We Are Vongola

Off-Beat

Summary: With him in the mix, there was an off-beat to the music, as if someone had put it there intentionally. An afterthought; a shadow of the real thing.

• • •

Tsuna is silent. He has the strangest looks in his eyes, a glaze that fogs it; you cannot even see the light from his eyes that used to be so bright prior to that time he played outside.

Iemitsu pulls over Nono to check on his son's Flames as the cause, but his son has nothing. Not a lick of Flames within him. He's safe, but, there's a small whisper Nono hears -- ah, that's just the wind.

They leave without another thought, and Tsuna . . . well, he's brilliant, the teachers say. He's a perfect son, with perfect grades. Gets along with everyone nicely. Preferably stays alone, though it's not a problem. He doesn't cause any problems, and trouble never follows him.

Nana has different thoughts. Her son never asks her to tell him stories, nor does he cling onto her like he once did. Sometimes, there's a flicker of shadow that crosses on his face, even in daylight.

"Tsu-kun, if there's anything wrong, you can always tell me," she brings him gently to her after, his head on her shoulders.

Tsuna doesn't hug her back.

• • •

"What's your dream?" The words are quiet, slow. They unravel from their source, leaving Tsuna following behind their lead.

• • •

Kyoko has been interested with this 'Tsuna' boy with a while now, and Hana confronts him after school, tired of hearing the same questions over and over about the boy with hazy honey-brown eyes.

"He's mysterious. What happens to your eyes to make them that way? Do you know, Hana-chan?" Kyoko had gushed. Hana likes Kyoko, but this has gone too far.

Besides that, Hana has noticed something odd about Sawada. How he stares in one place without seeming to blink. How he doesn't eat, but seems fine in spite of the necessary function. How everyone else avoids him, but when approached, a slow smile will come onto his face.

"What is up with you, Sawada?" Hana asks, stopping him in the hallway. The children stare at her, however, they're monkeys that will forget everything in ten years. Sawada turns, and she sees a flickering of light in those glazed eyes.

There's a wind passing in the hall -- there are no windows opened. A voice croons in her ear, a passing warning. A blast of wind hits her from behind, her eyes squeezing shut to defend themselves.

Sawada is in front of her -- his chin raised, one eye staring down at her. A grin stretches across his face. Hana blinks.

Sawada is in front of her, flickering, eyes wide as he sees her. His mouth forms words but --

"What do you mean?" His chin is lowered, his eyes blinking rapidly in his bafflement. His expressionless face is transformed into one with a slight frown. There's no light in those hazy eyes.

"I -- I mean," she stutters. Sawada steps forward, but she takes an involuntary step back, raising her arms up. "Don't come any closer!"

"Hana-chan?" Tsuna tilts his head, the frown gone, replaced with a slight raise of the corner of his mouth. "Are you okay?"

How -- the monkey wouldn't get the best of her. She'll figure out whatever was happening with him. Not just for Kyoko anymore.

"I'll be back, Sawada," Hana declares, glaring at him as she stomps past him. But there's someone following her, echoing her footsteps. Hana glances behind her, flinching as she finds Tsuna staring back, shadows cast over his face. Her hair flies into her sight, blocking her view.