Disclaimers: Don't own KHR or its characters.
Warnings: parents' drama, abuse, swearing, and fluff. OH, and emoticons in the actual story – in text messages ;P
A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews! I don't have time to reply to them anymore, but you guys should know that every single review means a lot to me ^_^ Lots of 8018 moments in this chappie! OH, and Expeditions are beginning here in Nami High! Be prepared… ;D
As always, lots of appreciation for 'The Shifter Simply Weird' my beta-reader ;D
Streets of Namimori, 4.18pm
"Wow, really? So you're going to Fujiyoshida?"
"Hn."
"That's awesome! Expeditions are so exciting, ne? Ahaha~."
Yamamoto laughed lightly as he walked down the street, both hands intertwined casually behind his head as he smiled – a little brighter than usual – at the head prefect of Nami High walking right beside him.
After school, Yamamoto went back to the prefect's council, as promised, before he managed to convince the reluctant Skylark to walk home together. The image of Yamamoto walking right beside Hibari shocked the entire school – including Kusakabe who was considered to be the closest possible to the head prefect. Everyone knew how much Hibari disliked crowds and crowding, and yet, there he was, walking almost shoulder to shoulder with the ace baseball player of the school with no signs of complaint.
Making their way down the street towards Hibari's house, the Skylark noted silently to himself that this was the second time someone else other than Kusakabe walked him home – and it was a rather big deal for him.
"You're always excited about everything," Hibari mumbled, observing Yamamoto's optimism.
"Hehe, that's true. But isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" Yamamoto wanted to know.
Hibari glanced at Yamamoto, before he looked away, "…how should I know?"
"Do you like it?" Yamamoto leaned closer to Hibari, smiling warmly.
"Tch," Hibari pushed the baseball player's face away from himself, not answering the question. He would never admit how much he enjoyed having the contrast of Yamamoto's cheerfulness in his solemn life.
Yamamoto chuckled before he sighed, then continued to speak, "Well, in a way, expedition this year sucks."
Hibari looked at his kouhai, "I thought you said you were excited about spending time in Okinawa."
"Yeah, that's true, but…" Once again, Yamamoto leaned closer to Hibari, this time almost resting his chin on the prefect's shoulder as he spoke in a sadder tone of voice, "…it sucks that I won't get to see you for one whole week. Especially now as well…"
Hibari's insides warmed up slightly with those words. He spoke, "How is 'now' different than before?"
Yamamoto's mouth curved into a small smile, "I would've missed you a lot before…" He snaked his arm around Hibari's waist – causing the Skylark to jolt slightly in surprise. Yamamoto continued speaking, "…but I'll miss you even more, now that I know I can actually hold you, if you were there."
A tiny blush formed on Hibari's cheeks. "…don't say things like that so easily," he mumbled, though he did not attempt to push Yamamoto's arm away.
"Haha, well, it's true," Yamamoto smiled, securing his arm more firmly around Hibari's small waist. The baseball player felt as though he could almost lift the prefect up and twirl him round and round, seeing how small Hibari was – not that he would dare to. Yamamoto would probably get a rough smack from Hibari's tonfa if he did.
"Hey, Hibari…" Yamamoto started.
Hibari looked up at him, "Hn?"
"Can I call you during the expeditions?" he asked, looking at Hibari with warm eyes.
Truthfully, Hibari didn't really like making phone calls – he'd much rather talk to someone face to face. But then again, he did kind of knew that he would like to hear Yamamoto's voice every now and then during the long expedition week. Thus, Hibari pulled out his mobile and handed it to Yamamoto. "Do whatever you want."
Yamamoto smiled, taking out his own cell phone before he added his number to Hibari's and Hibari's number to his own. Then, he handed the prefect back his phone, before Yamamoto tried test-calling to see whether the numbers worked.
The anthem of Namimori High School immediately rang as Hibari's phone vibrated, the caller's name showing up as a bright smiley face that Hibari thought looked very much like the face of the caller. Yamamoto, recognizing the anthem, couldn't help but smile at Hibari's love and devotion for their school – it was a strangely adorable trait in the Skylark.
"Hahaha, I bet Hibird can sing this song soon," Yamamoto smiled.
Hibari's lips curved into a slightly proud smile, "He already can."
Yamamoto's eyes grew wide, "Whoa, seriously?" Then, he started laughing, "Hahahaha, that's awesome. Hibird's amazing –I don't even know the whole thing yet, hehe."
