Eccedentesisst

someone who fakes a smile when all they want to do is cry, disappear, and/or die

Seiji's grip on his phone tightened a bit as he pulled it away from his ear and resisted the violent urge to throw the device against the wall. He took in a shaking breath as he leaned against his leather chair and ran his fingers through his hair to somewhat calm himself down-to no avail.

(Panic clawed inside him, making him almost lose control on his primal instincts that thrummed beneath his skin, just waiting to be unleashed on those utter bastards-! But he reined his temper in, thinking of the consequences that'd definitely follow if he goes on a rampage. Sometimes, he really envied his son, who could throw a tantrum and act on his whim to rampage as much as he wanted, without worrying of the consequences… But, well, he wasn't a child anymore. He can't just do what he damn pleased, and leave everything to his Aniki-

-he's grown up now. He knew what's at stake. And if he can help out his brother in any way to protect his family, then he damn will do it.

Even if it means he'd have to push his own son to the fiery pits of hell to do it….)

Yuna's dainty hands lightly massaged his shoulders, making him relax his tense shoulders. She hummed under her breath and asked softly, "What did Elder Brother say?"

And just like that, the tension returned. Yuna stopped the massage and walked around the desk to look straight into his eyes so as to discern his expressions. She frowned in concern and asked, "…Seiji-kun? What happened?"

He pursued his lips and wondered if he should tell her or not. Tobe honest, Kyoya took after his mother in terms of temper and it's control –or it's lack thereof. While he had an excellent control over most of his emotions, Yuna on the other hand was very expressive, and was quite quick to anger. Especially when it comes to her kids.

But, well…. he can't just keep this issue away from her. After all, she is Kyoya's mother. She needs to know, so that she can be prepared.

"Aniki finally announced his decision to the clan." Seiji grimaced, "He chose Kyoya as his heir."

Yuna stared at him blankly, and a moment later, she spoke darkly,

"What?"

"Achoo!" Kyoya sneezed, making the rest of the baby herbivores in his class quiver in terror as they inched even further away from him. Kyoya sniffed and shot them a glare, making them sit ramrod straight and snap their heads towards the teacher –and away from his corner of the class, making him nod in satisfaction. He's trained them well.

The teacher sweat dropped at their antics, but didn't say anything since she's been experiencing Kyoya's violent ways since day one, since it has been almost three years since she had started teaching the bloodthirsty Hibari child and she was now used to this particular child's antics. So, she just cleared her throat and announced her students with a bright smile –clearly ignoring Kyoya's glower from his corner of the classroom, and spoke, "Our school –along with Namimori North Elementary school- has collaborated to organize a Summer camp this year. If anyone of you is interested, then I'd like you to get your permission slip signed by your parents-" She tapped the bundle of paper in her hands as she started leisurely distributing them to each and every student in her class, and continued on, "-by the end of this week. The details are all written at the back of paper." She then glared at them sternly, and warned, "I'd like to remind you that children from North Elementary will also be there, so if you choose to go, you better be on your best behavior."

The children immediately started chattering excitedly, wondering all kinds of things they would experience in the Summer camp, the kind of food they'd get to eat, the people they'd meet and all that. the teacher passed the papers to the eager children, and finally reached the very backseat of the classroom where one Hibari Kyoya sat leisurely on his chair, staring at the teacher with half-lidded eyes.

The teacher relaxed a bit –seeing that Kyoya's wasn't outright glaring like he usually did- and with a smile placed down the flyer on his desk. "You'll come too, right, Hibari-kun?" She asked hesitantly, trying to make small talk to ease her nerves.

Kyoya just shot the paper lying innocently on his desk a disdainful look, and bit out, "Not. going." Saying this, he grabbed his plastic tonfas –the school just kept confiscating his metal ones even after he beat up that damn janitor twice for this utter idiocy of his, damn morons- and sauntered out of the class right in front of his teacher –ignoring the fact that the bell hasn't even rung yet.

The teacher sighed and scratched his cheek. Well, at least the Summer camp will be –somewhat- peaceful with the absence of the demon child and his violent tendencies. Silver linings, really.

