It was as though everything stopped at that moment. It was as though time had froze just for him. And yet, he couldn't stop anything from happening. He couldn't. His eyes goes wide the moment the truck hit Ryuuichi and the girl. His brother's name ripped out of in terror, his heart beating against his rib cage, his ears, loudly. His body ran cold at the sight of his brother rolling on the floor lifelessly, never letting go of the child.

'No. NononononoNO!' He stumbled, pushing away the crowd and rushed to Ryuuichi. Falling onto his knees, he tried to shook his brother awake. 

"Ryuuichi!! Oi! Open your eyes!" His hands were trembling against his brother's shoulder, desperate. He wanted his brother's eyes to open. He wanted him to stop sleeping. Everything was red. The thick red puddle of blood growing bigger each second passed, his hands and pants soaked in it. 

"Ryuu! Ryuu-nii! Please!" He tried again, shaking harder. A pair of hands tugged him back, holding him away from Ryuuichi. He struggled. "No! Let me go! Ryuu! Wake up!" He tried to hit his way out, but the one holding him back was too strong. (Or is it that he had no more energy.)

And someone slapped him. "Snap out of it!" It was Reborn. He wasn't panicking. Why wasn't he panicking? Why?! "Don't shake him. We don't know the extend of his injuries. You might just make it worse." His voice are hard, but it was slightly shaken. He immediately turned back to the unconscious Ryuuichi, blood flowing down his forehead. He clicked his tongue and summoned his flames.

He paid no heed to the child as a woman pulled her away from Ryuuichi's tight grip, now slacken. The child wasn't that much injured other than some deep cuts and a potential sprain arm since Ryuuichi had shield off most of the impact. "Call the ambulance! Hurry!" 

Reborn is by no means, a hitman who had seen a lot of this world. He experienced a lot of things more than anyone could ever imagine, accidents included. However, this marked as the first time someone he's rather closed with get involved in an accident. It had shook him more than he expected.

'Hang in there, Ryuuichi!'

He gritted his teeth and pulled out more of his flames from his core, ignoring the fact that there were civilians around. It's not like they could see his flames from how he had covered it anyway.

Amemori kept his hold on Yuuichi, face pale as he took in Ryuuichi's condition. His grip didn't loosen even after Yuuichi stopped struggling. He wondered at the back of his mind if he did that to help Yuuichi, or was it for himself. He swallowed audibly.

It didn't take the ambulance too long to arrive, yet it seemed like years in Yuuichi's eyes. He couldn't catch up with whatever was happening, but when he managed to register it, he was already at the hospital, sitting by one of the chairs outside the ER room. His mind was numb, his bloodied hands couldn't stop shaking.

The image of a very pale Ryuuichi, wearing an oxygen mask with the paramedic shouting things that he didn't understand flashed in his mind. And everything hit him. A choked cry slipped out of as he quickly covered it, tears spilled out before he could even stop it.

It got harder to breathe. It was so hard. He gasped, burying his face in his hands. A pair of hands grabbed his face, lifting it up. He still couldn't breathe. (Breathe, breathebreathebreathe!)

"..-Calm down, Yuuichi!" His eyes widen, sight cleared. His breath stopped as he took in the furrowed eyebrows, the brown eyes flashing in orange, the lips pulling thin. Since when Tsuna arrived? "Calm down, Yuuichi. Focus on me. Focus on my voice." He did as told. When did Tsuna got so matured? When did that happen?

"Alright. Breathe. Come on. In," He a mouthful of air. "Out. In. Out." He continued, listening to the voice and followed the pace. He did it until his breathing went back to normal. "It'll be alright, you hear me?" He nodded. "Ryuuichi is strong. Everything will be alright. Breathe, Yuuichi. Breathe." 

'Everything will be alright.' The words echoed in his mind. His brother's voice echoed alongside with Tsuna's. He focused on that. He focused on breathing, oxygen into his system. He focused with just that.

Tsuna smiled in relief upon seeing the light in Yuuichi's eyes again. He ran here when he got a call from Reborn. His tutor's voice was surprisingly hard and edgy as he informed Tsuna what had happen. He had immediately told Gokudera and Yamamoto about it as he rushed over. 

His heart stopped the moment he heard that. His intuition had been blaring a few moments before the call. (Too late. It went off too late.) It was the same as the time Yamamoto got admitted into the hospital. His own flames was tugging painfully in him as well. Who would have imagine Ryuuichi getting into an accident.

He sat down beside Yuuichi and pulled him into a side-way hug, grabbing his shoulders tightly. He glanced towards Amemori, who was sitting by the other corner. The teen seemed out of the world at the moment, but Tsuna knew he would be alright. The light, the fire in his eyes haven't lost yet. It wouldn't disappear. 

