"You what?" Tsuna's brown eyes widened at the blond's words, finding it hard to believe what he had just been told – did Dino just say Hibari lived in an abusive household? But that couldn't be right; Hibari wasn't going to allow himself to be abused! …Would he…? Then again… If it were true, it could explain a lot as to why the skylark was the way he was…

Dino sighed as he repeated himself. "Kyouya's father beats him."

Tsuna looked over at his two friends, hoping for some support – having been raised by his mother for as long as he could remember, he had only ever received love and affection and he couldn't imagine his life without it.

"Y-yamamoto?"

The black-haired boy Tsuna was addressing tilted his head as a rare frown crossed his face; he had no idea what he was supposed to do, and he was confused. "Should we try and help, Tsuna?"

Before the brunet could reply, Dino raised his hands, intervening. "I think it will be better for you guys to stay out of this – I highly doubt Kyouya wants anyone to know. I'll try and talk to him, okay?"

The silver-haired teen who had been standing by Tsuna's side growled as he pulled cigarette from his mouth. "He's a psycho. He'll probably kill you if you so much as look at him, Bucking Horse. Just stay out of his personal affairs and it'll be better for all of us."

"G-gokudera-kun!" Tsuna shook his head. His eyes had widened at his friend's words; how could his friend be so cold-hearted to someone who was suffering? "Gokudera-kun, can you not see this is probably why Hibari-san is so aggressive and doesn't like people near him?"

The other teen known as Yamamoto Takeshi nodded as he wrapped an arm around Tsuna's shoulders. "Hibari-san might be hurting inside, Gokudera. What if he wants someone to help but doesn't know how to show it? He might be too scared to ask for it."

"Why are you taking his side, baseball-freak?" Green eyes narrowed at Yamamoto as his explosive temper heated up. "Hibari is only a blood-thirsty bully."

"Hayato, I don't think you're willing to understand the situation," was Dino's calm input. "Kyouya is abused. It's not his fault he's the way he is."

Gokudera Hayato could have cared less about Hibari's personal situation; he hated the raven-haired teenager with all his being and no amount of pity would change his mind. "As the Tenth's Cloud Guardian, Hibari should be more respectful to him!"

Tsuna knew he should have expected something like this from the Storm, but what could he do? He couldn't force Gokudera to change his opinion or anything of the like; he just wished the Italian-Japanese boy was more understanding.

Dino pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. "Kyouya really shouldn't be at fault for who he is, Hayato. I'm sure if he had a better upbringing he wouldn't be this way."

Tsuna could sense his best friend was about to start a fight with Dino, and he wanted to stop it before everything got out of control. He reached out and grabbed the taller male's shoulder as he said, "Gokudera-kun, please listen to what Dino-san has to say; he's older than we are and he knows more about this than us."

As much as Gokudera would have loved to argue, this was his beloved Tenth telling him to stop – and if it was the Tenth's orders, than he would obey them. He dropped to his knees and apologised in an overdramatic manner. "Forgive me, Tenth! I was out of line!"

Tsuna patted his friend's shoulder, used to Gokudera's odd way of saying sorry. "It's okay. I just… don't think you should be so harsh on Hibari-san."

"You're right, Tenth." Gokudera's eyes sparkled with admiration and, if he had one, Tsuna was certain his tail would be wagging like a puppy.

Dino cleared his throat in order to get the others' attention once more. "Does anyone have any idea on what I should do about this?"

"Just be honest." Yamamoto's goofy smile had returned, and his eyes shone brightly. As naïve as he was, he still gave good advice when it was needed. "Maybe that's all he's been waiting for; someone to notice and care about his situation."

Dino smiled back. "Thank you, Takeshi. I guess I'll do that. Does anyone know where he would be at the moment?"

Checking his watch, Yamamoto nodded. "It's almost five, so he should be finishing up with the Disciplinary Committee. If you go back to our school you should catch him before he leaves."

Dino's smile widened at the boy's information. "Thank you all very much. I'll try and catch him before he goes home. I'll see you later."

The adult turned on his heels and started to run. His heart raced as he thought about how he could handle this situation; if he were to be honest, he would have to explain how badly he wanted to help.

The only problem with that was, would Hibari believe him or not?

~~Namimori Middle~~

As Takeshi had said, Dino found Kyouya leaving the school and heading in the direction the blond knew his home was in. Hhe started calling out as he jogged to catch up to the younger.

"Kyouya!" Dino panted heavily as he closed the distance between them. "Kyouya, wait up!"

Without even turning his head, Kyouya knew exactly who was behind him; there was only one person who was stupidly brave to call him by his given name.

The skylark growled to himself and cursed his luck; hadn't today been bad enough already without some clumsy idiot to add to it?

"What do you want, herbivore?" Kyouya spat. He was in no mood to be patient; his entire body ached, he was absolutely exhausted and he just wanted to go home. He ignored the bird that flew down onto his shoulder and chirped his name and, if looks could kill, his would have murdered the blond ten times over by now.

