Title: Riddle

By: Metamorcy

Rating: T

Pairing: MukuroxTsuna 6927

Summary: A play is showing for the winter festival and Tsuna is one of the main characters…But he doesn't want to play as a she…and adding Mukuro into the equation things turn into trouble or do they?

Disclaimer: don't own

N/A: This is my first Katekyo Hitman Reborn fanfic so please be easy on me. This is a one-shot. I might make a sequel but honestly I'm not sure.

Merry Christmas!!

What is invisible that can cause pain and pleasure, yet not necessary like food and water?

"Alright class, the votes are in." The class president announced, looking over the students that were staring back in boredom or weren't even looking at all. She picked up a piece of chalk and held a small sheet of paper in the other hand. "All those that aren't chosen will have to help with either the background, meaning lights and staging, or play as some walk-ons."

She quickly wrote out the roles names but not the people chosen. She wanted to leave some suspense since she was sure that everyone was now watching. Her eyes narrowed at the crowd. "Also, there's no backing out on these either, not even if you're sick or dying or get a broken leg. The roles must be played out. And as you know, the girls have decided that we'll be doing the old style where only boys were allowed on stage."

The guys groaned at this, they weren't really happy about that little fact. It meant that some of them would have to cross-dress in front of an audience. Tsuna stared at the board, not very interested in the whole thing. He just hoped he didn't get chosen for anything, though he knew somewhere in his heart that he would have to dress up. Maybe he'll get lucky and not get any big parts, that'll be good. After all, he didn't know how to act, there's no way he would be able to do anything good. 'But if a guy is getting chosen to play as a female, this might be trouble.'

He looked over the entire classroom, seeing a lot of nervous faces even some that were panicking. Half of the class was boys and many of them knew they were going to have to do something, a main character or walk-on, it was bound to be one of those two.

Tsuna, on the other hand, just couldn't believe how scary girls could get when they wanted something, after all, this whole idea was their fault. Even the play was up to them, Romeo and Juliet.

"There are only eleven main parts, seven are male and four are female. There will be plenty of walk-on characters that just have to do a few things and then disappear. Also, the play had to be shorten greatly since it can't take all day and only a couple of hours."

Tsuna was really praying that he was one of the walk-ons, he didn't want anything big.

"Well, here are the parts for the Montague family." The class president moved aside to let everyone see.

Montague – Habara

Lady Montague – Glean

Romeo – Yamamoto

Benvolio – Dorsne

There was a cry of panic from a guy in the back. Everyone turned to male in pity. It was Glean. He cried and collapsed into his chair, burying his face into his arms, muttering stuff under his breath about how evil people were. There were even moans of 'Why me?' coming from beneath his hands. Some of the guys laughed or snickered at his reaction. However, there were some congratulations aimed towards Yamamoto, who just laughed his usual way and smiled. He rubbed the back of his head and muttered an 'I'll do my best'.

Tsuna sighed, he had dodged that one but that was only one female part, there were still three more.

The class president sighed, looking like she was taking note of those that were laughing at poor Glean. "Here is the Capulet family roles."

Capulet – Gene

Lady Capulet – Delton

Juliet – Sawada

Tybalt – Quake

Nurse – Marly

"Ehhhh?!?!" Tsuna screamed, jumping up from his seat. His chair clattered behind him. "I'm Juliet?!"

Everyone's eyes instantly turned to him, that was the worst part to get in the entire play and everyone (well the boys) knew it. More snickers erupted, mostly at Tsuna while a couple went to those that were playing as the Nurse and Lady. The girls giggled in amusement and glanced over the petite teen that had the look of sheer horror on his face. Gokuderu would have made a retort filled with curse words if Yamamoto hadn't jumped up and covered his mouth. He laughed to cover up to the Italian's struggling and turned to his other friend that was staring up with fear.

Yamamoto placed a comforting hand (which he managed to get free and held Gokuderu tight with his left) on Tsuna's right shoulder and grinned. "Hey, it's alright, it's just a role. Hopefully they'll dress you up to the point that people won't be able to tell that it's you."

"I hope so…" The brunet's shoulders fell, depressed.

"For those that are as playing girls…" The class president gave a leer at everyone especially those that were playing a main role. "No one should be able to recognize you or notice that it's a guy playing the role of a woman. That is if we dress you up completely so we expect no complaining, got it? Any arguments and I might actually reveal your identity at the end of the show." There was a cruel smile on her lips, enough to frighten the entire class. It was almost on par with Hibari's but much less dangerous. She brought up a hand for the rest of the roles.

Friar Laurence- Hindeco

Court Paris – Gokuderu

Gokuderu looked at it and blinked before his eyes narrowed. He had calmed down slightly after Yamamoto's holding and slumped into his desk. "Tch, I've been chosen." But then he looked to his boss and placed the biggest smile on. He had just realized something and it made Tsuna jump back in shock. "Aren't we lucky, Jyuudaime! We'll be acting together!"

'You're only happy because I'm going to be there…' Tsuna thought.

"I already have your scripts ready, though they are not entirely completed since there's still some editing going on. Tomorrow, I'll start choosing who is going to do what walk-on and who will be doing what backstage work. Those with roles practice and remember your lines. Rehearse will begin in three days, do not miss it." The Spartan lady growled, promising death to all those that dare defy her and held the chalk up as a weapon. Tsuna swallowed and watched her go around, placing the scripts onto the tables of those that had roles. When he got his, he sighed at the thickness. He was doomed, really doomed. Oh how he wanted to cry.

As the bell rang, ending class and school together, he grudgingly stood up, inching towards the door with his best friends behind.

They only had a few weeks to get this right since some bastard in the committee decided to elect them for the play. Tsuna had a funny feeling that it might have been Hibari but then again, it may not have been. But he wasn't going to ask around. That's suicidal and he liked living.

"You know, I like the role of Romeo. That means that Tsuna is my girlfriend, Juliet!" Yamamoto laughed, wrapping an arm around the small shoulders. He wasn't taking any of this seriously. "And Gokuderu is Court Paris, the man that wants to marry you!"

The bomber blushed at that. "I-Its j-just a p-play!"

Tsuna sighed, this can't be happening.

The brunet looked over his script, reading over certain parts that belonged to him and tried to memorize them, but he couldn't, he didn't understand some of the language. Though some of it had been cleaned up so it was easier to understand, he still managed to stumble over those that hadn't been changed. He hoped that all of it would be cleared up when he got the new one. The words just seemed to escape from of his head, unable to stick. At the moment he was in his bedroom, leaning against his bed in his pajamas. Dinner had already been finished and he could hear his mother walking around downstairs.

"I see you're actually studying for once."

"Eiiihhhh!!" Tsuna screamed, jumping up from his spot. The script went flying from his hands and landed onto his bed. His large brown eyes went to the baby that was standing on the table in front, Leon on his fedora. "Reborn!"

"Ciaossu!" Reborn jumped up from his spot and landed on the bed right next to the script. He picked it up and flipped to the front page. "Romeo and Juliet?"

"Yeah, it's our class play for the Christmas Festival. I got a part as…" Tsuna trailed off, hating what he was going to have to say next. Reborn instantly kicked him in the face, sending him flying. The teen landed on the floor with a groan, slowly getting back up. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Finish your sentence, Dame-Tsuna."

"I'm playing as Juliet, don't hit me!" The sky guardian yelled in embarrassment and closed his eyes. He didn't hear anything from the hit man but when he opened them, he was sure that Reborn was snickering silently. It was so hard to tell since the fedora was covering his features but the way the black eyes glittered when Reborn did show his face, Tsuna had a feeling that they were laughing. "It's not funny, Reborn! I don't want to play the role of a girl!"

"This is one of the very traits of a mafia boss. You can use this chance to learn how to disguise yourself."

"Reborn!"

The Arcobaleno lifted up his gun, or Leon, and pointed it at Tsuna threateningly. The teen jumped back in fear, waving his hands wildly.

