Warning(s): Shitty Grammar, OOC, mild language (Unbeta-ed)

Achromatic Sky
[1] Black and White

The world has its own rights and mistakes. There would always be the boundary of where people stood and where other things mattered. It was a matter of who would be smart enough to realize that everything in the world created either by human or by the person above meant to be equal. To be treated as one and to be treated as fair, but no one seemed to remember that these days. Because…

Even in people themselves, fairness was already strained. Rich people were admired by many, but on the opposite side were people underground crawling for food were scorned by the society. No, not only by society but the whole world. No one dared to defend. No one dared to voice out the wrongness of the world. All were accepted as long as people had the same standards as the higher up.

But most of today, not only poorness was determined as the pitiful side of people. There was also the large difference between the strong and the weak. Strong for degrading others and weak for not fighting back, knowing at heart that they didn't have the chance.

In this world, there would always be the thin line between black and white. The shade of gray, they said. A perfect definition of the uncertainties between the weak and the strong, but there would be no one besides you to understand what strong will meant.

"Hey, honey! How are you and my son? Are you doing well?" Iemitsu Sawada asked from the phone, wiggling like a fan girl while talking to his one and only lovely wife.

Nana Sawada, wife of Iemitsu sighed, but a smile graced on her lips as she remembered her one reliable son. She giggled slightly as she twirled the white wire of the telephone. She didn't agree on using cellphones in the house, but her reliable son had one because he needed it.

"We're fine, love. But I need to go now, I'm still cooking breakfast. Call me when you're done working, 'kay? Love you," she waited a hum in reply and hung up on her husband. She walked to the kitchen and found her son tapping his finger impatiently as he waited for her to come. When he saw her, he flashed her a million dollar smile, and Nana couldn't help but squeal like a fangirl. Heh.

"Hey mom, how was dad?" Natsu asked, still having that smile on his lips even if he was twitching to let it bent downward. He had to keep it that way, to manipulate people around him.

He was after all, the great and strong Sawada Natsu. Although he didn't really prefer to be called as Sawada in school because seriously, who would want to be identified as related to one of the most hated person on campus? Of course, no one would want that! Let alone one Sawada Natsu, the campus prince of Namimori High.

"He said he was fine. Although, he was a bit cold because of his construction work being in the South Pole and all, and he said the penguins were quite nice," she beamed and Natsu almost dropped his jaw, but that would ruin his image. So, he just smiled at her and nodded his head as a sign of understanding.

He suspected that there was something his father was hiding from them, though he didn't know what or why he was hiding it. But he wasn't a nosy teenager so he wouldn't pry, well at least now he wouldn't. But his excuses of hiding it from them were getting more ridiculous every single passing day.

Nana put her gloves on and prepared the eggs to prepare an omelet for her son. He always loved her cooking and she was happy to serve her finest when he wanted it. She smiled as she hummed a tune that she once heard before but she couldn't remember where she had heard it. It was tune that she had come to love. Admire even. It was something like a song that sounded so painful, lonely, yet flat. You get the point? A song that resembles struggles from some lone wolf, but the struggles were covered by nonchalance with better judgment.

Steps from upstairs were heard to the whole house as the person stumbled halfway through his way to the ground. He rubbed his swollen forehead but didn't make a sound. He smiled apologetically to the people inside the kitchen, but he knew it was fruitless anyway. Since the day he turned five, both mother and son had come to a decision that they wouldn't poke their noses on his business. Not that they ever did before, but the difference between years might sound a little not too pathetic, he thought.

Sawada Tsunayoshi sighed inwardly as he limped his way to the kitchen with a humming Nana. He closed his eyes, and idly remembered the song that was long ago had stuck on his head. It was the song he heard from his dream.

He vividly remembered a blond with sunset eyes singing to him that song while running his fingers through his brown lock hair, but nothing more. And when he woke up, all he remembered was the song and the sunset eyes. He tried performing it once inside his room with his guitar (the one he bought himself when he turned eight) and perhaps that's when his mom heard it. Although from the looks of it, she didn't remember anything hearing it from his room. Oh well.

He sat down far away from his twin because it was supposed to be that way. They were nothing alike, Tsuna mused. Tsuna sported a brown gravity defying hair that no gels could make it down, while his brother has blond hair that looked like his father's, (not that he ever saw his father from the past three years), the hair that Iemitsu sported when he last saw him.

