When he got his meal that night along with a new blanket, he had the urge and clinging disobedience to skip it again, but the stench of the corpse left a horrifying ultimatum that forced him to survive. They were forcing him to survive.
It somehow smelt worse already. The decaying process was faster than he thought.
He might as well play along and either find an opportunity to kill himself or kill all of them. Lately, the latter was sounding more and more enticing. He found himself craving his home each time he ate the food given to him.
We miss Mom…
We miss her food…
Tsuna was only vaguely shocked that they were talking again. He was more focused on the way his mom used to look. It was so long ago, but she used to be all smiles and full of love.
That was before his flames were sealed. He remembered that she seemed almost lost after that. It was as if she could no longer feel him like she used to.
Iemitsu's fault.
Don't say that.
He abandoned us and then took you from her twice.
He loved Mom.
That might be the problem?
Definitely?
Even they don't know. Even they know nothing just like he knew nothing. He longed for his flames to roam freely like Ryohei's, to spark like Hayato's, to soothe like Takeshi's. He felt lost and that was why he loved his mom so much more.
They were one and the same. Lost and abandoned. Even by each other.
His thoughts trailed to the Arcobaleno, and he felt his body relax. They were…special to him. Ever since Tsuna's first encounter with Reborn, he just knew that they would all hold a special place in his life.
He vaguely heard the cell door open, not looking over as he finished his food. His soft smile which had come across his face from his thoughts dropped off of his face in an instant.
No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no-
Kill him.
Kill who?
Him.
Tsuna startled slightly when hands touched his face gently. The affection was foreign and terrifying. It was like a shapeshifting monster coming to trick and lure him for dinner.
His eyes met blood-red ones, and Tsuna had to strain to withhold the snarl from his face. It was easier when his eyes glanced at the corpse still sitting limp outside of his cage.
The male albino twin was speaking, and Tsuna was positive that he would never get used to the harsh language.
His eyes widened as his body stiffened when soft lips pressed against his chapped and dry lips. It was repulsive and he had the desire to bite, but he was too scared.
He couldn't do anything.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no-
There was a hand slipping the blanket away, and Tsuna barely registered the clean clothes nicely folded off to the side.
The touches were fiery and wrong-
So wrong, wrong, wrong-
He wanted it to stop. He needed it to stop-
Make him stop-
Stop, stop, stop-
DON'T LOSE FOCUS-
Shut up! God damnit. Just shut up! He couldn't help snapping at the combination of the two voices. He was overwhelmed and felt like he'd been living with them for months on end already.
The hands kept moving and moving. He wanted to rip them off of his body, yet he remained paralyzed and glued to the spot he was in.
He let out a choked gasp of disgust as it kept going, and he tried to push away the man. His mind became fuzzy as he felt a searing, warm orange wash over his brain. It soothed each bump and ridge, forcing him to lose focus.
He wished it could have stayed like that. It wasn't exactly to come back into focus alone in his cage with an aching and sticky body. He vaguely registered the bucket of lukewarm water next to him with a rag hanging on the side.
He knew should've cleaned himself, but he had no urge, no motive to move his body. He felt so…blank. He wasn't even scared of the rotted corpse outside of his cage.
…Are we okay?
Obviously not. We were just-
Just…go away. He wanted his home. He wanted his mom. He wanted…them.
I'm sure if they saw us acting so depressed, they would be nicer during training.
Tsuna actually managed a smile at that. They would do that so that they could get across concerns in their own special way. He wanted to go home.
What even brought this on? We never even thought about home before.
We have nothing else.
He sat up finally, inhaling sharply at the pain that shot through his backside. He only stared at the bucket of, now cold, water.
It's an improvement.
Tsuna continued to stare before he opted to grab his blanket and just curl into it instead of cleaning his body. He felt filthy and disgusting, but what was the point? Surely those damned twins would come back and dirty him again. He'd rather they'd further dirty an already filthy body.
An improvement?
We moved.
We're not clean. We're filthy and disgusting.
Tsuna was liking the new voice less and less. It was blunt and more than a little mean at times. It reminded him of his bullies who would taunt him, playing into his evident insecurities.
Like how we've always been small and skinny compared to others your age.
We have some muscle now, and that was never our fault. Our growth was stunted because of our flames sealed.
Sounds like an excuse to be pathetic. Even now we're making excuses.
That last comment ignited something in him. Excuses? Was he really making excuses, he questioned himself as he weakly reached for the rag. He soaked it in the water, trembling at the cold water touching his skin.
The voices were silent and actually gave Tsuna time to think alone as the rag lazily dragged across his skin. It wiped away the dirt and grime, his body trembling at the frigid touches.
He wished he could just wring the damn rag around his neck and fucking-
We're almost done, his intuition whispered softly in the back of his mind.
The brunet focused back on his objective, the image of strangling himself lingering at the back of his mind. He wondered if it would even work if he tried. A sopping wet rag probably wouldn't make a good weapon to kill himself.
