~* Title: The Heart of the Ocean *~
~* Rating: M *~
~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, and others soon *~
~* Summary: AU: Ever since Tsuna was a young boy, he has always loved the untamable sea, all of it wondrous creatures, and the legends of the mysterious Merpeople that dwells deep in its depths. He tried to be a good boy and listen to his brother about the beautiful, yet deadly creatures. Believe him, he tried. But in the end, he couldn't help but fall madly in love and have his heart stolen by the Prince of the Seven Seas.*~
A/N: Hello, all you 10027, or soon to be 10027 fans~! I really hope that you all will really enjoy this story a lot, especially since this one is one of the happier ones! If you really love readings stories based on fantasies and you really love the mythical creatures, mermaids and mermen, like me, then I think you'll really like this one. Anyway, I hope you guys like this story and have a fun time reading it. Please read and review~!
Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely and forever amazing Akira Amano.
Chapter 1: Ocean Soul
It was a calm and beautiful morning in the quiet little town of Namimori Island. Over the ocean's horizon, the glowing sun was slowly beginning to rise gracefully in the light blue sky. When the glowing orb had reached the very highest point in the air, its bright, shining rays began to illuminate upon the ocean's deep blue surface, creating a sparkling coat of dancing and flickering lights.
The waves were very soothing, pushing gently against the sandy shores with each passing minute. As soon the white foam from the waves was able to cover most of the shore with a light, thin blanket of bubbles, it quickly returned back into the water from whence it came. The waves truly made the perfect melody of absolute tranquility for any soul that listened to them.
As the day began, the people of the town awoke from their slumber so that they could prepare themselves to start the day. One by one, the streets were littered by people of all sorts of professions and all kinds of backgrounds.
There were many merchants getting their stands of food, clothing, and other necessities ready for their soon to be buying customers. The light laughter of children rang through the air as they started to play a furious game of tag with each other. Also, the delicious smell of fresh baking bread coming from the bakery, glided across the area and into the noses of those who passed by it.
Everyone was now fully awake and was now busying themselves with their everyday activities. Well, everyone except for one.
Inside a small house, not too far from the town, which belonged to the Sawada Family, there was still one person who remained soundlessly sleeping in their bed, and that person was a little boy named, Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Tsuna was fast asleep in his bedroom. In the bed, the boy's body was wrapped securely under a large quilt that had the sun, the moon, and many yellow stars scattered all over it. His breathing was slow and steady as his small body continuously rose and lowered beneath the blanket. And, spikey, cinnamon brown hair could be seen peeking from underneath the covers.
Despite the fact that the day had already begun, the boy was still stuck in the world of dreams and enchantment, unable to escape the fantasies that trapped him in his sleeping spell.
Down in the kitchen of the home, a young woman by the name of Sawada Nana, who had long, chocolate hair and large brown eyes, was happily making a wonderful breakfast.
While she hummed a joyous theme to herself, she cracked a few eggs and put them into the frying pan. While the eggs were cooking, swiftly she walked over to the ice box and took out some oranges, strawberries, cantaloupe, and grapes. Once she had all the fruit she wanted, she then proceeded in slicing the fruit into a medium-sized bowl. Afterwards, she went back towards the now finished eggs and carefully put them on a plate. Then, she proceeded to set the table for her family. Finally, after making sure that everything met her expectations, she nodded to herself with a big smile on her face and then trotted towards the stairs of her home.
"Tsu-kun, Gio-kun, breakfast is ready!" The woman called out sweetly to her children, signaling them to come have their meal.
Soon, not too long after hearing his mother's kind voice, Tsuna slowly opened his own pair of chocolate eyes before he sluggishly pulled himself from under his blanket. As he sat up in his bed, he let out a small, tired yawn as he started to rub the temporary blindness from his orbs. Once his vision had cleared up completely, the boy scratched his head that was full of wild and untamable locks. And then, after stretching out his small body from the soreness his felt in his limbs for being asleep for so long, he proceeded to crawl out of bed slowly.