Hibari's eyes immediately glared at Yamamoto, pulling his body away from the baseball player's arm, "You don't?"
Realizing his mistake, Yamamoto raised his hands up in defense, "Ah, I mean… well, it's a long song and- "
"Hn," Hibari mumbled, turning away and walking slightly faster so that Yamamoto was left behind him.
"Maa, Hibari, I'm sorry~," Yamamoto jogged to catch up with the prefect before he grabbed hold of his hand, smiling brightly at him, "I'll learn it real soon. I promise!"
Hibari turned to look at Yamamoto and was once again, melted by those dark chocolate eyes and that warm, genuine smile. Slowly pulling his hand away, he murmured, "Fine." Then, he started walking again, but this time, at the same pace as Yamamoto, allowing the younger to be close to him once more.
They continued walking together until eventually, the two came to a stop at Hibari's house – and Yamamoto stood there staring.
"Wow. Your house is huge…" Yamamoto murmured as he took in the entire space behind the high walls – the house itself was already three or four times larger than his own, with more traditional, yet sophisticated designs. Then, there was the garden and the large pond with a miniature water fall, numerous white and red colored fish, and a bridge crossing over the water.
"Hn," Hibari nodded, before he walked over to the door and pulled out his key.
Yamamoto knew this was the time to leave, but he didn't want to. It was Friday, and the upcoming week was expeditions – it would be a rather long time before he would get to see Hibari again, and he knew he was going to miss the Skylark badly. Even looking at Hibari now as he stood at the door, Yamamoto felt like pulling Hibari with him and spend just a few more minutes together before he could let him go. The baseball player didn't know how he would be able to deal with not seeing his Skylark for an entire week.
Ah… I really want to kiss him right now… Yamamoto sighed.
"I'll see you after expeditions," Hibari turned to say, before he pushed the door open, about to step in.
But then, the door was shut once again when Yamamoto pulled Hibari away for a warm embrace, resting his face in the prefect's smooth, soft hair.
"I'll…miss you. A lot. I really will," Yamamoto murmured. Having Hibari in his arms now, his heart was pumping faster, and he wished he could hold the Skylark like this forever.
I'm falling for you more and more… Yamamoto closed his eyes, taking in the faint scent of shampoo from Hibari's hair. It seemed as though the more he knew the prefect and the closer he got to him, the more his feelings grew…and he was unwilling to let go.
Hibari stood still in Yamamoto's arms, not knowing what he was supposed to do. He could feel Yamamoto's warm breath blowing down his neck, those strong arms wrapped around him, holding him so close that he could feel the other's heartbeat – and it was thumping fast. Hearing the words Yamamoto murmured in his ears, Hibari couldn't stop the blush that was already warming up his cheeks.
Realizing that he had held on to Hibari for a little too long now, Yamamoto slowly and reluctantly released the petite form. Hibari was looking up at him, those sharp, dark eyes looking right into his own.
Smiling dryly, Yamamoto murmured in a weak voice, "Sorry. I just…had to." Then, the baseball player gave him a tiny wave before he turned and started walking away.
Hibari was left frustrated. The look in those dark brown eyes just now… they weren't sparkling with joy like they usually do. Instead, they were almost tinged with a bit of sadness – longing for something – and Hibari didn't like that look on Yamamoto at all. He wanted a bright smile to return on that face – but he didn't know how.
But then, something clicked in his mind.
If he wasn't mistaken, maybe what Yamamoto was longing for…was him?
With that thought in mind, Hibari immediately ran after Yamamoto before he pulled Yamamoto's shoulders so that he was facing him.
Yamamoto had a look of surprise on him when he saw who was behind him, "Hibari? Wha-"
His sentence was cut short when Hibari reached up and sealed his lips with his own. It only lasted for the shortest moment, too short for Yamamoto's satisfaction, before Hibari pulled away.
Those deep black eyes looked straight at Yamamoto as Hibari spoke, "Don't walk away if you haven't done everything you wanted to. I'll stop you if you do something I don't like – so just go for it. Don't hide away like a stupid herbivore."
Yamamoto was still rather dazed by Hibari's sudden kiss, "But…I can do that?"
Hibari crossed his arms, "I don't like repeating myself."
With that, Yamamoto's face instantly split into a wide smile before he wrapped his arms around Hibari and held him tight. His affection for Hibari had just grown even more.
After the tight hug, Yamamoto relaxed his arms slightly so that he could view Hibari's face – and he was delighted when he saw that a slight blush decorated those soft cheeks.
