Chapter 17

He's sure he hasn't touched his necklace at all in her presence, so she shouldn't have known, like Renato and Fong. Mona-san is not as powerful as Kawahira-san. It almost laughable to think of them on the same level so she really shouldn't unless—

Unless Kawahira-san wants her to know.

Important, his intuition repeats and Tsuna tries to understand it better. Her cloak is a clue of her ties with the future Arcobaleno and he gets she's important, yes. But… he doesn't know-how. Rescue the Arcobaleno from their fate is his mission. That is why he's in the past, but he doesn't know how to do it. He doesn't know what he needs to do to accomplish it. Kawahira-san only said to keep his goal at the forefront of his mind. To wake up remembering it and sleep with it as his last thought. Then his intuition will see the importance it holds on him and guide him to make it a reality.

Tsuna is very afraid and uncertain of what the future will hold. He never knows if his actions are right or not, even with his intuition. But…

That's what everyone feels, isn't it?

She's important, he reminds himself and with a shaky breath, he brushes the metallic side of his necklace until the scales soften. Now visible for everyone to see, she slithers across his chest until her body rests on the table, bright orange and black scales glinting the colors of the rainbow thanks to the sunlight seeping across the windows.

"This is Mamoru," Tsuna says with a faint smile. "She is my familiar."

Nothing but her lips are visible, but Tsuna can still sense her wonder under the cloak as one of her hands moves to meet his familiar. Mamoru is not shy even in her small form. She lifts her head as high as she can, body protectively in front of him as her yellow eyes inspect Mona-san, not flinching away from the fingers hovering close. Not even when they brush the top of her head.

But she doesn't subdue at the face of her curiosity either. Like the wings of a firefly, thin, small feathers tightly pressed under her scales lift from the base of her neck to the tip of her tail, bristling in a clear warning. Mona-san stops her fingers from trailing any lower, their eyes still locked.

As if enraptured, Mona-san draws her hand back at a safe distance and lights it with Mist flames, seemingly on a whim. And in a move Tsuna is honestly surprised at, Mamoru launches forward, stretching the upper part of her body until the flame-covered-fist can fit inside her mouth.

It takes him a couple of seconds to process this, but when it does, he's already leaving his chair, hands hovering around the elongated head.

"Mamoru, stop! Bad! That's—That's bad! You can't eat it!" With panic fueling his thoughts, Tsuna grabs the middle of her body and pulls. "Leave that hand, I said!"

It only takes two pulls, not strong enough to hurt her, but enough to let her know how displeased he is. In the third, he falls on his ass, Mamoru safely and small on his chest.

As if blinking out of her stupor, Mona-san shakes her head. Her hand unconsciously clenching before she moves in close to inspect it.

"Your familiar tried to eat my hand."

Tsuna is pretty sure Mamoru hypnotized her or something like that, so he doesn't know if he should agree or not. She's most likely fishing, so in his most incredulous tone, he asks, "Did she, really?"

Mona-san lifts her head. She shows her hand, which is slightly bloody. Tsuna can almost feel her glare. "I've got the bite marks."

There's a long silence before Mamoru slithers across his body. This time she doesn't go to his neck, preferring to curl around his wrist. It takes less than a second for her skin to harden. Then the familiar sensation of metal against his skin is back and he now has a bracelet.

He looks up. "She's not venomous, I swear."

Or that's what he hopes. Though he's also sure that she can be venomous if she wants.

Understandably, Mona-san doesn't seem to believe him. She flicks her fingers, flames once again covering her hand. Then they're gone along the blood.

"I've never heard of a being like this one," she says, with a smile that reminds him of Mukuro. "How did you get it?"

Tsuna spares a glare to his bracelet before his gaze returns to the hooded figure. He stands up, thinking in ways he can manage to deny her answers without gaining an enemy he knows he will need in the future. He doesn't sit, though he's still hungry, choosing to grip the back of the chair instead.

Reborn always told him the better lies are the ones that hold some truth in them, so—"A friend gave her to me."

"The same friend who delivered our food?"

His whole posture slumps and he can't help but give her a weak smile as he scratches a cheek. "Um. No?"

"Right," she says, dry as a desert. "I want one."

Tsuna jerks his head back. "Wha—No! I can't just. I mean, I don't have—"

"I want one," she repeats, stopping his rambling. Her tone isn't immature or one of arrogance. She does seem like someone used to get what she wants and do anything to obtain it, but it's one he's familiar with. And the familiarity of her poise eases some of his alarm. He actually should be lucky she doesn't seem to be as sadistic or crazy as Reborn was with his own self-assurance.

He goes back to his seat.

"I don't know how," he says with as much honesty he can. "I can ask, but the only ones I've seen with one have been… Their lives weren't the best and let's leave it at that."

She hums, clearly thoughtful. The strange dip of her upper lip making the line of her frown almost endearing. It doesn't last long before the curve returns to a flat line and she pushes the newspaper in his direction once again.

"Let's work on what we can currently deal with, Natsu."

Tsuna shakes his head. "I only use Natsu for my jobs with civilians."

"What should I call you then?"

"I—You can call me Ozora," he says, ignoring her condescending tilt of the head. "What about you? I don't think your name is Mona."

"You can use that name if you wish. I don't care."

"Oh." He sighs, glancing down at his plate, always warm. When he looks back, his face is slightly flushed and he can't seem to find what to do with his hands. "I know this might offend you, but can you tell me what your gender is?"

There's a silence that seems to last forever in which the blood on his face increases and the smirk on Mona-san doesn't waver.

"I—I mean, are you female or male?"

"I'm great," Mona-san says, attention returning back to the paper. And that's that. He tries poking at his intuition but it only gives him a disinterested feeling. He doesn't know if his intuition is the one not interested or if Mona-san is the one who doesn't care.

Tsuna will refer to Mona-san as a 'she' inside his mind for the time being until she gives signs of caring. Though something tells him that it'll be more accurate using a more neutral term, it's honestly less confusing that way.

"So how do we start?" he says, trying to sound cheerful and likely coming off as resigned.

She taps the paper with a finger. "You let me know what your intuition tells you and I make sure to not destroy the economy."

Tsuna suddenly wishes Renato and Fong were in his apartment. At least, he's used to their antics and they haven't tried to outright manipulate him for money yet. Food and drinks don't count.