"W-Wait! Wait!!" Tsuna ducked down, holding the scripts in his hands in defense. "I'll do it! Don't shoot me!"

Reborn smirked, glad that he could manipulate Tsuna the way he wanted to. It was just so easy.

Tsuna sighed in defeat when Reborn turned around. The words 'Why him?' kept repeating in his head.

Getting up from his spot, he placed the booklet on his pillow and slipped into the covers, pulling them up to his head. It was cold at first and he shivered slightly but soon his body warmed up the sheets. Reborn jumped into his own bed, changed into his pajamas, and shortly a bubble appeared over his face. Tsuna flipped through the script one last time, taking a pencil and underlining his lines. He grumbled at a few, not liking them. Some were too girly…and how was he supposed to do that balcony scene? He couldn't say nor do anything embarrassing…

Like the kissing scene…

He wanted to cry to himself. This was too hard. He'd never get ready in three days. And he just happened to get one of the hardest parts.

Grumbling some more, though shortened when Reborn made a warning shot above his head, he turned the light off, snuggling into his covers for sleep.

When Tsuna opened his eyes, he realized that he was floating. The warmth of his bed was gone, replaced by nothingness. He was just floating in mid-air, nothing to hold him up. Clouds were floating by, drifting from the wind. His caramel eyes looked around in a daze, liking the sight he was getting.

He was dreaming, he knew that and he felt safe here since there was nothing here to harm him. No mafia, no school, no Reborn or anything else. The wind blew though his hair, ruffling his short locks around. As he closed his eyes again once more, he felt like he was at peace.

It was nice, different then when he was awake. As his mind wandered in this empty space, he thought back on the play for a second before sighing deeply. His body moved around in a circle, spinning.

Then a voice, deep and cunning, broke that serenity and shattered it.

"Oya, oya, never thought I'd find you here."

The wind stopped blowing and the clouds flickered. The world seemed to collapse before his eyes (when he opened them) and the once light world turned dark. The clouds seemed to have dulled to a dark gray and the sky turned a navy blue. There were footsteps that echoed all around, first soft then it got louder, getting closer to Tsuna.

The brunet stopped spinning and rested his feet on the ground, looking around, trying to locate the speaker. He recognized the voice, it was so familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"What are you worrying about, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" The voice had a cocky attitude and then a snicker that instantly gave him away. "Kufufu…"

'That laughter…' Tsuna sighed. The signature laugh could only belong to one person. "Mukuro."

"Bingo!" The scene shifted again, disappearing, only leaving the two beings alone. Standing in darkness since the place was only covered in black, Tsuna could see Mukuro in the distance, still coming closer. His arms were folded and he was wearing his usual green jacket and everything. The smirk on his lips was frightening, almost pleased by something. The mismatch eyes were staring directly at the teen and for a moment, Tsuna thought he had seen confusion in them. Slowly, the sky guardian went closer when Mukuro stopped, his shoes clicking in the darkness.

"Why are you in my dream?" Tsuna asked, looking a little irritated that he had to deal with his mist guardian now of all times.

"Just visiting. I just happened to stumbled onto you while I was taking a walk." Mukuro stood just inches away, still smiling mischievously.

Tsuna puffed his cheeks. "Okay then, could you leave me alone?"

Mukuro seemed to think for a second before replying a quick "No".

"Hey!" The Vongola Decimo huffed, not happy about this.

The other sat down in the abyss, folding his legs. "I quite like it here. Much better than most people's dreams. I think I've found my new favorite person to visit at night." The mismatched eyes glittered as he laughed, tilting his head to the side as he watched Tsuna pout. He had to say it was amusing. Who else could look like that?

"I'm never going to get any sleep at this rate…" Tsuna muttered quietly, keeping some distance between himself and the older teen just in case, after all he still remembered that the other wanting to possess his body. Mukuro noticed the space between them and grinned, lightly waving his hand.

"Oh, come on, get closer. I can't hurt you here." When Tsuna didn't move, Mukuro knew he was going to have to pull that. He softened his features. "Please…"

This caused a reaction, one he liked, since Tsuna blinked in bewilderment. Did Mukuro just say please? He thought he had been imagining it but it was true. Tsuna hesitated but went closer and sat down next to the mist guardian, almost to the touching point.

"Well?" Mukuro smiled, happy that he had gotten his way.

The brunet blinked. "Well, what?"

"What's on your mind?" The illusionist got another confused expression and it was just adorable. "I can tell that you're worried about something by the way you dream, it's quite obvious." He pointed around the area, the darkness flickered. "See? You're thinking about something again."

Tsuna puffed his cheeks out. "Hey! You have no right to look into my mind!" He grumbled and then finally sighed. He turned to Mukuro with what? Hope? He prayed that Mukuro hadn't seen it. "Do you…um…know how to act?"

"Act?"

"As in a play?" Tsuna watched Mukuro wave his hand in a circle, motioning him to go deeper into it. "My school is having a Winter Festival and my class has been chosen to do a play. Its Romeo and Juliet. And I can't act…"

"Kufufu." Mukuro noticed the hesitation in telling him which part. It was so interesting that he decided to voice what Tsuna was obviously dreading. "And what's your part?"

The sky guardian went silent with dismay.

This was really getting exciting. "Kufufu…tell me. I can't help you if I don't know."

Tsuna raised his head. "You're going to help? How?"

"I can use illusions and the dream world to my and your advantage. And because I feel like it. It's not as if I have anything else to do. Being here is better than that never ending darkness I'm trapped in." Mukuro leaned to the side, placing a gloved hand under Tsuna's chin, lifting the warm face up. "Also, don't change the subject. Are you scared about your role?"

"J-Juliet…I play as Juliet…" Tsuna trailed off and turned away in embarrassment. He didn't want to see or hear the laughter that would come next. It was bad enough that he was going to be playing as a girl and it would be worse if his most evil and dangerous enemy laughed at him about it.

But he didn't hear anything. He waited and waited and finally he twisted back.

All he saw was a smile, a sly one, and Mukuro getting up. A gloved hand reached out to him. "Come on, get up."

Tsuna stared and stared before his mind registered the hand and outstretched his own towards it. Mukuro chuckled and took care of the rest, grabbing the other and pulling him up to his feet. The younger teen, who was at shoulder level with the older one, blinked curiously. Mukuro was acting…nice? Why? His curiosity was stronger than his fear and he drifted closer.

Mukuro clapped his hands once and the scene changed into a set. It was a complete stage with lighting and everything. Tsuna glanced around and rotated to Mukuro, who had a grin on and had a hand held out towards the illusion. "You can use this."

Suddenly, there was a slam next to his feet. Tsuna jumped at it and looked down. It was a booklet and it looked similar to the one he had but it wasn't an exact copy. If it had, Tsuna probably be suspicious since the other shouldn't be able to see what he is doing during the day (That would mean that Mukuro was stalking him).

"I'm not sure if that's the right one but it should have similar lines on it." Mukuro folded his arms, watching Tsuna lean down to pick it up. Tiny hands flipped through the pages, looking over the lines. "Next time just imagine the one you have and I'll be able to figure it out myself."

"Well they're very close but we've cut out quite a bit of it since we only have a few hours to do the whole thing. But I recognize them, well some of them…" Tsuna's caramel eyes rolled over the pages, so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed the other stepping closer. When a warm breath ran across his right cheek, he flinched and jumped away…well tried to. "M-M-Mukuro!! W-What are you d-doing?"

"Kufufu." Mukuro snickered, his arms wrapped around the frail body before him and gripped tightly, making sure that the younger teen wouldn't be able to get away. "I'll help you practice…This is going to be so much fun."

Tsuna swallowed thickly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

'Too close! Too close!'

His face darkened, he didn't like this, not at all.

