Tsuna sighed, waiting for his friends outside the school. He paid little attention to a certain prefect who was watching him with a hint of curiosity. "Maybe I'm being too much... but it was the sixth time they made me repeat everything again. I was already tired of it. I'm tired, irritated, and so upset. Why do I have to do this? It's practically a joke! Stupid Reborn-san and his stupid plans..." In another place, Tsuna would have been shouting and hitting something to release his frustration, but with Hibari watching him curiously (she had been woken up by the uproar of herbivores who seemed to have seen something impossible), he only risked gnashing his teeth. If the prefect saw him looking for a fight, she would make him fight, and the school would go to hell. He had no desire to explain anything, clean up the mess, or, even less, to win against a Hibari who was ready to "bite him to death" every day. "I hope this is enough to make them leave me alone for a while... but who am I kidding? That would be a fantasy. They won't leave me alone until some heads roll."
It was a shame that Hibari didn't realize how upset Tsuna was. It would only take a few words or a few blows to have a good "cat fight," to put it mildly. "...But it really hurts. Those words were only for me, but they're so true that it hurts so much. I just hope Reborn-san didn't see me, because I don't want any questions about that whole act, let alone about him..." He already had enough with the rumors that were surely reaching their ears at that very moment. "How much longer are you going to take? I have a horrible urge to just poof and disappear from here and go to my room. At least there I can hit my pillow without raising suspicion... or even play with Natsu for a while. There are too many people around here to do anything. Crazy things or totally normal things, or a strange combination of both, could happen without any warning." He thought, almost groaning in frustration. He didn't want to be there any longer. "I guess I'll just go alone then. Sorry, guys..." Although he didn't know why he was apologizing in his head.
"Ugh... that girl really fights..." "More like ripping heads off..." "Ma Ma, at least it's all over..." Gokudera wanted to kill him, but he restrained himself for his own sake. "At least Tsuna was able to escape from this last half hour..." Thank God, thought the boy with a grimace. Tsuna might have helped chew their heads off.
"I don't want to know what Hibari's or the others' rehearsals will be like..." Blood would flow, that was for sure... no one ordered Hibari Kyoka around and came out unscathed...
"It will be hell," he said without a doubt, smiling as if nothing had happened. "Where did Tsuna go?" He was nowhere to be seen.
"Hmph... the omnivore is already gone, herbivores..." a voice said from who knows where, making them almost jump.
With that, Hibari disappeared from the ceiling. You could say she was upset about something, but it was better not to find out unless you wanted to die a painful and quick death at the hands of one of the most bloodthirsty beings on the planet. Hibari wasn't a very expressive person in terms of words, but she knew how to communicate with her body without any problem. There was no doubt about that. It was strange, though; if they didn't know her, they would say she was waiting for them just to tell them that, or maybe to scare them to death, but that wasn't her style.
"That was..." What word could he use in that situation? "...strange." "Ma Ma, at least we know Tsuna is already gone..." He paused. "He probably got tired of waiting for us." "I wouldn't be surprised. We spent a lot of time in rehearsal."
It had only been half an hour, but Tsuna had grown tired of hiding his feelings from a certain prefect and decided to leave before doing or saying something he might regret later. But no one knew that, and it was rare for the Tsuna of this time to not wait for them. With no other options, they left for where they thought Tsuna was: his house. It was the place most frequented by the whole family, so he had to be there. At least, that's what they thought. They couldn't guarantee anything because nothing was ever certain, especially now with Tsuna so unpredictable. And everything had been that way since a certain day. Something had happened, and they wouldn't rest until they discovered what it was. They wanted to fix whatever had happened. It wasn't that this Tsuna was bad, but they preferred the "super scary" and "good-for-nothing" boy. They even missed his screams. They missed him.
Tsuna, in a nutshell, was the most important member of all, the leader of the group and the one who brought them all together despite their differences and tastes. Even if it seemed like he was nothing more than a simple weakling and a fool, it could be said that great things were hidden in the smallest ones... and with Tsuna, that was more than true. If something happened to him, it would be a chain reaction that no one would be able to control just like that. It was lucky (or maybe not so much) that what happened to their boss was nothing of life or death (as far as they knew), or only God knows what would have happened.
