~* Title: The Way We Were *~

~* Rating: M *~

~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, ByakuranxOC, and others soon. *~

~* Summary: AU: Tsuna believed that his relationship with Byakuran was perfect. He believed that he loved him more than anything in the world. After that fateful night, Tsuna's life shattered before his very eyes. Three years later, Tsuna comes face to face with the very man who broke his heart once again. *~

A/N: Wow…It's been quite some time since I last updated this, huh? I'm really sorry you guys that I made you wait such a long time for this chapter. A lot of things were and still are going on in my life right now and I just couldn't handle everything at once. I hope you guys can forgive me. Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, alerted, and this story in their favorites. Like always, you guys are made of awesomesauce and you all really helped me to be able to continue this story! Well, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to read and review~!

~* Special Thanks To: Black Magician Mirei, Catxmelons, Patrimohime-sama, kawaiizerochan12, TakeshiYamamoto2980, letterbee96, MissDinosaur, KuronoYume, .fristch, ReinaSaurus, Kichou, baka-viewer, BlueCapricorn, PrimoLover, IceMelody, aerin02, KitsuneNaru, Orange-y27, TotalAmuto, Frostfire613, Lemo, Akari and Kitakami, CH0C0CANDYZ, iLaviRabi, Hikarikurai24587, TsukikoIchihara, iPurple, feelnopain, lolllilolli123, nur-chan, PolefessionalLover3000, Radiant World, JasKyu, hunnyugs, goldchild2, storyprincess92, darklynxproductions, safa56bmc, ShaDow EmpIre, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, KenkonNoMegami, Mintorelated, darkpharie, morino, VongolaXII, narutofweak, Chi Cheshire Neko, ChiNoYuki, Crazzanimefantic, Death by Damnation, Demon-CherryBlossom, demonsLOver, Erephen, Fled, Fumie Hatakeda, gothchickdoll, HIBIRDx3, Insanity Equals Genius, iPurple, Jelen Of Moonlight, kage lady, magicadula, Miko Rin, Raven and the Beast Boy, Sara Blake, SnowieG27, Tariono4ka, xLostStar, MangaFreak15, Darkangel-932, Chuuuuu, 4everFanfiction, arbr12, belafiorre, Booklover773373kd, DarkEila, , EnyBac, Heartless35, Hijiri Clyden, inari92, kittit24, lulubeck, maya1234, Moonpuzzle, ninjacat99, PandoraMagic, Rem di Luna, Rin Anjeriin, Ryuusen, Sakura Guardian, SomeAwesomeNerd, valkieryknight, Viven, WinterGuardianAngel24, ellen neah, Reije, KawaiiTuna, Magical. , xXxDeMoNaNgEl27xXx, Someone, eroxouji, .7, Code-00, Chibi-Chan120, 07Eve, 1827XLuvXYaoi, Apikins, Artemis Kuromoru, Orienatta morgan, RocknLoveGirl, Sapphiron, Yamazaki Kyou, Kailan121, loveless1232, succendo, HiBiRdEpIc *~

~* P.S. If anyone had a name change since the time I started this chapter, I'm sorry if your current name is not up. *~

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely Akira Amano.

Chapter 6: Precious Friend

~* Three Years Later *~

It was a warm, breezy morning in one the most beautiful cities in one of the most gorgeous countries in the world, Italy. Everywhere on the city's grounds, people of all sorts flooded the streets like water rushing through a broken dam, moving about rapidly as they began carrying on with their daily lives.

There were some that were young and exuberant, there were others were old and dreary. Some were happy with themselves and their lives, there were others were so depressed with themselves that it took almost the last ounces of their strength just to get up in the morning. There were some ready to begin and prosper successfully in their futures, and there were others awaiting their inevitable fall and eventually, their end.

But, despite all these fortunate and unfortunate people that were currently roaming their city, there were some of those that were still unaware of the day that had already begun.