Somewhere in the Second Grade Classroom, a certain brunette stared at the blue haired girl sitting on seat in front of him. He shot a quick glance at the flyer in his hand and leaned a bit forward and spoke loud enough for his friend in the front seat to hear, "So, what are the chances of Cloud-san actually agreeing for this trip?"

"Are you asking or confirming, Orange-san?" Nagi leaned against her chair and asked dryly.

"Just confirming." he said with a shrug.

"The chances are obviously nil." Nagi rolled her eyes, "As if Onii-sama would lower himself to take part in such herbivorous activities."

Tsuna's lips twitched, and he resisted the urge to sigh. "Have you been spending more time these days reading those Cloud-san's stupid books about 'How to be a true Carnivore'?"

Nagi's cheeks flushed red, and she could almost hear Mukuro's amused chuckle ringing through her mind. Tch, bastard. "Hey, it's quite interesting, okay?" She defended herself.

"Sure, sure." He said with an eye-roll. "So….." he said as he side-eyed the pamphlet regarding Summer Camp and asked, "Any idea how we can take him with us to the Summer Camp?"

"Bribery, blackmail or kidnapping- choose one." Nagi said calmly as she shifted a bit to sit more comfortable on her bench.

"Bribery it is." Tsuna immediately decided, and the two of them shared a discreet high-five –so as not to gain their teacher's attention.

(Meanwhile Kyoko giggled as she watched her deskmate interact with her friend that sat behind her and exclaimed brightly to her friend, "They're so funny, right Hana-chan?"

Hana just shot Nagi and Tsuna a disbelieving look and mumbled under her breath in flabbergast, "What kind of normal seven-year old would plot about bribery or kidnapping so casually?")

That evening, the dinner in Hibari household was a tense affair. The servants stood at a corner with their heads bowed down, and didn't even dare breathe loudly in case they gain their employer's ire. Yuna cooed at her children and kept filling their bowls and attending to their needs, while giving her husband a cold shoulder. Seiji, surprisingly, did not even attempt to make up with Yuna –which he'd usually do every time they fought or argued over something. Kyoya and Nagi shared a look and decided they were better off not knowing what made their mother tick this time, and wisely focused their attention to the food.

After finishing his food, Seiji placed his chopsticks on his empty bowl, got up and walked away from the dinner table, without even waiting for the others to finish their food. Kyoya only glanced at him in disinterest, while Nagi stared at his retreating back with confusion and worry. She was snapped out of her trance by Yuna, who patted her head softly and spoke, "Eat up, sweetie. Don't worry about silly things."

Nagi hesitantly picked up her chopsticks once again and started eating, and glanced back at the door every once in a while.

"Kaa-san…" Nagi asked once the dinner was finished. "Did something happen between you and Tou-san?"

Yuna pinched her cheeks lightly and giggled, "Aw… Na-chan, you're such a worrywart! You shouldn't worry your pretty little head about this." She patted her cheeks and said, "I've got it handled, okay? Your father and I just had an argument." Nagi hesitantly nodded and walked to her room. Kyoya stayed back.

"Is it about the Clan's succession war?" Kyoya asked bluntly, remembering something like this happening in past life.

In his last life, his Uncle had chosen him as the heir –since he did not have any child of his own, and he loved his late-wife enough to not marry again and decided to live as a widower- causing an uproar in the Clan. Hibari Seiji was the illegitimate child of the previous Leader of Hibari Clan. So even if his Uncle chose him as the heir, many people in the clan –especially the Elders- did not accept his decision because they thought that as a son of the illegitimate child of their previous leader, therefore he was not acceptable as the next leader because of his 'dirty blood'. The last time this lead to the many, many attempts to his life, which only stressed his mother who did her best to protect him from the cross-fire. The stress and constant worry for his well-being only worsened her condition, and a year later she had to be hospitalized. Kyoya didn't know what happened after that with the clan issue since he was too busy caring for his mother and loathing all his male relatives for leaving his mother to fend for herself in such critical times when she needed them the most, that he never paid any mind to what had happened to the Clan after that. He just knew a few months later after his mother died that he had been rescinded from the heir position, and someone else was chosen. He hadn't cared. In fact, he had loathed that position, because it was only because of that position that his mother had to suffer so much.

This time, he won't let history repeat again. Never again.

Yuna stared at her son, and sighed heavily. "How did you know?"

"I just know." he said blankly.

