“Good morning, Judaime!”
Gokudera greeted the moment he entered the classroom, his voice unusually bright.
“Morning!
You’re early, Gokudera-kun?”
Tsuna replied.
Rekka blinked at them.
“When did you two get so close?”
He still remembered Gokudera looking like he wanted to murder Tsuna the previous day, so seeing them act friendly now felt bizarre.
“Well… a lot happened.”
Tsuna laughed awkwardly as he whispered to him what previously happened between him and Gokudera.
“So he’s also related to the Mafia…
No wonder he calls you Judaime(Tenth).”
Rekka nodded in understanding.
Tsuna then formally introduced Gokudera to Rekka.
“Gokudera-kun, this is my friend Rekka.”
“Yes, I know him.”
Tsuna smiled wryly.
Yeah… I did remember you talking about him in a bad way.
Gokudera narrowed his eyes.
“He’s your friend who is dumb and all brawls.”
A vein popped on Rekka’s forehead.
He leaned forward and glared intensely.
“You bastard, you wanna fight?
We just met and you’re already picking a fight!”
“Your imagining things.
As expected, nothing but brawls.
Don’t be arrogant just because you’ve known Judaime first!”
“Huh?
What does Tsuna have to do with this?”
“Tch.
Because of you, Judaime is seen as a delinquent and has trouble making friends.”
“You’re no different!
Ask anyone passing by and they’d say you look more like a gangster than me!”
“Guys, calm down…”
Meanwhile, Tsuna tried to calm them down while sighing heavily.
As expected…
It came down to this.
Around them, their classmates began to whisper.
Delinquents sure attract delinquents.
And just like that, Tsuna was grouped with them.
Rekka pointed at Gokudera.
“Fine!
It’s a showdown then!
Let’s prove who’s better for Tsuna!”
This wasn’t a fight, but a competition for Tsuna.
“Challenge accepted.
Grades and combat.
That way it’s fair for both of us.”
“Fine!”
Rekka agreed instantly.
Tsuna felt his back was drenched in cold sweat.
It’s not like I’m a girl… Why are they fighting over me?
Both of them then turned to him.
“You’ll be the judge, Judaime!”
“Be our judge, Tsuna!”
Tsuna was simply forced to nod.
As the two daredevils began preparing for their upcoming competition, Mutsumi approached Tsuna with a bright smile.
“Great job, Tsuna.
You made another new friend quickly.”
Tsuna squinted at her.
“Why are you looking like a proud mom?”
Mutsumi laughed lightly.
“I’m just happy.
Tsuna, who had no friends before except me and Kyoko, is now quickly making friends!”
“But since I’m your first friend, I still feel special.”
She grinned teasingly.
Tsuna rubbed his cheek.
“I don’t know whether you’re teasing me or not…”
“Guess?”
Mutsumi then laughed.
“Though, the friends you’re making seem unique in some ways.
They’re funny!”
Mutsumi glanced at the two troublemakers in the distance.
Tsuna laughed helplessly before being stunned by what he heard next.
“But I’m glad to find a new side I like about you.”
Tsuna was left blank after receiving a critical strike.
It wasn’t until Kyoko came along to their conversation that he snapped.
“Hey, you two, I hope you don’t forgot what we promised back them.”
“Of course not.”
Mutsumi smiled.
Tsuna also realized what she meant.
“I guess… our study group will resume again.”
“That’s right!
I’ve missed studying with you guys!”
Kyoko said cheerfully.
“It’s too lonely studying alone!”
Mutsumi patted her head.
“There, there.
Soon it’ll become so crowded you’ll get sick of it, right Tsuna?”
She turned toward him.
“Right…?
Tsuna tilted his head.
“With your new friends, I think our little group will grow bigger soon.”
Kyoko’s eyes sparkled.
“If we grow enough, maybe we can even start a club.”
Mutsumi chuckled.
“Good idea.”
