A/N:

For curious readers out there, I'm sorry but I can't tell you when Byakuran or Mukuro or Enma or any other characters will appear. You just have to wait and see.

"—" is talking

'—' is thinking

But you guys already knew that.

When the smoke had cleared, Tsuna had ceased hacking her brains out. 'Oh gosh,' Tsuna thought, opening her teary eyes that were dry from the explosion, 'What was that? Well, at least I'm not hurt—that would mean that Lambo and Yamamoto Takeshi are both alright (I hope).' She frowned. 'When did the floors become lukewarm?' The air was kind of foggy—smelled like lavender too. Standing up, she felt water drag her clothes and the wall her hand was on was slippery. Above her head, there was a row of shampoos and soaps.

'Oh no.'

Bubbles, water, scrubs, tub—she was in a bathtub! But why? Why was she in a bathtub when she clearly remembered not being in a bathtub? And how was it possible? Did the floors crumble from the explosion and she landed here? She looked up at the ceiling, only finding it to be very much intact, and then she looked around to see if the two boys had somehow ended up in the same situation, and they weren't. She was alone.

'Fantastic,' she inwardly wailed. 'Why do these things always happen to me?' She pushed the curtain aside and stepped out. Unfortunately, with her notorious clumsiness kicking back into action, she slipped and crashed back into the waters. "GAH!"

After caressing her new bruises and wondering if she had been cursed as an infant, she managed to get out of the tub safely and grabbed for a towel to dry. She was still sopping in soapy water (not to mention her underwear felt funny when wet) but at least it she wasn't completely drenched like before. Tsuna slipped her shoes off and held her breath—she was going to open the door. Who knows what was behind it? But she can't stay in this bathroom forever, wishing that she would miraculously go back to where she was before (even if the bathroom looked really fancy—fancier than her mother's fine china).

A one minute mental debate finally urged her to open the door. She turned the knob and pushed it open, seeing another fancy room, a bedroom. It was like one of those Victorian rooms illustrated by European designers you would see in magazines. And didn't they cost a fortune? Oh yeah, they did. Her brows knitted together in confusion. Again, the same question had came in mind: How and why did she come here?

Mechanically, Tsuna walked to the queen-sized bed and traced her fingertips on the silk sheets. Her eyes followed the design until they had reached to the stack of clothes sitting in the center. There was a white blouse, a black pencil skirt and jacket, and leggings. She couldn't help but see a plain-looking bra and underwear buried in the pile—it looked like the kind of underwear Tsuna had in her drawers.

As if she would let her mother buy her underwear (frills and bunnies were a bit too extreme for her).

"This is so weird," she murmured. "Is that…" Her eyes widened as her mouth parted for a gasp. Running up to the large window, her eyes swept across the scenery: buildings, greenery, and people different from Japan's because she wasn't in Japan—she was…in a foreign terrain. 'Please don't let this be Italy.' However, there was an itching feeling that told her that she was in Italy. She has come across far too many Italians, so what's the probability of her coming to their homeland?

A LOT.

Figures.

Panic surged in her chest as her eyes frantically darted from left to right. Why was she panicked was unknown—it was just a sudden feeling that came to her. 'I…I have to get out of here!' She was about to make a dash for the door, but trudging in these wet clothes? Definitely not. She pivoted to the drawers and whipped out…boxers…

"Hiii!" She flung that to the side and vigorously wiped her fingers. 'Ew. Ew. Ew.'

Okay then, she can deal being wet.

Tsuna dashed out of the door and into corridors of elaborate paintings and other furnishings. There were lines of doors on both walls as she continued to run on the red carpet. She got the message that she was in a casino hotel—it certainly seemed that way, the stench of burning cigars wafted in her nose. Turning around a corner, she stumbled on her own feet and collided into someone.

"Argh!" Tsuna cried.

"Oof!" gasped the person who she collided.

And they both tumbled.

"Ah, mi dispiace, signorina! Lo non guardavo dove stavo andando."

