Frills and tonfas.
He stood by the bakery sign, a small package containing a few muffins clutched in his hands. Tsuna sighed lightly, closed his eyes, and counted to three. The man who had taken his order had smiled and called him cute, giving one of the muffins for free. It always made him feel just a bit happy inside and blush when he was called that – a change from the usual insults thrown his way.
But then again, when he was Aya he was always popular. Unlike when he was the usual Dame-Tsuna.
Once Tsuna opened his eyes, his breathing and the color of his face back to normal, he patted the light blue dress he wore, making sure that there were no wrinkles, and turned to walk down the street. The sun hat, with a white ribbon tied around it, shadowed his face nicely, in case people wanted to look at his face, so Tsuna didn't feel nervous. It would be weird if someone were to recognize him.
The teen didn't want to think about what would happen in that case, not to mention the reactions of those that knew him and the way he would be treated from then on. His life was miserable as it was, and Tsuna didn't need all those bullies attacking him for yet another reason.
He stopped suddenly, blinking a few times and fingers clutching the handle of the package tighter. Someone was watching him, his every move. There were shivers running down his spine, something that came with fear, and Tsuna knew fear well.
Slowly, so very slowly, he turned around, one hand going up to make sure that his hat would not fall off in case a strong gust of wind decided to come by. Chocolate brown scanned the crowds of people, those that sat and chatted on the benches and those that seemed to rush to places Tsuna didn't know of. A pair of grey eyes swam in his vision for a moment so short the teen thought it might have been a hallucination.
…
Tsuna sat through the first lessons of the day, lost in thoughts about the next dress he could buy and wondering if he could remove the stain out from that one light orange top that he had used two days ago. These little things helped in surviving for yet another day of hurtful words and painful punches that was his school life.
It only took him the whole of half a minute to leave the class right after the bell signaling for lunch rang. With hurried steps and while trying to blend with the wall, Tsuna hurried up to the roof, where there were no bullies and no one to steal his lunch. The lunchtime was the only part of his pathetic school life that the teen liked, enjoyed even.
He sat in the shade, legs stretched out before him and the bento box in his lap. His mother had once again put all her love into making this, Tsuna didn't want the food to go to waste or be taken away by bullies.
With a small sigh he started to eat. The laughter and amused screams from down below fluttered up to where he was, reminding the teen that he was indeed alone right now, with no friends. Still, brown eyes looked down, past the fence, at the people down below and he wondered just how it would feel to eat lunch with a friend for a change.
Tsuna lowered his chopsticks when half of his bento was already eaten and looked up at the blue sky, thinking about this and that. Next time he would need to wear one of the wigs when going out in the streets as Aya – the hat did little to hide him as Tsuna after all. "Maybe a green one would be better next time?" the teen mumbled to himself quietly, furrowing his brow lightly.
At that moment the door leading to the roof was opened, the squeak making the boy jump a little and then peek around the wall in order to see who had just come up here. It was rare for someone else to be here, after all. However, his eyes widened when he saw Hibari, the Chairman of Disciplinary Committee. Of course, Tsuna knew that the upperclassman usually came here for naps, which was the reason why no one else usually came here.
But never before had Hibari come here during lunch time.
In a hurry Tsuna gathered his things, hoping that he would not be 'bitten to death' for being here. Eyes downcast and bag clutched in hands he got up and headed to the door, bowing and mumbling a small apology to the prefect. Before he can move past the other, though, his arm is caught in an iron grip and he is pulled back and in front of Hibari.
Steel grey eyes looked down on Tsuna, narrowing just slightly before the prefect let go and stalked past the teen. "Next time I catch you here you will be bitten to death. The roof is off limits."
…
He was once again Aya, dressed in that cute green dress he had wanted to wear three days ago. It reached almost to the ground, allowing only his shoes to be seen. The dress's hems flowed gently with the wind, as were the long strands of his wig.
With slow steps he made his way through the crowds of people, through the noise and the problems that seemed to be the only thing that those around him talked about. There was something in the air that Tsuna didn't really like, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. But it wasn't something good.
That much his bullied self could tell.
It happened in a small flash of things that all happened at once. Someone bumped into him; there was a small apology somewhere before him and a wet spot on his dress, something that would be hard to wash out, surely. And then Tsuna looked up and instead of the person that was no longer there he sees a pair of grey eyes staring at him from a small café – uninterested and cold.
Tsuna knew that while he was Aya there should not be any way to recognize him, even if one Hibari Kyoya was the one to see him. The teen calmed himself with the thought that the prefect was simply annoyed with the crowding and the accident that seemed to happen in front of him.
Whatever the reasons may be Tsuna looked back, straight into those grey eyes, and tried to find reasons, answers to questions that he didn't yet know. He was Aya right now, not Dame-Tsuna; he should have no reason to fear Hibari when Aya was not even a student of the Namimori school. There should be no reason for Hibari to look at him, not with a look like that, at least.
