Staring back at you
Staring back at me
Inside of our own closed off world
Mukuro Estraneo stayed under the tree, away from the chattering crowd. He watched as a certain brunette laughed innocently and joyously with his friends. The brunette suddenly turned around, as if feeling his presence, and looked at him. For a short moment, their eyes met. The brunette turned away, embarrassed. But, for some reason, he felt that he should look some more, and so he did. Their eyes were locked with each other, as if they were in a trance.
“King?” The brunette’s right hand man, Hayato Tempesta, asked worriedly.
The brunette blinked for a while, and looked at him. He laughed dryly. “Ahaha. Sorry about that, Hayato.”
Hayato didn’t look like he believed it. “Well, okay. Let’s go then, King.” He turned around and walked away.
The brunette ran after his right hand man, but not before glancing at Mukuro one last time. “Wait! Hayato!” He shouted at the walking far away man.
Not knowing that he just left a smirking Estraneo under a tree.
—
“Nee, Look! I found a rose!”
The Maid smiled and accepted the rose with a smile. “Thank you, my prince.”
—
Acting oblivious
But yet we both pretend
That our intoxication might be sensed
The Estraneo Kingdom was full of sinners. Especially the king.
It was that exact evilness that intrigued the Vongola King, Tsunayoshi “Tsuna” Vongola. He was intrigued, fascinated with Mukuro Estraneo. He, unlike the others, was not afraid of the Estraneo King. In fact, he wanted to get closer to him—to know him more. So, imagine his adrenaline rush when Mukuro attended his party.
It took quite an amount of self-control to stop himself from running to him and tackle him with questions.
When they locked eyes with each other, he wasn’t afraid. In fact, he was calmed by those mismatched eyes of his. At the same time, however, he was excited. He was excited because of the possible hidden intent lurking behind those eyes. When he turned around and left, his mind was full of those mismatched eyes, staring deeply into his own.
Unknown to him, said man smirked.
—
“Nee, what is that?”
The Maid turned around and looked at what he was pointing at. “That is a dead rose, prince.”
The prince blinked. “But why does it look like the rose I gave you?”
The Maid chuckled and ruffled his hair. “A dead rose is different, prince. Very different.”
The prince tilted his head. “How?”
—
As time passed by
I feel that my heart
Must keep hidden
So I may approach
Two weeks later, Tsuna has been invited to the Estraneo Palace. The owner of the man that excites, and yet, calms him so much was Mukuro. He was very excited to go. So a few days later, he arrived in the Estraneo Kingdom. There, he saw a dear friend of his, whom he missed so greatly.
“King Vongola?” A blond man with blue eyes asked.
Tsuna turned around and smiled. “King Cielo!” He bowed.
The King of Cielo, Giotto Cielo, was Tsuna’s childhood friend. They were separated due to their responisbilities to their own kingdoms.
“Call me Giotto, or Gio, like the old days.” Giotto said.
Tsuna pouted. “Only if you call me Tsuna, or Tsunayoshi.”
Giotto chuckled. “Okay, Tsunayoshi.”
Somewhere, someone just crushed a beautiful red rose in their hands.
—
“You see, prince, a dead rose is a rose with no life.” The Maid said.
The prince blinked, and then nodded. “So a dead rose is a rose that isn’t beautiful anymore, right? Since a rose with life is beautiful, a rose with no life is not.”
The Maid was shocked at his understanding. It was quite surprising for a five year old to understand roses in a different way.
—
Because around you
I feel far from myself
“Kufufu. Welcome to my humble abode.” Mukuro bowed.
“Thank you for inviting us tonight, King Estraneo.” Tsuna bowed as well.
Mukuro snickered and smirked. “Call me Mukuro, King Vongola.”
Tsuna blushed at that smirk, but composed himself. “Well then, it would be fair to call you by name if you called me by mine, would it not?”
