~* Title: The Heart of the Ocean *~

~* Rating: M *~

~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, and others soon *~

~* Summary: AU: Ever since Tsuna was a young boy, he has always loved the untamable sea, all of it wondrous creatures, and the legends of the mysterious Merpeople that dwells deep in its depths. He tried to be a good boy and listen to his brother about the beautiful, yet deadly creatures. Believe him, he tried. But in the end, he couldn't help but fall madly in love and have his heart stolen by the Prince of the Seven Seas.*~

A/N: Hello, again~! Thank you so much for all your lovely feedback! I'm sorry for the wait and I really appreciate the patience you all had for me. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter! Please read and review~!

~* Special Thanks To: DirectSomething, Mori, Caffeine-Somniac, Metamorcy, fan girl 666, naruke3176, Final Syai Lunar Generation, aerean94, Kiriya Von Den, Icchan, starsinjars, vanillabeast, Vongola-timez, PurrrpleLovah29, tujing, Shellz29, Yonaka Kyoki Prince, Pure Red Crane, and Belle-bankai-kurama *~

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely Akira Amano.

Chapter 2: Stellamaria Island

The journey to Stellamaria Island proved to be a rather lengthy and unusually quiet one for the young Sawada brothers. As they proceeded to travel swiftly across the waters with a slow, yet efficient pace, Tsuna and Giotto hadn't said a word to each other, nor did they attempt to speak to one another either.

There was no denying that the silence was nerve-wrecking for the both of them. The boys did not know if it was pure boredom that kept them so quiet, or if it was the fact that maybe there wasn't anything interesting to talk about, but in the end, they could to do nothing but attempt to ignore the tension and hope it would eventually cease along with the drifting waves beneath them.

At that time, with small his back turned toward his older brother, Tsuna was keeping himself busy by drawing the very waters that they were sailing across, despite the fact that he occasionally make a few mistakes due to the unruliness of the boat. Also, along the way he also took the time to draw a few boats that seemed practically motionless as they sat upon the water under the bright sun that were quite a distance away from them.

For a while now, drawing served to be a perfect escape for the young boy to be free of of anything that troubled him, even if it was just for a short time, and he felt small amounts of uneasiness leave him as his mind was entranced by the ocean he loved so dearly.

However, not even drawing could help keep the boy's mind from eventually wandering to thought of his dear older brother.

Beginning to feel very worried about Giotto, Tsuna couldn't help but notice that the older boy didn't seem like his usual relaxed self. Something seemed completely off about the teen and he didn't know why. It didn't take the brunet long to realize that ever since they left their island, Giotto had fallen in a deep silence, which caused the younger boy to feel very uncomfortable.

And, it didn't stop there. Every time the nervous brunet would merely just look at the other, even if it were just for a mere instant, the stoic blond didn't give him any kind of response and just seemed to keep those piercing eyes of his only at the distance ahead.

Maybe going on this trip wasn't a good idea after all...

'I wonder what's wrong with Giotto-nii..." Tsuna wondered sadly as he decided to stare at the wide open ocean while he did his best to remain calm and to clear his mind from all it haziness.

Looking from the corner of his eye, Tsuna could see that Giotto held a stern expression on his face and that he skin had grown very pale over time. 'I really want to ask him what's wrong with him...but...' The boy slowly gazed down at his lap, seeing his tiny hands clenched to the point they were nearly bone-white, 'I'm too afraid to ask him.'

Tsuna's heart ached for his brother. He really hated seeing his brother acting this way and it didn't help that the quiet blond had no interest in sharing his feelings with him.

Maybe he was the reason why his brother wouldn't talk to him. Maybe because he was so persistent of making the older boy take him to the forbidden island that it had secretly angered the blond and he just wasn't telling him so. Maybe if they had just gone to the beach like the older boy originally thought they were, things would be okay between them.

But, if Tsuna was going to have any chance of getting the truth out of Giotto, he was going to have to speak to him, even though he was incredibly timid to do so.

