There is divinity in the clouds.
-Lailah Gifty Akita
Time went on since that fateful day.
Sora was surrounded by love and affection by his adoptive family that his early life was filled with smiles. His older brothers, Shizuo and Kasuka would always play with him. His mom would tell him bedtime stories, and his father would always raise him high in the air, making him laugh. If his parents weren't the ones holding him, then one of his brother's would be, but it was mostly Shizuo who would pick him and refuse to put him down no matter what. Shizuo was the oldest out of all of them and felt he had an obligation to be the protective big brother. In fact, Sora's first word was "Shi" then "Ka!" Translation—Shizuo and Kasuka. He said their names first before their parents, not that they minded.
Kasuka always fed Sora because he thought it was cute. Despite him not showing much emotion, his actions spoke louder than words ever could. As Sora grew up, like the doctor said he would start having random fevers that would require bedrest, and he complied, not wanting to worry his parents and siblings more. There were also times where his limbs would just cease function out of nowhere. That was dangerous, but his family were more worried about him, and couldn't care less if he broke some stuff around the house because his limbs were acting up. He hated staying cooped up in his bed because of his random fever spikes because that meant he couldn't go outside. To be stuck inside like this made him feel trapped, confined, and isolated. His Shizu-nii and Kasu-nii would always come to check in on him before and after they came from school. Seeing the worried looks on their faces made him feel bad and he often wondered why he had a body like this? His brothers were healthy, so why wasn't he?
Why?
His fever broke two days later, allowing him to finally leave the confinement of his bed. As he was in the kitchen with his brother having a snack, he saw his Shizu-nii do something amazing. Right before his eyes, his Shizu-nii lifted the refrigerator up like a superhero.
Clapping his hands, he smiled at the amazement of it all, "Shizu-nii's a superhero!"
After he said that, there was a cracking sound that made Shizuo stop trying to hurl the refrigerator at Kasuka for eating his last pudding. Sora wondered why his Shizu-nii stopped all of a sudden, but didn't have time to think about it much for he was now in the hospital. Shizuo had a cast on his right arm, leg, with a neck brace on, too. Kasuka had placed some tea on the table that was attached to the bed, while Sora was rubbing Shizuo's head.
"Pain, pain, go away! Pain, pain, go away!" He repeated, as if hoping that if he said this enough time his brother's wounds would magically heal.
Shizuo let out a tense smile before rubbing the brunette's head with his other arm, "Don't worry about me, I'm a superhero, remember?"
Sora beamed, "Mm!" He looked at Kasuka, "Kasu-nii, Shizu-nii's a superhero!"
Kasuka nodded in agreement.
Shizuo left the hospital and was now back home, but he was soon back there as he had gotten into a fight at school, that involved him hurling a desk at two boys who were making fun of him. He wasn't alone though, as Sora and Kasuka were there along with another boy—Shinra Kishitani. Sora didn't understand most of the stuff this boy was saying, but by the look on his face, he was also probably thinking that his Shizu-nii was like a superhero, too.
But he was worried about his brother hurting himself a lot because of his superpower. Also...
"Shizu-nii, no!" Sora scolded Shizuo as he grabbed Shinra's wrist in a tight grip.
Shizuo clicked his tongue and let Shinra go, but only because he didn't want to be seen as violent in front of his baby brother.
"So this is your youngest brother? He's really cute, but he doesn't look anything like you, judging by his facial features and hair color." Shinra said thoughtlessly.
Shizuo grabbed his wrist again in a tight grip for that comment, even Kasuka frowned at Shinra for saying that. Sora just tilted his head to the side cutely.
He wondered what he meant by that.
Oh, well.
More time went by, and he had gotten sick again, only this time...it was much more serious. It was when he woke up, he felt really hot and couldn't walk straight, and his throat really hurt. Dry and scratchy, and it only got worse when he coughed. His goal was to make it to the kitchen so he could get a drink of water, only he didn't manage to make it. Before he could even get to the refrigerator, he had a sudden coughing fit before falling forward, hitting the hard cool ground. His vision was blurry, the room looked like it was spinning, and his head started to hurt. As he closed his eyes, he heard someone yelling before he was picked up. Forcing his eyes open, he saw it was his Shizu-nii that had come for him before Kasu-nii showed up, too. He closed his eyes right after that.
