FIC: The End of a Beginning, and the Beginning of an End
Title: The End of a Beginning, and the Beginning of an End
Rating: PG
Pairing: 10027, slight G27
Summary: AU Where the Vongola and Millefiore truce was broken, and Tsuna truly died.
“I’m afraid that I cannot accept those terms Byakuran-san.”
“Ah, is that so? But these conditions are non-negotiable Tsunayoshi-kun.”
“Then I suppose the deal is off. There will be no truce between the Vongola and Millefiore.”
“But Tsu-chan!” The older man’s serious face dissolved into a pouting child.
“No buts Byakuran-san. Marriage is not a viable provision in these negotiations.” Tsuna’s no-nonsense face was quite good, honed from raising Lambo and I-pin.
“Why not?” Byakuran whined reaching across the table, “Don’t you love me Tsu-chan?”
Tsuna sighed, “If I married you then inevitably there would be talk of merging. I would rather keep the two separate, seeing as how those in my famiglia are rather hostile towards yours.”
“Mou, that’s no fun,” Byakuran sulked, lower lip extending.
And suddenly, shots.
“Ah?”
They were blooming. Blood red flowers everywhere.
“Tsunayoshi!”
How did I get on the floor?
Someone touching him. Fingers on his face, cold cold cold.
Oh I see.
“Who was it?” Byakuran’s voice, cold like ice.
A blur of words on the edge of periphery. Motion. A burst of flame.
“Tsu-chan, you’ll be all right. Shou-chan is off getting someone with strong Sun Flames right now.”
Liar. You know as well as I do these wounds are fatal.
Hand on his cheek. Trembling trembling. Him or Byakuran, can’t tell.
“Byakuran-“
“Shh Tsu-chan. Just stay still.”
“You shouldn’t have killed him Byakuran.”
Blood dripping down his chin. Warm.
“You’re too kind Tsu-chan,” A weak smile, “But I love that about you.”
“You have to tell them it wasn’t your fault,” His hand grips Byakuran’s arm, eyes burning, “You have to-“
Ah, I got blood on him. Sorry.
“They won’t let it go. They’ll start a war. So you have to, have to-“
Eh?
Pain setting in now. Shock wearing off. Hurts hurts hurts.
Scared. I’m scared.
“You’re not going to die Tsu-chan. Listen to me, you will live Tsunayoshi.” Byakuran’s eyes are fierce, hands cupping the sides of Tsuna’s face, ignoring the blood staining his fingers.
“Hehe,” A fluttery laugh that tears at Byakuran’s heart, “Liar,” he breathes.
Hand reaching up, weak weak, trembling. Hurts, hurts so bad.
“Byakuran,” The faintest whisper, “I’m scared. Hold my hand please?”
Byakuran takes his hand and holds it until his knuckles turn white to stop his shaking, “Silly,” he says, forced lightness making his voice sound strange, “Like you need to ask me to touch you.”
“Pervert,” Tsuna gives a watery smile. “Byakuran, I- ah!” He winces, body jolting.
Not now. Just a little longer. Have to tell him. Have to have to.
“Don’t say anything Tsu-chan. You’re going to be fine, you’ll see.” His voice is desperate, bordering on hysterical, and Tsuna would laugh if he had the strength.
“No, I have to, have to tell you,” Amber eyes are unfocused, hazy, and it’s truly a battle of will to remember what he wanted to say. He reaches up, hand shivering from the effort, to touch Byakuran’s face.
The older man grabs his hand and presses it to his cheek, leaving a bloody handprint.
“Byakuran I, I love you,” Tsuna smiles again weakly, “I love you so much. And I-“ His eyes go unfocused at another burst of pain, “I am really grateful to have met you. You made me so, so happy. I want you to know that, that-“ His voice drifts off.
“Silly Tsu-chan. I was the lucky one to have met you,” he blinks back tears. “I wanted us to be together forever,” He says, voice cracking.
Cold. Can’t feel anymore. So cold cold cold.
Not much time left. Just a little more. I just need a little more time, please God.
“Ne, how much do you love me Byakuran?” Tsuna forces out, gasping.
