Okay I know I should be working on something else but well. I started on this (three lines) and I couldn't help it...blame my OCD.
Let's all imagine them in the age when Tsuna is 18. Or 19. Whatever age seems most appropriate in this fic.
Warning: Character death.
Rated for language.
And. I'm sorry if they got OOC! I really hope they're not too out. KHR belongs to Amano Akira-sensei, without whom we would not be here today, writing fanfic as such:D
Mission number 64.
It was a heated battle. Gunshots were being released from one end of the large room to the other while blasts from all types of weapons were shot, some hitting their targets, some not. Amidst all this, it was clear that one side was losing badly. The dull thuds of bodies hitting the floor gradually came to a stop as the now greatly-reduced gang of outlaws finally realised who they were up against. With three of them left, they backed into a corner. As they hid behind an upturned table to re-plan their tactics someone from the doorway spoke.
"Pathetic, huh."
The table was blasted with a red flame, sending the trio flying into a wall.
"Assholes. Attempting to assassinate Juudaime was the worst decision you'll ever make."
Dazed from the crash, the cornered men looked up at the approaching people with panic in their eyes.
There were three of them. One silver-haired chain-smoker, one female wearing goggles and one with a sword.
The Vongola.
Fuck, thought the three men. It was a deed done one month ago and they'd finally been tracked down. They'd known they would have gotten into this shit after trying to take the Vongola Decimo's life. Why the hell had they done it when it was so obvious what the aftermath of its failure would be? Perhaps they were drunk when they decided it. Maybe not.
But it didn't matter. The tenth Vongolian boss was alive, and they were about to die.
The storm guardian spoke again.
"Any last requests?"
I shouldn't have let them think.
The men cowered in front of the four figures, begging to live. Surely the Vongola would be merciful, and spare their lives…?
"…No?"
Bang. One down, two to go.
This time, the woman spoke.
"If you think we're gonna just let you run free from here, no freaking way."
I shouldn't have waited to finish them all off.
One of the two spoke up. Voice cracking, he whispered, "G-go easy on us…we have families…"
Bang. Two down. Last one left.
The silver-haired male scowled. "Like real. All of you are loners. No families. In fact, didn't you destroy your very own for money?"
His eyes widened in intense fear. "No…I don't care! SPARE ME! I'M NOT READY TO DIE!"
"Shut up!"
And before Gokudera could aim, the man cracked and picked up his dead mate's gun.
Sure, he was desperate to survive. Desperate enough to go crazy and fire everywhere.
Abandoning his pride, the man went berserk; screaming while shaking his gun everywhere and blasting at wine glasses and table lamps, eyes bulging, tears rolling down his cheeks.
I shouldn't have put us into this fucking situation.
Yamamoto's eyes widened as he ducked from a stray bullet. "Shit."
He glanced at the insane figure before turning around.
"Gokudera, finish it quick! He's snapped, he doesn't know what he's doing anymore-"
"I know!" In a flustered rush, the bomber aimed at his target's head.
And at that apparent moment, the target seemed to remember the Vongola's presence. Swiftly, he turned his gun and began blasting at them.
I shouldn't have hesitated in shock.
Tilting to the right, he took a breath. Hands tightened on his weapon, the bomber shot.
At that exact time, someone else yelled.
"No! Hayato!"
And at the very same moment the shot from his flame arrow burst through the air and hit the deranged man, something else had found its own target.
Namely, one out of the tens of fired bullets.
Silence followed as she fell to the floor, blood flowing freely from her skull into her purple hair and onto the floor, forming a dark red pool.
"No."
As a guardian…
Gokudera dropped to his knees. The rain guardian rushed over and turned her over.
She had taken his bullet while he had been firing.
I had been careless.
"No…Hang in there!"
As a right-hand man…
Frantically, he tried stemming the flow of blood as he felt for a heartbeat. A pulse. A sign of life. This could not be the end…it was too quick…
"B-B-Bianchi…"
He turned to the rain guardian, refusing to let tears come. "Do something! Heal her!"
I had uttered stupid words. He couldn't heal people.
"I-I can't heal-"
But nothing would happen. Nothing could happen. Neither of them had the ability to heal or perform miracles.
As a sibling…
Hands trembling, Yamamoto grabbed his phone and called for help, the two still attempting to stop the flow of red substance which represented life draining out of her.
I shouldn't have let this happen.
It was only at the hospital when the news was broken.
Bianchi was gone.
The bullet wound in her head had been too deep and had hit a critical part of her brain. The blood loss had been too intense, and even if there had been someone to stop the blood loss at the scene, it would have made little difference.
The few sentences the doctor spoke tore holes in their hearts.
Tsuna had rushed to the scene, and was distraught with tears almost spilling from his eyes, while the others present simply stood in silence, not wanting to cry, not able to cheer anyone up. Even the baseball fanatic couldn't muster up his usual grin and say "it's alright".
Because it wasn't. At all.
Only Gokudera stood alone, deep in thought. His face was hidden by his messy fringe so that the rest couldn't see his face.
In the end…what did I do for you?
Tsuna knew to leave him alone for the time being.
He turned to his left.
"Yamamoto-kun, could you…keep Gokudera-kun company until tomorrow? I think…after this turn of events…" His eyes met his rain guardian's, who gave a small understanding nod.
"Sure."
He glanced at the lone figure standing in the corridor, knowing that behind that expressionless face was a great whirlwind of emotions he'd never show in front of everyone. He'd never want to show them his vulnerability, his sadness, his pain…
A cigarette was lit. He inhaled.