He really needed to know if his brother was cross with him so that the discomforting thoughts in his head could finally be put to rest.

"Giotto-nii, can I ask you something?" Tsuna spoke out so softly that his voice could barely be heard through the sounds of the waves.

Startled at hearing his little brother for the first time in a while, Giotto looked toward Tsuna with a hint of curiosity and surprise pooling in his eyes.

Hesitant, Tsuna spoke out to the blond haired boy without looking at him, still too afraid to turn and face the other head on. "Are you angry at me? Are you mad because I lied to you earlier about before? if you do right now. I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again."

Orange eyes stared deeply at the young boy in front of them. From what Giotto could see, he noticed right away that the brunet refused to meet his eyes out of fear of learning the truth from him.

Slowly, his own heart began to swell with sadness as he watched small tears slid down the boy's flushed face.

Deep within his mind, his conscious was telling him that he had been completely unfair to Tsuna for keeping him in the dark. He knew that his younger brother cared for him dearly and that by him being as unusually silent as he was probably gave the boy the impression that he was mad at him, which wasn't the case at all.

After all, the last thing that was on the blond boy's mind was the little incident that occurred on the decks. Giotto preferred not to get upset, or dwell over little frivolous things such as that.

"No, Tsu-kun." Smiling gently, Giotto responded back softly, hoping that his brother would look at him. The one thing that he wanted more than anything at that moment was for the troubled child to stop worrying about things that were best forgotten.

Looking up at hearing that calming voice, Tsuna turned toward his brother with watery eyes. Biting his lower lip momentarily, a burst of a deep blooming red painted his cheeks.

Laughing softly, Giotto gazed warmly at the little brunet before him. The older boy didn't have it in his heart to be angry at the brown haired boy in the slightest bit. The boy's delicate charm and absolute sweetness was just enough to turn him into mush.

"I'm not upset with you little one. I never was to begin with. I understand that you have a great curiousness for the island, and I can respect the fact that you wanted to visit there since I did as well. Besides, it's best to put the past behind us."

Immediately, Tsuna looked up at Giotto once more as an indescribable happiness brightened his features and a grand smile lighted his face like brilliantly.

"Thank you, Giotto-nii." After whispering gratefully to the other, Tsuna then crawled across the boat toward his brother. Once he got close enough to reach the older boy, the small brunet tenderly wrapped his arms tightly around his blond haired brother and the older boy returned it.

After a few moments later, Giotto carefully pushed his brother away before he gave the younger boy a warm smile of sheer contentment. He noticed that the small boy's eyes were beginning to droop slightly and he could tell instantly that the brunet was getting sleepy.

"You should gets some rest, Tsu-kun." Giotto spoke to the other in a soft voice. "We still have quite a way to go before we get there."

Silently agreeing with his older sibling wholeheartedly, Tsuna found himself a small place for him to easily curl up and then drifted away into his slumber as he let the sounds of the waves and gentle breeze lull him to sleep.

~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~

It seemed like an eternity had already passed by since Giotto and Tsuna had set sail and left their home. Giotto couldn't help but acknowledge that the sun seemed to be shining more brightly than ever today, but at least it wasn't as blistering hot as it could have been. He was thankful for that.

Even though the blond haired boy knew that they were going in the right direction and that they didn't have that much farther to go, he couldn't help but start to feel a great uneasiness seep into his core.

Truthfully, as much as Giotto hated going back on his word, he couldn't deny that if he had a chance to turn back at that moment, he probably would have without a second thought. Deep inside himself, there was a small part of him that wanted to turn away and tell his brother that he just didn't think he was ready to go to the island.

It was true that he had been on the island once before, but during that time he was alone and it was easier for him to get around without having to worry about anyone other than himself. But, it wasn't like he explored the place top to bottom with a keen eye. There were still many places that were still unknown to him and that's one of the main reasons why the island was still considered dangerous.