Holding the back of Hibari's head with one hand, Yamamoto leaned closer, tilting Hibari slightly, before he captured Skylark's soft lips in a kiss.
Hibari felt the tip of Yamamoto's tongue gliding across his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth slightly, allowing the entrance Yamamoto requested, one arm wrapped around Yamamoto's neck whilst his other hand gripped the younger's shirt. Their tongues met, parted, and then met once more before Yamamoto's lips sucked on the tip of Hibari's tongue, holding it there for a short moment, before he crashed his lips back on Hibari's, plunging deep into that certain sweetness that he couldn't get enough of.
The action caused the Skylark to emit a muffled moan, and yet another, when Yamamoto tilted Hibari's head back further and deepened the kiss, Hibari's hands gripping tighter on Yamamoto's shirt.
How many times have we kissed? Hibari wondered in the midst of breath and lips, before realizing that he had already lost count – and their first kiss was only two days ago.
He's getting better at it every time… The Skylark thought as he let out another tiny moan onto Yamamoto's lips.
After a few more passionate, deep kisses, Yamamoto pulled back, both of them panting, their cheeks brushed with a tinge of red. The younger looked at the prefect and smiled softly before he pressed a tender kiss on Hibari's cheek, his hands moving to brush the hair away from the Skylark's face.
"I'll miss this as well…" Yamamoto whispered with a smile, arms still holding Hibari close to him.
Hibari diverted his gaze, unable meet those dark brown eyes any longer. The prefect couldn't even tell how much he was blushing anymore.
Then, all of a sudden, the intimate moment between the two was interrupted by a little cough from the background. Both Hibari and Yamamoto turned towards the source of the noise, and their eyes widened when they saw Kusakabe standing by the door of Hibari's house, looking as awkward as ever. It didn't matter whether he had seen what had been going on just a moment ago or not, because he would've clearly understood either way. Both Yamamoto's and Hibari's lips were kiss-swollen, their faces flushed, and they were in a position where Hibari was wrapped up close against Yamamoto, their faces only centimeters apart – it didn't take a genius to guess what had just passed between them.
The two awkwardly separated themselves to a more appropriate position, Yamamoto smiling sheepishly and Hibari blushing so fiercely he could almost feel his face boiling.
Kusakabe had a slight blush on his cheeks himself as he informed Hibari, "Ah… Kyou-san. I was just coming out to check whether you had returned."
Hibari nodded, and avoided Kusakabe's eyes, before he turned towards Yamamoto and mumbled, cheeks still tinted red, "…I should probably go in now."
Yamamoto murmured in agreement, "Yeah. You should go." He then turned towards Kusakabe and smiled apologetically, "Sorry for holding him back."
Kusakabe nodded silently, still trying to take in the relationship between Hibari and this baseball player.
"I'll see you later then," Yamamoto smiled at Hibari.
"Hn," Hibari mumbled softly before he turned and walked into the house, his face still hot from the kiss.
Kusakabe watched Hibari enter the house before he turned and glanced at Yamamoto, nodded, and then followed Hibari inside, shutting the door behind him.
Yamamoto watched until the door shut before he started heading back home as well, the awkwardness of the situation still eating at him.
But then, he thought back to the kiss he had with Hibari, and his face bloomed into a wide smile.
Ah… I'm seriously gonna miss him so much now…
"Kyou-san."
"Hn?"
"Not to intrude on your personal life but… should I assume that you and Yamamoto Takeshi are in a relationship?"
"…I think you know what you saw just now, Kusakabe. You decide what you make of it." Hibari mumbled as he lay on the sofa, gently petting Hibird's head. The Skylark had cooled down a bit now after he had been in the house, no longer blushing madly, his heartbeat returning to its normal pace.
Kusakabe watched the head prefect with concern. He had known Hibari from since he was young, and he couldn't help but worry for the Skylark.
Apart from being the school's deputy head prefect, Kusakabe also served the Hibari clan – a tradition continued from the ancestors of his family line. He had been assigned to look after the only son of the main Hibari family, and after years of observation, he knew the young Hibari rather well.
Kusakabe had gone through the phases of Hibari's life with him. He entered school with him even though he was older, saw him go through the death of his beloved mother, took care of him during his rebellious, violent phase, saw him deal with his father's unaccepted remarriage, and most recently – saw him fall in and out of love.
Kusakabe knew what it was like when Hibari was broken – and he didn't want to see his young master be in that state again, no matter what the reason was.
