WARNING: While being set in a semi-medieval time period (Peasants, castles, the works), there is also magic, and somehow, electricity. So be prepared, yeah?

For name purposes, Hibari will remain Hibari Kyoya, because I really don't want call him "Sawada Kyoya." 'Cause that's just weird. Just pretend calling your brother by his last name is normal, 'kay? 'Kay.

"Bye, Kaa-san!" A certain brunet yelled, walking out the door. Hibari stood outside, waiting.

"Goodbye, boys! Have fun!" called their mother, Nana. The Sawada family lived quite near the woods, in a tiny two-roomed house, in tiny town, that was marked by a tiny dot on the map. Namimori. It wasn't much, but it was home, and they loved it there. Tsuna had lived in that village as long as he could remember, but Hibari and his mother said that they had come from a faraway place.

Hibari, eight, was two years Tsuna's senior, with him being six. Back then, Tsuna never wondered why the raven looked so different from me and our mother. But he did wonder why we never had a father. Tsuna wanted to ask mother, but his brother wouldn't let him. So, in the end, the brunet just kinda forgot about it. Things were fine. were content. Happy.

But then things took a turn for the worse. Kaa-san got really sick when Tsuna was five, and remained that way for almost a year. At that point in time, she was getting better, but was still very weak. It was rather odd, because she was the only one in the whole village who got sick like that, and the doctor couldn't tell why. Not even the traveling doctor, Shamal, knew what was causing the sickness.

On that day, Sawada Nana was going out to the small market in the village, while her two sons, Hibari and Tsuna, would go play in the meadow. Said meadow was on the border of the woods and the village, and was very large. Unbeknownst to both their mother and Tsuna, Hibari was taking Tsuna into the forest. Why? Because. Hibari was Hibari. He didn't need a reason to anything, now did he?

The Namimori woods were large and unkempt, filled with dangerous animals, and riddled with poisonous plants. It was no wonder why the people of the village never went in there, and warned there children to do the same. Not one to heed these warnings, the raven had already been in that forest several times. Usually, he brought one of the kitchen knifes. Today was no exception. Another thing neither his Tsuna or his mother knew. Of course, he'd never actually used it before. He had heard stories, like all of the children, about bears that could kill you with a single swipe of their gargantuan paw, But had yet to see a single sign of such a beast's existence. Though he was sure these stories had no basis, it didn't hurt to be prepared.

As they entered the forest, Tsuna became wary. "H-Hibari? Were are we going?" The brunet asked timidly.

The raven gave him a sharp look. "The woods, herbivore. Now straighten up, there is nothing to fear."

Tsuna wasn't so sure. But... Hibari was with him, and Hibari always protected him. Trying to keep his head higher, Tsuna continued walking. Hibari watched out of the corner of his eye, smirking. His brother was just to damned cute.

The duo delved deeper into the forest. The raven had been in the forest many times, but still hadn't fully explored it. The woods were his own little private get away, where he could relax and where he could think. At that moment they were headed to a part of the woods in which Hibari had never been.

"AH!" The sudden scream snapped Hibari out of his thoughts. The raven looked toward his brother, about to draw his knife, but stopped short when he saw Tsuna sprawled out on the ground, his foot tangled in a root. Hibari sighed, and stooped to help the brunet up.

"What am I going to do with you?" They stood, and for the first time the raven saw something strange. The trees... had claw marks on them? He couldn't tell how old they were, so he decided to refrain from telling the clumsy boy next to him. 'No use in scaring him,' he thought. It was probably nothing to worry about anyway, maybe the stories in the village did have some basis... His hand made its way to the hilt of his knife and gripped tightly.

So, the boys continued their trek. At one point, Tsuna swore he heard something growling out in the distance. Hibari actually heard it too, but denied it, and continued walking. Fear only affects the weak, and the raven had nothing to fear. He may have been a lot of things, but he was not weak. His brother may have been an herbivore, but he also had nothing to fear, because Hibari was there. And Hibari would protect his brother to the end.