"Uh…" Tsuna blinked as the boy lifted his head, holding onto his wavy dark hair. He appeared to be older than her albeit not by much. Strangely, he had one eye closed, but she could see that his other eye was green. It wasn't the kind of green like Gokudera's—the Italian transfer's eyes were bold like glistening gems. This boy's eye was pallid, soft and almost soothing—it reminded her of mint pudding or mint toothpaste. Then she realized that she was practically straddling his lap.

"Oh!" She scrambled off of him. "G-gomenasai!" Tsuna said, bowing quickly. Without a second to waste on thinking that the guy most likely didn't understand her, she jumped back onto her feet and scurried away. And her almost tripping must be mentioned, of course.

"A-attendere! No, I mean, wait! Wait!"

He spoke Japanese too? Well, then, that was certainly unexpected. Tsuna skidded to a halt, luckily not giving her heels a rug-burn, and turned her head to the boy behind her. If it weren't for her curiosity—and the hope of him knowing how to help her out—she would have ignored him and kept on running. "Um, y-yes?"

Both of his eyes went wide as he got a good look at her face. "Alcun modo…" he whispered. "Tsuna?"

In return, Tsuna blinked and murmured, "How do you…?"

"It's me, Lambo!" he exclaimed. "Lambo!"

She blinked again. "L-Lambo?"

"Si—I mean, yes. Yes!"

Her brows knitted in confusion. "No, you're not," she argued, backing away. "Lambo is five."

"Yes, I know, back in your time I was—but things are…things are a bit different."

"What? What do you mean? How can you be Lambo?"

"Please believe me. I am Lambo," he said earnestly. "You—I…Argh, how can I explain this?" He sighed and ran his fingers through his dark locks. As he was contemplating on his words, the girl was growing circumspect, scared. Additionally, her confusion has stretched. She reflected back on what he had said earlier: He knew her name and he was headstrong on the detail of him being Lambo—the child with a freaking wicked afro. And this guy does not have an afro.

Although, he could have it lopped off.

She shook her head. 'This is so frustrating!' She trusted her paranoia and was about to make a dash for it, until the boy grabbed her wrists and pulled her back. "Ah! Tsuna, don't go!"

"No! I—I have to get out of here!" she cried, struggling fruitlessly. The only problem was that she didn't know where to go—she just had to go somewhere. Anywhere! She, for some reason, couldn't stand being here. Her head was beginning to feel light and her throat to close in. She was on the verge of hyperventilating.

What was wrong with her?

Wait, maybe this is Reborn's doing. Maybe he drugged her and sent her here as a test, or mess her mind for some sadistic pleasure (which was typical). Or this could be a strange dream that she's currently having in her coma after being blasted by that explosion.

"I understand, and I will get you out. But please calm down."

"But I don't understand," she cried, not able to calm down even if she wanted to. "I mean, how is it that you're Lambo?" As if she could continue with her rebuff. There was a striking resemblance now that she received a better look at him, but what she didn't see was the childish face of a nose-picker but a suave and handsome face of a teenage boy. They could be relatives, after all, and this guy could be trying to trick her into something.

"Everything will be answered afterwards, however until then you must follow me," he assured, letting go of her wrist to hold her hand. "Please."

There was suspicion in the girl's gaze, but she agreed. Whether he was telling the truth or not, his beseeching eye was very much like Lambo's, rendering Tsuna to take the risk of trusting him.

Throughout the way, he hasn't let go of her hand.

It took awhile getting there. The two had passed the casino, being watched by intimidating men holding their cigars and drinks whereas ladies garbed in skimpy wear batted their lashes at the boy, who either ignored or was unaware of them.

None of the two had spoken a word; however Tsuna's abrupt panic-attack had came to an end, finding comfort in holding hands with this person. It was strange, but it was as if she had held his hand before. When she felt his fingers constrict, she looked up, seeing him lazily smile.

"Yara yara, it's like the old days," he chuckled.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We always held hands whenever you took me to the playground, remember?"

"I...No…"

"You don't believe that I'm Lambo?" It wasn't a question.

She nodded.

He sighed. "We're outside now."

Her lungs felt as if they were going to explode, and suddenly they relaxed. Tsuna gasped and breathed in heavily. Being outside of the hotel was a load off her shoulder. She nearly collapsed on the ground if it weren't for the boy supporting her.

She shyly smiled, grateful. "T-thank you..."

