Thank you for all your kind reviews :) It's been so long since I've uploaded any fanfics that I forgot how nice it was to receive your lovely reviews.
So there Tsuna was, abandoned, staring down an immobile Ghost. What was he going to do?
The Ghostly figure shifted. Tsuna stopped screaming as he reached the point of pure horror. This unimaginable spectre could do anything to him. He was probably going to die here knowing his luck. He hoped that Nana would understand why this happened, her son just wanted to be accepted.
The white mass moved again, this time to peer at him with squinted eyes. Eyes that looked very human. Eyes that were attached to a very human looking face. It was just a guy in a blanket. No-Good Tsuna had managed to mistake a person curled up in a blanket for a Ghost.
"S-Sorry," Tsuna stammered. He was feeling awfully embarrassed at this point, he'd just woken some strange guy in an abandoned house.
"Help," the stranger said, imploring Tsuna to aid him with his sharp, steely blue eyes.
The person he has originally thought was a Ghost looked entirely vulnerable. Tsuna suspected he had been in the house for a while. No one would have ventured inside out of fear. Tsuna must have been the first person this poor stranger had encountered in maybe a week? His heart went out to the man, he really did want to lend him a hand. Nothing about the occupant of the haunted house suggested danger. The strangers very demeanour cried 'help me' and that was what he was going to. His soft-hearted mother would weep if she knew he left this man unaided.
"How can I help?"
"The blanket…I don't know how to get out."
Someone that appeared to be older than him couldn't escape a blanket. Tsuna was incompetent but this was a whole new level. It was pure inefficiency.
"Well, let me just find the end and…unroll you?" Tsuna said with a shake of his head. This stranger was like a piece of sushi, wrapped tight in a white blanket that was tarnished by dust. It made sense that Tsuna would think his pure black hair was some sort of Ghostly void face.
It took a few moments before Tsuna managed to find an end to the blanket. When he did he gripped the edges tightly and pulled with all his might. The stranger came spiralling out of his cacoon, like a freshly hatched butterfly. Much like a newly hatched butterfly the occupant of the house was also very naked.
Tsuna quickly chucked the blanket over the stranger lying on the floor, blushing all the while. He had not expected that at all. What was up with this guy?
The stranger gazed at him, admiration filling his eyes to the brim. He pointed to himself, saying the word, 'Hibari'. Tsuna felt as if he had just accidentally adopted a dog.
Hibari wore the blanket the whole way to his house. They got many odd looks but Tsuna tried his hardest to ignore them. He had a job to do. This ignorant man was now in his care, whether he liked it or not…at least until he took him to the proper authorities.
Turns out Hibari had forgotten almost everything. He didn't remember where he was from, how he came to be in that house or really must else. It was odd. But Tsuna couldn't leave the helpless man in that creepy house, at the very least he should take him home, clothe him and feed him. That's what his mother would have done.
"Mum, I'm home!"
There was no answer. Huh, weird.
Tsuna took a moment to assess the stranger he had brought into his home. He about a head taller than Tsuna, unconventionally attractive and…filthy.
"Did you want a shower?" Tsuna asked.
The stranger nodded. He lead Hibari to the bathroom upstairs, letting the shower get to the appropriate temperature before encouraging the man to get inside. Hibari dropped the blanket shamelessly in the preparation room before getting under the shower, enjoying the warmth of the flowing water. Tsuna averted his eyes immediately and ran out of the bathroom, this lack of modesty was too much for him. He closed the door behind him. Hibari might not care much about privacy but he certainly did. He hadn't showered with another person in at least five years and he hadn't been to a public bathing house in over six. He wasn't accustomed to communal Japanese bathing anymore.
Hibari burst out of the bathroom just as Tsuna stepped out into the hall. "Tsuna, how do I wash my hair?"
The brunet was already coming to see there was a lot of things Hibari didn't know how to do. He felt a sigh coming on. It was like having a dog or a child, the stray he had picked up was incapable of taking care of himself. Of course it was Tsuna's responsibility as the one who took him in to help him with the tasks he could not complete himself. Honestly, Tsuna had really taken on a handful here. But what else was he going to do? Leave him to die? Tsuna wasn't cold-hearted. He couldn't possibly do that.
"I'm coming in," he relented.
Tsuna stripped off the outer layers of his uniform, placing his school vest, tie and pants in the basket of the prep room. There was no need for him to go in to the bathroom with anything less than his boxers and school shirt on.
He lathered his hands up with shampoo before he massaged the substance into Hibari's scalp. The stray hummed contently. Tsuna smiled, he was kinda cute. Unprompted, as his eyes wandered over the body of his new charge, he noticed the hair between Hibari's legs. Upon further analysis Hibari was a bit too old to be cute. Also a bit too muscular. Tsuna was a little jealous of the toned body Hibari possessed, his thin arms were nothing in comparison to Hibari's. But he couldn't help it, Tsuna wasn't born to develop muscles.
"Wash it out now," Tsuna commanded.