“I don’t think they’re the studying type…”
Tsuna muttered.
Flick.
Mutsumi flicked his forehead.
“Were you the study type person in the beginning too?”
She asked playfully.
Tsuna widened his eyes.
“You’re right… sorry.”
He reflected quietly.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Tsuna.
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The two delinquents would compete through academics first by getting the highest overall scores in the upcoming exams.
Rekka agreed immediately, but deep down he wasn’t confident.
He knew his limits.
So he went to Tsuna’s house to ask for help.
“Geh, Ninjaturdbrain.
What are you doing here?”
Gokudera had arrived at the same time, looking irritated.
“How about you?”
Rekka shot back.
“To visit Judaime’s house!
And introduce myself properly to his family!”
Gokudera declared enthusiastically.
“This is actually my first time visiting Tsuna’s house…”
Rekka admitted, curiosity slipping through his bravado.
They rang the doorbell.
“Coming!”
Nana’s cheerful voice sounded as she opened the door.
“Oh my!
Are you Tsuna’s friends?”
Her face lit up immediately.
“Good morning, ma’am!
I’m Gokudera Hayato!
Nice to meet you, Judaime’s mom!”
Gokudera bowed deeply, thinking she looked surprisingly young and kind.
“Nice to meet you too, ma’am! This chapter is updated first at g.com.
I’m Rekka!”
Rekka followed, noticing how much she resembled Tsuna.
“Tsuna often talks about you two!
Come inside!”
Nana welcomed them warmly.
She felt relieved.
Reborn’s tutoring really must be working if her shy son was making friends this quickly.
“Thank you for allowing us to intrude!”
Gokudera nudged Rekka to bow alongside him.
“Tsuna, your friends are here!”
Tsuna rushed downstairs.
“You guys?
What are you doing here?
Come inside my room!”
“Judaime’s room…”
Gokudera’s eyes sparkled.
“What are you?
His girlfriend?”
Rekka muttered, weirded out by the enthusiasm.
Still, he was curious too.
My own room is filled with ninja stuff, so I wonder what Tsuna’s room look like…
When they entered, they were greeted by a neat bedroom filled with exercise equipment and shelves packed with books.
On the wall were posters of famous muscle olympians.
“…”
Everything was normal except for the weird posters.
It feels like Tsuna.
Rekka simply remarked.
“Ah, Reborn-san!”
Gokudera greeted the hitman baby, who was casually maintaining his gun on the table.
“Hey, Mafia Baby,”
Rekka added casually.
“Ciaosu.”
Reborn nodded.
“So, what are you guys doing here?”
Tsuna asked.
Rekka scratched his cheek.
“You know I’m bad at studying, so… I came to ask for your help.”
Gokudera snickered quietly, muttering insults about stupidity under his breath.
“Gokudera-kun?
What about you?”
Tsuna asked.
“I was considering asking you about how the idiot fights.”
“Heh, scared?”
Rekka taunted.
Gokudera’s eyebrow twitched.
“Your brain is foolish indeed.
Information gathering is one of the basic skills of a hitman.
Isn’t that right, Reborn-san?”
“That’s right.”
Reborn agreed.
“All thanks to your teaching.”
Gokudera bowed respectfully, recalling how Reborn taught him to observe Tsuna first.
Rekka nodded.
“Makes sense.
Information is important for ninjas too.”
Though he hated learning it from Gokudera.
Tsuna already had an idea how to help them.
“You guys… how about a study group?
A group where we help each other study and share knowledge?”
Gokudera’s eyes widened.
“As expected from Judaime!
That’s perfect!”
Rekka agreed too.
“Great!
I actually already have a study group with Mutsumi and Kyoko.
I’ll introduce you guys later on.
But for now, let’s have a boys’ study group.”
“I didn’t know you had such a group with your crush…”
Gokudera looked delighted at learning new information.
“Damn, I didn’t know you have the guts in you.”