"Yara…Call me Bovino if you can't see me as Lambo." He brought her knuckle to his chin, and oddly enough Tsuna wasn't flustered by this.

"Right then. Thank you, Bovino."

"You're welcome. You seem to regain color on your cheeks."

"I do feel much better than I was before," she admitted. "I wonder what was wrong with me."

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Do you remember…Lambo holding a pink grenade and it exploding?"

Her eyes lit up with recognition. "I do."

"Well, unknowingly, he stole a prototype, thinking it was a regular grenade. It was a weapon that his father's scientists had developed out of an accident, without any knowledge of what use it holds, until that explosion, of course."

"What does it do?"

"It seems that Lambo had thrown the grenade before it exploded, it going to you. When the person has breathed in the smoke toxins, the effects eventually kick in, which are the feeling of nervy, leading to difficulty in breathing within buildings."

"What if I remained inside?" Tsuna asked.

Bovino shrugged. "You could have fainted from lack of oxygen, and then the effects might have worn off."

"Oh." She rubbed her eye tiredly. "How about weariness?"

The corner of his lips quirked upwards. "Was it nighttime from where you came from?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess that would be the reason why I'm tired." When she stopped rubbing, she asked, "By the way, how did you know my name?"

"You wouldn't believe me either way."

"That you're Lambo?"

He shrugged again.

"But…it isn't—"

"Ushishishi. The prince sees something interesting." A man appeared, walking towards them. On his back was a guitar gig-bag with 'VONGOLA X' marked on it. "Could this be the incident that Tsunayoshi had mentioned before?"

"Ah, Bel." Bovino faced the man, expressing wariness. "Yes, that time happened."

'What did I mention before? And why does every stranger know my name?' Tsuna wondered. 'And why does name Bel sound so familiar? And this man—he looks familiar too.' The creepy smile, the bangs that needed trimming, and the tiara sitting on top of his golden hair—she knew that she had seen this person before… But when was it?

Her eyes widened with the revelation that this man was without a doubt the boy from the playground earlier. 'The fashionista guy!' And even though that he appeared to be that of a mature age than the last time she had met him, it was definitely him. Tsuna couldn't deny that feeling in her gut.

"Why is she wet?" Bel asked.

"What?" Bovino averted his eyes curiously onto the girl. "I didn't notice that till now."

"Ushishishi. You are an idiot." The man smacked the boy's head.

"Dolore!" Bovino cried, holding his head. "Bel, don't do that!"

"Why are you wet?" Bel asked Tsuna this time.

She blinked. "I…eto…I was in…a bathtub," she said uncertainly.

Suddenly, the man's grin turned absolutely wicked whereas Bovino blushed. "Is that so?" Bel continued, leaning towards her. "With the hot water and soaps and everything?"

"Yeah…How do you know?" she said curiously. Without a warning, Bel howled with laughter as Bovino became even redder. "Wh-what's so funny…?"

"I forgot how innocent you were back then, Tsunayoshi," Bel snickered.

"That has nothing to do with innocence, Bel!" Bovino cried.

"Ushishishi." He repositioned the strap of the bag until comfy and asked the boy, "How much longer does she stay before the effects wear off?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Lambo said, recovering from whatever shocked him. "I think that around this time she should—"

BOOM!

When the smoke cleared, the first thing she saw was her outstretched hand that was no longer holding Bovino's hand. The second thing she saw was Yamamoto standing before her, a light blush on his cheeks and eyes starting to widen at the sight of her.

"You're—you're back!" he gasped.

She was in a bedroom, but not the fancy Victorian style one, but a classic Japanese one. She was seated in a chair with Lambo in her lap, who was struggling to get off.

"Tsuna, I'm getting wet because you're wet," he whined.

"O-oh, sorry Bovi—L-Lambo."

The grenade happened to be some sort of technology that was able to send a person ten years to the future; however the person's future self must switch places with him. It wears off within forty-five minutes, and thus the person switch back to his original time. Said so Tsuna's future self.

"W-wait, how is that even possible?" she said. "I mean, this isn't a science-fiction novel—this is reality we're talking about."

