ChApTeR tWo – The true meaning of fear
Disclaimer: I don't own KHR
"You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore."
―William Faulkner
Tsuna woke up with both of his temples throbbing with pain. As his heavy eyelids lifted, his retinas burned. "Ugh….what is going on?" he murmured as he sat up. He could faintly see his posters in the far left, and he knew then that he must be in his room. The pounding in his mind grew louder as his feet touched the carpeted floor. Shadows danced across the windows as the wailing breeze caused the branches of the tree, his father was supposed to cut down, to tap against the glass. Yet another failure on his father's part. He groaned as he tried to stand but found that he was still unsteady to balance all of his weight on his wobbly legs. This must be how Bambi felt when he was born, he drily thought to himself.
"Mama?" he tried to ask but his mother didn't reply. With one step, he stumbled about his room, tripping on some of the laundry she had told him to place in his hamper. He braced himself on the wall, his chest colliding with one of his favourite anime character. "Sorry 'bout that" he mumbled to the smiling girl as he pushed himself away from the cool surface of the poster. His eyes narrowed as he looked out of his room and into the hallway. Normally the light would be on, yet the entire house seemed to be encased in darkness.
"Was there a power shortage?" he asked aloud as he slowly made his way out of his bedroom, careful not to fall over his own feet. He was rather clumsy as he was 'No Good'. He snorted at the thought. "Mama? Teruko-chan?" he called out, hoping that at least one of them would reply but he was received with only an unsympathetic silence. "Grandfather?" he begged as he fumbled down the hall, gripping onto the walls for support. His fingernails dug into the wallpaper as he treaded down the stairs, his footsteps loud in the ticking quiet. Not even the porch light was on. He turned to move into the living room.
"Father?" he asked and now he knew he was desperate. In fact, anyone would do at that moment, even his much hated father. The front of his feet caught on the edge of the carpet and when he fell, he yelled. As his nose bent under the pressure, he nearly cried. Thankfully though, he didn't. He nursed his nose as he sat up when he heard a whisper in the hush. Even his heart stopped beating as the words "ThEy MuSt AlL DiE" bellowed in the stillness. He heard the scrape of metal against wood and he knew that whoever it was must be in the kitchen. He crawled on all fours towards the doors, his breathing as boomingly loud as a clap of thunder, when something sticky slicked against the bottom of his palm. The liquid traced from his palm to his forearm as he raised the limb up to get a better view of what it was. His eyes frighteningly widened as red oozed down pale white skin.
"Bloo-…!?" he nearly cried out when a hand shot out of the darkness to cover his mouth. He reeled forward when a breath came towards the shell of his ear.
"Tsuna, it's me" someone groaned and Tsuna shakily turned around to see his father heavily leaning against the wall, clutching his lower abdomen. There were black circles under his eyes and his face looked more withdrawn and sweaty than usual. Each breath came out with a wheezing whistle. That was when he saw exactly what his father was holding in. His own blood. ….but half as if to keep, The life from spilling*….Tsuna snapped out of his own thoughts when he saw the rueful smile on his father's haggard face.
"We have to get you to the hospital" Tsuna quietly yelled and Iemitsu chuckled as his son tried but failed to help him. He could see that the boy was in a panic, struggling with his own self, wondering about what the hell he should do with this situation. "What happened? Who did this to you?!" Tsuna asked, his flustered eyes on him once more as he tried to reign in the blood on his own. The more the warm, sticky liquid dirtied his hands, the more he tried NOT to gag.
"I always did say…." he coughed, blood rising from his throat to his mouth and down his chin. "…that you tend to overthink things" he added as he used the sleeve of his t-shirt to wipe away the evidence that he had been stabbed.
"YoU…yOu!" the thing screeched and they both jumped as the white masked man moved in the shadows. Oh Kami...Oh…Kami….Oh….Kami…The white robes of its kimono fluttered against the floor, the fabric rustled with each movement. Tsuna nearly threw up at the sight of soft pink innards that peered from the charred, dirty line that ran across from left to right near his abdomen. Tsuna watched with horror as it jiggled when the man walked. Its head twisted from right to left, repeating the same words over and over, each syllable more deranged than the last. A strong scent of ammonia wafted in the air as Tsuna struggled to stay standing.
