Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot, KHR belongs solely to Amano-sensei :)

Full summary:

Sawada Tsunayoshi has been living a lie of tragedy, a young boy with a mind of a wise but damaged adult. Despite the negativity of his reputation as Yasuhiro's "The Cursed Eyes" stone-cold brother, his passion for writing - his occasional escape resort - might change his life in the most unexpected way.

As the secrets behind the deep tension between the tight-lipped brothers slowly being uncovered in due time, even Reborn himself is torn. Yasuhiro and Tsunayoshi, both with equally potential as the last Vongola heirs – who will be chosen to claim the throne as the Decimo of Vongola?

Chapter One

A shaky breath left his mouth as he tugged his sleeves, a pair of jaded honey brown eyes locked on the rainy sky above. The starless, cloudy midnight blue sky itself looks gloomy tonight – so dark it felt like he had been staring into the void of emptiness, as if it was mourning. The melancholy sound of the small raindrops rolling down the glass window added to the suffocating atmosphere, where he strangely found the comfort he seek for. His skinny frame was shaking at the harsh chilly night wind that would occasionally slipping through the curtain, brushing against his hair and face, but somehow he didn't really mind it. In fact, he adored everything about tonight. The silence, the cold, the darkness – it's perfect.

The young Sawada Tsunayoshi reverted his eyes down at the alarm clock on his desk, sighing softly at the glowing numbers in bright neon green. He moved to sit on his bed as he had been doing earlier, shoulders hunched forward with a pair of thin lips tugged downwards into a soft frown. It was already 3 AM yet he was still wide awake, not even the calm instrumental music in his playlist could soothe him to sleep as it usually does. He had been tossing and turning around for the last few hours, changing his position every so often hoping to soon drift off, but nothing worked so far. He was no longer surprised by this fact, however. He had always been having a sleeping problem ever since he was a child, at some point it could get so worse that not even those prescribed pills could help.

Just a few weeks ago, he had been going around like a zombie with giant dark bags under his eyes, his already pale skin turning into an unhealthy shade and his sudden weight loss from the lack of appetite – it scared the living out of his schoolmates and teachers that he literally looked like a walking dead. A few students who were the closest to the door actually screaming bloody murder when he first came in after a long summer break, and he had to admit though, that was actually kind of amusing. He never knew the true meaning of fun of scaring people up until that moment; no wonder a certain prefect seemed to enjoy himself so much every single time.

The twisted glee of having to watch those blood-drained faces, as if their lives were flashing before their very terror-filled eyes and horrified screams – God, those screams. It gave him an adrenaline-rush sadistic satisfaction like no other - knowing that he was the one in control over something, over his preys that were at the mercy of a predator. "Great, now I sound like Kyoya too damn it." he murmured as soon as he caught up what he had just been thinking.

Tsuna forced himself to lie down on his side, curling his body as small as possible, arms held tight around his knees close to his chest. He couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling of being closely watched for the last few days, and that worried him greatly. As much as he hated admitting his weakness, it's hard to defend himself properly from what he doesn't know. It had first started around two weeks ago, when he was heading off to school. He had a strange feeling that somebody was following him from a distance but every time he turned, nobody was in sight. It unnerved him and as far as he was concerned, the paranoia was starting to interfere with his daily life. He had been so on edge ever since to the point that every little sound made him jumpy, and absolutely no one aside from Nana was allowed to come near him. He didn't like it one bit, nor did his friends.

It was hard to focus in the class with those distracting thoughts in his mind jumbled together making him unable to answer even the simple questions during his Mathematics class, much to the teacher's chagrin and amusement.

Even the usually laid-back Nana noticed her son's sudden distant and withdrawn behavior when his replies became short, cold one-worded answer rather than his usual proper sentence. She had long given up trying to get an answer out of him when he kept avoiding the question and distracted her with something else – he was like her husband at some point, both were ridiculously stubborn hard-headed. If he didn't want to tell something, then he won't. No matter how hard you try or what method you use, nothing could budge him.

Tsuna had felt an immense guilt about that, he really did, but there wasn't much that he could do. It wasn't not that he didn't trust Nana, God forbid, it was actually the exact opposite. He just didn't like the helplessness of having to rely on others, an opposite to his nature of dealing with things on his own. Reckless and somewhat stupid he might be sometimes, but definitely far from helpless. The 14 year old had always been the one with trust issues with pretty much everyone, especially adults.