Yuna shook her head and waved her son towards her, and he obediently stepped nearer to her. She sat on a sofa nearby and took her precious little boy into her arms, and made him sit on her lap as she cuddled with him. Kyoya just stiffened at the contact, but did not protest against it. He couldn't, after all, this was his mother. The only person who loved him the most in the whole world, to even die for his sake. He'd never, ever forsake her for anyone else. Never.

"Oh, my baby…" she mumbled softly as she kissed the back of his head and clutched him tighter in her embrace. "You're so, so smart, and capable even at such a young age. I'm so proud of you."

His ears turned red as warmth filled inside his chest at her words.

She exhaled and asked reluctantly, "Then you also know whom your Uncle has chosen as his successor?"

"It's me, isn't it?" he said quietly.

At his words, her eyes flashed with something, and she agreed with gritted teeth. "…..Yeah. It's you."

He turned to stare at her and stated. "You're not happy."

"I'm not." She once again agreed with him. She then let her fingers run through his hair and said softly, "Kyoya," he stiffened. He'd never said his full name before. It was always that accursed nickname "Kyo-chan." and never just "Kyoya". "Hibari-clan is like a den of bloodthirsty tigers…. That place is filled with monsters who think of nothing but personal gain. They're ruthless to anyone whom they think of as an obstacle." She closed her eyes and said in a pained tone, "They'd crush you."

"But I'm a carnivore." Kyoya insisted. "I'll just bite them to death."

Yuna chuckled and ruffled his hair and cooed at her adorable son. "Silly Kyo-chan, not everyone can just be beaten to submission." She embraced him in her arms and said softly, "Some fights can only be won by words. And unfortunately, both you and I are bad at it."

Kyoya scowled unhappily. "I can still win." He insisted.

A chuckle escaped her lips. "Yes, yes, of course." She said appealingly to her son. "Whatever you say, Kyo-chan. Whatever you say."

(Nagi leaned against the pillar she was hiding behind inside the room, shrouded by the Mist Flames that helped her blend in the surroundings and hid her from her brother ad her mother's sight. As she listened to their conversation, she clenched her fists as her eyes blurred with tears. There's no way she can help out her family. She was too weak- she wasn't skilled in fighting, like her brother. She also wasn't related to them by blood, which means there's no way she can help her Onii-sama out if there's any problem related to "Clan" matters.

Damn it, just when she thought she could finally help her brother out with something-!

"Kufufufufu~" Mukuro's voice whispered mockingly in her ear as he talked to her through their mind-link, "Trouble in paradise, Na-chan?"

She blinked tears away from her eyes and an idea formed in her mind. She couldn't do anything alone, right? But who said she had to fight alone?

Besides, Onii-sama can win battles if he fights with his fists. What he lacks is someone who can battle with words. She'd be that person.

She'd be the Mist that hides her family from harm and deceives the enemies for the sake of her loved ones.

"Mu-kun," Her eyes shone with resolve as she mumbled, "I need your help."

"Oya, what do you need?" he asked in his usual creepy tone.

"Be my eyes and ears in the outside world," she said "And teach me diplomacy."

"And what do I get in return?" he asked, amused.

She knew he was just teasing her for shits and giggles. He'd of course do what she told him to, but getting something in return for his "hard-work" was just a bonus. After all, deceiving everyone for the sake of convenience- that is what a Mist actually is, isn't it?

She mulled over his words and decided to play along. After all, it's no harm to make this into a mutually beneficial deal for both. "You're literally on streets right now, and you also have two more mouths to feed, right? I'll provide you with money for basic necessities, and I can even try to make use of some contacts of Kaa-san and Tou-san for you. They might come in handy…."

"Oya, how generous of you~" Mukuro chuckled. "You have a deal, then.")

Tsuna pouted in frustration as he kicked a pebble distractedly as he walked, and wondered how to convince Kyoya to come to Summer Camp with them. Kyoya had downright refused when he had asked his opinion, and these days even Nagi seemed reluctant to go to the Camp. He knew there was something worrying his friends, but he didn't know what it was. It didn't help that they were being quite secretive about this stuff, and he almost put his foot down to throw a tantrum and demand answers from them when Nagi admitted that it'd be better if they forego the Summer Camp this year.

