Their father left and their mother became increasingly despondent, so Tsuna's birthday was largely celebrated just between the siblings.
January came and they chose their dance disciplines: Formal Dance, (which taught you the dances for formal dinner parties and such), Folk Dance, and Modern Dance.
Formal Dance wasn't overly rigorous and only held twice a week, but you were required to take a corresponding Etiquette Course alongside it, which took up plenty of time in its own right. Folk dance took up their entire Saturday afternoon on top of the thrice-weekly classes, and Modern dance was pretty much rebellious ballet with freedom of expression thrown in, so they had it thrice-weekly, and Sunday afternoon.
(Folk Dance introduced them to a wide variety of folk styles, and they could narrow down their choices further next quarter. She would allow Tsuna a little time to think that she wasn't interested in learning how to dance with fans and in traditional kimono, he deserved that much.)
So, the siblings didn't have a whole lot of 'free' time, but they were enjoying themselves immensely.
(Terasu was selfishly glad that they were out of the house a lot, because it forced Mama would go visit friends. She loved Mama, but Sawada Nana was content in her life and had no desire to change, despite the siblings' willingness to help her. Mama's pain made Tsuna sad, which made Terasu angry because Mama could make changes, but Nana loved Iemitsu and was afraid to lose him, so she chose not to.
Tsuna didn't have the benefit of Harry's experiences or a ghostly-Hermione's fireside chats, so if he spent too much time around Mama, he'd start to feel like he wasn't good enough because he wasn't Iemitsu. Terasu hated that Mama loved them and hurt them in the same breaths, but acknowledged to herself that at least Mama was faithful once she put her mind to something.
Still, it made Terasu angry, and the girl tried to keep herself and Tsuna busy.)
Being shoved into an alleyway by jerks was not how Terasu had predicted her and Tsuna's walk home from dance would go, but Terasu had come to the conclusion that people were stupid.
Of course, she'd originally come to that conclusion when she'd still been Harry. The fact had been especially poignant for her, (him), when she'd been standing in Professor McGonagall's office after defeating a Basilisk with a lost heirloom, and the Headmaster had been more concerned with the story of how as opposed to making sure she wasn't still dying.
Still, when those morons had tried to grab her Tsu-nii and shove something over his mouth, her temper had snapped.
(She hadn't known that there had been another kid there until it was all over.)
Terasu had fought a war as Harry Potter, so even with her being limited by her new body, she still had managed to deal out a great deal of damage to the attackers before they'd fully realized that she wasn't playing the 'meek, scared little girl' anymore.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do after the element of surprise was lost, even with her past knowledge and her little inside voice whispering words of wisdom inside her mind. Not that this was entirely a bad thing, because as soon as one of them grabbed her and made her cry out in pain Tsu-nii had come unglued in the best way possible.
So, it was Terasu and Tsuna against the world. Back-to-back with their blood roaring in their ears, as they stumbled and skidded but never faltered as the five fully grown, armed adults bore down on them.
Terasu grunted in muted pain as a line of agony flared to life across her back. Not two seconds later, Tsuna shoved her down and screamed breathlessly as a shot rang out and blood trickled down onto her.
Tsu-nii…..
Terasu and Tsuna hadn't been fully using their magic fire, as it tired them out quite quickly, but Terasu couldn't do anything to mitigate the burning inferno that roared to life at the thought of Tsu-nii being hurt.
In Their Realm, Death sensed the disturbance from their little Debt and smiled.
Death and Life were intrinsically, irrevocably connected. Without Death there was no Life and without Life there was no Death. Eternally locked in a dance of hope and despair, the two Forces of Nature existed in and on every world, at every time, and within every space.
There were some creatures, however, who were allowed to interfere.
Such as Phoenixes.
Phoenixes, who were allowed to be born and die without losing their self, and heal not only the physical plane's ailments but also what cannot be touched by mortal hands. Phoenix Song can uplift a soul or shatter it. Phoenix Tears can heal or they can poison. The glorious birds are only known as a single species because there is no such thing as a 'good Phoenix' or a 'bad Phoenix'- just a Phoenix using their power as they saw fit.
