tulTitle: You'll Be in My Heart

Pairing: 1827

Warning: VERY OOC!Characters. AU-ish.

Disclaimer : I don't own any of the characters. And I didn't, don't, and will never own the song. The song is You'll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins. I love this song! I would suggest you to read as you listen to the song, but ._. I dunno. You can do that if you want to 8D it's a really good song, so classic~

The lyrics…I think you would know which ones are the lyrics and which ones aren't. The full song is the one that is just…different.

お誕生日おめでとう、雲雀 恭弥! Selamat Ulang tahun, Hibari Kyouya! 祝你生日快乐，云雀恭弥！Happy Birthday, Hibari-san~!

5 fanfictions for the 5th day of the 5th month of the year. Dearest readers, credits definitely go to Hibari Kyouya who I dedicate this fic to. HIS VONGOLA GEAR IS SO FRIGGIN' COOL, DAMNIT. Happy birthday, darliiiiiiiiii- *tonfa'd*

"Hahaha, weak-ling~!" a kick. Laughters. Stones are thrown. Cough.

"Hey, what are you doing?" a shout.

Spit. "Che, it's him. Let's go!" Escape.

Big, brown eyes filled with concern. "Hey, are you okay?" It's the kid from next door.

Cough. Fat tears falling down.

Come stop your crying
It will be all right
Just take my hand, Hold it tight

"Oh no! Did it hurt? Wait, stupid question. Wait, I'll call the teacher—" a hand grip. Stop.

"—no, don't," Pleading eyes.

"But—" Worry.

"—don't tell the teacher, or they… they'll be mad,"

"—but—"

"No."

"….okay..." Hold hands tightly. Hug.

I will protect you
from all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry

"Ne, what's your name?"

"…Hibari Kyouya."

"Aahh. So Kyouya is it?"

A nod. Tears still streaming down now-reddened cheeks.

"Then, Kyouya… trust me; it'll be alright. I promise that I will protect you from all around you," –smile—"and I'll always be here! So don't cry, okay?"

"…Okay." A big smile.

"Good! Ah, my name is Tsunayoshi di Vongola. Call me Tsuna. Nice to meet you, Kyouya!"

A smile for the seal of a deal.

Hibari Kyouya, a Japanese 5-year-old with a soft personality. He's actually very strong, but at that time, he didn't his own potentials. He has slanted slate blue eyes with a very fair complexion. Always bullied by the stronger kids in the kindergarten. Has a soft spot for cute little animals. He has a very traditional Japanese family that hates foreigners, but ironically his family lives the next door to the Vongola household, the house of the Italian Embassy in Japan.

Tsunayoshi di Vongola, the 8-year-old brunette that has a heroic strike in himself and a very kind personality. He is very clumsy at times. Half-Italian and half-Japanese. He has big brown eyes with an even bigger heart. Loves kids and very protective of his friends. Has a constant smile on his face. His family is neighbours with Hibari Kyouya.

From that day on, unbeknownst to them, their fates have been intertwined.

"'Cause you'll be in my heart… Yes, you'll be in my heart…"

Ah, it's this song again. This must be the hundredth time I've listened to this song. Without even asking, I knew that Tsuna's mother must really like this song.

Tsuna once said that the song that plays in his house for 12 months a year 7 days a week 24 hours a day and 60 seconds a minute is a version where his dad sang the song for his mom, because his dad is always busy and is constantly not at home. But then, Tsuna doesn't hate his dad for it. He loves his dad very, very much…no matter what happens.

It's almost been 10 years since that day. That day…The day when Tsuna left both the country and my sight.

For one so small,
you seem so strong
My arms will hold you,
keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry

Ever since I met Tsuna, I decided to grow stronger. I wanted to be able to stand up for myself, so I wouldn't trouble Tsuna, my saviour at that time. I practiced hard in the dojo my family owns, I disciplined myself beyond compare. When Tsuna saw what I was capable of doing, he was awed.

But there were times when my physical strength didn't help with the pain. It didn't help with the mental pain I was suffering. My parents were always bickering, always fighting. Shouts, yells, and the sound of things breaking were a part of my daily life. As an only child, I was scared. Terrified. Horrified. I was always alone in that big, cold house.