Probably couldn't even wrap it around our neck properly.
It was really tattered, Tsuna thought to himself as he put the rag back in the bucket. It was disgusting with blood, dirt, and some semen now covering the once clean-ish material. Disgusting, he'd thought to himself vaguely.
Disgusting, Honesty agreed.
Honesty? Are we separate entities now?
No. We are one.
Tsuna expected that answer from Truth.
Truth?
He simply ignored their questions echoing in the back of his mind as the cold swelled along his body. It accentuated the purpling bruises on his hips, stomach, and neck.
He left clothes. We should change into them.
He glanced over at the clothes that were unchanged from the corner they were placed in. He grimaced before shuffling back to the safety of his blanket. His constant confusion from the annoying voices bouncing in his head incessantly. Truth and Honesty.
We may be annoying, but you need us. How else would have gotten this far?
Honesty, Tsuna thought as he inaudibly sighed.
We should change into the clothes. It will be incredibly cold tonight.
Was it going to be so cold? Usually, the nighttime was a cooler temperature, but if Truth said so…
Maybe he would die from hypothermia then, he thought. He was growing fond of death as its clammy claws reached closer to his soul and life, or at least what was left of those things. He imagined that it would bring him a closer sense of comfort, reassuring himself that no one would miss him.
Anyone who might be sad would feel relief if we died.
You're a liar.
And you're wrong.
His eyelids grew heavier as he stayed huddled in his precious blanket. His constant.
His body remained stiff as the voices spoke quietly into his uncomfortable sleep. His constants.
When morning light hit, Tsuna's mind woke up before his body could register the footsteps getting closer and closer. He adapted quickly, quicker than on previous mornings.
The female twin peeked her head into the cage, smiling happily when she saw that the brunet, her pet, was awake.
He ignored the two different tones his voices took at that horrible term. He refused to look away from the woman who swayed closer in a curious manner, crouching down to continue staring adoringly at Tsuna's face.
Strange woman.
With even stranger tastes, he agreed uncomfortably.
Her hands gently touched along his cheeks, moving up to his hair slowly and playing with it. She frowned briefly before placing a kiss on his forehead, whispering softly as if he could understand. Her hands were a bit more delicate than her counterpart's, but it was just as soft all the same. Not a day of labor seemed to grace their features or bodies.
We should scar them both. Make them feel the pain they have caused.
The misery they would face made his simmering flames flare slightly before coming down to a low hum.
Soon, his intuition, his Truth, promised firmly.
The albino woman's hands moved to the nape of his neck as she pressed more kisses to his face, making a careful effort to not directly touch his dirty hair. She whispered more words against his face as her hands moved under the blanket only to pause.
His heart picked up in fear, memories flashing and pouring into his mind like a nightmare he was forced to endure. He was completely and utterly petrified of what would happen next.
He subconsciously relaxed a little when her hands withdrew from his body, and he watched as she turned away and grabbed the clothes from the corner. She walked back over with an ecstatic smile on her face.
Grab that fucking rag and strangle her.
It's too small-
Stretch it out with what little strength we have then. Just do it.
Yet again, Tsuna ignored Honest. He had little to no strength in his body. It was aching and trembling from all of the injuries-
Your ribs are healed now, Truth pointed out.
Were they? Hadn't he just gotten his ribs practically caved in the other day or so? That shouldn't have been possible.
The female albino took away the blanket wound around Tsuna tightly, blatantly ignoring his distress at the action.
He had less of a concern for his blanket being taken away because all of his focus was on the silence in his head. He'd barely registered that his body was being moved as clothes slid onto him.
It's been six weeks.
No…No, just the other day they were beating him and forcing him to eat-
That was six weeks ago, Truth repeated first.
How-
Must've been the fever.
It was the fever.
Fever? When did he have a fever?
He was going crazy, and the restrictive feeling of silky clothes on his skin wasn't helping. He couldn't help but struggle more as the clothes were secured on his body.
He wanted her to get angry. He wanted her to kill him, but all she did was hush and cradle his head close to her chest soothingly. It was anything but calming despite her intentions to almost be…motherly?
An owner.
He thrashed harder when they spoke in his head.
Go away! Fuck off!
The woman held him even tighter and continued to hush him in understanding.
He calmed down, knowing that she wouldn't be letting go any time soon. He calmed down when the voices weren't banging against his head in stupid warnings that had become common sense at that point.
His flames raged in indignation at the submission he was showing, but what was the point in trying to defy these people?
They wouldn't kill him, and their punishments were worse than death.
What was the point, he had asked himself vaguely.
He felt the albino woman lead him out of the cage and to someplace that smelled like florals. There was the sound of water splashing around as he was submerged in warmth, clothes and all becoming drenched once again as hands massaged his scalp.
There was no point in fighting anymore. His anger simply became something soft and simmering instead of the bursting he used to feel.