Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.
Summary: When Tsuna's pride - his family - shattered, there really weren't anymore reasons for him to be the all-encompassing Sky. But when he was given another chance, to protect them once more, he didn't hesitate - even if it's in another parallel world where he is no longer Vongola Decimo but his twin brother, his Elements no longer his but his brother's... and Vongola is falling (quite literally in terms of ranks).
"Nari, you can do this right?"
Little Ienari had nodded happily towards the father he had looked up to so much.
"Of course he can, he has the blood of Vongola after all!"
He had been proud of that.
"As expected of Ienari-dono!"
It filled him with pride.
"We expect great things from you Ienari."
Then it became too much.
"I hope Vongola Decimo will be able to bring Vongola back it its glorious days."
Why are they putting such a heavy burden on him? He's only fourteen - not even an adult yet.
"I expected you to be able to do at least that Ienari."
But... but he did his best. Wasn't that enough? Wasn't it?!
"I'm disappointed in you son."
No...
His father had looked at him with those eyes for the first time those words hit harder than anyone else's could have. And everything just shattered inside because he couldn't become someone they could be proud of, someone that wasn't himself -
Stop. StopstopstopstopSTOP!
Ienari couldn't take it anymore. He just couldn't. Can't anyone see that he was breaking? Why the f*** do they have to put weight after weight after weight on his shoulder when there was no more room for them to it put on?!
He tried to calm himself down, but it wasn't working. He needed to leave, Ienari decided. To get out of this school - he doesn't care if Hibari was going to bite him to death, he just wants out.
So he ran. Ran as fast as he could, as far as he could. But there's something - there's always something - that pulled him, chained him back to the life that he wished he never had.
Danger always lurked around the corner and he was expected to come out - from a bomb, gun fights, sword fights, fights with flames against those with tens of more times experience than him - alive?
That's complete bull.
He's no superhuman even if he tries to be.
His throat constricted and he felt it hard to breathe. He grabbed the front of his shirt, willing himself to stop hyperventilating.
Ienari sensed something - or someone - approaching him behind thanks to his Intuition and he reacted by enclosing a hand on whatever that was trying to grab his shoulder. "Who..."
His voice died out when -
Oh. It's him.
- chestnut brown filled with hatred and frustration clashed against calmed sunset-orange, it was as if the other had nothing to do with the current development. (If his mind had been clear, he would've wondered how Tsuna was able to track him all the way out here without him noticing.)
"Ienari -"
"Don't you dare call me by my given name." The blonde hissed venomously. "You have no rights to do so."
Tsuna sighed and more flames were fanned into Ienari's ire because it felt like he was being treated like a kid and he had no rights to -
Smack!
- Ienari fell onto the ground, holding the soon-to-be swollen cheek as he stared at Tsuna, who was still at the end of the follow through of a punch, in shock. The apathetic gaze that the brunet was giving after the he had punched Ienari made something in the latter to flare. "You... what the hell was that for, you b*****d?!"
"..."
"Don't think for a second that you're looking down on me -"
"Ienari."
"WHAT?!"
"Shut up."
"..." What. The. F***.
"Now," Tsuna straightened up, cranking his neck as he continued to look down - how dare he look down on me! - on Ienari. "For your question, that was brotherly love."
"... brotherly love." Ienari slowly reiterated darkly, upper part of his face overshadowed just as how the dark clouds were now hiding the sky away in prepare for rain. "Brotherly love. What. The. F***ing -"
Ienari struck back with his fist, aiming for the chest, and Tsuna didn't dodge.
"- Hell gives you any right to be my brother?!" The blonde exclaimed, preventing Tsuna from stumbling back by grabbing him by the collar. The rain had started to fall, drenching them but neither noticed nor did they cared to notice at the moment. "None whatsoever!"
"..." Tsuna silently lifted his hands, enclosing them over Ienari's fists and without warning, he flipped the blonde over his shoulder and onto the ground without mercy. "Just the fact that I care, Ienari."
