Daybreak

Summary: As Irie Shouichi sends the time-travelers home, things don't go to plan. Instead of going back to their shared past, they end up worlds apart. The question was: would they want to leave, when the parallel worlds tempt them to stay?

Chapter One - Butterfly Effect

When Tsuna next awoke, it felt like his head was ready to explode with pain. He immediately clutched at his forehead, hoping to ease the throbbing, but that failed. If anything, the pain increased the more he came to realize he was awake and Reborn wasn't anywhere in sight. The room wasn't very bright, thankfully, but it didn't feel right - it wasn't his room. He wasn't where he was supposed to be. That instinctive feeling that told him something wasn't right set his nerves on edge, ready for anything this strange place had to offer. Admittedly, the bed was soft, the covers were comfortable, but it would take a lot more than that to make him feel at home. And that was exactly where he wanted to be right now. What had happened? What had that bright flash of light been, and just where was he? Verde had promised everything would go as planned! Even more than that, he had trusted Shouichi. This wasn't the past he was hoping to awaken to, so what was going on?

The sound of voices outside the room made his blood run cold. They weren't familiar and that meant he was either captured or among people who had accidentally found his unconscious body lying somewhere it shouldn't have been and took pity on him. With the way Tsuna's luck had been going lately, though, he didn't have high hopes. Somehow, that wasn't what was bothering him the most. It was losing Reborn again that had him troubled. He had been through hell and back to have Reborn at his side once more - and then this? Tsuna let his head drop back onto the plush pillow behind him, giving up on thinking at all as he groaned aloud.

First things first, anyway: he needed to think of how not to get killed. The best way to do that, he figured, would be to pretend he was still passed out when the people attached to those echoing voices walked in. And that was exactly what he did when the door creaked open and the voices quieted down to mere whispers. Tsuna struggled to keep his breathing even and not let the pain overwhelm him when light streamed in from the hallway before the door was shut. It wasn't that bad, he told himself. After all, he had his eyes closed, but he could still feel the pressure - and his headache wasn't too accommodating. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his mind off the pain, but he wasn't sure that would work for long.

"He's not awake yet?" The person sounded disappointed, and Tsuna took a moment to mentally pat himself on the back - his ploy had worked. And Reborn said he was a horrible liar!

"Don't be fooled that easily. He's awake. The idiot thinks he can pretend in front of me? That's almost funny." Tsuna wasn't expecting the hand that reached down and pinched his cheek, so he let out a yap and opened his eyes before he even thought twice about it. He had to do a bit of a double-take when his eyes adjusted to the dim light, however. He couldn't be seeing correctly. The man before him was a spitting image of Reborn, if Reborn happened to be six feet tall, rather good-looking, and prone to pointing a fully-loaded gun at someone that had just regained consciousness. Well, actually, that last one really did sound like Reborn, but it was hard to connect the dots otherwise. Sure, there were the curly sideburns, the sleek Italian suit that probably cost a fortune, and the gun that looked similar to the one Reborn was always flashing about when he wasn't using Leon instead - but that didn't mean anything. By now, Tsuna had seen stranger things than a long-lost relative of Reborn's.

Rubbing his sore cheek, Tsuna asked, "Who are you?" He was caught unaware again as the Reborn look-alike placed the back of his hand against Tsuna's forehead. He abruptly realized he had a fever, because the man's hand was too cold for there to be any other explanation.

"He doesn't seem to be well. If you'll leave us for a moment, I promise to give you a full report on his condition soon."

The other man didn't appear willing to follow that veiled order. Then, reluctant as could be, the man nodded and left. Once the door had been shut with a decisive snap, the Reborn look-alike visibly relaxed and dropped the fake concern. "What have you gotten us into now, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna spluttered. "E-Excuse me?"

"Don't pretend!" growled the annoyed man, rubbing at the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache too. "I may look like this, but you know perfectly well who I am. Use that Hyper Intuition, brat."

"Reborn?" He didn't squeak, but it was definitely something close to it. "How ...? Why are you ...?" To be honest, Tsuna didn't know where to start, so he settled for something completely un-Arcobaleno related. "Where are we?"

Tipping his fedora back to better see Tsuna, the older Reborn was quick to begin his lecture, which started with, "Listen, and listen well - because we don't much time. You are going to pretend like you have amnesia. I will diagnose the condition as related to your fall, but you will have to take medicine for the fever or you will have mental damage." Reborn looked as if he had to hold himself back from saying, Not that your brain isn't already damaged beyond repair.

"Why do I have a fever in the first place?" demanded Tsuna, pressing his own hand to his head this time. It was scorching. "And why are you talking like you're a doctor?"

