Atarashī Mirai e
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn in any way, shape, or form. It belongs to its respectful owner. I only own my ideas.
Warning(s): Character OOC-ness, Gen, AU
Summary: After a long 10 years of war, the Vongola Decimo is finally struck down and killed by the Millefiore's boss, Byakuran. But 12 years prior to that time, a boy with old, haunted eyes, wanders into Namimori with no recollection of his past. Meanwhile, they soon-to-be-Mafia Boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi trains to become the tenth successor of the Vongola. The only problem is that he acts like a big fat brat with a stick up his butt.
"A tutto c'è rimedio, fuorchè alla morte"
There is a cure for everything except death
"The Sea knows no bounds, the Clam passes down its form from Generation to Generation, and the Rainbow appears from time to time before fading away."
Sharp orange eyes survey the bloodstained field with an odd sort of sorrow and regret. Not far off lay the bodies of his comrades whom had died protecting him from stray bullets and attacks.
As he scans the scene before him, his eyes meet with two wide blue ones. They shine brightly as if there was still hope, telling him to keep fighting for the people he loves.
A wry smile crosses the man's lips. All his loved ones were dead.
Suddenly, a cheery laugh breaks through the stillness of the air like a sharp knife cutting through a stick of butter.
"My, my Tsunayoshi-kun, I didn't know the Vongola was this weak." A man with spiked-white hair smiles, as if a bloody and gruesome battle hadn't taken place just seconds before. "You're the last, aren't you? Oh well." He shrugs his shoulders, two elegant angel wings flap behind him, "I had fun."
Brilliant orange flashes as a sunset-colored flame bursts to life. "You'll pay for this, Byakuran!" Tsunayoshi shouts, his face twisting with uncontrolled pain and fury. Pushing himself forward with his flames, Tsunayoshi maneuvers through the air to where Byakuran is lazily floating. "I'll defeat you with my Dying Will!"
"Tsk, tsk." Byakuran clicks his tongue while wagging a finger as if he were scolding a naughty child. "Jumping headfirst into battle, how rash."
Tsunayoshi flies forward, one arm extended to prepare for an X-Burner. But despite the obvious and incoming threat, his opponent remains relaxed as if he doesn't have a care in the world. Alarm bells go off in his head, warning him to stop. And for a split second, Tsunayoshi's eyes widen in panic. He can't stop—he's going too fast.
Byakuran's ever-existent smile doesn't falter once.
Tsunayoshi stops mid-flight as he feels something pierce his chest. Looking down, he sees Byakuran's arm sticking out of the spot where his heart should be. The world sways before him as his vision starts to swim. A faint and worried cry comes from below.
'Ah,' Tsunayoshi thinks tiredly, his mind beginning to grow cloudy, 'that must be Yuni.' A warm, sticky liquid drips down his chin. Blood. He was bleeding. He was dying. Just like everyone else.
A loud squelching noise sounds when Byakuran withdraws his arm from Tsunayoshi's chest. He watches with cold amusement as his rival falls 30 meters to the ground, his body landing with a sickening crunch.
The Sky Arcobaleno, Yuni, gasps in horror and immediately rushes over to the fallen Mafia Boss, fear evident on her face. One look at the dimming light in Tsunayoshi's eyes causes her to whip her head up and glare at the enemy straight in the face. "Why, Byakuran?"
Her voice is quiet, but for some reason, Byakuran could hear her quite fine. He cocks his head to the side in a questioning manner.
"Would you really go this far to control every parallel world? Do you really have to conquer every, single, one? Or could one not have been enough for you?" Tears spring from her deep-blue eyes, but Byakuran's attention had long since switched from her to something else—the orange pacifier tied with a pink ribbon around Yuni's neck had started to glow.
When it glowed, that could only mean one of a few things. One: Yuni was trying to resurrect the Arcobaleno, which, of course, were long dead. And even if they were brought back to life, they'd stand no chance against the Millefiore. Two: Yuni was emitting Dying Will flames for an attack, which was highly unlikely. The Sky Arcobaleno never fought with flames. Three: there was another Arcobaleno in the area, but that was impossible because as mentioned already, they were all dead. Four: there was something going on with the Tri-Ni-Set.
Byakuran has a feeling that it's number four.
Seconds later, his hunch is confirmed when his Mare ring begins to emit orange light. Below, Tsunayoshi's Vongola ring does the same. All three parts of the Tri-Ni-Set begin to blaze.
Yuni marvels at the sight, her previous thoughts temporarily forgotten as the two rings and pacifier separate themselves from their owners and float up into the air. As time ticks by, they grow brighter and brighter until she has to shield her eyes from the light.
From his position on the ground, Tsunayoshi watches the spectacle with detached amazement. Part of him is frozen with wonder as they shine like the sun, while the other half steadily grows tired. He was losing a lot of blood—he knew that. He was going to die, he knew that too. The only thing he doesn't know was what was going on before him.
But as another wave of tiredness washes over him, he finally gives in to sleep. Life would probably be better where his friends were—not where a psychotic, marshmallow-loving man controls countless worlds. Gradually, his world grew dark apart from the burning image of an orange sun imprinted behind his eyelids.
