I'm back! :)

Chiseki: And for the first time ever, Fali's actually writing a chapter on an actual keyboard instead of the iPad!

My little brother's using the iPad... *cries*

Zoe: Deal with it.

... So blunt...

Also, I forgot to mention; the story starts around Tsuna's third term of 5th grade, about... January or something? I dunno, I've never been one for specifics. Just assume that it's somewhere around early January.

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: I'm sorry, Setsu, but I don't write romance. (I. Absolutely. SUCK at it.)

Inspired by Triple Layered Sky and Achromatic Sky

Chapter 6

The Crying Rain

"Welcome to TakeSushi!"

Tsuyoshi inspected his new customers.

The newcomers consisted of two foreigners -Italian, he noted- and a brunet with curiously gravity-defying hair.

"Hello!" the albino greeted, waving, with a rather cheerful smile on his face.

The restaurant owner smiled. Customers greeting him when they come in are rare these days.

"What will you three be having?" he asked as the three sat and grabbed menus.

"Hm..." the albino had a contemplating look on his face, inspecting what was available, before the smile returned. "Temaki, please!"

"I'd like sashimi!" the little girl said cheerfully.

The brunet took out a notebook and wrote.

I'd like sashimi too, please.

Tsuyoshi was confused as to why he was writing on a notebook, but didn't comment and went to work.

"Hey, Byaku-nii," asked the little girl. "How come we're eating here instead of that other restaurant?"

"Because apparently," said 'Byaku-nii', "It's closed for renovations for a week."

At that exact moment, a young-looking man entered the shop.

"... Oh hey, Waiter-san!" the albino waved cheerfully at the man.

The man stared weirdly at the man.

"... Even out of the restaurant, I end up seeing you?" the man asked, shaking his head and walking to a seat.

Tsuyoshi guessed that the man was a waiter at the restaurant the little girl mentioned and walked towards the man to take his orders.

As he was serving the three youngsters, the door opened again, and this time, his son entered.

"Hey, Oyaji!" Takeshi greeted with a grin.

Tsuyoshi smiled fondly. "Here for lunch?"

"Yep!" and the baseball player plopped himself on the stool next to the brunet, spinning around.

Tsuyoshi just shook his head and went to serve the young man.

Byakuran looked over to the raven-haired boy.

So this is what Takeshi-kun looks like when he's younger, the albino mused, chomping on his temaki.

Tsuna looked at the raven-haired boy next to him.

He knew Yamamoto Takeshi, of course; who didn't? He's the star of the baseball team; his popularity's nearly on par with Ienari and Kyoko, which was saying something.

Now that he looked at the boy properly though, he noticed something.

There was no smile in his eyes.

That shocked Tsuna.

He knew that look; lonely, lifeless, a silent plea heard by none. It was the same thing he had always seen when he looked in the mirror, the same thing he experienced every single day before Byakuran and Yuni kicked the door down.

What would cause Yamamoto Takeshi, the boy who smiled and laughed every day, surrounded by all be doing having that look?

"Tsuna-nii?" Yuni called out.

That snapped Tsuna out of his reverie.

Tsuna shook his head, looking at Yuni with the silent message nandemonai.

Yuni nodded, and proceeded to dip her sashimi in soy sauce.

The brunet chewed on his sashimi, thoughts continuing to drift towards the empty look in Yamamoto's eyes.

He didn't like it.

But what exactly could he do to make it go away?

Takeshi looked towards the brunet sitting next to him.

He has a feeling that he's seen him before, but for the life of him he can't remember where. Maybe he's from school?

Maybe.

But does it really matter?

It's as if it'll make a difference, will it?

"Here you go, Takeshi," his father said with a grin, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He answered with a grin of his own. "Thanks, oyaji."

Tou-san nodded, and pulled a stool to eat with him.

"So you two are father and son, huh?" the albino piped up.

"Hai," Tsuyoshi nodded.

