Weakness

Summary: His Hyper Intuition is telling him someone needs his help... or perhaps just his company? Character Death.

It was a stupid folly on his part.

He had known about it. He had known that deadly weapon could fell even the mightiest – even the 'Il Prescelti Sette'. He had known that even the greatest hitman could fall to this measly, cheating weapon, no matter how hard he fought.

To say the least, Reborn wished he could've gone out fighting.

And he did, for a time. He'd been doing a self-assigned recon in a Milliefiore base, and had even made sure the Non-Tri-Ni-Sette radiation hadn't possibly reached there yet.

What a foul miscalculation on his part.

And Dame-Tsuna had even said not risk his neck.

But isn't that what hitmen do every day? Reborn wondered idly, staring with vacant eyes at the starry sky. Isn't that what we do whenever we're hired for contracts and the like? There was always a high chance for the average hitman to die on each mission, yet he was the strongest one of them all. He never failed.

But just this once he didn't succeed, and this would cost him a lot more than the bonus.

Dame-Tsuna would throw a fit if he was here, Reborn chuckled to himself, but it quickly died away. The breathy, hoarse sounds sickened him, and he hated himself for being so weak.

Weak... he snorted inwardly. I'm supposed to be the strongest. I can't show any weakness. I can't fail anything. I can't let anyone down.

He was bitter. He promised himself he'd never show any kind of weakness. It was embarrassing, and it would ruin his reputation. Many times he'd hidden burns, gashes, stab wounds and scars from the people he came into close contact with. He believed he had to keep on fighting, in whatever condition he was in.

Yes, eventually he went to Shamal or Ryohei to be healed, but only on the brink of death. It was something they'd scolded him on, but he didn't listen as long as he survived and pushed through to success.

But this time, there were no wounds that had to be healed. Nothing to be treated; or, more accurately, nothing that could be treated; it was a victory Reborn both respected and utterly despised Byakuran for, because, in the mafia, there was no means too underhanded.

He briefly wondered how long it would take for the radiation effects to reach his heart. Two hours? Two days? He remembered Colonello, how he'd fought the poison until it finally overtook him within a week. Yet, the soldier had only received a touch of the deadly air before he was shoved away by Skull. The stuntman had taken the full brunt of it, surrounding Colonello with his Cloud Flames just in case.

Skull had died immediately.

Reborn himself walked right into a room containing the damnable miasma. However, feeling his breathing being cut short, and his limbs weakening rapidly, he'd fled instantly from the base. Alarm and the basic survival instinct had kept him going, but he'd finally succumbed to it three or four miles from the base. No one had been sent to chase after him. Perhaps they were certain of his inevitable death.

I suppose I really am going to die this time, huh? What a damn pity...

Suddenly, there were the sounds of Flames, and he almost flinched but suppressed it. Why show more weakness when it's already written all over you? He may as well taunt and piss off any member of the Milliefiore White Spell before he went.

"R-Reborn...?" The voice was shaky and suddenly small. Reborn was used to the tone being so confident lately, as well as comforting and assuring.

The sound of his Flames burning died out, and the expanse of the starry sky was suddenly blocked by his Dame-student's frowning face.

"Tch. Come to see me off, have you?" Reborn whispered wryly, unable to speak stronger. His lungs were barely rasping in breath, and he'd lost all control in his limbs.

At least he could still see.

"R-Reborn, you-!" Tsuna fell to his knees, hurriedly scooping up his tutor's head onto his lap. His eyes were watering with barely restrained tears, and, for some odd reason, Reborn only felt vague disgust at that.

"Stupid Dame-Tsuna. You've reverted back to stuttering." He scolded half-heartedly, trying in vain to drag in oxygen to his resisting lungs. "And don't cry. That's a sign of weakness, you know."

"B-but!" Tsuna hiccupped, but swallowed hard, blinking rapidly to get rid of the tears. "W-why? Why d-didn't you just stay in the base?" He choked out hoarsely. "You could've lived and -!"

Reborn rolled his eyes, "Dame-Tsuna... you know I'm a man of action. I... can't just sit around... doing nothing..." It was getting a lot harder to talk now. Everything was just so difficult, and he had to tell Tsuna -!

"P-please don't die, Reborn!" Tsuna said desperately, clutching at the hitman's sleeve like a lifeline, as if he were the one dying instead. "I c-can't do this! I-I can't do this without you!"

You can..., Reborn wanted to say, but everything was going dim now. Crap, there goes his sight.

And why did it look like there were stars in his student's eyes?

"Oi... don't cry..." Reborn muttered, his voice growing so soft Tsuna had to lean down to try and hear him.

He could feel himself fading, but, no! He had to tell Tsuna! He had to...

Feeling a sudden strength rise up in him, he dragged his arm up to pat Tsuna on the head, managing a half-decent smile. Already, this bit of strength was waning, but he just wanted to let him know...

"So proud..." Reborn mumbled, feeling his eyelids grow heavy again. The only thing he could see now was his student face, knitted with worry and desperation. "So proud of... Dame-Tsuna..."

"N-no! Reborn! S-stay with me!" Tsuna half-yelled at him with fear. "Please! D-don't go!"

"...proud..."

Darkness.

The only things left were despairing words and the drip drop of wetness on his cheeks.

"Ne... Reborn... I can cry now, right? Because... you're eyes are closed... technically I'm not showing... anyone weakness..."

I'm sorry...

"... right, Reborn?"

It was a stupid folly indeed.

A/N: I want to make people cry with this... I don't think I did a good enough job, however. Oh, well... :/

Please review~ ^.^