Sun sets in the evening
Tsuna could remember the summer that Hibari started acting mighty strangely. though no one else seemed to have noticed any change in the older prince. He was always strange to begin with, but his reactions to Tsuna had always been pretty consistent up until then. It had always been a matter of cause and effect: Tsuna interupped a nap, Hibari would bite him to death. Tsuna let Hibird nest in his hair, Hibari would smile. Tsuna felt almost comfortable around Hibari knowing what his actions will be if he did this, or how he would react to that, but that summer...for lack of a better word...he was evil!
Tsuna supposed that Hibari hadn't forgiven him for the boat-incident, even though he had apologized over and over again all summer. He started to feel horrible, since it seemed Tsuna had really damaged his pride. Tsuna should have just said no to his sister and Haru's crazy ideas, like his gut told him to! In the end, it was partly his fault. So eventually Tsuna stopped trying to talk to Hibari and left him alone, to try and give him time to get over it and talk to him first.
It was at that point when the strangeness started.
Instead of forcing himself to sit beside Hibari at breakfast in order to try and start conversation with him, Tsuna sat by his sister.
"Tsuna, you've barely eaten your food. Are you sick?"
"I-I'm fine, I'm just not hungry today!" Tsuna replied. In fact, it was the cold glare being sent his way from Hibari, that turned his stomach into nervous knots and made it hard for poor Tsuna to swallow.
Then there was the dreaded bath time they were forced to have together. It was never too bad since King Iemitsu was always there between them to lighten the mood, and Tsuna could pretend that Hibari wasn't there. Tsuna had kept to the tradition of jumping in first, so that Hibari couldn't spy on his lack of muscle and general lack of masculine physique. Tsuna was probably the scrawniest thirteen year old the royal lineage had ever seen, and Tsuna always kept only his head above the water during baths, going great lengths to hide himself from Hibari, though when he thought about it later, he did not really know why he felt so embarrassed. After all, Hibari had no qualms about stepping in and bathing himself quickly, and Tsuna would blush with envy at the muscled abs and smooth white skin. He hated being compared to that.
On one of the bath days, though, the king left first to handle other matters, and Hibari rose with him. Relieved that he could spend a little more time in the steamy bath, Tsuna stayed a little while longer. Then he got a bad feeling about something, and jumped out of the bath to get a towel.
Of course, there was no towel, and no clothes, and yes, his night gown was gone. Not so much as a bit of cloth in the whole bathroom.
So, Hibari was still very angry at him after all...poor Tsuna had to cry for help behind the bathroom door, not knowing that Hibari had given strict orders to the maids not to answer such a call when it came. After ten minutes of debating whether or not he should risk being seen, and after a good cry from embarrassment and the unfairness of it all, Tsuna covered himself with his hands as modestly as he could and scurried through the halls to the nearest bedroom.
And after that it got ever stranger. Such as Hibari sometimes walking into the room Tsuna was in and simply watching him, until Tsuna got so uncomfortable that he had to stop whatever he was doing. And when Tsuna tried to walk away, he would follow him.
He'd lock him in store rooms until someone could hear him shouting. While Tsuna had been chatting with Dino, Hibari had aimed an arrow at Tsuna's head while practicing artery, so that the arrow went right through Tsuna's big hair, leaving a hole that you could look right through. He told the cooks to put extra hot spices on his dinner, and Tsuna was forced to eat it or else look ungrateful to Queen Nana. Once, to Tsuna's shock and relief, thinking for a wild moment that perhaps he had been forgiven, Hibari had handed Tsuna a gift, which only turned out to be a doll in a similar dress Tsuna had been wearing on that dreadful day. Tsuna 's heart had sunk and he'd been so embarrassed at the reminder that he'd thrown the doll out the window, and slumped off in a huff feeling utterly miserable.
Then there was the time when Tsuna had passed by Hibari in the corridor, but instead of greeting him like he did during the groveling-for-forgiveness stage, Tsuna had merely bowed his head and tried not to make eye-contact. He was rewarded with a tonfa to the back of his head, and when he woke up several hours later, his father was standing over him. "That's a strange place to be having a nap, Tsuna!" he said cheerfully.
At which point, Tsuna had finally had enough, and he burst into tears.
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At that moment, Hibari was also getting some friendly advice.
"You've been particularly blood thirsty in your sparring lately, your majesty." Dino panted, narrowly avoiding a deadly swipe to the neck. "Has something happened?"
