Chapter Ten – A Matter of the Mind
It didn't take him long to realise that he was different from the others. That in itself was laughable. Demons were the very epitome of different, yet he was separate from what should have been his kin.
While they were limited, lost in that they couldn't walk the human plain freely, he was better. He was different. Stronger.
He could shift plains with merely a thought, step between the worlds as easily as walking through an open doorway. The very power he wielded often hummed through his body, tightly controlled, warm and omnipresent.
His very presence normally drove the others away from him. They were afraid for themselves, afraid of him. The very notion of it was laughable to him. He had been around for a long time and yet could not remember when he first opened his eyes or became a part of the world. He was merely born into a life surrounded by mediocrity and beings that were lesser of him.
Being at the top of the food chain had its benefits and its drawbacks, but the taste of power on the back of his tongue, the subtle burn of his Aether was enough to keep him pleased and content.
It was this very idea of superiority that made it a total shock as he realised that a small girl with black hair tied into a mess of tangles and twigs was staring at him, mouth agape as her arms hung by her side, one of them limply strangling a battered teddy bear.
"You have ears." the girl finally declared after a while, voice high and melodious, tinted with the rich accent of the current part of Italy they were in. "And a tail. That's amazing." And then she grinned, carefree and happy, with a gap in her milky set of teeth that, for some reason, he couldn't look away from.
"Indeed…" He finally found it in himself to reply, feeling his own mouth quirk into a weak semblance of a smile.
"Oh, I'm so jealous," the small girl sighed wistfully, peering up at him and rubbing her fingers against the rough fur of her clearly well-loved stuffed toy.
The silence dragged between them for a few minutes, not quite awkward but far from comfortable. He finally asked, voice quiet and soft "Would you like to touch one?" and, for clarification of her no doubt simpleton mind, humans were a lesser species after all, he pointed to one of his ears. The appendage twitched.
The smile she gave him then couldn't even compare to the one before. Whereas the smile she had had earlier was cheerful and polite, this was a smile of excitement and a hint of pure joy as she nodded ferociously, stumbling over her words before declaring, "Yes, please!" The plea was tacked on, as if she had to remind herself of manners.
He felt his lips quirk again as he crouched down to her height, watching as her eyes got brighter and brighter, happier and happier. Then she reached out with small, timid fingers and brushed her fingertips against the edge of one of his extra ears.
The wonder on her face was gleefully sucked up by him, his eyes taking in every detail even as his expression stayed placid and unassuming.
His concentration was broken as a voice called from the distance, echoing between the trees and disturbing the calm and peace.
"Aria! Aria, its dinner time. Come home, sweetheart!"
The small girl, Aria, flinched and drew her hand away from his head, hand inexplicably gentle and soft for a child of her age.
"Oh. I have to go now." She made a face, lips pulling down into a pout and then asked, careful and with her voice almost guarded, a tone that took him by surprise, "Will I see you again?"
"Perhaps."
Aria smiled radiantly. "My name is Aria. But, I have to go now so…bye-bye. It was nice meeting you! C-Can I ask your name?" She fiddled with the ear of her toy. He sighed, not in annoyance but in something that felt like growing fondness.
"You can call me Byakuran."
It was all he knew upon opening his eyes. It felt strange to share and, though he knew it was impossible, his throat felt rough from speaking for the first time in many years, decades, centuries.
Aria gave him another smile, waving cheerfully and even manoeuvring her teddy to do the same before she offered him soft words of parting once more. The girl ran through the trees, an orchard Byakuran noticed, with a spring to her step.
He found himself returning a few days later and was gifted, once more, with a bright smile that made his world seem a little less dark than it had before.
The headache that Tsuna was met with as he awoke wasn't surprising. It took him a few tries to open his eyes, but when he managed, he was met with the grey sky, darker clouds lazily drifting across the expanse.
He was cold, fingers numb and his nose sore. Even as he managed to sit up, he gave a spectacular sneeze. He turned his face into his shoulder and shuddered violently, moving to shove his hands into his armpits.
Then, once satisfied, he looked around and realised that he had been spread out on a bench, a jacket spread over him. Something in him twisted angrily at the gesture since it was clearly from Byakuran. His summons wouldn't have left him out in the cold.
