Hi. As some of you may know, I am not the true Tsuna-lover. She has passed away about a year ago and it was also the sudden cause of her stories' long hiatus. She had left her stories with me but due to my own busy schedule and the mourning, I didn't have the heart to continue her works for her. Then I realized that I wanted to do this for her in her honor. I wanted to not only continue her passion but with her consent, make it my own as per her wishes.

So, without further wait, I present; Silence of the Hearts.

Disclaimer; I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Chapter 1

Tsuna winced as he gingerly touched the cut on his lips with his fingers. He sighed as he dropped his hand, walking to his house from the school. The decreasing sunlight should've hurried him home, but his probably broken ribs and bruises cried out every time he took a step forward.

It was hard, being not only a No-Good student in everyone's eyes but a target for the bullies to let out their fury on. Tsuna didn't feel the need to report the assault he had went through from past experiences. Both the teachers and adults ignore him, thinking that he was lying or he deserved the beating, or the bullies retaliated with more force than before. In time, Tsuna felt it was useless to do something about it and it fell into something of a routine in Tsuna's life.

Tsuna noticed that he was nearing his house and immediately calculated as to how he was going to get past his mother without letting her see his newly acquired wounds. He had never been good in planning but when push comes to shove, he was willing to try.

The students opened his door and toed off his shoes at the genkan, making sure that it was placed neatly by the shoes rack. He quickly went upstairs, with a curt, "Tadaima!"

Once he reached the tope of the stairs successfully, he then heard the distant but still audible, "Okaeri, Tsu-kun!" He let a faint smile grace his face; his mother had always been a haven to him when he got back home and was the only person he had.

His father was constantly out for work, rarely coming home and when he did, his visits were always short and bitter. The man would coo over his mother, Nana and sleep the whole day, either too lazy to do anything or too drunk to even care. His mother was the one who cleaned up after his useless bum of a father.

Tsuna had caught his mother crying over the man multiple of times. Sometimes, Sawada Iemitsu, his father, never thought that his unannounced leave would hurt his mother but Tsuna knew the truth. His mother would break down, wondering where her husband could have gone to all the while sobbing in her room.

Soon after, Tsuna had vowed not to worry his mother too much. It was bad enough that he had gone into an accident when he was a child, he didn't want to add any more burden to the poor woman.

Reaching his room, Tsuna dropped his bag on his study chair and fell onto the bed, feeling his energy seep out of him as he rested. He could hear every cell in his body groaning and crying in pain but right then, he couldn't care less. He was tired and sleepy. He just hoped that everything would one day resolved by itself, but knowing how much of an unachievable dream that was.

When Tsuna woke up the next morning, he noticed that was still in yesterday's school uniform and had an hour to get ready before school started. He even missed cooking breakfast for his mother.

Rushing to the bathroom, all the while trying to take his clothes off proved to be a hassle. He tried to hold back his severe flinch when the hot water touched his split lip and bruises before he hurriedly showered and got ready into a new uniform, leaving yesterday's in the washing machine in the bathroom. He made a pit stop to his room and grabbed his bag and made sure everything was in place.

Tsuna headed downstairs, meeting with his mother who was cooking a lunch box for him. "Ah, Tsu-kun, ohayo! Mama is making your favorites today!" Nana smiled as she cooked, watching her son with a loving air when Tsuna began to eat his breakfast. It consisted of a plate of toasted bread, with a side of scrambled eggs and sausages. Tsuna almost immediately finished his meal, making sure to finish his portion before chugging it down with some milk.

By then, Nana had just finished packing Tsuna's lunch box and was waiting for the boy to pick his lunch up. The woman diligently followed Tsuna to the genkan and stopped her beloved son before the young teen walked out the door. She smiled wistfully as she ran her hands to Tsuna's wild but soft tresses and sighed.

"Gomen Tsu-kun… Mama was never able to raise you properly," Nana said softly, blaming herself for her son's constant bullying. "I know you don't want to worry me, but I feel as if I should be there for you, protecting you… You know I love you, right?" Tears threatened to fall as Nana stroked her son's face gently. She truly felt that she was the worst mother in existence.

Her hands travelled to Tsuna's uniform collar and sobbed loudly. Even though it was covered nicely, she knew the horrific scar that was hidden underneath the clothes. A scar that almost robbed Nana of her son, who was the light of her life. The woman almost broke down crying but steeled herself for Tsuna.

Nana knew her son well and the one of the things that Tsuna hated most was to see her cry tears of despair. She didn't want Tsuna to catch her crying; it was her job to protect and support her Tsu-kun and as a protector and supporter, Nana could not cry.