Hibari didn't say anything, merely followed through with a stab to Dino's gut that whistled through thin air.
"Oh come now, I can tell there's definitely something up. Has it got anything to do with Prince Tsuna, by any chance?"
At this Hibari jumped up with such speed and force as to cut off some of Dino's hair, and Dino felt the whistle of the blade so close to his face that he turned milky white.
Much to Hibari's chagrin he recovered fast though, typical of Dino, and even laughed a little, "Oh? Did I hit a nerve?"
Too annoyed to continue with practice, Hibari sheaved his sword and pulled out his tonfas. Dino grinned – so he was getting serious. In turn, Dino dropped his own sword and pulled out his whip, letting it uncoil slowly to the floor.
"Come on now, Hibari. Tell Big Bro what's wrong, hm? I can tell something is going on. Your sister and his sister even asked me what was going on. I have my theories." The older man grinned. Unfortunately that smirk was his death warrant, and Hibari did indeed go all-out. Other people that had been sparring stopped what they were doing to stare in shock at the speed and force they were going at, such power and violence was behind those blows, and such skill – they were on a whole different level. As expected of a king...
Even more shocking, Dino found time to carry on his conversation, which only served to antagonize Hibari even more. "Let's see...for some reason...whenever you see him..." Dino had to do a back flip to avoid being bludgeoned in the gut, "...you get strangely pissed off. Yet at the same time, you don't like him out of your sight – whoa!" Dino flattened himself to the ground to avoid being decapitated by a blunt instrument, and tied Hibari's feet together with his whip, to which Hibari simply used his arms to yank the whip and Dino closer into range, so as to kill him. Dino, used to this, narrowly avoided death with ease.
"You get incredibly irrational when he's with other people. Me, his sister, your mother...anyone, really, and I get the sense that you want to kill him." Dino finally managed to wrap the whip further up the wild Hibari's body, effectively stilling his movements and trapping one of his arms. "Or maybe you just want to bite the person he is with to death for talking to him?" Dino tripped up the prince with his whip, not getting too close, instead pulling out his sword and holding it to his neck, standing over him. "That's a little too over-protective, don't you think?"
Hibari glared at Dino, his face turning pink, before fiercely turning his head away. Dino sighed.
"I can see you really aren't going to talk on the matter, so I won't try to force it out of you. But he's a little brotherly advice. If you want to be friends with him, you're going about it completely the wrong way. Tsuna's not the type to read between the lines or see what's underneath. You have to be straight with him."
At Hibari's blank look, Dino leaned in and said to him, "be yourself, Hibari. Stop punishing him for your own insecurities. It's unbecoming of a prince."
When Hibari's eyes narrowed at Dino, he sensed that any word more would be crossing the line, and he let go of him. He bowed.
"Thanks for the match your majesty."
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Dino walked away from the fallen Hibari, feeling totally drained. He was thankful for the flask of water Fuuta handed to him on the side lines, and accepted the towel to dry himself with gratefully.
"Don't you think you were a little hard on him, Dino?" Said the teen.
"You think so?" Dino scratched his chin in thought, watching Hibari get up and walk away as though nothing had happened. "Nah, I think he can handle it."
"Well, hopefully he will listen to the advice, and will forgive Tsuna for what happened at the beginning of the summer. After all, Tsuna is ranked tops in people-that-are-most-on-his-mind right now."
Dino raised an eyebrow. "You did a ranking on what was on your majesties mind? Is that ethical?"
"Well, I needed to see what was bothering him somehow!" Fuuta blushed. "It was completely innocent!"
"Sounds pretty dubious to me." Dino laughed. "Just curious, who ranked below him?"
"Hibird."
"Hibird!" Dino shook his at the thought. "What is going on through that boys head."
"Well, more specifically Hibird's diet. He thinks he may be over feeding him."
"I see!" Laughed Dino ever harder, and Fuuta had to smile a little. "And you're ranking told you all that?"
"No, I was curious, so I asked him how Hibird was. He wanted my opinion on the matter..."
"He wanted your-" Dino finally doubled over laughing, he got a thrill from hearing about the human side of Hibari, since he was probably the only one who lived through seeing his most demonic side when they sparred.
"And you might find it interesting to know, that the third ranking...was Kyoko."
Dino's head whipped up at that. "Kyoko?"and a huge grin spread across his face. "Princess Kyoko?"
Fuuta nodded, a little smile on his face too. "Do you know any other Kyoko's?"
"Well it's about time!" Dino exclaimed. "The king and queen will be pleased! I guess this means they're finally making some progress in that area, huh? Third...that's not a bad ranking." Dino paused, "though it's a bit worrying that she's below his pet bird, and below Tsuna, for that matter!"
"Yes, I thought that was pretty strange, too. But then, like you said, he's upset with Tsuna at the moment, isn't he? For tricking him that day."
"Yeah. Psshh!" Dino broke into giggles, "what a day that turned out to be! Best date ever!"
"It's not funny, Dino!" Fuuta said, aghast. "His majesty almost died! And it was because your pet turtle snuck into Tsuna's dress, and fell out into the sea when he almost fell over board...and if Prince Hibari hadn't been there to give him mouth to mouth-"
"Bwhahahaha!!"
"Dino, please!"
"Oh my god, I can't breathe...okay, okay, I'm calm." Dino wiped the tears from his eyes. There was an awkward silence, and then Dino dissolved into a fit of laughing again. Fuuta sighed.
"Well, it explains why Hibari can't let it go. If everyone is laughing at him the way you are-!"
"He's overreacting." Dino said, recovering from his laughing fit. His tone surprised Fuuta, it was low and serious. "It's true that he's the type to hold a grudge for the rest of his life. It's just the way he is. But it's definitely not like him to be so ambiguous and unsure of himself, the way he's been acting around Tsuna lately. He's been acting like a school-boy with his first crush, for lack of a better way of putting it."
Fuuta blushed furiously at that, "Dino! I'm certain that it's nothing like that!"
"Oh really? Watch him closely, Fuuta. Better yet, do another ranking, see who's most important to him right now or something. I was confused like you at first, but then it occurred to me; apart from me, and perhaps his servant, Kusakabe, who could you consider a friend to Hibari?"
Fuuta blushed nervously. "Well, I would gladly be his friend! Except, well..."
"Hey hey, I don't mean anything like that. I understand, it's a pretty impossible position to be in when it comes to him – not to mention life-threatening. Though it's rare, he talks to Kusakabe sometimes. And rarer still, he'll come to me." Dino laughed under his breath, "Or rather, I force him to spend time with me, and he doesn't push me away."
Fuuta sensed some sadness in the tone now. "Dino...?"
"But when it comes down to it, Fuuta - I'm his trainer, and Kusakabe is his servant. My point is, I think...what Hibari's feeling right now... could it be that Tsuna is the closest he has ever come to having a friend?"
"...oh."
"Hey...hey! What the- you look so miserable all of a sudden, Fuuta!"
"Well you just gave me some very sad thoughts to think about! I never considered, not even once, that Prince Hibari may be feeling lonely."
"Oi oi, don't mis-understand me. This is Hibari we're talking about here! That kid hates being crowded, and probably hates people in general. I'm just saying, he probably doesn't know how to react to friendship, is my theory on the matter. That's all I have to say." Dino took another swig of water from his flask. "Hopefully our little spar today got the message through to him, though."
"And what message was that?"
"That if he cares about Tsuna enough to have the capacity hate him so much, then it's pretty obvious that he cares about Tsuna enough to have the capacity to love him."
Fuuta blushed and splutterd at that. "Dino! I wish you wouldn't keep saying such misleading things as that!"
"Haha, you know what I mean, you pervert." Dino said. "If Hibari takes my advice, he'll be well on his way to achieving a best friend."
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Tsuna was in his fathers room, getting told the wrong piece of advice concerning Hibari.
"Ah well, Hibari is pretty harsh in his ways, isn't he?"
"Harsh? Harsh?" Tsuna screeched, a hint of hysteria in his voice. "What an understatement! He's downright homicidal, Dad! And I'm gonna be his first victim. If one day you keep calling for me, and I don't answer, and you can't find my body anywhere – then I'm telling you now, it was him! He killed me! Just so you know – it was murder."
The king laughed, though Tsuna didn't think it was very funny. He was being serious! His life was in danger.
"Hmm. Tsuna, maybe I shouldn't be telling you this, but perhaps it will help give you a bit of perspective into Hibari's behaviour, and why he does the things he does, like following strict rules and following through with harsh punishments. Do you want to hear it?"
"Isn't it because he's supposed to be the next king, so he wants to show them who's boss early on?" Tsuna said with distaste. "So he tortures me to show me my rightful place in his own kingdom?"
"Well, yeah..that's part of the reason. But I'm a king too, remember? Ever seen me act the way he does?"
Tsuna shook his head. "You're nothing like that devil, thank god."
"Then there's more to it than that. You see, Hibari's mother is young for a queen, you know, and what's more, she wasn't born into royalty. I think her husband, Hibari's father, knew the problems that came with that, and was anxious to make sure the kingdom stayed strong and disciplined, even with a village girl for his wife. It was unconventional and strictly frowned upon back then to marry that sort of woman. He had to convince the kingdom and his peers that he wasn't going soft.
"Fear is a powerful motivative tool, Tsuna. Don't underestimate it. But because of that, few people, if any, truly moaned for his death. As a king he was grieved, but as a person?" The king slowly shook his head. Tsuna was surprised – he'd never heard anything about Hibari's dad before. At least he knew where Hibari got his looks and personality from – he was nothing like Queen Nana in the slightest. Tsuna wondered not for the first time what sort of terrifying man Hibari's father might have been, and scared himself at the thought of another, older, bigger and more powerful Hibari. It was The Devil.
"So don't be too hard on Hibari. He acts the way he does because he feels he has to. He knows of his mother's disposition. I don't know whether you've noticed, but she doesn't really act like a queen. She more of a teenager."
Tsuna took it on board, but felt that it didn't really help his situation.
"But he hates me!" Tsuna whined, his voice cracking with tears again. "He really, really hates me, so much that I sort of hate myself! It's not about his mother or discpline or anything like that...not this time. I can actually feel his hatred for me. If I wasn't you son, he'd kill me! Infact, I think he may just do it anyway!"
King Iemitsu laughed again. "Ah, what it is to be young. Don't worry, he'll make friends with you soon enough. Friends can't stay mad at each other for long. Hey...that's not a bad idea, actually!"
"What is?"
"Friends! I wonder if the queen will be interested in holding a banquet for tomorrow, since it's our last day here this summer."
Tsuna blinked. The last day? Finally! The last day of summer! Tsuna had never been so happy for the winter to come about! No more torture for a whole half a year!
"...and inviting all your friends from the village. It would create the perfect atmosphere for you and Hibari to kiss and make up."
"B-b-but Dad!" Tsuna said, trying to ignore the kiss and make up part for the sake of his own sanity, "I don-t think-"
"It's a great idea, son. I'll go tell her right away..."
"But Dad!"
"Don't worry, Tsuna. You can play with your friends from the village tomorrow." And with that, the king left the room and shut the door with a snap.
Tsuna sighed in resignation, muttering under his breath, "but I don't have any friends from the village."
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And so on the last day of summer at the Namimori kingdom the village children got invited back to the castle for the first time in history, thanks to the influence of King Iemitsu, whom had only to ask for the banquet for the queen to clap her hands with delight and say 'yes! oh how perfect!' straight away.
They played team sports and games, and had evening dinner at the dining hall, so that the long table was filled with little kids laughing and eating and chatting and trying to be polite in this awe-inspiring castle.
Unsurprisingly, the kind and beautiful Kyoko was very popular and had a best friend, Hana, who was the eldest daughter of a Lord and was always by her side. Haru was popular for she was fun and energetic, and thought up the games that they could play before and after lunch.
Needless to say Prince Hibari was very disgusted with the crowds, and could not believe the lack of discipline in the hall. He could not even eat his meal without feeling the urge to start a riot, so he avoided the crowds of children. Even the boys his own age irritated him with their annoying talk of nothing but girls and sports. He slipped out of the hall without the royal guards noticing, up the castle stairs to the tower area and stepped outside on the roof of the castle, into the crisp evening air. It was still light outside, since it was summer, and the sky was a strange luminous orange color, as though a painter had spilt their orange onto the clouds. It cast a warm glow on the castle grounds like a fire place in winter, and long black shadows stretched across the field from the silhouette of the Rokudo forest.
As he admired the sky for a bit he heard a faint door hinge whine. His head whipped round and his hands went to the weapons at his side instinctively. He was very surprised to see Tsuna, already sitting behind the castle roof door, in the action of getting up and leaving, it seemed.
"Ah! Hibari! H-hi." Tsuna seemed unsure whether he should move out of the way like his survival instinct told him or remain where he was. He was there first, after all, and to leave would mean to turn his back to the enemy. "Erm...enjoying the party?" He said lamely, to buy himself some thinking time.