"Well, it seemed pretty real when your older self replaced you," Yamamoto said calmly. "Wasn't it the same with you when you found yourself somewhere outlandish?"

Evidently, it was strange how she suddenly found herself in a casino hotel outside of Japan. And there was Bovino…then Bel. 'But it could have been a dream. My mind wasn't exactly clear.' But that was because of the effects of the grenade. And everything was too genuine for it to be a dream—not to mention that she was still soaked. Also, Yamamoto had encountered the similar fate, except rather than relocating he faced the living example: twenty-four-year-old Tsuna.

"And so…this woman, this me…You believe, um, what I said?" Tsuna asked. She tousled her hair with a towel whereas staying dry in the new clothes the boy had given her.

"Honestly, everything went over my head before and since the explosion until your older self appeared and…" He blushed and laughed awkwardly. "Erm, yeah. Anyway, there was no other answer that I could think of as for how this happened so—as implausible as it was—the whole time-traveling business seemed reasonable."

She frowned, skeptical of the logic. Even though she had gone through the events she wanted to stay practical. Really, time-traveling? Wasn't that far-fetched? However, there's no denying the truth: it happened. She swapped places with her future self. She glanced down at the sleeping Lambo on her lap and was reminded of Bovino. Perhaps Bovino actually was Lambo after all.

"Since you stayed in the future for forty-five minutes, can you tell me what it was like?" Yamamoto asked curiously, smiling.

"Eh, well," she began, setting down the towel, "it was…interesting. And kind of short in my part."

"Didn't have much of an adventure?" He pouted and then chuckled. "Bummer."

"It was kind of like an adventure, but, uh, not so much," she agreed.

"You went out?" He brightened with interest. "Did you meet anyone?"

"I think I met this guy," Tsuna said, pointing at the young child. "He tried convincing me that he was Lambo, but I thought he was trying to trick me and I got paranoid."

"I'm surprised that he didn't explain to you your position."

"I don't think he could since I kept trying to runaway." As they exchanged smiles, she asked," So how was I like?"

Again with the blush, he avoided eye contact. "You were c-cool," he replied, his voice somewhat strained.

She pressed her lips together. "Did I do anything to make you uncomfortable?" she asked nervously.

"Should I come out frank?"

"It might help me, so that I might avoid the problematic part."

"Your future self came here naked."

"…"

His blush intensified as he rubbed his neck, regretting being too frank. "E-eh heh heh…Weird, huh…?"

And then it made sense, as to why Bel was leering and Bovino (or Lambo, maybe) was being flustered. When Yamamoto said that the person switches places, it was much more definite than she thought. That was why she was in the bathtub—because her older self was taking a bath!

"S-so…I was…" she trailed.

"I-I didn't see! I swear!" the boy said hurriedly. "I gave you a towel and clothes—eh, well, now they're gone because time was up. Now how am I going to explain to Dad about my wardrobe?"

She gripped her hair. "Gyuuah! How embarrassing," she wailed, about to bury her face in her lap until she was reminded that she couldn't by Lambo occupying it.

"But hey, look on the bright side, at least you know when not to take a bath," he piped helpfully.

'Yeah, I'll definitely remember a decade later,' came the sarcastic thought.

The kendo and baseball star asked for more detail about her "adventure", and so Tsuna obliged, her glum mood disappearing as Yamamoto's refreshing personality affected her. In return, she received info on what else her older self had told him. Apparently after the explanation of the grenade the future Tsuna requested him to join Vongola Decimo.

'Is that even allowed?' Tsuna wondered. 'For my future self to interfere with the past like that?' As she thought about it, she considered that perhaps her time was assembled that way—the nude incident must have happened for a purpose, such as getting Yamamoto to know about the band that Reborn was trying to build, or more like going to build because knowing Reborn, the man had ways of accomplishing anything. 'And besides,' she added, 'it was me still, future or past, so technically no outside help was made.'

"You explained to me about the situation regarding to the disappearance of the original Vongola, and so former band-mates who were once recognized as Arcobaleno were gathered together to establish another band called Vongola Decimo in order to please the upset fans. Or something like that."

"So your answer?" Tsuna asked, leaning in with anticipation.

