Break The Sky, 01

Break The Sky.

In all honesty, it had started with his father. Or, in retrospect, it had started the day Tsuna had been taken to the festival with his father, and they had talked about the sky.

"You know, I can fly," His father had told him, as if commenting on the weather.

Tsuna had almost fallen off the man's shoulders. At that moment, his father had become his superhero, like in the manga he read, like the ones in books. "You can fly? Really? I-I wanna fly!" He had shouted.

His father had laughed, watching as the chemicals in the air exploded to make intricate patterns. "You'll fly," He told his son, wisely. "You'll take to the sky quickly, don't worry. I have a feeling you'll get it from me, and you'll be airborne in no time."

Yes, it had started with his Father. Even though his father was rarely home, even though his Father was off fighting. His father was his driving force, and although Tsuna didn't know it, he was his father's inspiration.

Always had been, right up to his death in 1937.

October 21st, 1941

Tsuna reasoned he should feel empty, insecure, out-of-place, scared. But in reality, he didn't. He felt odd, like something was off, but he wasn't scared. He didn't feel like much had changed. Even though he had just been put into foster care. Oddly enough, he felt only the slightest bit unnerved.

'Something is wrong with me,' he told himself. 'I should feel scared, and lonely.'

Sawada Tsunayoshi had received a letter that his Father had been killed in action in December of 1937. It was not the best Christmas. Come to think of it, it was pretty much his last real Christmas. His father, Vice Admiral in the Japanese Air force, was a man loved by everyone, had been Tsuna's hero throughout his life, and had been taken from him far too easily. For a ten year olds Hero to be taken away from them was a horrible experience. To have a ten year olds father die was even worse.

And his mother, Nana, hadn't taken the news too well either. She gave her son smiles and encouraging words, she bore the weight of her husband's death for three years before dying, lost to a disease Tsuna didn't quite understand. He didn't think he cared about what disease it was, though. Just like he didn't care to read the details of the letter that told him how his Father had been killed. What mattered was that they were gone, and that was all he needed to know.

Well, other than the something-that-was-definitely-weird-but-he-couldn't-place-it, Tsuna did realize that there was one thing that was bothering him.

He felt like he would never, ever, amount to anything.

His parents encouraging words had been the only thing convincing Tsuna he wasn't worthless. He wasn't good at anything, he had no special skills, and the only thing that made him unique was his clumsiness, which was endearing for all of five seconds before he was annoying everyone even when trying his best. His only friends had been two girls at his school, and now that Tsuna had no one telling him otherwise, he was convinced he would never be good at anything – so why try?

And with that logic, Tsuna did little to nothing for the four months he was in the orphanage. Most of his time was spent thinking, thinking about what the appropriate reaction to the recent turn of events would be, and thinking about what we would do with his life now, things that a 15 year old boy should not be thinking about.

"Sawada? Are you listening?"

Tsuna's head shot up, looking at his instructor with wide eyes. His eyes hadn't changed. He had expected them to look sadder, deeper, but they never did. They stayed almost innocent, still clueless. "Yes?"

"I asked you a question. What would you like to do with your life?"

Worthless, useless, incompetent Tsuna answered, without missing a beat, "I wanna fly."

The teacher blinked, his piece of chalk hovering above the board. "You want to… fly…? Join the air force?"

Tsuna's Father, Iemetsu, the brave, kind man that he was, popped into several peoples mind, and the room feel silent, before Tsuna gave a small smile, something akin to innocence flashing over his features, before chirping, "Yeah. Like my dad."

+ + +

"Dame Tsuna," the boys would tease, turning their back to him. "Not havin' you on my team. You always lose!"

Tsuna laughed quietly, almost inaudibly, at the nickname he had been given, and the fact that this was a common occurrence. But he didn't quite mind. Although he did get lonely, he was a bit too confused about things in general to hang onto the loneliness he felt. Most of his time was spent by himself, but for some reason unknown to even him, he still walked around feeling optimistic. When, really, he shouldn't, but he guessed that was just a part of his personality. He didn't know if it was good or bad yet.