Hibari rose from the stool Tsuna had stationed a ways away from the water. His new charge turned on the cold tap then the hot, failing to wait for the hot to have effect.
"It's cold! There's shampoo in my eyes, Tsuna!" Hibari cried.
Tsuna wasn't sure how he was going to handle someone who was an even bigger mess than him.
He giggled upon seeing how Hibari looked after changing into his clothes. They were way too small. It was very comical. This big man was wearing his little pyjamas.
"Wait there, I'll go grab some of my dad's clothes."
Despite expressly telling him to wait Hibari followed Tsuna to his dad's room. He didn't mind, it wasn't annoying. It was more funny than anything. He really had picked up a lost dog.
Though his dad's clothes were a tad big on Hibari they suited him much better. You couldn't go wrong with track pants and a plain white shirt.
When they arrived back at his room Tsuna noticed that Hibari's hair wasn't dry at all. Droplets of water just kept dripping down onto the towel around his neck and onto his father's shirt.
"Come here, let me dry your hair."
Tsuna was such a sucker. He didn't know why he was pampering this guy so much, he'd only met him today. But he felt that Hibari needed it. He'd been stuck in that haunted house, trapped and likely afraid. It only seemed right to balance out those hardships with kindness.
Tsuna stationed himself on the bed with Hibari between his knees before he took the towel around the ebony haired man's neck and lightly ruffled his hair. "So, how old are you Hibari?"
"Seventeen."
Wow, Tsuna wouldn't have guessed it. He thought that Hibari was older, like almost in his 20's. This would mean Hibari was still in school. That could be a lead to pursue, to find out where Hibari really came from. Find his school, find his home.
"You kinda look older than that."
"Do I? Hm. Well, How old are you Tsuna?"
"I'm fifteen."
Hibari sat back, letting Tsuna dry his hair. He seemed to be pondering something by the looks of it but couldn't quite grasp what it was. Things must be hard for someone who has forgotten almost everything. Your personality, your life, your everything is built on memories. Not having those must be a heavy burden to bear.
"Tsu-kun, I'm home! Mama decided to buy some takeaway!"
"Ah, Hibari, I have got introduce you to my mum. I hope this goes well, without her permission you can't really stay here…look, I'm sure it will go well, don't worry. I'll be there in a minute!"
Hibari just tilted his head up, staring at Tsuna with those puppy dog eyes. He didn't want to be thrown out onto the streets like some unwanted mongrel.
Prior to discarding the now sopping wet towel Tsuna sped downstairs with Hibari hot on his heels. They quickly came to a halt outside the kitchen where his mother was unpacking little boxes sushi.
"Ara, Tsuna. Who's this? You didn't tell me we were going to have a guest. I don't know if we have enough food here. I mean, I can always whip something up if you'd like," Nana said, smiling.
"Mama," she knew this was serious, Tsuna only ever called her by that when it was, "this is Hibari. I found him today in the old abandoned house on Aki lane. He doesn't remember much and I was wondering if we could help him. I'm going to take him to the police tomorrow but can he stay here until we find his home?"
Nana felt like crying. Her boy was so sweet. She had really raised the best kind of child there can be, a caring one.
"Oh, of course he can, Tsuna! I'm going to need a lot more food, you must be starving, Hibari. Run along, I'll call you down when everything is ready."
That was the first time Tsuna saw Hibari smile.
Dinner went off without a hitch. Nana doted on Hibari and he absorbed it like a deflated sponge. The tender love and care of the Sawada household was already doing wonders. Hibari looked less pale and gaunt and there was a light in his eyes, not just a helplessness that screamed 'save me'. A new environment made things infinitely better for Hibari.
"You'll be sleeping in the spare room," Tsuna explained after the meal was over.
"No!" Hibari protested.
"Why not?"
He looked almost bashful for a moment but it was hard to tell because his expressions didn't vary much.
"I don't want to sleep alone," he mumbled.
Tsuna understood. Hibari had been on his own all those nights in that empty house. He was starved of human company, craving every second he could get with another human being. To deny him the right to share a room with Tsuna felt wrong. Hibari deserved this much.
"Alright, we'll move the mattress in now," Tsuna conceded.
Upon hearing this Hibari was placated. He just wanted to be close to Tsuna. He didn't want to be on his own in this house. His dreams had been interrupted enough recently and Hibari didn't need a crippling loneliness to keep him up tonight. Resting well by having someone by his side was a top priority.
When bedtime came they each settled into their respective beds. Moving the mattress in was akin to moving in a new puppy's bed. Hibari really was kind of like a big, human-like animal. A big, human-like animal that Tsuna was going to have to turn in to the proper authorities tomorrow. At least he had permission to take time off school for this task.
Did someone say totally OOC Hibari? Because that's what I'm aiming for. To some degree Tsuna is a going to be a bit OOC in this fic as well but it's nothing in comparison to Hibari. If you can't endure an OOC Hibari I would suggest leaving because it's only going to get worse from here on out.