Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.
Dedicated to my cousin, who requested and thought of the entire thing. I hope you like it, brat.

The Consequences of Forgetting

It was supposed to be fairly simple.

Get in. Get the deal. Get out.

Simple and very standard procedure.

Everything was going smoothly. So smooth that, for a while, the Storm Guardian was pleased to know that there were days like this; days that didn't include ambushes and mind games and fighting for your life. The Tenth would be ecstatic. Contract in-hand, Hayato began walking out of the room in a good mood. It was nice to come home with his suit still immaculately clean, with his men standing and alive beside him, ready for the day to end to be with their families. So caught up in the mood, the Storm Guardian let himself relax.

Big mistake.

As soon as he and the two men that came with him were near the front doors, several men began to file out, blocking their exit. Now, the Storm Guardian was more than an exceptional fighter but even he knew when they were hopelessly outnumbered. He had been reckless in the past, forgoing the use of his brain and leaping straight to use brawn. But he had changed now. From years of fighting with his Family, Hayato knew that his strength didn't lie in physical power. Unlike the Tenth, Yamamoto, Hibari, Mukuro, and hell even Ryohei and that idiot Lambo, Hayato knew that he wasn't a natural at combat. His instincts at fighting were honed through years of constant struggling unlike the near genius prowess of his fellow Guardians who seemed to just get stronger and stronger as they battled.

However, unlike the other Guardians, Hayato could think his way out of anything. That was what he was good at: strategy and tactics, cunning and subterfuge. His intelligence was his best weapon. It had taken him years to realize that, but once he did, he honed it and became the man feared by many. After all, one could escape a sword, a punch, a trident and tonfas through sheer luck and tons of skill but it's impossible to do so from a man who could think two steps ahead of you.

Calmly continuing to walk and knowing that he and his men were ill-equipped to fight, he began sending subtle signals to his men, instructing them on what to do. When they reached the end of the hall, the boss expectedly appeared, looking quite smug.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked, looking calm and composed as ever.

The boss, probably expecting the Storm Guardian and his men to cower, flinched at their nonchalance then laughed to brush the moment off.

"Did you really expect us to agree that easily? That business is the only thing keeping our Family afloat! We won't let you destroy us!"

"Destroy you?" Hayato asked, a delicate brow rising in question, "We've given ample warnings for you to stop before this, but what did you do? If anything, shouldn't you be the one at fault? Your decisions led to this and you dare place the blame on us? As the boss, you should take responsibility."

"And I am! I will! If I manage to capture you here, I was promised to be paid quite handsomely. They even sent us a little gift for this day," sneering at Hayato, he said, "Have you heard? Of that weapon that renders Dying Will Flames useless? It's a new invention, but they promised it would work. Should we try it out?"

Hayato didn't expect that. If that weapon did work, it could mean trouble. And who the hell were 'they'? It was an unexpected development and Hayato was again forced to think of a way to escape alive and bring back that information. Somehow, he needed to question that sick excuse of a boss and force the answer out of him. It should be fairly easy but how in the world could he turn the situation around?

Sending quick, new instructions to his men, Hayato moved forward.

The ensuing fight happened like this:

Before the other Family could begin using the supposed weapon, Hayato activated his box weapon and shot a blast through the door. The smell of burning flesh was sickening, but with bullets aimed their way, Hayato pushed everything else in the back of his mind as he maneuvered his shields to protect them as they ran outside.

All of his men had gotten out without much damage, but, as his luck would have it, just as he was about to grab the boss, the man lashed out and managed to surprise him enough that he stumbled. It was careless of him. The man appeared useless, but just like the Tenth, he wouldn't have gotten this far if he truly were.

Hayato cursed as the man dodged out of the way. Thinking fast, he used his shields to seal both him and the man inside. He would be vulnerable above, but he only needed a moment. Unfortunately, a bullet only needed a moment as well. It went deep, forcing a pained groan to come out of his lips. Clutching at his leg, he cursed again and forced his way to incapacitate the boss and get the hell away from the place.

Dragging an unconscious body with a hole on your leg was torturous, but Hayato had begun ignoring everything in favor of just getting back, to just go home. As he stumbled outside, his men drove the car towards them, one of them covering their back as Hayato threw the boss inside and he climbed in as well. They looked at him in concern but he waved it off, "Let's get the hell out of here first." They nodded and they drove as if the devil himself were after them.