"Haha, as fun as it sounds, I have to refuse," he said, smiling apologetically. "Your future self tried to convince me, but there's no way that I can become part of your band. I'm a sportsman, not a musician. Anyway, since you didn't see my future self, who would know how much of an alternation on the future would happen if I did join? It's not worth risking."

"B-but what if whatever choices we make still doesn't waver the future because that was what developed tomorrow's tomorrow?" she insisted. "I-I mean, I don't think that there's ever the chance of the future to come to a change because, well, perhaps it was meant to be."

"Like how fate brought us together?"

Tsuna knew the innocence of those words since Yamamoto couldn't be referring to romance, but she couldn't help but blush. "Um, yeah."

"I see your point," he said, "but there's one problem: I don't play an instrument. The future you mentioned about a man named Reborn who perceived my abilities to be beneficial, but I don't see it. Like I said before, I'm a sportsman. These hands aren't meant for music-making." And then he added, with a hint of melancholy he failed to hide, "Besides, I have my life set up for me. I'm going to take over my dad's dojo."

The boy wasn't going to give in and join, that much was obvious. He made his answer crystal clear so she shouldn't push it—and he was kind enough to give her warm clothes and meal for crying out loud. He offered her future (nude) self something to cover herself with, which was quite gentlemanly. He expressed friendliness instead of hostility even though she snuck into his house with Lambo (very stalkerish) and he allowed her to clarify her reason. How nice could the guy get? Oh, and it would seem that her second recruitment went out as a failure.

'Reborn can find himself another guy, right?' At that moment she was doubtful.

It was nearing nine o'clock and Tsuna and Lambo had to go. As a parting gift he gave her leftovers (very, very tasty leftovers—the first class!), ignoring her refusals. He laughed good-naturedly and tousled her already disheveled hair. This…show of affability was foreign to her with the exception of her father, who also was fond of making her look as if she got up from bed.

It was as if they were friends already. Not the kind of friendship she and Gokudera had, if that can even be considered such as, but the kind of relationship she can easily get used to despite her social status. When the Italian transfer wanted to be her friend, she tried to make him see that she wasn't worth his time. With this boy, however, it was different.

If Yamamoto wanted to be her friend, then sure, why not?

Unless he disturbs her seclusion time, then no.

"See you at school, Tsuna," he said.

She blinked. "How did you know my name?" Then she smacked her forehead. "Never mind! E-everyone at school m-must've talked about me being, um, Dame-Tsuna, huh?"

He frowned. "Don't think of that. You are not useless." This caused her to have a fluttering feeling. "So far, what I can see is that you are quite a traveler—a time-traveler! And also a person who just needs a helping hand." He jabbed his thumb at his chest, grinning. "I'll take care of that spot for you."

The girl smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Yamamoto."

"Don't mention it. By the way, future you told me to call you Tsuna. Tsunayoshi is a mouthful to say, as you had told me."

Yamamoto had changed his mind and decided to walk her home, and his father wouldn't mind since he trusted his son in returning back in time.

'Yeah. I can get used to this.'

"But Reborn! He's busy as it is! He's occupied with kendo and baseball—I can't allow him to bother with the band. It would be rude too!"

But her tutor wouldn't have any of that. In fact, he was quite confident that Yamamoto Takeshi would join, and so he pressured Tsuna to continue pursuing the recruitment. Knowing that she'll loose no matter what—because Reborn's pride doesn't let him to loose—she let the argument go.

In actuality, she sucked at any argument, and therefore the career as a lawyer was a definite no. But that's not the case.

"Since you gave him the details, most likely he'll contemplate the idea," Reborn said. Tsuna didn't mention about Lambo having a weapon that sent her ten years ahead of time, but he wouldn't be interested anyway. No, he wouldn't care. "And you have to recruit another one."

"What?" she cried. "Two at a time?"

"I don't have time to waste," he said simply. "There is the admission, the competition, the nationals, and then you take on the world. World, as in, Italy, as in, Vongola Primo, as in, you better recruit them as soon as possible otherwise I'll sic the upset fans at you, Dame-Tsuna."

She gulped.

The corner of the man's lip curved upwards in amusement. "Your mission is Sasagawa Ryohei."