A distant voice calls out to him to hang in there, but he ignores it. How could he hang if he is already lying on the ground? He isn't suspended 30 meters in the air anymore. It makes no sense.
Stooping over her comrade's body, Yuni shakes Tsunayoshi frantically, trying to keep him conscious. She presses a hand to the wet hole in his chest to stop the blood from flowing freely. Not that it helps. Her gaze is narrowed in an attempt to block out the blinding light overhead. Is there even a limit to how bright something could get?
It seems as if whatever is controlling the Tri-Ni-Set heard her thoughts as a hot white flash swarms her vision, then everything promptly returns to normal. She blinks hard until her vision comes back. In the air, Byakuran had disappeared to who-knows-where. Probably to grab a pair of sunglasses—the nerve of him! So, she turns to focus all her attention on the person lying beside her.
But by then, two dull-orange eyes stare sightlessly at the sky.
{I}
A raven-haired teen watched in quiet fascination as an orange light morphed into the shape of a human being. It is a he, despite the small build, and it seemed like he was unconscious.
The teen was mystified. The clothes the boy was wearing were way too big for his body. Not to mention they were all battered and bloody. To top it off, they looked extremely expensive—a silk tie hung loosely around his neck, and the black suit and pants looked tailored at best.
Upon closer inspection, there was one obvious injury on the boy's body. It was surrounded by semi-dry blood and it looked to be healing. The wound itself was surrounded by a flaming red ring and looked pretty painful—a scar would probably be left behind when it completely healed.
The raven-haired teen itched to just hit the boy on the head with a tonfa in order to wake him up. But he reluctantly squashed the idea. As the infamous Hibari Kyoya, it was his duty to protect Namimori and make sure that the peace wouldn't be disrupted. With a quick glance around, it was quite obvious that nothing was out of order by this boy's sudden…appearance. No one was around except for him and the boy.
With a growl of frustration, one Hibari Kyoya ungraciously pulled the boy up by an arm and slung it over his shoulder. Inwardly, he winced. Heavy! The boy may have been small, but his looks were certainly deceiving. So, Hibari had no choice but to drag him along to the hospital.
He was allowed into the hospital without question and his extra luggage was barely spared a second glance. He did own the place. And it wasn't uncommon to see him walk in with injuries of some sort. Well it was uncommon to see him walk in with a second person sporting injuries as he was known to leave them bleeding on the sidewalks after calling an ambulance. But the hospital staff didn't want to be subject to Hibari's wrath so they wisely stayed quiet about the matter.
Entering an empty room, usually reserved for patients in critical conditions, Hibari dumped the boy into the bed. A small moan escaped the boy's lips, but he remained unconscious. Well at least he was still alive.
With that, Hibari pressed a red button to call a nurse to the room. It wouldn't hurt to get him cleaned up a little. Blood coated almost every part of his body.
Seconds after he called, a nurse came rushing into the room and immediately stiffened when she saw the two occupants. Sketching a hasty bow towards Hibari, she murmured a few incoherent words.
Hibari scowled at how pathetic the herbivore acted, but jerked his head in the direction of the boy.
The nurse bowed again and set to work.
Without a second thought, Hibari left the hospital and resumed his daily patrols around Namimori. He was 20 minutes behind schedule.
{I}
He couldn't help it.
While his tonfas smashed down on an herbivore's head, his thoughts began drifting back to that boy. He silently cursed himself for thinking about him. But the circumstances surrounding the boy's appearance peaked his interest, if only slightly.
Subconsciously, Hibari sent another tonfa flying into another herbivore's gut. The light orange flash was the same color as those flames on top of the Annoying Herbivore's head. And for a second, Hibari swore he saw some sort of complicated insignia burning over the boy's head before it faded almost as quickly as it came.
A third and fourth attack with his weapons sent a third herbivore off crying in pain when both his arms broke. It was even crazier when you thought about how the boy even got there. One second, Hibari was patrolling around the park, and the next, a flash temporarily blinded him. Ready to bite whoever caused the disturbance to death, Hibari looked around only to see a boy propped up against a tree who certainly hadn't been there just moments ago.
He even had scratches and cuts littering his body as if he had participated in a fight, which, Hibari would have known about if it had happened within Namimori's borders. A satisfying crunch could be heard when an herbivore's nose broke under his steel tonfa.
A small smirk coated Hibari's lips as he watched the crowd of herbivores run away with their tails between their legs.
Three days. That's how long it had been since he brought the boy to the hospital. So far, no word about his condition had come. So with legs that Hibari warned he would cut off if they didn't stop carrying him towards the hospital, he made his way over to where the boy should be.
Bursting into the room where he dimly remembered placing they boy, Hibari took in the scene before him.
Quite beeping from the heart monitor melded into the noises threatening to burst his ears, rustling came from the curtains of an open window, an IV line silently dripped, and otherwise, nothing else seemed to stand out.
He stiffly waked over to the occupant in the bed and stared down at his sleeping face with a hint of curiosity. Was it just his mind playing ticks on him or did this boy look frighteningly similar to the Annoying Herbivore?
