Muse

Summary: Nobody ever knew the person behind each song he wrote. It was better off that way. At least, he could have her by himself even at such small moment. Yet, he knew he couldn't just leave it that way. She was his muse, after all. AU 2786

Reporters had flocked to their side as the band, X, had exited the annual International Music Awards held in Sicily, Italy this year. The band members, composed of Sawada Tsuna, Gokudera Hayato, Yamamoto Takeshi, Sasagawa Ryohei, Rokudo Mukuro, Lambo Bovino, and Hibari Kyoya, were bombarding them with different questions that have always been the same as usual – "Did you expect to win again this year?", "What was meaning of the song?", "Was there any hidden meaning?", "Who was the person behind the song?"

They gave out the usual answers.

"No, we didn't actually think that we would win. The other artists were really good."

That was true. Their manager, Reborn, had always told them not to put each and every achievement in their heads. He always had a bullet prepared for them if they ever did. And they knew that it was never an empty threat.

"The song is definitely obvious through its lyrics. It's about missing someone. How someone feels when their loved one is far away from their reach, despite knowing that the feelings are mutual."

The song entitled, "In My Dreams", though, was of a different context from the previous songs that they had written. True, they made and sang love songs, but only on occasions.

"Well, what you get is definitely what there is to it, unless, you want to. A person can have different interpretations on the song. That's what we aim in X."

They were a different kind of band. They wanted to write songs for themselves, at the same time, please other people. Therefore, they gave that liberty to their fans. Nevertheless, they didn't actually answer the question straight, but they never had to answer directly, yes?

"It's for everyone who made the song possible, who made us possible."

That was a bit of a lie, though. Everyone in the band knew who Tsuna, the usual songwriter, had dedicated the lyrics to. Two clues, though. One, she was an exceptional actress in today's world and second; her name meant 'spring'.

"Why are you too far away?

Oh, spring, can you tell me when you'll ever come my way?

I can't live another day,

Without her within my bay."

Women all around the studio swooned as one of the female assistants had played the music video of X' latest single, 'In My Dreams', in full speakers. The male workers, though, paid no heed, knowing that it was break time and it was fine for the women to rest and do whatever they wanted during their break. They wouldn't admit out loud, though, that they had also liked the song.

"What's that playing?" Miura Haru went out of the dressing room, turning to her assistant. She was wearing a dark mauve red gown for her role as a femme fatale thief in a movie that to be released within the year. She looked so much like her character, yet she wasn't into the character yet, a seductive mask not yet present in her face. Instead, she had the bright smile she usually had.

"Ah! Miura-san! It's the latest single by X, 'In My Dreams'." The assistant gleefully turned to Haru, who widened her eyes. She had remembered what he had told her in the email he had sent her a few nights ago. He specifically told her to listen to the song. However, she actually forgot!

"E-Eh? Well then, I won't disturb you any further." Haru gave a light chuckle and immediately, went away, not wanting to listen to the song. The truth was, she didn't want to listen to the song yet until the filming was over. She knew that if she heard the love song he specifically said that he wrote for her, she would immediately fly to wherever he was.

She knew of that power that he had over her. (However, she would never tell him.) She was the first one to fall, to top that (though she never told him until the day he confessed.) She was the first one to know him (since it couldn't be helped that he was a famous artist and she wasn't yet at that moment.)

"But, didn't you hear that rumor about X' rhythm guitarist, Sawada Tsuna?" One of the female assistants earned Haru's attention as Haru perked up silently upon hearing his name.

"What about him?" Another one queried.

"They say that he's actually dating someone!"

Haru's eyes widened upon her surprise. It couldn't be that they found out?

"Oh! I heard that rumor! They saw him going out with someone in Sicily, right?"

Sicily? Haru was sure that she has never set foot in that city in Italy. To be specific, she never stepped inside Europe.

"Ah yes! They said, it was Arcobaleno's executive manager – Yuni!"

"Neh, Tsuna,"

Tsuna turned around to see his 'older brother' approach him. Dino was his 'older brother', though he was more of an 'upper classman' since Reborn was Dino's former manager before Reborn made X. They were at Dino's mansion at that moment in Sicily, since the blond lad was born there.

"Yes?" Tsuna perked up as Dino sat beside him, holding a bottle of beer for himself and a glass of juice for Tsuna, since Tsuna was never fond of drinking alcoholic beverages.