And that boy just now…Yamamoto Takeshi. Just one glance at the two of them and Kusakabe could tell that what they had was the beginning of something that had happened before. This wasn't just something Hibari was playing around with – this was real for him, and that meant potential danger. But even if Kusakabe wanted to hold Hibari back, there was no chance. Judging from what he saw just now, the Skylark had already chosen, and Hibari wasn't one to let anybody change his decision.
But right now, Hibari's relationship with Yamamoto Takeshi was only a minor concern – there was another problem going on with Hibari's life – an ongoing, continuous problem.
"Kyou-san, you do remember that Kaien-sama is returning here in an hour or so?" Kusakabe reminded his young master.
Almost immediately, Hibari sat up, turning to look at Kusakabe, "What?"
"Kaien-sama has returned from his business trip – his plane had just landed a few minutes ago," Kusakabe informed.
"So he's coming here?" Hibari asked, frowning.
Kusakabe nodded, "Yes, with your step-mother, Aiya-"
"She's not my mother. I have only one mother," Hibari glared.
"My apologies, Kyou-san. Kaien-sama is going to arrive with Aiyana-san soon, and your father expects you to have dinner with him."
"If he expects me to eat nicely with her, he has another fucking thing coming," Hibari muttered.
"I don't know about that, Kyou-san, but first, I suggest you should get out of your uniform."
"Tch, fine." Hibari harshly pulled off his school jacket before he threw it on the floor and walked off to the bathroom.
Kusakabe, watching Hibari's reaction to the news, sighed. Tonight was going to be troublesome – any occasion where the master of the Hibari Clan, Hibari Kaien, met with his son, Hibari Kyouya, never resulted to any positive outcome, and it had been this way ever since Kaien remarried.
"So you're still the head prefect of your school, Kyouya?"
"Hn."
"Good. Having that will give you a good reputation for your school years. What about your grades? Are you still scoring top marks for all of your subjects?"
"Yes."
"Make sure you have no distractions, Kyouya. You are the only son of the Hibari Clan – I will not accept any embarrassments."
"…"
Hibari remained silent. He didn't want to reply. His relationship with his father had been bad ever since the death of his mother, and since his father remarried, it got even worse. His father was never home, always on business trips, and they hardly ever talked. The two didn't even act like father and son around each other anymore – Kaien treating his son like a business partner or a work project rather than his only child.
"Kaien-sama, please, don't be too harsh on him. He's still just a high-school kid," Aiyana murmured softly, resting her hand on her husband's arm. She had naturally light brown hair and eyes – different from Kyouya's mother who had pitch black hair and eyes, just like his father and him.
Kyouya frowned. I don't need your fucking help.
"Nonsense. When I was in high school I was on the top with absolutely no flaws on my record. Kyouya here, in contrast, I have heard, has quite a reputation for fighting on school grounds – now isn't that right, son? Such a good image for our clan, isn't it?" Kaien raised his eyebrows at his son, the sarcasm dripping from his tone of voice.
"I'm enforcing the school rules," Kyouya muttered.
"Oh? Is that so? Then make it clear to other people. I don't want anyone thinking that you're involved in that color gang warfare going on. Nothing should be tainting your report, you hear me? Not a single thing." Kaien emphasized his point.
Hibari mentally rolled his eyes. As if you haven't drilled it into me already.
Kusakabe walked in at that point, handing the young Hibari his mobile, murmuring, "Someone sent a message."
The Skylark looked at his phone, before the permanent frown on his face relaxed a little when he saw the sender of a text.
[:D]
It was a smiley face.
Yamamoto.
Opening the text, Hibari couldn't help but be amused at the content inside that sounded just like the sender in real life.
[Hope I didn't get you in trouble with Kusakabe! xD. That was really bad timing, ne? Hahaha :D.]
Typing quickly, Hibari sent back a message.
[No. He's fine. You're home?]
Almost immediately the phone vibrated again as another message arrived.
[Yup :D. Wow, didn't think you'd reply! Haha xD. What are you doing?]
Hibari typed back a reply.
[Eating. Bored.]
A message sent back almost as quickly as before.
[Oh, am I disturbing you? Sorry! D:]
Another message sent.
[No. Keep talking.]
Another message received.
[Hahaha, okay then! :D. I really wanna call you, but I'm not sure if you're busy or not.]
For once, Hibari did feel like he wanted to talk to someone over the phone – but right now wasn't the time.
[Not now.]
Another message received.
[It's fine if you don't like calling – I'll just keep sending you texts! xD.]
