Are You The One?

Written by: CherryDrug

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn doesn't belong to us. If it did, we would have shipped anybody with everybody, and the series wouldn't be as dead as it was now. Thank freaking sprite for fan fiction having not died yet.

Rating: T-rated, 'cause we're still a bunch of pussies who can't put on their big girl panties and publish a smutty chapter

Genre: *slaps every genre here*

Characters: Everybody. Duh

Summary: It has been said long ago that actions speak louder than words ever could; however, when you live in a world where the first thing your soulmate says to you is etched upon your skin—well, suffice to say, actions don't even hold a candle to how important words can be.

Pairing(s) (for this chapter): Tsuna/Kyoko, Tsuna/Hana, Kyoko/Hana

Warnings: Alternate Universe where people bear soul-identifying marks; yaoi AKA boy x boy in the future; All27; drabble series

CHAPTER 11

Twenty six is quite a lot.

At first, they think he's lying. Lying because they'd never ever heard of someone having twenty six soulmates. Tsuna doesn't blame them, of course; just hearing himself force the words out of his voicebox sounds surreal even to him. According to the book of world records, the person who's held the most number of soulmarks had only reached until twelve, twice the average number of the limit of what was to be expected―but it looks as if there's a new world record holder now, Tsuna thinks wryly as the girls process his words.

And then, once the bell rings, alerting them that it's snack time, they don't even bother asking for his permission before they're already dragging him off to the nearest girl's bathroom. He struggles against them, of course, because his mom told him to never go in there. And when he voices his mother's words aloud, that automatically makes the girls pause in their long and unhindered strides.

"Then where else should we go?" Hana questions, curt and short and immediately direct to the point.

A few moments later, they're inside of the boys bathroom―and this time, it's their turn to squirm and fidget around, and Tsuna uncharacteristically takes this in with great glee and amusement. Ha, now they know how he felt when he'd been dragged off into the girl's bathroom!

And then―after Tsuna has taken in several long and deep breaths―then the stripping begins. He takes off his jacket first, then his T-shirt and he hears both girls simultaneously gasp in surprise when they see the dozens of words scrawled against his back and on front of his chest, but it doesn't deter him from removing his shoes and socks as well. Tsuna doesn't take off his pants―because he still has his dignity, thank you very much, and he'd rather bury his head underneath the ground than show his tuna-patterned boxers to Kyoko and Hana.

There is a brief, and extremely awkward, silence that hovers above them, but Tsuna can see the way they're raking their eyes over his skin, taking in each and every word that's embedded deep within his skin and will never ever be removed even if they're scarred or burned off.

They'll return eventually. Soulmarks work weirdly like that. The only way to get rid of a soulmark is too cut off the limb its written on or worse, peel of the skin, and Tsuna doesn't really feel like peeling off every inch of his skin or cutting himself to tiny bits of pieces save his head.

And then, finally, Kyoko takes a step forward, and traces 'Any trash that gets in the way, I'll slice them up!' then makes her way up to 'I'm so sorry.'

There's a look in her eyes that's indescribable, but Tsuna can't help but get lost in those honeyed depths of hers. He doesn't know what he's done in his past life to deserve her but Kami, she's really very pretty, and really very nice, and so so Kyoko that makes him really grateful that she's his.

"They must be good people," Kyoko murmurs, but Tsuna doubts her words, because what kind of good person would ever threaten someone by slicing them up? Not a very good one, in Tsuna's opinion.

"Hah! Good people you say," Hana says, suddenly appearing right next to Kyoko, and Tsuna yelps in surprise at her sudden close proximity to him. "Look at this one," she says as she encourages Kyoko to read the dark blue words curving around his left hip.

Tsuna's face promptly blossoms into the color of a tomato, and he meekly looks away when he hears both girls giggle at it. It's not his fault that he'd inherited most of his mother's looks than his father's.

It's only when both girls walk around him to inspect the words on his backs do their giggles cease, and Tsuna tightly squeezes his eyes shut, prepared for what's to expect.

And it does happen. Their reactions are almost, if not exactly, what he'd expected. There are a pair of gasps―but this time, they're not out of surprise for seeing so many words on him, but they're out of what kind of words are written on him.

Tsuna doesn't say anything when a cool hand is placed on his back, and its fingers trail the chicken scratch-like letters of 'Scum like you don't deserve to be born.' and passing through 'I'd quit, if I were you. You have no chances of winning.' before finally stopping at 'I-I'm fine. I-It's just a couple of bruises, nothing I can't handle.'

The words on his upper back are the easiest to remember―because they have the largest impact on him out of all of his words, minus the one on his butt cheek but that's pretty much self-explanatory―after all, who the hell has their soulmark stamped on their left butt check? Him, apparently, and probably several hundred dozens of other people in this whole wide world―Tsuna remembers these words because he knows that Angry Red and Mean Purple were intentionally trying to hurt his feelings, whilst Clumsy Red is trying to console him even though he's the one who's in pain and hurt and oh Kami, maybe he's covered in bruises because―

Tsuna promptly stops talking when he feels a hand tugging down on his pants, and he gives out a yelp of surprise as both of his hands shoot downwards to keep his pants up in place. Looking over his shoulder, he gives Kyoko―of all people, why does it have to be Kyoko?!―a wide-eyed look, and the orange-haired girl merely shoots him a sheepish smile, as if she'd been caught trying to take a forbidden cookie out of the cookie jar.

And then, Kyoko's sheepish expression turns into a pouty, teary-eyed look that Tsuna is all too familiar with. He's seen her use that look on the teachers to give her extra candy, on the boys to give her the crayon that they'd been using, and on the girls to make them give those cute and completely useless erasers that their mothers had most likely bought for them.

It's the puppy look of doom, and Tsuna is probably sweating bullets by now for having resisted it for five seconds. But, he knows he has a will of steel when he puts his mind to it, and his mind is currently determined on keeping his pants on.

"N-No!" He squeaks out, wildly shaking his head as he turns around, ripping Kyoko's grip off of the waistband of his pants.

And then―then Tsuna did the most stupid thing he's ever done this week.

He looks away from Kyoko and at Hana.

Of course, he's expecting her to help him―after all, she's Hana. The cool and composed one out of his two friends, the only one with common sense between all three of them―but, he should have expected that his expectations aren't always met.

Because when he looks at Hana, he sees the interest on her face, and the way she looks at Kyoko, and the way Kyoko looks at her―then they both look at him, with Kyoko maintaining a smile that's scarily bright and Hana grinning at him evilly with that determined look in her eyes.

Tsuna's back collides with a wall, and he promptly shrinks in place as both girls step closer to him until they're already towering over him, their hands making grabbing gestures as they near him, and Tsuna's so scared that he releases a scream that he hasn't released this past week,

"HIE!"

Word Count: 1523