In the small town of Nanimori, the people still said hello to him. Shop owners waved and Neighbors gave him food, but he wasn't homeless. He talked to people, he laughed, he wasn't miserable – but that was the problem. Why wasn't he miserable?

"See that?" Prompted a voice, as a hand took a firm grip on his shoulder. "I'm thinking about going with the pilots."

Yamamoto Takeshi was tall, strong, well-built, and of legal age: 18. He was a thousand times more 'optimistic' then Tsuna, and maybe a little stupid, but Tsuna thought that maybe that was just an act sometimes. Other times he couldn't tell.

"Going off with the pilots?" Tsuna echoed, climbing onto the railing in an attempt to get see at Yamamoto's height, who stood a good two feet taller than himself. Laughing, his friend helped him onto balancing onto the railing outside of the pharmacy they stood in front of, and Tsuna blushed, embarrassed that he needed help in the first place – especially from someone three years his senior.

Once he found his balance, Tsuna  turned to look at Yamamoto seriously, or, as serious as Tsuna could muster. "So wait-You're thinking of leaving? And going with them? B-But they're going… going to…"

"Hong Kong," Nodded Yamamoto, watching as several people caught sight of the sign the traveling captain had placed on a post for recruits. "I don't see anything wrong with that. Aren't I fighting for my country?"

"Go!" scoffed the person on the other side of Tsuna, his hands in his pockets. "Can't wait to get you out of this town, idiot…"

"Gokudera," Whimpered Yamamoto, picking on the other. "You'll break my heart!"

Tsuna watched on, vaguely listening to his friends bicker behind him (or rather, Yamamoto pick and Gokudera whine). Tsuna thought, for a moment, about how things were always changing, but he wondered just how much these changes affected him.

"Yamamoto," he called, still watching the fliers being taken down by citizens, as they inspected the offer. "…Let me come with you."

Yamamoto, who had Gokudera up in the air to twirl him around and cry about how much his heart was breaking, froze, and stared at the younger boy. "Eh? Ah, Tsunayoshi, don't you think you, ah…"

Don't you think you're a little hopeless, finished Tsuna's mind, but his face remained unfazed. He smiled to himself, looking up towards the sky. "All the way to Hong Kong, right?" He echoed, imagining himself flying about in the sky he was so intent on staring at. "So… You'd have to fly. Even the ones who aren't fighting would be flying right?"

"Wait, wait, wait." Pushing Yamamoto away violently, Gokudera grabbed hold of the railing Tsuna was perched upon and leaned forward, catching sight of the younger boys face. "You're not… thinking about going with him? Juudaime? Please tell me you're not thinking of-"

"Hey, I think that's a great idea!"

"Of course you do," scoffed Gokudera, scowling at the dark-haired boy. "Juudaime, let's think about this."

Tsuna sighed, bracing himself for what was to come. "You know, I don't think we have to." He said, looking over his shoulder. A warm, pleading smile spread over his features – pleading for Gokudera not to dive too deep and to – really – keep his nose out of Tsuna's business. "I'd be making myself useful, couldn't I?"

Oh, how he had perfected the act of not realizing how useless he was. Of pretending to hope.

Yamamoto simply smiled, patting the smaller boy on the back. "Sounds like a plan!" He looked over his shoulder to Gokudera, who had his arms crossed over his chest and was scowling at the pavement. "Wanna come with us?"

The silver-haired boy kicked a rock. "…I guess."

+ + +

Nanimori was one of the smallest towns he had been in in a while, he noted.

"The flyer," he mentioned, turning around to look over his subordinates. "It specifically said five o'clock, didn't it?"

"Yes, Captain," replied Chrome, stepping out of the plane. "Five o'clock sharp, underlined and everything." With gentle steps, she sat down beside her captain and smiled. "…Hibari-San, don't worry. Remember whose hometown this is. People will come."

Hibari sighed quietly, enjoying the peacefulness the town provided. He was grateful he had taken this mission up – it was wonderful to get away from the busy people at the base. His problem was that this was a small town – and even if people did come, who's to say any of them would be competent enough to fly a plane?

He supposed he could find at least a few people – at least a few people Iemetsu had inspired. And maybe that inspiration, that devotion and admiration akin to what he had for the man, would be enough to spark it. Maybe, if he prayed to whatever God there might have been, this wouldn't be for nothing.

