Author's Note: Finally getting around to posting this here. For those that don't know, this is the rewrite for the pilot in my KHR! Scraps, "Sunny with a Chance". It's also cross-posted under my pseud, kohaku_shi, on AO3 as an actual series.
The original premises for the story was inspired by the fic "Dearly Beloved" written by WizardsGirl.
Just so you all know, there will be potential cross-over elements and/or cameo's in the future. Certain elements will definitely be different from the original "Prototype" version, while others will remain the same. This is also a pseudo-SI/OC insert in which Tsuna gains a twin sister. There will be canon divergences, even if it's slow in coming (as said, it's slow build), and may end up being somewhat perspective change heavy.
Also, a warning, there will be potentially heavy codependency —at least at first.
All other notes will be pushed to the bottom to avoid any possible spoilers.
Now, without further a-do, the story...
— Twin Skies: Children of the Sky —
The day that Sawada Tsunayoshi was born, Iemitsu and Nana were both ecstatic.
Or rather, Iemitsu was ecstatic. Nana was simply tired and sore by the end of it. Of course, she was still quite happy with the results, practically aglow with motherhood as she was. Even more so when it turned out that all the pain, blood, sweat and tears had been more than entirely worth it.
She'd managed to bring two such beautiful babies into the world, after all!
Needless to say, Iemitsu was absolutely over the moon … After a bout of worry for his beloved wife's condition at the strain of giving birth to two children at once, especially considering it was the first time. Still, when even his so-called Vongola Intuition hadn't pinged, he ended up not thinking on it too much. Instead, spending his time by her side giving the love of his life his heartfelt feelings and honest flattery.
"As expected of my Nana! Two precious, perfect babies…!" The usually loud and exuberant man's voice was hushed, starry eyes staring down at his sleeping newborns. Their children. His and Nana's oh-so-precious offspring…
Tears welled. Iemitsu sniffed, refusing to let his watering eyes drip as he rubbed his nose. Just barely avoiding the tears that so wanted to spill as he practically beamed at his growing family. His beautiful, if tired but smiling wife and his babies, a precious little boy and girl.
And in that moment, despite having originally not having any particular attachment or care for children (or at least, he'd never really cared before he'd met his beautiful Nana ), he found himself thinking that the two tiny little bundles, wrinkled and red-faced as they were…
Well, they were definitely the most beautiful things he had ever seen (outside of Nana, that was).
Nana just giggled, the sound tired but warm, reaching out with a radiant smile, so that she could pull both of her precious babies close. Though the fact she'd had twins had been a surprise (they'd only been expecting one , after all), she still loved them both all the same. Her precious baby girl and little boy…
It was really a good thing they'd had names prepared for either gender. Tsunayoshi for the boy, and for a girl…
Chiyohime.
Her little prince and tiny princess.
"My Tsu-kun and Chi-chan…" she murmured, leaning against Iemitsu when he pulled himself onto the edge of the bed, reaching an arm to wrap firmly around her shoulders to both help her up as well as simply to hold his newfound family.
Two pairs of eyes filled with tears, staring lovingly down at their precious offspring.
"My beautiful, beautiful babies…" she whispered.
— Twin Skies: Children of the Sky —
In the suburban town of Namimori, stood a relatively well cared for it middle class home. The Sawada House, standing at two stories also held a modest yard along with a more modern appeal, housing several full time members along with a single oft-absent parent that worked overseas.
It was here that one Sawada Nana lived with her two precious —if precocious— children along with the occasional pet.
As things were, it was a normal morning for the Sawada Household. Beginning, as usual, with the smell of breakfast permeating the home as a cheerful Nana cooked, the scent reaching even those in the bedrooms upstairs where the two other members currently in residence slept.
Or, well, would have, if not for the incessant high pitched beeping of a certain messy haired brunette's alarm.
"Tsu-nii, if you don't wake up right-...right now, we'll be late," a yawn cut through the sleepy voice not quite muffled by the door it was speaking through.