In retrospect, ignoring all the signs was probably not his best idea. It happened so suddenly... One moment, they were walking, and had just come upon a mid-sized clearing. The next, a mighty roar ripped through the air, and a gigantic bear emerged from behind a thicket, rearing up on its front legs.

Tsuna stood, frozen in shock as the beast turned towards him and snarled.

Hibari glared viciously at the bear. Picking Tsuna as its first target? Big mistake.

"Tsuna! Run!" Tsuna, roused by the words, ran to the other side of the clearing stood, looking confused and panicked.

The raven drew his knife lunged at the beast's paw, which was raised and ready to swipe. It caught the beast right at his wrist, causing both disability immense pain. Now that he had the beast's attention, Hibari was confident he could kill the bear and protect his brother. The bear raised his injured paw and tried to slash Hibari. The attempt failed miserably when the raven easily dodged it.

Rearing up again, the bear looked about to make another swipe, when it suddenly turned and lunged at Tsuna, knocking him over giving him a few small scratches on his abdomen. The brunet then began to cry, choking with tears running down his face. That was the last straw. Blinded with rage, Hibari threw his little knife as the beast. It just barely nicked the left ear. 'Shit!' The beast turned toward him, almost seeming to smirk as the raven had earlier, as though he were trying to say, "That all you got?" It was then that Hibari realized the position he was in. His back against a tree, the bear between him and the knife. Between him and Tsuna. The bear seem to sense Hibari's internal distress, and began to saunter toward him slowly. 'Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!' Maybe... maybe he could climb the tree! Though wary of turning his back to the bear, the raven knew this was his only chance at escape.

Once turned around, The older brother paled. The tree had no low branches. He was... He was going to die. He was going to die and then Tsuna was going to die too. Oh, why did he have to take his younger brother with him! Why couldn't it just be him! Tsuna didn't deserve to die! He hadn't done a single thing wrong in his life. And he was going to die because of his stupid older brother. Tsuna, who was crying because of him, whom he loved...

Meanwhile, Tsuna's tears were drying, seeing Hibari trapped. He had to be strong. Strong for Hibari. Strong like Hibari. The brunet saw his brother's knife lying a few feet away. In desperation, he snatched it up, noticing the panicked look on his brother's face, noticing that the bear was almost upon him.

"WAAAAAAGH!" He screeched, jumping up on the bear's back and then holding on for dear life. The beast shook, trying to throw him off, But Tsuna somehow managed to hang on, climbing up to the bear's head and bringing the down into its right eye. Howling in pain he shook even harder, finally manging to throw the brunet off. He landed in a heap, the knife falling a few feet away.

Hibari, seeing all of this happen, managed to slip passed the bear and get the knife from beside his brother. While the bear was distracted, pawing at its now useless eye, Hibari took the opportunity to strike. Lunging once more, he finally got the beast right in the heart. The slain beast fell with a rather satisfactory "thump." But that was that, and what needed attention right then...

"Tsuna!" He rushed over to his brothers motionless body. After looking closely enough to see that he was still breathing, He arranged the brunet into a more comfortable position, and waited for him to wake up. After a while, the older brother laid down beside his unconscious sibling and fell asleep.

When Tsuna woke, he groaned. Everywhere hurt. What happened? Finally opening his eyes, he started, everything coming back to him upon realizing he was in the forest. He was now aware of an acute pain on his chest. Where the bear got him... wait! What happened to the bear? What happened to... Hibari! Where was he- oh. He was lying right next to him, fast asleep. Now that he got a good look around, he noticed the bear's corpse lying a few feet away. Oh god... Hibari must've killed it.

"Hibari?" he said, gently shaking his brother awake, careful not to do anything to irritate him. The raven could be rather grumpy when woken early.

"Mmngh..."

"Hibari! Get up, please!"

"Wha~?" The older bother yawned. "Tsuna... what is-Tsuna! Are you okay?"

"I'm... fine." Tsuna almost burst into tears again. The stress was a lot to handle for a six-year-old.

"You shouldn't lie to your brother." The siblings started at the sound of a bariton voice coming from the other side of the clearing. There stood a man in a black suit, head topped with a fedora. The also noticed his... curly... sideburns."Lying is a sin, you know."

