Tsunayoshi stood across from Kyoya, his eyes distant and clouded more so than they usually were. They watched something, tracing invisible strings and Kyoya absently wondered what it was the small animal saw.
("What do you see?" Kyoya asked one day)
(Tsunayoshi looked at Kyoya and smiled, "I see the world.")
How many years had it been since Kyoya had welcomed Tsunayoshi into his pack? How many years since the day Tsunayoshi had first approached him, words of dancing foxes and war generals on his lips? He always spoke of the world with such reverence; about twisting light showers and creatures the like of which Kyoya had never seen. This world-an entire reality that Tsunayoshi saw that no one else did-sounded wild and free. Untamable and wondrous. There were times when Kyoya wished he could see it-that he could watch the lights and shadows that always captured Tsunayoshi's attention like nothing else could, that he could see the movements of age old gods and demons as they danced across the land, causing chaos with every step they made.
Kyoya had long since resigned himself to only being able to see the mundane world. The world of the metaphysical was something that he would only ever be able to hear about through what Tsunayoshi told him. Tsunayoshi loved to tell him about it, to whisper about beings beyond mortal comprehension and to chatter about flashes of a twisted sort of time that only really made sense to Tsunayoshi. There was no sense in dwelling on what could not be when only the small animal and his mother seemed to have the ability to see.
There were other things to worry about.
(He could taste iron in his mouth. His hair was plastered to his forehead, glued there with the lifeblood of the people he cut down. His breath came quickly and he felt light-like he was full of air and could fly where ever he wished should he choose to spread his wings and take flight. But something chained him down, an impossible weight that gripped at his legs and held him to the earth)
(The weights felt like corpses)
"The herbivore challenged you." His own voice sounded flat to his ears. Kyoya leaned back on the desk behind him, relaxed and confident in his own den. No one would dare challenge him here and his only company was a member of his pack. Tsunayoshi would allow him to unwind as much as he wished and would never see such as a weakness, the kind that Kyoya detested. No, Tsunayoshi had always respected and understood Kyoya in a way that not even Tetsuya, who he had known for almost as long as he could remember, could claim. It was one of the reasons why Kyoya trusted the small animal as much as he did.
However, as he watched the way that Tsunayoshi sighed softly with his eyes glazed over, he couldn't help but think that he shouldn't be relaxing here but should instead sharpening his claws and baring his fangs at the herbivore who challenged what was his.
(Crimson blossomed. Dark and bloody, it dripped down his face and bubbled up in his mouth. All of a sudden, it was drowning him and he couldn't breathe. It swallowed him whole and he couldn't see anything. It slid down his throat, thick like sludge, clawing its way inside him and he couldn't breathe he was drowning and dying and disappearing and-)
(Tsunayoshi was there, smiling at him with a hand outstretched. "Sorry I'm late, Kyo-san.")
Kyoya frowned, eyes narrowing. He knew Tsunayoshi. He had known him for several years. There wasn't another person alive who understood the small animal as well as he did. Tsunayoshi was one of the few he dared call pack. So if some herbivore who didn't understand his place in the hierarchy of Namimori threatened him, then Kyoya wouldn't hesitate to strike them down and make an example of them.
The only thing that stopped him was the look in Tsunayoshi's eyes.
(Kyoya had nightmares sometimes. Kyoya felt weak in them, and oh so strong all the same. They were dark and confusing. They reminded him of his strength. They whispered to him that he was a monster, that he wasn't human, that he was something else. They murmured in his ears fondly, speaking words about all the death he could cause, all the ways he could kill a person. Kyoya hated them for that)
"It's not his fault. Faeries are nasty things sometimes. I don't know why they've taken such a liking to him, but they have. Kyo-san, please don't go after him. I want to stop them and I can't do that if you strike him down first."
(Tsunayoshi always seemed to know when he had them, because whenever he did he always woke to the sight of sunset orange eyes)
Tsunayoshi tilted his head to one side, his expression forlorn and distant. Kyoya didn't like it when Tsunayoshi wore an expression like that. It meant that his bleeding heart was coming out the play and the small animal always got burned when it did.