After his hair and face had been cleaned of the dried blood, he did look hauntingly close to what the Annoying Herbivore looked like. The hair—though a bit lighter—was still that annoying fluffy brown that always made Hibari want to hit it with his tonfas until it lay flat. The face was slim and his jaw structure matched the Annoying Herbivore's perfectly.
But the only problem was that the Annoying Herbivore didn't have a brother. Or even a twin. As far as his files on the residents of Namimori went, Sawada Nana and Sawada Iemitsu were the mother and father of Sawada Tsunayoshi. Or the Annoying Herbivore as Hibari so graciously called him.
There were no records of a second child. None that died at birth, none that died at a young age. Nothing—unless someone had deleted that piece of information. After all, Hibari knew that Sawada Iemitsu was part of the Mafia, though he wasn't sure which family he worked for or his current status in the underground world. The Mafia was pretty tight-lipped that way. He found it infuriating.
Suddenly, Hibari found two golden-brown eyes boring into his own cold grey ones. For a second, they flashed in recognition before going blank. Hibari stared at the now-awake boy in puzzlement. What was that all about? He hadn't seen this person in his entire life—apart from that time three days ago, but that didn't count—yet for a second, they boy's eyes showed that he had seen him before. But he was unconscious the entire time so there was no way he could have known him.
Deciding to be the first to speak, Hibari opened his mouth to ask a question. "Who are you?" Straight to the point, no need travel around in circles.
A raspy voice came out from the boy's mouth, but it was just enough for Hibari to hear.
"T-Tsu…" For a second, a confused expression crossed the boy's face and it seemed like he was going through some sort of inner turmoil.
Hibari watched expectantly as the boy's eyes took on a sad look before another emotion replaced it. Was something wrong with him? It seemed as if he couldn't remember anything.
Finally, after going through an entire debate, the boy answered. "Ietsuna."
Ietsuna? Hibari frowned. It was the name of a Tokugawa Shogun, the eldest son and successor of the Shogun Iemitsu, and later succeeded by his younger brother, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, after his death. Was it a coincidence that he shared looks with the Annoying Herbivore and shared a name filled with history?
As his thoughts drifted, the boy—Ietsuna—struggled to sit up. A couple of winces later, Ietsuna was sitting up in his bed for the first time in a few days. A glass of water had been left on a stand beside him so with a shaking hand; he took it and slowly gulped it down.
Hibari narrowed his eyes. He'd watched lots of people recover from bullet wounds or other injuries before, and rapidly gulp down a full glass of water until they were coughing and spluttering pathetically when they woke up. Either Ietsuna had been seriously injured before and learned from a simple mistake, or he was just cautious in personality.
When half of the water had disappeared, Ietsuna looked down at his reflection shining up at him from the smooth surface of the glass. He gasped in shock and promptly dropped the cup, spilling its contents all over the sheets.
All the while, Hibari watched the boy's actions with a hint of curiosity.
Ietsuna squeaked and leapt out of the bed to escape the coldness of the water. But after not using his body for a while, his legs gave out from under him and he crumpled to the ground.
How pathetic. Hibari sniffed. Pathetic Herbivore should be an appropriate name.
Rubbing his sore body, the Pathetic Herbivore used the bed to push himself up. After a minute or two of getting used to standing again, he released his hold and shakily stood.
Hibari watched the entire time. But he stiffened when the Pathetic Herbivore straightened. That posture. He looked like those war veterans that Hibari had seen years ago when his father had taken him to see the homecoming of soldiers from the previous war.
It was weary but the way he held himself showed alertness and maybe even power. Was this person really a pathetic herbivore like Hibari had previously thought? He immediately squashed the thought. An Herbivore was an Herbivore.
Gleaming amber eyes surveyed his surroundings carefully. One door. One open window. One other occupant. A glass cup. One bed. A wooden chair. An IV line that was now leaving a red puddle on the floor after being ripped from his arm. And a few other hospital-related objects that gave him unpleasant memories.
Then he froze as if something overcame him. What was he doing? His mind had gone blank for some reason. It was strange. It was as if he were acting as he always did, but then in the middle of doing whatever he was doing, he forgot everything. Like his body was acting on its own then when he actually realized what he was doing, he couldn't put a finger on whatever it was.
A long mirror stretched across one side of the wall. Weird. Were mirrors supposed to be in hospital room?
Then he remembered why he was standing in the first place. Rushing over to the mirror, Ietsuna took in his appearance. Thin, shorter, younger. What was going on? Last time he checked he was 26! Now he looked how he did when he was in his early teens! Ietsuna shook his head when another wave of blankness overcame him. 26? What was he thinking about? His reflection screamed 'I'm younger than that!' to him.
After fleeting thoughts came and went, giving him a headache, Ietsuna finally noticed the second person in the room staring at him with an emotionless face. He turned around and gave an embarrassed wave of his hand. "Hi?"
Strange. His voice came out younger than when he had last used it.
"Hn." Came the reply, sending a fleeting sense of nostalgia through Ietsuna.
So, he decided to ask, "Have we met before?"
"No." The raven-haired teen answered bluntly.
"Oh." Ietsuna felt it strange to hear a twinge of disappointment sound in his voice. "I guess I've mistaken you for someone else."
