Reborn was in his deep sleep when he felt something poking his cheek softly, he simply stirred but didn't opened his eyes. He wanted to sleep more but the annoying creature continued on poking him.
"Mister..? Wake up!," he heard a small voice say and immediately he sat up and rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. He almost forgot that he's with a kid named Tsuna.
Mind still hazed with sleep, he yawned. "Just call me Reborn. I told you my name last night already. Why are up so early?" He roamed his eyes in the clearing to see if any animal or other creature is around them and to his relief, there's none.
Tsuna only smiled brightly at him, rivaling the sun that's only starting to shine. "Oh! I felt hungry earlier and I didn't want to disturb your sleep so I went around the forest. And look what I've got!," he beamed as he showed Reborn a basket of apples and tangerines. "Fruits! I love tangerines, you see. And these ones that grow in the forest taste really sweet. You should try them!"
Reborn almost wanted to share the boy's happiness but Tsuna's words suddenly sunk down on him. "WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!"
Surprised with Reborn's booming voice, Tsuna stepped back in fear. "I.. I j-just wanted to p-pick up some f-fruits for the b..both of us. As my th-thanks for h-helping me.. last night. I-I'm so sorry.." Like what he normally does when he's nervous, the kid fiddled with his fingers as his body trembled lightly.
Seeing the scared boy's form, Reborn tried to calm his down as to not frightened Tsuna more. "Sorry for raising my voice. I appreciate the thought but you shouldn't really lurk around the forest alone. It's dangerous," he explained, rubbing his temples.
"B-but it's m-morning! Monsters only come out at night! They're afraid of the light!," Tsuna insisted, keeping his childish thoughts with him.
'Why am I in the light then?,' Reborn thought. 'Humans and their non-sense beliefs.' He sighed before facing the boy. "That's not true at all, Tsuna. You were lucky no one attacked you a while ago. Tell me if you want to walk around the forest and I'll accompany you. Don't be stubborn." 'Or I'll eat you.'
Tsuna pouted and sat down beside reborn, legs crossed as he put the basket on the ground. "Don't scare me like that, Reborn," he picked one tangerine and started eating it. "Want some?"
The werewolf gazed at the happily eating young man beside him before getting one apple in the basket. "I'm not scaring you off. It's up to you if you'll believe me. I won't be the one who's gonna end up lifeless somewhere anyway," he shrugged, biting his fruit.
"HIIEEEEE!," Tsuna shrieked loudly. "You really want me to be afraid, don't you? You can simply tell me to leave your side if you don't want me here," he mumbled softly, looking down at his feet. No one wanted his company ever since, his playmates always bullied him and call him idiot. They even said that he was boring.
Reborn grunted, rolling his eyes. "C'mon. If I don't want you here, I would've left you to your mom last night. Or send you off so you'll be devoured by dark creatures." Reborn paused with his own words. Does he really like Tsuna to stay with him? He was only a meal for him at first. What changed overnight?
His eyes switched to the delicate boy. Was it pity? He was known as a merciless werewolf in the forest, he never pitied anyoneㅡ not even pregnant mothers or innocent babies, not children or anyone. But looking at Tsuna and remembering how much fear his mother instilled at him, he almost got the feeling of wanting to protect the boy from any harm.
Tsuna turned to him and grinned widely. "Really?! You want my company?! That's great! No one ever told me that. We're friends now, aren't we? My first friend! Yay!," he yelled, tackling Reborn to the ground and quickly wrapped his short arms around the older's waist.
Reborn was startled with the swift move, he can feel Tsuna's soft brown spiky hair on his chin. The kid was just so happy that he can't push him away, instead, he just let Tsuna hug him. They stayed like that for a while until Reborn heard something move from a few meters away, his super hearing activating. He slowly sat up as to not hurt Tsuna and the latter looked at him in wonder. "Keep still."
Tsuna sensed Reborn's uneasiness so he hugged him tighter, earning a response as the older wrapped one arm around his shoulder. "What's the matter, Reborn?"
Before the taller could even respond, the air around them whirled as two huge wings flapped above the two. Tsuna looked up as he shielded his eyes from the whirls of sand and there he saw a gigantic bird, around the size of a full grown man. No, it was a man with wings! An angel? No, angels have white wings but this one have a pair of thick brown ones.
Reborn pulled Tsuna closer to his chest, shielding him from the newcomer. "What do you want, Hibari?," he spat venomously to the harpy.
Tsuna watched as the harpy named Kyoya Hibari landed on the ground, not knowing if he should be scared or not. The creature has a body of a man but it's filled with a mix of brown and white feathers, it's face is fierceㅡ gray eyes piercing Tsuna's well-being. The flapping wings halted and settled on the man's back, bringing back the quiet in the the clearing.
"My my, is that a human, Reborn? Your standards are going that low?," the harpy said in amusement, eyeing Tsuna like he was some kind of an entertainment. "I must say that he's somewhat cute but you two don't really suit each other."
Reborn's obsidian eyes narrowed, teeth gritting as he prevents himself from growling. "Shut up, Hibari. It's totally none of your business."
"You don't have a beak," Tsuna softly squeaked, catching the two half-half creatures' attention. Not wanting to be the center of attraction, he hid behind Reborn's back, head slightly peeking to see what's happening.
Hibari chuckled softly then grinned. "Really? A beak? Well, thank the gods I don't have one even if I have bird blood running in my veins. That would definitely ruin my perfect face," he retorted.
Reborn rolled his eyes at the harpy's reply. "Conceited now, are we? Can't you just fly your way to hell? Leave us alone."
He smirked. "Why so grumpy, Reborn? Did I just disturbed your lovey-dovey moment with this human? Oh, I'm sorry then. I didn't know." No sincerity is heard with Kyoya's words. The harpy was actually watching ever since Reborn carried the kid to the clearing. He had known the older male for years and he was not the most forgiving creature he've met in the forest.
"We're not lovey-dovey at all! It was just a friendly hug!," Tsuna defended, face pink with the slight blushing.
Hibari shrugged off the kid's statement. "Fine, fine. I'll go now. Dino's waiting for me," he muttered like the two even cared. "You might want to wear a shirt, Reborn. No one ever resisted your charms. You won't know if the kid's already patronizing your body."
"HEY!," Tsuna protested loudly but the harpy already flew off, leaving him blushing furiously. He didn't notice that Reborn was still half naked until Hibari said so. Dame-Tsuna.
Reborn faced Tsuna, amused by the latter's red face. "You're as red as my apple. I might just eat you instead of my fruit," he teased.
The latter turned his back away from him, face covered with both hands trying to hide all the embarrassment he was feeling. "I'm not some kind of food! Ugh! Why are you like this?"
Reborn laughed out loud, the sound of it heard throughout the forest that it surprised other creatures because they didn't know that the great alpha can actually laugh like that.
'That boy is something.'