edelweiss – courage
chrysanthemum (white) – truth and usually used for funerals/graves


Chapter 12: Edelweiss

It was past ten in the night and Tsuna finally realised how foolish it was to take a walk with the pouring rain harshly mocking him. His white sneakers had turned brown from mud and his entire body was slightly wet. Cursing how flimsy his umbrella was, he sought solace under the awning of a closed bakery and leant on the wall, carefully avoiding the window pane as not to dirty it.

Enma left a few minutes after Tsuna managed to at least make himself presentable for the customers. Great friends were hard to come by, and Tsuna couldn't be any more grateful to meet and befriend Enma. They had been through thin and thick – from being bullied to kicking people, who annoyed their friends, on the groin. A smile graced his lips. Tsuna knew he owed his best friend so much.

He was a mess earlier in the shop. Now that he was sober and genuinely calm, Tsuna knew he treated Hibari rather unfairly. He had been too emotional and thus threw his bitterness towards the man, whom he didn't even give a chance to explain. Hibari was right. Mukuro was a man from the past; whatever Tsuna did in the future should have nothing to do with him, yet he stupidly allowed his previous lover to shackle him in a dark cage, with only his insecurity tightly holding him.

However, Tsuna had been so distrustful towards love that he couldn't simply walk up to Hibari without worrying about lies and deceit. But he would try. If only for his pathetic self he allowed to wallow in self-pity and anger. He knew that he needed closure, knew that he should move on.

Hibari spoke of a story. If there was indeed one, however, why did Mukuro never bother to speak to him, to fix things between them? Didn't he allow Tsuna to come to his own conclusion? He was a toy. That was all. He recalled Hibari's voice, covered in desperation he ignored in favour of running away again – and again and again.

He knew he needed to talk to Mukuro.

He knew he needed to hear out Hibari.

Seeing as the rain had weakened, Tsuna straightened his back and started walking again, his umbrella finally useful. His feet had no destination in mind, so Tsuna trudged in silence, welcoming the tranquilising melody of the water dropping on the ground.

It was several minutes later, that Tsuna realised he was in the district where the night was always alive. Bars were lined up one after the other and he could see drunk people fleeting about, laughing and cuddling as if the light rain wasn't making them wet. Not a drinker, Tsuna had only been to this part of Namimori a handful of times. It was a frightening place where violence sometimes would dance in the street and barely anyone would care.

"Sawada? Fancy seeing you here, shishishi."

Tsuna turned his head so fast he winced at the sharp pain on his neck. With a wry smile, he said, "Hi, Belphegor. It's been a while." He inwardly cringed at his friend's choice of clothing: a white mink coat, a red undershirt, and white trousers paired with white boots. His fluffy blond hair still had a silver tiara, which made Tsuna shudder upon recalling his university days.

Belphegor was a self-proclaimed prince, and he made sure people actually called him that through physical and mental means. It was the very thing Tsuna was sure made he and Mukuro become friends. Even when he was dating Mukuro, he never felt safe in the blond's presence. The first day they met, Belphegor had told Tsuna his favourite music was people screaming for help. Tsuna made sure to avoid him as much as possible since then.

"You still look the same: small and weak."

Tsuna folded his umbrella once he noticed the rain stop. "And you look... well."

Belphegor smiled widely. "Let's go for a drink."

Hie! Tsuna needed to get away fast. "Thanks, but it's, uh, late already and I have work tomorrow. B-besides, I don't drink."

Belphegor slung his arm around Tsuna's shoulder. "Princes don't request, Sawada." Tsuna found himself nodding vigorously.

Much to his surprise, Belphegor led them to a sushi restaurant and Tsuna was fighting back a snort, because his companion's extravagant clothing stood out extremely so. Then again, Belphegor did enjoy attention. Attempting to be civil, Tsuna asked, "Are you usually in this area?"

"I work here."