Mukuro chuckled at the red tint that was slowly engulfing the pale face before him. "Well, I'll let you off for tonight." He released his hold and stepped away as everything started to fade. Tsuna blinked in confusion, what was going on? "I'm going to leave you now, but don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow." He grinned, watching the other's expression which shifted into shock. His body started to fade away along with the stage like background.

"Night."

Tsuna didn't reply back at first but when he noticed that the body before him was transparent, he waved. "Night, Mukuro."

The older teenager blinked, his lips curling further upward and finally vanished. The darkness came back but it now felt empty.

And for a moment, Tsuna was missing Mukuro's presence.

He faded away after that.

What makes grown men cry, but humanity would go extinct without it?

"Back again, I see. Kufufu." Mukuro watched as Tsuna appeared in the darkness. He was holding a booklet with the words 'Romeo and Juliet' on the cover. He folded his arms and grinned. "I take it that that's the script."

"Yeah, the fixed one. The class president, who is organizing the whole thing, did an all-nighter on it. She even went through each and every person one by one to tell them about their roles besides those that already know like me." Tsuna stared, a little surprised that Mukuro had been waiting here for him. He had expected the older teen to play a trick and mess with his head but here he was, right in front of him. Mukuro hadn't done anything like that…yet. No, he was actually being helpful. Tsuna held up the dream copy of his script and handed it over. "A lot of the longer dialogue has been combined together and summarized and some scenes were skipped entirely."

"Sounds like your play isn't very organized."

The brunet sighed. "It was a spur of a moment thing. We were just told a day before the whole thing, saying that we had to do a play and get it ready for the festival. We didn't really have any time to choose for anything either so the girls came together and planned the whole thing. The boys didn't want anything to do with it and well things became like this." He brought a hand up to his face and sighed again. "Plus things aren't working well for Yamamoto and Gokuderu-kun either."

This seemed to spark some curiosity. "Oh? How so?"

"Well you do know the story of Romeo and Juliet?"

"Obviously…who doesn't?" The mist guardian gave a deadpanned expression.

"Well Yamamoto is Romeo and Gokuderu-kun is Court Paris. And you know how overly protective Gokuderu-kun can get." Mukuro grimaced at that. He knew the storm guardian though Chrome's eyes. He was, in one word, noisy. "He didn't like the idea of Yamamoto being my lover in the play, even though they know it's just an act."

'I wonder how bad it'll get when they come to any kissing scenes…' Mukuro thought, he was almost amused by the idea. He could just see it. It took a lot of will power not laugh in front of the sky guardian. "You're the boss, right? You need to handle that. But have you started on any of your lines yet?"

"No, not yet." Tsuna held up the booklet again once he took it back. "Reborn doesn't give me any time to study it. It's so hard." He watched Mukuro wearily, not sure what was going to happen next. He still didn't feel entirely safe with the other even he could tell that they were acting a little too close for enemies. It was obvious. They were speaking as if they were old friends instead and that the cruel incidents in the past had never happened. Now that he was able to get a good look at the other and not get attacked every few moments whenever the illusionist came out, he noticed that the hair style looked like a…pineapple. The round shape of the head and the way the back of the hair pointed upwards was just like the green part of a pineapple. Tsuna paused at his thought. It was so funny that he smiled and snickered at the realization, catching Mukuro's attention.

The older teen raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"N-Nothing." Tsuna continued his laughter. He got a little louder when he saw Mukuro pout. It was fake but it was humorous enough to Tsuna.

Mukuro stepped forward and pinched the right puffy cheek, trying to get the brunet to stop. 'Damn Vongola boy, too cute for his own good.'

Slowly, Tsuna stopped and breathed deeply, tears in his eyes. He wiped them away, trying to contain himself from bursting out loud again. Even though his cheek hurt from the pull and that Mukuro was far too close for comfort, he didn't care. He looked up at the other with a large smile. "Sorry about that."

"Care to explain what that was just about?"

"Maybe later. Let's start practice first." Tsuna stepped away suddenly aware of their proximity. He placed the booklet between them and felt nervous at the glare he was getting. Mukuro was still questioning what had happened but stored it away for later and waved his hand so that the stage could appear again.

"Practice? Only you need to practice." Mukuro muttered under his breath but when he saw the hopeful face on Tsuna, he caved. 'Don't look at me like that!' He kept a smile on, trying to push away his wild thoughts. Watching as the other move further away, he followed and the two got onto the stage with ease. Tsuna's eyes were currently trailing over the booklet, deep in thought. His mouth muttered some of the lines, trying to memorize them and get used to the stuffy language. Mukuro, on the other hand, walked down the stage with his arms folded. When he got to a certain distance, he reached out and the same booklet as the one Tsuna had appeared in his hand. "How about we start at a section and go from there? I'll say a few lines and you say your own."

"Okay."

So they practiced.

Tsuna struggled over his lines and blushed bright red at certain parts, especially those that were proclaiming his love. Mukuro would tease him about it, saying that he accepts wholeheartedly.

Of course, Mukuro didn't get away with everything. There were a few times he stumble over the stiff language and muttered a few curses at it. Tsuna was no exception either since he messed up the most. In the booklet, there were five parts in total for the entire play with all of them having Juliet in it but some had a lot of lines while others very little.

The stage shifted at each part, changing as the scenery in the story did. It was interesting for Tsuna to watch.

Before they realized it, it was time for Tsuna to go. His body was starting to fade out like Mukuro's had done the night before.

"Ah, guess I'll see you tomorrow night, right?" Tsuna looked at his hands, seeing as they were transparent. There was a short appearance of sadness on Mukuro's features but it disappeared before Tsuna could say anything. The memory of it stayed in his mind and he heard a whispered 'see ya' from the other.

Tsuna stared and suddenly had an idea and grinned at it, calling out to the other. "That's right! You wanted to know what I was laughing about, right?" He got a nod in return. "Your hair style looks like a pineapple!"

Mukuro really did pout this time.

And then he woke up.

Tsuna blinked his eyes in the darkness, trying to adjust them to the poor lighting and look up at his window where some light was coming in from the street. His eyes traveled to Reborn, who was sleeping at his usual spot, the bubble still above. The sky guardian sighed and fell back onto his bed, still tired. His mind replayed the sad expression he had seen that night over and over in his head though he did smile at the memory of the pout.

He didn't get any sleep for the rest of the night.

What feeling is so abstract and complicated that it leaves people as idiots yet they still want more?

"Jyuudaime! What happened?!" The storm guardian yelled, jumping to his boss' right side. Yamamoto wasn't far behind and stood on the left, looking over his friend. Under Tsuna's eyes were black bags, it was obvious that he was tired and ready to collapse at a moment notice.

"I just couldn't sleep at all last night…" Tsuna sighed and walked off, not wanting to go any deeper. He was just too tired to think about anything. Plus, it wasn't as if he could tell them that he had been hanging out with Mukuro Rokudo. That wouldn't end well, not at all. Even Reborn had been questioning him in the morning and even started threatening after a while, but the words couldn't leave his mouth. He would open it then stop as if he couldn't do so.

Tsuna continued to class, his mind only picking up certain words from his two friends. His voice couldn't come out again and settled into silence even when he sat down into his seat in class. His mind kept going over last night and he knew if this kept up, he would end up driving himself insane. He really wanted to ask Mukuro about it.

But he never did.

Mukuro didn't show up that night.

What word makes us want to have a deeper connection with one another and for them to only look at you, to see you and accept you for who you are?

Practice began, people were constantly running around, getting things set up and trying to fix others. Everyone was going over their parts and assignments, trying to get used to the feeling. The ones controlling the lighting were flashing different colors of lights onto the stage, seeing which one worked best. Those with props were assembling them on the stage, trying to find a way to get them off and on within the few seconds they had in-between parts. It was chaotic.

