01. Moonlight Sonata.
T-Minus 30 Days
Weak, was the first word to come to mind. Everything thing about the boy simply screamed weak and defenceless. He stood by the bed on which the boy was sleeping, carefully concealed by the convenient shadows of the night. There, he critically analyzed him. The boy thrashed about, occasionally shifting awkwardly, entangling his limbs further in his sheets.
A nightmare, he guessed. And then thought, I wonder what it's about.
Grimacing, he allowed himself to step closer – for observational purposes, he told himself. It was a miracle he could make anything out in the darkness. This particular night, ominous clouds hung directly over head the town, hiding away almost the entire moon. Just barely, a small sliver of light managed to penetrate through the opaque skies.
The boy's hair was a dishevelled mess. Long bangs were matted to his forehead with sweat, the cold kind of sweat you get when you're afraid; bits stuck out on random ends; and as much as he was reluctant and ashamed to think it, it all looked so incredibly soft and inviting. It made him want to play with it, to run his fingers through it, to mess it up even more... He shook his head, almost like he was trying to shake out those thoughts. He refocused on the boy again, and began working his way down the boy's face. He noticed slim eyebrows which were furrowed (in worry? in anxiety?) and eyes that were shut tightly. He had round, chubby cheeks, lips that were parted slightly, erratically drawing in shallow breaths of air, and a pinched up look. He looked young, but even more so, he looked panicked. Afraid, almost.
Well, that is to be expected when one is experiencing a nightmare. Though, he wouldn't know.
His eyes quickly scanned over him, he noticed his neck was quite slender. And despite the child-like puffiness of his cheeks and soft angle of his jaw, the rest of his body was, too. Young and afraid and fragile. The boy looked like he would break if you so much as poked him.
A whimper escaped the boy's lips. A barely audible noise. He strained his ears and listened intently, trying to confirm if he heard correctly. And when the sound did come again, he paused before hesitantly brushing the back of his hand against a cheek. The warmth that radiated off nearly surprised him, though it seemed to soothe the boy somewhat as he tried to lean into the touch. It feels nice, he decided, allowing his hand to remain there a few more moments, Humans feel nice.
How long has it been since he's had some sort of contact with a human?
A frown crept its way onto his face. He shouldn't be thinking of such trivial matters.
Eventually, the warmth would disappear from his body. The pleasant colour that adorned his face would fade. He would stop breathing, his heart would stop beating – he would die. He would die like every other person born into the world... only... he would be the one to take this human away.
Deciding it was time to leave, he walked over to the window he had previously opened upon entrance, purposely refusing to look back at the body sleeping on the bed. Two wings swiftly sprouted from his back, connecting at where his shoulder blades should have jutted out. They were large, almost as large as himself, made seemingly of only black feathers, as black as the night itself. They drooped downward, the size gradually lessening as it descended.
His eye fluttered shut as he flapped his wings lightly, feeling wind at his feet. He savoured this moment, it was his favourite part: the moment before flight. He let his wings lift him up and carry him out the window. He contemplated what to do next with all this time – now that he had found his mission, – for a moment before contentedly settling on circling the small town. A rain drop fell onto his head, and soon after, it came pouring down. He hated the rain. He really, really hated the rain.
But tonight, he didn't realize how damp his clothes felt, sticking to his skin, or how his wings felt heavier now that it was coated with water... or the thing he hated most about the rain – this sickening bittersweet melody of each drop hitting the ground. His mind was back at a certain house, in a particular room on the second floor, with the boy who was having a nightmare. He could only think...
He's going to die.
T-Minus 29 Days
Tsuna stared out the window and at the bright blue sky as he cradled his head in the palm of his hand. His teacher was droning on and on about something he was sure he'd never need in actual life. Biology or something. He really should have been paying attention; Science was never his forte. And to be honest, his grades right now weren't exactly that great – not to mention Reborn-sensei was just down-right terrifying.
Reborn-sensei had just begun teaching at Nami Middle that year, quickly becoming the talk of the school as that man from Italy. Why he transferred all the way from Italy was unknown, but it didn't seem like he was too keen on the idea himself. The man was easily distinguished by his long and curly side burns, the fedora he always had on, expensive Italian suits he insisted on wearing every day, and of course, the murderous aura that hung around him.
And by some strange twist of fate, Tsuna was going to be stuck in his class for the whole year.
Though, it wasn't all that bad. At the beginning of the year, Reborn-sensei has assigned a group project, and as luck would have it, he got paired up with the two most popular guys in his grade, Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi. The fourth member of their group was the school's idol, Sasagawa Kyoko. It was relatively easy for them to get along (albeit intimidating at first) and become friends, thus omitting Tsuna of his 'No-Good' title.