Hibari watched the Pathetic Herbivore speak and inwardly cringed when he heard the raw sadness come from his mouth. What was wrong with him? His actions were strange. One second, he acts as if he held endless knowledge and power, another, he's acting like a clueless herbivore.
Maybe calling him an Omnivore would suit him for now. "Omnivore."
A flash of melancholy appeared then disappeared. "Me?" He pointed a finger at himself.
Hibari jerked his head in a nod. "Who are you?" He repeated his previous question because he hadn't been content with the last answer.
"Ietsuna." The Omnivore answered hesitantly, then a strange look crossed his face as if the name sounded foreign. "I think." He added after a long pause.
"What do you mean?" Hibari growled, growing increasingly suspicious the longer the conversation lasted.
Ietsuna rubbed his head tiredly. "I don't know. I can't remember anything."
So that explained his weird movements and actions. The boy didn't know what he was doing in a hospital, who he really was, or even where he was. Yet another piece of information for Hibari to store in his temporary file for the Omnivore.
Hibari frowned. It would be useless trying to get anything else out of the Omnivore. No matter how much he wanted to bite him to death to squeeze information out, Hibari reluctantly decided against it.
Feeling uncharacteristically generous, Hibari looked sharply at the Omnivore. "Do you remember your parents?"
There was a small shake of a head.
Hibari grumbled under his breath before shifting uncomfortable on his feet. It was his duty to protect the citizens of Namimori. If this person was indeed a resident, then he'd have to watch over him until he could find his family. But if this person wasn't a citizen of Namimori, he was a threat to the peace and proper punishment must be dealt. But in the meanwhile, it would be best to keep a close eye on him.
It was obvious that he wasn't a spy. No spy was good enough to replicate emotions like the ones the Omnivore had just shown. And it was highly unlikely that whatever boss would send him would injure him so severely. Unless, of course, he was caught and ended up in a fight, thus explaining all his injuries.
But the most likely situation would be if the Omnivore was running away from something—or somebody—and barely escaped with his life. He must be a part of the underground world. That would explain most of the clues.
What Hibari didn't know, however, was the fact that only time would show how close his suspicions were to the real thing.
But what about the over-sized suit? Hibari's gaze slid over to the neatly folded and cleaned dress suit sitting innocently on a counter. Why would a teenage boy be wearing adult-sized clothing?
"Um, excuse me?"
Hibari's silver eyes snapped back over to the Omnivore standing uncertainly in front of the mirror. He jumped at the dangerous look Hibari gave him. Subconsciously, Hibari calmed down. Something about this Omnivore seemed…off, but calming all the same.
Shrugging off his unnecessary thoughts, Hibari closed his eyes and spun on his heel. "Follow me." Without a second glance, Hibari stalked off, slinging the suite across his shoulder, knowing that the Omnivore was obediently following his order. He was slightly surprised that the Omnivore's footsteps were sharp and deft, as if he carried himself with a regal air.
As they walked out of the hospital without a problem, people began staring, wondering why the feared prefect of Namimori was walking with another boy—in hospital clothes—within ten feet of him.
Hibari, of course, ignored the whispers like he always did. But the Omnivore was a different story. From the corner of his eye, Hibari watched as he jumped at every sound as if something were out to kill him. At every stare, he sent a wary glance before his eyes darted over to where the next conversation came from.
He was so absorbed in watching the Omnivore's peculiar behavior that he barely managed to avoid tripping over the fedora-wearing child standing in front of him.
"Baby." He nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"Hibari." The child nodded back, sending an inquisitive glance at the teen following the prefect before his onyx colored eyes settled back on Hibari.
"I felt a disturbance around here." The baby began, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Who's he?"
Hibari gave a small shrug. "Don't know. He appeared a few days ago."
Ietsuna wandered over to where the two were holding their discussion. He slowly bent down to stare at the baby in the eye. "Re…born?" Then he blinked and shook his head. "Hello." He said pleasantly. "I'm Ietsuna."
The baby gave Ietsuna a searching stare, making him squirm uncomfortably. Eventually, he completely ignored the boy and resumed his talk with Hibari. "Well?"
Hibari glared. He did not want to repeat himself.
Thankfully, the baby just nodded and jumped onto Ietsuna's shoulder, making the latter squeak in surprise. "My name's Reborn. I'm the Number One Hitman in the World."
A contemplative look enveloped Ietsuna when the baby, Reborn, gave his name. "Reborn." He whispered softly, his voice laced in sorrow.
Reborn himself, frowned. There was something different about this boy. From where he was sitting, Reborn could feel a well-muscled arm under the large hospital gown. And after staring into two golden pools of sadness, Reborn had an inkling of a feeling that the boy had an entire tragic history behind him.
But what caught his eyes the second they landed on the boy was his uncanny resemblance to his student, Tsunayoshi. Large eyes of similar colors, fluffy brown hair (Ietsuna's seemed to be a little longer and lighter in color), and they were even around the same height.
So when Hibari, of all people, indirectly said that he had no clue whatsoever to whom the boy, Ietsuna, was, Reborn grew wary. He could be a potential threat to the Vongola or an assassin used to replace the current Vongola Decimo-in-training. After the escapee, Rokudo Mukuro, escaped from the Vindice prison, Reborn was cautious of any new face around town.