"Tsunayoshi" his father said, and the man's usually boisterous voice was reduced to a pained murmur. Tsuna's entire form was quivering by then. "I need you to listen to me. Listen to your Papa" his father said when Tsuna's head drooped to the side, as the phantom grew closer. "I know that all of this is a lot to take in…but I need for you to listen to me…I need you to believe in me" he whispered as he placed his bloody hands on each side of his son's face. Click. Click. Click. "I haven't always been the best father….I know I've made some mistakes when it came to raising you and Teruko-chan…but just this one time…I need you to do as I say. I need for you to run" he told his son as the spectre zeroed in on them. It was in no hurry as it slowly made its way towards them. Tsuna despite his fear, moved to speak up against his father's wish when Iemitsu pushed the boy behind him as a curved knife rose in the air. "Damn it…Tsuna" his father cried out as the metal ploughed into his chest.
"No!" the boy screamed as blood sprayed forth. Iemitsu grabbed onto the man, hoping to distract it long enough so that his son could escape. "Dad!" Tsuna roared as the man continuously rammed the knife into his father. With each 'schlick' of the cold metal, Iemitsu's flesh jumped and so did Tsuna.
"Go…" was the last thing his father could say to him as his life seeped away from him. Even when he was dead, the thing kept stabbing…Thump…Thump…Thump! Fresh tears streamed down his face as his father's limp body was dropped to the ground. Tsuna cringed as the man zoomed in on him.
"DeAtH tO yOu AlL" it droned and Tsuna caught sight of movement behind the man. Blonde pigtails. The man spun around as Teruko, who was holding her favourite lion plushie screamed at their father's corpse.
"Teruko-chan!" Tsuna yelled as he ran forward and past the chopping knife. He gathered his sister's trembling figure and ran to the living room. He could hear it scuttling in the darkness as he clung to sister as they sprinted through the kitchen. He pushed past the table and chairs, the grating of furniture against the wood screeched against his thundering heart beats. The man lunged towards them and with speed he didn't even know he had, he darted out the room. When the front door refused to open, he ran up the stairs, trying but failing to keep his sister calm. She kept frantically whispering "Tuna-kun, daddy's hurt. Tuna-kun, daddy's hurt". He lunged into his room, locking the door behind them. He heard as the man slammed against the wooden door with a loud 'THUD!'
"Teruko-chan, I need you to stay here for me, okay?" he whispered as he wrapped his little sister in his blanket. Her face was disfigured with blood. Their father's blood. He flinched before he rubbed it off her face, almost as manically like the man who was trying to kill them.
"Tuna-kun, you're frightening me" she sniffed and Tsuna stopped rubbing the woolly material over her cheeks.
"I'm sorry" he whispered as he hugged her. The sounds of the man slamming his body against the door methodically broke his mind to tiny pieces. With each 'whump!' Tsuna jolted.
"Tuna-kun, sing me Mama's lullaby" Teruko begged as she squeezed her eyes shut. He placed his hands over her little ears as he softly whispered to her the same song that their mother had sang to them since they were babies.
"Tsuna-kun?" a warm voice called from behind the door and the Sawada siblings froze. "Teruko-chan? Why is the door locked? What's going on?" his mother's voice asked.
"Mama!" Teruko shouted in glee but before she could make it to the door, Tsuna stopped her. He knew it was a trick. A horrible….evil trick. If it was really their mother, she would've seen their father's body downstairs. It was hard not to...
"You're not her!" Tsuna shouted as he slammed his fists on the door. Teruko ran away from both him and the monster as she hid under his blanket. "You're not Mama!" he hollered and the man warbled.
"DiE!" it screamed and Tsuna was thrown backwards as splintered wood burst through the room as the door broke from its hinges. Tsuna lay in a bloodied heap as the thing stepped inside.
"T…e..r…u..ko" Tsuna gasped as a particular piece of wood found comfort in his right lung. He had broken his nose, his leg and his arm already, but no pain could compare to the agony that he was currently in. No beating he had received from the bullies could measure up to the soreness that he felt at that time. Teruko thrashed around, screamed, begged, cried and pleaded as the man grabbed hold of one of her pigtails. He kept shouting for his limbs to move, but they wouldn't. "Ta…ke Me…" he whispered and the thing stopped. "N….o…t….he…r…..me…" he gasped as blood pooled out of his mouth.