"I have a PhD, for your information," Reborn managed to boast, "but let's not get into that. Here, in this world, I am your Sun Guardian. That means I am forced to see to your health." That appeared to rankle the man for some reason - and then Tsuna realized just what Reborn had said.

The boy let his mouth fall open. "Oh, not again."

"Yes, again." Reborn gave him a hard look, like it was somehow his fault they were in this situation. "Prepare yourself, Dame-Tsuna. Your acting skills better be superb." Or I'll shoot you dead, was left unsaid.

-X-

Gokudera let slip a small groan as he began to sit up, still seeing stars flashing before his eyes. Someone was rubbing his back in soothing circles as soon as he was steady, like his mother would do when he was sick. The gesture was kind and warm and he instantly thought, Tenth. He glanced behind him to confirm that, but he blushed as soon as he realized how close that meant their faces were at that angle. It was Tsuna, all right. He couldn't mistake those honey brown eyes, that soft-looking brown hair, but the clothes were different. Tsuna had been wearing a casual tee with an over-shirt and faded jeans when they left. Now, he wore the school uniform with the tie loosened and hanging coyly. The jacket had been wrapped around his waist and his sleeves were rolled up, as if he had been lounging around instead of attending school.

Bemused, he took in his own clothes systematically. Leather pants - that he realized were a little uncomfortable around certain parts - and a shirt that wasn't familiar. It had kittens on it, for crying out loud. At least the long-sleeved shirt under it looked like something he would wear, but what was with the kittens? Had he fallen and hit his head? Risking another glance back at Tsuna, seeing the concern for him, it was very possible he had hit his head and done something strange like sleep-walk into the closest retail store. "Tenth ...?" He wasn't sure how to word his question exactly, but his friend seemed to understand and explained what had happened for him.

"You fell out of the tree," Tsuna said, an I told you so sneaking into his tone of voice. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

Okay. Rewind. What? None of that made any sense. Was logic and reason something that had been thrown out the window as of late? He had to wonder, at the rate he was going. "Er, why was I doing that again?" Had he dreamed up the future? Or was he dreaming now?

Tsuna waved a kite in front of him. It had been resting beside him the entire time, he realized. Huh. So they had been kite-flying? Together, alone. That sounded nice. This definitely had to be a dream. "You asked me to skip with you today, so I made an exception." Suddenly, Tsuna was too close, their noses almost touching as his friend straddled him, checking him over - Gokudera guessed for further injury. Then Tsuna leaned in and kissed him. Kissed him! Something was seriously wrong with his brain. That had to be it. Never had he imagined Tsuna kissing him before. This was a new height to his already unhealthy obsession. "I'm glad you're okay." Well, if that was how Tsuna expressed that particular emotion, he was free to do it again. He shook his head immediately, dispelling such thoughts. "Hayato?" Tsuna tipped his head up, considering him. "Are you okay? You're incredibly red."

"Um, yeah, fine." He hated how his voice went up an octave at the end there. "Can we ... can we go back to your place?" That seemed like the safest route. Find something familiar and go from there. Then he realized what he had just said. After being kissed. Oh. Oh shit. He hoped Tsuna didn't take that the wrong way. He met Tsuna's gaze and it was unfathomable, not giving anything away.

"Sure, no one's home. Maybe you need to rest." Tsuna kissed him again. Quick, a bare brushing of lips, and then he moved to stand. "Don't try anything funny, though. It was hard enough explaining that hickey to my parents. I don't want a repeat."

Gokudera had the unexplainable urge to dig a hole and fall into it. I tainted the Tenth! Me! Realistically, he knew Tsuna wouldn't stay innocent forever, but he had never imagined he would be the one to take that innocence away. That offer of sleep seemed all too appealing. Perhaps, after a good nap, the world would start making sense again.

-X-

Yamamoto had lost his perpetual smile somewhere between blinding pain and groggy awareness. Cracking an eye open, he could vaguely recognize where he was, the outline of a baseball field unmistakable. The smell of sweat and chalk confirmed it. He was at school, playing the sport he most loved. There was a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind, warning him that something wasn't right, but he hoped - for once - his instincts were wrong. He hoped he was where he was supposed to be.

