Title: This City Never Sleeps

Chapter 9: Time to Realize
Fandom: KHR

Summary: Tsuna is thirteen when he dies, thirteen and yet to make a single friend or receive a 100 percent on a test.

It is not the end. Time sprints forward, pace unyielding even to those in death, and a world hidden by the light of day opens up in dark corners and strange happenings. The necromancer comes to town, and Tsuna finds out that the dying could live.


Today was the day.

Small feet padded along dusty wooden floors, steps light and airy even in their restless, halting steps. There was a warm beam of sunlight filtering in through naked windows; heat sinking deep into his fur, beseeching him to lay himself down and drink in the hazy warmth and sleepiness it invokes.

It was a tempting offer, Tsuna admits, the thought of just settling down and taking a nap, splayed out in the light. It was an appeal to his more feline senses, ones that had become increasingly intertwined with his human mind, causing Tsuna to take on behaviors that were very much not human.

He could lie in the sun, completely relaxed. It's not like there was anyone there to make fun of him, at the moment.

The rhythmic patter of paws halts. A thick, fluffy tail thumps against the floor.

...No, he couldn't.

The pacing resumes.

Today was the day, and he had to be alert. Tsuna had to be on the top of his game. It wasn't anything bad, per se, so much as... heavy. The meaning of what he would do today would be a confirmation of the things he'd already known, but in a way that was more final, more raw. It would signify all that he left behind.

Today, Chome was taking him to see his very own grave.

Tsuna felt kind of useless, having to rely on Chrome all the time; having to ask her to feed him, open doors for him, restitch old wounds that had burst open due to his latest excursion, along with the other assortments of small, mundane tasks Tsuna could no longer do.

He had really taken opposable thumbs for granted. He'd say he never would again but, well, it didn't seem like he'd be getting another pair any time soon.

His uselessness couldn't be helped. He was useless in life and useless in death; he was Dame-Tsuna, after all. At least the whole "possessing a cat corpse" thing wasn't his fault. He didn't choose to be sealed in such a finicky, incapable vessel, so it totally wasn't his fault this time.

But, still, he couldn't help but feel bad, anyway.

Either way, Tsuna would have to wait. Chrome had gone out on an errand run (the type of errand he did not know), promising to take him to his burial grounds upon her return. He hoped she'd be back before sundown, Tsuna hated walking around at night. Technically, he could just go by himself. It was totally fine for him to wander off and do his own thing. He wouldn't be punished for it. Chrome wouldn't even be mad.

There were two issues with this sentiment, however. One, Tsuna was tiny and without thumbs. The doors in the house were firmly shut; there was no way he could successfully open them, and all the windows were closed. He knew that because he'd already checked. And two, he didn't know where, exactly, he was buried. He didn't have a clue. Ghost senses were bullshit, and if anything, you became totally detached from the world when you died. So, he only knew that Chrome had shown up one day, a bag full of teeth in hand. His teeth. His very human teeth, which she had stolen from his corpse.

(If it hadn't been his actual teeth, it wouldn't have worked, Chrome had said. Tsuna wasn't sure how truthful she was being, as her expression barely changed from one emotion to the next, but he wasn't in a position to question it, nor was he all that inclined to.)

So, with twitching, scraggly whiskers, Tsuna bounded around the house on anxious feet and impatiently waited for Chrome to return.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.

Soon enough, the doorknob rattled and turned, sliding open with a soft click. Chrome stepped inside, face impassive, and Mukuro followed just after her, arrogance practically oozing from his purpled skin. Tsuna couldn't help but hiss at the man a little, even if he had known beforehand that Mukuro would be there.

...He really didn't want Mukuro to know where his gravesite was, now that he thought about it.

Unfortunately, it was most likely that he already knew where it was. So, what could he even do, really?

Immediately upon Chrome's entrance, Tsuna is bounding up to her, tooth necklace jingling. "Chrome-san! You're back!"

The corners of Chrome's lips tilt upwards, the smile so subtle that it might as well not even exist. Despite the doll-like, placid visage Chrome presents, Tsuna knows she's being sincere. "Yes, Tsunayoshi. We can go to your grave soon if you'd like."

"Please," Tsuna whines, "I've been dying of boredom." his tail swishes and comes to curl around his feet.

"What's he saying?" Mukuro half-whispers to Chrome, who then proceeds to repeat exactly what he said, word for word. This only makes the man smirk down at him.

"All that yelling, just because you were bored? A bit pathetic, don't you think?"

Tsuna's ears twitch in displeasure. "Shut up," he growls, but going by the way Mukuro's eyes glitter and his grin widens, he didn't succeed in trying to scare him.

Tsuna puts one paw forward, tail lashing. He fully intends to give the undead asshole a piece of his mind, but suddenly a boot is obscuring his vision, subtly urging him back.

"No fighting." Chrome states.

"But he-"

"No fighting."

"Ugh."

And that's the end of it. Chrome is then tucking her more weighty belongings and supply bag into a spare storage closet, eaten by cobwebs and cloaked in dusty grime. Once she's done that, the trio are out the door, soaking in the way the sun warms their skin (and fur, respectively), while a cool breeze caresses their cheeks and runs dainty fingers their hair. (And fur, again.)

It's a beautiful day.

If only it were early spring, when the sakura were blooming. Then, it would've been truly perfect.

He hadn't gone Sakura viewing in such a long time… now that he had a body, he'd have to go this upcoming spring.

He could have opted to ride the duration of the walk in Chrome's arms (never, ever Mukuro's. Never again-) but Tsuna found himself more comfortable when he was able to walk on his own and stick his head into random nooks and crannies along the streets. It felt less… constraining, and more meandering. More peaceful.

All good things must come to an end, however, because even Mukuro's heavy-handed taunts couldn't distract him from the sight of the graveyard approaching, just down the road. Five meters, four, three, two…

They were at the gates. It was a cemetery styled after those in the west, probably done at the request of his dad. He'd always acted more Italian than Japanese, no matter how small the blood percentage was.

(At least, that's what his mom had said. Not the last part, obviously, but… most of it.)

"Shall we go in, Tsunayoshi?" Chrome asks, peering down at him.

"U-uh, yeah."

One step, two steps, three and they've passed the gated threshold into the cemetery, quickly following a small stone path towards the back of the lot. The back of the cemetery is more isolated, more private, ensconced in thick bushes and gnarled trees. The headstones are smattered in congealed lichen, too, less clean and upkept than the ones towards the front. Then, under the shade of a tree, he spots a large, clean headstone, vivid flowers of varying types set in front of it. Burned incense remains dirtying the surface of a small bowl.

They stop in front of it, instead of moving on down the path.

"This is it." is all she says, lightly urging him forward with the palm of her hand.

Tsuna wishes he could swallow the lump in his throat, phantom though it was.

(Maybe it was a hairball?)

Tsuna steps forward, tail directly upright. He inches all the way up to the headstone, so he can read the characters clearly.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi" it reads, "1991-2004". There are no extra words, no quotes or fanfare. Simple, plain. "Tsuna died and is buried here." it seems to say.

It's overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. Pain and grief clashing with relief and exasperation, swirling in a confusing concoction of feelings.

"Oh," he whispers. It comes out of his mouth a small chitter, a barely there meow.

Sun dapples the headstone in pearlescent light through the thick canopy above it, even while a breezes rocks the leaves and branches of the trees, threatening the petals of week-old flowers.

It's a beautiful day, and Tsuna is dead.

Well and truly dead.


One chapter left before this fic is complete! Lmk what you thought, or if you caught any grammatical errors. Thanks!