Yamamoto Takeshi was a first-year student known for being popular across the entire school.
His effortless athleticism and bright personality made him loved by everyone—a complete opposite of Tsuna’s infamous reputation.
Basketball players wanted him to join their team, the soccer team often asked for his help, and the baseball club practically worshipped him.
Guys admired him, girls blushed around him, and even teachers praised him for his cheerful nature.
But despite all that attention, there was one thing Yamamoto loved above everything else.
A sport that always awakened something deep within him, one that constantly make his blood rush with excitement.
Kendo.
The first time he held a real katana as a child, something sparked inside him.
The weight, the balance, and the feeling of gripping the sword—It all felt strangely natural.
Even as a child, Yamamoto felt alive with a katana in his hands.
Under the insistence of a mischievous kendo instructor, who had made a bet with another teacher about whose student would become stronger in kendo, Yamamoto trained relentlessly.
Day and night, he swung his blade over and over again, perfecting his strikes.
Until eventually, he won the bet for his instructor, defeating the rival student with a single decisive strike.
From then on, kendo became more than a hobby.
It became part of his identity.
However, things slowly changed.
Recently, no matter how much practice he put in, no matter how many hours he devoted, his progress had completely stalled.
His performance never improved.
Instead, it worsened.
Frustration gradually gnawed at him, rattling his nerves.
Distractions piled up until his strikes lost their sharpness.
When he thought there was no way out of the sinking swamp of his slump, a scene suddenly burned itself into his mind.
Tsuna’s final strike.
That powerful, unwavering thrust he performed at the end of the duel with Mochida, the Kendo Club President.
In Yamamoto’s eyes, it was the most perfect strike imaginable, filled with resolve that lacked even the slightest hesitation.
He couldn’t stop thinking about it.
It felt like the key to breaking through the invisible wall he’d been trapped behind.
Maybe… I should just ask that guy myself.
Like someone finally finding a light within darkness, Yamamoto made his decision.
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Later that day, Tsuna was heading to the gym when he heard a cheerful voice behind him.
“Yo, Tsuna!”
Tsuna turned around.
It was the boy he saw during the kendo incident.
“The guy from before who handed me the shinai…”
Tsuna recalled him immediately.
He was hard to forget.
If I remember correctly… he’s Yamamoto from the next class.
An all-around athlete and as popular as anyone could possibly be.
“I’m glad you remember me!”
Yamamoto said with a bright grin.
“?”
Tsuna tilted his head.
Why did he make it sound like I was some kind of celebrity?
“Aren’t you famous?”
Tsuna widened his eyes.
“When!?”
Yamamoto laughed before continuing casually.
“Your fight with the Kendo Club President, and all the other stuffs you did—Man, you’re already on my watchlist!”
Tsuna started sweating.
What are people saying about me behind my back…?
“In comparison…”
Yamamoto scratched the back of his head.
“I just play kendo.
It’s all I’ve got.”
Tsuna immediately shook his head.
“I heard you’re amazing at kendo and really popular too.
There’s no need to compare yourself to me.”
Yamamoto let out a short laugh.
“About that…
You see, things are not going well lately.
No matter how much I practice, I’m not improving at all.
In fact, I’m actually getting worse.
At this rate, I can’t win the regional tournament coming soon.”
He paused before looking at Tsuna seriously.
“Tsuna, what should I do?”
“Me…?”
Tsuna was baffled.
We barely know each other.
Why would he ask me for advice?
Yamamoto suddenly brightened.
“Relax, I’m kidding!
Mostly.”
Then his expression softened.
“It’s just… your final strike was so beautiful and powerful.
I can’t forget it.
I keep replaying it in my mind.”
Tsuna fell silent, thinking carefully.
What exactly did I do back then?
What pushed me that far?
“When I performed that strike…”
Tsuna spoke slowly while recalling that moment.
“I remembered my resolve.
To do things even if it kills you rather than regret never trying.”
A vivid emotion surfaced in his mind.
“At that time, I was thinking that no matter what happened, I would definitely make Mochida apologize to Mutsumi.”
Yamamoto’s eyes widened.
“I see!
Then I’m gonna practice like hell today until I die!”
He said energetically.
“Thank you, Tsuna!”
Then he sprinted off, leaving Tsuna blinking in confusion.
That was my first time giving advice… I hope I did okay…
Still, something warmed his chest.
Giving advice… felt strangely good.
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That night, Tsuna continued studying the history of the Vongola Family under Reborn.
Today’s topic was the history of the Third Vongola Boss—Vongola Terzo. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“The Second Sword Emperor of Vongola.”
Sword Emperor.
This was a title given to those who excelled in swordsmanship above all others.
It originally began with Vongola Primo’s Rain Guardian, Ugetsu, before eventually being succeeded by Vongola Terzo.
