knows that Reborn is tutoring Tsuna and trying to make her into a mafia boss, and how he says that she has potential, Yamamoto has the understanding that she has secret skills. He thinks that she is hiding her potential and therefore may understand some of his struggles with baseball. As such, he could still ask her casually about some advice, and that leads him to overtraining himself and hurting his arm.

We talked about how Tsu-chan can save him when he accidentally falls from the rooftop as it happened in canon. This will solidify his interest in Tsu-chan and have him gain respect for her because of her willingness to go that distance for someone. It’s not easy for people to jump in to save another person at the risk of your own life, so he would respect her for that.

Additionally, seeing that her… clothes… yeah, after the dying will bullets are used on her, he’d probably cover her with his jacket and lead her to the nurses office so she can get changed into any spare clothes that she probably has with her (maybe a spare outfit, or gym clothes).

This would be very Tsuna conversation heavy and I won’t godmod a muse’s speech, so I chose to write a synopsis instead.]

[Ch.10 Slight change in how Yamamoto reacts to meeting Reborn for the ‘first time’ due to changes in this verse]

“Hey, Gokudera… what’s up with calling me out and having a silent stare down?” Yamamoto still wasn’t very well acquainted with Gokudera yet, but he would answer to summons because curiosity got the best of him.

He was called out to the field by Gokudera, not knowing it was because Gokudera was somehow unsatisfied with Reborn’s plans to add Yamamoto to the roster of Tsuna’s guardians.

“Dude, you should have some milk. Ill temper is usually caused by a lack of calcium.” Yamamoto truly thought he was giving Gokudera some helpful advice, telling him to consume more calcium. It should help him with his temper.

Before Gokudera could even react by lighting his dynamites, Tsuna arrives with Reborn in tow.

“Ciaossu.”

“Yo, kiddo.” Yamamoto glances between Reborn and Tsuna. He’d had his suspicions but they weren’t confirmed until now. “I thought so, Tsuna is your charge you’re raising, huh?”

“That’s right. You said you’d be willing to be her friend and help out when you could.” Reborn answers calmly, ignoring whatever Tsuna and Gokudera had to say. He saw the potential in Yamamoto, and he wasn’t going to give up on having him join the famiglia for Tsuna’s sake.

Not only that, a healthy dose of competitive spirit between guardians promoted good growth, so having someone who could make Gokudera feel threatened was for the best. If he doesn’t continue to hone his skills and better himself, then the right hand position could easily go to the amicable and skilled, Yamamoto Takeshi.

There was indeed methods to his madness.

Gokudera was still strongly against Yamamoto joining the famiglia while Tsuna was mostly confused about how Yamamoto and Reborn knew eachother, but when did he ever need to explain himself to her?

Just like he would with Lambo, he ignored her questions in favor of putting Yamamoto (and Tsuna) to the test. It’s important to not only test his skills but to also see how well he can work in tandem with Tsuna.

“You did say that I have the option of backing out if I want to, right?” Yamamoto confirmed with the arcobaleno.

“That’s right.”

Well, Reborn didn’t have any intention of letting Yamamoto go. If the guy starts having doubts, Reborn had his ways of making the guy change his mind, so that he’ll never want to back out. It wouldn’t be a lie in that case.

Reborn hops onto Yamamoto’s shoulder, “Tsuna is my charge, the 10th head of the famiglia. Gokudera is a subordinate.”

“Sounds good, count me in for now.”

“Good. First thing’s first, time for the famiglia entrance test.”

[Ch.11 Haru’s introduction chapter- which obviously has to change because of the premise of them being childhood friends who were apart for a bit of time due to school and other reasons]

One morning, Reborn and Tsuna were strolling to school as they normally would in the morning, but they get stopped by a familiar voice (to one of them).

“Hold it! Haru had been observing you for some time now, and Haru needs answers. Tsu-chan, when did you have a new brother and not tell me about it?” She should know how much Haru adored children, so not telling her about a new brother… sacrilege! A betrayal! So mean-desu!

Not only that, “Haru also noticed you play mafia all the time. What kind of bad games are you playing with such a young child, Tsu-chan? Are you being forced into it by some of the neighboring kids?” Though it’s been some time since they last met, Haru and Tsuna were still childhood friends and she liked to believe she understood her friend well.

