Erected from the ground and towering towards the skies, the majority of the school's buildings stood tall with several stories overlooking its campus but not as tall to overlook the entire town. The walls were originally coated a yellow color. However, after many years of being occupied, it dulled in color. Located in the back was an area for students to use before or after school for extra-curricular activities. Its most distinct feature was the clock tower that stood tall on the main building as it faced towards the main gates. Many students have entered and exited the school. Some even came out as some of the most powerful human beings on the face of the Earth. That fact was not going to change for years to come. The magnificent structure was named Namimori Gakuen.

Tsuna sighed, a sign of his annoyance. He seriously did not have the energy to go to school especially after what had happened over the past weekend. He never even wanted to go to school in the first place. But there were a certain amount of days he had to attend and were allowed to miss during the school year. Reluctantly, he went because he did not want to worry his mother, who had been taking care of him single-handedly while his father was away working, doing some "odd" job.

Like always, she did not question the bandages wrapped around his right hand whenever she saw him with them. She already knew the reason. They both knew so they did not question each other. She would always smile at him, never making him feel like a failure of a son but rather an important person she held close to her heart. She was one of the main reasons why he had not cracked, especially not after that promise he made to her.

There was that one time though. She had caught him punching the mirror. Right at the moment his fist made contact the object, the door was flung open. Her reaction? The spatula in her hand had clattered on the ground as her eyes and mouth widened at the sight. She was silent. Her eyes soon hid behind her auburn brown bangs. Her breathing had stopped but it resumed when her voice wavered. "W-Why?"

It was a simple question. He had not exactly comprehended the fact that his mother caught him hurting himself. He looked at her plainly, his eyes dead of any emotion. His response was simple. It was a way to release his pent up emotions.

She immediately rubbed away the forming tears from her eyes and pushed him out the bathroom in a hurry. She mumbled something about the first aid kit, being placed in the cabinet below the phone.

Tsuna had trembled at the slight breeze in the house and sat on his legs when he realized what had happened. He turned around to comfort his mother, thinking of anything to say to soothe image she just saw. Sadly, his hand fell to his side before he slid the door open. He could hear her cry her heart out. Deep down inside, he knew his mother knew that this was going on for awhile already. There would be days when she would come into the bathroom with a broken mirror covered in some dry blood and she would never question him if he knew about it.

Eventually, it was how their bond became over the course of his years during middle school; detached but comforting. She knew that she could not stop him from doing certain things. She had to stop babying him since he was slowly becoming a man. He knew that too. She would only offer a silent hand only in times of need, wanting him to only lean on her for support when he really needed it. It was an unspoken rule between the two.

There was also another reason why she did not worry over her son constantly. Ever since that incident, she knew the reasons why her husband was gone most of the time. She also knew that her son was likely to follow in her husband's footsteps. She was just preparing him when he would eventually leave her side. It was her way of raising him.

Don't be afraid to cry behind people's back.

Don't hide your emotions.

Don't forget I'm here.

Rearranging the fallen strap of his school bag on top of his shoulder, he took a single step into the school grounds. His foot stopped in mid-air. He was contemplating whether he should run for it, ditch for the day, or not. Even if he did not want to worry his mother, he hoped she would understand why he would do such a "delinquent" act. He had a few minutes to think since the shrill ring of the bell had not rung yet.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." A male, an upperclassman, walked towards Tsuna's direction. "Are you going to come in or not?" The echo of his footsteps moved in rhythm with the end of his heels barely scraping against the ground as he neared the boy. Hidden amusement was seen in his eyes as he leaned against the school gates.

"HIEEE!" Tsuna jumped at the sound the male's voice. He turned around slowly and saw the head of the Namimori Gakuen Disciplinary Committee. "H-Hibari-san!" He tried to soothe the rapid beating of his heart by patting it down. After all these years together, he was still scared of him. Seriously, he felt like his heart was going jump right out of his chest.

The head perfect was named Hibari Kyouya, a known and fearsome person in Namimori. Even outsiders coming in to visit knew to back away from the male whether he was in a bad mood or not. Raven locks of hair sat down nicely upon his head. His bangs formed a small v-shape right between his eyes, grabbing attention towards them. His eyes, his most distinctive feature, colored with steel blue held a predatory shine in them. Besides that, he was known for only wearing his uniform and his badge. Only on rare occasions would people see him in anything else.

Hibari walked over to Tsuna. His eyes narrowed as they scanned the area for anyone coming in or visible withing the premises. When he saw and sensed there was no one, he stopped in front of Tsuna and looked down at him. He bonked the poor boy on the head with his beloved tonfa lazily. "You know that I don't like it whenever you act like I'm going to bite you to death." He looked at the boy to see if the boy stopped shaking fear.

Tsuna winced at the action, rubbing his head where the steel weapon met his head. He nervously laughed but replied. "You always say that to people who break the rules though, Kyou–" Before he could finish, a hiss escaped his lips when Hibari roughly grabbed his injured hand. It added unneeded pressure on his wound.