Shoving the jacket away, Tsuna lifted his hands to his mouth, blowing air onto his fingers and watching his breath curl in wispy clouds above him. Then, face in a frown, he called out, mouth feeling stiff from the cold, "Verde."
It was short and simple, but the demon was there within a single moment, one hand free and the other loosely grasping a book, fingers curled around the spine. At the state of his Summoner, the book disappeared, whisked into an empty space of nowhere that demons seemed to be able to manipulate at a certain level of skill, and the green haired demon moved to take a hold of Tsuna's shoulders, guiding him to his feet.
"What happened, Tsuna?"
"Inside," Tsuna replied, trying to phrase it as a question even while his teeth chattered and he lifted a hand to rub his face fruitlessly. It was a twist and pull on his stomach that had him stumbling as he felt the familiar gut wrench of travel that demons seemed to favour as they bounced from place to place.
Verde pushed Tsuna into a chair and ripped the blanket callously away from Reborn and Colonello to throw the still warm comforter around Tsuna's shoulders, peering closely at Tsuna's face and curling his fingers gently under Tsuna's chin.
"What happened?" he asked again, aware of Colonello and Reborn's sudden awareness of the situation.
Tsuna glanced at the clock, realising he had only been gone forty five minutes. However, that also meant that whatever Byakuran had him under had lasted for at least half an hour.
Instead of answering, Tsuna wormed away from Verde's loose grip, lifting a hand to his neck scarf so he could pull it over his head, exposing his neck and closing his eyes at the sharp intake of breath to his right, at the soft growl across the room.
"It started with a dream," Tsuna murmured, fingers tracing the marks he knew would be stark against his throat. "One I probably shouldn't have ignored, one that involved Byakuran with this as the result, with my waking up on a bench as the result."
Tsuna's free hand fisted, hidden by the comforter and his warming fingers ached painfully at the movement of stiff joints, his palm stinging with the bite of his nails.
The anger was sudden and burning, almost choking him with the intensity as he hissed, shoulders arching defensively, "That piece of fucking scum forced me to watch a memory of his that ended in the death of my parents!"
The Aether in him crackled, swarming and burning brightly in him. He was only aware he had blacked out when hands fell on his shoulders and he was peering up at Reborn's concerned face, his expression showing a waver of anger and eyes bright with an unreadable, unforgiving light.
"It doesn't make sense," Verde mused as Tsuna closed his eyes and took in a heaving breath, feeling the warmth of Reborn's healing start to fade the bruises, calloused fingertips scraping gently against the delicate skin where there had once been ugly black marks. "When Tsuna first encountered Byakuran, we were stopped from intervening by a barrier, that of the Lightning Flame. Now, he's interfering with Tsuna's dreams, his mind, which is power of the Cloud."
"When was I going to be told that Tsuna had met with Byakuran before?" Reborn asked, voice mild. "I assumed his contracting with Colonello was simply a loss of will against Colonello being persistent, but was actually to keep him safe? I fail to understand why I wasn't consulted."
"This isn't the time to talk about that," Verde responded, his bland tone of voice making Reborn snarl over Tsuna's shoulder until he was smacked in the shoulder by the irate brunet.
"Stop it. Don't you think there are more important things to worry about than acting like a jealous girlfriend?" Tsuna scoffed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I just want to know why he's so…so determined to worm his way into my life!"
"From the sound of it, your parents were involved too, kora." Colonello scrubbed a hand through his hair, still mussed up from sleep. "And your family was connected to Luce. That can't be a coincidence, kora."
"Not to mention you have the vision, Tsuna," Verde softly intervened, "A phenomenon so rare that it was only speculated as theory."
Tsuna worked his jaw and slumped back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.
The room was silent for a near full minute before Tsuna abruptly stumbled to his feet, thanking Reborn's steadying hand with a nod and then making his way to the bathroom, running a hand over the back of his neck. After a moment's thought, he gestured Reborn over, who followed, expression closed and guarded.
In the safety of the bathroom, Tsuna didn't speak and simply lifted his shirt, struggling briefly because of the small available space and he watched Reborn's questioning eyes turn abruptly to anger upon seeing the dark red scratch marks on Tsuna's skin.