Byakuran squeezes his hand hard enough to crack bones, but it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t hurt at all, “Heh. I love you so much I thought I would die from happiness whenever we were together.” And now the tears are coming, dripping unheeded, “Don’t leave me, Tsuna,” he chokes out, pleading.
“I love you so much Byakuran. So much I can’t even tell you,” Tsuna says thickly, words coming in a daze. “Take care of everyone for me. I know, I know that you’ll be a great Boss. So don’t, don’t try and follow me. If you love me. Please, Byakuran, for me. Live for me,” He struggles to focus.
Hello Decimo.
Eh?
Golden hair and shining blue eyes. A vibrant sky flame.
“What?” Tsuna says, eyes looking past Byakuran. His hand slips slightly.
“Tsu-chan? Tsunayoshi! Tsuna!” Byakuran’s voice rises, panicking, “Stay with me. You can’t leave. Don’t leave me!”
An outstretched hand, encased in gloves.
Come, Tsuna.
“Gio-tto?” Tsuna breathes. Amber eyes blink open wide.
Twining fingers. Cold flesh and warm leather. Pulling pulling, but where to?
I’ve been waiting for you.
Lips pressed to his forehead.
Goodbye, Byakuran.
His hand slides out of Byakuran’s suddenly limp grip. There is a patter of feet and a chatter of voices as Shouichi arrives with the medical team.
“My apologies Byakuran-sama, there were complications-“ the redhead pants, hurriedly starting to set up equipment.
“There’s no need for any of that Shou-chan. It’s too late already.” Byakuran’s voice is eerily calm, and he hasn’t moved from his position next to Tsuna.
“Eh?” With a horrible sense of foreboding wrenching in his gut, Shouichi stands next to his Boss kneeling on the floor.
There is more blood than he expected a human body to contain, spilling out onto the marble floor. Tsuna’s face in death is oddly relaxed, and Shouichi can almost fool himself into thinking that any minute the young Boss will open his eyes and everything will go back to normal.
“Ne, Shou-chan?” Byakuran asks, still unmoving, his gaze, so far as Shouichi can tell, transfixed on Tsuna’s body.
“Yes Byakuran-sama?” He wipes away the tears he wasn’t aware had fallen and pushes them up on the bridge of his nose so the glare hides his eyes.
“Who is Giotto?”
“If its in reference to the Vongola, Giotto was the founder and first Boss of the family,” he answers automatically.
“Oh, I see.” Byakuran is uncharacteristically quiet, fingering the blood on his hands unconsciously.
“In addition, there are…rumors,” Shouichi says hesitantly. “That there are…imprints of all successors to the Vongola name inside the Vongola ring.”
The engineer can practically hear the gears turning in Byakuran’s head, and waits nervously. He can already feel the beginnings of a stomachache coming on.
“Get me the Vongola rings,” the Millefiore head says finally, getting to his feet with a whoosh of fabric and copper scented air.
“But Sawada-san had them destroyed a few months ago-“
“I don’t care. Find them and bring them to me. It doesn’t matter how you do it.” He leans down to stroke Tsuna’s already cold cheek gently, then straightens up abruptly. “I’m going to up to my room. If anyone bothers me I’ll burn them into ash.” He turns, and when Shouichi sees his eyes he can’t help shuddering and taking a step back involuntarily
“I’ll make sure to tell everyone,” he says shakily, one hand pressed to his stomach.
Byakuran smiles all the way to the elevator, even as a stray drop of blood drips off his hair and onto his cheek. The crowd watches him warily, like a pack of deer before a rabid wolf. When he steps onto the elevator and the doors slide shut, no one is really surprised to hear a loud bang, much like the sound produced when someone extremely angry punches something hard, like metal.
He throws open the doors to his room with a clatter, running a hand through his hair and streaking red through it inadvertently. He stares at himself in the mirror, at the blood staining everything. Tsuna’s blood. Tsuna’s life. Pale fingers touch the streaky handprint on his cheek shakily, and violet eyes close, trying to remember the weight of Tsuna’s hand.
“Gio-tto?”