A plate with the characters for Tsuna, marked in slightly disproportionate if careful penmanship, hung on said door. It was clearly well worn if well-loved by the fact that it had been repainted more recently, along with the new string replacing the originally fraying piece that hung the fish shaped plaque.
A low sound like a grumble responded, its owner giving a half sigh as he burrowed further into his bed sheets, trying to ignore the alarm still beeping over the soft and -to his ears- ever pleasant voice. It wasn't Kyoko-chan levels of 'music' to his ears, but then, having known it for all of his prepubescent life, how could he not recognize and know who it was? Even sleep muddled as he may be.
A tick appeared on the still sleepy if awakened girl (fighting another yawn and rubbing a sleep crusted amber eye as she did so) outside his room. The room across from his had been left open, door ajar. A bright if pastel and white painted flowery plaque with the katakana for Chiyo hanging similarly on the otherwise identical door.
"Nii-chan~~" She pout, drawing out the syllables, as she knocked on his door, "If you don't turn it off and get up, I'm gonna come in!"
Mentally giving her brother until the count of three, the now somewhat cross female huffed at the lack of reaction. Finally giving up as she forcefully opened the door. "Tsu-nii…!"
" 'm up, 'm up…!" He responded, clearly still half asleep as he fumbled for the alarm set on top of his shelved headboard and next to his reading lamp. Someone more knowledgeable about such things would have called it a slant-backed bookcase headboard, but it wasn't as if Tsuna -or Chiyo- particularly cared.
Reaching past several manga and light novels carelessly piled on the piece of furniture, it took him a moment to find, let alone turn it off in his dazed state. He nearly flopped back over again, narrowly avoiding his head on hardwood as he remembered that doing so would not end with him landing on his oh-so-comfy bed, but in pain and misery had he not been just conscious enough to do so.
Chiyohime sighed. Neither of them were morning people, but that didn't mean it always had to be her waking him up! More importantly, if he was just going to ignore his alarm, what was even the point of setting it? Clearly more awake that her brother, Chiyo just made to pull his bed sheets off, knowing that he'd only trip in the amusingly tangled covers if she didn't, considering his still barely conscious (and blind) state.
"Tsu-nii, it's time to get up," she reminded him, pulling at the messy covers was more effort than she would have liked to use in the mornings. Especially since she hadn't exactly had time to do anything other than find her gloriously soft and fuzzy slippers since getting out of bed. (Why one of them always seemed to disappear even without her actually doing anything at night was a mystery to her. Or would have been, if not for the fact that she was pretty sure she knew exactly why they always seemed to want to disappear under her blankets in the middle of the night... It wasn't like she was any less a messy sleeper than her brother, after all. She just had more of a tendency to end up losing said layers than to get tangled in them, as they tossed and turned at night...which was really part of the reason why the two had stopped sleeping together as kids.
Though ironically, it meant they were left a wide berth by the other kids during nap times because they were both such messy sleepers… as expected of twins. So alike despite their differences…)
If her brother could do with less layers due to tangling himself up so well, then Chi had a tendency to need more because she was always losing them. (And waking up because of how cold it was afterwards.)
Tsuna mumbled something unintelligible, earning a roll of the eyes from his sibling. "Geez, Tsu-nii, I'm not joking. If you...don't...get up...now, then…-!"
A yelp just a bit more effeminate than her brother's reached his ears, the not-quite-shriek (it was too early for their vocal chords to work that efficiently) alarming him enough to shoot up, pain his only companion as he finally found himself tripping over the bedding tangled around his legs as he landed just to the side of his sibling. His own exclamation echoing hers at the sudden, unbalancing movement.
"Ahhh… that hurt~!" Tears naturally sprung into her eyes, pouting as she hesitated over whether to rub her back or her head as she hit the side of her brother's kotatsu-like coffee table. The two often used it for projects and to work on homework or study together, leaving his actual study desk for other things —like the occasional craft hobby or model making.
"O-Ow… Chi-chan…?" Startled and disoriented by his own shocking wake-up, Tsuna squint through sand crusted eyes at the figure in front of him.
