CHAPTER 2

It's All a Matter of Time

Caramel brown eyes meet the eyes of his reflection.

They shone bright like flames, pulsating as they glowed, almost as if they were embers in a fireplace.

Tsuna takes a step back. His reflection remains in place, orange eyes staring right at him. The image in the mirror… it was him. From his messy brown hair, to body structure, to the plain pajamas he was currently wearing.

The only thing that differed was the pair of orange eyes.

Tsuna blinks several times. Unlike the blood, this image remains. He runs his hands through his hair, and takes a few steps back to lean against the bathroom wall.

I'm... still dreaming…?

No, not really.

The voice is deep - deeper than his own at least - and echoes within Tsuna's mind. Eyes widen, and lips move forming words that just don't materialize. The reflection's mouth remains still. Tsuna closes his mouth. He doesn't think he can trust it to come up with the right things to say. Somehow he knows he doesn't really have to speak.

I must be dreaming. This can't-

Well you're not.

Tsuna runs a hand through his hair again, the reflection not doing what it's supposed to do: mirror the action. The brunet, intrigued by this, waves a hand. The reflection does not mimic the action, nor move in any other way. The only thing about the reflection that seems to show any sort of movement would be the glow of its eyes; it's steady pulsing unnerves Tsuna.

You… do not move? Mentally, Tsuna smacks himself. A thousand questions on his mind, but he feels that that one question must be answered first. There is a hint of amusement in the image's orange eyes. Tsuna feels as though the reflection would have had the corner of its mouth quirk up.

No, not really. The image seems to consider something, despite the fact that it has not moved at all, or changed appearance in any way. I… lack an actual form.

An actual form…? The brunet steps closer to the mirror, wary at the inhuman eyes watching him. What do you mean?

Well... The reflection closes its eyes, and Tsuna is surprised at the action. It was the first real movement that it made. ...this is because I exist only within your mind.

What? Quite frankly, Tsuna had no idea what time it was right now. He didn't think it would matter until now, because he was pretty sure he'd be up for the next few hours after this and he really didn't want to fall asleep in class again. He feels his breath becoming carefully controlled. He doesn't speak, but he mouths it out.

Who are you?

The image opens its eyes.

I am you.

"Oi!"

Tsuna jolts up in his seat, breathing heavily. Eyes dart around to find eyes all on him.

They examined him with fascination, the kind one would hold for a new specimen.

They had found something else to test on, one that would indeed bring up promising results.

He calms down when he realizes that they were his classmates.

But then he realizes that he was sleeping in class again.

Tsuna briefly attempts to recall his nightmare, but it fades from his mind easily. He instead decides to assess his current situation. It was a different class, so the teacher wasn't the same one who put him in detention the previous day. He guesses that that's why she doesn't seem to be as irritated (different teacher, different temperament and all) but she also seems… concerned? Tsuna decides to word out an apology nonetheless.

"S… Sorry sensei…" The apology is weak, whatever it was that happened in his nightmare still taking a toll on him. Instead of lashing out or telling him not to do it again, the teacher approaches him cautiously. Upon closer inspection… yep, that was definitely concern written on her face.

"Sawada-san… are you alright?" the teacher asks.

Tsuna raises a brow at this, unsure of what to think.

"Sensei…?"

"You were murmuring in your sleep," a student nearby provided. She rubs her thumb along the side of her pen, looking thoughtful. "You sounded… scared."

Scared? Tsuna rubs at his eyes. Well it was a nightmare…

"Sawada-"

"It was just a nightmare, sensei," Tsuna says abruptly, adding in 'sensei' as a quick afterthought.

The teacher looks skeptical, before heaving a sigh and cleaning her glasses. "Well… if you say so." She faces the rest of the class, who up until now had been leaning closer in interest, and immediately her face hardens; it takes just one look for the class to know that the show was over, and that they were to continue as usual. Tsuna sighs, and leans back in his chair. He knew it was a bad idea to stay up that late.

But then again, when your reflection starts talking to you, it would be hard to get some decent rest.

Tsuna reflects on the encounter.

And no that wasn't a pun, dammit.

I am you.

Tsuna stills, and while he knows that the search would merit no findings, his eyes scan his - his reflection's - face for any faults.

What do you mean?

I mean that I am you. And yet, at the same time, I am not.

The brunet furrows his brow. That wasn't exactly helpful. In his mind, the voice huffs in amusement.

I suppose not. It hums for a few beats. Call me… Decimo.

Decimo? That sounded familiar to the brown-eyed brunet. That was… Italian?

It is Italian for 'Tenth,' yes.

Decimo… alright then. He would ponder on that choice of name later. So, are you my split personality or something?

Yes, something like that.

Your only existence is within my head… And you don't seem to move because…? Tsuna wasn't sure if wanted to get the answer to that but hey, his alternate personality was talking to him. Might as well.

Decimo closes his (his? Yeah, definitely male) eyes, and somehow, Tsuna feels that it is piecing together the right words to convey (not say, no; it wasn't exactly a verbal conversation).

I think that has to do with you.

Me?

Yeah. Originally, I had thought that it was myself. I had been trying to talk to you properly for some time now, but it was difficult to even get beyond a simple desire of proper cognition. I eventually learned that it is your own doing of suppressing me. While I am still able to think properly for myself, these abilities were slow to come, and this would be due to your interference.

There's a sensation of something pointing at him, and Tsuna guesses that Decimo is pointing at his head. His brain in his head, to be exact. If Tsuna could use an emoticon right now, it would probably be the one with the slanted mouth that gives a vibe of indecisiveness. (:/)(:\)

I don't feel like I'm interfering with anything up in here. I didn't even know you existed.

That is because whenever I try to communicate with you, I can never stay long. I am still too weak.

Even now, I cannot remain.

For a terrifying moment, there is only silence. Tsuna blinks, and once more it's his reflection. He waves his hand in front of it, and it responds accordingly. It's appearance is totally normal, and it's eyes are no longer glowing orange. The brunet leans forward, towards the mirror, looking deeply into his own eyes, into his reflection's eyes.

Orange-gold flecks dance in his irises.

You know me.

You do not remember

but we speak to each other whenever you do.

Unfortunately, my words do not escape the realm of slumber.

So now, I reveal myself to you while you are awake.

The reflection moves closer to the brunet's face, fiery eyes staring into his own. Tsuna is unsure if the image is moving of its own accord, or his body is.

I tire of speaking to you in nightmares.

After that… Tsuna sighs, and cracks his neck as he continues on his walk home.

...after that he decides not to talk to me again. He looks up at the sky.

No nightmares either.

His lips form into a pout. Hella late when it finished, though. Barely an hour left of sleep. He gives a tired yawn, as though his body wanted to emphasize that point.

At least I didn't sleep in class that much. He reaches up and pinches the bridge of his nose. Less awkward-waking-up-in-the-middle-of-class, I guess.

Tsuna rounds a corner, accidentally bumping into someone. He immediately spins towards the person, hands up in front of him.

"S-Sorry!" Hot damn, the world must be after him. If there's one thing he really didn't like, aside from nightmares and bullies and such, it would probably be awkward bump-ins. He was a rather anxious boy, and it didn't exactly help that he was socially-impaired. He looks down, and notices that some of the stranger's belongings had fallen to the floor. Immediately, he crouches down and starts to pick the items up off the floor. "I'm really sorry-" he takes a quick look up at the stranger, who has also started gathering his things, "-sir."

"Ah, no it's alright. It was just an accident, no problem." The way he speaks Japanese is peculiar, the pronunciation not quite right. Tsuna sneaks another peek at the man, and is greeted with the sight of blond hair.

A foreigner, I guess.

The brunet looks back down, and picks up a box before handing over the armful of items to the man. The man flashes back a smile.

"Thanks, and again, it's nothing to worry about." He seems to suddenly notice Tsuna's smaller stature (the poor child was still be gain a decent height), and his attire, which spurred a small 'ah' from the blond.

"So you're a student, huh?"

Brown eyebrows furrow. "Yes. Um-"

The blond interrupts, sparing Tsuna the embarrassment of an awkward inquiry. "Well, y'see, I a friend of mine works as a tutor," he says as he fishes around the clutter in his arms. At last he hands the brunet a white envelope, 'home tutor' printed cleanly onto its back.

"You should try hiring him. While his methods may be considered a little…" The blond looks off into the distance, and cringes. "...harsh, they eventually prove to be rather effective."

Tsuna turns the letter over in his hands, before pocketing it. "I'll think about it." Actually, his mind was already set on not calling for a tutor. His grades were fine as they were, though a little under-average for a few subjects.

The stranger smiles. "Well, I best be going then." He waves a goodbye, and heads off on his own.

