Word

Two: Being okay with running away

Summary: Tsuna never spoke a word, but that was okay. Some things don't have to be said after all. He fell in love with someone he shouldn't have, but that was okay too. Then he rescued a turtle from a car crash, found himself glowing with strange symbols all over his body, and suddenly, nothing was all that okay anymore.

There was a squirming turtle in his arms, a tall, dangerously handsome man holding him by the back of the neck like an unruly kitten, and he was missing most of his clothes.

Something wasn't right.

He stares at the man from the corner of his eyes, too scared to make eye contact. When the man notices, Tsuna snaps his eyes closed and tilts his head down. A second later, he resolves himself to at least make sure the turtle was okay and opened his eyes—only to meet dark, bottomless orbs staring into his face, far too close for comfort.

"Finally up, Dame-Tsuna?" Tsuna blinks in surprise at the stranger who knew his "name." It kind of said a lot if even a complete stranger was willing to call him that.

He nods. The man with the fedora sets him down, and he stumbles a little before regaining his (nonexistent) balance due to the sudden, but gentle handwrapping expertly around his shoulders.

Huh, it's been awhile since he's been touched like this…Stranger or not, there was something about this man Tsuna feels like he could trust, if only for that moment. Against his more rational judgment, he leans a little into the touch, releasing a nostalgic sigh.

"Tsu-kun, come here! Mama will make it better."

Nana used to do it all the time whenever he was sad about having no friends or whenever he cried. She doesn't do that now, not after Iemitsu became a "star" and never came home anymore. Tsuna wonders sometimes if he took her love for granted. Did she only love him because he brought his father back that one time? Tsuna doesn't know. He doesn't want to either.

(But isn't a parent's love unconditional?)

"Reborn!" A younger man, with a much easier-going expression, rushes to the other man's side. Tsuna takes this chance to step away, though he still had a front seat pass to what happened next. He watches with almost horror as the blonde trips and slams onto the ground. Tsuna winces because he knows, exactly, how that felt.

At least it was in the grass. Tsuna has tripped over and onto pavement before and that was a painful experience, complete with skinned knees and elbows. Before he could offer help to the blonde, however, the man beside him exhales, a sound Tsuna guesses was his version of a sigh, and gives the downed body a sharp kick.

"Get up, Dino." The said blonde, Dino, whines pitifully but picks himself back up and hurriedly dusted his pants. He glances at Reborn—is that his real name, Tsuna doesn't know. Why would anyone name their child Reborn?—with hopeful eyes.

"Did you find Enzo?"

"My no-good student," Tsuna starts but then realizes that this Reborn wasn't talking to him. "This wouldn't have happened if you had kept a close eye on your pet."

"But, but—!" the guy flails as Reborn narrowed his beady, black eyes on him. "It wasn't on purpose and—who is that?" The blonde finally notices Tsuna, who was doing his best to blend into the background.

Ah, he really wishes he could turn into one those things his science teacher talked about in class—amoeba, ameba? Tsuna's not good at science either and that's why you're Dame-Tsuna—and just ooze away. Then Dino catches sight of the turtle Tsuna was clutching nervously in his arms and exclaimed, "Enzo, there you are!"

So this turtle was his? Tsuna knows he shouldn't judge—because he isn't worthy enough to make opinions of others when he himself amounted to nothing, after all—but really, he thinks, like pet like owner.

Dino strides forward, most likely to retrieve his pet, but Tsuna flinched back when he sees the blonde loom over him, feeling so much like his bullies that he shoves Enzo at Dino and takes a step back and then another and another until he's full out running.

"Wha-! Wait! Hey, I didn't even say thanks yet!" the blonde calls.

Midway through, Tsuna stops, turns around and bows as if to say you're welcome, and continues to run, nearly tripping as he rushes to get away. He could feel their gazes, and Reborn's especially felt like they were drilling holes through the back of his head. They didn't chase, but if they did, Tsuna knows that he wouldn't have even made it three steps backward, in which case, Reborn would already be there, all caught up and bored. However, before he runs any farther, he takes a brief, hesitant look back.

They were still staring.

All he really can do is run.

Away from bullies. Away from his problems. Away from the dark, dark thoughts that sometimes plagued his mind.

(But he's not even good at that either…)

"So, uh, what was that about?" Dino asks, Enzo perched neatly on his shoulder.

Reborn twitches, hands going toward his gun, and Dino thinks—no, he knows—that Reborn was about to beat him up for some reason or another.

(And, sometimes, there wasn't a reason because, well, Reborn wasn't reasonable.)

"You," Reborn says darkly, "You just lost me my prey."

Prey? What prey? Don't tell me—!

The image of the short, chocolate-eyed boy from earlier flashes through his mind.

"Wait, wait!" Dino waves his hands in the air as the universal sign of 'don't hit me'. "Are you saying that he's going to be the new—?!"

Bang!

"Haha…" Dino takes a step back when the bullet came too close to his manhood for comfort. Ah, well, today wasn't a good day for him, was it? He kind of wishes he had something cool to say at the last moment when Reborn's gun leveled with his forehead like all the heroes on TV, but really, all he wanted was to write his will.

'Enzo can have the biggest bathtub in the west wing, Patrizia can have my favorite stuffed animal, Alfonso, Romario can have my allowance…'

Tsuna leans against a tree, panting heavily and wishing he was just a tad bit more athletic.

(See? There he goes again, making pointless wishes.)

What was that about?

As he gets up to walk away, a sharp sting in his front pocket stops him. Confused, he reaches and feels something warm press against his fingers. He pulls it out and almost drops it in shock.

W-where did this even come from?

In his hands was a still smoking bullet. It was a bright, vivid red and on it was a flame etched into it. Whoever made this took a lot of care to make it stand out. It even had a strange, determined face carved into the flame.

But…

Dangerous, something within his mind whispers, something isn't right.

So he follows the instructions of his inner voice and throws it as far as possible. As soon as he turns to go, however, a voice speaks up.

"This is why I find idiots deplorable." A man, dressed in a white lab coat and tie, steps out of the bushes and pushes up his glasses. Between his fingers was the red bullet Tsuna had just thrown away. "You're simply someone who doesn't know the value of my inventions."

He looks at Tsuna directly in the eyes before saying something Tsuna freezes at.

"If you don't see all the effort I put into this, why don't we simply test this Dying Will Bullet on you then?"

A/N: I wasn't expecting much. One review, two if I was lucky, but wow, nine! Nine whole comments of motivation (to me, lol).

University life is too much. I don't even see why I need to be educated for 6 years to be an elementary teacher. Am I supposed to be teaching them college algebra or something? Because, dang, requirements from my time in Pre-K sure have shot up.

(Why do I sound so old, my god.)

Oh, well, I'll just hang it up on the wall like a trophy when I get it.

So, I have a question. How do this answering questions in the reviews work? Am I suppose to answer them in PM? Or in the next chapter?