However, he knew that he would not be able to go back on his promise. He always had a high sense of honor and commitment and he would never be able to forgive himself.

But, there is one thing he knew for sure. There was no way turning back now, especially since they had come so far to reach their destination .

Suddenly, without warning, Giotto felt a strong surge of energy flow through him like an icy wave, causing his bright orange eyes to narrow suspiciously. Just then, not too long afterwards, there was large, heavy fog that appeared out of nowhere in front of the boat.

'Oh great... Not this again...' Irritated by the quick arrival of the familiar murky barrier, the annoyed teen did his best to make sure to keep a sharp look out of the surroundings so that the boat didn't hit anything.

As the boat was swallowed by the vast thickness, Giotto looked over at his brother to make sure that the young boy was still alright. Much to his relief, the brown haired boy remained almost motionless in his spot and the blond could barely his the boy's quiet breathing as he continued to sleep.

Seeing that his brother was alright, the blond haired teen turned his attention back to the front of the boat with his guard completely up as he did his best to quickly get through the fog without too much difficulty.

Suddenly, as the boat reached the edge of the fog, it slowly began lessen considerably and then disperse. Once they were completely free and out of the misty veil, orange eyes sharpened immensely with great caution at the looming sight ahead.

Sitting upon the water's edge in all her glory, the one place that struck fear in the hearts of many was the infamous, Stellamaria Island.

The island itself resembled a massive metropolis of trees and wildlife that held so many mysteries, secrets, and truths that were just waiting to be found by someone who craved madly for them. There were many tropical plants and flowers of all shapes and sizes that seemed to burst with a awry of colors. The crystal blue water that haloed the vast land seemed to glow magnificently, giving off a very bewitching aura.

One could not help but be charmed by its beauty, despite the terrifying horrors that was it was made up to be by the sailors who claimed they had been there.

But, Giotto knew better that to be taken advantage by its enchanting, yet deceiving facade. He knew that this island was still a very dangerous place, considering that very few people, including himself, knew anything about it, much less actually set foot there.

Gazing at the shore warily, Giotto carefully scanned what visible area he could see to make sure there wasn't any sort of unwanted intrusion awaiting them on the shore. When he found that there was nothing too out of the ordinary, he proceeded to wake his brother up since they made it to the island safely.

"Tsu-kun," Reaching over to the sleeping brunet, Giotto gently shook the child's small shoulder, hoping to awaken him since they were finally made it at the end of their journey. "Tsu-kun, it's time for you to wake up now. We are here."

At first the boy didn't seem to respond to his brother's call. He still remained very motionless to the point it almost scared the older brother. But, after a few more patient attempts to get the other to wake up, Giotto was finally successful once he heard the drowsy mumbling of the tired boy.

"Hm... What did you say, Giotto-nii?" The small brunet murmured almost incoherently due to his drowsiness from his slumber. Rubbing the blurriness from one of his eyes, Tsuna let out a tiny yawn, quietly waiting for his older brother's response.

"We are here, Tsu-kun." Giotto's softly whispered in the boy's ear as a smile grew on his face as did the warmth in his eyes.

Feeling a burst of delight take over him, Tsuna immediately sat up in his place, his sight was set on the one place he never thought he would be at, a great sensation and joy growing deep within the pools of his chocolate hues. And, without any hesitation whatsoever, Tsuna cheered excitedly while leaning at the edge of the boat, his small hands tightening with sheer happiness.

"I can't believe we're finally here! We're here! We're here! We're here!"

And with that notion, once the boat had made its way right at the edge of the shore, Tsuna quickly hopped out of the boat while grabbing his sketchpad, his little orange bucket and pail, and all his other belongings with him in a flash.

Giotto quietly looked on at his brother's happiness before letting another smile form on his face.

Carefully stepping out of the boat, the blond boy proceeded to pull the large object completely out of the water and onto the sand. The last thing he wanted was for their boat to be dragged by the waves and to drift off to sea. It would be absolutely terrifying to be trapped on the island without any chance of ever leaving.