In a way, he was just like Nana though she didn't seem like it. 'Don't be fool with what you see, for it might not be what lies underneath' – as ironic as it was, everyone seems to be easily fooled by the air-headed housewife she appeared to be. She had never questioned Iemitsu's ridiculously dumb excuses that he pulled every now and then, accepting it with a smile that no doubt can fool just about anyone, but that didn't mean she believed it. Iemitsu is a woman's dream man – a gentleman, a hopelessly romantic husband and a loving father, but even she had to admit that he must have been taking her for a complete brainless idiotic fool if he really thought that his picture taken with penguins in South Pole of all places, wouldn't raise her suspicion about his work as a construction worker. If that was even his true line of work.

The same teaching applies to her youngest son now. Throughout his childhood years, he had never really tried to make friends with his peers and liked to sit back and watched from the sidelines while the other kids were having their fun. He wasn't anti-social like how everyone thought, he was just an introvert. It started as adorably shy at first, only interacting with his brother and Nana but soon it developed into something more as the years passed by. The difference between the twins were too obvious and he was used to being rejected by his childhood playmates that he eventually learned how to deal with his loneliness, transferring his thoughts into words on a piece of paper instead – that was how his love for books was found. He was encouraged even more when Nana would sometimes bought him new books from the store, often with big words and logic that wasn't meant for a child but he loved learning and discovering new things so that was fine. If Nana have the time, she would even spend time with him in his room and read along with him.

He was told many times that being too quiet was unhealthy and bottling everything up to himself could lead to his downfall in an endless pit of doom. He didn't doubt that, but he couldn't change whom he was either. It's just the way he always have been. And adding to his awkwardness at conversations, it's a wonder that he made friends at all.

Quite different for Yasuhiro though, he was naturally an expressive extrovert child. The blond was never really afraid to give his opinion when asked and his friendly trait earned him a lot of friends regardless of age and gender. Out of the two, he was the usually more outstanding and affectionate, always ready to give somebody a hug to those who needed it. He had noticed that Tsuna was always alone and even tried to coax the brunet to play along with him and his friends, but was always declined with a shy, polite smile from him. That didn't mean he gave up though, he kept trying at every chance he got. Tsuna may not show it, but he was silently afraid. He was afraid that he will be forgotten because he was more like an obstacle in the blond's way if anything, and it still scared him to this day that he might be true.

Yasuhiro wasn't blind. His brother tends to be oblivious at times, especially towards things that involve psychology and feelings, but he was anything but blind. He knew that Yasuhiro had seen some of his 'friends' would sometimes confront him back then for his avoidant behavior, but he never did anything. And he was pretty sure that Yasuhiro knew that he had seen him, but the blond would make sure to always avoid him ever since, and he admitted that it had hurt him more than anything. He was mad, he felt bitter - their once strong brotherly bond was on thin line of ice, if not already broken. They would fight almost every single day, over something silly or just about anything. There would be shouting matches, accusation, finger-pointing and sometimes even physical fight. And he would be the first to always leave the scene, though not unscathed, but afterwards he would stay away from his brother as far as possible.

Now in middle school, while the youngest of two's circle of friends have yet to improve, still as small to none, but his link of acquaintances certainly have. Two of them being his own classmates, quite surprisingly. He actually managed to have a somewhat friendly conversation with Sasagawa Kyoko, dubbed as the most cute and desirable idol of the school, along with her sarcastic and protective best friend, Kurokawa Hana. He had been calling them by their full-names like he did to everyone else, but slowly they were on first-name basis the more they talked. Now though, they can already be considered as friends if anything.

It had began after Kyoko accidentally discovered his hidden talent for writing when she had found a book that turned out to be a hand-written short novel. She was fascinated, to say at least. She was the first to start talking to him ever since, slowly followed by Hana when she decided that he was different from the rest of the 'monkeys' – whatever she meant by that. His occasional conversations with the girls made his classmates sit on edge of their seats, but no one dared to do anything. Well, it's actually pretty funny if you look at the situation at hand, they said that nobody was able to be within a meter from him and not feeling sick or anxious and so on. A whole lot of crap, really.

He certainly have built quite a reputation over the years of being a loner and an outcast, some even fear him for his lack of words and unfriendly emotionless, empty look in his eyes that stare right into one's soul managed to stir a rumor or two. The one that stood out the most was "The Cursed Eyes" - one look deep into his eyes brought pure bad luck to the poor unlucky soul, the curse of his eyes. It had been said that a student from a few years back was involved a terrible accident after a sour confrontation with him regarding the rumors. Where else the student was released from the hospital a week later with healed injuries, he later chose to transfer to another school to avoid further accidents. How the accident was even linked to his eyes, he had no absolute idea, but they certainly do have a remarkable imagination though don't they?