Harry Potter had been healed by a Phoenix, and those Tears were the true reason why he had been able to keep the soul shard of the one born as Tom Riddle at bay. Since Fawkes could not destroy the shard without destroying the boy, the Firebird had poured enough Healing Tears into the boy to help the boy's own willpower hold it in that little corner of his own bright, untainted soul.
When Death called in Their Debt, the Tears were still within Harry's soul, and without needing to constantly support the boy's failing human body, the undiluted, undistracted power of the Tears folded into the purified soul of the child that Fawkes had chosen to save.
Harry had always had a 'saving people thing', and in this Life, Terasu wouldn't be dependent on someone else to save her loved ones. If Death had stacked the deck in her favor? She had earned it, and she'd have to figure it all out on her own, anyways.
Death and Life were intrinsically, irrevocably connected, after all. If Death wanted Their little one to spread Life, who would dare call Them on such a thing?
Besides, people didn't run from Death when they had things they were willing to die for, and they also didn't run from Life when they had things that they were willing to live for- which meant that everybody would win.
Lives well lived always made the best Deaths, after all.
Terasu's magic was a deeper color this time, more of a golden hue.
She gently rolled Tsu-nii off of her and time seemed to slow to almost nothing.
1…
She moved and viciously tore a knife from one of their attackers and plunged it through their throat.
2…..
The next one had a gun, but Terasu brought her foot down, (as she simply knew to do), and shattered the arm holding it without pause, turning gracefully and smashing her foot into the attacker's face.
3…..4….
The next two were just a blur of blood and blows.
5…..
The fifth one was able to move, and seemed to have the same type of aura that she did.
A magic user then.
Terasu had no trouble evading the bullets at first, and she followed the whispered intrusions to keep Tsuna out of his line of sight, and herd the target away from the group towards the mouth of the alleyway.
But there had been a reason that she and Tsuna had been fighting without their magic, and soon her magic began to flicker erratically as it always did when she was nearing her limit.
Not yet, she thought desperately, knowing that it was her magic that was keeping Tsu-nii from bleeding out, please just a little longer!
Time, however, was not kind, and things began to speed up as her vision began to blur.
The man, (target), had run out of bullets and pulled out a knife, and Terasu knew that she was going to die.
Already happened once, she thought as a savage grin wove its way onto her mouth, but I'll take this bastard with me. "I'm going to see Padfoot." She told the man in perfect English as blood oozed out of her mouth, "But I'll make sure I take you with me."
Terasu called up every ounce of her willpower and threw herself forward with the fiercest warcry she could muster.
She managed to evade the first strike as she entered the man's personal space, but took a sharp blow to the ribs when she'd twisted too slowly. Terasu pushed forward, weaving almost drunkenly as she flared her Will higher.
Then she stumbled and the man's knife was coming down in an almost elegant arc and she couldn't-
Sorry, Tsu. I hope you make it. She thought sadly as the deadly metal closed in on her.
Gesso Byakuran had been having a normal day before he'd been tackled by the strange red-head with green eyes and glasses.
"Please, they're going to kill them! Please, you have to help!" The boy pleaded with the ten-year old.
Well, normal was another word for boring, and he had a while before his family's retainers finally caught him, so Byakuran supposed that he could help the crybaby. "Who?"
The boy looked relieved, "No one else would believe me!" He babbled as he grabbed Byakuran's hand and started dragging him in the opposite direction, "They just looked at me weird and dismissed me! I don't understand!"
Byakuran's purple eyes narrowed as he followed the other boy, his mother's lessons allowing him to pick up the traces of Mist Flames. Someone covered this entire area with Mist Flames, that must have been why none of them listened to Red. Byakuran's eyes narrowed even further as he considered the implications. The boy wasn't leading him into a trap, that much he was sure of- Red was genuinely terrified for whoever it was that had been left behind.
Just then there was a wild surge of Flames and Byakuran's breath caught.
Oh, this was interesting.
"That's coming from the alley where I had to leave them!" Red cried in panicked dismay.
Byakuran started running.
