Chapter Text
When Tsuna woke up, he nearly fell out of bed at the sound of purring. Lifting his head, he saw that there was a cat sleeping at the edge of the bed. Right beside him, his newest soulmate slept on peacefully. Though there was a spare mattress placed right beside Tsuna’s bed, Tsuna had offered Enma a spot next to him when the thunderstorm had caused Enma to start crying.
Tsuna still wasn’t sure what had brought Enma and his father to his house in the first place, but his mother had promised to tell him the next day. As for his father, he had left not too long after the rest of the parents, claiming that he would be back later once things were settled for Enma. He felt slightly guilty for being glad when his father had left, but he didn’t like how he made his mother feel, and he didn’t exactly feel comfortable around the man himself. There was something very unsettling about being near Iemitsu, but he wasn’t quite able to put his finger on it. And, if Tsuna were being completely honest with himself, there was a part of him that hated his father for leaving him and his mother alone for so long.
When Tsuna got out of his bed, he was tempted to leave Enma sleeping there. But upon smelling his mother’s cooking, he felt that it would be worse to rob him of the chance to taste more of his mother’s fresh food than it would be to rob him of his dreams. Leaning over, he gently tapped his soulmate until the other boy’s eyelids lazily opened.
“Morning,” the boy yawned quietly, as he slowly pushed himself up. The moment he moved, Emi also stirred, growling at being awoken before she was ready. “It’s still raining.”
“Yeah, but it’ll probably let up later,” Tsuna said. He certainly hoped it would stop, so he would be able to go out to meet Takeshi and Haru. Now that he actually had friends to hang out with, it was boring staying cooped up in the house. “My mom’s making breakfast if you want some.”
Enma remained in the bed for a moment, as he gave Emi an affectionate pat. Once she seemed satisfied, he swung out both of his legs and moved next to Tsuna. “Sure.”
When the two got downstairs, they helped set up the table before sitting down to eat breakfast. As his mother joined them at the table, Tsuna noticed that she seemed much happier than she did the previous night. It once he had seen his mother without her usual smile, he noticed just how nice it was to be able to see it each day. He hoped that he would never have to see her looking so upset again.
“Good morning boys! I hope you both sleep well. I hope the mattress was comfortable for you, Enma. I’m afraid it doesn’t get much use.” In response, Enma nodded, his facing burning scarlet. “So, any fun plans for the day?”
“I thought it would be nice to show Enma the town while meeting up with Takeshi. I’d already agreed to go over to his place today, and I don’t think Takeshi would mind if Enma came along.” Nana smiled and nodded her approval. It seemed that they were both on the same page of trying to cheer Enma up after whatever had happened to him.
“That sounds like a good plan. What do you think, Enma-kun?” Nana asked carefully. Tsuna appreciated how she was able to keep from coming off too strongly when she needed to.
“I think it sounds fun,” Enma muttered quietly, not quite looking Nana in the eyes.
“What do you usually like to do for fun?” Tsuna asked, turning to look at his soulmate. Even after everyone else had left, he still hadn’t been able to get much out of Enma. But knowing how uncomfortable he used to be talking to other people, he knew that he couldn’t force information out of Enma if he wasn’t ready to give it.
“Not much,” the boy admitted. “There wasn’t a lot I could do for fun back home. But I did like playing with the animals, and I also liked to read.”
At the mention of animals, an idea suddenly popped into Tsuna’s head. “You know what, I think I’ve changed my mind. Mom, do you think you’d be able to take us to the zoo?”
When Tsuna mentioned zoo, Enma’s face seemed to light up immediately. His mother thought carefully about it for a second but nodded after looking at the two boys. “Great! I’ll see if Haru and Takeshi can meet us there!”
After two quick phone calls, it turned out that Haru wouldn’t be able to make it, but Takeshi and his parents would be able to join them a little bit later. After getting dressed, Nana got the three of them into her car and drove them all to the zoo.
It was still raining once they arrived, but thankfully the rain had calmed down into a gentle drizzle, and some of the animals were beginning to come out of their shelters. Tsuna was initially drawn to the otters, who seemed to be enjoying the rain a bit more than the other animals. It was nice to see the otters joined together, and he couldn’t help but think that maybe he’d be lucky enough to be able to form close bonds with all of his soulmates.
Enma, on the other hand, seemed immediately drawn toward the lions. Though Tsuna was somewhat surprised by this, as he expected the boy to be somewhat shaken by the large beasts, he also knew how close he was with Emi, and Enma’s attraction to made more sense.
After about thirty minutes, the rain finally seemed to clear up just as Takeshi and his family came to join them. Once all three boys were together, Tsuyoshi volunteered to watch over them, letting Aoi and Nana have some alone time together, as well as a break from watching over the children. Tsuna was more accustomed to Aoi than he was to Tsuyoshi at this point, but it was fun getting to see Takeshi’s father in an environment away from his restaurant. When Tsuyoshi began imitating the sounds of the various animals they watched, all three of the boys managed to let out a few laughs.
Around noon, the group finally reconvened at the small restaurant in the zoo. After it was settled that Aoi would be paying for lunch, as both Nana and Aoi were insistent on paying for everyone, everyone dug into their sandwiches with joy. Before the group had finished eating, Takeshi’s attention seemed more and more occupied by the arcade attached to the restaurant.
“Hey, Tsuna and Enma, do you wanna play in the arcade for a bit?” At the look Takeshi got from his father, he added, “I don’t mind paying for a few games if you want to.”
Tsuna looked over to his mother, who nodded in approval. Then he turned to Enma, to see how he felt about it. Though he didn’t have a particularly strong reaction, he also didn’t seem opposed to the idea.
“I think it would be fun.” And so the three boys left the three parents behind as they each traveled over to different machines. Takeshi was immediately drawn toward one of the dancing platforms, while Enma walked over to a claw machine. After scanning the room, Tsuna decided to try his hand at Pac-Man. Next to him was a boy who looked a little older than him and a lot bigger who was passionately beating away at plastic moles.
Tsuna was not particularly good at video games, but it was difficult for him to concentrate on the game when the boy next to him yelled everytime he missed one of the moles. After Tsuna had lost his final life, he decided to move on to a different game. But before he could get away from the loud boy beside him, he suddenly felt a plastic mallet hit him in the head. The boy had been swinging with such force that it caused Tsuna to fall down back-first with a loud “oomph.”
“Tsuna, are you okay?” Takeshi called out. Takeshi, who had been playing close by, seemed to notice the incident immediately. Jumping off his machine, he raced over to Tsuna, but not before another person got to him first.
“I’m sorry about him. Ryohei’s reckless, but he doesn’t mean any harm,” the dark-haired girl beside Tsuna said as she offered a hand down to him. Tsuna took it, carefully pulling himself up so as to not pull her down with him. As he stood up, he noticed how the boy who had knocked him down had suddenly stopped talking, and even looked slightly embarrassed by the remark.
“You don’t have to be so blunt, Hana,” Ryohei huffed before turning toward Tsuna. Suddenly, the boy bowed more intensely than he had ever seen someone move. From his lowered position, he yelled, “I’m extremely sorry for hitting you!”
“It’s okay, I know it was an accident,” Tsuna replied, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Almost immediately, the boy shot up, however, causing Tsuna’s hand to fall off.
“Whoa!! Do you two see this?” Ryohei asked, pointing to a spot just above his left knee. The mark was of the same blue sky that Tsuna’s other marks had revealed, but this time, a bright yellow sun was emphasized. Ryohei and Hana both stared at Tsuna, one in awe and one in suspicion, as Tsuna pushed the right side of his shorts up just slightly. The mark on his leg was a match with the one on Ryohei’s leg. “How extreme! I’ve met both of my soulmates before turning thirteen! We’ll have to celebrate with Kyoko later.”