"Eh…" Resisting the urge to make another pained noise, Chiyo looked up, rubbing her head since the pain was much sharper there. "Morning, Nii… If you're finally awake we should get moving," she pointed out, straightening as she got up and winced at the movement.
Honestly, she was more surprised that she hadn't lost enough brain cells to function with all the 'accidents' she and her brother had, whether from carelessness or just natural clumsiness.
Rubbing at his sleep crusted eyes (ugh, gross, sand), he squint and gave her a sheepish look as he realized what happened. "Good Morning to you too, Chi-chan…" He sweat, earning a glare that looked more like a disgruntled pout (cute) rather than the scary glare it could have been.
Eh? Sis-con? Whatever could you be talking about? Ahahaha… Really, he had no idea where that could have possibly come from...
Huffing but clearly too used to it to be bothered anymore, Chiyohime pout, rubbing at the lessening though still sharp pain in her skull.
"Sorry… Are you okay, Chi?" Standing and straightening himself up as well, with an almost weak smile, he lifted his arms in offer of a hug.
"...You're lucky I really do love you," she finally huffed after waiting just long enough to make things feel just a little awkward, before burrowing into her brother's arms at the offer before he could start lowering his arms.
Despite the grumble, she was clearly enjoying the hug for all it was worth and might even have purred if she were capable of it. Instead, being wholly human, the closest she got was a slight hum, especially when Tsuna started running his fingers through her hair in a near imitation of a brush, neatening some of the mess that, unlike his own, was far tamer and at least manageable...to an extent.
Tsuna just chuckled, earning a light shove and a tongue childishly stuck out at him in petty revenge as he laughed. "Like you could ever hate me," he teased, eyes glowing in the warmth of the reminder of why he was resolved to do whatever he could to protect (and take care of) the ones he loved.
After all, No matter what happened, they both instinctively knew they could never hate each other. (Though they'd later learn that instinctive 'knowing' wasn't necessarily just because they shared such a close bond after all.)
Flustered Sienna looked away, a(n in his mind, absolutely adorable) pout on her face.
"W-well, you know what they say about twins!" She stuttered, face flaming despite herself and clearly far more awkward on the social spectrum than even he could be, flustered despite her earlier pettiness. "It'd be bad if I hated myself, after all!" Forcefully turning her head had away as she ignored the look of amusement sibling's face with a huff.
"Yes, yes, just as you say, Chi-chan~" He smirked, eyes more goldenrod than its usual amber as he watched his twin fondly. And since he was, it was quite easy to catch the slight, if somewhat embarrassed smile that twitched into existence. Her expression softening into something equally warm.
The moment might have lasted as long as forever if not for the sudden —if cheery and familiar— call breaking through.
"Tsu-kun~ Chi-chan~ Breakfast is ready~!" Nana called, oblivious but somehow still feeling that warm sense of content even down in the kitchen as she bustled about.
Tsuna and Chiyo exchanged a look, only to break out laughing soon after. The sound clear enough and traveling easily enough that even Nana could hear it from where she was.
"Oh, my, it sounds like they're in such a good mood… How wonderful!" She sighed contently, a happy smile on her face…
Now if only her husband could be around to enjoy it, too.
No doubt things would be even livelier if he were...!
The first time she'd floated into the sea of consciousness, she had been beyond confused.
Not only did she have no idea where she was, but she didn't even know what was going on either.
Had she been in an accident?
Was it blunt force trauma that was causing her state?
Disoriented as she was, she could barely even think straight let alone for very long or even coherently.
Fearful and confused, she'd been a taut bundle of nerves. Anxiously worrying over what had happened...was happening… let alone being able to guess or even touch upon the idea of 'rebirth'.
If anything, it was more likely she'd ended up in a coma of some kind.
Still, in the end, what did it matter? There was nothing she could do, and there was the ever lingering feeling of being so, so tired. Sleepiness constantly pulled at the edges of her mind, as it seemed she was only conscious for barely a moment before she was pulled under once more. Her consciousness dragging the more effort she put in to remember, thoughts swimming in syrup as she, ironically, stressed herself into oblivion.