The tragedy started like this:

After a few hours of driving…

"It seems they'll do anything to get their boss back, sir. All the flights have been delayed. Checkpoints have been littered everywhere. Security has been doubled due to an anonymous tip for a bomb threat."

Hayato sighed, "They're a pretty small Family, but they've got roots everywhere. Anyway, we'll be sitting ducks if we went to the airport; that's the first place they'll look. What did HQ say? Can they get us out of here?"

The man on the passenger seat spoke up, "I made the call as soon as we got out of there."

"And?"

The man looked worried, "I'm afraid we're on our own for now."

Hayato cursed. Then he fell quiet, thinking.

"We're gonna have to make them believe somehow that it's pointless to chase after us. I don't want a confrontation. It's too risky."

Both of his men looked at him, curious, awaiting orders, trusting, even when he was years their junior.

Face hardening, Hayato said, "We're gonna have to make them believe we're dead."

And so, in the two hours after deciding that, there was a car chase in a highway, a lot of constructional damage, no civilian deaths though a few injured, and a big bang. Three hours afterwards, news channels had spread that fugitives had kidnapped the head of the Trappola family, one of the richest businessman in the area, and that, in the ensuing car chase, accident and explosion, none had survived.

That particular news took even less than an hour to reach Vongola headquarters, who monitored each and every happening around the clock and around the world. It took even less time than that for Giannini to hear it and realize that the Trappola was the family the Storm Guardian was headed to. It only took three minutes and a half for the inventor to learn that one of the men that the Guardian had brought had called in hours ago reporting that the deal was off and that they were requesting a plane to fetch them immediately.

"The lear-jets are all in use, sir. Our agents have been requesting for other planes to be sent as soon as we learned that, but we've been unsuccessful so far."

"And?" he demanded, heart beating a mile a minute, already wondering how the other Guardians would react, how the Tenth Vongola boss would react. Giannini had no need to fear his superiors. But this… Gokudera Hayato had a brain that rivaled his own. It would be a waste if they lost him now.

"Everyone who isn't doing anything sensitive, find out what happened about that crash. I want every detail, don't miss anything! Viktor, Llamia, Sierra, contact the Storm Guardian immediately. I want them found within the hour! If they request help, give it to them. No excuses. Our job is to keep the Family alive while on duty. We can't fail now!"

Because if they did, god knows what crazy thing the Vongola will do for vengeance.

Once Hayato, his men and their guest were clear from any of their pursuers, Hayato decided that they should wait it out on a rundown motel a few miles away from their supposed death site.

They got one large room with two beds with two pullouts. Though bone tired and in pain, he offered to take first watch but was immediately countered.

"You're injured, sir. I sincerely want to get your leg checked out at a hospital as soon as possible. It might get infected."

"It's fine, Grigori," he said, brushing it off.

"Begging your pardon, sir but your leg was bleeding quite heavily back there. I doubt that everything is fine. You need to rest."

"Grigori is right, sir," the other, Samuel, said, "And besides, isn't it our job to keep you safe and not the other way around? We're expendable, and you aren't."

At those words, Hayato frowned at his men, looked at them sternly even though he was years younger than them and said, "No one is expendable." Then he rolled his eyes and collapsed on the bed closest the door.

"Wake me up when something happens."

Completely exhausted, the Storm Guardian didn't think of the consequences of his actions. For him, as long as he had kept his men and himself alive, that was enough. He would deal everything else once he was properly rested, once he can use his wits fully again.

He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

But not for long. It felt as if he had just closed his eyes when he felt hands shaking him awake. Slowly, voices started to come through, "-ir, sir. Sir, please. You need to answer this call."

Frowning, he groaned and cracked an eye open, "Is it important?"

"It's from the Sun Guardian, sir."

"The turf-top? What the hell does he want?"

"Sir, please."

Sighing, Hayato rolled over and sat up. Massaging his eyes to wake himself up, he received the phone and asked, "What is it, turf-top?"

"Why aren't you dead?"

Mind still a little fuzzy, Hayato wasn't able to answer fast enough, and before he could, the other asked again, "Why aren't you dead, octopus head? Why aren't you dead?"

Disliking someone yelling at his ear just as he woke up, Hayato growled angrily and yelled back, "Fuck off, turf-top! What the hell's your problem?"

"You're the problem, Hayato! Why the hell aren't you fucking dead?"