Then, there's the huge difference between their faces. Tsuna has baby face, almost mistaking him to be a girl and was easy to pick on because he looked so much feminine and weak, while Natsu has a face of a celebrity that any girl would swoon over. Tsuna's eyebrows were slightly raised and thin, but it was recognizable. But Natsu has knitted eyebrows that added to the fact that he was considered handsome.

And yes, the difference between their eyes. Tsuna has brown caramel eyes that almost identically big as a puppy, while Natsu has slightly narrowed green eyes that sometimes Tsuna mistaken him as a cat. Although, Tsuna thought, it added to the fact that his brother was considered hot.

With standards, Natsu was preferable by men and women, while Tsuna was picked on by men because he was a disgrace to their race and women despised him because he didn't need any make up to be considered as one of the Virgin Marys.

Tsuna walked to the toaster. His instinct told him that his mom forgot to make him breakfast, again. It happened almost every day and Tsuna was used to it anyway. He stupidly mused why he even sat down on the chair in the first place.

He placed a piece of bread inside the toaster and waited several minutes before hearing the ding and he shoved it to his mouth even if it was hot. He didn't bother saying goodbye as he would be likely ignored by the two occupants in the room anyway. And finally, he sprinted to Namimori High.

A small smile graced his lips as he saw the sakura tree in backyard of the school, (where he usually sat alone during lunch period to avoid bullies and have some peace). He sat down, leaning against the tree, and closed his eyes. It was relaxing, he thought peacefully, just feeling the essence of being alive. He wanted nothing but this. Tsuna sighed, beginning to relax his head against the rough yet comfortable withered sakura tree.

He still had an hour to wait before going to his first period.

.

"You requested for me, Nono?" A baby wearing a formal black suit with a fedora on top of his head together with a green chameleon entered the office of the Ninth boss of Vongola, Timoteo. The said man smiled apologetically to his longtime friend and sent a glance to the one accompanying the Arcobaleno and signaled to leave them both alone.

"Yes, Reborn," Reborn noticed the uncertainty in the man's tone, but didn't question it.

Timoteo was his longtime friend even if it seemed impossible in first glance. After all, he appeared to be a two-year-old baby. Reborn tilted the brim of his hat downward, casting shadows to his onyx eyes as he waited for the next person to come.

Reborn always had this ability to guess what would happen, and always had the ability to catch up on something a normal person would at least get an hour to understand the whole thing. And he was right, he thought smugly, when the door creaked open, and revealed the External Advisor of CEDEF, Sawada Iemitsu.

Reborn could easily conclude where this meeting was going. Although, he thought, the uncertainty from the Ninth's boss was unnecessary if his information was right. But being the famous person as he was, he waited and let the people talked their own.

After all, being served and treated as king had always been his favorite past time.

Sometimes he wondered if he was just that much of a genius or people were just really that easy to read. He couldn't read minds, contrary to what people believed that he had such ability, but he could read twitches of every person he had come to meet. Even if he only spared one glance to one person, he could already form a conclusion on what kind of the person was in his or her daily life.

"Good afternoon, both of you," Timoteo smiled warily, shifting a little as he casted another glance to his longtime friend, before his eyes darted on the CEDEF's External advisor. Reborn raised an eyebrow behind his hat, but didn't say anything else.

"Good afternoon Nono!" Iemitsu flashed a grin while scratching the back of his head. He knew already what this meeting was for, but he wasn't ready to involve his family inside the Mafia. But he knew, he had no choice but to give in. It was after all, his responsibility if something happened to Nono, and no one would be able lead the Vongola for it to function.

"So I take it that you wanted me to tutor the next Vongola Boss?" Reborn inquired, sounding very bored yet inside he was already planning one hundred ways to torture his next student.

He had fun torturing that no-good tenth Cavallone Boss, Dino, but he was up years ago so he wasn't having that much fun. Sure, he got to kill lots of people who were corrupted, but really, it wasn't that fun if the people he was required to kill were all useless crap. He was a freelance hitman, but he was sure he held the title of being the World's Strongest Hitman for at least a decade now. And that only simplified the matter.

He was a majesty, to their eyes at least.

Iemitsu stared at Reborn for a long minute before letting out a wistful smile. Of course, Reborn would know. Iemitsu always knew that Reborn had always had that ability. And it's also one of the many facts why enormous Famiglias wanted the hitman to work under them, but apparently Reborn sported the idea of doing all his works in his own way without anyone holding him down.