"No. Don't start. Just…Just sort it out so I can shower, go get breakfast and put this behind me, even if it means one of you have to shadow me during the day. I know you do it, I'm not stupid. I'm going to do my best to have a completely normal life until this Byakuran business has gone on by."
"And what if it doesn't?" Reborn asked, voice tight as he laid his hand over the contract mark he had made. Tsuna ignored the propriety, possessive action and leaned his elbow against the sink as the soothing sensation of healing made his skin tingle.
"Then I trust that you self-proclaimed 'rulers of the plains' will do a well enough job of looking after me, hmm?" Tsuna lifted a brow, looking at him with a placid expression. Reborn stared back, fingers curling gently against Tsuna's ribcage, his thumb rubbing the sensitive contract softly. Slowly, as if reaching towards a wild animal, Reborn's free hand lifted to curl under Tsuna's jaw, thumb pressed to a sharp cheekbone.
The silence started to drag. Tsuna felt at first as if he couldn't take his eyes away before he hefted a sigh and pushed on Reborn's shoulder, stepping back as far as the cramped conditions allowed him to, the edge of the sink digging into his hip.
"I need a shower. Thanks for helping me. It was starting to sting a little, and I wasn't sure if it might bleed or not." Tsuna kept his hand resting against Reborn's shoulder, the heel of his palm pressed to the taut muscle. Reborn relaxed into the touch before stepping back and leaving the bathroom, leaving Tsuna to lock the door and sit on the closed lid of the toilet, hands pressed to his face.
The hysteria started to build, bubbling beneath the surface and, as he closed his eyes, he could see with near perfect clarity as Byakuran peeled skin from muscle and cut the tissue from bone during his quest to take Tsuna's parents apart as methodically as a completed puzzle that needed to be returned to the box.
"Colonello and I spoke while you were tending to Tsuna. More injuries?" Verde inquired quietly, Colonello making the bed with tight shoulders and a tense posture behind him.
Reborn just grunted his acquiescence, rubbing his side where the contract sat and swallowing the feeling of dread that threatened to overwhelm him with the knowledge of what Byakuran had tried. So caught up in his thoughts, he only heard the tail end of Colonello's sentence.
"…which is why we've decided to call Skull for his expertise."
"What?" Reborn asked, voice like a whip crack. "You want that idiot to come here? Absolutely not." The last word got caught in his throat as Colonello twisted around and fisted the collar of Reborn's shirt, blue eyes burning with barely suppressed contempt.
"You would put your own feelings over Tsuna's safety?" Colonello asked, voice not lifted with anger, but cold and quiet with a precise fury. His face was as tight as his shoulders had been before. "None of us know how to manipulate minds without causing damage, kora. You want to hurt Tsuna instead of calling Skull? Are you that selfish?"
"Who is to say we need to manipulate Tsuna's mind in the first place?" Reborn hissed in return, pulling himself up tall even though he and Colonello were the same height and he couldn't tower over the blond as much as his instincts pressed for it.
"If Byakuran has entered Tsuna's mind not once, but twice within just twenty four hours, who's to say he won't do it again?" Colonello spat, lip lifting into a sneer. "He woke up with bruises and god knows what else you saw in the bathroom, kora. What if next time he wakes up with broken bones, split skin or so completely terrified that he can never sleep again? Are you going to do that to him? Huh?!" Colonello's voice drifted higher and higher until he was nearly shouting his words out.
"Enough arguing," Verde snapped. "You're acting like unruly children fighting over candy. This is a human being you are discussing about like an object; you are treating our Summoner like an item. As if he needs his decisions to be made for him like he's a toddler or a babe and not a grown adult with the ability to summon powerful demons such as ourselves. Reborn, as rare as the occasion is, I'm agreeing with Colonello. I'm not sacrificing Tsuna's safety because you aren't fond of Skull. That is to say, however, until the idea is presented to Tsuna, until he makes the decision, we are not to go behind his back. What sort of trust would he have in us if we were to dictate his every living moment? Now stop arguing. One wouldn't think you were capable of anything less if you carry on."
Reborn curled his fingers into tight fists, jaw locking, but he fell silent and stayed that way. Colonello mimicked him with marginally less fuss.