Yasuhiro's own reputation has grown too, as expected. He was now more well-likeable and quite talented on stage too, especially in public speaking and speeches. He has his own charisma with the way he talked, charming those who heard it with his gentle voice but still laced with its own firmness. His self-confidence and gentle approach were his strong points that drawn the others like a human magnet, said to be a perfect candidate for a leader and unknowingly recruiting even more people into his ever-growing fan club.

Tsuna didn't really bother to know about his brother's growing popularity, but he do know that the blond's circle of close friends consisted of their own classmates, a few upperclassmen and childhood friends. One of them being Yamamoto Takeshi, an only son of the owner of TakeSushi and a very promising baseball star player of their school. He usually didn't let anyone bother him that much, but he could sense that Yamamoto knows more than he let on. There was something more beneath that stupid trademark grin of his and his easy-going behavior – he was too relax for his own good, and that was never a good sign. He had also noticed that the black-haired boy would sometimes scrutinize him silently, analyzing him as if he was some kind of new foundation. But alas, Yamamoto wasn't his friend nor his acquaintance - he could only try to figure out the mystery around that boy from afar, nothing more. How troublesome.

The young brunette inwardly smiled at the thought of his few rare friends that he was lucky enough to be able to find; Hibari Kyoya and Kusakabe Tetsuya from the Students Disciplinary Committee. They have bonded quite well over the years and had gotten pretty close too, the others from the committee were reluctant at first when the bloodthirsty prefect and his subordinate first included him in a meeting, but later changed their mind after his frequent visits. He was intrigued, to say at least, with the sudden change of decision but he didn't dare to ask. Had it not been them, he didn't think he will ever know the true meaning of friendship, let alone finding one. Truth to be told, his first encounter with Kyoya wasn't exactly a pleasant experience either.

He got away with a broken arm and a few bruises after he, rather stupidly, had broken the school dress code on purpose - just for the thrill of it if anything else - not that he have stopped doing it now. It was fun riling that bloodthirsty prefect up, consequences be damned. From that first encounter though, he was upgraded to 'omnivore' by the said prefect as he was deemed worthy enough in his eyes. Kyoya was a true carnivore; fearless, strong and very, very territorial. He was strong back then, and was even more now. At some point, he had really starting to wonder if he was slowly becoming a magnet of weird and dangerous people. Really. Those who were still associated to him are either bloodthirsty, or just plain madly crazy. Or just a little bit of both.

And speaking of which, a mischievous smile lit up his face at the thought of annoying the crap out of the said prefect. He reached for his cellphone underneath his pillow and quickly dialed a familiar number, waiting patiently for the person from the end of the line to answer his call. Balancing the phone with one hand while shifting his position onto his side, the smile never left his face. He was digging his own grave here by disturbing the prefect's sleep, but a deep growl laced with heavy sleepiness from the said person certainly worth the shot.

"Omnivore, you have exactly five seconds to explain yourself before I bite you to death,"

Tsuna's smile widened. "Damn, Kyoya keep those fangs of yours to yourself and don't be mean." he said, almost pouting when he stretched the 'e'. "Sorry, sorry. I was just bored and couldn't sleep, so I thought about bugging you a bit. Teehee."

Never in a million years have he ever thought of actually joking around with somebody he could call a friend, but hey that's what friendship does to you. He had opened up to Kyoya and Kusakabe years ago, and they had accepted him just the way he was without a slight of hesitation. And thus, they were already a family whether they like it or not, and Nana herself already picked the habit of preparing dinner for five people instead of the usual three. And before she knew it, instead of having two sons, she got four and he was pretty sure that there was more to come.

"...Do you even know what time it is?" was the disgruntled reply on the other line, and Tsuna can already imagine Kyoya pinching the bridge of his nose out of annoyance and frustrated exasperation – a habit he picked up on when there was no one around.

"Uh," Tsuna took a glance at his small clock on the desk yet again, blinking in confusion. Had it really been that long since he sky-gazing? And when did it stopped raining? "ah, it's 4:30 in the morning!" he answered cheerfully, his sing-song voice was being annoyingly high-pitched on purpose.

"Omnivore, sleep. Now." growled the prefect again, clearly upset having his sleep being disturbed for nothing. "I don't care what you do, but sleep or I'll bite you death tomorrow morning."

"Mou, you sure got your panties in a twist every morning eh Kyoya." Tsuna teased, holding back a smirk even though the other person couldn't see it. "Technically, it's today but never mind, I'll humor you."

"Omnivore," he warned, the underlying half-hearted threat was left unsaid.

