ChApTeR eIgHt- Say your goodbyes and run away as fast as you can

Disclaimer


"I have learned that if you must leave a place that you have lived in and loved and where all your yesteryears are buried deep, leave it any way except a slow way, leave it the fastest way you can..."
Beryl Markham, West with the Night

Tsuna cloaked in his own clothes, stood outside of the hospital, ready to go home. The doctors said that he was going to fine and as result, he would be discharged that same day. While his mother had stepped in to see how he was faring last night, his grandfather had remained at home with Teruko. While his mother finished up with some paper work in the hospital, he opted to remain outside, already sick of the medicated scent that clung to the walls of the place he had spent four days in (though two was spent unconscious).

His ribs were aching a little and to keep his mind off the pain, he stared at the snow that fell in front of him. You're a Matsuoka. You're one of us. Tsuna frowned and kicked his feet forward. Why was his grandfather ALWAYS right? He didn't want to acknowledge it, but when he finally stood up for himself, when he finally beat Eiji, he felt powerful. Even with the adrenaline drained from his veins, he felt high. He felt so damn GREAT. He was more than just 'Dame Tsuna', no he was Dangerous Tsuna. Someone to be feared...

In an almost torturous reflex, Eiji's badly damaged face and his crying mother countered such a sentiment. Tsuna clenched his fists.

The more he listened to his grandfather, the more complied with these 'initiation' tests, the more he felt like he was losing part of himself. The Old Tsuna wouldn't have found glee in such a horrible thing.

It was horrible what he had done to Eiji. It was the same thing Eiji had done to him all those years.

So don't pretend that you didn't enjoy what you did to that kid. You damn well did.

Tsuna sighed. This was too tiring. His thoughts were a mess.

"You got out?" someone asked and when Tsuna turned, he saw an older boy smirking at him. He appeared to be in his late teens. He was slim and very tall. His brown hair, the color of chestnuts was pulled in a high ponytail. He wore a pair of clear rimmed glasses and cocky smile on his face.

"Yeah" Tsuna said and the boy nodded. They stood in front of the entrance, Tsuna glancing at the boy from the corner of his eyes.

"You know it's not so hard" the boy started and Tsuna looked at the stranger. He wore a thick, expensive looking coat that hid most of what he wore, black slacks and accompanying black boots. Around his neck was a blue scarf. "Leaving that is" he added and his teeth prodded from his mouth, sharp as razor blades. Tsuna felt like he shouldn't even be speaking to the boy, so he just nodded. "I can sense that you're conflicted about whether to stay or leave" he leaned in close and whispered. Tsuna placed a hand on his ribs before moving away from the boy. Yup, he should've known he was a psychotic pervert.

"You can sense that? Don't tell me, you're a psychic?" Tsuna snorted. He was tired, in pain, a little cold….so forgive him for not being respectful.

"A psychic, nah" the boy said with 'ha'. "It's just the power of observation" he chirped with a confident smile. "Your body's language is giving you away" he added.

"Power of observation" Tsuna rolled around the words in his mouth and the boy was watching him with rapid interest.

"Yup~" he perkily said and the boy's attitude reminded him of his mother. "With the right observation, you can do nearly anything" he whispered. Tsuna turned back to see if his mother was finished. Something about this boy….did not seem right. "Have you made your choice, Sawada-san? Will you leave or will you stay?" he asked and Tsuna's eyes widened. Before he could shout or react, the boy was directly in front of him, his finger pressed on his own lips in a warning. Don't make a scene. Answer the question.

"Who are you? Why do you know my name?" Tsuna asked, holding fast to the little bravado he had in his arsenal.

"Do you see how easy it is to get to you? If I really wanted to hurt you, I would've done so already. In fact, I could snap your tiny little neck and you wouldn't even know" the boy said with a smile against his finger.

"And why didn't you? Why don't you?" Tsuna asked and the boy's eyes glistened at the question.

