The Sensing of Mokana 10

After a bout of chaos with chickens flying and dogs barking, everyone finally managed to settle down again in the living room.

By this time, Koharu had already woken up. The little girl no longer seemed frightened of Mokona, but instead was deeply embarrassed about her earlier fainting spell.

“I’m so sorry, so sorry! I didn’t see clearly what it was that flew to Reborn-chan’s side. I only saw a white, talking fluff, and I—I thought it was something strange, so I…” she bowed repeatedly to Kurama and Tsuna, her face flushed bright red, her words trailing off until her tongue nearly tripped over itself.

Because Mokona was involved, Tsuna didn’t think he should make decisions alone and turned to Kurama for guidance.

Kurama shook his head with a gentle smile.

Relieved, Tsuna hurriedly began to comfort Koharu, while Kurama, holding Mokona, met the gazes of Gokudera, Yamamoto, and the others.

They had all seen Kurama at the end of the Kokuyo battle, and still remembered his miraculous arrival. When Nana had mentioned a new member of the household—a distant relative of Reborn’s—and invited them to a celebration, they hadn’t thought much of it. Who would have guessed that the supposed new member was this magical boy who had descended from the sky…

“So he’s Reborn-san’s relative… No wonder he has such mysterious abilities.”

The two groups stared at each other for a long moment in silence. Finally, Gokudera—who always seemed the most reliable and least easy to fool—stroked his chin and said:

“…I see, that explains everything.”

Kurama nearly knelt in exasperation.

Hey, kid, is it really okay to believe the “distant relative” excuse so easily? Have you forgotten that, when he first appeared, he even took Tsuna hostage and acted like he’d never met Reborn before?

Kurama covered his face, beginning to understand just how Tsuna must feel every time Reborn assumed a new identity with nothing but a change of costume, and everyone but Tsuna accepted it naturally, without a shred of doubt.

…Tsuna, you really have it tough.

Kurama shot Tsuna a look of shared understanding.

The brown-haired boy managed a wry, miserable smile in return.

In that instant, the revolutionary friendship between the two soared to an unprecedented new height.

Reborn, sitting nearby, watched them exchange meaningful glances (honestly, now), and snorted, making it clear he couldn’t care less about the two idiots.

He reached up to pluck Leon from the brim of his hat, holding and stroking the chameleon. This small gesture, unintentionally, gave Gokudera and the others an explanation for Mokona’s sudden speech.

“Ah! So that’s it! Because he’s Reborn-san’s relative!” Gokudera snapped his fingers, his face alight with the thrill of solving a mystery. “Reborn-san has an amazing companion like Leon; that leaping guy, as Reborn-san’s top disciple, has that horrifying sea monster—though it’s actually a turtle… Now this guy, as Reborn-san’s relative, has a talking pet. What’s so strange about that? Even Lambo can talk!”

“Lambo-sama is not a pet!” the little cow protested indignantly.

Gokudera shot him a look of disdain. “If all you can do is eat, sleep, cry, create chaos, and look cute, what else are you but a pet? If you want people to accept you as a ‘child living under someone else’s roof,’ you should look at how I-Pin and Futa conduct themselves.”

Gokudera truly was a master of provoking resentment.

The little cow, shamed and angered, stopped crying altogether and retaliated with bombs and rocket launchers.

The two of them chased each other around the room, turning it into a lively scene. Tsuna could only watch in helpless amusement, while secretly breathing a sigh of relief—no matter how unreliable Gokudera’s explanation sounded, everyone had accepted it!

Watching Kyoko, beaming as she held Mokona and played with him; Koharu, Bianchi, and I-Pin crowding in, while Yamamoto, laughing and telling Gokudera not to bully the kids, kept a close eye on the girls and Mokona; and Futa, busy scribbling away in his “Ranking Book”—Tsuna’s shoulders slumped. He exchanged a rueful glance with Kurama.

That evening, the celebration for Kurama’s arrival proved to be a resounding success.

Nana put all her skills to use, preparing a table laden with delicious dishes. As everyone ate and drank, the distance between them shrank. Kurama’s origins, of course, were a secret shared only by Reborn and Tsuna, but under the cover of being “Reborn’s relative,” many of Kurama’s strange abilities found reasonable explanations. Over the course of the meal, he became much friendlier with Yamamoto and Gokudera, even agreeing to a spar with Gokudera sometime soon—it seems boys really do forge friendships through a good fight.

The party lasted past ten o’clock. Seeing how late it was, Kyoko and Koharu were escorted home by the capable Bianchi, while the boys all stayed overnight at the Sawada house.

Though the house was spacious, with the growing number of residents, there were only a few spare guest rooms left. Not wanting to crowd Futa’s room and bully the little ones, Gokudera and Yamamoto shared the guest room Nana had originally prepared for Kurama, while Kurama ended up rooming with Tsuna for the night, planning to move into his own room the following day.

Tsuna insisted that Kurama take the bed, but seeing Tsuna’s slender frame, Kurama couldn’t bear to let him make the sacrifice. In the end, Kurama slept on a futon on the floor, and the night passed peacefully.

The next morning, Gokudera and Yamamoto went home. Kurama, with nothing in particular to do, wandered around the house, eventually finding Nana in the yard hanging laundry.