Sadly, just as he was easy to overlook, he was also easy to break into a thousand pieces like a vase. God only knows what he might become once he was destroyed from the inside out. It was something they never wanted to see or feel... because it would be heartbreaking no matter what path you are on, from pain and agony, coldness and indifference, death and destruction, madness and despair, loneliness and sadness, and who knows what else. In any case, if that were to happen, it would be devastating for all of them.
But, if something like this were to happen... it would be their fault. For they alone had the power to care for him like a beloved gem or to destroy him like delicate glass. That power was only held by them, his family. No one else could easily harm him. He was too strong for someone to influence him without a fight, but... They wouldn't receive a word even if they tried to kill him. They were sure that he would only expose his neck to make it easier for them if possible. He would accept anything from them, no matter what it was. And only they had that great power, one that could be molded to any way they wanted... a power they did not want, for only a word could harm it... a word could cheer him up, a word could change everything they knew and loved in a second.
Like a diamond, Tsuna had weak spots that could destroy him completely, something that had already happened... but not at that time. None of them had realized that the Tsuna they were with was a diamond broken into pieces, pretending to be whole, but actually ready to be broken into many more. Cruel, perhaps, but not even the Tsuna of this time would be able to tell them the truth, and much less that they were the ones to blame. If they wanted to know, they would have to figure it out for themselves; they would have to put the puzzle together with the few pieces they had.
Deep in thought, they quickly arrived at their destination without realizing it, which was a great surprise to them, as it never crossed their minds that they would arrive so fast. Puzzled by the lack of noise, they entered the house only to see the children watching TV, Nana-san in the kitchen humming happily and without a care in the world, while Reborn drank his coffee while reading the newspaper in complete tranquility... but no trace of Tsuna in the whole house.
"...Did Tsuna go out or something?" he asked slowly, avoiding most of the questions. "Tsu-kun hasn't come back yet..." Nana replied, a little curious. "It's a little strange; he always comes with you." Out of nowhere, she was happy. "Ah, Tsu-kun must be with a cute girl~"
Without noticing the faces they were giving her, Nana continued happily in her world, humming a cheerful melody and thinking about how to embarrass her son when he returned. For a moment, she had feared that her cute Tsu-kun would be late in romance or not even have luck in it—a useless in romance, too, she had certainly feared that. She just wanted her son to be happy. Grades didn't matter so much to her; he was just a boy, what could she expect? However, she had long worried about his lack of friends and that he spent a lot of time at home, at least until Reborn-chan arrived... And apparently it didn't just bring him friends.
Reborn made a slight face. How wrong she was, but he wouldn't be the one who would burst her bubble. Apparently, the others decided to let her be, too, as none of them said anything until she disappeared from the room, probably to cook.
"Tsuna-nii isn't here?" Lambo asked before pushing I-pin to the ground, which led to a fight involving bombs.
Fuuta just sighed as Gokudera and Yamamoto looked at each other before apologizing, leaving Fuuta open-mouthed, probably to say something, and a few explosions in the middle of the action. They left the house and then ran aimlessly throughout the city. It was not the best plan, but where had he gone? It was the first time he had disappeared in such a way. What had happened? It was an excellent question. Who knows how long they were in search of him when they finally stopped to rest on a nearby bench inside the park, unable to hold their feet any longer. That was the last place in the city where they had not looked. They were tired, bathed in sweat and rays of sunshine, and their legs screamed. Especially their feet. They needed a rest whether they wanted it or not. If they could keep up with that rhythm without resting, they would end up fainting somewhere, and then God only knows what...
After having caught his breath and looking around with a vain hope of finding his friend, or perhaps a huge desire to find him and lie on a bed for the rest of the day, they began to feel a close presence without realizing at what moment, or perhaps they were simply imagining the same thing. Minutes passed, but there was no change, but they couldn't tell if it was good or bad at all, or even where that feeling came from. The only strange thing about all this was that there was no one in that place so far from the park... except for the shade that saved them from the sun.