As the brown haired child walked across his dark room, he made sure not to step on any of his drawings and paintings that were scattered all over his floor. There were many pieces of art that consisted of all sorts of fantastical sea creatures from all kinds of colorful fish, to the fearless and predatory sharks, to the ever so playful and friendly dolphins, and other kinds of other beautiful ocean dwellers. He also made sure to steer clear of all the large books of the sea and marine life, and the many sea shells of a broad variety of shapes, sizes and colors as he made his way towards his window.
When Tsuna was standing in front of his window, with a small tug of his small hands he opened his curtains, letting the sun fully light up his messy room. After doing so, he opened both of his windows and then slowly closed his brown orbs to take in all of his surroundings in peace.
As the boy let himself become in tune with nature, he could hear the sound of loud, squawking sea gulls flying through the air, no doubt about to take a long journey together across the vast open sea. There was a gentle breeze that lightly caressed the boy's skin and took him into a sweet, soft embrace too.
Taking a deep breath, the boy inhaled the fresh smell of the ocean's water that he loved ever so dearly. The smell of the sea had been engraved in his mind for such a long time, it made him feel so calm whenever he smelled it. When the boy exhaled the scent from his lungs, he let out a very content sigh and soon a lovely smile could be seen gracing his youthful face.
"It's going to be a great day." Tsuna finally broke the serene silence as he felt a familiar happiness swim deep inside his soul.
"C'mon boys…!" The small brunette nearly jumped as he was somewhat startled hearing mother's voice after being lost in his own quiet world for so long. "Your breakfast is getting cold!"
Tsuna could have mentally slapped himself if he was ever given the chance. He had completely forgotten that his mother had called him and his brother down not too long ago. He didn't want to upset her any further by keeping her waiting, so he swiftly closed his windows before turning toward his wooden door.
"Okay!" The boy soundly answered back quickly as he jumped over all his pictures, books, and shells that still remained undisturbed upon the floor.
~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~
After washing his face and making sure he looked presentable for breakfast, Tsuna carefully walked down the stairs, making sure that he held on the staircase rail in fear that he might tumble down them due to his own never-ending clumsiness. When he walked into the kitchen, his mother immediately greeted him with a soft smile and gestured at him with her hand to take his seat.
Tsuna sat down at his chair at the table and was very delighted to see that his mother, once again, made a very lovely breakfast for them.
"Everything looks really yummy, Mommy!" Tsuna said to his mother with a bright grin. The woman smiled at her son's compliment in return. "Thank you, sweetheart." Nana replied back with an equally bright smile that matched the other brunet's. "I really hope that you enjoy it."
As much as the brown haired boy wanted to wolf down the wonderful food in front of him, he chose not to because he wasn't sure if he was allowed to eat until everyone was at the table. The young boy looked at his mother with his large, unsure brown eyes and a light blush dusting his small cheeks, completely unsure of what he should do next. The long haired woman let out a small giggle at her little son's adorable expression. She patted his wild hair lovingly as she bent down to his level and gave him another gentle smile.
"You can go ahead and eat up, Tsu-kun." The woman told the boy reassuringly. "It's okay! There'll be a lot of food left over for your brother whenever he decides to come down."
Once the boy had heard his mother give him her permission to eat, he gave a very large and cheerful grin as he began to consume the delicious food in front of him. Not long after, his mother joined him at the table and began to happily eat her meal as well.
It was a long while before any of the two said anything to one another. Tsuna was still enjoying his mother's cooking, now putting a large spoonful full of sugar in his bowl of porridge. The long haired woman, finished with her meal, was watching her child with a pleased expression. It really filled her up with so much pride and happiness when she watched others, especially her family, enjoy eating her food.
"What are you going to do today, Tsu-kun?" The mother asked her precious boy as the child popped a strawberry slice into his mouth. The boy swallowed the sweet fruit and looked at his mother with bright eyes. "I really want to go to the beach today so that I can collect more sea shells for my collection, and hopefully I will be able to find a starfish too!"
The woman's smile grew wider at her son as she listened to everything that he had planned today. It never ceased to amaze her at the massive amount of time her son spent at the beach almost every single day.