From where he was resting in the dugout, he watched the game unfold. His head was still ringing, but he managed to sit up, eager to catch a glimpse of his team. To reassure himself that everything was okay and he was just waking up from that blast from the future. A familiar mop of unruly brown hair caught his attention and he zeroed in on the boy that had just stepped up to bat. His posture could use some work, but he held himself with confidence. He swung his bat once - twice, breathed out the tension in his shoulders, and then locked his fearsome gaze of concentration on the pitcher on the mound. Yamamoto did a double-take. Since when was Tsuna on the baseball team? The uniform looked a little too big on him, the protective headgear valiantly trying to win the battle with his friend's hair, and there was something almost comical about how focused Tsuna had become. And this time, it wasn't to protect his friends. Tsuna was waging war for his team. Yes, Yamamoto knew the difference. He had made sure to never make that mistake again. His teammates at school weren't his friends, but his team. They shared a common interest, at most, but the familiarity did not extend off the field. They didn't know anything about him. He didn't know anything about them. But Tsuna was different. He knew a lot about Tsuna. The shy boy, the bullied boy - it was hard to relate that previous image to the current Tsuna, the one who seemed driven to win.

After the first swing - strike! the umpire called - his breath caught in his throat. Tsuna's form was beautiful. Not perfect, but it was attention-grabbing. That swing could have hit a clean grounder to second. He wondered why it didn't. Tsuna glanced at the dugout a moment later and Yamamoto understood. Tsuna was still Tsuna after all. Standing up, he gripped the metal webbing of the dugout and shouted, "Go for it, Tsuna!" A blossoming smile answered him and then Tsuna turned his attention back to the pitcher.

Yamamoto didn't take his eyes off him, fascinated. Had Tsuna always been this good at baseball? Or had he been practic - wait. That wasn't what should be bothering him. What is Tsuna doing here? Is this really the past? It felt more like a possible future. Yamamoto had been goading Tsuna to play whenever he could, but this - this was on a whole new level. That kind of form took years to cultivate.

"SAFE!" The call forced his thoughts to grind to a halt and he took in the changes to the field. Tsuna was on first. A senpai on third. The bases weren't loaded, but their opponents didn't take any chances. They let his senpai steal home in order to trap Tsuna between first and second. Yamamoto itched to be up to bat. He wasn't called a pinch-hitter for nothing. If Tsuna could clear this hurdle, he would need someone who could have his back. Yamamoto would always be that person. Except, in baseball, there was a line-up for batting. And the penalty for batting out of order was disqualification. He sighed and took a seat.

Out on the field, Tsuna slid onto second base, feet first. It took an agonizing long minute before the umpire declared, "Safe!" The opposing team jeered at Tsuna for being a favorite, but his friend was left alone as play resumed. He hadn't realized the lack of an additional batter warming up until the coach placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you ready to go out there?"

Immediately, Yamamoto said, "Of course!" Because he would not let this chance slip by him. His position was fourth at bat. It was time for some clean-up. So Tsuna is third. The heart. Why am I not surprised?

-X-

The noise was awful. So much yelling that even Ryohei was offended, and usually he loved such extreme people. "My ears," he moaned. Something brushed through his short hair, the motion gentle and soothing, and he realized the something was actually someone. The person was trying to distract him from the massive headache he had developed in the span of ten seconds. It wasn't uncommon, as his sport of choice was boxing, but it was definitely something different to have someone caring for him after the blow. Opening his eyes and praying it was a girl - the girl in the picture, to be specific - he was bemused to find it wasn't. Because it was Tsuna. "Why aren't you a girl?" he demanded.

The brown-haired boy had the nerve to look amused as he said, "I was born as a boy, senpai. Sorry to disappoint."

Brushing away the other boy's hand, Ryohei scowled. "I thought you were my extremely mysterious dream girl! Don't get my hopes up to the extreme like that, Sawada!"

Tsuna raised an eyebrow and replied dryly. "Next time I'll put on a wig and wear a maid outfit." At the stricken expression on Ryohei's face, the other boy out-right laughed. "I'm kidding, senpai! If you didn't have such a one-track brain, you would have realized that." He ran his small hand through the white, coarse hair of his senpai one more time before he gestured for Ryohei to sit up. "You didn't break anything when you fell, but that shiner on your face isn't going anywhere soon."

Confused, Ryohei touched his left eye, where most of the pain was centered. It would definitely bruise, tender to the touch and slightly swollen. "What happened?" he asked, though he could guess.

"You don't remember?" Worry evident, Tsuna leaned in, checking his eyes like he was a pro at this sort of thing - and then he held up three fingers. "How many fingers do you see?"

Ryohei held up three of his own. "Including mine? An extreme six!" It was a game he often played with the school nurse, especially after she grew extremely exasperated with his - rather frequent - visits. And if he could joke around, she was more likely to let him return to practice.