Iemitsu knew he had to be careful around Reborn, after all the hitman stopped people's breathing that Iemitsu was not even sure if he could count how many with his fingers and toes.

"I expected no less from you, Reborn. But there's this problem…" The Ninth trailed off and Reborn refrained himself from drawing his spared gun out and gunned down Iemitsu to tell all the details. Really, this tension should be dealt at least an hour ago now, but no. Both idiots wanted to stall him for some reason he couldn't quite put a finger on.

Both External advisor and boss stared at each other, before sweating nervously when they both heard the sound of a cocking gun from the background. Only one person could scare people without even drawing their gun out, let alone the sound of Reborn's most trusted gun. Sure, Leon could transform into anything the hitman wanted, but the gun he kept underneath his pockets was Reborn's most reliable one.

It was the gun he used when he wasn't included in this Tri-ni-sette he cursed his existence on.

"Wait a minute, Reborn. I can explain. You see… Vongola Decimo's position is now on the run, and twins will be fighting for the position. You know how hard it is to choose between siblings, let alone fraternal twins," Nono reasoned, his lips twisted into a nervous smile until he breathed a sigh of relief when Reborn lowered his gun.

Reborn looked at Iemitsu's direction, asking for another set of explanation, (if there's any) and smirked when the blond gave him a shaky smile.

"I'm still against the idea of letting my son get involved in this, Nono. But since I knew the reason behind all of this, then I won't question you. But I asked you, several times that Natsu is the one I want you to appoint to take over the position. I've seen him fight on his own, without the dying the Vongola is so proud of, and he has charisma over people," Iemitsu's voice turned octave, his eyes looked serious, but in every beats of his voice. There was a hint of pride as he blabbed on about Sawada Natsu, his son.

Reborn, whose brim of his fedora was lower than before, listened attentively to every information Iemitsu was spouting. Although, he didn't miss the fact that Iemitsu didn't bother differentiating who was older between the twins.

Reborn might be playful at times, but he knew for a fact that twins never came out the same time mothers screamed their lungs out inside the emergency room. But from the looks of it, Iemitsu didn't seem to notice what he had done wrong and continued to blab on.

Reborn lowered the brim of his hat even more, covering his baby face that he despised the most, and took notes of the situation, before petting Leon's head. Iemitsu's voice reverted back to his usual voice and started grinning like an idiot as he listed the traits Natsu always had done when he was at home, and Reborn couldn't take it anymore. And decided it was time to interject.

"And how do you propose the idea of letting the other twin alone? You, of all people should know the rules of Mafia, Iemitsu. It may not be a rule that was written, but it has always been inevitable. You may not want it, but Sawada Tsunayoshi will be involved either way," Reborn stated, his voice turning octave as he surveyed the situation. This was not good.

"I already knew that, Reborn. But I don't want my dear Nana to get involved and so as my dear Tuna-fish," Iemitsu reasoned out indignantly, clearly saying that it was the most obvious situation as to why he didn't want anyone but Natsu to be involved since he could handle it, while Tsuna err… He wasn't sure.

"You're an idiot. You consider yourself as the CEDEF's leader? Didn't you get what I just said earlier? No matter how much you denied, idiot, your family will be involve. Be it be Sawada Natsu being the Vongola Decimo, or you being the CEDEF leader. You, the CEDEF leader, might get away as you did for the past years, but your son Sawada Natsu cannot. Not when your son's will-be position is known around Italy, and the whole wide world," Reborn stated, his voice still had that sound of a man that was a contrary to his appearance as of now.

Timoteo, sensing the tension inside his office coughed a bit to distract the two. He could already see his office battered in ashes if these two occupants inside his room decided to have an all-out battle. He decided that he would trust the CEDEF's leader's decision, since from the tone of Iemitsu's voice. The CEDEF leader was sure.

Reborn left the office the second Ninth landed his eyes on him without uttering another word. Just petting his chameleon, he walked out calmly out the door. He didn't want to cause another chaos on the already chaotic mansion of Vongola and besides, he had other things to think of.

Reborn decided that he would take up the opportunity of enhancing the future-Vongola Decimo. Be it worse or be it a loyal puppy, Reborn would deny the mission if Sawada Natsu failed to fulfill his requirements. Reborn might not be a part of Vongola, but he had always waited.

Waited for the coming of the future Vongola leader that would revert back the sole purpose of Vongola, of why it was formed in the first place. On why the Vongola, strange as its meaning, became the strongest Famiglia in the Underworld.

