the wind's hymn | paused

Chapter 8

Swiping a pack of peppermint gum from his stash into his pocket, Alec hurriedly locks the door and rushes to the staircase, straining his ears and eyes.

No footsteps, no voices, no people.

With a satisfied nod, the blond rolls the textbook and grips it tightly. He leaps into the air, curling into a ball before straightening himself and plummets through the floors.

Wind whips around him, exponentially increasing air resistance to cushion his landing.

Bending his knees as his feet for a few seconds as they connect on the ground, Alec bursts across the street when he spots a head of black hair staring at him.

Snapping into the opposite direction, he pauses, turning back around as Kyoya darts towards him.

"Only if you ensure our teacher for extra classes in maths doesn't fail us if we only get question 7 wrong because it's a university level question and we have proof to justify the unfairness!" Alec shoots, throwing his head back as Kyoya's tonfa strikes where it was.

"Done," the skylark accepts, unleashing a torrent of overwhelming and heavy strikes to the evasive blond.

"Thank youuuu!" Alec beams brightly, swiftly swinging his foot into the back of Kyoya's knees and harshly shoves his shoulders. Prancing over his body as Kyoya stumbles into the nearby wall, the blonde lunges into a swift sprint through the wide streets back to Tsuna's house, his grey t-shirt ruffled and hair--while sweat licked--windswept like he was attacked by a blow-dryer.

—•—

"He didn't tell us how far away he lives," Tsuna mumbles, leaning his head on the study materials on the table, watching the seconds tick past on his clock.

"Don't worry Tsuna," Yamamoto cracks a smile, "he'll be here soon. Mercier-kun also needs to look for it too, right?"

"Yeah, in his studio apartment," the brunet purses his lips, eyebrows furrowing in thought.

Maybe he moved because he couldn't handle the grief?

"It's already so damn hot and you guys are making it even worse--" Tsuna snaps his gaze over his shoulder, gawking at Reborn's costume and set up, "--Why not have a tolerance tournament?"

"What the heck are you doing?!" He shouts at Reborn as the hitman changes into his usual attire. "Are you some kind of demon!?"

"Not me," Reborn answers, fixing his fedora.

"Who else besides you would do such a thing--" the brunet hears his door open and exclaims in surprise.

"Haru!!"

Haru hobbles inside next to Reborn's set up, exhaustion weighing heavy on her shoulders as Tsuna interrogates Reborn. "Why did you let her in now!?"

"The mafia should treat women well," the hitman replies factly. "Treat women you favour well."

"Wha!" Tsuna narrows his eyes, eyebrows knitted together, "She likes Mercier-kun! He isn't back yet!"

"It's okay, Reborn-chan," the brunette trudges towards the door, "Haru will go home now."

"Eh?" Tsuna freezes.

"Just..." Haru says hoarsely, stepping out "Haru is not... a demon."

—•—

Knocking on the door to the Sawada residence, Alec holds his knees in an effort to support himself, breathless when the door swings open to the smiling Nana.

"Th-thank you," the blond picks himself up, feeling Wind hold his back as he steps inside.

"Ara, I should thank you for being Tsuna's friend," Nana laughs lightly, watching Alec swap his shoes and haul himself to bottom of the stairs.

"Ah! One moment Mercier-kun!" She disappears and comes back with a plate of sliced watermelon. "Share these with each other and Haru-chan, will you?"

The blond's face lights up, head dipping slightly, "Thank you Sawada-san."

So the extra pairs of shoes were Haru's. Alec drags himself up the stairs as Wind supports his feet.

"--a demon..."

Nose scrunching into a puzzled expression, Alec looks left to find Haru despondently leaving Tsuna's room.

"The only demon here is Kyo," he spits with a sigh, stepping onto the landing and trudges next to her.

"You're here!" Haru exclaims.

"Mercier-kun!" A muffled voice calls out as a flurry of footsteps sound from inside the room. Next Tsuna rushes out to him, pausing when he takes a better look at him.

"Why do you look like that? Your is face all red... you didn't need to run!" Tsuna hardens his gaze, lips slightly arching into a small frown.

"Pshhh, we'll see you try not to run when Kyoya is chasing hot after your ass for a fight." Alec waves his hand dismissively, "Said he'll deal with the teacher if she fails us even with the evidence."

"You fought Hibari?!" Tsuna shrieks, dismissing the latter sentence as Gokudera and Yamamoto look out the door hearing the commotion.

"Nah, it's more like I shoved him and ran away," the blond chirps. "But I got the textbook!" He holds it up over his head like a trophy, laughing. "That university-level maths question isn't gonna fuck us over!"

"My dad's a university professor," Haru pipes up, wiping any signs of exhaustion from her face. "I can call him to help."

"Yes!" Alec bursts into a blinding smile, vibrating with excitement and relief when he remembers he's holding a plate of sliced watermelon.

"Where did the watermelon go?" He whips his gaze around him, empty hand dropping by his side.

"You've gotten lax," Reborn steps out behind Tsuna, taking a bite.

Alec inhales deeply, dragging his gaze away from Reborn's face. "You know I don't like--"

"You love watermelon." Smugness rolls off Reborn's shoulders like waves.

"Well I've gum, so I don't care if you inhale it all," Alec cocks his head with overflowing satisfaction.

"Stressed much?"

"Oh, shut your mouth, will you?" The blond frowns with a soft gaze, turning to the four watching their conversation.

"Shall we get it over with?"
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[remember to vote & comment - thoughts + theories especially!]