Chapter Four: The Truth I'll Never Tell You

Two days had passed before Dino saw Kyouya again. He knew the younger hadn't been at school, as explained by Tsuna, and he could only wonder why; had their fight been too much for the raven? Had someone else taken advantage of his weakened state? So many questions, but there had been no answers to any of them – perhaps now that he had caught sight of the student once more, he could finally learn what had happened.

"Kyouya!" Dino hurried towards the boy walking swiftly down the sidewalk of a residential area. He saw the houses around him weren't as well-kept as the others he had visited; the lawns were overgrown and sometimes an abundance of junk could be seen poking through the long films. It wasn't until later would he truly pay attention to the significance of this neglect; right now his only concern was getting Kyouya to talk to him.

Kyouya didn't stop – he didn't even slow down. He continued staring ahead as his black jacket hung loosely from his shoulder and billowed in the wind, and his stride never faltered as he ignored the man behind him running to catch up.

Dino couldn't keep the smile off his face as his footsteps quickly fell in stride with his student's; he knew it most likely wasn't the case, but he felt as if the other was accepting of his presence, allowing the proximity – he could always dream, right?. "I heard you haven't been at school lately."

Kyouya instinctively tensed before he turned to glare at the older male. He reached into the insides of his jacket so that his fingers could brush against the cold steel of the two tonfa. He prepared himself to grab them; if that damn herbivore tried anything, he would smack the shit out of him with his weapons. "What business is it of yours? I should bite you to death."

Dino raised his hands instinctively as he attempted to diffuse the situation, but how was that possible with an angry Kyouya? The smaller boy was violent, almost as if he didn't know anything else – and part of Dino was sure that really was all the younger knew; he could feel it. "Calm down, Kyouya! I just was worried something had happened!"

The feeling of anger overwhelmed Hibari at these words; worried? Worried? What a lie. What an insult. He could take care of himself; he didn't need anyone to be worried about him! Not at all.

The younger pulled the tonfa out from underneath his jacket and moved himself into a fighting position, ready to prove that the blond's concern – or whatever it was – was unneeded; he had no need for such petty emotion; he was fine.

"You have two seconds to remove yourself from my sight before I bite you to death, Cavallone." Kyouya's soft voice was laced with hatred, and Dino couldn't stand to know that someone so young and with a life ahead of them felt that way; it was a shame because the skylark should be out there enjoying the time he had instead of acting like the bitter and angry people he had come across in his line of work all too often.

Dino stepped back, not wanting to fight the other. He put as much distance between them as he could without having to raise his voice, hoping he could clarify his thoughts and calm the other down; if his suspicions were correct, the last thing Kyouya needed was for Dino to keep fighting him.

"I only mean that when I was told you haven't been going to school," the Chiavarone boss started, "it had me thinking I had hurt you in our fight!"

Kyouya swiped at the air with his right tonfa, offended beyond belief at the other's pitiful attempt of an explanation. "Are you lowering me onto the same level as those other herbivores? How dare you."

The blond understood he was making everything worse, but he didn't know how to fix what he had started; it was clear the younger wanted a fight, but Dino just wasn't in the mood for one; he didn't want to risk further damage to his student – not if it really was his fault the other had been missing school.

"Kyouya, please understand I meant no harm with my words..." Cavallone lifted a hand and wiped at his forehead as he acknowledged that this was one of the hardest situations he had been faced with; the jobs that came with being a mafia don were easy enough for him, despite how much he disliked what he had to do at times, but there was a difference between taking out the trash that threatened the Vongola and actually being allowed to act like a normal human being; he had never been allowed the opportunity to let his gentle nature shine through before because if he did, it could have meant the end of him – so to finally be allowed to be himself and show someone that he cared, and yet still get nowhere with him… Why couldn't Kyouya trust that he truly did want to help? "You are my student, and I care about your wellbeing."

The skylark bit down on his lip as he took a step forward with all intent on causing as much damage to Cavallone as he could. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, however, he was quickly cut off by the ringtone of his phone humming in his pocket.