This wasn’t a kind of game that she would play with a kid, so there had to be a reason behind it. Maybe she was being bullied into it. If her friend needed someone who would sternly tell the bullies ‘no, we won’t play a game that is a bad influence on kids’ she’ll do it! She’ll be the first to volunteer!

“If you’re struggling to tell the bullies to stop playing the mafia game, Haru will do it for you to stop playing such a dangerous game with the baby.”

Reborn decides to act in Tsuna’s stead. “First off, I’m Tsuna’s tutor. It’s my job to raise Tsuna to be the 10th boss of the mafia. I cannot be separated from her until then.”

“… You’re taking the game too far! Tsu-chan, I can’t believe you!” As always, Haru was a firecracker when she was angered. She always acts or talks first and only when she’s calmed down would she listen.

Her phone beeps, and she quickly says her farewells before heading to school.

[New content alert!: Yamamoto consulting with Tsuna after noticing something is off about her]

“Hm? You had a fight with a friend?” Yamamoto couldn’t think of any friends Tsuna had in class aside from himself and Gokudera.

He listens to her recount what happened and the history that she had with her friend. So she had a ‘fight’ with her childhood friend. “To me, it just sounds like she misunderstood the situation because she doesn’t know the full details.”

Understandably, Tsuna didn’t have many friends, so it must be scary to think that she could lose one of her only friends. From what Tsuna had to say about this Haru girl, she seemed to be a smart and friendly person.

She had strong convictions and she was always ready to get mad at bullies on her behalf. Tsuna was worried about Haru finding out about how she is at school, so she put some distance between them. It worked out because as first years in middle school, they were busy adjusting to a new school.

“I dunno her, but from what you had to say about your Haru friend, she sounds like a good person who cares a lot about you.” Haru didn’t seem to care that Tsuna wasn’t the smartest, nor the most athletic. “I think, if you tried to talk to her again, she’d be willing to listen to you.”

This Haru girl liked Tsuna for her personality, so she should be willing to listen after her initial anger wears off. Surely she’d be willing to listen once she cools off? That’s Yamamoto’s theory, anyways.

He pats Tsuna’s shoulder, comfortingly. “How about this? I’ll get up earlier to walk with you to school tomorrow. I can give you support as you talk to her tomorrow, okay?”

Yamamoto Takeshi, the best support.

[Back to regular scheduled programming. Haru confronts Tsuna and Yamamoto at the bridge]

“Good morning. It’s come to Haru’s attention that Reborn-chan is indeed a hitman and he is in fact training you to become a 10th generation mafia boss. Haru will put aside the fact she’s disappointed that you didn’t say anything to Haru.” Was she not your childhood friend?

Do childhood friends not talk to each other about important things in life? Was finding out you’re an upcoming mafia boss not big news to tell your childhood best friend? HM??? Haru would tell you if she fell in love for the first time (and it wasn’t cake)!

“If all that is true, then that means he’s been training you to be strong.” Haru has always known Tsuna to be a bit timid and weak to confrontations. She didn’t like to have fights with others and she’d much rather let things go than to confront someone.

That didn’t seem like a good quality to have for an upcoming mafia boss. Of course, Tsuna had a good heart. She cared for others and wanted things to be fair. She didn’t like to see others be hurt. That was what Haru liked about her… but… the mafia is different from her nature, isn’t it? Would she be able to fit in?

Did she have what it takes to truly be a mafia boss? (Bianchi may have ‘forgotten’ to mention that Tsuna was against being the next mafia boss and was actively trying to get out of it.)

“Haru understands that the mafia has to be strong and sometimes be cut-throat. If so, you may have to fight against old friends turned foe. Haru doesn’t want to, but-! As a friend, she will test you!” That would explain why she was wearing a suit of armor and holding a hockey stick in the morning.

Haru Miura was always so dramatic and… weird. Yamamoto was looking between Haru and Tsuna worriedly. It was good that it seemed that Haru now understood the situation, but… was Tsuna going to be okay with fighting her friend?

To him, it looked like Haru was very concerned with Tsuna and wanted to make sure her friend had the backbone necessary to be a boss. Otherwise, people would only walk over her and not respect her.

Well, that’s his theory anyways, given how she looks like she’s going to cry as she resolves herself to test her friend.

“Nyahaha! Lambo-san arrives! Reborn, I found you! DIE!” Another kid comes out of no where and throws a few grenades out.