When she finally stopped to just feel, though, it would be then, in those moments, that she would later recall best of her muddled end -or perhaps, better said, a new beginning...
Warmth. All she could feel was the warmth. Surrounded by said warmth, and surprisingly loving if indistinct murmurs beyond what she could even hear or understand.
It was almost as if she were stuck behind some thick film-like barrier as she drifted, ever reaching, ever failing. It was only those warm feelings, like a blanket or a coddling presence, that would finally calm her, to let her rest easy in an otherwise uneasy situation.
But just as it pulled at her heartstrings, warming her very being, it would bring about a sense of melancholy as she remembered things that were, perhaps, better left unsought.
Because no matter how warm and loving the auras and murmurs, that feeling of warmth, it would always remind her of the very thing that it should have, but that she'd never truly had.
The feeling of love and family, of familial and unconditional care and bonds…
One that had rarely ever happened in her own reality, broken shards of what should and could have been, a memory of family that into her each time she remembered. And every time, it would be with a strangely bitter heart, and a warm if clingy presence (one she found herself clinging to in return) that she would fall under again.
And even if she were the type to disbelieve such things, it almost felt like...well, it was almost as if she had a guardian spirit coddling her, pulling at her when she needed it, and remaining even when she didn't. A steady presence that liked to remind her...
She was not alone.
(Not Anymore…and... Not Ever Again…)
The next time she was conscious enough to think, to 'wake up' so to speak, her sight had improved. The strange film on her senses either thinning or lessening in what felt like layers. Or, perhaps, more accurately, it was as if she was no longer surrounded by darkness. (By her own dark thoughts.)
Vague figures (colorless, if still, somehow, easy enough to make out despite being more similar to vague blobs) moved around her. Light and shadow mixing as if to create some other strange, and even inkblot-like shapes.
She was alone (not alone). And latching onto any possible distraction, she did what she could to amuse herself in this place where she was yet wasn't. A sense of amusement (her own? another's?) followed, pushing otherwise negative (anxious, nervous, fearful, and even worrying) thoughts back.
Or, it did until her consciousness slipped again.
A feeling akin to being 'welcomed back' followed, as she melded into the surprisingly comforting not-void as she'd come to call it later. Just as she's soon forget as time passed and more important things became more important, hovering at the forefront of her mind.
(But she'd never forget the feelings that accompanied it, ever.)
And by the time she was able to really think, to feel 'alive' again, things would have changed so much that she wasn't sure if she was having a particularly lucid if odd dream, or if she'd simply always been in a dream.
(A Man or A Butterfly, a voice whispered in the darkness, distant and mocking yet gentle and warm somehow all the same.)
It wouldn't matter though, as she sunk back into a sleep-like state, the distant sound of a warm lullaby and the familiar presence at her side calming her anxious heart.
Once it had been deemed safe for mother and both children to finally leave the hospital, Iemitsu did his best to stick around for as long as he could. Taking all the saved vacation time that he'd barely ever made use of (aside from when he was forced to, and even then the bare minimum...ironically meeting his now-wife during one of them) on top of paternity leave to care for his wife and kids.
After all, even if they were good babies, they were still babies . Babies that cried, couldn't take care of themselves, and required a lot more care than a single mother (especially one that was still in postpartum stages, and would be for a while yet, as he'd been warned by the doctors) could give or handle on her own. Let alone two of them.
It went without saying that the newly minted father felt guilty, too, knowing that when he finally had to leave, the care would all fall into the hands of his beautiful, strong Nana.
Even so, the months seemed to pass so quickly that even despite the fact that so much time had passed, it still felt like almost yesterday that his precocious little treasures had been born.
Besides, no matter how understanding his boss was (especially with their line of business), there was only so much time he could take away from his work. He did still have to support his family, as well. And he'd already taken over a year off as it was (going so far as to do what work he could over that distance for as long as he could. It wouldn't last of course, but at least he was trying ).
