i find it hilarious that this fic in particular has the most favs and follows than any other of my fics

and after this chapter

most likely have the most reviews as well

i have no clue where i was going with this too

what do you ppl want from meeeeeee

via request from lovely Liryla and wolfsrainrules!

*iamrunningoutofthesonglyrics *

[inspired by the vocaloid song composed by 蝶々P and sung by VOCALOID2 01 Hatsune Miku Append DARK. Or Nero. I love Nero. I recommend his cover.]

【心拍数#0822】

Through the pounding in my chest

I still want to protect you.

As a reason to live–

that's fine by me.

Once more, once more–

I count the same tears

and once again

we know each other.

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The Sawada household was composed of four people.

The mother (the kindest and sharpest airhead), the father (currently someplace else, but that was okay because it was for the best of the family), the two children (a popular big brother and wallflower little sister).

That family was the most famous in the neighborhood. No one not knew about them – they were good people, after all. In fact, some speculated that they were perhaps too perfect, especially the popular (and very handsome, according to the majority of the young female population) big brother. Jealousy was obvious, but most of the time the Sawada family was well-regarded, and everyone loved them for being there.

They never thought it would break into shambles.

The perfect big brother had a tutor, a pristine-dressed man of black suits and hats. That was when he was just a teenager, the delicate age of thirteen years. Namimori was never the same with that duo, nothing was ever boring and everyday was filled with laughter and explosions.

And then it all ended five years later, when the wonderful big brother departed for a world-wide prestigious university overboard in Italy, taking the fun and grins along with him.

Or, that was what everyone wanted to think.

In reality, everything had ended when the sturdy father got a new job overseas at working on oil fields, leaving only the mother to care for the lovely big brother and invisible little sister.

But no one could really blame him, could they? That man was a good husband, providing for the family and keeping them safe from the general social dangers of tear-inducing gossips and heart-strangling rumors.

All of Namimori returned to being it's mundane, ordinary living days. No more was the vibrant excitement. All they had were an echo of the fun past times, kept tucked away neatly in the back of their minds. They would relive it in their free time when they were alone, to remember what it was like to be really alive.

And so, it was to be predicted of the abundance of chatter when the man in black came back. He didn't have the older brother with him (much to the disappointment of the female crowd), but his appearance was enough for their hopes to skyrocket to the sky.

Was he here to make things better again? Did he plan to bring back the fun days?

Who was he here for?

And they were all crushed to find that the only reason why he returned was because he had to tutor Sawada Tsunayoshi.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi? Who's that?"

"Sawada is Ieyasu-senpai's family name!"

"Oh! He said he had a little sister once, could that be her?!"

"Probably! There's no one else in Namimori with that surname!"

The schools were in a chaotic raze. Everyone wanted to know who this mysterious girl was.

And they never noticed that she was right in front of them.

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80

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He was going to do it.

He was going to jump.

He was going to kill himself, and no one could stop him.

Yamamoto Takeshi looked down at the ground below the ledge he was standing on, the dizzying height making him involuntarily tighten his grip on the fence close behind him. He stared hard at the ending distance, willing himself to not back away from this.

"No, Yamamoto, don't do it!"

"Jumping isn't going to solve anything!"

"Yamamoto-kun, I love you, don't leave me!"

"Bitch, I haven't even confessed to him yet!"

"Come on, baseball ace, stop fooling around!"

"I'm getting seriously pissed now, we're late for practice!"

Yamamoto almost laughed at them and their ridiculous shouting. They were all so disappointing, so fake... He could do without them. The chain links snapped under the pressure he was applying, rubbing reddish brown pigment on his fingers. The metal was so rusted, if he leaned over he was sure it would all just break into shambles and he would fall.

Just like that.

He tried to block out the voices of his schoolmates. The fence swayed precariously as a strong wind swept past, making him try and hold on instinctively. Doing so only made the links dissemble even more, but he hardly cared. He wanted away from all this... He was so tired of everything.

Along with the winds brought clouds of melancholy to both his mind and the sky overhead. They covered the once-clear vast blue with foreboding gray, darkening his mood to a more worse condition. Droplets of nature's recycled water began to drip. Slowly, faster, the downpour came without a moment's warning.

Just his luck. Yamamoto smiled bitterly. It seemed the sky abhorred him as well. If something he once admired and loved shunned him too, what else was there for him to stay?

He looked down at the ground one more time. It was gradually darkening due to water's affect of making things appear shades deeper hues than they actually were. His once jovial and bright hazel eyes were bland and exhausted. He closed them to save himself more misery.

The fence rattled slightly from the other side, but he paid no mind to that. It was probably a teammate trying to convince him to not jump. But too late, he was already dead set on it. No one could even hope to stop him.

Then two light steps, landing right beside him. He looked to the side with bewilderment, wondering how far this person was going to go for him. Something deflated inside him as he saw a girl, instead of a fellow baseball student.