Tsuna covered his mother's hand with his before leaning into the woman's hand with a smile. His expression told Nana how much Tsuna loved her as well and the woman could not be any happier.

The smaller brunet released his mother's hand before turning to the door and waved at his mother. He then exited the house, aware of his mother's, "Be safe, Tsu-kun!"

Tsuna headed to his school hurriedly, not wanting to be bitten the death by the infamous Hibari Kyoya.

Kurokawa Hana was in a bad mood at the time. She had just exploded at Mochida for pestering her concerning Kyoko's whereabouts when her best friend was obviously absent due to a high fever.

The black haired girl was marching to her class when she almost ran into Sawada who was trying to enter into the class as well. She watched as the boy skidded back a bit, bowed to her before going into their shared classroom.

Hana has never once spoke to the silent student, thinking that the rumors of Sawada being too stupid to talk was at some times true. However, she had seen a light in his eyes when Kyoko tried to strike up a conversation with the No-good student.

It made her think that Sawada was indeed hiding something from the world. Heading to her seat, she waited until the class began, ignoring Yamamoto and Gokudera's constant fights. They were a bunch of monkeys, all of them.

Their homeroom teacher, Furuhara-sensei entered the class with a slight smile on his face. After the roll call, the man cleared his throat. "As you all know, first term exams are just around the corner. I know most of you are dreading for them but the principal thought that this time, the school should make the exams much more interesting…" the man began, shuffling through the papers on his desk.

"Eh? Come on, Furuhara-sensei… How's examinations suppose to be fun unless it's cancelled?" a student, Kuroe, snickered as he waved off the Japanese literature teacher. Some had laughed along with him, agreeing with the boy completely.

The teacher merely sighed at his students' antics. "Well, the prize for the class who scored the highest was going to be an all-expense paid trip to Okinawa… but since none of you are raring to go, I should just tell the principal that you won't participate," Furuhara-sensei frowned as he slowly took out his cellphone.

That had caused uproar in class with most of them trying to talk their sensei into not calling the principal. Some were gushing over what they wanted to do during their time in Okinawa while others were trying to figure out how to ace their exams to win a spot.

"All in all, I hope that all of you will do your best during the upcoming exams. Remember, only one class per year are allowed to go," Furuhara-sensei reminded before clapping his hands to catch everyone's attention. "Let's begin the class."

"Hai," almost everyone drawled out lazily, and began to take out their books.

Hana turned to look at Sawada and noticed how the boy's eyes changed from brown to orange in an instant before the orange disappeared. Somehow, Hana's instinct was telling her Sawada wasn't something she should worry for the moment.

After classes ended, most were talking to each other about the trip to Okinawa. Kuroe had a distasteful look on his face when he called out, "Aah, how are we going to pass when our class has Dame-Tsuna? Damn, maybe we should ask Furuhara-sensei to remove him from class? He's already an embarrassment to the school..."

His posse snickered with him, watching as the small brunet stood up and took his bento with him as he exited the class. None made a comment until Tsuna gave a sideway glance at Kuroe before closing the door behind him.

Angered when he saw the dismissive glance, Kuroe stood up immediately, ignoring how his chair had fallen at the force he had used when doing so. "Damn that brat! Who does he think he is, looking at me like that?" the dark haired boy gritted out as he glared at the door.

Gokudera snorted as he stood up with Yamamoto, "At least he's mature enough to ignore your comments about him. Something I can't see you do in the long run, you fucking bastard."

The silver haired teen then exited the classroom via the back door, with Yamamoto following after him. Yamamoto stopped for a moment at the door and turned to say, "Gokudera's kind of right… Kuroe, you shouldn't insult Tsuna so much. See ya!" Yamamoto waved as he ran out of the classroom, catching up to Gokudera.

Kuroe gritted his teeth harder, pissed off that the two popular guys in his year had backed up Dame-Tsuna of all people. His face turned red when Hana remarked, "Hoo, looks like Kuroe was a stupid monkey all along. He has to resort to belittling others to feel good about himself."

"Shut up, woman!" Kuroe yelled out as he turned to the leaving Hana.

Tsuna situated himself at the rooftop, looking over the expanse of Namimori High school. He leaned against the wall of school rooftop and closed his eyes. He wondered as to how he was going to pass the examination. He really didn't want to bring the others down but knew of his not-so-stellar marks in the exams.

"Herbivore…" a deep voice called out and Tsuna looked up so fast, he almost had a whiplash from doing so. In front of him stood Hibari Kyoya in his glory, looking down at the brunet with steely eyes. "What are you doing here?" the Disciplinary committee chairman inquired.