He'd forced himself not to think about it at first, wholeheartedly throwing himself into caring for Nana and the twins (mostly the twins, though that didn't mean he neglected his strong and lovely Nana. He'd been warned about postpartum depression by the doctors. Repeatedly even, after all. And while there were days he'd had to make up for Nana's share of the childcare, he still did his best. Because he loved them. Nana and the twins. And Nana was already so strong for getting through childbirth, and finally the postpartum depression even while doing her best to take care of them at the same time… but he was digressing).
As the days towards his return got closer, though, he couldn't help but to worry. Had it been only one child, then sure. He wouldn't have been nearly as concerned. Nana was strong, she would have (probably) managed. It was his darling Nana, after all!
But with two… Even with the both of them taking turns, or taking one at a time and swapping (mostly to be fair to both twins and spouse) to give each child the care they needed, Iemitsu had come to realize that even one child was a lot of work. Far more than he'd expected or ever could have suspected. (He was almost glad they'd had twins, now that he knew. Because no matter how he could've denied it, there was no way he would have realized how much work even on was otherwise. That didn't mean he wasn't still worried, though.)
His precious Tsu-kun, while a good boy and an excellent child, still cried a lot despite his mostly quiet and unobtrusive nature (for a baby —or so he'd been told). Thankfully, he'd never be lonely, though. Not with Nana, himself, and his little princess around!
Speaking of his little princess, though, Chiyo, while even more quiet at times (if that was even possible), would often seem to fall into a daze or get distracted. Otherwise becoming even more emotional, sometimes crying for seemingly no reason. Or maybe it was Tsuna, and they both ended up crying because when one cried, so, usually, did the other.
Either way, though, even if she ended up being an airhead (as her supposed dazes and distractions seemed to indicate), he'd still love her! She was his precious little princess, his Hime-chan, after all! Bwahaha-!
Ahem. In any case, though he'd been rather worried about her behavior at first, the doctors had found nothing wrong with her, theorizing that she was simply an introspective baby, so he'd have to trust in that. (And though, he'd have really preferred to have one of his doctors check on them. It wasn't like like any of them really specialized in pediatrics. They were mafia after all, y'know? Even an idiot he knew that that would just be a stupid idea, anyway. And far too risky, besides.)
In the end, though, it would be his beloved (beautiful, strong, understanding, darling ) Nana that would end up pushing him to go. It was clear that she would have preferred him to stay, but she understood, even without being told the truth, that no matter how much he wanted to, he'd still have to go in the end.
He had to support the family, after all. And it wasn't like he could just retire. There was still the fact that his next choice of boss would still have to finish undergoing training to take over for him, among with a few other semantics. He'd still have to find another job afterwards, and even then it wasn't like he could write External Mafia Intelligence and Consultancy Boss on his resume. And now, especially when Nana had no choicebut to be a stay-at-home mother (not that he would have forced her to work, what kind of man would that make him? It was his job to provide for the family, after all! ...or so he'd been raised to believe). It wasn't like she could just leave two infants -nearly toddlers- to their own devices, after all.
If she wanted to get a job then, by Primo, she could do so later (not that she needed to...unless -again- she wanted to, that was), though that time would be far off regardless. Children weren't pets after all. They took far longer to grow and mature, even just to be able to vocalize their thoughts and feelings with simple words and/or phrases. Taking care of themselves? Even if Japan encouraged self sufficiency, it would still be quite a few years coming.
(Ironic, how time had seemed to pass so quickly, and yet…)
So it was, that Nana, tears in her eyes (and his, not that he'd admit it), saw him off. It would be years before he could come back. And by then, he would have missed so many milestones and been gone for so long that the two precious treasures of his heart, the twins that he loved so, so much ...wouldn't even recognize him.
Being called a stranger and a 'bad person' before he could even, finally, set foot into the house… of course it would hurt, especially considering this was a man who was such a devoted husband and parent (wife-and-child-complex aside).
Even if it was at least partly his fault (even if it couldn't really be helped —civilian tech wasn't exactly advanced enough, even if the Mafia was, to keep in touch over long distances outside of a landline or international snail mail, after all), that didn't mean it didn't still break the poor man's heart! (It was probably the only time he'd ever come close to admitting to his tears...for now, anyways.)