Appeased, Tsuna stood and walked to an open locker, retrieving a bottle of water and returning to give it to his senpai. "Here. Drink something." Plopping back down on the locker room bench, Tsuna stretched out, thoroughly comfortable. It wasn't familiar, this camaraderie between them. There had always been a sense of distance, like Tsuna was holding back. Ryohei let his gaze linger for a moment too long, and Tsuna noticed, giving him a quizzical look. "What? I'm not allowed to take care of the person I'm supporting with all I have?"

Ryohei nearly choked on the water. "W-What?"

"I'm calling the nurse," Tsuna decided.

-X-

There was a sharp pressure on his chest, and Lambo coughed, salt water coming from his mouth with a whole bunch of other nasty stuff. In a daze, the child blinked. Where was he? Where was Tsuna? He wanted Tsuna! Curling up into a ball and still coughing, Lambo could feel tears prickle at his eyes. But he was a man! Men weren't supposed to cry. Sniffing, he muttered, "Tol - er - ate," and wiped at his mouth. Someone was nearby, so he could just ask that person if they knew where Tsuna-nii was!

"Thank god," the girl breathed, reaching out and fluffing his hair in a fond way. She was drenched, water dripping off her baggy clothes that stuck to her like glue. Her long hair was a mess, tangled with seaweed and the occasional twig. But her large, amber-colored eyes were crinkled at the edges, genuinely happy that he was okay. Lambo liked her. Very few people looked at him, really looked, and fewer cared. He latched onto her, shivering, and belatedly realized he was just as drenched as she was. "I was so worried. I'm glad Reborn taught me CPR or ..." She trailed off as Lambo stiffened in her arms and she held him closer, shushing him. "Don't worry; you're okay now. You're okay." Over his head, he heard her call out to someone else. "How are I-pin and Basil?"

"They're fine," drawled an irritating voice that Lambo did not want to hear right now. "Is the brat all right?" Silent footfalls approached them and Lambo peeked through the girl's embrace to see his self-proclaimed enemy, a child no older than him - but far from it. Reborn was wearing a smirk, but there was a steely glint in his eyes that wasn't to be trifled with. "He's the first to wake up. Have him count to ten. It wouldn't do if he got even more stupid."

The girl protested that he wasn't stupid, but coaxed him into reciting the numbers as Reborn had demanded. Once he had passed that test, Reborn started the real interrogation. "Do either of you care to explain why I'm looking at a pair of drowned rats? Hm, Dame-Tsubame?"

Lambo frowned. Tsubame? Like the bird? He stared up at the girl, about to say something, when he noticed the blush. Curious, he wondered what had provoked it.

"Basil and I -"

Reborn cut her off, harshly. "You were what? Playing house? Having a lovey-dovey date? Be more aware of where you are. This isn't Japan."

Not Japan? Lambo struggled out of the girl's arms and turned to Reborn, wide-eyed. "We're not in Japan?"

The comment barely earned him a cursory glance from Reborn. "Perhaps he has lost a few brain cells after all."

"We're going to get sick if we stay here," pointed out the girl, Tsubame, as she gathered Lambo back into her arms. It was warm there, so Lambo didn't complain - much. "Can we finish this conversation back at HQ?"

A slight nod of the head answered her, but Reborn wasn't finished. "Don't think you're getting out of telling me everything," the tiny hitman warned. "You could have died."

The girl let her hair cover her face, which tickled Lambo's nose. "I know the risks, Reborn. But my life isn't - won't ever be solely about becoming boss."

Lambo sneezed and missed that last part.

-X-

"Someone call an ambulance!"

"Is the kid even still alive?"

"Shut up, and help me move this off him!"

It was getting too crowded for Hibari, but the crippling pain kept him from lashing out. He was near a construction site. A plywood beam had fallen on him. How this had occurred without him knowing, he had yet to figure out. This was nothing like the past he remembered. Movement from nearby caught his attention and he noticed a young boy struggling to lift the beam by himself. No one else wanted to approach, keeping a wary distance from the scene.

"Ugh, you bastard! Why did you push me out of the way?"

Hibari wouldn't admit that he was out of sorts, unable to grasp the situation properly, so he dutifully replied, "I can do whatever I want. I don't need permission from the likes of -" Then he realized who he was speaking to. It figured Sawada Tsunayoshi was involved. "Herbivore," he acknowledged, "you're wasting your time."

It wasn't anything new to see the younger boy panicking, but this was different - more controlled. "I don't need your permission," Sawada snapped, anger clouding his expression before he winced, a splinter lodged in his skin. He kept trying to push the heavy wood off, regardless. "Stop pretending to be cool and sit there quietly!"

