As the Rain Falls
By: Megori
Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs rightfully to Amano Akira and the various companies that holds the proper copyrights. I'm but a fan writing a fictional short story based on her works.
A/N: It's been ages since I've written anything, but for the sake of getting a beautiful piece of art from my sister, I'm going to try my best to write this and actually complete it. Haha. Details might be lacking and some information may be wrong, so I'm going to apologize beforehand for any errors. Sorry for the kind of bad story and any potential out of characterness! I hope you're still able to enjoy it at least a little though!
Rating: PG (maybe PG-13)
Characters: TYL!Yamamoto-centric, slight 8018
Genre:Angst and Drama, I guess...
Yamamoto ran frantically, breathing heavily as his legs carried him as quickly as they could across the rain covered roads. Rounding a corner, he came to a sudden stop. Pain tore through his entire body as he stared on in shock of the sight before him. His legs trembled beneath him as he tried to take a step forward. Finding it difficult to walk properly, he took a hold of the wall beside him.
"Hibari-sama is waiting for you inside."
"Huh?" Yamamoto snapped back as the small, fluffy yellow bird flew passed him. "Ah, Hibird..."
"Yamamoto-san..." Kusakabe's voice rang out again from microphone around the bird's neck.
Yamamoto smiled feebly, pushing back the black hair that had become stuck to his forehead from the rain. "Thanks for letting me know, Kusakabe-san. I'm heading in now." After taking a deep breath, Yamamoto straightened himself and began walking toward the tattered shop.
When he reached the broken down, wooden sliding door, his grip tightened against the door frame. He froze on the spot as he took in the scene. Tables were overturned, broken and scattered every whichever way. Sticks of wood protruded from piles of unrecognizable rubbish. Amongst the piles of debris, broken wood and rubbish, a single sword remained on the ground, alone.
Yamamoto took a step forward, making his way slowly to the sword. A thin trail of watered down blood dripped off the tip of the sharp object. When he finally reached the sword, all Yamamoto could do was stare in complete and utter silence. His knees trembled beneath him again as he continued to stare at the inanimate object on the ground.
"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm no longer reliable!" the old man had retorted angrily, flailing his sushi knife around behind the counter.
Yamamoto sighed heavily. "That's not the point, dad. I'm worried about your safety, that's all."
"Oh nonsense! You've got plenty to worry about as is. I can take care of myself, son, so stop worrying about your old man," the older man replied hastily. "You've got friends you need to protect, right?"
Yamamoto looked at his father with a heavy heart. It was true. There were many others that needed protection and looking after that couldn't do so themselves. After a few moments of silence, Yamamoto smiled feebly at his father. "I suppose you're right, dad."
"Of course I'm right! So, take really good care of them, and I'll be sure to watch myself so you don't have to go breathing down on me about this again," Yamamoto's father stated with a grin, flexing his arms to his son over the counter. "I'll knock 'em all dead, just you watch!"
Yamamoto laughed at his father's energetic display. "All right, all right. I get it already dad." He stood up from behind the counter. "I've got to get going then. Take care of yourself."
"Go on, go on!" his father replied animatedly.
Yamamoto nodded as he headed toward the door. As he took a step out, he turned one last time to look at his father. The energy and flare the old man had just displayed was gone and replaced with a solemn expression. Although it appeared as if his gaze was fixed intently on the fish before him, Yamamoto could tell his father's thoughts were elsewhere.
"Yamamoto Takeshi."
Pulled back into reality by the sudden voice calling out to him, Yamamoto blinked quickly and turned to his right. "Ah, Hibari."
"What're you doing?"
Yamamoto blinked again, unsure of what the other man was referring to. When he turned back to see what was in front of him, his father's sword came into view again. His right hand was but inches away from the blade. The other man took a small step to his right and saw the reason for his comrade's lack of concentration.
"You--"
"My old man would be in hysterics if he saw his sword lying around like this, not to mention the shop in this tattered condition," Yamamoto stated, interrupting Hibari. He smiled feebly as he stretched slightly to grasp the sword. "As important as my bat used to be to me, his sword was to him too, you know?" He turned to Hibari, still squatting, and smiled dorkishly, as he normally would. "My dad--"
Unable to bear the scene anymore, Hibari slammed his right tonfa into the counter beside him, startling Yamamoto. "I'm sorry," he mumbled through gritted teeth. He shook slightly as his bangs fell over his eyes.
Yamamoto remained silent, slightly shocked at hearing an apology from his companion. After a moment, he straightened himself, dusted his pants and stepped toward his friend. "Hibari," Yamamoto began, stretching his arm out toward Hibari.
"Don't touch me!" Hibari stated, raising his voice slightly as his left tonfa flew toward Yamamoto. "Don't you dare touch me."
With a sigh, Yamamoto stopped in his tracks. "You've got cuts on your arm. At least let me--"
Without warning whatsoever, Hibari grabbed Yamamoto's collar and shoved him against the remains of the counter. With their faces just inches apart, Yamamoto could clearly see the turmoil coursing through Hibari. Hibari's hands trembled as they held tightly onto Yamamoto's collar.
"Quit pretending you don't know what's right in front of you. I'm sick of having to deal with this personality of yours," Hibari stated sternly, staring right into Yamamoto's eyes. "I came as quickly as I could, but it was already too late." Taking in a deep breath, Hibari released Yamamoto and turned toward the door. "Your father's in the back room. We don't have a lot of time, so don't take too long."
