69Darkest Desires
Rated: T+
Summary: "I don't mind abiding by your wishes," Reborn drawled, causing a shiver of fear to run down Tsuna's thin spine. "But I have a request of my own." The boy swallowed.
"What is it?"
"If I fulfill your every command, you must fulfill a certain desire of mine..."
As far back as he could remember, Tsuna was always bullied by his classmates. Throwing his desk out a window, writing hateful comments on his papers, ripping up his homework, all of those things constituted in his daily life. It only got worse as he got older. Maybe it was around this time when he heard from one of his classmates about a certain site. On this site, if you gave them your personal information and a reason for visiting, one of the seven would attend to whatever it is that you needed. Tsuna thought this was the perfect solution to his bullying. But the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
A/R: Please look at my Tumblr account, Pain in My Arse, which should be linked to my FF profile. It has updates that I most likely will be putting up, and any new projects that I might have, it will be there. I am also thinking of making a Tsubasa RESERvoir Chronicles fanfiction. It might be a long one-shot' it might be a multi-chapter. But just in case I do not update, then this might be a reason why. I also should be putting up an explanation chapter for Insignificant. If there are any questions, I will place that in the explanation chapter on the bottom. You never know; a question one might have might be a question everyone might have. :D
Disclaimer: I...don't...you know what? Screw this.
Warnings for this story: language, violence, limes (Le gasp! On a T+ fanfic?! The GALL of me...), slash, Giotto & Hibari (they're a warning of their own...)
Warnings for this chapter: language, gore, possible OOC
The only thing that alerted Tsuna of the ending of class was a piercing sound that thundered in his head.
With a jerk, the middle school student looked around. Students were already packing their bags to leave, and the different cliques of the class had began to form. The sweet sound of silence was ripped into pieces before the roaring noise of chatter had began to fill his ears. Almost like water, the chaotic sound baptized his eardrums and muffled the rest of the world out. For a moment, Tsuna couldn't hear.
For a moment, Tsuna couldn't breathe.
The boy took a deep breath and sighed. He wasn't underwater. He was in a classroom with students. It was nothing to freight over. There was nothing to worry about. With that thought, Tsuna began to pack. It made no sense to stick around when there was no one to talk to. Almost mechanically, the brunette packed his books and his school paraphernalia into his worn-out bag. Within time, the dozens and dozens of books began to build up weight, and with a huff of breath, Tsuna slung the backpack over his 'good' shoulder and quietly walked out of the classroom.
He maneuvered his body around the hundreds of students in the hallways. Some pushed, some pulled, some kicked, and some stepped on him, but he was used to it all. It wasn't like this was the first time that this has occurred. Even if it were, it wasn't like he could do anything about it.
Tsuna was about twenty feet from his locker when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Hey, Sawada." No, it wasn't a call, per se; it was more of a hiss than anything. Despite the fear that was building in his heart, despite the sinking feeling that buried itself deep into the core of his bosom, Tsuna tensed up his shoulders and slowly turned around. If it was a bully, so be it. But what if...what if it was Gokudera? The chances are slim, especially after what he had said last night...
"...I would prefer if you left me alone..."
But still, a one percent chance was greater than none. With that thought running through his mind and giving him the push to keep on turning, he faced the student who called out to him.
The first thing that Tsuna spotted as he quickly glanced up was a long, smooth patch of silver hair.
Gokudera.
"What's wrong, Gokudera-kun?" The silverette didn't say anything. His face was blank. His hands were slack. There was nothing that was indicating that the boy was angry at him...or had any sort of emotion towards him at the moment. For a brief second, Tsuna faltered. His eyes became wide and his tongue automatically began to swipe at his bottom lip constantly. This was different than how he had looked last night. This is different than how he had looked the first time they met.
It is different...and different can sometimes be threatening.
Gokudera quickly walked over to Tsuna and forcibly opened his hand. After the silverette does so, he forcibly closed Tsuna's hand and roughly pushed him into the crowd of people. With a gasp, the younger boy tried to adjust to the sudden change of pace. Within seconds, Tsuna balanced himself and reading the piece of neatly, folded, white paper. There were a series of numbers of the top of the paper, and on the bottom...
