Another Path Part 4 : That led to a new home
Thank you for all your kind reviews, I read them all, but didn't have time to answer, sorry. Problems with my apartment (those idiots lost my file TWICE). You have no idea how happy I feel each time I read one. And thank you to all those who favorite-d and followed too.
I just need some help for something (farther much farther) in my story. It's about the characters who don't have canon box animals. Do you know what I-pin, Fuuta, Chrome (or Mukuro, but only one is going to have the owl and I think it fits Mukuro better), Kyoko, Haru, Hana, Shoichi and Spanner could have? Or tell me if they already have one and I missed it, please. I have an idea for some, but nothing I am completely satisfied with.
Disclaimer : (for all the chapters I wrote or will write in the future) I don't own KHR.
Days turned into months and Tsunayoshi and Kyoya got closer. They met every day at the raven's place to teach each other fighting, English and how to use flames. Hibari was slower than the brunet when it came to learning to summon his power at will. Once he managed to reach that point, they both realized that Tsuna was actually very talented with his orange flames. Kyoya had a harder time controlling his and couldn't call as much out as his friend could after the same amount of time and training. It frustrated him slightly, but he also understood that people were different and that the Omnivore was truly a genius in that field. He would just continue practicing until he reached the same level as his friend.
His languages lessons also progressed smoothly. Kyoya wasn't very interested in those, but he was smart, and always gave his all in anything he started (slacking was the epitome of herbivorous behavior). Plus, Tsunayoshi was very enthusiastic about it and was a decent teacher. He adapted his explanations to Hibari's thought pattern (some grammarian rules turned to herbivores bitten to death by stronger carnivorous laws somehow) and the raven head could speak almost fluent English after just 6 months.
Tsuna's training was more hectic. He had built up enough muscle by the end of the second week for his friend to begin showing him some moves. The theory was fine and the brunet memorized the techniques quickly. However, when the time came for them to have spars (Kyoya was deliberately holding back for Tsuna to progress) there was an issue. Tsunayoshi had a hard time fighting and hitting his friend, even when he knew he couldn't really hurt him. It was to the point that any time he was about to start a move, defensive or offensive, he stopped half-way and Kyoya could just stare.
Thankfully, the now 7-year old raven found a solution when he offered to have Tsuna follow him on his patrol once. A delinquent, seeing that he couldn't do anything to the demon of Namimori, decided to have a petty revenge by attacking the smaller brunet that followed him. The Omnivore quickly demonstrated that his reservations were only relevant in the face of a friend and used one of the moves Kyoya showed him to send the teenager delinquent to the ground, knocked out. Hibari was very proud.
After that incident, the two boys agreed that Tsunayoshi would follow Kyoya on his patrols from then on, and practice his techniques on anyone who came after him. And when someone had to choose between facing the terrifying, tonfa-wielding monster and the small, cute, harmless-looking kid behind him, well... Let's just say Tsuna had plenty of practice targets.
Hibari caught Tsuna's eyes glowing orange a few time when he was focused on his opponent. He mentioned it, but Tsuna couldn't explain it. He hadn't even known about this phenomenon until the raven head told him. Hibari just left it at that. The Omnivore was weird, nothing new.
When summer holidays came, the boys started hanging out together. Not just staying at Kyoya's home (the servants had warmed up to the strange brunet after seeing that he wasn't another bloodthirsty demon. They loved their young master, but they adored his kind-hearted friend) or going on patrols together (the trouble makers still didn't register Tsuna as a threat and still went for him first. It became a battle strategy to send him first and have Kyoya attack from the back). They went to the arcade, to eat ice cream and other things kids their age would do. Well, as long as the amount of crowding in the place wasn't too high and it wasn't one of Ienobu's favorite area.
Speaking of Ienobu, Hibari finally came face to face with him. And he hated the brat.
He and Tsuna had agreed on meeting in front of the public library that day : Tsuna wanted to start learning Chinese now that his Italian was fluent. He arrived early and was waiting for Kyoya when he came face to face with his twin and some of his friends (read : Tsuna's bullies).
"Hey, Dame-Tsuna what are you doing here" began a boy. That one especially enjoyed trapping Tsuna in the bathroom and pushing his face in the toilets. "You're going in the library? As if you can even read!" they all laughed.