Tsuna who was done having his fun annoying the poor sleeping Kyoya, finally relented. "Sheesh! Alright, alright. Night then, Kyoya."

The brunet's eyebrows furrowed when the call was promptly ended without so much for a goodbye, his lower lip slowly pooched out resembling a pout as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. That was expected from the ever bloodthirsty and aloof head prefect but come on, was that rude!

Though the prefect was being quite lenient when it comes to him or the committee members, Tsuna knew when not to press the boundaries. He knew how much it hurts being let down by the very person you cared for, having your trust taken for granted and tossed away like it meant absolutely nothing. The permanent scars from the physical wounds will never leave, but the wounds will eventually heal. The wounds on the inside though, is a completely different story. Even though he never asked the prefect himself, he knew he had been hurt the same way, somehow – and he never wanted to open the old wounds and risked the little trust he was given.

Tsuna sighed and placed his cellphone on the pillow next to him, eyes drawn to the wallpaper on the screen. It was his family, along with his brother and Iemitsu during Christmas break three years ago. The last time he visited, he thought. There's no resentment or blind fury in his eyes for his father's absence like one would expect from a growing up teenager, instead only bitter acceptance. He still didn't like it, but he knew that his father was trying to make things work out. And even though the man would probably wouldn't know it, he have earned his respect for that.

Grandfather Timoteo was at the center while Iemitsu and Nana were on either side of him, both smiling big with warmth of happiness radiating from their bright eyes even in the picture. It was one of the rare times that Nana seemed truly happy, though she said nothing but her eyes did. They lit up so bright in the way that only Iemitsu can do, and he both hated and loved the man for that. He hated Iemitsu for being so blatant oblivious towards his wife's pain, but couldn't help but love him for trying his hardest and loves her in the only way he knows how.

Yasuhiro and him were standing in front of their parents respectfully, both were also smiling though his looked more like a grimace if anything but a smile nonetheless. Yasuhiro with Iemitsu's unruly blond hair that stick up to every direction and a pair of beautiful dark brown eyes that showed nothing but kindness and warmth, was wearing a dark green long-sleeved shirt with a pair of faded blue pants and a light blue scarf wrapped over his neck, a gentle smile placed on his face. He on the other hand, has Nana's dark brown hair with the same hairstyle if only a tad more fluffier with a pair of unsetling cold honey brown eyes that seemed to carefully hide away any trace of emotions from view, was wearing a midnight blue oversized hoodie with a pair of black pants and a black scarf over his own neck – both were knitted by Nana herself.

Grandfather Timoteo wasn't really the their grandfather, but somehow the title fits him perfectly. With his soft, warm eyes that subconsciously pulls you in and his grandfatherly loving smile that seems to touch even the frozen hearts, it's almost impossible for anyone to even have an ill thought about him.

Yasuhiro was the first to warm up to him during his first visit with Iemitsu when they were five, while he stayed with Nana all the time, smiling politely when needed but otherwise kept his distance. He had a strong feeling that Timoteo wasn't an ordinary man whom must not to be messed with at all costs, that got him a little more nervous and wary of him. He had seen the old man's knowing smile at his behavior whenever no one else was looking, oddly seeming to approve of him being so cautious. Iemitsu on the other hand, not so much. His father thought he was just being his cutesy overly shy self and kept trying to make him open up, much to his exasperation, but he loved the man nonetheless.

"I missed you, brother," A soft whisper was heard as his eyes never left the screen, before they hardened into an emotionless blank look and his smile faded into a grim tight line. His fist balled and he kept his phone back under his pillow so that he couldn't see the screen anymore, a harsh breath of frustration and anger left his mouth in the process. "but I hate you, you know that? And I can't find myself to forgive you for what you did either." He continued where he left off, letting his eyes closed as he slowly lost in his own thoughts. The last part was a lie, he knew that although he never acknowledged it. He was a liar who lies – a masked pretender. He had been pretending for years, he could do it again if only for just a little while more.

If he could lie right to the world, why not to himself?

To be continued...

Author's Note:

This is my first attempt to write a story, and I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes as English isn't my first language but I've tried my best ^^'

I'll edit this chapter soon and improving critiques are most welcomed! And please correct me if any mistakes are found, I don't mind some critisicm. Lastly, I'd like to know your thoughts about this story and if it's worth continuing :)

1) Tsuna-chan and Nana-chan are kind of OOC in this story, I think? I'm sorry HIIEEEEE but it gets better, I promise! *hides*

2) This is a twin-fic, but not really your cliche ones (I hope?) *plays with my fingers*

- Nightly Trickster