A single address.
"Is this...?" Surprised, Tsuna glanced back at where Gokudera was supposed to be, but the silver-headed boy was not there. Almost as if he were a ghost, his presence was completely gone. Although Tsuna couldn't see him anymore, he smiled. Happily, he read the words of the bottom of the paper.
"...but if necessary, I will come to you."
Tucking the small paper in his pocket, Tsuna joyously opened approached his locker. He was so ecstatic and lost in the moment that he didn't register that something was majorly wrong. A putrid, almost rotten stench emitted from the pores of his locker. The male student that was next to him didn't notice it, but a female student that was on the other side of him did. She shot Tsuna a peculiar look, but she took her possessions from her own storage place and began to leave. The brunette excitedly opened his locker. The other student was willing to talk to him, to allow Tsuna to come over to his house.
But the moment that Tsuna opened his locker was the moment when hell broke loose.
The girl that was next to him took a whiff of the rotten smell, and cautiously looked over. In milliseconds did she scream as loud as she could. Tsuna jerked at her scared voice and looked into the locker himself. He still hadn't looked into it yet, but sensing that something was terribly wrong, he spared a glance himself.
And inhaled a sharp gasp.
Gokudera wasn't one who would beat around the bush. If anything, some said that he was too blunt. He would speak his mind when it wasn't needed, and when it was needed, he would purposely keep silent as to irritate the other party. That, when it came to others, was his modus operand. But when it came to that lone brunette boy, that innocent, altruistic, thirteen year old boy...
He couldn't. He couldn't hold his usual attitude. He couldn't say what was on his mind. He couldn't...just...leave the kid alone. He couldn't do it, especially since he knew what it felt like. Solitude, that was.
During the first and last period of the day, Gokudera had stayed with some of the girls in his class as well as a new boy in school: Yamamoto Takeshi. He was a baseball fanatic, and to the common person, he was nothing more than a normal jock-one who never did well in school and only concentrated on his sports. But Yamamoto wasn't like that. In fact, he seemed to have some deep insight regarding several things. Irritatingly enough, though, the auburn-eyed man would always hide anything meaningful behind a flippant and easy smile.
A mask.
That was what irritated Gokudera about the baseball-fanatic when they had first met. Because he had found the other student annoying and irritating, Gokudera had tried to remove himself of the problem. Although he tried to extricate himself from the other student, Yamamoto found mysterious ways to keep hanging with him. It was bothersome. It was infuriating. It was extremely frustrating. But...it helped him figure out how to deal with Tsunayoshi.
The two had talked just last period, and while they were, Gokudera found himself helplessly glancing at the boy who helped him a while ago. Just a few days ago did Tsuna sacrifice a limb to keep Gokudera safe. Just a few days ago did he take in all of the pain, suffering, and curses Gokudera would have received. Never mind the fact that Gokudera came to the school for Tsuna's sake, Tsuna had done way more for him than he had done for the boy. When Yamamoto caught on to the glances that the silver-headed student had cast at a lone wolf near the front of the room, he questioned Gokudera about it. This is how their discussion of the awkward relationship of Tsuna and him had started.
"You're afraid to change your ways." That was what Yamamoto had said, and within seconds had Gokudera denied it.
"I'm not."
"You are, Gokudera. Its not that you're not afraid to reach your hand out to Tsuna. You're afraid to change. You believe that your personality, your life, and your very being will shatter if you act differently than before. That's what I get from your explanation. And if you don't mind, let me tell you..."
The note was the simplest and easiest way to start caring for him. He wouldn't talk to him in school; he knew that it would be harder for Tsuna if he did. But he could find other ways of communicating. Determined, Gokudera had nodded to himself before ripping a spare piece of paper from his sketchbook and wrote down his information on the paper. Remembering his words from the other night, he wrote the rest of what he had wanted to say to Tsuna that night.