"I'm surprised you managed to walk all the way here." added another child. This one seemed to enjoy most of all stealing the mere toast that Tsuna had for lunch. "You're so clumsy that you should have been hit by at least twenty cars on the way. The drivers must be lucky today : no bits of Dame-Tsuna to clean from their cars!"
"Come on" said Nobu to his friends in the most patronizing tone a child can pull off. "It's not his fault he's so stupid. He was like that since he was born." He faced Tsuna. "Even Mama says so. He was no good since birth, that's why she ignores him and prefers me. Poor Mama, having such a useless son. You should just kill yourself, Dame-Tsuna, it'll be a relief for everyone not to have to deal with you!" he mocked, and they all laughed.
They hadn't seen the face of the brunet lighten somewhere during the 'so stupid' part. Nor did they notice the irate presence behind them who heard the whole speech.
They only turned around when one of them suddenly cried out in pain. They saw a black haired boy two years older in the process of pummeling their friend in the ground with ominously shiny tonfas.
"For the crime of crowding, slandering and being total idiots and bastards, I'll bite you all to death!"
The beating was completely one-sided. Some kids tried to throw weak punches but Kyoya just responded with a tonfa on their fists and a disgusting breaking sound followed shortly by a cry of pain. The last two and Ienobu tried to run after seeing all their comrades fall and stay on the ground due to their suffering or -if they were lucky- blissful unconsciousness.
But no mere 4 or 5-year old could outrun the demon of Namimori (in fact, even grown-ups couldn't). Hibari sent the first on to the ground with a hit to his right knee. A sickening 'crack' was heard. A tonfa was thrown to the back of the second one's head and he crumbled without a sound.
Finally only a shocked Tsuna, a desperately fleeing Ienobu end a raging Kyoya were left.
The raven quickly tripped the blond, jumped on him and held him on the floor, with a tonfa against his neck. Nobu was half crying, half begging, but Hibari wouldn't stop. His free hand grabbed the other by the hair and raised his head.
"If" he growled "I ever see or hear you do or say anything bad about Tsunayoshi ever again, you will regret this time, when I still only bite you to death". And he started striking the blond until he fell unconscious. By that time, his face was barely recognizable if not for his unusual hair color, and his body was covered in bruises, with a few cracked bones.
With a final spiteful kick, Hibari went to pick up his previously thrown tonfa and headed to his friend, who hadn't moved at all. It was then that he noticed the tears steaming down Tsuna's face.
He rushed to his side and started searching for any injuries, but the Omnivore stopped him. "I-It's j-just" he hiccuped between his sobs "th-the first t-time anyo-one defend-ded me ag-gainst N-Nobu..." Hibari just stared. He knew of his friend's situation, but it was the first time he saw him break down like that. Even when Tsuna was explaining everything to him, he didn't shed a single tear. "Th-Thank you K-Kyoya-s-san. Thank y-you so m-much fo-or b-being my f-friend".
Snapping out of his daze, Hibari gently guided the Omnivore away from the carnage and towards his house. They would come back to the public library another day : for now, Tsunayoshi needed a place safe to calm down. The sobbing brunet followed obediently, too upset to think properly. A few passer-byes threw him curious or offended looks, but a glare from Kyoya sent them back on their way.
Once in his home, Kyoya led his friend to his room, sat him in front of a low table and dismissed the worried staff. It was actually the first time Tsuna set foot in the bedroom, but neither noticed. The yellow bird that was sleeping on a table quickly flew on Tsunayoshi's knees and chirped "Omnivore, Omnivore! Happy, happy!" Realizing Hibird was trying to console him, Tsuna managed a shaky smile under his tears. Hibari was mentally thanking the bird. He was sitting shoulder to shoulder with his friend, but didn't know what else to do. Words were never his forte, unless they were threats (and even then, they tended to be quite similar).
They stayed there in silence until Tsuna fell asleep with his head in his arms on the table. It was already past diner time and Kyoya went to get a spare blanket and pillow, and settled them respectively over the sleeper's shoulders and under his head. Usually, the Omnivore was back home by this time, but even if he woke up, Hibari wasn't letting him head 'home' today. He would not face his bastard twin in this state. And the raven head doubted the neglecting mother would notice or care.
Kyoya went to sleep after preparing a make-shift bed on the floor next to his distraught friend.
The next morning, Hibari woke up first with the sound of the phone ringing. He made sure the brunet was still asleep before going to the living room to answer.
