Trial Of Yoshimune

Chapter 27 The Shrine

None of Yoshimune's children called him other than father, his eldest Rai called him father, his second oldest called him father and his youngest called him father. It wasn't because he'd asked them to, it just was their natural reaction to him, to use the formal word to address him rather than informal.

However, when his people spoke to his children, they didn't use his name nor title, they used even older word for a father, sire. And that was something each of the younger children had been having problems with. It was also the reason why Shouto had sat Tsunayoshi down behind the shrine's building to have a talk. The younger teen was now nervously fiddling with a tiny flower in his hands, a dandelion if he wasn't mistaken, trying his best to not scream nor be too scared of the older teen with a stern look in his eyes.

Shouto was.... A lot like Hibari, if you asked from Tsuna, but he was also very different from Hibari. The teen with heterochromic eyes was a lot softer and forgiving than his raven replica, he also was a bit more open once you got past his seemingly expressionless face and learned to read him.

Shouto smiled rarely, or that's what Tsuna had thought before he'd happened to look, properly look, into those brown and blue eyes. His eyes were the place of his emotions, not his mouth area, and Shouto was amused easily. However he was very strict person, just like Hibari, and disliked slackers with passion. Even more he despised those who failed others knowingly and betrayed the family. He was also very, very, traditional person when you thought about it. But then again... He was raised by spirits who have been present since the time began.

In the twilight of the day break, a large group of people arrived at the base of the stair.

Reborn looked up at the end of the stairs, those red painted stairs that led to the shrine of Namimori, the home of the yokai. He hadn't realised before how steep the stairs were nor how long way it was up. Nana took a wobbly step forward, her face drained from life and happiness altogether, she was holding Lambo on her arms, the toddler staring forward with determined look in his vivid green eyes. Iemitsu stood next to his wife, grimmer than Hades bound to his throne of the damned. This honestly wasn't that much of a surprise as the man had spend decades to get to the point where he was now and several years to get his son to the heir seat.

"Let's get Tsu back", the woman mumbles and the tiny family moves forward. Step after step, they move up the stairs, the shape of the shrine looking over them.

The Vongola follows after, Tsuna's friends following closely behind and the Varia, and Ninth generation, close behind them.

The elders of the Famiglia, who had arrived to Namimori the previous morning, looked around them as the steps they took carried them higher. Brau Nie looked up at the top, his vision showing him a figure that was observing them. He pointed the creature to his fellow Guardians and Sky, who looked up in unison. A large wolf with glowing eyes stared at them, only them, making sure that they saw what it was doing.

Slowly, as if to let them exclusively see it, the wolf started to change its form. It was painful to watch, its limbs stretching and turning, the sound of bones cracking and plopping out of their sockets. Timoteo didn't know, didn't dare to question, how he was able to hear it. In place of the wolf with glowing eyes stood a man in clothes from the feudal era. The red haired man stared at them with cold eyes, the kimono flowing in the wind as the material it was made from was light.

The elder man had a sudden bad feeling which prompted him to look onto his right and.... Was that a curtain? With a face? Flying next to him?

He stared at the curtain, which stared right back at him.
"You have to climb all the way up, mortal", it whispered to him before flying away. The Don glanced again to the staircase, but was forced to stop as he realised what the sinking feeling in his stomach was. Other than his digestive system that is. Jesus, he really shouldn't have had that thing for dinner.