Ever since Tsuna was a baby, he always loved it whenever she took him to the beach on a bright, sunny day. The boy loved anything that had to do with the sea from the melodious waves, to the crystal clear water, the magnificent sea animals, and the many memorable stories and tales that came from there too. The brown haired child always seemed at peace whenever he was near the ocean. He loved it with every fiber of his being because he was very much a part of it as it was of him.
"Do you have anyone to go with you?" Nana asked her boy and in return the boy looked down at the table with a sad look on his now flushed face.
The brown haired boy shook his head as his brown orbs began to tear up. "No… None of the other kids will play with me. They all think that I'm…w-w-weird, and n-nobody seems to like m-me."
The woman frowned deeply at her son's statement. She felt her heart waver seeing her little boy start to cry.
She knew deep down inside that her little boy didn't have any friends to call his own. It seemed to her that the other children in town didn't want anything to do with her son just because he had different interests from theirs, and that he didn't really like doing things that they always wanted to do.
Just because the boy actually took time to notice the beauty around him and be enchanted by it, it classified him as being strange which didn't make any sense to her at all. What utter nonsense she would tell herself at the mere thought of it all.
"Listen to me, Tsu-kun." the woman began as she motioned for her son to come to her. When the boy was standing in front of her, she picked the brunet up and placed him upon her lap. She brought her hand to his son's chin and lifted his round face up so that she look him intently in his watery orbs with a strong expression on her face.
"Don't let those kids get to you, alright? You are a very special boy with a very beautiful imagination with an even bigger heart, and if they can't take the time to see it, then they really aren't worth it. Okay?"
Tsuna looked up at his mother in absolute astonishment as he wiped the tears from off his slightly flushed face. He then gave his mother a small nod of his head and she smiled brightly in return. "Good boy. Now, go finish you breakfast." The woman told him as he hopped off her lap and returned to his seat.
"Mommy, can you take me to the beach today?" The brown haired child suddenly asked out of the blue, hoping that his mother would say yes. However, to his shock, Nana shook her head while giving her son a remorseful look.
"I'm sorry Tsu-kun." The woman whispered as she watched her son stare at the table as more tear drops began to spill from his eyes. "I have a lot of cleaning to do around the house, and I just don't have the time to take you today. I could take you tomorrow if you want me to." But, hearing this only made those brown eyes water even more.
Nana began to panic because she didn't want her baby boy have his day ruined by her. She had to think of something and fast. Luckily, for her, an idea immediately popped into her head, and she gave her son a small grin as she was about to propose her alternative idea.
"Hey, Tsu-kun," the brown haired woman began while trying to calm her whimpering child down, "why don't you ask Gio-kun to take you instead. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind if you asked him politely." The teary eyed brunet immediately looked up at his mother's idea, and as quickly as the tears came they vanished from his eyes.
"That's a great idea, Mommy!" Tsuna shouted ecstatically right before he shoved a spoonful of sugary porridge into his mouth, seeing as to now he was happy enough to eat again. Nana sighed in relief as she watched her son continued to eat his meal. Her battle was won…for the moment.
'I really hope Gio-kun will be able to take him.' The mother thought hopefully, silently praying that her other son wouldn't object to the idea. 'Speaking of which, where is that child of mine anyway?'
As if on cue, a boy with spikey, glowing blond hair walked into the kitchen with his eyes slightly closed. Despite not having his eyes completely opened in the slightest, he seemed to know where he was going with perfect ease. With a small yawn, he went over to his mother's side and gave her a small hug in greeting and he ruffled his younger brother's hair playfully before sitting down in his chair. Once he found himself in a comfortable position in his seat, he opened his slanted orbs, revealing to the world of his bright, shining orange gems that were now hungrily scanning the table full of food.
"Good Morning, Giotto-nii!" Tsuna told his older brother as he wiped some porridge off of his face. Giotto gave his little brother a small chuckle as he scooped some eggs onto his plate along with some fresh fruit. "Good Morning to you too, Tsu-kun." The older boy relied back with a gentle voice. "Did you have any pleasant dreams last night?" The boy nodded his head with a bright hopeful look in his big orbs. He really hoped his brother would agree to his mother's idea.