When he opened them, he found himself in the very same hospital that Shizuo would be sent to every time he broke a bone. There was something sharp sticking in one of his arms, looking over he saw it was a needle. He hates needles very much, they hurt too much. His mom was sitting right by his side as she rubbed his forehead, he likes it when she does this. It feels really nice.
"When your fever breaks we'll all go out and get some ice cream, okay?" His mommy said to him. Her voice was really soft, and it always put him to sleep. He must've fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes the next time, he was looking at his Shizu-nii and Kasu-nii.
"Shizu-nii...Kasu-nii..." His voice felt raw and scratchy, he hated it.
Shizuo tried to smile, but he couldn't. He always kept an angry expression around others to hide how he really felt, but when it comes to his brothers, especially the youngest, he was very expressive.
"You shouldn't talk, go back to sleep." Shizuo said to him gently.
Kasuka lifted the hospital covers over him, "Sleeping helps you recover."
Sora noticed Shizuo had a cast over his arm, "Did you...get hurt again...?"
Shizuo looked ashamed of himself as he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
Slowly, Sora raised his arm to try and touch the cast, "Pain...pain...go...away..." His hand was grabbed gently by Shizuo and placed underneath the covers.
"Stop that...just, get some rest." His tone sounded almost like he was pleading so Sora closed his eyes and went to sleep.
When he opened his eyes once more, he clearly realized he was no longer in a hospital. What replaced the dull white ceiling was a blue sky that stretched far and wide. Looking down he noticed that his reflection didn't match what he looked like. Instead of being scared and confused, he bent down to stare at his different reflection.
"Hi." Was all he could say. There was nothing bad about the reflection, it was more like it was trying to say 'hello.'
As if proving his point, the reflection smiled before emerging and standing right before him. It was wearing a white cloak with a hoodie attached to it, one of his eyes was hidden by the white hoodie that was over his head, along golden decorated bells that surrounded the white cloak, and an exposed golden eye. The doppelgänger smiled.
"This is a surprise. You don't appear troubled by my appearance, nor why you're here."
Sora gave the double a confused look, "Who are you?"
"Me? I forgot what my original name was." The double responded.
"Ne, where are we? And how come I don't feel sick anymore?" He realized.
"This is your inner world. I don't know when, but at some point you created this vast world and allowed me to reside here within you. As for your physical condition, you have a strong flame that surpasses even your ancestor. Your body is too small to handle such a powerful flame, therefore placing you in the current situation you're in now." The double answered.
Sora didn't really get it, if him tilting his head was any indication.
"I don't get it."
The double smiled, "That's fine. My purpose for being here is to transfer the powerful flame to you slowly so it no longer tries to devour you from the inside. I'll also be residing within you from now on as well."
Tilting his head again, the brunette smiled and held both hands out, "I still don't get it, but...will you please be my friend?"
This seemed to surprise the double, but he smiled anyway, grabbing the boy's tiny hands with its own. The two were surrounded by a burst of orange flames that felt hard but it didn't burn either of them. As the flames increased the double smiled one last time.
"Sun, Lightning, Storm, Rain, Mist, Cloud—Accepting them all. That is the purpose of the Sky, but you're different. That is why you were named "Sora." The double said as he voice faded out of existence.
As Sora opened his eyes, he saw the same hospital ceiling, but he didn't feel bad anymore. Sitting up from his bed, he checked his forehead and felt it wasn't hot as before.
Another thing he noticed was that his brothers were still here at the hospital and were sleeping on each side of his bed. Seeing this made him very happy because it proves just how much his brothers really love him.
"Shizu-nii, Kasu-nii, wake up!" He shook Shizuo first before Kasuka. With a yawn, both boys got up and saw Sora smiling at them, but Shizuo and Kasuka noticed something new about his baby brother.
"Sora, your hair!" Shizuo exclaimed.
"My hair?"
Kasuka got up to get a mini mirror from his bag then went back over to the bed to show Sora the new changes to his hair.
Sora saw that he had golden blond streaks now. It made him look like that other boy in his "inner world," He liked it. With a grin he said to his brothers, "My hair's the same as Shizu-nii's!"