Everyone took cover, but Haru couldn’t move so quickly with the bulky armor she had on. She was launched off the bridge and into the water below.

Surprisingly, before Yamamoto could think to react, Tsuna had already jumped into the water after her friend. It was reminiscent of how she also jumped off the rooftop to save him when he accidentally fell.

Not wanting for Reborn to shoot her with a bullet, resulting in her clothes being blown off, he jumps in right after the both of them. The armor looked heavy, so it would be too much for Tsuna to bring Haru back to safety.

He pulls the both of them to safety and helps them both dry themselves off. Haru changes into the spare clothes that she had hidden away nearby, and Tsuna changed into new clothes as well. A habit because of her clothes always being blasted off.

SNIFF

“Haru is sorry… she was just worried about you, and she was scared that you wouldn’t want to stand up for yourself if anyone disrespects you. Tsu-chan has always been too nice and timid to fight for herself.”

That was a fact that no one could deny. Haru had a pretty good understanding of her friend. She wasn’t well suited to be a mafia boss, but it didn’t seem like there was a choice in the matter.

“Haru thought that she could give you some of her own fighting spirit, you know? Maybe then you’ll be able to handle things… but… Haru sees that you do have a lot of bravery that you show in your own way. Thank you for jumping in after her, Tsu-chan.” Haru smiles, feeling proud of her friend.

She jumped in so soon after Haru was blown off the bridge, so she must not have hesitated. That took a lot of courage to do, and if she had that much courage… surely she’d be fine even if she had to be a mafia boss.

“Haha, I’m just glad that things turned out okay in the end. Usually, Tsuna goes into this crazy wild mode and her clothes go missing, leaving her in her underwear.” Yamamoto explains why he jumped in after the both of them so that Reborn wouldn’t have to act.

“Hahi! Your clothes disappear? That’s no good! If only your underwear survives… perhaps you could consider sportswear underneath your uniform?” That would at least offer a bit more modesty than being in only your undergarments.

She had yet another reason to be worried about her friend now. What girl would want to be found almost naked out in public where people could sneer and oogle? Not on her watch! “It’s settled,” Haru grabs Tsuna’s shoulders, “we’re going shopping this weekend. We’ll find clothes you can wear under your uniform so it’s less revealing. Haru isn’t taking no for an answer.”

The arcobaleno was watching over them chatting at the bank of the river from the bridge after having finished punishing Lambo for his stupidity.

“Hm… she looks like she’ll be a good influence on Tsuna. The necessary feminine touch she needs and a good friend to use as emotional support.” Reborn was impressed by the fact that Haru had recovered so quickly after being blown off the bridge.

Not only that, she accepted the fact that Reborn was a hitman and that Tsuna was a next generation mafia boss, but she still confronted her friend. That took a lot of guts. “She’d be the perfect example of a strong wife to the mafia. Tsuna can learn more from her example, about her guts.”

Of course, Tsuna and Haru's situation would be different. Haru could marry a mafiosi but Tsuna would eventually marry someone into her famiglia and retain her position as the matriarch.

Still, she could learn a thing or two from Haru's guts.

Guess he was going to look into inviting Haru to more things so she can rekindle her friendship with Tsuna again.

“Juudaime! What happened? Was it an attack? Who the hell is this? Get your paws off her, woman!”

“HAHI! WHO IS THIS RUDE RUFFIAN!? Tsu-chan do you know him?” Haru hugs her friend close to her and hisses at the new person who ran up to them. “Haru is Tsu-chan’s childhood friend, you ruffian! Bother Tsu-chan and you’ll answer to Haru!” She hisses again.

It seemed that Haru and Gokudera’s tempers weren’t a very good match because they instantly started fighting with each other.

Yamamoto laughs, “Maa maa, let’s calm down. Tsuna is okay, there was a small incident earlier. Despite how he looks, Gokudera is a decent guy, you know? He’s one of Tsuna’s friends.”

Haru makes a face, to suggest she 100% did not believe Yamamoto. “Haru is okay with you being her friend… but that one… Haru isn’t so sure. He looks like a yankee.” In that moment, Haru vowed to visit Tsuna more often to make sure Gokudera wasn’t being a bad influence on her.

The day Tsuna starts smoking, gets tattoos, or anything, she was going to start a fight with this Gokudera punk.

Round two of Gokudera and Haru fighting with each other.

