A/N: Bahaha! Finally, the type of story I personally wanted to write ever since I started reading this series (a few short weeks ago)! This is my ship, and if you are reading this, you either ship it or you can come to terms with it to want to read a different kind of story. Though I'm sure this sort of plotline has been used before, I do not care. I have not seen it and I wanted to write something with these two. No one will stop me. Bahaha! Anyhow, this is my first chapter story for KHR, and I hope that whoever you are, you enjoy this. As I am putting a lot of effort into it.
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Characters and Places belong to Akira Amano.
It was like with that one shot everything had gone on mute.
He watched in silent horror as the man stumbled back, holding his chest with wide honey coloured eyes as if unsure of what had really happened just then. He couldn't move, he couldn't look away, he couldn't yell out Run!; all he could do was watch as hundreds of silent bullets sank into pale flesh causing rich, ripe red to pulse out like an explosion of paint. It was as if the entire scene were a silent film gone horribly wrong.
Then, as though someone had pressed the button on a remote control after realizing belatedly that they had no sound, all the noise in the surrounding area returned in a brain-bleeding shriek of chaos.
Explosions went off behind him, scorching his back and turning his ears red while off to the side people screamed through illusionary nightmares of demons eating their flesh and crawling into their bodies. He turned back to his own opponent who was taking his momentary distraction as an advantage, slicing through him with Shigure Kintoki. Quickly scanning the immediate area around him and finding no one else near him, he rushed through the momentary hell that was the middle of the street towards the fallen body in the middle. He dropped to his knees, sword collapsing to the ground as he took in the grotesque painting before him.
No, no, no, no, no…
"This can't be happening. I'm having a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare that I should've woken up from by now," he whispered, wrapping shaking arms around the convulsing body, still bleeding thick, red life so freely. "Please…please don't let this be real."
Honey eyes, so soft and gentle and caring even in pandemonium, turned to look up at him with bleary confusion; a smiled stretched over shaking lips dripping with blood as recognition dully flashed through those wide irises.
"…I knew you'd be the one…to come for me first…" The voice was weak and trembling, reverting back to a child-like time when the biggest problem was wondering when teams for gym were going to be called and who was going to be the last one picked. His mouth screwed into a painful smile, his eyes pained by the voice. "Thank you…for being here for me…Takeshi-kun…"
Yamamoto Takeshi watched as Sawada Tsunayoshi closed his eyes and went still; the picture of peace in the middle of hell. All the sounds around him turned to white noise; something that sounded like glass breaking went through his ears.
Yet the only sound he heard was his own screaming.
"Hey Tsuna! Did you do the homework?"
14-year-old Yamamoto Takeshi grinned as one of his best friends and flunking buddy Sawada Tsunayoshi (called Tsuna for short) gave him a panicked look and flailed, shrieking that he didn't know about the homework. He laughed lightly, not a care in the world, as he watched his other best friend and class genius Gokudera Hayato (self-proclaimed 'right-hand man' of Tsuna) offered to give Tsuna his homework so that the brunet wouldn't get detention. Looking away from the two as Tsuna started to try and convince Gokudera that he didn't need to do something like that and he deserved any detention he got, Yamamoto let the two become background noise like a television or a radio. His eyes landed on something that seemed off to him, then, and he cocked his head to the side in confusion.
"Hey, where's Sasagawa?"
Tsuna and Gokudera suddenly stopped talking as they looked over to Yamamoto in question, wondering what he was asking about. Tsuna then took that moment to glance over the classroom, honey coloured eyes widening even more than usual when he noticed what Yamamoto had noticed.
"Kyoko-chan's not here today? I wonder if something happened…" The young looking 14-year old pouted worriedly, looking around again as if seeing if the girl he had a crush on was just hiding behind a desk or something.
"Kyoko's sick." The three boys looked over at the new person, Tsuna blinking as Kurokawa Hana stood in front of him, arms crossed and a frown on her lips. "She got a cold or something the other day. It got worse this morning when she was getting ready for school. Her older brother skipped out on school so that he could take care of her." She then eyed them suspiciously, dark eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you care, Yamamoto?"
