It's time to write Chapter 5! I'm going to have a lot of fun with this one. Why? I'm sure all of you know why. If you don't? Well, it's not my fault you didn't find the last bit. :P
Zoe: ... You evil, evil little-
Chiseki: START THE SHOW!
... 'Seki, it's not a sh-
Chiseki: JUST START WRITING.
*rolls eyes* Yeah, yeah.
Summary: Tsuna's family neglects him. His twin abuses him, both verbally and physically away from public's eye. The public itself avoids Tsuna. He would've fallen into depression, had Byakuran and Yuni not decide it would be a fun idea to kick down the Sawada's front door and freeload. ... Wait, what?
Warning: AU, OOC (both intentional and unintentional), some people's ages may be tweaked, un-Beta'd
Pairings: None. Zilch. Zero. THIS WILL REMAIN EMPTY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Inspired by Triple Layered Sky and Achromatic Sky
Chapter 5
The Solitary Cloud
"... Sou ka."
Byakuran put down his tea on the floor of Tsunayoshi's room.
"Hai." Yuni nodded as she stared into Byakuran's light purple orbs.
Yuni had just finished explaining to Byakuran exactly what happened, what Yuni saw through her eyes and what she heard with her ears.
While he didn't like it, he understood that it also happened in other parallel worlds and while he didn't like it, would've left it at that.
However, being outcasted by his own family was a completely different story.
Byakuran sighed.
"Well, if that's the case, we'll have to take some extra precautions."
"Extra precautions?" Yuni tilted her head.
Byakuran nodded. Then his mouth suddenly stretched into a wide grin.
When he said exactly what extra precautions, Yuni's eyes widened.
Then she also had a grin on her face.
"That's a great idea!"
"Eto..."
Tsuna looked behind him.
"W-Why do y-you both h-h-have wide g-grins on y-your f-f-faces?"
"Oh, nothing," Byakuran stated 'innocently'.
Yeah, right. He's planning something.
Tsuna sighed. He'll find out exactly what later, he decided as he continued his walk to school.
He found out when he reached the school.
"... W-Why are y-y-you f-following m-m-me?"
"I want to see what Tsunayoshi-kun does every day at school!" Byakuran childishly answered.
"Let's stalk Tsunayoshi-kun tomorrow!" said Byakuran, eyes shining with glee.
"... I-Is t-this r-really n-necessary?"
"Yes! Besides, you're still injured," the albino pointed out, pointing to Tsuna's numerous bandages as emphasis.
"B-But that d-d-doesn't mean I-I n-need to be p-p-protected t-twenty four s-s-slash seven..."
"Yes, it does!"
"B-but I g-g-get these i-injuries almost e-e-every day..."
Byakuran sighed.
"And we're here to make sure you don't get anymore, now where's your class?"
"H-Hibari-san will b-bite you b-both t-t-to d-death!" Tsuna exclaimed, flailing his arms.
"The skylark didn't bite Yuni to death."
"S-Skylark?" English? "A-and H-Hibari-san said he doesn't bite children to de-"
"He's a child, too, I believe," said Byakuran, ruffling Tsuna's hair. "Eleven?"
H-how does he know Hibari-san's age?!
"Anyways, I don't think he'll be able to bite me to death, Tsunayoshi-kun," said Byakuran.
"B-But-"
"Herbivores."
Tsuna's eyes widened, and he turned around to see Hibari standing there.
"H-Hibari-san..."
Hibari pointed his tonfas to the albino.
"You."
"Me?" Byakuran pointed to himself.
"What are you doing on school grounds?"
Byakuran felt like laughing. Hibari's voice wasn't so different from what he would sound like when he's 15, but it definitely sounded a little more squeaky and less dangerous.
"Why, I'm just here to make sure Tsunayoshi-kun doesn't get any more injuries than he already has," Byakuran grinned.
Hibari raised an eyebrow. "That's what the disciplinary committee is for, herbivore. That is unnecessary. Leave."
"What if I said no?" Byakuran's eyes narrowed.
Hibari narrowed his eyes and took out his tonfas. "I'll bite you to death!"