"Hn." Kyoya resigned himself to watching his play out. The small animal could protect himself when it came down to it. Of that, Kyoya had made certain. He then smirked to himself, his eyes trailing Tsunayoshi as he left the den, thinking that if the herbivore got out of hand, Kyoya would gladly step in and bite him to death.
Until then, he would wait and see.
(They couldn't see it, nor could they hear it, but war lingered on the horizon. Ares raised his head and smiled-gruesome, grimley, teeth sharp and dripping blood. Sheep were lined up for slaughter, and a wolf gladly stalked closer to them, fangs sharp and claws sharper)
Kyoya stepped away from the desk and walked after Tsunayoshi. The few people that were in the halls scattered when they saw the pair, and Kyoya felt a sense of satisfaction that they did so. These herbivores, at least, knew their place. The walk to the gym where the fight was taking place was quiet bar the sound of their shoes on the floor. Once they were near the gym, the sound of chatter filled his ears and Kyoya resisted the urge to bite the crowding herbivores to death. They would be allowed to gather-for now.
(No one would get away)
Tsunayoshi entered the gym and Kyoya lingered near the door, suppressing his presence as to not panic the herbivores near the back and disrupt the challenge. If Tsunayoshi wished to fight uninterrupted, then fight uninterrupted he would.
"You!" The herbivore roared, pointing his shinai at Tsunayoshi. The herbivore's eyes were narrowed and his mouth was drawn out into a snarl-a pale imitation of a carnivore's smile. The herbivore seemed haggard to Kyoya, as if the herbivore was under a great deal of stress. It must be the influence of the fae, Kyoya concluded despite not being able to see them. He trusted Tsunayoshi's word and if Tsunayoshi said that the Faeries were playing games with this herbivore then Kyoya chose to believe that such was the truth.
(The samurai's skin was stained and covered in tiny scratches, the creature stretched lazily across his shoulders not having treated the man well at all. His armor-samurai armor made from interlocking scales of a dragon slain by some distant knight in far off western lands, so different from the wise beasts who favored drifting about Asia-bore many scratches as well and his sword was nowhere to be seen)
(It was too bad. Tsuna had liked that sword)
"You scum!" The herbivore continued, "Finally decided to show up? Fine! Allow me to explain the rules of the challenge! The first person to score Ippon on the other wins. The prize… is Kyoko!"
The herbivore smirked, seemingly proud of himself, and pointed dramatically at the female herbivore that Tsunayoshi had walked to school with earlier that day. Sasagawa Kyoko her name was. She was the younger sibling of the loud herbivore who constantly came to annoy him. Kyoya remembered Tsunayoshi mentioning once that she had potential-that chaos followed her wherever she went. It made Kyoya wonder what the girl would become.
Tsunayoshi seemed resigned as the herbivore instructed the members of the Kendo Club to bring out the Kendo Club equipment. They carried a shinai and some protective gear. It seemed heavier than normal-weighted versions of the original. Kyoya narrowed his eyes, but stayed where he stood. He had promised not to interfere, so Kyoya would let Tsunayoshi do what he would.
"May I have a different shinai?" Tsunayoshi asked, clasping his hands behind his back, "The one you've brought seems to be broken."
The herbivore flinched minutely, and Kyoya got a small sense of satisfaction that the herbivore hadn't forgotten his place entirely. He seemed to be at least slightly aware that what he was doing was stepping out of line. No matter, though. It wouldn't make his punishment after this any lighter.
The herbivore grumbled, but allowed it. A different shinai was brought out-a normal one this time. Tsunayoshi picked it up and held it gingerly. He then walked out in front of the herbivore without bothering with the armor. Smart. It would only slow Tsunayoshi down with how heavy it was. It would serve no purpose other than a restriction.
"Haha! You fool! Only an idiot would walk to a challenge without armor on!"
Tsunayoshi smiled softly even as the herbivore and those surrounding him laughed. "Perhaps," Tsunayoshi said, "But I've been told many a times that I'm a fool. And I say it's better to be a fool than to be dead."
The herbivore flinched again, but recovered quickly. He growled and lunged forward, bringing his shinai up to attack Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi ducked out of the way, dodging to the side. The match continued in much the same manner, with Mochida attacking and Tsunayoshi dodging without making any move to attack him.
"Stop! Dodging!" The herbivore growled, twisting around to face Tsunayoshi when Tsunayoshi managed to get behind him.
