The saltwater splashed up onto the bottom deck and hit Tsuna's face. He frowned momentarily before relaxing.
It was a strange thing, in his opinion. His whole life, he was so terrified of water that he didn't even learn; now it was the most relaxing scenery he had.
But, regardless of the serene ocean that seemed endless, this vacation wasn't going great. Tsuna was trying to ignore the ugly feelings that bubbled up into his chest, but it was nearly impossible.
Kato, a long-lost cousin on his father's side, had proved to have been severely better than Tsuna. Stronger, smarter, and even more durable than Tsuna.
Apparently, he spent years training in the mountains with a constant threat that hung in the air. It was something that Tsuna never had to face.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the sliding door behind him open.
"Dame-Tsuna," a rapidly maturing voice, one that used to sound squeaky, called out.
Tsuna turned around and saw Reborn, taller than the day before, "Did you have another growth spurt?" he asked curiously.
The hitman scoffed as he stared up at the brunet with an emotion that he could never recognize, "Of course I did," he responded, not even trying to hide the pride in his voice. "The ship's captain said to get inside, were you not listening?"
The question had involuntarily added the word 'again'. It stung more than it should've, even if the playfulness was heavy in Reborn's voice, it still hurt.
The brunet smiled as he tried to hide the stinging pain even if his insecurities overpowered his intuition. "Guess I was just lost in thought," he excused lightly, attempting to copy Reborn's playfulness.
Reborn had shown no expression other than the slight twitch in his mouth, but there was also a brush of sun flames worriedly checking if he was okay.
Tsuna didn't respond to it like he usually would. He instead walked past Reborn after giving one last longing look toward the horizon where the blue sky met the darker blue in the ocean.
He opened the door, unsurprised to find Colonnello and Lal Mirch waiting on the other side. They were both staring at him with poorly hidden concern.
They never try to hide it, his intuition examined.
The brunet only waved off their concerns with a tight smile as he moved past them as well. There were lingering gazes on his retreating figure that he easily ignored.
There was chatter just slightly up ahead; it was loud and argumentative like always. Thankfully, all explosive-like weapons were removed in case it would sink the ship.
There was a pause in Tsuna's step when Skull stood in front of his path with a slightly taller Fon next to him.
Skull's amethyst eyes looked determined as he stared up at Tsuna, "We came here so that you can relax," he pointed out as his eyes began to glow brightly.
The brunet pursed his lips together and looked toward Fon whose eyes were glowing red. He didn't know exactly how to respond other than the lie that left his lips, "I am relaxing."
The cloud reached forward but couldn't quite grasp even a piece of Tsuna's clothing when the sirens started blaring. The lights flashed a bright, blaring red.
Skull paused before quickly grabbing Tsuna's hand tightly. He pulled the brunet along, ignoring Tsuna's attempts at pulling away, as he went upstairs.
Fon was following close behind, one of his hands sometimes pressing against the back of Tsuna's legs to push him further.
The boat began to shake violently as the water hit their bodies once they reached the end of the stairs. The top deck was flooded with water as everyone tried getting to the boats.
Tsuna watched as the previously calm waters thrashed in anger, thumping against the sides of the boat as it attempted to climb up the side.
"Get down!" Verde's voice boomed through the swift air, confusing Tsuna momentarily.
There wasn't time to react when a shrill whirring sound cracked through the air. Tsuna felt, more than saw, his body get hit as he went flying over the ship's railing. He could feel several different hands reaching for him with no success.
There was liquid running down his face as time felt painfully slow. It tasted like copper as it touched his lips.
The blood became mixed with the salty, cold water of the ocean as his body plunged into the freezing water. He sunk further down as the waves fell over him angrily like a weight that was settled on his body.
His mind went in and out of consciousness. He wasn't sure how much time had passed when his back hit land. It was painfully dry compared to his soaked body.
Tsuna's lungs were trying to force him to cough up the water, but it only caused him to shakily sit up.
He gagged as the breakfast he ate, only an hour before disaster struck, came up through his throat. It felt like fire as it poured onto the dry sand and it left him heaving.
His vision was blurry as he tried to blink away the swelling tears in his honey-brown eyes.
After what seemed like ten minutes, give or take, Tsuna shakily stood up as he attempted to furiously wipe his eyes. He was unsuccessful as he realized that his clothes, which were sopping wet with ocean water, only made it worse.
He felt a sob rip through him as he tried to look for something to wipe his eyes without further agitating them. His eyelids fluttered close so that he could calm himself with easy, deep breaths.
Move to the side, his intuition supplied.
Tsuna felt his worn-out shoes glide across the sand. They must have gotten ruined because of the water.
Trembling, he reached down to tighten his laces. He didn't know what was in the sand, or what was ahead of him. As the saying goes, better safe than sorry.
As the brunet stood straight, he took a shaky step forward as he let his intuition guide him. Even if he were to find a source of water, it's only a question of how clean it would be.
Maybe he should have paid more attention to those survival lessons.
Move, his intuition urged.
Quickly, he moved back and felt a gush of wind nearly touch him.
Tsuna rapidly blinked as he tried to get the salt water out of his eyes. The world around him was a little less blurred as he began to take in what was around him.
Purple fabric with some kind of emblem printed on the front was barely a centimeter from the tip of his nose. It was attached to a long dark brown spear buried in the ground.
Stay quiet.
The brunet breathed in through his nose and slowly began to back up away from the dirt entrance into the forest. Once he felt the shift in terrain, from dirt to sand, there was no more danger. At least, there wasn't any direct danger, according to his intuition.
There was a flash of purple across his now semi-blurred vision.
He slowly turned his back after getting a considerable amount of distance between him and the forest. There were no other islands on the horizon nor were there any ships.
He could wait a day or two before he was inevitably found.
Because they were going to find him, right?