"Reborn! I'm too old for that!"
But Reborn saw the relieved smile gracing Tsuna's lips when the boy looked up at his mother. Unfortunately, it was the last thing the hitman saw before Tsuna disappeared.
Reborn scowled at the pink smoke that permeated the air around his student, not knowing whether to feel offended at the fact that he let his student disappear under his watch or concerned for the brunet that was still recovering. Under the shadow of his fedora, Reborn watched as Nana, Lambo, and I-pin stopped and stared at the familiar smoke in wonder. Lambo, who should have known what the pink smoke signified after seeing it a hundred times too many, did nothing but laugh.
"Nyahaha! Did Dame-Tsuna explode?!"
"Lambo! Not nice! Tsuna-san could be hurt!" I-pin yelled in her attempt to teach the unteachable cow some semblance of manners. It didn't work, though. It never worked.
Reborn held out his hand and Leon scuttled onto it, quickly morphing into the familiar weight of his green gun. Reborn almost growled in annoyance, but schooled his emotions, keeping a blank face as he lifted the gun and shot two blanks at the ceiling in an effort to quiet the cow. The two kids and Nana went silent.
"Re-Reborn..."
Reborn's obsidian eyes snapped to the dispersing pink smoke, only to widen considerably when he was faced with chocolate brown eyes peeking out from under spiky brunet locks. Tilting his fedora down, Reborn cursed himself for his blatant show of emotion. He was a hitman, for crying out loud. Hitmen didn't show emotion.
Reborn took a closer look at his student, only to grimace when wide, blank chocolate eyes stared right back. This wasn't right. He didn't seem much older, but Reborn could tell that this teenager sitting before him was maybe sixteen or seventeen, and the hitman knew for a fact that Tsuna was only fourteen.
The teen was wearing dark clothing splattered with what Reborn knew to be blood. Nobody else might have noticed, as it didn't stand out well against the black, but Reborn was experienced enough to be very familiar with the substance. He was in the mafia, after all.
It was the boy's eyes, though, that offset the teen's appearance the most. They were tired, world weary eyes that suited an old man better than a sixteen year old boy. They were eyes that had been immersed in much of the cruelty the world had to offer; ones that had seen too much and had done little to stop it. They were guilt and regret ridden.
Reborn didn't like not knowing things. It made him feel useless; too much like a failure. And Reborn didn't tolerate failure. He sought out information and prepared himself to the best of his abilities, determined to never be surprised. It was part of being in the mafia. One constantly had to be a step ahead of everyone around them, hoping they could somehow catch their enemies off guard.
So, when his not-student, definitely not the one from ten years later, at least, suddenly appeared in the place of his student from the present time, Reborn could not help but scowl. He had no idea what was happening and he hated it.
"Reborn," his not-student said again, steadier this time, like he was slowly adjusting himself to the environment around him, assessing his surroundings and raising his guard —something that Reborn had been trying to get Tsuna to learn to do for ages.
But this wasn't Tsuna. This was an older Tsuna from a future where the brunet was immersed in the life of the mafia. Reborn eyed the blood stains carefully.
"Tsuna," Reborn said, attempting to keep the hesitation out of his voice. "Blood doesn't suit you."
The older Tsuna kept his flinch to a minimum, doing what the mafia—what Reborn—must have taught him and keeping his emotions schooled until he had the situation figured out. Still, despite how hard it would be for others to catch, Reborn saw the brunet's eyes widen a fraction and his body tense. The hitman caught the barest of flinches, even as Tsuna tried to force his body to relax and not react. It was the training of a mafia Don.
Don't show weakness. Keep a strong front against your enemies. Don't let them have a hold over you.
"It's not mine," Tsuna countered.
Reborn grimaced. "I know."
