khr prompt #1; turn back the clock
Title: turn back the clock
Rating: T
Word Count: 2404
Character(s): Tsuna
Pairing(s): TsunaXKyoko
Warnings: It seems I can't write angst to save my life.
Summary: It's an entirely different story when going backwards.
1o.
Do not be afraid.
Tsuna repeats it over and over in his mind as he marches to the end of his journey. But he is scared. So damned scared that his heart is thudding loudly inside his chest, threatening to jump out at any given time.
Yet, the threat of having everyone and everything he cares about destroyed is an even scarier thought for Tsuna, so he pushes down the selfish fear he feels.
Tsuna marches on, past the bodies of fallen comrades and dead Millefiore corpses. It is surprisingly silent within the enemy's headquarters and Tsuna knows that they are waiting for him. The smell of blood clings to the suit Kyoko made for him and the sheen of sweat on his skin makes it shine a sickly white. His broken, torn-up inheritance is in his tightly-bundled fists and it feels strange. No longer does he feel any fear or pride in the gloves, but he holds onto them anyway because it would be wrong not to.
Not when he's so close to the end.
Tsuna pauses and then stops completely. A squad of White Spells surrounds him, toting guns that are now pointed right at him.
Reborn -who is gone now- once told Tsuna he was too dramatic. The young man thinks this is true because he can hear it now. A song Gokudera had once played for him.
In his tattered suit, he stands tall, looking straight into the masked eyes of all the White Spells holding guns in their hands.
Like a true boss.
The third movement of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, Marche funèbre, resounds in his head as he is shot.
There is the feeling of the bullets tearing through his suit, his skin, his muscle and all Tsuna can feel is pain, pain, painaflashoflightmemorieswonderfulmemories-
-And then nothing at all.
o9.
“You're sure this will work?” Irie asks for the twelfth time within two hours. They are finalizing the plan that will lead to Tsuna's death and possibly their last hope. His gaze darts between the Vongola boss and the Cloud Guardian, waiting for reassurance.
Tsuna offers the man a comforting smile.
The plan is full of intricate details, each step having been plotted out carefully. There are no written records of the plan. All the information is stored within their heads.
The danger of being discovered is too risky.
Hibari opens his eyes to cast a cutting glare at Irie. The redhead squeaks and shuts up.
“I-I'll be going then! Good luck with everything, guys!” He scuttles out of the door to prepare for his trip back under the cover of night.
There is a peaceful silence until Tsuna speaks. Hibari lifts his head up and appraises the Vongola carefully.
“Do you think it'll work?” he asks his Cloud Guardian. It's the same question asked just moments ago.
After more than a minute of staring, Hibari frowns.
“Tsunayoshi Sawada,” he begins coldly. “Don't start acting like some snivelling herbivore now.”
“Ah...” Tsuna blinks. “...Thank you.”
o8.
There is death all around him. He can hear the screams and moans of pain coming from all sides and it hurts him. Hurts him even more than the deep gash in his side.
Tsuna has no idea what's happening. One moment everything’s fine. They’re in the middle of a birthday party for Fuuta, the boy about to blow out the candles on his cake, and now...
The base has been attacked by an unknown enemy. People clad entirely in white or black have stormed through the complex, killing members of the Vongola as they head to the core of the mansion.
Tsuna stands protectively in front of their huddled group, Yamamoto and Gokudera on either side of him. He looks back at the people behind him, focusing more on Kyoko, Haru and the kids. They are hugging each other tightly. Kyoko looks up and her eyes meet with the orange of Tsuna's dying will mode.
His fists clench. He turns back grimly to face the intruders.
He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know what would be right.
What should he do to protect everyone?
o7.
“Boss!”
“Tsuna!”
He turns to see Yamamoto and Gokudera making their way to his side, Gokudera shouting at a laughing Yamamoto. He can't help but smile at the scene. Everything is fine right now. There are no families within the alliance acting up and no rival families declaring war or anything of the sort. No fights for the Vongola to fight. The peace has even allowed him and his two closest friends to come back and visit Namimori.
