A/N: Well, I don't have much to say but sorry, I guess, for the two year hiatus (a bloody long time if you ask me) and for the reluctance I had formerly expressed. It's just that it's been complicated and all. So yeah... Thanks for sticking with me even though I've been such a (sorry for the language) douche bag. I'll try to be less of that.

Anyway, I know I've posted this with that former announcement for discontinuity but I'll repost it again, nonetheless. I'll also be saying sorry in advance 'cause I most likely won't be able to update fast and that since it's been so long, my writing skills had practically rusted, I think, and my the plot would stray from the original one so it might create unwanted clashes with my former chapters.

The actual update would come after these two chapters I'm posting now. I'm still conceptualizing my plot so do be patient with me.

And lastly, thank you to all of you! All those reviews and alerts and, gawd, faves Famiglia had received even with my hiatus had always been overwhelming that it almost felt like I've been repeatedly stabbed with every review, alert, and fave due to guilt! But still… I love you all! Thank you so much!

Chapter 14

"Famiglia"

03/28/13

She took back her attention to the pair at the back and focused on the brunette's expression. She couldn't see his face much because of the darkness but what she could see most evidently was that grim thin line on his mouth.

Tsuna noticed her gaze and turned to her. She immediately stopped, her breathing becoming ragged and her heart thumping so loud. He blinked at her then smiled sadly. He turned away from her and left.

Tsuna... kun… was her only thought as he watched the brunette's retrieving back. She felt as if he was leaving her. She held onto her chest tightly with that thought. Tsuna-kun… are you really going to-

Her bangs covered her face, Why am I sad when I think that he's going to part with me…?

Kyoko sighed as she walked from her house to school. It's the first day of the week and also the day her friend, Tsuna, was going back to school. And it has been two days since that day she was kidnapped by her said friend's enemy.

Friend, somehow she felt her chest cringed at that, He's my friend… Just a friend? No, he's a lot more than that to me. He's different… and special. Yeah, I guess that's it. He's a special friend.

She smiled at that thought. Her heart flickered with a gentle but exciting feeling. Her smile only grew as she reminisced all her times with him and their friends, all the fun times and all the sides she saw him as. The side that only his closest friends and family see, that courage and passion he shows when someone needs help. Then, the incident a few nights ago came to her mind. Her heart flickered even more. It's like a fast acceleration from fluttering butterflies to rummaging bees. But this time it isn't sweet and subtle.

She stopped on her tracks and held her chest tight. Looking down to the pavement, with her eyes covered with her bangs, she felt pain. Her eyes stung as her feelings are about to burst out and her tears about to spill. She closed her eyes, trying so hard to stop the tears from falling. All she could think of is him leaving her. She can't transmute her feelings to words, so she could understand what she feels. She felt like she was breaking down.

"Kyoko!" her best friend's voice rang to her ear. Her eyes widened in alert. She immediately dried her watery eyes with her sleeves and turned to her friend with a smile.

Hana looked at her indifferently as she scrutinized her fake smile. They both know each other to sense any trouble from the other. And knowing Hana, she'd probably blame Tsuna and his friends or her brother if anything's wrong with her. She absolutely doesn't want to blame it to them and of course, she doesn't want to worry her friend so all she could do is act like nothing is wrong.

"Ohayou," she greeted her friend, trying her best to put on an act.

Hana seemed to be contemplating on her mind whether she should believe her or not. But then breathes out a greeting, deciding to ride on Kyoko's drive, sensing that the other doesn't want to talk about it. But Kyoko's sure she'll have to tell her friend about her problem sooner or later. And later's better than now; better than troubling her friend with her confused feelings.

They continued to talk about the usual things as they walked to their school, like how it normally is. She was thankful for that. She's thankful her friend understands her well. She just hopes she could understand herself well enough as well.

She smiled and greeted her schoolmates as they proceeded to their locker, changed their shoes and took some of the books they'll need for class, then to their class rooms. She sat to her seat and went chattering with her friend and a few of her classmates. It was their free period so they could just do whatever they want. They were in the middle of talking about a sitcom they all watched on television during the weekend, when Tsuna walked in with his friends.

She of course, excused herself from her friends to greet the reason of her confusion. He greeted her back but not with the usual enthusiasm he had when he does so though. Taking in his appearance, she noticed the small dark circles on his eyes. Ahh, I see. She assumed it's from all the catching up he did on the weekend for school, which also explains his lack of energy.

"Ah, Kyoko-chan, here's all the notes I borrowed from you," Tsuna took a bag where her supposed-notes were, and gestured to hand it in to her.