"Kyouya, I understand you hate me, but –"

Before the Chiavarone Boss could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Kyouya. "Now that that's been established within your thick mind, leave me alone as I do not want to be crowded by the likes of you."

Kyouya turned around to leave but, before he could get far at all, he was frozen in his tracks by Cavallone's next words.

"I know your parents abuse you, Kyouya." The blond's voice was softer than Hibari had ever heard it, and maybe he was delusional but he thought he even heard sympathy within it.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two before Kyouya turned back around, his eyes glinting evilly as his body tensed. "Do not pretend you know anything."

Dino's reply wasn't a verbal one; he instead lifted his left sleeve up to his elbow and presented a large tattoo that covered most of the skin. When he saw the skylark's confused look, he explained. "I got this tattoo to hide my own bruises, much like how you won't show an inch of your own body."

Kyouya blinked. What was that herbivore saying? "…"

"I understand what you're going through, Kyouya, and I want so badly to help you…" Dino's voice was barely a whisper, and his eyes shone sadly. "…I… I've never told anyone this before, but I… I've been abused, too… And I know you push everyone away and I can understand somewhat! Maybe you're too afraid to open up to anyone or seek help, but… You don't have to be scared anymore…"

As much as Kyouya resented his hidden fears being dug up, he couldn't deny that Dino was right – he was scared, and he didn't know how to get help. But what difference did it make? Even if someone knew, it didn't mean he was going to let them in on everything – to help him.

"I would never accept the help of a herbivore, Cavallone."

"But that's just it!" Dino's voice was growing desperate as the Italian grabbed Kyouya's shoulders. "You never use anyone's names. They're all herbivores to you, aren't they? But you call me by my family name. That means something, Kyouya! You won't even refer to Tsuna by his family name. Please, you can't tell me that –"

Dino was so caught up in his rambling, he didn't see the fist that had flown at his face. With an oomph, he fell backwards onto the cement walkway beneath him. He raised a hand to hold his injured cheek as he frowned up at his student.

"You're crowding me, herbivore," Kyouya growled. Before he could say anything more, a speck of green between them caught his attention. He squinted slightly at it before he leant down to pick up the shelled creature that had just made an appearance; of all things he had expected, it certainly wasn't for this.

A turtle…? Kyouya watched as a tiny head poked out of the shell and little legs flailed helplessly in the air. Where did it come from…?

"That's Enzo…"

Kyouya looked up at Dino's voice. He remained silent as he held the turtle close; he found that it was helping greatly in soothing his stress, and he almost didn't want to give it back.

"…He's my pet," Dino explained. "He must have fallen out of my jacket when you hit me."

"I didn't know you had a pet," Kyouya stated.

"…Is he not to your liking?" Dino tilted his head, his question sincere; from his understanding Kyouya liked little animals, so his turtle wouldn't be any different, would it? He hoped not; he loved Enzo and didn't want the little guy to feel rejected.

"I never said that." Kyouya blinked. "I just never saw you as someone who would have a pet."

Dino grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head; why would Kyouya think that of him? "…"

The skylark said nothing as he handed the turtle back and went on his way. He felt empty inside, as if his emotions were conflicting so much, he couldn't feel. He was numb, and he knew that the blond was the cause of it. He was glad Dino didn't try and stop him; he didn't want to know how he would react in that manner; what if he started crying? He would rather just leave and get back to his room where he could be by himself and – hopefully – not have to deal with anyone.

Dino watched the other leave, but he let it happen; something inside of him told him it was the right thing to do and that Kyouya needed to be alone. He hoped his student would be okay; he only wanted to help, but the younger male wasn't making it easy for him.

~~XX~~

As the skylark closed the front door of his home behind him, he knew tonight was going to be another bad one; he had heard his parents fighting before he even got to his house, and now that he was actually in the same vicinity as the two arguing, he felt even more mentally and emotionally drained than he had just a minute ago before he had walked through that damn door.

"Kyouya, get your fucking ass in here and tell this slut what a whore she is!"

When the student was inadvertently dragged into the fight, he almost wished he had accepted Cavallone's help – but if he were to do that…

It wasn't until the skylark had finally been able to escape to his room and curl up on his futon did he really think about the blond and what he had said earlier.

Does Cavallone truly understand? Is that why he wants to help? Because he knows what it's like? What happens if I accept his 'help'? Will it make things worse? What if he doesn't know how to help? …How do I even acknowledge I want him to help me…? But is that true…? Do I really want help from a herbivore…? …I feel like I'm going insane… But I'm just so tired… I… I-I don't want this life any longer… If I have to degrade myself to a herbivore's level and allow someone to help me… I don't know anymore… So tired… Just… so tired…

Dark eyes slipped closed as Hibari fell into a sleep plagued by nightmares – but this time, there was a familiar blond in his dreams who was trying to protect him from his parents, the very first time someone had tried to look after him – even in his dreams. Did this mean… his future wasn't as bleak as it had seemed…?

Was trusting Cavallone to help… really the right option…? Only time would tell.