(Reborn P.O.V)
Reborn clenched his jaw and slowly pet Leon. The seat in the private jet was soft and comfortable, but it did nothing to ease his mood. Of all the stupid things he had seen in this world, this ranked near the top.
Did they expect him to be an idiot? Not to see the signs? Not to feel the storm of flames boiling off the boy?
Maybe if the Seal had held, that might have worked. He could have assumed the boy simply had a difficult connection to his flames. That the disconnect between Tsuna's personality and the near-endless power sleeping inside him made it hard to draw them out without a bullet.
Maybe even breaking the Seal himself by slowly chipping away at it with each shot.
But that was not the world they lived in.
The boy knew about the Seal.
And now Reborn did too.
The worst part was that he understood the logic.
Tsuna had never been meant to inherit. He was not even supposed to be introduced to the family. When Nono saw the boy's potential, he sealed it away to keep the inheritance safe for his own sons.
Disgusting. Cowardly. The First would have put a bullet in Nono's head if he got his hands on him.
But it was practical. A clean way to secure his interests without getting a child's blood on his hands.
If only through a fucking loophole.
Reborn had truly believed Nono was better than that. He still remembered the kind old man who fed children in the slums. The man who saw a desperate street rat and set him on the path of strength.
His jaw tightened until it ached.
Disgust warred with old loyalty. Either way, this would not end well for Nono.
Tsuna was strong, not as strong as Nono and his guardians, but he would quickly reach those heights. The boy was able to break through a seal that was still sealing the likes of Xanxus.
He would uncover the truth even if Reborn tried to bury it. The boy's intuition bordered on prophetic. It was no coincidence Tsuna had found a girl with enormous potential at the exact moment she was most vulnerable.
There was no hiding from this, and the boy certainly deserved justice for what happened to him.
Nothing would be able to stop the boy's rampage. Nothing except him.
Leon licked his cheek, sensing the tension. Reborn exhaled slowly and forced his jaw to loosen.
He was not even sure if he would stand by Nono. He crossed so many of Reborn's lines that the sand might as well be clear. The debts and feelings he held meant so very little in the face of that.
Reborn needed the full picture. He doubted anything could justify what he had seen, but he would give the old man one last chance.
If only because of what he once meant to him.
And if Nono failed to provide a miracle answer?
Leon shifted into his gun form. Reborn idly rolled the trigger under his finger.
He might save Tsuna the trouble and shoot the idiot himself.
The thought felt bitter to him, like a betrayal of everything he was, but standing by Nono's side would feel exactly the same, perhaps even worse.
Reborn was in a lose-lose situation, he really hated those.
Another thought surfaced.
Iemitsu.
If Nono was a monster, then Iemitsu was either the worst kind of coward or something fouler that belonged in a ditch.
There was no chance that Iemitsu did not know what happened to his son. The only way Nono could have even met Tsuna was if Iemitsu introduced them first. Beyond that, the man may be an idiot, but when his child shifted from a bright, lively thing to a near cripple, he should be able to connect the dots.
Was that why he spent all of his time in Italy? Was it from some misbegotten sense of guilt? Could he not bear to see the result of the sin he and Nono created?
The disgust he felt for Iemitsu was beyond the pale by this point.
He already thought the moron was trash; now he wanted to blow up the CEDEF.
So many problems and so few answers.
Reborn took a deep breath and waited; he would soon have the meeting he wanted.
(Time skip to meeting)
The servants settled around him, silent like mice not wanting to draw the attention of the cat. They set the coffee he asked for on the expensive table and shuffled away with the grace he expected of the staff.
He took a sip to calm his mood but set it down after a moment.
It tasted too fucking bitter.
He took a glance at the door and waited, Leon resting in his lap.
Technically he should not have any weapons when meeting Nono, but again, rules don't apply to someone like him.
Soon the door opened, and he was greeted with the sight of Nono.
The same tanned suit, the same gentle smile, the same soft eyes. But every second Reborn stared at him felt like nails shoved into him.
"What is the matter? You arranged an emergency meeting. Is Iemitsu's son alright?"
Reborn nearly decked him.
He just stared at the man, trying to see the monster he knew him to be. He knew that the Mafia was not a kind place; he was not even a kind man himself, but still, shit like this was what wiped out small fries.
The Estraneo family could attest to that.
The longer he looked at Nono in complete silence, the more the old man furrowed his brows.
"Why?" Reborn questioned softly, his words barely leaving his lips, but the weight of them seemed to settle on the room.
Nono continued to furrow his brow, a deep frown on his face as he stared at Reborn. He was clearly confused, but there was a hint of guilt in his expression that was slowly building.