Inside of a rather nice and decent sized apartment, in one of the bedrooms, there was a body of a person who was clearly wrapped inside the covers on their bed as if trapped inside a sturdy cocoon. Deep in their slumber, the person couldn't hear the continuous beeps of the alarm clock beeping on the nightstand or the person was obviously trying to ignore the blasted thing as best as they could.

However, the wonderful sleep that the person was trying to enjoy to the fullest was about to vanish away.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

Be -

Quickly, a swift hand darted from under the blankets to turn the ever so annoying device off. Well-trimmed nails lightly trailed the surface of the device for an instant before slowly sliding of it and slumping back onto the bed.

Suddenly, a low groan could be heard erupting from underneath the blankets and the person turned abruptly on their side. Then, after few moments of absolute stillness, the sound of shuffling could be heard from under the covers, and slowly the figure began to arise from their bed.

As the silky fabric slid off the person's body as if it were water, a young man could now be seen sitting up absolutely exhausted in his bed, trying to his body moving. While he stretched out his aching limbs, the sound of bones popping echoed off the walls as they put themselves back into place. Once the man had felt the soreness in his body leave him, he sat still upon his bed, and he slowly let the gentle morning's glow awaken him.

Yawning loudly, the brown haired man slid a hand through his long locks of hair that almost reached down to his lower back. He then rubbed his cloudy eyes while letting another yawn escape from his lips. As he felt the morning's warmth flow over his creamy skin, he finally opened his gems to reveal chocolate colored eyes, such beautiful eyes that could only belong to one person in this world, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

After Tsuna shook himself of the remaining weariness that was still trapped in his body, the brunet's tired eyes glanced hastily at his alarm clock, trying to figure of what the current time was. When he saw that it was almost time for him to get ready for work, he suddenly stood up from his bed and stretched out his entire form once more.

"Well, time to start another day." Tsuna said quietly to himself, his rich chocolaty voice brushed against the walls as he walked towards his bathroom in long strides. When the brown haired man walked inside the room, he reached behind his shower curtain and turned the shower's knob on. Afterwards, he silently at upon his closed toilet seat patiently, waiting for the icy cold water to turn into a warm blissful rain.

Finally, when he put his hand inside the shower and accepted that the water was at the right temperature, Tsuna then began to slowly strip himself of his clothing, letting the clothes pool around his ankles. Carefully, he stepped inside the shower and was immediately welcomed by the soothing water that slid across his cold skin.

Letting out a low sigh of content, the brunet stood completely still under the falling liquid while allowing him to enjoy it as much as he could since the man always loved being able to let his cool body be immersed in warm, comforting water.

Smiling to himself, Tsuna rubbed his shoulders and forearms with his delicate hands. 'Nothing says 'Good Morning' like a nice warm shower.' His eyes were closed with sheer delight as his long, wet tresses were now tickling his back delightfully.

Not long after that, he grabbed his shampoo and conditioner and now was beginning to wash his hair. The brown eyed brunet always took as much time as he could to properly clean and prepare himself every day. If it was one thing he learned over the course of his life it was that cleanliness was a very important part of everyday life, especially when you had to interact with many different people all the time in the work force.

Soon, once he felt his brown locks were completely clean, he proceeded to wash his entire body. Snatching up his orange wash rag, he poured some of his shower gel upon it and he let some of the water fall on top of it before applying it to his smooth flesh. As he washed himself, the soap on his body slowly trailed down him as the water took it on a voyage down his slim chest and abdomen, down his curving back and spine, sliding down past his ever creamy legs, and eventually into the drain.

'I think I've been in here long enough, I better get out before I become late.' Tsuna thought to himself before turning off the faucet before grabbing one of the white towels that were thrown over the shower rail. After he slowly stepped out of the shower, he wrapped the towel tightly around his waist and he dried his wet hair with the other one.