[Ch.16 Just a small lil thing for when they meet Hibari for the first time in reception room. Mostly to highlight a small change in some dynamics- this will be canon to my portrayal of Hibari if we do thread with Tsu-chan and Hibari.]

The trio of friends were eating their lunch atop of the rooftop, discussing how summer vacation seemed to come and go so quickly that it felt sad. Supplementary classes really didn’t help with the matter, of course.

That’s when Reborn comes in and suggests that they make some kind of a hideout for themselves. A secret base of sorts, which both Yamamoto and Gokudera were in favor of. The sun arcobaleno suggests the reception room as prime real estate for their hideout.

The view is excellent, the geographical location was convenient, and there furniture placed inside the reception were good quality.

“Hee—I didn’t know we had such a good room.” Yamamoto is the first to open the door to look in.

What he and the others didn’t know was that Hibari was already in the room, a dangerous viper ready to strike at the first sign of inconvenience or disobedience.

Still in a bad mood from the previous annoyance from before, Hibari’s patience meter was already teetering on the edge of nonexistence.

Just earlier in the day he’d had to bite a few students for thinking they could gang up against him with their numbers—but this was a lesson Hibari doled out dutifully as the disciplinary committee president.

Did they think he was the ruler of the delinquents for no reason?

“Who are you?”

Yamamoto pauses, recognizing him right away. It was understandable for Gokudera to not know of him yet, even daring to step past him. “Who is he?”

The athlete does try to stop him, “Gokudera, wait…”

“Won’t you put out your cigarette in front of the disciplinary committee president?” He was readying himself to act within a seconds. “Well, either way, I won’t let you get away.”

The tumultuous storm always had a volatile temper and he argues back, which was quickly met with Hibari snuffing out the lit cigarette with his tonfa. With his swift movements, he’d managed to cut the cigarette just shy of taking his nose along with it.

“Put it out.” The gall this student had to smoke on school grounds, and the absolute balls of steel to do so in front of him.

Quick to react, possibly due to his history of being on the streets, Gokudera jumped back.

With how swiftly Hibari acted against Gokudera, Yamamoto knew that this upperclassman was in a league entirely of his own. The reputation preceded him, a guy who would beat up anyone with his tonfas regardless of who they were.

“I really hate weak herbivorous animals that form groups. Whenever I see them, I really want to bite them to death.” It was always the weak animals that thought the answer to their problems was to band together and overpower the strong with their numbers.

Troublesome students would band together with their numbers to challenge his decrees as if they had any power over him.

Tsuna, who was behind both boys wanted to walk past them to look at the reception room herself, but both the boys were highly alert to how much of a threat Hibari was. One could simply chalk it up to chivalry or a sense of duty to protect a girl, neither of them allowed her to get past them.

Hibari had already noticed there was yet another herbivore who had yet to announce themselves to him. What coward had hidden themselves away behind the two bigger herbivores? “Which herbivore is hiding behind you?” He asks casually, which quickly ignited the tension in the room.

In particular, Gokudera was the first to react, his dynamites at the ready. No one would harm his boss while he was still standing, and Yamamoto wasn’t one to let his friend go in on his own, preferring to act as supplementary back up.

With swift movements, Hibari made quick work of Gokudera by deftly sidestepping past him and swiping him across the face with his tonfa. “One.”

Seeing his friend injured, Yamamoto is angered, easily getting into the concentration mode to allow him to dodge past some of Hibari’s attacks, that weren’t made in seriousness (not that he’d know).

Hibari made the quick assessment that Yamamoto Takeshi was the more ‘fun’ of the herbivores that dared encroach his territory. He had good speed, good reflexes, but… it was obvious to his eye that he was protecting his right hand.

Right, he was a favored member of the baseball team who had recently caused a stir within the student body with his rooftop stint. “Are you injured? You seem to be protecting your right hand.” He taunts the baseballer.

That moment of hesitation on Yamamoto’s part gave the elder student the opening to kick him into the all across the room. “Two.”

Cold eyes finally flit over to the final student standing in the doorway. A girl. One who was still in shock over how quickly he dispatched her two friends. No, perhaps they were something akin to bodyguards?

“They won’t be waking up any time soon, I made sure of that.” Hibari walks over to grab Gokudera and Yamamoto by the backs of their shirts.

There was no amusement in beating a terrified and unwilling ‘combatant’ if she could even be called such. As she’d yet to step into the reception room, she was granted amnesty in being spared from disciplinary action.

