Hey...this is the author here! We're here for an installment of some 1827...yes, that means it's Hibari and Tsuna.

Okay, so first things first. I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! if I did, well...lets just say that it could make a wonderful yaoi.

Second off, TRIGGER WARNING! SUCH A BIG TRIGGER WARNING. RIGHT FROM THE START. YOU WERE WARNED.

"Dame-Tsuna"

"No-good Tsuna"

"Useless Tsuna"

"Stupid Tsuna"

These were only a few of the names and things that he has been called for most of his life. He's heard the whispers in the hallways, in the streets, hell, he's even heard it when he was at home and his mother invited people over.

He needed help. He know he does, but he doesn't do anything to get it. Tsuna brought the razor down on the already marred flesh of his wrist. He watched the blood ooze out, dribbling out in crimson beads. Again, this one deeper. He repeats it three more times. It felt good to him, it made him feel like he was in control.

Right now, he was in the school bathroom, skipping lunch again. Tsuna doesn't remember the last time he's eaten. He held out his cut up wrist over the toilet, watching the blood drip from the sides of his arms down into the clear water of the toilet, tinting it a light shade of pink. Silent tears stream down his pale, gaunt face. The honey-brown orbs that use to hold a spark of innocence is gone now. Replaced with a dull shine and a lifeless look. No one has noticed though, because he still pretends to act the same way he always did. Putting on a smile and laughing, and acting the way he always use too, nobody should suspect anything, right? Gokudera and Yamamoto haven't suspected anything, or his mother, or the rest of his Guardians.

What was he going to do? He was getting worse. The amount of cuts have multiplied, the depth of the cuts as well. The anxiety attacks he's been haven't aren't getting any better, and he can't keep running and hiding to the nearest isolated area. Someone is bound to notice, and Tsuna doesn't want to burden whoever it was with his problems. With the monster that lies within him.

It's not just the bullying, no, that has always been there and he's learned to ignore most of it. It's the fact that he's expected to do such great thing as the Vongola Decimo. He's expected to become a great mafia boss, a leader, someone who makes important decisions. How could he be expected to fulfill all of these requirements when he can't fulfill anything for himself? When he can't even help himself?

It doesn't help that Reborn has started beating him.

Not the kind of everyday, "Stupid-Tsuna-man-up-kick-to-the-back-of-the-head", but just the uncalled for, "Reborn-taking-all-of-shit-out-on-Tsuna" kind of beating. Tsuna had tried to get him to stop, but Reborn threatened to kill his mother, I-Pin, Kyoko, Haru, and his Guardians. Tsuna couldn't have any of that happening, so he stayed quiet, took the beatings, acquired the bruises, took the verbal and physical abuse and tried to cope, but he couldn't. Not just Reborn's, but everybodies' words got to him and he just...broke.

Tsuna jumped when he heard the sharp ringing of the bell alerting everyone that they are to be in their next class in four minutes.

"Oh, no," he murmured, blood still pulsing out of his cuts. They stung, but it was a pleasant sting. He tried to quickly grab the toilet paper, but his movements were slowed and sluggish. After successfully ripping a piece of toilet paper off, Tsuna sloppily tried to stop the blood flow but just ended up making more of a mess. Tsuna grabbed more toilet paper, and he jumped again when he heard the bell ring for the second ring. He cursed under his breath, Gokudera and Yamamoto will notice his absence and will probably come searching for him. There was too much blood. How the hell was he going to explain this? He's going to have to wash his arm in the sink. Flushing the bathroom stall toilet, he unlocked the stall door, and peeked his head out.

Once he determined that the coast was clear, Tsuna all but ran to the sinks. Turning on the cold water, he held his hand under the rush of water that came from the faucet. He let out a quiet hiss as the water poured over his bloodied arm, turning the water a dark pink and then flowing into the drain. Eventually, the water turned black to being clear and Tsuna sighed, and closed his eyes. Turning the faucet off, he turned to the place where the towels were being kept.

Reaching out, he had expected his hand to come into contact with either the hard plastic of the paper towel dispenser or the rough paper towel itself. He did not expect for his hand to come into contact with a soft fabric and a hard stomach. Tsuna's eyes snapped open as he looked at the person before him, not really realizing who it was until a word was spoken.

