-Reaching for the Sky that is No Longer There-

~disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn…it belongs to Amano Akira-sama…

~random notes(?): Okay, I've been planning on writing this fan fiction for a long time now, but I was never able to do so since I'm busy with my other story [The Letter]. This story is set ten years later, wherein Tsuna had died. It features the pairing 1827 and a one-sided 10027. This is a two-part one-shot, Rated M for the second part. That's all, I guess. Please enjoy! =)

Part 1: Purest Among the Tainted

"Tsunayoshi, you are a fool…"

The white-haired man softly murmured repeatedly like an incantation as he continued to caress the now-pale face of a young man not much younger than he was. The said young man had long brown locks that reached past his small, fragile shoulders. His alabaster skin, which was once flushed with color, was now covered with a gray pallor; yet if one looks closely at his face, he or she might have mistaken him as if he were only but sleeping—what with the serene and melancholic smile that graced his peaceful features. Yes, he looks like a sleeping angel awaiting the coming of a new dawn to announce his wake. But it was not to be. The sleep which had blanketed him like the night sky is one of eternal oblivion; a sleep from which there is no waking or returning from; a sleep which we all refer to by the name "death".

The beautiful body lay in a bed of white anemones encased within a black wooden coffin. The lid was made with the same polished material as the coffin, but on its face was engraved an intricately-designed "X"—the symbol for Vongola Decimo; the respected and feared mafia boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

The white-haired man who knelt by the side of the coffin continued on murmuring to the corpse that lay in front of him; as if trying to reawaken the dead with whispered songs of lamentation. Hidden beneath his pallid bangs was a pair of amethyst orbs filled with strong self-loathing and hopeless longing as he looked upon the person he deemed the most important to his life. He knew that his efforts were in vain; for once a being has passed on, there is no turning back—second chances never existed nor will it ever exist in this world. Nonetheless, he continued on with his voiceless words in hopes that the other might hear his desperate cries of apology; cries that he hopes would bring much needed salvation to his tainted soul.

It was six years ago, during May, when he first met him. A beautiful, not-so-typical day wherein he, Byakuran, had to go undergo the preparations asked of him in order to be the next boss of the Gesso Family. Every single day of his life was spent under the watchful eye of his ruthless and power-hungry father who cared about him as nothing more than a pawn he can use for his own selfish reasons. He loathed that man. Never had he seen a man so consumed by his desires—even to the point of throwing away the life of his very wife. She was merely a tool to him; her life held no meaning to him at all.

Of course, being the heir of a mafia boss means that he had seen and had known the nature of life lived by those who were involved ever since he was a child. Blood keeps on getting spilled day after day, and pretty much soon enough, he had been numbed of the pain any human might have felt in dealing with the death of so many around him—including the demise of his own mother, but he was already too numb towards killings at that time that not even a single drop of tear fell from his amethyst eyes the day she had passed. Not a single life mattered only his own; that's what he thought. That is, until he met that boy.

Being his usual laid-back (and rather lazy) self, Byakuran was skipping out on his duties—again. Life at the Gesso manor was a lot like hell to him—hell, in a way that the same mundane tasks kept repeating day after day like some broken record and he was clearly getting tired of it. After all, in the twenty years that he had been living, he had been doing same thing every single day. Not that he hated it, but what really ticks him off was the fact that after spending that length of time mindfully fulfilling what was expected of him, nothing has happened at all. He was the type of person who could never stand a repetitive lifestyle. That's why, every now and then, he'd sneak out of the manor just to get a bit of fresh air (and a bag of marshmallows while at it).

And it happened that during one of those "unofficial excursions" that he came to know the Vongola Decimo—although he wasn't aware of the other's identity then. If he were to describe their chance meeting, he'd probably say that it was the most unique way he had ever met someone. He was just minding his own business, munching on his all-time favorite marshmallows when suddenly…

A boy with a mop of unruly brown locks tripped and fell right in front of him.

A little bit shocked and surprised at the sight before him, it took Byakuran a few moments before he could respond. "Uhm…are you alright?" He said as he offered his hand to the brunette, which the other took with a grateful, almost shy, smile on his face.

"Th-thank you." The boy said as the white-haired young man boosted him up. From the looks of it, the boy appeared to be a foreigner. His appearance wasn't exactly like the locals. In fact, Byakuran noticed, that the boy's manner of speaking Italian was a bit different, considering his slight accent.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Byakuran asked whilst putting on his trademark grin, force of habit. Since he was young, he had always put up a fake smile plastered on his face around the presence of other people; acting like a defense mechanism for the latter.

"Uhm, yes. Actually, to tell you the truth, I am a bit lost…" The brunette said, almost reluctant to tell the other of his current predicament. But he had no choice, whatsoever. He was a foreigner in a foreign country. There is no helping it.