It's not that Tsuna was particularly excited specifically about this Summer Camp –in fact, it was quite opposite, Tsuna hated anything athletic related with a burning passion. No, what he was enthusiastic about was all the time he'd get to spend with them doing things like that, and even if he hated stuff like this, he admitted that anything is more fun when you do it with friends.

He sighed for the umpteenth time in the last fifteen minutes, and wondered if he should just ask Kusakabe-san to drug the both of them and kidnap them and be done with it. Or maybe he should bribe Mist-chan and Cloud-san with chocolates and Hamburger respectively, maybe that'd work. Or maybe-

-the orange fire inside him suddenly burned in agitation, and Tsuna tilted his head and held out his right hand just before his face like his fire told him to-

Thwack!

-only stared in disbelief at the ball that had directly slammed into his hand. if he had been a second later with his impromptu catch, he might've gotten injured –or worse, a concussion- what with the unbelievably high speed the ball had been coming at him with.

"Ow!" Tsuna jerked his hand a bit when pain overcame his surprise a moment later, and winced when he saw his palm turning red. It really was a miracle that he caught this ball, or else he had a feeling he'd have to visit a hospital if the ball had struck him.

A pair of footsteps rushed towards him and Tsuna looked up at the taller boy who panted as he neared him.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! I hope you're not hurt!" the boy grinned at him, making Tsuna blink and shift uneasily on his feet. Is it just him or was the boy's smile was a bit fake?

He shook his head and replied quickly, "I'm not hurt." he then glanced at the baseball in his hand and asked, "Is this your ball?"

"Yeah!" The dark haired boy exclaimed as his smile turned a bit real. "I was playing baseball with a few kids there!" he pointed at the park nearby. "You wanna join us?"

Tsuna shook his head again "I-I don't know how to play baseball." he said quickly.

"Really?" the boy said, surprised. "But your catch was really amazing! The ball came Vroom! and you caught it like Swish! and it was so amazing!" the boy gushed excitedly, his eyes sparkled with life as he spoke with exaggerated hand-motions.

Seeing the boy's enthusiasm made Tsuna's lips twitch upwards in a warm smile.

"You know," He spoke, his eyes flashing orange for a second, freezing the other boy. "Your real smile is much, much prettier than your fake smiles. I do like it when you smile. But," he paused and tilted his head, and spoke, "If you don't wanna smile, then it's okay too, Rain-san. Just please don't put a fake mask of happiness, you will only hurt yourself this way." Saying this, Tsuna handed him his baseball and started walking away.

The boy didn't know what it was that drove him to say his next words, but years later, he was really glad that he said them that day. "I am Yamamoto Takeshi!" He called out to the other boy.

Tsuna paused and turned to answer the boy, "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi." he said with a bright smile on his face.

"Will I ever see you again?" Takeshi asked, his eyes flashing in desperation and the flames inside him -that he was unaware of- rippled in agitation when they saw a potential Sky –their Sky- walking away from them.

"Of course!" Tsuna smiled warmly at him, "I have a feeling we'll meet again." he then waved his hand in a gesture of goodbye and walked away, but not before saying, "Till then, Rain-san."

Takeshi waved back to his new –friend? acquaintance? Meh, whatever- with a bright grin on his face, and it wasn't until the brunette disappeared from his view that he finally noticed one thing-

"Wait, why did he call me Rain-san?"

EXTRA- 1

"So…" Yuna said cheerily as she patted her children's hair fondly and asked, "I heard from Nana-chan that Tsuna-kun is quite depressed these days. Do you know anything about that?"

Kyoya shot his mother a quizzical look, while Nagi stared away guiltily.

"I'll give you a hint then," Yuna hummed under her breath, and mumbled, "Nana-chan thinks it's something related to the two of you and some extracurricular activities that are being organized by your school."

Realization dawned on Kyoya and he shared a look with his sister, which did not go unnoticed by Yuna.

Yuna sighed, and tugged them closer to her body, and asked in a song-song voice-

"So, what is this about Summer Camp, and why did my cute little kids didn't agree to go there?"

