Title: Without Regrets
Rating: pg-13
Pairing: Xanxus/Tsuna, and- well, you'll see.
Notes: A Reborn!/Loveless fusion AU, and um, warnings for lots of liberties taken with everything. Thanks to pandarosi and gauche for the info on and idea of Night Training, without which you would have gotten an extremely lame plot device.
Summary: The plot thickens, on a night where the bonds between pairs are tested for the first time.

Tsuna began to live for the little moments of nice quiet he could have with Xanxus- and Xanxus reciprocated, in his way, left the Varia to their own devices and partners and went to sleep or think in obscure corners with Tsuna working on his battle skills or his school work.

Even though Tsuna, too, would also have liked to sleep, he knew that it made Xanxus angry to see him slacking off when he still had so much to do.

Sometimes he did fall asleep, though- and on these occasions when Xanxus woke up first, sometimes he got angry, but as he grew more and more fond of the scurrying little boy who, though he has usurped Xanxus's rightful place, was obedient and properly deferential, sometimes he let him sleep, and thought nothing of that Tsuna slept so deeply Xanxus could rub the soft edges of ears without waking him.

It was in one of these moments that they were approached by the chain-smoker who was one of Tsuna's little dancing monkeys, the sacrifice of the team Tireless. (This wasn't difficult to see, since his name was in clear evidence on his forearm, exposed by a rolled up sleeve.)

For a few seconds they regarded each other, Gokudera with mild surprise and Xanxus with a so fucking go away already face.

Gokudera looked at Tsuna, small (er, if that was possible, eating more and losing weight), pale (from lack of sleep and blood, he seemed to lose more everyday) and so exhausted he slept deeper than he had ever seen, even after the first few times Reborn had taken interest in him. And his goddamn stupid sacrifice just there, making Tsuna- making him like this.

"I would have been his sacrifice," said Gokudera abruptly, and looked at Xanxus with eyes that hated and pitied him and loved the small boy on his lap, all at once. "You don't even know what that means, and suddenly you're everything I ever wanted to be."

For a dizzying instant Xanxus's world narrowed, to three people, this enemy, his Tsuna, and him. He wanted to kill this upstart so badly it choked him and he couldn't move.

"You can't help him," said Gokudera, continuing to labor under the delusion that he was still speaking because he had something important to say. "You'll never help him; you'll only hurt him because that's all you stupid fighters know how to do. But-" he said, the shadows of deep longing in his face- and Xanxus hates him so much, so much, "Not him. He doesn't know how to want to hurt people. He only knows how to let people hurt him and hurt him until there's nothing left." He stopped talking then, gleamed with tears of anger and frustration because Tsuna loves this asshole and there's no way he'll ever understand what he has until after he destroys it.

"You're not his sacrifice," said Xanxus, seeing the tears and thinking weak. Weak.

No way he'll ever understand. "Neither are you," Gokudera seethed, and walked away.

.0.

"Well," said Reborn, "it's a little sooner than I wanted, but I think we should start holding the night training again."

Lal Mirch stared at him flatly and said, "Are the pairs ready?"

"When have you ever cared about the students being ready?" muttered Collonello, and received a kick on his diminutive head as response.

"Indeed," said Viper, blowing his nose. "Some of the new pairs… Merciless, and Deathless- not mention the whole convoluted mess of Remorseless…"

"Maybe," allowed Reborn. "But can any of you think of anything better…?"

"…Three days from now, then," said Lal Mirch. "Have Skull make the announcement after classes."

"Wait, hell- why me-"

WHACK.

.0.

They watched the minutes tick away, counting down- some were excited, some were nervous, and all were making plans.

Some more plans than others, of course, because this night would determine the first of the new rankings, mixing in the first-years with the rest of the ever-growing pool of Fighters and Sacrifices.

Tonight, thought Mukuro to himself, feeling Chrome- dear Chrome- and knowing that she would make her way to him as soon as she could while he- his eye flared a hard sharp pain, and he gritted his teeth.

Tonight, thought Xanxus, and waited hungry for blood.

Then the clock struck, and doors opened to let out student after student, who all began to search.

There was a pair outside, as well- and they started their own search.

.0.

"Damn this is ridiculous," said Gokudera. "Can't the idiot just stay still? He's so damn stupid…" but he could hear the faint calm presence of Yamamoto on the edge of his senses, and pressed through wandering, concentrating students to find his fighter.

"Hell's he out here for?" muttered the sacrifice, picking his way through the landscaped gardens- looming and shadowy in the nighttime.

He was careful- Yamamoto was more than dumb and dense enough to be hanging around a completed pair, who would jump them as soon as they met. It was a simple enough trick to be ready for, if an effective one.

A shadow flashed over him and dropped, a small yellow ball of fluff- Hibari's bird, stained with blood and fluttering terrified on his head.

"Hibari! Hibari!" it chirped, and Gokudera clutched it gently and ran.

Hibird had come from where Yamamoto was- and now that Gokudera thought to check, he could barely feel the idiot at all.

.0.

Tsuna poked his head out carefully, mindful that some students would be less then careful about who or what they smashed into on their way to their partners. Xanxus knew where he was, and was coming to find him- the other boy would be damned if he was caught into battle on any turf not of his own choosing.

"Sawada-kun," said Mukuro, and smiled at him gently, hand reaching up to his eye. There were two people behind him that Tsuna didn't recognize- second-years, third? One had a funny hat and glasses, while the other had barrettes pinning back his wild yellow hair.

"Mukuro-san!" said Tsuna, smiling politely. "Are you looking for Chrome?"

"Well," said Mukuro, taking out his red contact. "No, Sawada-kun. I was looking for you."

The eye beneath the contact was also red- and on it, clear and black as a name, was a zero, in the place where Mukuro-san's pupil should rightly be.

-tbc-

Fuck me, I'm rewriting the Kokuyo Arc. This was totally supposed to be a short crack ficlet, you guys. ;;;;;;