He bit his lips, trying to calm himself down before he turned to Reborn, who sat at the opposite. "What happened exactly?" 

".. A child ran out onto the middle of the street when there was a truck moving at a fast speed. Ryuuichi saw and immediately went to save her. She's alright. No other injuries other than a few scratches and sprained arm. Ryuuichi had covered most of the impact for her."

He nodded stiffly. It was understandable. Ryuuichi would never forgive himself if he didn't do anything. Hell if Tsuna himself was in that situation, he would do the same thing as well. Yet, the thought of Ryuuichi...

'No. Everything will be alright.'

"Did you inform Dino-san and his parents?" Reborn nodded. "Yeah. They're taking the next flight back from Italy." 

"What is going on here?" They turned to look at the newcomer, to see Hibari standing there, dark aura seeping out. Behind him by few steps were Gokudera and Yamamoto. "Tsuna! How's Ryuu?!" "Is he alright?!" The brunette gave the two a grim look and shook his head. "He's still in the ER."

They scowled, concern visibly on every inch of their body. Gokudera punched a wall and cursed out loud in many different languages he knew. Yamamoto wasn't as cheery as he was, lips pulled thin. They looked torn between wanting to cry out loud and scream, and just wanting to deny everything. Suucking in a breath, Yamamoto walked up to Tsuna and Yuuichi and sat down on Yuuichi's other side. He too, pulled the younger twin into a tight side-way embrace. 

Tsuna smiled at that and turned back to the prefect. "Um, why are you here, Hibari-san?"

"A member of the committee informed me of an accident involving Nami-Middle student. Who is it?" Hibari's voice was hard and deadly silent. Under normal circumstances, it would make the strongest yakuza pee in his pants but, Tsuna just couldn't muster the energy to be terrified.

"Ryuuichi." The prefect's eyes widen as he bared his teeth. "What?" Tsuna bit his lower lips again. "It's Ryuuichi."

Something flashed in Hibari's eyes, but Tsuna didn't know what it was. Perhaps it was disbelief, perhaps it was denial. Instead of saying anything else, he silently watched Hibari. 

Hibari hands twitched slightly. He wanted to pull his tonfa out, or was it that he wanted to clench his hands to the point it bleed? At that moment Hibari didn't know what to do. Not for the first time, however, he felt at lost. 'He'll be alright.' Closing his eyes for a moment, he regained his own composure. Ryuuichi is strong. Hibari knew that very well. He's strong. He'll make it through.

His grey eyes snapped open, flashing. Looking over to the Yuuichi, the small animal's brother. There was blood on his shirt, no doubt Ryuuichi's blood. Hibari had to restrain himself from losing his cool at that thought. "Shiroki Yuuichi."

Yuuichi tensed up. Good, which meant that he was listening to Hibari. (The prefect hates to repeat himself.) "That small animal will be fine. He's strong." With that, he walked away. To who knows where, none of them knew. What they understood was, that Hibari still need time to fully recollect himself. 

A new fire lit up in them. This is Ryuuichi they're talking about. He'll be alright.

Yuuichi looked at his hands again and found that they were no longer trembling. Clenching them, he pulled himself together. He couldn't lose to his brother after all. He need to be strong as well, for his brother's sake and for his own.

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All of them sat there for hours. How long, they had lost count. (Yamamoto had took the chance to drag Yuuichi to the toilet to wash up and change. Yuuichi had brought his P.E attire all along.) They got more and more impatient as seconds passed into minutes, minutes into hours. It shouldn't even be that long, but it dragged. Why, they didn't know.

It was like eternity until the doctor suddenly came out, looking absolutely ragged. There were blood on him, dried. All of them, minus Hibari who merely stood up from where he was seated at, practically leaped out of their chair and gathered around the doctor.

"How's my brother!"

The doctor pulled down his mask, a small, tired smile on. "The surgery was successful." A collective sighes of relief was heard. "He had a blood transfusion from severe bleeding, several broken ribs and torn ligaments. His forehead needed a few stitches from a rather deep cut. Fortunately, his back and spinal cord are alright. By some miracle, his back pack had soften the most of the impact against his back bones. However,"

The perked into attention at that. "He suffered from a major concussion. If he doesn't wake up under 36 hours, he might fall into a coma. Any other effect from it is unknown until he wakes up."

Reborn nodded solemnly. "Can we see him now?" "Yes, but please be cautious not to create a commotion." A nurse came out, holding Ryuuichi's belongings and handed them to Yuuichi, who looked like he was going to have a relapse of hyperventilating from the thought of Ryuuichi going into coma. It was Yamamoto grabbing his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze that he didn't. 