Tsuna was instantly intimidated by the mysterious man. Hibari, however, was not phased in the least. "And how would you know if he was lying?"

The older man smirked. "Look at him-" He pointed at Tsuna, "And tell me he's not about to cry." Tsuna flinched and tried to steady his face. It didn't hurt, it didn't hurt, it didn't hurt. It... kinda hurt. But he would hold it in, if only until they got home.

Hibari didn't take his eyes off the man, instead, he just growled. "Is there a reason you're here, watching us?"

"As a matter of fact... There is." The man pulled a medium sized box from his suit and tossed at the brothers. Tsuna flinched. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." And suddenly, the man dissapeared.

Hibari just stared at the box. What could a complete stranger possibly have to give him? After pondering, he eventually decided just to open it. Tsuna watched curiously, wondering what could be inside. It was like christmas! Quickly, he tore open the brown wrapping paper discovering that there were two pairs of objects inside: Two tonfas, and gloves with "X's" on the back. Well. He knew the tonfas were weapons, but gloves? He didn't need those. Eh... Tsuna could play with them.

For the first time since the man left, Hibari looked at his little brother. He did look a bit... pained. And... was that blood soaking through his shirt? 'Damn.' He should have paid more attention. Didn't he see Tsuna get scratched? He got up and walked over to Tsuna. "Are you still bleeding?"

"Ah... Um... I don't kno- I don't think so?"

"Was that a question or an answer?" Hibari was getting impatient. Reaching out his hand, he yanked up Tsuna's shirt. Hmm... the wound didn't look very deep... it also din't seem to be bleeding anymore. Just a graze. Dropping his brother's shirt, Hibari picked up the gloves and handed them to Tsuna. "You can have these..."

Tsuna looked ecstatic, even over such a tiny thing. Immediately, he shoved them on his hands and smiled. Hibari smirked. They were a little big... but he would grow into them. The older brother then picked of the tonfas. They had a good weight to them, but still a little heavy for an eight year old. But this eight-year-old was Hibari. And what Hibari liked, Hibari got. Hibari liked those tonfas, so he was going to keep them.

"Tsuna," Hibari said, tucking his new weapons away somewhere, "We're going back." While they hadn't gotten to do what he'd wanted, it was getting dark, and their mother would be worried if they came back late.

Tsuna nodded and followed Hibari.

The boys' trek back through the forest was uneventful. No more bears or strangers giving them weapons. Just a rather pleasannt walk through the forest.

Until they were approaching home.

The brothers stopped in their tracks when they heard a high-pitched scream coming from their house's vicinity. Tsuna's eyes widened considerably, while Hibari contemplated his options. The scream had sounded like... Nana!

"Tsuna! Stay here."

"Wha~? O-okay..."

He had almost reach the house when another scream ripped through the air. Hibari gripped his newly acquired weapons tightly. He slammed the door open and rushed inside. Inside, he found a quite gruesome sight. Hibari was glad he had told his younger brother to stay back, he probably would've fainted. Blood was strewn everywhere. On the walls, on the floor, and even on the ceiling. There was a giant hole in the back wall... and Nana was lying on the ground. Mangled, awkward positioning, large slashes on her body...

Dead.

This story is actually a slightly tweaked version of a portfolio piece I wrote for school last year. Though I hadn't seen KHR when I wrote the original, my friend, Sakura Guardian, had. She helped me with my characters, and even gave the older brother tonfas! Without my knowing it, my story became about Hibari and Tsuna, before I even knew they existed!

And before anyone asks, if Hibari seems... un-Hibari-like, It's because he's eight. After the incident with Nana, THEN he becomes truly Hibari.

Anyway, if I get enough positive feedback, I may make a sequel (Or maybe its more of the first installment? This is kinda a prequel...), set 8 years in the future. It's most probable that the sequel will be 1827. And it will take me forever to write it.

FLAMES WILL BE USED TO MAKE A BONFIRE! FIRE, YAY!