Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is the property of Amano Akira.

A/N: The story takes into consideration events in canon up through the end of the Future Arc only. Present day Byakuran and his Guardians are not among the people who received memories of the events that took place in the future. Details in notes at the end of this chapter.

Chapter One:

(Italy)

He tried to retain a façade of calmness as he was being escorted into the impressive mansion by a pair of stoic men, both towering over him by at least two heads in height, each with multiple rings on their hands and, no doubt, guns and box weapons at their disposal. He had no desire to be here and would have liked to refuse the 'invitation' to come. However, given the way he had been surrounded on the streets when said invitation had been extended to him, it was obvious that refusing was not an option.

When they finally reached their destination and he was ushered into the office, he already knew who was sitting at the desk in the high back armchair that was currently facing the window and away from him. "Byakuran-san," he greeted tensely, his expression guarded.

The chair swiveled, revealing the leader of the Gesso Family who smiled mildly at his guest. "Ah…Shou-chan. It's been a while," he began in a breezy tone. "You don't call. You don't write. You even moved. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were avoiding me."

Shouichi tried not to let his disappointment show on his features. Eight years ago, when the Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi, and his Family returned from their journey into the future, Shouichi had been given memories of the events that had transpired in that future world. Armed with that knowledge, he had refrained from taking trips to the future and, as a result, Byakuran's ability to see into parallel universes was never triggered.

However, it would seem that the two of them had been fated to meet. Their paths crossed during their university days, and they became friends just the same. Shouichi had hoped that perhaps there was something he could do to help sway his friend from turning down the wrong path, but…it was not to be. Although they had managed to alter their destinies, he supposed there was only so much one could do to alter someone's nature. In the end, Byakuran still joined the mafia despite his repeated counsel.

Eventually, when Byakuran asked him to join his Family, Shouichi declined and, with regret, decided that it was time for him to break away. If he stayed close, he feared the situation would become too similar, and history…or rather, the devastating future that they'd been trying so hard to prevent…may repeat itself.

The redhead adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "It can't be helped," he reasoned. "I'm studying for a master's degree at a different university."

"So I've heard," Byakuran responded, still smiling.

Shouichi gulped as he tried not to let his anxiety get the better of him and end up collapsing with stomach cramps. "Byakuran-san…why have you brought me here?" he asked as he pointedly darted his eyes to the two escorts flanking his sides.

"What're you talking about?" Byakuran returned, chin in hand with his elbow propped up on the armrest. "I just missed my old friend, that's all."

"I won't join the mafia," Shouichi stated with a sigh.

Byakuran chuckled lightly. "It's nothing like that. Don't worry, Shou-chan! I just want to talk." Picking up a marshmallow from the bowl on his desk, he studied it briefly before turning his eyes back up to meet his one-time best friend's, a faint smile on his lips coupled with a chilling glint in his eyes. "…It'll be just like old times."

As his escorts stepped out of the office, closing the doors behind them, Irie Shouichi regretted the fact that he wasn't able to get a message to Tsunayoshi before coming here.

(Namimori, three months later)

With one hand stifling a yawn, Hibari Kyouya walked down the empty hallway of the Vongola underground base at a leisurely pace, the sound of his footsteps resounding off the walls as he headed for the meeting room. His presence had been requested by Sawada Tsunayoshi who had claimed it was an emergency. The meeting was supposed to begin at ten in the morning. It was now noon. A two hour delay should be adequate for most of the attendees to take their leave so that by the time he opened that door, Tsuna and Reborn would be the only ones left in the room. Then they could simply talk business without crowds and distractions.

To his surprise and mild ire, he discovered upon entry that there were in fact other occupants still in the room. Aside from Tsuna and Reborn, Chrome was also seated at the conference table along with two unexpected attendees: Uni and Gamma of the Giglio Nero Family.

However, what truly caught Hibari's attention was Reborn's appearance. If not for the style of clothes he was wearing and Leon by his side, he would not have recognized the Arcobaleno. The infant had aged…practically overnight. While Reborn had still been an infant the last time Hibari had seen him just days before, he now looked like a child of about seven years of age. The Cloud Guardian narrowed his eyes slightly. "…akanbou…"

"Yo, Hibari," Reborn greeted as he flashed a seemingly unconcerned smile.

Although the child smiled, Hibari noted that he appeared weak. Another observation he made was that the pacifier around his neck had lost its color and shine. Though it didn't reflect on his features, Hibari immediately became alarmed. Instinct told him that this could not be a good thing. Settling himself into one of the chairs, he turned his attention to the man sitting at the head of the table. "Explain…Sawada Tsunayoshi."

With a silent sigh, Tsuna began the tale. "Two days ago, the color of Reborn's pacifier suddenly faded. Its powers disappeared."