"Herbivore."

That one word had enough power to send Tsuna reeling back. "Hiee! H-Hibari-san!" He squeaked out, conveniently flailing his arms to grab his sweatshirt he left on the sink next to the one he used. Quickly and fluidly he put the sweatshirt on. He had hoped that the prefect had not seen his arms.

"Be in the Disciplinary Office in three minutes." The skylark had spoken monotonously, then turned around and left the bathroom, but before leaving, he stopped in the doorway, "don't keep me waiting Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna briefly contemplated taking out his mittens and flying away from the school. Of course, that meant that he would never be able to come back to school...or return home...or go anywhere, really. Not only would Hibari be pissed, and he's pretty sure that Reborn would beat him within an inch of his life if he ran away. Sighing, Tsuna decided that he might as well follow his Cloud Guardian's orders. Tsuna hurried out of the bathroom and down the hallways toward the Disciplinary Committee office. Once Tsuna was standing in front of the office door, he raised his fist to knock, but before he could, Kusakabe had opened the door for him with a confused look.

"Kyo-san is quite upset, I don't think it is a good idea for you to bother him right now, Sawada-san." The older teen told Tsuna.

Tsuna took a deep breath, "Hibari-san told me to come here." Tsuna heard something being thrown against the wall, and then falling to the floor in multiple soft thumbs. He winced. Hibari was pissed. What could have happened in the few minutes that it took for Hibari to get back to the office and wait for Tsuna?

"Where the hell is that herbivore?!" Tsuna heard the prefect yell, but he still couldn't see him. "Tetsuya! Go find Sawada Tsunayoshi! If he's not in school, expand the search into town. Check rooftops, trees, and look in the sky."

"Eh? Hibari-san, I'm right here," Tsuna called out, and he heard the skylark growl loudly as he appeared in the doorway.

"Didn't I tell you to be here a minute ago?"

"I-I was j-just about to come in, H-Hibari-san. I had to tell, Ku-Kusakabe-san f-first."

"Hn." The skylark turned and headed back into the office as Kusakabe moved to the side to let Tsuna in. Once Tsuna entered, Kusakabe left the room and shut the door behind him.

"L-look, Hiba-" Tsuna started, only to be cut off.

"Strip." Hibari told him coldly.

"...what?" Tsuna was in shock. Did Hibari just tell him to strip? Of all things. He had to have heard him wrong. His sinuses must be clogged due to all of the crying. He sniffled. Yep, that had to be the reason he must have heard Hibari wrongly because there's no way he could have told him to-

"I said, strip, herbivore."

Oh, my god. He did say strip. Tsuna couldn't move. Paralyzed in fear, thoughts were racing in Tsuna's mind. He saw my arm in the bathroom, oh my god, he's going to do a full body search...he's going to see the rest. Tsuna started to take in short breaths as tears began to pool in his eyes. Great, he thought to himself, I'm going to have an anxiety attack in front of Hibari of all people. Why? Why me? Thoughts became fuzzy to Tsuna as his breaths became shorter and faster. Black spots danced in his vision as his knees became weak and he couldn't hold himself anymore. Tsuna briefly remembered falling, but not crashing to the ground.

Tsuna woke up with his arm throbbing and his head placed on something soft, but also hard. Flickering his eyes open, he saw he was sleeping on top of Hibari's chest. Slowly moving his eyes up, he say that the prefect was sleeping peacefully. Tsuna knew it would be a bad idea to try and move away from the skylark, but he had to get out from Hibari's grasp. It was starting to make him feel like an anxious, trapped animal. Carefully, Tsuna lifted Hibari's arm and gently put it aside while softly pushing himself off the bed.

That's when Tsuna noticed the bandages.

And the different clothes.

And the different room.

Tsuna's breaths started coming in quicker. Trying to calm himself down but to no avail. The Sky Guardian felt a pair of warm arms encircle him. He screamed; he needed to get away. Movements became frantic and desperate but the arms held tight. "Let," he pushed out between short gasps, "me go!" He demanded, his Dying Will Flame flickering to life without the help of the Dying Will pills. It seemed to have kicked in as a natural defense mechanism. The arms disappeared and Tsuna realized who was holding him.