And Tsuna… he was always there for me to talk to, always there for me to cry on.

Countless hours have I spent, the times when I would just hug Tsuna and cry. Cry out all my insecurities, cry out all my pain. He would always hug me back tightly and keep whispering, "I'll be here, don't you cry…" over and over again, until I fall asleep, trails of tears staining my cheeks.

And when I wake up, I would see his smiling face, lighting up my dim world and being the sunshine of my life.

There was one day when my parents' fight was exceptionally loud and frightening. That day, Tsuna was out with his family on a picnic. I didn't go with them, because I didn't want to be a bother. They were bickering again, and I don't know how many vases and glasses and china they have broken. They shouted and yelled. I was 6 at that time. I didn't want to listen, but I heard them yelling. People think that 6-year-old kids wouldn't be able to understand things, they think that 6-year-old kids would only understand retarded cartoons. Definitely not me, though.

"It's your fault that thing is alive!"

"What are you even talking about?"

"That! THAT CHILD! That child you claim as yours and that woman's!"

"NEVER ADDRESS MY DECEASED WIFE DISRESPECTFULLY. And I wasn't the one who wanted him. It was my deceased wife…"

"Oh, so—"

I heard my heart broke, and I didn't hear anything else. I quietly walk to my room, get into the futon, and bury myself in it.

From my parents, the one that I love the most is my father. I thought he loves me, but… he doesn't even want me.

I didn't cry. I stayed strong. I didn't show any sign that I heard them, I put a mask of indifference. That was the first time when I put on the mask. The mask that slowly became something I have to use my whole life.

I waited for Tsuna outside of the gate. I knew that he would pass my house's gate, so I waited. Once I saw him from afar, he called my name and my tear dam broke. I ran up to him, hugged him, and I cried. I cried more than I had. And no one in the house knew.

'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more

Tsuna never left my heart. Not even once; I'm sure of it.

Even after I grew stronger and stronger, beating those who beat me before.

Even after I became the strongest in Namimori, disciplining those delinquents that have made a scar on my childhood memories.

Even after I overcame the difficulties my life would occasionally bring.

Whenever life would be too heavy and the burden would be impossible to lift, he would show up in mind, cheering me up and comforting me, convincing me that I can do it and believe in me. Every time I ran to a wall of challenge and it seems to be impossible to pass through, he would smile and remind me of things I've forgotten.

He's… he's the first face I remember each and every time I wake up and the last face I see when I go to sleep. He's the voice I hear when I block things out of my head. He's the one…that has always been there, more than anyone has ever been.

You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, always

People say that by time, memories fade. Just like the way people forget how to do things when they don't do it anymore.

But not in my case, I guess. No, I'm sure of it.

Tsuna is there in my heart, as he's been there for the past 10 years. His eyes, his nose, his smile, his face. His voice, his words, his acts, his being. His kindness, his comfort, his warmth, his loyalty.

People say it's childish to hold onto a hero during childhood, but really, I can't care less. They don't know anyway.

All I care and all I know… is that Tsuna will always be in my heart, no matter what.

Why can't they understand
the way we feel
They just don't trust
what they can't explain
I know we're different but,
deep inside us
We're not that different at all

Tsuna and I, we're of different social statuses. Tsuna is the son of the Italian Embassy in Japan. His mother is Japanese. Their family… their family was the role model of a "perfect family" for me when I was young. Tsuna was an only child, too. Since all of his father's relatives were in Italy, and some of his mother's relatives declined the offer to come to a foreigner's house, their family gathering were small, but very warm at the same time. Sometimes I would join them. What I see from Tsuna's family and what I heard from my family… they're different.

My family is a very traditional Japanese family, with traditions and customs that stuck to our family for generations. My family hates foreigners. As a really… stuck-up –for the lack of better words— family, everyone except me hated the people they say "are spoiling the country". I never liked hanging around my family. Every time they gather up in a family gathering, they would just talk about themselves, wealth, rumours, and how bad foreigners are. It was sad to see how low my family standards have sunk.

It wasn't like this before.

My real mother died when I was four years old, a year before I met Tsuna. She was a gentle beauty, with an air of politeness and gracefulness in her every act. A few months after her passing, my father re-married a woman… and that wretched woman has spoiled everyone in the family. Or maybe she just brought out the bad parts of my family and made them show.

People say that we're not supposed to play together, since my family hates foreigners and Tsuna's family are considered as "foreigners". They say that we don't belong to each other. That it's not God's will for us to be together.

But then, no matter how bad my family say about the foreigners, no matter how I'm wrong and they are right, no matter how God would probably hate me for going against his so-called "will", I love Tsuna. Always have, always will.

Both me and Tsuna, we were both similar to each other, somewhat. Me, because I was weak (when I was small). Him, because he was a 'foreigner'. That one reason alone is enough said. Both of us are the only child from our parents, both of us don't have anyone to talk to. So we "fit like puzzle pieces", as people may say.

Now that I think of it, Tsuna's condition of being considered as "foreigner" and getting isolated because of that, that's just pure prejudice, isn't it?

And you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more

Tsuna is someone I've never expected to meet. Since I was able to understand words, I've always been taught that foreigners are bad. It was like one of the math equations that I must held unto for the rest of my life.

But when I was bullied… maybe that was the point where I decided that I don't care anymore. I don't care if foreigners are supposed to be bad. I don't care if I'm going against my family. He saved me, and I can never be grateful enough. That's what matters.

My family said that foreigners are evil, they are sneaky, sly, cunning. But Tsuna wasn't.

How can a foreigner that treasures his friends like jewels can be evil?

How can a foreigner that can even trip on flat surface can be sneaky?

How can a foreigner that kept failing his tests because he claimed that he "didn't study enough" can be sly?

How can a foreigner, the exact same foreigner that has been examples until now, who had bags under his eyes because he was up until late for days, can be cunning?

You may say that he may be pretending in front of me. I thought of it, too.

But when it was his turn to cry in front of me, cry because of all the derisions he received every single day, cry because of every betrayal and disgusted looks people he thought were "friends"… I don't think it was an act.

Or maybe it was. A hidden suspicion that I do not want to admit.

Don't listen to them
'Cause what do they know
We need each other,
to have, to hold
They'll see in time
I know

Rumors and lies, they never stop. Sometimes, my parents would get my family's servant to get me to their room, sit down in front of them, and endure them as they "teach me how to choose the good people and the bad people", as they claim it to be (but I think it was only about how foreigners are so wretched that I should not hang out with them). These speeches, they happened almost every week. It's as if they're trying to brainwash me.

The first time I received "the speech", I was 6. I told Tsuna about everything. He wasn't offended in the slightest, to my relief. Tsuna told me that we have to make a secret hideout. "Like in the movies!" I remember him saying. I agreed, out of impulse of not wanting to be separated from Tsuna.

We found the ideal place, rather deep in the woods. The place was bright from the sunlight, and yet it has perfect shading from the trees' leaves and branches. The grass was low and green, with an even ground. Since the woods were stated as "safe" by the government a few months ago, we were sure that no harmful animal would be there. Rabbits come occasionally though.

As time passes, we started building a little shack there; just something for us to take shelter when it rains suddenly. It wasn't flawless, but it was good enough to actually last us for such a long time. We worked on it together, and I can never forget our vow of loyalty to each other that time. I was 8 at that time.

I was 10 by then, working on the homework I deem useless. It was a rainy day, so I decided to not go to the hiding place. Usually, I would go to our hiding place inside the safe woods nearby our houses. We meet there every sunny day, so it's something normal for me; it was a routine. Since it was raining, I thought he won't be in the hiding place either.

I was doing my homework when I heard a ruckus outside the gate of my house. I wanted to ignore it, but then I heard my family's servant shouting. Something's not right.

I started walking down the halls and out to the balcony, and I saw…Tsuna. Pleading to the servants of my family about something. My family's servants are okay with foreigners and all, unlike my family. Maybe it's because the servants have seen how I changed when I'm with Tsuna. They (my family) don't know that my family's servants are on okay grounds with their self-proclaimed enemies, though. I didn't want to think about how horrible it could've been if they found out.

