[vi] cyclic, remembrance, & hope
GAH, I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER FINISH THIS ONE. Day 6 of stuff for 500themes . *3* After three hours.
Title: Cyclic
Author/Artist: souleater411
Rating: All.
Fandom: N/A
Pairing/s: N/A
Theme: 129 - Touched by an angel.
Words: 389
Genre/s: Poetry/Lyrics, Gen.
Warnings: None.
Worksafe: Yep.
Summary: My purpose lies in wait. Cyclic, cyclic. It seems that all I can do is fall.
Disclaimer/Claimer: Mine.
Balance. Falling.
Disturbances.
Everything is cyclic redundancy.
I wonder, in fact,
If there was really ever anything.
Searching. Searing.
The light behind me seems to shine differently.
Is it promise?
An escape?
No, perhaps a voice.
Cyclic, cyclic, cyclic.
Something, take me, please.
I don't want this.
Gears. Sounds. Blood. Screams.
I 've lost my purpose here.
My age has passed.
I continue. The light reappears.
I glance behind myself. There is nothing.
I force myself to open my eyes all the way.
A blinding touch.
It sears my skin.
I spiral. Spiral, spiral, spiral.
A cycle. I will fall again.
No more light.
Only that darkness.
Screams.
Blood.
Violence.
I'd been close to finding it.
But it was lost again.
Then a hand.
It softly grabs me from the fall.
I hang on tightly.
A voice.
That voice.
Soft, encouraging, gentle.
I want to cry.
Beautiful, expansive wings.
The sort that would take you anywhere.
"You have them too," The voice says.
I am adamant. He is reassuring.
Breathe in slow, myself.
It is only a dream.
Only another cycle.
"Trust me," It says again, and I fear what will happen if I do not listen.
I turn, slowly.
Sure enough, there they are.
Grimy, for I have fallen many times.
I flew. I'd forgotten.
Everyday, I'd been flying.
"Come home," The voice says.
I feel my eyes closing.
"Will there by screams?"
I ask, because I must know.
"Will there be violence?
Will there be blood?
Will there be darkness?"
"It is everywhere," The voice says again,
Cyclic, cyclic.
I want to cry again, because it is a dream.
But the voice continues despite my sobs.
"But there, there are others like us.
You do not have to suffer alone.
You must fly, as you were born to do."
I close my eyes, and I feel myself lifted from the ground.
It was only now, only here, that I saw,
I'd been flying the whole time.
I'd never forgotten.
I'd always known.
I stared at the owner of the voice,
Their form disappearing on the horizon.
I knew what to do, now.
I now had a purpose.
The cycle had broken.
I would fly.
Flying, flying, flying.
Fly from solitude.
Death, darkness, blood, violence.
Nothing was going away.
But if nothing else, I would fly from loneliness.
...
Title: Remembrance
Author/Artist: souleater411
Rating: 16+
Fandom: Sublimation
Pairing/s: Lucien/Adella
Theme: 205 - Memory of a dream.
Words: 1202
Genre/s: Angst, Drama, Romance.
Warnings: Language
Worksafe: Yes.
Summary: Adella wakes to discover that her subconscious was a far cry from a beautiful thing. Rather, it was vicious and destructive to the point where she feared for her ability to sleep again.
Disclaimer/Claimer: Sublimation is allllll mine. 8D
His hair was wild around his angular face. "What's the matter?!" He violently kicked the young woman on the ground, whom was already spitting blood and sweating profusely from the efforts taken to get up over and over and over again. She forced herself up again only to fall, and he walked over. His leather, knee-high boots had shiny lapels on them, his white, jean pants were tucked in neatly and held up by a belt, none of which seemed to have gotten her blood on them. His shirt was sleeveless, and the blood from where he'd gone to touch the young woman was visible on his hands. Thin wrists were covered with bangles and sweatbands, and on his face, the caramel hair was tossed about from his actions. The piercing on his lip, connected to the one above his eyebrow with various strings and chains, jingled slightly as he leaned down to grab a clump of her hair. "I thought you wanted to say something to me?!"
"I did," The girl on the floor gaped for a breath, a shaky smile on her tan face. Her deep green eyes glared him down, and she looked unbelievably worse for the ware. Her previous camisole, ruffled blouse, and half-jacket were torn to shreds, leaving her looking less-than-dignified. Her dark blue jeans shined with blood, just like the rest of her persona, and the trinkets she'd acquired from across the world shook on her person as he attacked, but she gripped them dangerously, as though taunting him to try and pry them from her hands. "But then you turned out to be a sick fuck, so I decided against it." She spat a little bit before he smashed her head into the ground, her luscious, curly locks falling limply with her person. She let out a noise that wanted to be a scream, but she wouldn't allow him the pleasure.
However, he'd seemed to acquire something. "Let me tell you a little bit about myself, Adella dear." He paced the room slowly, a slick smile coming on his face. "The whole reason you're here is because of me, you know? If I hadn't let you in here, none of this would've happened in the first place."
"But it was my dream!" Adella replied, outraged. "It was none of your business being here, or taking over--hell, for that matter, you should be my creation, so why'd you turn against me?!"
"Whoever said that I was your creation?" He laughed loudly. "Besides, what kind of sick person would you have to be make me what I am? To fall in love with you and then crush you? Ha. What a laugh. Do you know what my real name is?"
"I suppose you'll want to tell me now, then," She glared at him, willing herself not to cry over someone like him. Just look at what he'd done! She wanted nothing more than to make her legs work properly so she could strangle him. As he spoke, she plotted what she could do to fight back, if only for a moment. She wasn't going down quietly.
"My name's Lucien, Adella," The voice rang in her ears familiarly, and that slick smile flashed in her mind again, even though she couldn't see his face, the way he was turned. "Ah, but, you knew that. I guess I should've said, do you know what my name means." Her skin broke out in goosebumps. A headache from the pain throbbed behind her eyes, but she willed herself to focus, focus, focus! "It's a name that stems from Lucifer. Satan. The Devil, you know?" He came back to her and after walking right over her already bruised knees and earning a dry scream for that, he sat on top of her, and twisted her face towards his, however uncomfortable the position. "Don't tell me you've never thought about it?" Her eyes betrayed her scowling, bloodied face, and he laughed loudly. "You didn't! That's rich." Catching her trying to reach in her breast pocket, he used his free arms to hold hers down. "Now then, since you're being so patient, I suppose I should explain my existence."
He looked up at the ceiling while he talked, his voice low, dangerous, and wistful. "I shouldn't have to...it is your mind, after all," He murmured to her, and she grew nervous. She wanted her body not to tremble, but under his weight, it was awfully hard. "Ah, but I guess that doesn't matter. One can't know what they don't know."
"Shut up with all your stupid rambling and get on with it," Adella spat slowly, sucking in slow breaths between words. He laughed again and finally replied.