Tsuna stood near the center, looking around with his script in hand. He was worried, no, scared. What had happened to Mukuro? He wanted to know. He had even been tempted to ask Chrome about him but Gokuderu and Yamamoto refused to leave his side after yesterday, both worried about him. It was getting hard to do anything now since they were now following him everywhere. All he had time for was to practice his lines.

During the practice, Hibari would walk in once in a while, checking up on them seeing as they had to stay afterschool to rehearse. He stated his lines when he had to and it came out pretty well if his tone wasn't filled with worry. Tsuna would stumble over a few words but that was normal for him. But there were times when his voice came out emotionlessly, his mind off somewhere else.

'Mukuro…'

There were a couple more changes added to the script but not as major that they needed a new one. Plus, it didn't really affect him very much so his lines remained basically the same (much to his horror).

Soon it was over and everyone started to pack up, ready to go home. Tsuna picked up his bag, putting away his script at the same time, and was about to leave when the class president stopped him.

"Sawada-san, is there something wrong?" She spoke, looking over her classmate before her.

Tsuna tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"You sound like you're upset about something and I know it's not about your part. Plus, you look like you're dead on your feet. I can't have you looking like that during the real thing. Your attitude is also affecting my other actors, especially your friends."

He blinked and then rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ah, sorry about that but I'm okay."

"Good. Well then please get some rest tonight. You weren't looking very good yesterday either."

"Right…"

He left soon after with his two guardians right behind. He didn't speak much but he tried to look as he usually did. Right now, he just wanted to get some sleep and to see if Mukuro was there.

Tsuna paused at that. 'Since when did I get so attached to him?' He blinked at his realization. 'And why do I want to see him so much? Why am I so worried? It doesn't make any sense but I still want to see him. I want to know what happened to him. I want to make sure he's okay…' He closed his eyes, feeling tired.

He didn't even notice that things had gotten silent around him. His two friends were worried and watched him from behind, quietly deciding together to visit. They had to make sure that Tsuna was okay.

But the moment Tsuna got home, he went up to his bed and fell fast asleep, out like a light. Lambo tried to jump him but no matter what he did, Tsuna didn't respond. Instead, the teen turned away, snuggling deeper into his pillow. The two guardians remained in the center of the room, staring in concern. Just what was happening to their boss?

"Mukuro? Mukuro? Are you here?" Tsuna called out into the darkness. Running around, he hoped that he could find the other. But there was no reply, just an echo of his voice. He stopped and remained still. The abyss around him seemed to have gotten closer and he felt like he was going to get swallowed by it. Tsuna slumped his shoulders, Mukuro probably wasn't coming today either. Was it because he called him a pineapple? Would the other really take it seriously? He turned away about to leave this world when there was a spark of sound.

"Oya, oya…Were you worried about me, Tsunayoshi-kun?" The voice chuckled, growing closer. A figure formed in the darkness and stepped out. "How sweet of you."

Tsuna didn't reply.

Mukuro blinked, taking more steps. "What? Cat got your tongue?" He reached forward with a finger and stabbed a cheek gently. "What's with that sad face? You look better when you smile." When he still didn't get any response, he got a little nearer. "Hey, you alright?"

Abruptly, the brunet looked up, squeaking out worriedly. "W-Where have you been? D-Did I upset you?"

This response made Mukuro step back. "No…you didn't upset me. What gave you that idea? I was visiting Chrome and the others since they had been wondering where I've been disappearing to at night. That's usually the time to go see them." Mukuro kept a stern eye on the younger being.

"O-Oh, I see." Tsuna turned away, looking a little humiliated at his response.

Mukuro suddenly grinned and leaned over, his breath brushing along Tsuna's left cheek. "Were you really that worried about me? Did you miss me being around?"

The brunet blushed and twisted further away, tempted to run but a firm hand on his shoulder kept him still. The gloved fingers quickly wrapped around his waist, pulling him in closer. The warm puffs of air went along to his neck and gulped loudly at their proximity. Once more, his face darkened in color, burning brightly.

"Well?"

"N-Nothing…I…um…" Tsuna shuddered, the coldness of the hands seeping through his clothes.

Mukuro pulled the other nearer, placing his chin on Tsuna's left shoulder. The spiky ends of his hair were tickling Tsuna's neck close to his ear. "Hmm…I'm waiting…"

Tsuna opened his mouth to answer but there was a flicker in the darkness. He blinked at it, pausing. "What?"

There was a curse from the illusionist. "Damn, someone's trying to wake you up." He pushed himself away from the other, releasing his grip and sighed, starting to walk away. "Guess you better go."

"W-Wait!" Tsuna turned back, taking a step forward. His dreams were collapsing like before but this time faster. "Mukuro!"

The mist guardian twisted back for a moment.

"I did miss you!"

Mukuro jumped at the yell, his eyes widening considerately. His lips were slightly parted.

Tsuna puffed his cheeks. "So you better be back soon, got that?!" The shocked expression on Mukuro was incredible and as the words settled into the illusionist's mind, his face changed into something of happiness. A smile broke out, a real one. The sky guardian knew it was, his heart and intuition was telling him so. There was nothing fake about the way the curve of the lines went up nor was there anything threatening behind it. It engraved itself into Tsuna's mind and he blushed brightly, just as he disappeared.

"Thank you…"

"Jyuudaime!" Gokuderu's voice called out.

Tsuna grumbled, barely awake, feeling his body getting shook by his storm guardian. Instantly, he woke up and struggled out of the grip that was squeezing down on his shoulders. The lights from his room blinded him for a second. "Gokuderu-kun, stop! I'm awake!"

The shaking stopped and Tsuna took that moment to look up at his best friend in confusion. There was worry etched in his features and Yamamoto looked the same. "What's going on? Did something happen?" He looked at the clock and noticed that he had only been asleep for an hour and an half.

"Are you okay?" Yamamoto asked, his eyes darkening.

For once, Tsuna looked utterly confused. He blinked and tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't wake up no matter what we did." The baseball player spoke, looking his friend over. Reborn suddenly appeared, stepping onto Tsuna's stomach. His eyes were watching carefully and noticed how the brown ones widened in shock, there was something up and he knew it. The hit man wanted answers, now if only Tsuna wasn't so stubborn about it.

The brunet scratched the side of his right cheek, looking nervous. Had Mukuro kept him asleep purposefully? He'd have to ask the mist guardian to appear at certain times to cause not much disturbance. Plus, his friends were getting suspicious if they weren't already. "Really? For how long?"

"For about ten minutes, Jyuudaime!" Gokuderu was still holding onto his boss as if afraid that the other might possibly slip away. "We tried everything from slaps to loud bangs but you never woke up until now. For a moment, we thought you had fallen into a coma or something!"

"Really?!" Tsuna's eyes widened at that information. Had that really happened? "S-Sorry guys…for worrying you but I'm alright."

Reborn decided to take this time to cut in. "Did you dream of something?"

Tsuna twitched but kept his lips tight. He couldn't reveal anything about his dreams. "I don't really remember much…" He felt bad for lying but it couldn't be helped.

The hit man noticed the defiance and narrowed his black eyes under the fedora but he didn't push any further. His student was going to reveal the truth sooner or later and if he didn't, he would get them, forcefully if he had too.

What is invisible and makes people suffer from symptoms like sweating and nausea, yet people can't survive without it?

As days passed by, practice became much easier and with Mukuro's help, Tsuna was actually remembering what he learned. Also, the illusions of having an entire audience watch him as he spoke had helped him get over his fear…to a point. He still stuttered when people looked at him but it was a lot less than before. The first time it had happened he had gone silent and when he spoke, he was nothing but a stuttering mess. But slowly the uneasiness faded and he could speak clearly, remembering tips from the older teen. The time he had spent with the other was fun, it always was. Every once in a while, they would just sit down and talk. They did about school, the weather, anything that came to mind though it was mostly him that did the work. Mukuro just sat and listened.