Not to say that he wouldn’t be against fighting and punishing a female if the situation called for it, but he didn’t see the need to punish someone who hadn’t explicitly warranted such an action.

Dragging both unconscious guys behind him, he walks over to the opened window. It was readily evident that he had intentions of throwing the two out the window, much to Tsuna’s aghast surprise.

Then, a baby appears suddenly, shooting the female student, to Hibari’s surprise. How a baby managed to climb to his floor was surprising enough, but to have also evade his detection until now was another thing entirely.

‘Public indecency?’

+1 to the accruing charges of trespassing, crowding, AND now stripping out of her clothing, screaming loudly about something inane. With those charges stacked against her and her rushing at him, Hibari uppercuts her chin to render her immobile in the quickest way possible.

The shock would be enough to take her out of the fight, and he’d made sure to control the output of his strength as to not crush her chin.

It may leave a bruise, however.

Turning to address the fallen boys, Tsuna gets up and smacks him twice with a slipper, taking him by surprise.

“…” Taking a moment to process what had just happened, he concludes that some herbivorous animal had bared her teeth at him and landed two hits with a rudimentary weapon- a slipper. Looks like he’d underestimated her. “Hey… can I kill you?”

“That’s enough. You’re strong after all.” The baby from before interrupts them.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’m very irritated right now. Would you sit there and wait for me?” No, not even babies would be spared from his ‘tyrannical might,’ so Hibari strikes against the arcobaleno, to only be halted.

It was one surprise after another!

A girl who surprisingly had more bite to her, and a baby who had an impressive amount of skill. “Wao. You’re amazing.”

“Let’s break things up.” Reborn reveals a bomb in his hand and it sets off, allowing Tsuna and the rest of get away safely- for now.

[Ch.22 I REFUSE to allow for them to forget about Tsuna’s birthday for the ‘comedic effect’. If Haru is childhood friends, she’s going to remember and change that. HMPH!]

“How exciting! It’s almost Reborn-chan’s birthday? Of course, Haru would love to help with the preparations for it!” Haru is enthusiastic about the invite to join in the celebrations of Reborn’s birthday.

Haru thought it was odd that Tsu-chan wasn’t the one informing her about the surprise, but then she realized that with how close their birthdays were to each other, this had to be a joint birthday celebration?

With how busy Haru was on the daily, her schedule was always very hectic, and the same could be said for Yamamoto as well who was busy with sports. They sometimes crossed paths by mere coincidence when she got out of tutoring and him out of practice.

That was likely the reason why he brought it up to her being the first one to come across her.

Looking from side to side, she ensures that Tsuna isn’t nearby for the rest of this conversation. “Ne, Haru is just asking out of curiosity, but why aren’t you talking about Tsu-chan’s birthday as well? Are you having separate celebrations?”

If so… why wasn’t she invited? RUDE!

The look of confusion on Yamamot’s face made Haru squint her eyes skeptically. Surely even Tsuna’s mother wouldn’t have forgotten her own daughter’s birthday…? Surely she brought it up at least once?

‘Maybe she’s just been so busy with caring for all the kids it slipped her mind?’

Understanding of how busy Nana could be, maybe that was the reasoning behind it… but it still didn’t sit right with her. “Well… Tsu-chan’s birthday is the day after Reborn-chan’s birthday. Planning two consecutive parties is a lot, so it would make sense to celebrate them together, right?”

Haru Miura is not one to forget important dates, and Tsu-chan’s birthday was one she always remembered every single year. If they couldn’t find the time to celebrate together in person, Haru always made sure to send a small package with a gift to the Sawada household, so it wasn’t like she’d suddenly forget for this year.

“Ah, is it?” Yamamoto laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. He had no idea that it was also her birthday so soon. They’d only been planning the party for Reborn, but they could probably make some changes to the plan to account for Tsuna’s birthday celebrations as well.

No one would want to feel left out or forgotten, after all. Without Haru saying something, Tsuna would’ve felt disappointed or hurt by them forgetting about her.

“That’s the great thing about childhood friends, huh? You’ll make sure to have Tsuna’s back. Let’s think of some ideas to propose to the others to incorporate Tsuna as well to the plans.”

“Hahi! Haru would love that! Ah- but is Gokudera-san going to be attending the planning sessions as well…?” Haru asks quietly.