Tsuna's intuition flares as his mind comes up with the word “peace”. There is no such thing as peace. Not in the mafia world.
They sit side by side on a park bench. Gokudera hands him an ice cream cone. It's Tsuna's favourite flavour, chocolate. The taste of it is strange on his tongue. It's good, but not as good as it was when he was younger.
The three of them sit in silence for a while. It's late spring, the perfect weather before a humid summer arrives. A breeze blows past. Yamamoto reaches for a stray leaf in Tsuna’s messy hair and accidentally knocks the ice cream into his friend’s shirt.
“Ah!” Yamamoto lets out while Tsuna looks incredulously at his stained shirt. “Sorry about that, Tsuna! Should we go to the washroom?” He laughs in his usual easygoing way and rubs the back of his head with one hand, attempting to downplay the incident.
A seething Gokudera shoots up and points accusingly at the laughing Rain.
“You stupid baseball freak!” the Storm cries out. He's matured a bit through the years and puts down the hand that reaches for the dynamite in his pocket.
The two begin to bicker. Tsuna smiles as he watches quietly.
Yeah. Everything is fine right now.
That’s all that mattered.
o6.
“Let Chrome go.”
Mukuro smiles cruelly at him, daring him to do something, anything.
The Mist watches the other closely, either for a sign of weakness or something else. Tsuna doesn't know. All he knows is that he's standing a little straighter than a moment before and that he's carrying no fear or uncertainty in his heart for the young woman in question.
Mukuro chuckles suddenly. Tsuna's brows furrow. He's much too young for the depression that appears in between.
“My dear Chrome would die then, Vongola.”
Tsuna frowns. They both know that isn't what he means. They both know he means free, in the sense that Chrome would be free to make her own decisions. They both know that though she decided to go through with the inheritance ceremony, there is still the minute hesitance Chrome has on her face whenever he gives her a mission.
She always trails behind their group and never walks with them.
Chrome is stuck in-between acceptance and rejection of two people she doesn't want to disappoint. Tsuna doesn't want her to hesitate because of him and he doesn't want her to hesitate because of Mukuro.
Tsuna wants Mukuro to let go of not only his hold on Chrome, but of his own hatred of the world they live in, so he presses on.
“...Chaining Chrome is the same thing the Estraneos did to you, Mukuro.”
There is a brief lapse in speaking. The Vongola's breath hitches as he feels a dangerous aura around his Mist Guardian begin to manifest.
“...Don't test me, Vongola,” Mukuro hisses out.
Tsuna falters. The mismatched eyes display hurt and anger, but mostly anger. It’s like a blow to the stomach for the Vongola Decimo and he barely manages to catch Chrome when Mukuro releases his hold.
Chrome looks up at him weakly and smiles.
“...Boss...”
Tsuna realizes right then that he can't save everyone.
o5.
“I feel that every time I see you will be the last time I will.”
Tsuna and Kyoko sit across from each other on the back seats of a limo. The sound of rain on the window and the motor are what pervades the silence between them.
“Kyoko-chan -”
“Tsu-kun...” Kyoko smiles and Tsuna thinks that it is the most heartbreaking smile he has ever seen.
His stomach clenches.
“You have to know, whatever you're doing right now, whether it's sumo-wrestling or anything else, I'll always support you.”
Tsuna doesn't say a word and Kyoko doesn't expect him to. He wants to reach out and touch her, to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but he stops himself. The mafia world is too dangerous. Much too dangerous for Kyoko. He sits there instead, hands folded in his lap, as she cries silently.
They reach the airport where Ryohei is waiting to escort Kyoko back on a flight bound for Japan. She doesn't say anything as she steps out and neither does he. He watches as she runs towards her brother, who doesn't seem to notice she’s crying.
Her tears have mingled with the rain.
Tsuna presses his hand to the glass, blotting out the image of the young woman.
o4.