As Hibari headed toward the exit, Yamamoto smiled weakly and bowed his head. "Thank you, Hibari." With that, he headed into the back room, his father's sword clasped tightly in his right hand. His pace quickened with each step as he took note of the bodies lying around that Hibari probably had dealt with. Before he knew it, Yamamoto had begun gasping for breath, as though he had just run quite a distance. Even the sound of his heartbeat seemed to have overpowered the sound of the pouring rain outside, pattering against the roof and various parts of the ground, where the roof had fallen inward.
As a broken sandal came into view, Yamamoto's legs froze into place. "D-dad," came a voice so hoarse and unrecognizable, even to him. His grip on his father's sword tightened. Although he tried with his all to go forward, his legs simply seemed to refuse to go any further. "D-dad..." Inhaling deeply, Yamamoto closed his eyes, gripping as tightly as he possibly could onto his father's sword. "God..." Yamamoto exhaled slowly and reopened his eyes. With his renewed resolve, he took the last few steps forward and turned the corner.
Yamamoto bit back the sob that tried to escape. With his knees trembling unsteadily beneath him, he allowed himself to simply fall. The tears slowly made their way to the corners of his eyes as he let go of the sword he had been holding onto so tightly.
"Dad," he whispered. With a trembling hand, he reached for for his father's limp arm.
The scene that lay before Yamamoto was horribly gruesome and unsightly. His father was lying on his right side with his legs slightly curled in. A huge gash scarred the left temple of the old man's head, where blood was still freshly flowing. His right arm, beneath the weight of his body, was bent the other way and sticking out over his stomach. What was left of his left arm was but a stub just above the elbow. His normally white top had now been dyed a deep crimson whereas his dark gray pants were now dark burgundy in color with a few splotches of its original color remaining only. Cuts, scratches, bruises and larger gashes could be found covering the fragile looking body.
Yamamoto bit his lip and closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't cry. Not here, not now, not yet. The battle was far from over and if he wavered even a little here, more tragedies were sure to occur. He couldn't let himself cry over this. Reopening his eyes, he exhaled slowly.
As carefully as he possibly could, Yamamoto turned the limp, cold body of his father's onto his back and straightened out his legs. With his left hand, he removed the strands of hair that covered his father's closed eyes. "Dad." Yamamoto leaned forward and placed a light kiss in the middle of his father's forehead. "You really fought with your all to the very end..." A weak smile came over him as he pulled back. "Thank you."
He slipped his hand beneath his father's right hand. "Thank you, dad." Clasping his fingers on his father's cold hand, he lifted it up to his mouth, kissing them gently. "Thank you, for everything."
After several minutes of silence, Yamamoto placed his father's hand gently on the ground once more. Shuffling about briefly, he removed his jacket and covered the upper half of his father's body.
Hibari was standing a little ways away from the sushi shop, detailing what occurred since his arrival with Kusakabe. His fluffy yellow bird was perched upon his left shoulder, quietly looking around, to and fro, through the rain.
"There were about fifteen of them," Hibari continued, his gaze shifting between the sushi shop itself and the sidewalk. "He managed to take care of..."
"Hibari! Hibari!" Hibird's high pitched voice echoed through the rain frantically as it began flapping it's small wings on his shoulder.
Looking up, Hibari caught sight of smoke rising steadily above the sushi shop. "Shit! What the hell is he thinking?" Before finishing his sentence to Kusakabe, Hibari started toward the shop once more. "Tch, I shouldn't have--" Just as Hibari approached the entrance to the shop, Yamamoto stepped out.
"H-Hibari?" Yamamoto questioned curiously, just barely avoiding the collision.
"Y-you..." Hibari stammered, unsure of what to say and definitely refusing to admit his worry.
Yamamoto smiled. "It's better this way. Let's go."
As he passed Hibari, Hibari noted the sword tightly clasped in Yamamoto's hand. With a sigh, he decided there wasn't much that could be said, so he simply followed behind the taller man.
"If only I had insisted more, Dad wouldn't have..." After walking a short distance, Yamamoto came to a stop. The rain continued pouring over the both of them, but without his jacket, his blue button up shirt was now plastered against his skin, revealing his broad, trembling shoulders. He closed his eyes and lifted his head upward, toward the falling rain. "If I had only..."
"It's not your fault."
Reopening his eyes, he found Hibari standing before him, eyes staring firmly at him.
"None of this is your fault," Hibari stated clearly.
"I-," Yamamoto began.
"And it's okay to cry in a situation like this," Hibari continued, cutting off Yamamoto. "Herbivores are allowed to cry."
Yamamoto smiled feebly. "Thank you, Hibari." With his resolve not to cry gone, the tears, mixed with the falling rain, streamed endlessly from Yamamoto's eyes. His body trembled as he brought his fists up to his face. Slowly, his cries began to echo through the silent street of Namimori.
As the rain continued to fall, the tears continued to overflow.
END.
---
Bah. I apologize for the craptastic ending. I haven't actually written the ending to a fanfic in ages, so I'm a bit unsure of what a good ending is anymore. Haha! Whatever the case, I hope I didn't make anyone too out of character and that it was at least half decent. But...NOW I GET A FOUR PANEL PORNSTAR!XANXUS COMIC! A fic/comic trade between me and my sister. Yay~
Oh yeah, I really don't know the name to Yamamoto's dad. I tried searching for it without having to reread the manga, but came up short. If any of you know his name, please do tell.