After making sure that their only form of transportation was high upon the shore, the blond haired boy then bent over to grab all of their things out. Once he was done, he gently dropped all the items on the ground on top a large sky blue towel and began to look around to see where his brother had trotted off to.

Not too far from Giotto, sitting quietly to himself on his own orange towel, Tsuna was happily enjoying taking in all his surroundings, being enthralled by the new environment and taking in as much of its beauty as he could.

Smiling knowingly, the blond boy could tell that Tsuna wasn't going to be any trouble. The brunet was a good boy who rarely got himself in any kind of trouble and he always kept mostly to himself.

'I guess I better leave him alone for now." Giotto muttered to himself as he brought his body down on his own towel, sprawling his aching form over like a sleepy kitten. 'As long as he doesn't try to wonder off...' Gently letting his eyelids close shut, 'I'm pretty sure that he'll be okay.'

And with that last thought in mind, the older Sawada brother was fast asleep.

~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~

It was no surprise to say the least that Tsuna was consumed by a complete bliss after he arrived on the island. The young boy was really enjoying the calm and gentle atmosphere that surrounded the island. He was also enjoying the soothing sounds of the waves as they swept in slowly soft strides and the fresh scent of the water served to relax him with the utmost care.

There was also a nice breeze that ever so often come by, helping to keep him nice and cool while the blazing sun high above him continued pressed soft, fiery kisses upon his tender skin.

Luckily for the excited child, not too long after their arrival, Giotto had finally woken up from his nap and the two boys then decided to eat some of the food that there mother had packed for them.

Happily eating together while enjoying the view of the sparkling water, the brothers ate some sweet, delicious fruit that were freshly grown all over their island. They each had a couple loafs of bread, along with some white cheese, and the young brunet was delighted enough to throw a few pieces small pieces of food for a couple of seagulls that were brave enough to come near the two. Finally, they also had a few sugar cookies each that they both gobbled up quickly after finding them.

After they were done with their lunch, Tsuna thought it would be a great time to ask his older brother if he would spend some time with him for a little while, to which the older brother agreed happily as the both stood up while beginning to ponder what they should do first.

The first thing that Tsuna wanted to do with his brother was collect some seashells to bring back home with them. To the thrilled brunet's amazement, there were all kinds of shells that laid patiently on the shore just waiting for them to pick them up, and he was even lucky enough to find a starfish and a few sand dollars that were not the least bit broken. Giotto had also gathered up a lot pretty shells and he made sure to carefully put every single on in his brother's personal shell bag for save keeping.

After the brothers put the ball back into the boat, they both decided to try and build the biggest sand castle they possibly could! Fortunately, they both really enjoyed this activity considerably, and they each had a specific part of the castle that they wanted to work on. After quite a bit of time and hard work, they managed to accomplish their goal, without too many problems in the process. Once they were completely finished, the boys decided to call their creation Vongola Castle!

After that task was done and over with, Giotto decided that he wanted wanted to cool down for a while to go for a swim since he was burning up from the sun's bright rays for so long. Giotto stood up in his place, making sure that he didn't stand on the castle and he swiftly took off his shirt along with his shoes as well.

"Tsu-kun, I'm going to go for a swim, okay? I promise that I won't be too long, so just sit tight for a bit."

Giotto glanced back at his brother, noticing that the boy looked a little pale and a bit shaken up as he nodded in reply. Frowning slightly at his brother's sudden mood change, Giotto felt himself saddened for the boy even though he understood his brother felt this way, especially after what happened to him.

After making sure that Tsuna was going to be okay, the teen dived into the water and swam with great speed under of the incoming waves that came rushing to his his way. Watching his brother swim away from the shore, the boy dejectedly looked down at his lap when undesirable memories began to emerge in his head.

