WHY SKY TURNS DARK

Sound of knife chopping vegetables echoed throughout the kitchen. It was the only sound there for the house was empty and its only occupant was one young woman. Seemingly she cooked for her lunch, neither curved up lips or curved down lips indicated her feel. Her expression wasn't seen either, but suddenly, she winced in pain; she cut her finger by accident.

She lifted her finger closer to her face, and by then, unknown why, a drop of water wet the ground, tears coming out of her brown eyes. She grasped her hand that had a finger cut, shut her eyes, helplessly trying to forget what caused that tears. It wasn't because of the physical pain, she wasn't that weak.

But she was crumbling, tearing apart. This pain she felt in her heart emitted a hot sensation, but a painful one. Her teary eyes were burning of tears. She had a strong will, but this one thing—she couldn't take.

Sound of doorbell surprised her. Quickly as she was on her way to the door, she wiped her tears. Her eyes bulged in shock, seeing the man she ever loved stood while raising his left hand that touched the bell.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, I was wondering if—" he noticed the blood on her finger. "What happened?" he quickly grabbed her hand and looked at the cut. "It was just a small cut. You're exaggerating, Tsuna-san." she replied with a bit smile. "There's blood, on your finger! Come on, I'll tend that wound right away." he dragged her to the kitchen and mended her wound by giving it a wrapping.

"Be more careful next time, okay?"

"Thanks."

"So…" he looked at the cut vegetables. "You were cooking for lunch?"

"Yeah… kind of…" she stared at the vegetables rather with blank eyes, and Tsuna noticed that. "What's going on?"

"Hahi?" she looked at him. "You look down. Are you alright?" he asked.

She gave out a fake smile and said, "Of course I'm alright! I'm just so happy for you and Kyoko-chan. Oh yeah, where's she? I thought you two are supposed to prepare the flower, the wedding gown, and the cake. You're supposed to be with her, not here."

"Yeah… that's why I come here. Something suddenly came up. Her parent wants to meet her at another town, and they say it's urgent, but she told me to ask you for a companion. She entrusted you with the gown and the cake."

"The gown?"

"She said you two have the same size. Please? I'll treat you lunch."

The hesitation was there. Would she help him pick everything that was supposed to be her best friend's wedding with the man she loved? Even if Kyoko was her best friend, no heart could take the burden of doing it—but not Haru. "Sure. Why not?"

But first, he should treat her lunch, and he did, together eating lunch with her. She helped him in choosing flower and she picked right according to his taste. So far in his perspective, she seemed very excited about the wedding. Her cheerful smile never faded away. But this particular talent of hers that made her special. She could fool Tsuna's Hyper Intuition.

Namimori Shopping District also had a shop that provided wedding gown. There were so many gowns to choose and he could already imagine how good it would look on Kyoko. Just imagining it already made him happy, he was going to marry the sweetest girl, his long-life crush. Kyoko was a beauty, and he was certain she would look more beautiful on wedding gown.

As Haru was searching through the gown, he tapped her shoulder. "Wait," he looked at several gown and grabbed one and handed it to her. "Try this."

The confidence he had, feeling sure that wedding gown would be perfect for Kyoko. He chose the most favorable gown there, and he was sure it was made for Kyoko only.

But as he entered the dressing room, that thought just instantly vanished. His belief about it was sorely denied. He held his breath, stiffened at the sight of the white wedding gown that was supposedly made for Kyoko, while it looked far better on Haru.

No words could describe how mesmerized he was, seeing the radiating bright around Haru, she was astonishing. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He just couldn't stop staring at her with pink shade on his cheeks and wide-eyed.

"Tsuna-san."

Tsuna snapped. "Eh? What? Did you say something?"

"I was asking if this is perfect for Kyoko-chan or not."

"Huh? O-Oh yeah, it's perfect for you—I-I mean, Kyoko-chan. You know what? Let's haste from here and—" Haru grabbed his hand before he could scurry out of there. "If there's anything in mind, please let me know. I'm always here for you."

