I was happy when I had grown big enough to get around on my own. Who knew that being a baby would be so boring! Mama was in the kitchen making dinner happy that Papa was coming home. At the moment I was playing with a ball in the backyard. I heard a car pull up front and dropped the plastic ball. A smile grew on my face as I ran inside. I opened the side door and froze. A frown replacing my smile. I knew I should feel happy but I felt nervous. I hadn't seen my father in a long time. Did he even remember me? I heard mama and two voices at the front door. I vaguely remembered one of the voices as my father, but the other voice I couldn't place. I felt like I had heard it before and felt warm inside when I did. I slowly walked into the hallway and hid behind mama. I clutched her leg as I peeked out at the two men. The blonde man I recognized as Papa bent down in front of me.
"Hello Tuna fish. Will you give your Papa a hug?" I smiled brightly as I latched my arms around his neck. He remembered me! I felt so happy.
"Hello there Tsuna-chan." I looked up shyly at the older man. He had grey hair and a mustache. He had wrinkles at the corner of his mouth. Smile lines. I got a warm feeling when I saw him. I felt like I could trust him for some strange reason. I smiled at him.
"Hewo, my name is Sawada Tsunayomi." I mentally berated myself for my bad pronunciation. I had been practicing for a long time not to mess that up.
"Ah, Tsu-chan, I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Nono, your Grandpa." Papa picked me up so I could be at eye level with the man who was apparently my grandfather. I felt happy to have more family so I smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Gw-Grandpa." I smiled to myself at my accomplishment. I extended my small hand towards him and he took it. "Do you wanna play with me?" I asked hopefully.
"Sure, why don't you go outside. I'll be out in a few minutes after I talk to your Mama and Papa." I smiled brightly.
"Reawy!?" He nodded. "Yay!!" I squirmed out of Papa's arms and ran outside to wait. I sat out there for to minutes tossing my ball up and down when I accidentally missed causing the ball to roll away. I chased after it before it could roll off the grass and onto the concrete. I smiled as I grasped the orange rubber ball. Then I heard a familiar bark and froze. I looked up to see that dog the neighbor own walk into the yard. I recognized it as a chihuahua, but I was tiny and only three so the dog was nearly half my size and it has teeth. It began barking and jumping around knocking me over. Tears entered my eyes out of fear since I couldn't keep up. When it jumped on my stomach I couldn't stop the tears. I cried scared that the dog would bite me. Then I felt something warm. I looked down at my arms and realized I was on fire. It was bright and orange and it scared me. The dog had gotten off but I continued crying. Was I gonna burn up? Why didn't it hurt? Papa and Grandpa ran outside and saw me crying they looked surprised. Papa ran over and picked me up. At first I struggled out of fear of burning him, but he showed no signs of pain so I stopped. Why wasn't Papa on fire? Grandpa walked over and lit a similar flame on his finger. My eyes widened as he placed his finger on my forehead. Suddenly I felt very sleepy. I saw the fire surrounding me go out before closing my eyes and giving in.
That was two years ago. I hadn't seen Papa or Grandpa since then and it made me sad. I had asked Mama what happened to Papa and she told me he turned into a star. I cried at first thinking that meant he had died. It hurt so much. Like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. I could hardly bear it. I asked her through my tears if he had died and she said he hadn't. I was relieved to hear that and started crying from relief. Mama panicked slightly when I kept crying but I smiled and told her I was happy which calmed her down.
Now I was five years old and would be starting kindergarten next month. Two weeks ago these strange dreams started happening. Everything would be dark and then I would see a little boy who looked maybe a year older than me. He would have black hair and gray eyes. He would be sitting on the floor crying. Sometimes he would speak, "Kaa-san! Tou-san! Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone! It hurts! Please...I don't want to be alone..." Every morning I would wake up crying. It was like the boy's pain was my pain. I didn't understand why I kept having these dreams. I didn't like how they made me feel. I wanted to hug the boy, but I couldn't. I would run towards him, but no matter how fast I ran I never got any closer. I would scream and yell, anything to get the boy to hear me. To tell him he wasn't alone, but he never did. It hurt. It made me feel helpless. When I told Mama about the dreams, but she told me I was probably just nervous about my first day of school. I wanted to believe her but I had a feeling that that wasn't the case. That the dreams I was having were important.