He nodded stiffly and took a grasp of it. It was Ryuuichi's wallet, phone, watch, the bo stick, his ring and the bracelet. All of it felt cold, yet the ring and bracelet were warm. Softly pulsing. Like as though Ryuuichi was still wearing it, still lighting his flames. He didn't knew much about the flame and didn't really understand it even after Ryuuichi explained and showed him. 

But he knew one thing. Ryuuichi mentioned that the flame will always be lit until one dies. Flames are the resolve to fight, and to live. 

Yuuichi let out a choked chuckle, smiling in relief. Relief that Ryuuichi is still alive. He didn't care if he goes into coma or whatsoever, because Yuuichi will wait for his brother forever. 

Tsuna was bonded with Ryuuichi through their flames, similar to how Enma and Dino is. He could feel the flames in him, Ryuuichi's flames in him. He knew that he's alright, for it is flaring alongside with his. (Speaking of Enma, he should inform the red head. No doubt Enma could feel the tug.)

All of them went into the ward Ryuuichi was admitted and immediately narrowed their eyes on the teen lying unconscious on the bed. His head was bandaged, and he looked pale. Very pale. Too pale for their liking. He was breathing through the oxygen mask, the constant beeping signify that his heart is beating. Yuuichi immediately sat down beside the bed on a plastic chair, his stuff was placed aside. 

Careful not to jostle the IV drip, he took ahold of Ryuuichi's right hand and held his finger by the wrist. The small thumping of the pulse calmed him down. 'Wake up, alright?' His eyelids felt heavier until he fell asleep almost immediately beside Ryuuichi's bed, still holding his hand. 

A blanket was placed on his back as the others smiled softly, albeit exhausted. Compare to them, Yuuichi had it the hardest. The younger twin will always be the closest to Ryuuichi after all. This incident probably took a heavy toll on him. Amemori let out a shaky sigh, staring at Ryuuichi's face.

He looked longer, as though waiting for it to twitch. After a full minute, he turned away. It was rather unbearable for him. Ryuuichi was hit by a truck in front of his eyes. Why wouldn't that be unbearable? More importantly, why wasn't he that much shaken than he thought he would? ("Hey, if I were to get into an accident, will you be sad?" "What?! Don't jinx yourself dammit! I would be enraged. If you ever get into an accident, I'll beat the living daylight out of you, alright?")

"Amemori." He blinked, snapping out of his stupor and turned to Gokudera, who looked equally shaken. He briefly wondered if the bomber had any kind of close relationship with Ryuuichi. ('.. I know nothing about him now, do I?')

"Out. It's really late now. Go back and come tomorrow morning after you rest. We'll take care of things now." His gaze drifted from Gokudera to Yamamoto, to Tsuna, to Reborn and lastly to Hibari. All of them held similar looks. All tired yet wouldn't leave.

'Ah. They don't trust me.' It was a given. He had, after all, popped out one day and claimed that he was Ryuuichi's childhood friend. Even if Ryuuichi trust him, (To an extend anyway.) they don't. It was clearly a given. He had expected that. Knowing that whatever he do, they would tell him to go back, he complied. He had no desire to argue with them about this at this kind of atmosphere. Besides, it was practically midnight now. 

He nodded. He walked up to Ryuuichi's side, careful not to jostle anything, and gently stroeked the teen's head wordlessly. Leaning down, he placed a fleeting peck on his forehead before walking out of the room. The others followed suit and everyone was out the room, leaving the twins alone. (They almost jump at Amemori for what he did, however.) Even Hibari was out. (They had half expected that he would stay.)

Walking down the hallway with his back towards them, his eyes glinted in red for a moment.

They watched Amemori's back disappear from a corner before looking away. Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto slumped against the chair, sitting not really that far away, but there was a small distance. Reborn and Hibari sat the farthest seat from them. Reborn had his face shadowed by his fedora. None of them could see whether he was asleep, or not.

Hibari, on the other hand, had his eyes closed, arms and legs crossed. They would be an idiot if they were to think that he's asleep. Hibari was definitely awake. When Hibari saw how frail Ryuuichi looked like, he finally realized that how easily it is for someone to die. He used to not care about it, hitting and beating people to hell. He didn't even care if he endangered himself, always pushing himself to the limit, exceeding it.

He used to not care about lives. But now, it dreads him. (He can now understand why Ryuuichi was so adamant on wanting to patch him up after a fight of sort.)

Hibari didn't knew that there would be a day that he would even care about anyone in their possible death bed, but he hated that thought upon seeing Ryuuichi like that. When did Ryuuichi wormed his way into his heart again? When did the rest of them wormed his way into his heart? Why hadn't he all that earlier?

Even so, that wasn't the point now. Now, all he could do is wait.

Not opening his eyes at all, he tugged back at the bond connected all of them slightly, flames pulsing.

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The scenery was as usual, yet calming. Mukuro likes it. He likes how this place, where only he (and Chrome, sometimes) could see. His own secret place where he would retreat back into after a day, or after the haunting memories of his past. It's serene and a secret, just the way he likes it.