He couldn't help it but to be awestruck by her words and smile. It brought out a soothing sensation to his mind and heart. Those weren't just words, it was sincere, he knew. After deciding the wedding gown, they went to wedding cake shop. Compared to Tsuna himself, Haru and Kyoko knew more about cakes than him, and their taste was higher than him, so having Haru here really made him felt safe.

They tasted several cakes with still no favorable one to decide, until Tsuna put down his spoon and went silent. "Can you…" he spoke in mild tone. "Can you stay here for me now?"

"Sure. I'm here to listen." she put down the spoon.

"Am I a good boss?" she raised her two eyebrows at that odd question. "My decision chose me to be Neo Vongola Primo, my goal is to make the Vongola's path back to Primo's path. But what if I can't? What if I failed to change that?"

"Tsuna-san," she called. "All the strength you have now, all of that comes from your friends. You don't have to be afraid. As long as we're alive, we will lend you our strength to make it come true, so you have nothing to fear. Isn't that what you always feel?"

He knew she was right, but he didn't expect that answer. He stared at her for a while before he gave a slight smile. "You're right. Thanks."

Haru nodded with her serene smile, "You're welcome. I know you can do it. Nothing can tarnish your kindness, Tsuna-san."

There was anomaly in her smile, he noticed. His smile slowly curved down as he noticed. Somehow, his hyper intuition kept telling him she forced her smile so he wouldn't know what she was feeling. "Hey, are you sure you're okay? You look down. If you have anything in mind, just say it. You can trust me."

"Well…" she had her eyes down on the table. "Maybe I'm a bit down. I'm just nervous about the wedding."

Hearing that, he laughed softly. "Why are you so nervous? It's not like you're getting married."

She lifted her head immediately in surprise. It stabbed her to hear those words from him, but she didn't want to be seen hurt. Her smile curved down a bit and it was rather downcast. "Yeah…"

"Tsu-kun! Haru-chan!" to break the moment, Kyoko entered the shop and kissed his lips in front of Haru, which sent her another stab. "Why are you here? I thought you're with your parent." Tsuna said.

"I'm finished with that. I came here as soon as I can. So, what did you guys do?"

"Haru has helped me with everything. You won't be disappointed with the gown, right, Haru?" but as he and Kyoko turned to Haru, she was packing her bag and stood up. "I'm sorry, something came up."

"But we haven't chosen the cake." he said as he kept staring at her walking away to the door. She stopped and said, "You have Kyoko-chan now. Bye, Tsuna-san, Kyoko-chan. Make sure you choose carefully, okay?" with a wave of goodbye, she left before he could stop her.

It just kept going to the voicemail. He wandered around the house, trying to call Haru, but it couldn't reach her, not even her house. As soon as he finished with choosing the cake, he went home and immediately called Haru. It was almost dawn and he certainly didn't want to ask her out when the sky was dark.

After numerous times failed, he got frustrated. He donned his pale blue open coat and cotton scarf for men, going to her house. He knocked, but there was no reply or any footsteps coming towards the door. When he turned the knob, it wasn't locked and he opened it slowly, peeking what was inside.

His eyes widened in shock—perhaps too much shock. But it was understandable; anyone would be surprised seeing it. Her house was a mess, like there was an indication of a struggle. The coffee table that made of glass broke to pieces. It wasn't likely a burglary.

Worries struck him. No matter what, he needed to find her. As he walked along the hallway, he spotted in the dining room, sitting. "Haru…?" she flinched and turned around. Another surprise thundered him, seeing her hair looked messy and there was blood on her lips.

"Tsuna-san, what are you—?" he cut her off as he immediately rolled up her sleeves and saw something very frightening. There was bandage on her arm. "Open your clothes. I need to see your back."

"What..? N-No…" she stood up and backed away. But Tsuna immediately grabbed her hand, forcedly turned her body around, and locked her both wrist to her chest with his one hand while the other unbuttoned few buttons. She felt his breath on her neck, it froze her and inside, she trembled.