"I'm your subconscious itself, Adella, my dear," The words made her eyes fly open, and she wanted to stare at him, but it simply wasn't possible to turn her neck like that, so she stared at the floor, trying to process what he'd said. "Although I guess that isn't quite right. There was once another part to my being. You know, the part that kept the balance. But there was something a long time ago that triggered his breakdown. Remember, Adella?" She swallowed nothing, for her throat was dry. Sweat poured down her face as she thought, Lucien surprisingly patient from upon her back.
As though a flood hit her, she remembered. Her father. He'd destroyed their household by what he'd done to her mother. But it didn't make any sense! If he'd abused her mother, why would she want the defending side of her mind to win and do the same thing to her?! "Ah, wondering about why it is that I won, and not him? It's simply human nature. We long for familiarity. For something we grew up with. It's the reason so many women marry men like their fathers." And he pulled his face close to hers, his strings, bangles, and chains jingling as he did so. "And I am so like your father. You just weren't ready to face me when you were eight. So I waited. I kept waiting, until you were almost twenty. Aren't I just wonderful?" He laughed that twisted laugh again, and Adella thought she might either cry or throw up, or perhaps both. "But ah, we're running out of time for today. So sorry I couldn't kill you now--it'd be lovely to visit the real world forever, you know?" A soft chuckle before he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Sweet dreams, my dear Adella."
Her eyes flew open, and she breathed heavily. The cold sweat on her skin made her further panicked, and looking at her arms, she thankfully saw no wounds, but it had still been a horrifyingly real experience.
Everything. She would do everything it took to kill Lucien the next time. Shaken and terrified, she told herself over and over again that it was simply over, he was irredeemable. She had to stop thinking about his smiles. His kindness. His kiss. She would forever remember the way he'd slammed her to the ground today, and the way it made her tremble.
For no one--absolutely no one--should've ever been subjected to such horror.
...
Title: Hope
Author/Artist: souleater411
Rating: 13+
Fandom: KHR
Pairing/s: None.
Theme: 387 - Future of the past.
Words: 3790
Genre/s: Gen.
Warnings: None.
Worksafe: Yes.
Summary: He'd only wanted a moment to think alone. A brief rendezvous to a future over four hundred years away had been more than unexpected.
Disclaimer/Claimer: KHR is Akira Amano's, for the fifth time. *3*
He'd told the redhead to leave him alone with his thoughts for a time, and he complied with hesitation. After all, it was dangerous for the blonde to be anywhere by himself nowadays. But he assured his best friend that all would be fine.
Alone in the room at last, he confronted his ring with a sigh. The wise man had given them to him, even following his orders to make sure that they were neat halves. It was a sturdy metal thing, and the dome covering the engraving of his family name stared back at him coolly. He closed his amber eyes and simply tried to meditate, even calling on his flames. It was thought that his flames, as compared to the rest of his famiglia's, were soothing, even if they burned to the high heavens. Once he'd felt himself settling down upon the glow, he truly entered a trance-like state, and before he knew it, he'd already forgotten how long he'd been in the room.
/
The brunette shuffled through papers quietly, humming softly to no one. It seemed that he was, for the most part, alone at the base, because he'd sent everyone out. It wasn't on purpose--everyone just had their own duties. Gokudera and Yamamoto were never really very far from town, however, because ever since the whole mess with Byakuran, they'd grown wary of leaving their boss without protection for too long. He'd been let off the hook today because Reborn was around again, and he kicked both of them in their sides, his code for telling them to high-tail it and leave the brunette alone. Thanking his tutor, he'd gone into the office and hadn't truly left since, a bit bored as he did his work, but working with a purpose. The base still needed to be repaired, and, hopefully, finished, and many other miscellaneous family matters needed to be taken care of. He sighed, stretched his back a bit, and then stared out the window with a little smile. Just as he was about to turn back to his stacks of papers, a light suddenly started to glow in front of him, and he stared.
His ring was glowing as well. One of them then, was it? He wondered absently who it could be before the blonde that he bared likeness to appeared among the flames. Then, all of a sudden, they dissipated, leaving the amber-eyed man blinking blearily in an unfamiliar office. "This...isn't Italy."
"You'd be right about that," The caramel-haired man chuckled softly, and replied to the man's soft Italian easily, due to years of intense training. "It's Japan, actually."
The man raised a dainty eyebrow. "You don't particularly seem like the kidnapping sort. Besides that, the jolting would've broken my concentration."
"You came here of your own accord," He tried to explain as easily as possible, and with a smile. "I don't mean to startle you, but it's the year 2016(1)." The blonde looked outdone, and with a short chuckle, the brunette continued. He stood from his chair at last, standing at a similar height to the Italian man. At this time, they'd probably been around the same age as well, hadn't they? "My name's Sawada Tsunayoshi. Actually, it's a bit strange to be talking to you like this--usually, I only talk to your collection of memories, or your ghost, or what have you."
"You...talk to me?" The other man was obviously confused, and was made ever more wary by being told this. "I...how is that possible?"
"I'm your heir, actually," Tsuna laughed sheepishly after they'd clapped hands. "Well, four hundred and ten years from your time, anyways. I'm not exactly sure how I'm related to you."
There was a silence as he figured things out, his hyper intuition in full gear from his extremely recent meditation. "Then, you're...this is Vongola headquarters, then?" He looked around the office. "It's certainly...changed."
"No, no," The caramel-haired man laughed. "This is my place. Your place, the actual Headquarters, is still well in tact. I just don't have many opportunities to fly to Italy at the drop of a hat, you see. I try and visit at least once a month, though, and sometimes we have to commence missions from there anyways."
Another stare for a moment, and finally the blonde laughed this time. "You're an interesting heir, I'll grant you that. What generation would this be?"
"I'm the Vongola's Tenth generation boss, if that's what you mean," He replied easily, heading for the door. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
He thought for a moment before answering. "I'll take a cappuccino, strong, black. And biscotti, if you have any."
"Coincidentally, I do. Haru and Kyoko made some for us just a few days ago. 'A little taste of Italy', they said." Tsuna chuckled again, leading the blonde to the kitchen. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them as the brunette flitted about, trying to find the cappuccino making device, the one specifically for one cup. The blonde supposed having that alone was a rarity, because the Japanese were tea drinkers, but if the boy was really from his family line, it meant there was Italian blood in him, did it not? The biscotti was far simpler to find, for it was sitting in an airtight jar on the countertop with five or six pieces in there.
When the brew was steaming and prepared, Tsuna had brought the small, square plate with two of the treats and the matching cup over with him, placing it softly in front of his guest. "Here you are." Tsuna himself had made a cup of steaming hot tea while the other drink had been brewing, and had two pieces of biscotti as well.
Finally, the blonde ventured to make a conversation. "How is it? The future?"
