We're still continuing with the flashbacks on Tsuna's past. As for those asking about Nana, I haven't gotten to that part :P

Beta'ed by WhiteAngel128

Edited : 10/18/15

Chapter 26

"I see," The other Tsuna turned his attention back to the child before him and offered a smile. "Well, hello there. My name is Tsunayoshi. I'm from a different world."

Those words made the child's eyes widen in shock and he released a small squeak from the back of his throat as he stumbled forward. He wanted to get a better view and the room was too dark to see completely due to the lack of light. Hecate, who was nearby, remained in her spot but suddenly waved her hand upon seeing the child's distress, allowing some lights to magically turn on. Tsuna blinked at the sudden change, shading his eyes momentarily to allow them to adjust, but ignored the sharp pain as he stepped closer, bringing his hand up to touch the adult Tsuna's own that was on the other side of the mirror. He could feel some warmth exchanging from where their palms touched, but that was it. His limb didn't go through the mirror nor did the older Tsuna's. It was like there was a glass wall between them and the younger Tsuna, being curious, peeked around the back of the mirror. Nothing, there was nothing.

Still, the words made the child scrunch his eyebrows in confusion, tilting his head just slightly to the right. All his hair shifted at the balance change. "Y-You're me? But you're much older…"

The other Tsuna just laughed in amusement. "Yes, because I'm from a different world. The mechanics don't work the same as they do over here, but if you'd like to know, I'm much, much older than I look."

"How old?"

"Very," The older Tsuna just chuckled, watching as the other pouted in displeasure. "And call me Tsunayoshi, Tsuna is your name. It'll make things easier to identify so that there's no confusion."

Their hands didn't break apart, still holding together against the glass, and there was a short silence as the two stared at each other. Eventually, the younger Tsuna slumped, letting his eyes shift side to side. "Can you… appear over here?"

At those words, the one in the mirror revealed a small twitch of emotion, his eyes widening before sinking back into place. "Can't. I'm afraid I can't do that. Not in your world's present state," However, when the younger Tsuna's eyes began to tear up, the other continued. "But I can keep you company through your reflections! That way I can't ever leave you alone and so you won't either. I have plenty of time. It's not as if I have anything better to do." The last sets of words were muttered under his breath, enough so that the child didn't hear. "It's not as if time really affects us demons anyway."

At those magical words, little Tsuna brightened up, a large smile appearing on his face. "Really? You won't leave me alone?!"

This made the demonic Tsunayoshi blink curiously and slowly nod his head to confirm.

"Pinky promise?"

"Yeah, pinky promise. We'll just do an imaginary one for obvious reasons."

Days passed and soon turned into weeks and never once did Tsunayoshi leave him alone. If he did, it was never long, always coming back within thirty minutes. Tsuna felt himself feeling content again, almost forgetting about his real family that had abandoned him. It was like those days were gone within his mind, sinking down to be sealed away into the back. During that time, Hecate helped from the request of Tsunayoshi to teach the child how to cook for himself lest he starved. Tsuna struggled due to his tiny size, but made do with microwaveable foods and easy-to-make containers. It was all he could handle for the time being. The woman never stayed long, appearing out of nowhere for a few moments before disappearing once more into the darkness. Though, Tsuna did find out, to his utter astonishment, that the woman actually had feet underneath those dark robes.

There was someone else that Tsuna would see now and then, but it was merely a glance. The man came mostly during the night, appearing as a shadowy figure before disappearing once more, and since it always happened so late, Tsuna was normally asleep during those times. It made him curious, but he was only a child, his body couldn't keep awake that long into the night, but it was this figure that kept the place fully stocked with food. Tsunayoshi would just chuckle in amusement, speaking freely to Tsuna. There were times when Tsuna needed to head outside and though there was the fear of something happening, the older brunet would follow in the reflections. It was like a weight had been lifter off the child's mind and before long, he became confident enough to enjoy being out in the sun compared to the tiny, cramped apartment. Weeks passed by comfortably and Tsuna fell into a rhythm he was growing comfortable with. Though he didn't go to school, Tsunayoshi made sure he kept up with his lessons, teaching him what humans needed to know. The only thing the demon couldn't teach was history.

Soon, child Tsuna began to spill out the entire truth about his family, leaving out not even a single detail over what had transpired between him and his family. He cried the entire time, feeling the tears fall down his face continuously and peered towards his reflection with hope. Tsunayoshi offered comforting words, trying to help despite the issue between them. Minutes later, the crying began to slow down, the child curling up next to the mirror where he could feel the light warmth coming from the other side.