"Hm?" Yamamoto looked at her with raised eyebrows, before smiling lightly. "I can worry about a fellow classmate, can't I? I also consider Sasagawa to be a friend of mine." He shrugged, his arms crossing behind his head. "Why so protective, Kurokawa?"
"Hm," Hana narrowed her eyes a little more, before sighing and shrugging, looking away as if she didn't care. "I just think you guys are suspicious, and I don't want Kyoko dragged into whatever it is that you're doing. Whatever." She walked away then, leaving the three of them to stare after her in surprise to her comment.
"We're…suspicious?" Tsuna asked in a small voice, eyes wide. "W-why are we suspicious?!"
"You aren't suspicious at all, Tenth! If anything, that woman is the suspicious one! She's always looking at us funny, as if she knows something or whatever!" Gokudera shot a glare at Hana's back, seemingly displeased over the fact that she seemed to have upset Tsuna. "I don't trust her…Should we get rid of her?" He looked at Tsuna then with a smile, one hand sneaking into his back pocket, probably grabbing a few of the usual sticks of dynamite. Tsuna was quick to grab onto Gokudera's arm, however, telling him quickly that they did not need to do anything drastic like that.
Yamamoto smiled at their antics, amused as always, before turning to look at Hana as she spoke to a couple of her friends on the other side of the classroom. Was it possible that Hana knew about their 'mafia game'? He pursed his lips in thought, staring over her shoulder for a moment before shrugging to himself. Ah well. It didn't matter either way.
He turned back to his friends just in time to see Tsuna crying out as Gokudera flung dynamite out the window, supposedly because Tsuna had fallen into him, causing him to stumble and haphazardly toss the dangerous toys.
He laughed good-naturedly as the dynamite went off outside the window, thinking that it was just another day at Namimori middle school.
"I can't believe our luck, Tenth! The teacher was so upset about dynamite blowing up outside of his window that he didn't even think of checking our homework! Isn't it great? Now you won't have detention!"
Gokudera grinned proudly as he said this, hands on his hips and legs spread apart, as if he had planned the entire thing all along. Which, knowing the Italian boy, was very far off the mark. He might've been extremely intelligent and pretty good at thinking up plans of defence on the fly, but the exploding dynamite had been a fluke. No need to bring that detail up, though.
"Now you can go see how Sasagawa's doing, Tsuna," Yamamoto said with a grin, standing beside him and grinning as always. "You were worried about her since you learned she was sick, right? What if we brought her something to cheer her up? I'm sure she'd like that."
"O-oh?" Tsuna looked up at Yamamoto with a slight flush, embarrassed that he had been read so easily by his taller baseball-playing friend. "Hey, you're right! That is a good idea!" He grinned then, fisting his hand in determination. "But…what should we get her?"
"I dunno, flowers? A card?"
"Pfft, good answer baseball-idiot," Gokudera snorted, put-out because Tsuna was paying more attention to Yamamoto instead of him. "Why would the Tenth get something so clichéd as flowers or a card?" He rolled his eyes, before grinning at Tsuna. "The Tenth will think of something way better than either of those!"
"Huh? Uhm…but…I think bringing her flowers or a card is a good idea. I mean, cards are always nice…and girls like flowers…" The brunet scratched the back of his head, looking thoughtful. "Does a get well gift have to be original to be thoughtful…?"
"E-eh?! No, of course not! I mean, if the Tenth thinks that that flowers is a good idea, then it's definitely a good idea!!" Gokudera flailed, eyes wide in a panic as if he were afraid he had insulted Tsuna's pride or something. Tsuna just sighed, smiling at Gokudera before looking up towards the sky. Unconsciously, he started to play with the Vongola ring he wore on a chain around his neck.
"Hmm…I wonder what kind of flowers Kyoko-chan likes…?"
"Why don't we ask the florist in the flower shop? They're supposed to know the secret meanings behind flowers, and maybe they can help you find a flower that Sasagawa would like." Yamamoto suggested grinning as Tsuna nodded in agreement, glancing at Gokudera to see him glaring knives of promised death towards him.