"I thought you'd never ask," The brunette laughed a little, taking a sip of his black tea before wiping his mouth with a napkin and speaking. "We've had our fair share of tumultuous times. There was a particularly nasty person that we had to take care of, because he was threatening the family's safety. But now we're simply on the brink of recovery, and the Vongola is continuing to thrive. Although...it's probably a little different than it's been for the last four hundred years." He laughed sheepishly again. "I guess that's my fault, though."
He blinked curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Ah, you'll have to forgive me, Primo-san," The name felt familiar to his ears. It was a nickname his family had adopted shortly after he'd begun gathering members, but coming from someone in his line (if he was Primo, then this man was Decimo, correct?) "You see, honestly, I don't like the mafia. It's just that..." His brown eyes softened on his sharp face, and his smile seemed far-off and forlorn. "I couldn't really avoid what I was already knee-deep in, and I...the only option I had was to do something. It just so happened that I destroyed the Vongola, a few years back. Well, the Vongola as it was. And then I started the Vongola anew. Because all that corruption, killing our own allies...how could I allow it?" He seemed genuinely frustrated, and honestly, the blonde didn't mind at all. It was a very plausible reasoning.
"So, then," He spoke again. "Why did you return to the mafia?"
The brunette shook his head with a sad smile. "Like I said, I couldn't've just gone back. I mean, I still wanted to protect my friends and family, after all. And really, the only way we could do that is if we worked together. It just so happened that my idea of a 'peace-keeping' organization wasn't so far from the mafia, after all." Another forlorn gaze. "Ah, sorry. All I'm doing is talking about myself. How are things going in the past?"
"It's not a problem," The blonde replied with a shake of his head, and as he thought about his 'family', his thoughts ran back to his best friend, and how frustrated he was going to be when he returned, disappearing without saying a word to him. He'd probably be worried sick. "G; I presume you know him?" Tsuna laughed a bit, and replied, "I have a friend who's just like him, actually," and he continued to speak with a smile. "Well, he's always fretting over me like a mother hen. Honestly, I worry for his sanity sometimes."
"Ah, I totally understand that!" The brunette laughed, prompting the blonde to chuckle too as he went on.
"Alaude is always in the foulest of moods. I always wonder if perhaps one day I will end up in a jail-cell for trifling with his things one day." He rolled his eyes. "Knuckle is a tad too enthusiastic at times. It's very useful, but can be tiring. Nonetheless, I will always feel like he and I are kin. Ugetsu always brings me back to reality, because he's so very calm and reassuring. At times, a bit impatient--although he wouldn't like to hear me say that--but he's always very personable. He and G always watch over me carefully. Lampo's...He's..."
He and Tsuna both deadpanned by saying, "An idiot." Then they laughed at each other. "Not you too, then?" The blonde said, finishing on the note of a laugh.
"It's absolutely ridiculous," The brunette smiled. "I mean, I've been told time and time again that my family's so much like yours, but to hear it from your own mouth is a lot funnier than I thought it would've been!" As they both shared a laugh, sipping at tea and coffee, nibbling at biscotti, the noise that someone had entered tinkled, and Tsuna looked to the door to hear three pairs of footsteps.
"We're home, Tsuna-nii!" A brown-haired young man greeted the brunette first, running to hug him. Then two others--a teenaged girl with twin braids, and a dandy-looking teenager that wore a lopsided smile.
"Welcome back, Fuuta, I-Pin, Lambo," The name made him look up. As he saw the man ruffling all of their hair and asking them about school (for the younger two, high school, for the oldest, university), he couldn't help but feel like this Sawada Tsunayoshi was more fit for the position than anyone he could've imagined. Such a shame that it'd taken four hundred years for someone with his ideals to change the Vongola. "Ah, let me introduce my guest. This is Pri...I mean, Giotto-san."
"Nice to meet you," They all nodded, ideas of who he was forefront in their minds, but they refused to ask him about it. Then, with waves, they went their separate ways. Shortly after them came two young women that he presumed to be around Tsuna's age. The one with long hair he leaned down to peck her softly on the lips with a smile, and the other he ruffled her hair and greeted her with a hug.
"Kyoko, Haru, this is Giotto-san," He continued, and they bowed, said what they had to him, and then swiftly went to the other part of the kitchen to get what he presumed was dinner ready. Several others came in--a woman named Bianchi, a child named Reborn, a mechanic named Giannini, who was followed by a redhead named Irie, and another mechanic named Spanner.
Then, after Tsuna laughed and quietly apologized, saying, "My family's a bit noisy, but if you wouldn't mind, I'm sure they'd enjoy company for dinner." Giotto could only stare in wonder and felt his chest well up with a feeling he couldn't quite describe. The food smelled delicious, and he wasn't one to turn down a good offer. They finished chatting about something regarding family for a few minutes longer before a few of the guardians filtered in.
"I'm home, Tenth!" He was taken aback by home much the man looked like G. He had no markings on his face, but plenty of piercings on his ears to make up for that, and enough accessories for a lifetime. Although, judging by all of their clothing, it was the fashion of this time. He blinked at him for a while, then whispered to his boss. The brunette smiled easily and nodded, and he immediately bowed respectively. "It's an honor to meet you, Giotto-sama."
"Relax, Gokudera," His boss assured him quietly. "He doesn't bite."
"It's my duty though, Boss, and I don't want to make you look bad," The silver-haired man smiled a bit, and finally stood up straight. "I'll be looking forward to dinner with you, sir."
"Yeah yeah," Tsuna chided his friend with a grin.
"I'm home, Tsuna!" Another man appeared, bearing a scar on his chin. He had a sword tossed over his shoulder lazily, and he stared a the two of them before making a statement typical of his way of thinking. "Yo, Tsuna! You cloned yourself. Although I hadn't really imagined the whole blonde thing..."
"You idiot," The silver-haired man grumbled. "It's obviously not the Tenth. It's Giotto-sama. Y'know...remember?"
"Oh, right," He laughed a bit. "Nice to meet ya. Name's Yamamoto Takeshi."
Gokudera merely turned up his nose at his frivolous coworker, and Giotto shook the other man's hand, feeling as though his smile was so very familiar. Tsuna had been telling the truth. Really, his guardians were so similar. He could tell, simply by glancing, who was akin to his family.
Dinner was a lively affair with a full table, the 'Bianchi' he'd nodded to earlier turning out to be G's--or rather, Gokudera's--older sister, sporting a pair of aviator goggles for reasons left unexplained, with Lambo telling himself not to cry and tolerate over stupid things when he wasn't trying to be smooth, and the girls easily fitting in with a bunch of rowdy men that he supposed worked for or in the mafia.