When he burst around the corner, the Gesso Heir saw four downed adults, a child-sized body encased in most beautiful, interesting Sun Flames he'd ever seen, and a man bring down a knife on a dark haired child who had to be responsible for the downed adults as they were covered in blood.
That also made them the most likely source of the beautiful, interesting Flames- which meant that Byakuran wasn't going allow them to die.
Byakuran smoothly slipped open the butterfly knife his mother had given him and planted into the back of the man's neck, making sure to twist him in such a way that he missed the child.
When he turned back around Red was already kneeling in front of the child, "Are you alright?" Red asked worriedly.
The child blinked slowly, "You're not Padfoot." they stated rather matter-of-factly in English.
Byakuran noted that the child was female and had the most brilliant green eyes he'd ever seen.
Red looked bewildered, "N-N-o I'm Irie Shōichi. Those men tried to grab the three of us at the same time, and I managed to get away." Red took on a pained expression, "I'm useless in a fight, so I went to get help- but-"
Suddenly life seemed to come back to the girl as she jerked forward, (ignoring Red's protests), and stumbled towards the other child, "Tsu-nii!" the girl cried out in Japanese, "Tsu!" She reached through the beautiful Flames and began to pat at the other child worriedly, "Tsuna-nii, wake up!" She demanded tearfully.
"Te-era-ch-aa-an." The other child rasped out, slowly blinking warm brown eyes open. "Tera-chan."
The girl actually burst out into tears, "Tsu-nii! You're alright!"
"I'm fine, Tera-chan! Whatever you did took care of everything! I promise! Please don't cry!" The other babbled out rapidly, looking to Red for help as the blood-stained girl buried her face in his chest and cried.
"I got caught with you guys, but I'm useless in a fight, so I went to get help." Red repeated to the brown-haired boy. "No one would believe me though, until him." Red pointed at Byakuran. "He saved her, if he hadn't come with me…." Red trailed off uncomfortably as he started crying as well.
"Hi!" Byakuran said cheerfully, "I'm Gesso Byakuran! We should probably get out of here before the Mist Flames fade completely."
Tsuna remembered throwing himself over Terasu and the pain as the bullet ripped through him. After that it was kind of blurry for a bit, but then warmth- like his sister's smile after a bad day at school or waking up to find her cuddled up next to him- had engulfed him and all the pain had disappeared.
When he'd come to, Terasu had been covered in blood and there had been bodies and strangers in the alleyway, but all that had mattered was that his baby sister was bleeding and crying.
Tsuna listened to the red-head and when the white-haired boy, who was a little older than them, suggested they leave, Tsuna's Intuition had agreed. "Alright. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, please call me Tsuna." He said with a calm he definitely wouldn't be feeling later, "How can we get out of here without getting caught. Tera-chan is injured."
Byakuran smiled, "This way!"
"You're coming, too, right Red?" Tsuna asked.
The red-head's eyes widened, "O-oh n-o." He said shakily.
Tsuna cut him off with a gentle, but firm, "You went and got help, if you hadn't Tera-chan would have-" His voice faltered and he tightened his grip on his sister, "You'll come with us." He said firmly.
He got a hesitant nod in return, and the white-haired Byakuran looked like Tanabata had decided to make an early appearance.
Tsuna stood and nodded sharply, "Lead the way, Gesso-san."
Byakuran led them to an apartment complex and, bypassing the front desk staff, punched in a set of numbers on the main computer. He'd also whipped out a cellphone and been talking in rapid-fire Italian, (Shōichi had muttered that it was Italian, but it was too fast for the red-headed boy to make it out), the entire walk.
Eventually, after an elevator ride and some more walking, Byakuran let them inside an apartment. "My mother's people will take care of the bodies." The boy said blithely, "For now, let's get her cleaned up and you all into some clean clothes."
Still riding the almost unnatural calm he was wrapped inside and noting that his Intuition wasn't flaring, Tsuna had merely nodded. "I should call our Mama and tell her that we're at a friend's house." He said by way of reply.
Byakuran had handed him a phone.
"I-I should call my Mom, too." Shōichi muttered.
Tsuna sat back with Byakuran and watched Shōichi and Terasu perform.
In the nearly six months since they had met Byakuran and Shōichi, after that terrifying experience in that dank alleyway, Tsuna could say that he honestly enjoyed the company of the other two boys, despite the circumstances that led to their associations.
Byakuran's family had found out that the people had actually been after Shōichi, and Tsuna and Terasu had just been caught up in the attack by bad luck. The Gesso Heir himself had been absolutely magnificent through the nightmares and trauma that had come about as a result of the fallout of the incident, his ability to sweet-talk convincing Mama and Shōichi's Mom that nothing was wrong and allowing the kids to keep everything a secret.
(Byakuran had also told them about their Flames and was teaching them how to use them, but he only had so much information, as both the Gesso Heir's parents were trying to keep him shielded from the Mafia. That didn't mean that they were suffering, however, as Terasu's ideas seemed to only fan the flame of Byakuran's interest higher, and they were currently trying to make their Flames form into animal shapes while being held in their hands.)
Soon, the new friends had found that Shōichi loved music almost as much as Terasu loved dance, and Byakuran and Shōichi had mysteriously ended up in all of Terasu and Tsuna's dance classes shortly thereafter. Byakuran, being a few years older, was more of an assistant and soon had grown bored of repetitive lessons- which was about the time that Terasu had suggested that they start performing.
Byakuran had naturally loved this idea, and so when the summer had fully come and school had ended, (along with Terasu's birthday, she was seven now!), the Gesso Heir had made sure they had all the proper permits to perform at the local park.
This was why Byakuran and Tsuna were sitting on the grass while Terasu danced and Shōichi played his instruments.
They had a little donation box, but mostly they were just play acting for each other as Byakuran and Tsuna would pick the dances or songs they wanted the two to perform and left the other two to things. Oh, Tsuna still had to dance his fair share, but he enjoyed watching Terasu and Shōichi too.
"We should have them do a whole play next break." Byakuran said thoughtfully as he munched on some Pocky, "That way they can practice throughout the term and we can enjoy a complete performance."
"Hm, we'd need more people."
Byakuran waved a negligent hand, "People are no issue. Hm, perhaps we should wait until next summer and have them do something bigger."
"Like what?"
"The King and I is one of my mother's favorite plays, which means she would be more than happy to assist with a reproduction of it, but perhaps Peter Pan would be best for break." The Gesso Heir mused aloud.
Tsuna felt something akin to exasperated fondness bubble up in his chest, "Not everything has to be done in an entirely over-the-top manner, 'Kuran-kun."
That earned him a raised eyebrow and a haughty look, "If something is worth doing it's worth doing well, Tsu-chan." Byakuran sniffed imperiously, brandishing a Pocky stick at the other grandly, "Besides, Siam had some stunning fashions during that time period- wouldn't you like to see you sister in some lovely costumes fit for a Queen?"
"Tera-chan is a Queen." Tsuna shot back loyally.
"Precisely." A pleased smile sprawled across Byakuran's lips, "So, next summer?"
Tsuna turned to look at Terasu and Shōichi, who were packing up their small stage and equipment, "Next summer." He agreed, giving Byakuran a shove to try and knock down the level of smugness the other boy begun to exude.
Like always, it was a rather pointless gesture.
One of the things that Terasu truly appreciated about Gesso Byakuran and Irie Shōichi, was that despite them being geniuses in their own right, they never made her or Tsuna feel stupid.
Sometimes they'd get lost in their own world of technobabble and math and science and strategy, but they never seemed to mind having to backtrack and explain things to Terasu or Tsuna. Actually, they both seemed to enjoy Tsuna and Terasu's viewpoints on matters and could care less for their class rankings.
It was probably why she had let Byakuran talk her into performing Peter Pan and telling her mother, who had told friends.
So now their little play had a decent-sized audience.
Terasu settled against Tsuna as he wrapped a warm arm around her, "You and me against the world, Tera-chan." He whispered into her hair.
"What am I? Old sushi?" Byakuran pouted as he popped up at her other side and draped an arm over her as well.
"Yeah, that's not very nice, Tsu-kun." Shōichi teased playfully as he came to a stop in front of them. "How could you forget about the guy who composes your theme music?"
Terasu laughed brightly and relaxed back against Byakuran and Tsuna, "Can't forget that guy." She agreed with a grin.
"Hmph." Byakuran huffed in amusement, "Sure, remember him, but I'm the one who makes sure that our story isn't boring."
Terasu laughed again, and she relaxed further. "I'm really glad you guys are our friends." She said sincerely as she made eye contact with Shōichi and then Byakuran, "You're the greatest."
Byakuran tensed for a moment and Shōichi looked like he might cry, but Tsuna added, "Yeah. Really, guys- you're the best, best friends ever."
The stage manager, (someone Byakuran had hired), called them to their places, so they quickly broke apart and rushed to make sure that they were ready.
The curtain went up, and the audience fell silent.
This was it.
Surprisingly, their little play had been rather popular, and Byakuran's mother had seen one of the recordings, so she had been more than happy to support them in their summer production of The King and I.
Terasu had planned on dropping one of her dance classes, (well their dance classes, as all four friends were still attending them together), only to find that their teacher had been sweet-talked into lending the class to the production.
(She tried to shove Byakuran hard enough to shake some of the smugness out of him, but it was a lot cause.)
Sawada Nana hummed happily to herself as she about preparing food for Tsu-kun and Tera-chan's little event.
Since they'd become friends with Bya-kun and Shō-kun the Sawada siblings had been incredibly busy. In deference for the two boys taking dance with them, Tsu-kun and Tera-chan had taken up music lessons for Shō-kun, while Bya-kun usually just thought up things like this for them to do.
Nana giggled slightly as she thought about all the hijinks that Bya-kun had gotten her children into over the past year. It was good for them to act their age sometimes.
The Sawada matriarch sighed as she thought about her latest conversation with Iemitsu. The man wanted her to tell the children that he had gone to become a star, and as romantic as Nana found him and his way of thinking, she didn't think that her children would agree.
No, she thought firmly as she rolled the dough, I'll just tell them that Tou-san has gone to a place that doesn't have much technology and he won't be coming home for a long time.
Terasu took a deep breath as she stood in front of the mirror in her dressing room.
Byakuran had rented a moving stage, (like the kind musicians used), and they had been practicing for months but Terasu was nervous.
The door opened, (they were using one of the park buildings as a staging area), and in walked her brother and two best friends. "Tera-chan! Are you ready?"
"I think I'm going to be sick." The almost-eight-year-old moaned, Shōichi echoed her sentiments.
Terasu found herself wrapped up in Byakuran's arms, "You will be magnificent, little Queen." He whispered, before releasing her and letting Tsuna take his place.
"Listen to your big brothers, Tera-chan." Tsuna murmured to her affectionately, "We know these things. Besides, 'Kuran-kun and I will be performing with you, and Shō-kun with be with the orchestra the entire time."
"That's right, we might have different roles to play, but we're all still in this together." Shōichi muttered, still looking a bit nauseous.
"Right." Terasu breathed out slowly, "Us against the world."
Byakuran smirked, Tsuna smiled, and Shōichi grinned, "Us against the world." They agreed.
The King and I was an incredible success, and they ended up holding shows longer than they had planned.
(Well, longer than Shōichi, Tsuna, and Terasu had planned; Byakuran had apparently predicted their crack success and had planned accordingly.)
However, with a name like that, it caught the interest of a certain bratty Prince who happened to be in town getting some world-famous, (literally), TakeSushi.
Prince the Ripper or Prince Belphegor sat in the audience, wondering if he would need to show these peasants a thing or two about lying to royalty when the show started and the main actors were brats.
(Belphegor blithely ignored the hypocrisy of his thoughts. Princes were without Peer, so age meant nothing.)
The Prince was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the play, especially considering that it was merely a summer project for some brats.
What intrigued the Prince the most, however, was the bearing of the little Queen who made the entire play seem magical.
Hmm, it was running for a few more weeks, and Lussuria would certainly enjoy the exquisite designs of the costumes.
Perhaps he should drag the Sun Guardian and Mammy with him when he came to pick up his sushi order?
Please leave a review on your way out!