"I take it the plane's in order, then," He commented, turning to look at Chrome as the girl stood up to inspect it from afar. She wore a 'special uniform' her captain Mukuro had designed for her (a short skirt and choppy top, probably cut up and sewn together from the regular uniform), and even though several people had said on several occasions it was inappropriate, Mukuro would tell them to make an exception, and for him, it was made.

"All ship-shape," she chirped, attempting to make a joke, and Hibari forced the tiniest hint of a smile to humor her, then went back to scowling. "They should be coming soon… Do you want me to round everyone up?"

Hibari groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ugh… If you would."

Then the crowd came.

Truth be told, it was sort of a pitiful excuse for a crowd. With a quick look, Hibari could see just how many people had come – 15 – and he resisted the urge to moan loudly in protest. He had came all the way out here to some rundown town for 15 people – most of who wouldn't even qualify? Sometimes he questioned his own sanity, and asked himself why he had signed up for this. Then he was reminded. He knew why had signed up for this. He had taken the mission because the Vice Admiral was from this town, and he jumped at the chance to see it for himself.

A part of him came to hope and pray – and look for if he had to, dammit – Iemetsu's son, whom he so frequently spoke of. How sweet and good-natured he was, how loyal, how cute, how trustworthy. Iemetsu had been a role-model, a superior, a friend – and at times a father figure. His death had affected Hibari just as much as it affected his real son, he told himself, and for some foolish reason, he felt as though Nanimori was calling for him.

Something was waiting for him. He could feel it. Or, he thought, someone.

The Captain stood, his eyes sweeping over the new recruits. He felt something in the back of his mind urging him to search the crowd for Iemetsu's eyes, but the businesslike standpoint he had acquired over the years dug it's hooves in and forced him not to stray from the task at hand. He spotted a few that would probably be coming with him, and a few that he knew he would be dismissing. But before he got to that part, there were the formalities to be taken care of.

"Residents of Nanimori," he addressed them as, and his voice was soft and dangerous and betrayed not the longing he felt to weed through the crowd in search for the Sawada boy. "My name is Hibari Kyouya. I come from the Naval Air Facility of Atsugi, and I am here to recruit – is about the gist of it. But you already knew that."

He was intimidating them, he noticed. That was good. Should he scare anyone off, then he could dub them as a weak herbivore and move on.

"Behind me, as you can see, is a 660 fighter. Your job today is to see if you can figure out how to get it off the ground without making an idiot of yourself. If you can do that, you can follow my crew and I to the Atsugi base, where you will undergo training." Hibari looked over the crowd, spotting several faces that wore near the same expression he was wearing, and several the seemed a little nervous. "And that is the briefest explanation I can give you," He sighed. "I'd like to get this over and done with as soon as possible. Let's get this show on the road, herbivores."

The crowd was quiet, and amidst them, Tsuna thought to himself, Herbivores?

Chrome stepped up, clutching the flyers she had previously planted around town. "Ah-what my captain has failed to mention is that the position of pilot is the only one we're opening." Timidly, she showed the crowd her papers. "We'll also need medical assistants, dispatchers, and intelligence officers. Anyone interested in the above openings, please come with me."

As a majority of the people in the small crowd were men, a majority of them flocked the Chrome, which made Hibari twitch visibly. Though some were left standing with him, and he supposed he could live with that.

The Captain turned on his heel and motioned for the crowd to follow, and while Yamamoto and Tsuna were content to pursue him, Gokudera had already dug his feet into the ground like the stubborn bull he was. The silver-haired boy pulled at Yamamoto's collar and yanked him over violently. "Listen, you," He hissed. "I'm going to follow the girl – because there is no way in hell I am leaving you two alone to go to-to go anywhere! So you'd better keep a good eye on Tsunayoshi, got it?"

The taller boy smiled, resting his hand over Gokudera's warmly. "Of course," he chided, making the other flush deeply and zip around to storm off. Yamamoto watched him go for a moment, before shining a blinding smile at his smaller companion. "Well!" He chirped, marching off. "Plane's don't fly themselves, Na, Tsuna?"