Tsuna died with another man’s name on his lips.
“Shut up.”
He couldn’t forgive that.
"Tsuna." He reaches out to touch the blood smeared on the glass. "I wanted us to be together forever." He breaks down, voice cracking.
"I love you so much Byakuran. So much I can't even tell you."
Byakuran chokes out a sob, and the sound is like something shattering. It breaks the dam holding back his tears, and he keens out a long wail of despair like a wounded animal.
"Gio-tto?"
Why did he say it? Why did he say that name? Why wasn't it his name?
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Fingers claw at the smooth surface of the mirror, then a fist slams through the glass. Byakuran ignores the lance of pain through his hand, and the blood dripping from his knuckles. The Mare ring on his finger gleams dull orange through the red and Byakuran...breaks.
"That's right. That's right, that's right, that's right!" He says, bordering on hysteria. "The ring, the ring, the Vongola ring!" He scrabbles to tear the ring off his finger and holds it up to the light. "Tsuna's inside the ring. Along with Giotto," his voice is a malicious hiss when it says the other man's name.
"I know, I know that you'll be a great Boss. So don't, don't try and follow me. If you love me. Please, Byakuran, for me. Live for me."
"I will live for you Tsu-chan, but I'm coming after you," he croons, violet eyes shining madly. He kisses the ring, "I'll bring you back. Back, back, back to me. We'll be together again. And everything will be perfect."
"Ne, how much do you love me Byakuran?"
"More than the sky, more than the ocean. I'll follow you till the ends of the earth, Tsu-chan."
"Silly. Let's be together forever, ne?"
"Of course. It's a promise then, all right?"
"Heh, all right."
fin
On an unrelated note, how many have heard Vanilla Twilight by Owl City? The last verse is so 10027 I wanted to put it in here, but it didn't fit how I wanted so I decided to scrap the idea and just mention it in the endnotes instead.
When violet eyes get brighter/And heavy wings grow lighter/I'll taste the sky and feel alive again
And I'll forget the world that I knew/But I swear I won't forget you/Oh, if my voice could reach/Back through the past/I'd whisper in your ear
Oh darling, I wish you were here
Rating: PG
Pairing: 10027, slight G27
Summary: AU Where the Vongola and Millefiore truce was broken, and Tsuna truly died.
“I’m afraid that I cannot accept those terms Byakuran-san.”
“Ah, is that so? But these conditions are non-negotiable Tsunayoshi-kun.”
“Then I suppose the deal is off. There will be no truce between the Vongola and Millefiore.”
“But Tsu-chan!” The older man’s serious face dissolved into a pouting child.
“No buts Byakuran-san. Marriage is not a viable provision in these negotiations.” Tsuna’s no-nonsense face was quite good, honed from raising Lambo and I-pin.
“Why not?” Byakuran whined reaching across the table, “Don’t you love me Tsu-chan?”
Tsuna sighed, “If I married you then inevitably there would be talk of merging. I would rather keep the two separate, seeing as how those in my famiglia are rather hostile towards yours.”
“Mou, that’s no fun,” Byakuran sulked, lower lip extending.
And suddenly, shots.
“Ah?”
They were blooming. Blood red flowers everywhere.
“Tsunayoshi!”
How did I get on the floor?
Someone touching him. Fingers on his face, cold cold cold.
Oh I see.
“Who was it?” Byakuran’s voice, cold like ice.
A blur of words on the edge of periphery. Motion. A burst of flame.
“Tsu-chan, you’ll be all right. Shou-chan is off getting someone with strong Sun Flames right now.”
Liar. You know as well as I do these wounds are fatal.
Hand on his cheek. Trembling trembling. Him or Byakuran, can’t tell.
“Byakuran-“
“Shh Tsu-chan. Just stay still.”
“You shouldn’t have killed him Byakuran.”
Blood dripping down his chin. Warm.
“You’re too kind Tsu-chan,” A weak smile, “But I love that about you.”
“You have to tell them it wasn’t your fault,” His hand grips Byakuran’s arm, eyes burning, “You have to-“
Ah, I got blood on him. Sorry.