Only in desperate situations has the elder boy spoken the Storm Guardian's real name. The seriousness of the other's voice, the lack of the other's usual extreme behavior, everything was just screaming at Hayato. What had shaken up the Sun Guardian so much?

Reigning in his anger, Hayato took a deep breath and closed his eyes in thought. Eyes still closed, and relatively calmer than before, he asked, "Why do you keep asking me if I'm dead? I'm obviously alive, aren't I?"

"Because I was watching the news and saw that the head of the Trappola was dead. That he had been kidnapped and was killed when the car he and his kidnappers were in blew up in the highway. Because HQ says your men called and requested for a rescue. Because you hadn't called back hours after. Because you EXTREMELY didn't call anyone to inform us that you're still EXTREMELY safe and alive! I will EXTREMELY beat you up if you do this again, Gokudera Hayato!"

Now completely awake, Hayato sighed as he raked a hand through his hair. He was silent for a while, taking everything in.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You EXTREMELY should be, octopus head!" Ryohei replied, sounding more like himself; then he asked, "You okay?"

"We're good," he answered and mumbled, "Although my right leg has a hole in it."

"WHAT?"

"Shut up! It's fine. We've already stopped the bleeding anyway. Look," he began, talking over the other, "I gotta hang up. If you got wind of this, it means the others could as well. I want to break them the news before they do. Having my ear deafened by you is enough, thank you very much."

"It would be bad if Sawada found out before you do."

Hayato winced. He never liked it when others worried about him.

"I know."

"Okay. Stay safe, octopus head."

"Idiot."

He hung up.

Taking a deep breath, Hayato composed himself before dialing the Tenth's number. Before he was able to though, his phone rang.

Annoyed, he pushed the answer button and drawled, "You got bad timing, baseball frea—,"

"WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD?"

He sighed once again, "You make it sound like being alive is a bad thing, idiot."

For the next five minutes, Hayato had to convince Yamamoto that he yes, he was indeed, very much alive and that no, he was perfectly fine and that he doesn't need his help— not unless Yamamoto somehow had a lear-jet, then please, by all means get us out of this hell hole.

"I'll get that plane."

It still surprised him that Yamamoto sounded so serious. He was alive, wasn't he?

"Hey, I'm alive, aren't I? It's okay. This chick flick moment is seriously starting to piss me off."

"I was worried."

Hayato swallowed thickly. He was so not used to this.

"When I heard the news and realized that was where you were headed, Gokudera, I—… I didn't know what to do," chuckling mirthlessly, Yamamoto whispered, "I'm shaking so hard right now from relief that I just… If someone tried to attack me now, I wouldn't be able to—,"

"God, Yamamoto! Pull yourself together, man! You're talking to me, aren't you? If that ain't enough proof, I don't know what is. And besides, this isn't going to be the last scare. Everyone's gotta get used to this."

"I don't want to, Gokudera. It sucks."

Unable to disagree, Hayato remained silent.

After a while, Yamamoto asked, "Have you talked to Tsuna yet?"

Suddenly realizing why he wanted to hit the baseball freak when he called, Hayato cursed, "No, I haven't. I was about to but a certain idiot just had to call then!"

"Oh, really? Sorry, Gokudera," he laughed, finally sounding like himself.

Hayato smiled a little. "I'm hanging up. I'll see you when I see you."

Yamamoto laughed, genuinely, but still worried, "If you won't, I'll take your place as Tsuna's right hand man. You don't want that, right?"

"Fuck off, bitch. Like hell I'll let you take it!"

"Bye, Gokudera! And good luck with Tsuna!"

Hayato groaned, "Don't remind me—," a beep from his phone, "Actually."

"Is it him?"

Hayato looked at his phone, then sighed, "Yeah, it's him."

"All right. Good luck."

"Whatever."

Suddenly nervous, Hayato stared at his phone for a second before answering, "Juudaime, I am so, so, so sorry for everything!"

A shriek was heard, then: "Thank God, Gokudera-kun! I was so worried! I couldn't concentrate at all during the meeting! Why didn't you call anyone?"

He was dead tired and his leg hurt like a mother fucking bitch and he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but he knew it was a lost cause. Settling himself on his bed, he leaned against the headboard and smiled as he listened to his boss ramble like his fifteen year old self, many, many years ago.

Three down, how many more to go, he wondered.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed as much as I enjoyed writing it!
btw... would anyone be interested in a part 2 of this? D: