A/N. So here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Target 6: Round Two
Natsuyo had decided long ago, back when he had first been forced to live in Italy by his no-good father, that he was no saint and never would be. His hands would be too red, dyed such a hideous color by the thousands upon thousands of people he would eventually kill because that's what his future had entailed in order to keep those he loved safe from the enemies he would make throughout his young life. It may not have been at that exact point in time, but he was no fool too naïve to think that it would stay that way for long. Eventually people, dark, evil people who cared nothing for the lives of the innocent and would gladly throw them away for something as silly as looking at the ground wrong, would begin target him. They'd want to take his life, erase his very existence from off the planet, and when they decided that he was no longer a valuable target, but the people around him much better ones.
Well Reborn had certainly made it clear on the very first day who would suffer the worst.
It created a fear in him that had led to a slight change in his personality. He'd become possessive, to a degree that he found almost frightening whenever he allowed himself to linger long enough to think about it. And maybe it had always been there, buried deep within his heart, a niggling feeling that became violent whenever provoked and constantly pushed him to do things he'd never have even considered under normal circumstances.
But he'd kissed normal goodbye a long time ago, now used to having a gun trained on the space between his eyes at least once a week. And if Reborn wasn't there to take care of it, because that man was just as possessive as he was and no one was allowed to point a weapon at his student so long as he had a say in it and it didn't circumvent his teaching methods, then he would bloody his hands easily and without thought so long as it kept that muzzle from being directed at either his friends or his family.
So it went without say between the two, student and violent teacher, that what was theirs was theirs, and nobody was allowed to have it. And it distressed the both of them greatly when they had finally made the move to Namimori, only to find Natsuyo's childhood friends emotionally scarred and the twin sister a reclusive teenager who refused to socialize with even the most kindred of souls so long as they were sharing the same breathing space. Reborn handled everything as he usually did, with guns blazing and a deceptively cool head as he tried reasoning first, and slowly worked his way to more violent methods of persuasion. Natsuyo was not so violent though, and while he would raise his hand against an opponent if it meant protecting those he considered precious, he could never intentionally do his family any harm.
By some miracle that would probably only ever happen just that once, he'd managed to persuade Reborn to hold off on chatting with Tsumiko until after he'd talked to her himself. Because he firmly believed that the little girl that used to cling to him and smile so brightly was still in there somewhere, buried under all the grief and heartache, and the fear that kept his sister caged in that room of hers. And it was that belief that led him to knocking on his sister's door when he'd come home from school, without the others for once and with Reborn nowhere in sight.
"Tsumiko?" He asked as he opened the door, knocking twice before glancing in to find his sister sprawled across the bed and tangled into her sheets as if she were sleeping. He knew better though, as according to their mother, ever since the accident, his twin had gotten very little, if not sleep at all. And the amount was steadily decreasing to where she was just teetering on the fine line between someone with slight issues getting some rest and an insomniac. "Tsumiko, I know you're awake. Please, I just want to talk."
There was no reaction, besides the slight rustling of the sheets, and Natsuyo decided to take the time to observe his surroundings a little better while in the room.
It was a little difficult to see, with the lights out and it getting somewhat dark outside, but he could tell that his sister had moved some of the furniture around at some point. The computer desk, which had been right next to the bed, was now up against the wall right under the window and an upset chair that had lain forgotten on the floor for however many years it had been there, while still upset, had been pushed into one of the farther corners of the room and away from the center. There was a cardboard box filled with various junk, obviously more stuff his sister probably had plans to make disappear in that seemingly bottomless closet of hers, and it was a little cleaner now than it had been when he'd first arrived.
"Are you done?" The question came out sharp, a vicious bite to it that, if it had been an animal, he was sure would've ripped out his throat for simply looking in a random direction.
"So you're finally up to talking with me now, huh?" He shot back, turning to face the moody teenager who had simply turned over to face him. Once bright brown eyes, a near mirror image of his, if a little more softer, were now dull and weary. Staring at him with an empty gaze that was shockingly disconcerting to see. It was just another reminder really, of just how much he had failed to protect what was his, and that ugly little possessive side was starting to bother him again, telling him that his sister was his sister, and he had every right to be there when she was just sinking further into the depths of a pit that seemed to have no bottom.
"…" He was met with silence.
"I just came to talk Tsumiko…"
"You mean like that damned tutor of yours did a few weeks before? Because that certainly got old fast," Tsumiko bit out, lashing at her twin verbally with all the intent to cause as much damage as was needed to get the other, slightly older boy, to leave.
"Well, Reborn was never one for sugar-coating his words…"
"I can tell," She ground out once again, obviously feeling a little short today.
"Tsumi…"
"Don't 'Tsumi-chan' me! I don't feel like talking to you, so get out!"
"You do realize that we're talking right now, correct?" he questioned, knowing full well that was probably not the best line he could have used. But he was tired of having to walk on eggshells when it came to his sister and what was and was not permissible by her standards. He'd given her several weeks to cool her head and maybe become a little more reasonable, but right now all she was doing was hissing like a snake and threatening to bite his head off. The last thing he wanted was for them to come to blows, they never had before, but she was pushing so many of his buttons by being so petulant about everything.
He was shocked somewhat, expecting her to bite him for the response, only to watch in stunned silence as his twin paused for a split second. Taking a deep breath, she gave him one of the most calculating gazes he had ever been forced to bare, her head tilting slightly to the side as she continued to survey him in stark silence before finally breathing in and out again. Her once tense figure seemed to relax, and she finally sat up. In response to the visible change in his sister's demeanor, he released a tentative sigh, his own body relaxing without him having realized he had gotten so wound up and tense in the first place.
She was willing to listen to him, just this once.
"So what is it you came in here for? Kami I hope it isn't to preach to me anymore…"
"Well then, I guess you're going to be very displeased with me. That's exactly what I came here for," And she groaned, head lolling back as her gaze turned towards the ceiling. She grumbled a little, of what might've been her counting aloud to herself, but he couldn't be sure, and then she focused that same gaze on him again. 'When in the world did Tsumiko begin to look at people like that?' "Tsumiko, don't groan at me! I just want to…"
"What do you want to do? To fix me?" She questioned, her tone harsh once again as she actually jumped out of the bed. "Well news flash to you Natsu-kun: I. DON'T. NEED. FIXING!" She yelled, her words slow and drawn out like she was explaining how one plus one equaled two to a very slow grown man. "There isn't a problem!"
"Tsumiko, don't yell at me." He tried, tentatively raising his hands in hopes of calming his sister's apparent anger. Every single time he saw her, she wanted to lash out. At something, at nothing. Maybe this was her way of venting. But gods if he wasn't tired of taking the brunt of it.
"Don't yell at you? I can yell at you all I WANT! GET OVER IT!" She was becoming antagonistic, and she had no right to… For better or worse, Reborn would help him sort that out later amidst a barrage of bullets and hand grenades while he squealed like some ninny, he snapped.
"TSUMIKO!" He finally lashed back, causing his sister to visibly recoil as his eyes unknowingly flashed a bright orange, flames sparking across his body as he tried to count down. '1, 2, 3, 4… Careful Natsuyo, reign it in. You don't want to hurt her, she's your sister.' And they'd been living at odds since he'd gotten back from the veritable prison that had been his home in Italy. Was everything going to come to ahead today? "I said, don't yell at me…" He finished slowly, trying to cool his boiling frustration before it blew up and someone got hurt.
They were both panting heavily, staring- no, glaring at each other. And he'd never seen such pain and hatred in his sister's eyes before. He almost began to doubt the beliefs that had lead him to this moment. Maybe the little sister he once knew really wasn't in there any longer, dead along with… He couldn't allow his thoughts to take that turn. It'd lead him off a cliff into the same bottomless well his sister had fallen into, and then he'd break. Natsuyo couldn't allow himself to break. He couldn't, not like his sister, 'Like…'
"I understand that it hurts Tsumi… I know you've been through a lot. Been in a lot of pain but…" He wasn't the one to snap this time.
"Understand? Understand?!" She exclaimed in disbelief, eyes wide and flashing with barely controlled anger, 'Was that…?' "You think you understand Natsuyo! You understand NOTHING!" And she was yelling at him once again. Lashing at him in a way he wasn't used to getting from anyone except that volatile cousin of his. The only difference though, was that his sister wasn't trying to incinerate him like their cousin was, amidst his drunken fits when he wasn't as unpleasant and they could both sit safely in the same room without… he was getting off topic.
"Tsumiko…"
"DON'T 'TSUMIKO' ME NATSUYO! YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS JUST SUPPOSED TO FALL NEATLY INTO PLACE! BUT IT DOESN'T OKAY?! THE WORLD DOESN'T WORK THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO! BAD THINGS HAPPEN AND THEY DON'T FIX THEMSELVES AND THEY DON'T NEED YOU TRYING TO FIX THINGS EITHER!"
"But Tsumiko, Kyo-"
"DON'T YOU DARE!" She cut him off once again, yelling herself hoarse as her face turned a shockingly bright red color. She was panting now, exhausted, and wasn't Natsuyo glad that no one was home save for the two of them. He didn't have to worry about anyone coming upstairs to check on all the yelling that was going on right now. "Don't you dare bring her into this. You weren't there… How could… How could you…" And for the first time in a long time, he saw Tsumiko cry.
"Tsumiko…" He tried to approach, tried to consul his sister, but she wouldn't have it.
"NO!" She yelled once again, her voice cracking half way through as she wiped furiously at the tears.
"But…"
"JUST GET OUT ALREADY!" She bit out once again, glaring at the brother who was really no good and could not fix what he probably felt were his own mistakes. "Just… Just leave…" And for once, without someone needing to pull him away, Natsuyo left. His expression cold and distant as he turned his back and left the sister he wasn't so sure he could save any longer, crying in a big empty room with only a computer and complete strangers worlds apart from her for company.
"Hey guys, nothing profound today! I was actually just curious about something. Are all of you okay?"
A/N. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading! Remember to leave a review and see ya!
