Heyo people! I'm back~! I decided to keep writing on FFN because…well, it gets boring. Anyway, I'll only write if I have an obligation though. This time, it's for my big sis, Dark Reapper. She's really helped me a lot in terms of moral support when I write. I'm always looking forward to her review or comment. Okay, so today's a special day for her and I promised her something even though everyone's in the middle of exams now. XP
So…enjoy?
Disclaimer: I'm tired of doing this…mii no own desu~
Warnings: OOCness, Weak!Hibari, Unbeta'd, you know the drill.
"Hey baseball idiot, don't you ever wonder why the Tenth gets off with the least injuries when the bastard 'bites us to death'? I mean sure, he is the Tenth after all, but Reborn-san said that Hibari might be stronger than all of us…"
"Haha, really? The kid said so?"
Yamamoto and Gokudera were having lunch on the roof as usual. The only thing missing was Gokudera's beloved Tenth. He had been called out in the middle of class to the reception room and had left with a reassuring smile despite the worried glances and protests from Yamamoto, Gokudera and Kyoko.
Tsuna had not yet returned by lunch however and even though he was worried, the Storm Guardian figured it would be a good time to ask Yamamoto some things that had been bugging him.
"Yeah. I mean, that bastard leaves us with broken bones and cracked ribs and the Tenth is able to get away with bruises. The Tenth really is amazing! But it's a bit strange don't you think? It's like the Cloud bastard has a soft spot for him or something!"
At that moment, Tsuna who had been about to open the door froze. He was about to join his two friends after being released from the reception room when he overheard their conversation and wondered if Hibari did have a soft spot for him. Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind…
It was his third day in kindergarten and his teacher had fallen sick, supposedly the flu. They had decided to merge Tsuna's class with a senior class.
Sawada Nana believed the idea to be a good one, a chance for her baby Tsu-kun to find an older friend that would protect him and his clumsy self.
However, Tsuna ended up being bullied by not only his own classmates, but the boys from the senior class as well. His desperate cries and tears of, "Waaaah! P-pwease stop! Don't bully Tsu-kun!" fell onto deaf years as the boys continued beating him up for fun.
That is, until a raven-haired boy stood up and began, "Hey, you crowding herbivores-" before he was cut off by a powerful yell, "Tsu-kun said don't bully him! And don't touch nii-san either!" The volume and pitch was of such a calibre that the bullies, especially those next to or fairly close to were left clutching their ears tightly.
"Wao."
Awkward silence and tension filled the air until seconds later, a brunet with gravity-defying hair nervously shuffled up to his 'saviour' and thanked the 'nii-san'. What he got for a reply was a mere "Hn." followed by a "By the way, herbivore, I didn't do anything. But I guess you would want to know my name, since I know yours, Tsunayoshi. I am Hibari Kyoya, monitor of class Agate."
"Eh? That's not true! I-it's only because nii-san stood up for me…t-then Tsu-kun didn't want those bad people to hurt nii-san! Ah! That means…Tsu-kun can call y-you by Hibari-nii right?" innocent brown eyes filled with curiosity stared back at his own narrowed bluish-grey ones.
"Hn."
"Then, t-thank you Hibari-niisan!" came a loud outburst before Tsuna pecked the monitor sweetly on the lips and then running off.
HIIIIIEE! T-then…I gave Hibari-san my first kiss?! The colour began draining from Tsunayoshi's face. He had lost HIS FIRST KISS to the scariest person in Namimori, to THE Hibari Kyoya. Why hadn't he remembered that all this time?
What snapped him back to reality was Yamamoto's voice, the ever present laughter, "Hahaha! The closest I came to missing a homerun was back in elementary school!"
Elementary school huh…?
A young brunet tripped over his own two feet, stumbled and fell, his heavy books falling out of his hands. "HIIIIIE!" Panicking and quickly picking all of them up, Sawada Tsunayoshi looked around and realised he had walked all the way to the reception room, instead of his classroom. Yes, the boy was indeed, lost.
Hoping that no senior or teacher had seen him yet, he began walking in the opposite direction until he walked headfirst into something-or rather- someone. Tsuna bowed immediately to apologise when he looked up at the person and wondered why the raven looked so familiar.
"Hn. Watch where you're going herbivore."
H-herbivore? Where had he heard that before…?
The gears in Tsuna's head turned and something clicked at last.
"HIBARI-NIISAN? Is that really you? Wah! I haven't seen niisan in forever right? How are you?" the eager brunet threw one question after another, ecstatic to see his 'saviour' once again.
However, his bright smile disappeared when all he got a cold reply of, "Hn. I'm not your niisan herbivore. Go away, I don't want to see your face. Go, before I decide to bite you to death."
