Chapter 100

Learning From Mistakes

100th Chapter! Wooooooo!

Thanks for all the wonderful comments you guys. It's lovely to know there are still readers despite my inconsistencies ^^"

This chapter is based around a request from a reviewer when I asked for chapter ideas last arc. Also a lot of you have been asking me to write little Tsunayoshi being ill. I have an idea on how to turn that into a plot point, so it'll probably appear either next arc or most likely the arc after that. You can't say I don't listen to my reviewers- you all shape this fic sooooo much, so don't be afraid to ask for things- even if they will take a while to fit in.

This was not good.

The room was silent apart from the constant scratching of pencils.

"This is not good! Not good!"

"What am I worrying about?"

The teacher was at the front of the class, keeping an ever watchful eye on the students.

Tsunayoshi peeked up and took a look at the others around the room. Hayato was sat there trying to balance a pencil on his nose. Takeshi was already sleeping, arms crossed on the desk to pillow his head. Even from here he could see that the two mechanic-prodigies were drawing robot designs. At least Haru and Kyoko were still writing though.

"Aaah! Why does everyone make this look so easy?!"

"So maybe I should be finished too?"

Tsunayoshi looked back down at the piece of paper in front of him. He shouldn't be scared of this piece of paper. But he was. His breath had picked up, his chest squeezing tightly, his thoughts were a mess and his hands were sweating.

"These teachers must hate us, making us do these so often! They're stupid and unfair and, and, pure torture! I hate doing-"

"What's wrong with me? I shouldn't be scared of this. Why, it's only-"

"A Test."

Tsunayoshi didn't understand where this inherent fear of tests had come from. He had been perfectly fine all day, in good health and laughing with his friends. But then the teacher had asked for quiet and explained that they were going to be taking something called a 'test'. That's when dread had filled his body, something heavy settling in his stomach as if his doom had rode up to laugh in his face.

Voices had run through his head, patronising laughter, smug remarks and taunting. Nothing was clear or understandable, just the feelings and intonation of voice. But that was enough. That was enough to make him wary and scared. The feeling had gotten worse and worse as silence had settled and the papers had been handed out.

He wasn't going to do well on this test.

The thought ran through his head like it was a fact- one that seemed to be turning out true. He was going to fail this test and that was all there was to it.

"Pencils down everyone. Time is up."

"What! No, no! It can't be!... ahh, not like it'd matter anyway..."

"Ah, I finished that just in time!"

Tsunayoshi sighed and wiped the back of his hand across his slightly damp forehead. The panic was fading now, left with a morose, hopeless feeling. There was nothing he could do now but wait for the results.

Hayato scoffed as if glad that the waste of time was finally over, Takeshi yawned, stretched and blinked sleepily, looking around now that the room had suddenly gotten noisier with the sound of students' chattering, Fran slowly lowered his hand on whatever illusion he'd been entertaining himself with, the illusionary creature making little screeching noises as if actually getting crushed.

"Class dismissed. You can all go for lunch now." The teacher said, smiling at them all.

Slowly Tsunayoshi put his pencil away and packed his bag, trying to sort out in his head what exactly had just happened.

"That was... scary... I don't think I like tests..." Enma said, standing next to Tsunayoshi's desk, looking a little stressed too.

Tsunayoshi couldn't help but agree. He didn't think he liked tests either. At least he wasn't the only one.

There weren't going to be more of these... right?

This was not good.

Not good at all.

A few days later and they had gotten their tests back.

Cross after cross, more red ink than green, and a sad face in the top corner.

Tsunayoshi knew it was bad to get more things wrong that you did right. Things weren't supposed to work that way. The teacher hadn't even been able to read some of his answers, his handwriting illegible as his hand shook from nervousness. Hell, even he couldn't read half of what he had written. He had utterly failed this test.

He couldn't show this to the Arcobaleno. He couldn't show this to anybody. Verde would not be impressed with such a bad test score. He would have disappointed Verde. He wouldn't be able to put one of those rare smiles on Verde's face. Lal did not tolerate failure either. She would slap him senseless like she did to Colonnello and the other recruits sometimes. Bermuda didn't like people failing him. Tsunayoshi had heard lots of complaints from the Vendice about how childishly mean and sadistic Bermuda could be with those who he was not pleased with.