Hibari couldn't help but smile a little. Yamamoto really was a kind of guy that spread his happiness around like a contamination.
Hibari sent back a message.
[No. Call later. I want to hear you.]
This time, the reply message took more time before it came back.
[…saying things like that, are you trying to get me to run back to your house and steal you? xD.]
Hibari leaned his head to one side before he replied back.
[Maybe.]
The phone vibrated again, and this time, the text inside made a blush creep up Hibari's cheeks.
[…damn. Now I seriously want to kiss you.]
Then, unexpectedly, the phone vibrated once more before Hibari could even figure out how to reply to the last one.
[Gotta go eat dinner now! :D …I'll call you around 10?]
Hibari would be in his room by then, so he typed his reply.
[That's fine.]
The Skylark thought there would be no replies after that, but then, the phone vibrated once more.
[…miss you already.]
Hibari felt something twinge inside his chest with that message, and he stared at it for a little while longer before he locked his phone and handed it back to Kusakabe.
As though being brought back to reality, Kaien spoke up as soon as Kusakabe exited the room, "Who was that?"
The frown – erased by Yamamoto just now – slowly returned to Hibari's face, "Person from school."
"I thought you didn't socialize with anyone at school," Kaien narrowed his eyes.
"Like everything, there are exceptions. You're the one who taught me that," Kyouya retorted.
"It's not a girl is it?" Kaien looked at him searchingly.
Aiyana giggled next to Kaien, "Oh~, what's wrong with him talking to girls? I bet Kyouya-kun is very popular!"
The Hibari son felt like scoffing. As if he would ever be making any conversation to any of the obnoxious, loud, stupid and weak girls in his school. "No. Not a girl."
Kaien nodded approvingly, "Good. That's good. Because it would be troublesome if some random girl messed up my plans for you."
Kyouya frowned deeper. Great. More plans to make me your perfect robot.
"I'm setting you on an omiai with the daughter of a very successful Chinese businessman I happen to know – she's fluent in Japanese as well so you two will get along just fine," Kaien said.
Immediately, Kyouya objected, "No."
Kaien raised his eyebrows, "What did you say?"
"I'm not going. I'm not getting married anytime soon." And definitely not to some random daughter of some rich family you are pairing me up with.
"I'm not saying you have to get married, I just want you two to get to know each other," Kaien argued.
"Tch. As if you wouldn't force me to marry her in the end if it would benefit you. That's all you ever care about," Kyouya muttered.
"You do not speak to me like that, son," Kaien raised his voice.
Kyouya wasn't going to give in, "Why shouldn't I? You don't treat me like your son anyways, why should I treat you like my father?"
"Kyouya-kun, calm down," Aiyana reached out to grab Kyouya's arm.
"Don't touch me," he jerked his arm away immediately, his face showing disgust.
"Oi! Don't you dare act like that, Kyouya!" Kaien was shouting now.
Kyouya stood up looking right at Kaien's face, as he spoke clearly and calmly, glaring right into his father's eyes, "You can't tell me what to do."
With that, Kyouya reached for the closest glass of water and threw it on Aiyana's face before he carelessly dropped the glass to the floor, hearing it shatter satisfyingly as he walked out of the room.
"Kyouya! Come back here and apologize right now!" Kaien shouted after his son, "Kyouya!"
"…Kaien-san, there's no use. He's at the age where you have to let him go," Aiyana murmured, calmly wiping her face with a towel. "And it's only natural for him to hate me. He thinks I'm trying to replace his mother after all…"
"No. I can't just let him go. I must punish him. He has to learn from his mistakes. I never brought him up this way…" Kaien muttered angrily as he helped Aiyana wipe off.
Aiyana sighed, not knowing how to explain it to her lover.
Sunday, 8.59pm
"Hayato… where are you, you fucking useless brat? I know you're back here!"
Gokudera could hear his dad slurring from outside of his bedroom, and immediately, he picked up Uri and hid the cat beneath his bed, hiding it from view with the large bag he was packing for expedition.
Fuck it. I was just nearly done.
BANG. BANG.
"Oi, you motherfucker, I know you're in there! Open the fucking door!" Chisato yelled from the outside, banging the door with an empty bottle of whiskey, "Open, asshole! Don't fucking think you can hide from me! I'm not a bloody retard like you!"
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG-
"What? What do you want now?" Gokudera opened the door before it could break, being met with the familiar stench of alcohol, sweat and smoke from his father.