Tsuna could tell that people were getting inquisitive since he was unusually getting his lines right. Reborn, on the other hand, was getting irritated. He knew for a fact that Tsuna hadn't really been studying the script that much. His curiosity about the whole matter was at its peak and he was getting frustrated that he still couldn't get an answer. No amount of blackmail or anything else would make the other break.

Then came the dance scenes. Tsuna gulped at that. Apparently, the class president wanted them to dance at the opening where Romeo and Juliet are introduced. The brunet paled considerately at the thought and even more as he watched as a demonstration of it on video then a live one. He tried with a couple of people but his feet wouldn't move correctly and he tumbled after a while. He managed to succeed in stepping onto five foots, making three of them scream, and fall six times, two of those times dragging down his partner to the floor.

The class president wasn't happy about this and yelled at him for a few moments.

Gokuderu, who had been just passing by, threw a fit.

And then night came.

"So you have to dance and you can't do it?" Mukuro snickered as Tsuna told him what had happened today. There was a flush of awkwardness on the teen with his thin fingers digging into his pants. Mukuro laughed some more before standing up from his spot. They were on the stage as usual but at the end where they could sit and dangle their feet over the edge. Tsuna looked up in confusion since he heard footsteps and watched as Mukuro walked around as if deep in thought.

When the mist guardian came back to his side, he stared as the other outstretched his hand. Tsuna blinked. "Ehh?"

"Fukuku. Come on, get up." Mukuro pulled Tsuna to his feet with a single pull and brought them to the middle of the stage. The Chester cat grin didn't leave the whole time. "Let's dance."

"EHH!?!?" Tsuna struggled in the grip but couldn't break out. He was forced to look into the red and blue that drew him in closer.

Mukuro continued to smirk and placed his arms around, positioning them to where Tsuna had described. He just happened to remember seeing this dance on TV long ago when he was younger. And he had to admit that it was definitely coming in handy. "This is the best time to train and I won't tease you…much…Kufufu…"

This didn't make Tsuna's uneasiness fade, instead it intensified, but alas he complied. Mukuro had been helpful so far so he had no reason to stop now. The brunet placed his hands onto the required position and stared down at his feet unable to look up because he was sure he was blushing like mad.

Mukuro didn't like this however. "Tsunayoshi-kun, look at me." The illusionist whispered with his lips so close to the right ear. He pulled back slightly when the younger teen did, his lips curving further upward, liking the expression he was getting. Tsuna just had to look so damn cute. "Good boy. Now, let's start moving. I'll lead."

Tsuna blushed further to the tip of his ears and stuttered some nonsense in response. He moved with Mukuro but after a few steps he did what he did best and tripped backwards. The mist guardian caught him easily, keeping the other up and tried again with the dancing.

One time, Tsuna slipped forward, slamming into the illusionist and pushed himself and the older teen down to the floor. At their proximity, he could smell the faint scent of…something…he wasn't sure what it was but it was nice. His face was buried into Mukuro's chest and heard a grunt from below. Tsuna immediately lifted himself up, muttering apologizes, and stared down at their position. Mukuro noticed it as well, it was hard not to.

Currently, the brunet's right leg was riding up between the mist guardian's and his hands were beside Mukuro's head. He had him pinned to the ground.

Mukuro took this in as amusement. "Oya, oya, never thought of you to be kinky."

"S-Shut up!" Tsuna jumped away, embarrassed, and gazed to the side. He slid across the stage to put some distance between them and tried to control his face. His heart was pounding wildly and took in deep breaths. Mukuro continued to chuckle and got up, getting onto his feet. He moved forward and jumped down to wrap his arms around the surprised shorter teen along the shoulders.

"EIIHH!! Mukuro!" Tsuna tried to move but he was held down. "H-Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Nothing!" Mukuro snickered, extending the syllables as his grin grew wider.

Tsuna could feel the warm breath brush across his neck and continued to struggle. He really had a bad habit of getting into positions he shouldn't. Just what was wrong with his luck?

Deciding that he had enough fun playing around, Mukuro let go and pulled Tsuna back to his feet. "Come on, let's try again." Wrapping his arms around the younger teen once more, they danced around a few more times. He offered a few pointers and tried to hum a beat to help make things easier for the sky guardian. And it did. Tsuna used the beat for his footwork, timing it with his steps. He would take a step here, take a step there, and then do a spin. Mukuro always caught him with ease and continued with the beat.

"See, you can do it." Mukuro grinned, his sharp eyes gazing into the caramel ones.

Tsuna smiled brightly, for ten minutes he hadn't messed up. A new accomplishment to add to his very short record book (that didn't include the much later one filled with mess ups). "I am, aren't I…"

He did a few more spins and twirls for his part. Soon, he started laughing. He was enjoying this and it was so much fun. Mukuro stopped humming and just watched the other with delight. Now this was fascinating.

Before they realized it, it was time to stop.

They were having so much fun that they had lost track of time (that is if time really works in the dream world).

"That was so much fun!" Tsuna smiled, stopping his feet and pulled back from the embrace. "And thank you so much for helping me. I wouldn't really know what to do if you hadn't come in."

"Kufufu, I'm here to offer my services to you anytime…my lady." Mukuro leaned over, taking Tsuna's right hand and kissed it. He looked so gentlemanly at the moment even as his lips touched the bare hand. One of his eyes remained open so he could watch Tsuna's expression.

It was funny to say.

The blush that had once been under control came back, the expression turning cute. Mukuro laughed again and retreated back, rubbing the hand affectionately. This seemed to snap Tsuna out of his shock and yank his hand away, his blush darkening in color.

He opened his mouth for a retort but nothing came out, he couldn't make himself say a word. So he just fumed at his spot before running off, wanting to leave.

"Kufufu…" Mukuro made his signature laugh and waved. His mischievous grin was back when he saw Tsuna stop and twist around to look. "I'll see you tomorrow night, my lady." He then blew a kiss and disappeared.

The sky guardian covered his face at the strange sensation he was feeling and swallowed thickly. When he was sure he was alone, he sighed miserably. He was already missing Mukuro again. Slowly, his fingers went over the spot where Mukuro had kissed him and gently rubbed the area with his thumb.

"Mukuro…"

What causes a sudden increase in heart rate, a loss of memory and overall brain function, but is not a drug?

Tsuna's improvements in dancing shocked everyone to their core even Reborn was flabbergast (though he will never show it). The day before he had been so bad that everyone had refused to be his partner but then, all of a sudden, he was able to do all his moves perfectly. It was such a drastic improvement. Reborn's suspicions grew as did the other guardians.

His classmates tried to ask if he was taking lessons from someone and pestered him if they could too. But Tsuna would just laugh nervously and replied. "Something like that but I can't tell you who though."

They practiced some more, the stage nearly complete. Lights were shining in at the right moments, giving different hues for each scene. The background could quickly change without any difficulty.

But there was one scene Tsuna couldn't do.

No, he wouldn't do.

And that was the kissing scene.

He could do the ones where he was proclaiming his love to Yamamoto and everything else but not that. That was forbidden. He could only get as far as the cheeks before panicking and pulling back.

This frustrated the class president, who wanted to make this scene perfect. She kept edging him but Tsuna refused every time. He wasn't going to give away his first kiss in a play.

"Come on, Sawada-san, it's just a kiss…" The class president grumbled, twisting the script in her hands in anger.

"I can't kiss him!" Tsuna yelled. "No offense, Yamamoto."

"None taken." The rain guardian gave his usual smile, not at all offended. "I understand, I'd much rather have it on the cheek myself."

The class president screamed. "But there has to be a kiss in the scene!"

"I'm not doing it!" Tsuna huffed, suddenly feeling defiant. He really didn't want to do it. If he had a choice to choose who'd he kiss, he'd rather kiss Mukuro…

…wait, where had that come from?

Tsuna turned pale at his thoughts.

Then he turned bright red.

"Listen, you must kiss him at the balcony scene. You must! That's the best way to show the audience that you love him!" The class president ranted. "I don't care if you don't do it during practice! But it must be done during the real thing! Yamamoto-san, you must force him to kiss you!"