His obnoxious protégé had barely made it out alive after the fight with Rokudo Mukuro. Although, Reborn couldn't say it was a bad thing. He had learned how to go into Hyper Dying Will Mode in the process.
He'd have to dig around and investigate when he had the time. But for now, it was a great opportunity to observe the teen while he had the chance.
As time passed, and the three of them continued walking to wherever Hibari wanted to go, Reborn grew increasingly impatient. Ietsuna had thus far shown no signs of hostility or ill intent. What was even more perplexing was the fact that as they traveled through town, he seemed to gain a sort of nostalgic and miserable look to him that made Reborn pat him on the head.
He was the world's Number One Hitman, d*mmit! He didn't pat people on the head, let alone some teenager that he barely knew!
As if sensing his frustration, a small green chameleon climbed off his fedora and into his hands. Reborn began to stroke the smooth and scaly skin to calm his nerves. Then, he felt a stare, the familiar tingling in the back of his mind telling him so. His grip on his pet chameleon, Leon, tightened slightly.
His two, coal black eyes met with two golden-brown ones in surprise. "What?" He blurted out, silently letting out a sigh of relief. At least they weren't being followed. The stare he had felt was Ietsuna watching him.
Ietsuna shrugged, sending Reborn up and back down uncomfortably. "You seemed a little…annoyed." He shrugged again. "I think."
Reborn's wide, oval eyes narrowed. As far as he knew, he masked his emotions expertly. The only ones who could tell what was going on inside his head were Luce (in her case, had been), Leon, his annoying student (when he was smart enough to activate his Hyper Intuition), and Reborn himself.
Now, some random teen that Reborn had met minutes ago could tell what he was thinking and feeling. How intriguing.
Reborn was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when Ietsuna and Hibari stopped walking, standing in front of an old Japanese-style house that stretched for a good couple hundred square meters.
With a start, he realized it was the Hibari mansion, located in a part of town that Reborn had only visited once when he arrived in Namimori. Looking sideways, he stared at Ietsuna's slightly awe-struck face. For a second, Reborn swore he could see his golden eyes glimmer with something before it disappeared.
"Omnivore. You will stay here until your family is found."
If he weren't the world's best hitman, Reborn would have done a double take. Hibari would let this boy stay at the Hibari mansion? Heck, Reborn bet all the money in his account that Hibari barely knew this boy.
What was so special about him?
{I}
Ietsuna sneaked another look at the baby sitting on his shoulder who was currently deep in thought. He looked familiar. Frighteningly familiar. But he couldn't quite place a finger on where he'd seen the baby before. As far as he could tell, he had no memories of what happened before he woke up in the hospital apart from pain and a blinding orange light.
But, as they walked through the town, Ietsuna knew he'd been here before. The scenery, the people—all of it sparked some sort of wistfulness in his heart. It was scary, Ietsuna realized, to be surrounded by so many things that made his heart ache.
Ietsuna's feet carried him inside the mansion as Hibari jerked his head to the side as a gesture to come inside.
The raven-haired prefect led him into a large but empty room. A single table stood low to the tatami floor, and the sun from outside lit up the area just enough to make out the surroundings.
Hibari had disappeared somewhere; Ietsuna noticed when he automatically examined the room. There were no signs of weapons, or windows or glass, and there was a sliding door that led outside to what Ietsuna assumed was the backyard. Abruptly, his head jerked to a halt. Why was he doing this again?
Reborn watched Ietsuna's expression as it went from cold and calculating to confused. It seemed as if Reborn was looking at a seasoned assassin or Mafioso until the change in countenance. Did he catch himself in the act and immediately slip back into his feigning-innocence mode? Or was there more to this that Reborn didn't know about?
"Ietsuna."
Ietsuna turned his head sideways to look at Reborn. "Yes?"
Mind games were stupid. He might as well get straight to the point. "Have you ever heard of the Mafia?"
Ietsuna's face was blank, but before Reborn could look more into the emotion (could it be considered one?), it was gone and replaced by a polite smile. At least he got a reaction.
"No, I've never heard of it." Ietsuna answered, running one hand through his light-brown hair. "I think." He added, as he always seemed to do when he replied to a question.
His voice sounded genuine, so Reborn decided to let that slip. Instead, he decided it was time to read his mind. Of course, he couldn't really read minds; it was just through the observation of the person and a wild guess when he could tell what they were thinking.
But after a minute or two passed, Reborn came to a stalemate. Ietsuna was trying to think, not thinking. He was trying to remember something but couldn't. "Do you remember anything about yourself or where you came from?"
Ietsuna gave a shake of his head. "I get fleeting images of blurry faces and scenes, but nothing else."
Reborn frowned. The boy was suffering from amnesia.
A clink of glass pulled Reborn back to reality. Hibari had reappeared with two cups of tea and one cup of coffee. Reborn mentally patted the prefect on the back for knowing how much he adored coffee.
Ietsuna slowly walked over to the table and sat down cautiously as if he were worried something might happen. When he decided that nothing was amiss, he picked up the steaming cup between his hands and sipped it delicately.