He was staring aimlessly at the grass filled land, the wind blowing softly against his skin. The tree leaves rustling. Pushing a hair back, he turned around to the small river where clear water flows slowly. His eyes widen in surprise upon sight of a certain teen in front of him.

"How did you get here-" He jolted when the teen fell into his arms limply, he instinctively held the other up. He frowned and was about to push away the teen, but stopped upon the words from the other. A small smirk appeared on his lips.

"Of course." With that he encaged the other in his arms.

His heterochromatic eyes snapped open to the familiar ceiling of the abandoned Kokuyo Land, sprawled on the tattered couch. He pushed himself up and looked out of the window to the rather starry night sky.

Mukuro smirked, eyes glinting against the darkness. He pushed his bangs up and fell back onto the couch. "This should be interesting." Chuckling to himself, he made a mental note to give the oh so merry group a visit as he went back to sleep.

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A/N= Uhhum, this chapter is like, a jumbled up pile of crap?! And it's mostly about, *flail hands* I don't know. I didn't even managed to hit 3K with this chapter, but oh well. 

One thing, he won't fall into coma, don't worry. And yes, Mukuro is somehow involved in this arc. I felt that the times I wrote about him was too little. And Damn, what is with me and these dark characters?!

So, about the flames. I think it was mentioned that Ryuuichi had taught slash showed Yuuichi the flames, and such? Yeah. So, since Yuuichi had seen it, he could briefly feel it.

Along with that topic, I would like to bring up the bond thingy. I mean, I confused myself yet again for the nth time with it. Um, so, Ryuuichi, Tsuna, Enma and Dino had this bond between the four of them, since they're all sky and an gravity flame user. That comes along with the fact that they're allied? I think?

And then the bond between the Ryuuichi, Yamamoto, Gokudera, Hibari, Reborn, and possibly Mukuro are slightly different. It's similar, but different. However, however! Yamamoto, Gokudera, Hibari and Mukuro are Tsuna's. They're Tsuna's guardians and Tsuna's their sky. That will never change. Reborn is, well, more bonded with Tsuna, and can be considered under Tsuna's sky flames thingy or something something. The bond between Ryuuichi and them are, yes, through flames as well, but no. Ryuuichi can never and never want to take Tsuna's place as their sky. Why? Those dudes and Tsuna had already claimed each other. (FLAMES! THROUGH FLAMES NOT-)

They still could feel Ryuuichi through the bond though, occasionally. When they're hyper-aware of each other. (P/S= The bonds between certain character and Ryuuichi might change somehow, but not much.)

Ryuuichi and Yuuichi's bond, on the other hand, was totally different. Their bond wasn't developed in their teens, but ever since they're born. Their twin brothers after all. It's like, a thousand metal rods. (Strange metaphor, I know. I'm going to kill myself with all these metaphors and such. Dammit.) Just recently, their bond got more, tighter?, after Yuuichi knew all that and with Ryuuichi's flame actively claim Yuuichi's as his.

ANDD, OPINION! What kind of flame do you think Yuuichi should have? Give one or two. Thanks!

Note= Ryuuichi, Sakura and Kei's bond is like, not really established yet since they aren't usually home, and Ryuuichi doesn't really look for them for things and such much? Yeah. But it's there though, the bond. Just not strong enough.

Note= The bonds can be severed but it'll do a sheit ton of damage to one, mentally, depending on how deep the bond is. Example, if you sever the twins' bond, they'll die. Not physical death, but mental death. WHY WOULD ANYONE CUT THEIR BOND ANYWAY!?! YOU CAN'T EVEN CUT IT?! (<-- Send major help pls.)

Oh and the bonds have things to do with the flames---- I'm confusing myself again AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Probably will explain more later but UGH. 

This chapter is seriously a pile of confusing crap. I sheit you not, I almost give myself a headache with all this confusing sheit. Too many sheit here. Figuratively, and literally.

RIGHHHTTT!! I almost forgot.

Sooo, about the impact thing against his back and the so-called miracle from the doctor, it's because Ryuuichi had instinctively put up the cloud shield the fudging last minute. Albeit it didn't fully block off the impact but, but it did absorb most of it. Which is whyy, he's not crippled or anything. (*sob* I can't bear the thought of Ryuuichi being crippled. orz *sob*) 

^Umm, or take it as Kuro kindda did something? Idk.

I think I need to punch something from all these. Like, wth. Why did I kill myself with all this thing rn omg. (<--- Excuse this. I just had sugar so I'm a bit hyper. That, and the latest episode of Yuri On Ice killed me.)

Sorry for the confusion here!

[I apologize for any grammar, spelling, etc. etc. mistakes]