"If Jyuudaime doesn't want to do it, then he doesn't have to!" Gokuderu screamed, about to pull out his dynamite if he hadn't remembered his location. "I don't give a shit about you or this play! If Jyuudaime says he's not, then he's not!"

"Shut up, you!"

Tsuna sighed, watching as a fight broke out. He was about to try and stop it when Yamamoto cut in. The baseball player patted Tsuna's shoulders, speaking in that gentle low tone of voice. Gokuderu didn't take kindly to the treatment he was getting and made another attempt to throw the explosives. That too was thwarted when an arm wrapped around his shoulders.

The sky guardian just smiled, all too used to this.

Later during practice, costumes were handed out for testings. Tsuna groaned when he saw himself in the mirror. It was a pretty dress but he didn't like it. Plus, it wasn't complete yet so a couple of girls were messing around with some of the materials. He just remained still as they poked the thing with needles and hoped that none of them would hit him. He noticed that the boys, who were trying out their own that half of them, were in the same position as him, in a dress. Tsuna glimpsed at some though, they were even more flamboyant than his own. Most of them were those bright colored ones like pink, orange, red, etc, etc, while he had a medium tone of blue. He chuckled in revenge as he saw some more bright colors get added onto their dresses.

His two best friends were putting on theirs elsewhere since the class president had decided that those that were playing different gender roles shouldn't be together. It was probably for the best.

As he wandered the area, his eyes caught sight of a familiar person in the back of the audience section through the curtains, which were luckily closed for those that were still practicing. Tsuna had just been given a break and was forced to walk around to get used to the feeling of wearing a dress when he had saw him. The entrance door was opened slightly, letting in some sunlight. He gulped when he recognized the person that was just standing there.

'H-Hibari-san…' Tsuna groaned. He didn't want to get bitten to death right now and decided to remain where he was at, hidden. Looking at a mirror, he saw that his disguise was almost complete since he had his wig on. The only thing he was missing was the makeup. 'If I go out there, would he be able to tell it's me…best not to try.'

The perfect left after a while with his subordinates, who were just checking up on the group.

Tsuna sighed in relief as did everyone else, who had tensed up at the sight of the perfect. The tension in the room deflated especially on the boys' side, the ones that were wearing female costumes.

He looked himself over in the mirror a little longer before heading back to the changing room.

What complex feeling toys with the human mind and makes us slaves to its unstable rhythm?

Mukuro and Tsuna's meetings continued on through the week. Tsuna would always share the events that had happened during the day each and every night. And just like Tsuna had asked, Mukuro showed up every time soon after the younger teen had fallen asleep.

One time when he had talked about the kissing part, he had noticed a visible twitch from the mist guardian but didn't mention anything about it. Not that he wanted to. There were a couple of other things Tsuna was noticing the longer he hanged around the other like the way he would raise an eyebrow at anything peculiar.

"So how much longer before the show?" Mukuro asked, swinging his legs. They were back on the stage, just having finished practice a little earlier than usual.

"Four day now. Everyone is working really hard on finishing everything before the big day. We're almost done with the whole performance too. We're just waiting on the stage work."

"That's good…" Mukuro fell back, hitting the wooden floor. "I guess that'll be the last time I see you then…"

"Huh?" Tsuna blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't need me anymore afterwards, right? So there's no need for me to show up."

"That's not true!"

Mukuro snapped his head over. Tsuna was standing up, looking over him from above.

"That's not true at all! Even after you can still show up, I'll welcome you anytime! I enjoy our time together, it's been fun. You must have the same feelings if you continue to do so too."

"Maybe…" The illusionist smirked.

"What do you mean 'Maybe'?!" Tsuna pouted, looking down at the other. He made a light punch to Mukuro's right shoulder, watching the older teen wince since his push had forced the shoulder to hit the ground. His lips were in a tight line, huffing angrily. After a few moments of staring, he broke out into a smile as he fell next to the other onto his belly. "I wish you could come watch but that's impossible, right?"

Mukuro raised an arm over his head. "To a point…But you know, I'd really like to see that dress of yours…Must be cute."

"Shut up! Don't say such embarrassing things!"

Mukuro laughed, turning to his side, holding onto his stomach. The blushing face looked so so so cute! He looked back and reached forward to pinch a pouting right cheek. Tsuna grumbled as he felt his flesh skin get pulled and shoved himself out of reach.

"You're horrible…" Tsuna sighed, rubbing his red cheek.

There was a moment while they stared at each other silently, questioning about the other and themselves in their head. Mukuro's eyes roamed over the body before him and was tempted to reach forward. He didn't understand why or where he wanted to reach out to, but he wanted to. He wanted to touch, to hold the person before him, but he knew this wasn't real. This was the dream world. Still it didn't matter to him, he just wanted to try but he hesitated. It was an impossible thing to do. Tsuna looked over his mist guardian, deep in thought. He questioned himself if there was a way to get him out of the watery imprisonment and let him be free. There had to be a way. As he stared, he felt a little sad that the person before him is fake. He wandered if the day they meet in person, would the Mukuro before him be the real one or is this all an act to let his guard down? Or would they even act the same outside this world when Mukuro would possess Chrome, both afraid of what people would think of them? Or would they be enemies forever and ever, except when they are in here?

Tsuna didn't like that.

Finally, Mukuro broke the silence. "I guess I'll try and show up for the thing. Hopefully that man (Hibari) won't catch me, that would be troublesome." He lifted up a hand and held up his head. His eyes didn't stop roaming.

This response caused Tsuna to smile so brightly. "Don't push Chrome-san too hard, okay?"

"I won't. I know my and her limits."

"Good." Tsuna looked around. "Well, I better get going. See you later." He stood up and slowly began to disappear. Before he did so completely, he heard a soft whisper and turned to Mukuro with a smile.

"You too, Tsunayoshi-kun…"

What can make even the toughest person fall apart and melt frozen hearts?

The day of the play arrived. The festival was in full bloom all around. Stands were crowding the school front yard and people continued to walk in from the entrance, whether by themselves or with others. The students of the school were yelling and shouting, trying to attract attention to their stand. There were a variety of things being held and sold. Some were food, others were games with prizes. There were some indoors shops, classes covered in papers and anything that came to mind. A lot of voices filled the entire school area.

The Discipline Committee was keeping a watchful eye on the groups, scattered all around the school while their leader, Hibari, was at the rooftop, looking down at the crowd. As much as he would love to send all these people screaming and crying home, he knew that this was a school event. His only job was to make sure that the grounds were safe. Hibird was singing the school anthem and flew around in circles before landing into his black hair, nestling in.

Then came the auditorium where the play was just starting on part one. Tsuna was onstage, looking into the crowd, as he danced around with the people he was supposed to. Music blared from the speakers and the lights from above shined into his eyes, making it difficult to see. He could feel all eyes on the stage, many on him. He had everything on, costume, makeup and wig. No one could tell it was him even when he spoke. When his part was over, he wandered around the dancers as he was supposed to and waited until Yamamoto or Romeo showed up. During that time, his eyes scanned the crowd when he had gotten to the side where there was less light and noticed his mom in the middle with all the children. Futa, Bianchi and even Reborn were all there too. He was tempted to smile at their direction if the class president wasn't glaring at him since he wasn't supposed to go that far on stage. He went back to his spot and waited.

But the one person he had been expecting didn't show up. Mukuro…was he really coming? He continued his lines flawlessly when Yamamoto finally showed up and smiled brightly at his direction. The audience reacted at the rain guardian's appearance and cameras instantly went off. The females were screaming passionately like they were in a concert. After a few more dances and lines, he disappeared into the back area and sighed to himself. He was shaking, all those eyes were intense. He was glad that Mukuro's illusions of a live audience during training had helped him remain calm. He was sure he would have bolted otherwise.