"I never took you to be the emotional one, Reborn," Verde murmured, moving to pluck a book seemingly at random from the bookshelf. "I, however, am not one to pry." His eyes lifted from the cover of the book in his hand. "But I would be careful. You're not the only one to have a modicum of care for Tsuna."
"It would be hard to be his contract if we didn't care for him."
Verde just smiled, almost slyly, but mostly grimly, and fell silent. He thumbed the book open and flicked through the pages almost at random. "Yet I doubt you can even begin to remember anyone you had any sort of care for before Luce."
"We don't talk about her, kora," Colonello interrupted. "I'm going to get some fresh air. Don't fight, kora. I'd hate to have to call you a hypocrite, Verde."
"I thought you would have rather enjoyed being able to ridicule me, Colonello," Verde replied mildly as he flipped through the pages again. "Since you take it at any chance you can to do so to anyone."
"Oh, well, you do happen to know me so well, kora." Colonello rolled his eyes. Then his expression turned serious. "Except this is about Tsuna. So, if you and Reborn end up fighting over him as we already have, then you would be throwing your own words back into your face, which isn't simply hypocritical, but stupid, kora. I always thought you better than that anyway."
Colonello smiled brightly and promptly left the room, choosing to go by the door as opposed to just twisting on a heel and disappearing that way, despite how easy it would have been.
Reborn stared at the door as it shut softly. He licked his lips absentmindedly before he turned to lie down on the bed, leaning against the headboard and pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closed.
Tsuna felt like a new person when he stepped out of the shower, roughly scrubbing the towel over his head before wrapping it securely around his waist, tucking it in as tight as possible. As he picked up his toothbrush, slathering it with toothpaste, he eyed himself in the mirror.
Mouth tingling with the strong taste of mint as he brushed his teeth, Tsuna ran a critical eye over the current contracts he had, free hand moving to rest against Colonello's first and then Reborn's. It always surprised him that they were completely smooth, unbroken. They didn't even cause ridges against his skin as they would have done if they were tattoos. They were a part of him.
As he contemplated, his hand dropped, shifting back so he could rest his fingers almost absentmindedly against his third contract and, because of the smoothness, he was hard pressed to believe nothing was there if he hadn't known the contract was there in the first place.
Spitting out his mouthful of minty foam, Tsuna brushed his teeth for a few more minutes, lost in thought more than the worry of being completely hygienic, and then cleaned the sink and his brush with a quick rush of water from the tap.
Staring at his reflection for a long moment, Tsuna finally sighed. He unlocked the door and made his way into the bedroom, ignoring the other two occupants as he made a beeline for the wardrobe and chest of drawers in order to hunt for his uniform and other articles of clothing.
"When does breakfast begin?" Reborn asked, eyes still closed, his posture still relaxed and content on the bed.
"Eight," Tsuna offered, glancing to the clock. "Though, it's only quarter to seven now. My jog was obviously interrupted. Why. Was there something you wanted?"
"Get dressed." Reborn sat up, eyes glancing up to him. "There's something we'd like to discuss with you, if it's alright."
"Well, it's strange to hear you ask for permission for once, but sure." Tsuna eyed him warily, bordering on suspicion before his gaze darted over to Verde. "Where's Colonello? You haven't killed him and stuffed his body under the floorboards, have you?"
Reborn scoffed, rolling his eyes. "As much as I'd like to, no. He's gone for a walk, but he needs to be here for this so I'll call him while you get into your uniform."
Tsuna nodded, eyes narrowed in thought and almost nervousness before he retreated into the bathroom again, getting dressed in slow, calculated movements as he thought about what on earth Reborn and the others wanted to talk about.
The soft thrumming of Colonello's contract alerted him of the blond demon's return from wherever he had been. The rush of Aether was almost soothing and calming as it hummed through his body, starting from his marked collarbone.
When he returned to the bedroom, the three of them were standing. Tsuna, after a moment's hesitation, took the desk chair when Reborn gently gestured in that direction. When the silence began to make the brunet feel awkward, Tsuna licked his lips and asked, head lifted almost defiantly, "What did you need to talk about?"