Reborn was only an asset of Vongola, a person that was send out when the mission was doubtful. But he might not be officially tied to Vongola, but he cared (not that he would really admit that to anyone) about its existence. And he had enough of this bullshit.

Each member messing the meaning of the Clam, the purpose of why it was formed. It was a Vigilante, a group to help the people that was ignored by many especially the government, yet Reborn noted that for the past years it had become trash. Vongola became the Mafia Reborn wanted to erase from his memories, but as much as he wanted to get out, he couldn't. After all, once you enter the Underground, you would always die as one.

And as he reminded his previous student, Dino Cavallone, that in this world that both of them were able to see in young age. Only people, not monsters, with conscience were able to call themselves human in any possible way. Kill might be, but there was this regret that was inflicted. And Reborn knew.

He was waiting for the coming of the true successor of Vongola Famiglia.

.

Tsuna walked on the sidelines, his hands pressed firmly against the wall as his support. He didn't bother looking at anyone's eyes because he was tired. Tired to hear another more set of complaints against his existence from the people he didn't even know. He stopped midway, breathing heavily as he closed his eyes, opened them again, and started walking.

Tsuna got beat up the whole day, from the moment the bell rang, and the school day ended with a ring. His bullies' reason for beating him up was kind of irritating, yet could not accept the fact that it was true. He was stupid, they said. And he wanted to bite back and say, "Like hell, you aren't."

But Tsuna didn't fight back (not that he had the strength to do so). He didn't voice out his opinions that had been plaguing on his mind because he had once learned over the course (when he reached the age of five) that no one wanted to listen to him. To them, he was a soundless non-existent child that would never be accepted in the society and he knew it himself because he felt that way most often than not.

It was also stupid of him to think that he could find the comfort he wanted from his mother. But he was utterly wrong. His mother who only saw him when he nudged her shoulder and presented her his test paper. She would smile that Tsuna knew too well was a well-crafted smile, innocently blinking, before beaming to him that he did a good job. He then would start to doubt himself after that.

"Tsu-kun," was how she called him most of the time. He sometimes wondered if his mom forgot his own name. He had to admit, he would not be surprised if she did. Although, he noticed, his mom called his younger brother different names, and Tsuna had to wonder again if that meant something. Then again, his brother had always been the King of the family, and Tsuna was left on the sidelines. Standing like a Knight in armor, he was supposed to be. At the entrance of the gate, probably.

Tsuna may be a boring person, considered as boring as hell, but he wasn't feeling the least of jealousy people wanted him to feel. He had learned, several times slapped on his face that he wasn't, would never be part of this family he grew up with.

But, he had one wish. A question that he wanted to answer. To clarify to himself that he was still the Tsuna he knew. He was still himself and not the person that people wanted him to be. He might be a wimp, a coward, a weakling, a chicken, but Tsuna only wanted someone to ask him the simple question he wanted to ask himself. The question he wanted, so badly to answer within heart.

"Are you okay?"

Just a simple question, one sentence written in black ink. He wanted anyone, even if it's not his own family to ask him that question. A question he wasn't sure if he could answer without being a stuttering mess. He wanted to confirm, to know that he was living that wasn't written on a scrapbook. He was not in a play, but maybe he was really in the play. It was his role, he supposed. It was what he supposed to be doing.

He then would wonder if anyone knew he existed. Then, he would be surprised when all eyes turned on him, and laughed at his face. He failed again. Dame-Tsuna failed again, students were laughing, and so as teachers. Tsuna would just lower his head low, and let the laughter subside. After all, he was okay.

Tsuna wasn't requesting something so big. He just wanted someone to ask, to ask him directly that maybe with that question, he would know if he existed. Just for a moment, he begged.

Looking at his house, he sprinted his way. Carrying his backpack awkwardly on the other side, he opened their gate. He placated his nerves, ignoring the pain of his shoulder, and walked inside the door. He didn't however bother saying, "I'm home," because that would be pointless anyway. Widening the door, he did a double take when he saw a baby, smirking at him, and Tsuna knew. He had it bad.

"Ciaossu."

.

Next Chapter: Raging Red and Lightning Green

A/N:I've read so many fics like this. Where the younger/older twin was the chosen Vongola Decimo and Tsuna was left behind to clean the mess. I want to try it too. I mean, I'm sure I can't par with the original ones, but I want to try at least because I haven't done a friendship fic before. I wanted to do this, so please bear with me. Haha.

Revised Date: 09.28.13