15. Lambo

I was doing stretches in my room. Currently in a split, I was writing down ideas for my next live show on my journal.

Then, something just came crashing in through my room window. The object, which happened to be a child with an afro wearing a cow jumpsuit, landed on my bed and started bawling.

"Huh?" was the only thing I could say. By luck, the girls had gone out with Dad to do the groceries, so no one's around to charge up the stairs thinking something bad happened. Glass shards were all over the bed, thankfully, I don't think it burst to anywhere else. Lambo was rolling around the bed crying.

"Wait, that's dangerous!" I realized.

I jumped up and scooped the cow child up from the bed, although he was still crying and bawling with snot, and held him close. Thankfully, he's not struggling.

"Who are you?" he asked me, teary-eyed.

I chuckled, "I'm Rei." I said, "Who are you?" I asked, putting him down on the table and wiped his face with a tissue. "What happened to you?"

"Reborn the bastard," Lambo sniffled, trying not to cry anymore, "Threw my grenade back at me and-" he sniffled again, "I got blown away."

"That sounds terrible," I tell him, sweeping up the larger pieces into the trash bin and gathering the smaller shards with a lint roller, "But thankfully, you seem unharmed." Throwing all the glass away, I turned back to the cow child and brushed his head, giving him a smile.

At that, he stopped crying and grinned widely. "Of course! I'm the Great Lambo-sama, after all!"

Now, I gotta clean up the leftover glass shards from my blanket.

-----

"And then... tadaa! It's gone!" I said dramatically. I was showing the child some amateur tricks, making a ball appear in my hand and disappear. He was absolutely fascinated, his eyes sparkling with interest as he kept asking me to show him more tricks.

I chuckled. I stood up and reached for the deck of poker cards, reaching for my phone while I was at it. I should take this chance to contact Tsuna about Lambo being in my house...

"Hey, what's this book?" I heard Lambo speak up.

I turn over quickly. When did he get on the table? He was reaching for the books I stack up at the side of my desk, and his hand had landed on one particular journal. A dark green, leather-covered journal. I snatch it away from him instantly.

He looked over, surprised. Oops. Too sudden, maybe.

I forced out a smile. "Sorry, Lambo-kun!" I try, "This book is a secret! Lambo-kun, you have secrets too, right? This is mine." I gave an excuse.

"Oh, I see!" Lambo seemed understanding enough.

"Anyway," I put the book back where it belonged, showing Lambo the deck of cards. "I'll show you something really cool with these cards!"

That got Lambo interested again, and the book was thrown out of his range of interests.

The book, where I'd written down precise details of the KHR World and its happenings. It was basically a fanfiction- no, it was basically an attempt at rewriting the whole anime in novel form. It was a summary of what I could remember from the plot, so I could keep track of the events happening.

If anyone in this world saw it, it'd be trouble.

-----

"We're home!" Sae declared upon entering.

Lambo at my shoulders, I greeted them back. "Welcome home!" I say, "Perfect timing, I gotta head out for a bit." I say, slipping on my shoes.

"Eh? Where are you headed, Rei?" Dad asked me, "Oh, there's a new kid this time-?"

"Yeah, he's Lambo. I gotta drop him back home." I explained, "And uh, the window in my room broke." I chuckle slightly, "Sorry."

"Huh? Wait, you broke a window?"

"Rei-chan!" Sae's voice came from the kitchen, "Sui's making stew tonight!"

"Beef stew." Sui added.

"Yay!" I cheer slightly. Sui's a great cook. And my favourite of her dishes has to be her beef stew because- it's godly. You wouldn't think a twelve-year-old made it! "I'll make it home in time, I swear." I tell them.

"Huh? Stew? Lambo wants!" the cow child declared excitedly.

"No Lambo, your Maman will get worried!" I reprimand him, "Wouldn't you rather go home to Sawada Maman?"

"Maman...?" Lambo asked me, obviously noticing something off about what I said, "Hey, Rei, How did you know Maman? I never told you I'm from Dame-Tsuna's house."

Urk. Oops, I messed up. I underestimated his intelligence level. Oh well- I thought- let's just go with the flow. I simply grinned at the cow child.

"It's a Magician's Secret!" I say.

-----

"Hey, Lambo, why are you in the Mafia?" I decided to ask him.

"Eh? Rei, you know about the Mafia?" Lambo asked, sucking on the lollipop I just bought him, "How?"

"Well, I just do." I say. "So, why are you in the Mafia, Lambo?"

Lambo, the oblivious child he was, didn't seem bothered at all by the strangeness of the situation. It was nighttime and there were no people around, so I guessed it'd be free of eavesdroppers, too.

"I just am," he responded, "Hey, Rei, are you in the Mafia too?"

He just is. He was born into it, perhaps? I wonder how differently a Mafioso from birth lives. Lambo seemed abnormal enough, carrying grenades and weapons in his hair. I kept a smile on my face the whole time I spoke to him. "I'm not in the Mafia." I say.

"Then, you can be Lambo-san's subordinate!" he declared, "You can work under Lambo-san!"

I chuckle. How adorable. "Sure," I say, "Please take care of me, Lambo-san!"

-----

I pressed the doorbell on the Sawada Household.

The door was answered by none other than Sawada Nana, who had a smile on her face in surprise. "My, aren't you the son of the Ninomiyas?"

I blushed slightly. Here it is. "I-" I spoke up, "Yes, I'm Ninomiya Rei." I introduced myself, "I'm sorry for interrupting your night, but-"

"Maman!" Lambo jumped out of my arms and towards the woman.

"My, Lambo-kun!" she realized, "Did you bring Lambo-kun home? Thanks so much, Rei-kun!" she walked up to me and took my hands in gratitude, "That's it, why don't you stay for dinner?"

Inside, I saw Tsuna and Bianchi and Reborn, all peeking in at me from where I think the kitchen is. They had dinner prepared, I see.

I shook my head, "I'm really sorry, Sawada-san. My father and sisters are waiting for me at home for dinner." I say. "My apologies, but maybe I'll take up the offer another day." I bowed in apology, "I'm really thankful for the invitation."

"Wow, you're so polite!" Nana seemed flattered, "Then, you better hurry on home, shouldn't you?" she smiled.

-----

That night, I opened the green journal. I sat down on my chair and flipped through the book, going through each chapter one by one.

There was a page of contents before each 'arc', and the contents listed the chapters one by one, by name and event.

For the 'Daily Life Arc', three titles had been ticked off.

Reborn's appearance and Sawada's Confession,

Gokudera Hayato,

Yamamoto Takeshi's suicide attempt.

I picked up the pen, and ticked off two more titles.

Bovino Lambo.

Poison Scorpion Bianchi.

And now, according to the book, the next character to appear is-- I sighed. There's still a long, long way to go. But at the very least, it's begun.

I closed the book and put it back. The window in my room was sealed temporarily with some clothwork, but a light breeze blew in.

I jumped and reached for the horizontal bar at the ceiling of my room. It was actually a curtain, and it acted as a divider. I lifted myself upwards, doing pull-ups with the pole. It was far enough from the ceiling for me to pull my head above it without hitting the ceiling.

I flipped around and hung on it with my legs as a hook.

I crossed my arms.

"I might need more training."