After the brunet was finished drying himself off, he walked to his closet, searching for some clothes that he could wear for work today. Luckily for him, he was able to pull out and find a fresh clean suit jacket and a pair of matching black slacks to wear with a white button-up shirt to wear underneath it all.

Once he had all his work attire together, he went over to his dresser, taking the clothes with him, and took out a clean pair of boxers and a pair of white socks.

With sufficient ease, he began to dress himself in a matter of a few minutes. After he was done getting fully dressed, grabbing a brush that was sitting on the dresser, he brushed the chocolate stream of hair and eventually tied it up in a low ponytail. Then, after that, he bent down to the floor and slid the socks and a pair of shiny black dress shoes on his feet. When he was tied the last shoe on his right foot, he stood up again to look at himself in the mirror upon his dresser to see if his appearance was acceptable to him.

Staring back at him with unyielding eyes, Tsuna couldn't help but lose himself in his thoughts as he looked intently at his reflection. As the thoughts and memories over the recent years flowed through his mind, he thought about how different he had become over the last few years.

Despite not going through a huge drastic change over the years, Tsuna had changed quite a bit during that fair share of time. The once sad and broken-hearted boy he once was had turned into a decent and fairly independent young man who had grown quite a bit in both personality and self-esteem. It took him a long time before he was able to find his reason to move forward and start thinking for himself for once in his life.

When he first came to Italy, he thought that he was going to have a fresh start at being happy again. However, that was not to be. The wounds in his heart only opened up again, leaving him heartbroken once again. Since he was going through some rough times then, he wasn't really sure what he wanted in his life due to him feeling completely hopeless and alone at the time, and feared rejection of any kind.

He just didn't have the will to begin his life anymore. That fire and determination that he once had when he decided to leave his home was now gone and it didn't seem like it would ever return to him.

For a while, the poor brunet pretty much kept only to himself and he wouldn't even tell his dearest friend, who he contacted almost immediately after the tragedy that had befallen upon him, what was wrong because he denied himself to speak of the horrible events that had broken him to what he thought was beyond repair.

Fortunately, later in time, things were finally starting to change radiantly for him, and it was all thanks to his precious friend. His dear friend was the one who helped him pull through the first few hard and painful months when he knew he wouldn't be able to get past them on his own. His friend was the one who gave him a shoulder to cry on when he felt like that the only thing he thought he deserved in life was never-ending heartbreak and despair.

He was thankful for all the care his friend had given him, the sweet words of encouragement that helped aid him when he desperately needed to hear them, and he was very thankful for all the time and affection that used to help pick up and place back the pieces of his broken heart.

Not to mention, he also had to acknowledge that he looked a lot healthier now too. He remembered how he was after he left his home. His body was very thin and fragile from not getting enough rest and eating at all, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do either of the two successfully. He remembered how there were dark circles under his eyes. He let his hair grow out to an incredible length, even for someone like him who wasn't used to having long hair in the slightest. At that time, he just didn't have the heart to get it cut off during his time of depression. And, it wasn't just that. His skin became so very pale that it reminded him of the winter snow that fell from the heavens late in the year.

Now, smiling to himself, Tsuna knew that he owed a lot to his friend and he was very thankful to have someone care for him so much. He knew that he was lucky to have such a reliable person love him so much because during time it seemed that a lot of people were starting to care less and less about each other with each passing day.

As long as he lived, he would never ever forget that love and kindness that was given to him during his time of need. Not now, not ever.

Tsuna began to look over his dresser to make sure that it wasn't too messy for his liking. As his eyes scanned to look for anything out of place, he noticed a picture that was sitting in the middle the dresser. As if in a trance, the young man reached out and grabbed the photo and he brought to himself to stare at the contents.

In the photo was Tsuna when he was the tender age of fourteen, standing in the middle of his friends, Yamamoto and Gokudera, at the park. They were all smiling brightly in the picture and since it was a sunny day when the picture was taken, it only seemed to enhance the sheer happiness the enshrouded around the boys gracefully.