"Why am I here?" Tsuna said, a frown pulling the corner of his lips down. The brunet looked around the living room, a strange gleam in his brown eyes. Reborn watched as the frown grew deeper. Despite acting tougher and acting more like a mafia boss, Tsuna still hadn't put all of the pieces together. Then again, neither had Reborn, but he was certainly piecing this puzzle together faster than the boy.
"You tell me."
Tsuna's eyes narrowed in suspicion and Reborn resisted the urge to smack the boy over the head. Had Tsuna really become so untrusting that he couldn't even let his guard down around his own tutor?
Finally, Tsuna sighed. "If you're really Reborn and not some ridiculous trick the Argine thought up then you probably already know. Hence the reason I asked."
Reborn mentally snorted. So Tsuna had finally grown a backbone. Who knew behind all that screeching the boy had such a sharp tongue?
"We can discuss why you're here later, when everyone's here. For now, just watch what you say," Reborn warned.
Tsuna said nothing more, choosing instead to blankly stare straight into the hitman's obsidian eyes. Reborn internally sighed, knowing that it was going to take more than an emotionally stunted hitman to get Tsuna to let his guard down. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Reborn saw Lambo, I-pin, and Nana staring at the student and teacher with wide, confused eyes.
"Reborn...-kun?" Nana asked hesitantly, bewildered eyes glancing to Tsuna and back. "What's going on? Why is-"
"Nyahaha! Dame-Tsuna looks so weird!" Lambo interrupted, jumping from Nana's arms to approach the older Tsuna. Reborn watched calmly, interested in how this older Tsuna would deal with the annoying cow.
"Lambo!" I-pin exclaimed, following after the seven year old boy immediately. "Be nice to Tsuna-san!"
Lambo turned away from Tsuna, pulling his eyelid down and sticking his tongue out at I-pin to tease the young assassin. "Nuh-uh! You're not in charge of me, I-pin!"
The cow child jumped onto Tsuna's lap, and even though it was something Lambo would always do, Tsuna stiffened slightly, leaning back as if to get as far away from the seven year old as he could. Reborn sighed as Lambo moved his face closer, Tsuna leaning back as much as he could without being in danger of losing his balance and falling to the floor.
"Arara?" Lambo questioned, his head tilting to the side as he frowned. "Why does Dame-Tsuna look so weird?"
"Lambo," Tsuna finally said, picking the brat up and placing him next to the brunet. "Please, I'm injured and I don't really have time-"
"Tenth!"
All eyes snapped to the front gate where a panting Gokudera, his hands on his knees, looked as if he just ran all the way from Death Mountain. Tsuna's blank orbs widened, a flicker of life sparking at the sight of his self-proclaimed right hand man.
"H-Hayato..." Tsuna said in disbelief, looking the silver-haired teenager over incredulously.
Gokudera froze, looking at Tsuna with wide, uncomprehending eyes. "T-Tenth?! Did you just...call me by my first name?"
Tsuna looked like he had been smacked in between the eyes. Immediately schooling his features and staring at the young bomber with blank eyes. Reborn could only imagine how Tsuna was cursing himself for letting his guard down. It was, after all, natural for one to let their guard down when they thought they could trust someone. Tsuna was no exception.
Reborn peered warily at his charge. Even if he hadn't been training the other Tsuna for almost two years, he still would have easily been able to pick up on the compassion and kind-heartedness the boy practically exuded—despite the idiotic shrieking the boy sometimes executed.
This teen—the Tsuna from a mafia-filled future—had Reborn wondering where the trusting young teen had gone. How had his student been replaced by this sharp-tongued, guarded teenager? Where was the Tsuna he had trained to trust and protect his family? What had gone wrong?
Reborn frowned at Tsuna, watching as the brunet stiffened when Gokudera made his way to stand in front of his boss. Gokudera dropped to his knees and immediately began to bang his head against the soft grass, which coincidentally cushioned the bomber's forehead, probably preventing permanent damage.