The next month passed quickly and still every night like clockwork I would have that dream. Every night my heart would break just a little bit more for the boy. When I woke up the next morning I felt that something had changed. I woke up crying like normal, but this time I had a feeling something big was going to happen and for some reason I knew it wasn't just my first day of school. Getting up, I got dressed in the kindergarten uniform which consisted of a white skirt and a white sailor style shirt with a small black ribbon in the front. I decided to wear shorts underneath my skirt because of my clumsy streak and then put on my knee high black socks. After that I wrestled my wild brown hair into two pigtails before going downstairs to greet Mama.
(Picture of Tsuna except her eyes are brown)
"Ohayo Mama!" I greeted with as bright a smile as I could make. It had been getting harder and harder to smile as the little boy continued to haunt my dreams and thoughts.
"Ara~ Ohayo Tsu-chan! Would you set the table for me? Breakfast is almost ready." She smiled back as she hummed in front of the stove.
"Hai!" I dragged a chair over to the counter so I could reach the cabinet that held the plates. Grabbing two plates and setting them on the counter before scooting over to the text cabinet and grabbing two glasses. Carefully I got down and placed them on the table before putting the chair away. I then quickly grabbed the silverware and chopsticks placing them on the table as well before taking my seat. A few moments after I sat down Mama was putting the food down in front of me. Grilled fish with a bowl of rice and a bowl of miso soup.
"Itadakimasu!" We both said before breaking our chopsticks and eating. The breakfast was peaceful and quiet and before long we were placing our dishes in the sink and walking out the door. I held Mama's hand as we walked to the school building. Mama frequently stopped and told me different directions so I would know how to get back home after school. When we finally made it to the big building I was practically bouncing with excitement. I looked around and saw a lot of kids. Some my age and others older. We walked to the front of the building to a board posted out front. We looked at the list of kindergarteners before eventually finding my name.
"Okay Tsu-chan, it looks like your in classroom 3A, so your on the first floor room three okay?"
"Un!" I nodded confidently and gave her a hug.
"Alright sweetie, I'll see you when you get home, I love you, bye!" Mama wave to me and I waved back.
"Bye bye Mama! See you soon!" I decided to look around with the other kids before the bell rang signaling to get inside. I was careful not to get run over by the older kids as I walked through the courtyard. I was nearing the side of the building when I got this strange feeling. I turned to look at this big tree I was about ready to pass. It felt like I was being pulled to it. Almost as if I was in a trance I walked around the tree. I sucked in a breath. It was the boy I had seen so many times in my dreams. How was this possible yet here he was sitting down reading a book right in front of me. He hadn't looked up when I approached him so he probably didn't notice me or was he was simply ignoring my presence. I looked at his dark eyes and flinched at how cold they seemed. They were guarded like steel, but when I looked past that I saw the boy in my dreams. The boy crying for his parents. The boy crying out of loneliness. Before I could process what I was doing I had kneeled down next to him and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. I felt him stiffen up immediately clearly not expecting me to do such a thing. When he came out of his shock he immediately shoved me off. I felt hurt for a split second before I realized he had no clue who I was. Anyone would be weirded out if a strange person they had never met before came up out of nowhere and hugged them.
He glared and I smiled, "Sorry, you seemed sad so I decided to give you a hug."
His eyes widened momentarily before narrowing down into slits, "Hn, I'm not sad."
"Yes you are," I pointed at his face, "I can see it in your eyes." He glared again but didn't correct me before going back to his book. Sitting down next to him I looked over his shoulder and looked at what he was reading. Martial arts? And what are tonfa? Again I felt like I knew what they were. That strange feeling that seemed to say that the answers to all my questions were somewhere in my mind but would remain forever just out of reach. Honestly, it was frustrating.
We sat in silence for around 5 minutes before I decided to break it, "My name's Sawada Tsunayomi but you can call me Tsuna." I smiled over at him hoping he would answer, but he just stared at me. He seemed unsure as to whether or not he should answer. I waited a few minutes for him to answer but then the bell rang.
Deciding he wasn't going to answer I began to get up when I heard a whisper, "Hibari Kyoya."