"Hibari residence." he said mechanically.
"Good afternoon, Kyoya. Or good morning for you in Japan." Replied a composed female voice. Kyoya immediately woke up completely from his lingering slumber. He could recognize his mother's voice after all. She didn't call very often and the timing was too suspicious for it to be a coincidence. One of the servants had probably informed her that the Omnivore had spent the night here.
Now, Kyoya had no idea how she would react. It was the first time such a situation occurred. "Good morning Mother." He decided to tackle the subject instead of beating around the bush. "I assume you heard about Tsunayoshi sleeping over."
"Indeed. Truthfully, I was wondering how this happened. If you could explain..." she trailed off.
Hibari was weighing his options. His mother worked for the Japanese Intelligence Agency. She would find out about the brunet either way. He would tell her the truth, but keep secret a few points, such as the flame ability. It was the Omnivore's secret to tell, not his.
"I met Sawada Tsunayoshi a few months ago and I was curious : he was neither a Herbivore nor a Carnivore, so I called him an Omnivore. He had an ability I found interesting and I wanted to learn it. We became..." again he hesitated, it was embarrassing to admit this to his mother. "friends and I'm teaching him to fight and he teaches me languages.
His mother neglects him in favor of his abusive younger twin brother for stupid, herbivorous reasons and his father is useless. He is also bullied at school because of his brother and yesterday, I saw that bastard Herbivore twin and his herd insulting him and bit them to death. Tsunayoshi was shocked because it was the first time anyone defended him and I brought him here to calm down. He fell asleep and I didn't want to send him back to those stupid Herbivores so he stayed the night." He had tried to keep his explanation as neutral and objective as possible, but he couldn't help the waves of anger that shook him when he talked about the Omnivore's family or yesterday's event, and he knew his mother had noticed.
Mrs Hibari stayed silent for a long minute and Kyoya was starting to worry. Maybe she would be against him befriending the Omnivore.
"I'm glad." She suddenly sighed and surprised Kyoya both with her unusual tone and her words. "Your father and I were always worried you would remain alone. That you found someone you're willing to call a friend is a relief. He must be important to you if you are so upset about his family situation. I would like to meet him, but I won't be able to return to Namimori for a while, the same goes for your father. I'll inform him of this myself. And don't worry, Kyoya" she added "We support your friendship with this Sawada..." she trailed off for a second, as if the name was familiar. "No, I'm over-thinking this, it's unlikely they are related..." Kyoya heard her whisper to herself but dismissed it. Sawada was a fairly common name. "Anyway, we support your friendship with this Sawada Tsunayoshi, and any action you find necessary to help him. He is welcome in the house any day or night."
Kyoya was relieved. His parents accepted him befriending the Omnivore after all. Not that he would have stopped seeing him otherwise, but it was easier that way. And the raven head was still young, he unconsciously needed the approval of his parents.
The two Hibaris exchanged a few more words before hanging up, both with a heavy weight off their chests.
When Tsuna woke up, he took a full minute before remembering where he was and why. Then the events of yesterday came back, and he realized he had spent the night at Kyoya's. He hoped he hadn't been an inconvenience for the raven.
Just when he was about to stand up and search for his friend to apologize. The door slid open and Hibari entered with a tray containing two sets of traditional Japanese breakfast.
"Kyoya-san, good morning, thank you for letting me stay. I-I hope I wasn't a bother."
"Good morning to you. I would have kicked you out if you had been" he reassured in his own way. But Tsuna knew him enough to understand. "My mother called to know why you were staying here, one of the servants told her." He added. Tsuna was beginning to panic.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I hope you weren't in trouble because of me! I wouldn't..."Hibari interrupted his babbling by setting the tray on the table and handing his share to the flustered brunet.
"I am not in trouble and neither are you. My mother was... glad to know that I made a friend and doesn't mind you staying here, now or in the future. And I would not have let you go back to that house after what happened. The bastard Herbivore" judging by his face and intuition, Tsuna guessed that was Ienobu's new nickname. "has most likely told his mother that you were somehow responsible for his injuries and they will 'punish' you upon your return. I can't really stop them" and that powerlessness was eating him up from the inside, but he had no way to separate a mother from her children or to prove her neglect and abuse because of Tsuna's widespread reputation. "but I can at least keep you safe here until you are in good enough a state to face them."