"I'm so happy, Tenth!" Gokudera cried, and Reborn saw tears of joy streaming down his face when the silver-haired teen looked up. The boy was radiating more happiness than Reborn thought was even possible, his face lit up in elation.
"H-Hayato! Calm down." Tsuna called out, looking rather bewildered by the bomber's actions. If Reborn had to guess, Gokudera didn't do this much in the future. He'd most likely mellowed out. Amused, Reborn only watched as Gokudera continued to thank the young mafia boss. Flustered as he was, Tsuna seemed to remember this Gokudera enough to be able to handle his antics well.
Unfortunately for Tsuna, Lambo had gotten bored of watching the bomber harm himself out of happiness. The cow bounced up and down on Tsuna's lap again, causing the boy to cringe away again. Reborn noticed this and smirked. It seemed like the peaceful craziness of his young family was bringing down the walls hiding Tsuna's emotions.
"Tsuna! Even if you look weird, you still have to play with me!" Lambo demanded.
The tension in Tsuna's shoulders relaxed a bit, but it wasn't enough to satisfy the hitman. "Lambo," the brunet scolded softly. "Not right now. Go play with I-pin and Fuuta."
"Baka-Tsuna!" Lambo pouted, but jumped off of Tsuna anyways and ran towards the other kids, all three heading inside to play hide-and-seek.
Once Lambo was gone and only Gokudera, Nana, Tsuna, and Reborn were left, Tsuna sighed, rubbing his face wearily. Reborn hummed quietly, taking a few steps closer to the teen, if only to gauge his reaction. When Tsuna immediately stiffened, Reborn sighed, turning instead to the suspiciously quiet Gokudera.
"Gokudera, where is Yamamoto?" Reborn asked.
Gokudera scowled, averting his eyes to the side. "How would I know where the baseball freak is? I don't keep the idiot on a leash."
Reborn frowned, picking up Tsuna's small flinch at the words "baseball freak". Ignoring that problem for the time being, Reborn made a list of where the guardians probably ended up. Yamamoto was probably at TakeSushi, so it shouldn't be too hard to get him to here, especially considering how crazy protective the guardians had become after seeing a future ravaged Byakuran.
Glancing briefly at the two flame users, Reborn had Leon transform into a small green flip phone. He turned away from Tsuna and Gokudera, shooting them both a warning glare as he walked further into the house and into the kitchen to have some privacy. He had quite a few phone calls to make.
Reborn dialed and waited.
"Hello?" a voice on the other greeted, sounding slightly agitated. Reborn couldn't exactly blame him. It wasn't every day that Reborn bothered to grace the External Advisor with a phone call. "Reborn? Are you there?"
"I'm here," Reborn said, swallowing the lump of unwanted feelings in order to speak more clearly and free of emotions. "There's an issue we need to discuss."
"Issue?" Iemitsu asked, sounding confused before his voice turned venomous. "Is Tsuna okay?! What did you get him into this time?! If you got him killed, I swear I'll-"
"You'll what?" Reborn asked blandly. "Kill me?"
Iemitsu didn't speak for a moment, and when he did, his voice was soft and full of concern. "Is Tsuna there? Can I talk to him?"
"He's...here, for the most part. Sawada Tsunayoshi is here. But what I wanted to talk to you about was the memories you've no doubt gained," Reborn gritted out, stopping Iemitsu from burying himself in worry. "The memories from the future."
There was silence on the other line.
"What about them?" Iemitsu finally asked, a scrape sounding from the other line. If Reborn had to guess, Iemitsu had probably been sitting at his desk and had scooted his chair out to stand. "And what do you mean 'for the most part'? Reborn, what happened to my son?!"
Ignoring Iemitsu's last two questions and instead focusing on the first, Reborn took a deep steadying breath. If he was going to do this, then he had to do this right. It wouldn't do to make a mistake and have this whole situation careen out of his control.
"Your memories are real."