Turning back to the ravenette I smiled, "Nice to meet you Hibari-kun. I hope we can be friends!" Before he could reply I ran toward the building to get to my class. I made it to the classroom and sat at the desk with my name on it. Swinging my feet back and forth happy that I was able to talk to the mysterious boy. Now I had a name to put to the face of the sad boy who had occupied my thoughts for the past month and a half. I could hardly wait for lunch period so I could go back outside and hopefully see him again. Hibari-kun was my first friend and I knew he was still very sad. I was determined to help him. I would make sure that Hibari-kun wouldn't be sad anymore. Even if it was my first day of school class seemed to drag on forever. When the bell finally rang I practically rocketed out of my seat grabbing my bento before booking it outside. When I reached the tree I saw no one was there. He must not have gotten outside yet. I sat down and waited and not three minutes later I heard footsteps.
"Hn. So you're here again?" Ignoring his comment I smiled.
"Hello Hibari-kun!" He sent me a glare which I brushed off while scooting over to make room for him. Reluctantly, he sat next to me. I opened my bento to eat while taking glances at the gray eyed boy. He was wearing the elementary level boy's uniform which consisted of black knee length shorts with a white sailor shirt like me except the back had a black stripe instead of the white stripe mine had.
"So Hibari-kun, what grade are you in?" I asked curiosity getting the best of me.
He swallowed his food, "Hn...first."
"Cool! This is my first day, is school fun?" He sent me a glare signaling me to shut up. I gave a shaky smile as I sweatdropped. I went back to eating out of my bento and he went back to eating his. I finished my bento in fifteen minutes meaning I still had forty-five left until class restarted. I thought about talking to Hibari-kun but he had gone back to reading his book, and I didn't want to disturb him. Instead I opted to look up at the sky and I guess I ended up falling asleep because the next thing I knew I was being shaken awake. My eyes flickered open and I looked up to see Hibari-kun staring down at me as I leaned on his shoulder. Sitting up I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
"Ara? Hibari-kun? Sorry, did I fall asleep?" The boy just nodded. "What's going on?"
"Hn, the bell rang." My eyes widened.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Hibari-kun! We'd better get going or we'll be late." The dark eyed boy nodded and we both ran into the building before going in opposite directions to our classes. It ended up being a close call because as soon as I sat down the bell went off. The rest of the school day flew by as I found things surprisingly easy. It was almost as if I had already learned all this material before, but that wasn't possible so I dismissed the notion. When the bell rang finally signaling the end of the school day I got up and collected my things. As I was walking towards the gate I saw Hibari-kun.
Smiling excitedly I waved my arm and shouted, "Hibari-kun!" He turned towards me. Unfortunately, as I ran up to him my clumsiness decided to kick in because next thing I knew I had face planted onto the ground.
Slowly sitting up I rubbed my now red forehead, "It-te-te." I heard a soft chuckle causing my head to snap up. I gave the brightest smile I had given in over a month when I saw amusement dancing in Hibari's eyes. "You just laughed! That's the first time I've seen you do that!" The amusement immediately disappeared and he turned away from me. When he turned left I smiled and followed after him. "I'm headed that way too! I'll walk with you!" All I got in response was a 'hn.' The atmosphere as we walked was tense and I began to feel a bit guilty. I grabbed his hand causing him to freeze before turning back and glaring at me. I bowed in apology, "I'm sorry Hibari-kun! I didn't mean to upset you! It's just that you seemed so sad and when I heard you laugh it made me so happy and and..." I trailed off not knowing what else to say as stupid tears threatened to fall. It was silent for a long time before Hibari-kun finally spoke up.
"Why?" I wiped my eyes and looked up at him but he wasn't looking at me. "Why do you care?" I became confused at his question.
"What do you mean why do I care? Didn't I already tell you?" His eyes found mine and I saw nothing but confusion and doubt. "Its cause we're friends silly!" I giggled slightly at his surprised look. We went back to walking and eventually reached the street where we would part ways.
"See you tomorrow, Hibari-kun!" I began walking away when a hand grabbed my wrist surprising me, forcing me to turn back around. "Hibari-kun?" He looked like he was debating something.
"Thank you...Tsuna." My face split into a bright smile.
"No problem Hibari-kun! Bye bye!" I waved goodbye and he raised his arm as if to say goodbye back as I ran towards my house. I was happy when that night I didn't see a crying Hibari Kyoya anymore, but rather he simply smiled a small smile before disappearing. I woke up hoping that the change in the dream meant that Hibari-kun was finally happy, or, at the least, on the road to happiness.