Tsuna jerked awake, eyes snapping open as his HyperIntuition blared. He was seconds too late.
"If you don't fancy your brain matter splattered on your pillow, I highly suggest you don't move."
He felt cold grip his heart.
The voice was familiar, no matter how little of it he'd actually heard compared to the higher, squeakier voice of his tutor. Heck, the gun against his temple was familiar.
The killing intent weighing him down, the genuine menace in his tone, the cold glint in those black eyes, that- that was unfamiliar.
"R-Reborn?"
Reborn -the fedora, the suit, the curly side burns, the dark smirk playing on his lips, it was unmistakably the adult Reborn he'd glimpsed during the Arcobaleno Representative Battles- raised an unamused eyebrow at him, confusion flashing in his eyes.
"Excuse me?"
...Tsuna's stomach dropped.
They heard running outside his door. Tsuna flicked his eyes to it in horror, praying that it wasn't his family however very unlikely that was.
Reborn -this Reborn- was the last person he'd want any of his family to be near.
He wasn't entirely clear on the why, only that he knew that fact bone deep.
A yank on his collar -his tutor was hardly careful with him but he was never this harsh, rough yes, never harsh- had him choking and flailing. His back hit the man's solid chest and the cold of the gun barrel never lifted from him even once.
The door opened with a bang and the usual liveliness of his family. It was abruptly cut off with the sight of a man that was very clearly the adult Reborn holding the Vongola Decimo at gun point.
"Juudaime! Reborn-san, what-?!"
"Hush."
Silence. Hayato, Takeshi, and the three kids were frozen stiff in the doorway. Maman must've told them to wake him and Reborn up.
Reborn barely glanced at the children as they cowered -even the usually rambunctious Lambo- and Hayato and Takeshi immediately hid them behind their larger frames.
"W-what do you want?" Tsuna blurted out to get his attention on him and not his family.
Reborn shot him an amused look.
"I thought at first that when you said 'reborn' you might have just been telling me your last wish or perhaps your hopes in the afterlife. But clearly, that's somehow me. Other than that, I know I'm in Japan when just not a few seconds ago I'm with the others in the living room that is not anywhere near Japan. Oh, and also you're a Sky and three of those are your elements." He smiled at them, eyes dark. A click of the safety.
Takeshi inhaled sharply and Hayato gritted his teeth, mind whirring for something.
"Mind filling in the blanks?"
_
"This is like BDSM. This is like BDSM, right? I'm not exactly clear on that. What do you think perverted old man? Though wouldn't that also technically be paedophilia-?"
Squalo knew, both from the memories from the 'future-that-will-never-be' and personal experience, that the younger Fran had the tendency for word vomiting when scared or anxious.
But this really wasn't the time.
The Varia Boss and his officers were nailed to the living room walls separately in an imitation of life sized portraits. Or in Fran's case, hogtied to the ceiling.
In the centre, looking up at them (maybe) was the adult Mammon. Or rather, Viper.
"...mou, you are fortunate I abstain from hurting children." They intoned unfeelingly.
...He didn't know that but that actually made sense. He was still alive after all, even after almost ten years.
Bel was still alive even after almost nine years of the bullshits he'd pulled.
"So I can just keep sassing here?"
"VOOOOOOI! SHUT UP YOU FUCKING BRAT!" Squalo screamed irritably though was silently glad that Fran was visibly starting to calm down.
Mammon- Viper, smiled. Small and kind and out of place of his image of them.
"There is such a thing as mercy killing. It is quick, painless, and will manage to shut up annoying smart mouths."
There was no malice. It was said in almost good-humour.
If not for the fact that there was absolutely nothing -no emotion, no presence, no scent, no other noise but what they themselves made that echoed and echoedandechoed in the silence of the rest of the world, fear and doubt gripping his heart and his mind was threatening to blur between reality and dreams of what should've been- he might've thought they were just teasing; like those nights spent stressing over the budgets because he was fourteen and how should he know shit about bills and such and fuck it how were they supposed to raise Bel without Boss and Mammon wrestled the responsibilities from him and taught him how to do it so that when they're no longer there Squalo can support the Varia on his own properly but fornowfornow take care of yourself-
"...Don't mind him! He's new!" He growled, because the others had their mouths literally sewn shut.
They moved their head to him and he could practically feel the weight of their attention. There was really no wonder why Fran was breaking down.
"I already told you how you got here. The fuck else you want?!"
"...I can't simply take your word for it." Their lips curled again and they shook their head as if chiding a child. "Rather elaborate and far fetched."
Squalo heard the mocking and sarcastic tone to the words.
"I don't have time to waste, so if you're not lying then I'm sure you won't have any problem looking into my eyes?"
Squalo didn't know what they meant, but he didn't have a good feeling about this. Their smile widened.
He decided he really didn't like it when Viper smiled.
"Don't worry. It wouldn't hurt you if I don't want it to."