Of course it had to be Hibari: he was the only one in the room besides Tsuna. Why would Hibari go to such an extent as to, what seems like, actually care for Tsuna. He looked towards the skylark, ready to demand answers. Hibari's face was stoic but his eyes showed a gentleness Tsuna never saw before. No, he takes that back, he's only seen that when the skylark was caring for his fluffy yellow bird, Hibird.

The Dying Will Flame died out as Tsuna calmed down. Dropping to the floor, Tsuna had decided to think. He didn't realize he would be voicing is thoughts aloud.

"First Hibari finds me in the bathroom, then he forces me to come to the office and when I'm one minute late because I had to tell Kusakabe that I was called, he goes on a rampage initiating a search party. Next, he wanted check for the other cuts that I've made, but if he did that he would see my bones because I haven't been eating. Then when I pass out because of my anxiety, he changes my clothes, and bandages me. Then I wake up on top of Hibari's chest in an unknown room. What the fuck is going on?" He rambles on and on, momentarily forgetting that he was in the same room as Hibari. It seems that Gokudera's...creative... language started to rub off on Tsuna.

Hibari sighed. He didn't even know why he started this in the first place. This was just another herbivore...but why did he feel betrayed when he saw Tsunayoshi in the bathroom? When he had searched the boy when he had changed his clothes? Tsuna was crying and Hibari felt awkward. He had no clue as to what to do. So, he decided that he might as well sit next to the boy that will be housing with him for an unknown amount of time.

"Little Animal," he spoke and Tsuna visibly flinched as Hibari sat next to him and spoke. He was expecting to be hit. Reborn always hits him more when he starts to cry. Hibari tried again softer, "Little Animal," he whispered, "calm down." Tsuna's loud sons turned to muffled cries.

Tsuna wasn't going to lie: he was terrified of Hibari. He didn't know how to react to Hibari trying to be...gentle. It just might have scared him even more. Tsuna could almost handle a tonfa wielding, pissed off, irritated Hibari, but this? He didn't even know where to start. Tsuna decided that maybe if he closed his eyes, pinch himself, and hope to wake up in a bed with no children running around the house, no mafia, no Reborn.

In Tsuna's attempt to pinch himself, his fingers came into contact with the rough cotton of the bandage on his arm. After realizing this, Tsuna patted his other arm, his stomach and both thighs only to find bandages in each and every location. His mouth dropped open; his cuts were all bandaged. Had Hibari done that?

"H-Hibari-san?" Tsuna stuttered out.

"Hn?" An eyebrow rose the the usually impassive face.

"Did you, you know," Tsuna gestured to himself, "do all of this? For me?" He asked shyly. Sure, Tsuna is Hibari's boss, but it doesn't mean he has this kind of obligation. Besides, Hibari isn't one to be held down by a "mere herbivore".

Tsuna glanced at the raven-haired prefect. A slight nod of Hibari's head was Tsuna's only confirmation that Hibari had willingly helped Tsuna. Tsuna was about to open his mouth and ask "why", but he was silenced when he heard Hibari speak first.

"Why?" He questioned, "why did you...do those things? Or was it the baby?" Hibari had seen the bruises as well. Tsuna felt a tear drip down his face again. Calm down, he told himself, calm down.

"I-I..." Tsuna started, "Reborn...he-" he stopped once he saw Hibari's livid look on his face.

"I'm going to kill the baby," Hibari told Tsuna as he stood up, unsheathing his tonfas.

"No!" Tsuna screeched, which made Hibari turn to look at him. Tsuna blanched, "he...he threatened to kill everyone if I told anyone. He said he would kill the Guardians...Kyoko, Haru, I-Pin, mama. Hibari-san...you can't beat him. If you fight him, you'll die. I can't have that happening to you." He explained as Hibari felt a warm feeling in his chest.

Hibari almost smiled, but he doesn't exactly know how to smile, so instead he smirked. This herbivore cared for his safety; the only one to ever care about his safety. The only one to ever actually care. "Little Animal, are you doubting my abilities?" Tsuna's sad demeanor seemed to be replaced by fear. Hibari mentally shrugged. As long as the Little Animal wasn't crying.

Wait..., Hibari thought, when did I start referring to Tsunayoshi as "Little Animal"? Hibari was very confused and it showed on his face, Tsuna saw the look but figured it was safer to not mention anything, so instead, he wrapped his arms around his legs and tried not to wince and the blunt, dull, throbbing pain that would accompany all of his movements since Reborn came, and he started to self-harm.

Tsuna felt nervous, but not panicky. He didn't know where he was and he kept expecting Reborn to pop out of nowhere and shoot down his Cloud Guardian.

"Eh, Hibari-san, I don't mean to be rude...but why do you care?" Tsuna asked while twiddling his thumbs.

No answer came from the skylark, except for when he turned around, walked out of the room and slammed the door."Hiee! I didn't mean to anger Hibari-san!" Suddenly, a figure was appearing before his eyes. It was...it was himself.

"You know, you're quite the worthless one here if you can't even control your own Guardians, very much your own tutor, who, is in fact, beneath you on the power scale. He works for you." The opposite Tsuna said. "Let's just call me Tsunayoshi, right Tsuna?" Tsuna could barely nod his head. Little did he know what was happening was actually in his head. That's right! Tsunayoshi is a figment of Tsuna's imagination.

"No..." Tsuna whispered, "you're not real-can't be real!" He stuttered out. "Ju-just get out!"

"Aw, Dame-Tsuna is getting frustrated! You're not worth anything. You deserve all of those cuts, and all of those beatings from Reborn." Tsunayoshi looked thoughtful, "Reborn is right, you know. None of your friends care about you. Why else would they have not realized what's going on?"

Tsuna couldn't handle the mental torture anymore, "GO AWAY!" He screeched. Hibari, who had been napping, woke up to the scream and all but broke down the door to the room Tsuna was staying in. He had expected the baby to be there, chameleon in tow, but all Hibari saw was Tsuna curled up in a ball on the floor, hands pressed tightly against his ears with tears pouring down his face. "Go away," Tsuna mumbled, "make it stop, make it stop!"

Hibari was immediately at the younger's side, trying to get the boy's attention. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, look at me," Hibari commanded, but this only made Tsuna wail louder. "Little Animal," he tried again, "look at me." Hibari saw beautiful honey-brown orbs shining with unshed tears look at him. "No one is here but you and I. Nothing is there. No one-nothing-can hurt you. I'll bite them to death if they try." He smirked, "it's late. Go to sleep, Little Animal, go to sleep." He whispered the last part. Unknowingly, Hibari had wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's lithe frame.

After a while, Tsuna's breathing had evened out, alerting the skylark that he was asleep. Carefully he picked up the boy and brought him to the futon in the room. Once he had placed the blankets on top of the sleeping boy, he made a mental note that the Little Animal was much too light than he should be, and as he walked out of the door, he turned back to shut the lights and saw the school bag and its contents scattered haphazardly on the floor. He was going to have to make the teacher excuse the boy from his homework for a little while. Of course, he wouldn't tell Tsuna this.

Hibari quietly padded his way to his own bedroom quarters down the hall. When he opened the door, Hibird had flown over to him instantly. "Kyoya! Kyoya!" Hibird sang excitedly.

"Be quiet. You're loud enough to wake up Tsunayoshi down the hall." Hibari berated his pet, who, in response, cocked their head to the side curiously. Hibird had never seen it's master like this. Hibird, of course, jumped to conclusions.

"Kyoya has a boyfriend! Kyoya has a boyfriend! Kyoya has a boyfr-" Hibird was cut off mid-word as Hibari snached him from the air.

"I do not have a boyfriend," he spoke icily. Hibird didn't seem to realize the tone, or just didn't care. Instead, he wiggled his way out of it's master's grasp and flew up onto Hibari's head, leading the prefect to sigh and gently pat the yellow bird.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow..." Hibari sighed.