Momentarily, he looked onto the stage since he was about to change into the nightwear for his next part and was left flabbergast at the sight of all the boys (he hadn't really been paying attention). Those that had female parts didn't remotely look like a guy, though that could be said to him as well. No one in the crowd could tell the difference. It was amazing at how hard the girls had worked on the costumes. He shook his head and left to change.

Soon it was his part again since the curtains were closing. The scenery changed quickly, having attached rollers on the bottom of every prop and simply pushed the old ones out and the new ones in. Tsuna followed along and jumped into the one that looked like a bed, trying to make himself look asleep just as the curtains were pulling back.

Things continued on with his supposed father and mother trying to get him out of bed and then Court Paris or Gokuderu, who almost shouted 'Jyuudaime' at the sight of him, came in. Tsuna was rushed to his feet and dragged around by his all too energetic storm guardian. The class president was really glaring now. Gokuderu wasn't really acting his part anymore and was looking over Tsuna instead. The audience, on the other hand, was screaming in joy at the sight of the handsome Gokuderu, who was dressed in some fancy type clothes. They took a couple of pictures, seeing as flashes were going wildly just like when Yamamoto came out.

He was certain that if things didn't get back into order, something bad would happen. Deciding to lead the other back into his part, he rotated so he could face the crowd. His voice halted for a second when he saw Hibari at the top, staring. He swallowed a lump in his throat and kept going. Tsuna shook a little, thanking the puffy dress in hiding it. He couldn't stop now and no one seemed to notice it.

Of course, things didn't end there. Gokuderu was glaring at the perfect. The sky guardian sighed inwardly and pushed Gokuderu around before the Italian could pull out any dynamite. He didn't want any explosions right now. The curtain closed again and he relaxed during his break while Yamamoto was out doing his part.

"Jyuudaime! You did everything perfectly! You're the best!" Gokuderu smiled. "I knew you could do it. You're the finest one out there."

"A-Ahaha…" Tsuna nervously laughed. "Thanks." He flipped his wig back since the hair was getting into his eyes. His fingers straightened out the dress and looked around at everyone, who was running around, getting things completed. Some were changing clothes for their next part, something he needed to do for the balcony scene.

"But did you see that bastard!? That asshole! He was glaring at us!"

'I think he was glaring at you, Gokuderu-kun…' Tsuna sighed and stood up. "Well, I'm going to change. Be right back, okay?"

"Sure!"

Tsuna was a little surprised that he had been let off that easily (since Gokuderu likes to follow him everywhere) but didn't think about it much. It was fine with him. Hurrying along, he went into the changing room, grabbed his next clothes and started undressing when he was in the safety of a small room. Just as he was about to strip himself of his dress after unzipping it, the door in entry area opened (there's a main room with smaller ones inside that's used for changing) and quiet footsteps came in. Tsuna didn't let that stop him and pulled the next piece of article up, zipping it all the way from the side. The wig was still on and the makeup looked perfect just as it had been first put on. There was nothing for him to fix. Gathering his loose clothes, he packed them up and exited. His large brown eyes scanned the area curiously. The front door was closed. Hadn't someone come in?

"Huh? That's odd…" He looked over the room but all the small room doors were open and nothing was missing at all. Tilting his head to the side, he shivered slightly as he felt a sensation and swallowed. Tsuna took one last look before rushing to the hanger to put his old costume next to his dancing one and ran out the door, unaware of a pair of eyes that were watching him.

But as soon as he came back, he was nudged to the side.

The class president growled angrily. "The balcony scene is coming up. Don't mess up! We need this to be perfect, got that!"

"Y-Yes!"

Tsuna ran towards the prop to take his place and looked below at the group of people. He instantly slid behind the cardboard and went up the ladder to step onto some wood that would hold him up. From behind, it was nothing but stacks of wood nailed and glued together while in front for the audience, it was decorated to fit the scene. The curtains pulled back.

He looked out into the spectators, speaking his lines and sighed, leaning over the side. He heard Yamamoto speaking below in the cardboard bushes.

"Kufufu…"

Tsuna jumped, almost letting out a scream. He knew that laughter anywhere. Looking around, he tried to find the speaker but there was no one in sight. His chest did flip-flops, did Mukuro actually show up?

"Hey, stop daydreaming! Get ready!" The class president yelled from behind. Tsuna still looked nervous and tried to make himself appear graceful and looked over the balcony. He played his part, responding with the other. He spoke to the guards that came from the side while Yamamoto hid and when they disappeared, they continued the rest of their parts. He shivered when the feelings of dread bubbled in his stomach, something was going to happen. Tsuna stuttered his lines and he could see the president growling in rage. He had messed up.

Then it was time for the kiss.

They leaned in together.

Yamamoto was smiling as always.

Tsuna looked like he was going to faint.

Just as they were mere inches away, a voice broke them apart.

"I won't allow this!"

Suddenly, the scene shifted. The stage seemed to be sliding back and forth like it was on a balance beam.

Tsuna held onto the side to sturdy himself from falling down. His eyes looked to the crowd, who were watching in interest but there was also confusion mixed in there. This wasn't supposed to happen…

"What's going on?!" He called out in surprise.

"This is kinda neat!" Yamamoto laughed, doing the same thing as Tsuna, holding onto the ramp. He wasn't affected by what was going on. Things got worse as vines magically started crawling up the stage out of nowhere, wrapping around anything it touched. Screams were coming from the back but Tsuna couldn't see what was going on.

He instantly recognized this work or should he say illusion.

"Mukuro, where are you?!"

"Jyuudaime!" Gokuderu called out only to be held back by his classmates. The stage was still going even with all the freaky stuff that was going on.

"Kufufu…I will not allow this to happen." A mist flowed onto the stage but was concentrated more to Tsuna's right side. The tone of the voice was dark and menacing. Was Mukuro angry? He didn't know what to believe…

The mist cleared to reveal the one and only person that could do such a thing, Mukuro.

Yamamoto was on Tsuna's other side, looking over the two.

"You bastard!" Gokuderu's yelling could be heard across the entire room.

Mukuro smirked, holding up his trident in his right hand and slammed the hilt against the ground. The room began to spin in a circle and Tsuna let out a cry, tightening his hold onto the side. The mist guardian's eyes went to Tsuna, who was on the floor of the prop. Yamamoto, on the other side, tried to stand up but the spinning got him a little sick. The audience seemed forgotten as they watched the scene fold out before them.

"I'll be taking what's mine!" Mukuro laughed, reaching down to take Tsuna into his arms. His trident vanished from his hands so he could hold the younger teen possessively to his chest. A blush spread across Tsuna's face as he stared into the mismatch eyes.

"M-Mukuro! W-What are you doing?!" Tsuna yelled, clinging to the illusionist as the place seemed to spin more out of control.

"Saving you, of course. Kufufu."

Then a voice called out. "You!"

They turned their attention to the stage below. Hibari stood there, his tonfas out. He was glaring hatefully and growled at the mere sight of the illusionist. "Oya, oya. Look who showed up." Mukuro held tighter to the boy in his arms. His right eye showed the number one. Tsuna noticed this instantly and blushed. "Sorry, don't have time to play with you. Perhaps another time."

Mist started to surround them. Voices cried out, many in shock as they watched the lead character, Juliet, disappear with some unknown stranger. Tsuna could see his friends, the ones in the crowd and the ones on stage with him, yell out to him. They were all panicking and even more when Tsuna was no longer in sight.

Mukuro and Tsuna appeared behind the school buildings in the furthest part where very little people were at. They dropped to the ground, hiding behind a set of trees just in case Hibari or any of the Disciplinary Committee or the rest of Tsuna's group decided to try and find them (which they were both sure is going to happen). Mukuro held a firm grip on the other and looked around continuously.

"What the heck, Mukuro?" Tsuna cried out, looking up at his mist guardian. His clothes were all messy and the wig was starting to fall off. As he moved around, it finally came off and hit the ground, left forgotten. "Why'd you suddenly appear like that?"