Another one who wanted to confess? Not likely. He was having none of that bullshit, especially now.

"I'll do it with you."

Yamamoto blinked once, twice, and frowned. What...?

"No one knows me, but that's fine, isn't it? It'll still be all about you, don't worry."

His eyes widened in realization. Oh.

"I've got nothing for me, too. You don't mind, do you?"

Oh.

Yamamoto swallowed, mouth suddenly dry and vocals mute. He wet his lips and stared intently at the girl. Who was she? Why was she doing this? He voiced his questions with a fainter volume than he'd intended. "Wh...y...?"

Someone behind them, presumably a fangirl of his, yelled at the suicidal student to move away from him. Yamamoto shot a glare at her, rolling his eyes as she gasped in horror at his out-of-character action. He scoffed and turned his attention back at the girl, who was staring at the cloud-covered sky. Rain had flattened her chaotic hair into a more tame fashion, and he could tell that it was worse when it was dry.

"Why," he tried again, a bit louder, but not too loud as the others would hear, "Are you doing this?"

The mysterious girl looked him square in the eyes and rebound the question almost immediately. "Why are you doing this?"

Yamamoto held her gaze silently, more serious than he'd ever been in his life. "Because I'm sick of this." Knowing that wasn't enough, he elaborated on his strong choice of words. "I'm... tired. Of all the expectations, of these... masks that everyone's wearing. I'm done with that. I'd rather die... than go through another day of this crap."

He'd expected a self-righteous lecture, but all the girl did was tilt her head in thought and close her deep brown eyes. Silence blanketed the entire school. The majority of the students had left, thinking that this was either a very good practice of this year's play or one really big and stupid joke by the happy-go-lucky baseball prodigy. There were only a handful remaining, lingering to see what was going to happen, wanting to be able to tell the story from their own eyes.

"I see," she finally said, her tone as soft as feather down, "I get it."

Yamamoto watched as the girl reached around her and grabbed the fence with both hands. He jumped as she suddenly yanked, hard. The worn metal links gave away easily. She held her arms straight in front of her and opened her hands. The pieces of metal dropped like lead weights, brought down harshly by merciless gravity and battering rain.

He flinched as she suddenly turned her head and looked right at him. Her eyes were as hard and sharp as flint, glinting with the dare that he knew even though it was unspoken. And...

...they were blazing, with the vibrant orange of a setting sun.

She jerked her head a little towards the far-off ground where the torn fence pieces fell, but those burning pair of eyes stayed on him. "Just like that."

Yamamoto didn't need to ask what she was talking about. He right off the bat that she was referring to... the broken fence was him, waiting for someone to just rip off another piece of him and toss it without a care into some nonchalant demise that he saw.

"...I–," he swallowed to clear his throat, he needed to be heard over the roaring rain. He wanted to be heard... by this strange, heartwarming, short girl. With a louder voice, he stated himself.

"I'm not." Her gaze intensified, and he returned it with a determined stare of his own. It was difficult, but he could do it. He... had to. "I'm not worn. I'm not broken! I just..."

He faltered in both his stature and tone, sounding and looking like a lost child. He reached up with his free hand and pressed its palm on its corresponding eye, frowning fiercely. "Just... tired. A little bit... I'm just tired."

"Oh. Is that it?"

Yamamoto lifted his head sharply and gave the girl a surprised look, complete with wide eyes. "Wh–... what?"

She crossed her arms, and directed her (strangely now an earthly brown) eyes to the crying clouds obscuring the sky. "If you're tired," she murmured, hints of a smile playing at her lips, "Even if a 'little bit'. Just take a nap. Get some rest, catch up on your sleep."

Then the girl closed her eyes and inhaled the moist air of freshly fallen rain, taking it in and accepting it as her own. "You'll feel so much more better when you wake up..." She turned around halfway and smiled at someone. "And the sun will always be there, waiting for you to say good morning to him."

Yamamoto followed her gaze and blinked as he saw the school's boxing captain. "Sasagawa... Ryohei?" The usually restless and rampant senior looked rather patient and at peace, standing near the rooftop door with his arms crossed and eyes shut. He had umbrellas hooked onto one of his arms, but he didn't have one sheltering him.

The petite brunette lifted a foot and pressed it firmly on the small opening she'd made in the fence. Yamamoto knew it was rusted and weak, but it still shocked him to see the metal links get crushed as if it were made of wet paper in less than five seconds. A quick stomp here and there, the hole was made big enough for them to walk through. (She was so small, how could she have the strength?)

In the midst of his weird state of awe, Yamamoto felt a familiar pair of eyes on him and he looked right back at them. It was the girl again, and she was giving him the most expectant stare.

He waited a moment or two, and then stepped through the extremely mangled fence. A grin (it was a little weak, but it would get stronger as time went on) appeared on his face, looking as natural as his talent with baseball. It felt nice to do it genuinely, not just to please others.