"I would prefer if you left me alone, but if necessary, I will come to you." Hopefully, Tsuna would get the hint of what Gokudera was trying to say. If not, then Tsuna could give him a call, and...
But what if Tsuna didn't take the letter? What if he threw it out? What if Tsuna was upset at Gokudera for how he treated the brunette just a while ago?
No, Tsuna wouldn't do that. He was too kind.
Gokudera watched in the shadows as students casually walked out of the classroom, almost as if they owned the place. And then there was Tsuna. Tsuna's shoulders were slumped over, almost as if he had a ton of weight on his shoulders, and his eyes were cast down. The bruised arm that was once in a slink hung loosely from his body. Before his mind could even comprehend and approve his actions, his mouth opened.
"Hey, Sawada." He saw how the boy tensed up, and immediately felt shame wash through his body. A shiver of irritation ran down his spine, but he swallowed the emotions as the boy slowly turned around, almost as if his body was coated in molasses. It was almost shyly that the boy flickered his eyes upward, but when he did, surprise morphed onto his face.
"What's wrong, Gokudera-kun?" Fear. Happiness. Sadness. His voice was monotonous, but his bright hazel eyes reflected all of these emotions...and more. It was, to say the least, overwhelming. But Gokudera found himself quietly doing nothing but taking everything in. His mind was blank; the only thing that occupied his brain was Tsuna's expression. Tsuna's being. What Tsuna was doing.
Fear. What did Tsuna fear?
Happiness. Was Tsuna really so happy to see him?
Sadness. What was it that disheartened the boy?
Swallowing heavily, Gokudera quickly made his way over to the boy. In three succinct movements, he had pushed the paper into the other boy's hand, and pushed him into the crowd of bustling students. Tsuna gasped for a moment, but he regained his balance.
Good, Gokudera assured himself. He should be fine now.
Or so he thought.
A few minutes after he released the young boy, a female scream penetrated the area. The silver-haired boy would have ignored it had it not been for the cries of the boy he had just seen.
"I-I didn't do it! Its not mine!"
The half-Italian student spun around, only to see that there was a crowd of students by the locker area. He walked briskly to the bunch of students and began to push them out of his way. He had just left the boy, and now something else happened?
Before he could even see what the source of all the commotion was, a faint odor of rot infiltrated his nostrils. Without even looking at it, he knew it was a dead thing. It could be a dead animal or rotted food, but he knew it was something dead. Being on the streets for such a period of time helped him discern these types of things. Before, he detested it. Now, he appreciated it.
When he had access to the core of the crowd, he saw a female student-one of the bullies, maybe-crying her eyes out to her friends. All of them which surrounded that female student were gawking at Tsuna, who seemed panicked. His eyes were unfocused at times, and when they were tears would build up at the sides of his eyelids. Every other moment, however, he blinked the tears away and continued to explain himself while trying to avoid looking in his locker at all costs.
"I didn't do it! I really didn't. I don't even like dead things!"
"You liar!" The female student who cried in the arms of another glared at him. "You're just trying to cover it up, aren't you?! You didn't want to get in trouble, and so you're trying to lie for it. Well, I can see through your lies, No-Good Tsuna! I am sure that one of the teachers will suspend you once they get wind of what has been sitting in your locker!"
"But I really don't know about that...thing...that's in there! Its not mine!" At last, Gokudera had the sense to look inside of the locker. What was in there that everyone was making such a big fuss over? The turquoise-eyed boy took a second off of the scene to stare at his locker.
Almost immediately did he grimace.
Accompanied by a decapitated squirrel was a rabbit with its insides open and rotted with maggots festering on it. Its hair, most likely white, was now red. It was a deep vermillion red. It was the red of bloodshed. The fact that the eyes of the rabbit was gone wasn't too comforting either, but that wasn't what got Gokudera to grimace.
In between the two dead animals was a beating heart. A beating heart. Next to that heart was a large message.
T.S.U.N.A.S.P.R.O.P.E.R.T.Y.