"As what?" A gigolo? Tsuna leant back as Belphegor started leaning towards him from across the table, with a grin so wide he was afraid his friend's cheeks would be ripped.

"An assassin," was the reply.

Tsuna hastily dropped the subject. "This is a nice restaurant. Do you come by often?" He was glad when his companion leant back to his own backrest, arms raised behind his head.

"Froggy told me he saw you weeks ago looking like shit."

Wow, talk about blunt. "Thanks," said Tsuna bitterly.

"Don't worry, you still do." Belphegor snickered. "You still like Mukuro?"

Gripping his cup of house tea, Tsuna spat, "No."

"No one new?"

"I... no."

"What's his name?"

"Didn't I just say there's no one?"

"Your pants are on fire."

Tsuna looked down to his lap. "Huh? Wha—Oh. I'm not lying! Anyway, why do you care?"

"Ara? Who says I care?" Resting his elbow on the table, Belphegor grinned and leant forward once more. "Peasants shouldn't be stubborn."

Tsuna's eye caught a glint of silver in his companion's other hand. Gulping, he said, "Look, there's no one, okay? Just a fluke. But," he added hastily before he changed his mind, "do you have Mukuro's number? Can I have it?"

Belphegor snickered.

"It's not like that! I don't like him anymore. I just want to fix things between him and me, but it's not like our relationship needs fixing. I hate him, okay? I just want to know what Hibari-san meant, because I think I was really unfair to him and to myself and maybe give myself a chance or something and I think I need to stop talking." Mortified, Tsuna buried his face in his hands. What was he doing rambling to Belphegor of all people?

"Hibari Kyouya?"

"Yes, yes, that businessman whatever."

"That guy you punched in your third year?"

"Yes, apparently he's a famous—What?" Tsuna sat straight up, eyes widened at his friend's words.

"That moment was hilarious."

Bending down to Belphegor, Tsuna grabbed the mink coat with both hands and started frantically shaking him. "What do you mean? What happened? I don't remember meeting Hibari-san before."

"Kaching."

"Huh? Hie! S-s-sorry." He hurriedly sat back down and nervously watched the blond fix his coat, preparing for the worst.

"You're an interesting guy, Sawada, so the prince will graciously forgive you for now."

Tsuna inwardly sighed in relief. "I don't remember punching Hibari-san. I do vaguely remember punching a guy who was making fun of Mukuro back then." His stomach churned at the memory.

"Pale blond hair? That was him."

"Hibari-san has black hair."

"Are you trying to compete for my title of genius, Sawada?" Pleased at the other's silence, Belphegor continued, "I don't know the details."

"B-but I have so many questions!" Why was Hibari blond? We're in the same univeristy? How could he even lose to Mukuro? Is that even possible? If I punched him, then why is he coming after me? Does he want revenge? Is that why he was so vague about how he knew about me? Tsuna ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Shishishi, this sounds interesting. Here." Belphegor slipped a paper over to Tsuna's side. He looked at the paper in confusion upon only seeing numbers scribbled on it. "Ask Mukuro."

-x-

Hibari slammed the car's door shut upon entering but carefully placed the bouquet of white carnations beside him. He frowned then dialled someone on his phone. When the call connected, he said, "Tetsu, where are you?"

"At the greenhouse, I just finished water—"

"Prepare me a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. I'll be there in ten minutes." Hibari ended the call then said to the driver, "My house."

Despite his lack of experience in romantic endeavours, Hibari thought he had been doing well, seeing as Tsuna had been relaxed towards him recently as opposed to the first time he stepped foot in the flower shop. However, his outburst earlier made all of his efforts go back to zero. It was beyond his expectations that Tsuna would react so strongly and emotionally against Mukuro.

Rokudo Mukuro. Hibari growled at the mere thought of the man, the source of all his problems right now. If he had known this would happen, Hibari might have dropped whatever he owed the bumbling fool. But Mukuro had helped Alaude in the past; asking to be kept silent of their relationship from Tsuna was something Mukuro wanted in return. Hibari had agreed, because he couldn't see why he even needed to speak of the pineapple herbivore.

