Alright, I apologize for the confusion first off, but there has been a lot of...well confusion pertaining to my original fic of Star Gazing. So here is what happened, I posted my story Star Gazing, then decided to turn it into a drabble fic but after I messed with the chapters so the story could follow a linear pattern, people got confused. So I decided to re-edit the whole of Star Gazing and post it as a new story, while leaving leaving Star Gazing: A YamaHaru Drabble as just a drabble, now known as A YamaHaru Drabble. Don't worry for all of you who are following my drabbles they will still be updated but as this is a completed story, it will not be updated anymore. Anyway please enjoy! A full and detailed explanation will be posted in A YamaHaru Drabble.
Star Gazing
As the burning sun vanished over the distant horizon vibrant colors erupted all across the sky. Reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and the vaguest hint of purple stained the sky like watercolors on a canvas. From the outer edge of the sky lined in black to the inner rims of molten orange surrounding the sun's resting place, the colors changed and shifted as the black of night began to consume the day. Purple tinted blue slowly bled into the brighter colors surrounding the setting sun as twilight settled in. Dark blue began to consume the purple and only the faintest hints of pinkish orange remained as evidence of the once vibrant sunset. Finally the night, littered with glimmering stars, swallowed the whole of Namimori.
A young girl of fourteen years and chocolate colored eyes watched as this unfolded with a kind of dazed curiosity. Her seemingly blank and unfocused eyes took in every second of the glorious sunset and yet could not believe its magnificence. All her life she had seen the rising and setting sun, the lazy clouds, and the glowing moon but today was different as the only thing she had gazed upon for long time were concrete walls.
For weeks she had lived deep underground, inside the Vongola base unable to see the sky, nine years and six months in the future no less. At first she had known nothing of the Millefiore or Byakuran; she only knew that Tsuna-san and his friends were fighting for their lives and that they were getting seriously hurt in the process. However, despite all the uncertainty and fear, she bravely smiled in their presence and cooked them meals and took care of the children. She tried her best not to cry in front of them like she had when they first arrived, but opted instead to hide in one of the storage rooms and bawl like a newborn.
The stress and anxiety soon affected her physically; her skin paled and she became thinner. Worry lines had permanently etched themselves into her skin as the beginnings of crow's feet, which no other living being could see save for her and perhaps those had seen her face up close before her journey to the future. Her hands now held three small scars on them, two on the right and one on the left, from her failed attempts at mincing. The skin on her left forearm was slightly rougher than the other from the time that Lambo had been playing in the kitchen and some miso soup had been upset. Other than that, there had been no significant damage done to Haru Miura.
The Vongola Decimo and his family, including Haru, returned from the future two days ago and she hadn't seen or spoken with any of them since. Not on purpose of course, but according to her parents disappearing for several days warranted a long and thorough grounding. No going out of the house, no cell phones, no visitors, ect. So Haru had spent the last couple days making new costumes for the Midori Theater Fest to make up for lost time. She also did everything she could to appease her parents so as to shorten her sentence. She rose early every morning and made them breakfast with her newly acquired cooking skills. She listened avidly to her father's lectures on the Law of Detachment and sipped tea with her mother while she sewed new additions on her Namahage costume. In truth she was glad she got to spend time with her family, though she missed Tsuna-san and the others. She particularly missed Kyoko, Bianchi, Fuuta, I-pin, and Lambo. They had all grown closer as they relied on one another for strength in the future.
By the second day of her confinement Haru desperately wanted to see them all, so she begged her parents to allow her to visit them if only for a day. It helped that she made a double layer chocolate cake to soften them up a bit. They caved and she was free for the next twenty-four hours. The next morning she sang quietly to herself as she packed a large bento for the six of them and two lollipops for Lambo-chan and I-pin-chan. She briefly considered packing more in case she saw Tsuna-san and the rest of the boys, but decided against it as she and Kyoko could always make more food. She pulled up her favorite boots and ran outside, shouting a farewell behind her.
She radiated happiness and her smile was brighter than a thousand suns, causing passersby to stop and stare at the pretty brunette as she weaved her way through the crowded streets. She stopped briefly at her favorite cake shop, even though it wasn't Haru Appreciation Day, and grabbed two strawberry cream cakes for her and Kyoko. She then began her trek to Tsuna-san's house where she was most likely to find them all.