"I didn't doubt it, Reborn," Iemitsu growled. "I was already informed by Basil what exactly transpired in the future. Now tell me what happened to Tsuna."
It couldn't be avoided any longer. He had known Basil would have gotten to Iemitsu first, even if had only been minutes since their arrival in the present. Still, for the first time in a long time, Reborn was unsure what to say to the father of his student, who was well beyond concerned for his son. He had been trying to buy some time, beating around the bush as he scrambled to clear himself of the foreign emotional rambling around inside his head. Because-
Because Tsuna was gone.
"What?" Iemitsu's voice was just a ghost of a whisper, his disbelief just a breath on his lips. "Re...Reborn...what did you just say?"
He'd spoken out loud.
"Tsuna's gone. He disappeared a few moments after we arrived back from the future."
"How?! How could he just disappear? Did someone take him for ransom or revenge, knowing he is the Decimo-"
"Iemitsu," Reborn interrupted, hoping to calm the hysterical father. "I need you to get to Namimori as soon as you can."
"Are you kidding?!" Iemitsu seethed, a resounding clip-clopping starting from the other line as the External Advisor began to pace. "I'll be there in six hours with a full investigation squad-"
"No. Just bring Lal and Basil if you have to bring anyone at all," Reborn sighed, frowning as his mind raced, thinking of the implications of Iemitsu starting an investigation with this situation balancing on the fine point of a knife. One nudge in the wrong direction and everything would topple to the ground. Hysteria would break out among the Vongola if people ever found out what had happened to the heir to the Vongola mantle.
"Stop interrupting every goddamn thing I say, Reborn!" Iemitsu snapped. "My son is missing and your telling me that you don't want me to instigate an investigation?!"
"This isn't what you think, Iemitsu. It's a complex situation that requires delicacy, and I suggest that, if you want to see Tsuna, you get your ass to Japan and help me figure out what to do before word gets out that Tsuna disappeared and was replaced with an older version of your son covered in blood."
The line was silent for a few moments before Iemitsu spoke softly, "I'll be there in six hours with Lal and Basil, not a second later."
There was a click and the line went dead. Reborn sighed and let Leon transform back into a chameleon. Leon crawled onto the hitman's shoulder and licked his cheek, sensing his growing unease at the whole situation.
"Reborn-san!"
Startled from Gokudera's call, Reborn ran back into the living room, immediately assessing the situation. Tsuna's prone form was lying on the wooden floor, Gokudera kneeling next to him, eyes wide with alarm. Anxious green eyes met onyx as Reborn made his way over to the two.
Something else was wrong with the situation.
"Where's Nana?" Reborn hissed, checking over the brunet lying on the floor with barely visible sun flames while he waited for the bomber to answer. The hitman was relieved the teen had just passed out from exhaustion.
Gokudera looked around before shrugging nervously. "She was here just a moment ago."
Reborn was seething, turning to stomp towards the kitchen. How could he allow this to happen on his watch? The hitman was supposed to be the one watching out for his student, and yet, his student had disappeared without a trace, leaving his older counterpart behind in his place. And even if he wasn't exactly his present student, this older Tsuna was still supposed to be his responsibility, and he had managed to fail at that, too. On top of all that, Nana was missing.
"Wait! Reborn-san!" Gokudera yelled, reaching out for the Arcobaleno. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm calling Shamal and telling him to get his perverted ass over here. And if he refuses, I'll put a bullet in his damn head."
No, Reborn didn't tolerate failure. Especially not his own.
"I don't understand. What's wrong with him?" Gokudera asked, staring blankly at the older Tsuna. His uncomprehensive expression told Shamal everything he needed to know. Gokudera obviously wasn't sure how to feel. He didn't know if he should be worried for a Tsuna that wasn't his own.
Standing from his kneeling position near the head of Tsuna's bed to crouch in front of his ex-student, who was seated in a chair at Tsuna's bedside with his hands clasped tightly in front of him, the doctor sighed. This wasn't going to be an easy one to explain.
