Dreams/Thoughts/Flashbacks

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"Incorrect." Nezu-sensei remarked. He made a show of pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing exasperatedly, but there was no disguising the self-righteous smirk gracing his thin lips. You wished you could disappear, melt into the ground and drown in your classmates' snickers which were quickly growing into tidal wave of sound. "Honestly," Nezu-sensei continued, "it's people like you who are burdensome sacks of garbage that only bog down our elite-society."

He walked over to you, footsteps resonating throughout the classroom, somehow drowning out and sounding more ominous than your classmates. He placed his hands on your desk, and leaned his face far over, so close that you could see your frightened reflection in his ancient glasses: light brown hair wild and untamed, brown eyes dilated, and lips cautiously pressed in a line. His rancid breath washed over you as he breathed heavily through his mouth, and you could not help flinching back in disgust. His thin lips opened into a cruel sneer and his next few words were filled with so much spite, hate, and distaste. They would echo for years to come in your head.

"If you have nothing smart to say, trash like you should just remain silent."

Despair and shame flooded your entire being.

If only you didn't say anything.

xxXxx

"Can I please just go home? I haven't done anything."

"Aww, Dame-Tsuna wants to back to his mommy. Haha! As if."

"How dare you try to talk back to us as if you have a choice?"

"When did you suddenly grow a pair?"

"Let's show him guys what happens to disobedient children who don't listen to their elders!"

A rain of fists and kicks assaulted your body from every direction and every angle. You tried to keep silent, but a solid swift kick to your gut caused your lips to part involuntarily, just enough for aborted pained noises to escape.

Unfortunately, the unintentional sounds only further spur your classmates as their hits increased in strength and number.

Why did you even talk back?

You idiot! You idiot!

If you had a better control of your tongue, they would've been sated just verbally berating you. But no, you had to run your smart mouth and now you were being beat up in a dark corner of the school.

If only you didn't say anything.

xxXxx

You bent over at the crosswalk, hands resting on your knees, trying to catch your breath.

In. Out.

In. Out.

In.

"There you are Dame-Tsuna!"

Wheezing out.

Looks like break time is over. You attempted to flee as the voice sounded closer but you were out of shape. Your bird bone limbs and flimsy muscles don't (can't) respond, over-exerted from the mad dash you completed just seconds ago from school. It was hopeless. All you could do was peer morosely through your sweated brown locks at the approaching figure who was visibly emitting steam out of anger.

Five feet plus of pure muscle and swagger.

Five feet plus of hatred directed right at you.

"I see you Sawada! Don't you dare try to run away now."

You couldn't even if you wanted to. Your limbs weren't responding.

In just a few seconds, you finally felt the waves of tangible hatred emanating off. . . Kensuke Mochida. Captain of the Namimori Kendo Club. A chauvinist through and through. And self-elected president of the "I hate Dame-Tsuna" Club.

"What do you think you were doing interrupting me and Kyoko after school today?"

This again? You honestly don't understand why Mochida-senpai hated you so much. You hardly crossed paths at school, him being an upperclassman and all that. Your "Dame" reputation must have preceded you and made way to his ears. He was always picking fights with you. Even over the most trivial of matters. Such as this.

"A teacher" wheeze "wanted" wheeze "to see her."

"Sorry Dame-Tsuna," Mochida sarcastically intoned, his eyes rolling behind his black bangs. "I don't think you understand me. I was just about to score her as my girlfriend just before you decided to butt in."

As if she would ever go out with him, you think to yourself. Kyoko wasn't a prize to be won. She was a human being, living and breathing with feelings just like everyone. She was honestly too good for someone like him.

"Eh?" Mochida-senpai's beady eyes narrowed, lips curling into a cruel cruel sneer that made you tense in preparation to flee. It was not looking good. "Too good for me?"

Oh shit shit shit shit shit. Definitely not good.

"You're just jealous." Oh now he was way too close to you, his finger threateningly placing pressure on your chest. What did you even do. . .? "Dame-Tsuna will never ever compare to someone as perfect as me. You got jealous that you would never have Kyoko has your girlfriend. That's why you butted in."

He barked out a short clipped laugh as if a revelation just hit him.

"I think someone needs to be put in their place. Someone needs to learn when to keep their mouth shut."

Suddenly the single pressure on your chest disappears, but before you can breathe a sigh of relief, his arms re-extended, making contact with your chest. You stumbled not expecting that amount of force, but seeing from the horrified look on his face, he didn't expect it either. Your feet slipped off the curve, body lacking the muscle power to stop your inevitable fall. At the same time, a car horn blasted on your right.

If only you didn't say anything. You wouldn't have been in this mess.

Maybe you shouldn't say anything at all.

Pain. Pain Pain.

His body hurt all over, muscles tight, joints stiff and yearning for movement, but at the moment, it was a struggle to simply pry his eyelids apart. It took several tries but finally, his world lit up.

White walls. Sterile smells of chemicals thinly veiled by fake floral scents. White bed sheets. A random framed photo of some foreign tropics. An aquarium of colorful tiny fish in the corner of the room. The sky. The sky. Where was the sky?

The brunette's upper torso practically jumped out of his bed and his head whipped around glancing quickly at the walls of the room. No window. No sky. Only artificial light. He clutched painfully at his brown roots, digging his nails painfully into his scalp, the pain not grounding him as it should have. Rather it scared him even more. He felt the pain. What was going on? He was dead. He should be dead. He said his goodbyes to the sky. He should be DEAD.

But his thoughts were quickly derailed as his body was assaulted by some force that quickly drew him into a warm source. He panicked, tensing at the contact, but quickly relaxed into the warmth upon noticing the light brown hair much like his own spread on his shoulder.

Teary brown eyes peer at him through long damp eyelashes, filled with relief and the overwhelming emotion of love. His heart throbbed at the sight.

"Oh Tsuna! Tsuna! You finally woke up," Nana wailed, squeezing him closer and closer into her encircled arms.

She released her hold on him to hold him at arm-reach, fingers digging into his shoulders as if she was afraid he would disappear the moment she relented even slightly. There they remained, drinking in each other's appearances. Tsuna got a good look at his mother. And it was not a good look. Her eyes were blood-shot, rimmed with black rings that stood out starkly against her pale (much too pale) skin. Her hair normally neatly organized into straight locks that framed her face was unruly, mimicking Tsuna's own gravity-defying hair. She must have not washed her hair for days. So that's where I got my hair, Tsuna idly thought.

The clearing of a throat attracted Tsuna's attention, diverting it from his clingy mother to the white-cloaked figure behind her. He was met with a neutral smile from who he assumed to be his doctor.

"Nice to meet you Tsuna. You must be very disoriented. You are currently in the Namimori Hospital. Sorry this may be a bit direct, but a week ago you were hit by a car. You suffered a lot of blood loss but bodily injuries were surprisingly non-fatal, your bones are currently healing though so you may experience some discomfort in the time being. We had to put you in a medically-induced coma though for the initial part of your healing process."

The doctor took this time to press a reassuring hand on Tsuna's shoulder, a truer smile gracing her thin lips.

"Welcome back Tsuna."

Tsuna opened his mouth to reply, but quickly scrambled out of his mother's grasp and shrugged off the doctor to clench his throat. His mother looked disoriented and confused at her son's sudden actions. Similarly, the doctor furrowed her eyebrows, foreboding feeling passing over her.

Again Tsuna tried to speak. Moved his lips open and close. Tried to go through the motions.

Anything.

A word.

But no. Nothing.

His heart rate picked up suddenly as realization slowly hit him.

Not a sound would come out. No sound could come out.

xxXxx

If only you didn't say anything at all.

A/N: I really wish I could lengthen this chapter but it just ended here. I'm probably going to (unfortunately) stick to relatively short chapters because otherwise, they will never make their way to publishing. Or more like they are going to be short for a period of time. Once college applications are done I'll be able to devote more time to writing this than college essays -_-.

Also to the anon that I accidentally deleted the review of D: . THIS IS NOT A REINCARNATION FIC. This chapter hopefully cleared up some of that misunderstanding, but if not, by next chapter it will definitely be clear.

Please Review!