Exhaled.
And walked out before the hospital staff could say anything.
I…
hate Mission 64.
That evening, the two walked back in silence; the silver-haired in front, the black-haired following behind him. The sunset gradually faded from a brilliant pink to magenta, then to dark red, finally falling into darkness as the stars came out and any trace of the sun had vanished. Slowly but surely they made it to the storm guardian's apartment door. He wordlessly took out the apartment keys from his pocket and unlocked the door with a 'click'. They stepped in, the lights flashed on and the door closed shut.
The two hadn't exchanged a single word since the afternoon.
"…I'm surprised you haven't chased me out of your house yet."
Silence.
The apartment keys fell to the floor as he spun around and slammed Yamamoto to the wall.
"And what the hell do you care? Tell me. WHAT!" Emerald eyes glared into dark brown ones. "Do you want me to chase you out?"
The taller one kept silent, and this seemed to enrage the other further. The lights flickered and gave out.
"In that case, get the fuck out! Get out of my damn life!"
He sighed. "Gokudera…let go. Calm down."
"SHUT UP!" The hand clenched around his shirt collar trembled for a moment and loosened.
"Shut up…"
He stepped backwards, knees giving way as he collapsed onto the floor in front of him. Yamamoto sighed and kneeled down, coming face to face with the bomber.
Softly, he took one hand in his and whispered,
"Let it out."
It was just the two of them in the blacked-out apartment, and Gokudera didn't care anymore.
He buried himself in Yamamoto's chest and broke down for real.
True, he'd never treated his sister like a proper sibling due to certain circumstances, but she had never wanted it that way. She had loved him as a brother…and he'd loved her too. Just that he'd never shown it.
He'd never be able to show it to her.
Bottled up feelings of regret and shame rained down on him along with mixed feelings of resentment and sorrow. He was angry, angry at the fact that she had risked her life to shield him from a bullet that he was unable to defend himself from. Angry at the fact that he had let it happen. Angry…that she was gone and he would never be able to thank her for that. And he was upset. Upset that they'd lost a member of the family.
Upset that he'd lost a part of his family.
Yamamoto brought him closer with an embrace, keeping him close, letting him wet his shirt with tears that relentlessly rolled down.
The Gokudera that he knew was brash, violent, aggressive, and sometimes overreactive.
He was also sensitive. But he'd rather die than show that side of his to the world.
It was only here, in the security of his home, where he would let his feelings pour out.
Just that this time, baseball-head was there too.
It helped to have someone there at times like these. It was comforting to feel the genuine warmth of another's body, comforting to know that someone else was there to share his moment of frustration and pain…something he'd always wanted to do but never dared to.
After all, for him, it was humiliating. Crying was always something for babies. Weak. Foolish. Useless.
But who cared now. All he wanted to do was to cry and cry, and be weak in his arms because there wasn't anyone else to see them, a there was no longer a point in continuing his act.
In the dark, his gentle grip on him loosened, fingers running through his counterpart's silver hair.
"Don't blame yourself."
Gokudera shook his head, nuzzling further into his chest, taking in his warmth voiced muffled by his shirt. "Mmmn."
A pause.
"…I'm sorry." His voice cracked and trembled a little.
"Eh? For what?" The rain guardian was rather surprised by his sudden apology. Also, since that was the first time he'd ever apologized to him…
"Putting us in trouble, creating this situation, not being able to defend myself, and everything else…"
"It's not true! Don't say that-"
"What can I do to make up for it now? I don't know…"
…
Tears had very nearly run dry, emotions had not.
Yamamoto bit his lip, afraid he'd say the wrong thing if he opened his mouth. But he did anyway.
"I-I know this sounds clichéd, but I'm sure she wants all of us to live on. You included! She's watching over us now."
He swallowed, preventing tears from coming, and continued.
"She loves you."
He paused.
"A-and…so do I."
In the darkness they were in, a blush crept up his cheeks.
…
The rather awkward silence dragged on with no reply, and he was pondering over what he should do when Gokudera suddenly spoke up.
"Do you really mean it?"
"Huh?" Yamamoto's eyes widened. "Do I reall-" A finger covered his lips, stopping him from talking.
Slowly, the storm guardian raised his head, emerald eyes still wet from tears, face pink, as he looked into his dark eyes. He scowled, removing the finger.
"You are such a fucking nut."
But somehow he wasn't angry as he said it.
He leaned forward quietly, messy silver hair barely brushing Yamamoto's face. With their faces in such close proximity he could feel his warm breath as their hearts beat faster.
"Idiot."
And his lips pressed against his, and they locked together. One party extended a tongue and the other complied, both heads slightly tilted, eyes almost lidded, arms almost entwined. Together, they shared this moment of relish on the stone-cold floor. Just the two of them.
At last, they broke free gently, recoiling only slightly. Silence ensued for a moment.
…
"Takeshi…"
He was shocked that he had been called by his first name. By Gokudera.
Though, that wasn't a bad thing.
"Thank you."
In the dark, Yamamoto stood up and smiled. Quietly, he whispered,
"You're welcome."
And, for the first time ever, Gokudera looked up and gave him a smile. A genuine, gentle smile.
Who said you can't heal people?
Okay. You can shoot me now.
Sorry this was pretty crappy! But please review if you can!
Oh, and if you're reading this til the end of this page, thanks for reading til' the end:)