"Why did you seal him?" Reborn asked flatly as his hand pet Leon ever so slowly.
Nono flinched at those words; the guilt that slumbered beneath the surface started to rise. The old man gritted his teeth as well and looked down at the floor.
Not saying a word.
Reborn stood up and glared at Nono.
"I need an answer, Nono; the boy is raging. If you think Xanxus was angry at you, then Tsuna is going to be worse." Reborn spat out.
Once more Nono flinched. Sorrow and guilt over what happened to Xanxus filling his frame, and the equally horrible fate for Tsuna was heavy.
"Iemitsu." Nono spoke out softly, his eyes heavy, and there was a slump in his usually tall frame.
Reborn recoiled away from that. His mouth hanging open, and the hand gripping Leon went slack. Of all the answers, that was the one he least expected.
"What?"
The question slipping out of his mouth before he could even register it.
Nono took a deep breath and looked at Reborn with a sad smile.
"Iemitsu asked me to." He spoke out slowly, as if the guilt finally had an outlet to run out of.
Reborn slumped back into his chair, shocked. The answer just not making any sense to him. He looked at Nono with a gaze that screamed he wanted answers, and the ninth obliged.
"Iemitsu did not want this life for his son; he knows the horror that our world has, Reborn. His child was such a sweet thing, afraid to even harm a bug. He knew this life would ruin the boy." Nono started.
The words came faster now, like a confession long overdue.
"So he begged me to seal the boy's flames, pleaded on his knees for weeks on end. Of course, I rejected him. I told him over and over what would happen to the boy if I did what he asked. But he would not take no for an answer. Eventually he even dragged me to his home to convince me by showing off the idyllic perfect life he was protecting."
Nono let out a scoff at that, the disdain in his eyes evident to anyone. Then he slumped as if the energy he was displaying was all he had.
The guilt filling his face again.
"Then I saw the boy. I felt the flames barely contained beneath his skin. And his face…" Nono's grip tightened on his cane. "If the resemblance had been widely known, he would have been named heir on the spot."
He looked up at Reborn.
"Iemitsu started this sin. But the part I share in it is just as heavy."
The silence in the room was heavy, Reborn dreading the answer he knew was to come.
"I'm sure you know what I thought in that moment, that the family was destined to rest on his shoulders. That his potential would overwhelm my sons, so I took the easy way out. I warned Iemitsu one final time, and when he still did not listen, I agreed. I sealed the boy's flames, leaving only the tiniest of cracks so the boy could function."
Nono finished, finally letting go of his cane and resting on the sofa in the room.
The weight of his actions seemed to finally lift, if only for a moment.
Reborn had no idea how to take this. It was not the miracle solution that he desperately hoped to find, but it was not the damning evidence of the monstrous intentions behind Nono's actions.
"You were killing him, Nono; any other boy would have dropped dead in a week." Reborn spat, and Nono nodded stiffly.
"You're right; any other boy would have. But even sealed as he was, that boy's flames still burned brightly." Nono offered, not really defending himself but wanting to say his piece.
Reborn took a deep breath and let go of Leon.
He had his answer. He could not kill Nono himself, but he was not going to stop Tsuna either. The boy would have his answers. God rest their souls.
"The boy broke out of his seal, Nono; he managed to develop a Storm flame just as strong as his Sky. He has Wrath Flames just like Xanxus, and he is not going to accept this answer, Nono." Reborn explained.
Nono slumped further into the sofa and lowered his head. Surprised at the information but accepting of it nonetheless.
"It would be his right. I'm an old man, Reborn. The mistakes I've made in my life just seem to keep coming back to me. I've lost my love, my family, and what little time I had in this life. If my head is what he wants, he is welcome to take it."
Reborn lowered his fedora, not wanting to see the man who meant so much to him in such a sorry state.
"Reborn. One last favor."
Silence hung between them, he was not willing to make any more promises to Nono but he would listen.
"Can you avoid mentioning Iemitsu's involvement in this? The man is a mess of guilt over what he did, and no son should stain his hands with his father's blood. Better my life being the only one he takes."
Nono asked, his gaze heavy but firm.
Again Reborn remained silent as he looked away from Nono.
"I don't think I could hide it from him even if I tried. His intuition is just as monstrous as his talent with Flames. He stumbled upon a Mist Guardian with overwhelming talent right when her life was about to be snuffed out." Reborn offered.
Hearing that, Nono collapsed into the sofa and let out a deep sigh.
"I suppose all sinners have to pay their due."
Peaceful.
Resigned.
Reborn moved toward the door.
"You were a good man, Timoteo," he said quietly. "I only wish you had been a wiser one."
Then he left. Knowing this was the last time he would see the man who raised him.