Title: Newton's First Law
Author: Grasshopper (A.K.A. The Undertaker's Muse)
Rated: PG-13
Warnings: Erm…slight language (it's Gokudera, after all). Drama, I guess, with hints of angst. (Can I not keep away from that?) No actual shounen-ai, unless you want to interpret it that way.
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Spoilers: Up into the TYL/Millefiore arc, so… I suppose around chapter 157 upward, for some implications of Gokudera's past.
Pairings: None. Although I suppose you could glean a little Gokudera Hayato Sawada Tsunayoshi out of it, but no more than in canon.
Summary: Gokudera Hayato has always been running. Object in motion, meet Sawada Tsunayoshi, the outside force.
Author's Notes: Please forgive any glaring typos and whatnot; Gundam 00 is evil and distracting, so all of my final edits were pretty much done at zero hour. I'm not always the greatest with gen-fic, but the idea intrigued me, so. Yeah. (Ano…if this totally sucks, please feel free to kick me. Shoot me. Both. x.x)
Disclaimer: All things Katekyo Hitman Reborn! belong to Amano Akira-sensei. Grassy only lays claim to the plot.

"Objects at rest stay at rest and objects in motion stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force." - Newton's First Law of Motion

…slip down, turn around, touch the ground; everything still as it was…

You never truly thought that you would become a candidate for the Family's successor. Not that you even wanted to become the Tenth - Reborn would never allow such a thing to come to pass, no matter what he said or how serious he was - but still. The chance was worth taking; the risk of not knowing if you would emerge the victor. Not knowing if you would even survive the encounter. But what you observed didn't impress you then. He was weak, in both body and spirit; not a match for anyone, let alone yourself.

But he defeated you at your own game. Defused all of your dynamite, as well as your temper. So you will serve him and serve him well. You will become the Tenth's right hand and help him on his path to greatness. Because there was just something about him… Something that, well…

Either this person is so ordinary that he is extraordinary, or he's so extraordinary that he's ordinary. You can't entirely tell which; you're not even certain that you want to know, in case knowing somehow breaks the hold the Tenth now has upon you.

For some reason, seeing this boy - no, this man - who is to be the next Head of the Family, you can't help but remember those days. That place. Those people. The piano you grew up playing; it's smooth, ivory keys under your fingertips and the ever-out of tune High G. And you know it's like running away again; ignoring the past to only continue forward. To keep him and only him in your sights.

It's weak - you're weak - and you know it'll come back at you in the end. But still, you can't help it. This is your hope; the prayer you have of a better future than the past you came from. It won't last, but in the meantime…

In the meantime, maybe you'll find something that keeps you in place. That won't let you run away.

Something like Sawada Tsunayoshi.

…this is the moment in time that the World comes down to…

It all comes down to this battle. Here and now, you would either be victorious and survive, or you would fail and be eliminated with extreme prejudice. But there was hope; you had a chance. The Tenth would never back down from a guy like Xanxus, no matter the situation. Not when the lives of all those precious to him were in danger. That was his strong point, after all; knowing when to step up and protect those he cares for.

This is the true power of the person who is to be Vongola Decimo. You gaze around you to the other members of your Family; impossible and improbable as many may seem. No stranger group had come together since the very First Family, under Vongola Primo.

Lambo, limp and still too injured to be of any use. (Not that he normally would be, but still.)

The creepy Chrome/Mukurou hybrid girl. (Somehow missing her/his freakshow entourage.)

The idiot Sasagawa, ever-optimistic and ready to fight. (Smile annoyingly bright, like a too-hot summer day.)

Hibari, in all of his surliness; ready to bite any- and everyone. (Hopefully, he'd attack your opposition before turning on the rest of you.)

That sword-wielding, baseball freak, Yamamoto. (Who'd likely survive with that blind optimism and maddening attitude.)

And you, Smokin' Bomb Hayato; his right-hand man. (Ready and willing to follow your Head into the depths of hell, if needed.)

This, the proof of the true heart beating within the Tenth's chest. This, the man into whose hands you've entrusted your strength and future to. The one to remind you of your importance; how little your death for him would mean in comparison to your life. The truth that Shamal constantly tried to teach you, the Tenth made you believe, without a doubt.

The one for whom you would sacrifice anything or anyone, including yourself, you will instead live for. Live long and strong, the way you should.

You absolutely will not fail him; not again. Because his will is your will; the will of the Family.

And his will is to be seen through to the end.

…the past is the future is the past; until everything comes full circle…

You stare down at the small figure sprawled within what should be the Tenth's final resting place. It can't be… It has to be… It is; you know it is, but. But still… Still…)

Somehow, you never quite thought that you'd see him again. Dead and gone is dead and gone, after all; coffin, sickly-sweet flowers, the whole shebang. But the proof is staring you wide-eyed in the face. (So you won't cry, not at… Not at all.)

Here he is, the Tenth, right in front of you. Confused, sheepish, and just too fucking young but still he's here…

Stop. Inhale; exhale. Repeat.

Tell him everything you can in the next few minutes. Trust that he'll retain enough for everything to be set to rights. For that person to be eliminated.

(Is this the answer you've been seeking? The chance you've been waiting for, ready to bet everything on?

You hope so. You pray so. Maybe, just maybe, this time around…

Yeah. If anyone can do it, it's the Tenth. Even the younger and much more shrimpy version of him than you're used to. At least this Tsuna, you have yet to fail. With all luck, you never will.)

He gazes at you - eyes wide and with a smile you haven't seen in way too long, even before…before - and asks the one question you had hoped he wouldn't. Which was only logical; who wouldn't want to know why they were sitting in a coffin?

(Still, you won't cry. You won't. Not with him staring straight at you; seeing you more clearly than anyone else ever could.)

A breath, a blink; sigh. And suddenly, it's ten years ago.

Well, fuck. Even though you knew, you still didn't quite see this one coming.

Nothing left to do now but wait.

…damn it all.

The End