And Reborn...

Tsunayoshi sniffed back tears. He didn't like this feeling, knowing he was going to disappoint those that mattered most to him. He didn't want to see the faces of the Arcobaleno when they found out. Maybe he could rip up the test, or hide it somewhere? Somewhere where no one would ever find it? Although that was pretty impossible considering just who he was trying to hide this horrid piece of paper from.

Hmm, he would have to think about that. But one thing was for certain, he wasn't going back to the Arcobaleno House. He wanted to put off disappointing them for as long as possible.

So when he arrived back on Mafia Row, he thanked Dino and Dino's driver with a smile, assuring Dino that he'd come around to play sometime soon (and yes, Reborn would not be invited, or anywhere near by, no bullets were going to be involved), before turning and walking away from the gate of their house.

"Tsunayoshi-sama, where are you going?" Hayato asked, noticing that Tsunayoshi hadn't immediately run towards the Arcobaleno House like he did whenever someone other than an Arcobaleno picked them up from school.

"Oh... um... I'm just going to...to...pick some flowers for Mamma Luce." Tsunayoshi quickly lied, a smile plastered onto his face as he slowly walked away from them.

"That's a wonderful idea Tsunayoshi-sama. Allow me to help!" Hayato quickly said, eager to be of any help to Tsunayoshi.

"No!" Tsunayoshi shouted, wincing at Hayato's hurt look. "That is... it's something I wanna do by myself..."

"Kufufu, it's not a heartfelt present if someone else does it for you now, is it Hayato? How inconsiderate of you." Mukuro purred condescendingly, smirking at Hayato, before grabbing the collar of his uniform and dragging him away. "Come now you little stalker, I do believe it's your turn to help Lanchia with dinner preparations."

Tsunayoshi watched his friends walk away, arguing loudly like they always did, knowing it hurt to lie to them too.

"Tsunayoshi." The boy looked up to see Mukuro looking at him. "Don't stray too far. You never know what monster might be waiting to eat you up." And with that turned and continued walking towards the Arcobaleno House.

Tsunayoshi blinked and looked confused for a few moments, before turning and wandering off, in the opposite direction to everyone else.

"Hmhmmm~ So this is where the little princess had hidden herself, hmm?"

Tsunayoshi jerked and looked up, surprised that anyone had found him here. It wasn't exactly the most visited of locations, a small cave on the black sand beach near the Vendicare. He hadn't even heard footsteps signalling someone's approach.

"Byakuran..." mumbled Tsunayoshi, confused as to why Byakuran was here.

"You know, I think this might be the universe where the Arcobaleno have the longest and most drawn out death. Surely their hearts will cease to function, too often worrying and stressing over their little treasure. How you haven't given our dear Lady Luce a heart attack already I surely do not know." Byakuran grinned and settled on the floor next to Tsunayoshi, observing the younger one carefully, aware of every movement and change of expression.

Tsunayoshi was, is and will always be rather easy to read, even when older with a well practiced face of stone. But then again, Byakuran did have an advantage over everyone else, didn't he?

The war on the little boy's face was cute, the conflicting desire to run from and return to the Arcobaleno. Tsunayoshi's loyalty to others always amazed Byakuran, especially when it ended up hurting him quite often. It was something that was in Tsunayoshi's very essence, something that rarely changed between worlds, between histories and circumstance.

"Go away Byakuran." Tsunayoshi ordered, hiding his face in his knees. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now, nor be reminded of the Arcobaleno. They were going to tell him off for not returning home after school, especially if what Byakuran had said was true. He felt bad about making them worry, but he just couldn't face them right now.

"Oh I don't think you want me to do that, Tsu-chan." Byakuran purred. "Because for one, I know you don't like being alone." It was the little boy's fate to be surrounded by others, whether he wanted the attention or not, especially in those dimensions where he came into power.

"But I want to be alone." Came the muffled mulish reply.

Byakuran ignored him. "And second," he continued, leaning against Tsunayoshi and nuzzling his cheek against the fluffy hair. "I know exactly why you're like this."