The latter pushed himself up and lunged for Tsuna, tackling him to the ground and both of them started brawling from there.
"You care?" Ienari aimed a punch towards the older's face but met with the ground. The pain was numbed from his quelling anger just as the rain got heavier and heavier. "Hah, that's a laugh! You were never f***ing there! You never once asked me what kind of sh** that I have to go through!"
"Well," Tsuna rolled to the side, letting Ienari fall underneath this time as they wrestled. Frustrations of his own welled up in his chest when facing against a stubborn family member who refuses to see the world outside of the box. He could see the angry orange flames in Ienari's eyes, burning yet appearing dull and sickly. Like Byakuran said, Ienari lacks the Harmony that would make him a proper Sky. "You shouldn't have acted so distant. How am I supposed to approach you when you're always walking away from me?"
His brother was tittering between safety and falling, and if he doesn't resolve this, then Ienari would only be left with the damp cold despair and pain that Discord brought.
"That's your problem!" Ienari grunted, rolling over and kneeing Tsuna in the stomach so that the latter could release his fists. He really wanted to punch the sh** out of Tsuna's face and release his bottled up anger; though, he was disappointed when Tsuna not only not let go, but he had gained the upper hand again.
Hearing Ienari's accusation, something in Tsuna just snapped.
"My problem?" Tsuna reiterated sardonically, letting out a crude laugh that momentarily startled Ienari. It sounded so broken, so hurt, nothing like the nonchalant, but polite tones that he had heard since they met. Sunset-orange eyes narrowed, anger - angerfrustrationhelplessness - was directed at Ienari and something past him.
"How the f*** -" Ienari was stunned this time because Tsuna didn't seem like someone who would cuss "- is it my 'problem' when you're being a sh***y brat who's scared of even stepping out of his crappy comfort zone?! Do you f***ing know what kind of problems I have? What kind of sh***y problems everyone else have?!"
"I..." Ienari tried to swipe at his brother's leg in momentary panic, but the other arched his torso at an angle, then brought himself around and used the momentum to lash out a kick - how the heck was Tsuna better at fighting than he was?!
"You don't, do you." Tsuna answered his own question, hands firm on pinning Ienari to the ground. His voice had mellowed down and his piercing gaze as soften. No matter what Ienari had said about him earlier that day, Tsuna was going to reach out to the falling Sky. Tsunayoshi would have wanted this too. He may have failed once, but Tsuna won't let it happen again.
"So what if I don't?!" Ienari rebutted, trying to struggling free but dammit, Tsuna had such a strong grip! "They don't know mine either! No one does!"
With renewed strength from his anger, he managed to rip away from Tsuna's hold. He rolled away and pushed up onto his knees, one hand grabbing fistful of dirt while the other wiping the bits of blood from his lips when he accidentally bit the inside of his cheek because of Tsuna's previous hit. "No one knows the f***ing pressure that they put on me! Everyone thinks I'm some sort of superhuman that can fulfill their expectations when I'm just a f***ing normal human being!"
"..."
"I tried my hardest to satisfy everyone but then what happens? They're f***ing disappointed because I couldn't do something out of their expectations. Like, what. The. F***." Ienari glowered, eyes flashing an angry orange. He tackled again, but this time, Tsuna grabbed both fists, locking them into a stalemate, their feet scraping against the ground as they tried to push at each other as if they were participating in Sumo Wrestling. "They never cared what happens to me. Vongola doesn't care. Reborn doesn't care. My so-called friends doesn't care. Mom and you know nothing so you two couldn't possibly care in the ignorant lives you live in. Dad had long lost faith in me so he doesn't give a sh** either! No one does! When I had to fight for my f***ing life that one time to be accepted, all I got was a pat on the back!"
"Ienari -"
"A sh***y pat on my f***ing back!"