"That's nice," the albino smiled. "I'm Gesso Byakuran and these two are my surrogate siblings, Giglio Nero Yuni and Sawada Tsunayoshi."

For some reason, Tou-san's eyes had widened when this Byakuran said 'Gesso' and 'Giglio Nero', but Takeshi decided to ask later.

"Okay," said Takeshi with a grin. "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi and this is my dad, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi."

Takeshi couldn't help but wonder why Gesso was introducing himself and his companions.

"Ne ne, do you play baseball, Takeshi-nii?" asked Yuni.

"Why yes, I do," answered Takeshi. "How'd you know?"

"You entered with a baseball bat," she answered giddily.

"Haha, sou ka?" Takeshi looked at the baseball bat leaning against the counter.

"That sounds nice!" the albino stretched. "Oh yeah! Tsunayoshi-kun, did you realize that the skylark has been watching you?"

The brunet- Tsunayoshi- blinked, then shook his head.

"I-I think y-y-you m-might be m-mistaken, Byakuran-s-san," the boy stuttered.

"No I'm not!" the teen pouted. "He's definitely taken an interest in you."

"H-How are you s-so sure?" asked the brunet. "H-Hibari-san wouldn't take an interest in me."

Takeshi's eyes widened. Hibari? Hibari Kyouya?

"C'mon, haven't you noticed?"

"I saw Kuro-san watching us from the rooftop a few times, Tsuna-nii," Yuni stated.

Kuro-san? Wait, why would they be talking about Hibari like this in the first place?!

"Um..." Takeshi interrupted. "Are you talking about the head prefect?"

"Yep!" Gesso and Yuni stated as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Takeshi blinked. Then he grinned.

"Wah! You must've done something really big to catch his attention, Sawada!" he exclaimed.

It was true. Whoever managed to catch Hibari Kyoya's attention must've done something really big.

"I-I didn't do much a-at all..." Sawada denied.

"You sure, Tsunayoshi-kun?" asked Gesso. "He seemed pretty surprised when you stopped him from attacking me last Tuesday!"

"You did?" Takeshi was really interested now. "That's not a small feat!"

"D-demo..." Sawada's face was red. Takeshi and Gesso grinned simultaneously.

"You shouldn't be shy, Tsunayoshi-kun~" Gesso chanted.

"He's right," Tou-san stated. "There's no need to feel embarrassed about something like that."

"B-But it's r-really not that big..." Sawada muttered.

"Yes, it is!" Takeshi exclaimed, ruffling the brunet's hair. It was very fluffy. "Has anyone ever told you how fluffy your hair is?"

Sawada's face was red crimson now.

"It is, right?" said Yuni. "It also defies gravity for some reason! Tsuna-nii, how do you do that?"

"It's b-been like t-this since b-b-birth..." the brunet muttered.

"Hountou?!" Gesso laughed. "Now that's really interesting!"

Tou-san smiled. "Have you ever tried putting it down?"

"I t-tried, but it d-d-didn't work..."

They all laughed, and Sawada had a small smile on his face.

"I'm finished," the man that was a stool away from Gesso declared, putting his chopsticks down. "Thank you for the food. It was very good."

"No problem!" his father grinned, finishing his food as well and picking up the man's dishes. "Come again, please!"

"I will," the man nodded, then looked at Gesso. "... You're going to show up next week, aren't you."

"Yep!" Gesso mock-saluted. The man sighed.

"See you next week." And the man left the restaurant.

Takeshi had a feeling the man had been deliberately ignoring their conversation, because no one would be so neutral if they heard that Hibari Kyouya was stopped.

"Haven't you three finished, too?" Tou-san gestured to Sawada, Gesso and Yuni's plates.

"S-s-sorry," Sawada said with a sheepish grin, passing his plate to Tou-san.

"You don't need to apologize for that," Tou-san chided.