Tsuna felt his throat dried up before nodding at the older male in greeting. He swallowed nervously, not knowing how to respond to the dark haired teen before him. Tsuna flinched when a tonfa was slammed into the wall above him, and looked up in fear when the prefect loomed down above him.

"Speak, herbivore," Hibari gritted out, disliking the fact that the brunet didn't answer him immediately. Never has he encountered someone that didn't immediately follow his order.

Tsuna clutched his throat in fear as he leaned back firmly onto the wall behind him. He didn't want to get beaten by the infamous Hibari Kyoya but he didn't want to speak as well.

Hibari, noticing the brown haired teen clutching his neck, knelt down and glared icily at the other. His hand shot out and gripped the arm covering the herbivore's neck and yanked it away. Somehow when he yanked the boy's hand, the brunet's fingers got caught at the knot of his school tie and pulled the tie down.

Grey eyes widened when they caught a sight of slight discolor skin from behind the boy's collar. Hibari pulled down the collar aggressively, not noticing the flinch of shock and pain that took course on Tsuna's person.

The dark haired prefect narrowed his eyes at a scar that was running across the herbivore's neck, taking notice of not only its large size but also its depth in the other boy's skin. From the color and indentation, the scar was from a long time ago but never faded probably due to its severity when it was made. No wonder the herbivore wouldn't answer my question, Hibari thought. It wasn't a case of 'didn't want to answer', more so it was a 'can't answer' matter.

Hibari released his hold on the other student's collar. He cocked his head to the side in deep thought.

Tsuna immediately clutched his collar and covered his neck. The brunet was mortified that someone other than the principal knew of his scar. It was something he had gotten in the past, filled with painful memories. The slight male closed his eyes tightly, trying to ensure no tears escape when he was reminded of his horrible childhood.

When something landed on his lap, Tsuna peeked down only to meet the dark locks and steely eyes that belonged to none other than Hibari Kyoya. He felt his face flushed when those eyes looked right into his brown ones.

"Herbivore, more or make a noise, and I'll bite you to death," Hibari muttered, watching his prey closely. With a vigorous nod from the male Hibari has deemed to be a small animal, the raven haired prefect closed his eyes, adjusted his body before falling into a peaceful slumber on the herbivore's lap.

Tsuna was dumbfounded for a moment before realizing in horror that the Hibari Kyoya, Namimori's most feared, was sleeping with his head on Dame-Tsuna's lap. His shock had made him move a bit and Tsuna immediately froze when a tonfa suddenly appeared right below his chin.

"Herbivore…" Hibari growled out, glaring at the nervous first year.

Tsuna nodded vigorously once more, almost giving himself a whiplash from the force before leaning back on the wall and kept mum. He felt the taller and frightening teen's tense body becoming lax, and Tsuna continued to spend the rest of the day watching the clouds and keeping Hibari Kyoya satisfied, even if it meant keeping Hibari's companion, Hibird take refuge in his hair.

Gokudera was the first to notice that Tsuna was late to class. While the delinquent have never taken the classes in the school seriously nor paid any attention to them, it didn't mean that he was ignorant to his surroundings when they began.

While deemed the most unintelligent in the school by the majority, Sawada Tsunayoshi has never skipped any of his classes. The boy even paid attention during them. It made the silver haired teen wonder if it was the teacher's way of teaching that made it hard to understand for the mute boy.

Gokudera cursed at himself for worrying about the brat; it wasn't in his nature to do so. The arsonist was never close to anyone; Yamamoto always clung to him because Gokudera was the first to notice the guy's overbearing fakeness that everyone else seemed to be oblivious to. He had even blown up at the guy once, causing Yamamoto to consider Gokudera as one of his closest companions even if the delinquent thought otherwise.

He couldn't help but noticing the brunet; Sawada had a thing that made a few number of people turn to look at him, Gokudera being one. He couldn't help but feel that there was something more behind that façade of a clumsy, idiotic kid that almost everyone seemed to hate.

Truth to be told, Gokudera couldn't help but hate the kid as well. Not because he was clumsy and stupid, but the fact the kid never stood up for himself made Gokudera's blood boil for some odd reason. Just looking at the kid's pitiful eyes, and watching the brat get beaten up by guys bigger than him made the silver haired delinquent sick in the stomach.

Clicking his tongue, the teen abruptly stood up when the teacher was teaching and kicked the leg of his table. The sound caught everyone's attention and the teacher nervously stuttered out, "I-Is there something the m-matter, Gokudera-kun?"

Green eyes glared at the middle aged man before the owner of said eyes grumbled and cursed underneath his breath as he stalked out of the classroom, sliding the door behind him harshly.

