Note: I know that this isn't a continuation of the last chapter but...I really just wanted to get this one out. Sorry not sorry. I hope you still like it!
I don't own KHR.
There was blood everywhere. On the floors, the walls, the doors...everywhere. Mukuro didn't know who all the blood belonged to, but there was a certain dread in the air that he could barely stand. Even so, he walked down the hallway with dim, flickering lightbulbs, though where it led Mukuro didn't know. He was lost and at this point he just hoped the path he was taking would lead him out of this empty building.
Though...now that he thought about it, the hallway did look awfully like a certain hallway back at the Estraneo labs-
At that moment, Mukuro's foot hit something. Thankfully he had been walking slowly so he didn't trip or even stumble but that wasn't what set him on edge. Whatever his foot hit, was somewhat soft.
Despite himself, Mukuro looked down.
It was Ken. Mukuro's breath clogged his throat as his eyes took in the blood spots on Ken's clothes, the blood trail leading out of his mouth, his still body, and his brown, unseeing eyes.
"Ken?" Mukuro called out to him quietly even though it was all too clear that Ken was dead. When Ken failed to answer, Mukuro reached his trembling hands out to him and started to bend down when he suddenly saw something flying towards him.
Mukuro quickly straightened up and reached for his trident but then the object landed with a crash and rolled to a stop right beside Ken.
It only took Mukuro a few horrible seconds to realize that the object was in fact, Chikusa's lifeless body.
"No," Mukuro managed to say as his breathing both got shorter and raspier while he took a step back, which was followed by another one. "No no n-"
Mukuro got cut off when as he took another step backwards, his foot collided with some unseen object. This time, however, he couldn't maintain his balance and fell backwards. But instead of landing on the cold and hard metallic floor, he landed on something soft yet firm.
And also kind of wet.
Knowing that this couldn't be good, Mukuro let out a strangled gasp as he sat up and once again, looked down at his feet even though he really did not want to.
He was rewarded with Chrome's bloodshot eye looking straight at him.
"N-No...C-C-Chrome..." Mukuro gasped out as his blood, which had started to freeze since he first saw Ken, froze even more. Then with impeding horror, he realized that only the calves of his legs were on his sister's body.
Which meant that Chrome wasn't who he was currently sitting on.
His heart racing, Mukuro swiftly turned around and with his heterochromatic eyes tilted down, saw that he was sitting on none other than Tsuna.
Who was also clearly dead.
Somehow still having enough self-control not to scream, Mukuro rolled off his little brother's body and when he was on his arms and knees, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Mukuro slowly looked up, hoping beyond all hope that he wasn't just about to find another dead child.
He didn't have to tilt his head up far before he saw Ryohei lying on his back a few feet away from him, his gray eyes blank and his fists all bloody.
To make things even worse, Kyoya's body was lifelessly lying on top of him, like he had died trying to protect their brother.
It was at this moment, that Mukuro's self-control finally disappeared.
So he screamed.
Then, in a blink of an eye, Mukuro wasn't in the bloody hallway with his dead family and friends anymore. He was sitting up in bed, breathing like he had been under water for several minutes before finally managing to break the surface. His hands were clutched to his chest and he saw that it was the middle of the night, with moonlight streaming in through the window. A quick look around showed him that there were boys sleeping peacefully in the same room as him, all on their own beds.
He...he wasn't back at the Estraneo labs, he was at the orphanage. He wasn't alone, his brothers were right here in the room with him, and Chrome was in the room just down in the hall. And they were alive.
It was just a nightmare.
Though...Ken and Chikusa really were dead.
Mukuro sucked in a deep breath as he dug his face into his hands,and just continued to breathe. This wasn't the first time he had a nightmare like this, though Mukuro grimly noted that it was the first one that had Ryohei in it. It was also the second one with Kyoya in it, which was still somewhat surprising to Mukuro. They were on better terms than when they had first met, and while they were in the same family (thanks to Tsuna and Chrome's insistence), Mukuro didn't think that he had grown that close to the bloodthirsty carnivore.
But apparently he had.
Mukuro sighed shakily as he picked his head up and took his covers off of him. Shivering a bit, though whether it was because of the chill winter air or because he was still recovering from his nightmare, Mukuro couldn't be sure as he swung his legs over the side of his bed.