His eyed widened in shock as he exposed her upper back. Many old scars overlapped to one another. She quickly moved away from him and buttoned her shirt. "Why didn't you tell me about this? That scar on your back indicates it's there for quite a long time. Who hurt you? Tell me!"

"No one!"

"Don't lie! This messy house, your appearance, proves it!"

"I can't lie to you, and you know why! It's just… kids."

"What?"

"Look, the children next door aren't really nice and subtle ones. They're active and sometimes too active. They're just kids, Tsuna-san. They didn't mean to do this to me. If I didn't let my guard down, they wouldn't be able to retrieve a knife from the kitchen."

"What about the scars on your back?"

"When I was assigned to babysit them, I was sleeping when a four-year-old kid brought a knife to my room. Her parent lets her to draw on their back, so she thought the knife is the pen. It's not their fault."

A bunch of children did that to her? He didn't even know whether her neighbor had one. Regardless who did it, even if it was really a child, he was still worried. Those scars were no joke, nor was it less painful. It was very and sorely painful, especially it was on her back.

"But you…" his clenched fist were shaking, his face expressed unwillingness of accepting what happened to her. To his surprise, he felt a touch on his hand that twitched him. It was her smile again. "Thank you for worrying about me, but I'll be fine. Now, why are you here?"

"I… I was going to treat you a cake for helping me this afternoon, but you're…"

"Well then, let's go! You know I can't say no to cake, and neither can you stop me from buying one."

"But your scar…"

"This afternoon I was fine, right? But if you're so worried, then just bring the cake home."

"All right. But promise me you won't babysit those kids again. I don't want you to get hurt again."

"I promise."

She came along with him to buy the cake. As quickly as finger snap, she recovered that fast. But most of all, there was no indication she felt hurt or anything. He knew she loved children, perhaps it was because of it she could still smile. Ever since he met her this afternoon, there was almost never the time she didn't smile. He watched her looking at the cakes, she looked carefree, supposedly like the normal Haru.

But what was this feeling he felt? He wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't good.

The sky was shaded with orange, but she wanted to go to the riverbed before going back. They sat while watching the flowing river, shimmered with the sunlight. He wondered why she wanted to go there. She just sat quiet, and he, too, just gazed at her whom seemingly was enjoying the view.

She saw a leaf floating throughout the river with a dead cocoon on it. She approached it and picked it up. As she was holding it, there was no movement, nothing. She just kneeled while her head stayed low.

"If you…" her voice caught his attention. "If you were given last seconds of your life… what would you do with that time?"

He froze at that question. He was surprised, very. Yet, he tried to gain the vocal to say his answer. "I would spend it with the person I love. You're… scaring me, Haru…"

"Kyoko-chan, isn't it? The one you love…"

"What…? No, I don't mean just her. My mom, Gokudera-kun, everyone, even you," she flinched at his last two words. "Like you said, I live because of all of you who gave me new life, where I have friends and everything worth fighting for. And I would spend the last seconds of that life with my friends."

As of now, it wasn't anything but silence. He waited for a reply or respond from her, but she never gave one. Seconds had passed and he approached Haru, peering down to see her face. He stammered, felt struck, seeing drop of tears landed on the dead cocoon. Worryingly, he kneeled, wanting to give comforting touch, but at the moment she seemed so open to injury of heart, afraid he might damage her heart more than it already had.

Her eyes were so tearful, she didn't have her smile anymore, and her face looked so hurtful. Nevertheless, he wiped her tears with his finger, ever so daintily. Her eyes bulged slightly and momentarily before looking into his eyes.

That moment, as if time froze, they froze as their eyes locked on each other. He didn't say a word, but his face told the tale of his concern for her. Knowing that, she gave away a tearful smile. "It's just that… hearing your answer… I can relate. Can I tell you a story?"

He gulped in nervousness and sat down beside her. "Long time ago, I fell in love with a boy. He was so kind to everyone, even to someone like me. He lives a dangerous life, but I love him too much that I can't just stay away from him while he's suffering his fate. I've always wanted to be there for him forever, and if I could, as his wife. But he loves someone else, and he'll marry that girl."

