I am the protagonist

Kyoko had already anticipated that her brother might feel embarrassed, and in order to avoid making him feel awkward, she gave him some time to prepare himself. Unless her brother brought it up himself, she would continue to pretend she didn't know anything.

Chapter 260 Girls' feelings are really complicated

Kyoko and Koharu returned home.

"what……"

After completely relaxing, Xiaochun collapsed onto the sofa.

"Tsuna-san is going to face another dangerous battle. Ah, I wish Tsuna-san didn't always have to face those kinds of situations."

"That's what I thought too, but it's just a thought."

Kyoko had long since given up on this unrealistic idea. Although she felt the same way as Koharu, she knew how difficult it was to achieve this wish.

"Tsuna has a lot of things to deal with, just like when he succeeded to the position of Vongola X ten years ago."

"He took office earlier now than he did ten years ago, and I think Xiao Gang will have to deal with some things he can't avoid."

"Yes."

Koharu can understand Tsuna's current situation. He succeeded to the position of Vongola X several years ahead of schedule, so there must be many things he couldn't avoid.

"If Mr. Tsuna hadn't succeeded to the position of Vongola X a few years earlier, he would probably have been taken directly to Italy for further studies, just like he was back then."

This period is actually quite different from what it was back then, but this difference is probably directly related to age. If I were older, it might have turned into the same situation as back then.

"It seems that those things broke out not long after Xiaogang went to Italy for further studies. At that time, our situation was also very bad."

The incident didn't cause a huge uproar at the time, but Kyoko remembered that they had already started to travel east and west, and even left on the night of the incident, heading to Italy for refuge.

"Yes, it was indeed very bad, but we don't have to worry about it now."

Now that Byakuran and Gesso's matter has been resolved, it's unlikely that a situation like the one back then will occur again. Koharu believes that with Tsuna-sensei around, no more uncontrollable things will happen.

"However, troublesome things keep popping up one after another. Tsuna probably hasn't told us about what happened with Kori and the others yet; he probably thinks we don't know about these things."

"Tsuna probably thinks we don't know anything. From the beginning, Tsuna never intended for us to have too much contact with that world."

"Ah."

Kyoko was well aware of Tsuna's attitude. She had been treated this way once before, so why would she act foolishly this time?

Kyoko believed that if the incident involving Byakuran and Gesso hadn't caused such a stir, Tsuna might have kept everything from them, no matter what happened, and wouldn't have let them know about the battle.

"We should just protect ourselves as before. Now, many things won't involve us, so what we need to do is not make Xiaogang worry too much about us."

"Hmm... I really hope that Mr. Tsuna can rely on us a little."

"Yes, I really want to help Tsuna with something in this regard, but if we get involved, Tsuna will definitely worry about us."

Koharu understood this as well. She knew that Mr. Tsuna would definitely be worried about them, and if he was worried about them at a crucial moment, it might cause even more trouble.

"It seems that even after ten years, there hasn't been much change in what we can do now."

“In this respect, Chrome is completely different from us.”

Only at this moment do Kyoko and Haru feel a special envy for Chrome.

Meanwhile, Chrome, whom everyone envies, is currently resting on Tsuna's lap.

Tsuna had long been used to Chrome's lifestyle, and the frequency with which the child would act spoiled towards him was gradually increasing. Resting on his lap like this was already a regular occurrence.

Perhaps it's because he's been spending more time with girls lately, but Tsuna is now starting to accept Chrome's affection for him.

You can even watch the child rest and help her tidy her slightly messy hair.

"You're up earlier than usual today. Is it because you're feeling uneasy about what I said before?"

"No, Boss."

"I have no interest in what the world becomes; being by Boss's side is enough for me."

"Just a little bit jealous."

Jealousy? Kyoko and Koharu?

"Ah."

Chrome was actually very jealous of Kyoko and Koharu. Perhaps they couldn't always stay by the Boss's side, but she could already sense how close those two were to the Boss.

Chrome had always thought that she was closest to the Boss, but today, seeing the Boss holding the hands of Kyoko and Koharu, she realized that she wasn't the closest person to him.

Even as a girl, Chrome gets jealous.

Perhaps she isn't overly jealous, but she's still a girl who gets jealous.

Especially when she sees the Boss walking with other girls, she still feels a little uncomfortable.

[The Boss and Miss Xiaochun held hands today.]

"Boss, I want to hold hands too."

"???"

Tsuna really didn't understand Chrome's thinking. She was sleeping on his lap, so why was she thinking about holding hands?

Is it because I held hands with Kyoko and Koharu?

Chrome reacts quite strongly in this regard.

After thinking for a moment, he reached out and grabbed Chrome's hand.

"Is this okay?"

"Ah."

The dependency is getting worse; what used to be dependence now seems to have gradually turned into infatuation.

[It's not simply a romantic issue; it's more like the feelings of a younger sister who doesn't want her brother to leave her side and doesn't want him to be taken away by another woman.]