"Your name," he called out gently, sounding a bit shy but nevertheless friendly, "I never got it, did I?"

The girl stopped mid-step and turned her head towards him. "No, never." Then she smiled, a pleasant one that was just so normal that it was special. "And you, too."

Yamamoto scratched the back of his head sheepishly and strolled over to her. "Yeah, you're right. But... you know me." At her raised eyebrows, he elaborated. "You... do, don't you?"

She shrugged. "Oh, I know the baseball ace. But who are you?" The shine in her eyes was resilient and stern. It made Yamamoto grin even wider, though, because it reminded him so much of his late mother. So punctual and honest.

"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. My old man owns a sushi store, and he's pretty good at what he does. You should come by some time," he added as an offer, more so that he could know this girl better rather than try fruitlessly at school.

"Thanks, I will. And I'm not sure where my father is, but I do know that my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi." The name sounded vaguely familiar, but before he could voice his thoughts they reached the awaited boxing club captain.

Ryohei's eyes flew wide open and he threw his hands (well, fists, actually) into the air, yelling on top of his lungs. "THAT WAS SOME EXTREME MANLINESS! SO EXTREME THAT I WAS MOVED AS WELL!"

Takeshi stumbled back a step from the sheer volume of the older boy's voice. He'd heard it before (everyone in Namimori did, in fact), but never this... close. Needless to say, it was quite ear-shattering.

Tsuna, however, seemed unaffected by it and just walked on over to the fallen umbrellas. "That's... nice of you to say, but there was really no need for you to toss these around. Someone once paid for these, you know."

The baseball prodigy looked on in amazement as the boxing nut of a captain made the face of someone being caught red-handed. "OH! EXTREMELY SORRY ABOUT THAT, I WAS JUST SO... EXTREMELY PUMPED!"

Handing one of the umbrellas to Takeshi, Tsuna rolled her eyes sneakily. "When are you not pumped?" She opened the umbrella with loud whoosh and swung it above her dampened hair. Takeshi did the same, albeit more gently. It was someone else's, he should be respectful of that.

"NEVER! I WAS BORN THIS WAY!"

Tsuna froze and gave the boxing captain the most reproachful glare Takeshi had ever seen, and the amount of disdain in her voice was almost hilarious. "What did you just say?"

Not hearing the slightly disgusted tone she used, the white-haired senior repeated, "I SAID, WAS EXTREMELY BORN THIS WA–UGH–EXTREMELY EXCELLENT UPPERCUT, SAWADA!"

Tsuna punched Ryohei again in the face for more emphasis on her disapproval of her friend's choice of words. "I bet you made your mom explode with your extreme birth."

To Takeshi's amusement and dismay, Ryohei merely gasped in comical shock and yelled, "EXTREMELY HOW DO YOU KNOW?!"

A heartfelt laugh erupted from the baseball prodigy and resounded throughout the school roof as his savior kicked the captain in his shins.

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C

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"Hey, that's some risky therapy... She did know that he could have jumped, right?"

Reborn scoffed at his colleague's disbelieving tone of voice, lowering his neon green binoculars so that he could give the soldier a smug leer. "Of course she did, but when has Hyper Intuition ever failed?" He smirked at the other man's tightened lips. "Tsuna already has an incredibly large amount of trust in it, better than Giotto had when he was her age."

"Hey, remember when I asked? Yeah, I don't either." Colonnello grinned at the hitman's return glare. Reborn may not admit it, but it was as obvious as his student's hair that he was proud of her. The blond scoffed quietly and exhaled noisily. "Hey, does she know about her brother?"

The darker-themed man raised his eyebrows at the question. "Unless you mean what he really does, then yes." He smiled wickedly at Colonnello's scowl.

"Hey, stop skirting around and tell me already. I need to report back to Lal." The COMBUSIN gunner shivered at the horrifying things his superior would do to him if he arrived late.

Reborn stalled for another minute or so, enjoying the frustration from his fellow Arcobaleno. Colonnello was so easy to irk, it was good entertainment. Finally, he told him, "No, she doesn't." Then his face grew serious, the shadows of his fedora darkening. "But knowing her so far... she'll find out herself."

Ignoring the blond's confused and exasperated reply, the hitman tutor gazed back at his newest pupil. He wasn't exaggerating. Tsuna was sharp, and the day he first met her left a permanent memory in his mind and heart.

That determination... no, she would not simply stand by and wait for an answer. Like the all-encompassing sky, she wanted to know everything, and he'll be damned if he got in her way.

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A/N:

i actually had most of this done but i was stuck...

thanks for the somewhat-request-question Liryla!

you helped with your very polite message!

:)

okay, to those who read the after notes, i have a poll.

please vote?

thank you so much... ;v;

lots of love,

two gah gah gah blergh