Mukuro held back a laugh, and settled for a chuckle. This boy is just so interesting. “Well then, Tsunayoshi it is.” He went closer to him and pulled something out of his coat, and hid it behind his back. “Will you,” he bowed with a smirk, “Dance with me?” He then revealed what he was hiding, which was a pure red rose, and offered it to him.
Tsuna could do nothing but blush and accept the rose shyly. “Sure.” He then turned around and faced the blonde, who seemed very different from just a few moments ago. Tsuna blinked.
“Gio?” He said.
Giotto looked at him and smiled. “You want to dance with him, do you not?” He waved his hands, as if gesturing them to go. “Shoo! Shoo!”
Tsuna chuckled. “Thanks!”
Mukuro and Tsuna left the blond alone, who was facing something evil inside.
—
“Nee, why are there dead roses?” The prince asked.
The Maid replied, “Well, everything has an end, my prince. That includes roses.”
The prince looked puzzled. “Eh? But Nii-sama said that everything is like a circle; endless.”
The Maid sighed. “Well, I guess it is true. Since after something ends, it will repeat.”
The prince nodded. “Yeah, something like that!”
—
In my ordinary love, my heart pounds
And I,
Will set up my trap for you
Mukuro brought Tsuna out of the Palace ballroom, and out to the Palace gardens to dance. The moonlight shined brightly upon them, and the trees and flowers swayed with the wind, surrounding them with leaves and petals. The rose Mukuro gave, was under a tree, as their only spectator, along with the other plants.
Although, things are not always what they seem.
Up the tree (where the rose was placed under), was a hooded figure with an expressionless face. “My King…” He said. He was holding a rose in his hands, but it was already wilted. He smirked and crushed it in his hands. “My King’s…Vongola.”
He then opened his hands, letting the crushed rose fall on the beautiful red rose.
“Thee shall not escape thy fate, Mukuro Estraneo.”
—
“So then, when we die, we rise?” The prince asked.
The maid chuckled. “Saa, who knows? After all, I have not died yet, so I cannot tell you the answer.”
The prince nodded. “Well then, what does it mean when you place a beautiful rose atop a wilted one?”
The Maid pondered on it for a while. “I guess it could mean that its owner is beautiful as well. It means that he was able to stand strong till the very end.”
Then the prince asked, “What if it’s the other way around?”
The Maid replied, “That…I am not so sure of anymore. I think that a wilted rose means that its owner is sad or broken.”
At that moment, another man came in, and smiled, “Prince.”
The prince jumped and ran to him. “Nii-sama!”
—
Even though I’m eagerly
After you
I won’t leave any trace
While Mukuro and Tsuna were dancing, Tsuna felt something prick his skin. He pulled away from Mukuro (who was currently facing some evil inside of him due to the loss of contact) and looked at his arm.
A thorn.
He looked around and saw a broken rose scattered on the beautiful one. He gently picked it up, but got pricked again, but this time, his finger bled. He then dropped the rose on impulse and stared at the red liquid running down his palm.
Mukuro smirked. He gently grabbed Tsuna’s hand and whispered against it, “So…careless.” He then brought the palm to his hand, and gently licked it all the way up to the wound, making Tsuna blush.
“Mu-Mukuro-san…” Tsuna whispered breathlessy.
Mukuro let go and smirked. He gently caressed Tsuna’s face and kissed his forehead. “Sayonara, Tsunayoshi-kun.” ‘
Just like that, Mukuro disappeared into the night, leaving Tsuna and the roses.
—
The Maid turned around and smiled, “King.”
The king smiled back and bent down to Tsuna’s level and ruffled his hair affectionately. “How are you, Tsunayoshi?”
Tsuna grabbed the hand on his head and grinned. “I’m Fine! Nee-san here is teaching me about roses!”
The king looked quite surprised and got his hand back. “Roses?”
Tsuna nodded. “Yeah! About the life and death about roses!”