Although this explanation feels a bit strange, from Tsuna's perspective, Chrome has always been like his little sister. Chrome, as his little sister, dislikes other girls who get close to him, just like every little sister would reject girls who get close to her brother.

Tsuna didn't realize that Chrome's feelings for him seemed to have evolved into romantic feelings, just like Kyoko and Haru's feelings for him were the same.

But knowing is one thing, the question is, how should we face it after knowing?

How can he think about other people's affairs when he can't even handle things for Arya and Yuni?

【Hey……】

Girls' feelings are really hard to understand.

When it comes to matters of the heart, Tsuna has always maintained an ambiguous attitude. Unless absolutely necessary, he tends to delay, allowing himself to understand the situation before considering accepting the feelings of these girls.

Chapter 261 The Reward Chrome Wants

"Very good, the ability to remain calm has been explored to its fullest extent."

In less than a week, Chrome's strength once again increased to a level that Tsuna couldn't even imagine.

Not only was the construction perfected, but the tranquility was also at its peak at this moment.

[The pinnacle of Rain Flame's power.]

[To have pushed the power of calmness to its absolute limit to this extent, Chrome's talent clearly lies not in illusion magic, but in Rain Flame.]

During this week, Tsuna saw Chrome's unusual progress and became even more certain that Chrome's true talent was Rain Flame, while Mist Flame was just a branch that Rokudo Mukuro had guided her to.

But that's not the point.

The current focus is that Chrome has already perfected both Construct and Shock abilities.

The realm of illusion has reached its pinnacle, and the calming effect can further enhance Chrome's dominance in the field of illusion.

[Instead of focusing on materializing illusions, she honed them to their ultimate form... Perhaps illusions are the truly suitable method for Chrome.]

The Rain of Flames became merely a backdrop for illusion.

Well, this also makes up for the child's physical deficiencies.

Girls' physical abilities are inherently different from boys'. While this difference might be narrowed in battle by the Death Flame, physical ability remains a significant disadvantage—an undeniable fact.

By focusing all his abilities on illusions and using the power of Rain Flame as an aid, this combination can elevate Chrome's past illusions to a whole new level.

"Boss, the reward."

Tsuna was taken aback. This was a condition that had already been agreed upon: if Chrome could make significant progress within a week, she would receive a reward she desired.

"Chrome, are you sure you want to?"

"Yes! The boss said so himself."

[I never expected you could actually master the Rain Flame's power to its fullest extent within a week.]

Is this kind of reward what motivates Chrome to keep moving forward?

At times like this, Tsuna really hopes that Chrome can focus on other things and use those other things as a source of motivation to climb higher.

But now it seems that it was all wishful thinking on his part.

No matter how Chrome tries to improve her strength, her motivation has always been the same.

I shouldn't have agreed to that child's request so easily; now it's my turn to face the consequences.

"I told you, I will give you the reward you want."

Chrome closed his eyes happily, while slightly raising his head.

This is definitely a prelude to a kiss.

What Chrome wants is actually quite simple: she just wants a kiss from the Boss.

[…Well, this child really doesn't have the reserve expected of a girl.]

Tsuna adjusted his breathing and slowly moved closer.

The whole process was a very long and also very rigid process for the two people who had very little experience.

This, this is a kiss!

[The Boss's Kiss!]

Chrome almost fainted from the intense excitement.

Although she knew that a kiss was simply a matter of lips touching lips, and that this kind of contact was a very common behavior abroad.

Even knowing this, Chrome almost lost control of her emotions.

After all, having a clear understanding doesn't mean you can calmly face it.

They remain stiff even when they should be stiff.

Even when you should be able to control yourself, you still can't.

Chrome and Tsuna remained in this state for almost three minutes, as if time had stood still.

This behavior might seem really stupid to outsiders.

This was the greatest effort for both Tsuna and Chrome.

This is the first time I've ever done something like this to a girl.

This was the first time for Tsuna.

The last time I did that to Arya, it wasn't really a real kiss, because I only kissed her on the cheek.

Only children kiss each other on the cheek, but last time Tsuna really did something like that.

This time, facing Chrome was the first time Tsuna truly took the initiative.

"Boss."

She nestled contentedly into Boss's arms. All her hard work these past few days had been worthwhile; for Chrome, this was the most valuable thing.

The boss's recognition is a reflection of her value.

The Boss's reward was the greatest recognition of her efforts.

"..."

Tsunayoshi, holding the girl in his arms, had mixed feelings.

This girl is very clear about her feelings, just like Kyoko and Koharu.

Perhaps this girl doesn't have the memories of ten years later like Koharu and Kyoko, and doesn't have extraordinary feelings for him, but Chrome's relationship with him is actually more complicated than that.

Although I used to think that I wasn't afraid of having more emotional debts, now I feel like that idea was wrong.