The white-haired young man just stared at the boy for a long second before bursting out laughing. The said boy just looked at him, as if confused. "Sorry. By now, you probably think that I'm some kind of weirdo whose past time is to laugh at random strangers." He then smiled, this time a genuine one, then offered to help the boy find his way. There was just something about this young boy, whom he even barely knew, which made him lower his barriers a bit.

"Ah, I think it's alright if you drop me off right here. I can remember my way back here…" The brunette told him upon reaching a small park with a baroque-inspired fountain at its core. "Thank you for helping me." He said with the biggest and brightest smile the young man had ever seen. "Oh, by the way my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi; 'Tsuna' for short." Tsuna said as he offered his hand to the other.

Byakuran couldn't help but laugh again at the latter. "Idiot. What kind of person goes around telling his name to complete strangers?" He said, yet he took the other's hand anyway. "I'm Byakuran. And I won't be telling you my surname, for certain reasons of my own."

"Well then, nice to meet you, Byakuran-san." He smiled before he began to walk away. Suddenly, as if he had forgotten something, he turned around to face Byakuran again. "Besides, from the moment that I met you, I've got the feeling that you were a nice person."

The young Gesso heir had always thought that he would never met Tsuna again. He was, after all, a foreigner and it seemed quite unlikely that he was actually staying in Italy. But, to his surprise, he encountered the brunette again at the same park he last saw him in. Tsuna smiled and waved at Byakuran as soon he saw the young man.

The two of them sat side by side by the fountain, eating crepes. This soon became a daily routine for them to meet at the park at a certain appointed time—simply enjoying each other's company. Byakuran liked Tsuna (or Tsunayoshi as he calls him). He really didn't know why he had opened up so quickly to a person he met just by sheer coincidence; he just did. Somehow, the young boy made him feel at ease and he enjoyed the other's company; mainly because the brunette understood him and could relate to him better than anyone else he knew.

He learned many things about Tsuna; just like the fact that he was currently staying in Italy with his family and friends; that his nationality was Japanese and many other things—the most notable one of which was that the fact that the brunette was nineteen years old already (something which shocked Byakuran because the other's appearance was quite misleading); making him younger by a year than himself. He cherished the happy times that he spent together with the smaller boy and this continued for a month. He never expected that this was to be cut short just roughly a month after they first met. It was just a typical afternoon with Tsuna, talking about trivial matters and what-nots. Then they came.

"Tsuna!" A young man wearing a black suit over a blue button-up shirt and dark pants walked up to the spot they were currently sitting side by side. Byakuran took this opportunity to carefully muster the newcomer. His height was above average, at least; his hair was a mess of short, dark strands with a few unruly spikes; his eyes were the color of creamy chocolate and his pleasantly-tanned skin suggested that he spent most of his time outdoors rather than indoors. Lastly, he noticed the elegant Japanese-style sword inside a delicate blue sheath, which was a shade darker than the other's shirt, slung upon one of his shoulders.

Byakuran stiffened with sudden wariness. His senses were telling him that the young man was dangerous—despite of the friendly smile the other showed on his face. Who is he, and how does he know Tsunayoshi? As if on cue, he heard Tsuna address the newcomer by his name. The white-haired man was surprised; he had not expected the other's reaction—acting with such familiarity towards the third person.

"Mou, Yamamoto!" The brunette said, pouting. "I told you that I'll be gone just for a bit. You didn't have to come pick me up personally."

"Sorry, but I was just asked to come and escort you back…by Hibari." Tsuna turned bright pink as he heard Yamamoto mention that name; the latter stifled a soft giggle as he saw the brunette's reaction. "He arrived yesterday with orders from the Ninth himself." Tsuna formed a silent 'oh' with his lips as he heard the last part—he was sure that something was up, considering the fact that the Ninth himself would pass orders this soon…

Yamamoto tilted his head a bit to take a better look at Byakuran. "And you are…?" The Gesso heir felt a chill crawl down his spine as he saw the other's gaze—filled with nothing but cold murderous intent—which lasted only for a mere second. Just as he opened his mouth to answer the question thrown at him, a second man appeared from behind the tall boy.

He was wearing an outfit similar to the other but this time, he was wearing a violet button-up shirt underneath the black coat. He also has black hair which, unlike the other, fell almost to his eyes. Even though his height was a little bit inferior compared to Yamamoto's, he has those calculating silver-blue eyes which makes him much more intimidating than the taller one.

It was then that Byakuran noticed that Tsuna's eyes brighten at the sight of the silver-blue eyed young man. From the reaction of the brunette, he deduced that this was the Hibari person the two were talking about earlier. It made Byakuran jealous seeing just how the small boy's eyes brightened up as he had never seen him do so before because of that guy.