But before Hibari could reach Byakuran, Tsuna was between them, stopping the tonfa from reaching its destination.
Tsuna winced slightly.
Byakuran's eyes widened. He could take on Hibari- he was still a kid after all- but Tsuna couldn't yet. On top of all that, he was still injured.
Hibari stared at the herbivore between him and his prey. He had a firm grip on his tonfa, without any trace of the earlier fear. While he could simply pry his tonfa away from the herbivore's grip and bite him to death, he was curious as to what the herbivore would do next.
"I know you want to bite Byakuran-san to death, but please don't. I'll do my best to convince him to get off the school grounds, but Byakuran-san is also new to Namimori. So please don't bite him to death."
The sliver of orange once again tinted caramel brown. The brunet held Hibari's gaze, not faltering for even a second, not breaking his gaze. Hibari couldn't break it, couldn't look away.
Hibari couldn't bring himself to refuse.
He huffed. "Fine." And he turned away, closing his eyes.
Tsuna smiled, and also turned to once again look at Byakuran. "Byakuran-san, Yuni, gomen, but I think you both need to leave school grounds.
Byakuran squawked. "What? But-"
"I'll be fine," Tsuna reassured. "I already told you, I get injuries like these every day."
Hibari's eyes snapped open.
What.
Yuni sighed. "But Tsuna-nii-"
"Please," Tsuna cut her off. "I'll be fine."
Byakuran ruffled his hair. Dammit, he can't bring himself to refuse that look.
"Head prefect-san," Byakuran called out. Hibari turned to face him, annoyance clear in his cold grey eyes. "If I find any more injuries on Tsunayoshi-kun than there already is-"
Hibari locked gazes with the albino. I get it.
Byakuran smirked. "Yuni-chan, let's go."
"But Byaku-nii, what about-"
"I think the prefect over there will handle it," said Byakuran.
Yuni still looked dubious, but nodded and they both left.
"Herbivore," said Hibari, staring at the brunet next to him. "Get to class now."
Tsuna nodded nervously and walked away.
Hibari watched as the skinny figure went off to class.
"I already told you, I get injuries like these every day."
Had he failed at disciplining all of those unruly herbivores?
He'll have to look more carefully for them...
"Byaku-nii, should we have really left Tsuna-nii by himself?" asked Yuni as she and Byaku-nii walked towards the same restaurant they had eaten in last Sunday.
"You worry too much, Yuni-chan," Byaku-nii chanted as he opened the door. "Besides, if what I'm guessing is true, then we have nothing to worry about."
Yuni wanted to retort, but Byaku-nii looked so sure about his decision.
The waiter stared at the two, then sighed and led them to their seats.
The albino again? the waiter thought. It seems he brought the little girl with him.
"Byaku-nii?" asked the little girl. "Why do you keep the fez?"
The albino only smiled mysteriously.
"Get back here, Dame-Tsuna!"
Tsuna ran as quickly as he could, away from his brother.
I told Byakuran-san and Yuni that I'll be fine!
Sadly, Ienari thought otherwise.
And it was just his luck that his clumsiness took over and he tripped.
Oh no!
Tsuna fell, allowing his brother to catch up.
"You think you can run from me, Dame-Tsuna?" Nari sneered, glaring down at his twin.
Tsuna scrambled to get up, but Ienari noticed this and stepped on his back.
Ite!
"Don't try to get up. You can't run forever." Ienari kicked him and sent Tsuna flying to the wall.
Tsuna blearily looked at his brother.
Why? he wanted to ask, like he wanted to so many times before, but he could never bring himself to before he had to hold back a scream.
Ienari grabbed Tsuna by the neck.
Can't... Breathe...
Nari tightened his grip around Tsuna's neck, pushing him to the wall and kicking his stomach.
"Herbivore, what are you doing?"
Nari's eyes widened, his grip on Tsuna's neck loosening and dropping him.
Tsuna savoured the chance to breathe, taking deep breaths.
"H-H-Hibari-san!" Nari stuttered.
Tsuna looked up to see the head prefect glaring down at his brother.
"Attacking fellow students of Namimori Elementary is against the rules," Hibari stated. "I'll bite you to death!"