The irrational fear that they would say he was no longer adequate as a Summoner because of his connection to Byakuran disappeared as quickly as it came, though it rooted itself into the part of his mind set aside for paranoia.
"This thing with Byakuran…" Reborn began, faltering slightly as he glanced to Colonello. Tsuna felt as if his heart had just stumbled in his chest because it wasn't irrational, or paranoia, this was actually happening.
"Yeah?" It was almost a fight to keep his voice even and calm, devoid of the turmoil he was feeling underneath, turmoil that was pulled away like leaves in a wind when Colonello continued for Reborn, crouching in front of Tsuna.
"We think we know of a way to help, kora." Colonello settled a hand on Tsuna's knee, reminiscent of one of their first meetings. Tsuna inwardly marvelled at how far they had come in such a short time, just shy of two months.
"To help? With what?" Now that the fear of being abandoned –made ever much worse with the fresh memories of his parent's death– had been put to rest, Tsuna felt he could concentrate fully on this conversation now.
"There's a way to stop him getting into your head, Tsuna." Colonello settled close. It was almost subconscious when Tsuna shifted to let Colonello rest between his legs, the blond purposefully keeping himself in a submissive position in order to appeal better to Tsuna. The hand that had been resting on Tsuna's knee moved to rest gently on the crook of an elbow and Tsuna felt himself relax, not even realising he had tensed.
"It was just one occasion –well, two I suppose, counting outside– so what is there to stop it?"
"Byakuran is persistent, Tsuna," Verde offered quietly. "He will push forward, worm his way through the cracks of your composure, your shields, and destroy you from the inside out. And, if he isn't cruel enough to drag this out, he will simply kill and dispose of you, just like that."
Tsuna bit his lip, swallowing nervously as he lifted a hand to wipe his mouth almost compulsively. Before he could speak, Reborn spoke again, voice low and serious.
"As Colonello rightly informed me earlier, if Byakuran can cause bruises and…" Reborn lifted a hand to press his fingertips on his own chest and Tsuna fought the urge to copy him.
"Then he may very well be able to cause enough damage, enough pain that you simply don't…simply won't wake from it. It's happened before, in case you feel the need to question the validity of my statement."
"Simply put," Verde spoke when Reborn had finished. "Byakuran, bizarrely enough, has shown the aspects of owning more than one Flame. The barrier he constructed during your meeting in the library was that of the Lightning aspect, and the fact he can so easily enter your subconscious and unconscious state is that of the Cloud aspect."
All of a sudden, it clicked and Tsuna felt much older than he had earlier, sagging in his seat and murmuring, voice almost defeated, "You want me to contract with a demon that has the Cloud Flame. And, if I know Reborn, if I know you and Colonello, you would want only the best. So, that means another Arcobaleno."
"Let it be known that I will never doubt your ability to extrapolate the truth from information, Tsuna," Verde replied quietly. "But yes. The essence of what you have said is true. This partner of ours is called Skull. He is quite amiable and a…agreeable person if you can get past his personality quirks. We ask for your safety, for your continued quality of life, that you at least consider what we are suggesting."
"No. No considering," Tsuna said firmly and, when it looked as if Colonello was going to complain, the blond straightening slightly as if to stand, Tsuna moved a hand to his broad shoulder, thumb digging firmly into the contract to keep Colonello crouched.
"If you can find him, talk to him, get his rune, I'll do it." Tsuna's lips pressed tightly together. His gaze darting to the window, far away and distant, he recalled once again what he had been forced to witness while at Byakuran's mercy and felt as if he would simply break should he be put into a similar situation once more.
"I'm not going to let Byakuran walk all over me just because he holds the advantage."
Reborn grinned, though the expression wasn't one of joy. It was grim, almost malicious, and Tsuna shivered with the intent behind it. Disconcertingly, he was hard pressed to believe it was fear and instead…
He shoved that thought to the side, glancing down to Colonello, briefly wondering when his thumb had slipped under shirt collar to have skin to skin contact with the contract. Colonello in turn quietly settled to his knees, head pressed to the inside of Tsuna's hip contently.
"Then, if you'll excuse me," Reborn said, voice full of dark glee. "I have an Arcobaleno to hunt down."