Night came quickly, and Tsuna offered to help clean up, but Haru and Kyoko told him to rest, because he'd already done his job. He smiled, nodded, and moved to lead Giotto back to his room, or even an office, for the remaining time he spent here, so that they could talk or relax. Gokudera came into the kitchen to report his day's patrol, as did Yamamoto. Tsuna listened, and with a grimace responded in what he thought was the best way to approach each of their difficulties. They nodded when they were finished, smiled, and bid him a goodnight. At last, they'd come back to the office again, the two of them standing in front of each other for a time.
Just when Tsuna had been ready to sigh with relief and speak to Giotto again, a figure suddenly appeared, and instead of being relieved, he was annoyed. "There's a door right there, Mukuro. I'd appreciate if you'd use it, for once."
"There's no fun in that," The man hair spiked in the back, a long ponytail flowing behind his lithe person, and clad in practically all black had come to sit on the desk, regardless of the piles of paper there. "It would be far too easy for you if I did that."
"And making my life difficult is what you're best at," He muttered, receiving a stab with the hilt of the other man's trident that made him wince before he posed his question. "And? Where's your report?"
"I was too lazy to remember anything," The illusionist purred, and both bosses deadpanned at him. It's Daemon. My god, if he isn't the spitting image, too. "So, won't you just die a little bit, and then I'll give you the report?"
"No thanks," Tsuna flatly refused, glaring at the man with two-toned eyes. "If you don't want to tell me your report, than go write it down. I don't have time to be messing around with you, Mukuro."
"All went without flaw, and your plan was perfect--except for the part that I had to work with him. Honestly, Tsunayoshi, you know better."
"I didn't have a choice," The brunette let out a heavy sigh. "Besides, aren't you two a little too old to be bickering about such things?"
"It's not my fault that he's so stubborn," The illusionist chuckled. He turned around to finally greet the guest in the room with his mischievous smile, and before he could even say anything, Tsuna butted in with a, "Don't you dare." He chuckled and replied, "No fun, Tsunayoshi. You're absolutely no fun." And then he disappeared into a smoke of some sort, leaving the two of them alone again.
"Such a pain, Mukuro," Tsuna muttered angrily. "He's gone and messed everything up again. Ugh." Giotto offered to help, but the brunette only held up a hand and quietly went back to organizing. The blonde simply watched him instead of making conversation, closing his eyes. He figured that if he meditated again, it would bring him home. However, before he could truly concentrate, the door was kicked in, and the Tenth generation leader of his family swiftly leapt from his seat and landed on the desk in one piece, staring at the intruder.
"Fight me," The man smirked, and the brunette tiredly sighed.
"Hibari-san, I'm busy," He muttered in frustration. "First Mukuro, now this. Is it a crime to do my job?"
"That doesn't matter," The gray-eyed, narrowed eyed Japanese man glared at his boss. Judging by his attitude, Giotto knew that this was his heir's Alaude. "Besides, you owe me, for sending me on a mission with him."
"You know as well as I do that it couldn't've been avoided!" He dodged the man's attacks with those shiny rods--a weapon attached to his arms of some sort. The closer he looked, the more the blonde realized that they were simply the Japanese tonfa. But my, what dexterity. A little curious, he followed the two of them as they rushed down the hall, the darker haired of the two chasing the light haired.
Then, they suddenly disappeared. He blinked, confused, but the silver-haired man and the tall Japanese man had suddenly appeared as well.
"Ah, he's done it again," The shorter of the two clicked his tongue. "This is absolutely ridiculous. What is this, the third time this week?"
"Ha ha, probably," Yamamoto smiled a bit, then the two of them looked to their guest. "Lost? The base is a little tricky. But oh! I bet you're trying to watch their match, right? Tsuna's luring them to the training room. I'll take you."
"It's gonna be a good one," Gokudera snorted. "I know that the Tenth's been practicing while we've been out, and personally, I'm hoping he hands Hibari his ass on a silver platter." His language was foul too. He couldn't resist a quiet chuckle.
A minute or two later left them standing behind what Gokudera explained was bullet and fireproof covering, and they were really watching the match through monitors, but it was necessary, because if they didn't do this, everyone would end up dead, or at least injured.
Their blows were otherworldly. The way that his heir's eyes glowed echoed the flame on his forehead, but the thick, purple flames of his Cloud guardian were equally as vicious, and it really was up to fate to decide the winner. At last, when it seemed that Tsuna had punched his guardian at least twenty times, knocking him over thrice (which wasn't to say he wasn't battered as well; he'd been beaten just as badly), the brunette at last seemed to count to ten in his mind and then let the flame on his forehead die.
Giotto was startled. His gloves. They had different markings now, but surely enough, it had been his technique. This was becoming more than sheer coincidence.
Reborn had appeared from no where, startling all of them watching the match but perhaps the still enthralled Giotto. He listened as his heir helped the guardian up--or tried to, at least. It seemed like, much like Alaude, he didn't like to be helped. "Tsuna's gloves were initially just like yours," The baby spoke, obviously the most informed of the group. "But he adapted your technique and it's turned into something a little different. He can still use the Zero Point Breakthrough, but he's developed a Revision of that for battles that cost him large amounts of flame. Not only that, but he's not the best at hand-to-hand combat, so he's developed something called the 'X Burner' to make up for his lack in short-range fights."
"He's..." The blonde struggled to find the words. "He's...incredible, isn't he?"
Reborn blinked and made a noise resembling a laugh. "Who, useless over there?" He stared at his pupil, bruised and battered, but smiling softly. "He's still got a way's to go."
/
They'd bathed together, since the night had become so long. Tsuna apologize for his rudeness as a host, but Giotto completely understood. Once they'd finished, he redressed in his clothes, opposite of the Tenth leader, who was clad in pajamas.
"This was...a wonderful experience, to say the least," Giotto chuckled a bit. He extended a hand again to the leader of the Vongola in four hundred or so years. "I'm proud to see you holding the position. I'm...glad the future is..." He thought for a moment about what he wanted to say, and then he finished. "Hopeful." And then, although he hadn't meditated, he started to fade into bright orange flames with a smile, and he whispered, "Sayonara," before his visage was completely gone, and the brunette was left standing outside his room in silence.
Hopeful, huh? With a little laugh, he opened and closed the door, and shut off the lights. I'll try and keep your expectations, Giotto-san.
/
"Where the hell've you been?!" The redhead yelled, pressing the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. "I looked all over this damn city for you, high and low! If you don't give me a good explanation, I'll rip all the hair off of your little head, Giotto, I swear I will."
He laughed a bit at the threat. "Let's just say that I...went on a very educational journey."
"That is not what I meant by an acceptable answer, Giotto!" G followed closely behind him, and the blonde only smiled secretly to himself. "Oy, Giotto!"
His amber eyes turned to the sky, and he smiled. Hope. He turned to his friend and apologized softly, calming his anger a bit, but he still didn't like being kept in the dark. There's still hope, even if it's four hundred some odd years away.