He was a man once mocked for being unable to properly use Sky Flame.
Instead of giving up, he traveled all the way to Ugetsu’s homeland, Japan, and trained relentlessly until he became an unparalleled swordsman.
His greatest feat was merging his swordsmanship with Sky Flames before eventually inheriting the position of boss.
After finishing the lesson, Reborn noticed Tsuna looked unusually pleased today.
“Why do you look so happy?”
“I gave someone advice today,”
Tsuna admitted with an embarrassed smile.
“I’ve never really done that before.
I think we might actually become friends.”
“Ah.
Yamamoto.”
Reborn answered without hesitation.
“How did you know?”
Tsuna was bewildered.
Did Reborn read my mind again…?
Reborn merely smirked.
“Perfect timing.
I have your next task which is to expand your family.
You must have your own six guardians before formally entering the Vongola.”
“Guardians…”
Of course, Tsuna understood what Reborn meant.
Guardians, in simple terms, were the followers who served the mafia boss and protected their family, each position corresponding to one of the seven types of the Dying Will Flames excluding Sky Flame.
Reborn gave him Leon in his scanner form.
“I’ll lend you Leon so you can see a person’s wave energy attribute.”
Tsuna tried them on Reborn but saw nothing at all.
“I blocked any leakage of wave energy from me.
Of course, you can’t see anything.”
“Oh…”
Tsuna was slightly disappointed.
“In your family, you already have Gokudera as your Storm Guardian.
Now you just have to fill the remaining vacant positions and then gather other talented individuals as your family.
Rekka can be considered family, but not a guardian.”
As for why Reborn didn’t consider Rekka a guardian, it was because of the ninja boy’s fire superpower.
Rekka’s Wave Attribute didn’t correspond to any type of Dying Will Flame.
In this situation, it was likely because Rekka’s flames were already considered a special variant of Dying Will Flames.
Reborn then showed Tsuna a picture.
“Your next potential member for the Rain Guardian is Yamamoto Takeshi.
He possesses a Rain Wave Attribute, so you can consider him.”
“No!
How many times do I have to repeat that I don’t plan to!”
Tsuna decisively handed Leon back.
“Even if I did… I wouldn’t force or trick someone innocent into joining me.”
Reborn didn’t argue.
He simply smiled as though he already knew the future.
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The next morning.
“HEY EVERYONE!!”
A boy suddenly burst into the classroom, gasping for breath.
“Yamamoto is about to jump off the roof!!”
“Takeshi!?”
“What?!
There’s no way someone as cheerful as him—”
“If this is a joke, it’s not funny!”
“It’s not!”
The boy cried desperately.
“He stayed extremely late last night practicing… and broke his wrist!
He can’t participate in the upcoming tournament anymore!”
Tsuna froze, his eyes widening in horror.
He was fine yesterday, so why now…?
Then he remembered the advice he gave him.
No… No way.
Don’t tell me this is my fault!
“Go to the rooftop.”
As Tsuna’s mind shook with panic, Reborn appeared on the wall after dropping Leon’s camouflage.
“Reborn!?”
Tsuna snapped out of his panic.
“If advices alone could help, then the world would’ve already became a better place.”
Reborn simply explained.
“Sometimes, advise alone isn’t enough to solve the core issue, but you can still help them.
There are times when you have to be just there for them during their worst moments.”
“I-I see…”
Tsuna nodded with understanding.
Without wasting another second, he sprinted out of the classroom.
“Time for your next lesson, Tsuna.
Save Yamamoto on your own.
Remember—you’re the next Vongola Sky.”
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The rooftop was already chaotic when Tsuna arrived.
“Yamamoto!!
That’s not funny!”
“You always take things too far, but this time is really too far!”
Several classmates shouted in panic, but Yamamoto didn’t react to any of them.
He sat on the ledge, his wrist wrapped in bandages while his hair moved with the wind.
When he finally spoke, his voice sounded hollow.
“After the God of Kendo abandoned me… I have nothing left.”
Tsuna felt a squeeze in his chest.
Yamamoto continued quietly, almost whispering into the wind.
“I trained until I thought I’d die… and what did I get?
Just failure… and this stupid broken wrist.”
He laughed bitterly.
“At this rate… I can’t enter the regional tournament that’s approaching soon.
Much less the national.
I’ve really disappointed so many people.”
He said sorrowfully.
And now even that’s slipping away.”
“Yamamoto…”
Tsuna carefully stepped forward, but Yamamoto shut his eyes.
“It’s pathetic, isn’t it?
After seeing your strike, I thought maybe… maybe I finally found the answer.”
He tightly gripped the broken fence beside him.
“But even when I practiced until my ligament tore… it never felt even close.”
Tsuna’s heart sank heavily.