He hated this. He hated seeing his friends' dead bodies over and over again, and he hated seeing his family's bloody corpses alongside them. He hated how there really was no rhyme or rhythm to the appearances of the nightmares, but most of all...
He hated how this nightmare probably wasn't going to be last one.
Mukuro then got off his bed and even though he winced slightly when his feet touched the cold floor, he continued his trek away from his bed. Because even though he knew that it was just a nightmare, that his family (except for Chrome) hadn't been anywhere near the Estraneo...he had to make sure. He had to see with his own eyes that they were okay and alive. Just in case.
His heart still beating fast and his breathing still a bit irregular, Mukuro went to his closest sibling, which happened to be Tsuna.
When he got there, Mukuro couldn't help but smile a little bit when he saw Tsuna sprawled out on the bed, part of his covers lying on the floor as the rest of them covered the leg that was still on the bed. Grateful that at least his youngest brother was having a peaceful slumber, Mukuro quietly lifted the leg that was hanging off the bed and put it back down on the somewhat soft mattress. He then picked up the covers and carefully placed them so that they covered all of Tsuna except for his head. When he was finished, Mukuro waited another second for him to stir. When Tsuna didn't, Mukuro continued right on to the next bed over.
Unlike Tsuna, Kyoya's covers were all still on the bed and he didn't have any of his limbs hanging off his bed. Instead he laid straight on his back, with one arm over his chest like he would have felt too crowded if had both arms under the covers. Knowing that Kyoya was a pretty light sleeper, Mukuro didn't try to put Kyoya's arm back under the old blanket and thin sheet. Instead, and in spite of himself, Mukuro just held two of his fingers just above Kyoya's open mouth. It was only when he felt a steady exhale of breath did Mukuro felt satisfied enough to continue forward.
Next up was Ryohei, the newest addition to their family. Unlike the others, he was lying curled up on his side, his fists clenched like he was facing another boxing fanatic. He was also making incoherent noises and since they sounded a bit stressed, Mukuro risked placing his hand on top of Ryohei's white hair.
Immediately Ryohei stopped grumbling incoherently. For a moment, Mukuro just stood there, still as a rock and afraid that he had accidently woken him up. But when seconds passed and Ryohei still had yet to open his eyes, Mukuro deduced that he hadn't after all. Maybe whatever Ryohei had been dreaming about was now more peaceful and hopefully, happier as well.
Relieved, Mukuro took his hand off of Ryohei and quickly left the room. Not even a minute later, he was in the girl's room and was by Chrome's bedside.
Chrome was sleeping on her stomach, her head tilted down somewhat with a small smile gracing her lips. Smiling slightly as a result, Mukuro reached forward, grabbed the covers, and placed them over his sister's shoulders so she could sleep more warmly. When he was done, he stood there for a few more seconds, once again wishing that Chrome didn't have to sleep all by herself in a completely different room (the other girls didn't count). Especially on nights like this.
Now finally satisfied that his sister and the rest of his siblings were both sleeping peacefully and alive, Mukuro left Chrome to try to get back to sleep himself. On nights like this, sometimes he could get back to sleep, and sometimes he couldn't. No matter the case though, the nightmare would stay in the back of his mind for all of the next day, which would always effect his normal behavior in some way.
Well, at least he knew that his siblings were okay.
With this thought in mind, Mukuro closed the door leading to the girl's room quietly behind him and turned to head to the boy's room. He only got in one step however before he quickly stopped, his heterochromatic eyes growing wide.
Ryohei was sitting on the floor, his back to the wall and a few inches away from the door to the boy's room. His arms were tightly wrapped around his knees as he stared right ahead of him, staying completely still which wasn't like the boy at all. And Mukuro had only known him for about a month or so.
"Ryohei?" Mukuro quietly called out, not liking this at all as he conjured a floating orb of light (it was dim though, he didn't want to accidently wake up the others) so he could see his brother better. Ryohei, thankfully, turned his head right away and smiled.
"Hey Mukuro," Ryohei replied quietly, too quietly for him, as Mukuro started to walk towards him. As the orb followed him, Mukuro noted that Ryohei didn't sound surprised at all to see him. "You're having trouble sleeping too huh?"