Being ordered around wasn't something Hibari would ever tolerate. "You are weak, Sawada. Leave this matter to someone else." Between the pain-filled haze in his mind and the feel of many eyes staring at him, he reached up and pushed the other boy away. "My leg is the only thing trapped, you fool." He wasn't sure why he chose to ease the other boy's worry, but he was sure of one thing: it worked. Sawada stopped trying to help and simply looked at him, like all the others loitering around them. Curious, he took in his own condition. The beam had his leg thoroughly pinned to the concrete - but it had splintered. A piece had punctured his thigh and blood was everywhere. His only thought before he passed out was, "Don't you know it's rude to stare, Sawada?"

-X-

Beep. Beep. Beep. The unchanging sound filled the otherwise silent room before it stirred a reaction from the girl asleep on the bed, who awoke with a rustle of sheets and a gasp falling from her lips. Everything hurt! She felt like Ken had finally made good on his threat to use her as a punching bag. Reaching up instinctively, she meant to readjust the eye-patch she always wore, only to find her right eye wasn't covered by cloth but bandaged and taped shut. A sense of deju vu had horror pooling in the pit of her stomach.

She glanced around the unnaturally quiet room and noticed that yes, she was where she suspected. A private room in Tokyo's finest hospital. Just like that day over half a year ago. Except this time, her organs weren't damaged beyond repair. She could breathe and not feel as if she were about to die. And there was no illusion to provide this fantasy. The stark reality of the white walls, the drone of the machine checking vitals, even the wind drifting in from the slightly cracked window had her senses tingling with the belief this was real.

Beginning to rise, she pushed her protesting body up and against the soft pillows for support. Another sweep of the room with her good eye and she located the door to her right, hidden within a blind spot. She was glad the past was a relatively peaceful place or that could have given an enemy the chance to pop a cap in her. The thought of a bullet to the brain made her curl into herself, clutching her knees to her chest as she fought off the terrible ache within her. It felt like something was missing all right, but it wasn't her organs. There was an emptiness inside her mind where her bond with Mukuro should have been. Chrome had assumed their bond would have returned by now. She was back in the past! Where was he? Where was Mukuro?

"Stupid girl," she heard someone speak and her head shot up. She was hopeful and scared and a million other, indefinable things. "How could she risk her life for a cat!" When she realized it was her mother speaking, she let her head fall to her knees, suddenly listless. "It was a good thing she ran in front of a bike instead of a car or that child would be dead." Bemused, Chrome continued to listen. "This is all that boy's fault! If he hadn't given her that treacherous little thing ..."

The door to her room was opened soundlessly and her mother walked in, closely followed by her father. Her step-father. He didn't seem nearly as upset as her mother. Actually, he seemed to find the whole thing a bit funny. "Don't you think you're overreacting? Nagi didn't hurt more than her eye. The cat's safe at home. And -" His phone vibrated, letting him know he had a call. "And that's probably work trying to get a hold of me. Excuse me."

It was so familiar, so eerily similar to that day, but nothing was adding up. Lifting her head to watch the man her mother had remarried walk away, she wondered what it would have been like to really know these people. She had always isolated herself; from her mother's temper, from the people who talked of her late father's suicide, from the marriage her mother had fulfilled to a wealthy man. It didn't concern her, so she had tried to detach herself, to not feel anything. Back then, she had succeeded. Until she had grown attached to a kitten that had wandered into their backyard one day. It had been a stray, through and through, but she had liked to imagine the little cat always listened to her when she spoke of her day, of her worries and fears. No one else did, so the kitten was special, closer to a real friend than anyone else - back before meeting Mukuro, before meeting Tsuna.

A slap across her cheek broke her out of her reverie and she cradled her cheek, staring into the furious eyes of her mother. "Do you realize how worried we were?" Chrome did not see concern, only anger. "Your father took time off from work to come here! Why weren't you at school in the first place?"

If she thought back to the reason from that day, half a year ago, she knew it was because of bullying and how much she hated going to school. So she had skipped, and nearly died. Because her only friend had been a cat. "I got lost," she lied, bowing her head to hide her expression.

"And why were you chasing Chrome?" demanded her hot-headed mother. "Was she lost too?"

The first intelligent thing that came to mind was, "Huh?" Her eyes were as wide as saucers when she met her mother's gaze head-on. "What are talking about?"

"Chrome! The cat! What are you talking about, Nagi?" Her mother was starting to calm down, but she was still far from rational. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"I-I'd like to rest a bit longer," Chrome decided to try, putting her faith in the fact that the door was wide-open. "Can we talk about this later?"

"When we get home," her mother agreed, temper simmering beneath the surface, "you will explain everything. From beginning to end." She then left as quickly as she appeared, closing the door behind her with a snap.

Now, Chrome thought, time to escape.