Sometimes, Tsuna couldn't help but be ashamed that he was too scared to go into the water, even though he loved it with all his heart at the same time. However, after experiencing an unfortunate swimming incident that occurred when he was a lot younger where he had nearly drowned after a huge wave consumed him and dragged him far away from the beach.

Had it not been for his brother being there on the day, the younger boy probably wouldn't be alive today, and after that horrible event, the terrified boy vowed never to go swimming ever again. He just couldn't do it.

'I wish I could be more brave like my brother...'Sighing sullenly to himself, as he absentmindedly began to pick up some sand in one of his hand only to let the slide slide through his fingers as it escaped his grasp.

After a little while, a blond head poked out of the sea's surface right boy his brother emerged from the water and made his way toward his towel before drying off. After he was done, he began to look around to see where his brother was and was relieved to see his brother sketching furiously in his sketch pad.

'I'm glad he's found something to keep him busy.' The older boy thought thankfully as he laid back on his towel, pulling a book from out of his pack. 'I better not disturb him since he's really into his muse right now.' Opening the book carefully, Giotto began to read to keep his own self busy for a while.

Sitting silently on his little spot, Tsuna was heavily engaged in sketching out every bit of the breath taking life that was scattered about all over the place like the remaining shells that laid undisturbed and quiet upon the ocean's shore.

Everywhere his large brown eyes looked, there was always something new that caught in his sight. Excited and thrilled at these new found discoveries, the boy wanted to draw them all, to capture their beauty and make them his own.

He wanted everything he drew their, every line, every color, every detail to remain with him forever because very few people would never be able to see the unearthly beauty that resided on the island.

There were so many strange, yet unique looking plants that had easily caught the boy's attention right away. Drawing away furiously in his sketchpad, the boy drew all kinds of the plants that varied much so in shapes and sizes. There were countless flowers too that flourished such bright and exuberant colors that that it literally made his heart flutter with happiness.

He was in paradise and he truly felt free there.

'Everything on the island is so very beautiful.' Tsuna smiled as he proudly scanned through all the pictures that he recently drew earlier and then set his gaze on the forest that was just begging him to come look inside it. 'I don't understand why everyone is so afraid of this place. It's wonderful here!'

'I really wish that I could look around here for a while, but I know I can't.' Tsuna reminded himself briefly as he decided to draw something else to keep his curiosity down. Even though the boy had a strong desire to explore deeper into the island, he remembered that he promised to listen to his brother no matter what.

After a little while, Tsuna was done putting the final touches on a deep red flower that swayed gently with the cool breeze, he looked up for the first time in quite some time and was surprised to see that it was almost evening time.

The sky that was once a clear, light blue without a single cloud in sight was beginning to have small splashes of pinks, yellows, and reds with a small hint of fading cerulean, and the sun that was now dyed orange was slowly starting fall behind the horizon of the sea.

"Tsu-kun!" The boy heard his brother call out for him. When the boy turned as the older blond pushed their boat back into the water. "C'mon, Tsu-kun! It's time to go! It's going to get dark soon!"

Shooting up from the ground, his eyes were wide with disbelief on how time flew by him so quickly without his knowing. He could not believe that he spent most of his day drawing! It seemed so unreal, so unbelievable, and yet it still happened all the same.

Disappointed by the realization that it was time to leave, the tired boy sluggishly began to gather all of his things in his arms with a small pout on his face. but After he had everything, he slowly made his way toward his brother with a small pout on his face, but then he suddenly stopped when he realized something was off.

For some reason, the boy could not help but feel like he was being watched by something. At first, he shrugged the feeling off as him being tired because he had quite an eventful day on the island, but with each passing moment the feeling began to become stronger, which caused the boy to stop in his place to see what was causing him to feel so uneasy.

"What...is...that?" Tsuna all but whispered to himself as his large eyes squinted at something that seemed to be floating gracefully in the sea. Quite a distance away from the shore, there seemed to be some sort of object or figure that floated practically motionless above the water, and from what the brunet could tell, it seemed to be staring back at him intensely.