"Alright then! Let's go to the flower shop!" Gokudera proclaimed loudly, marching off in the lead towards the closet flower shop, scaring pedestrians away in his wake. Tsuna muttered something under his breath, rushing after Gokudera so that he wouldn't scare anyone else, leaving Yamamoto to catch up.
He walked at a leisurely pace, fast enough so that he wouldn't lose sight of his friends yet not so fast as to seem to be chasing after them. He had his hands shoved into his uniform's back pockets, his bag over his shoulder and the Vongola ring of the Rain Guardian resting on a chain against his collarbone, much like Tsuna's own ring of Sky. Light eyes glanced up at the sky, noting that there were a few rain clouds moving in from the west; there was probably going to be a storm that night. With that thought in mind, he looked back to his friends to see them waiting for him in front of the shop, Tsuna looking at him curiously and Gokudera looking impatient (as always).
"Sorry! Didn't mean to slow you guys down," he apologized with a grin, stopping in front of them and looking down a bit. Tsuna stared at him for a moment longer, as if he were trying to puzzle something out before he nodded turning and walking in. Gokudera just snorted, turning away from him and walking into the shop after his boss, leaving Yamamoto to walk in after them. He walked in then, nose assaulted by the scent of hundreds of different flowers, ears catching the soft sound of a radio station playing something like country or soft rock. He couldn't tell exactly. He stepped in from the door, glancing around at the different coloured flora before glancing at Tsuna to see him looking at a bunch of daffodils, seeming unsure. Yamamoto smiled a little, knowing that the smaller boy would be too shy to ask the florist in charge of the shop instead.
Before Gokudera came to this same conclusion and scared the poor man, Yamamoto walked over to the elder shop owner, clearing his throat to gain his attention. The man turned around, eyebrows raised to his greying hairline as Yamamoto smiled at him, before the teen bowed in respect. "Excuse me, sir, but my friends and I were just wondering if you could help us find a flower for our friend? She's sick, you see, and we wanted to make her feel better somehow. We don't know her favourite flower, though, so we're in a bit of a predicament."
"Ahh," the florist said, smiling easily. "Alright. We'll see what I can find for you. Why don't you tell me a little bit about this girl?"
"Of course," Yamamoto said, smiling, before turning to look at Tsuna. "Tsuna, you know her better than me. Would you tell him about her?"
"E-eh…? Uhm…okay." Tsuna walked over to them, flushing in embarrassment as he started to tell the florist about Kyoko.
"Do you think she'll like them?"
Yamamoto and Gokudera looked back at Tsuna, who was walking behind them, as he held the small bouquet of pink and red geraniums carefully, consciously trying not to crush them. He glanced up at the two of them, looking self-conscious as they neared the Sasagawa home where they would present their gift to Kyoko and perhaps say hi to her older brother Ryohei.
"The florist seemed to think so. He said they meant 'comfort'." Yamamoto shrugged, grinning. "Who doesn't want to be comfortable while recuperating?"
"Of course she'll like them, Tenth! After all, you picked them out for her! She'll be amazed at her generosity and have no choice but to like them." Gokudera assured, grinning at him around a cigarette. Tsuna smiled a little then, nodding and catching up to them as they turned onto their friends' residence. "Oh! The Tenth can't knock, since he's got his hands full. I'll do it, as it is my duty to do things for my boss when he is unable to!" Gokudera turned to knock on the door when he saw Yamamoto already knocking, looking relaxed. "What the—?! Dammit, baseball-idiot! I was going to do that!"
"Oh? Sorry. I was just closest," he said, smiling apologetically and shrugging. Gokudera opened his mouth to say something when the door suddenly opened. The boys turned to see the light haired, forever bandaged Sasagawa Ryohei looking at them with wide eyes before he grinned brightly, fisting his hand in front of him.
"Sawada! Octopus head! Baseball guy! It's great to see you guys to the EXTREME!" He greeted loudly and cheerfully, as was his character. Sawada smiled nervously, slowly putting the geraniums behind his back. "What're you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be at home studying or something…to the EXTREME?"
"Uh, well…you see Big Brother, we heard Kyoko-chan was sick," Tsuna said, looking at the Sun Guardian with worried honey coloured eyes. "So we wanted to see how she was doing.
"Oh wow! That's EXTREMELY nice of you guys! Hana was over earlier to give some EXTREME notes from class to Kyoko! Though I think she'd EXTREMELY like to see you guys! Hey Sawada, what'cha hiding behind your back?"
"E-eh…?!" Tsuna stepped back unconsciously as Ryohei came up into his personal space, looking behind him to the flowers. "Oh! These? Uhm…they're…"
"They're a get well present from all of us," Yamamoto piped up, smiling. "We thought that Sasagawa would like them."
"Hey, that was EXTREMELY thoughtful! Why don't you guys come in and give them to her? She'll be EXTREMELY surprised!" And without another word, Ryohei pushed the three boys forcefully into his home, closing the door and leading the way to Kyoko's room once the boys had taken off their shoes. Tsuna fidgeted nervously as Ryohei opened Kyoko's door, whispering in more of an indoor voice than an actual whisper that the three of them wanted to see her, biting his lip when he heard her dry-voice reply.
Yamamoto gently pushed Tsuna into the room then, holding Gokudera back as Tsuna walked in towards Kyoko, having a quiet conversation with the girl. He watched as his friend presented the flowers with a blush, smiling a bit as Kyoko smiled brightly and thanked him in as exuberant a voice as she could muster with a sore throat, before she pointed for Tsuna to put them in a vase conveniently located on her window ledge. Tsuna smiled happily as he went to fill the vase with water and put the flowers in, situating it where Kyoko pointed for him to, before telling her that he hoped she felt better soon. She smiled thankfully, waving to Yamamoto and Gokudera as she noticed them by the door, before she snuggled into her blankets and closed her eyes for a nap.
Ryohei walked them back to the door, grinning as they put their shoes back on. "Sawada, you're such an EXTREMELY nice guy! I'm glad we're EXTREME buds! I'll see you at school, alright? TO THE EXTREME!"
"Haha, of course Big Brother!" Tsuna said with a smile, shouldering his bag quickly. "We'll see you later, then! See ya!" Tsuna waved as they walked away from the front door, Gokudera holding a hand up in acknowledgement and Yamamoto grinning at him. They then started their trek towards Tsuna's home, where they would all split for their own directions. They walked in silence, having nothing to say after their relatively eventful afternoon. It was soon, then, that they reached Tsuna's house. Gokudera turned to Tsuna then, bowing to him and smiling.
"I'll definitely see you tomorrow, Tenth! If you need any help with the homework tonight, you just call me up alright? I'll be over in a flash to help you!" He turned his gaze to Yamamoto then, seeming to think if he should say anything or not before just nodding to him, as if that were good enough for him. Yamamoto simply grinned in response, nodding back.
"Alright, thank you Gokudera-kun. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Tsuna smiled, watching as Gokudera turned and walked off to wherever he lived. Tsuna then turned to Yamamoto, about to say his goodbyes to his friend when a sudden, familiar screech came from his house. Both boys turned to look just in time to see Lambo being chased by I-Pin, Reborn watching from the door with his permanent smirk. I-Pin was yelling something or another in the language neither boy could understand, trying to hit Lambo whenever she got into reach; the boy would speed up, yelling and crying as he tried to find a hiding place. He spotted Tsuna and Yamamoto then, lunging at them with surprising speed and clinging to Tsuna's head, sniffling as snot ran down his face.
"Lambo! Get off of me! Why is I-Pin chasing you this time?!" Tsuna tugged on the five-year-old, successfully pulling him off of his head and holding him at arm's length. Lambo continued to cry incessantly, waving his arms around in a flailing manner while Tsuna tried to calm him down. Yamamoto smiled empathetically then, leaning over Tsuna's shoulder to look at the infant.