"Ie -"
"Do you know how frustrating that is?!" The blonde decided to butt heads against Tsuna, causing the latter to lose the stalemate and stumbling back with a red mark on his forehead. "DO YOU?!"
His flames flared, its aura wrapping around Ienari like a shield to wear off everyone who dared to come close, yet it was weak - weakweakdying. The color too dull now that it was leading towards a sickly brown that seemed to be eroding away.
"For God's sake, Ienari," Tsuna uttered in near exasperation. He then had to take a hold of Ienari's arm to stop the latter from moving too much and to have him listen to him. "I know it's my fault for not being there for you most of the time -"
"No sh** Sherlock!"
"- but you need to stop this. Stop bottling everything up in yourself!" Tsuna swiped the other's feet from under and pinned him against the ground once more with the blonde's back facing up.
"Get the fu -"
"Shut up. And listen," Tsuna seethed and even under the downpour, the brunet made his authority loud and clear. He willed his Sky flames' aura to roar and wrapped around the weakened - sickly - flames that Ienari had unconsciously emitted, slowly penetrating into the defenses that Ienari put around himself. They wrapped around Ienari's flames gently and purified the sickly dull flames, letting the latter's color slowly, but surely, return to what it once was. "Your friends are here for you. Right now. They're waiting for you to reach out to them. I'm waiting for the time when that comes. After all, I'm your brother, aren't I Ienari? "
Tsuna released Ienari, allowing the other to turn over and finally, willingly looked eye-to-eye with Tsuna. The warmth from the sunset-orange orbs made Ienari feel that same familiar safety that he always felt when he - when he was... with his... brother...?
(The foreign Sky flames burrowed deeper into Ienari's mind, reaching the place where forgotten memories were once sealed. It flared and burned away as much of the chains as it could before disappearing. Although the chains regrew, it was no longer what it had once been.)
"Didn't I promise to always be your friend no matter what?"
With his eyes wide in surprise, the blonde wasn't sure but he could've swore that his brother's child-like voice had been mixed in with Tsuna's current calming tone.
.
.
.
"Nari-kun, wait up!"
"Onii-san, let's go on the swings!"
"Ne, what did grandpa do to you Onii-san?"
"I... I don't know... but I feel weird - wah!"
"Onii-san?! Are you okay?!"
"Ah... I don't feel normal. I can't walk without falling anymore..."
"... MOOOOOMMMM! ONII-SAN'S BROKEN!"
...
"What's wrong Nari-kun?"
"Those kids at school said I should stop playing with Onii-san if I want to be their friends. B-but I want to play with Onii-san..."
"Don't worry about them, I won't leave even if you tell me to Nari-kun! You're my little brother after all!"
"... P-promise?"
"Un! I promise I will always be Nari-kun's friend and nothing will stop me!"
"Onii-san is the best after all!"
.
.
Onii-san... is the... best...?
.
.
"I won't force you to accept those around you." Tsuna turned to leave, but not before flashing Ienari a smile. "But doesn't it feel nice to let everything off of your chest?"
"..." Ienari stay rooted in his spot as the brunet walked away. The rain had slowly let up, but he wasn't sure if that was the cause for how his shoulders seemed to have gotten lighter just the slightest bit.
The addition of a weight - a physical one - on his shoulder in the form of one Reborn snapped the blonde out of his daze.
"Baka-Nari."
"R-Reborn..." Ienari mumbled, flinching when he thought that his tutor might kick him or something because of his stupidity.
However, much to Ienari's relief and confusion, Reborn didn't do such thing. Instead, the infant hitman visibly sighed, tugging his fedora down as he hopped down.
"You're my student."
"...?" Ienari didn't know where this was going at all.
"So remember this," Reborn looked up up, beady eyes steady yet warm for once. "I don't allow my students to behave so pathetically over stupid things."
"..." Ienari blinked before he slowly realized what his tutor meant. It had been Reborn's way of telling Ienari that he does care.