The mist guardian turned to the other curiously and leaned against the tree to support himself. He could hear the sounds of laughter and chatter of people in the distance. "I'm not letting anyone touch what's mine."

"Yours?" Tsuna chocked out. "Since when was I ours?"

"Since this…" Mukuro reached forward, pulling Tsuna towards himself. His lips brushed against Tsuna's as if testing then pressed further. A shocked gasp escaped from the other and the brown eyes widened instantly. The kiss was short and the illusionist was the first to break away. "I'm not going to let someone take you."

He leaned back in for another kiss, tasting the lips again. Tsuna blinked, reaching up to touch the spot as they pulled back and blushed. He swallowed thickly.

Mukuro pushed further, his breath running over the cheeks. "Let me in, please…"

Tsuna tightened his lips together, biting on the bottom one, before smiling gently. He could see the desperation in Mukuro's eyes and finished the rest of the distance. 'Ah, this is how it's supposed to be…' His soft attacks shocked the other momentarily before a chuckle vibrated against his lips. Mukuro wrapped an arm around the petite frame before him, pulling them together. He slipped his tongue in at the opening, tasting Tsuna violently. His tongue mapped out the inner cave, closing his eyes in satisfaction. A soft moan came from the back of Tsuna's throat while his fingers gripped the shirt in front.

They pulled apart only to breath.

Tsuna's face, fully red, looked down. "S-So does this mean you l-like me?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Mukuro kissed again, unable to get enough. He wanted more than a kiss.

But Tsuna's next response made him stop. "But I thought…you wanted to possess my body?"

The illusionist froze, looking up into the caramel eyes. He blinked a few times, his lips slightly open. Then his expression darkened, looking miserable. His eyes turned away and stared at the ground dejectedly. "I did…at the beginning but now…Now it's not your body I want anymore, I want your heart…" He would have said more if a pair of lips hadn't cut him off.

Tsuna pulled back. "That's enough, that's all I needed to know." He kissed Mukuro gently and watched as the other's expression merged into happiness.

"…I'm not letting you go after this, you know that right…" Mukuro tightened his hold, feeling the warmth of the other against his chest.

"I know and I don't really mind for some odd reason."

Mukuro chuckled, leaning up to nuzzle into the crook of Tsuna's neck. He could smell the strong scent of pine, probably from the clothes. Tsuna felt the spiky hair tickling his chin and wiggled his nose at it.

'Ah…I've figured it out…' The sky guardian smiled. "Lavender…he smells like lavender.' He buried his face in Mukuro's chest, holding onto him tightly.

A gloved hand rubbed over his back. "To tell you the truth…when I first saw you at the start of our little dreams, I thought I could use this to my advantage to get closer to you. I thought that I could make you lower your guard and take that chance to claim your body." Mukuro whispered, his arms still wrapped firmly around the body. Tsuna listened, not budging an inch. "But…somewhere along the way, I realized that I didn't want you to go. I wanted you to stay with me forever. It came to me after our second meeting. Your kindness and your ability to see through things influenced me without me actually knowing. You were accepting me for who I am and you didn't run away or hide. You faced me with a smile and with open arms. I felt…happy."

Mukuro trailed off, closing his eyes. "But I'm a coward. I didn't want to face it so I ran. That's why I didn't show up on the third night. I never really went to see Chrome or anyone else. I just thought about you over and over while trapped in that darkness. I honestly thought that I would go insane if it continued. So on the fourth night, I went back to confirm if I had really wanted you, if I really wanted more than just your body…" The illusionist paused, taking a deep breath. He felt as if all the weight on his shoulders were crumpling. "…I did. You had been so worried about me that you left me speechless."

"I had fallen for you without even knowing it." Mukuro smiled, continuing. "The more time I spent with you, the more I fell in love with you and somehow I didn't care. And by the time I realized I had feelings for you, it was too late for me. I wanted you by my side forever. So when you told me that you would have to kiss that…that person, I grew angry. Even though I knew that it was all just an act, I couldn't allow it. So I came here with the full intent of destroying that one scene. But I guess I got carried away and kidnapped you instead…" The illusionist rubbed the back of his head with a free hand. An uncomfortable silence fell over them. He was expecting a lot of things from Tsuna, anger, hatred, pity, but he didn't except-

"Ahahaha!"

-that…

Mukuro looked down to stare at Tsuna in astonishment. Tsuna was laughing. Why? He wasn't sure.

"Tsunayoshi-kun?"

"Tsuna, just call me Tsuna." The younger teen continued to chuckle and leaned forward, kissing the surprised face. "You're such an idiot. But I guess that's what I like about you. For me, it's kinda the same as how you fell for me. The time I spent with you made me realize a lot of things, more than I ever imaged. But it's not a bad thing…I like being with you."

"Hey…" Mukuro smiled, his heart fluttering, returning the favor. He ran a hand through the brown locks, gripping it to use as leverage.

They kissed a few more times, each time getting deeper, before Mukuro pulled away depressingly. Tsuna noticed that the other was looking a little tired and pale. He ran a hand over the right cheek. 'He's so cold…'

Mukuro regrettably spoke. "Damn. I'm at my limit. I need to let Chrome go."

Tsuna looked a little sad at that but a hand reached up and touched his cheek. The mere brush lightened his mood.

"Don't worry, I'll see you tonight. Maybe we can even continue where he left off. Kufufu."

"Mukuro!" Tsuna's face flushed like usual and watched as mist surround his new lover. He pulled back but not before Mukuro could get one last kiss. Then Chrome appeared, looking drained, but smiled when she looked up. It was obvious she had seen the whole thing. Tsuna returned the gesture with his own smile.

Until he heard some footsteps and voices…

"Jyuudaime!! Where are you!?"

"Tsuna!"

"Sawada-san!"

Tsuna sighed to himself. This was bad.

He was still in his dress and groaned loudly, rubbing his face in agony. 'Well better now than later.' He stepped out from behind the trees, getting ready to brace the worse, when Chrome suddenly grabbed his right hand. He looked back curiously, his left hand holding his wig.

"Boss, thank you…" She closed her eyes as she beamed. Tsuna returned the gesture again. Right now, he doubted that anything could kill his good mood.

Almost anything…

The glare he got from Reborn when his friends found him was enough to send him crying.

Tsuna gulped, it was going to be a long day.

What emotion are we scared of never feeling and are willing to die for it, just to feel it for a split second?

"Hey…" Mukuro smiled, reaching forward to caress Tsuna's right cheek. His thumb rubbed the spot tenderly and leaned over, kissing the area.

Tsuna smiled, wrapping his arms around the other's neck and pulled him in closer though he had to stand on his tippy toes in order to reach. "Hey, back."

They kissed.

"Looks like you survived." The illusionist whispered, his lips attached to the neck and ear. His hair continued to tickle the skin and his cold gloved fingers sent chills down Tsuna's spine.

"Of course! I wouldn't be here with you if I wasn't." The smaller one gasped slightly at the touch, leaning into it. He fell to the floor with the other on top, nuzzling into his hair now.

"How'd you survive anyway? Didn't the Arcobaleno harass you for answer?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"…Please don't ask…" Tsuna sighed, remembering the events. He just wanted to forget about everything that had happened after Mukuro left. It wasn't a pleasant memory. But this suddenly gave him an idea… "Hey, could you just hold me. I'd rather forget about that part of the day.

Mukuro chuckled. "Kufufu, whatever you say…my lady." He kissed the rosy lips, loving the sweet taste. His hands wandered a little bit but Tsuna didn't seem to mind for now, he could always make an argument later.

Tsuna huffed instead at the nickname. "Shut up…"

"Kufufu."

What four letter word is the cause of most of the discord in the world, as well as most of the cooperation?

The answer is Love.

I finished it, I finished it. Hahahaha!

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