Reborn hopped off the boy's shoulder and took his own coffee, giving it a little taste. Perfect.
{I}
Hibari had to go out on his afternoon patrols of Namimori, dragging Ietsuna with him. Reborn decided to tag along for fun although he had other…secret reasons too that he would never say aloud. Around halfway through, Reborn managed to convince Hibari to let Ietsuna explore town a little more. With Reborn's supervision, of course, otherwise it was unlikely to happen.
That was why Ietsuna and Reborn found themselves wandering around aimlessly because 1) Ietsuna didn't care where they went and 2) Reborn didn't want to explore, (he lied to Hibari) all he wanted to do was observe the boy closely for a day.
They eventually meandered their way to the park and sat down in the soft grass in an uncomfortable silence. It was Ietsuna who finally broke it.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Reborn asked.
"You want to ask me something, don't you?"
Reborn thought for a second. It was strange, how the boy knew what was going through his head. He did have lots of questions. Any normal person would if they stumbled across an amnesiac who held similarities to someone they knew.
"No, I don't." He responded, hoping that his questions would answer themselves over time.
Ietsuna shrugged, scratching the new pair of clothes he was wearing, something that Hibari had lent him. It was simple apart from the two rabbit faces on the shoulders—an obvious reason why Hibari would never wear it in public. Reborn speculated that it was probably an untouched present from Hibari's absent parents.
Falling back, Ietsuna landed in the grass and crossed his arms behind his head as a pillow. He stared up at the red-orange sky, watching the sun begin its slow journey downwards.
Bored, Reborn scanned the park to see if there was any entertainment that he could keep himself occupied with until Hibari found them and picked up his unwanted luggage. He was currently engrossed in a staring contest with a beetle when he felt Ietsuna tense and sit up. Movement caught his eye, and he turned to see what it was, already half-knowing what it would be.
"That idiot student." Reborn cursed, standing up and letting Leon climb into his hand.
Ietsuna glanced at him. "Who? You mean that guy?" He pointed to a teenager with shoulder-length blond hair. "Or that guy?" He turned his finger to another teen with long hair tied in a low ponytail. "Or that guy?" He then pointed at a scrawny kid wearing over-sized glasses. "Or that guy?" The only person left was another teen with fluffy brown hair.
"It isn't polite to point." Reborn chastised teasingly. "And no, no, no, yes."
"Oh, hmm, so he's an idiot?"
"Yes."
"So you wouldn't mind if I did anything…harmful to him, would you?" Reborn didn't like the mischievous look Ietsuna had on his face, but when he looked at his idiot student doing an idiotic thing once again, he decided that Tsunayoshi had it coming.
"I wouldn't mind at all."
Grinning, Ietsuna pushed himself off the grass and bounced up onto his feet. Rolling his shoulders, (Reborn thought it was to show-off) he jogged over to where Tsunayoshi and his mini-gang were beating up a younger kid (the one in glasses).
"Hey, you there." Ietsuna said, staring at the three offenders. "Can you let me in on some fun?"
Tsunayoshi sneered. "I take it you wanna' join us, then? Tough luck, kid. The party isn't open to outsiders."
Ietsuna kicked a rock and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Oh, too bad. I was hoping I could get a nice warm-up. I've been stuck in the hospital for a while and I can just feel myself getting weaker everyday." He emphasized the last sentence, a strange glint in his eyes.
"Listen," Tsunayoshi growled, eyeing the cowering boy predatorily, "you better scram or else you're next."
"Oooh!" Ietsuna smiled childishly, "Next for what? Is it a surprise?"
"I think I know why you were in the hospital." Tsunayoshi said, staring at Ietsuna as if he were stupid.
"Take a shot at it, I'd like to know."
Reborn shook his head in exasperation. Was this what Ietsuna called harmful? The only harm being done right now was to the grass they were standing on and maybe the occasional unlucky ant.
"Well—"
Before he could fully respond, Tsunayoshi fell to the ground, curled up on his side and clutching his stomach where a fist had buried itself. Reborn watched the scene unfold in slight amazement.
Although Ietsuna had been hospitalized, he was a skilled fighter. Reborn noted that some of his movements were a tad bit sluggish and imperfect, but his senses were good, too good for a kid his age. He decided to turn Leon into a video camera to record the fight.
The teen with the ponytail came charging in with a thick branch he had acquired from a nearby tree next. He swiped with it, its extra branches giving him a wider reach.
"Woah!" Ietsuna jumped away, escaping only with a few scratches where the splintered tips of wood had touched him. Then he dove forward, rolled to his feet and snatched the branch out of the teen's hand, whacking him upside the head then lightly pushing him backwards, using his momentum as an advantage, to make him fall flat on his back.
But as the teen feel, the next one came, fists raised, and wildly charging in head-on.
Ietsuna stuck out his leg. The teen fell on his face with a crack.
"Oops, I think I broke his nose." He paused. "Wait, technically, he broke his own nose because he's the one who landed like that. He could have prevented it. So it's not my fault."
Reborn sighed at the boy's reasoning.
"Tch, you're better than you look." Tsunayoshi said, pushing himself up from the ground and wiping the dirt from his clothes.
"Why thank you." Ietsuna answered graciously.
"I didn't mean it as a compliment—never mind, you're too stupid to understand."
"Hey," Ietsuna frowned, "I'm not stupid! Maybe I was in middle school, but not now."
Reborn himself frowned too. Wasn't Ietsuna in middle school? He was around his idiotic student's age. Maybe he skipped a grade. But that wouldn't be right if he admitted he was slightly dumb.
Tsunayoshi spit on the ground. "Who are you anyway? I've never seen you're face around here before."
"The name's Ietsuna, thank you very much."
"Hmph. Well then Ietsuna, I'll let it be known that I am the boss of Namimori. Those who go against me will be punished."
"I thought that was What's-His-Face's job."
Tsunayoshi looked slightly frightened at the mention of the feared prefect of Namimori, but shook it off. "You mean Hibari? He's weak, don't lump me together with a guy like that."
"I really do think that it's That-Name-You-Just-Said's job."
"It's Hibari, get it right. And I am a boss, I have always been destined to be one—to rule over people and dispose of them at my command." Tsunayoshi glared. "Do you want me to prove it to you?"
"No, not really."
Tsunayoshi ignored the comment and stalked up to Ietsuna, shoving his right hand into his face. "See? This is proof that I am the heir to a powerful Mafia family." On his ring finger lay a gleaming silver ring with a blue jewel inlaid in the center.
Ietsuna could just make out the word 'Vongola'. He stared at it, feeling something gnawing at the back of his mind. His chest hurt.
"Well? My father gave it to me years ago. It's supposed to give its owner incredible power." Tsunayoshi smiled, "Watch this." He closed his eyes, his face taking on a look of concentration.
Reborn slapped his head at his student's stupidity. An heir-in-training wasn't supposed to go around flaunting his status. Assassin would be on him in a second.
"What's taking so long, it's been what? Two seconds? I'm getting bored over here." Ietsuna asked, poking Tsunayoshi's cheek.
"Three seconds! And that's not long at all!" He shot back, opening one eye in annoyance. "Now be quiet, and I'll show you the power that only the Vongola's boss can have."
Ietsuna yawned. "Sure, sure. But hurry up, I need my beauty sleep."
Finally, a spark of orange burst into life on top of Tsunayoshi's head but just as quickly, it faded.
"What? What's wrong?" He shouted, looking irritated. "It worked when I was fighting that Pineapple freak!"
Stifling a laugh, Ietsuna began walking towards the boy who Tsunayoshi and his gang had been bullying, completely ignoring the frustrated boy who was shouting curse words at an inanimate object. "Hey, are you ok?"
The boy shook his head rapidly, but kept his mouth tightly shut.
Ietsuna held out a hand to help the boy up. "Nice to meet you, what's your name?"
The boy cringed, and held his stomach as if it hurt. He seemed to think for a moment before replying. "Irie. Irie Shoichi." He accepted the hand and was pulled to his feet. Adjusting his glasses, he glanced at Tsunayoshi nervously. "Are you two…related?"
"Huh?" Ietsuna said incredulously, "Me, and him? Ha, no way!" He scoffed, giving Tsunayoshi a warning look not to make a snarky comment. "Never seen him in my life."
"Oh. Well you look alike."
Ietsuna shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, we do, don't we?"
{I}
When night fell, Ietsuna bathed in a spare bathroom and then lay down on a futon the raven-haired teen had lent him. He replayed the day's events in his head. It was strange, meeting a baby who could talk. But for some reason, he wasn't surprised.
He let out a long sigh. At least the teen was nice enough to let him stay here when he didn't know where else to go. Though it seemed like the teen wasn't the type to be very caring.
Staring up at the ceiling, Ietsuna felt the first signs of exhaustion arrive. He closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep, telling himself to think about everything else when he woke up.
{I}
Screams. The smell of burning flesh. The metallic tang of blood. Fear.
Ietsuna cried out as he watched a raven-haired man rush out into the battle, purple fire coating his steel tonfas.
There were too many enemies. The Millefiore had them outnumbered.
Ietsuna struggled to move—but he couldn't. There was something tying him in place, keeping him frozen to the ground.
A man in a suit was struck down when a bullet buried itself in his head. Another man was cut cleanly in half when a scythe covered in red flames sliced through his body.
Each time one of his comrades fell, Ietsuna could only cry out in fury and anger to the mastermind behind the attack. The ambush had taken them by surprise—they had been completely unprepared.
He had been returning from a meeting with allied family bosses when close to a hundred Millefiore Mafioso appeared armed with either guns or flames.
Kyoya, who was accompanying him, leapt into battle, tearing through the ranks with ease. His other guards, Basil and a few members of the Vongola had formed a protective circle around their boss, fending off the incoming attacks.
He desperately wanted to join in the battle. His mittens were in his back pocket and his contacts were already in his eyes. But Basil firmly told him to stay back. If his life were lost, then it would be the end for the Vongola.
He screamed when a bullet hit Basil in the chest but nothing but silence greeted him. He moved his mouth but no sound came out. Basil fell to the ground, bleeding heavily but still alive. His box weapon, Alfin, hovered worriedly over his master's body.