Rekka remarked.
And thus—
The most chaotic study session in history began.
Rekka asked questions.
A LOT of questions.
“Tsuna, what’s photosynthesis again?”
“R-Rekka, we’re studying math right now…”
“Oh.”
Even when Tsuna explained patiently, Rekka struggled to understand.
His endless questions eventually annoyed Gokudera.
Gokudera slammed his book shut.
“You’re beyond hopeless!
Judaime, please allow me to teach this idiot.
I don’t want you to waste your precious brain cells on someone like him…”
To their shock, Gokudera explained everything clearly and efficiently.
Rekka hated to admit it, but…
Respect.
On the other hand, Gokudera genuinely could not understand how Rekka’s brain functioned.
“No!
You don’t multiply like that!”
“But didn’t you just—?”
“That was an EXAMPLE, you neanderthal!”
Yet slowly…
Rekka learned.
“Gokudera, I didn’t know you were good at teaching.
You must be smart.”
Even Tsuna looked impressed.
“A-am I?”
Gokudera lit up from the praise.
He was as good as Mutsumi—or perhaps even better when it came to mathematics and science.
Tsuna smiled.
He quietly berated himself for judging someone based on appearance.
Our study group will become even better with him!
Meanwhile, Gokudera asked about how Rekka fought.
“Well, Rekka fights kinda like a ninja, but also different because he’s flashy unlike the stealth image of ninjas.
I think you should watch ninja movies.”
“I see… so he’s a show-off.”
“Also one more thing.
He has fire superpower.”
Gokudera widened his eyes.
“To think a fool like him would have such power… I thought this would be boring, but now it’s getting interesting.”
“But normally, it’s like candle fire.
He mostly uses it to light his firecrackers.”
“Never mind…”
Gokudera rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
On his way home later, he bought ninja movies.
“But a fight between your family members, huh….
It sounds interesting.”
Reborn smiled amusedly after the two of them left.
“Not at all.
It’s just exhausting.”
Tsuna replied tiredly.
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Mutsumi’s study group resumed at the peaceful library.
Of course, things became far more chaotic with the addition of two daredevils.
The first meeting alone already drew attention from nearby students, shocked to see the school’s top beauties hanging around delinquent-looking boys inside a library.
“Wow… there’s suddenly a lot of people.”
Kyoko blinked while looking at the boys gathered around the table.
Rekka waved proudly. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“We have arrived.”
“You say that like we formed a hero team…”
Tsuna muttered.
Mutsumi giggled softly before turning toward the newcomers.
“Well then, let’s start.”
She smiled warmly.
“Since we’re all from the same class, let’s just briefly introduce ourselves since Gokudera is newly transferred.
Let’s exclude Tsuna.”
“Why only me!?”
“Because we already know a lot about you.
You’re basically our intermediary.”
“Oh…”
“As expected of Judaime.”
Gokudera whispered proudly.
“You guys already know me, so just comfortably call me Mutsumi.
Welcome to our study group.”
Mutsumi smiled gently.
“If you have any problems, I’ll help you!”
Rekka immediately straightened his back.
“Same here.
Just call me Rekka too.”
Kyoko laughed softly before bowing politely.
“I’m Kyoko.
Nice to have you guys here!”
“A pleasure!”
Rekka answered while rubbing his nose sheepishly.
“Likewise.”
Gokudera nodded.
Then it became his turn.
“…You can either call me Gokudera or Hayato.
It doesn’t matter to me.”
He awkwardly introduced himself.
“I’m Judaime’s right—”
“OI.”
Tsuna immediately stopped him.
“Haha… sorry.
He’s suffering from the same condition as Rekka, so don’t mind him.”
Let’s just call that condition as eighth-grade syndrome (chuunibyou)…
Rekka quietly laughed, earning a glare from Gokudera.
Kyoko covered her mouth while giggling.
“You’re all really close already.”
Mutsumi smiled at Tsuna.