They looked carefully around for who knows how many times. The flowers and shrubs were large and had a greenish hue that meant they were very healthy. The trees not only looked like this, but they were also extremely leafy and tall, very well cared for despite being more secluded than the rest of the vegetation in the park. It was a sight that was beautiful in itself, and it was still necessary to mention the numerous birds, insects, and animals in general that were in the area under the characteristic sound of nature, which floated with surprising harmony next to the beauty of the view. A perfect place to sleep.
"...What is that thing?" Yamamoto asked, raising his arm and pointing to the tree behind them. He was tired. "...It looks like a shoe or something," Gokudera replied without looking closely, too drained to insult him or start a fight just then.
They looked much more attentively at the branches of the tree, which was providing them with shade and cool air, and in one of its branches, one more or less high and thick, they could see something black, very similar to a shoe. They looked at each other for a moment before shrugging their shoulders. It was worth a try. With that in mind, they raised their heads from the back of the bench and, with a lot of willpower, got up and climbed little by little. And with that same rhythm, they saw things they had not seen before. Among them were a backpack and black pants, to their great horror and joy.
Once they reached the top, they couldn't help but smile and be filled with curiosity at the sight in front of them: Tsuna was curled up, hugging his legs and resting his head on his knees, his backpack being used as a makeshift pillow inside his arms. His body rested on the tree trunk in a relaxed posture, probably asleep, but they couldn't be sure since his eyes were hidden by his hair.
"...Hey, Tsu/Juu-"
They didn't finish calling him when his body tensed up, and he raised his head in their direction, his eyes cold as ice daggers, without any emotion or warmth in them. At least, they were until he recognized them and gave them a small smile before yawning and settling back down, giving them a helping hand to get to his level. Tsuna didn't even notice what his friends looked like. If he had, he would have asked if they had come out of World War II to do a 10,000-kilometer marathon or what the hell they had been doing to look so... emaciated and deathly tired.
"...Don't scare me like that again..." He yawned in the middle of the sentence, and both boys felt a little... furious. They were running and jumping to find him, worried, and he was happily sleeping on a tree branch... and he had been sleeping almost all day. What the hell?
"...And what do we do then?" Use a whistle or a radio to wake him up, perhaps? There was no way not to be scared. "...True..." he conceded lazily, without really hearing them. He had been dreaming a truly beautiful dream. He didn't remember the last time he had dreamed something so beautiful. "What are you doing here?" They asked about a family outing that didn't end in disaster. "Well, looking for you!" Wasn't it obvious? "It wasn't necessary..." "I can take care of myself perfectly well, and it's still daytime..." "I'm fine here..." "And if not, Natsu will protect me. There's no danger... except maybe missing dinner, something I'd be very happy to miss..." "Also good that you were sleeping and you are falling asleep..." Yamamoto commented sarcastically and jokingly. "Idiot." "Well..." He cut off and yawned again, "Maybe I should have limited myself more..." "you have a point on that..." "and not let myself go..." "but I didn't want to go home..."
"...Why?" It was a good question, but Tsuna wasn't going to tell them that it was because he didn't want to do anything to the house. The poor thing was already suffering a lot of damage thanks to a crazy family and a sadistic tutor; he didn't need to add a frustrated monster to the mix.
They didn't get any response to that, just silence. Not wanting to pressure him or be there, they sighed before taking his hands and pulling them, alarming him in the process, but he didn't resist. Somehow, he seemed to find it funny. From one moment to the next, he decided to save them the work of trying to encourage him to come down and jump off the branch before they could grab him. Surprisingly, to the terror of both boys who almost had a heart attack, he fell on his feet like a cat and without any scratches, yawning widely and then sitting on the bench, giving them a look that clearly said that he would wait for them there... asleep or not. They went down the same way they went up (slowly); they didn't think they could get over the fright that their friend had just given them to dare to do the same.