"Hayato," Shamal called, effectively gaining the attention of those forest green eyes. Shamal, used to having to break bad news to the friends and family of patients, hardened his resolve. He was a doctor, and if he couldn't do this in the right way, then he was a failure as a doctor. If this wasn't done right then blame would be cast, anger could lead to words impossible to take back, and grief could consume any and all hope. As a doctor, his job wasn't just to cure the sick; his job was to console those left behind. Because whether they knew it or not, everyone was his patient—female or otherwise—no matter how much either of them wished they weren't.
"What's wrong with him, Shamal? Tell me," Gokudera pleaded, a hoarseness to his voice that could only be blamed on constrained emotion. "I need to know."
Shamal sighed. "Hayato, it's hard understand what happened to him from just examining his wounds."
"But you know," Gokudera whispered. "I know you know."
Shamal didn't say anything for a moment, instead observing his newest patient. It was strange, really. The brunet had no other wounds besides the occasional bruise here and there. There was a healthy sheen to his skin, his face peaceful as he slept, blissfully unaware of the heartache he was causing by just existing in this time.
"Please tell me, Shamal," Gokudera begged. His voice was soft and quiet, so unlike his usual brash front he put up when dealing with anyone besides Tsuna.
"He's exhausted," Shamal admitted, brown eyes scanning over the brunet's serene face once more. "More than likely he used his flame too long and he collapsed from exhaustion."
Gokudera studied the solemn doctor, eyes narrowing in suspicion. The silver-haired teen looked between Tsuna and Shamal, contemplating his ex-teacher's words. Gaze swiveling back to Shamal, the dark-haired man tried not to react to his ex-student's scrutiny. Shamal silently cursed as a realization seemed to hit the bomber, rethinking his evaluation of the teen. Sometimes the kid was way too smart for his own good.
"You're not telling me everything."
Shamal sighed again. "It's complicated, and if I tell you, you're probably going to hit me."
"Why would I hit you?" Gokudera asked. The teen sat up like he had been shocked or something, staring at the doctor with wide eyes. "You...you didn't do anything to him, right? If I find out that you hurt him then I will kick your perverted ass all the way back to Italy."
Shamal chuckled, an amusing image of a furious Gokudera chasing him all over Japan trying to throw him on a plane to Italy coming to mind. The teen would probably follow through with his threat, not resting until Shamal had been successfully kicked out of the country.
"I didn't do anything besides make sure that Tsuna would be able to regain the energy before he wakes up."
"So, what?" Gokudera asked, confusion written all over his face. "You had a Trident Mosquito bite him to restore his flames?"
"No."
Startled, both Shamal and Gokudera half-turned towards the door to Tsuna's to find Reborn standing there, fedora pulled down to shadow his face, keeping his emotions completely hidden from view.
"Did you find Nana?" Shamal asked, eager to change the topic and concerned for the well-being for the brunet's mother—and not just because she was female. He respected Nana and Iemitsu enough to stay away from that lost cause.
Reborn hummed noncommittally. "She's at TakeSushi."
"Why there?" Shamal asked. What reason did Nana have for running to the Yamamoto's when her son was so obviously in need of her? From what Shamal had witnessed, Nana could be terribly oblivious, but she absolutely loved her son and would do anything for him.
"She didn't understand why Tsuna had disappeared," Reborn answered. "And before you ask, she's not as oblivious as we thought. She knows Tsuna better than anyone and she knows that he is not her Tsuna."
"So she was scared," Shamal concluded. "She was scared and ran away to find Tsuyoshi." The doctor paused, frowning as another thought occurred to him. "But why go to TakeSushi? Why not call Iemitsu?"
Reborn sighed, obviously exasperated. "She's not stupid. No one but an idiot would try to call Iemitsu at this time a day unless they had his CEDEF number, which Nana doesn't have. Even if it was an emergency, it wouldn't be likely that idiot would pick up. Nana knows that. She went to the closest friend she could think of."