More students gathered nearby, helplessly watching.
“Yamamoto, stop!”
“This isn’t like you!”
“You’re the cheerful guy!
The guy who always encourages everyone!”
Yamamoto slowly shook his head.
“That’s the problem.
I kept pretending I was fine.
I kept smiling.
But inside… I’ve been stuck for so long.”
His voice trembled.
“I didn’t know what else to do except break myself trying.”
Then he looked directly at Tsuna.
“You should understand, right?
The feeling of preparing to die to achieve what you want rather than regret failing and disappointing the one thing you truly love?”
Tsuna’s breath caught.
Yamamoto stood up, causing the old fence to creak beneath his weight.
“Takeshi!”
“Yamamoto, don’t do it!”
“STOP!!”
Tsuna stepped forward, his voice trembling.
“Yamamoto, listen to me!
We can talk about this!
Just… please step down first!”
Yamamoto laughed weakly.
“If even the thing I dedicated my entire life to doesn’t want me anymore… then what’s left of me?”
Tsuna desperately shook his head.
“Don’t say that!
You can keep trying again no matter how many times it takes!”
“But I can’t do it anymore!”
Yamamoto shouted back, his voice finally cracking.
“I keep swinging, and swinging, and swinging—and nothing changes…!”
Tsuna froze.
The air suddenly felt painfully sharp.
“…Maybe this is the only time I’ll ever have the courage to admit I’m a failure.”
Tsuna stepped closer.
“Yamamoto—”
CRACK.
Yamamoto blinked frozen.
“YAMAMOTO!!”
The old rusted fence suddenly snapped.
The world tilted beneath Yamamoto as his body slipped over the edge—
But before he could fall, a hand seized his remaining non-injured hand.
Tsuna caught him.
Barely.
His own body hung halfway over the rooftop edge.
The surrounding students froze in horror while Reborn silently watched from the shadows.
“TSUNA!!”
“DON’T DO IT!”
“YOU’LL BOTH FALL!!”
The broken fence tangled around Yamamoto’s legs while his full weight dragged downward.
Tsuna’s arm violently trembled from the physical strain.
“Let go!”
Yamamoto gasped desperately.
“If you don’t… you’ll die too!”
“I won’t let go!”
Tsuna gritted his teeth and refused.
“I’d rather die than watch you die because of my advice!”
His voice cracked with raw desperation.
Yamamoto stared at him in shock.
Tsuna wasn’t bluffing.
“Do you think your life is worth so little?!
Do you think that strike you admired was about being perfect?!”
Yamamoto’s breath hitched.
“That strike wasn’t born from talent or hard work!
Hell, that was my first time holding a sword!”
Tsuna tightened his grip further despite the pain tearing through his arm.
“I spent my entire life as a failure… No matter how badly I wanted to change, I couldn’t find the confidence…
But after meeting various people… I finally found the strength to move forward!”
Tsuna’s legs slipped further against the rooftop edge.
“That strike you admire so much…!
It came from everything I had because of them!
Everything I resolved to change because I was weak and tired of being helpless!”
Even then, he never loosened his grip.
“It was my DYING WILL!
The will of someone who accepted his weakness and failures… and still put everything he had into moving forward anyway, even if it killed him both body and mind.”
Yamamoto’s eyes widened violently.
“That’s what you couldn’t imitate!”
Tsuna shouted, tears forming in his eyes from the strain.
“Not the form!
Not the strength!”
Yamamoto’s chest tightened painfully.
“But the resolve to keep moving forward—even when you break, even when you lose, even when everything hurts and all things feel hopeless!”
Tsuna roared.
“So don’t you dare throw your life away over failure!
If you fall now—then tomorrow’s gonna feel more worse than your failure!
Think of how your family and friends will feel if you give it all up here!”
Yamamoto’s vision blurred.
His breath caught in his throat.
Something inside him—something suffocating and tightly clenched for so long—suddenly shattered open.
“Tsuna… you…”
His voice cracked.
“…So that’s what your strike really was…”
A strike filled with the will to live.
The will to push forward at any cost for the sake of the people who gave him strength.
With renewed determination, Yamamoto kicked away the broken fence tangled around his legs.
“I’m not letting you go either!”
With a roar, Tsuna used every ounce of strength built from calisthenics and pulled Yamamoto back onto the rooftop.
For a moment, Yamamoto simply stared at Tsuna.
Truly seeing him for the first time.
Then, with a shaky smile—
“Thanks… Tsuna.”
And for the first time in a very long while, Yamamoto felt alive again.
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In the Manga, Yamamoto’s introduction chapter did start with him trying to commit suicide.
Also, I know some of you will not like he’s not the Baseball Freak Yamamoto, but just like I said, this is an AU and this change is related to the background I added to him which is connected to another series.
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