"Because you're not ready" the boy laughed and bent down, so his mouth was close to Tsuna' ear. "Grow strong, Tsunayoshi-kun. Or else my target will change. You don't want that pretty little sister of yours, hurt do you?" he whispered and Tsuna in his brief rage, swung at the boy. Unfortunately the boy dodged. "Be sure not to tell them about me, Tsunayoshi-kun. This has to remain a secret between us for now. Or else" he threatened and Tsuna could only watch as the boy walked off, powerless to do anything.


"Surprise! Welcome home, Tuna-kun!" Teruko shouted when he arrived home. She was wearing a party hat on her head, her blonde pigtails dancing side to side as she jumped up and down. Ryohei was right behind her, welcoming him as well, though there was admiration in his eyes as he studied Tsuna's slightly bruised face.

"Onee-san's friend, you look great!" Ryohei beamed and his mother who welcomed them home as well, smiled.

"Thank you so much for looking after her" Tsuna's mother said as they walked in. Kyoko's mother nodded as she helped his mother with his things.

"Do you like it, Tuna-kun?" she asked, pulling on his pants leg as they walked into the brightly decorated living room.

"I love it" Tsuna said, and his sister was pleased with his answer. He chuckled as she and Ryohei started to run around, playing with each other. He turned to watch as his mother spoke to Kyoko's mother and Kyoko was helping her father with the cake outside. He knew then that was the perfect time to speak to his grandfather and he knew exactly where the man would be. After climbing up the stairs, and getting to his room, he saw his grandfather standing by his window.

"Are you ready to talk?" was the first thing he asked and Tsuna looked at his feet before he took a gulp of fresh air. He needed it to calm his racing heart. The choice he had made was a difficult one but that boy he met made it clear that this was the only way he could protect his sister.

"Yes. I will move to Iga with you" Tsuna said and the corners of his grandfather's eyes creased with pleasure.

"Good" his grandfather said, turning to him. "You probably have a lot of questions running through your mind about the move, am I right?" he asked.

"Of course. For one thing, how long am I going to have to stay with you? Is it permanent?" Tsuna questioned.

"It isn't permanent, not for now. It is only when you've completed your training and I've deemed you ready, then you'll move back to Namimori" his grandfather explained and Tsuna sighed. "I'll explain more on our way there, but for now, you're going to have to tell Teruko-chan and your female friend, seeing as your mother already knows" he added.

"Wait, now?" he asked and his grandfather nodded.

"Yes now, because tomorrow you're leaving with me" his grandfather said and Tsuna wobbled but steadied himself.

"Tomorrow? So soon?" he asked and his grandfather nodded. "Isn't that TOO soon? I mean I still have to pack and…" he was saying but stopped talking when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Everything you need will be provided at my home. All you need to do now, is tell them" his grandfather explained.

"Why do you always have to make my life so difficult?" Tsuna muttered as his grandfather walked out the room and down the stairs.

"Why to make you stronger, my weak grandson" his grandfather chuckled and Tsuna could only face palm himself.


"Excuse me everyone…" Tsuna said as they sat in the living room, eating pieces of cake that was to celebrate his 'return' from the hospital. A smile nearly broke out on his face when his eyes made contact with Teruko whose entire face was covered in cake. However she wasn't the only one, seeing as Ryohei had done the same thing, thinking that it was a competition. "…I have an announcement to make" he said, and he knew when he saw his mother's smirk, that she was going to enjoy this as much as his grandfather was.

Speaking of the man, he was sitting on the couch, with an innocent look on his face and Tsuna rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but it snapped close when he saw Kyoko looking at him. He had forgotten in that small second, how hurtful this was going to be.

"But before that, I would just like to thank everyone for being here especially after everything that has happened. These past few days were really stressing for us all but somehow, we managed" he said and they chuckled along with him. "But this isn't about that. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be living with my grandfather in Iga" he quickly said and out of all the reactions, Kyoko's was the worst.

"What did you say?" Kyoko asked, as she stood up. "I didn't hear you the first time" she added.

"I'm moving to Iga with my grandfather" Tsuna said, unable to meet her eyes. He saw when she walked up to him, but what he wasn't prepared for, was the slap that he was met with. "Kyoko…" he whispered as he touched his stinging cheek. Kyoko looked at him with a betrayed look on her face and tears in her eyes before she ran outside, in the freezing cold without her jacket or shoes.