Tsunayoshi's face changed to that of a kicked puppy, ears drooping and teary eyes as he muttered a quick yes and walked away. He did manage to get a bit of his spirits back when he heard a voice call out behind him that his classroom was on the third floor to the right of the staircase.
Ah…a hurt look came upon Tsuna's face as he remembered that painful scene. He muttered to himself about how he knew that Hibari never liked him in the first place. He closed his eyes and imagined how different his attitude towards Hibari would be if he had still considered Tsuna as a little brother. Little did he know that the skylark had another reason for pushing him away.
"HIIIIIE!"
That familiar shriek…it could only be one person. Sawada Tsunayoshi. He wanted to avoid the brunet as much as possible since that day they had met in kindergarten. Granted he did keep watch over the smaller boy and beat up the boys who seemed to make him unhappy. So he panicked when Tsuna walked straight into him, although his face remained calm and expressionless.
He daren't look the boy in the eyes however, as he was too afraid. Although he was so young, but he had fallen in love with the brunet; the first person who had accepted him; the first person who defended him; the first person the befriend him. He was afraid of what he might drag the brunet into in the future if he ever dared to reveal his feelings. Thus, he had no choice but to distance himself from the brunet. He would cause a lot of trouble for the innocent brunet, making enemies and being the only son of the highest ranking police officer in Namimori.
Those tearful eyes…it hurt himself more than it hurt Tsuna. "It's for his own good…I can't hurt him." Hibari whispered more to himself as a reassurance than anything else.
He couldn't help but let Tsuna know where his class was though.
"Baseball freak! I bet you were busy doing that throughout middle school! While I, was toughing it out on the streets! Hmph!"
Sawada Tsunayoshi, still standing next to the door, using the walls for support was trying to bring up the memories from Middle school. He couldn't believe how long he had known Hibari, yet never remembered. But he was just the slightest bit scared of what he would remember, especially after reliving the hurt of that rejection from his older brother figure.
Middle school was when he had discovered when Hibari-san's birthday was wasn't it? Yeah, he had been trying to ask people for information about Hibari, but no one seemed to know anything. The only useful piece of information was that the raven-haired boy-otherwise known as Head Prefect- was especially in a bad mood on May 5th.
That was when Tsuna had concluded that it was a special day and after a bit of prying he discovered that a present would be left on his desk on that day. Finally, he learned one of the most important things about his older brother-when his birthday was.
Yes, even after getting pushed away, Tsuna still thought of Hibari as and older brother back then.
'Then when, or rather why, did I stop?'
"Hibari-niisan! Happy birthday! I got you a present, a nice black pen! I'm not sure if sensei will allow you to use it, but I think it would be cool if you could do your work in black instead of blue!"
A malicious growl was the response, "Herbivore…how many times must I tell you that I'm not your 'niisan' or whatever. It's Hibari-san to you, understand? Now get out of my sight."
"Oh. So that was why…" mumbled a now disheartened Tsuna.
'But why would Hibari-san be my Cloud Guardian? Why did he agree to train me in the future? Why did that Hibari-san…kiss me? Does it have anything to do with why Hibari-san of the present is pushing me away?'
'Why would he stay with us? Fight with us? And "Biting the sky to death"?'
"Ahhh! This is way too confusing! I don't have time for this! Lunch is already over."
Little did the Decimo realise that a certain someone had been listening in on his internal monologue…
"Herbivore…I'm sorry. I'll tell you my true feelings one day, when you're strong enough and I can't put you in any danger. When the time comes, I'll make it up to you tenfold."
Half a year later…
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, I repeat, Sawada Tsunayoshi, please report to the reception room immediately."
Once again, the pitying and worried glances came, except in great numbers and the usual angry protests from Gokudera. Tsuna, over half a year of school had gained a reputation for being the one with the 'highest chance of succeeding in life' and was now well-respected by his classmates and teachers. (Reborn had felt that it wasn't right for them to look down on a Mafia Don who could easily crush them with the Vongola's influence.)
Said person stood from his seat and bowed to his teacher as he left with the same reassuring smile he had worn that time.
That time…
The painful memories popped back into his mind for the umpteenth time and he felt a pang of fear, sadness and… regret? He was about to see the person who invoked all of the feelings of uncertainty he held that were usually hidden from his friends, so that they wouldn't worry about him. He had never felt this way when meeting Hibari-san in the reception room before, so why was he like this now?
Maybe because you remember the fact that he broke your heart when you were twelve?
Two knocks on the door resounded before Tsuna opened the door with an "excuse me". Only what he saw wasn't anything he expected. Before him wasn't Hibari Kyoya working at his desk, expecting someone to arrive sooner or later, but a raven having fallen asleep on the couch.
Whispering to himself, he decided that it would probably be better if he waited for him to wake up rather than to wake him up. He sat down quietly on the floor and stared at his cloud guardian. He was just about to start walking around-against the better judgement of his hyper intuition-when he saw a grey book lying next to Hibari.