"Haru…"

"If I were given last seconds to live… I would definitely spend it with him… but I doubt I would confess my feelings to him."

At her remark, he snapped. "Why didn't you?" he increased his voice, but still in a mild tone. "You have to be selfish for once, Haru. Whoever it is, he'll lose a miracle that's always there with him. He might not love you back, you might ruin what's supposed to be the happiest moment in his life, but it's what you have to do. If you really do love him, you don't seek for acceptance. Holding that feeling already hurts you, so stop this… just stop tormenting yourself…"

Having heard that, her lips curved up more as she looked at the river. "I'm sorry, I have my reason…"

"Why can't you be selfish for once?! Why can't you just stop giving for once and look for your own—"

"Needs? Our needs don't matter, does it?" he flinched at her interruption. "Just like you, you put other needs first. You stand up for everyone and with your dying will, you stand before them in semblance of protection. I've learned something very important throughout our journey, but mostly from you."

She turned her head around and gave off the brightest smile he had ever seen from her, but seeing with tear-stained cheeks and eyes. "That's why, even if your heart is broken or you feel profound sadness, you should smile for the people surround you."

It was like he fell into her sunlight—no, spring light. She never radiated this warm light before, so why now? Or did she already radiate such bright that he never noticed before? But one thing for sure: it felt like the spring warmth, so cozy and calming. Even while tears still stuck on her eyes, with that much sadness she could possibly feel, her smile was the brightest thing he had ever seen, even brighter and more sincere than Kyoko's.

He flushed, whether he realized or not, seeing her smile and feeling that sincerity. Touched by her words, nothing could unmoved him from being moved by her recognition.

"But…" her voice made him flinched. "I'm scared of dying…" the redness on his cheeks disappeared as soon as that sentence was verbally said. He wanted to embrace her, so bad. But he had Kyoko; he couldn't betray her.

She wiped her tears and stood up. "Well, enough about that. Let's go back. I want to eat this cake soon!"

However, at her house, in her untainted room, his touch to his surrounding faded away. He never averted his stare away from her. She scooped the cake and put the spoon in her mouth. He couldn't take it anymore, it was too much for him to handle.

He snatched the spoon and threw it away, only to crash his lips against hers. Out of their shifted body, the cake fell down to the floor, but what Haru's eyes had on was him, and the surprise of his sudden action. He gently pushed her down on the bed, literally being on top of her, brazing every single inch of her lips. The soft exploration he did, even with much less force, she couldn't squirm or move. She felt hot sensation on her face, more so her cheeks that were burning in redness.

Afraid he might hurt her; he nibbled her lower lips delicately, caressing hers softly. But it was turning—as if hungrier and almost lustful. Her eyes widened at the sudden feel of another tongue slipped through her mouth. Her eyes shut tight with redness shaded her cheeks, feeling her tongue with his writhing, his lips interlocked with hers, and by any mean no reason or effort to let go.

She didn't moan or give any indication or message to let him go deeper, but he still did it, anyways, deepening the kiss, making it more passionate and fiery, hence letting out soft moan from her, the luscious sound that made him lost touch to his sanity. Her soft pants in every gap of their mouths sent an alluring shiver through his spine. She tasted sweet, and he loved it.

But afterwards, he finally snapped and realized what he did, and immediately rose up with face as almost red as tomato. "I-I-I-I'm sorry!" he hastily donned his coat and scarf. Had his hand on the doorknob, yet to open the door, he said, "Before you say something, this isn't your fault! Again, I'm so sorry!"

After that, he hurriedly went out of her house, leaving Haru to just stay quiet while looking out the window and staring at him leaving with his red face. She wasn't blushing, and she didn't smile either, just staring with shadowed face. It wasn't what she expected for him to do, and she didn't mean to not being able to fall limp over his touch and domination.