This was a new mystery that they could not understand in terms of his physical capacity. It was not normal to jump approximately five meters high and not only fall completely unharmed, but he also did it with the elegance of a tiger and the grace of a cat, as if it had only been a simple acrobatic to fall on his feet and with enviable style. A subtle combination, but surely loaded with the silent mortality of a knife. To do something like that, he must have practiced it for years... something that, honestly, was impossible because of everything they knew.
"They took a while, didn't they?" Tsuna joked, almost asleep, once they touched the ground. He would have laughed wholeheartedly if he wasn't so tired and sleepy. How lucky they are...
"...We're not as good as Juudaime at jumping from that height and landing like a cat." I wouldn't do it unless I had no choice, thank you very much.
"Haha, a cat wouldn't have jumped from there..." He would have hugged the tree and then cried to be taken down... With that thought still in his head, Tsuna managed to blush slightly in embarrassment, despite himself.
"..." First, what the hell could they say about that? No one in their right mind does that unless they're suicidal or totally sure that nothing will happen to them, like Skull, for example.Second, they had already embarrassed him enough just by him blushing. The Tsuna they knew would be having a panic attack or too embarrassed to speak... they didn't want to know what this Tsuna would do to them if they embarrassed him more.
"...Do we really have to go?" Frankly, I don't know why I'm asking this. They wouldn't let me sleep in peace even if I let them be.
"...Tsuna, it's too late." It was a bad excuse for Tsuna, but they didn't know it.
"..." "Don't kill, don't maim, don't cut, don't strangle, don't torture, no..." The mantra continued. It was like 7 p.m.; that wasn't too late for him... Late was staying until 4 in the morning doing the paperwork they did daily in the mansion before the incident and then complaining that he was not taking care of himself properly... It was official: if they said otherwise, they would not be able to walk or talk for at least a week, but he still didn't know which Spartan method to use in the future.
"How did you get here in the first place?" Yamamoto quickly cut him off, seeing the change in his expression. In his mind, he shouted, Satan, out! to Tsuna. Thankfully, the annoying and devilishly sadistic expression quickly evaporated.
"...I didn't want to go home alone..." "I'm sure no one will want me to redecorate the house and they wouldn't leave me alone..." "and I don't think they would let me sleep..." "Not at all." "and the park is halfway from home. If they had to look for me, I thought it was easier around here..." "Not really, it's just one of the quietest places I know." "...but from the looks of it, I was wrong." He gave them a dirty look as he pronounced the last words.
"...No comment." Gokudera said that just to remove the sudden tension in the air. Neither of them needed glasses to see that Tsuna, more asleep than awake, was totally coherent and upset with them. You never want an annoyed Tsuna, especially if he's your boss and he can just burn you to a crisp before you have time to get out of his sight.
The conversation ended there, at least for Tsuna, who did not want to move from his place. He felt too tired to want to do anything but sleep, although it was only seen as pure laziness. Only the smiles and words of encouragement (which felt like annoyance in his mood) from his friends and the half-painful caresses in his hair made him get up. However, the rest of the way was slow thanks to how tired both boys were. Hearing his friends talk with a small smile on his lips, no matter how tired or worn out he was, he would never tire of his family. Although what he wanted at that moment was to silence them, he was living proof of it. When he got home, everyone was shocked when he plopped down on the couch without saying a word, leaving his friends to explain everything. He was too tired to explain, not to mention that he didn't want to have to answer any questions at that moment.
Why did everything hurt? I was in that place again, where everything was nothing but pain, agony, and loneliness... What was I doing there again? Everything was so depressing and painful... A repetition of the nightmare? Don't tell me that this is going to be a recurring nightmare...
"...Tsuna..."
Was that voice so sad? However, he didn't pay much attention to that. That wasn't his name; it was the name of his past self, so it wasn't him they were calling. Who would want to call him anyway? No one, of course... Whoever was stroking his hair was doing it very gently, with great affection. It made him forget a little bit of the pain he had and made him wonder what kind of nightmare that was and if he should try to scare away whoever was there, but everything hurt too much to even try to lift an arm. Sadly for him, he couldn't help but sigh with satisfaction at the touch. It felt too good in contrast to everything else, even if he didn't want to admit it.
