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Sawada Tsunayoshi came online as a Sentinel at a very young age at betrayal by a parent, and he came online strong. Immediately he was dubbed ‘little Alpha’ by Namimori’s resident Sentinels and Guides, and was protected and loved by them with a ferocity only matched by his latent Sentinel mother. It was thanks to their protectiveness – and their respect for his mother, even latent as she was – that those outside Namimori were unaware of his status. All Sentinels and Guides who visited were immediately sworn to secrecy as to his existence, and the very few who refused to swear – those who were already corrupt and bordering on dormancy – were taken care of quietly and efficiently.
It was difficult for him, but nature provided for those children who came online young, and so while he did struggle with his heightened senses (and burgeoning empathy) – as all strong unbonded Sentinels did – he wasn’t in as much pain as an adult Sentinel would be.
Even so, for a six-year-old, zones, fugues, and sensory spikes were scary and (in the case of the last) painful. He longed for his Guide, for the person who would balance him, but he knew – he was intelligent for his age, his Sentinel status allowing nothing less – that he was unlikely to meet his Guide before at least puberty.
So Hibari Kyoya was both a surprise and a gift to the young Sentinel.
Hibari Kyoya was eight when he’d come online as a Guide. His mother’s uncle, Fon, had been visiting Namimori with his own Guide at the time, which had been to Kyoya’s great benefit. His great-uncle’s Guide, a hood-wearing person named Viper, had shielded Kyoya until he’d managed to form shields of his own. Viper had then taught Kyoya how to use (and not use) his abilities, and Kyoya had taken the lessons to heart.
He had also taken to shielding himself to tightly that mundanes did not feel at ease or relaxed around him, as was normal with online Guides, and Viper had reluctantly admitted that even they could not tell that Kyoya was an online Guide when his shields were at their highest levels.
It was hard, sometimes, to carry on as if he’d not come online – especially with the ache in his chest that was constant, and would only end when he found his Sentinel – but he stubbornly powered on through his training and schooling.
And then, not long after his ninth birthday, Hibari Kyoya met Sawada Tsunayoshi for the first time.
The first thought that crossed Kyoya’s mind when he laid eyes on tiny, fluffy-looking Sawada Tsunayoshi in person for the first time was a simple ‘mine!’
It was also the first word to leave his mouth, drawing his Sentinel’s attention straight to him even as the adults in the room turned and shared at him in shock and slight horror. He ignored them, for they did not know what he knew.
Sawada tilted his head, a slight frown starting to crease his forehead, and Kyoya allowed his shields to ease their guard just enough for his Guide status to be noticeable. Orange-brown eyes widened as the online adults reacted with murmurs and gasps at Kyoya’s power, even just the small taste of it evident through his shields, and then his tiny Sentinel was standing in front of him, staring up into his eyes intently.
“Guide,” Sawada said softly, tone satisfied and possessive and wondering all at once, and Kyoya inclined his head in a deep nod.
“Sentinel,” he greeted in turn, and as Sawada – no, not just Sawada, but Tsunayoshi – touched tiny fingers to his cheek, Kyoya’s eyes slid shut. A tentative, fledgling bond bloomed into being in his mind, and he breathed a near-silent sigh of relief as that bond satisfied the emptiness in his chest. The Sentinel-Longing he’d been experiencing since coming online was finally gone.
“My Guide,” Tsunayoshi reiterated, and when Kyoya opened his eyes there was a beatific smile on that small face. His lips twitched up just a little in response, and Tsunayoshi’s smile widened and brightened further. “I’m Tsuna!”
“Kyoya,” Kyoya introduced himself in turn, lifting his hand and twining his fingers with those of his Sentinel. “Hello, Tsuna.”
Both of them ignored the surprised and (in some cases, and in greater numbers as the minutes passed) pleased adults around them.
“Tsu-kun,” a woman who could only be Tsuna’s mother interrupted gently. Kyoya could sense the potential in her – potential that had come to the fore in her son. “Let’s go home. Your Guide can come with us, of course,” she added before either child could protest a possible separation. She then turned a smile on Kyoya’s mother, who Kyoya knew was about to protest – she had become very protective of him since he came online. “And you are, of course, welcome too, Hibari-san.”
“Kimiko, please, Sawada-san,” Hibari Kimiko responded graciously. “We are to be family, it seems.”
“Nana, then, Kimiko-san.” Sawada Nana smiled brightly. The two mothers ushered their children back to the Sawada residence, the two boys never letting go of each other’s hand.
Tsuna paid attention to nothing but his Guide while their mothers talked in the kitchen. He was curled up close to his Guide on the lone armchair in the Sawada residence’s Western-style family room, partially on Kyoya’s lap and held firmly in his arms. His nose was buried in Kyoya’s neck and his little fingers were wrapped tightly around one of the older boy’s wrists. He was imprinting his senses slowly on his Guide, taking in Kyoya’s scent, sound and touch. He’d already done what he could of sight, but was content to wait to do a complete sensory imprint. His bond with his Guide would remain slightly incomplete until they were both old enough to finish the sensory and empathic imprints, but the bond would be strong regardless – as long as they nurtured it.
“We will be strong together,” Kyoya murmured, pressing his forehead to Tsuna’s when the small Sentinel turned his head to look at him. Tsuna pressed back, fingers still around Kyoya’s wrist, able to feel every beat of his pulse. He would be able to find Kyoya anywhere within the range of his senses, just from the sound of his heart. He’d never be lonely again. “I will protect you until you can do so yourself, and then we will protect each other and the tribe.”
“Yes,” Tsuna agreed softly. Something began to stir in his chest, something that felt ancient and primal but so very right. “We will protect our own. It is our purpose.” Kyoya smiled, the expression sharp and dangerous in a way more common to Sentinels than Guides, and Tsuna smiled right back in the exact same manner.
Had any been close enough to see, they would have been startled by the feral nature of the boys’ smiles.
“Just stay by my side, my Guide.”
“Always, my Sentinel.”
When Reborn came to Namimori eight years later, he was not prepared for what would greet him.