(1) 2016. I say this because KHR started in 2006, and I assume that regular!time is still there, and therefor TYL would be 2016.
Title: Cyclic
Author/Artist: souleater411
Rating: All.
Fandom: N/A
Pairing/s: N/A
Theme: 129 - Touched by an angel.
Words: 389
Genre/s: Poetry/Lyrics, Gen.
Warnings: None.
Worksafe: Yep.
Summary: My purpose lies in wait. Cyclic, cyclic. It seems that all I can do is fall.
Disclaimer/Claimer: Mine.
Balance. Falling.
Disturbances.
Everything is cyclic redundancy.
I wonder, in fact,
If there was really ever anything.
Searching. Searing.
The light behind me seems to shine differently.
Is it promise?
An escape?
No, perhaps a voice.
Cyclic, cyclic, cyclic.
Something, take me, please.
I don't want this.
Gears. Sounds. Blood. Screams.
I 've lost my purpose here.
My age has passed.
I continue. The light reappears.
I glance behind myself. There is nothing.
I force myself to open my eyes all the way.
A blinding touch.
It sears my skin.
I spiral. Spiral, spiral, spiral.
A cycle. I will fall again.
No more light.
Only that darkness.
Screams.
Blood.
Violence.
I'd been close to finding it.
But it was lost again.
Then a hand.
It softly grabs me from the fall.
I hang on tightly.
A voice.
That voice.
Soft, encouraging, gentle.
I want to cry.
Beautiful, expansive wings.
The sort that would take you anywhere.
"You have them too," The voice says.
I am adamant. He is reassuring.
Breathe in slow, myself.
It is only a dream.
Only another cycle.
"Trust me," It says again, and I fear what will happen if I do not listen.
I turn, slowly.
Sure enough, there they are.
Grimy, for I have fallen many times.
I flew. I'd forgotten.
Everyday, I'd been flying.
"Come home," The voice says.
I feel my eyes closing.
"Will there by screams?"
I ask, because I must know.
"Will there be violence?
Will there be blood?
Will there be darkness?"
"It is everywhere," The voice says again,
Cyclic, cyclic.
I want to cry again, because it is a dream.
But the voice continues despite my sobs.
"But there, there are others like us.
You do not have to suffer alone.
You must fly, as you were born to do."
I close my eyes, and I feel myself lifted from the ground.
It was only now, only here, that I saw,
I'd been flying the whole time.
I'd never forgotten.
I'd always known.
I stared at the owner of the voice,
Their form disappearing on the horizon.
I knew what to do, now.
I now had a purpose.
The cycle had broken.
I would fly.
Flying, flying, flying.
Fly from solitude.
Death, darkness, blood, violence.
Nothing was going away.
But if nothing else, I would fly from loneliness.
...
Title: Remembrance
Author/Artist: souleater411
Rating: 16+
Fandom: Sublimation
Pairing/s: Lucien/Adella
Theme: 205 - Memory of a dream.
Words: 1202
Genre/s: Angst, Drama, Romance.
Warnings: Language
Worksafe: Yes.
Summary: Adella wakes to discover that her subconscious was a far cry from a beautiful thing. Rather, it was vicious and destructive to the point where she feared for her ability to sleep again.
Disclaimer/Claimer: Sublimation is allllll mine. 8D
His hair was wild around his angular face. "What's the matter?!" He violently kicked the young woman on the ground, whom was already spitting blood and sweating profusely from the efforts taken to get up over and over and over again. She forced herself up again only to fall, and he walked over. His leather, knee-high boots had shiny lapels on them, his white, jean pants were tucked in neatly and held up by a belt, none of which seemed to have gotten her blood on them. His shirt was sleeveless, and the blood from where he'd gone to touch the young woman was visible on his hands. Thin wrists were covered with bangles and sweatbands, and on his face, the caramel hair was tossed about from his actions. The piercing on his lip, connected to the one above his eyebrow with various strings and chains, jingled slightly as he leaned down to grab a clump of her hair. "I thought you wanted to say something to me?!"
"I did," The girl on the floor gaped for a breath, a shaky smile on her tan face. Her deep green eyes glared him down, and she looked unbelievably worse for the ware. Her previous camisole, ruffled blouse, and half-jacket were torn to shreds, leaving her looking less-than-dignified. Her dark blue jeans shined with blood, just like the rest of her persona, and the trinkets she'd acquired from across the world shook on her person as he attacked, but she gripped them dangerously, as though taunting him to try and pry them from her hands. "But then you turned out to be a sick fuck, so I decided against it." She spat a little bit before he smashed her head into the ground, her luscious, curly locks falling limply with her person. She let out a noise that wanted to be a scream, but she wouldn't allow him the pleasure.
However, he'd seemed to acquire something. "Let me tell you a little bit about myself, Adella dear." He paced the room slowly, a slick smile coming on his face. "The whole reason you're here is because of me, you know? If I hadn't let you in here, none of this would've happened in the first place."
"But it was my dream!" Adella replied, outraged. "It was none of your business being here, or taking over--hell, for that matter, you should be my creation, so why'd you turn against me?!"
"Whoever said that I was your creation?" He laughed loudly. "Besides, what kind of sick person would you have to be make me what I am? To fall in love with you and then crush you? Ha. What a laugh. Do you know what my real name is?"
"I suppose you'll want to tell me now, then," She glared at him, willing herself not to cry over someone like him. Just look at what he'd done! She wanted nothing more than to make her legs work properly so she could strangle him. As he spoke, she plotted what she could do to fight back, if only for a moment. She wasn't going down quietly.
"My name's Lucien, Adella," The voice rang in her ears familiarly, and that slick smile flashed in her mind again, even though she couldn't see his face, the way he was turned. "Ah, but, you knew that. I guess I should've said, do you know what my name means." Her skin broke out in goosebumps. A headache from the pain throbbed behind her eyes, but she willed herself to focus, focus, focus! "It's a name that stems from Lucifer. Satan. The Devil, you know?" He came back to her and after walking right over her already bruised knees and earning a dry scream for that, he sat on top of her, and twisted her face towards his, however uncomfortable the position. "Don't tell me you've never thought about it?" Her eyes betrayed her scowling, bloodied face, and he laughed loudly. "You didn't! That's rich." Catching her trying to reach in her breast pocket, he used his free arms to hold hers down. "Now then, since you're being so patient, I suppose I should explain my existence."
He looked up at the ceiling while he talked, his voice low, dangerous, and wistful. "I shouldn't have to...it is your mind, after all," He murmured to her, and she grew nervous. She wanted her body not to tremble, but under his weight, it was awfully hard. "Ah, but I guess that doesn't matter. One can't know what they don't know."
"Shut up with all your stupid rambling and get on with it," Adella spat slowly, sucking in slow breaths between words. He laughed again and finally replied.