It was half an hour after seven by the time Reborn returned and Tsuna had since resigned himself to missing breakfast if Reborn hadn't come back in time.
As it was, the black haired demon returned while Tsuna was sitting at his desk, working quietly and diligently. Colonello had moved to sit with his back to the leg of the desk and had one of Tsuna's hands in his own, keeping it held to his cheek. When the other demon had reappeared, his eyes had opened in only tiny gaps, his posture and relaxation reminiscent of a pleased cat.
Tsuna simply finished the sentence he was on for an essay on the working of runes and pulled his hand gently free with little resistance, choosing to stand instead of remaining seated as he moved to greet the person Reborn had brought with him.
It was a movement he couldn't stop when his hand darted to his lip where the new arrival had a piercing. The purple haired, disgruntled looking demon simply stared defiantly at Tsuna as if waiting for him to say something disparaging or insulting.
Tsuna smiled as amiably as he could, considering the conditions he was contracting under and offered a hand with a softly murmured, "You're Skull, right? My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada. It's nice to meet you. I'm not sure what Reborn has said or done to have you come here, but I'm glad you are here. Would you like a drink?"
The defiant look melted away so quickly Tsuna was surprised at the quick transition. Skull blurted, eyes darting between those present in the room, "Is this some kind of joke?"
"Skull…" Reborn began warningly, but Skull pressed on.
"I mean, you're all contracted with this midget of a human, who looks like a pipe cleaner with eyes? Honestly, what levels are you all stooping to?"
Before Reborn could reply, Tsuna stepped forward, drawing Skull's almost dismissive attention back to him. And, with a wicked smile that elicited an odd twist of both Reborn's and Verde's expressions as far as he could tell, Tsuna let his Aether flare with all the force he could muster.
It wasn't the power that Tsuna had released upon guidance from Reborn, but it was enough to swamp the room, to gather in all the nooks and crannies and enough for Colonello to make a pleased, guttural noise. It was a little more than a purr.
"I can assure you, 'this midget of a human' can speak for himself, Skull. Should we try our greeting again, or is this just a waste of both my time and yours?" Tsuna folded his hands in front of him, watching as Skull's slack, awed face slowly composed itself.
"S-So you have a bit of Aether. So what? Many others do too. There are better people out there for the great Skull!"
"You're different from the others, Skull," Tsuna began, watching as a haughty expression crossed the demon's face, as if silently saying 'of course I am'. Tsuna continued regardless.
"However, I don't know the significance of having two sets of horns as opposed to just one, though I will admit yours are shorter than the others I've seen."
And, with those softly spoken words, Skull reeled back as if hit, not even caring as he bumped into Reborn. His face went starkly pale and allowed the purple tear drop on his face and the purple outlining his eyes stand out even more.
"I don't want to play games, Skull. I don't want to force you into anything. I don't want to frighten you. I don't want to hurt you. All I want to know is if you'll listen to what I have to say."
Skull's swallow was audible as his tongue darted out to fiddle briefly with the lip piercing.
Tsuna smiled weakly at his reaction and then stuck out his hand once more, voice softening as he said. "Perhaps we can start this again? It's nice to meet you, Skull. I didn't want to have to intimidate you into having this conversation, but it was either myself or one of the others here who would have done it. I want you to know you can leave whenever you want, but please, I just…" Tsuna faltered, bile burning in his throat as he heard the echoes of his mother's screams. "Just please listen to my request. Maybe if you explain further of what you can do, you won't even have to stay."
Skull stared at him, eyes wide and uncertain before he schooled his expression. He firmly took Tsuna's hand, even as there was a faint tremble to his shoulder, and declared, "I'll have a fizzy drink, if you have any."
Tsuna laughed, relief tangible and he shook his head, feeling himself shake as the adrenalin left his body, free hand pressing to his face.
"I hope cola is okay, Skull. It's all I've got."
"It'll have to do." Skull sniffed imperiously, but Tsuna had never felt better about how a conversation had gone.
Tsuna sat, whereas Skull chose to remain standing. By Tsuna's request, the other three had left the dorm room. Skull's hand loosely clasped around a can of what Tsuna had managed to dig out of the mini fridge he owned, mostly to keep milk from going sour when he wanted tea or Reborn wanted coffee. He was surprised he'd found the can, even more surprised it had still been in date.
