Tsuna was still fighting as he was carried away on white mist, trying desperately to get back to just pass through the fading window behind him, if only to reassure them that he was fine, to soothe the heartbroken faces.
His back didn't ache anymore when he twisted, and his hands no longer bore that slight shake. He glanced briefly down at his hands, gaze sliding off, but promptly snapping back to the appendages with considerable alarm. There were… no wrinkles. At all. He turned them over, inspecting the smooth palms, then slowly brought them back to his face, only to find the skin soft and gentle, none of the weathered hardness it had acquired beforehand.
He looked at his hands again, and noticed they lacked the tan that had become the norm under the hot Italian sun. Could he be? Apparently so. He really was in his young body. Middle School age, to be exact. The lack of the healthy slightly darkened skin must be an indicator of Middle School, for he had gained a permanent tan when he had moved to Italy during High School, and he refused to even entertain the thought of him being younger than fourteen.
Although his newly rejuvenated muscles strained, it seemed to have no effect on the white mist steadily bearing him towards places unknown. At length, he stopped fighting to get back. His guardians had been out of sight for a while now, and his efforts seemed futile anyway. He shouldn't waste the energy, he might need it later.
When the white mist finally stopped, it put him gently atop a hard white expanse, which reflected everything perfectly, which is why it was so bright. He waited for a little while, until something began to change in front of him, a black mass was slowly fading out of obscurity, swirling around itself furiously, twisting and thrashing.
It slowly became lighter in color, until it was almost the shade of the expanse it was hovering above. The shape gradually coalesced into a vaguely humanoid form, and slowly the form became clearer and clearer, until it was clearly a man standing in front of him.
Clothes began to appear, a white jumper with straps circling the man's thighs and both his biceps. The hands began to take on a skin tone, the white fading away into a rosy pink. Hair began to take shape on his head. It was less fluffy than Tsuna's, but still definitely qualified as gravity defying. A familiar face began to form, a narrow smirk, purple eyes, a three-pronged mark on his cheekbone. It was unmistakably Byakuran.
Why was Tsuna not surprised? Byakuran started walking in his direction and Tsuna squared his shoulders. It always came in handy to look like he was on top of things when it came to Byakuran, no matter how close they became in the years following Byakuran's defeat at Tsuna's hands. Byakuran came to a stop in front of him, a bit too close for comfort, but that was a regular occurrence. He looked the same as when Tsuna had first met him. Byakuran placed his hands on his hips, and heaved an obviously fake sigh.
"Why must I be involved in your every shenanigan?" This was grossly untrue, as Tsuna's guardians managed to involve him in a hell of a lot more shenanigans than Byakuran had ever managed to connect him to.
"I swear, someday I'm going to get tired of this and leave you to deal with all your problems on your own." Byakuran smirked at this, for they both knew this was a lie, and that Byakuran loved every last bit of trouble that came his way. He thrived on it.
"Now now Byakuran, what did we say about lying to people"
"That people cannot be trusted and sometimes lying is necessary?" Tsuna might have argued with that in his middle school days, but experience taught him that Byakuran was right, some lies couldn't be avoided. He pressed his palm against his forehead in frustration and acknowledged Byakuran's argument.
"Sadly, you may be right. So, tell me. Why am I here. Where is here?" Byakuran's smile widened in genuine delight.
"At last, you're asking the right questions."
"And as usual, you're not answering them." Tsuna shot back half playfully.
"Do you really have time for this? I'd have imagined you'd want to start the next phase as soon as possible" These cryptic 'I know something you don't' responses were so typical with Byakuran that Tsuna didn't even dignify it with a response, and only raised his eyebrows at Byakuran, prompting an explanation.
"All right, all right. I'm sure you're dying to know. This is Heaven's liminal space, or in other words, a place of transition. It's where the most righteous of people go to be reincarnated." Something seemed a bit off to Tsuna.
"Then why are you here? I'm not saying you're not a good person but… you're probably not a good person." Byakuran affected a gasp, hand clutching his heart like a person deeply wounded.
"How unrighteous of you, Tsunayoshi!" Tsuna snickered at that, and decided to address the other issue weighing on his mind.
"Reincarnation?" He queried, and Byakuran sobered up as quick as he had started fooling around.
"Yes. You wanted a second chance so desperately back there and you've been so disgustingly good your whole life that God has decided to grant you a second chance, or something." Tsuna's eyes widened, and his breath hitched a bit.
"A second chance?" He asked breathlessly.
"Ugh. That was so disgustingly hopeful and naïve. Yes yes, you lucky bastard, a second chance." Byakuran seemed like he had decided to stop speaking, and Tsuna drew a breath.
"Let me speak. God, children these days, so disrespectful," Tsuna was eighty-nine years old when he had passed away, but Byakuran seemed to have regained his good mood, and so Tsuna decided not to comment.
"You've been 'chosen', so to speak, to get another shot at life. But, as sending you back in time is impossible- "Byakuran held up his hands up in placating gesture, "- Don't even ask, when I did there was all this confusing shit about dimensions and paradoxes and screwing with them. Also, strangely, butterflies? Anyways, you're being sent to a very similar parallel universe to relive the glory days."
Tsuna almost didn't dare hope. It was almost too good to be true.
"Yes! Please send me there." Byakuran chuckled, which in hindsight was the first sign that not all was right, and responded only:
"As you wish." Almost instantaneously the white plain they were on began to blur and dissolve. Tsuna felt as if he were falling, and a strange tightness in his chest. His eyes began to close of their own accord, and he felt his legs begin to collapse under him, as if he were only falling asleep.
Before he had the chance to sink completely out of consciousness, he heard Byakuran mention, almost off-handedly:
"Poor guy, doesn't even know he'll have to start all over."
Wait, what?