The brunet remembered this moment with his friends so clearly. It was such a simple, yet lovely day and they all wanted to hang out with each other. The day was just too beautiful for words. The sun was shining ever so brightly in the light blue sky and there wasn't a single cloud in sight. They all looked so happy in the photo that even the young man couldn't help but smile too. But, as soon as it had settled on his, it suddenly vanished away from him.

"I really miss you guys." Tsuna smiled sadly down at the picture in his hands. "I hope you two are doing okay…without me." He felt his eyes become watery with tears, but he immediately blinked them back after he sat the picture back down on the dresser. The brunet knew that this wasn't the time to let his loneliness out.

Despite feeling remorseful about leaving his friends without so much as a goodbye, he knew that he had no choice but to leave them. It hurt him deeply knowing what he did, but he couldn't turn back time no matter how hard he tried. It just couldn't be.

Glancing over at his clock again, Tsuna saw that he didn't have too much time left before he had to leave. He quickly went back to the mirror to check his appearance one last time. When he saw that nothing, not even a little strand of hair, was out of place, he walked out of his bedroom and gently closed the door behind him.

~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~

While Tsuna was walking down a small hallway that led to his room and other rooms, Tsuna stopped in his tracks when he smelled a weird scent flowing through the air. The man stood there for a moment, wondering where the strange, yet familiar scent was coming from. It didn't take the brunet too long to figure out what the smell reminded him of.

'Smoke…?' He thought to himself, but he immediately shook the thought away, scolding himself for thinking such an absurd thing. 'No. It couldn't be smoke, could it? I mean, I don't remember leaving anything on yesterday.' A silly smile grew on the young man's face as he couldn't help but be humored by his own thoughts.

"There is just no way it could be…"

Suddenly, there was a light trail of black floating through the air, and from what it seemed, it was coming from inside the kitchen. Brown eyes widen considerably in alarm as they watched the black air flow through the apartment in silence. Terrified, the brown haired man quickly walked toward the kitchen, fear slowly edging its way into his fast, beating heart.

"Oh my God…" Tsuna whispered quietly as he did his very best to keep as calm as he could. "Please tell me that I didn't leave the stove on last night!" He pleaded with a slightly heavy heart as he neared his way toward the kitchen's entryway.

Slowly, the young brunet went closer to the corner of the kitchen's entrance. When he stood right at the edge of the corner, he took a long, deep breath and silently prayed that the situation and whatever damage was probably inflicted inside the room was not too horrible. As he slowly began to peek in the room, he was both shocked and stunned at the sight that he saw.

Inside the kitchen, there was a nothing short of destruction all over the room. There were all kinds of food that covered the floor; there were puddles of water all around the sink.

was a very frantic young man with crimson red hair that was desperately trying to put a small fire that was burning in a skillet full of what looked like fiery pancakes on the stove out. The red haired male yelped when he accidently burned himself by touching the incredibly hot stove top. The panicking man's back was turned at Tsuna so he didn't know that the brunet was standing there watching him.

"Come on, you stupid flame!" The red haired man begged loudly, frantically slapping a kitchen towel on the fire as fast as his arms would allow him to. "Please, please, please just go out already!"

Suddenly, breaking out of his daze, Tsuna decided that he had seen enough and that he was going inside to stop the madness that was ablaze in his kitchen. The long haired man was about to step inside and assist the other man, but the brunet stopped in his tracks when he saw the redhead grab a large pitcher of lemonade and immediately threw it at the flame.

Luckily, for the both of them, the flaring flame went out like a light once the liquid consumed it. Tremendously relieved at his success, the panting red haired male let out a tired sigh as he walked toward the kitchen table and he sat down in one of the chairs before putting his head in his folded arms.

Tsuna finally let out the breath that he had held in for so long. He hadn't realized that the air in his lungs had left him during his state of panic and distress until he felt it return to him in his relief.