But it was enough. It was a cue, a ticket for her to do what she believed the right thing. And she had no regrets, because she knew, Tsuna was faithful to Kyoko, and she also knew, that her close friends would live in harmony together. As her eyes were shut in a smile, and in her mind, all she thought about was how grateful she was, that she didn't have to say goodbye to them.

Supposedly their wedding day was ruined by his unbelievably stupid action, it instead envenomed his head. If the guardians were there—even just Gokudera would make the small difference. He might be able to calm a bit. But he couldn't hope for something that wasn't there; neither he nor Reborn could be in time for his wedding. They had something else to do.

But truly, what was his intention to kiss another woman? Even if it was Haru, if he had to comfort her, that shouldn't have been the answer. He couldn't stop it, it started to grow as infatuation, thinking about her all the time, couldn't sleep because of it, letting her face kept popping in his head. And there was also one thing that bothered him. Why didn't he feel happy about the wedding? It was like he didn't want it anymore.

But he didn't trust his feeling. Kyoko was and always be his only shine and love, she was his long-time crush. But he started to think; she might have her shine, but was it as heartwarming as Haru? Or was it just a shine that blinded whoever looked at Kyoko? Because he knew, Kyoko had too bright of a shine.

He shook his head with a determination. He loved Kyoko, not Haru. And with that forcedly attached in his mind, he stood up and prepared to make the most important decision of his life.

He stood while waiting for his bride to come in, and as she did, everyone was struck by her beauty. His smile that curved before she entered, it disappeared gradually. It wasn't Kyoko that he saw wearing that gown, holding that flower he and Haru picked together—but it was Haru whom he was seeing, putting her smiling face as she was walking towards him.

His mind was blank, his ears couldn't hear anything but the vow. "Sasagawa Kyoko, do you take Sawada Tsunayoshi to be your husband?"

"I do."

"And Sawada Tsunayoshi, do you take Sasagawa Kyoko to be your wife?"

And there was silence.

He couldn't answer, and the guests were whispering to each other, creating an awkward moment.

"I…" he softly spoke. "I'm sorry…"

Everyone gasped at that form of apology, Kyoko widened her eyes in shock. To break the moment, Gokudera slammed the big double door open. His face was pale, Tsuna didn't like it one bit. "Juudaime… please come with me."

He just stared at the gruesome sight. He was brought to an abandoned facility in Namimori, but he never thought—or even hoped he would have to see the remains of humans. The place was painted with red blood, but the shock was just the beginning of something far worse. "We've run a test of blood, and it belongs to hundreds of Mafioso, perhaps a whole bunch of one family that was against you for becoming Neo Vongola Primo." Reborn stated.

"Gokudera also found several explosive scattered around, but since the building is only damaged a bit and the broken glasses are the only damage, the kid assumed whoever planted it gathered them to obliterate the entire family and…" Yamamoto hesitated, looking away with face expressed reluctance.

"Tell him." Reborn said impassively yet sternly.

"But kid…"

"It's hard on everyone. That's why we didn't take Chrome here."

"What is it?" Tsuna already had an uneasy feeling. Yamamoto showed him a picture of pool of blood which also included few explosive showered with red blood. No remains, just blood. Tsuna's intuition kept telling him it was a suicide bomb, which was true, but the feeling of about to know whose blood started to create blob of tears that remained in his eyes.

"We've run a test for the owner of this blood. Tsuna… prepare yourself…" he changed the picture to a person, a female, and his dear friend.

His eyes widened, his pallor face tinted with shock that made him fell on two knees. He bit his lips as his body was trembling of the shock, he didn't want to accept it. To everyone surprise, he stood up and ran away from them.

He dashed to her house, hoping for the best, but as he opened the door, another overwhelming shock struck him, seeing the house was messier than before. He saw the green dot glowed on her phone and opened the voicemail. The content was another shock—it was like the feeling of uncovering the lies she had been kept which this kind of secret—he wished it was a dream.