To say that Tsuna was touched would be an understatement. He could clearly see how much Kyoya resented not being able to help him more and had no word strong enough to thank him for that.
"It will be fine, you already helped me more than I could have asked you to. I'm really, really grateful, Kyoya-san. Now, let's eat this breakfast : I'm hungry and it's been a while since I've seen such an appetizing one." Since his father last came in fact. The man always insisted for everyone to eat meals together and despite Nana's neglect, she always made some food for him when he was there. Well, most of the time. She had begun to forget his share of diner a few times lately... "Once we're done eating, I'll head back. Thanks to your helping me I can take this on. I'll come back here when this is dealt with."
He was smiling, but both children knew that he would get severely beaten. Kyoya felt bad for losing his (short) temper yesterday since the Omnivore would have to pay for it, but Tsunayoshi just shook his head and said that he would have just been beaten yesterday instead of today. And that it felt so nice to have someone stand up for him for once.
After eating, Tsuna went back home. He knew that fighting back would just make things more painful in the end and got heavily beaten without putting up a fight for 'paying some thugs to gang on poor Nobu' as his twin told their Mama. It was a ridiculous explanation : Tsuna had absolutely no money, unlike Ienobu. Kyoya paid for them both when they went out. And where would he have found thugs willing to do that? But as always Nana bought whatever her No-kun said. Between a blow with a crutch and a heel to the sides, Tsuna couldn't help but notice the cast on Nobu's left arm and leg, as well as the bandages around his head and torso. Kyoya had gone all out and it made him feel a bit better.
Once Nana and Ienobu got tired of hitting and insulting the curled up brunet, they left (Nana again cooing around her No-kun and asking if his injuries hurt). Tsuna slowly got out and limped towards Hibari's house as promised. He didn't expect to see the raven head waiting for him a few blocks away, accompanied by a servant with a car. He eyed his friend's injuries darkly, but just told him to get in the car without going to murder the rest of the Sawada family.
Inside the Hibari mansion, Tsuna got his wounds treated. They were less severe than Ienobu's since neither his twin nor his mother could hit as hard as Kyoya, but he still had ugly bruises, a few cuts, including one under the eyebrow that bled heavily, and a couple bruised ribs. He would be sore for a few days, but it would heal quickly (a side effect of flames, had guessed the children since Hibari also healed the rare cuts and bruises he had much faster since he first awakened them).
Kyoya hadn't said a word since they had arrived and it worried Tsuna. He was considering starting a conversation when the older kid said : "From now on you only go back to that wretched place to get your stuff. The rest of the time, you will live here." His tone was final, and the brunet was more than happy to comply, he wouldn't have dared to ask for such a great offer. But his intuition nagged him and he knew why. He felt compelled to tell his friend.
"I would love that, but my intuition is warning me. To be honest, I think I should go back home when Iemitsu returns. Otherwise, he would come here and force me to stay and live with Mama and Nobu and he wouldn't allow me to see you again. The few times he came home and I tried to tell him they beat me, he didn't believe me and told me to stop lying again and accuse others of things they didn't do. Apparently, Ienobu said I did that often..."
Kyoya was not happy with that, but after some arguing, agreed that it would be bad if Tsuna's father reacted that way. And he had seen first-hand how eerily accurate the Omnivore's intuition was.
He ordered his servants to go take a look every day at the Sawada residence before diner. If the man was home (he always arrived in the morning according to Tsuna, and was loud enough that it was easy to check), Tsuna would return there until Iemitsu left, which should not be too long, seeing his previous records. The staff accepted without batting an eyelash. All those who worked for the Hibari family had a 'shady' background and they all knew how to discreetly wander around an area. They had grown fond of the young boy who befriended their young master and mellowed his uncompromising character.
And things proceeded just as Hibari had planned. Tsuna secretly brought back what little belongings he had to the Hibari mansion and lived there permanently. A servant went each day before dinner to check if Iemitsu came home, which never happened. The two boys spent their days together, either teaching each other in the background (Kyoya had begun learning Italian after mastering English, and was teaching Tsuna advanced techniques, though he still considered them to be basics. They practiced their flames together despite Tsuna's higher ability and Kyoya was thrilled to discover he could coat his tonfas in flames to increase their potency, though it damages the weapons in the long run), patrolling together (Tsuna could now wipe the floor with common thugs almost as easily as Kyoya) or hanging out around town.
