Swallowed the Moon
By: The DayDreaming
Warnings: Long author's not at the end. Pairings? I don't know. THIS STORY IS NOT TSUNAxKYOKO!!! IT'S NOT, I SWEAR!!! In fact, it'll probably be shonen ai, because I don't really like any of the girls except for Lal Mirch, and she's for Colonello. This story is also severely AU. Things will be explained in good time, if you wish for this story to continue.
Full summary: AU Tsuna, worst magic-user ever, never thought he'd graduate from Salence's Academy for the Genesic Empyrean. Hell, no one else thought he would either. Maybe once he starts experiencing life outside of SAGE school's halls, he'll want to return to that constant school daze for good. Conspiracies, fallen princes, and a quest to find his MIA father send Tsuna's once below-average life out of control. Pulled along for the ride, he can only hope that he's strong enough to stand against the odds alongside a carefree swordsman/bodyguard, an entirely too loyal bomber, and a curly-sideburned gunman. Scratch that; he's definitely going to die.
O.o-oO0Oo-o.O
PROLOGUE: Good-Bye
O.o-oO0Oo-o.O
"Thank you, Tsuna! It's soo cute!"(1)
At the praise, Tsuna immediately began to blush, fiddling with his fingers as Kyoko daintily flapped the blue ribbon about. She interestedly watched the thick, forked tails of the silky cloth flutter with just the slightest flick of her wrist.
"I-I thought it might look good on yo—I-I mean, it looked pret—w-well, y'know, me being a guy and all, I wouldn't really know, ah, um, um—"
"It looks nice, Tsuna. Thank you, very much," Kyoko quickly intervened, smiling softly at him, "I'll put it on my broom right away, once I get the chance. It'll look great!"
Tsuna gave a small, shy smile back towards her, internally grateful that she had cut him off mid-rant. Despite having known Kyoko well enough for a couple of years now, he still had trouble communicating with her past the level of a verbally-challenged five year old.
But, he couldn't help it. Kyoko Sasagawa had been his first crush, and would probably always remain so, making his heart flutter about just as much as that blue ribbon she was waving around. He had first lain eyes on her the day after he had come to Salencer's Academy for the Genesic Empyreal (2), and had forever since been smitten by her charm, good looks, and unbidden kindness towards him.
Now, though, he might never see Kyoko again. It was finally graduation day at Salencer's, and all of the students who had passed successfully through the trials and tribulations of the Academy would be moving on to become apprentice magic-wielders, setting out to find their individual niches in the world.
Tsuna knew that he shouldn't be feeling sad; after all, he too was finally graduating, much to his disbelief. Tsuna, though he was loath to admit it, was a rather poor magic-user and student. No matter how much he tried, he could never match up to everyone else, and was always dead-last in everything. Where others could conjure fireballs in their hands with no effort at all, Tsuna could barely hold a spark alight for more than a few minutes. Where all the boys in his classes trained to become warrior-mages with the power to destroy armies and travel across thousands of miles in a matter of hours, Tsuna couldn't take down a little girl, let alone run a mile in under twenty minutes.
Everyone had always called him No-Good Tsuna, even his own family, much to Tsuna's chagrin. Tsuna tried, he really did; but deep down, he knew that he was a failure, through and through. But, not Kyoko. Kyoko would never call him '"No-Good," or laugh when he was the last person off the track, or make snide remarks when he received his work back, marked with large, vibrant red 'F's. She was sweet and kind, if not a bit air-headed, and always encouraged him to do his best, even when he came out the worst.
That's why Tsuna had been so relieved when he read that he had passed (just barely) all of his final exams, and would be graduating with the rest of his year; he was happy to hear Kyoko say, "I told you so," and smile kindly towards him.
He wanted so much to confess to her, spill out to her in the perfect words the great amount of gratitude and admiration he held towards her. He couldn't, though. Kyoko was too good and pure for someone as lousy as him; she flew in a completely different stratosphere from No-Good Tsuna.
The best Tsuna could do was give her a gift, in the hopes that it might remind her of him when they went their separate ways.
Tsuna was snapped out of his musings when Kyoko shoved a thin, rectangular box into his arms.
"Huuwha?" Tsuna asked eloquently, mentally slapping himself for sounding like such a dweeb while examining the white cardboard structure.
Kyoko giggled at him, "Open it, silly! It's my gift to you."
He blinked slowly at her, "Gift? What for?"
"Does there need to be a reason?" Kyoko asked quietly, eyes staring at him sadly, "You're a wonderful person Tsuna. That's enough reason in itself. I wish everyone else could see how great you are, including yourself."
Tsuna blushed again, feeling guilty for making Kyoko look like a kicked puppy. He quickly set about opening the box, tearing at the taped edges and peeling back the flimsy board.
"Um…ah, it's great Kyoko! Thanks! Uh…"
Tsuna wasn't quite sure what he was thanking her for. Residing in the box had been a long length of dirt-brown cloth, folded neatly into a square. He pulled it out, letting the fabric fall to reveal what looked to be a simple cloak with a rounded hood. Sitting atop the hood was a pair of what appeared to be stiff, rounded and concave disks.