Kyoko-chan...
His mind turned to her name again, and Tsuna unconsciously let the corners of his lips tweak upward in a secretive smile. She sat near the front of the room, while Tsuna sat more towards the back, and was currently taking notes like a diligent student. Well, she was the school's idol for a reason. She was cute and kind and sweet. She excelled in her studies, and sports. There didn't seem to be a single person who could talk badly of her.
The complete opposite of me, Tsuna sighed.
And that was when his breathing hitched.
There was a person.
A person floating.
A person who was clearly floating outside and directly in front of his class which was located on the second floor!
Omigod.
A million different emotions flooded through Tsuna, shock being one of the more predominant ones.
People don't just float, right?
Right.
Omigod.
x
He really was a normal boy as far as he could tell. Sawada Tsunayoshi. For some reason or another, the boy was unfortunately his newest target. He didn't understand it, but he accepted it... and it wasn't like he could refuse, anyways. But now, his target seemed to be gaping in his direction.
He couldn't be staring at me, could he?
He quickly dismissed the idea sourly. No human could see him – no human should be able to see him.
But what else could he be so captivated by?
x
A hand slammed down onto his desk. Eyes peering and lips sneering from beneath the fedora.
"Sawada."
Gulp.
"Y-yes?"
"You're paying attention, aren't you?" Reborn purred lowly, dangerously.
"Y-yes."
No.
"Of course you are," he agreed.
How could he?
There was a person floating!
"Because if you weren't, bad things would happen, you know. Very bad things."
Floating!
"I'm glad we have that settled."
Floating, damn it!
Reborn gave Tsuna a pointed look.
"O-oh, r-right."
That seemed to satisfy Reborn more or less, because he extracted himself from Tsuna's view. Immediately, Tsuna checked the window.
Oh, the boy wasn't there anymore, it must have been a –
Tsuna jolted and all but screamed and jumped out of his seat.
Holy –
"In an ecosystem, there are several types of animals."
The boy was there, he beside him.
Omigod.
"You can classify them in several different ways."
x
Hn? It appeared that the boy really could see him. Fascinating.
x
OhmyGod.
"A common way being: herbivore and carnivore."
x
But just to make sure...
x
Oh dear Lord...
"Carnivores are at the top of the food chain; their diet predominantly consists of meat."
x
He leaned in...
Oh great Buddha...
"Herbivores are generally much weaker, and easier to prey on. Consumed by the carnivores."
And brushed his hand across the same cheek, mimicking the previous night's actions...
However...
Hie!
"Their diet–"
"Bathroom!" the boy shouted, as he abruptly jumped out of his chair and sprinted towards the door.
However, it seemed that he didn't remember his touch.
He had sprinted as fast he could,
Outside of the school, Tsuna was slumped against the solid brick foundation of the school, attempting to catch his breath. It was a miracle he didn't fall down the flight of stairs, or trip on some invisible object along the way. He touched his cheek. He hadn't imagined that.
I felt that. I mean, everyone else didn't seem to notice some guy in black molest my cheek, but I totally felt that.
Deeply exhaling, Tsuna looked up through his bangs at the figure, who sure enough, was resting against the very same wall as him. "Wh-why can't other people see you?"
When there was no answer, Tsuna tried again, half exasperated, "Uh... if you don't mind me asking, what are you?"
The boy remained still with his arms crossed of each other, and onyx hair falling into his face. It was like he didn't even acknowledge him!
Well, that was rude! It was time for a different tactic, it appeared.
"How do you float?"
There was a snort on the other's part, which Tsuna thought was the best reaction so far.
"I don't float, I fly," he corrected, opening one eye in amusement.
The liquid smooth voice startled Tsuna, causing him to jolt once more.
R-right... because that makes this situation seem... more sane.
"What are you?" Tsuna repeated, words dripping with anxiety.
"A shinigami."
"No, really, what are you?"
Normal ashen irises flickered a bright crimson momentarily, stunning the boy.
"A s-shini-g-gami?" the boy managed to squeak out before fainting completely.
The shinigami sighed. How troublesome. The boy was even weaker than he had initially thought... ah. What was it that teacher said?
"Herbivore," he stated with a small grin as he swept the herbivorous boy up into his arms, and took off. He silently prayed that the boy in his arms wouldn't awaken mid-flight.
However, when Tsuna did wake again, he was on his bed, in his room, in his house, with no recollection of how he got there. Confused, he pressed his lips into a thin line of thought, and reached for the journal under his bed, vowing every word written true.
x
Dear Diary,
Today, I met a shinigami.
Shinigamis can float.