Tsuna woke up feeling warm, comfortable, and pain-free.

He sat up in shock because he hasn't been pain-free in a very long time. In fact, he can't remember the last time he wasn't in pain.

And he knew he should be in pain - he had cracked bones (which thankfully weren't broken yet), bruises, and scars that haven't healed.

He should also be sick because one of his many wounds got infected.

But he didn't feel sick and he momentarily wondered if he was being delusional.

(But he always knew the difference between delusions and reality. At least he used to, because right now, reality has never felt so much like a dream.)

He looked around - the room was sparsely decorated with only a bed and a bedside table. To the far end of the room (which wasn't really that far), there were dark blue curtains that covered the whole wall. Opposite to the curtained wall, near the foot of the bed, was a door with a clock hanging above it.

As he got up (and noted that his muscles weren't even aching and felt wonderful), he noticed that he was still wearing his uniform. And more importantly, they were clean.

(How was that possible, considering that he was sweating heavily and pushed to the ground? Did they take off his clothes to wash them? Why would they do that? How long has he been asleep, and how deep, for him not to notice when they took off his clothes? What else did they do to him while he was unconscious?)

According to the clock, which showed both the date and time, only a few hours had passed, unless the clock is wrong, which he doubted. He looked around before he wandered towards the curtained wall. He pulled back one of the curtains to discover that the wall wasn't a wall at all. It was a sliding glass door that was locked from the inside.

"Leaving already?"

Tsuna dropped the curtains and turned around to vehemently shake his head. Only to find no one behind him.

"Down here," the same voice spoke and he looked down. The suit-wearing baby was staring up at him with a gleam in his black eyes.

"So, leaving already?" he asked again.

"N-n-no," he stuttered. And he would swear that the gleam in the baby's beady black eyes dimmed.

"That's no fun," the baby said almost petulantly, tilting his fedora over his face. Then he looked up at Tsuna once more. "Oh well, come on. It's dinner time," he said, turning around and walking out the door. Tsuna scrambled to follow him.

They walked through the living room and an open doorway, which led to the kitchen/dining area, where a dark-haired teenager was bustling about.

"Oh, you're finally here. Go ahead and take a seat. I'm almost done with the soup," he said, his tone light and airy as he led Tsuna to an open seat.

As Tsuna took his seat, he took note that the Not-Hibari didn't even look like Hibari at all.

True, they both had black hair and lean builds, but that's where their similarities ended. Hibari's hair was short while this teenager's hair ended past his shoulders and was tied back at his nape. He was also wearing casual clothes (something Hibari would never do), which consisted of a simple shirt, jeans, a pair of thin fingerless leather gloves, and a pair of rose-tinted glasses.

But what truly differentiated him from Hibari was how he spoke. The whole time he spoke to Tsuna, he sounded so gentle and warm and absolutely nothing like the prefect. (And some hysterical part of him - that was so confused with everything right now - laughed at the idea of the Hibari Kyouya being soft and gentle.)

He sat still as the tall brunet set the table for three people. In front of him was a simple meal: miso soup, plain rice, and steamed chicken. He glanced around and saw that the other two also had the same meal, much to the baby's annoyance judging by the frown on his face.

"Aren't you hungry?" the teenager asked as he finally sat down, looking at Tsuna with caramel brown eyes through his rose-tinted glasses. Tsuna blinked in response, unsure of the correct answer. "Um, I assumed that you would be after puking and all. But if you're not, (The baby snorted in disbelief.) I hope you don't mind that I'm asking to eat, even just a little bit."

Tsuna nodded as the baby muttered, "You are such a mother hen." The taller brunet seemed to ignore the baby's comment as well as his earlier interruption.

"Itadakimasu."

It has been so long since Tsuna last ate a home-cooked meal that he didn't prepare for himself. It smelled heavenly and tasted even better. Even if he wasn't hungry, he would have eaten this wonderful yet simple meal.

Though the meal was quiet, Tsuna noticed that there was a conversation going on. The baby and the teenager were trading looks and small gestures like nods and raised brows while they ate. Occasionally, they would glance at Tsuna, who would duck his head in response.