Kyoko smiled brightly at him, "Well? Try it on!"
"Oh," Tsuna muttered, "Right." He set the box down and quickly pulled the cloak over his shoulders. It fell loosely around him, the edge of the silky fabric brushing against his ankles. Kyoko quickly swooped in once he had the cloak wrapped around his figure, tugging at the fabric around his neck and bunching it together, before quickly popping something out of her pocket and clipping it onto the material clenched in her fist.
Kyoko stepped away, beaming at her handiwork. Tsuna looked down at what she had clipped to the front of the cloak; a smooth, orange brooch gleamed back at him, seeming to almost glow with an inner fire.
"Ah," Tsuna muttered, staring in wonder at the shining stone, "Is it…?"
"Yup! It's a skystone. You know, they say that if you're in desperate need, a skystone will grant your deepest desire," Kyoko supplied, setting about straightening the cloak on his shoulders. Tsuna blushed at the contact, before quickly letting out a startled squeak when Kyoko yanked the hood up on the back of the cloak, draping it over the spiky locks of hair on his head. He had the distinct impression that the round disks connected to the offending piece of fabric were sticking straight up.
Kyoko practically squealed once she had finished her task, "It's soo cute! I knew you would look great in it, Tsuna!"
Tsuna merely stared at her blankly; he felt slightly out of the loop, as he often times did with most girls, including his mother. "Oh," Kyoko snapped her fingers, "Here…"
She dug around in the small purse hanging off her shoulder, frowning as she muttered something under her breath. After a couple of seconds of frantic searching, she procured a small, oval mirror and held it out to Tsuna, who hesitantly took it.
Looking into the mirrored glass, Tsuna let out a small noise of disdain, but tried to remain poker-faced as he thought of how excited Kyoko was to give the cloak to him. The cloak in itself was okay, a soft but sturdy fabric, good for traveling, but…wasn't sewing mouse ears onto the top a bit much?
"I look…"
"Ah-huh…?"
Tsuna wasn't sure he could lie through his disappointment, but he had already started his sentence; nothing to do but trudge on through the storm.
"…Ugly," he finished lamely.
Kyoko seemed bewildered at first, obviously expecting him to say something else; she pursed her lips before the words finally sank in; she gave a small, hurt frown, "No you don't. I think it looks perfect on you; better than anyone else, I would say."
"Yeah, but," Tsuna tried to reason through his words, softly fingering the ears atop his hood, "Ears? Aren't these for girls who want to make an, ahm, fashion statement?"
Kyoko still seemed a bit confused, "What do you mean? It's an enchanted cloak; I made it myself for my final exam in Enchantments and Incantations."
"Oh."
"Yeah," Kyoko continued, smile returning, "I got full marks for the charming I did on it. The cloak can channel your magic and keep you warm without a fire, and the ears can camouflage and transfigure you into a mouse."
"That's great, Kyoko," Tsuna said, prodding at the ears a bit more in wonder, "But why give it to me? It's special to you, right? You must have worked really hard."
"Because you're special, too," she evenly replied, taking back her mirror from Tsuna's loosely clasped hand, "I know that boys have to go on a quest or apprentice with someone to become a fully qualified mage. I've already got a job set up, but I hear that you're going back home. So, I figured that a traveling cloak as handy as this one would help you!"
Kyoko smiled at him; Tsuna melted under her gaze, and secretly wished that they wouldn't have to part so soon, "I want you to succeed, Tsunayoshi Sawada. You're a strong and wonderful person, even if people can't see it right now. I know you'll do great things.
"You're not 'No-Good;' you never were. I believe in you."
Tsuna could feel his eyes tearing up, Kyoko's image blurring in his line of sight. Not even his mother had spoken such kind words to him in years. Her words stood out in bright contrast to the layers of pitch-black ridicule and mocking. Tsuna knew that Kyoko wasn't lying; the utter sincerity in her voice and eyes spoke volumes.
Before he realized what he was doing, he had grabbed her around the shoulders and pressed her tightly to his chest. The hot sting of tears sloped down his cheeks and onto Kyoko's nice graduation-day blouse, but she didn't seem to mind, hugging him back just as tightly.
"Kyoko," Tsuna murmured, hood shadowing his eyes as he stared at the back of her head. He didn't want to let her go; it felt like he would be saying good-bye for good, missing the chance of a lifetime. But no, that wasn't fair to her. She deserved better. Tsuna pulled back from the tight embrace, looking into Kyoko's honey-brown eyes with determination that only she could pull from him, "You're special to me. I think that…it was you, who got me here today. I don't think I could have made it past the first year without your encouragement.
"Everything you say, everything you do, means the world to me. You're my first best friend, of all the people in the world. Even if…we have to say goodbye, and we don't see each other for a long time, I won't forget you."
Kyoko smiled kindly at him. Gods, Kyoko looked beautiful in her dress; Tsuna would remember.
She said, "I know."
O.o-oO0Oo-o.O
Tsuna didn't get to speak to Kyoko after that. She had quickly placed a slip of paper in his hand while scrubbing roughly at her eyes, before walking away to go get ready for the graduation ceremony.
Boys and girls were seated on opposite sides of the auditorium; even though Tsuna's name came right after hers, he didn't get a chance to speak to her. He did notice, though, that she clapped especially hard for him as he walked up to the principle, who was eyeing Tsuna with a look of disbelief as he exchanged the false diploma (the real one would be given out later) and shook hands with the boy who always came in dead-last. Everyone seemed a bit stunned, actually.
No-Good Tsuna beamed and blushed, and searched for his family in the crowd. They weren't there of course; he expected as much. Nana Sawada lived in a different country and his father hadn't made contact with him in over three years. They wouldn't possibly attempt to come to the most important day of their useless son's life, now would they?
Tsuna didn't let the disappointment show on his face. Instead, he trudged onwards, finishing the ceremony without falling asleep as he usually would, and making the last ever trip to his dorm to pick up his traveler's bag; it held all he would need for his journey home.
Tsuna trudged through the halls of the Academy that had occupied his life for the last four years now. He smiled fondly at the cranky old woman behind the desk in the reception hall. He remembered that she had been the first person to insult him on his first day at the magic-school, when he was twelve and terribly inept at moving his scrawny limbs around without knocking something over, like the receptionist's meticulously stacked pile of important documents.
He moved through the familiar glass doorway of the school, one of the Academy's most famous features for its enchanted qualities. It almost felt like a dream, standing at the doorsteps of the Academy that had swallowed him whole; he was sixteen, an apprentice magic-wielder, and heading home to face his future.
Tsuna wasn't quite sure what to do; he felt as though he were stepping off solid ground and straight over a cliff, falling fast and hard. He breathed deeply, trying to calm his madly beating heart. All he had to do, he told himself, was take the stairs down from Salence's Academy for the Genesic Empyreal, walk to the train station, buy a ticket, and wait on the train-ride for home.
It almost seemed too easy, this walking away business.
But no, it had to be this way. Everything seemed too easy once you were actually doing it, he thought to himself. He puffed out his cheeks, and then dug through his travel bag to procure Kyoko's cloak. He slipped it over himself, blushing slightly as he pulled the hood up, ears standing tall, before he pinned the front shut the skystone brooch. He hoped that wearing it would remind him of the courage and determination he had around Kyoko.
With a deep breath, he stuck out his tongue at the school's famous entry-way, and whipped his middle-finger out, thinking of every person that said he couldn't make it to where he was today.
He stood like that for a couple seconds before feeling decidedly embarrassed, quickly retreating his arms and face inside the dark comfort of his cloak.
Tsuna gave one final look to the prestigious SAGE school, and softly whispered, "Good-bye."
Tsunayoshi Sawada didn't look back.
O.o-oO0Oo-o.O
(1) They're not in Japan here, folks. No honorifics or saying surnames first, sorry. You'll find out where they are eventually.
(2) Salence's Academy for the Genesic Empyreal. Kind of a stretch, right? This will be hit upon later, but there is a hidden reason. First person to guess what the hell 'Genesic Empyreal' is gets an uber-Girl Scout cookie.
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Uh, hiya? You might be asking, if you've read down this far: "What the f!?&?"
My reply: No friggin' clue.
I guess I just got tired with all of the generic high-school fics and stuff floating around in this section. Most of the stories that update, I'm not interested in, and the ones that I am interested in, don't update nearly fast enough. I think some part of me was dying of boredom.
Another part of me really wanted a fantasy story that is well-written (not that I'm tooting my own horn. I know I'm far from good, I'm just saying that I like writing what I'm interested in, and what I'm interested in is not what people write.). I've been in a real Final Fantasy mood, especially FFX, and my retarded brain instantly supplied that hey, there are Guardians in both stories, and they like to fight, and they protect someone and yada, yada, yada.
Will this be fantasy-based? Yes. Will the Final Fantasy series be heavily drawn upon? Yes and no (depending on where the plot bunny takes me). Will it follow any FF storyline closely? Hell no. Will everyone be in the story? Hopefully. What's the pairing? No frickin' clue. It's not TsunaxKyoko, even if this prologue makes it seem that way, I swear!
Pairing-wise, I'm not a complete noob to this section so I know what the numbers and everything means. Truth be told, I've never written shonen ai, though I'd like to try. Why would I like to try here? Because I don't really like any of the girl pairings, and some of the shonen ai pairings make me squee. Basically, what I'm saying is, go ahead and volunteer pairings that you like (I'm partial to RebornxTsuna, SpannerxTsuna, and 8027, if you catch my drift). I can't promise that I'll write romance well, since it's not what the story is focused on, but I'll try.
I'm writing this for the fantasy elements; the Reborn! section needs more fantasy-based stuff, besides the boring vampire stories. I don't know if people will like this, but I'm not doing this for others; posting this will not only get this awful plot bunny off my chest, but also make me feel better about contributing to a fandom that I really like.
This is my first KHR fic, so sorry if everyone is OoC. I'll try my hardest to make a good story! There also won't be an ending not so long again (sorry!).
Please review and tell me if you want me to continue, I need to know so that I can figure out where to go with this. The DayDreaming out!