Timoteo looks at him kindly. The elderly man no longer has to look down. He and Tsuna are the same height now. The young man smiles at the Vongola Nono. With the last words spoken, he's now the boss of the strongest family in the underworld.
Tsuna feels a great weight pressing on his shoulders as he turns, ready to give a speech to the guests of the mansion. For a moment, he feels claustrophobic. The room is too hot, the walls and the high ceiling feel like they're closing in, the lights from the crystal chandeliers are too bright, and it's getting harder and harder for him to breath.
His cloudy brown eyes are drawn immediately towards his guardians who are standing a little off to the side. They all look at him with confidence and loyalty, each in their own individual way.
The weight feels lighter.
Tsuna takes a deep breath and begins his first speech as the head of the Vongola.
o3.
Tsuna likes to think at night when everyone's sleeping.
It's quiet when it isn't light out. Lambo and I-pin aren't running around everywhere, his mom isn't in the kitchen cooking, Bianchi isn't in the garage tinkering with her motorbike and no one is visiting and making even more commotion in the noisy house.
One night, while listening to the whistling wind outside, Tsuna realizes he likes the noise and wouldn't have it any other way. He likes the loud house and the mischievous laughter at school, where he’s often pulled into something by Reborn.
He wouldn't trade any of it, even the constant danger of the mafia, for his old life back.
Tsuna whispers this quietly in the dead of the night and doesn't see that Reborn is awake, smiling, when he does so.
o2.
“Nice going, No Good Tsuna!” a voice jeers.
Tsuna is flat on his face, having been tripped by the owner of the voice. The voice laughs and the other boys join in as Tsuna tries to stand up. He slips on the linoleum floor and falls smack on his face. He shrieks in pain. It feels like his nose is broken and bleeding.
Tsuna stays there, flat on his face, until the voices fade and he's alone in the middle of the hallway. He doesn't care that he's late for class when he gets up. He doesn't care that his teacher will probably be mad that he isn’t in class when he should be.
Haphazardly, carrying his heavy textbooks in both hands, he limps to the class where he knows there will be more people to laugh at him and his uselessness.
o1.
“Tsu-kun, Tsu-kun!”
Tsuna carefully, and painstakingly slow, gets up. His pudgy legs are not good for walking and his tiny hands are not good for supporters. As soon as he gets up again, he tumbles back down, like a broken house of cards.
Tsuna gives up right there, deciding that it's too much work to stand. He can't do it anyway.
Nana Sawada tsks at her son before reaching down to grab the toddler in her hands to carry him. Tsuna wraps his arms around her neck, pleased.
He believes they are going out. Mommy, daddy and him are in shoes, so they must be going out. His eyes squeeze shut tightly when they do go out, his face mashes against his mommy's shoulder. It's bright out and it's hurting his eyes.
“Look, Nana!” he hears his father boom. “The sky is so nice today! Tsuna, look it!”
Tsuna feels the soft hands on his small body pry him slightly from the warmness that is his mom.
“Tsu-kun,” the young mother whispers to her child. “Look. It's the sky.” Tsuna digs his face even further into his mother's shirt.
“Now, now, Tsuna!”
The toddler cries out as Iemitsu grabs onto him and rips him away from the comfort of his mother. He's forcibly turned outwards, his little body held in the big, strong hands of his father.
“Isn't the sky pretty today?”
Tsuna blinks before his eyes become wide and round.
It's clear and blue and big. Too big for his little mind to comprehend. But he does it anyway. It is out of a mysterious instinct that he tries. He does it before he knows what his little body is doing. Maybe it's because he knows he'll be able to do it. To touch it one day.
Tsuna, with both arms outstretched as far as he can go, reaches for the sky.
oo.
When they find him, they don't know what to say. His body is riddled with holes, there is blood still oozing from the wounds, and his closed eyes are shadowed by his dark brown hair.
They wouldn't have recognized him. They wouldn't have known he was their young and powerful boss if not for -
They know it's Tsunayoshi Sawada because of the familiar serene and joyful half-smile on his dirtied face.
It is both breathtakingly beautiful and a painful sight to see.