"Yamamoto Takeshi, I believe I requested you to escort back Tsunayoshi back to the hotel precisely thirty minutes ago." Hibari said in a cool voice which betrayed no hint of emotion whatsoever. "The Ninth gave an order stating that Tsunayoshi should be brought back to headquarters as soon as possible."

"I was about to when you suddenly appeared out of nowhere." Yamamoto laughed. "And what do you mean by 'as soon as possible'?"

Hibari just scoffed at the remark and answered with a bit of impatience, "It means that we have to be there in three hours, starting now." The other just shrugged then silently ushered Tsuna onto the direction of the hotel they've been staying at. The brunette let the tall man lead him away, whilst he turned looked back to give Byakuran an apologetic look. Hibari stayed there for a moment longer, scrutinizing Byakuran. Before leaving the white-haired man, he whispered to his ear the cold and biting words:

"If you dare lay a finger on Tsunayoshi, I myself will personally come to bite you to death…Byakuran of the Gesso Mafia Famiglia."

It was a year later when Byakuran saw Tsuna again—albeit in a place he had considered highly unlikely for the brunette to appear in. During that time, the Vongola Famiglia announced that they will be holding a grand party in which the successor of the current boss—Vongola Decimo—will be formally introduced into the Mafia. There had been a lot of rumors concerning the prowess of the young boss, and there were a lot of other mafia families who wished to catch a glimpse of him for themselves. One of them, unmistakably, is the Gesso Family. Apparently, Byakuran's father got a hold of this particular piece of information and sent his son to investigate whether the said rumors prove to be true of not. Of course, being the 'dutiful son' that he was, he obeyed his father's words without a single word of protest.

The party was held in a huge seaside villa that the Vongola owned. The building was a spectacle by itself—its design boasts of baroque-inspired style of architecture; draperies were made of the finest silk; paintings made by legendary artists hung from the majestic walls and just about anything about the place seemed to be something straight out from journals and books chronicling the splendor of the beauty that is the 1800s. Even the food was wonderful. Expensive cuisine and even more expensive wines were laid out in front of the guests, who, in return, never failed to exchange nothing but pleasantries with each other and a few comments regarding the wealth of the Family who hosted the party. Byakuran, however, paid no heed to those who did. It was, as one might have put it, the way of the lesser Families, to suck up to their superiors for the sake of their obvious ulterior motives. He wanted no part in that whatsoever for he found the practice as disgusting; he would never stoop so low as to kneel down before someone more powerful than he was just for those purposes. However, he still kept the friendly façade he often used—just in case an ally of the Gesso Family was present at the gathering. Besides, he wouldn't want to anger anyone who might dare oppose their Family, either.

The entire place was buzzing with pleasant chatter of acquaintances—old and new alike. But as the speaker announced the coming of the Vongola heir, everyone fell silent. All eyes were focused on a group of young men—in which a young woman was included—who seem to be protecting the one standing in the midst of their circle. Byakuran noticed that two of the young men looked familiar to him. He tried to move past the people gathered in order to get a better view. He froze in shock as he realized who those two were: Yamamoto and Hibari. What are they doing here? Aren't the two of them acquaintances of Tsunayoshi? Why are the two of them with the Vongola Decimo? Wait. Does this mean that…? Byakuran felt his heart thump louder with every step that the small group took forward. If his suspicions were right, then…

Finally, upon reaching the center of the hall, the small group surrounding their leader took a halt and slowly formed two lines—revealing the form of the young Vongola heir. Byakuran almost dropped his glass as his suspicions were confirmed; the tenth boss of the Vongola Family was none other than Sawada Tsunayoshi—the young boy whom he met a year ago. His simply could not process the data his eyes had been sending to his brain. All he could do was to stare at the young man with disbelief in his eyes; as did the other guests present that time. Such a fragile and angelic-looking child could not possibly be the next in line to the legendary Vongola Family, that's what they all thought.

Tsuna gave the crowd a small smile—already expecting their reaction. He then proceeded to introducing the six people standing beside him. They were none other than his Guardians, although one of them, he said, was not present at the time. The first one he introduced was the silver-haired young man, his Storm Guardian and right-hand man, Gokudera Hayato. Next was the sword-wielding Rain Guardian, Yamamoto Takeshi, who just gave the audience a wide grin. The Sun Guardian was the boxer Sasagawa Ryohei. A young man and a woman were introduced next; their names were Rokudo Mukuro and Chrome Dokuro, respectively, and were appointed as the Mist Guardians. Last, but definitely not the least, was the Cloud Guardian, Hibari Kyouya, who was rumored to be the strongest among the Guadians.