Ietsuna tried again to move his feet so he could reach Basil, but his attempt proved futile. How long would it be until reinforcements arrived? How long would it take for Onii-san to rush to the scene and heal all the injuries his guards retained?
It hurt to watch. It hurt so see the pain everyone was experiencing in his place. It hurt to see people die when it should have been him. He squeezed his eyes firmly shut and attempted to block out all the terrified screams. But no matter how much he tried, the haunting noises always reached his ears, and the images of blood and death were to be forever imprinted behind his eyes.
Finally, a furious cry wrenched his eyes back open just in time to see more enemy Mafioso arrive and surround Kyoya. They were too much for him despite his strength as the Vongola's strongest guardian.
Faintly, Ietsuna remembered Kyoya's words from a few days ago.
'Even I can get overwhelmed at two hundred to one.'
Slowly, they pushed him back until he was just barely fending off attacks. Then, one man broke through Kyoya's iron-hard defense and left a long gash along the side of his cheek. But as more people began to come and fight, Kyoya's defense began to shatter.
For a second, their eyes met, two golden-brown ones with two silvery-grey ones. A spark of acceptance flashed though the grey ones before the only color Ietsuna could see was red.
A silent scream erupted from Ietsuna's mouth as he watched Kyoya fall, countless knives, and swords sticking out from his body at various angles, bullet holes littering parts of his body, and blood spurting out from all the wounds he received.
Then the Mafioso all disappeared. All that was left was the broken and battered body of Kyoya. He watched in horror as his body fell to the unforgiving ground with a dull thump. All the while, Kyoya's lifeless grey eyes remained locked on his own.
The scene changed.
Suddenly, Ietsuna was alone on a battlefield with only two others. Yuni, the young woman standing off to the side, and Byakuran.
Byakuran.
Hatred coursed through Ietsuna's veins at the thought of his name. He was the cause for all his friends' deaths. He was the cause for all the pain and suffering Ietsuna went through these past 15 years of war.
He shouted in rage. He could feel his anger boiling under his skin, waiting to be unleashed. It erupted in the form of flames, bursting out of his hands and pushing him into the air.
Then, a burning feeling paralyzed him, and a falling sensation washed over him. Faintly, he could see a trail of red he left in the air as he dropped. When he hit the ground, he felt something snap but he couldn't feel it over the pain he was currently experiencing in his chest.
Was it the wound that hurt? No, it was something else. He was grieving for his family. He had failed them.
The following events passed in a blurred slow motion. Yuni was over him, talking to him in a garbled voice. Then there were three orange suns that melded into one massive one. Then a large, explosive flash came from above. Then nothing but agony.
{I}
Ietsuna woke up screaming.
He noticed the intimidating teen from earlier standing wearily by the door, unsure if he should come in or not.
But that didn't matter. He lurched forward, panting hard, one hand over his heart where the pain from his dream still made it throb, the other over one side of his face. He remembered.
It wasn't much, but it was something.
The raven-haired teen was Kyoya from his dream, but younger. The resemblance was way too eerie to be a trick. And he knew that he'd seen the teen before. It wasn't until the dream when Ietsuna finally realized where.
The only problem was the age difference between the two. The one he knew was close to 28 if he got his facts straight. This one was obviously 12 or so years younger.
Locking gazes with Hibari, Ietsuna let out a hoarse whisper. "Are you Hibari Kyoya?" The teen hadn't given his name yet, so it didn't hurt to confirm his suspicions. And the Hibari Tsunayoshi had mentioned could have been anyone.
He didn't reply immediately, but he finally nodded his head in confirmation.
'This must all be a terrible nightmare,' Ietsuna thought, as a burning realizing overcame him.
He had died.
Those two dreams were his past experiences, his other life, something in the back of his mind told him. But now he was alive again and somehow in a different time period.
He forced himself to calm down. Deep, steady breaths. When his heart rate had finally returned to normal, Ietsuna let the hand over his heart slide down and rest on his lap. His chest still hurt and when he looked down, he could see an angry red scar with fresh blood leaking from it.
That's right, he hadn't taken much notice, but before he bathed, there were bandages wrapped around his body.
Noting that his left hand was still clutching his face, he carefully pried it off. Something cold and metallic brushed his finger so in the dim light he inspected his hand.
A gleaming two-part ring with the words 'Vongola Famiglia' stared back at him.
Name: Sawada Tsunayoshi (Ietsuna)
Age: 26 (14)
Position: Vongola Decimo
Status: Alive
A/N: Just to clear up any confusion, Ietsuna is the Vongola Decimo from a parallel world where the Millefiore took over. But, he is canon!Tsuna, albeit more mature and OOC because of the war and his real age (26). I also decided to make him a little more playful, as a façade to keep everyone upbeat during the war.
Tsunayoshi, however, is only Tsunayoshi in name. Otherwise, he has a completely different attitude and personality. And he is the Tsuna training to be Vongola Decimo under Reborn in this parallel world.
By the way, 'Atarashi Mirai e' means 'to a new future', it's the title of the last episode of KHR.
So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Average? Questions, comments, and reviews are greatly appreciated!
Ciao!