"Tsunayoshi, I think it's best if you go after her" her father said and with a nod, Tsuna followed after his best friend.


"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna shouted as he ran through the streets desperately searching for her. "Kyoko-chan!" he repeated, the cold reaching all the way to his toes. He could only imagine how freezing Kyoko must feel. He was going to scream her name again, when he saw brown hair in the neighbourhood playground they used to play in. Since last year they stopped going, seeing as they were 'too old' to be seen swinging with the little kids. Yet if he was honest, he missed it.

Kyoko was shivering as she sat on the swing set. In an attempt to gain some warmth, she was hugging herself, as snow fell around her and on her. "You're going to kill yourself out here" Tsuna said as he kneeled in front of her, wrapping her jacket around her. She tried to push out of his embrace but he wouldn't let her. He refused to let her go.

"D-D-Don't tt-t-touch m-me" she said through rattling teeth. He looked down and when he saw how red her feet was, he gently slipped her shoes on, one by one.

"You know you should be kinder to your saviour" he joked but she kept her head to the right as tears freely ran down her flushed cheeks. He could see that she was still cold and so, he took off his own jacket and placed it around her. Her eyes widened as she looked at him.

"What are you doing?!" she asked but all Tsuna did was sit down beside her on one of the other swings.

"I'm comforting my best friend" Tsuna said and she pushed herself off the swing.

"Why do you always do this?!" she shouted as she stood in front of him, towering over his sitting figure. "Every time I try to remain mad at you, you do this kind thing that makes me just forgive you in an instant" she screamed in a huff before tearing off his jacket before she forcefully gave it back to him. "For once, I would just like to remain mad at you" she added, before walking off. Like a dog running after its master, Tsuna followed her.

"I know you must hate me but Kyoko, I…." he was saying when she swirled around before giving him a quick and painful punch. "Ouch" he said as he sat in the snow, nursing his jaw.

"Of course I hate you right now!" she shouted through her teary sniffs. "You're leaving me behind, Tsuna-kun. You're abandoning me" she whispered. He tried to get back to his feet, but his ribs started to hurt too much. When she saw the pain he was in, she offered him her hand. When their hands gripped each other, Tsuna playfully pulled her down to the ground with him and she released a loud "Kyaa!" as she fell between his legs. "TSUNAYOSHI!" She shrieked and was ready to hit him again, when she saw the sad expression he was supporting.

"This is hard for me too, you know" he said as they sat down in front of each other, ignoring the gruelling snow. "You're literally the only friend I have. This decision was the worst one I've had to make and I've had to make some difficult ones these past few days" he said and Kyoko placed her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you so much" she whispered and they both cried for a good three minutes before the cold got so unbearable that they had no choice but to return to his house.


Lying in bed that night, after Kyoko and her family left, Tsuna decided to go to bed. He turned, and saw that it was only ten. He had been awake for three hours now, yet sleep evaded him. He looked around his room, at his anime posters, at his figurines, at his personal library, at his blue curtains, at his now empty laundry hamper, at his old carpet that he refused to get rid of, at his orange scarf (the one his grandmother had sewn for him), at his school bag, at his uniform (the fact that he had gotten expelled hadn't fully registered in his mind as yet), before he turned again so he could look at his ceiling. He was leaving Namimori. The town he was born in, the only place he had known, Namimori. "Tuna-kun?" a timid voice called and he saw Teruko staring at him from the doorway. His little sister, even when she heard his declaration, didn't understand exactly what he meant. She was too young to know what 'moving away' meant but Tsuna knew that Teruko had an idea of what it was. She was always smart. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked, hugging her plushie. Her blonde hair was flowing over her tiny shoulders in waves while she wore a cute pink pajama set with hearts on them.

"Sure, come on" he said and she ran into his room before climbing onto his bed and under his sheets. He chuckled when she hugged him, though because she was so small, her arms couldn't fully wrap around his midsection properly. He placed his chin on her head and he knew she was awake as he was. "Did you have a bad dream again?" he asked and she shook her head.

"Mommy just wanted to sleep with you" Teruko said and Tsuna chuckled again before he hugged her back. "Tuna-kun?" she asked and he looked down at her.

"Hmm?" he asked as he closed his eyes, sleep finally making its presence known. Teruko shook her head again and with that, the Sawada siblings fell asleep.


The next morning, after he and Teruko woke up, and after he got dressed, Tsuna stood in his room, staring at everything again. "We're ready downstairs" his grandfather said as he walked in.

"I'm really doing this" Tsuna said in awe as his grandfather took the duffel bag from his bed. The older man had insisted that he packed light which was weird, seeing as he was supposed to be leaving home.

"Of course you are" his grandfather said before patting his shoulder. "Come on, let's go" he added and Tsuna followed him downstairs, where everyone was waiting.

"Tsuna-kun, Mama is going to miss you~" his mother said as she tightly hugged him. "Be careful" she whispered in his ear and he nodded as they pulled away.

"We're going to miss you too" Kyoko's mother and father said as they pulled him in a family hug, the ones Tsuna often watched them have from a far. When they got out of the hug, Tsuna was blushing.

"Mommy wanted you to have this" Teruko said, tugging at his pants. Tsuna looked down and saw Teruko holding her lion plushie up at him. His eyes widened.

"Teruko-chan, I can't…" he said but she forced the plushie in his hand. "Thank you" he said as he scooped her in a hug. When he placed her back down on the ground, she ran out of the room.

"Don't worry, Mama will look after her" Nana said, leaving to go look for her daughter. Tsuna turned to Kyoko.

"Don't forget me, knucklehead" Kyoko said as they hugged. She tightened her arms around him as she buried her nose in his hair. "If you do…" she was saying.

"…you'll kick my ass" Tsuna finished for her and she laughed despite the tears. "I will NEVER forget you. I couldn't if I tried" he joked and she punched him on the arm.

"It's time" his grandfather said as the taxi outside the house released a loud 'Honk!' Tsuna hugged Kyoko again and then pulled away again when his grandfather told him to hurry up.

"A man can't even get a moment around here" Tsuna laughed and quickly spun on his heels. Kyoko sobbed and her father grabbed her in his arms as Tsuna walked out.

"It's going to heal" his grandfather said as they got into the taxi. "And you're years away from being a man, don't be so cocky" he added with a tender knock on Tsuna's forehead.

"I know" Tsuna wept and his grandfather sighed before he pulled Tsuna at his side, comforting the boy as he cried while the car drove off, from the one place Tsuna knew as home.


"I'll be right back" his grandfather said, some minutes after the airplane took off. Tsuna who was staring at the lion plushie in his hand looked up to watch him get up, his cane in hand. "I'm just going to the restroom" he added and Tsuna nodded. His grandfather smiled and as he walked down the aisle, he turned to watch his grandson. The boy had a lot to learn.

Tsuna hadn't even noticed when the old man casually walked into the galley*, where a lone air host was preparing a hamburger. "Has everything been arranged?" he asked. The boy, the same one who had threatened Tsuna that morning, turned and smiled.

"Yes, Soke-sama" the boy said with a bow, the glasses long gone. His long brown hair had been cut and dyed black. He even wore light brown contacts, dramatically changing the color of his eyes. Three more air hosts and two air hostesses joined them, each bowing at the man. "We have done as you instructed us" the boy added.

"Good" Tsuna's grandfather said and turned to look at his grandson who was preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything around him. Tsuna's grandfather chuckled. The third test was going to be so much fun. He just hoped that Tsuna survived it.


*galley - is like the kitchen on the plane (my own words) You can Google it.

PS: From here on, the story will continue to the darker side.

To Frwt: Thank you for your reviews. ^.^ As you can see, I did not kill Kyoko-chan. I'm not THAT heartless lol.

To Lil' Dormouse: Cute name. And yep, I love his works so...yeah.

As for the guest who left the review: Yeah, they ARE similar. He was part of the inspiration.