Hi all. It's been a while since I've done this, so please read and tell what you think of it.

Let's cut to the chase shall we?

Title: Mercy

Summary: The first time Tsuna had been bitten, he had taunted Hibari. He hadn't meant to. The words had just come spilling out of his mouth. One-Shot with dark-ish themes and tuna-masochism (sort of).

Rating: T for masochistic tendencies. And maybe 1827 if you really squint and look at it upside down.

Warnings: This story has a darker masochistic-ish theme in it. Please do not try what is written here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and I never will.

The first time Tsuna had been bitten, he had taunted Hibari.

"Leave, herbivour. Before I bite you to death."

"If you can, Hibari-san."

He hadn't meant to. The words had just come spilling out of his mouth. The disciplinary president had given him a sound thrashing, to say the very least. He remembered how the sky had been amazingly clear and a cornflower blue that day.

His head felt as clear as the sky in that moment.

The second time he had been bitten, he had taunted the other on purpose.

"Herbivore, prepare to be bitten to death."

"That may take a while. I'll need a few minutes."

It had hurt. Oh god, it had hurt. He had been so sure that he had at least broken a rib or two. The bruises were numerous and plentiful, littering his skin with a leopard print of reminders. Hibari had left him on the roof again, staring up at the cloudy sky above. It would rain soon, he was sure.

And yet, the pain of those blows made the sky seem so vast and empty.

The third time he had been bitten, Hibari had looked annoyed.

"You again, herbivore?"

He had smiled an evil, sinister smile. A smile that promised to make his thoughts disappear in a moment of concussion and pain.

"You will be bitten to death."

This time, Tsuna had broken an arm. He had screamed and cried, and oh how he cried. The disciplinary president didn't let up, however. With each blow, Tsuna could physically feel his darker, boggier feelings being squished from his chest.

This time, as he neared unconsciousness, he felt a few drops of blissfully cool rain on his face. For some reason, these drops were salty.

The tenth time Tsuna had been bitten, he had thrown the first punch.

Hibari had walked away from him when he found Tsuna on the roof again.

"What, no biting today, Hibari-san?"

"I do not bite pitiful excuses for herbivores such as yourself."

His fist hadn't even connected with the other boy. Hibari had smashed his tonfa onto his fist. Just a handful of blows, enough to send Tsuna to his knees. His face rested on the warmed cement. Tsuna shivered.

It was chilly as a clouds shadow passed over him.

The next time Tsuna had been bitten, he had learned to dodge.

It wasn't easy, since none of his usual bullies liked to throw punches unless he couldn't escape. He couldn't practice on anyone. Tsuna didn't think about anything else except avoiding those streaks of deadly silver. He still got beaten, but at least this brief moment had lasted longer than the previous one.

A warm pallet of watercolor clung to the sky as he walked home.

Soon after Reborn had shown up, he had gotten the thrashing of his life.

Tsuna had said a lot of things to the ebony haired boy, he was pretty sure. It didn't help that his mind had been unfit to comprehend the phrases and insulting sounds spilling from his mouth like a waterfall. It had been a one-sided conversation, he knew that much. Hibari had leaned against the fence, his arms crossed and his hair covering his eyes.

Hibari had waited with deadly patience until Tsuna's tantrum had dried to dust on the wind. Slowly, ever so agonizingly slowly, the disciplinary head unfolded his arms, revealing shiny metal rods that were about to hurt dame Tsuna.

And they hurt. And they hurt. And they hurt.

And it was just so blue, such a translucent crystalline blue that day.

The day of the ring battle with the Varia, the disciplinary committee head was not at the school.

Tsuna's training on the zero-point break through technique occupied all of his time, but now, with nothing to do, dark ribbons of emotions wrapped around him, strangled him, blinding him. He could feel his throat constrict and his body crack under the force of his doubts and sorrows.

It was oppressing.

He watched as each of his teammates fall to unmistakably experienced blows and rise to meet the next with more fervor than the last. There was a determined and tunnel-visioned gleen to their eyes that Tsuna knew he could not match.

The first time Tsuna remembered being bitten by an adult Hibari, he had come from the past.

Lal had watched from the side lines as the two of them exchanged blows, Tsuna obviously losing. The teenager was covered in purpling swelling blotches and his only jacket from his own time was spotted with blood. Down and beaten, he voiced his thoughts as his vision was edged in a black haze.

"Seems you've gotten weaker, Hibari-san."

"Herbivore."

And they went at it again. And again until Tsuna could not stand on his own feet. The world, this horrible and strange world, dissolved into nothing as Tsuna's eyes closed. He welcomed this with metaphorically open arms. Hibari waited until Tsuna was conscious again before continuing.

Sometimes, Lal couldn't watch the sky.

Being bitten the night before the attack on the Merone base was an accident.

Tsuna had been wandering around the base nearly aimlessly, eyes only for the floor. The adult Hibari had been leaving the training room when Tsuna had entered.

"Sorry, Hibari-san."

"…move, herbivore."

Tsuna had moved, but his all to clumsy feet had nearly made the quarter turn needed to let Hibari through. He had fallen on the man, his tuna charm filled fist landed on Hibari's stomach as it moved to stop his fall.

Hibari had not taken kindly to that. With grace crafted over the years, he allowed the young boy to stand without aid before revealing his tonfas to Tsuna. When the battered teenager stood up again, the tuna charm forgotten under his shoe, he walked back to his room. His eyes looking at the truly clear blue sky that was there only for him to see. Maybe it was mercy that the older man had left the boy able to stand.

Maybe it was mercy.

Thank you for reading!

Now, if you are so inclined, please review my story. I'd like to find out where I can improve, what people liked about this story, what could have been better, and if people liked this sort of writing style.

Anything is fine really, even if this is a flaming pile of you-know-what, I'd like to know.

Mahalo,

Kasai