"YoU?" it moaned, the white eyes stuck to Tsuna's dying ones. Teruko scrambled away as the thing dropped its hand away from her hair. It yowled as it drew closer to Tsuna while Teruko sobbed on his bed.
"Me…..N…ot…..h…er" Tsuna told it as it dropped to its knees in front of Tsuna, the slosh licked, grey hands on his face. As it leaned towards Tsuna, the knife now as its feet, he smirked despite the hurt. With a frail arm, he took up the piece of wood and drove it into the thing's head, just as it had done to their father some moments ago. Tsuna laughed as it released a high pitched scream. Maybe it wasn't as invincible as it appeared to be. "Not….Te…ruko" Tsuna whispered, taking one last glance at his little sister. The world may be cruel…he may hate a lot of people and things about it…..but Teruko was more important than all of that. She was the one good thing in his life and he would protect her at all costs. "N…ot…..m…y…li…tt….le…..s…sis" he muttered to himself as all the energy drained from his broken body. "…Te-…" was left on his lips as he succumbed himself to the oblivion that awaited him.
"…-ruko!" he shouted. His body surged as his regained consciousness. He could feel a soothing hand on his clammy forehead, but he ignored everything as he focused on the anxiety. It was misty as it washed over him like a bucket of ice water. It was all a dream…No it wasn't….it was too real….too…..Tsuna turned his head to see his grandfather observing him with hooded eyes. They had placed a chair in his room, in one of the corners near the head of his bed. Before he could say anything his brown eyes looked past his grandfather to see that streams of sunlight snuck past his curtains. It was already morning. His grandfather who had seen him make such an observation, cocked an eyebrow upward. Tsuna on the other hand, just stared at his hands. He should've known it wasn't real….but how could he, when he was too scared to think straight or logical? However, he should've taken note of the fact that neither his grandfather nor his mother was present when he was subjected to that horror.
"Tuna-kun!" a joyful voice broke him out of his musings and he smiled as Teruko bounced into his room with his parents. She clambered onto his bed and placed her head on his chest. "You made me woowry" she told him with the same tone of voice their mother used on her when she stole cookies from the cupboard. He laughed and playfully nuzzled her nose with his own.
"How are you feeling?" his mother asked and he allowed the relief he felt on his face. She sat down beside them and he placed his head on her shoulder.
"A little dizzy but I'll be fine" LiAr. She nodded and ran a hand through his fluffy hair. Was it just him or was she more…..how should he say? Restrained?
"Teruko-chan, did you forget that Mama told us that we had to go to the market?" his father asked the little girl who Tsuna noticed was fully dressed. In fact, they all were….except Tsuna who wore his pajamas.
"Nuh uh!" Teruko said as she jumped down from the bed, and shot their grandfather a shy smile before she moved to her father who plucked her up from the ground. "To the market!" she said pointing forward and they smiled as the two blondes left the room.
"What was that?" Tsuna asked without looking at the remaining two adults in his room. He knew….HE KNEW….that his grandfather had something to do with that nightmare.
"I think it's time for some explanations, don't you think so, Nana-chan?" his grandfather asked as he rose from his seat. When Tsuna looked at his mother, his back slammed against the headboard. That woman…..the one sitting on his bed….it wasn't his Mama…..it couldn't be….she was too…..No….The woman who was wearing his mother's face kept her head bowed but even Tsuna could see the differences between the two. Her eyes were too probing, all knowing…all seeing…her lips which were always used to smile were now arched downwards in an unforgiving frown, and the darkness that he had encountered in his nightmare overshadowed the woman's face like the beating wings of a million moths. She was even as scary as the masked man.
"It's time you knew the truth" the woman who looked like his mother said with a harsh voice, the same one that had once lovingly called out to him Tsuna-kun, Tsuna-kun! When she stood up, the figures of both the woman and his grandfather loomed above him as he quaked in his sheets. "It's time you knew about your family" she whispered and Tsuna screamed as his grandfather took out the white kabuki mask.
*Out, Out – Robert Frost. It is a poem about…nah, you google it.