“They won’t let it go. They’ll start a war. So you have to, have to-“
Eh?
Pain setting in now. Shock wearing off. Hurts hurts hurts.
Scared. I’m scared.
“You’re not going to die Tsu-chan. Listen to me, you will live Tsunayoshi.” Byakuran’s eyes are fierce, hands cupping the sides of Tsuna’s face, ignoring the blood staining his fingers.
“Hehe,” A fluttery laugh that tears at Byakuran’s heart, “Liar,” he breathes.
Hand reaching up, weak weak, trembling. Hurts, hurts so bad.
“Byakuran,” The faintest whisper, “I’m scared. Hold my hand please?”
Byakuran takes his hand and holds it until his knuckles turn white to stop his shaking, “Silly,” he says, forced lightness making his voice sound strange, “Like you need to ask me to touch you.”
“Pervert,” Tsuna gives a watery smile. “Byakuran, I- ah!” He winces, body jolting.
Not now. Just a little longer. Have to tell him. Have to have to.
“Don’t say anything Tsu-chan. You’re going to be fine, you’ll see.” His voice is desperate, bordering on hysterical, and Tsuna would laugh if he had the strength.
“No, I have to, have to tell you,” Amber eyes are unfocused, hazy, and it’s truly a battle of will to remember what he wanted to say. He reaches up, hand shivering from the effort, to touch Byakuran’s face.
The older man grabs his hand and presses it to his cheek, leaving a bloody handprint.
“Byakuran I, I love you,” Tsuna smiles again weakly, “I love you so much. And I-“ His eyes go unfocused at another burst of pain, “I am really grateful to have met you. You made me so, so happy. I want you to know that, that-“ His voice drifts off.
“Silly Tsu-chan. I was the lucky one to have met you,” he blinks back tears. “I wanted us to be together forever,” He says, voice cracking.
Cold. Can’t feel anymore. So cold cold cold.
Not much time left. Just a little more. I just need a little more time, please God.
“Ne, how much do you love me Byakuran?” Tsuna forces out, gasping.
Byakuran squeezes his hand hard enough to crack bones, but it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t hurt at all, “Heh. I love you so much I thought I would die from happiness whenever we were together.” And now the tears are coming, dripping unheeded, “Don’t leave me, Tsuna,” he chokes out, pleading.
“I love you so much Byakuran. So much I can’t even tell you,” Tsuna says thickly, words coming in a daze. “Take care of everyone for me. I know, I know that you’ll be a great Boss. So don’t, don’t try and follow me. If you love me. Please, Byakuran, for me. Live for me,” He struggles to focus.
Hello Decimo.
Eh?
Golden hair and shining blue eyes. A vibrant sky flame.
“What?” Tsuna says, eyes looking past Byakuran. His hand slips slightly.
“Tsu-chan? Tsunayoshi! Tsuna!” Byakuran’s voice rises, panicking, “Stay with me. You can’t leave. Don’t leave me!”
An outstretched hand, encased in gloves.
Come, Tsuna.
“Gio-tto?” Tsuna breathes. Amber eyes blink open wide.
Twining fingers. Cold flesh and warm leather. Pulling pulling, but where to?
I’ve been waiting for you.
Lips pressed to his forehead.
Goodbye, Byakuran.
His hand slides out of Byakuran’s suddenly limp grip. There is a patter of feet and a chatter of voices as Shouichi arrives with the medical team.
“My apologies Byakuran-sama, there were complications-“ the redhead pants, hurriedly starting to set up equipment.
“There’s no need for any of that Shou-chan. It’s too late already.” Byakuran’s voice is eerily calm, and he hasn’t moved from his position next to Tsuna.
“Eh?” With a horrible sense of foreboding wrenching in his gut, Shouichi stands next to his Boss kneeling on the floor.
There is more blood than he expected a human body to contain, spilling out onto the marble floor. Tsuna’s face in death is oddly relaxed, and Shouichi can almost fool himself into thinking that any minute the young Boss will open his eyes and everything will go back to normal.
“Ne, Shou-chan?” Byakuran asks, still unmoving, his gaze, so far as Shouichi can tell, transfixed on Tsuna’s body.