The brunet goes the other way, hoping that he still had a little more time left.

The bluish-gray walls had grown so familiar to the brunet that he could identify the exact same shade they were from a collection of color swatches. The curtains changed every now and then, and Tsuna's been around long enough to know that they had 10 different sets for the entire building. Taking a breath before opening the door had become a habit. However, if there was one thing he couldn't get used to, it was the sight that greeted him in that room. He smiles.

"Hi mom."

From the bed, under a large, sky blue blanket and hooked up to several machines, a woman smiled. Her face held no wrinkles or creases, any and all signs of weariness disappearing in an instant.

"Hi, Tsu-kun."

Tsuna closes the door behind him, and makes his way over to his mother's bedside. His bag goes in the usual corner of the room, and the plastic chair is dragged off from the side, as is the norm. Hand-holding is a ritual that is always observed.

Sawada Nana turns her head towards her child, the smile never faltering from her lips. She had always been a cheerful woman, in spite of whatever hardships she had to face, and she always shows that. It's a sort of aura she has, always radiating kindness and joy. It's even in her eyes, the eyes that bear the very same shade as those of her son.

"How was school?" Her voice is pleasant to hear, a song that could charm the dead. Even when weakened, it's still something that never ceases to soothe Tsuna's soul.

"Alright," was the reply.

This time, her lips formed into a pout. "Now, you didn't get into trouble, did you? You took a while coming here, Tsu-kun, don't think I don't notice these things."

Such a thought had never crossed his mind. Nana was deceptively observant, a fact that Tsuna was exclusively privy to. As an answer, he shakes his head.

"No, nothing like that." His mouth presses into a thin line, and the brunet looks off to the side. "I just bumped into someone."

"Ah, is that so?" Her lips go back into their natural curve. "That's good to hear." She brings her hand up to brush it against Tsuna's cheek. He brings up his other hand, and holds his mother's close to his face. "I'm always so worried about you, Tsu-kun. I can't do much from here, but I always pray for you."

"I know."

He never forgets it.

When Tsuna gets back, the sky had already grown dark.

He looks to the kitchen for a brief moment, and decides that it's too late to make proper food and goes for instant ramen. It doesn't take long to make, and soon enough he has a hot cup in one hand and his pants in the other. The pants are tossed to the side, and the cup of ramen placed down onto the table in the middle of his room. Changing is a process that never takes long, and soon he's on his chair, slurping up the noodles in fervor.

It's been so long since I've had noodles, I just might start quoting Shakespeare about it! … not like I've read Shakespeare before. Who has time to read those books anyway? I hear they're difficult to understand, even to English-speakers…

Before he could go on a full mental rant about how complicated language was, he spotted something on the floor. Reluctantly leaving behind the remaining noodles, he goes over to pick it up.

Ah, right. The envelope that guy gave me. He turns over the letter in his hand, and opens it, taking out the document inside to read.

"Ah, Tsu-kun, what's that?"

"Hm?" He looks down to where his mother was pointing, right at his pocket. "Oh, this?" He pulls out the envelope by the end sticking out, and shows it to Nana, absently straightening out the creases it had developed while in his pocket. "It's just a letter recommending a home tutor or something. The guy I bumped into gave it to me."

"Is that so?" She takes the letter from him, and reads it silently. Unfortunately, from his angle, Tsuna can't read anything and so is left in the dark. She folds it up, and puts it back into the envelope, and gently places it into her son's hands.

"I think you should try getting this tutor."

The younger brunet's lips curl into a frown. "We need all the money we can get to keep you healthy-"

Nana lifts her hand, and Tsuna immediately stops talking. She gives her son a close-eyed smile.

"Money isn't the problem here. What I want is for you to grow up to be a kind, intelligent person, who will help everyone in need."

Tsuna looks down at his hands, which Nana held in hers.

"I'm trying."

"I know."

XXX XXX XXX

Nine digits was all that the paper held.

That, and a singular word.

N

Hi.

I had this chapter ready for over a week.

Ahah.

Anyway, time in between chapters will probably be long, as I am still fighting to get my muse back properly, and due to the fact that I'd like to publish as many as possible at once.

Big thanks to my good friend for being my beta, and it seems his penname changed, so thanks to Lube Kouhai and bloody hell man.

As usual, thanks for taking the time to read this, following, favoriting, or whatever. I encourage leaving behind reviews because it's a real motivator for me.

Once again, thanks, and until next time

Have a good one