Chapter 19

Mukuro was surprised to see the successor for the sky arcobaleno appear before him. Basil was still soundly asleep in the room. Aria had sent him a text which caught Mukuro's interest. He may be under Reborn's service but there was no clause in their agreement that Mukuro should not take up any other offers so long he fulfills his obligations with Reborn which he already has. All he had to do was make the prefect jealous enough to know of his feelings for the brunet. He had done that. Now, Aria was approaching him for his help on something more.

"Viper has also agreed. The Vongola Nono's mate is involved in this plan as well. You must keep this a secret from Reborn and the others for it to work. I am afraid you will have to leave your lover for a while for this to take place. Using the power of the leader of the arcobalenoes I will do everything in my power to sneak you out from that water prison for a short time period so you may complete this mission. It is very important and I trust you because the mate does. You will be meeting her in three days. You may choose to spend the time now with your lover but until then, do not speak a word of our meeting."

Mukuro agreed readily with the promise of having his real body back.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

Skull was sweating profusely as he eavesdropped on Dino Cavallone and his plans to threaten the Vongola. "This is bad… If Reborn sempai finds out I will be as good as dead!"

"Who's there?" Dino barked and Skull quickly scampered off.

Reborn heard the news update from Skull and cursed silently. "That idiot!" he thought. "When did you mature so much? The last time you were only a dumb brat who didn't even know how to hold his whip… You have really grown to be an outstanding boss but at the wrong time."

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

Hibari woke up with a terrible headache. Squalo handed him a kind of tea to help with the pounding in his head. The after effects of consuming alcohol was what made Hibari dislike the beverage. He clearly remembered what happened the previous night but chose to feign ignorance.

Xanxus knew the man was pretending but chose not to probe. Instead, the Varia boss kicked him out of the house. Hibari made his way back home with some difficulty. Kusakabe waited outside the traditional Japanese house worriedly and relief washed over him at the sight of the raven haired leader.

"Kyo-san!" the trusty subordinate called out. Hibari did not really feel like entertaining anyone at the moment but was too exhausted mentally to let the man know. "Kyo-san! Sawada is out of control and no one can pacify him. He keeps insisting to see you…"

Hibari was suddenly very sober. Tsuna was insisting to see him? The sudden turn in events confused the man. Nevertheless he made his way to the hospital on his motorbike.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

Fon groaned. His body ached badly and his eyelids felt very heavy. It took a lot of effort just to open them. He could feel someone shaking him and calling his name desperately. Somehow that voice was very soothing to his ears and he felt sleep taking over him once more.

"… Fon, wake up! Fon, please open your eyes… I want to tell you something very important!"

Fon was consumed by weariness and thought "That could always wait…"

The voice got clearer and sounded a lot more urgent. The grip was becoming painful and he felt the genuine desperation.

"Please! Open your eyes… you can't die yet! Not when I have not told you how I feel about you…"

Fon smiled slightly but his lips would not move. "It's okay, I don't need to know."

"I love you!"

The three words pierced through Fon like a lightning bolt. Suddenly all the important memories came back to him. He remembered about a girl with purple hair. He remembered how she had a pet frog that could fly and it was called Phantasma. He remembered how she was always wearing a hood that covered her face and hiding her beauty in illusions. He remembered her crying face most of all.

"Don't cry, Viper… don't cry…"

Viper cried into Fon's chest when Fon did not respond. She did not see Fon slowly opening his eyes. They were unfocused at first but as soon as they could identify objects, they turned and focused on her crying form.

"cry…"

Viper still continued to sob.

"…don't… cry…"

Viper thought she was imagining things until she felt a hand resting heavily on her head.

"Fon?" she shot upright causing the arm to fall off.

The man smiled weakly. "Ni hao…"

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

Iemitsu and Timiteo were looking through some reports that were sent from Italy. Iemitsu's hand signed the papers endlessly without tire but his mind was somewhere else far away. "Nana… Tsuna… please hang on. I'll find a way."

Meanwhile in the same room while reading through some report, Timiteo was in deep thoughts. Although Reborn had reported everything going according to plan, his hyper intuition could not help but bother him. It did not feel ominous but rather, it was telling him that things would not go quite as planned after all. It was strange he did not know what was going to happen and that did not often happen for him Perhaps the time to step down was nearing that was why his hyper intuition was failing. "Tsunayoshi, please be strong. I will do what I can to side with you as a grandfather. I know you will become a greater leader than I am."

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

Hibari threw the hospital doors to Tsuna's room open. "Tsunayoshi!" he shouted. The boy who was struggling against a doctor and three nurses immediately stopped when he heard his name being called.

"Hibari-san!" the brunet cried and broke free from the doctor and nurses. Hibari caught Tsuna who tumbled right into his arms. Hibari was taken by surprise when Tsuna wrapped his arms tightly around his waist all of a sudden.

"Tsunayoshi… what's wrong?"

Tsuna shook his head and buried his face deeper into Hibari's chest, inhaling all the familiar scent of steel and apples.

"It's you…" Tsuna whispered.

Hibari was perplexed to the boy's peculiar behavior. He was not acting normal at all. The doctor and nurses gave worried glances which Hibari gave them a signal to leave the two of them alone. They obeyed and left quietly.

When the doors were shut, Hibari ran his fingers through the brown fluffy hair, soothing the boy.

Tsuna eased into his touch and soon they found themselves seated on the bed comfortably, holding each other closely. Tsuna was first to break the silence.

"Hibari-san, did you kiss me before? I mean before the confession."

Hibari paused for a while considering if he should tell the truth. Giving in to fate, he answered honestly "Yes."

Tsuna's breath hitched slightly and Hibari knew that the boy's heart must be racing. It was a strange question to be asking not that Hibari minded. "Come to think of it, how did he know? Hyper intuition?"

Tsuna then asked the next question. "Hibari-san, why do you love me?"

Hibari nearly laughed at this. Instead, he opted to remain neutral while explaining "You were the only one capable of standing on par with me."

Tsuna gave a bitter laugh. "If I wasn't the one who was capable on standing on par with you would you still love me? You know that one day I will not keep up with you and fall behind. Will you abandon me then? I don't want to be Hibari-san's burden."

Hibari wanted to sigh at that response. He did not mean physical combat skills when he said on par. He was referring to the rate their hearts beating simultaneously. He carefully answered "The only time you will not keep up with me is when you die or stop loving me. I meant the rate of our heart beating together being on par. I know what makes your heart race because it makes mine race as well. Right now my heart is beating really steadily."

Hibari grabbed Tsuna's hand and placed it on his own chest. Tsuna blushed and Hibari continued "See? It's beating faster now because you are with me. Our hearts respond to each other and that is why I can only love you. It will only respond to you. I already said that I will be taking your heart and you can have mine in return."

Tsuna looked ready to cry. Hibari was definitely his first love and now that he knew the feelings for his first love can be returned, he had one last thing to know.

"If one day I stop loving you and started to respond to the heart of another person, what would you do?"

Hibari's eyes reflected pain and sadness. "Would being with that person make you happier than being with me?"

"Yes," Tsuna replied without hesitation.

There was silence as Hibari took a deep breath. "Tsunayoshi, whatever happens I will always belong to you. The heart I entrust to you belongs to you. You may do whatever you deem fit with it. However if it displeases you and you wish to destroy it please go ahead. If another person's heart can make you content then the destruction of my heart is a small price to pay."

Tsuna cried. Hibari hugged him wordlessly. After a while, Hibari said "I love you Tsunayoshi. Only you."

Tsuna cried even harder. He finally had someone he can have and be a little selfish for once. "Hibari-san… I don't want to die… I want to live and love you. I want to be selfish even for just a little while. I want to be with you…"

Hibari's eyes softened. "It must have been really hard to bear the sins of the world alone Tsunayoshi, from now on let my carry them for you." He whispered to the brunet, "You can have all of me Tsunayoshi. I would not have it any other way."

"Hibari-san…"

"Tsunayoshi…"

Overwhelmed by desire, Tsuna initiated a lip to lip contact with Hibari who chose to exploit the opportunity presented to him. Their kisses got rougher and ore feverish. Air became a major problem and they were forced to part. It still was not enough to quell the fire in their hearts that burned for each other.

"I belong to you, Tsunayoshi. Become mine…"

Tsuna nodded and felt Hibari tenderly caressing his cheek in the palm of his hand. Limbs tangled and lips locked, clothes were discarded and forgotten in the heat. Fatigue forgotten and the only thing remaining were the pure feelings they had for each other while finding love in darkness.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

Mukuro placed a gentle kiss on Basil's forehead. His small lover stirred. "Mukuro-kun?"

Mukuro smiled and bent down. "Awake now, mio bello?"

Basil nodded and returned a smile. After the confession from the previous day they went on to a flurry of passionate activities and at the end, Mukuro revealed the other boy's name which confirms Basil's guesses.

"Thank you," he said. Mukuro looked at Basil confused.

"Thank you for confiding in me and trusting me. You knew I could have walked out on you when you told me you loved Sawada-dono. Yet you loved me eugh to not deceive me."

Mukuro thought back on Aria and immediately became crestfallen. He had only managed to get out of a precarious stage of their relation. It was still far from getting out of the red zone yet another test awaits them.

"Mio bello…" Mukuro averted his eyes painfully.

Basil saw the conflicted pain in his lover's eyes and understood immediately. He kissed the man and cupped the man's face making heterochromic eyes look at him. "You don't have to tell me now. I will always believe in you. When it is over and you can tell me, I will listen. If you choose to keep it from me forever then it's also fine with me. However if you tell me whatever it is which will endanger your life, I will hear nothing of it. I want to love you and I need you to be alive to share this love with you."

"Basil mio bello, what will a demon spawn like me do without you? I certainly do not deserve an angel like you. I really don't want to hurt you…"

Basil kissed the illusionist again. "I don't mind getting hurt as long as it is your happiness that I can save. Did you know that these eyes of yours are what make you absolutely attractive? I can read everything from them."

Mukuro laughed. No one ever said those mismatched eyes were beautiful. He has been labeled devil's child, demon spawn and many more hideous names. Never did anyone tell him those cursed eyes were beautiful. Basil was truly different in ways more than one. "I don't need the world, I just need him…" Mukuro thought to himself and hugged Basil tightly. Basil did not protest as usual and allowed the man to cuddle. "He's just like an overgrown child, it's really adorable. I'm glad I get to be the only one to see this side of him…" Basil smiled to himself.

The day passed peacefully for most people unaware of a great bloodshed to come.

To be continued…

Author's Note: This one seems to be shorter somehow and I'm extremely tired. Please leave a review… This story may be turned into an actual novel with original context and original characters with similar storyline. If it is really popular I will write an actual novel with the same title. I hope it will become a book that will be worth reading more than once when completed. I'll try to write a good ending. I prefer sweet happy endings somehow after a tragic process. Did anyone cry after reading the last two chapters?