Mukuro opened his mouth to answer when, a foot or so away from the slightly younger boy, he realized that Ryohei's smile was very weak.
And sad.
"Yeah, I did," Mukuro finally replied as he came to a stop by Ryohei's side. "...I woke you up didn't I?"
"...Yeah," Ryohei admitted as he looked forward at the empty wall in front of him again. "But don't feel bad though. I wasn't having a good dream anyway."
For a few moments Mukuro just stood there, not sure on what he should do. He wondered if he should ask Ryohei what his dream had been about, because familes were supposed to share...right? But then that would mean Mukuro would have to tell the others about his dream and there was no way he could to do that. And for all he knew, Ryohei might be feeling the same way right now so Mukuro definitely wasn't going to force him if that was indeed the case.
Still unsure on what to do but also feeling like he also shouldn't just keep on standing there, Mukuro sighed as he sat right down by Ryohei. Several seconds or more then passed by, with Ryohei staring blankly (but not lifelessly) before him as Mukuro sat quietly and unsure beside him. Then the silence was broken, but not by Mukuro.
"Do you know what an abortion is?" Taken aback, Mukuro's eyes widened as he swung his head towards Ryohei, who was still looking straight ahead.
"Y-Yeah," Mukuro answered honestly as he recalled overhearing a couple of caretakers talking about the subject. He didn't get to hear all of the...details because Chrome had then entered the room and he had to concentrate on getting her out of there quickly. But what he had heard had been way more than enough.
"It's when...a doctor kills an unborn baby. Why...what brought this up?"
"...Because when my parents dropped me off, they told me that they would have aborted me if they knew how I was going to turn out."
Mukuro couldn't help but to inhale sharply as Ryohei wrapped his arms even tighter around his knees.
They...they did not...
"I didn't know what the word meant then," Ryohei continued softly. "I...I just thought it was just another word for abandon or something like that. But today...I noticed that one of the caretakers left the computer in the library unlocked after dinner so I took the chance to look up the word. I was just curious but now...I know why everybody says curiosity killed the cat."
Then Ryohei broke his gaze away from the wall in front of him only to dig his face between his knees.
"I guess it's one thing to have your parents leave you at an orphanage and another to know exactly just how much they didn't want you." Ryohei didn't add anything more to that, choosing instead to stay silent as he continued to press his face against his knees.
Mukuro himself was too pissed to say anything.
He had never once thought of Ryohei's parents in a good light, but before tonight, he just greatly disliked them. Mukuro had thought that if he had ever met them he would have either just told them off or scared them with his illusions. Probably both. In any case, he would have left them alive.
Now though...if he did ever ended up meeting them he just hoped that his younger siblings wouldn't be around to witness the massacre.
But that was something Mukuro could worry about later. Right now, the usually energetic and upbeat boy was despondent and hurt. He hadn't even used his favorite word this whole time which honestly felt a bit unnatural. Granted, there were times where Mukuro got annoyed by his constant usage of that word. Now though, he was willing to do just about anything to get Ryohei to say extreme again.
Just because Mukuro was probably going to be despondent in the morning didn't mean that he was willing to let his brother feel the same.
But how? How was he going to get Ryohei back into high spirits? Mukuro prided himself in knowing how to talk (he pushed many of Kyoya's buttons with just words alone after all) but he was admittedly a bit lost on what to say right now. It didn't help either that he was still mentally and emotionally wheeling from his nightmare.
Well, that and he wasn't good in this kind of emotional battlefield anyway.
If Tsuna and Chrome were here, they would probably hug him and tell him that it was okay and that they loved him. Kyoya would probably place his hand on Ryohei's head while saying that he shouldn't pay those pathetic herbivores any mind. And if Mukuro instead was the one who was upset by his parents wishing they had aborted him, Ryohei would look straight at him and say that he wasn't extremely alone anymore.
But the positions weren't reversed, and the others weren't here either. Though, now that Mukuro thought about it...the others just seemed to more or less speak their minds when it came to this kind of stuff.
Is...that all he needed to do?