Dark eyes narrowed at Dino as if it were his fault the phone had interrupted them. He slid his in to retrieve the flip-top device, and after he opened it and looked at the caller ID, he couldn't help but flinch; his father's name was flashing at him, and he knew that if he didn't answer the call, all hell would break loose when he got home. Whether Dino noticed his reaction or not, he did not care; all that mattered was dealing with whatever was about to be thrown at him.

Dino watched carefully as the other answered the phone call. His eyebrow raised slightly; what had caused Hibari to flinch as if he were a puppy about to be kicked by its master? Something was going on, and he didn't like it…

Kyouya didn't speak as he lifted the phone to his ear; he simply frowned. Dino wasn't sure who was on the other end, but he could hear shouting through the phone from his distance of several feet.

Kyouya closed his eyes before he replied a minute after the shouting had started. "I understand. I won't be late again." With that said, he flicked the phone closed and slipped it back into his pocket as his deadly glare returned to Cavallone. "I will bite you to death another time, herbivore."

Dino couldn't reply; the younger was already gone as if his life depended on it. As he reached up to scratch at his messy hair, he couldn't help but feel as if there was something being kept from him – but what?

~~Later that night~~

Coming home late had always meant a punishment for Hibari, but when he had explained he had been held up by someone else while at school, the beating was worse than usual. Still sore from the one two days ago, the raven was settled upon his futon, finding it painful to move.

Pain didn't usually bother Hibari – only when it was inflicted by the ones he was supposed to call his parents. He could never understand why, but it always caused his chest to tighten in what he could only describe as discomfort after he had been hurt by his family, and whether or not it was physically or mentally didn't matter; it all hurt the same.

Hibird was flying around the room, chirping on occasion as he stretched his wings. He flew out of the open door for a few seconds before he returned with a beak full of grass blades so that he could unceremoniously drop them on his master's head.

Hibari didn't move; he couldn't even find the motivation to brush the grass from his hair. He could only sigh, and follow the bird's movements with his eyes. He could hear the drunken shouting from inside the house, and he knew his father was on the rampage again.

Part of the boy felt sorry for his mother being abused by her husband, but the sympathy in his heart was overwhelmed by the hatred he felt towards her for allowing the abuse to have happened to them both for so long; she was supposed to be his mother, and he knew that it was the mother's job to protect her child and love them no matter what – but all she had ever done was allow him to remain in a situation that caused him emotional pain deeper than any physical injury ever could, and for that, he would never forgive her.

The skylark rolled slowly over onto his side so that his back was to his bedroom door and closed his eyes, hoping with all his being he would be abused no longer tonight; he was so tired and he just wanted to sleep. Hibird nestled into his master's hair and, just when they were both on the verge of sleep, the rice-paper door was forced open, grinding on its hinges.

Hibari forced himself into a sitting position witheyes wide as he observed the way his father stumbled towards him in a drunken manner; he knew what was coming, and he would have given everything he had to make it stop – the only problem was, he didn't have anything to give in the first place.

"Kyouya-chan..." The way his name slipped off the man's tongue so easily sent shivers down Hibari's spine. He instinctively reached out towards the tonfa he had dropped beside his futon despite knowing it was useless; even if he did manage to grab his weapons, the man would easily overpower him just like every other time.

The raven-haired man snatched his son's wrists into one hand and pinned them above Hibari's head. With his free hand, he trailed it down the younger's side and slipped beneath the hem of the school shirt Kyouya wore.

Hibari shuddered in disgust at the familiar feel of the large hand on his body, having been subject to their wandering for nearly his entire life. He scrunched his eyes shut in an attempt to block it out before a hand moved to caress his cheek.

"Open your eyes, beautiful..." The drunken slur made Hibari cringe. "I want to see you when I touch you."

Hibari couldn't deny the fact his heart sped up at these words, knowing exactly what was coming – this was the exact thing that had led to him hating all physical touch. He bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood as he was grabbed in places he didn't want anyone to touch him, hating how his body reacted despite his unwillingness.

Fighting back the tears that threatened to slip down his cheeks, the teenager turned his head to the side and stared out into the darkness of the night.

Hibari Kyouya hated his life and, in moments like this, he wished for death.