As the brunette introduced them one by one, the Gesso heir began to seethe—albeit in a silent manner. He could not accept and will not accept the fact that Vongola had appointed Tsunayoshi to be at its helm. What right do they have to pull someone as pure as him into their twisted and tainted world? It'll just break him—just as he had been. To him, it was a sin that can never be forgiven; it was an act of blasphemic sacrilege. It was then that he started to loathe the said Family, and pretty soon, it developed into a black passion that no one but him could understand.

After he had been officially appointed as the Gesso Family's Boss, Byakuran started to make his move. He began seeking ways to amass his power (like spending copious amounts of money he for research on the so-called box weapons) and even went as far as to destroy one of the Gesso Family's allies: the Giglio Nero Family who boasted of their possession of the Mare Rings. He even forcefully made the latter merge their Family with his; taking away not only the lives of many of its members, but its very foundation he had left in shambles as well. Byakuran paid no heed to the blood-stained hands he now possessed; nothing mattered to him but the resounding thought in his mind: He will crush Vongola.

But he never expected that his ploy would be his own undoing.

A few years had passed and Vongola was already in a no-win situation with Millefiore—the family which was formed by the merging of the Gesso and Giglio Nero Families. Tsuna thought that by simply getting rid of the Vongola Rings would ensure his Family's safety, but he was wrong. And so he decided to arrange a meeting with the Millefiore to put an end to all of the bloodshed. And so he made a deal with them: his life in exchange for the safety of his Family.

The other officials of Millefiore decided that it was a rare opportunity that was laid in front of them and grabbed this chance to finish off Vongola. A Family without a Boss, after all, would never be able to hold out for much longer. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

But Byakuran never knew. He never knew that Tsunayoshi would do such a foolish act. He only found out when he overheard some of his subordinates whispering about it behind his back. Chill terror flooded through his veins. As soon as he heard this, he hurriedly headed back to Millefiore's headquarters.

But he was too late. The only thing he heard as he neared the place was the unmistakable sound of an unrelenting rain of bullets. He stormed through the door, not caring should a stray bullet pierce into his body. There, he saw, stood Tsuna; his chest reduced to a bloody mess. He caught the young man as he fell and as he did so, unmistakable sorrow ate away at his heart. The brunette, however, just gave him one of his melancholic smiles—as if he was trying to say his goodbye. His ruined chest gave one final heave as the light left his once lively eyes. Byakuran felt helpless as he knelt there; he could do nothing but hold the limp body in his arms, not minding the blood that started to seep into his own clothes. He then carefully stood up, carrying the remains of the Vongola boss in his arms. Nothing was said. For a moment, his subordinates thought that their Boss would let this incident slide off; that they would go unpunished. But they were wrong. As soon as Byakuran walked away from them, they saw his Sky Mare Ring emit a light the shade of devilish orange. Soon, the room was filled with the blood-curdling screams of men as their bodies were eaten away, bit by bit, all the while remaining conscious as the pain overwhelmed each and every one of them in a slow and torturous pace.

Byakuran threw his head back and laughed like a madman. He laughed even as the tears began to flow relentlessly from his amethyst eyes down to his pale cheeks; down to the face of the young man who lay in the black casket. Eventually, his mirthless laughter died down—only to be replaced with piteous and pathetic sobbing.

"Tsunayoshi, you are a fool among fools! Why throw away your life for such a pitiable excuse of a Family? You shouldn't have died; you never deserved this…"

Those were the words he wanted to tell the young man. But who was he to say those things? He was the one who caused his demise; he, who was so consumed by such meaningless hatred. What purpose had his hatred served? He only wanted to protect Tsuna; to tear him away from a violent life such as theirs. He thought that he was doing him good, but it was otherwise. Instead, everything he had done was only a big mistake—an inerasable sin that he committed by his own hands, now soaked with the blood of his beloved. Now there was nothing he could do anymore. It was too late…too late to correct the things he did…

"Sho-chan?" The white-haired man spoke to his most trusted subordinate—Irie Shoichi—via his laptop. "How are the preparations going?"

"All is going just as planned, Byakuran-san. The preparations went smoothly; it's only a matter of time now."

Byakuran carefully closed his laptop as the transmission ended. He silently padded toward the window. He let out a sigh and looked up at the despairing night sky that loomed above.

"This is the only way I can ever repent for my sins. That is to die by your hands, Tsunayoshi…"

--

~Part One [END]

And so, after three days, I've finished the first chapter! 8D. I know I'm supposed to be writing the next chapters of The Letter for the update on Monday, but this story's plot bunny went loose and kept on pestering me, so I ended up on writing it, anyway…XD. Part one focuses on Byakuran, while Part two focuses on Hibari. The update will be posted by next week.

Hope you guys liked it…And please tell me what you think! Comments, suggestions and violent reactions are very much welcome! =) See ya later! =)

Part 2: The Rose without Thorns (to be posted next week…probably. XD)