"...When do you plan to wake up?" It sounded suspiciously like a child... but he didn't care. "We have forgotten your voice..." Yes, of course... Of course, a dream that has forgotten my voice, how great, because I don't even remember it myself. Wait, wake up... don't tell me I'm sleeping in a dream... Chaos, this doesn't make sense...
"...We miss you so much..." Miss? Don't make me laugh, who would miss a monster like me? No one, of course... "how long do you plan to make us wait to see you?..." Yes, of course, this nightmare is bad... it knows where to play, it knows where it hurts the most... Maybe I should concentrate more on the pain than on the touches so that I don't hear anything from the
"Hmph, Omnivore..." Tsuna froze. There was only one person who used to call him that. This nightmare was certainly very cruel. "...you'd better go back..." Really cruel... "...or I'll bite you to death."
"...Vo-ol... B-U-... r?" Honestly, he didn't know what he was talking about... maybe it was the surprise?
He groaned lightly in disappointment and couldn't help it when his hand stopped abruptly, and he was perplexed by the sudden silence that followed. His throat didn't help; his voice was almost non-existent, and it hurt too much to modulate the words, even if they didn't come out well. His mouth wasn't much different, but it felt much drier. And yet, apparently, they had heard him. To be honest, he felt like he hadn't spoken in a long time; it felt like something very foreign to him. At the same time, he couldn't understand anything, and his head was starting to hurt more, so he put the whole thing aside. He purred slightly with pleasure when he was caressed again, this time with more courage than before, and with that, he lost all thought of the matter... and what had happened at the beginning.
"...Tsuna?..." Tsuna? No, that's not me... he thought to himself, getting more and more lost. It wasn't his fault that it felt good, was it? "Are you awake?"
And as if the words he didn't really understand weren't enough, something warm and comforting landed on his cheek, as soft as a butterfly's kiss. He leaned very lightly on it and sighed softly. He didn't have much strength to take any more pain or to move at all. He smiled slightly as he felt the caresses to his hair increase, purring at how good it felt, and his common sense went down the drain.
"...Tsuna..." Someone called tentatively. "Could you open your eyes?" Too bad they didn't know that he wouldn't respond to that name or that he was already totally gone in the light caresses; the medicines that were still circulating in his bloodstream weren't helping him to stay aware. "Tsuna?"
"...Maybe you should stop for a while..." said a deep voice. "Kufufufu..."
"...Endorsement..."
At the sudden change, Tsuna made a slight, very light, almost ghostly sad kitten grimace, and only because of curiosity and lack of reasoning did he try to see what had happened. She only managed to open her eyelids halfway, complaining a little in her disgruntled exposition for a simple reason... he couldn't see almost anything. Everything was a diffuse fog; he could only see silhouettes of things and people but nothing more than that. It was frustrating, but at the same time, he didn't really care.
"...What a relief that you're back... Tsuna..." If Tsuna had listened to his words and was reasoning properly, he would surely have laughed, both at them and at himself. At them for being such liars and at him for dreaming something like this, showing what an idiot he was... to expect something like this from them, something impossible.
He did not understand what those words meant or what the intentions or reasons behind them were, and even less so when the light cuddles returned, which made him close his eyes in the small pleasure provided. Apparently, whatever they were saying was important to them that he understood them, or perhaps they expected him to do something. He didn't know for sure, nor did he care, and if they continued like this, much less. At first, he didn't know who they were, or why he was in that state, and even less why his whole body was immersed in pain. And in the second, he wasn't thinking, just feeling the cuddles. You could say that the combination of medicines and cuddles were like a sleeping drug. The only reason he was still conscious was because of the pain that was so persistent that it wouldn't leave him alone.
"Ne, Tsuna..." He hesitated to continue; it was too obvious that he wasn't hearing them. "How do you feel? Can you talk?"
"..." Sufficient proof.
"...He didn't blame him, that must feel good. The painkillers must be gone. They'll touch him again in a few minutes..."
Suddenly, Tsuna coughed a little. It was hard for him to breathe, but he didn't really care, but they did. He didn't give any importance to the movement or hustle and bustle, happy with the little cuddles.
"Hello?" Who the hell dared to-
"Reborn!" Reborn immediately moved Leon away from his ear a little. "What the hell has gotten into your head, kora?! How can you think of annihilating more than half a park, kora?! And without saying anything to fix it, kora!" Colonello did have good lungs. Wait, what?
"I haven't done anything, Colonello." Reborn could only imagine all the chaos that must be happening to normal people at that time if they were blaming him for something he didn't do.
"What do you mean it wasn't you, kora?! You're the only one who takes it out so ugly, kora!" Reborn sighed and began his way to the park.
"No, it wasn't me, nor did I know." Something he didn't like. He must have known everything; he was the best hitman in existence; knowing was a requirement. "See you there."
When Reborn saw the disaster, he couldn't blame anyone for blaming him. It was as if someone had simply blown up the trees with mini bombs... Or as if someone had beaten those trees, he thought with a frown when he saw drops of blood in the form of fists in the wood and finger marks in the wood that had not been turned into sawdust. With a sigh, Reborn said goodbye to a good night's sleep. Whoever the culprit was had to be found. He was powerful; he would be a good addition to the family if he wasn't an enemy.
When Tsuna woke up the next day, he was surprised to find himself in his bed. The boys must have brought him there. With that in mind, he proceeded to get dressed with a slight confusion written on his face. That kind of dream was weird, nightmare or not, and yet he couldn't identify anything about it. Nothing made sense, except the almost hellish pain he felt every time he was there, and that he remembered almost nothing about them, no matter how strange it seemed. Perhaps he was giving too much importance to those dreams; they were just that: dreams... even so, he felt that they were more than just any dreams, but he couldn't say why. His Hyper Intuition only confused him more. He would know with time. It was better to eat something and get to school on time, and if luck was on his side, maybe he could skip rehearsals without much trouble... well, at least without having his head cut off for it.
What was he saying? Normal luck was almost never on his side; he was always Dame-Tsuna, so it wasn't surprising. It didn't matter anyway. Whatever he did, he would not escape it or its consequences, whether for good or evil. It was well known that he could never escape or go against anything that was put on him. Whether he agreed or disagreed about it, it was something he had already learned to accept. There was nothing he could do anyway; it was better to go with the flow. Besides... he was tired of trying to go where he wanted to go, because this only prolonged his suffering, and he would never get where he wanted. Reborn-san was proof of that; no matter how hard he tried, he still became the boss of mafia bosses... he couldn't change paths, and his attempts only brought him pain. And as much as he tried, he really tried...
"Even with all my efforts, I was crushed like an ant... Reborn-san just played with me until I realized that all my denial was as useless as myself... I never had a choice to make in the first place; I could never decide anything for myself... All my attempts and hopes were futile before I started. It was so obvious, but I refused to see the truth... I'm an idiot... a simple puppet, nothing more and nothing less than that... I'm so stupid for denying the truth for so long, for hoping to mean something more than that to them... It's useless to try to deny it now, but I still do... it's better that way... less pain for them, if they actually receive any pain... it is so difficult to distinguish reality from fantasy..."
Tsuna sighed deeply before smiling a little, "...But even in spite of everything, I cannot stop being grateful for this life, even when most of it has been full of pain, sadness, and loneliness... because... I've met my family, and no matter how much pain it brings me, it will always be my family, and I'll do anything for it, no matter if it's all an illusion or just out of pity or interest, I... I will always love them, even if they hate me... it is something that cannot be avoided. I am sorry if my actions are not as desired, if they do not love me and only want me to die or disappear... I'm sorry for not fulfilling their wishes, I'm a very selfish being... I hope that one day they can forgive me..."