"I'm your subconscious itself, Adella, my dear," The words made her eyes fly open, and she wanted to stare at him, but it simply wasn't possible to turn her neck like that, so she stared at the floor, trying to process what he'd said. "Although I guess that isn't quite right. There was once another part to my being. You know, the part that kept the balance. But there was something a long time ago that triggered his breakdown. Remember, Adella?" She swallowed nothing, for her throat was dry. Sweat poured down her face as she thought, Lucien surprisingly patient from upon her back.
As though a flood hit her, she remembered. Her father. He'd destroyed their household by what he'd done to her mother. But it didn't make any sense! If he'd abused her mother, why would she want the defending side of her mind to win and do the same thing to her?! "Ah, wondering about why it is that I won, and not him? It's simply human nature. We long for familiarity. For something we grew up with. It's the reason so many women marry men like their fathers." And he pulled his face close to hers, his strings, bangles, and chains jingling as he did so. "And I am so like your father. You just weren't ready to face me when you were eight. So I waited. I kept waiting, until you were almost twenty. Aren't I just wonderful?" He laughed that twisted laugh again, and Adella thought she might either cry or throw up, or perhaps both. "But ah, we're running out of time for today. So sorry I couldn't kill you now--it'd be lovely to visit the real world forever, you know?" A soft chuckle before he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Sweet dreams, my dear Adella."
Her eyes flew open, and she breathed heavily. The cold sweat on her skin made her further panicked, and looking at her arms, she thankfully saw no wounds, but it had still been a horrifyingly real experience.
Everything. She would do everything it took to kill Lucien the next time. Shaken and terrified, she told herself over and over again that it was simply over, he was irredeemable. She had to stop thinking about his smiles. His kindness. His kiss. She would forever remember the way he'd slammed her to the ground today, and the way it made her tremble.
For no one--absolutely no one--should've ever been subjected to such horror.
...
Title: Hope
Author/Artist: souleater411
Rating: 13+
Fandom: KHR
Pairing/s: None.
Theme: 387 - Future of the past.
Words: 3790
Genre/s: Gen.
Warnings: None.
Worksafe: Yes.
Summary: He'd only wanted a moment to think alone. A brief rendezvous to a future over four hundred years away had been more than unexpected.
Disclaimer/Claimer: KHR is Akira Amano's, for the fifth time. *3*
He'd told the redhead to leave him alone with his thoughts for a time, and he complied with hesitation. After all, it was dangerous for the blonde to be anywhere by himself nowadays. But he assured his best friend that all would be fine.
Alone in the room at last, he confronted his ring with a sigh. The wise man had given them to him, even following his orders to make sure that they were neat halves. It was a sturdy metal thing, and the dome covering the engraving of his family name stared back at him coolly. He closed his amber eyes and simply tried to meditate, even calling on his flames. It was thought that his flames, as compared to the rest of his famiglia's, were soothing, even if they burned to the high heavens. Once he'd felt himself settling down upon the glow, he truly entered a trance-like state, and before he knew it, he'd already forgotten how long he'd been in the room.
/
The brunette shuffled through papers quietly, humming softly to no one. It seemed that he was, for the most part, alone at the base, because he'd sent everyone out. It wasn't on purpose--everyone just had their own duties. Gokudera and Yamamoto were never really very far from town, however, because ever since the whole mess with Byakuran, they'd grown wary of leaving their boss without protection for too long. He'd been let off the hook today because Reborn was around again, and he kicked both of them in their sides, his code for telling them to high-tail it and leave the brunette alone. Thanking his tutor, he'd gone into the office and hadn't truly left since, a bit bored as he did his work, but working with a purpose. The base still needed to be repaired, and, hopefully, finished, and many other miscellaneous family matters needed to be taken care of. He sighed, stretched his back a bit, and then stared out the window with a little smile. Just as he was about to turn back to his stacks of papers, a light suddenly started to glow in front of him, and he stared.
His ring was glowing as well. One of them then, was it? He wondered absently who it could be before the blonde that he bared likeness to appeared among the flames. Then, all of a sudden, they dissipated, leaving the amber-eyed man blinking blearily in an unfamiliar office. "This...isn't Italy."
"You'd be right about that," The caramel-haired man chuckled softly, and replied to the man's soft Italian easily, due to years of intense training. "It's Japan, actually."
The man raised a dainty eyebrow. "You don't particularly seem like the kidnapping sort. Besides that, the jolting would've broken my concentration."
"You came here of your own accord," He tried to explain as easily as possible, and with a smile. "I don't mean to startle you, but it's the year 2016(1)." The blonde looked outdone, and with a short chuckle, the brunette continued. He stood from his chair at last, standing at a similar height to the Italian man. At this time, they'd probably been around the same age as well, hadn't they? "My name's Sawada Tsunayoshi. Actually, it's a bit strange to be talking to you like this--usually, I only talk to your collection of memories, or your ghost, or what have you."
"You...talk to me?" The other man was obviously confused, and was made ever more wary by being told this. "I...how is that possible?"
"I'm your heir, actually," Tsuna laughed sheepishly after they'd clapped hands. "Well, four hundred and ten years from your time, anyways. I'm not exactly sure how I'm related to you."
There was a silence as he figured things out, his hyper intuition in full gear from his extremely recent meditation. "Then, you're...this is Vongola headquarters, then?" He looked around the office. "It's certainly...changed."
"No, no," The caramel-haired man laughed. "This is my place. Your place, the actual Headquarters, is still well in tact. I just don't have many opportunities to fly to Italy at the drop of a hat, you see. I try and visit at least once a month, though, and sometimes we have to commence missions from there anyways."
Another stare for a moment, and finally the blonde laughed this time. "You're an interesting heir, I'll grant you that. What generation would this be?"
"I'm the Vongola's Tenth generation boss, if that's what you mean," He replied easily, heading for the door. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
He thought for a moment before answering. "I'll take a cappuccino, strong, black. And biscotti, if you have any."
"Coincidentally, I do. Haru and Kyoko made some for us just a few days ago. 'A little taste of Italy', they said." Tsuna chuckled again, leading the blonde to the kitchen. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them as the brunette flitted about, trying to find the cappuccino making device, the one specifically for one cup. The blonde supposed having that alone was a rarity, because the Japanese were tea drinkers, but if the boy was really from his family line, it meant there was Italian blood in him, did it not? The biscotti was far simpler to find, for it was sitting in an airtight jar on the countertop with five or six pieces in there.
When the brew was steaming and prepared, Tsuna had brought the small, square plate with two of the treats and the matching cup over with him, placing it softly in front of his guest. "Here you are." Tsuna himself had made a cup of steaming hot tea while the other drink had been brewing, and had two pieces of biscotti as well.
Finally, the blonde ventured to make a conversation. "How is it? The future?"