Sawada nodded, twiddling with his fingers. Gesso chuckled.

"Tsunayoshi-kun's shy that way," he said, ruffling the brunet's hair. "Anyway, I think we're going to go now. Ne, ne, Yamamoto-kun, want to join us?"

Takeshi was about to decline, but he didn't.

He didn't because he realized he had enjoyed their company.

Tsuyoshi may be carefree in his own way, but he could see quite clearly the feelings his son bottles up.

It pains him to see Takeshi like that. No one should hold such pain, especially not someone so young.

And Tsuyoshi couldn't do anything about it.

So when he saw his son starting to pull genuine grins around the new group, the man felt elated at the sight.

When Gesso asked Takeshi if he wanted to join them, he could tell that he was contemplating it.

Time to give him a little push!

"Go, Takeshi," said Tsuyoshi.

"Eh?" Takeshi looked at Tsuyoshi with wide eyes. The man grinned.

"You want to, don't you?" His son thought about it, then nodded. "Then go!"

Takeshi smiled brightly. "Mn!"

And he ran off to join Gesso, Sawada and Yuni.

As they left the shop, Tsuyoshi contemplated about the three.

While Yuni, Sawada and Gesso definitely did not have evil intentions -the looks in their eyes said it all- there was also something about them that unsettled Tsuyoshi.

It wasn't the feeling of someone that was planning evil thoughts in their head, nor was it of someone who was physically close to you but truly keeping their distance.

The little girl, despite her innocence, looked as if she was worried for someone, knew that someone dear to her could die any second and she couldn't do anything about it.

The albino, he had the same look- but it was more intense, as if there's something else he has to do, as if he has a mission and has to accomplish it at any cost. The albino- it was like as if he wants to, has to protect, has to save someone that's very dear to him, that makes up part of his world.

And the brunet?

Tsuyoshi wanted to cringe.

Loneliness.

The brunet knew loneliness, as if before his two companions came along he had been encompassed in it, trapped in it, and while his son was also lonely it wasn't exactly the same. He was deliberately pushed aside, shoved aside as if he were just a waste of space that shouldn't exist. He could see, however, that a part of that loneliness had subsided, had disappeared as he stood beside his companions.

He had a feeling it would be the same with Takeshi.

There was something else though, that bothered him.

Gesso. Giglio Nero.

Tsuyoshi had once heard the names before, when he was still affiliated with the mafia.

"I still can't believe I didn't notice we were in the same class, Sawada!" Yamamoto exclaimed as he swung.

"I-It's n-no big d-d-deal..." Tsuna stuttered.

"Yes, it is!" the raven-haired boy exclaimed. "How come I didn't notice before?"

"Don't ask me," said Byakuran as he pushed Yuni. "But at least you know him now, right?"

"Haha, you're right!" Takeshi grinned.

Byakuran smiled. Then, an idea formulated in his head.

"Ne, ne, Yuni, let's go to the slides!" said Byakuran as he stopped pushing her.

"Eh? Why?" asked Yuni, getting off the swings.

"Hm... We haven't went on those in a while, right?"

Around then, Yuni noticed that glint in his eyes.

"... Alright, let's go!" Yuni ran off to the slides- which happened to be considerably far from the swings and out of view.

"Ah, wait for me!"

"... Are?"

Tsuna and Yamamoto were left by themselves.

"... Haha, we were completely left behind!" the baseball player chuckled.

"A-Ah..."

Suddenly, that feeling appeared once more.

It prompted him to ask about why his smile didn't reach his smile.

Tsuna didn't really want to. It was a very personal question. But it kept prompting him, telling him that he might regret it if he didn't.

So he did.

"E-eto... Y-Yamamoto-kun..." Tsuna started.

"Yes?" Yamamoto turned to face him.

"H-How come your smile doesn't reach your eyes?"

The boy's eyes widened. Then he gave a strained smile.

"W-what are you talking about-"

"Don't try to lie to me, please, Yamamoto-kun." The words came out easily, softly.

Yamamoto closed his eyes.

"... So you noticed, huh?" he stated.

"Mm."

Yamamoto was silent for a few moments. Then he opened his mouth.

"How'd you-"

"It's already clear," said Tsuna. "Your eyes gave it away."

"... It's like as if you'd understand."

Tsuna closed his eyes.

"Every day, I'm surrounded by people, and yet I feel lonely. It doesn't seem to make sense, does it? Every day, people smile at me, think they know me, but they don't. They don't see who I am. They don't see me as myself, they only see me as the baseball star, the popular jock. They only come near me because of my popularity. They don't see me as Yamamoto Takeshi, the restaurant owner's son, the boy who loves baseball, only the star of the baseball team."

Yamamoto brought his hands to his hair, grabbing it.

"Why don't they see me for who I am? I can already see in their eyes they only want to know me to up their reputation. I used to love baseball, but now? The bat feels heavy in my hands, and I can barely hear the bat hit the ball. They always congratulate me, always smile at me, always there, but they never include me. Never."

Tsuna took a deep breath.

"You're right. I don't understand."

Tsuna jumped off the swing and looked up, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I don't understand because they downright hate me for who I am."

Yamamoto's head snapped up at this.

"I'm always being pushed aside. While they don't like you for you, I'm never accepted because I'm Dame-Tsuna. I trip on my own feet, I never get anything right, even my own mother ignores my existence nearly all the time. Always being glared at, always being pushed down, always being pushed away... I never actually had the liberty of human contact before Byakuran-san and Yuni."

Tsuna smiled fondly as he thought of those two.

"If you'd really want me to understand, Yamamoto-kun," Tsuna continued, turning around to face him. "You have to give me the chance to do so."

Takeshi's chocolate brown eyes stared into Sawada's caramel brown ones with wide eyes.

He swore that those eyes were glowing orange.

Sawada suddenly started stuttering, and the orange was gone.

"O-Of course, it's y-your d-decision..." Sawada -Tsuna- stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck and facing the ground.

"Tsuna," Takeshi started. Tsuna's head snapped up. Takeshi was wondering why he was doing this, but he thought what the heck, and continued. "Tsuna. Can I call you that?"

Tsuna blushed. "I-if you want to, Yamamoto-kun."

"Call me Takeshi," he said, grinning at his newfound friend.

Tsuna was surprised, but then he smiled back, happy that he's found a new friend in the form of Yamamoto Takeshi.

The sky gave the rain a chance to let its tears fall freely. So the rain will stand beside the sky, washing away all its sorrows, from now to forever.

I finished this a bit later than usual...

Zoe: That's because you were busy listening to 'To You Feeling The Blues' by Kagamine Rin and Kagamine Len...

H-Hey! It's very good, you know!

Chiseki: Yeah, yeah. *grins*

Why are you two here in the first place?

Zoe and Chiseki: Because we can.

*sigh* Really?

Zoe: Anyways- Even with a closed restaurant, that waiter's here?!

The waiter sighed.

"But seriously... Even with the restaurant closed, I still end up seeing that albino?!

Funny, he said the same thing.

Zoe: *facepalms* Ugh...

Thanks to Yamazaki Kyou, The Mafia-ish Addiction, LaLunaLight, Moony the Mature One, silvermoon170, Amy-chan, Guest, Setsu27, ArcobalenoLove, shadowmarialove and kwerli for reviewing!

A girl with orangish-brown hair stared at Ienari dreamily.

Ienari noticed this, and grinned at her.

The girl blushed, flustered.

"Kyoko?" the white-haired boy next to her called out.

"Hm?" Kyoko looked to her brother, then went back to gazing dreamily at the boy.

The white-haired boy noticed this, but could only close his eyes and sigh.

My little sister's drifting away from me...

Next Chapter: The Shining Sun