Byakuran leant backwards and smirked when he got the desired reaction: Tsunayoshi's head darting up and glossy caramel eyes staring widely at him. Aaah, that look warmed Byakuran, those wide eyes vulnerable, powerless and lost, pleading Byakuran to give him the answers he so desired. Byakuran planned to see much more of that look in the future.

Byakuran chuckled. "Want me to leave now~?" His voice a sly purr, knowing exactly what the answer would be.

"You're lying." Tsunayoshi whispered, voice quivering. "You can't know what this is like..." Although his voice wasn't very sure.

Byakuran raised an eyebrow before smoothing his features out.

"Voices in your head. You know it belongs to you but it's not yours. That voice is panicking, screaming at you that you hate tests and that you're going to fail. It's positive. It knows you're going to fail so why bother even trying? Your hands quiver in nervousness. Your brain churns away but all you get is a frustrated scream. You're just Dame-Tsuna, you can't do this."

The boy was staring at him as if he were some kind of god. He was probably wondering if Byakuran had a way into his head like his beloved Mammon did.

Byakuran smirked again. He had the boy hook, line and sinker.

"But why is that voice saying those things with such certainty Tsu-chan? Think. No one calls you Dame-Tsuna. You've never taken a test before so how do you know you're going to fail it? The greatest scientific mind in the world brought you up, you had no reason to think you were going to fail."

After a pause to let the boy consider all that, Byakuran leant forwards, a mysterious look on his face.

"So then. What was that? Hmm?"

Byakuran stood, noting how Tsunayoshi watched his every move, enraptured by him and his words, that look on the angelic features again.

It was time to leave.

"Byakuran wait!" Tsunayoshi shouted as Byakuran walked towards the entrance of the cave. He scrambled up and after Byakuran when the white haired boy didn't stop. "Byakuran, tell me what's wrong with me!"

Byakuran stopped but didn't turn around. He wanted to, but he knew he'd see that needy, weak expression again. He wanted Tsunayoshi in his arms, cuddling him close, but he knew a part of him would want to cuddle too hard, squeeze too tightly, lovingly crush him to death, and Byakuran didn't want that.

'Shut up shut up shut up!'

"I've given you the answer already Tsu-chan." Byakuran sung. "The answer is in here" he continued pointing to his head. "You'll understand eventually. When you do, come find me. I can help you deal with it."

"Byakuran..." Tsunayoshi whispered, hearing something strange in Byakuran's voice. There was a feeling just outside his reach, something important, but he just couldn't grab it.

Byakuran laughed, all trace of that strange note in his voice gone. "I do hope that your vocabulary is broader than just my name, Tsu-chan. You should be glad that test wasn't a vocab one. And speaking of tests, I wouldn't be so worried about the Arcobaleno's reaction. They're not going to hate you for that. I would have thought you knew that best."

With that said, Byakuran continued to walk away across the black sand of the Vendicare beach.

"Oh, but I would be worried about the arrival of your Dark Knight. He's been watching us ever since you chased me out here. Time to face the music Tsu-chan~"

Tsunayoshi looked up and around until he finally noticed the black, top hatted figure standing on the top of the Vendicare.

Then it disappeared in a black portal.

Uh-oh.

He was in such trouble.

So remember last chapter when I said I had a competition for the 100th chapter? Well, we're pushing that to the side for a little while because there's something MUCH more important for you all!

For the third year running we're hosting the KHR Secret Santa! I'm co-hosting it so you'll be seeing it mentioned a lot in upcoming chapters.

If you want to join in then follow the link on my profile page!

For those who have never participated before, the Secret Santa is a game where KHR fans write fics for each other for Christmas. Follow the link and you'll be asked to submit a wishlist. This is where you write what characters or pairings you want, what genre and other such details. Then on December 1st Mockingjay Rose and I will take the names of people who are participating and randomly match them up with someone else. You'll receive a PM from one of us telling you who you're being Santa for. So then you go back to the wishlist and write the fic that person has asked for. Then you post it on December 25th and post the link to your fic in the forum.

It's a whole lot of fun and we usually get quite a few big names from the KHR fandom entering (so you know, you might get a fic written by someone famous *hint hint*).

I had better see a whole LOT of you there or else! So would you kindly go and enter right this second~? (and anyone who got that reference is awesome XD)

See you next chapter

Phantom Hitman 1412

Posted 8th November 2014