And the dark clouds made way for the clear blue sky that had been absent for far too long.
Tsuna's hand played with the pocket watch absentmindedly. But when his hand twitch, he frowned. Dear lord, he really had gotten used to those daily sparring in his other life that he was just itching to punch something - especially when all of his pent up frustrations didn't have anywhere to go just yet. Well... he did release some on Ienari but that was an accident! He had only meant to talk some sense into that brother of his, not - not...
"Ugh..." Tsuna grumbled, not wanting to think anymore than he had already did. Everything about this world was just wrong and no one, absolutely no one, seem to be able - or even be willing to fix it for that matter!
Tsuna groaned when he realized that he wasn't cut out for this role. Not only did he have to find Kawahira, Talbot, and the freakin' Vindice (He needed to hunt down Kawahira first if he wanted to convince the Vindice but right now, he has no leads whatsoever - why does the immortal man have to move around so much?!) to break the Arcobaleno curse... now he need to add fixing the entire goddamn bond of Vongola to the list because Ienari obviously has a problem, and from the look of things, so does the rest of the guardians damn it and - dear god, the Simons!
Tsuna wanted to groan. How could he forget about the Simons?! (Then again, he had been wallowing in his own misery up until recently... He should really start getting his sh** together now.)
At least he was looking forward to meeting his best friend... and hope that they'll get along like in the past - or future or whatever. (Then he had to think about Daemon and all that fun stuff and Tsuna wondered if he should've just chosen to stay dead in the first place.)
... and he would soon realize that he had been directly involved with Vongola, because of that... talk with Ienari. He had already been caught up with the drama that it was now replaced as the first on his ever-stretching to-do list.
Tsuna was just too nice for his own good.
An added weight on his head caused Tsuna to open his eyes, head tilting up to meet beady onyx orbs while still ignoring the fact that his clothes were wet and there were multiple bruises on his person. They weren't that big of a deal anyways.
"Reborn." The brunet greeted with a brief smile before looking back to the handiwork he made weeks prior in the forest on the edge of Namimori. "Shouldn't you stay with Ienari?"
"... why a brawl?" The Sun Arcobaleno questioned instead of answering.
"Haven't you ever heard of 'men talk with their fists?'" The brunet chortled back. "Or, at least... that's what Ryohei always say."
"So you decided let the idiot take all his frustrations out on you." Reborn deciphered. "How considerate of you."
"That," Tsuna motioned his head slightly to the side. "or he wanders off the path until the inevitable." He thought for a moment before continuing. "I'm sure you already know this, but a Sky without Harmony isn't recognized as a proper Sky. Without the ability to balance himself, let alone stay in tune with his surroundings, it would only be a matter of time before Ienari takes a plunge into full Discord. As his brother, I can't allow that."
"... Besides," He sighed and decided to sit down on the edge of the crater. "Only a Sky would be able to bring back balance by adding balance to start off the catalyst. Just like how Byakuran needed Yuni to balanced him when he tipped."
"... you can't make yourself completely the good guy here," Reborn pointed out in a deadpan. "You were also letting off a bit of steam."
"Hehe," Tsuna chuckled lightly. "Guilty as charge~"
"Against my student."
"He's also my brother y'know..."
"But against my student."
"Ah... here comes Reborn's twisted superiority complex."
Click.
"What." Leon had been morphed into a gun and was now being wrapped in the hitman's tiny hands. "Did you say?"
"Haha..." Tsuna cautiously scooted away, grinning sheepishly. "The moon sure looks bright right now!"
"... That's the sun."
"Oh. Right." Well, Tsuna was done for.
"Anything else before I shoot?"
"Um... don't shoot?"
Bang!
Tsuna dropped down, rolled, and ended up exercising his dodging skills for the rest of the afternoon.
Ienari stared absentmindedly at the mug of steaming hot chocolate that his mother had made for him in his hands. He had been walking around aimlessly, wasting time before going home because, well, he practically skipped school and that was something he rather not let Nana know. (He could've lied but that didn't sit well with his already too guilty of a conscience.)