It took a lot of courage, but Tsuna managed to make a small smile and then look away, light blush coloring his cheeks. He took a deep breath and got up, ignoring the way that the dress clung to his body where it was wet, ignoring the funny feeling that was slowly but surely taking over him and ignoring grey eyes watching his every move.
Tsuna walked away, trying to make his hands stop trembling.
…
He no longer went to the roof, choosing to hide behind the school for his lunch. Not many people went there. Most chose to stay in the classroom or go to the cafeteria for lunch, some walked to the areas covered with grass and a few benches to chat with friends and laugh carelessly.
Tsuna had no close friends or no friends at all, so there was no need to worry about the location. Quietly he sat, back leaned against the school building, ate his lunch and thought of the next lessons and how to avoid being called out by the teacher. He was not exactly horrible at math, but he wasn't good either. Average, perhaps.
It was when Tsuna had finished about half of his lunch that there was a shadow suddenly in front of him, eyes staring at his bowed head, the same gaze from yesterday – Tsuna could tell easily. Hibari's eyes had been burned into his memory already. And he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. But…it was hard to sleep during the night, when all he kept seeing was steel grey full of power.
"Herbivore." A low growl reached the teen's ears and Tsuna glanced up, looking through his bangs at the other.
"U..umm… Is something the matter, Hibari-sempai?" Tsuna asked. He placed his bento box next to him and slowly stood up.
There was a rather awkward silence between them and Tsuna could feel Hibari watching him, taking in his face, every little detail of it. It felt like the same gaze that the Prefect had given Aya yesterday; the same grey eyes that had been looking at Aya were now on him. It was exciting in a way; frightening mostly, though.
Hibari simply reached out and his fingers held Tsuna's chin tightly. The brown-haired boy made a sound of surprise and fear when his head was tilted upwards and he was forced to look directly at the other. Hibari up close was truly a sight for the eyes, Tsuna thought. But those fingers on his skin were cold and calloused, something that set his face on fire and made him tremble slightly. Did he know? Did he come to ask him about Aya? Or maybe this was just about a broken rule, about something that Tsuna was being blamed for yet again.
The hold on Tsuna's chin tightened and Hibari started to speak again, forming words slowly, "I saw a female with your face yesterday. Who is she. Why is she not a part of this school." Those were orders rather than questions. Orders to speak.
"Uh… Umm.. I-" The younger teen's mouth opened and closed a few more times, no sound coming out as he tried to think of what to say, how to reply. His head was suddenly whipped clear of any and all thoughts, possible answers that could have been the right ones. Why was it that only when he was Aya he did not lose himself so easily? "Excuse me?"
The Prefect's lips form a rather ugly snarl and he let's go of Tsuna's chin. Hibari's eyes were now on his fingers, as if they were dirtied because of Tsuna. "A female with your face. A relative. Who is she. And if you make me repeat myself again, herbivore, I will bite you to death."
He meant Aya. He had seen past the dress and the wig and the bravery that Tsuna did not have. Hibari had seen Tsuna yesterday and this knowledge scared the younger teen as nothing else. "I… I don't have any fe-female relatives, s-sempai." The words were soft, quiet, "Um… I only have my mother."
Tsuna hated lying, but this was a secret he wished to keep to himself.
"I can smell lies, herbivore." Hibari looked at the other before him, something like interest and annoyance dancing in his eyes. "But you will not be bitten to death. Since you did actually tell the truth about something."
There was only one thing that Tsuna was able to think at this moment, one single thing that kept repeating again and again in his ears – he realized something. It was not a calming thought, nor was it one of fear. Tsuna himself had no idea what the sudden warmth in his cheeks was about, why he was not worried that Hibari could possibly know now. He didn't know and yet it did not bother him in the least.
…
Tsuna didn't dare to become Aya again for a few days, no matter how much he wanted to. Everywhere he went he could feel a gaze on his back, be it in the school or outside of it. Whether it was Hibari or not Tsuna wasn't sure, but seeing as the prefect seemed to have gotten onto his little secret, Tsuna was not ready to let the other find out any more.
It was frightening, in a way. Other people should not know about this. It was not something that normal people did in their free time – Tsuna knew that all too well. He didn't want to go through the laughter and the teasing and the bullying that would come once others learned about Aya.
Aya was his alone. He was Aya's.
So Tsuna simply stood in his room, in front of the mirror, and allowed the light fabric of the dress to slide along his fingers. A light red with the pictures of flowers he'd never seen. A light red that looked almost alive when the shadows played between the folds. How he wished to walk between the crowds while wearing this dress, the one that he had bought just recently.
But it was too dangerous right now. Tsuna would wait for when he felt like it was safe to become Aya again.