The book seemed a little old, but still in great condition. His curiosity getting the better of him, he flipped open the first page that dated back fourteen years.
June 16, Year XXX4
Kyouna's six today. But dad still won't teach her how to fight when he already taught me. Is it because neesan is sick? Dad also taught me to read and write before her, even though I'm only 2.
'Hibari has a sister? A sick one? By the sound of it, she must not be able to be cured…'
Tsuna was intrigued by the first short entry and decided to skip a few pages ahead.
December 5, Year XXX4
I'm going to attend Namimori kindergarten next year. But neesan's still in the hospital. When will she come back? I want her to send me off on my first day! I'm going to make many friends and make mum, dad and neesan proud.
December 29, Year XXX4
Neesan is…gone. My mum said she died because of me. Is that true? She said if I wasn't born, dad would've done more to help Kyouna-nee. Then…next year I'll stay away from people. I don't want them to die because of me. I-I'll scare them if I have to!
January 21, Year XXX5
Hn. I've managed to get the class to avoid me. Sensei taught us this word called 'Herbivore'. She says it means things that eat only plants and they are eaten by 'Carnivores'. If they're scared of me then I must be a carnivore and them, herbivores.
-Flip, flip, flip-
February 10, Year XXX6
Today I met a boy called Sawada Tsunayoshi. He's interesting. He's the first to be my friend and he's not scared at all. But he does get pushed around by others. So what does that make him? That thing that sensei said, uh…omivore? Yeah! That kid is an omivore! He kissed me…and I guess I fell in love. But I can't drag him into my world. It's too dangerous for him. I'll have to stay away from him.
Tsuna's POV
'So that was why I didn't see Hibari-san after that. B-but falling in love with me? Hiie!'
I guess I would understand now. When Hibari-san pushed me away those times, he was just trying to protect me. Hibari-san is actually really kind, he just distances himself from people to protect them. I then had a sudden thought and looked to his desk. True enough, sitting on the stand was the black pen I had given him back in middle school.
I realised that I had poked around enough in someone else's private life and gotten the answers to my questions anyway. He loved me, so in the future…maybe I was finally strong enough for him to admit his feelings…that's why he kissed me.
I slowly and gently placed the book back next to him but a hand grabbed my own. I looked up and saw Hibari glaring at me, his eyes conveying a silent message of, 'How much did you see?'
I was definitely afraid of him, but I believed that it was time to hear the truth from him and stated defiantly that I had seen everything. I got an unusual reaction for that, his hand jerked back and there was the slightest tint of pink on his cheeks. He fell back onto the couch as his façade disappeared. The fearless Hibari Kyoya was gone and left a raven-haired boy who blamed himself for his elder sister's death; the one who had fallen in love with the one person who became his friend.
Sure, he was strong, but his bottled feelings held a limit somewhere.
"Herbivo- no, Sawada Tsunayoshi," he began, "I think it's time I tell you the truth. I'm sorry for hurting you, pushing you away. I do love you. But I can't bring myself to put you in danger because of my selfishness."
I gasped. I never thought I would hear Hibari-san say those things. I had a few things to admit too, like how I had fallen in love with him after all this time.
And that was exactly what I said to him.
Thus, before I knew it, Hibari was kissing me full on the lips. It wasn't those sweet and simple kisses, not at all. It was gentle and passionate, as if he has pouring all of the feelings he had hidden from me until now into that one kiss and I returned it with just as much feeling.
I could feel a wetness streaming down my cheeks and I realised that I was crying. Crying from happiness; knowing that my feelings were returned. Something else too, like the feeling you get when you were reunited with a loved one after a long time.
And somehow I get the feeling that Kyouna's watching over Hibari-sa-no, Kyoya, wherever she is right now.
Omake!
Giving each other a high-five, Kusakabe Tetsuya, Gokudera Hayato, Yamamoto Takeshi and Reborn sat on a single branch of the tree outside the reception room, watching the scene with binoculars. Kusakabe was glad that his 'Kyo-san' had finally found someone that made him happy.
Yamamoto and Gokudera just wanted to repay Tsuna for all he had done, by giving him a chance for true happiness. Of course, if the Cloud bastard hurt him in any way, his head would be served on a dinner plate.
As for Reborn, he was proud of his student for strengthening the ties within the family as well as getting more done than in any of the training sessions. Well, it did take a lot of planning on his part.
Done! ASDFGHJKL:" This is my longest fic ever with 6 pages and 2800 words excluding author's note. I'm so proud of myself! *sniffle*
By the way, Omivore is NOT a typo, it's because Hibari was a kid then and he couldn't remember the word. He could only remember the ones that he commonly used, like Herbivore and Carnivore.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this piece and reviews would be appreciated :)