"G-Giotto-nii," the boy began as he waited to make sure he had his brother's undivided attention, "w-w-will please you take me to the beach t-today? Mommy said she would've taken me, but she has too much work to do."
The older brother stared at his little brother for a moment before he let out a light chuckle at the younger boy's meekness at asking him to accompany him to his most beloved place.
"You don't need to ask me, Tsu-kun. It's no problem at all. I'll take you today." The blond beamed at the small brunette while he gave him a toothy grin. After hearing this, the younger boy jumped up in happiness, nearly knocking the chair he was on onto the floor.
"Really?!" Tsuna cried out with obvious excitement in his voice. The orange eyed boy laughed out loud at his brother's sudden burst of energy and excitement. "Of course I will, dear little brother." Giotto replied back right before he lowered the top half of his body, making himself bow in his seat toward the brown eyed boy as if he was a prince. "It would be my greatest honor to escort you to the beach today."
Tsuna jumped out of his seat as he ran towards his brother to give him a bone crushing hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The younger boy said excitedly as he jumped away from the blond boy and ran up the stairs to get ready for his trip.
Nana smiled happily at her youngest son's enthusiasm, and she then turned towards Giotto also giving the older boy smile too. "Thank you so much, Gio-kun. This really means a lot to him and to me." The woman said gratefully while the blond haired boy poured some sugar into his bowl of porridge.
"No problem, Mom." Nana's eldest son said back to her before he began to eat his breakfast so that he would have enough energy to keep up with his energetic little brother.
~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~
After Tsuna and Giotto were finished with their breakfast, done getting ready, and received a basket full of food from their mother, the boys left soon their home and were now walking through their bustling town. While the boys quickly brushed pass the many chattering people that crowded the streets, the older boy held his one little brother's hand in a strong grip so that he wouldn't lose track of him and Tsuna held an orange bucket tightly in his other hand.
Giotto was never one who liked huge crowds, especially one that kept pestering and begging you to buy all these things that you didn't want or need. The older boy liked to walk in a fast pace so that he could easily avoid all the sellers that wanted you to buy random junk from them. The older boy couldn't help but feel sorry for dragging his poor younger brother around like a ragdoll. He knew that the boy was having a hard time keeping up with him since every moment or so the younger boy would bump into him accidently.
"Don't worry Tsu-kun, we're almost there." The blond boy told his brother as he could now start see the beach that was not too far from the shipyard that had many different ships and boats floating upon the water.
When the two brothers got near the desired area, Tsuna took his hand away from his brother and started to walk in the direction of the docks while Giotto was walking towards the bridge that led down to beach. It didn't take the older brother long to realize that the brunet had gone to a different direction that wasn't close to the beach. The blond boy was the first to take notice as he stopped in his tracks as he turned back to see where his brother was heading.
"Tsu-kun!" Giotto shouted loudly, trying to get his little brother's attention since the boy was still walking in the direction of the boats. Once the brown haired boy heard his brother call him, he stopped walking and turned toward the older boy's direction with a strange look in his eyes.
"Where do you think you're going?" The older boy said as he marched up to the brunet and grabbed his small arm rather roughly. "The beach is that way," he pointed at the beach not too far from them, "and you're going in the wrong direction. Why in the world are you heading for the docks?"
Shocked at his brother's rashness, Tsuna looked at Giotto with a bewildered expression on his face for the way his brother was handling him. He quickly snatched his arm away from him and began to rub it tenderly. Once he was able to nurse most of the soreness out his limb, he stared up at his golden haired brother with a look of fiery determination.
"I really wanted to go to a different beach today." Tsuna said with no sign of wavering in his voice, hoping that the blond would get the hint of the place he was talking about. However, now it was the older brother's turn to look bewildered, his orange eyes now carried a flickering gleam of annoyance mixed with absolute confusion.
"What other beach?" The orange eyed boy asked as he was trying to figure out what the brunet was trying to tell him. "There's only one beach that I know of that's close to where we live." The blond boy stated, but Tsuna only continued to look at Giotto with a strong look in his eyes before the younger boy continued.