'Is that a dolphin...?' The curious boy wondered as he moved slightly closer to the shore and suddenly thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use a tiny microscope that his. Unfortunately for him, by the time he even had a chance to pull out his small object out, the mysterious figure decided to dive beneath the waves and disappeared beneath the water's darkened depths.

However, the stunned child managed to catch a small glimpse at the creature's peculiar looking tail that seemed to sparkle in a way that no other creature's possibly could against the in the sun's lights and splashed soundly against the water's surface right before it that followed quickly under along with it.

Tsuna gasped loudly as he dropped his microscope on the ground from the sight that he had just witnessed. "I can't believe it..." Whispering to himself in pure amazement, the small brunet could feel tiny shocks of electricity tingling through his body as a huge mesmerized grin found its way on to his amazed face.

Being to excited beyond words, Tsuna immediately jumped up from the ground, quickly grabbed all of his belongings, and ran to the direction where his brother was waiting for him. Without any hesitation, the boy grabbed a part of his brother's shirt and began shaking the

"Giotto-nii, Giotto-nii, guess what?" Tsuna shouted excitedly as he pointed a small finger toward the area that the creature had been moments before. Giotto looked down at his brother curiously, waiting to hear what had gotten his brother so worked up. The boy looked up smiling brightly before he went on to tell the teen about what he saw.

"I saw a mermaid! I really did because it was right there looking at me! You should have seen it, Giotto-nii. You would have probably been just as amazed as I was too. Even though I didn't really get a good look at it though, but I know deep in my heart that I saw one."

Suddenly, Giotto's orange eyes began to widen with a hint of utter disbelief and then as fast as lightning itself, he bent down to grab the boy's shoulders tightly, causing the younger boy to look up nervously.

"Listen to me Tsu-kun because what I'm about to tell you is very important." The blond teen said in a stern voice, which caused the smaller boy to wince slightly upon hearing it." I really hate to have to tell you this because I know how much you love fantasies and all, but mermaids don't exist, Tsu-kun."

Crestfallen brown eyes saddened immediately upon hearing those harsh words escape from his brother's lips, and before he could retort to his brother's statement, the older boy continued to speak of things that seemed poisonous to his ears.

"They are just a figment of dreams and silly fairy tales that old sailors and fishermen conjured up when they believed they saw these creatures, but they turned up to be either a manatee or a dolphin. There has yet to be a single strand of evidence to point towards their existence. I just don't want to to get hurt, Tsu-kun. They aren't real and they never will be."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence between the two. It was a long heavy silence that seemed to swift change the atmosphere around them and it only seemed to grow more cold as time continue to progress on.

"You're wrong..." Balling his hands so tightly that his tiny fists turned bone-white with despair. The boy snatched himself from his brother's grip, gazing up at the older boy with angry tears running down his flushed face right before he turned away from him and climbed inside the boat.

Giotto stared down sadly at his younger brother, but in all honesty, he was not surprised by the younger boy's reaction. In fact, he expected it to turn out this way. He completely understood that the silent child was vexed with him, and he knew better than to try to speak to the boy while he was deeply upset with him.

Gently, the blond haired teen pushed the boat into the water before quickly jumping in himself. Once the waves brought the boat deeper into the ocean, Giotto began to steer it back into the direction of their home.

'I'm really sorry for hurting you, Tsu-kun.' Giotto mentally called out to his brother though his words went unspoken. His heart began to pang painfully in his chest as he noticed that the boy was sitting farther away from him in the other side of the boat, looking distantly toward the dying sunset that was fading in the sky.

'But...it was for your own good.'

As they both sailed away into the , they both didn't sense an unknown lurking presence that was hidden deep within the water's depths, watching them intensely as they departed away from the island.

A/N: Well, I hope that you all really enjoyed the chapter! Please look forward to more updates as soon as I can post them online. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review! Later~