"What are you doing out here, herbivore?" Hibari said quietly, no bite in his tone despite the insulting nickname he used. Tsuna stared at him in shock. He hadn't expected a response from him, given that the older boy hadn't spoken to him all summer. Could this possibly be...forgiveness?
"I would have thought you'd be joining in with your village playmates." Hibari continued.
"Erm, no. I'm just...I'm just enjoying the air." Tsuna said, shifting a little uncomfortably. He was still weary of Hibari, yet eager at the same time to re conciliate.
"Hn. I thought you liked people. Are you sick?"
"Wha-No! No, what makes you think that? No, I'm not sick. I'm just...yeah. Just...not in the mood to be around...people." When Hibari continued to stare at him expectantly, Tsuna gulped nervously, then continued. "Well, the reason for that...is what it is. And, I just, don't seem to be liked by other kids." Tsuna drew his legs to his chest and hid his face in his arms wrapped around his knees. "I don't want to disadvantage them." he said, face down into his arms.
At the silence that followed, Tsuna glanced nervously at Hibari, wondering from that stoic expression what he was thinking.
"That is the most pathetic, loser way of thinking I have ever heard."
"Well, I can't help it!" Tsuna cried in defeat, hugging his knees. "I get the feeling that the only reason they play with me is because I am a prince. It's the same thing back at home. I don't want to force them to like me that way...I know I'm not very good at anything. I'm clumsy and I'm stupid, and I'm not very strong or fast or fun to be around. I don't fit in with other boys my age...I'm sure that, in their hearts, they are wishing that I wasn't around."
Hibari couldn't help himself. "Is that what you want?"
"Eh?"
He suppressed the need to smack him for the stupid look on his face.
"One day you will rule over the type of people dining in my castle right now. If you want them to acknowledge you, make them." He whipped out his weapon from nowhere, "bite them to death."
"No, it's not like that at all! You misunderstand..." Tsuna says, "it's not like I dislike them or anything. I just..." he shrugged. "I think it would be nice to have friends around, though."
"How naive."
Tsuna sighed and silently agreed. Yes, maybe he was being naive. He took a sip from the glass of punch he'd carried out with him, and couldn't help thinking how Hibari seemed so mature compared to most guys. "Maybe I'm just been childish, but I'd like to get to know my kingdom. I'll do my best. I'm just, not feeling up to it right now."
Hibari suppressed the impulse to knock him down right then and there for his words and depressing countenance right now. Hibari's thoughts were on other things.
Such as his secret admiration for Tsuna's subtle control over all those around him, though he was sure that Tsuna wasn't aware of such things about himself. Everyone that mattered; that is, the adults, seem to do whatever Tsuna asked of them, and more. Hibari could also get the same result from his own kingdom, but not the extras. How could Tsuna get things done without fear, but rather from...what? And not just from his own kingdom of Vongola, but here too. What is it about him? He is kind and polite and humble, and seems to love them in return. What is he saying when he complains that he isn't friends with anyone? He is friends with everyone.
"I remember when this happened before." Tsuna said suddenly in a little voice. "That time I walked in on you standing on the roof of my castle." He explained, "but this time, it was you who walked in on me on the roof of your castle!" He laughed nervously. Obviously trying to make meaningless conversation.
Hibari thought that was one of the stupidest things he had ever heard Tsuna say. Who cared, or even remembered, little things like that? Hibari didn't even dignify that comment with a response.
"You hated me back then."
Hibari tensed at that, though he didn't turn away from the sunset.
"I know it." Tsuna said quietly. "And you still do, right?"
At first Hibari didn't say anything. Tsuna thought that maybe he must have crossed some invisible line in their temporary truce and started to shrink back into himself, thinking of ways he could get away from this...
"From as long as I can remember, people have known to fear me."
Tsuna was startled by the voice, but Hibari still had his back to Tsuna while he spoke.
"That's fine, though. It suits me, and I prefer it. It has been that way always, since the day I was born. My mother being the only exception. Even Haru knows to avoid me at times, she is aware of my limits. "
Tsuna suddenly remembered what his father had told him the night before, and wondered why Hibari was telling him this...
"However, my earliest memory is of someone who wasn't afraid me. I have my ways of getting the job done, and that someone was the first person I ever tried it on, and the only one it didn't work on. He laughed, even."
Tsuna was scared for whoever it was Hibari was talking about. What kind of thick skinned person alive wouldn't be weary of Hibari, and worse, would laugh at him!?
"It was a baby."