"What did you want to talk about?" Skull took a swig of his drink, nose briefly wrinkling at the burn Tsuna knew accompanied particularly fizzy drinks.
"I have a problem with a demon called Byakuran." Tsuna watched closely as Skull's expression shut completely off and closed down in one smooth motion. The purple haired demon took a step back to sit down on the edge of the bed, his attention sudden and rapt, sharp enough to make Tsuna shift in his seat at the desk.
"Byakuran," Skull's voice was flat, devoid of any self-righteousness.
"I have the vision, Skull, which has garnered his absolute attention. And, through whatever twisted coincidences, he happens to be the murderer of my parents, something he forced me to witness no more than two hours ago by forcing himself into my mind. Upon learning this-"
"Reborn suggested talking to me," Skull finished, leaning to set his can on the wooden floor so he could clasp his hands together on his knees.
"Before he did this, he managed to get into my dreams as well. The marks are gone, but he managed to bruise my neck and scratch my chest."
"Oh, I know. Time and healing can hide the physical evidence, but the mental, subconscious damage lingers long after. You want me to help."
"Please." Tsuna winced at the raw desperation in his voice and lifted a hand to scrub at his jaw. "Even if you don't make a contract with me, even if it's just leeching off my Aether in order to do something then…" His hand dropped to his throat as his mind dredged up the murky details of his nightmare.
"I know I have no right to ask this of you. I know that we don't know each other, I know that…that contracting or helping a human might not be up your alley, but…and I'm being completely selfish here. I'm really scared, Skull. If he can do what he can without even being near me, then…two months ago my life was fine. It was dull, but fine, and then Colonello comes crashing through my summoning circle, and then I have to contract with Reborn and then I get attacked by a damn Dervish and…" Tsuna was horrified to find his eyes welling with tears and, garnering by Skull's expression, the demon was mortified too.
"Fuck." Tsuna ran a hand over his face, hunching in place to hide his expression in his palms, body tense and stiff. "I just…"
"Reborn told me," Skull interrupted. "While dragging me against my will, might I add, that you know of Luce."
Tsuna was startled, looking up to Skull while grateful of the subject change.
"Y-Yes. She was helped by my family back in the sixteen hundreds. I-I have a book where one of my ancestors had written of her."
"Reborn told me he had her diary, that you gave it to him." It was a shock when Tsuna realised that Skull was guiding him into an easier topic of conversation, talking him down from his panic induced hysteria and distress.
"Yeah. About a week ago, I gave it to him. He showed the others, but he was the first I contracted with, so I thought he deserved to see it."
"Why didn't you read it?"
Tsuna felt himself blush, shrugging weakly. "I tried. But I couldn't get into it. It gave me a headache since it was written in a language I don't know, and it gave me memories of home."
Focused on his knees, Tsuna didn't realise that Skull had stood up until a hand fell on his shoulder, making him look up to see the demon closer than he was before, the closest he had gotten to Tsuna since arriving.
"I think…" Skull said slowly. Tsuna was surprised to see a hint of something sly and almost playful in Skull's eyes.
"I think," Skull repeated. "I need to feel your Aether one last time before I give you my rune. The great Skull wouldn't lower himself to a substandard human after all."
Tsuna choked back a grateful sob, hand lifting to his mouth. He let his head fall forward and ignored the soft flinch Skull gave when his forehead connected with the demon's chest.
Then, before more words could be said, he let the gate open and let the invisible Aether flow again, aimlessly wandering around the room without the aid of a demon to guide it into power or a Word of Reprimand to activate it.
"Well, don't keep me waiting, Tsuna. I might get bored." Tsuna swallowed, murmuring a heartfelt thanks as the soft, rolled parchment was pressed into his hand and then, as if he were a small child, Skull ruffled his hair and disappeared from the room like a forgotten memory, no evidence of his being there other than the happy tightness in Tsuna's chest and the half full can of cola on the floor.
The others returned just as Tsuna finished chalking the circle, a feeling of relief was palpable in the air as Verde simply murmured, "He agreed."
"He did." Tsuna stood and dusted himself down before walking to his desk to dig out his knife, slicing his palm and spreading blood as he murmured the words of summon.
"It's like tinkling glass in the quietest room you've ever been in," were Skull's first words as he appeared. "The summons. Loud, but delicate and soft."
Tsuna gave a short laugh and relished in the shocked expression that crossed Skull's face as he broke the circle and offered him the knife in the same move.
"It's been a running theme that I let the others choose where the contract sits. So, if you want, so can you," Tsuna murmured as he watched Skull slice his palm, automatically reaching to let their fingers intertwine.
"Then, we'll need to sit," Skull declared and sat abruptly, dragging Tsuna with him, who had to steady himself with a hand on Skull's knee, yelping in an undignified manner as he tried to right himself.
Colonello's hand placed itself on his shoulder and dragged him to a seated position. Skull just gave him a wide grin of amusement, cementing his reasoning with a muttered, "That's what you get for intimidation."
Tsuna couldn't help but laugh again. He watched as Skull reached forward to worm his fingers under his trouser leg, palm pressed just above the bone of Tsuna's ankle. Tsuna reached forward to mimic the action.
"We offer the exchange of blood to bind our bodies."
"We offer the exchange of Aether to bind our souls," Tsuna replied, voice quiet.
"With this offer of blood and Aether, we hereby agree for the contract to be forged between our beings until such a time it ends."
Skull was the first to pull back, with obvious reluctance as he basked in the rush of Aether that now flooded his very being from the small body in front of him. He leaned back, pressing both hands to the floor behind him to brace himself as he tilted his head back, facing the ceiling.
While Tsuna recovered, he started at Skull's voice when the other spoke.
"The process takes time, so I'll have to sort out your mind tonight. With the contract so new, I don't want to fry your mind with the Aether I have now. I need to adjust."
"That's fine. It's fine. Thank you so much. This is more than I asked for. You're more than I asked for. Thank you." Tsuna's voice softened towards the end and he was graced with a shy smile from Skull.
Perhaps now things would get a little better.
Byakuran stayed crouched next to the body long after it had gone cold. Even now he could hear the last gurgled words of the human he had considered his closest confidant, his closest and only friend, the small human he felt would be his until the end of time or until he died, whichever came last.
And now, he was left with her corpse. Her cold white hand was clasped in his own as her blood continued to ooze across the floor. Her father was in the opposite corner, a hole in his forehead where the bullet had mercilessly entered with no more than a 'how do you do'.
Aria, his poor sweet Aria, his Aria hadn't been so lucky. The gunshot wound she had suffered was to the gut. She had been bleeding to death even as Byakuran waited for her in the apple orchard to meet up, as they had been doing almost every day for the past four years.
When he had come to find her, he found her bleeding out and cursed, lamenting his inability to heal. His previous declarations of perfection, of superiority, tasted like ashes in his mouth when he realised that he could not save her.
Radicalists. Summon haters. The mother, Luce, Byakuran remembered, was a Summoner. She often had a small demon that Byakuran had scared into submission to stay quiet about his existence, always floating around to help with house chores, with the fields and animals.
A handful of filthy, ignorant pigs masquerading as humans had broken in, looking for Luce, who was visiting family in the next town over and then, upon realising their quarry was no longer there, had killed those that remained.
The blood on his face was long dry and tacky from where Aria had reached a blood-stained hand to his cheek, wavering and quivering as the pain, distress and knowledge of her death shook her tiny, tiny delicate body.
Her soft thumb had rubbed below his eye at a moisture he hadn't realised was there. Aria's touch was ever so gentle and soft as it had always been with him. Choking on her own blood of life as it rose in her throat, she whispered.
"Please don't cry for me. I'll always love you."
And then the black hole in his chest, the one that had been slowly filled over the years of knowing this lovely little girl who he had watched grow up, started to ache.
For the first time in his existence, the endless one of hundreds of years, Byakuran learnt first-hand the bitter, broken feeling of complete and utter loss.
And here we go, chapter ten done and dusted! I hope you enjoy this chapter – which seems to be dipping into something serious, hmm? Also, welcome your longest chapter yet! This one is, excluding this author's note, is just shy of 7,000 words!
Thanks once again to Pure Red Crane for betaing!