Shamal shook his head. "I didn't think Nana would be that easy to scare. After years of letting in strangers and putting up with the strange mafia crap that goes on around here, you'd think she would be immune."
"This is different," Reborn said, fedora still hiding his eyes.
"How so?"
"It's Tsuna," Gokudera answered for the hitman. "It's different because instead of happening around Tsuna, it happened to Tsuna."
Reborn didn't say anything more, instead jumping onto the bed to take a closer look at the brunet's prone form. Shamal didn't bother him, knowing that the tutor needed time to let this settle in. That was one perk of being a doctor—it was easy to accept change.
As Shamal watched the Arcobaleno stare at Tsuna, he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of pity for the hitman. In the mafia, it was dangerous to have emotional attachments. They could easily be used against an enemy and could often break a person when the bond between two people was broken—by death or otherwise.
Reborn, unfortunately, was experiencing the pain of losing a student. Tsuna wasn't dead (as far as they knew), but they had no idea where he was and whether they would get him back. Reborn was mourning for his student, and probably would, quietly and in his own twisted way, until this older Tsuna woke up and told them the situation. Thinking about it now, those of the present time knew next to nothing about this situation besides the assumption that their Tsuna had probably switched places with the older Tsuna.
"How long until he wakes up?" Reborn asked, breaking the tentative silence.
Shamal hesitated before answering, knowing that his answer would probably have him on the receiving end of Gokudera's wrath. "A day. Maybe two."
Gokudera glanced sharply in the doctor's direction, unable to fathom why it would take more than 24 hours for the brunet to wake form his exhausted slumber. Shamal sighed. Gokudera would more than likely badger the doctor until he got an answer that satisfied him. Thinking he may as well get it over with before the bomber could even ask the question burning in his mind, Shamal turned to face his ex-student.
"One of my trident Mosquitos did bite Tsuna, but not the one you were thinking."
"It's one that puts the victim to drug induced sleep to keep them from hurting themselves before they're ready to move," Reborn finished. Shamal shot the hitman a glare before turning back to the bomber.
"Yes, what Reborn says is true. If Tsuna were to wake up before he was ready, he could cause irreversible damage to his body. He's not in a state to even be awake at the moment without being at risk of overexerting himself," Shamal said gravely.
Gokudera stared with wide eyes at the brunet lying on the bed. "That's...but the only other time he's ever been even close to being in that state was after he fought Xanxus, and he was asleep naturally for almost two days. Why induce his sleep when he should naturally stay asleep?"
"You don't understand, Hayato," Shamal said, tone solemn. "Back then, Tsuna was still learning to harness his flame and unable to cope with extensive injuries without proper time for him to heal. Now, though, we have no idea what he is capable of. It could be that Tsuna may wake up before long, thinking he's just a little tired when in reality his flame is barely flickering. He might not be able to sense that he needs to sleep more and overexert himself. I don't know his recovery rate because I have never treated at the point in time he is at."
Gokudera stayed silent, leaning back in his chair and staring at his boss with a conflicted expression. Nodding to both of the other occupants, Shamal made for the door.
"Let me know if anything changes," Shamal said, waiting only a moment more for a reply. When none came, Shamal only sighed and left them to sit by the brunet's bedside. If they wanted to stay by Tsuna's side until he woke up, who was he to stop them? In the meantime, he was going to try to find Bianchi...
So now we know what happened in the present time!
Okay, before anyone kills me, let me just say that I'm super sorry and the only excuse I had for dragging this out so long is because I got stuck trying to write Iemitsu. I took me more than two weeks to write 24 paragraphs. Well, to make up for it, chapter five will be posted by the 6th of June. After that, it will be a biweekly schedule since I don't have anything big planned for the summer. Anyways, let me know what you thought of this chapter and the story so if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.