Chisato swayed into his room, pushing Gokudera out of the way as he looked around. Seeing the large bag and the piles of clothing, Chisato immediately turned to face Gokudera, pushing his son against the wall, "Ehhh? What's this? You're packing to go somewhere, dipshit?"
Gokudera flinched away from the breath blowing on his face, "School's expedition. What do you think?"
"Oh really? You're not thinking of running away like your sister are you?" Chisato slurred at him, nudging his face with the dirty bottle in his hand. Droplets of whiskey stuck to Gokudera's face.
"If I thought of doing that I would've done it long ago," Gokudera muttered, trying to lean away from the bottle.
Chisato tapped Gokudera's cheek with the glass, "Ah. That's right. You can't go anywhere because nobody wants you, right, Hayato? Nobody wants a life-ruining retard like you around."
Gokudera scoffed, "Huh. As if you have anyone who would take you eith-"
BANG.
Chisato slammed the bottle onto the wall right next to Gokudera's head. "I didn't ask for your opinion, fucktard," he murmured.
Gokudera kept quiet after that. It was never a good idea to speak up when Chisato had some sort of potential weapon in his hand – Gokudera learnt that the hard way.
"Now, where have you been in the past few days, huh?"
"With Dynamite," he muttered.
"Ugh. Disgusting. That disgusting gang. You really are low down aren't you, Hayato? You're a fucking life destroyer and now you have to group up with the other low downs that no one accepts. You people who nobody cares about. Trashes of society…" Chisato mumbled.
Gokudera didn't even bother to reply. He didn't even bother to listen.
"Are you fucking listening to me, you lowlife?" Chisato grabbed Gokudera's collar and pushed his against the wall.
"I'm listening," Gokudera choked, feeling his father's knuckles pushing into his throat.
"What? I can't hear you. You've got a throat problem or something?" Chisato smirked before he adjusted his hand so that now it was fully squeezing Gokudera's neck, cutting off his air pathway.
Seeing Gokudera struggle and writhe as his face blanched pale with the lack of air, Chisato laughed. And just before Gokudera was about to pass out, Chisato threw him towards the floor, Gokudera's head banging with the bed post. The silvernette coughed continuously, lifting his hands to clutch his throat, gasping for air, his head throbbing from the recent collision.
Not allowing anytime for Gokudera to recover, Chisato swayed over and stepped on Gokudera's head, pushing his face into the floor, making it even harder for Gokudera to breathe.
"Remember Hayato. No matter where you run, you won't escape the fact that you're nothing. And it's your own damn fault," Chisato muttered before he removed his feet from Gokudera's head, and kicked his head against the bed post.
BANG.
The sheer force caused Gokudera's entire skull to throb in pain. It felt as though his head was about to crack open.
"That's what you get for ruining my life, asshole," Chisato slurred before he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving Gokudera on the floor, clutching his head.
"Unh- fuck…" He croaked and tears leaked from his emerald eyes as the headache attacked him, his lips along with parts of his cheek bleeding and stinging from being scraped against the floor.
He didn't cry just because it hurt and he didn't cry because of his father's hateful words. But he was crying because he was so frustrated. The hatred he has for his father kept on growing and growing each time he was abused and insulted – but it was never enough for him to actually fight back.
Gokudera wasn't a weakling. If he had tried, he would've been able to injure Chisato pretty badly and escape from his daily torments in this hell hole – but he couldn't. When Chisato had choked him, he could've easily removed his hand and break his father's wrist – but he couldn't. He couldn't hurt him, and he couldn't leave either. He just couldn't.
Maybe it was because there was still that tiny part of him that wished that one day his father would return to the 'dad' he knew and loved – that pitiful part of him that even he hated for existing – if that hope would've just broken down altogether he wouldn't have hesitated to fight back against Chisato.
But no matter how much he tried, Gokudera still hoped. He couldn't get rid of that desire to get his 'dad' back. The 'dad' who loved him, took care of him… Gokudera couldn't stop himself from wanting that long-lost love.
After all, Chisato was his father, and family ties just can't be cut off that easily.
So he lay there, clutching his head, crying soundlessly in anger and pain, feeling stupid and useless – everything his father said he was. Uri, noticing its master's suffering, crawled out from under the bed and curled up next to him, licking Gokudera's hand with its rough tongue.
But nothing he had then could've made it any better. Nothing at all.
Namimori High School, 7.12am
"What the fuck is he doing there?" Mukuro glared at a certain white-haired figure standing beside one of the buses in the parking lot for the sophomore's expedition.
Tsuna looked at the direction Mukuro was glaring at before he spoke, "Ah… I guess Headmaster Byakuran will be joining us on our expedition. He chooses to join one every year, ne?"
"What? No. This is a bloody joke. I can't have him come on our fucking expedition!" Mukuro complained, furrowing his eyebrows.
"…is there something wrong, Mukuro-nii?" Chrome, Mukuro's twin sister, walked up to her frustrated brother.
As soon as Chrome approached, Mukuro changed his expression completely, immediately wearing his mysterious smile on his face, "Kufufu… of course not, my cute sister. You are going to enjoy this expedition. It's perfect." The last word was glossed with sarcasm as Mukuro's mismatched eyes glared at Byakuran, but Chrome didn't catch any of it.
"I'm glad… this is the first time I'm able to participate in an external school activity," Chrome smiled lightly and Mukuro ruffled her hair in adoration. The girl had always spent most of her time in hospital because of her unhealthy condition – it was incredibly lucky that her health improved enough to come along on her sophomore's and first ever expedition.
"Isn't it great? Even Chrome managed to make it to expeditions this year!" Yamamoto smiled brightly, looking more refreshed than ever.
"Blehhhh! It's not great at all!" Ken immediately cut in, his arms clutching a large package of food, "She keeps on stealing Mukuro-sama away because she needs 'protection'. Che, if you need so much protection then just stay at the hospital!"
"Too loud, Ken. Mukuro-sama could hear you just now," Chikusa warned his friend.
"Tch. I don't care. He knows I hate his sister," Ken mumbled.
"He doesn't like it, though. And you don't hate her, you're just jealous of her for getting Mukuro-sama's attention," Chikusa spoke expressionlessly.
"Shut up kakipii! Stop acting like you know everything!" Ken childishly threw a pack of crisps at Chikusa head. Chikusa just sighed before he simply picked the pack up and stuffed it back into Ken's large package.
"Hahaha, what about you, Chikusa? Do you like Chrome, then?" Yamamoto wanted to know.
"Hmmm…" Chikusa considered it, before he looked up at Yamamoto once again, "I don't think much of her. As long as she doesn't cause much trouble to Mukuro-sama then I don't really care."
"Ahaha, that's just like you I guess," Yamamoto smiled.
"But I think it's good that she's able to come. Kyoko and Haru are really excited to room with her," Tsuna added.
"Ahh right! Those girls are really close, ne?" Yamamoto remembered.
"Yeah… so it's good for them, and Mukuro also gets to be with his twin for once," Tsuna said before he leaned closer to Yamamoto and whispered, "Though I don't get why Mukuro has such a problem with the Headmaster. He seems to be nice and friendly, ne?"
Immediately the image of Byakuran passionately kissing Mukuro on the sofa in the office came back to Yamamoto, but he shook it away. It wasn't his story to tell. "I don't know… maybe because he's a rebel so the Head might pick on him a lot?"
"Hmm… maybe. But I still feel like there's something more…" Tsuna pondered.
Yamamoto smiled sheepishly. Sometimes Tsuna has such a good intuition it's scary…
Intending to change the subject, Yamamoto looked around before he noticed something, "Hey, wait, where's Gokudera?"
"Oh, I haven't seen him yet either. He should be here pretty soon though, he called me when he left Lancia's house…" Tsuna mumbled.
"Lancia?" Yamamoto raised his eyebrows.
"Ah, he's the leader of Gokudera's color gang. He's cool – but a bit scary I guess," Tsuna explained.
"Haha, I see, well he is the leader so he should be scary, ne? I mean, look at Xanxus…" Yamamoto said, before his eyes drifted across a certain silvernette. "Oh! There's Gokudera!" Yamamoto said, pointing at the figure making his way through the crowd.
As he got closer and eventually broke through the large group of people, both Yamamoto and Tsuna noticed that there were a lot of bandages of Gokudera's face - one on the corner of his lips and three on other areas of his face. The silvernette also looked particularly worn out as he lazily dragged his luggage towards the others, his hair and clothes messy, the skull-screened black t-shirt crumply and the studded belt that wrapped across his faded jeans hanging loose.
"Ah, morning Gokudera-kun… you look tired," Tsuna observed.
"Mm. Didn't sleep much last night," Gokudera mumbled, pushing his hair back from his face as he sighed.
"You've got more bandages again…" Yamamoto said, looking concerned.
Gokudera quickly brushed him off, "Gang stuff. The usual. I wasn't concentrating enough."