I passed the gardens and ran straight to the gate, under the rain, without much thought. I didn't care if I would get sick whatsoever. I saw Tsuna's eyes; they were urgent and pressing.

My servants saw me, and they retreated, since they knew that I don't want to be bothered every time Tsuna came over.

Tsuna clasped my hands together, and then he said the words that haunted me for the last 10 years.

"I'm moving." He said, bangs covering his eyes.

"…What? …Y-You're kidding me, aren't you? April Fools is still a few days away, dummy—" my chuckle was cut short by his crisp reply.

"No, I'm serious. I am moving. To Italy. I would have to go in a few minutes," I saw his eyes—they were dead serious.

"…" I wanted to say so many things, so, so many that I was rendered speechless.

"Now listen here, Kyouya. Do you remember my mom's favourite song?"

I nodded.

"Do you remember the lyrics? There's a part that I want to remind you,"

I shook my head. My mind was running so fast that I couldn't even think. Then he started to sing.

When destiny calls you
You must be strong
I may not be with you
But you've got to hold on
They'll see in time
I know
We'll show them together

Tears started to fall down my cheeks, together with the tears of the sky. He was crying, too.

"When destiny calls you and face you with difficulties, Kyouya, you must be strong. Not physically, but here," he touched my heart. "I may not be with you when that time comes, but please, please keep holding on to life. I'm begging you. Hold on to what you have, hold on to what God gave you. Please, Kyouya, I love you so much that I don't want to lose you, no matter what happens," And he hugged me.

"…w-why…?" I managed to stutter out.

"They—the people who hates us—they're starting a riot against us. The people that we can safely call friends told us about them. I-I don't have any other choice than to leave the country with my family, Kyouya... I have to leave."

"No, no, you're lying. Please, don't do this to me," I cried out. He cried harder, if possible. "I don't want to do this, but I have to, Kyouya. I-I…I have to."

"No, please, don't…" I gripped his shirt tighter, my whole body shaking. Then Tsuna pushed me away at his arm's length.

"Kyouya…listen. Please remember this. I will come back for you. I will even do that a thousand times for you—" he started.

"—then don't leave!—"

"Listen!" he yelled. Tsuna very rarely yell at me, and he only doe that when it's really necessary.

"Listen, Kyouya, please, please listen. I will come back for you, but I have to leave for now. Until…until people can accept us foreigners, until they can accept the fact that there are people who are different from them… please wait for me. We will show them that foreigners aren't bad somehow. We'll change their opinions about us. So please, wait for me." He hugged me again, our tears mixing with the rain.

"I love you, Kyouya, I really do. Much more than you know."

"I love you too, Tsuna…with all my heart."

'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on,
Now and forever more

I only have a picture of Tsuna that I really like with me, the one I've carried throughout the years. It has experienced being in many wallets and places as I keep changing them. I couldn't put any of his photo at home, because my family restricted any of them.

Now I live by myself, finally breaking away from my uptight family once and for all. I put his photo on the rack, along with some pictures of him and his family that I've secretly hidden under layers of tatami at home.

By the time I exited my old house, it was almost like I was exiting my family. Exiting the cage that has bounded me. Exiting the life that I've never liked.

That promise I made to Tsuna, the promise that I would wait for him… I do. I still do.

I'm still waiting for him, even until this moment. People say that I'm impatient, that I'm easily irritated. But I waited for Tsuna for 10 years, and I would wait for him for as long as I can.

Oh, you'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be in my heart, always
Always

A/N: DONE.

OMG.

It's finally DONE.

This is the last story of the 5 stories I published for Hibari's birthday. Did you guys enjoy 'em? XD R&R please, lemme know what you think!

I remember the two Japanese words I used: futon and tatami. I'm pretty sure you guys know what it means, though ;; even if you don't, well…you can either ask me or just Google it.

I do kind of have an idea for a sequel for this…but of course, it won't happen unless someone wants it (may it be you, or mee~~) till then, seeyouu~!