She gently shook her head and smiled at him, "Don't worry, Tsuna-kun. I don't need those. I already have my own notes, I made those for you. So you can just keep it."

He nodded his head and gave her a small thank you then went back to talking to his two best friends.

Kyoko blinked at his coldness and turned to her friends as well, hiding her displease. Later on she decided to shrug it off, thinking he's only tired.

Every once in a while she'll steal a glance to the brunette, noting his calmer character that the others seemed to have noticed as well since she could see how they would blink whenever he wouldn't do his signature indignant shriek even when their teacher had announced a pop quiz in science. Their teacher even raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off, muttering something like 'too sick to act in character'.

His calm demeanor wasn't much of an issue to her or anyone else but what surprised them or rather impressed them was when he was asked to go to the board and answer the problem written there. Without any complain or hesitation he stood from his seat, walked to the board, and answered the problem. The rest of the class just stared at him, sans a proud Gokudera- who kept on praising his precious Juudaime's work,- and a laughing Yamamoto saying something about losing his math-failing partner. Their teacher had recovered with his stupor first and had told the brunette to explain his solution. Tsuna did just that. His explanation may not have been as intricate as Gokudera's, but a brief and correct explanation nonetheless. Tsuna just looked at the rest of the class and their teacher in boredom and went back to his seat. Their teacher seemed to have been too shocked that he just continued to his lecture and mumbled a 'certainly still too sick to act in character, probably a side-effect of something he drank' to himself. The rest of the class had taken in that little comment their teacher made and went back to their business.

The class went on that way, with him getting fewer wrong answers from the questions their teachers bat him with; and though he was still the weakest link in their game of soccer in their PE class, she heard that he performed better. He was able to kick the ball and pass it to a teammate successfully! That may not be much to others but to Tsuna it's a big leap to a higher level. Heck, she even heard he helped Yamamoto score a point by faking a pass to Gokudera and kicked the ball to Yamamoto who's already waiting near the goal; thus, leading Gokudera sulking for a while. Her classmates may be too surprised with the change or rather improvement in him but for her it was a big relief. Somehow, she knows that this'll be the start of his change. However, she doesn't know whether her relationship to him would change as well. Just thinking about it makes her emotions stir in a whirlpool of pain.

She watched from afar as day by day he keeps on getting better at everything everyone thought he's bad with. She felt proud and happy for him. She could see more students are starting to accept and acknowledge him like the rest of them and not as a below-the-average guy. And day by day, their bond's getting weak and the link that connects them keeps on thinning out despite being classmates and living in the same neighborhood. It's not like he ignores her or avoids her, he's too nice to do that; he still greets her and talk to her, but it's just not like how it used to. The warm welcome he gives her, the earnest laugh he does when they talk about something funny… the bright smiles she sees him do when he sees her, all seemed to be fading to nothing. It's just isn't the same anymore. And she just can't seem to stop the gap between them to get farther.

"Tsuna-san's isn't the same anymore… Tsuna-san doesn't like Haru anymore. He doesn't smile and hang-out with Haru anymore… Tsuna-san has left Haru alone…" Haru told her once when they saw each other one day on the cake shop they often go to. And the girl isn't all that happy and enthusiastic like how she was before. And she understands what the girl's going through very well.

She had talked to him alone one afternoon but it hadn't been much. Sure they'd exchange a few words from each other but their conversation would turn dead once in a while. During the lack of exchange between them, there was silence. It wasn't awkward on those times but it was just silent and nothing else; so she tried opening a topic as much as she could just to avoid the silence. When she was about to leave to heed her friend's call, she heard him mutter something in a soft voice that's almost inaudible to hear. But she heard it nonetheless.

It feels painful like tearing her to pieces slowly and it burns her within until she felt sore.

She felt sad and empty.

She leaned to the wall on the staircase beside the door leading to the rooftop, listening to the sounds coming from the other side. The door's a bit open so she could hear what they are saying clearly. She could hear the laughter and chattering on the place she stood in. Just hearing his voice makes her miss the times she had with him. Those wonderful times just seemed so far away now and had run away from her grasp. She smiled sadly as Yamamoto spot her, his expression was sad and he seemed to understand the reason behind her sad smile. She shook her head gently as he gestured her to come and hang-out with them again, his expression almost pleading. She stood straight and turned around as she walked down to the stairs, away from him.

She let a tear fall out of her face as she remembered what he said that afternoon.

I'm sorry… goodbye.