The holidays came to an end and they returned to school. Hibari made it a point to come pick up his friend every day and to bite any bully to death, since Tsuna couldn't do it himself without parents, teachers or other kids reacting -it was a well known fact in Namimori that the demon child was above any rebuking or retribution, unless you wanted a tonfa in the face. But since he always waited a bit away from the school to avoid crowding, people thought Dame-Tsuna only knew his patrol routes and led his pursuers to him at the cost of being bitten himself (in short, no-one realized or wanted to believe that the two were friends since it sounded too strange. Can you imagine? Dame-Tsuna and the demon child of Namimori?).
Then came mid-October. The Omnivore was especially fidgety today, and Kyoya could not understand why. He had noticed the looks that he sent his brother and mother when leaving school the previous day. As usual, Ienobu had just glared at him while Nana didn't even notice his presence. After an hour of teaching him an immobilizing technique and seeing that his thoughts were elsewhere, Hibari finally demanded to know what was wrong.
Tsuna was surprised by the question, but answered nonetheless, he kept his eyes on the ground. "Nothing is really wrong, Kyoya-san, I swear. It's just... It's just I was wondering if they would remember about me today..."
"Why especially today?"
"Well... I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel forced to celebrate it and I don't know when yours is, but today is..."
"Your birthday." interrupted Kyoya. He had not known about it, but it was obvious with the Omnivore's behavior and beginning of an explanation. He was angry at himself : why had he not asked Tsunayoshi when he was born? Birthdays were important, friends and family were supposed to celebrate it, and the younger boy's family was evidently not going to fulfill its duty. It was even more important for Kyoya to celebrate it then. Hibari's own parents always called and sent presents for his birthday. Really how had he forgotten about that?
He had to correct that mistake. Now. "So your birthday is on October the 14th. Mine is on May the 5th. Come inside, we have to prepare your birthday, however late it is." And he dragged the stunned brunet inside. Tsuna had not expected Hibari to care about birthdays and to actually want to celebrate it.
All the staff hurriedly put together a small party. A strawberry cake was baked and everyone was to wear a yukata (Tsuna had several, since the servants thought he didn't have enough clothes). Kyoya left his friend at home for a couple hours to buy a present. Tsuna had tried to protest that it wasn't important, but realized that the raven was looking for a way to redeem himself for his oversight.
When Hibari came home, everyone was assembled in the largest room of the house (apart the training hall), and were waiting for him to begin the party. After singing and blowing his candles, Tsunayoshi broke down in thanks and admitted that it was the first time since he could remember that people were celebrating his birthday and not just his twin's (Iemitsu had made a party for the both of them when they turned two, but he had no memory of it).
That made Kyoya and his staff even more furious with the other Sawadas, but they hid it for Tsuna's sake. It was his birthday. The servants didn't have any real gifts so they promised to cook whatever the brunet wanted the next day. Tsunayoshi just grinned at them and thanked them again, he was already so grateful, he didn't mind at all that they didn't have anything ready for him.
Then Hibari set a small gift in front of him. The Omnivore looked at him for a moment, trying to guess what it was, before taking the package and observing it. It was a box that fit in his palm, but that was all he could make of it. He slowly unwrapped it, savoring his first birthday gift, and opened the lid.
He pulled out a pair of black leather fingerless gloves with metal reinforcements around the knuckles.
Kyoya began explaining "Those are fighting gloves. Since you always dropped any weapon you held when training" true, Tsuna couldn't seem to keep a steady grip on any weapon Hibari put in his hand. "and you are decent bare-handed," quite the praise coming from him, but Tsuna was pretty good with his fists. He relied on his speed to slip under his opponent's guard and punch hard. "I figured those would be the best weapons for you. But if..."
He was stopped by Tsunayoshi suddenly hugging him. Kyoya stiffened at first, ready to push the other away, before he stilled and relaxed slightly. He usually disliked such shows of affection, but understood that it was the only way his friend had found to thank him. For offering him a home. For protecting him from his bullies and abusing family. For teaching him how to defend himself and for offering him his first gift. A gift that would help keep him safe and that was bought with him in mind.
"I love them, thank you Kyoya." whispered Sawada Tsunayoshi to his friend with tears in his eyes and a wide smile. "Thank you for everything."