Nagi shrunk back a bit as she recognized the sharp tone hiding just below her cheery tone, and gripped Kyoya's hand for support. Kyoya, being the stubborn kid he was, faced his mother headfirst and said-

"Because it's a herbivorous thing to do?" however, even for all his bravado, he couldn't face his mother headfirst –what? she's scary, okay?- and he winced as his statement sounded more like a question.

Yuna tilted her head, her eyes flashed as if promising pain if they answered wrongly, and mumbled, "Try again."

"..."

~O~

(A few days later…..)

The Hibari siblings glowered at their brunette friend who had a shit eating grin on his face.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Nagi asked as she pointed at her friend accusingly.

"What?" Tsuna asked with a way too innocent smile on his face which didn't fool his friends a bit.

Nagi huffed. "You incited Aunt Nana to talk to Kaa-san about sending us the Summer Camp, because you knew Kaa-san would never say no to Aunt Nana."

Tsuna tilted his head and asked questioningly, "Oh? Is that what happened?" His innocently curious persona was ruined by the mischievous twinkling of his amber eyes.

Kyoya's eye twitched as he glowered at the brunette, "Baby omnivore, I'll bite you to death for this!"

"And I'll even help him with it!" Nagi stared at him, unamused.

Tsuna just grinned at them. "Sure, "he chirruped excitedly, "You do that when we reach the Camp. But first, let's get on the bus, or we'll get let behind." He pointed at the bus, and said, "You don't want to get chewed out by Aunt Yuna, right?"

His words earned him another glare from the both of them.

"This isn't over yet, Baby Omnivore." Kyoya hissed out as he stalked towards the metallic-contraption-on-wheels that was now obviously filled with herbivorous kids, and wondered if biting the Baby Omnivore to death is worth all this headache.

Tsuna's snicker only made him even angrier.

Definitely not.

EXTRA-

the Skylark's ever loyal companion, Pt. 1

A pair of eyes blinked and stared at the darkness that surrounded them. They think they've been floating in this strange, but comfortable darkness for a long time now. For some reason, they felt ….. warm, and safe. As if nothing could ever hurt them.

So just stay here….. the darkness seemed to lull them.

If they were anyone else, they'd have been deceived by the promise of warmth, comfort and safety. But they weren't anyone else. They've spent too much time around the treacherous fruit(?) to be wary of such obvious deception. Besides, they had better things to do than to basking this warmthhappinesslovelovelovelove-

It was tempting. So very tempting. But they dared not fall for this trick.

There were things to be done….. places to go…. people to visit….

Who has the time to be stuck in unknown dark places anyway?

(They could feel him. They knew that he was alive. And he was waiting for them. It's bad to make him wait. He wasn't very patient, after all.)

Tap. Tap. Tap.

They smacked against the hard covering surrounding them repeatedly. They were exhausted from their efforts, but they dared not stop. The sooner they get out of here, the sooner they can meet him.

(After all, he's waiting-! )

CRACK-!

A small crack appeared on the walls surrounding him. Light filtered in through the gap, lighting up their world. Overjoyed, they doubled their efforts. The small crack widened, and it spread in a seemingly zig-ag pattern. Another push, and the dark walls came undone, giving way to bright light that almost blinded them.

Blinking to adjust to the light, they narrowed their eyes and stared at their surroundings with teary eyes. they stared stupidly at their –older, bigger-kin that surrounded them as they crowed and tweeted at them in delight.

They glanced around nervously, looking for the one person they had struggled against the darkness for –the one person who left them….. the one whom they had chased after even through the realms of death….

A pale feathered head blocked their vision as the elder –Mother?- nudged them lovingly and fluttered her wings to pat him affectionately. Any other new-born chick would've responded by snuggling against them.

But they weren't just any new-born chick now, were they?

They puffed their feathers and flapped their baby wings angrily, throwing a tantrum. You're not the one I want to see at the moment!

Unhappy~

They ignored their feathered kin as they tittered around him worriedly, wondering why the new-born chick was behaving strangely. They stared pitifully at the pitiful amount of feathers dotting their wings –which were close to none- and then sighed.

They could feel that the journey to finding their human was going to be a long one. Sigh.

Meh, it didn't matter. They'll definitely find him, sooner or later.

(They –no, he- will not abandon his human. Not even for death. Never again.)

But….. Wouldn't it be better if he had been here to take care of th- ahem, him? He missed him. He truly did.

