SKY 1

He was dying.

This was a fact that Byakuran knew and accepted full heartedly. He was sick—something that was the norm in many of the parallel worlds he was able to see through the Mare Sky Ring. Perhaps it would have been better if he hadn't been gifted the ring at a young age in this world (while the normal age he was given the ring was when he was in University.) At least if he hadn't been given the ring he wouldn't have been able to get a look at worlds where he lived, where he pulled through his illness.

He wouldn't have seen the worlds where he was the ruler. (CRUEL. MALICOUS. TYRANT. GOD). He wouldn't have seen worlds where he was happy (Love… so much love. Sometimes he had found love with different people. Red hair, glasses, a shy inventor he had known for years. Brown hair, a bright smile, all accepting. LOVELOVELOVE.) Those worlds where he was the ruler scared him, after all in most of those worlds the brown haired male from the happy worlds was always in front of him bleeding dying, in agony. (His heart broke whywhywhywhy.)

He wished he could just take the ring and chuck it into the nearest ocean. Damn the world, what did it matter to him? He was dying already wasn't he? He couldn't stand the looks of pity the doctors and nurses would send his way.

"Not much longer now." He'd hear them whisper as if whispering would stop him from hearing them. The idiots they weren't even quiet at all. The days he had remaining to live were spent in a muted colorless world. Nothing matter to him. He knew leaving this world with no one to take care of the Mare Ring was not good at all. There always needed to be someone to take care of it lest the world be unbalanced. But finding a new owner of it would be hard, after all one had to have a substantial amount of pure Sky flame to handle it or they go insane from the influx of different information they gleam from the parallel world.

He would rather not burden someone to this fate. It was his fate and destiny to hold the Mare Sky ring. It was this way in all the other worlds. Even the ones where he died as a child (as was happening now) he wasn't given the ring this early. What was the different factor in this world that caused him to gain it so early? Byakuran wasn't so sure.

Gazing outside at the setting sun, the sunset setting his hospital room ablaze in red and orange like fire (like the sky flame) he heard his hospital door slide open). Glancing back to the door his eye widened in surprise by what he saw.

A five year old child, wide chubby cheeks and wide brown eyes looked at him with wide innocent eyes. Byakuran wanted to tear up. The man from one of his parallel worlds, one of his possible lovers was looking at him as a child. The seven year old white haired boy wanted to reach out and touch him to make sure this was real. Was this just an illusion, a figment of his imagination to give himself a semblance of happiness?

"AH! Tsu-chan must have gotten the wrong room. I'm sorry Onii-san."

Looking at him (Tsu-chan?) he came up with a solution to his problem.

"Ne ne, Tsu-chan was it? It's okay. Hey, why don't you come over here for a bit. I don't get many visitors you see!"

The child looked at him warily at first but then relented. "O-Okay. But I can't stay long! I'm supposed to be visiting Mama!"

The five year old looked the elder in the eyes. The older boy gave him a sad smile. "I am Gesso Byakuran. What's your name little one."

"T-Tsuna…" The brunet replied, hands playing with each other.

"Well Tsuna… you see I'm really sick. I… might not be around much longer."

"Eh?"

"I want you to keep something for me. It is really important that you do not lose it." He said as he gazed down at the ring he had on his hand. Sliding it off, he opened the child's hand and put it in there closing his hands around the other. "Promise me of Tsuna-kun?"

"O-Okay Byakuran-san."

Byakuran gave a small bitter smile as he leaned forward and placed a small kiss on the younger childs forehead.

Goodbye my could have been future.

Afterwards after Tsuna left, Byakuran watching the stars appear in the night Sky let a few tears fall. In the morning they would find that the 7 year old child had died peacefully in his sleep.

AN: Based off a headcanon I posted on tumblr.