"You know the one, Giotto-nii. You told me that you went there few times to explore since no one else will go near it last month."
Thinking immensely, Giotto stood there for a moment attempting to figure out what Tsuna was talking about. As thought after thought passed through his mind, orange gems suddenly widen and then narrowed dangerously as he now stared fiercely down at his brother.
"You little liar…" The older brother began growling lowly as his sharp eyes pierced into the boy causing the child to flinch a bit, "Don't tell me…You are talking about Stellamaria Island, aren't you?"
The brunet looked down at the ground but nodded his head slowly. Orange eyes only seemed to narrow more if that were even possible, but then, his expression change abruptly to the point it somewhat scared the younger boy of his brother's sudden mood-swing.
"No." The harsh, simple word was said to the boy immediately. Tsuna's eyes widen considerably at hearing that one simple word. He couldn't believe how unreasonable his brother was being. "B-But…" He started, but was quickly interrupted by Giotto. "No means no, Tsu-kun. I refuse to take you to that island, and there is nothing you can say that will make me change my mind."
The large brown orbs, instead of turning teary like they usually did whenever the boy was given crestfallen news, turned so stormy and wild that they could even raging sea during a fierce storm to shame.
"WHY NOT!" Tsuna yelled at the top of his lungs, surprising Giotto since the older boy took a few steps back because of the boy's sudden outburst.
"What is so bad about that island?! I don't understand! I know a lot of people around here say that the island's cursed and haunted by those that died at sea and such, but even you said that it was a bunch of nonsense!
Breathing heavily, the young boy was desperately trying to calm himself down. After a few minutes, the brown haired child finally found his inner peace since the ocean waves were like a sweet, soothing melody to him that allowed him to immediately release the anger that consumed him.
Silence fell between the two boys as both of the brothers stared at each other with determined eyes. There was a quiet battle going on between them to see whether or not the younger brother would accept that the older brother was not going to take on his request or that the older one would give in and take the younger to the island.
Soon, their little bout became so unbearable and the older eventually closed his eyes tightly as he walked in a direction that made the boy's heart soar greatly.
"Fine." Giotto said quietly, walking solemnly toward the direction of the docks. At that moment, the young brunet wanted to cheer for himself for winning his brother over in taking him to Stellamaria Island. But, before the boy was allowed to relish in his victory, the blond boy quickly turned towards him with a stern expression on his face.
"You do know that this is a one-time deal, right?" The older boy asked, watching as his brother just simply nodded at him.
"I'd figure it would be that way." Tsuna said truthfully as he followed his brother to one of the boats that belonged to blond.
As the boys got inside Giotto's personally handcrafted sailboat, the older boy looked intensely at the younger brunet; question after question began clawing at him from the deepest parts inside his mind.
"Let me just ask you one thing." The blond suddenly said to his younger brother, immediately getting the boy's attention on him. "Why is it that you want to go to that island so much anyway?"
Tsuna looked at his brother with a meaningful look and he answered him in the best way he could. "I can't really explain it, honestly." Tsuna replied back while letting a small smile spread across his face. "I…I feel like it's trying to call me, like there's something really important that I'm supposed to do there. I can hear it calling…deep inside my soul… I know I must sound a little crazy to you right now, but it's true."
The blond boy could only stare at the young brunet because he wasn't really sure of what to make of what he just heard. But, to be honest, he wasn't really surprised of his brother telling him something like this.
'He really has an ocean soul inside him, doesn't he?' The blond thought while he saw he brother looking in the distance with a curious look in his eyes. 'Well, I can't really blame him for wanting to go to that island, I guess.'
"Well, let's be off, shall we?" Giotto said as he untied the boat's rope off its holder on the dock and they began to sail across lone waters that were not taken by most.
A/N: I really hope that all you 10027 supporters are really like the story so far! Also, I sincerely hope that you guys didn't mind that I used ocean to mean sea and sea to mean ocean. I've noticed that quite a lot of people have done this too. Anyway, once again, I hope you guys had a blast because there is so much more of this story coming your way! Please review and see you all soon~!