Taking a deep breath, Mukuro moved away from the wall. When he was in front of Ryohei, his hands reached out for Ryohei's shoulders but halfway there, he hesitated. But then he remembered how Ryohei gave both him and Chrome most of his own meal and how he saved Tsuna from falling down the stairs. And all of that was before he joined their family on Christmas day.
Recalling all of this and as well as how Ryohei wasn't smiling in his nightmare, Mukuro decided that this was the least he could do. That he just needed to hope for the best.
Freshly determined, Mukuro reached out all the way and gripped Ryohei's shoulders tightly. Ryohei jumped a little bit but he didn't try to shake him off as he looked up at Mukuro. His gray eyes weren't shiny and his face wasn't wet either but there was an unmeasurable sadness in his features. Mukuro himself had no memories of his own parents, so he had no idea if they willingly gave him up to the Estraneo or they died trying to protect him but he was glad that he didn't know.
Especially in moments like these.
But since Ryohei did know, and was hurting because of that knowledge, Mukuro took another deep breath and said exactly what was in his mind.
Even if it made him feel a little bit vulnerable.
"Well, I for one am very glad that you didn't get aborted. And I know I'm not the only one who thinks that either."
"...Mu...Mukuro," Ryohei quietly responded, the sadness in his face diminishing a bit. Still looking straight into Ryohei's gray eyes, Mukuro continued.
"The only reason your parents don't think that is because they suck. And because they know that they suck and are dirtying this planet even more than pollution, they took their inferiority complex out on you. Because you don't suck, and they just wanted you to feel worse than them, to feel less than them. Just to make themselves feel better. Because in the end, they are just pathetic, lazy cowards who rely on scapegoats to get by in life."
For a moment, Ryohei just stared at him with wide gray eyes.
"They loved Kyoko though," Ryohei replied, his voice a bit louder than before.
"Well, from what you've told us about her, it seems like she was a pretty little angel like Chrome," Mukuro answered quickly and sincerely. "Either they aren't completely immune to little angels, or they figured that she would always do what she was told and would make them look good."
"...Kyoko was pretty obedient before she got sick," Ryohei admitted. "Not that I was a troublemaker, but I didn't exactly make sure to stay out of trouble either. I liked being extreme you know?"
Mukuro nodded with the floating orb of dim light still shining nearby, inwardly noting that Ryohei had finally said the word extreme.
Was Ryohei-
Then his slightly younger brother smiled.
"And I still do," Ryohei continued as his small smile grew a bit bigger, a bit more real. "...I guess I extremely forgot that tonight."
"Don't feel guilty about that, I think we all have those nights," Mukuro assured him as relief coarsed within him. "At least...I know I..."
Mukuro couldn't finish his sentence, despite there only being one word left. It was like saying that word was an open admittance that he had those nightmares periodically, and that he was ready to talk about them. And he didn't want to do that, he wasn't ready to share, not when he still desperately wished to forget that he even had them in the first place.
Then suddenly, Ryohei reached up with one arm to grab Mukuro's forearm. Mukuro looked at Ryohei as his brother gave him a reassuring squeeze.
Ryohei understood. Maybe not completely, but considering how he hadn't actually talked about his dream either, maybe he did. Mukuro didn't have to share, to continue, not if he didn't want to.
And he didn't. Though...maybe one day he will in the distant future. Maybe.
"We probably should go back to bed," Mukuro said as he finally let go of Ryohei and began to stand up. "Kyoya would definitely notice if both of us were tripping all over ourselves tomorrow."
"Yeah, and he wouldn't be happy to the extreme either," Ryohei agreed with a chuckle. Then, when Mukuro had finished standing up, Ryohei flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you...for both extremely listening to me and for extremely reminding me that I have a family again."
Mukuro stood there silently for a second as he felt his heart become almost impossibly warm. The nine-year-old then smiled as he held his hand out for Ryohei to take.
"You're welcome."
When Ryohei grabbed his hand with a wide smile, Mukuro felt optimistic that he might actually be able to go back to sleep tonight.
And that's the end of that one-shot. A bit dark in some places but life is like that sometimes. But when there is darkness, there will also be light. We just have to look really hard for it sometimes. But it is there, I promise.
So what did you think? Please tell me your thoughts and reactions in a review and I will update shortly! Till then, see ya and have a good day or night!