—
Things are not this clear
My words seem all sincere
And you begin letting your guard down
One month later, after that night, Tsuna never saw the Estraneo King again. Instead, he began spending more time with the Cielo King. He got closer with the Cielo king, but farther from the Estraneo King. Due to this, Tsuna began falling for said Cielo king. At the same time, he began to forget Mukuro—but not completely. The excitement from before has disappeared, and in its stead, was a completely different feeling. A feeling that seemed to clash with the feelings he has for Giotto.
This weird feeling then turned his mind into a mess, making him stressed.
Giotto, seeing his friend in deep thought with his face scrunched up, went to him and gently shook him from his thoughts. “Tsunayoshi, is there something wrong?”
Tsuna looked up to him and smiled softly. “No, Gio, nothing.” He then paused and thought for a while. He really wanted to get rid of that weird feeling. It was driving him insane. “On second thought, can you get me a glass of wine? Preferably the usual.” Tsuna said.
Giotto looked shocked at this, but got the wine. He got a blue bottle of wine, and poured some of the contents in a glass. He then closed the bottle, and set down the glass. He turned around and asked Tsuna, “Would you like me to add my personal ingredient again?”
Tsuna nodded. “Yes please,” and Giotto got a small glass bottle from his pocket. He opened it and poured half of its contents into the glass. The clear liquid from the small glass bottle, mixing quite well with the red wine in the glass. Giotto then closed the bottle, kept it in his pocket, and gave the glass to Tsuna. “Here you go.” Giotto said.
Tsuna accepted the glass with a smile, “Thank you,” he said before drinking.
Tsuna’s preferred wine (not favourite, since he’s against favouritism) was made by Giotto and his right hand-man, G. The wine was called, ‘X,’ since Giotto seems to have an affinity with said letter and G likes the number ten (roman numeral for ten is X). Giotto, G, and Tsuna were the only people to drink said wine, since the two Cielo Royals didn’t have much time to make it.
Giotto’s special ingredient was something that makes the wine taste better. It was a clear liquid, which not even Giotto knows where it comes from and how it’s made. It was given to him by his subordinate, Leonardo Lippi. For some reason, it’s very addicting, which is why Tsuna likes it a lot.
As Tsuna drank the wine, Giotto’s eyes darkened.
—
The king smiled fondly at his so-called little brother. “Well then, what have you learned so far?”
Tsuna grinned and counted with his fingers as he told the King what he has learned. The king smiled at him while he was saying what he has learned. When Tsuna finished, he asked, “Ne, nii-chan, when we die, do we rise again?”
The king pondered on it for a moment. He replied, “I cannot answer you, Tsunayoshi. Your nee-san and I have not died, so we cannot answer you.”
Tsuna nodded sadly. He then beamed again when he asked another question. “What if we place a dead or wilted rose atop a beautiful or a living rose?”
The king pondered once more. It seems that this question can relate quite well to him and his life as of now. “I think that it means that the owner of the beautiful rose couldn’t overcome the challenges in their life, therefore being buried under a wilted one.”
—
There’s something you should know
About this deep drug
You thought you could drink it down
Tsuna asked for another glass, which Giotto complied to. He kept on asking for another, until he was drunk. Giotto saw that Tsuna was beginning to lose consciousness, and thought of something. He carried him bridal-style and gently layed him down on his grand and luxurious bed. He went on top of him and leaned down. Just as he was to do what his mind was telling him, Tsuna looked up to him and spoke in a soft voice.
“Mukuro…san…”
Giotto growled. He knew what was wrong with the brunette under him, and that problem pissed him off to no end. He then growled again and leaned down to Tsuna’s exposed neck. Before biting it, he whispered one word against it.
“Mine.”
—
“Eehh~” Tsuna said. He turned around to look at the maid, who was actually the King’s personal maid, and beamed at her. “So then, nee-chan, don’t let your rose wilt! Or else it would mean that you’re broken!”