It took a few minutes before either of the two males moved or made a sound. Soon, it was Tsuna who decided to make the first move since he chose to walk into the kitchen and sit down at the table that the redhead was currently residing. Slowly, he put his hand one of the other man's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Enma-kun, are you okay?" Tsuna asked with a highly concerned tone, his worried brown eyes were carefully inspecting to see if the other had any serious injuries on him. Startled at hearing the brunet's voice, the red haired man quickly looked up and unwavering chocolate orbs were staring into a pair of bright rubies.

"'I'm fine, Tsuna-kun." Enma whispered shyly as he finally found his voice after all that time. Tsuna gave the red eyed man a small smile after he gave another comforting squeeze on the man's shoulder. He felt his heart become calm ease once he heard the other man's reply. He was very glad that the red haired man was alright and that nothing bad had happened to him. What we he do if he had to send his dear precious friend to the hospital?

Yes, this was the very friend that saved him from falling into the deepest, darkest pits of despair. This was the same friend who took him in when he moved to Italy and helped heal his broken heart when he knew he could not heal it by himself. This was the dear someone he was once very close to as a child before the redhead and his family moved to Italy on one sad winter's day.

If anything happened to the redhead, Tsuna would never be able to forgive himself. He owed everything to the man in front of him. He alone was the reason why Tsuna became the person he was today.

Kozato Enma, a young man who he used to be exactly like him when he was younger. He was a person who used to be a main target for bullying when he was in school along with the brunet unfortunately. He was also known to have had a very low self-esteem and could be very clumsy which Tsuna could honestly relate to.

But, there was one thing Tsuna knew for sure. Enma saved him.

"I'm glad that you didn't get hurt." The brunet said honestly, giving Enma a brilliant smile. "I almost thought I lost you there." At hearings his friend's sweet and comforting words, the redhead couldn't help but give the brunet a smile of his own, his ruby eyes flashing happily as a serene feeling began to wash over him, making him feel very calm.

For a few minutes, they allowed each other the opportunity to just sit in absolute silence. It was a moment like this when the two didn't mind sitting quietly, thinking to themselves or silently speaking to one another with their eyes and their variety of lively facial expressions.

Their bond was a very strong, unbreakable one. They had always been there for one another through the good times and the bad ones. They both shared memories that made their hearts flutter with joy and they had memories that made their eyes watery with sorrow as a wave of sadness would wash over them. They both knew that they were willing to do anything to protect and care for the other, and because of this it gave them a sense of peace.

However, there were times when they needed to speak to one another, but they didn't exactly know how to approach the other in a way that they would be able to easily communicate with one another without feeling that they were trying to force the situation on the other.

Now, both the brunet and the redhead felt an awkward air spread around them and they both knew why. It was starting to become a little uncomfortable between the two as Tsuna began tapping with his fingertips on top of the table and Enma shifted in his chair uneasily, staring intently at the table's surface as a way to shield himself from his discomfort.

As the silence became more unbearable for the both of them by the minute, the brown haired man decided that it was time to break through the invisible barrier between them.

"Hey, Enma-kun," the younger man began as he let his eyes look upon his friends flushed face. "How come there was a fire earlier?" The redhead visibly flinched in his seat, which didn't go unnoticed by the worried chocolate eyed male, but the brunet continued to press further on the matter. "Was the oven left on late last night? Was it an accident? Please…tell me."

Enma's face became redder and redder by the second to the point that his face almost matched his crimson hair. The older male seemed to fidget even more in his chair after Tsuna asked him about the fire. Tsuna knew that the redhead was hiding something from him, but he didn't want to force the other male to tell him. He would wait until the other was comfortable enough to tell him for as long as he had to.

The redhead nearly shrunk in his seat because he knew that his brown haired friend was secretly unyielding when it came to these situations. He knew the other male was not going to let what had happened slide by and he also knew that the other wasn't going to let him forget either.