Yamamoto chuckles, noticing how easily Haru showed her emotions on her face. It was clear that she didn’t get along with him and was hoping that the answer to the question would be ‘no’.

Then again, with how often they bicker whenever they’re in the same room, it was understandable that she didn’t like him very much. “Sorry, I can try talking to him to be less of a hissing cat.”

[I decided that this is a pretty good place to stop. For the most part the rest of what goes on in the daily life arc probably stayed the same or didn’t change much for me to want to highlight it. Mostly manga-centric but I may have took some inspiration from the anime in some areas.]

#Signorinavongola #Neo drabble #Lady Boss AU #((Kinda just a lil thing I wrote for fun but to also kinda help me figure out his characterization in this verse better))#((Also is like a spoiler of sorts I suppose for you so you can see what he should be like))#((I think for the most part I've figured out the initial interactions in the daily arc))#((From there I have most of his actions/thoughts figured out I think))#((I think it's obvious to say but only Lexy is allowed to reblog this. No one else))#((Decided i'm too lazy and tired for icons. Ahaha let me rest after writing all of this in a single day))#NeoRequest Muse only

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warsofasoiaf · 7 years

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I've been thinking about this for a while, so I decided to find out your thoughts on the matter. How would you go about creating a good fantasy religion?

When it comes to building a religion, the key things to remember is that religion is tied very much to ethics, the nature of reality, the meaning of life (and anything that comes after), and other deep philosophical underpinnings of what it means to be alive, to be good or evil, what responsibilities do we have in life. Religion offered to the people of the past (and continues to offer to the people in the present) profound comfort, meaning, and purpose for the entire life. So, you have your work cut out for you. But this is not beyond the ability of the aspiring worldbuilder and fantasy writer. I’m going to caveat this: I’ve studied religions, but a lot of my studies were focused on western religions. Someone who has studied more Eastern, African, or Pacific religions feel free to add anything. I acknowledge my limitations and have done what I could be as inclusive as possible, but I am certain there was stuff I missed.

Who Are You, Who Worships Me?

It’s tempting to start building a religion by building a deity or pantheon and moving from there, but I find it altogether more productive to look at the society that practices the religion and build up, rather than craft the divine and build down. Unless the piece you’re writing focuses on the perspective of the gods, or has them act as characters, they won’t be the focus of your story, but the society that your characters will be interacting with will have a profound effect on the story you’re writing.

So, when it comes to your society, the cardinal virtues that your society wishes to express will become central tenets of your religion. A society that prizes military strength, for example, will emphasize bravery, duty, loyalty, obedience to orders, hierarchy, and all of the things that enhance military cohesion. Deities will often be emphasized in martial roles, whether against enemies, other deities, or against evil itself. Antiquity often had gods pitted against each other, with the winner in warfare being the “stronger” deity, because clearly, those worshippers were the ones that won, right? The positive virtues and negative virtues of your society will be emphasized in all aspects of life, to include religion, and how it evolves over time.

Did You Ever Wonder Why We’re Here?

The meaning of life almost seems too cliche, but having a reason for existing is tremendously comforting. Religion have, throughout history, offered answers to very difficult and very terrifying questions. Why are we born? What happens do us when we die? Is this the only existence there is? Are all the bad things that happen to me just random, or is there a greater purpose to it all? Your fantasy religion is almost certainly going to have to attempt to address some of these questions in order to seem like a credible religion.

Always make sure to take into account the context of your world to think up of confusing questions that the world has to answer. Does magical talent happen seemingly randomly? Religion might attribute a divine origin to such a thing. Can the dead come back to life? That’s certainly going to factor in to your answers about what happens when humans die.

Religion offers other answers as well. Early religions attempted to make sense of the world and phenomena, because, as I’ve mentioned before, knowing why something is the way it is offers tremendous comfort. The fear of the unknown is one of the oldest fears in existence, and it’s one of the most pervasive fears even into our modern day, because the unknown calls into question a human’s mastery over his or her environment and ability to control and handle situations as they occur. Not knowing means losing one of our most powerful attributes: our ability to think rationally and plan accordingly, and this feeling of disempowerment is wholly terrifying. Good horror makes uses of feelings of weakness to amp up the fear effectively, and the use of the unknown, the paranoid cloying that something is out there but we have no idea what it is, where it is, or how to stop it, is amazing. It’s comforting to think of the sun as a flaming chariot powered by a god who wishes to keep us warm. After all, chariots are something familiar, even if the scale is beyond us, and a powerful being that looks out for our survival helps guard against the fear that at any minute, the sun could go away or expand into a giant and burn us to a cinder.