"I thought you'd never ask," The brunette laughed a little, taking a sip of his black tea before wiping his mouth with a napkin and speaking. "We've had our fair share of tumultuous times. There was a particularly nasty person that we had to take care of, because he was threatening the family's safety. But now we're simply on the brink of recovery, and the Vongola is continuing to thrive. Although...it's probably a little different than it's been for the last four hundred years." He laughed sheepishly again. "I guess that's my fault, though."
He blinked curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Ah, you'll have to forgive me, Primo-san," The name felt familiar to his ears. It was a nickname his family had adopted shortly after he'd begun gathering members, but coming from someone in his line (if he was Primo, then this man was Decimo, correct?) "You see, honestly, I don't like the mafia. It's just that..." His brown eyes softened on his sharp face, and his smile seemed far-off and forlorn. "I couldn't really avoid what I was already knee-deep in, and I...the only option I had was to do something. It just so happened that I destroyed the Vongola, a few years back. Well, the Vongola as it was. And then I started the Vongola anew. Because all that corruption, killing our own allies...how could I allow it?" He seemed genuinely frustrated, and honestly, the blonde didn't mind at all. It was a very plausible reasoning.
"So, then," He spoke again. "Why did you return to the mafia?"
The brunette shook his head with a sad smile. "Like I said, I couldn't've just gone back. I mean, I still wanted to protect my friends and family, after all. And really, the only way we could do that is if we worked together. It just so happened that my idea of a 'peace-keeping' organization wasn't so far from the mafia, after all." Another forlorn gaze. "Ah, sorry. All I'm doing is talking about myself. How are things going in the past?"
"It's not a problem," The blonde replied with a shake of his head, and as he thought about his 'family', his thoughts ran back to his best friend, and how frustrated he was going to be when he returned, disappearing without saying a word to him. He'd probably be worried sick. "G; I presume you know him?" Tsuna laughed a bit, and replied, "I have a friend who's just like him, actually," and he continued to speak with a smile. "Well, he's always fretting over me like a mother hen. Honestly, I worry for his sanity sometimes."
"Ah, I totally understand that!" The brunette laughed, prompting the blonde to chuckle too as he went on.
"Alaude is always in the foulest of moods. I always wonder if perhaps one day I will end up in a jail-cell for trifling with his things one day." He rolled his eyes. "Knuckle is a tad too enthusiastic at times. It's very useful, but can be tiring. Nonetheless, I will always feel like he and I are kin. Ugetsu always brings me back to reality, because he's so very calm and reassuring. At times, a bit impatient--although he wouldn't like to hear me say that--but he's always very personable. He and G always watch over me carefully. Lampo's...He's..."
He and Tsuna both deadpanned by saying, "An idiot." Then they laughed at each other. "Not you too, then?" The blonde said, finishing on the note of a laugh.
"It's absolutely ridiculous," The brunette smiled. "I mean, I've been told time and time again that my family's so much like yours, but to hear it from your own mouth is a lot funnier than I thought it would've been!" As they both shared a laugh, sipping at tea and coffee, nibbling at biscotti, the noise that someone had entered tinkled, and Tsuna looked to the door to hear three pairs of footsteps.
"We're home, Tsuna-nii!" A brown-haired young man greeted the brunette first, running to hug him. Then two others--a teenaged girl with twin braids, and a dandy-looking teenager that wore a lopsided smile.
"Welcome back, Fuuta, I-Pin, Lambo," The name made him look up. As he saw the man ruffling all of their hair and asking them about school (for the younger two, high school, for the oldest, university), he couldn't help but feel like this Sawada Tsunayoshi was more fit for the position than anyone he could've imagined. Such a shame that it'd taken four hundred years for someone with his ideals to change the Vongola. "Ah, let me introduce my guest. This is Pri...I mean, Giotto-san."
"Nice to meet you," They all nodded, ideas of who he was forefront in their minds, but they refused to ask him about it. Then, with waves, they went their separate ways. Shortly after them came two young women that he presumed to be around Tsuna's age. The one with long hair he leaned down to peck her softly on the lips with a smile, and the other he ruffled her hair and greeted her with a hug.
"Kyoko, Haru, this is Giotto-san," He continued, and they bowed, said what they had to him, and then swiftly went to the other part of the kitchen to get what he presumed was dinner ready. Several others came in--a woman named Bianchi, a child named Reborn, a mechanic named Giannini, who was followed by a redhead named Irie, and another mechanic named Spanner.
Then, after Tsuna laughed and quietly apologized, saying, "My family's a bit noisy, but if you wouldn't mind, I'm sure they'd enjoy company for dinner." Giotto could only stare in wonder and felt his chest well up with a feeling he couldn't quite describe. The food smelled delicious, and he wasn't one to turn down a good offer. They finished chatting about something regarding family for a few minutes longer before a few of the guardians filtered in.
"I'm home, Tenth!" He was taken aback by home much the man looked like G. He had no markings on his face, but plenty of piercings on his ears to make up for that, and enough accessories for a lifetime. Although, judging by all of their clothing, it was the fashion of this time. He blinked at him for a while, then whispered to his boss. The brunette smiled easily and nodded, and he immediately bowed respectively. "It's an honor to meet you, Giotto-sama."
"Relax, Gokudera," His boss assured him quietly. "He doesn't bite."
"It's my duty though, Boss, and I don't want to make you look bad," The silver-haired man smiled a bit, and finally stood up straight. "I'll be looking forward to dinner with you, sir."
"Yeah yeah," Tsuna chided his friend with a grin.
"I'm home, Tsuna!" Another man appeared, bearing a scar on his chin. He had a sword tossed over his shoulder lazily, and he stared a the two of them before making a statement typical of his way of thinking. "Yo, Tsuna! You cloned yourself. Although I hadn't really imagined the whole blonde thing..."
"You idiot," The silver-haired man grumbled. "It's obviously not the Tenth. It's Giotto-sama. Y'know...remember?"
"Oh, right," He laughed a bit. "Nice to meet ya. Name's Yamamoto Takeshi."
Gokudera merely turned up his nose at his frivolous coworker, and Giotto shook the other man's hand, feeling as though his smile was so very familiar. Tsuna had been telling the truth. Really, his guardians were so similar. He could tell, simply by glancing, who was akin to his family.
Dinner was a lively affair with a full table, the 'Bianchi' he'd nodded to earlier turning out to be G's--or rather, Gokudera's--older sister, sporting a pair of aviator goggles for reasons left unexplained, with Lambo telling himself not to cry and tolerate over stupid things when he wasn't trying to be smooth, and the girls easily fitting in with a bunch of rowdy men that he supposed worked for or in the mafia.
Night came quickly, and Tsuna offered to help clean up, but Haru and Kyoko told him to rest, because he'd already done his job. He smiled, nodded, and moved to lead Giotto back to his room, or even an office, for the remaining time he spent here, so that they could talk or relax. Gokudera came into the kitchen to report his day's patrol, as did Yamamoto. Tsuna listened, and with a grimace responded in what he thought was the best way to approach each of their difficulties. They nodded when they were finished, smiled, and bid him a goodnight. At last, they'd come back to the office again, the two of them standing in front of each other for a time.
