Disclaimer: I do not in any way own KHR.
Summary: Tsuna woke up one day to discover a strange mark on his back and the insatiable urge to rip with his teeth through the skin and flesh of his classmates. He soon realized that he was slowly losing his humanity as his hunger grew. Who will – could – save him now? Ghoul!Tsuna
Tsuna woke up with a severe pain in his lower back.
It must have been because of the beating he took from the school bullies yesterday, who accused him of stealing their lunch money. He didn't. It was all a misunderstanding. But because of this misunderstanding, every part of his body ached with pain. He felt dull patches of pain on his arms, legs, and face. His back throbbed like something had sliced through it.
Tsuna bit back a groan as he pulled himself out of bed. Even without looking at the mirror, he knew that bruises covered most of his face and his body. His eyes, too, felt heavily swollen.
It was painful.
It was painful not just physically, but emotionally for him as well.
Everytime he was bullied, Tsuna felt himself die off a little on the inside. It hurted to feel ostracized and unloved. It hurted to have no friends to rely on. It hurted to be alone.
Shaking tears away from his eyes, because even the act of crying cause pain to his injured eyes, Tsuna limbed towards his bathroom. He should not put too much weight on his right foot, Tsuna reminded himself, because he was certain that his ankle was sprained.
When he made it to the bathroom, Tsuna reached for the faucet handle and twisted to let a stream of hot water splash into his bathtub. The air had turn misty from the heat even before the water finished filling the tub. With much difficulty, Tsuna discarded his battered clothing that he didn't bother to change out of yesterday and climbed into the water. He immediately jolted away as some of his wounds reopened and stung painfully as the water burned the cuts. He whimpered before forcing himself to sink deeper into the liquid.
His bathtub water turned murky as he washed off the dirt and sweat from his body. It was only when he started washing his back that he felt it.
Hardened skin.
The skin on his back was hardened– like a scab. It covered most of the lower portion of his torso. Tsuna mildly wondered if the bullies cut him on the back with a knife. That would explain the scab, but he was not conscious enough during the beating to remember.
He rinsed the last of the soap suds from his body before grabbing a towel to dry himself. Tsuna paused momentarily in front of his bathroom mirror to check how much damage was done to him.
Like he expected, his entire face puffed up in a variety of blue, red, and purple. His body was in the same bruised condition. He tilted his head to see his back.
And then he promptly dropped the towel he was holding.
What the hell?
The skin from his back peeled away to reveal a flesh like substance beneath. It was shaped like a cross; four lines stretched across his back and overlapped with each other over his spine. One of the points raised upwards, another faced the opposite direction, and the remaining two jagged left and the other right. What horrified Tsuna even more was the orange color of the flesh. Instead of the dark red color of blood from a fresh wound, it gleamed orange and pulsed each time he moved.
Tsuna sucked in a breath and reached tentatively to touch the flesh. He snatched his hand back when he discovered that the substance felt more like metal than that of soft flesh.
"W-what," Tsuna whispered as he started shaking, "What did they do to m–"
"Tsu-kun!"
"HIEEE!" Tsuna jumped five feet into the air.
"Tsu-kun!" Nana called again from downstairs. "Tsu-kun, breakfast is ready!"
Tsuna calmed his breathing down before shouting a reply, "I'm coming!"
While Nana was a bit clueless and very gullible, she was possibly the only person that cared about him. Tsuna did not want to tell his mother about the bullying, least it cause her to worry. She had enough to worry about already. Even if she never said anything, he knew that the electricity and water bills were piling up. The rent was going to be due soon.
Tsuna gave a fleeting glance at his back before grabbing a school uniform from the hangers on the wall. He quickly dressed and went downstairs, all the while hiding his face with one hand to prevent Nana from seeing the bruises.
"Okaa-san, I'm going to school!" he ran past the kitchen as Nana turned away from the ham cooking on the stove.
"Tsu-kun?" she called. "You didn't eat breakfast yet. Don't you want breakfast first?"
"No, thanks," came Tsuna's response as he slipped on his shoes. He missed the flash of concern passing over her Nana's face. "I don't feel hungry."
That was a lie. Tsuna hadn't eaten ever since he came home late last night, dragging his tired body into his house and up to his room. He was hungry, yes, but the smell of food cooking in the kitchen didn't smell appetizing to him at all. In fact, it made him slightly nauseous. He needed some fresh air.
"Good-bye, okaa-san!" Tsuna bid Nana farewell before opening the front door and stepping out into the cool morning breeze. He breathed a sigh of relief before slowly making his way to school. His feet suddenly felt heavy, possibly from his injured ankle, but Tsuna knew that the heaviness originated from his reluctance to go to school. His bullies were from the same school as him, and he had no desire to see them anytime soon.
Tsuna halted in his steps.
He really didn't wanted to experience the jests and the glares again.
Without another thought, he turned his heels and ran the other way. Just for today, he will run away from his problems.
Tsuna decided to stay in a park on the other side of the town until school was over for the day. He wouldn't be seen by any of his neighbors in the park. No one ever visited the park anymore and children rarely came to play at this place. Tsuna could see why. The structures of the playground were old and worn down. The green paint of the monkey bars were faded and peeling, and Tsuna doubt that the slides could support the weight of even a small child.
Tsuna found a sturdy enough bench on the side of the park and took a seat. He sighed contently as he relaxed and allowed the sun to bask him with its warmth. He felt like his problems would leave now. If only he could stay here forever….
oOo
Tsuna jolted awake.
His brown eyes glanced frantically at his surroundings. He had fallen asleep and it was already night time. Tsuna did not know the exact time, because he neither brought his cell phone or a watch with him but he knew that his mother would be worried sick for him. He scrambled off the bench and winced as he accidentally leaned too much on his right foot.
He needed to get home quick.
Nana was away at a friend's house yesterday, so Tsuna was able to hide the fact he got home so late the previous day. However, he had no such luck today. Nana was probably pacing around the living room anxiously waiting for his return.
Tsuna decided to take a shorter route home to save time. He knew that there was a short alleyway that could enable him to shave off half the time it took for him to get home using the longer way. He hurried his steps toward where the alley was.
Almost there! Tsuna thought as he ran through the alley for ten minutes straight and his right foot began to ache with each step he took. A few more minutes and I'll be home!
But, like many unfortunate individuals that decided to walk in an alleyway in the dark, Tsuna suddenly felt strong hands encasing his neck and slamming him against the grimy wall of the tall buildings. He struggled to breathe as the hands clutched his neck and his legs flailed uselessly in the air.
A/N: I'm sorry for leaving you guys with a cliffhanger, but I do promise to update soon! Summer is approaching and I have a lot of time on my hands before my summer job starts in June.
Many thanks to SpareBucketTurtle for inspiring me with her new story "Anticipation"! Yes, accept my thanks, Turtle-san.
And yes, the kagune is based off of the anime Tokyo Ghoul. I can see some similarities between Tsuna and Kaneki. Is it only me?