When they were finished, both of them looked at Tsuna, who ducked his head yet again. "Hey," a childish voice spoke and he immediately looked up because he knew the baby was referring to him.

When he looked at them, the brunet with shades said, "Well, it seems that introductions are long overdue. My name is Ha- I mean, Lupin Harry. You can call me Harry."

"And I'm Reborn, the world's greatest hitman," the baby said with a smirk as Hari rolled his eyes.

A beat.

"And what's your name?" Hari prodded when he noticed that Tsuna was not going to speak up.

"Sa-sawada Ts-tsunayoshi," he stuttered, hunching his shoulders.

"And what do you want us to call you?" Hari asked and Tsuna looked at him oddly. No one has ever asked him that. Usually, they just call him names like Dame-Tsuna and Loser and Freak. He looked at Hari, whose gentle and curious expression didn't fade despite the prolonged silence, and Reborn, who looked at him with a similarly curious expression.

"Tsuna," he mumbled, half-hoping they won't hear it. (So he wouldn't let himself hope that they would use it.)

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsuna-kun," he said, offering his hand with a soft expression. Tsuna just looked at him in confused bewilderment. Hari dropped his hand though his gentle expression didn't change.

"Did you enjoy the meal, Tsuna-kun?"

"Ye-yes." He didn't even think of lying to him because it really was delicious.

"I'm glad you liked it, Tsuna-kun." And he couldn't believe that Hari was actually using his name. He wasn't using it sarcastically or in jest, he was using it as if he really meant it. As if he really meant to say "Tsuna-kun" and not Dame-Tsuna or loser or freak or any other name he was bestowed with.

"Stop stalling," Reborn said, jumping onto the table. "We're here to train you to be-"

"Whoever or whatever you want to be." Hari interrupted Reborn, who let out a disgruntled "Harry!"

"Reborn," Hari answered back evenly and Tsuna could feel the tension as another conversation took place in the split second their eyes met.

Reborn looked away from Hari's eyes and stared at Tsuna as he said, "What he said."

Another beat.

"B-but I'm just D-dame-Tsuna," he said, bewildered because they were insane.

"Right now you are, we're not denying it," Reborn said bluntly. "But you can be better."

Tsuna shook his head. "N-no, I c-can't. I'm ju-just Da-dame-Tsuna. Now a-and f-forever."

"With that attitude, you definitely will be," Reborn said, displeased.

"Is that who you want to be for the rest of your life?" Hari asked, lowering his shades and his previously gentle caramel eyes became intense green. They glowed as he stared intently at Tsuna, as if peering into the depths of his soul. He was also aware of Reborn's black eyes staring at him, waiting for his response.

Tsuna knew - like the way he knew the difference between delusions and reality or the way he knew that the clock in the bedroom was right - this was important. He was on the edge of something life-changing and his answer would seal his fate.

(Despite what life has taught him, he knew - he knew - there was only one answer. It was resonating from his weary and down-trodden soul.)

"No." It wasn't loud but he didn't speak in his usual soft hesitant tone. He did not let himself stutter because this was something he wanted them he wanted the world - to hear.

"Good." Both of them wore satisfied smiles.

(Though he was going against what life has taught him, he could never forget its harsh lessons. One of them was that nothing good ever came from people who smiled at him.

And in a way, he was very very right.

Yet, in a way, he was very very wrong.)

Catalyst - end.

thank you misminor and Allykrau for answering my question about shades.

and to KK, i could never imagine tsuna as intelligent; he's very instinctual though thanks to his intuition.

to twilightserius who pointed out that tsuna doesn't flinch much, tsuna is so bullied and broken that he doesn't fight back. and flinching is a defensive mechanism. i'll discuss it more in the next chapter but i also sort of discussed it in my profile.

more importantly, i'm sure all of you noticed the title change from counting stars to kintsukuroi. the latter means "to repair with gold" and is infinitely more appropriate than counting stars.

thank you for dropping by and i hope you enjoyed your read~