Many cursed words, threats, cruelty were sent in a form of voicemail. Through that mail, he finally realized, that Haru had become a bait for him and Kyoko. He had wondered why there was no family that aimed for Kyoko or him, and now he knew why. She had lied to the enemy that she was Tsuna's lover, taking the entire burden to herself.

Wanting to dig further, he went to her room and opened her laptop, where he found all her secrets. In one folder contained her journal, her plan, and pictures of how to assemble a bomb including the steps. And through the journal he read, he just realized, that he was the guy she had talked about. Through that one folder, he realized she had been tortured by the mafia and then gathered them to the facility to kill them, and the only way to keep him safe was for her to die with them.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto and Reborn came in, where they found him sitting on the desk. Tsuna just sat quietly, and the silence worried them. "…She must be alive… I know… she said to me she's afraid of dying… I'm going to look for her." he ran towards the door, but Yamamoto stood between him and the door. "Back off, Yamamoto!"

"She's dead, Tsuna!"

"She's not! I don't believe that nonsense!" he attempted to shove him away, but Yamamoto kept pushing him forward. Tsuna clutched his hands onto his shirt firmly while attempting to drive him away. "Get away!"

"This is for your own good, Tsuna! What we saw is real and not illusion!"

"I need to find her! I know she's still alive!" but after that much struggle, his strength became weaker and he fell on his knees while still clutching onto Yamamoto's arm. "She's… alive… she's…" his hands trembled along with his body. The blob of tears finally broke out of his eyes, shedding the tears like waterfall. Tsuna shut his eyes close with his one free hand, but even so, the tears that were flowing were still seen. The vulnerability of finally accepting the terrible truth, his heart was ripped to pieces.

He barely realized his true feelings, and when he did, it was too late. If he had only realized his love for her sooner, if only he… there was just too much chaos in his mind that he couldn't think straight. And as the wedding was cancelled, that day became worse by knowing what happened to Haru.

He stared at her grave with emotionless eyes. There was no one, but him. After knowing what happened to her, this was him ever since that day. He became incapable of feeling emotion, he was never happy while everyone had already moved on. His well-known kindness—no one knew if he still had one. Some afraid he changed into something that anyone was unsure of. All afraid because of what happened to Haru, his kindness faded away. They didn't know how long he would stay in this condition, becoming incapable of feeling human emotion.

But despite the rumors and worries, he could still feel human emotions, but not as much as he used to.

She just became something important he held, almost like his faith; and now, his love gone. As her life had ended, it was the end of his life, too. Her death was the proof of Vongola's tenderness, what made her to kill herself to protect him and every person in Vongola. Ever since that day, his mind and soul grew dark.

She was the spring that drove away the cold, and took the burden to herself, giving out warmth to everyone, a miracle he had seen far too late. Her death was his fault. If he wasn't soft like this, she wouldn't have to die—no one would have to die.

If the Vongola was feared and stronger…

You would still be alive…

Laughing with us, smiling with us,

And standing next to me…

Of her death, he made a new resolve. He clenched his hands firmly and walked away from her grave.

This time, I'll set things right

I'll recreate the Vongola, so that no one would have to die like you…

Until then…

I don't care if I have to stain my hands with their blood.

I will walk the path of Daemon Spade…

A/N: Here's the thing, I got struck with writer's block for my other stories, and I wrote this story when I wasn't in good mood, you could say. So for that reason, don't get your hopes up for this story. I attempted to end this story as one-shot, but some random ideas popped inside my head. But this won't be a long story, probably consists of less than 10 chapters.

I decided to continue this story because not only I love writing dark Tsuna (especially TYL Tsuna), I also want to find the reason why I write in the first place. It's not because of how many feedback I get, it's not because of how many people read my story, but I write stories because I enjoy it, because I love it. I really appreciate everyone who have reviewed my stories, it always makes me happy, but as I said before, I want to find that reason back through writing this story.

But in case you have thoughts for this story/chapter, feel free to use your rights of speak.

I also made a short video of Tsuharu of this story. If you want, you can see it on my channel.