"W-Wait-"
Ienari never got the chance to finish that sentence before he was bonked in the head by a tonfa.
Tsuna winced. While Ienari bullied him almost every day, he was still his brother. But he couldn't bring himself to stop Hibari, not now. At that moment, he just wanted to lie down for just a moment.
It was when Nari was nearly unconscious when Tsuna took action.
"P-please stop, Hibari-san."
The brunet hid a flinch when the prefect turned to glare at him.
"Nari's n-nearly unconscious," Tsuna continued, trying to steady his voice. "I-I think that's e-enough."
Hibari huffed and put away his tonfas.
Tsuna smiled slightly.
The prefect suddenly grabbed Nari by the collar.
"E-eto, what are you-"
He grabbed Tsuna by the collar as well and started dragging the twins along with him.
Tsuna's eyes widened when he realized what was happening.
He's taking us to the infirmary!
The nurses there had never bothered helping him before. He had learned that firsthand. All he got there were taunting glares and hateful words.
He didn't want to go to the infirmary.
"Um, H-Hibari-san..."
"Nani?"
"I-I can walk to the infirmary on my own..."
"Who said I'm taking you to the infirmary?"
"Eh?" Tsuna turned his head and looked at Hibari. "You're not?"
Hibari didn't answer.
Tsuna sighed.
When they reached the infirmary, Hibari only dropped Nari there, continuing to bring Tsuna to who-knows-where.
Where is he taking me?
When they reached their destination, Tsuna's eyes widened.
T-The Disciplinary Commitee Room?!
Hibari opened the door, dragging Tsuna with him. Tsuna noted that no one else was there; must be off for patrol or something, he guessed.
Hibari dropped Tsuna onto the velvet couch and grabbed a first-aid kit, tossing it to Tsuna.
"Bandage yourself and get back to class," he grumbled.
Tsuna had a lot of questions -why'd you bring me here, how'd you know no one would help me in the infirmary, why are you even bothering- but none of that reached his mouth.
Instead, he gave Hibari a bright smile.
"Arigato."
"Arigato."
That had caught Hibari off-guard.
No one had ever said that to him before.
Never, had Hibari heard from anyone, even his family, telling him those words.
Whenever he helped someone, they would either just nod (his family) or cower in fright.
But no one, no one, had ever said thank you before.
And that was why, as all the herbivores were leaving the school grounds, he found himself staring at the brunet with wild, untameable hair once more.
The words and that smile continued to ring in his head, not leaving him alone, insistent on not being forgotten.
As the brunet rejoins the little girl and the albino (who is apparently wearing a fez now), Hibari contemplates on what he had seen.
What type of person bullies his own brother?
... Well, apparently Sawada Ienari would.
Hibari sighed. He's surprised he never noticed it before. Apparently, it's been happening for a long time.
He'll have to watch out for that pathetic herbivore.
Hibari noticed that the... Brunet (he's a herbivore, and yet he has that gaze that made even Hibari obey) and the other two had already gone.
He was confusing. He decided that he'll watch over the brunet for a little while longer, and see what happens.
The cloud is solitary, protecting the sky from an independent point.
I have complete this chapter. Thought I never would, with my brother constantly nagging me to give him the iPad (he still is, actually). Would've been fun the whole way if it weren't for him. I'm getting a migraine right now...
Chiseki: You'd best get done with it...
Yeah. I'm going to try and finish this as quickly as I can before my brother starts trying to pry it out of my hands. Sorry Zoe, don't have time right now...
Zoe: Alright.
Thanks to LucianaDemon27, tsuna (Guest), LaLunaLight, death angel alice, AshenDamnation, Setsu27, shadowmarialove, kwerli, Yamazaki Kyou and The Mafia-ish Addiction for reviewing!
A raven-haired boy stood in front of a grave, holding a bouquet,
"I've come to visit, Kaa-san..." he said, putting the bouquet on the grave.
"Baseball was alright, as usual," the boy said with a smile.
"But Kaa-san... It's still lonely..." Tears suddenly fell on the grave.
"Kaa-san... No one likes me for me... What do I do?"
Next Chapter: The Crying Rain