Tsuna blinked. A baby? The baby wasn't afraid of him!? Well obviously that baby was stupid.
"What happened next?" Tsuna prompted, after the long pause.
"At first I was furious. I thought maybe I wasn't something to be feared at all. In my childish way of thinking, I got really depressed. If a mere baby could laugh at me, I thought to myself, then I had no right to be a king. But after a while I thought back on that one person who didn't fear me and couldn't stop thinking about it. Such an intriguing creature – I was determined to meet them again when they were older to see what type of person would face up to me, be my equal, have no fear.
Six years later I met him again, and to my disappointment, he was just like everybody else." Hibari said, but then for the first time since he'd started speaking, he looked at Tsuna. "Or so I thought."
"Who was this person? Do I know them?"
"...it was you." And Tsuna could hear the unspoken thought in Hibaris head: Idiot.
"ME?!" Tsuna gasped. He raked his memory for a time, any instance he had ever LAUGHED at Hibari? What...was he suicidal as a child? Or just THAT stupid??
"So in answer to your question..." Question? What question? "...yes, I hated you. But I suppose a better way of putting it would be...I was just...disappointed."
Well, I guess waiting six years for someone who is amazingly unafraid of you, and getting me, would make anyone be angry with me, thought Tsuna in the silence that followed.
"I've just thought of another exception, one so obvious I missed it. Your father, he's never been afraid of me, either." Hibari said suddenly. Tsuna nodded, that's true. "You are a lot like him."
"Really?" Tsuna exclaimed in shock. "But...I am nothing like my dad! He's strong and-"
"You are the same. Maybe a little less impulsive, but that is what will make you a great king."
It suddenly occurred to Tsuna that maybe Hibari had been drinking some of his fathers sake. His Dad was a heavy drinker at times, and didn't ever both to hide the evidence from anyone, just collapsing drunk and very un-kingly in the midst of it all. Tsuna had tried some of that 'magic water' as his father had put it, and knew the mind-boggling effects it could have on a person, knew the effects it was probably having on Hibari's reasoning right now. He wasn't himself. It was the 'magic water'. It was making Hibari say strange things...
"If I'm honest with you...I never wanted to be a king."
Tsuna spat out the juice he'd been sipping at.
"WHAT?"
"...that was disgusting," Hibari said coldly.
"I'm sorry..." Tsuna wiped his chin, "but...what? I thought-"
"It doesn't suit me. I hate it. It's boring. All that obligation and responsibility for even the tiniest of matters...I won't be chained into such things. Nobody can force me to do anything, I plan to give the title away, to whomever I deem fit, whether they want it or not."
Not knowing what to say to that, Tsuna didn't reply. This was a totally different side to Hibari. Not Hibari at all, really. Especially after a whole summer of being tortured by him. He wondered whether Hibari had ever showed this side to anyone else before? Probably not. He couldn't imagine Hibari admitting to his mother or sister; that he'd changed his mind and didn't want to be king anymore.
But then, he wouldn't ever have imagined that he'd confess it to Tsuna himself, either.
"Hi-Hibari?" Tsuna asked, trying to buy himself some time to process the information. "Why are you telling me this?"
Hibari shrugged and bowed his head. "Who knows?"
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And so the two young majesties talked throughout the night, not having anything to eat, and not even noticing the loss, though they both ate twice the usual amount for breakfast. "It's good to see you're your appetite back, Tsuna! You look a lot happier today. Having your friends round must have done you some good!"
"Yeah..." Tsuna said absently, helping himself to his fifth slice of toast.
"I'm so glad! It's a nice farewell party, until next summer, isn't it? It's so sad that you're all leaving us today. Iemitsu, you must have a leaving party at your own castle when we come to visit. Let's make it a tradition!"
"Ah," Iemitsu said as Tsuna began to choke on his food, "that is a wonderful idea, Queen Nana! You are as thoughtful as always." Beamed the King, and so another tradition was established, in which Hibari and Tsuna snuck out from farewell banquets, in order to escape the chaos of the party to the roof of the castle, in the mysterious glow of the sun set, talking of deep and trivial matters, a lone, together, into the night.
A/N: I'm aware of the slow pace of this fic, but I keep getting side-tracked! Next chapter gets the ball rolling though, as it marks the end of the their childhood, and the majesties reach the perfect age for marriage :D
Next chap up not this week but sometime next week, thank-you for the reviews! Every time I saw one I worked a little bit on this :D