"Again?" Hibari returned his tonfa back to its place and resumed analyzing the bandages around the boy's hand. "Why are you such an herbivore, Sawa–" His eyes widened when the hand within his grasp was yanked away from him. When he looked at the boy, the boy was glaring at him.

"Shut up, Kyouya! I don't need to be told that you see me like those other people!" Hands clasped over his mouth the moment the words escaped his mouth. His eyes widened and looked up at Hibari. He had snapped at Hibari. Fear enveloped his mind as he just stood there.

He had just glared at Hibari. He had just told Hibari to shut up. He had defied Hibari.

Tsuna had no idea what came over him. All he saw in the perfect's face was sheer shock etched in his face. "I… I…" He bolted towards the building. He knew that if he said anything else, Hibari would misunderstand. He did not want to lose a friend.

Hibari stared at the spot where Tsunayoshi had just yelled at him. He was completely filled with shock. No, it was not because Tsunayoshi yelled at him but because of what he said that made the boy react that way. He wanted be beat himself up. Yes, he would do that. Why? He would rather hurt herbivores who did not know their place and Tsunayoshi was definitely not one of them. Tsunayoshi would never raise his voice against him which told him how much of a blow it was for the boy. He just insulted the very person that drove him away from his depression. He had broken his promise…

His thoughts were soon interrupted when he saw students trying or attempting to jump over the closed school gates. His emotions running in different directions just told him to focus on these kids who had just broken the rules. He would talk to Tsunayoshi later, even if it meant he had put down his own pride to do it. Now, he had to focus on performing his duties.

FLASHBACK

Young Hibari scowled at the crowding of adults shifting about in the room next door. He could see their shadows past the paper thin walls. He could see their lips move with false words of sympathy and pity. He already knew that they were just here to gain favor in his father's eyes after his mother's death: to catch him in his moment of weakness. Almost everyone did not approve of his father's marriage with his mother.

"Poor child. I wonder how Takeo-san is going to take care of his child."

"I know, right? The boy is only nine years old. Is it too much for a male in his prime to be looking after a child? Does that child even understand what's going on?"

"How should I know? He's only a nine year old. He probably thinks his mother ran away or something. Maybe it's better to let him think that way than to let him know that his mother passed away."

Hibari almost let his growl be heard as people gossiped about his mother. They knew nothing about the cause of her death. He did. She was in the hospital for the past year. She had been suffering from her illness and a fatal knife wound. He wanted to spat in their faces but he held back. He knew his mother would not want that so he just them let talk. Deep down, he decided that these people wanted to die by his hands. Why? They were soiling his mother's good name on her funeral day.

"But haven't you noticed? That boy hasn't shed a single tear yet. Now that I think about, I haven't seen Takeo-san shed a tear either."

"You can't be thinking that Takeo-san did not love his wife. Then again, they did elope. So maybe he just married her because of the child?"

Hibari had enough and stood up to walk towards the door. He slid it open and started walking hastily towards the door next door. Whispers of their gossips slowly angered him as he tried not to break down his Japanese styled home. Before his small hand could grab the door, a larger one had beaten him to it. Hibari turned around and looked at his father with questioning eyes.

"They'll regret what they say later. Just let them be. They happen to be herbivores." His father's tone began to rise as anger filled each note. "Weaklings, all of them. Crowding and talking about useless stuff. Too afraid to do anything."

Hibari nodded and walked back to his room. His image of his father's face was still intact in his mind. There was a heavy look in the man's eyes. There were bangs underneath those dark brown eyes. His raven locks were ruffled, untamed, and tangled from days of neglect. He was crying. His father was crying. The great Hibari Takeo was mourning for the loss of his wife, his loved one.

He had entered his room and walked to his bed. He laid down on his bed. He just stared at the ceiling and reflected on what his father had told him.

People were herbivores.

Herbivores were weaklings.

People were weaklings.

They were animals that liked to mingle and talk.

Because they liked to mingle and talk, they liked to crowd.

Animals, that liked to crowd, did not know their place.

They mingled because they were afraid to do anything alone.

They were afraid because they were an herbivore.

Herbivores were scared of carnivores.

Hibari sat up and his mind was made up. If everyone was like that, then he would become a carnivore. He did not need to listen to the herbivores anymore. They would be too afraid of him, too afraid to get close to him. That way he would not have to hear their heartless talks and hurtful betrayals…

He would bite them to death if they dared to step out of their place.

Authors' Notes:

Seeing how Hibari and Tsuna don't really have a connection and it seems like Hibari just wants to be there for the heck of it, we thought we might add something to link them Hibari's father's name is Takeo but we just chose the name because we had no idea what it was because we don't think his name was ever mentioned. We hope it doesn't make Hibari OOC. That would be bad...

Please review and tell us what you thought of it.