When he returned to the Sawada residence, his mother had been first horrified at the fact that Ienari had been soaking wet, then she demanded the blonde to go take a warm shower and change into dry clothes before coming down to the kitchen for something to eat.
... At least before Reborn left, he had been considerate enough to heal the bruises from that fight with... with Tsuna.
His grip on the porcelain mug tightened when his thoughts led back to what had him in his current state. He had... remembered - at least part of his childhood that held the brunet in it. Everything up to the point of age eight but nothing further. Even so, those forgotten memories were more than enough to make Ienari feel guilty.
Tsuna was his brother and, dear god, he had forgotten and ignored his only brother since... since Tsuna came back!
It wasn't something he could mend, not anymore because the damage had been dealt and... and well, Ienari's not who he had once been anymore. Not one to smile all the time, not one to easily get along with anyone anymore, and most definitely not that little child that had always followed his older twin everywhere,
"Na-kun?" Nana sat from across the blonde, her motherly instinct telling her that her son had things on his mind. "What's wrong?"
"H-huh?" Ienari was startled out of his thoughts. "I - um..."
The door clicking open saved Ienari from having to explain himself.
"I'm home." A soft voice carried over to the kitchen, where his mother immediately brightened up while Ienari stiffened.
"Welcome home Tsu-kun! Where have you been?"
Ienari wondered about that too. He mean, they had both skipped out on school and none of them would have actually return to Namimori High - not when there was a guarantee that Hibari would bite them to death for leaving school property during school hours - so how did Tsuna manage to come home even later than him?
Said teen stood at the entrance to the kitchen, soaking wet and looking worse for wear. (Did Reborn not heal his brother too because he was a civilian?)
"Goodness," Nana huffed, hands on her hips. "Why are both of my sons coming back soaking wet and - " she gasped upon realizing that the brunet had smudges of dirt and leaves on his person along with bruises and cuts.
"Tsu-kun!" She immediately went to grab a towel to wipe away the dirt from the cuts to prevent infection. "What happened? Did you get into a fight?"
Ienari flinched, dreading for the worst.
Tsuna's sunset-orange eyes discreetly glided from Nana to his brother before the former flashed a brief assuring smile towards their mother.
"I went for a walk and tripped, is all Kaa-san."
His words left the blonde baffled (Why did he lie?), but if Tsuna noticed, he didn't point it out.
"Kaa-san, I'll go take a shower."
"... Alright," Nana agreed reluctantly, stepping aside. "Do you want me to make something for you to eat?"
Tsuna shook his head. "I'm not that hungry."
Just by that statement alone was enough to cause a pang of guilt to hit Ienari like a freight train. He wasn't all that insensitive enough to not understand the reason behind Tsuna's polite words. He was giving Ienari an escape from having to be in the same room with him for too long.
(It wasn't fair at all. Why was his stupid brother still so considerate to him after Ienari took his anger out on him?)
"Are you feeling sick, Tsu-kun?" Their parent's motherly instincts spiked, and Ienari felt jealousy. He squashed it down though, because really, it was his own fault that his mother didn't know how to approach him anymore. "Do you want to go to the doctor's?"
"No," Tsuna waved the concern off with a laugh. "I'm fine Kaa-san. Just tired."
Ienari wished he could act so naturally around their mother like that, but it was too late to regret the distance that grew between him and his family. After that lashing out at his brother, Ienari knew the gap would only widen even further. (Can it even be fixed anymore, he wondered.)
"If you so say..." Nana trailed, brows furrowed in deep concern - not at all like the oblivious trait that she always take on. "Come down whenever you feel better, okay?"
"Un." And Tsuna disappeared before Ienari could even put in his two cents' worth.
