Presenting the deathfic that nobody asked for. Originally written back in early 2013.
Warnings: Major character death
Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.
Sunset
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Nine years and two months since Reborn has set foot on Japanese soil and somehow managed to wrangle Sawada Tsunayoshi into the role of Vongola Decimo, the world's greatest hitman slows down to a staggering stop.
He was—is—dying.
And not in the bullet to the head, knife on carotid artery sense; no, this was different, this feels as if the very life is being sucked away from him.
Bit by bit.
He doesn't like it.
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Radiation.
That's what's killing him. Killing them.
"And there's nothing?" He finds himself asking even though he knows it to be futile; he can feel his very cells dying this very instant.
Verde hacks out a laugh. "If there was anything at all—trust me—we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"I don't trust you." He deadpans; he never has and he never will. But he knows that what Verde is saying is true. So painfully, painfully true.
"I don't trust me either, but that's just that." There's a shocking resignation in Verde's voice that catches him off-guard. "Good luck going through puberty again."
He grimaces in response and leaves the laboratory accompanied by Verde's hysterical laughter.
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He turns twenty in under a month and finds himself finally explaining to Tsuna the Arcobaleno curse.
He doesn't tell the boy that he was dying though.
Not that he needed to.
His idiot student already knows, and Reborn's torn between being proud and wanting to kick Tsuna in the face.
"You're dying," Tsuna begins—accuses— clutching at his jaw where Reborn's shoe landed earlier. "Why didn't you tell me earlier, Reborn? Why didn't you—we can still do something, right? There's still something—there has to be something." And then Vongola Decimo is sobbing outright on his hands and knees on the floor. Crying for the man who has brought so much misery and pain to his life; crying for the man who changed his life forever; crying for the man who was the closest thing to a father he will ever have.
"You can't die! You're Reborn! You're not—you're not allowed to die!"
He exhales harshly, pulling Tsuna to his feet and into a violent embrace.
"You're stronger than this." He tells the boy firmly. "You have to protect the Family." He continues even as his hold on the Vongola Don tightens, making him realize that he's invested so much more in training Sawada Tsunayoshi than just his time.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
His heart hurts.
And for the first time, Reborn knows that it's not because of the radiation.
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"What's this, Reborn-kun?" Nana asks, eyeing the white envelope warily, and he has to commend Iemitsu for finding such a woman. He's always known that Nana knew more than she let on, and it seems his condition was no secret to her either. "Why don't you sit down?"
He shakes his head, opting to lean against the wall. "It's my resignation letter as Tsuna's home tutor."
Nana blinks. He looks away.
"I have some personal business to take care of and I'm not sure as to how long it would take." He lies flawlessly, the words tumbling out of his tongue in practiced ease. There was no need to worry Nana so needlessly. It was better this way.
He doesn't expect Nana to walk over towards him and hug him tightly as if he would disappear any moment.
She pulls back and he pretends not to see the tears welling up in her eyes.
"You take care of yourself, Reborn-kun."
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Nine years and six months since Reborn has set foot on Japanese soil, the world's greatest hitman breathes his last and takes a Millefiore squad along with him.
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"The fuckers never stood a chance," Gokudera reports, voice hoarse and eyes rimmed red, leaving no question as to what Decimo's right-hand man has been doing locked up inside the bathroom. "Millefiore's going to need a while to regroup, so now's a good time as any to strike." The silver-haired Italian adds, back to being the faithful consigliere once again.
Tsuna nods slowly, refusing to meet Gokudera's eyes. He doesn't quite trust himself to not break down right then and there. "Ask the Varia of they're willing, if not, get everyone, including Mukuro, whatever vessel he's favouring right now. We'll discuss it then." He instructs hollowly, fingers flexing and clenching around the fountain pen Reborn gave him for Christmas last year. "Is there anything else, Gokudera-kun? If there isn't, then you may leave."
"We—" Gokudera starts before visibly faltering, crushing the report in his hands, "—weren't able to find a body. I'm sorry, Tsu—Tenth."
Tsuna exhales.
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fin
A/N: I'm pretty sure that a lot of us will agree that the Future Arc is, hands-down, THE arc that pretty much defined Reborn. It's the arc that spawned SO MANY GOOD FICS AND SO MUCH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT LIKE WHOA. God, I love the Future Arc.
The Future Arc was like this create-your-own adventure thing and it created a buttload of questions that everyone wanted to answer. And Reborn's death just happened to be one of them. Yeah, it's radiation, what-the-fuck-ever, I wanted to see what the hell this asshole did before he died.
And this was born.
I'm so gomen.
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