Chapter Seventeen

Tutor Troubles

The cool, dead weight of the weapon was heavy in Kiyohiko's hand. He did not like it, but knew there was little time to search for an alternative for such short notice. After making sure his ear protectors were secure, he took aim and fired.

One, two, three, four, five, six; pop out the cartridge and slap in another. Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, done.

"Not bad Yohi," Reborn said as he brought in the paper target from the end of the shooting range. Kiyohiko was becoming more and more precise with his aim and for the past two days, had made definitive progress. He was glad that they were able to have the entire range to themselves, allowing for Kiyohiko to go through a wide variety of different guns. On the nearby table was cases filled with all sorts of different handguns, rifles and shotguns that the teen had been practicing with. Empty cases for ammunition lay strewn about everywhere and packaging for the bullets even had their own separate pile in a corner. All Kiyohiko knew was that Reborn was apparently owed a favor by the owner of the shooting range and it ended up being very convenient, since he did not even need to technically leave his Hawai'ian vacation to train.

"All in the bull's eye," the teen sighed. "I know it's alright for people in America to go to the gun range and carry these things around, but you have to remember that I live in Japan. Laws are stricter there you know. It could make all this training a waste."

"No, it will not. Just because America has different laws on guns does not make training here any different than it would be in Japan. Normal people on the street here still panic at the sight of a gun, just as they do in Namimori."

"…but still… do I have to have a gun?"

"While you have no other weapon and such little time to learn? I may be the best tutor the Mafia has ever seen but I am not a miracle worker. You have nothing to build off other than the time you shot Moretti."

"That was when I was panicked, I thought my friends were in danger and Moretti is a professional at being assassinated!" Kiyohiko was not impressed with Reborn's logic, as they had gone over this conversation at least seventeen different times within the past couple of days. The only thing he had any chance of being impressed with was his own aim's improvement and nothing more.

"We are still building off it. If you want to find a different weapon after the Ring Battles, then we will do so. For now, we work on your marksmanship."

"Has anyone ever thought of using their words?" Kiyohiko asked sarcastically. Reborn made a disapproving noise and shook his head.

"Silly boy; words can only get you so far until you reach the barriers of language and emotion. Although language can be broken down and compromised, emotions tend to betray even the most steadfast of people… even your father."

"So you're saying my only solution is waving around a gun?"

"No; what I'm saying is that your only solution, at the moment, is your actions. It doesn't matter if you are holding a gun or wearing your father's gloves. If you cannot use diplomacy, you have to use actions. When you become old and powerful like the Tenth, you have more of a choice. Right now, it is my job to make sure you have the skills to reach the age where you have that choice. Now, put the gun back in its case."

Kiyohiko did as he was told and put the handgun back in its carrying case. With the cartridge out and the safety on, he carefully made sure it was secure and closed up the case. When he turned back around to face Reborn, he jumped in surprise. The infant was holding a handgun, a revolver at that, which bore the crest of the Vongola.

"Here. This is a special gun made especially for those using Flames as their ammunition. Now that you know how to properly aim with real bullets, you can graduate to these."

"Bullets out of my Dying Will Flame?" Kiyohiko marveled.

"Yes. In every shot must go your intent and convictions. Flame bullets don't behave like regular bullets. They can do a variety of things, including curve, harmlessly hit bystanders with no ill effects and even create an explosive force, the magnitude of which Japan does not wish to ever see again."

Kiyohiko gulped and stared warily at the weapon. He picked it up, holding it gingerly in his hands. It was a little heavier than the handgun he had just been shooting, which surprised him. The last time he had seen a gun like this, it was in a Western movie. It had a spinning bullet chamber and a hammer that had to be drawn back in order to fire. A Vongola crest was emblazoned on either side of the barrel and it was colored a vibrant shade of orange for the Sky Attribute, almost making it look like a toy. Kiyohiko held the gun in his right hand and extended his arm, aiming for one of the targets on the other side of the shooting range.

"Now imagine that the target is Fausto," Reborn said. "Try to imagine him wanting to come at you with the intention to kill. He will not stop until you are dead."

"My first instinct is to run and hide…"

"No!" Reborn hit Kiyohiko on the head, disappointed in his pupil. "Try to focus your energy inside the chamber of that gun. It is your want and need to stay alive and well. It is how you will see the next sunrise, where Haruhi will be waiting for you on the beach."

"…but Haruhi-san is my friend! Yeah, I like her and all, but her and I kind of grew up together. Wouldn't that be kinda weird…?"

"Ugh… this was so much easier with your father. He was pining after your mother before they were your age! He was brimming with awkward desire before I even met him!"

"Thanks, but I did not need to know that," Kiyohiko frowned. "I don't know if there is a girl that I like."

"Fine, then whatever boy you like."

"REBORN! WHAT THE HELL?"

"Just covering the bases." The infant smiled coyly, not caring about any boundaries. It was simply too much fun to mess with the future Eleventh Vongola, not to mention way easier than it should have been.

"Well for the record: I like girls. I just don't think that there is a singular girl that I like right now. You know, the haven't-met-the-right-one-yet thing…?"

"Sure, you limp noodle. Now let's get on with the lesson. Imagine someone who you care about then. It can be anyone you wish. They are in danger and cannot fight back and you've run out of real bullets. The only way you can fire that gun and save them is if you make a bullet out of your own soul. Are you following me?"

"Yeah… I think so…" Kiyohiko closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened his eyes, he narrowed them into a stare. The young man took aim and pulled the trigger on the gun, hoping something would happen.

A brilliant orange blast came exploding out of the barrel of the gun, sending Kiyohiko toppling to the ground from the backfire. The far wall of the shooting range, right where the target had been, exploded in a bright blast of debris. Reborn clapped slowly in minimal approval.

"It's about time," he said. "Now, if we're going to get anywhere with that, we need to find you the proper motivation!"

"Motivation…?"

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Twenty minutes later, Kiyohiko found himself in the middle of the Hawai'ian jungle. The lush rainforest was thick on all sides, making all sorts of noises that the made the young Vongola nervous. Reborn sat in a baby backpack on Kiyohiko's back, looking ahead of them with a bizarrely free-moving telescope.

"So can you please tell me what the purpose of this exercise is again…?" Kiyohiko asked. As he walked he gave one particular tree a wide berth, not exactly liking how the trunk slithered.

"Like I said before Yohi: you need proper motivation to get you going in the right direction. Do you know where we are right now?"

"It looks to me like the middle of nowhere."

"Wrong! We are in Haleakala National Park!"

"Haleakala…?" The teen thought for a moment, attempting to recall where the park was on the map at the hotel. "Isn't that supposed to be two islands over on Maui? The hotel and shooting range are on O'ahu."

"This shows what you know. Now, I've let loose a couple of different animals throughout the park using a remote latch on the cages. It is your job to find them all and terminate them before they attack any tourists, let alone us. They are all rabid to some degree, so we can't get even one scratch."

"That won't be hard, considering how much I take out with one bullet."

"Did I mention that we have to dodge other tourists, the park rangers, Department of Wildlife, a special ops team designed to comb the jungle terrain and that purposely destroying a national preserve by explosives or releasing rabid animals is a felony crime?"

"F-f-f-felon-ny…?"

"Over five years in prison, at least. You really don't want to miss high school graduation because you were stuck in the American legal system, do you?"

Kiyohiko gulped and began to take off at a sprint. Before long, a huge python that was too large to be of anything but B-movie origin sprang out of the woods to take a large chunk out of him. The teenager panicked and let a blast out of the revolver that was a bit too loud and a bit too big for his liking, as there was an echo as the python's head exploded in a disgusting mess of guts and brains. A large number twenty-right was painted on the side of the python's midsection.

"Twenty-eight? How high do these numbers go anyway?"

"To thirty."

Reborn smiled as he tagged along for the ride, a symphony of bullets and cursing to make the training a bit more interesting.

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It was almost dusk as Kiyohiko crouched down low in the underbrush. He was unsure of how long he had been out in the jungle, but what he did know was that he had six more animals to go. Number Nineteen was sitting in front of him only a few metres upwind of him. It was a wild boar of massive proportions, almost coming up to his shoulders at the haunches. He took careful aim with the Flame gun and pulled the trigger. A dainty pew sound came out of the gun and an orange dot hit the boar right between its eyes. The animal staggered, foamed at the mouth and collapsed onto the ground dead.

"Alright… five more to go," Kiyohiko sighed. He wiped his brow with his sleeve and looked down at his list. He had found a receipt in his pocket from when he and Masaru had lunch before meeting Basil and a pen in his pocket, so he was keeping tally of the animals that were left to find. He scratched off the number nineteen from the list and gave it a good look-over. Six, twelve, thirteen, twenty-one and twenty-nine were still out there and he needed to find them, fast. He did not have a flashlight on him and knew he would easily get lost in the mountainous expanse of the park without one.

"Five, did you say?" Reborn asked. Kiyohiko rolled his eyes, for it was the first thing the infant hitman had said in over an hour.

"Yeah. While you've been sleeping back there, I got two boars and a tiger thank you very much."

"Good, good. This means you are now able to quietly and discreetly fire your weapon. I do believe that we are done here for the day. Let's go back to the hotel; I'm starved."

"What do you mean? There's still five more left to go!"

"Numbers Six, Twelve, Thirteen, Twenty-One and Twenty-Nine?"

"Yeah… how did you…?"

"There are no animals out here by those numbers. You had asked me to what number the animals went. What you failed to ask was which numbers were on the animals to begin with," Reborn said smugly. "You pass today's test, but just barely." Kiyohiko's knees began to buckle and he leaned against the nearest tree.

There were no animals with those numbers out there.

He skipped six numbers.

He had been looking for animals that did not exist.

"Remind me to throw you out the emergency hatch on the plane ride back home," Kiyohiko grumbled. "All this time I was searching for creatures that didn't exist…? This is so not worth it."

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Back at the hotel, Ryohei and Hana were returning from an extended, and very late, dinner when they noticed something was odd about their room door—it was open a crack. Ryohei had Hana stay by the stairwell as he silently took the handgun from his shoulder holster and prepared himself to check out the room. He reached with his Flame to sense for traps and found none, so he kicked open the door with his gun raised and brow furrowed. It was a shame he was not allowed to use his Flame weapons on holiday.

To the man's surprise, there was absolutely nothing amiss. His son and nephew were both sprawled over one of the beds in a dead sleep. Both of the teenagers looked filthy, as if they had been traipsing about in a jungle marsh the entire day. Reborn and Lussuria, clean and presentable, were up playing a game of cards on the table that had not been invaded by empty Chinese takeaway boxes.

"Oh, it's just you two," he said, lowering his gun. "I was extremely freaked out there for a second. I thought there had been a security breach."

"Nope, just us tutors winding down after an exhausting day of training," Lussuria nearly sang. "Those boys of yours are just so rambunctious that I don't know how you and Hana-chan do it twenty-four seven."

"It helps that Tsuna sends me away half the time," Ryohei laughed. Hana, upon hearing the laughter, poked her head in the doorway and saw there was nothing to fear. She walked in and placed her purse down on a countertop.

"You boys, I swear…" she sighed upon seeing the mess that was the hotel room. The mess meant that they worked hard and for that, she could forgive them.

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A/N: I just realized that I updated these last three chapters on fanfiction.net and not here. Thanks emo werewolf for the comment!