"Stop spacing off Baka-Nari." Reborn dropped down from out of nowhere with a hammer. Ienari didn't even bother to dodge it because it was pointless with or without his Intuition.
Ienari groaned, another injury added though the previous ones had healed. "Why can't you be gentler?"
"It's not in my vocabulary." Reborn cheerfully admitted.
"You and your messed up vocabulary." The blonde muttered.
"Since when did I taught you to give attitude back?"
He refrained from shivering at the gleam in Reborn's eyes (he had long accepted that his life will never be normal) and sighed. He hesitated for several long seconds before gathering up some courage to ask something that he hadn't considered before. "Hey... Reborn?"
Said infant silently gestured for Ienari to go on.
"Is it..." Ienari averted his eyes, unsure if how he should phrase his question. "Is it too late to fix things?"
"..." Reborn tugged his fedora down, hiding the smirk curling on his mouth. "Who knows."
Right... it was kind of difficult to get this chapter to flow in the direction I had in mind... so I hope it went smoothly? Okay, so... a show of hands. Who'd wanted to see Tsuna and Ienari punch each other? (*raises hand* Well... the Tsuna punch Ienari part anyways.)
On a side note, if Tsuna couldn't talk sense into his brother, then they're going speak through their fists then talk. (No offense but *rolls eyes* Men.) And Tsuna has a lot of things on his to-do list.
Also, issue that's been popping up here and there (I may not respond - because I don't know what to respond with - but I do read reviews because I like to hear you guys' opinions on things and it motivates me): Guardians. I consider that Vongola terminology, so Tsuna doesn't technically have a need for them. He needs Elements, not guardians (The number of guardians are fixed to a set while Elements are not, though I agree that it's a better balance to have at least one of each Elements. I have more to say on the distinctions between the two but I won't. Too long). Tsuna's bonds with others can be both subtle and blatant. If you noticed the subtle ones, great, but if you don't notice the more obvious ones... then I think there's something wrong with my writing. (Case in point, Ienari. Right now.)
***Spoiler(?): I'd like to point out that I never did say Tsuna couldn't bond with his brother and his friends. I just said they can't be his guardians. And Tsuna must take in consideration of the future when he create bonds with this world's Elements. Forcibly broken bonds were something I would think Tsuna would like to avoid; hence, he prefer not to form bonds with anyone who doesn't know - and are therefore prepared -unless it's necessary. (This issue of his will pop up again in a chapter in the distant future.)
Anyways, I know this is a really slow development and nothing is happening and that some of you may be fed up (I know I would if I'm not the one writing this and know what's going to come next lol) but well... I can't meet everyone's expectations so I give my sincerest apology to the unhappy readers ^^' (Plus, I don't know many chapters in total there are in this fanfic. Rough estimate is... at most 50...? My god, that's long. But judging by how many chapters I have already written... and they're getting longer too (ー_ー ll))
Thanks to nessa11997, Crazzyy Anime Fan, okay, 20AngelsDemons04, Guest97, Kitani, KK, kyothefallenkit, Chi-chan, Nella Moonblood Royalle, Undertheskys, I-AM-A-SUPER-SADIST, Sora Rider X, GreenDrkness, PhantomCielo27, DiamondGoddess, Neko Nishiriu, thor94, sousie, Lucy Dei, SoraBlankShiro, ScarletRoofs, PAVeY14, TheSilverHunt3r, MintMousse, 27aquarrow72, Little Ms. Pumpkin, Herushiru, DarknessN'Death, Chew Chew, YokaiAngel, aiwataru1, Maria Aizabelle373Owlstar7, azalealady, D C JoKeR H S, sssweety, Pristar, fieryfoxpaws, Allusive Ryder, Dashusi4ka, demonix19, UnicornAkashi, Wxin, Silver Cuffs for reviewing!
Happy reading! ~ヾ(＾∇＾)
P.S. Just out of curiosity but what are your opinions on OCs? I personally find them interesting at times, other not - but definitely difficult to develop.