And so, he couldn't help but call out for him pitifully-

"Hibari~ Hibari~"

OMAKE- 1

Lal picked up her phone to look at the new messages, and gave out an annoyed sigh as she saw one from Iemitsu. Apparently, the idiot actually sent her the photos of those so called 'demon' children who kicked him and Nono out of the town and were rumored to be in midst of a Harmonization-courtship ritual with his son. He was still thinking that she'd deal with this mess after she was done with the Arcobaleno conference. Idiot.

By Trinisette that guy can hold a grudge. He didn't even spare two innocent children-!

Snorting, she decided to just delete all his messages –both seen and unseen ones- so that he won't annoy her any more than he already has, only to accidentally click on the open file. Rolling her eyes, she was about to click the back option to shut off the photo-

-only to gasp in disbelief.

Because the photo Iemitsu sent showed her the picture of two familiar children –Wait, weren't they the love-children of Fon, Reborn and Viper? Does this mean the one whom Iemitsu was complaining about all this time was actually the one they all speculated to be Reborn's child?

She stared at the photo, speechless. a few minutes later, a small, sadistic smirk bloomed on her lips.

'Figures.' She thought as she eyed the dark haired boy in the picture and smiled smugly, 'Only Reborn's kid can unknowingly cause so much chaos. Like father, like son.'

OMAKE -2

"Reborn-sempai, you're really such a ruthless parent! How can you deny being related to your own child?!"Skull exclaimed haughtily.

"I agree with lackey, kora!" Colonello said in a disapproving tone. "What kind of parent are you to even deny your own son's existence?!"

("Welcome back, Lal." Fon greeted Lal with a smile as she walked into the room.

"I'm back." Lal nodded back at him. She then eyed the argument going on in the meeting room –with the usual violence, gunshots and utter chaos- and asked curiously, "What are they quarreling about now?"

Verde, who had been sitting in a nearby corner answered –without glancing up from his laptop screen, "It's the same old, same old. Reborn is still denying having a love-child with Fon. The others obviously don't believe him, while Viper is just being plainly unhelpful."

Lal glanced at Viper, who hovered above the meeting table as they counted the stack of money in their hands gleefully, and sweat-dropped. "True enough.")

"Oh, for god's sake-!" Reborn gripped his fedora hat tighter with his baby hands and hissed out, "Fon and I did not have any love-child. That boy is not-"

("By the way," Verde paused while typing something on his laptop, and glanced at her. "What did Iemitsu want anyway? Why did he call you in midst of Arcobaleno's annual meeting?"

Lal snorted, "He got his ass kicked by a bunch of kids and was just throwing a temper tantrum. How childish of him. Which reminds me," she patted Fon's back and smirked, "Your kid is amazing, Fon. He chased Iemitsu and Nono out of town with their tails tucked behind them. I swear, your boy has definitely gotten his personality from Reborn."

"What." Fon deadpanned. "Kyoya did what now-?!")

Reborn –thanks to his sensitive hearing- of course heard the dialogue between the other three, and immediately changed his words, "Of course he's my son." he said as he puffed his cheeks proudly, "Why would anyone even doubt that?"

Everyone stared at him, speechless.

"He changes his attitude faster than a chameleon." Colonello snorted. "No wonder he has Leon as his partner, kora."

"How shameless of you, Reborn-sempai!" Skull just dissed him along –earning a kick from the World's Greatest Hitman.

Verde pushed his glasses up and asked, "Weren't you denying your relationship just a moment ago, Reborn?"

Reborn blinked innocently and replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"And now he pleads amnesia." Lal deadpanned.

Fon narrowed his eyes at the fedora wearing baby, "Why did you suddenly agree with this farce?" The others also stared at him suspiciously. Because really, why would Reborn suddenly smile as if he's the most innocent being on Earth –Ha!- and accept having an affair with Fon and Viper that resulted in love-children?

The Sun Arcobaleno couldn't help but smirk and raise his brow cockily, "Why won't I claim the child who could kick Baka-mitsu's ass -and cause chaos in general- to be my son?"

Colonello grudgingly admitted to Lal, "He has a point, kora." The others agreed.

Fon sighed helplessly as he pinched the bridge of his nose, and mumbled, "I really shouldn't have expected anything else from him."