Then she looked toward Gokudera curiously.
“Tsuna mentioned you’re very good at teaching.”
Gokudera froze slightly from the unexpected praise.
“…It’s nothing special.”
“He also said you’re so good at STEM subjects.”
Kyoko added innocently.
Gokudera immediately looked away to hide how pleased he was hearing Tsuna praise him behind his back.
Rekka crossed his arms dramatically.
“Meanwhile, I nearly died learning from him!
He kept smacking me!”
“That’s because your brain tries turning every math problem into ninja shenanigans.”
Gokudera snickered.
Rekka looked offended.
“That’s a valid learning method!”
“It is not.”
Everyone laughed lightly.
For a brief moment, the atmosphere became strangely comfortable.
Then Mutsumi clapped her hands once.
“Alright then.”
She leaned closer toward Rekka curiously.
“So what subjects are you best at?
By the way, I’m good at all subjects, so I can help in every area.”
“History.”
Rekka answered proudly.
“I studied lots of things about old ninja weapons and ninja history.”
“I never knew that… but somehow expected it.”
Tsuna muttered.
Kyoko smiled brightly.
“Then maybe you can help us in history sometimes too!
It’s my weakest subject!”
Rekka blinked.
“…I can?”
“Of course!”
Kyoko nodded.
“We’re helping each other, right?”
For a moment, Rekka looked genuinely surprised.
Then he grinned.
“…Yeah.”
Gokudera clicked his tongue.
“Hmph.
At least you’re useful for something.
“And you’re a sadist for explaining math like torture.”
Rekka immediately shot back.
“Who are you calling a sadist!?”
Gokudera popped a vein.
“Guys…”
Tsuna sighed deeply and calmed them down again.
He felt he was slowly regretting that he invited them….
Mutsumi quietly watched the chaotic scene before smiling softly to herself.
The once-small study group had become much louder.
Much stranger, but also much livelier than before.
Study sessions continued after that.
Sometimes at the peaceful library.
Sometimes at cafés.
Many things happened during that time, their bonds steadily deepening until prelim exam week finally arrived—
…and ended just as quickly.
Then the results came out.
Gokudera scored perfectly in every subject.
In the end, Rekka didn’t win the first part of the competition, but he passed everything for the first time in his life.
And even got a perfect score in history.
Rekka stared at his paper.
“I did it!”
Tsuna smiled brightly.
“Good job, Rekka!”
Gokudera crossed his arms proudly.
“You’re welcome.”
Honestly, Gokudera felt like he survived a war just teaching Rekka.
He had even smacked Rekka’s head several times out of frustration.
Rekka growled, but couldn’t stop grinning.
My pops is gonna love this!
It was his first time achieving something like this, so naturally he was excited.
Tsuna glanced at Gokudera’s papers.
“You’re really smart… Great job, Gokudera-kun.”
Gokudera beamed.
“Thank you, Judaime!
You also did well, achieving perfect scores in your subjects!”
Tsuna nodded as remembered the nights he nearly burned his hair out studying with Reborn.
Mutsumi and Kyoko soon arrived carrying their own papers.
“Hey, guys!”
Kyoko greeted cheerfully.
“Woah, you scored perfect scores too.”
Rekka stared at Mutsumi’s papers in astonishment.
“As expected of Judaime’s future—!”
Before Gokudera could finish, Tsuna immediately covered his mouth.
Mutsumi tilted her head curiously.
“What were you about to say?”
As Gokudera and Tsuna sweated, Rekka came to the rescue.
“Wow!
Although not all, you still got some perfect scores too, Kyoko!”
Rekka quickly interrupted, causing everyone else to congratulate her.
Kyoko giggled softly.
“Thanks!
Let’s keep working hard, guys!”
Now that the exam was over, it was finally time for the duo to fight it out.
…
Who’s your favorite guardian?
Extra chapters when we reach 500 pw!