Along the way she found herself at the bridge where Tsuna-san her saved her from drowning after Gokudera blasted her off the bridge. Hmph, Aho-dera! Nonetheless she found herself blushing at the memory of her beloved Tsuna-san, clad in nothing but boxers, pulling her out of the river and shouting something to the equivalent of "I'll save Haru with my Dying Will!" This was the place where it all began, where she first decided to become a mafia boss's wife, Tsuna's wife.
It seems so long ago and so foolish too.
She knew. She knew where Tsuna-san's heart lay. Tsuna only had eyes for Kyoko-chan.
All the excitement and anticipation drained out of her and she felt as if she was coming off a high. Her arms ached from carrying the bento and her legs were sore from running. Her vision blurred as tears clouded her vision. Afraid of breaking down right then and there, Haru managed to find her way to the grassy hill that slopped down into the man-made river that the bridge passed over. There she promptly fell on her back and stared at the sky.
Haru honestly meant to get up and continue on her way to Tsuna's house but she found that she couldn't quite face them yet. Not yet. She needed…Time? Space? A giant black hole to destroy the world so she wouldn't have to deal with her stupid heart? Sighing dramatically, Haru found herself staring at the empty spaces between her fingers, in particular the space surrounding her ring finger. Half-suppressed memories flashed in her mind's eye.
A week after arriving in the future Tsuna-san and Bianchi had escorted her back to her parent's house. In her room she found something so devastating that she couldn't even register its significance and shoved the information deep in her mind, hoping that she would forget about it completely. But it would not be so easily forgotten. After all how could a girl forget what her engagement ring looks like.
Haru groaned and curled up on her side burying her face in her hands. Her engagement ring. In the future she was getting married but not to Tsuna-san. For there was also a picture sitting next to the little velvet box, a horrifyingly revealing picture, of her future hubby. At the time the idea that anyone could be her boyfriend, much less her fiancé, other than Tsuna was so foreign she immediately slammed the picture face down and rushed from the room thinking desperately of Tsuna-san and dinner. And so she determinedly forgot about the ring, the picture, and him. Or at the very least mentally took a sledgehammer to her thoughts every time they turned in that particular direction.
Haru stirred from her musings as her stomach growled. Sitting up she realized that the sun was already beginning to set and that she had been lying there staring at the sky for least five hours and she was starving. Hahi, that's too bad I completely forgot about Koyko-chan and the others. Glancing at her ring finger once more, she quickly shook her head in annoyance. The food was still good so at least it wouldn't go to waste. She polished off every single morsel of food she brought, lollipops and all. Full and partially content she settled back in the grass and continued to watch the sky as the sun sunk slowly in the west.
Haru supposed she should be cold considering the fact that it barely rose above forty at night, but she couldn't concentrate on her body. Her eyes were glued to the heavens, transfixed by the heavenly bodies scattered about the inky sky. To her, the sky at night was just an endless black room dotted with softly glowing candles. She imagined herself walking through the dark, dark room lighting candles along the way and for each candle she imagined the faces of one of her friends and family. Slowly but surely she filled the empty void with the light of her love for her friends. However, out of all the candles she lit she only carried one with her and when she gazed into its flame his face appeared.
Yamamoto Takeshi.
Haru bolted up from her horizontal position on the ground and wildly gazed around as she was momentarily confused as to where she was in the universe. She sighed softly in relief when she realized that she must have fallen asleep. Memories of her dream washed over her and left Haru blushing slightly. Hahi? Why is Haru blushing…it was only a dream…only Yamamoto-san. This only deepened the color of the roses blossoming across her face. The moon was nearly at its peak and if she didn't return home soon her parents would lengthen her imprisonment. Haru breathed deeply and hauled herself to her feet.
Her skin looked luminescent under the moonlight causing her burn mark and scars to stand out. She ran the pad of her index finger across each mark remembering, remembering all that she had learned in the future, about herself and Tsuna-san. Big, warm, salty tears rolled down her face and neck. Haru didn't bother to wipe them away, after all no one could see her. She reached up and pulled her hair out of it's usual ponytail and ran her fingers through the soft tendrils. Satisfied with her grooming she turned around was about to gather her things and head home when she realized that she had an audience.
There at the top of the hill was her future fiancé, Yamamoto Takeshi, and his eyes had the strangest look in them.
Many thanks to all my readers who have been so patient with me. Take a look at A YamaHaru Drabble if you're interested.
Oh and thank you Garowyn for adding me to Spring Rain. It's about time you got the credit you deserve =)