Just when Tsuna had been ready to sigh with relief and speak to Giotto again, a figure suddenly appeared, and instead of being relieved, he was annoyed. "There's a door right there, Mukuro. I'd appreciate if you'd use it, for once."
"There's no fun in that," The man hair spiked in the back, a long ponytail flowing behind his lithe person, and clad in practically all black had come to sit on the desk, regardless of the piles of paper there. "It would be far too easy for you if I did that."
"And making my life difficult is what you're best at," He muttered, receiving a stab with the hilt of the other man's trident that made him wince before he posed his question. "And? Where's your report?"
"I was too lazy to remember anything," The illusionist purred, and both bosses deadpanned at him. It's Daemon. My god, if he isn't the spitting image, too. "So, won't you just die a little bit, and then I'll give you the report?"
"No thanks," Tsuna flatly refused, glaring at the man with two-toned eyes. "If you don't want to tell me your report, than go write it down. I don't have time to be messing around with you, Mukuro."
"All went without flaw, and your plan was perfect--except for the part that I had to work with him. Honestly, Tsunayoshi, you know better."
"I didn't have a choice," The brunette let out a heavy sigh. "Besides, aren't you two a little too old to be bickering about such things?"
"It's not my fault that he's so stubborn," The illusionist chuckled. He turned around to finally greet the guest in the room with his mischievous smile, and before he could even say anything, Tsuna butted in with a, "Don't you dare." He chuckled and replied, "No fun, Tsunayoshi. You're absolutely no fun." And then he disappeared into a smoke of some sort, leaving the two of them alone again.
"Such a pain, Mukuro," Tsuna muttered angrily. "He's gone and messed everything up again. Ugh." Giotto offered to help, but the brunette only held up a hand and quietly went back to organizing. The blonde simply watched him instead of making conversation, closing his eyes. He figured that if he meditated again, it would bring him home. However, before he could truly concentrate, the door was kicked in, and the Tenth generation leader of his family swiftly leapt from his seat and landed on the desk in one piece, staring at the intruder.
"Fight me," The man smirked, and the brunette tiredly sighed.
"Hibari-san, I'm busy," He muttered in frustration. "First Mukuro, now this. Is it a crime to do my job?"
"That doesn't matter," The gray-eyed, narrowed eyed Japanese man glared at his boss. Judging by his attitude, Giotto knew that this was his heir's Alaude. "Besides, you owe me, for sending me on a mission with him."
"You know as well as I do that it couldn't've been avoided!" He dodged the man's attacks with those shiny rods--a weapon attached to his arms of some sort. The closer he looked, the more the blonde realized that they were simply the Japanese tonfa. But my, what dexterity. A little curious, he followed the two of them as they rushed down the hall, the darker haired of the two chasing the light haired.
Then, they suddenly disappeared. He blinked, confused, but the silver-haired man and the tall Japanese man had suddenly appeared as well.
"Ah, he's done it again," The shorter of the two clicked his tongue. "This is absolutely ridiculous. What is this, the third time this week?"
"Ha ha, probably," Yamamoto smiled a bit, then the two of them looked to their guest. "Lost? The base is a little tricky. But oh! I bet you're trying to watch their match, right? Tsuna's luring them to the training room. I'll take you."
"It's gonna be a good one," Gokudera snorted. "I know that the Tenth's been practicing while we've been out, and personally, I'm hoping he hands Hibari his ass on a silver platter." His language was foul too. He couldn't resist a quiet chuckle.
A minute or two later left them standing behind what Gokudera explained was bullet and fireproof covering, and they were really watching the match through monitors, but it was necessary, because if they didn't do this, everyone would end up dead, or at least injured.
Their blows were otherworldly. The way that his heir's eyes glowed echoed the flame on his forehead, but the thick, purple flames of his Cloud guardian were equally as vicious, and it really was up to fate to decide the winner. At last, when it seemed that Tsuna had punched his guardian at least twenty times, knocking him over thrice (which wasn't to say he wasn't battered as well; he'd been beaten just as badly), the brunette at last seemed to count to ten in his mind and then let the flame on his forehead die.
Giotto was startled. His gloves. They had different markings now, but surely enough, it had been his technique. This was becoming more than sheer coincidence.
Reborn had appeared from no where, startling all of them watching the match but perhaps the still enthralled Giotto. He listened as his heir helped the guardian up--or tried to, at least. It seemed like, much like Alaude, he didn't like to be helped. "Tsuna's gloves were initially just like yours," The baby spoke, obviously the most informed of the group. "But he adapted your technique and it's turned into something a little different. He can still use the Zero Point Breakthrough, but he's developed a Revision of that for battles that cost him large amounts of flame. Not only that, but he's not the best at hand-to-hand combat, so he's developed something called the 'X Burner' to make up for his lack in short-range fights."
"He's..." The blonde struggled to find the words. "He's...incredible, isn't he?"
Reborn blinked and made a noise resembling a laugh. "Who, useless over there?" He stared at his pupil, bruised and battered, but smiling softly. "He's still got a way's to go."
/
They'd bathed together, since the night had become so long. Tsuna apologize for his rudeness as a host, but Giotto completely understood. Once they'd finished, he redressed in his clothes, opposite of the Tenth leader, who was clad in pajamas.
"This was...a wonderful experience, to say the least," Giotto chuckled a bit. He extended a hand again to the leader of the Vongola in four hundred or so years. "I'm proud to see you holding the position. I'm...glad the future is..." He thought for a moment about what he wanted to say, and then he finished. "Hopeful." And then, although he hadn't meditated, he started to fade into bright orange flames with a smile, and he whispered, "Sayonara," before his visage was completely gone, and the brunette was left standing outside his room in silence.
Hopeful, huh? With a little laugh, he opened and closed the door, and shut off the lights. I'll try and keep your expectations, Giotto-san.
/
"Where the hell've you been?!" The redhead yelled, pressing the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. "I looked all over this damn city for you, high and low! If you don't give me a good explanation, I'll rip all the hair off of your little head, Giotto, I swear I will."
He laughed a bit at the threat. "Let's just say that I...went on a very educational journey."
"That is not what I meant by an acceptable answer, Giotto!" G followed closely behind him, and the blonde only smiled secretly to himself. "Oy, Giotto!"
His amber eyes turned to the sky, and he smiled. Hope. He turned to his friend and apologized softly, calming his anger a bit, but he still didn't like being kept in the dark. There's still hope, even if it's four hundred some odd years away.
(1) 2016. I say this because KHR started in 2006, and I assume that regular!time is still there, and therefor TYL would be 2016.