Now, a big part of religion is the concept of the sacred mystery. In the more ‘public’ sense, this would be supernatural phenomena that cannot be explained by rational means, and this forms a crucial understanding in the relationship between the mundane world and divinity. How the divine interacts with the world, if at all, is critical to understanding the relationship between any divine figure and the mortal practitioner. In the more esoteric sense, a sacred mystery is knowledge that is not commonly available to the public, accessible only by initiation and elevation to the proper rank. This was done in Greco-Roman mystery cults, as an example. In a fantasy story, for example, this is excellent for bringing in elements of the supernatural while keeping it rare and out of public hands.

Don’t fear that any point is too esoteric or minute to be important. The meaning of the divine have launched wars. Just to take an example, look at all the early theological disputes as to the exact nature of Jesus in Christianity. Arianism, Monophysitism, Monotheliteism, there was a tremendous amount of discussion and excommunications over aspects that seem almost trivial to a layperson, but this was a matter of the soul and of life everlasting to the people who lived in those times. Just because it seems unimportant to you, it can still have great significance to those who believe it. The same is true in fantasy as in reality.

The Path to Power

Now, religion is, like any other institution, controlled by humans, and humans are many things, but one thing that they are good at is building power structures. Religion has often been used as a vehicle to power. In some cases, this means an out-and-out theocracy, where political power is exercised through the clergy, but it hardly needs to be official. When a religion can control something as powerful and meaningful as an immortal soul, even without any official political power, the clergy will exert a great deal of influence.

Of course, when it comes to designing a religion, one of the big questions that will determine how much hard and soft influence said religion will have on the society at large. An informal, deeply personalized religion based on direct relationships with divine entities will not be very organized, but will still form a significant part of the daily lives of practitioners; in ASOIAF, it’s considered proper to perform important moments in front of a heart tree so that the Old Gods may bear witness, yet there does not appear to be an organized clerical hierarchy. A more organized religion will have a much more formalized organizational structure, with sacred texts and formalized rituals. Religions like Christianity and Islam are very organized, and as the number of worshipers grew, so did the size of their organizations.

The size of the organization is critical, because that determines the amount of resources it has. The Catholic Church was the largest organization in medieval Europe, and as such, had a truly gigantic amount of resources in both money and land, and that translated into a lot of power. The most powerful Popes could cow the mightiest kings of Europe, send ambassadors to distant lands, call Crusades and sanction invasions that forever changed the face of Europe. The most powerful Caliphs left their stamp on Islamic philosophy and jurisprudence that affected the way the religion is practiced today.

Now, as you might imagine, the bigger the organization and the wealthier it is, the more attractive it is to gather money, power, and influence, just like any secular organization. Corruption is present in all organizations, even the tiniest and weakest ones, and the largest and most powerful ones will definitely have corrupt officials, and those in power will use their organization to protect their power for reasons both benign (if I lose this power, I can’t help my flock) and malicious (if I lose this power, then I can’t help myself), and everywhere in between. As might be expected, corruption in any religion would be abhorrent to honest practitioners no matter their rank, corruption and hypocrisy rankle any outsider, and so anti-corruption movements would result. There were plenty of anti-corruption initiatives in Catholicism, and this ranged from peasant revolts who railed against inequality and classism to reformist Popes who cracked down on simony and usury. These anti-corruption initiatives can form critical moments in the history of your religion…or are a perfect way to have a conflict over the course of your novel.

What is a God, Anyway?

Now, of course, if you have a religion, you’ll need some sort of divine figure or idea. There has to be an origin for these sacred mysteries after all. Whether you have a monotheistic religion, a dualistic religion, a polytheistic religion, or even an atheistic one built around a philosophy, the big thing to capture is a sense of something much larger than humanity.

In a one-god religion, it’s important to settle exactly how powerful the god is. Monotheism typically asserts that the one god is all powerful, and has no peer, but that is far from the only way that works. Henotheism asserts a single divine essence which takes the form of many valid gods, and monolatrism, where many gods exist but only one is worshiped. In this latter two cases, defining the relationship between the gods is critical to the nature of the divine. Can a mortal worship the underlying divine essence of henotheism (or even comprehend it)?