"Hey little guy, what's up? You know, if you continue to cry like that Tsuna won't be able to help you."
Lambo paused, looking at Yamamoto with wide eyes and a running nose, before he nodded as if agreeing to what he said. Tsuna sighed thankfully, putting the afro-headed child onto the ground and kneeling down to his eye level. "Now. What happened?"
"She just started to chase me! She said some gobbledegook and started to try and kill me!!" Lambo pouted, sniffing again and Tsuna sighed, looking up just in time to see I-Pin come out of nowhere and kick Lambo in the back of the head. The child went flying, only being stopped by Yamamoto's physical barricade—AKA his legs. Before any of them could do anything, Lambo started to bawl again, pulling the Ten Year Bazooka out of his hair where he kept it hidden. Tsuna's eyes widened in a panic while Yamamoto looked at it in curiousity, wondering when children's toys had gotten to be so realistic?
What happened next could only be described as a blur. Tsuna lunged towards Lambo, trying to stop him from using the bazooka in front of Yamamoto. This caused Lambo's aim to be off, so instead of the missile that he fired hitting him, it aimed towards the curious Yamamoto. This caused Tsuna to scream at Yamamoto to move, though the teen was stuck, eyes transfixed on the projectile coming straight for his face. He then closed his eyes in preparation for the sudden pain that he was sure to feel when he got hit, the last thing heard being Tsuna yelling about 'how this could not be happening!!'
The missile touched his chin then, and suddenly, smoke surrounded him.
He coughed as he waved the smoke away from his face, grinning as he realized that the bazooka really was just a toy and that when it hit someone, smoke was all that came out. It didn't even hurt at all. Just a harmless, realistic looking toy, as he had always thought.
Smiling he looked around as the smoke cleared, pausing as he realized something was off.
He was not in front of Tsuna's house, nor was Tsuna, Lambo, I-Pin or Reborn in front of him.
He was not even outside, for that matter.
He was in a room, sitting on the floor in front of a desk that had papers, a couple of old looking boxes and a calendar scattered across it. To his left and behind was a futon, folded up for the moment and not looking as if it had been used lately. A pressed suit hung on the closet door, and the radio was playing music in the background. There was a single window with the blinds shut. Yamamoto started to get up from the floor to look out the window and get his bearings when his hand touched something that felt like leather. He looked down then more curious about the thing he had touched than his location for the moment.
On the desk, slightly obscured by some papers with official looking business on it, was a leather diary or journal of sorts. Cocking his head to the side in growing curiousity, he picked up the journal, flipping to the first page where clean, sharp handwriting was found.
Property of
Yamamoto Takeshi
Vongola Guardian of the Rain
19XX – 20XX
He raised an eyebrow as he stared at the obscure dates, wondering why he hadn't written down his own birth year or the current year. And since when did he own a journal? Frowning in confusion, he flipped to the next page, blinking as more writing appeared.
April 24
My birthday
So Tsuna gave me a journal for my birthday. He said that I kept too much away from everyone else, but he didn't want to force me to talk to the Family if I didn't want to. So he said that I should at least write down my thoughts, in case I ever needed some sort of way to clear my mind. Though a bit strange (and therefore definitely Tsuna) I thought the gesture to be thoughtful, so it's only fair that I actually use it right? Right.
So it's my 20th birthday today. Man, does time surely fly. It feels only like a couple weeks ago we were at Namimori middle school, playing the 'mafia game' and having fun with friends. Sure, it was kind of dangerous and it wasn't really a game, but it was still a good time and I kind of miss it. Things were simpler back then. Not so much now. Now I know that the Vongola Family really is a mafiaso and that the situations that we get into seemingly every day are not just fun and games but actual life-or-death situations. It was quite a shock to learn the truth like that, so suddenly too. I think I finally realized it when I saw true death for the first time. Or maybe it was the first time I had ever taken a life…either way, when I learned it wasn't a game, I learned. And life hasn't been the same for anyone since.
Yamamoto stared at the page for a moment, looking at the odd Italian word before looking back at the age that was written down. 20. Twenty. Twenty years old. He flipped past the entry, looking at ones farther in, seeing a few more birthdays celebrating his 21st, 22nd, 23rd…
He stopped on the last birthday, his 24th. How was this even possible? Him? Twenty-four years old? How?
He frowned, skipping to the last entry, frowning as he noticed that the clear hand writing wasn't the same.
August 30
After the funeral
I can't believe we had to put his coffin in the middle of some forest, not even properly buried or marked. We've been told that the area was protected and that no one but those who knew its location could get anywhere near it, but it still hurts. This was the man that had changed our lives—that had changed my life. He was my first real friend…he gave me purpose outside of just some stupid sport. He gave me…he gave me life.
And we couldn't even give him a proper funeral.
I think the only other person as upset by this as I was is Gokudera, and he won't even talk to anyone. He's locked himself in his room, working on something or another trying to distract him from thinking too much. I don't blame him. I think I've spent more time in the training room and out in the field than I have in my actual room. I think the two of us are subconsciously trying to grieve in our own way, and we're going to wrong way about it. Well, at least I'm trying to fix that. I'm writing it down so that I can get it out. Just like he had asked me to when he gave me this journal.
It's…it's sad, but the only thing left of him that I have of my own, is this journal. This little, worn out journal that he had given to me in the hope that I could write down my thoughts when I couldn't tell them to anyone. This emotionless book is the only thing I have left. We can't have pictures or anything, in case anyone infiltrates the house and learns who we are by that alone. His personal things were locked away in some safe house, since his mother doesn't know about his death, or Haru or Kyoko. Everything that could symbolise him—who he was, what he was like, how much he meant to everyone—has to be locked away.
But not this journal. This journal is mine, and I'm keeping it so that I have something of him.
. . .
It's funny. But once again, ever since that day happened, I've been wishing the same thing over and over. It's like this regret that I'll never be able to get rid of; this one thing that I held back from everything, even this journal, that I'll never be able to release now. Not to him at least. Not to the one it mattered most to.
But I might as well say it here. After all, what can I do now? It's not like he's around to say it to.
I just wish…
This is harder to write than I thought. Okay. Let's try this at a different angle.
I regret having never told…having never told Tsuna that…that I…
. . .
That I loved him.
I loved him, and now…now he'll never know. Because he's in a coffin in the middle of a forest, not even properly buried.
Because he's dead.
I wish…that I had realized this before
There was a bit of an ink splotch on the page then, as if the pen had been dropped in a hurry. And perhaps it had been. Yamamoto closed the book quietly, placing it on his lap as he stared at the desk with blank eyes. What was going on in this journal? Tsuna…Tsuna was dead?
He gripped his shirt above his heart then, gritting his teeth at the inexplicable pain from the mere thought of Tsuna not…being around anymore. He couldn't even imagine a world like that. He wouldn't imagine a world like that.
Dropping his hand back to the journal, he stared at it, narrowing his eyes a little. Did that mean he loved him, then? Loved his best friend in a way that…wasn't really all that acceptable in normal, respectable society?
The more he thought about it, the more it actually made sense. He was always looking out for Tsuna, paying attention to his feelings and his nature in situations. He tried to make sure he was happy, generally. And if anyone threatened him he was one of the first ones to put himself on the line (as he now realized that the game he thought they'd been playing wasn't really a game at all).
And how the hell had Tsuna died anyhow? Where had he been? Why hadn't he jumped in to save him? Had something been happening that distracted him or occupied him? That could be the only reason he would accept, because if it was anything like carelessness or wrong-place-at-wrong-time, then he'd hate himself. Forever.
He shook his head then, closing his eyes. This wasn't the main issue here. The main issue was that he was realizing feelings for his best friend that he had apparently held back for ten years until it had been too late and his best friend ended up in a coffin. He knew, just like his future self knew, that he was going to regret this for the rest of his life.
And Yamamoto Takeshi, whether in the future or in the past, did not allow himself to have regret.
Just as he thought this, he was surrounded in smoke.