For someone who punched him without hesitation years ago, Hibari couldn't believe how lacking in self-esteem Tsuna was. The boy was a walking puzzle – sometimes he was weak, sometimes he was strong. Hibari shook his head, remembering how bright with anger the brown eyes were in the shop.

Secrets paved way to a hole Hibari didn't know how to climb out of himself. He always kept to his word, even if it was to someone as detestable as Mukuro. At the knocking of the window on his side, Hibari broke out of his thoughts and saw Kusakabe leaning down, carrying the bouquet he requested. He opened the window and and gingerly took the flowers from him. With a nod from both, Hibari closed the window and said, "To Rokudo's place."

Hibari could see the driver stiffen which made him scoff. He hated anything to do with Rokudo Mukuro; the driver must be surprised he wanted to go there.

The ride felt irritatingly long. At the very moment they arrived at the place, he picked up the chrysanthemums and went outside, immediately pushing the mansion's gate receiver. "Hibari Kyouya." Without hesitation, he swiftly walked past the gate once it opened and waited for the main door to the mansion to open. "Where's Rokudo?" he asked upon seeing the servant who opened the door.

"Kufufu, what an unpleasant surprise!"

Hibari scowled at the voice.

"Did you miss me already?"

Ignoring the maid who was asking for his coat, Hibari walked towards Mukuro and slammed his tonfa on the man's cheek. Eyes widened, Mukuro staggered and glared at Hibari, who was preparing to strike him again. It was an odd sight – a tonfa in his left hand and a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in his right.

Mukuro grabbed the trident hanging on the wall for display and blocked Hibari's next attack. He was about to strike when he spotted the flowers. "Kufufu, white chrysanthemums? Are you preparing for your own funeral?"

At the mention of the flowers, Hibari glared and lowered his tonfa. As much as he wanted to beat Mukuro up, this was not the main reason he came here. "You will talk to Tsunayoshi and give him this."

"You want me to kill Tsunayoshi-kun? What kind of sick bastard are you?"

"You might as well have killed him," growled Hibari.

Mukuro faltered for a moment but regained his composure instantly. "It's been more than a year. He should be long over me now."

"Make no mistake. He hates you, but," Hibari narrowed his eyes, "it is because of that that he cannot move on."

-x-

It was almost two when Tsuna came back to his apartment, feeling sluggish. Belphegor had made him walk around the district, introducing him to several people he couldn't remember the names. It turned out that Belphegor worked at a bar named Varia, with fellow employees as eccentric as him. Despite the fact that conversation with each of them was short, Tsuna had never felt so terrified and exhausted. At the very least, he was grateful the blond didn't force him to drink alcohol.

He didn't get anything new about Hibari or Mukuro from Belphegor. Instinctively, he looked at the paper with his previous lover's number, wondering when he should give him a call. In his anger, he had deleted his number when they broke up, which he started regretting now. If he tried to talk to Mukuro once more then, could he have fixed whatever went wrong between them? He had avoided Mukuro and he was grateful when the favour was returned. There were no calls, no messages, no nothing from both parties to each other. It was an act Tsuna took as a silent, mutual agreement.

It was over.

Tsuna rubbed the paper with his thumb and index finger. Meeting Belphegor was a stroke of luck. He had been planning on asking Hibari when he comes later to the shop for Mukuro's number, but this could make things awkward between them again. In the morning, he would call Mukuro and ask to talk to him and when he sees Hibari later, he would listen to him and make sure his questions get answers.

His mobile phone vibrated and, to his confusion, he saw Fran had sent him an image on Line. Once he opened it, he chuckled at what he saw and commended Fran and Belphegor's closeness.

Smiling, Tsuna closed the image of the edelweiss.