Chapter 2

Tsuna couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed all night, not even shutting an eye for a second. Would Hibari be safe? What if it happened now? Would he hear the gunshot from this distance? He wasn't that far from what he could tell. So...possibly?

He really hated his ability (he wouldn't call it a gift). No dates, no time. Not even the freakin' weather.

He could only hope, but it only lasted while it could. Sighing, he waited for a gunshot. It never came.

He wasn't satisfied.

An alarm rang through the empty hallways before it was silenced. Tsuna continued to make his bento, ignoring everything around him. He was too skinny for his taste.

There was a light yawn behind him as someone walked into the kitchen.

Tsuna placed his bento in his knapsack harder than usual and avoided eye-contact with his mother. He disregarded the mocking hurt in her eyes.

"Wait a minute," Nana said, her voice more firm. "How do you explain this?"

She waved a piece of paper in his face, a big red 27 entering his vision. "What is this? Explain."

How else would he explain it? He hated math. He couldn't understand equations and formulas for his life. And thus he failed because he really couldn't give a shit.

So he just shrugged. "I don't know."

"It's your math test," Nana said, a bit exasperated. "Tsuna, if you keep going on like this, this will just prove how useless you really are. Do you want that?"

Tsuna slightly flinched and tightened his grip around his satchel.

"I'm leaving," he whispered.

"Ohayo, Okaa-san," a crisp voice said. Tomoko entered the kitchen, looking pristine as usual., tying her long blonde hair into a tight bun on top of her head.

Nana instantly smiled, her face glowing at the sight of her precious daughter. "Ohayo, Tomo-chan! What would you like to eat for breakfast?"

Tsuna felt like tearing apart the random sparkles and rainbows that seemingly came out of nowhere around Nana's head. He focused on his shoelaces.

"I need to leave early," Tomoko said, pouring a glass of milk. "Student Council meeting. I'll be home at 6 today."

Nana's smile faltered a bit. "Ah, I see. Here, take some money and buy something delicious for your friends for lunch! Mama's treat."

Tomoko eyed the cash given to her warily before taking it. "Arigato, Okaa-san."

"Ah, did you see this, Tomo-chan?" Nana gave her Tsuna's test. "Your useless brother isn't doing well. Could you help him?"

Tomoko scanned over the paper. "Terrible," she muttered under her breath.

Tsuna was wondering how long it would take for him to tie his shoes. As soon as he finished the second knot, he left, running through the streets. He still had about an hour left before school started. He couldn't help the growing hate in his chest against his...family.

He shook his head. Happy thoughts, think happy thoughts. Unicorns, bunnies, butterflies...

Nope. Not working. Just extremely disturbing images popped into his head until he saw a dead Hibari. Should he check on him? No, it would be too suspicious and he would find out that it was him right away. He couldn't help but worry.

Suddenly, his unusually heightened senses went haywire and he was instantly on guard. There were four of them. He saw a couple of students walking their way to school, all of them part of the Student Council.

Tsuna quickly took a detour. He wanted to go to the park and have some time to himself and sketch happy, sane things. That would have to wait...

Seriously, they needed better stealth training regime. He could hear them from a mile away, their dress shoes clicking against the ground.

"Oi!"

Tsuna spun around, instantly kicking the man's head on instinct. The man fell, his head slamming against the concrete floor.

"You little shit!" another man shouted, raising his gun.

Tsuna evaded all of the bullets easily, adrenaline pulsing in his veins. He was a totally different person when it came to combat - and he loved every damn second of it. The feeling of dominating his opponents, the thrill.

Keep moving, a voice said in his head. Move!

"What the - "

Tsuna punched the man in the jaw with all the strength he could muster. He should've at least ate a protein bar. But he digressed.

A bullet grazed his cheek from behind and stomped on the fallen man's neck viciously, crushing his windpipe.

No mercy, the voice whispered in his head. Show no mercy.

Tsuna turned around, flipping over the bullets with grace he never knew he had. He disarmed the gun and aimed it at the wielder. It was a woman.

No mercy! the voice hissed.

"You monst - "

Tsuna pulled the trigger. Blood splattered everywhere, some droplets trickling down his cheek. He was losing himself, he knew he was. However, he couldn't help it. He needed to live. And he consented.

An almost psychotic grin stretched on his lips. "Now, where's your friend?"

Behind you, the voice said, almost pleased.

Tsuna spun around. "Found you." He pulled the trigger.

It took quite a while to wash off all of the blood, his OCD kicking in. It seemed he went slightly overboard. He dragged all four of the bodies and placed them in a nearby woods that belonged to Namimori Park and bowed his head in mourning. He didn't know what was wrong with him, apologizing silently to the ones who tried to kill him ever since he was five. He just couldn't break the habit and feeling bad. They were human after all...

Did that mean he was also like them? Human? He couldn't help but feel conflicted over the matter. He smiled humorlessly.

We're all on the same boat, he thought dryly. We're all monsters.

School was the same as usual. Bullying, more bullying, and...more bullying.

You're pathetic, a voice said in Tsuna's head.

Hello again, Tsuna thought cheerfully with a bit of hope. You know, this is the longest you ever stayed with me.

There was a brief silence. Tsuna was afraid that he might've lost the mysterious person. He knew it wasn't the man from yesterday. The voice was colder, younger, and quite familiar.

Duck.

Tsuna instinctively fell to the ground, the gun in his bag feeling heavy. Of course, he made it seem like he tripped on air.

Laughter echoed in the crowded hallways as he felt all eyes on his back.

"Dame-Tsuna, you're pathetic!"

"Tripping on air. How cliché."

He heard someone come up to him and tensed when someone grabbed his collar.

Fight back, the voice hissed menacingly. Show them who you really are.

Tsuna shook his head as he was met eye-to-eye with Hiro. The taller boy gave a mock pout.

"Ah, Tsuna, all I wanted was to give you a present," Hiro said, his disgusting breath seeping in Tsuna's nose. "Why didn't you take it?"

Tsuna looked back to see a broken nail on the floor. His eyes widened. That was just low, too low for them.

"Hey, look at me, Dame-Tsuna!"

"Herbivores, I'll bite you to death. No crowding allowed."

Everyone let out a silent scream as they scurried off, dispersing like parting waves. Tsuna fell to the ground and widened his eyes to see the contents of his knapsack spilled on the floor.

No! He thought.

He took his books and shoved them all in his bag, letting out a sigh of relief to see that the gun he had was still inside.

A rustling of paper caught his attention.

Idiot, the voice said in his head.

Tsuna looked up and gaped in horror to see the prefect looking through his sketchbook. Without thinking, he tried to snatch it away but Hibari held it up high with a small smirk.

"Herbivore, did you draw this?" The prefect shoved the sketch Tsuna drew in his face. He knew.

Move!

Tsuna swiftly swept the prefect's long legs and watched as the taller male instinctively leap backwards. Hibari blinked. He did not expect that.

Tsuna leaped for his sketchbook. It grazed the tip of his finger before he landed on the ground in a crouch.

"Herbivore, fight me."

I don't have time for this, damn it, Tsuna thought angrily.

Duck.

Tsuna complied as he felt one of Hibari's tonfas graze through his hair.

Dodge.

Another tonfa came at him and bent backwards, wincing slightly. He needed to work out a bit more.

Disarm.

His arms reached out quickly to remove one of the tonfas from Hibari. He used it to slam it into the prefect's stomach and lunged forward to retrieve his sketchbook.

Seems like you have a bit of guts left, the voice said in amusement.

Who are you? Tsuna thought as he tossed the tonfa at Hibari with a small bow of apology.

I am you.

Hibari couldn't stop thinking about the weak-looking herbivore. How could someone so small dominate him in a fight? Of course, the brunette was slightly awkward with some of his movements but it was because of his bag in the way.

He knew that the herbivore was the artist. Kusakabe found a match with the handwriting. It was still a bit surprising but he digressed. The herbivore was more than he let on. The sketchbook proved it. He could only see a page before the herbivore took it.

It was a drawing of old lady Akane, the previous owner of a small grocery store years back. She was murdered by a local yakuza family and the sketch vividly depicted it. He had made sure that he had bitten them to death. Their family was nonexistent now, all dead.

The prefect smirked as he gazed up at the blue sky. There were a few clouds rolling by lazily. He didn't pay any mind to it.

He closed his eyes. He wanted to fight that herbivore in a real match. The thrill he felt was just nothing he ever experienced.

There was something about that herbivore. He just didn't know what.

As he started to drift off into dreamland, a voice said, "Hibari-san, it's Sawada Tomoko. Could we talk?"

So much for the nap.

Should he go back? He almost felt guilty for attacking Hibari like that, almost. But he had the nerve to look through his sketchbook.

As Tsuna flicked the blood from his knife, he inspected the fallen men and women. There were eight of them from what he sensed before.

He counted eight and started to leave until his senses screamed danger.

Run, the voice said.

Tsuna ran. His heart raced against his chest and his legs pumped faster despite the sores. He knew where he was going.

Namimori Middle. The roof.

Dodge! the voice screamed.

Tsuna jumped back to avoid a bullet and hid behind a tree. He controlled his breathing, waiting until the shooter had the notion that he wasn't there.

Throw the knife.

Tsuna took the knife in his hand and threw it in a bush. No sound was made except for a small rustle of the branches. He eyed it warily before heading off to the roof, carefully avoiding the shooter's eyes.

Hibari-san, he thought. I'm sorry.

The voice just laughed darkly in his head.

"P-please, Hibari-san," the female herbivore said, hiding behind Tomoko's back while clutching her bag to her chest. "We really need the extra space and your office is perfect for it. C-can we just...c-cut it in half?"

She squeaked when Hibari glared at her. "No, you idiot herbivore. The Discipline Committee has first priority. I'll bite you to death."

Tomoko sighed. "Kasumi, stop shaking. Anyway, Hibari-san, please reconsider our offer. I understand your - how should I say it? - intimate relationship with your office, but we need the space. The classroom we're in is not enough for all of us."

"Herbivore," Hibari said, warningly.

Tomoko didn't flinch, her gaze calm. "Either that or build us a new room."

Suddenly, Hibari spun around, deflecting a bullet coming after him. Kasumi screamed while Tomoko widened her eyes.

"Leave," he said quietly with a glare.

There was another bullet that came after him. He deflected it again. His eyes instantly pinpointed the shooter and he threw his tonfa accurately at the person's head, satisfied at the pained scream and the crack of glass. He frowned. More damage = more paperwork. Less peace = more paperwork.

He'll have to bite them all to death.

There was another scream. Why didn't they leave? Stupid herbivores.

"Tomoko," Kasumi cried, carrying the weight of her injured friend, "are you okay?"

Hibari resisted the urge to roll his eyes and threw his other tonfa at the second shooter. Another scream.

He checked Tomoko's condition. She was shot in the arm, nothing vital.

But...something was off.

A bullet grazed his cheek when he stepped to the side. He was such an idiot. Not that he would admit it.

"Herbivore, leave," Hibari said, his glare even more terrifying.

The doors to the roof opened. "H-Hibari-san?"

Thank every single god out there that there were no students left. Tsuna ran up the stairs, hoping that he wouldn't be too late.

He heard a gunshot and a scream. He pushed his legs faster, taking in huge gulps of air as he raced up the steps.

Please don't let me be late, he thought.

Another gunshot. More screaming.

Shit, shit, shit.

"Tomoko, are you okay?"

Tsuna barged through the doors. "H-Hibari-san."

The right.

Tsuna leaped towards Hibari and everything went black.

A/N Thank you for all of the favorites and reviews! I was crying tears of joy yesterday. I didn't know that this story would be so well-received!

Anyway, sorry for the terrible fight scenes. I tried (and most likely failed). I'm also sorry if this chapter was rushed but it was a bit hard for me to write. The next one will be much...flowy? Haha.

And, yeah, I noticed that Nana is different and all, but it's for the sake of the story. I won't say on what will happen to her. She's a bit too...carefree in the anime for my taste...0_0

Tsuna might be confusing but I tried to portray his mental instability as accurately as possible. I might've failed. I'm having him suffer from something similar to bipolar disorder. I hope no one will take this to any offense.

Also, Hibari did not die before. There was a bit of confusion about the last chapter so I just want to clear that out. In the story, he had a near-death experience before when he was younger and it will be revealed in due time. ^^

Thank you for reading! Please review~

Ciao!