Author's Note: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn; it's all written for fun and no profit whatsoever.
Spoilers for the Future Arc. Went with Gokudera's nickname from the anime instead of the manga. Had this one-shot ready a few days ago, though I'm sure this idea has been done to death already. Just wanted to take my shot at it.
I lack the details of "someone's" death, so I speculated. Dialogue between Gokudera and Tsuna was quoted directly from the episode, so I don't own it.
Were failures granted second chances?
Gokudera didn't want get this hopes high, but he couldn't stop the inevitable from happening.
Oh, the agonizing moments he'd spent in regret over the 10th's death. The shock had hit him like a million of his strongest bombs, knocking him backward, his breath gone from him.
His boss, his comrade, his friend. . .Tsuna.
Tsuna was dead. Tsuna was dead and lying in that custom-made coffin among flowers, a coffin that was only to be used when the 10th died of old age peacefully with his family and Family by his side – not in his early twenties, on his way to becoming even greater.
That lifeless body was Tsuna; Tsuna was that lifeless body.
Lifeless. . .no life. Gone. Dead.
And the survivors were left scattered, fighting to exist.
"10th. . ." Gokudera clenched a fist, biting his teeth together so hard, it wouldn't surprise him if they shattered to pieces like the heart of the Vongola had. "I failed to protect you! I, Gokudera, your right-hand man, failed you!" He released a gut-wrenching cry, the sound startling squirrels and all other forms of life around him in the forest. He didn't care if the enemy or some other predator heard him. Come what may, he would blast them to perdition.
His life had become a living, breathing nightmare.
What had all these years been? Wasted promises and vows of loyalty? Had he been a fool to think he could be the stronger right arm? Had he been deceiving himself all this time?
No, Gokudera knew he was capable. His confidence had undergone various tests of endurance. There was nobody better qualified.
They'd been ambushed. Unprepared. Imperfect, as they were.
Stop justifying your actions, his mind screamed at him. Quit making excuses!
This was the life they'd chosen. Mafiosi were not hailed as heroes of justice despite the differences in the Vongola Family that set them apart from other Families, all thanks to Tsuna. Bloody, violent pasts were not so easily erased. The mafia was still the mafia, and they were a part of the underworld, their lives never in a safe, secure place.
Why can't we be perfect immortal?
Gokudera swore under his breath, hating to argue with himself. He had already gone through in his mind all sorts of outcomes, and they all ended with the 10th alive and well, but, realistically—the ones he'd pushed all the way to the back dark corners of his mind—they all ended with the troubling impossibility of everyone escaping with their lives.
Would you trade in your soul for his life?
Would you have died for him?
"Yes!"
But you wouldn't be there anymore.
Complications! Did he know his own self? Gokudera didn't know the answer, didn't want to dwell on anything except his own grief. Knowing he was not alone in mourning for the boss didn't matter at the moment. The guardians had had their duty, too, to protect Tsuna, but no one was better than Gokudera. They just weren't. It just wasn't possible for them to be.
Gokudera tightened his grip on his briefcase. He had to get back. Even in death, he would still be at the boss' side until they could safely and properly bury him, honor his life and accomplishments.
The world had lost a great man.
The Storm Guardian swallowed hard and plowed forward, back to the clearing where he'd left Tsuna.
Up ahead, someone yelled.
Gokudera quickened his pace, advancing towards the clearing with furious steps. "Who is there?" he demanded. Whoever it was, if they had dared to touch the boss' coffin, Gokudera vowed he would—
A ghost sat in the coffin, staring back at him.
"Go-Gokudera!" it spoke.
Hurricane Bomb Hayato suddenly felt dizzy.
But his mind won over his body, and instantly he was down on his knees, clutching Tsuna's shoulders (never mind that ghosts weren't solid), and apologizing as if life itself depended on it. Gokudera had been given a chance to ask for forgiveness! "10th! Sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Hey, wait a sec. . .ow!"
"Sorry!" Then Gokudera pieced together in a split second that Tsuna was flesh and blood. There was only one possible explanation.
"Uh, I'm not sure exactly what's going on. I'm sure it's hard to believe and I don't know how, but I was. . .I was hit by Lambo's 10-year bazooka by accident." Tsuna stared at the Storm Guardian, looking every bit as naïve and gentle as Gokudera had known him to be, unfit for a world of ugliness that had entered into existence.
But that was the kind of person Tsuna was. . .had been.
"I see. Just five minutes." Gokudera struggled internally to hold back the flood of pain that threatened to drown him. Just a brief moment with his dear friend and boss only to be gone soon.
Still, sitting in the coffin was the teenager, Tsuna. This was a second chance! Vindication was pounding on his heart's doors with heavy fists.
Gokudera steeled his resolve, and spoke, "Listen closely, 10th. When you return to the past, remember this moment and follow my instructions. There's no time for details." Gokudera snapped open his briefcase, fingering through the contents for a certain photograph. Finding it, he held up the photo of Irie Shōichi. "When you go back, you must eliminate this person immediately! This picture is him from this time. You should know him from your freshman year of middle school."
"Eh, who is this? Did you say, 'eliminate?'"
Evidently, this Tsuna hadn't fully taken on the role of mafioso. "There's no need to hesitate."
"No, but. . .wait a minute! By 'eliminate,' you mean kill!"
Gokudera scowled. "If only that guy didn't exist, Byakuran wouldn't be like this. . ." Irie was largely responsible for everything happening, along with others. If Tsuna could stop Irie in the past, then. . .then would everything change? Or would an alternate time line be created?
And what about those in this time line?
Gokudera pushed those thoughts away. No time to contemplate the mysteries of the universe. Not now with the opportunity to prevent his mistake from occurring again. "What I'm going to say next is just a precaution—"
"Uh, one thing that's been bugging me. Why am I in a coffin?" Tsuna wore a nervous half-smile.
Was the boss hoping it was a joke? A lump formed in Gokudera's throat. How did one tell somebody that they were going to die? "Th-That's because—"
Pink clouds disrupted his view, and Gokudera instantly knew what was happening. Thank heaven for the idiot cow's bazooka. The Storm Guardian was going to the past – he would have an opportunity to change everything personally, and help bring an end to the Millefiore destruction.
And he, Gokudera, Tsuna's right-hand man, would not fail again.