"I could feel the power being drained," Reborn interjected calmly. "It wasn't natural. Somehow…someone stole it."

"Yesterday, Uni arrived with concerns about the same matter," Tsuna continued. "Her pacifier had lost its powers as well. We've made some calls, and it appears the same thing is happening to the others also. The Arcobalenos have been cursed to remain in the form of infants throughout the ages, but it seems whatever caused this has disrupted that somehow. With the pacifiers' powers lost, the Arcobalenos have started to age."

Hibari's eyes turned to Uni as he began to digest the information he just received. He supposed the reason why she was not spontaneously aging like the others was because she was a special case and not really an Arcobaleno in the same sense that the others were. He then studied Reborn, noting once again that aside from aging, this phenomenon also appeared to be sapping his strength. Looking back to Uni once more, he confirmed that she was exhibiting the same fatigue as well. Though it seemed highly improbable, he wondered if it could simply be the result of the curse breaking.

As if reading Hibari's mind, the pint-sized hitman said, "This isn't happening because the curse has broken. As I said, it was an unnatural power drain." It simply felt…wrong, and the other Arcobalenos agreed.

"We think that most likely, the Arcobalenos will continue to age until they reach the physical age that they should be…though we can't really be sure," Tsuna added, unable to completely mask the distress he was feeling. He didn't want to consider it, but there was always a chance that they'd simply keep aging, regardless.

"And? What age might that be?" Hibari ventured.

Reborn smirked. "Uni's mother was barely out of Luce's womb when I became an Arcobaleno. What do you think?"

Hibari frowned slightly. In other words, there was a possibility Reborn could die of old age if left as is. At the rate things were going…aging about five years in just two days…their time was limited, giving them only about a month's time at most to solve the problem.

"We're not sure exactly what the culprit might be after," Tsuna said. "With the Arcobalenos in a vulnerable state, I'm worried the enemy might take this opportunity to attack."

"I take it you want to guard the Arcobalenos," Hibari concluded impassively. Guard duty wasn't something that interested him.

"Yes," Tsuna confirmed with a nod. "Lal doesn't seem to be affected, but CEDEF is guarding her just in case. Viper has the Varia, so I'm not concerned. Onii-san took off to go see Colonello as soon as I briefed him, and I've asked Yamamoto to help keep an eye on Skull. Lambo and I-Pin will leave for China later to meet up with Fon. Verde's location is unknown, but Gokudera-kun will try to find him with Dino-san's help. As for Uni and Reborn, they will stay here with me."

In some ways, Hibari liked where this was going. With all the Arcobalenos covered, it appeared his part in the game would be something more active. At the same time, he had a feeling he might not like all of it. His eyes fell on Chrome, acutely aware that the two of them were the only Guardians left unassigned. And she was sitting there with her eyes closed, which, over the years, Hibari had come to recognize to mean that he was also listening in on the conversation. Deciding not to dwell on this, he focused on the issue at hand. "Are there any leads on who might have done this?"

"It's Byakuran," Uni voiced with certainty, her first contribution to the discussion. "Before I lost my powers…that was the premonition I received."

The Cloud Guardian was not surprised. While certain precautions had been taken to guard against the future that they had seen all those years ago…for instance, Irie refraining from using the Ten-Year Bazooka, the Vongola establishing a tight relationship with the Giglio Nero, and the Vongola rings remaining intact…it was impossible for them to control all factors that could lead to catastrophe. Namely, Byakuran.

The man was ambitious and intelligent. Even without his ability to look into parallel worlds, Byakuran was a force to be reckoned with. He came out of nowhere and, before the age of twenty, he was already the leader of the Gesso Family. Of course, as expected, Sawada Tsunayoshi had wanted to form some sort of alliance as a means to protect the future. However, Byakuran had refused all talks, making it clear that he saw the Vongola as enemies from the very beginning. It seemed some things could not be changed.

"I'm afraid Uni's premonition is all we have to go on," Reborn stated, bringing Hibari out of his reverie.

"Hibari-san, I'd like to ask you and Chrome to go to Italy," Tsuna finally announced. "I'd like the three of you to find out what's going on and stop it before it's too late."

Hibari could not have heard wrong. Sawada Tsunayoshi just said three…with emphasis. He eyed Chrome again with a frown, not bothering to hide his displeasure. It was just as he had thought.

In truth, Hibari didn't mind taking the job, because, one: he never got the chance to fight Byakuran the last go round in the future, so he would love to get a crack at the guy. Two: Reborn was one of the very few people he actually respected. To have the hitman meet such a pathetic end did not sit well with him. And three: order was definitely being disrupted, and the head prefect blood in him simply could not allow it. Nevertheless, he had issues with his partner…or partners. To begin with, he preferred working alone. Even if he did have to work with someone, why did it have to be the Mist? And not just one, but two? Dissatisfied, he narrowed his eyes at the brunette sitting at the head of the table.