The maid chuckled at this. “It will soon wilt, Prince. All have times in their lives when they will break, but soon, a new rose will appear, and they will rise.”
Tsuna was now confused. “I thought you haven’t died yet?”
The King said, “Yes, Tsunayoshi. We have not died physically. When we die physically, we are completely dead. Our hearts stop beating.” He gestured to his own heart for emphasis. “But while we are still physically alive, we can either die emotionally, mentally or spiritually.”
“Aa~ I get it!” Tsuna beamed.
The king chuckled. “Very good,” he ruffled his hair affectionately, but stopped when he felt a hostile presence nearby.
“Nii-sama?” Tsuna asked.
The king smiled at him and said, “Wait for me here, okay?”
Tsuna nodded like an obedient boy as he watched his older brother figure disappear into the woods.
—
Rusting from time
The chains fall apart
You run away
With no place to go
A distinct sound of glass breaking was heard throughout the silent room.
Giotto looked at his hand with glass shards in it. The glass shards pierced through his skin, making his hand bleed. He has just claimed Tsuna for himself, but he’s been having delusions and calling him ‘Mukuro.’
That was Tsuna’s problem, he was desperate. He wanted to see those mismatched eyes once more; he wanted that excitement he felt not too long ago. He is not happy with this at all, but Tsuna is—so he’s fine with that.
“But…” he whispered, “I can’t believe my plans failed.”
“Kufufu. Of course, it went according to my plans.” Mist engulfed the room, and suddenly, a man with indigo hair tied into a low ponytail appeared. The mist cleared and Giotto stood up, ripping part of his clothes and tying his hand.
“Estraneo!” He growled. “How the fuck are you here?! I burnt down your castle!” He shouted.
Mukuro laughed darkly and it was then Giotto got a better look at his eyes. His eyes were still mismatched, but they held one trait which was obvious in his aura: dangerous.
“Kufufu. Saa..Cielo, “ Mukuro stood up and walked slowly to Giotto, materializing his trident along the way. “What shall I do with you? After sending out your right-hand man to kill me?” He jabbed his trident at Giotto’s neck, drawing out blood from the seething Cielo King.
—
The king went deep into the woods, and looked up a tree. There, on the highest branch, were two men in black coats, watching the scene with his little brother and maid.
“Who are you?” He asked.
The first man, who had dark brown eyes scoffed. “Oy, what do we do with him?”
The other figure, who had blue eyes replied, “Answer him”
The man with dark brown eyes looked back at the king and said, “We have come here in order to watch over Tsunayoshi-sama.”
The king scoffed. He couldn’t do much even if they went down, since he doesn’t have his weapons. Besides, if they were here for his so-called little brother, then it was all fine. He then turned away, and began walking.
He then arrived back and saw blood scattered around the floor. Tsuna ran to him and hugged him, crying. “Nii-sama…they…they!” He wept.
The king was confused. What happened here? He looked around and his eyes widened.
“CHROME!”
—
The seconds
Echo by
The more you try to fight
At that moment, Tsuna burst through the door, breathless. “Mukuro-san, I smelt blood!” He shouted.
Tsuna’s eyes widened. There, in front of him, were two Mukuro(s). One was seething at the other, who just made his neck bleed. Tsuna rushed to the bleeding Mukuro, and checked him. “Oh no, Mukuro-san. Even your hand is injured.” He removed the torn cloth and brought the hand to his mouth, making the Mukuro holding a trident smirk.
Tsuna then did something; he started licking the blood. He licked each droplet, even the ones that reached down to his wrist. He gave the wounds one long lick each, and then, went to licking the wound on his neck. He licked each droplet as well, and gave one long lick to the wound as well. Tsuna then looked up at Mukuro’s face and blushed.
“Mukuro-san.”
That Mukuro, who was Giotto, clenched his fist and tried punching the real Mukuro. Tried, since Mukuro caught his fist in his hand, and instead, he punched Giotto. At that moment, Tsuna fainted.
—
“What happened, Tsunayoshi?” He gently shook the brunette.
The brunette kept crying. “They came while we were laughing, and they…they,” he hiccupped. “They stabbed her!” He wept some more. “Chrome-nee fell on me, all bloody. She was saying that she loved you, me and everyone else.” He sobbed. “Then…then…” He buried his head deeper into the king’s cloak. “I couldn’t do anything! Nothing!”
The king rubbed circles on Tsuna’s back. “Shh…It’s okay, Tsunayoshi. It’s okay.” He reassured the boy.
Tsuna looked up to him and hiccupped. He smiled. “Pro-promise?”
The king was about to reply, when suddenly, a gunshot was heard and he fell to the ground, his head, bleeding.
“No…no…no…” The king chanted.
“NO!”
—
Let me just say, inside of you, I see
Myself
Hiding in your memories
“How does it feel, Cielo?” Mukuro smirked. “How does it feel to have your beloved imagine that you are your greatest enemy?” He chuckled darkly and let go of Giotto’s fist.
“Did you know, Cielo? Did you know that I knew that the one who threw that broken rose was your right-hand man? I knew what that meant. You were saying that you will break your beloved Tsunayoshi in order for him to become yours. You would make him forget about me, making him sad, but then, you’ll make him love you.” He scoffed. “An underhand trick, pathetic. But still, you thought it wasn’t enough, so you tried killing me and poisoning him with Leo’s creation.”
Giotto’s eyes widened. “Wait…you mean…you…” he growled. “I always knew there was something off with Leonardo’s hair and eyes. It somewhat resembled…you…so you were him all this time…”
Mukuro chuckled. “Kufufu. Yes, I was. I made that creation, which was the poison you kept on putting in Tsunayoshi’s wine. You thought it would make him completely forget me, but since I made it, I made it so that it would make him remember me instead.” He smirked. “I knew that Tsunayoshi was desperate to see me again, so I granted his wish—by making him delusional.” He chuckled a bit once more. “You see, my drug’s effect is that it makes people delusional about the one thing they think about the most. So in Tsunayoshi’s case—me. It also brings back memories that were forgotten.” He took out two things: one was a glass bottle from his pocket and twirled it around in his hand.
“This is my drug, Sin.”
The second one, was soon drenched in blood.
—
The medics arrived later one, and the king stood by the barely living Tsuna. He grasped his hand gently, afraid that anything can kill him now. His head was bent down, tears leaking from his eyes. He was pretty sure the one behind this all are those cloaked bastards, but for now, he would focus on Tsuna.
Tsuna coughed as he grasped the king’s hand. “Nii-sama is warm.”
The king smiled softly. “Aa.”
Tsuna smiled back. “Nee, do you promise everything will be okay?”
The king nodded. “Yes, it will. Nii-sama promises.” He paused. “Nii-sama promises he’ll make everything okay…”
—
To be linked with the scent of your sweat
I might
Merely be affected
Tsuna woke up with a start, only to find Mukuro hovering above him. “Do you remember?” Mukuro asked.
Tsuna nodded. He has just remembered that day. That day he and Chrome talked about roses. That day Chrome was killed. That day when Nii-sama promised everything will be okay. That day…he forgot Nii-sama and Chrome. “Yes…I do…Mukuro-nii-sama.” He hugged the older man.
Mukuro smiled softly and hugged back. He leaned down and whispered, “My King…” he put their heads together, their noses touching, “My Tsunayoshi…” With one swoop, he claimed the lips of the Vongola King.
The tongue that caressed Tsuna’s was warm and fierce. They fought for dominance, until Mukuro pulled away and Tsuna whined at the loss of warmth. Mukuro chuckled and said, “As my lover, you would feel more warmth.”
Tsuna blushed brightly and buried his head in Mukuro’s clothes. He suddenly felt something bad was going to happen, so he pulled away from Mukuro and stood in front of him, with an orange flame on his forehead, orange eyes and flaming hands.
In my ordinary love, my heart pounds, and I
Will set up my trap for you
A bam was heard and smoke filled the room. The window has been broken; a man with red hair and a red tattoo on his face was standing there, glaring at Mukuro. In his hands were a flaming crossbow, and on his back, hanging, was a barely alive Cielo King, Giotto. Blood was dripping from his forehead, all the way down to his chin. There was also a flame on his forehead, but it was not as bright as Tsuna’s. His golden eyes were full of insanity as he laughed.
“Ahaha! Kill him G!” Giotto laughed as blood entered his mouth.
The redhead, G, did so and shot multiple flaming arrows. After shooting two arrows, the smoke cleared, and all the occupants in the room were shocked.
There, on the floor, was the Estraneo’s body, with an arrow in his gut. Beside him, was the Vongola king, with an arrow to his heart. “TSUNAYOSHI!” TSUNAYOSHI!” Mukuro cried as he clutched his bleeding stomach and shook Tsuna.
G dropped his flaming crossbow, setting the room on fire. Giotto was shouting insanely. “Tsuna! Tsuna! Giotto’s here! Giotto will join you soon!” He tried getting off G, but said man would not allow that.
“Giotto! Stop it!” He said.
Giotto paid no attention, and still insisted on getting off. Said insisting made them fall down the window, and falling on the concrete floor with a splat.
Even though I’m after you, all I hear…
Tsuna smiled at the mad and weeping Estraneo. “Mukuro…” he whispered.
Mukuro looked at him one last time, knowing the flames are right behind them, and saw his smile. He went to him caressed his face. They smiled at each other and Tsuna then whispered his final words.
“Please capture me.”
Their deaths were sealed with a kiss.
400 years later
The sound of a book being shut close was heard in a sixteen-year-old and a baby hitman’s bedroom.
“What kind of love story was that?” A sixteen year old mafia Donna in training asked. “It was tragically beautiful!”
Her tutor, a baby, hit her with a mallet. “Shut up, Dame-Tsuna. That was a story told down in each generation. No one knows if it’s true.” He smirked. “Hora, your admirers are here.” With that, the baby hitman left as his charge shouted “REBORN!”
Let me just say, inside of you,
Her window opened, and she saw two figures. One was a blond with steel blue-grey eyes, and the other had blue eyes and indigo watermelon hair. “Tsu~chan!” the watermelon head said.
Tsuna “hiiee”-d and jumped away when said man jumped in her room. The blond came in better, but then started to fight with the watermelon head.
I see
A gust of wind blew, and the book opened once more. It opened to the last page, which was a picture of three men. The blonde, Alaude, looked at it and said, “This looks like me, the little kitten (which Tsuna blushed at) and the melon head.”
The melon head, Daemon, growled. “Hoh~ At least I look better when I’m with Tsu-chan.” He smirked as she blushed. “Unlike you, who always looks disgusting.” He snickered.
Myself
Alaude grunted. This man was always getting on his nerves. He took out his handcuffs, while Daemon took his scythe. Metal clashed against metal, and suddenly, Daemon’s scythe hit Tsuna’s head (quite hard at that) by accident.
Hiding in your memories
Tsuna fell down and gripped her head. She was having either a huge headache or a concussion. The two dropped their weapons and rushed to the fallen girl. She let go of her head, and her hands fell to the side. Her eyes were wide as she saw images flow into her head.
To be linked with the scent of your sweat
A blonde.
A pineapple head.
A brunette.
A redhead.
I might
A rose.
merely be affected
Tsuna’s eyes became dull and she looked at the two men. They looked at her warily when she suddenly sat up and hugged them both. She opened her mouth and said whispered in their ears, which was the start of something meant to be forgotten.
“Please capture me.”
Yes. This story is as real as it gets. History shall repeat itself—but with a twist.
Songfic, Cantarella
parola per parola ... 