He was shattered. Completely and utterly broken. The voices of the dead echoed in his ears, as the cold grip of their hands dragged him deeper into insanity.
'Is this what it's like to be broken inside?' he wondered, a bitter laugh escaping his lips.
He was too naïve. Too trusting. Too innocent to see what the mafia truly was. Hah! How foolish he was, to think he could change the world of the mafia.
All of that trust was misplaced.
He was a failure.
He couldn't stand the disappointed gaze of Primo, or his father.
What a failure he was.
It was better to give up, he thought. Too much pain. Too many painful memories replayed in his head to count as he closed his eyes.
'Sleep, it's better to sleep. Sleep…' a small voice in the back of his head cackled.
But he couldn't, no matter how tired he was. No matter how broken and shattered he was inside, he couldn't give up. Not when so many lives were extinguished for his to still live.
They took everything from him.
His hopes, his dreams, his friends, his innocence.
And it hurt.
As he sat there, shackled by his despair, he allowed himself to sob.
Sob in his self-pity.
Even with the sacrifice of so many, he didn't understand why he felt like giving up.
'No more,' he thought. 'No more.'
But once again, he rid himself of those thoughts. The faces of the dead would change his mind in an instant.
'Join us,' the voices said. 'Join your family.'
'No!'
'Foolish boy… What else do you have left in that empty world of yours?'
And with that, the boy hesitated. What did he have left? Not his family or his friends. No more hope, either.
With a small voice, he responded, "I have the Vongola. I have me. I have my revenge."
'You won't succeed.'
"I know."
'You'll die.'
"I know."
'You'll go insane.'
"I already am."
The young man melted the flesh of his enemies as they slowly crawled away in fear. A raging inferno surrounded him, almost like a burning aura. Only ash remained when the fires died down.
Door after door was ripped down, with hundreds of lives being destroyed in the process.
And finally, with the opening of the last door, there he sat with that cursed grin on his face.
Byakuran.
"I kill you," the young man muttered.
"What's that? I couldn't hear you~" the demon smirked.
Instead of and answer, the enraged man launched himself forward. Slowly, a red haze crept into his vision. Easily, the murderer evaded his sloppy punches and kicks with grace.
And then the demon struck back. And likewise, the young man evaded, except this time he caught the monster's hand. Rage filled his mind as fire erupted onto his hands, and in turn crept up the monster's arm. The man's gaze held no pity as his enemy's remains were reduced to nothing.
'It's done.'
Suddenly, the emptiness felt like a black void, trying to swallow him whole. Where the fire of revenge once burned was now cold and dark, with a large part of his heart now missing.
For the briefest moment, when he killed the demon, he felt whole. A flash of satisfaction passed through him, but it was gone.
He was whole no more. Not that he ever was, after their deaths. But after he killed Byakuran, he felt almost whole.
And then his loss hit him once more, and we wept. The millions of pieces of his mind shattered once more.
He cried for his family.
He cried for his friends.
And finally, when he composed himself, he still stumbled like a drunkard. He tripped through the halls and crashed into the burnt walls until he reached the entrance, where a lone chair sat. It was the only item that wasn't eaten by his flames.
Slowly, the ghost of Vongola Primo materialized in front of the broken man.
"I'm sorry, Tsuna," Vongola Primo said, his voice tinged with sorrow. "I never would have pushed the burden onto you if I knew this would happen."
"Don't lie. This happened to everyone else. You knew this would happen," the man stated coldly. "It's too late. You've made your mistake."
"Tsuna, I—"
"Don't. Stop. Leave me alone."
Primo opened his mouth, but quickly decided against it. He faded away, but this time he didn't meet Tsuna's cold glare.
'Ah. I've chased away my last family member.'
'Join us. You have nothing left.' Instead of the mocking voice that the voice usually used, it was sympathetic, almost like it was mourning the loss of Primo too.
Once again, Tsuna hesitated. Except this time, he nodded.
There was no reply from the voice, but Tsuna knew what had to be done. The flame on his forehead burst to life as the mansion around him caught fire. He forced himself out of Hyper Dying Will Mode, and settled into the chair.
It consumed him. White, hot pain shot up his body, but he didn't scream.
Not when they didn't scream.
Not when he had so much to repay.
After all, he was the boss. He should be strongest, right?
Except he wasn't. Not really.
And the flames consumed him.
AN: Hey people! Thanks for reading my story! :D I hope you liked it!
Please review! It makes me happy inside, lol. :D