When Tsuna saw the dead animals and the morbid paraphernalia, he took in a humongous gasp. On the verge of tears, he was ready to pick up the animals and cry. Whoever did this to him knew his obsession with animals and living things in general. This isn't like having a dead bee in his locker or having pins and needles festering around the perimeter of his storage room, this was a litter of dead animals. immediately, bile began to rise from his throat and he sucked in another breath. Who would do this to him? Why? Was it because he was no good?
As accusations began to fly, a larger and larger crowd began to form...
That is, until the teachers began to come.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi! What is the meaning of this?" Tsuna glanced to the left and there was a teacher. As the students cleared a path for the man, the teenager began to analyze the situation. As the female student beside him began to fill his ears with nothing but nonsense, Gokudera snuck up besides the apricot-haired and pulled at the back of his collar.
"What the hell is happening, Sawada?"
"I don't know," he replied. "I didn't realize anything until the student besides me pointed it out, and then I saw the dead things. Its not mine, though. Please believe me, Gokudera-kun." The older student huffed out a breath before he glared at Tsuna.
"When did I ever say I didn't?" Before he could say another word, the teacher turned to the two male students with hatred.
"This young student says that you have been hoarding dead animals in your locker. If that is the case-"
"Its not mine, sir! I do not know where...those animals came from..."
The older teacher scoffed. His timbre was nothing short of mocking as he gazed down at Tsuna. "It is your locker, Sawada, so you must take responsibility of it." He was about to continue until Gokudera graciously interrupted.
"If Sawada says that it is not his, can't you accept that and find a way to help him?"
"This boy has caused way too many problems in this school. With this incident, he is qualified for suspension...and this incident will be notified." It was silent as Tsuna helplessly stared at the teacher. He was going to get suspended. Suspended! That would go on his school records. It would look bad for him in the future...well...if he actually had a future...
"We will find a way." Tsuna felt pressure on his head as Gokudera stepped forward. The silverette's hand was on his head. It was warm and comforting, and the younger boy struggled not to squirm under Gokudera's touch.
"If we can find out who did this, can Sawada escape suspension?" Again, the teacher scoffed.
"That is not likely, but if you are able to do so, the principal and I will take it under consideration." Gokudera nodded as he jerked his head away from the crowd, and to the streets of outside. As it was, Tsuna could not possibly put on his outside shoes when they were covered in nothing but crawling maggots and the guts of animals.
"We're going to solve this," Gokudera announced to him once the two were close to Tsuna's house. Tsuna was surprised. He spared a glance at the taller boy. Gokudera's face was blank like before, but his lips were pulled into a smirk.
"Y-you're going to help me?"
"If that's what you call it. Figure it compensation for that." He jerked his thumb at the well-covered cast on Tsuna's arm. "I'll call up the others, so you can head in first. Reborn-san and the others will join in a few minutes."
As Tsuna weakly nodded and slunk inside of the house, he felt a inkling of happiness that wasn't there before. It, surprisingly enough, was even stronger than the last spurt of happiness from a few minutes ago. He was happier than ever before. Even though there was no reason to be...
"...Tsuna, are you in here?"
As long as he had people who he could talk to, he felt like he could hang on just a little bit longer.
"I am in here," he called out from the living room.
Maybe he won't need to go to draconian measures to change his situation after all.
A/R: No, it is NOT the end...haha...not even close. He still has to solve the mystery of the dead things...and there will be more bullying that will spill Tsuna over the edge...not cool...but it is very much needed.
Originally, this was supposed to be much longer (I had two and a half pages of bullets left to fulfill), but I cut it down because I am tired. I can do chapter seven tomorrow, and chapter eight will probably be on its way sooner than you think. Just...stick with me, folks, okay?
I am sorry for the sucky ending. Again, I am tired, but it could be worse. *sigh* Family drama has prevented me from updating faster. It isn't cool when one of your closest family members is stuck in the hospital because of a terminal disease...not cool at all.
Hope ya enjoyed. And if not, please PM me telling me what I could have done better. I might take you up on it.