So, when Tsuna emerged from his bath and entered the living room, he saw, through the floor-to-ceiling windows leading to the garden, Kurama smiling in the sunlight as he helped Nana with the laundry.

Perhaps he was seeing things, but Tsuna felt as if Kurama was bathed in a radiant glow, so dazzling it was hard to look at him directly.

Unaware that the world held such a thing as a “sparkling star-person,” Tsuna twitched his lips and went off in search of his tutor.

Reborn seemed to be quite interested in Mokona as well; when Tsuna found him, the two were sitting together, sipping… wine?!

Tsuna nearly collapsed at Reborn’s feet.

“Hey—Reborn! What are you doing? How can you let Mokona drink wine!” he groaned, covering his face.

Reborn’s dark eyes glanced at him with contempt.

“Do you think Mokona is a brat like you who can’t handle alcohol?” he retorted mercilessly.

Tsuna dared not answer back.

What left him even more aghast was Mokona’s reaction. The adorable, heart-melting little creature actually chimed in on Reborn’s side!

“That’s right! I might not love wine as much as Larg does, but Mokona can handle a few drinks! Especially delicious wine! Nei~”

With that, he raised his glass to Reborn.

Reborn, smiling, clinked his glass in return. “Nei~”

“……”

—Tsuna felt like he was about to fall apart.

He turned around in a daze and nearly stumbled into someone behind him.

“…Tsuna?”

Kurama, just back from helping Nana with the laundry and sent inside by her, reached out to steady Tsuna. Seeing the boy’s lost expression, then glancing over at Reborn and Mokona on the luxurious leather sofa, drinking wine with matching mischievous grins, he quickly guessed what Tsuna had just been through.

Kurama couldn’t help but find it amusing.

“Were you bullied by Mokona and Reborn?” he asked, ruffling Tsuna’s hair.

The brown-haired boy looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears.

Kurama was instantly charmed.

This child… How could he be so adorable?

He sighed and, taking Tsuna by the hand, led him outside.

“Forget about them—Mokona gets even rowdier after drinking. Let them play. Your mom asked us to go shopping at the supermarket, and to collect the newspapers and mail on the way back—today’s the weekend. You don’t have any plans, do you?”

“N-no, of course not…”

It was the first time Tsuna had ever done the chores Nana often assigned him, but with someone by his side. The tasks were the same, but with Kurama there, he felt a sense of reassurance.

It was as if Kurama had everything organized, and all Tsuna had to do was follow his lead and see things through.

Honestly, it felt both new and… rather nice.

Using the supermarket trip as an excuse to show Kurama around the neighborhood, Tsuna returned home looking far less pitiful than when he’d been bullied by Reborn and Mokona.

Reborn, noticing this, gave a dissatisfied snort, grabbed Tsuna by the collar, and hauled him upstairs to “review his lessons.”

Kurama, after helping Nana put away the groceries, took Mokona out to the yard to sunbathe.

The two lounged on soft cushions along the sun-warmed wooden veranda, basking in the gentle, non-blinding sunlight, eyes half-closed in drowsy contentment.

After a while, Mokona suddenly snuggled up and rubbed against Kurama’s cheek.

Kurama tilted his head in question.

Mokona wiggled his ears and pressed his little paw to Kurama’s soft red hair.

“Kurama, Mokona can sense it! The presence of ‘power.’”

At first, Kurama was half-distracted—after all, in the protagonist Tsuna’s presence, sensing power was an everyday occurrence. But when Mokona spoke again, Kurama suddenly sat up straight.

“It’s something Yuko might find interesting—a presence that carries and connects to ‘power’ itself…”

Mokona smiled slyly and whispered in his ear.

Author’s note: Pfft… Honestly, I think Gokudera really could be this oblivious, xdd. At first, aside from his temper, he was such a reliable, loyal dog—smart and devoted to Tsuna, nothing to worry about! But later, all sorts of odd traits crept in, like cheerfully admitting his home life is a mess, or inventing his own secret codes in class… (Are you a grade schooler or what!)

Still, thanks to that, Mokona’s presence found a reasonable explanation. We should be grateful for Gokudera’s powerful imagination and the strong adaptability of the Home Tutor Reborn world’s residents! [Serious face]

As for being bullied by Reborn and Mokona—Tsuna’s reactions are just too cute! Makes me want to take him home even more than Mokona! [Falls to knees]

Next up, an illustration for this chapter. Yesterday I posted a set of male protagonist characters, and some readers asked why Chrome and the little cow weren’t included, so today it’s a Ten Generation Family portrait—

Though the picture is of the adult Lambo (?), honestly, I still think the 20+ Lambo is more mature and handsome… [Covers face] And did you notice? Compared to the others, the class president isn’t as tall as the pineapple alien! But maybe that’s just the hairstyle? [Contemplative gaze…]

Finally, as always, here’s a preview for the next chapter: Tsuna is attacked. What is the source of the presence Mokona sensed? Will Kurama find it and use it to regain his power? Meanwhile, the plot draws ever closer… Stay tuned for the next chapter, “The Demon Fox Kurama: Tsuna Attacked!”

PS: Apparently, there have been some glitches with the “next chapter” button lately—if you can’t click it, try changing the chapter number directly in the address bar. That should work =w=