Then again, it was -again- at least partially his own fault for forgetting the passing of time, losing track despite the fact that he did his best to remember and called as often as he could (which, really, was surprisingly rare considering how much he loved his family. Though still, at least, somewhat understandable considering his circumstances…)
Still, with Iemitsu gone, it fell to Nana to do her best to take care of her children… and take as many pictures as he could to show her absent husband when he finally came back! (And videos, later, but that was another story.)
She was grateful that Iemitsu had managed to stay as long as he had, and had at least gotten to help her get over the postpartum stages without as much trouble as she might have had, if he'd left as early as had originally been planned for. (Less vacation time now, meant more visits later, and vice versa, after all.)
It didn't mean that it didn't… hurt when he wasn't there to enjoy those milestones, though. Or when he got so busy he could barely find the time to call, other than to just let her know that he was still well and still cared.
Even if he called as frequently as he could in the beginning, wanting to check on both Nana and the children. Both worry and heartache from missing his family so, even as things eventually got busier and the times between calls grew longer and longer… (Lal Mirch hadn't been amused when she'd found out how much the phone bill had cost that first month. Especially considering he'd called to check every spare moment he could while not under the watchful eyes of certain CEDEF, let alone Mafia members.)
She could only really be glad (she was so, so grateful) that she had two such wonderful children to keep her company. Even as young as they were.
End Notes: Unfortunately, the scene breaks I use on AO3 don't work on Fanfiction, so I had to change them to the plain ones above.
More importantly, a condensed explanation of things to know for this story. You can skip it or not, since it can be considering trivia, too, I guess.
— Name: For those that don't know, or are unaware, in Japanese history, Tokugawa Iemitsu was said to have a daughter named "Chiyohime". Assuming that Tsuna and Iemitsu's names are a not towards the Tokugawa Shogunate Family, Tsuna's twin would most likely be named something from said bloodline. Hence the reason for Chiyo's name.
— Birthdays: Tsuna and Chiyo will both be -or, well, still be- born in October. However, I'm still trying to decide their actual day of birth, though that's been tabled for now. Just thought you should all be aware that their birthday won't necessarily be on the 14th, since the divergence is only supposed to really begin from the point of their birth (or technically, their conception).
All you really need to know is that they'll be born in October and still fall under the horoscope of Libra, along with being birthed within twenty-four hours of each other at most. (First time childbirth is said to be most difficult, even with modern conveniences.)
— Flames: They'll both still be Skies, though secondaries won't necessarily be the same. Partly to balance each other out.
As example, let's say that Tsuna were to be more inclined towards Sun, Lightning, and/or Storm flames. If that were the case, then Chiyo would be more inclined towards the remaining three (Cloud, Mist, and/or Rain). Of course, this is not necessarily how it's going to go.
As seen with Gokudera, it's possible to have a strong enough secondary —and even tertiaries— to make proper use of flames that aren't your main. And Xanxus proves that Skies can have secondaries too.
Said Secondaries and possible Tertiaries are still up in the air for the most part, but I am leaning more towards certain flames, and at least one has been set for plot purposes already. (It's actually part of the reason for the rewrite rather than simply continuing from the Pilot.) After all, the twins (gender aside) both are and consider themselves to be two halves a whole.
I did mention earlier that there would/may be some codependency —for awhile, at least— though the reasoning won't be explained or shown until later on. It's not healthy, and it's not meant to be or even seem so.
Finally, I do believe I've mentioned this before already, but though similar to the original Pilot/Prototype version of "Sunny with a Chance" there are differences in the plot and premise. One of which was unfortunately different enough that certain things are definitely going to be very different here.
Whether I continue the pilot (mostly because of the differences) and post it as a separate AU of an AU, though, is another question altogether. For now, though, we'll end the explanations here. If there are more questions —and/or more things that you think I need to explain or point out more clearly— I'll do so as we go later. For now, though. Ciao-Ciao~!