Tsuna read that glare loud and clear, a glare that at one point in time would have made him flinch. However, the much more poised and experienced Sawada Tsunayoshi of today simply accepted his Cloud Guardian's expected irritation with calmness.

"I will take care of this alone," Hibari stated curtly.

"No, Hibari-san," Tsuna denied, his tone firm and composed. "I can't let you do that." He held up a hand when he saw that Hibari wanted to retort. "And I definitely will not back down this time."

Normally, anyone who dared to speak to Hibari Kyouya in that manner would have been immediately bitten to death, but he made an exception for this man. In the very beginning, when Hibari had first met Tsuna, he had no interest in the weakling whatsoever. It was Reborn who had caught his attention. However, he soon discovered that Sawada Tsunayoshi was in fact a lion who believed himself to be a house cat. He was an interesting fellow indeed, enough to compel Hibari to remain his ally for so many years. Though it irked him for the longest time to always get lumped in with this bunch, Hibari couldn't deny that life definitely got a lot more interesting after getting involved with them.

"The stakes are too high for us to let any one person take sole responsibility of this task," Tsuna explained in attempt to appease. "And when it comes to intelligence and infiltration, which is what will be required most on this mission, I believe the three of you will make the most effective and efficient team."

While his Cloud Guardian looked away without saying a word, seemingly to brood over his options, Tsuna turned his attention to Chrome. "I've made an agreement with the Vindice. Since the powers of the Arcobalenos have a profound effect on the entire mafia world, they also want to make sure that balance is kept. Therefore, if this mission is successful, they've agreed to let Mukuro go free and consider his sentence served."

Chrome gasped, her posture straightening as her one visible eye flew wide open with disbelief and her internal voice sought her master's attention. "Mukuro-sama!"

Mukuro's response echoed within her mind, sounding intrigued. "Yes. I heard it as well…"

"So, Chrome?" Tsuna prompted.

"I'll do my best, Boss!" Chrome replied without hesitation. Duties aside, it was the golden opportunity to save Mukuro she'd been waiting for.

Tsuna nodded. At least one person was cooperating willingly. "Mukuro?"

The illusionist manifested himself, taking over Chrome's body as his soft, amused laughter rang throughout the meeting room. "To this day, you still find ways to amuse me, Sawada Tsunayoshi," he said, heterochromatic eyes pinning the Vongola Decimo with a knowing look, already understanding that the only reason why Tsuna had struck a deal with the Vindice was to use it as an incentive to ensure his full cooperation on the mission. Closing his eyes, he took a moment to contemplate before giving his reply. "Very well. I'll play along. In any case, it's best to take care of Byakuran now before he gets in my way later."

That's two down. Tsuna turned back to his Cloud Guardian. "Hibari-san?"

"Fine," Hibari agreed with a sharp look. "On one condition. The moment Rokudo Mukuro steps out of Vendicare Prison, I get to bite him to death."

Tsuna heaved a sigh of resignation. He had a feeling something like this was going to happen.

Mukuro laughed his signature laugh. "Sounds interesting," he said, standing as though rising to the challenge as he faced the Vongola Guardian he considered to be the most…entertaining. "I accept."

A/N: So…that's the first chapter. Hope you liked!

As mentioned above, the story only takes into consideration events up through the end of the Future Arc namely because, believe it or not, the backbone of this story was conceived when the Future Arc wrapped up in the manga. (That was like…what? Over 2 years ago? Yeesh.) It would be too troublesome and unproductive to keep revising the story based on new revelations in canon. I'm not too into the Vongola Gear stuff either.

At the time, I had assumed that only Tsuna's allies had been given memories of the events that took place in the future. It simply didn't make sense to give Byakuran and his team that info, cuz it was like giving your potential enemy all kinds of ideas about screwing the world over, telling him, "Hey, guess what? You're gonna be a total badass in 10 years, so here's a heads up to start making plans!" Seems a bit counterproductive. That's why, in this story, those belonging to the enemy camp don't know anything about the thwarted future. Make sense?

The chapter's a bit short, but I break them where it seems to make the most sense. The story's been outlined, so, yes, there'll be an end. Eventually. I don't have as much time as I used to for writing, so I can't make any promises on frequency of updates. I'll try my best though, cuz I know it's hard to keep up with a story when updates only come once in a blue moon.

Mini glossary, just in case:

Onii-san – older brother (Tsuna calls Ryouhei this, as most of us know.)

Akanbou – infant/baby (Hibari calls Reborn this. It feels awkward to me to actually use 'infant' or 'baby', so I decided to leave it in Japanese…even though it means the same thing. Heh…)

Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated!