A/N: READ. THANKS. DAFFODILS. Anyways, how have you been everyone? It's really really good to be back! Haha! I'm really sorry for being away for so long. Also, nobody needs to worry about me abandoning my stories. I'm just really busy these days, but! In a few days, classes would end, giving way to my most favorite holiday of the year! Christmas is just around the corner, and on that day, I would be updating most of my stories. I wouldn't promise though, but I will do my best. Thank you so much for all the support! I hope you like this story too. :)

Chapter 1: Sienna Red

He lightly flicked his wrist to the left, letting the mixture of colors seep in before swirling the red-orange oil colors on his canvass. With a flourish, the barks of the sienna wood and tendrils of the flowers he was working on for the past hour lay completed before him. Tsuna leaned back; a small smile graced his lips, his eyes appraising the painting that stared back at him. He looked up and let his gaze wander his backyard—his most favoured place in his house.

In regards to his wishes, his mother had some workers create a canopy shade – where he was sitting in now – overlooking the whole of the garden. It was a gift for his sixteenth birthday which he was celebrating with his mother in a few hours. His eye softened, taking in the scenery of his home with saddened eyes. It was saddening, truth be told, to spend one's birthday with none but family. Yes, he was grateful. For once, however, he wanted to spend the day he was born with friends, which he, unfortunately, did not have.

The small brunet's shoulders sagged, letting them lean on his wooden chair, letting out a small puff of air as he sighed. His gaze found itself back on his painting before a small smile lit up his soft features. At least, he had this kind of hobby. A piece of himself he loved dearly—drawing. It wasn't just drawing actually, but painting, sketching, and just creating things in general. In his mother's words, 'making things beautiful.'

It had been something he picked up way when he was younger, about five, give or take. Since young, he had been fascinated with things that were full of life, filled with colors, and just things that glowed in his eyes. His appreciation for nature may have been a deciding factor but the pure brilliance of his mother's smile when he made something for her always urged him on. It was a sort of pleasant warmth that coursed through his veins when his mother sincerely praised him. Tsuna couldn't help it but all his life, he tried to always please his mother, because they had no one else but each other.

His father, always away for work, had his strong mother depressed at times. He hated seeing her without a smile on her face, and so with the innocence of a child and the fervour of his desire, he started to draw. The brunet never really thought he had talent for it, but he knew beauty when he saw one, and turn that beauty into reality.

Tsuna knew that after high school, he would be entering college with an Art major or something of the like. His mother fully supported him, that's why there was no doubt that art will be his life in the near future. It sounded simple and just mundane, if he could say so himself. Not many artists earn good money but he didn't care about such things. All he wanted was that someday, he could show everyone his art that his mother loved so much. Maybe, it could put a smile on someone else's face too.

"Tsu-kun! I'm home! Could you help me with the groceries?" His mother's calls rang clearly from inside the house. Tsuna paused with his musings, shaking his head as he did. It was time for him to help his mother. Loitering around and letting her do all the work for his birthday wasn't right. He sighed before taking one last glance at his painting. Someday…for sure…he would definitely show them. But not now though, this miniscule ability of his would be his little secret until he was confident enough to show others his works as well.

…

Tsuna sat at the far corner of the room, quietly listening to his teacher's droning. It was another school day and another boring one at that. To be honest, he had never been good in academics, sports…and everything else in general. He sighed, depressed. He couldn't even talk to people. I really am pathetic.

"Alright class, the participants for the upcoming contest needs to be nominated, so be sure to vote for the right representative for your class. Winning would enable our class to go to the field trip next week!" His teacher gushed excitedly, along with the whistles, and hoorays of his classmates.

Right, in his school, there were weird traditions. One was the field trip his teacher mentioned. For some reason, their principal adored holding field trips. 'It was a means of recreation and every student deserved to rest,' was what he said on their freshmen orientation. There were about five field trips a year, all in different locations with different themes; however, offers such as those had certain twists. Their field trips were no different.

Their principal firmly believed that a prize must be gained through hard work. And this is where the contests come in. The contests ranged from a sport event, singing contest, float building, to pageants. There were ten sections each for every grade level. Meaning only one section would be given the chance to attend the field trips, since only one section at a time could attend the field trips. Thus, a contest must be held for every upcoming field trip to know which section for every grade level would be allowed to attend.

Another definite rule was that once a specific section had won, that section would not be allowed to attend the next one. This gives the other sections the chance to compete for the prize—the field trip. Now, usually students wouldn't be hyped up for field trips, in their case, however, it was the total opposite. Field trips were highly coveted since the principal made it a point to make it the ultimate luxury retreat for the sections who won.

Students wouldn't pass up the chance to have fun and be complete idiots, right? Right. That was the case for 2-D, his section. His classmates had been hyped up for this, because the field trip next week would be the fifth one in the year, meaning they only had one more chance to attend this year. They haven't won once, and this year, they were resolved to win since the field trip would be in Osaka and would last for about a month due to the summer break in two weeks.

Tsuna sighed and slumped on his chair. It wasn't as if he would enjoy himself if they did win. Who was he going to enjoy it with? He looked around him and watched as his classmates chatted with each other excitedly, all but him. He looked down at his desk and clenched his fists. It was just the same thing again.

"Now, I'll let you decide amongst yourselves who you want to represent our class. Remember this pageant is where everything is at stake! Choose wisely! The theme of the pageant is 'Beauty and Strength.' You could even hold a pageant among yourselves so you could decide who should enter tomorrow's contest." Haruka-sensei smiled one last time before walking out of the room, leaving the class in total chaos. Tsuna settled his hand on his desk, and leaned his cheek on his fisted hand as he looked outside the window. Just go with the flow, huh?

"So who should we choose, huh? We might get beaten by 2-F since they have Kyoyo-chan!" A girl shouted over the noise and he couldn't help but listen. Right, Sasagawa Kyoko, the most popular girl in their sophomore year. Tsuna had to admit they were right. Kyoko was pretty, friendly, and gentle. Any guy would definitely want to date her. Their chances now seemed to dwindle by the second.

"That's true but I really want to win, damn it! You don't get to go on field trips for a month!" A chorus of agreement resounded in the room, and Tsuna wished he could just go home. To be honest, he didn't want his class to win. This field trip would just be torture for a loner and loser like him.

"Why don't we just hold a pageant like Haruka-sensei suggested? Let the girls prim up and then we hold a contest before we vote?" The brunet knew they'd come to that decision as well. It was the best choice, after all.

"Yeah, why not? We can do what we like today since all the other classes are preparing for the pageant tomorrow. We could just ask the theatre club to help with our makeup and costume, right girls?" Shina, the class president asked and all the girls could only nod in unison. Tsuna watched everything with disinterested eyes. Why did he even go to class today? The sound of a chair clattering loudly caught his attention, and so did everyone else in the room. A silver-haired teen stood, a fierce scowl marred his otherwise handsome features.

"Tsk. This is stupid. I won't join this fuck fest." He growled out before walking out of the classroom. Everyone stayed silent, not knowing how to react before another chair was pushed back.

"Haha. Go on, don't worry, Gokudera and I will be at the voting later. Good luck girls!" He stated cheerily before following the same route the previous teen went to. Tsuna watched him go, sighing in relief when they left. Gokudera Hayato and Yamamato Takeshi, respectively, the trouble combination of their class. They were highly popular though, the silver-haired one for his smarts and good looks, and the black-haired one for his athletic prowess and friendly personality. In other words, they were people out of his league.

"Anyway, let's gather here again after three hours to let the girls prepare, and oh right." Shina stopped before smirking; she looked towards the left, her disposition alerting Tsuna of her tendencies again.

"Miura-san, please make sure you don't appear to the pageant wearing an eggplant costume, alright?" Mocking laughter and snickers went about, and Tsuna could only look at her in sympathy. It had been like this for a year already. Though Tsuna was a loner, it was better than being bullied like the way they were doing to Miura Haru. It wasn't even right for her to receive this mockery. Well, he was bullied from time to time; he was called Dame-Tsuna, after all. In her case, however, to embarrass her for something so trivial was unreasonable.

Last year, when the contest for the second field trip was being held, Haru dressed up in an eggplant costume since they were told to dress up creatively, which she did. It ended badly though since the costume got ripped halfway the dance number she was doing. From then on, she had been picked on, endlessly and shamefully. It died down when Kyoko became best friends with Haru. For Shina, however, it wasn't something meant to be forgotten.

A frown settled on his lips as the class dispersed, leaving only Haru and him in class. Tsuna watched as she patted her cheeks, trying to cool her reddened cheeks. She stood slowly and walked out, his gaze following her form as she disappeared. The brunet sighed, leaning on his chair before looking out, now, what does he do?

Two hour passed by in a jiffy, and Tsuna could only barely keep his eyes open, even when some students started piling up in his classroom. He watched, as the girls of his class gushed over each other's clothes, and makeup, while the guys checked them out. Same old, same old. The mini pageant of their class would start in another hour or so, it wouldn't be strange to come in a bit earlier to practice what they had to say. That's why it came as a surprise to him, when after another thirty minutes, Haru hadn't showed up. All the girls were already present, why was she still not there?

"I guess Miura-san chickened out. Maybe, she had nothing to wear that would suit her 'eggplant' tastes." They laughed amongst themselves, while he glared at them slightly. Haru Miura was a nice person, and was bubbly to boot. She might be a bit strange but she was kind, and helped him many times too when he was being made fun of. Tsuna pursed his lips in dismay before standing up quietly, and walking out of his class, unable to take anymore. He should just find Haru, instead, maybe he could help her in some way.

Within minutes, he found himself standing outside the theatre club's costume room, having the faintest feeling that she was there. And he was right on the dot, as he heard muffled sobs from inside. Cautiously, he walked in and quietly peeked, only to see Haru on the floor, crying as she held onto a tattered dress. He felt angered and saddened. How could people be so petty? The mascara ran down her face, her cheeks too red, and all in all she just looked like a mess.

"Haru's…ugly…hic." Tsuna bit his lip and clenched his fists before sighing. He didn't want to do this, but he wasn't as heartless as to leave her there. Glancing at the watch on the far side, he surmised, he had about twenty more minutes. Just enough time. Honestly, he didn't know what he was about to do, but to hell with it. Looking around, he spotted a cow's head, and without further ado, he shoved it on his head, and breathed in. It was now or never.

Tsuna walked out, careful not to frazzle her any further. She looked up and watched him curiously, not finding it strange in the slightest, that someone with a cow's head costume was being worn, and that person was walking towards her. The brunet smiled slightly, Haru Miura really was a peculiar girl. He leaned on one knee before her, mindful of his proximity, and gently wiped a tear from her face. Haru sniffed slightly and his eyes softened.

"Don't worry, Haru. I'll make you beautiful so just close your eyes and trust me, ok?" Haru nodded, quickly wiping her tears away, and grinned brightly at him.

"Haru trusts you, desu!" Tsuna chuckled from inside the cow's head, and quickly stood, his eyes roaming the vicinity, taking in all the materials he could use. He looked down at her, assessing her from head to toe before nodding.

"Now then, we don't have time, I need to fix you up now." She nodded and stood, staring at him curiously. For the last time, Tsuna looked around, making sure no one else was within sight.

"I'll make you beautiful but promise me that when I'm doing so, you wouldn't open your eyes." He said seriously. It wouldn't do good if someone found out that he was helping a girl dress up, and he was a guy to boot. Tsuna has never tried this. It would be the first and last time he did.

"Haru promises, cow-san!" Tsuna smiled once again, swallowing in a sigh of relief before his eyes hardened, staring at her determinedly. I can do this.

…

"I, Shina Murasaki, chose to present myself as a princess. Yes, cliché, but the thing is, princesses aren't just petty little daffodils waiting to be rescued, they were born to one day be queens—queens that would uphold the hand of the highest ruling monarch of the land. Just like princesses, every girl is just the same. We aren't born just to be protected, but to support as well." Almost everyone in class clapped at her frivolous speech, and Gokudera could only frown and turn away in disgust. As pretty as her words are, her personality was jack. She was an absolute fake and hearing her voice grated on his nerves.

"You'll grow wrinkles if you keep frowning like that. Haha." Yamamoto laughed carefree beside him, and he snarled in return. This pageant was absolutely stupid. The only reason he attended was because the possibility of being away from his sister for a month. If attending this stupid thing was all it took, then by all means he would attend.

"Now, let's start voting soon." Yamamoto looked around, noticing something amiss, only to realize one thing.

"Aren't we going to wait for Miura-san?" He piped up cheerfully and as if a veil had been removed, they started looking around.

"I think she didn't want to be a part of this, she just stayed in the costume room. We must start voting soon, classes would end in an hour." Shina supplied as she seated herself down. A murmur of agreement was heard, and Yamamoto could only shrug. His gaze swept the room again, just to confirm, and he nodded once.

"Nah Gokudera, where's Sawada?"

"Tsk. The heck should I know?"

"Alright, we'll be passing a box soon so drop the paper with the name of your vote. We'll tally the votes af-"the door to their classroom opened once again, and they all turned to the intruder only to be stumped speechless. Haru stood there, dressed in a Juliet dress, her hair, however, wasn't in the usual customary Juliet braid. Instead, her mid-back hair was curled at the ends, and her face made up.

Yes, she looked beautiful but what stood out was her face. Her eyes were painted with different shades of pink and white, outlining her round eyes carefully. A pink sapphire shone on her forehead held up by pearl beads, misleading people that she had an expensive headpiece over her head, when in fact, it was all cosmetics. Everyone stared at Haru as she stood in front, her countenance once weak, now firm. On her upper cheek, a small butterfly with an array of colors on its wings - ranging from purple to emerald green - seem to come alive. She held up the sword clutched in her right hand in front of her, staring straight ahead.

"I, Miura Haru, present myself as a lady. A true lady isn't about being a damsel-in-distress and it isn't being pretty while holding up mannerisms. A true lady isn't always being beautiful, while adorned with expensive gems and stones, and be only a supporting hold of a gentleman. A true lady is one that is able to fight when the time comes that she needs to stand up for herself, and shines with her own inner strength." Haru finished, and a long pause of silence reigned before claps, and full blown cheering were heard. Haru smiled, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment, as her classmates rooted for her. Through it all, Tsuna smiled from the doorway, the cow head he had borrowed from the costume room held in his hands.

"It's a bit rough, but it seems okay…" Tsuna trailed off. Honestly, it's the first time he used cosmetics but the eye shadows were like watercolour, and were easy to use. The dress was just a makeshift one, since the dress in Haru's hands was already too torn up. He needed to make quick work with what he had, which were only a ripped dress, extra cloth, some beads, and lace. A Juliet dress with layers of cloth, scarlet and ruffled at the end was what he came up with. It turned out well, he guessed.

It was the first time he did things like these. Tsuna smiled a bit before walking away. Classes were almost over, and with all the commotion of his classmates, he was able to sneak in and out with his bag. He didn't need to stay any longer, though he had to return the cow head first. He stopped momentarily, looking back one last time at Haru. A little part of his art had been seen, but at least it would still be his little secret. Or so he thought.

"Gokudera…" Yamamoto whispered and said man could only nod. They turned around simultaneously, their eyes focused on one empty desk, and it only belonged to one person.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, huh?"

…

He watched with keen eyes as a bob of brown hair emerged from the school buildings. From what he knew, the class bell had not rang yet. Why was he up and about, and was that a cow's head? His eyes narrowed, and the faintest smiles graced his lips.

"Byakuran-san, we should get going. Bluebell is causing a riot in our classroom." Shoichi called out from behind him. He turned around and smiled cheekily. His eyes bright in the light, and his redheaded friend didn't fail to miss that.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Byakuran-san." He only closed his eyes in return, curved into crescents just like they always were.

"You may be right, Sho-chan." You really are. He whistled away as he walked towards his classroom, leaving his friend behind. Shoichi looked down, only to see the last of a ponytail disappearing around the corner. He looked back at Byakuran, and could only sigh in return. Why did he have a feeling that their last year in Namimori High wouldn't be as uneventful as the years before?

What do you think? :) Should I continue? Haha I still would though! Anyways, please R&R!