"Why don't you admit to the press of your relationship with Miura Haru?" Dino gave a lazy smile at the younger man, who spat out his juice he was drinking. Dino laughed at his sudden reaction.

"How did you know?" Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment at the realization that the older man had known his private relationship with the actress. Did Reborn tell him?

"So, there really is something going between you and the live-action Mine Fujiko then." Dino raised an eyebrow as Tsuna blinked his eyes. Mine Fujiko? Wasn't she some character in Lupin? Then, it dawned to him. Haru had told him the other night that she was playing a femme fatale thief in a movie that was going to be out at the end of the year. He smiled. It wasn't bad.

"You caught me," Tsuna simply sighed as Dino chuckled. There was no use lying to the man. Tsuna was a bad liar, after all.

"So, why so private? Why not be like, Gokudera-kun and Kyoko-chan, Sasagawa Ryohei and Kurokawa Hana, or perhaps, Kyoya and that girl from Dixieme?" Dino asked as Tsuna chuckled. Each pairing his 'older brother' had mentioned were power couples.

Gokudera Hayato was the keyboardist of the band, while Sasagawa Kyoko (his former muse) was an exceptional actress since childhood. Meanwhile, Sasagawa Ryohei was the band's drummer, while Kurokawa Hana was an idol-turned-singer after releasing a superb debut single, which she composed herself. On the other hand, Hibari Kyoya was the band's bassist, while the girl that Hibari was dating was from Dixieme, a French all-female band that dominated the indie pop scene.

"As selfish as I may seem, I want to keep her to myself," Tsuna gave a grin. "Even at those private moments, I want her all to myself alone."

"Oh my, isn't that saying that you love her so much?" Dino gave a teasing smile over Tsuna, who shrugged and chuckled at the end.

"Isn't it obvious from all the love songs I wrote specifically for her?" They both laughed at an instant while they continued on talking about different matter until Reborn had interrupted them. It had seemed urgent, especially with the look on their manager's face.

"Dame-Tsuna," Tsuna cringed at his childhood nickname. "Didn't you hear the news?" Reborn folded his arms together as Tsuna raised an eyebrow. Did something happen? What was the news about?

"What news? Was it about the interview? We answered it correctly this time!" Tsuna swallowed the lump on his throat, slightly afraid of Reborn's bullets coming from nowhere. Reborn simply raised an eyebrow, but was frowning.

"That wasn't what I meant. They say that you were spotted in a bar with Yuni."

"A bar? But I haven't gone out of the hotel, except for the actual music awards show!" Tsuna was flabbergasted at what Reborn told him. His manager simply sighed and pulled down his head, turning around.

"If you don't want Haru to misunderstand, you better tell her then."

Tsuna immediately rushed to his phone and tried to contact Haru, but she wouldn't answer him to any avail. Was she angry with him? He wouldn't wonder why since the news report might have seemed real, especially with the power of technology that seemed to tweak almost anything. He sighed and scratched his head.

What was he going to do? Think. Think. Think. He wasn't Dame-Tsuna anymore. He had to find a way to make sure that she was not misunderstanding anything. As far as he was concerned, she had become his muse when they had met the first time. She was not yet an actress at the time, a college student from the prestigious Tokyo U and they had bumped into each other when he had tried to look for inspiration for their debut single. X wasn't even popular at that time yet. He smiled as the memories of yesterday had filled his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" A girl who seemed to be his age had gone near him. She must've noticed the crestfallen look on his face since he was next to doom. Yes, they were going to be at doom, Tsuna was sure of that.

The other debuting band had stolen the song that X was supposed to use for X' own debut. The others were all too willing to fight back and try to beat up the other band, but Tsuna stopped them. It was going to be bad for them if they were to get into a fight, even before they became famous. And so, Reborn had told them that the Tri-Ni-Set Music Co. was willing to give them a chance, provided that X was able to make another song that was sure to be a hit.

"You know, Haru's mother said that if Haru was feeling down, all Haru had to do was smile, because if Haru smiled, then Haru's smile might attract good vibes and positive things," she gave a smile towards him as Tsuna was simply blinking at what the girl had told him. Was she toying with him? Of course, no person their age would refer to themselves by third person. He frowned, knowing that he had no time to toy around with silly girls who seemed to have so much time to play around.

"You're supposed to thank Haru, you know!" The girl was surely frowning at him, but Tsuna had to hurry and find a place to be able to make a song. He had less than a week to make that song possible. He had no time to waste. He went home that day, trying to think of different lyrics, but they all ended up inside the trashcan.

The next day, he decided to go to the library. After all, what was a better place than to compose in a quiet environment like the library? He decided to stay on the table by the window that was overlooking a rose garden.

"Ah, you took Haru's spot."

Tsuna turned around and saw the same woman he had saw the previous day. Tsuna frowned and stood up from the table and tried to transfer when the woman had grabbed him all of a sudden, the notebooks on his hands falling down the floor.

"You don't have to leave. Haru was just pointing it out. Haru didn't mean to say that. Well, people always say that Haru has the tendency to say whatever was inside her mind," The woman bit her lower lip in nervousness as she was looking away from him. What was wrong with this woman? Tsuna tried to think so hard that the thought of composing had been swept away from his mind for a moment.

"You can get the table," Haru walked away from the table and settled in another table. Tsuna took his notebooks from the ground and had set them back on the table. He started writing once again, but he was out of ideas again.

Why look so sad?

Was your day that bad?

You don't have to look so down.

I'm here to correct your frown.

Or maybe he was not out of ideas, after all. He tried to think on what he could add to the four lines he had just come up with a while ago, but he couldn't. He made several lines, but all of them ended on the trash bin again.

Finally, the day was coming to an end and the library was about to close. He realized that the woman was not there on the table she was staying. She might've gone home already, not bothering to say good-bye to him anymore. He passed by the table where she was staying since it was on the way to the exit when something caught his eye. He paused for a moment and ducked underneath the table, finding an identification card that was gone unnoticed.

"Miura Haru, first year, Tokyo University."

He paused for a moment and widened his eyes in disbelief. The woman was actually a student from Tokyo University - Tokyo University, the university that was so difficult to get into! How she passed was beyond his disbelief, but maybe she was also eccentric. Weren't geniuses kind of eccentric? Gokudera, his bandmate, was one. Tsuna sighed and wondered if he was supposed to give it to the library staff, but there wasn't anyone in the counter and he had to go back home as soon as possible. He had to continue working on his song. He had two days to finish the song.

The next day came and Tsuna found himself in Tokyo University. His sense of responsibility wouldn't let him just go about and not care whether the woman had her own identification card or not. Even when she was a mere stranger who told him to simply smile and all his problems would go away, or so she said.

However, the day was nearing to end, but he was unable to find her. How big was Tokyo University supposed to be? He kept on walking through different buildings, but he couldn't find her. Tsuna frowned and decided to call it a day when he had heard her voice.

"Ah! The man from the park and library!"

He turned around and saw her brown eyes, disappearing, as she grinned and ran towards him. It was as if they had been friends from their childhood who haven't seen each other for quite sometime, contrary to reality that said that they had only met two days prior.

"Haru Miura, right?" He pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose as she nodded. "You lost your ID yesterday at the library."

"I lost my ID? But my ID's just here." She pointed to a piece of ID that was strung over her abdomen, but it had a different design from the ID that he was holding. He eyed the ID that she had and it said that she was in her final year in college. He immediately looked at the ID he was holding and realized that it had come from several years ago.

"So, this isn't your ID now?" He showed her the ID he had found at the library as she nodded.

"Haru's not a freshman anymore. That was when Haru was a freshman."

Tsuna cringed in discomfort, realizing that he had spent one day for nothing. He was supposed to be composing songs, not going around Tokyo University trying to return something to someone, even when that something wasn't really of value to the person who owned it.

"But, thank you." Haru grinned at him as he blinked his eyes for a moment and nodded, looking away. For some reason, he actually felt better when she had suddenly thanked him. He handed her the ID and turned around to leave when he felt a sudden tug at the back.

"Wh-What?"

"Haru is going to treat you to dinner for coming here and returning her ID." She grinned and grabbed him along to a local restaurant in the area. He was reluctant for a second and tried to refuse her, but she wouldn't budge. Certainly not when she told him that she treasured her identification cards from Tokyo University, especially since she burnt the midnight candle for months to pass the entrance examination to the most prestigious school in their country.

"Haru- I mean, I'm really thankful." Haru told him as he blinked for a second. She had referred to herself in first person all of a sudden. He later learned that Haru used to have a lot of nervous anxiety, growing up as a child and had always referred to herself in third person ever since, but now that she was already grown up, she has been trying to grow outside her comfort zone.

"I know you can do it." He cheered for her as he raised his glass of beer. She smiled back and raised her glass of beer.

"And I know that you can also finish that story you're writing! I mean, you seemed like an author since you're always writing on paper, but it doesn't seem like a letter to me." She said in between bites from the food she was eating as he raised an eyebrow. Did he actually seem like he was writing a story? He chuckled and took a swig from the glass. She was still sharp, however, to realize that he was not writing a letter.

"You know, Haru- I mean, I wish that I can help you out from your predicament. You seem all too problematic." She turned to him with a pout as he chuckled and shook his head.

"I think you've already helped me out."

"Eh?"

"You told me the magic words, right?" He smiled, " 'just smile and your smile will attract all the good things in life'?"

"That wasn't what I actually said, but that's close enough, I suppose!" Haru laughed heartily to what he had said. Soon, they had parted ways and Tsuna had a day to finish his song. He was able to finish that song. In a few weeks, the song 'Smile' had dominated the number one spot in different music charts for two whole months.

And until now, Tsuna mused as he returned from memory lane; he has never thanked Haru for helping him out from the lump he was in a few years ago. And still, she continued to be the muse that continuously inspired him to write songs. And he was not going to let a simple article destroy the bond he had with his muse.

"Reborn!" He called out to his manager as Tsuna ran to the room where Reborn usually stayed. "I'm going to Japan right now. I can't let Haru think that I was cheating on her!"

Reborn simply smiled and nodded, throwing Tsuna his passbook and a ticket to Japan. Tsuna blinked for a few seconds before dawning on the fact that his manager was always two steps ahead of him. Tsuna grinned and headed to the airport, not minding that there were reporters and paparazzi left and right. Let them think what they want to think. He had his muse to worry about.

"Tsuna-kun!"

He turned around and saw his former muse, Kyoko Sasagawa, making her way towards him. Tsuna smiled and hugged the woman he had been formerly in love with, but his hug was filled with familial affection. The woman had become a sister to him since her engagement to his best friend.

"What are you doing here, Kyoko?"

"I'm on my way to the hotel, thinking of surprising Hayato." She grinned with a blush creeping her cheeks. She certainly was beautiful, especially when she was one of Japan's finest actresses. And she was formerly his muse, too. Tsuna and Kyoko had been friends since childhood and he had been in love with her ever since, that was until they realized that they weren't meant for each other and their love had become familial - not of the romantic kind anymore. , th

"Hayato, eh?" Tsuna gave a teasing smile, while Kyoko simply rolled her eyes. "I'll tell you what, he's sacked up in his room the whole time."

"That's typical of him," Kyoko grinned, "but, I'll tell you what, my private jet is headed back to Japan. You might want to take a ride? It'll get you back faster if you want to go and apologize to Haru-chan!"

Tsuna blinked for a moment and grinned, thanking her, before running towards Kyoko's private jet. At least, he could arrive in Japan in less than what time it usually took him to get back to Japan by airplanes. And as soon as he arrived in Japan, he headed to Haru's apartment, but she wasn't there to his surprise. He tried contacting her manager, but Lal Mirch simply told him that she was off today and she had nothing on her schedule at the moment. He was about to put down the call when Lal told him that Haru had plans on going back to her roots before turning off her phone as soon as Tsuna realized that Colonello was at the other line, too.

He went to Tokyo University where he was nearly flocked by women of all ages. Tsuna frowned and realized that he had to put on a disguise before he started looking for Haru. And he definitely knew that Haru was going to put on a disguise if she was going to go around. This was going to be difficult for him, especially since Haru was all too good at this game. He sported a brown jacket and a pair of spectacles that reminded him of how he had looked during the days before X had become famous.

However, despite the day ending, he couldn't find his muse in the whole university. He frowned as he started to go around Tokyo when he had decided to take a shortcut when he passed by the library where he had seen her. He smiled and thought that she might be at the place. After all, she always had a soft spot for libraries. However, his muse wasn't there.

But, something caught his eye and realized that it was Haru's phone. The charm on the phone had gave it away as it was something that he had given her before. He tried to turn her phone on, but realized that it was broken. It dawned upon him that perhaps, her phone was broken and that was the reason why she couldn't turn back his calls. He smiled in relief before he realized that she had been a while ago, but had missed her.

In a way, he was always going meant to look for Haru. Fortunately, he always had the ability to find her just like he did when he had found her unexpectedly. Haru was an upcoming actress at that time and she was starring in the music video for their fifth single. However, he had realized that she had not recognized him. He was sure that if she had recognized him, she was going to definitely go straight up to him and wonder why he was a music artist and not an author instead.

He ran around the area, trying to look for the woman whom he had definitely given the title of being his muse. He never told her that, but, tonight, for once and for all, he was going to tell her that. He was going to tell the world that he loved her and he was going to make sure that she would never doubt it even for a single second again. However, to no avail, he couldn't find his muse. However, he refused to give up, but how was he going to find her when he had gone around most of the places she had frequented?

"Are you okay?"

He paused for a moment. That voice register was certainly something that always tingled up an emotion in his heart and mind.

"You know, my mother used to say that if I were feeling down, all I had to do was smile, then my smile might attract good vibes and positive things," the feminine voice continued as Tsuna wasn't able to stop his emotions from surging and he had lunge a hug to the person in front of him.

"E-Eh?"

"Haru, I'm so sorry if it took me forever to find you," Tsuna released her from the hug, but kept on looking down, unable to look her straight on the eyes. He knew that he had hurt her in one way or another.

"Well, I certainly can't be found easily," She chuckled in delight, "though, I must say that you haven't changed a bit, mister author."

Tsuna turned up to her and realized that Haru never did really realize that it was him whom she had met all those years ago; that it was him that she had saved all those years ago.

"Haru, you don't recognize me?" he grabbed her shoulders as her eyes widened for a second in panic, but she was still headstrong. All traces of her nervous anxiety from her childhood were gone already.

"Well, you're that author I met years ago, right? How was your story? Was it good?" she started to ask him questions one by one, but he knew that he had to tell her. He held his hand up, motioning for her to pause for a moment. She turned to him with a curious expression, but had kept her silence.

"Haru, I want you to know that you've always been my muse since the day that I had met you in this bench in this very park all those years ago and until now, it has never changed," he smiled at her with an earnest expression as she blinked her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry!" she bowed before him as his eyes widened in surprise. "I-I'm in love with someone else. I'm in a relationship with him now and even if whatever tabloid appears in whatever newspaper, I'll always believe in him because I know the kind of person he is."

Tsuna smiled for a moment, realizing that Haru had never felt a single doubt on whatever he did. Was this how she had greatly trusted him? In fact, he would like to ask himself if he truly deserved a woman like her? But, never mind that. He had to get rid of the confusion.

"Even if I'm Tsunayoshi Sawada, the man who has always considered you as his muse ever since?" Tsuna started to take off the glasses and fake wig that he had on. Haru's eyes widened in surprise as she realized the identity of the man she had met years ago.

"Y-You…."

"It's unfair for me to never have told you who I was, but I never had the chance to tell you that and I figured that you would have noticed by now since I've used those words that your mother had said in our debut single," he held her hand as Haru started to sing the chorus of X' debut single.

"Even for just a little while, all you have to do is smile. A smile will always be a sign for everything to be fine."

Tsuna smiled as he realized that Haru was starting to smile again with a very heartfelt emotion surfacing on her expressions. Haru had grabbed him for a hug and he could feel all the warmth he had lost when he thought that he was going to lose his very own muse.

"And yet, just being my muse at the moment isn't enough for me," Tsuna broke away from Haru's warmth embrace as he stared at her, admiring her brown eyes that had always seemed to see through his heart, "so, I'd like to ask you, if you're willing to be my muse for a lifetime?"

He tried to reach for his pocket, but he realized that the ring he had prepared was in his other pocket - the clothes he had worn before he had entered into a disguise. He chastised himself for committing such a blunder at the last minute, but he turned back to her only to find her clasping her mouth in surprise. However, she placed down her hand and nodded.

"Yes," Haru nodded furiously, tears threatening to spill down from her eyes, "yes, I'll be your muse for a lifetime."

He pulled her for a kiss that sealed everything away before pulling away when they had realized that they weren't alone. He could see paparazzi, hiding around the trees in the park, and different people, who had been in the park since earlier. And for some reason, he could hear Reborn, reprimanding him for making such a big commotion outside in a public area. Tsuna cringed in dead humor. Until the end, he would always be Dame-Tsuna.

Yet, she would always be his muse until the end.

A/N: I know it sounds so bollocks that I've been able to upload a one-shot, yet I haven't been able to update Black Rose, but the idea of this one-shot has been bugging me since last year and I just had the inspiration to continue this since this was already written partially on my laptop. Black Rose shall be updated soon, so, please don't kill me yet. Reviews make me a happy puppy. :) By the way, did anyone ever notice the slight appearance of our beloved Ace from the Rose Noire Famiglia?