It was clear to the younger brunet that he had seen the desperation of the other wanting to come over and hold him, but it wasn't possible. The demon could only offer words of comfort but it wasn't enough. Tsuna wanted the other to physically come over to his side. He wanted Tsunayoshi beside him. Those thoughts began to grow stronger and stronger as he aged and before long, it finally came to the end with him wanting to be held in the arms of the one person who truly understood him, the one person who truly cared and loved him for who he was.

If only he knew those thoughts would cause his downfall into darkness.

"Hey, Tsunayoshi?" Tsuna asked one day, almost eight now, and his hair had grown out slightly. Its spikiness was beginning to really reveal itself, mimicking the demon's looks. His eyes were still overly large, but over time a swirl of darkness began to appear within the honey color. It was ignored, never touched upon. The brunet had learned how to cook, almost becoming an expert in the short time he had been living alone. He didn't understand how the world worked, much less, how he was able to stay in such a place, but he'd never bothered to question. He was comfortable with how things were, never interacting with people outside for more than needed. Everything he needed was right before him after all.

His reflection stared back, settled down on the ground with his legs crossed, and waved his tail from behind as if saying he had heard. His wings stretched behind before curling around his body as comfort. Tsunayoshi had clearly begun to notice it - the madness that was beginning to form within that tiny body, but he did nothing to stop it. The demon didn't want to.

"I want to meet you in person," The child reached forward to touch his reflection, eyes filled with desperation. "H-How would I be able to accomplish that?"

At first, Tsunayoshi's normally smiling face fell, his eyes widening, and eventually shook his head. "I'm afraid that… isn't possible. The Tri-Ni-Set here places a barrier against demons, that's why there aren't very many wandering about, though we can still influence people. Hecate isn't a demon but an immortal being, a witch, so she's able to get past. I, however, cannot. It's tricky working since Hecate can still be considered a demon though not technically speaking."

"And how would one break this barrier? To let you through. I want you over here in this world. I don't want to go to your side, not yet."

The reflection paused, his eyes searching within those desperate honey-colored ones. "Well…" He hesitated, reminding himself that the person before him was just a normal human child, and a child wouldn't have the power to do such things. There was also the thought of tainting such a kindhearted self…

"You would need to conduct a ritual, a very dangerous ritual," A female voice spoke up, Hecate materializing herself from the darkness behind the child. Two pair of eyes snapped towards her location, one in surprise while the other held wonder. Her body swayed as she walked, stepping closer to the child with a frown. "It's a ritual that requires sacrifices, lots of them, about one million humans. Along with those sacrifices, you need to destroy the holders that maintain the Tri-Ni-Set and steal the items that go with them." Tsuna didn't flinch at those words and continued to stare, listening to everything carefully. At that, Hecate went on with the details, "You'll need the blood of the current Vongola Ring holders, the flesh of the current Mare Ring holders, and the beating hearts of the Arcobaleno. I have no doubt that there's an extremely high chance you'll be fighting against your blood relatives. Is that alright with you?"

Not even showing an ounce of hesitation, Tsuna nodded immediately, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

"Fine, I see your resolve. Even if we were to tell you otherwise, you'd figure it out on your own sooner or later. Continuing on from before, it's only when you gather all those pieces that you'll be able to break the barrier. In turn, with this, you'll pull this world into Hell and let it be consumed by the demons - it's like merging Hell and this mortal realm together as one. Through this ritual you will likely destroy this world completely." She shuffled closer and kneeled down in front of the child. It was almost as if she were acting like a mother, carefully selecting her words so the other would understand, and yet at the same time it wasn't. Tsunayoshi in the background almost snorted in amusement at the actions, but resisted due to the seriousness of the situation. "However, the you now doesn't have the power to perform such an act. You wouldn't even be able to touch the Arcobaleno."

Tsuna stared at the Hecate, then at Tsunayoshi as if deciding something, before nodding to himself. He clenched his fingers deep into the palm of his hands, biting down on his bottom lip, and finally answered, "Tell me how to get this power. I will meet Tsunayoshi in person, in this world, no matter what," He snarled, slamming his fist against the floor. The two adults in the room just stared, glancing at each other momentarily, before returning their gazes to the brunet. The child whispered soon after, "No matter what."

And learn he did. Hecate, a witch, trained him in her magic, from the smallest things to spells that were beyond his capability. He quickly learned that her name, her title, 'The Queen of Witches', was not to be taken lightly. She excelled in everything she taught, making everything look so simple, almost like it was as easy as breathing. Hecate, one of the Demonic rulers of Hell, made sure that everything Tsuna learned would be useful in taking care of his mission, leaving nothing out. Of course, the brunet quickly found out that Hecate had a slight weakness towards children and women, despising men deeply as if they were the vilest things in the world. It was funny to watch her react. Tsunayoshi, on the other hand, taught him some of his own magic through the mirror, handing items to Hecate to transfer over to share.