“Yes Byakuran-sama?” He wipes away the tears he wasn’t aware had fallen and pushes them up on the bridge of his nose so the glare hides his eyes.
“Who is Giotto?”
“If its in reference to the Vongola, Giotto was the founder and first Boss of the family,” he answers automatically.
“Oh, I see.” Byakuran is uncharacteristically quiet, fingering the blood on his hands unconsciously.
“In addition, there are…rumors,” Shouichi says hesitantly. “That there are…imprints of all successors to the Vongola name inside the Vongola ring.”
The engineer can practically hear the gears turning in Byakuran’s head, and waits nervously. He can already feel the beginnings of a stomachache coming on.
“Get me the Vongola rings,” the Millefiore head says finally, getting to his feet with a whoosh of fabric and copper scented air.
“But Sawada-san had them destroyed a few months ago-“
“I don’t care. Find them and bring them to me. It doesn’t matter how you do it.” He leans down to stroke Tsuna’s already cold cheek gently, then straightens up abruptly. “I’m going to up to my room. If anyone bothers me I’ll burn them into ash.” He turns, and when Shouichi sees his eyes he can’t help shuddering and taking a step back involuntarily
“I’ll make sure to tell everyone,” he says shakily, one hand pressed to his stomach.
Byakuran smiles all the way to the elevator, even as a stray drop of blood drips off his hair and onto his cheek. The crowd watches him warily, like a pack of deer before a rabid wolf. When he steps onto the elevator and the doors slide shut, no one is really surprised to hear a loud bang, much like the sound produced when someone extremely angry punches something hard, like metal.
He throws open the doors to his room with a clatter, running a hand through his hair and streaking red through it inadvertently. He stares at himself in the mirror, at the blood staining everything. Tsuna’s blood. Tsuna’s life. Pale fingers touch the streaky handprint on his cheek shakily, and violet eyes close, trying to remember the weight of Tsuna’s hand.
“Gio-tto?”
Tsuna died with another man’s name on his lips.
“Shut up.”
He couldn’t forgive that.
"Tsuna." He reaches out to touch the blood smeared on the glass. "I wanted us to be together forever." He breaks down, voice cracking.
"I love you so much Byakuran. So much I can't even tell you."
Byakuran chokes out a sob, and the sound is like something shattering. It breaks the dam holding back his tears, and he keens out a long wail of despair like a wounded animal.
"Gio-tto?"
Why did he say it? Why did he say that name? Why wasn't it his name?
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Fingers claw at the smooth surface of the mirror, then a fist slams through the glass. Byakuran ignores the lance of pain through his hand, and the blood dripping from his knuckles. The Mare ring on his finger gleams dull orange through the red and Byakuran...breaks.
"That's right. That's right, that's right, that's right!" He says, bordering on hysteria. "The ring, the ring, the Vongola ring!" He scrabbles to tear the ring off his finger and holds it up to the light. "Tsuna's inside the ring. Along with Giotto," his voice is a malicious hiss when it says the other man's name.
"I know, I know that you'll be a great Boss. So don't, don't try and follow me. If you love me. Please, Byakuran, for me. Live for me."
"I will live for you Tsu-chan, but I'm coming after you," he croons, violet eyes shining madly. He kisses the ring, "I'll bring you back. Back, back, back to me. We'll be together again. And everything will be perfect."
"Ne, how much do you love me Byakuran?"
"More than the sky, more than the ocean. I'll follow you till the ends of the earth, Tsu-chan."
"Silly. Let's be together forever, ne?"
"Of course. It's a promise then, all right?"
"Heh, all right."
fin
On an unrelated note, how many have heard Vanilla Twilight by Owl City? The last verse is so 10027 I wanted to put it in here, but it didn't fit how I wanted so I decided to scrap the idea and just mention it in the endnotes instead.
When violet eyes get brighter/And heavy wings grow lighter/I'll taste the sky and feel alive again
And I'll forget the world that I knew/But I swear I won't forget you/Oh, if my voice could reach/Back through the past/I'd whisper in your ear
Oh darling, I wish you were here