Suddenly, letting out a long sigh of defeat Enma slowly let his red orbs peer into chocolate ones. Taking a deep breathe, Enma readied himself to tell Tsuna, his best friend, the truth of the recent incident.

"I-I wanted to make you b-breakfast this morning." Quietly, the red haired man finally spoke with an obviously shaky and embarrassed tone in his voice.

"I wanted to do something special for you since you've been so working hard lately… Everything seemed to be going well for once, I actually thought that I was going to get everything right for once…until I started making the pancakes." Crimson eyes flashed upon the table top again in utter humiliation. "I accidently let them sit on the stove too long and…well…you saw what happened."

Tsuna stared at his friend with slightly wide eyes after hearing what had just happened. Without any warning whatsoever, a loud and bright laughter erupted from the younger man which in return made the red haired man blush blossom into a deeper red.

"I'm sorry, Enma-kun." Tsuna said while wiping a small tear away from the corner of his eye as a few more giggles escaped from his lips. After the brunet found himself coming down, he let out a small breathe of air before looking at the older man with warm brown eyes. "I didn't mean to laugh, honest. I couldn't help but be reminded of the first time I made my mother breakfast on Mother's Day. Let's just say that I would've burned down my house if my mother didn't come with the fire extinguisher."

Tsuna let out a small chuckle again as he remembered the memory of that Mother's Day. He could remember himself panicking the same way his red haired friend was. In his frantic state, he did his best in putting out the tuna shaped waffles he tried to make, but he was unsuccessful. It was thanks to his mother that the fire was eventually put out. Not long after that, they both couldn't help but laugh and laugh until they couldn't laugh anymore!

For a moment, despite the brown haired man remembering the very humorous memory, he couldn't help but let his eyes become teary once again as he thought about his mother.

'I really miss her.' He thought sadly as he tried to keep himself from crying. Enma noticed his friend's sudden change as he looked worriedly at the other.

"Tsuna-kun…" Enma whispered warily as he saw the brunet quickly wipe the unshed tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Tsuna quietly said as he quickly began to compose himself so that he wouldn't worry his friend anymore. "I think it was very sweet what you tried to do for me and I really do appreciate it a lot."

After a moment, Tsuna's eyes turned very warm as his orbs stared intently at the redhead. "Thank you so much, Enma-kun…for everything." A beautifully mesmerizing smile bloomed on the brunet's heart shaped face. Enma looked up Tsuna in surprise and then a small grin of his own appeared on his flushed face.

"Y-You're welcome, Ts-suna-kun." The red haired man replied back timidly, suddenly feeling light headed with all that blood that seemed like it was rushing to his head.

Beep

Beep

Beep

Chocolate eyes quickly flashed toward the watch on the wall and then they widen in surprise when they saw what the time was.

"Oh shoot!" Jumping up from his seat, Tsuna frantically grabbed his briefcase off the floor and he darted towards the door. But, before he ran out of his apartment, the brunet quickly retreated back into the kitchen and he gave Enma a big hug from behind the crimson eyed male's chair.

"Have a great day off, Enma-kun!" Tsuna said joyfully, accidentally stunning the older male at his sudden action. The red haired male couldn't help but stay still in his place, blushing furiously as he felt the brunet's soft fingers slowly slide across his arms gently. After a couple moments, the younger man eventually released him before he trotted back toward the entrance door and left immediately after locking the door behind him.

"Have a great day too…Tsu-kun." Enma whispered quietly as he looked toward the direction where his dear friend departed with his sparkling eyes.

As Tsuna was about to get in his car, he looked back at his apartment with a glorious smile on his elegant face.

'Thank you, Enma-kun.' Tsuna thought fondly of the redhead as he entered his black vehicle and drove off to toward the large metropolis.

A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry if this one wasn't as exciting as the other ones. I just wanted to make sure I didn't rush this plot and story too much. But, I promise that the next chapter will have a bit more excitement in it! Anyway, thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a review~! Until next time, guys!