Tsunayoshi hummed and ducked under another swipe. As the match went onwards and the crowd watched with bated breath, Mochida's movements got rougher and sharper. His swings grew wider and wilder. Tsunayoshi remained calm.
("Now?" A shadowy figure asked it's companion as Reborn prepared the sniper rifle)
(Now, Reborn thought to himself as he shot the Dying Will Bullet at his strange student)
Tsunayoshi jerked as if struck and looked up to a place in the rafters. "No!" He called, only for a shot to ring out across the room. Tsunayoshi jerked once more and then froze, unmoving.
Fire. Orange fire blossomed at his forehead and spread, catching on his hair and clothing and spreading along his skin. It didn't burn him-no, instead it flared around him like a bonfire on a warm summer night.
(Fire fire fire-and he couldn't breath the Everything swirled up against him he couldn't hear the Songs of the world deafened him. He saw Everything he saw Nothing he was Everyone he was No one. The world was at his fingertips-every connection plain to see. Crisscrossing strings stretched and tore and knotted, Fate smiling cruelly at him. Laughter echoed in the loudest silence he had ever experienced it killed him help please)
("Shhh," a voice whispered in his ear. It was familiar, where had he heard it before? It reminded him of the color yellow and the smell of sweets)
Then it disappeared, the fire burning out as quickly as it came. Mochida gained an Ippon and Tsuna fell to the ground unconscious. The referee raised a flag in the herbivore's favor and the crowd cheered.
Kyoya growled and stalked forward.
"Herbivore."
The crowd went silent.
"I'll bite you to death."
…
Tsuna stood on top of an ocean. It stretched out as far as he could see. Clouds drifted slowly above him, calm and soothing. They made him feel at peace. Underneath his feet was a symbol-one that he was unfamiliar with. Across from him stood a man.
The man was tall and looked to be somewhere in his late 20s or early 30s. His hair was blond and his facial features seemed foreign. They reminded him a bit of the way Reborn's shadowy self appeared to him, only softer. Kinder. He wore a pinstripe suit and a black mantle over that, various trinkets decorating it. On his forehead was a flame, orange in color and flickering in a non existent wind.
"Who are you?" Tsuna questioned, a strange sense of calm still settling over his senses. It was strange. He couldn't see all the things he normally could. There were no lights, shadows, or strings. No small creatures scrambling for the road Between nor flying fish drifting passed his head. "Where are we?"
The blond man smiled softly and opened his mouth. He said something, but Tsuna couldn't hear the words that were being said.
"What?" Tsuna spoke, feeling confused, "I didn't hear you!"
The man repeated what he said before, but still the words don't reach him. Instead the world started to tear itself away. Tsuna felt himself being yanked back and he protested the actions of the invisible hands pulling him away. "Wait!" Tsuna called, "Not yet!"
But the world disappeared and was replaced with black.
"Tsunayoshi?"
Tsuna opened his eyes to find himself lying in a bed in the nurse's office. The General sat next to him, concern in his eyes.
"Kyo-san?" Tsuna murmured.
"What happened, Tsunayoshi?" Kyoya asked and Tsuna isn't sure how to respond. Instead he turned his head away from the General to look out the window. The sky beyond the glass is filled with clouds, just like in the dream.
Tsuna smiled and looked back at Kyoya, "Kyo-san? I'm really glad the sky has clouds in it. Did you know that?"
The General stayed silent as stars swirled within his irises. Ares shifted on his shoulders and Tsuna wondered what has the being so restless. But instead of questioning Tsuna further, the General stood and walked towards the door, fire flaring at his feet. Just before he left, Kyoya paused and looked back.
"Your training will have to be stepped up if a herbivore can beat you."
Then he left and Tsuna was alone again.
AN: So sorry for the long wait! Writing this chapter was like pulling teeth, I swear! Ugh! The characters were just not cooperating at all! In other words... The plot is finally moving forward! Yay! I've also gone back and edited some of the ANs. Feel free to read them if you feel the need to, but not much has actually changed. Also, did you know that the comment I receive most about this story is that Tsuna reminds them of Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter? I'm glad that he does, considering I based a large part of his demeanor on her. And these chapters just keep getting longer, don't they? This one is 2,400 words exactly without the AN.