"S-So rude!" the teacher muttered out angrily, fear still clouding half of his thoughts. Mumbles of inquiry were passed throughout the class while one Yamamoto Takeshi watched confusedly, wondering what his friend had in mind.

Tsuna had managed to escape from Hibari's clutches when school ended. While he did skipped class, he knew no one would care. Besides, he felt at ease during his time with the prefect, frightening and terrifying Hibari Kyoya was. Oddly enough, the prefect didn't say anything about him skipping.

He blushed when he recalled the memory of one Vice chairman of the Disciplinary Committee seeing his own Chairman and Tsuna together.

It was awkward enough Kusakabe had barged into the rooftop, calling out 'Kyo-san!' before turning and freezing in place after registering his superior's position with another student.

The silent staring contest that both Kusakabe and Tsuna had unknowingly participated in, lasted a solid minute before both nodded at each other hesitantly and robotically. Both had forgotten the grumpy prefect until Kusakabe's chin was given a direct hit from a tonfa, courtesy of Hibari and his singing bird.

Tsuna watched in horror as Hibari promptly beat his subordinate or as the violent teen would say, 'bit to death', all the while the injured teen relayed news about a group of delinquents fighting. It bewildered the small teen as to how the pompadour-styled teen put up with Hibari's bouts of extreme violence.

Hibari sighed as he backed away, seeming to let out all of his steam on his subordinate before stalking away to 'bite some delinquents to death'.

After making sure Kusakabe, who promptly chased after 'Kyo-san' when he healed a bit, was fine, Tsuna headed home seeing as school had just ended. He walked silently home, ignoring the loud sounds of people talking as club activities started. He saw Yamamoto not too far away, laughing with his baseball teammates.

A frown couldn't help but made its way onto Tsuna's face. He didn't know why but if he could muster up the courage or the voice, he wanted to walk up to Yamamoto and talk about him about the athlete's obvious fake façade. If not for the fact behind those hazel eyes hides a dark part of the baseball player, Yamamoto could easily be someone Tsuna could get used to. Currently, Yamamoto Takeshi was one of the most fearsome students, to Tsuna.

Tsuna flinched when the aforementioned eyes met his and quickly turned his head away before taking off into a sprint, trying to escape confrontation if Yamamoto decided that he didn't like the way Tsuna looked at him. This, however, made Tsuna and everyone else miss the happy grin turned into a cold look before all traces of the hostile expression disappeared.

When Tsuna reached home, he headed straight up to his room, knowing full well his mother was out to buy groceries from the market and landed on his bed almost immediately. It was an emotionally draining day for the introvert as his eyes glazed in tiredness. He felt something coming up and darkness consumed.

Nana hummed as she locked the door and pulled off her shoes. She noticed Tsuna's neatly placed shoes at the genkan before she picked up the small stack of mails at the door. The brunette then headed towards the kitchen and place the bag filled with groceries on the counter along with the mails.

She kept all of the groceries in their respective places, leaving the ones she needed next to the sink. She was hoping her Tsu-kun would cook with her tonight; it was always fun when the boy helped out. She decided to go through the mails before going upstairs to check up on her beloved son.

After sorting bills and advertisement flyers, she noticed she had gotten a letter from Italy. When she ripped the envelope open, her face immediately soured. It was a letter from her husband, asking how were Tsu-kun and her doing. While Nana loved the man, Sawada Iemitsu was the most unfit father in any child's life.

It was no wonder Tsuna constantly forgot how his father looked like when he was a child; the man only spent his time with Tsuna for four years after he was born before taking odd and long jobs overseas. Little Tsuna would always forget his father's face and would often mistake the workaholic father for a stranger. Only when Tsuna was eight, he remembered his father's face and unlike other kids, Tsuna never asked for his father's whereabouts or when his father was going to come home.

Nana reminisced as how quickly her son matured during his near father-less childhood, compared to other kids his age. Not one of his peers could understand the painful loneliness and disappointment Tsuna has felt throughout the years.

She quickly folded up the letter after skimming through it before keeping it in a drawer with the rest of Iemitsu's letters. There were some specifically for Tsuna but the boy merely glanced at them from afar and turned away without reading any of its contents.

Nana sighed before going up the stairs to check on Tsu-kun, hoping her son wasn't too tired out at school. She hoped that in the future Tsuna would be happy and had a feeling it wouldn't be too long before that hope becomes something of a reality.

So, how was that? There have been some changes, hopefully it is a change for the better. I really do hope I caught the essence of her story and placed the same amount of love she put in hers. Please comment to tell me what you think about the chapter.

Hopefully, I can finish what she had started. Thank you for your patience and never ending devotion to her works. She will be remembered. Thank you.