The two older siblings couldn't help but let out exasperated sighs at their baby brother's love for them. After the initial shock of his hair changing was over, their parents came in along with the doctor. Their parents of course were curious as to why Sora had golden blonde streaks in his hair, but they were more overjoyed by he fact that he was feeling better. The doctor gave him a check up and informed Namiko and Kichirou that he was perfectly healthy now, and that they no longer have to worry about him getting sick all the time or hospital visits. Naturally the two were happy to hear this, especially their older children who refused to go to school because they were too worried about their younger brother.
Sora was 6 years old now, and would now be going to the same Primary School his Shizu-nii went to. He really excited to go and couldn't keep his excitement contained. Since his parents couldn't come with him, his brothers walked him to school instead.
"Are you really all that excited to start school?" Shizuo asked as he held Sora's hand.
"Uh-huh! I want to make lots of friends!" Sora said happily. Since his sudden recovery two years ago, the happy little sky would be outside constantly playing in the backyard or simply lying on his back to stare up at the sky. The doctor said his immune system, which was once weak isn't so weak anymore, allowing his body to defend against infection. He now had a healthy body, and he was utilizing it to the fullest.
"When you do make friends, make sure to bring them by the house so I can get a good look at them." Shizuo said.
"Okay!"
Kasuka rubbed his head, "Be sure to have fun."
"I will!"
The three brothers talked the whole way and stopped in front of the school. Shizuo was trying to get rid of some unpleasant memories here, but today wasn't about him. It was about his brother.
Sora faced his big brothers with a huge smile on his face, "I'm going now!"
Kasuka gave him a small smile, "Have fun."
"I'll pick you up after school ends, okay?" Shizuo said.
Sora nodded before he grabbed the straps of his backpack and ran inside the building. Shizuo and Kasuka made to leave the area until Shizuo stopped suddenly, feeling something strange coming off from the black haired child that was walking next to his mother who was wearing a dark purple kimono.
"Is there something wrong?" Kasuka asked Shizuo.
"Uh, sorry, its nothing." Shizuo thought he felt something from the kid but it was probably just his imagination.
Sora sat in the back of the classroom in the last seat near the window. The reason for this was because he wanted to be near the sky and watch it until class started. It also gave him time to think about the looks the teachers gave him and the strange whispers that followed.
"That's Shizuo Heiwajima's younger brother?"
"He's so cute~"
"I hope he doesn't cause property damage like his older brother did."
He didn't understand why they were saying such things about his Shizu-nii. His brother's a superhero, not a bad person. Maybe he saves people at night just like the superhero's from some of the manga he read. The classroom door opened getting his attention. Walking in the classroom was a boy wearing a white shirt, black jacket that hung off his shoulders and short black pants. The thing that caught Sora's eye was his silky short black hair, and gray eyes that seemed to shine in his eyes. The boy walked in the classroom and towards him, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop staring. The boy didn't seem to mind for he was staring right back at him, looking calm. His walking ceased as he stood right before him. Brown and Gray stared at each other, ignoring their surroundings as if they were the only ones in the classroom.
Out of nowhere, the black haired boy raised his arm and touched the brunette's cheek, getting a confused eye blink at the sudden action.
"Little animal...what's your name?"
'Little animal?' The kids in the class wondered if they heard him right.
Sora wondered why this boy called him 'little animal,' but decided to simply introduce himself instead of asking why he called him that.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sora Heiwajima! What's your name?" He asked with a smile. There was something...different about this boy, but in a good way. In fact, this boy felt just like him.
The short black haired boy kept his gaze on him, not even once looking away.
"Hibari Kyōya, remember it, little animal." Hibari told him.
"I will." Sora promised.
The teacher soon walked in and everyone took their seats, including Hibari, who either coincidentally or not was sitting right next to Sora. As the female teacher went through role call, Sora noticed she paled when she got to both him and Hibari. He was curious as to why, but forgot that his Shizu-nii went here, too. Maybe his big brother did something bad? No, he couldn't have because he's a hero, and heroes never do bad things.
Lunch time soon came and before he could unwrap his lunch to eat it, Hibari grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the classroom.
"Hibari?" Sora questioned.
Hibari stopped walking and turned to him, "You will call me Kyōya, Little Animal."
Sora blinked then smiled, "Okay, Kyōya. But, you have to call me Sora then, too."
"Hn."
That was either a 'yes' or a 'no.'
Sora spent most of the lunch period on the roof with Kyōya, once he finished eating his lunch, he took a nap, while Sora watched the clouds drift across the sky. Without a word he laid down next to Kyōya, watching the clouds try to cover the blue sky. It felt like that had a special meaning, but then again it might not. They stayed like that for what felt like forever, but the silence between them was a welcomed one. Sora wasn't sure how long he stayed on the roof with his new friend, but something in the back of his mind told him that it was time to go back to class.
"We should head back, Kyōya." Sora said to him.
His response was a yawn before gray eyes were shown to the world once more. The two boys left the room, heading back to the classroom, all the while hearing whispers following them along the way.
"That Hibari boy's family is part of a shady business."
"But why send the boy to school?"
"What if he starts hurting the other kids?"
"Is he bullying that boy next to him? Should we send him to the principal?"
"Shh, you don't wanna make him mad! If we do, we'll get fired!"
Sora frowned as the adults were saying mean things about his new friend. He grabbed Kyōya's hand as they walked a little faster to the classroom. Kyōya made a sound at the action.
"I don't care about them, they're herbivores." Kyōya could care less about the adults here who he viewed as weak.
"It's still mean." Sora said firmly.
Kyōya made another sound before running his fingers through the brunette with blonde streaks hair, "Don't worry about the weak minds of adults, Little Animal."
Sora pouted, "Call me Sora, Kyōya."
"Hn." Kyōya smirked.
"Shizu-nii!" Sora called out to the blonde as he stood there with Kasuka at the front gates.
Sora stopped in front of them as Shizuo rubbed his head, "Hey, you have a good day?"
"Uh-huh! Some of the adults were saying mean things about you and Kyōya, but I had fun!" Sora said.
Shizuo frowned at this, "They didn't say anything to you, did they?"
Sora shook his head, "I heard them whispering and didn't like what they said about Kyōya either, but he said I shouldn't worry about it because our teachers are herbivores."
Dots appeared on both of Shizuo and Kasuka's heads, not understanding why their little brother's friend referred to their teachers as animals that are considered prey. Speaking of friend...
Shizuo eyed the boy who was giving him a wary look, yet at the same time looked ready to fight. What kind of kid looks like they want to fight someone older than them? He didn't count because he hates violence.
"Oh, this is my new friend Kyōya!" Sora introduced the boy to his brothers.
Kasuka greeted the boy, "Hello."
"Hn." Kyōya greeted back.
Shizuo was still staring at the kid, "Hey, so your my brothers new friend, huh?"
Kyōya's eyes narrowed as they analyzed the man standing before him, this blonde haired man wasn't a carnivore, nor omnivore. He was something else, something that is far stronger and more predatory.
A Beast.
To think there was actually a human that had the scent of a beast. It was faint, but he could smell it clearly. Lying in wait to be released out into the world, to tear everything to shreds and devour. This man could also become a monster, and yet it hides its fangs before the Little Animal so as to not scare him away.
That was unnecessary, for the Little Animal does not feel fear for this beast. Quite the opposite. For some reason he didn't like that at all.
"Annoying beast," he brandished some tonfas as he says this, "I will bite you to death."
A vein appeared on the side of Shizuo's head at that threat, "What was that?!"
Kasuka calmed his brother down, "Its alright, he just wants to spend more time with Sora."
Is that so? It didn't feel that way to Shizuo.
At was at this time that Shizuo instantly disliked Hibari Kyōya , but had no choice but to tolerate him for his little brother's sake.
So he will.
He still didn't like that brat though.
Since that day he was sent to the hospital because he was really sick, Sora noticed some things around him that he didn't before. Like feeling strange things he never felt before, and it was because he had this tingle in the back of his head. When he thought he heard an cry for help we went up to a tree and saw a cat stuck up there. There was a police officer nearby, so he asked the officer to help get the cat down and he did. The kind lady who the cat belonged to rubbed his head with a smile and thanked him. Another time he was walking down the sidewalk with Kyōya so that he could spend the night at his house and had to pull his friend away from a crazy man that tried to kidnap them. His best friend beat him up though, which made Sora smile as he said his best friend was really strong. Kyōya smiled at this, taking it as a victory against the Beast. The man was arrested and Sora was fussed over by his family, but he was still allowed to spend the night with his friend. What made the encounter strange was the fact that he felt there was danger coming near them and tried to avoid it, but there was no need for his friend was a good fighter. Many other incidents like this continued to happen, but he thought it was a good thing because he can use his 'powers' to help people.
He didn't really know what his power was, but if it was helping people and let him feel things all around him then he needed to train! So when Kyōya told him was spending the night over at his house again, he asked for a favor.
"Kyōya, train with me!" He requested.
His friend gave him a stare before smirking.
This was probably the time where he would come to regret that decision, but he didn't. While he had some bruises on him, he still wanted to keep training. What it a little more difficult was the fact that Shizuo believed that Kyōya was bullying him and wanted to beat him up, but he wasn't. His big brother was strong and his best friend was strong, so naturally he wanted to be strong, too. He and Kyōya trained at his house only and nowhere else, but Sora didn't mind because he really liked the rest of the Hibari clan. Kyōya's mom was really pretty and called him Little Animal, too, but for some reason it made his friend mad. He liked the father, too because he reminded Sora of Kasu-nii. Then there was Kusakabe-san, who he thought was Kyōya's older brother, but he wasn't. The man was really nice and really tall. But out out everyone, Kyōya will always be Sora's favorite because of nice feeling he got around him. It was also the time he found out his friend had a pet bird named Hibird that would land on his head and say his name in greeting, "Sora! Sora!"
It was really cute.
He also really wanted a weapon, too but his big brothers and parents probably wouldn't let him. Nothing too big, something small will do. As if the world had heard his inner thoughts, he saw a pretty lady with string in her hand and instantly thought it looked cool.
"Wow! Is that your weapon, pretty lady?" He asked, eyes full of excitement.
The woman in question was young with long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail secured with a red bow. She was wearing glasses and a yellow skirt suit over a blouse and stockings along with Mary Jane pumps. She gave the child a blank stare as he smiled up at her.
"You ask if what I have in my hand is my weapon, yes?" She asked.
Sora nodded, "I really like it!"
"I see, thank you for your kind words." She thanked emotionlessly.
"You're welcome, oh, my names Sora Heiwajima! Its nice to meet you pretty lady!" Sora introduced with a polite bow.
"Its pleasure to meet you as well, Sora Heiwajima. My name is Kasane Kujiragi." Kujiragi responded in kind.
Sora beamed, "Kasa-nee!"
Kujiragi stared at him before bringing a finger up to her chin as though she were thinking about something, "Kasa. If I'm not mistaken it translates into the word umbrella, interesting."
"Is something wrong?" He asked, giving her a worried look.
"No, nothing's wrong. However, I'm curious about as to why you ask about my weapon. Are you interested in using one despite being so young?" Kujiragi inquired.
Sora nodded, "My best friend uses tonfas. He looks really cool, so I want to use a weapon, too. But..." he then looks down sadly, "I don't know what kind I want."
"I see," Kujiragi said, "I understand your inner conflict and will decide to teach you how to use these wires I'm holding."
"Really? Thank you, Kasa-nee!" He thanked her as he hugged the woman he just met. His parents told him to never talk to strangers, but this lady was nice. He just knew it.
If Kujiragi was surprised by the sudden hug, she didn't show it and simply wrapped her arms around the boy. What was she doing, she wondered? There was something about this boy that stirred something within her, and she didn't know what it was. Whatever sort of feeling it was...it felt warm and kind. Two words she often heard of, but never experienced it for herself.
A warm light.
It was small in her very being, but all the same she didn't want to let go.
"Little Animal."
Sora heard his friend's voice and removed himself from Kujiragi, who felt a twinge in her chest. What was this feeling? Annoyance? Disappointment? Her eyes landed on the new boy who was glaring at her with his gray eyes. There was something about this boy, too, although the feeling she got from him wasn't warm.
It was bloodthirsty.
Another interesting child.
"Kyōya, this is Kasa-nee! She said she'll teach me how to use wires!" Sora told his friend happily, "Kasa-nee, this is Hibari Kyōya, he's my best friend!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hibari Kyōya." Kujiragi greeted the hostile boy.
Kyōya didn't bother to greet her back, instead opting to keep giving her hostile intent. This woman wasn't normal, she wasn't like the Beast that was related to the Little Animal, but at the same time he felt this woman would have no chance against the blonde beast if they were to fight. He brandished his tonfas as he kept his gaze on her.
"I will bite you to death."
"Kyōya!" Sora cried out.
Kujiragi didn't seem to mind the threat, "Bite me to death," you say? Do you like to bite people as though you were a cat?"
Sora was the one that answered, "No, Kyōya says that because he's a carnivore. He calls me Little Animal a lot, too."
Kujiragi can see why. The brown haired boy with blonde streaks looked like a fluffy animal to her, too.
"Hibari Kyōya, you claim to be a carnivore, but how do you see me?" She asked out of curiosity.
He didn't disappoint with his answer, "You aren't a carnivore or omnivore, you're...a monster."
"Kyōya, that's mean!" Sora said to his friend.
Kujiragi didn't look offended, "There's no need to be upset, for your friend is correct in his assumption."
Sora shook his head, "I don't Kasa-nee's a monster! Monster's aren't nice, and Kasa-nee is really nice!"
Such a naïve boy, but very sweet. These two boys interested her very much for she could sense they weren't normal either, but they weren't monsters like her.
"I thank you once again for your kind words," Kujiragi responded, "As agreed I will train you in learning how to fight with wires."
"Thank you!" Sora smiled.
Kyōya lowered his tonfas, but kept his guard up around the woman. Just because she had no desire to harm the Little Animal doesn't mean she still isn't dangerous.
To say the Heiwajima family was surprised their youngest brought a woman home was an understatement. Kujiragi introduced herself as a tutor to the parents, but didn't tell them what she was really tutoring him for. Kyōya didn't say why either, but that was probably because the boy preferred to keep an eye on Kujiragi.
This now became Sora's new routine. He would train with his best friend and Kujiragi when she wasn't busy with work, which she shared with him. She was something called an Information Broker, someone who both searches and gathers information. Sore didn't understand, but in his mind he believed that she was searching for lost things and returning them to people when she found them.
He was more tired because of the new routine, but this was something he wanted to do. The feeling in the back of his head was telling him that this was necessary. Having a sore body and being tired was worth it if he could protect himself and not worry his loved ones.
The sound of someone humming was heard throughout the inner world. A familiar figure wearing white smiled as he hummed, while staring at the clear blue sky that stretched far and wide. The unnamed persona, who still wasn't given a name was smiling as the humming continued, but soon translated the humming into words.
The Sea knows no bounds.
The Clam passes down its form from Generation to Generation.
The Rainbow appears from time to time before fading away.
A chuckle escapes the persona.
"Such a nice song, but the meaning is a sad one. Isn't that right...Sepira?"
Sepira was able to see far into the future with her ability. Her ability would explain why she wanted to coexist with humans so much. Not that he blamed her for feeling such a way, humans were so interesting that he couldn't resist being drawn to them. In the end, he was the second to leave, with Sepira being the first. What interested him the most right now was his little Sky Child. The child's flame was a small spark that will soon become an inferno as he grows, his inner world was also a pretty one. The Great Sky's inner world was much different than this child's, and didn't really appeal to him all that much, yet he was still a descendant.
"A small spark is enough to create an inferno that envelops and accepts all. But, the characteristic has more significance that only The Great Sky and this Sky Child will be able to understand." He said to himself as he walked through the reflecting water beneath his feet.
Drip
"Harmony. Without contradiction nor flaws that create balance and keeps everything whole. This flame harmonizes with other flames to create another flame." He stopped walking as ripples in the water were created, "The drifting flame has already been harmonized and will not let go. The furious flame that never rests, the tranquil flame that washes away conflict, the flame that brightly shines, the flame that hardens, and the flame that creates nothing into something, and something into nothing," looking back up at the sky his smile never leaving his face, "The inferno that acted as a beacon will draw them here, but will also draw others towards your brilliant flame, Sky Child."
Including a certain man of iron.
The Melancholy of a Rain Can Become Tranquil