Tsuna frowned, "You really should be more careful, Gokudera-kun… we're worried about you."
"I know," Gokudera nodded, "But I'm fine really…I'll just practice more for next time."
Yamamoto kept on looking at Gokudera searchingly – somehow, he felt like 'practicing' wasn't going to help Gokudera.
Seeing him staring, those emerald eyes avoided meeting Yamamoto's, and the baseball player was even more unconvinced in Gokudera's story - especially when he noticed red marks around Gokudera's pale neck. It would've been less worrying if the marks were love bites or something of the sort. But instead, they were lines… finger marks.
Yamamoto rolled in his lips. That's definitely not normal…
"Stop staring, baseball idiot," Gokudera muttered, lifting up one hand to push Yamamoto's face. The silvernette felt uncomfortable with those dark brown eyes fixated on him, trying to see through him – and he didn't like his mask being broken, especially not today when his insides were still raw and weak.
Yamamoto leaned his head to one side, still looking intently at Gokudera, trying to meet those emerald eyes, "…you sure you're okay?"
Gokudera refused to meet Yamamoto's eyes, turning his head away, muttering, "I said I'm fine."
Yamamoto was still unconvinced, but he didn't want to push it any further. Instead, he casually wrapped his arm around Gokudera's shoulders and squeezed it gently as a way of comforting the other.
Gokudera stiffened. It felt awkward to be comforted, but he didn't complain. Yamamoto's arm felt warm and stable, securing him who on the inside was so unsteady. And it was…nice, for a change.
Yamamoto was actually surprised that Gokudera didn't push him away, and he smiled at the silvernette, lifting his fingers to toy with the tip of a strand of Gokudera's hair resting on his slim shoulders.
Looking up right at that moment, and meeting Yamamoto's eyes, Gokudera was captured – caught in that smile. A smile so full of true happiness and good-will, coming out directly from the heart…and looking into those dark chocolate eyes, Gokudera realized Yamamoto directly touched something within him. Just taking in that smile in that moment, it was as though everything was going to be alright, and there was a bright pathway ahead of him.
Once again, something flipped inside Gokudera – and he wasn't sure whether it was a good thing.
"Wow… it's weird seeing the prefects out of their uniform, ne?" Tsuna suddenly spoke when he saw a group of older students walking towards their own bus.
Yamamoto looked up when he heard the brown haired boy, before his face brightened when he saw the person he was looking for.
Across the parking lot, Hibari Kyouya stood amongst the other prefects around him. They were all in normal clothing – Hibari wearing a plain, loose white v-neck t-shirt with dark gray jeans.
"Ah… wait here a sec," Yamamoto murmured, letting go of Gokudera.
Feeling Yamamoto's arm leave him, Gokudera suddenly felt slightly empty as he watched Yamamoto jog towards the prefect's group.
Looking from the distance, Tsuna and Gokudera saw Yamamoto talking to Hibari, before all of a sudden the baseball player wrapped his arms around the prefect and pulled him in for a hug. Hibari stared wide-eyed for a second before he started pushing Yamamoto away, whilst Yamamoto just laughed and opted for hugging Hibari from the back instead. The prefect crossed his arms, frowning, but complained no more, allowing Yamamoto to embrace him; a wide smile spread across the younger's face.
"They really do like each other, don't they?" Tsuna smiled as he watched the two, "Normally Hibari-san would've already beaten up anyone who came that close to him."
Gokudera stood there watching silently as Yamamoto leaned over and sneaked a tiny kiss on Hibari's ear, earning an elbow to the face from the head prefect – who was blushing nonetheless.
Turning away from the image, Gokudera mumbled, "Yeah. I guess."
Gokudera didn't understand why he felt worse seeing Yamamoto and Hibari together – but he knew one thing for certain.
That smile – that brilliant, true smile of Yamamoto…it wasn't reserved for only him.
And that fact completely erased every good feeling he had just a moment ago.
A/N: Agh. So much drama going on in this chapter =_= I enjoyed writing the fluff at the beginning much more. It's either all-out suicidal for me, or fluff or smut. This middle-way stress, especially with the parents, is exhaustinggg~ T^T
Oh well! Next chapter will be packed tight with a whole LOAD of stuff I've wanted to write for some time now – so writing the Nami High expeditions will be a lot much fun for me! :D hehehe~
Soooo, as always, please review! :D I know I don't reply to them anymore now because I just don't have the time, but I really do appreciate each and every one of them! –cuddles- ;D