…
The people paid no attention to him. There was still the chatter of conversations and the buzz of laugher floating around Tsuna, but he barely heard any of it. He was free. At this one moment in time he was free. Surely, there was still Hibari who could see and find him dressed like this, but Tsuna didn't care. He was once again out in the streets as Aya.
"I can do this," he whispered to himself and started to walk down the street that he didn't know. It suddenly felt like the only thing that he could hear were his own footsteps.
He couldn't stand it – not being able to become Aya – so he took a dare, a reckless move that wasn't thought out and would surely fall apart. But Tsuna needed this, he wanted this so badly. Besides, a part of the town where he had never gone would surely be safe for at least one walk. Hibari shouldn't be here. The prefect never came to this part of the city.
Surely, there was nothing to worry about. Just one time, after all.
But even the best planned missions tend to fail and Tsuna's plan was anything but perfect and thought-through. The steel grip on his hand kept him from walking further ahead; the warmth of another was seeping into the sleeve of his shirt and crawled along his skin.
"Caught you, herbivore." Tsuna could hear the smirk in Hibari's voice. It spoke of his defeat and the prefect's victory. "I've been searching for you. You better not run."
The teen bit his bottom lip and curled the fingers of his left hand, the one that was held in an iron grip, into a fist. Was this it? Was this the end? Inhale slowly, exhale as well. Tsuna turned around, raising his eyes to look Hibari straight in the face. "Let me go."
"I will not, Tsunayoshi Sawada."
…
Hibari dragged Tsuna to a rather empty parking lot not too far from where they had met, never letting go of the teen's arm. The prefect's face stayed emotionless throughout the whole walk, however short it was, and it gave Tsuna the feeling that Hibari was planning something. The thing that worried him was that it was nearly impossible to tell just what the other was planning and just how it would affect him.
When Hibari's fingers were no longer wrapped around his arm Tsuna took a few hurried steps away from the other, eyes frantically looking around for a way to escape. It was probably close to impossible and he'd be caught again soon enough, but Aya wouldn't just stand there and take on whatever Hibari had in mind without trying to escape or fight back.
And he was Aya now, not no-good-Tsuna.
"Stop that. You won't get away from me again." The prefect's eyes were on Tsuna. There was something in the male's voice that made Tsuna freeze where he stood, hands reaching out to clutch the white one-piece that he had chosen to wear today.
It took a great deal of his courage to speak, but somehow the words did come out of his mouth and they seemed less weak than they should have been. "What do you want from me, Hibari-san? I wasn't breaking any rules."
Deep breaths, Tsuna reminded himself, deep breaths. He could do this. It was different from the usual.
Hibari didn't say anything for a while. He simply stared, unblinking, from where he stood. A calm before the storm, perhaps? Or was it just like a predator thinking of ways to circle and hunt down his prey? "Not that," the prefect finally said and blinked. "I was interested."
"Intere…sted?" Tsuna mouthed the word quietly to himself, confusion slowly taking place of some of the fear. "In me? Why?" It was probably Aya speaking right now. Never would he have dared to question those who were stronger than him otherwise.
"You become strong when hiding behind the mask of a woman. And shake in fear when you take it off. It's amusing." And finally Hibari let something show on his face, the small lift of his lips mirroring his amusement and slightly twisted interest in Tsuna and what he was. "Entertaining."
Perhaps it was the bravery that came to him when he let Aya take over, perhaps it was the seemingly microscopic amount of pride that Tsuna still held in some small part of himself and maybe, just maybe, it was a mix of both and a dash of anger at being treated like a cheap form of fun yet again that made Tsuna forget his place and raise his voice, eyes flashing in the color of fired for a fleeting moment. "I am not your toy, Hibari-san. Nor I will be some twisted form of entertainment, as you just said, just for the sake of keeping you from being bored."
Later he'd say that the tears gathered in the corners of his eyes were ones of anger rather than humiliation. But at this moment Tsuna couldn't have cared less. With a choked sob he turned around, the dress twirling together with the moment and started to walk away. The last thing he needed was for Hibari to ruin even this small and meaningless form of freedom that he had.
Once again he was stopped by fingers wrapping tightly around his arm. When did Hibari even get this close? But Tsuna didn't have the time to think about that further since he wa turned around forcefully and there was a cool hand on his chin, tilting his head up and making him look at Hibari's face.
"Don't presume things about me, herbivore," Hibari said simply, eyes narrowing ever so slightly, as if he was more annoyed about being accused of things that were not true rather than Tsuna's tantrum.
Everything after that was a blur but Tsuna did remember the gentle hold around his waist and the softness of lips against his own.
A/N: This is for Satan, the one who sort of inspired this to be made.
The ending sucks a little, but the other version of it was even more suck-ish.