In a ditheistic religion, the relationship between the gods becomes even more important, because usually whatever the one god is not, the other is. This dichotomy is often central to the formation of the world, and the religion offers a lens of contrasts and binary choices. Zoroastrianism is one of the most influential ditheistic religions I’m aware of, and it stresses the constant choices that mankind makes, to do good or to do evil, and this impetus of behavior affects many aspects of Zoroastrian societies.

In a polytheistic religion, the gods typically resolve around certain spheres of influence, and so it might be possible and necessary to pray to certain deities who have access over this sphere. Polytheistic deities typically emphasize human characteristics, and not all of them benevolent. The Greek Gods might bestow favor that ended up with horrible things happening to them. Susano-o got into a fight with his sister and flayed her favorite pony and threw the skin at her. Tezcatlipoca and Quetzlcouatl constantly unmake creation to show each other up. Odin repeatedly tried to renege on deals. Eshu walked around with a hat that looked different depending on how you looked at it just so people would fight over it. Taken as a strictly secular observer with modern values, you could probably say that these gods were, well, dicks (apologies to anyone if I called your god a dick), but they seem so strikingly and extremely human: concepts and personas taken to their immortal conclusion. Death is also a real thing for these gods. Many of the Tuatha died, including Nuada and Lugh, and they eventually lost Ireland. The Norse Gods were all fated to die on Ragnarok (save for a select few). The Aztec gods were built around death and sacrifice providing power. These concepts were all special, magical, and relatable.

I’d recommend researching ancient religions and seeing how they explored these concepts (and others) to make your religion feel genuine.

Bringing it Together

Just like anything else, you will be building a lot of things from single ideas that will invariably change. Do not fear change, and this is especially true for religions. After all, the changes you make, you can incorporate into the fictional history of your religion, as it grows and shifts over time, just like everything else (hopefully) in your setting.

For example, the religion in my fantasy setting started with a single idea. I wanted to build a society where doing good was a real concern, so I based it off Zoroastrianism. The religion was a dualistic one, with one good and one evil deity. Doing good actions strengthened the good deity of creation, doing evil strengthened the bad one. At the judgment day at the end of time, the two deities would fight, and the winner would be the one strengthened by the active thoughts and deeds of worshipers. If the good deity won, it was a remaking of the world into a land of endless paradise and plenty. If the evil deity won, the world became an endless suffering pit. This resolved the issue of free will, because mankind and free will is the active shaping force of the end of the world. It assigns significance to actions because everything that everyone does matters in judgment day, even if ever so little. The ethical framework of this society, then, becomes rather judgmental, as each evil deed is not only a crime against man, but against existence itself, and villains became interesting as they justified their crimes to render them good, or even went so far as to do other things to stave it off, and in one particularly horrible case, believed that the patient suffering of his victims offset the damage he was doing.

Then, to make matters more interesting, I made a religious schism that was based off the Great Schism of 1054, naming them after their implement of religious purity. One side, the ones who follow the sacred fire, believe that action is the principal driver of good, and so their doctrines resolve around actively doing good. The other side, who follow the sacred waters, believe that contemplation and thought are the most important, that one must actively think good and the action will follow. To the fire side, thought without action is impotent, empowering nothing and permitting evil to triumph, strengthening the evil god. To the water side, wanting to do good because of benefit (even just to strengthen the good god for the hope of the eternal paradise) is selfish and strengthens the evil god. Now, there’s actually a lot more theological discussions and some of it concerns secular concerns of power. The spectrum of belief has heretic hardliners who believe in violent action to eliminate the other sect before they do more wicked things, to more mellow followers who believe that the other side is misguided by not actively evil, to active Unificationists who attempt to use theological argument to reconcile the two sides with a variety of compromises. There’s even a sect in the hills that are fundamentalist Rejectionists who say that the schism is a sign of corruption and that there needs to be a return to a simpler, purer form of the religion, and that all came from one idea of a man constantly quoting scripture as if every single line he said was pregnant with meaning. I have (horrible) sketches of two grand temples devoted to sacred waters and sacred fires with beautiful architecture and ideas for how this schism will play out to create conflict for the protagonists, and how their ideas on it shape their actions. Follow the path where it takes you, write your notes, and don’t be afraid to come back and make revisions.

Thanks for the question, Overlord.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#writing #religion #worldbuilding #essays on writing and worldbuilding

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