He learned all he could from the two, well the magic that was within his physical range, and quickly began to target the humans outside his room as experiments and practice. It didn't matter what spell he used, he wanted to become the best to fulfill his wish. It was all that mattered to him now.

He killed many people. How he did it mattered little to him – be it burning the victims alive, suffocation, electrocution, drowning… Each and every spell was used in one way or another, nothing was missed. Before long, torture mixed into his practice, he used various methods from twisting a person limbs to ripping them apart. He combined his new found torture practices with his spells to make a destructive combo. Tsuna even went to the point of kidnapping with the help of Hecate and tormenting his victims for hours before finally putting them out of their misery. It was all so easy.

Tsunayoshi didn't mind, giving tips from the sidelines as if nothing was wrong, and it wasn't long before Tsuna gained a name for himself within his world. Of course, no one knew who he was, only that he was torturing people both from the underworld (not Hell) and the innocents. All they could do was cower and hope they weren't the next victim. The media kept concocting rumors and the internet eventually created a name to identify Tsuna. They called him 'Sinister'. It was, after all, easier for the media to recognize their killer if they had something to call them. Still, it didn't matter if Tsuna's actions were gaining publicity, the humans were good practice targets and those he murdered went towards the one million sacrifices he required.

Before long, he reached the limits of his human body, unable to learn any more powerful magic than he already had. His physical form could only handle so much stress from a single spell, much less multiple ones. However, that was fine. Hecate and Tsunayoshi had both stated that he had more than enough to fulfill his wishes with little to no trouble at all. Three years since the start of his training - now eleven - he set out of his tiny apartment to gather the required material for the beginning of his ritual. He would succeed, he would make sure of that.

He had started with the smaller mafia famiglias through the advice of Tsunayoshi and quickly made his way up, slaughtering them whenever he felt the need. This was all done within seconds. It was easy, so very simple, to destroy humans' fragile lives. It was almost effortless, the way their bodies splattered across the ground. He loved to watch them scream in misery as they felt their very life slipping away.

Still, it wasn't enough. There wasn't enough bloodshed and he had only managed to get a fourth of the way through the next three years – now making him fourteen. He needed do to something faster, something that would create mass causalities, and quickly.

That was when he came across the Mare Sky Ring holder during one of his killing sprees on an ally of theirs.

"Oya? Who is this?" Byakuran looked over the now fourteen-year-old with a creepy smile, but he knew the other was unaffected by it. Tsuna's face twisted slightly as he peered down at the sky Mare ring, his mind already running through the possibilities. He could get one of his needed items for the ritual, right here, right now. However, the albino just stood there with a creepy grin, not bothered by the corpses surrounding them or the blood that was raining down from the ceiling. The brunet found himself freezing in curiosity, knowing he could feel Tsunayoshi's presence close by, watching through one of the metal reflections from various weapons. Neither of the two humans spoke, simply staring at each other curiously. Then Byakuran spoke with that mocking tone, "I don't know what you're planning, but… would you like some help?"

That made Tsuna pause. "Huh? Help?" He blinked questionably and then tilted his head, letting his caramel-colored locks slide across his face.

"As you probably already know, I'm the boss of the Millefiore famiglia, a quickly growing group in the underworld. As for you, you seem to be killing people for something, or is it for fun? It doesn't matter to me," The albino treaded closer, stepping over the bodies, and ignored the yelling that was occurring in the background. He didn't care - his focus was only on the brunet before him. "So, would you like some help? In exchange, tell me what you're planning. It sounds so interesting compared to just working in those boring rooms."

Tsuna continued to stare at the other questionably, no trust within those honey-colored eyes. He took a step back, gaining some distance between them just in case. He would take no chances in the possibility of having his wish destroyed. "Why should I?"

As those words slipped by, Byakuran smirked, stepping closer once more as a sinister expression began to grow. Both purple eyes were open wide, peering up at the ceiling with a small bout of laughter. "Because I've grown bored of this world, Vongola Decimo here isn't as interesting here as he is in the other worlds. You, Sawada Tsunayoshi, was supposed to become Decimo, but that idiotic brother of yours did instead. He's so boring, it's so easy to tell what he's thinking, and I don't even need to use the powers of the Mare ring to know. If you can make it more interesting, I'll help you however you want."

Tsuna narrowed his eyes at the proclamation, thinking about the pros and cons, before smiling in return. Perhaps he could use the older teen before him and if there were any signs of something going wrong, he would take care of it. This would just be another step forward towards his plan. And so he spoke of his plot and as he did so, he could see Byakuran's smile growing wider and wider with each passing second. Before long, the white-haired teen was laughing loudly, a laugh filled with madness and insanity. The men that were behind him were staring, unable to hear the conversation, and shivered at their boss's laughter.

"This is brilliant, absolutely brilliant! I love it, Tsunayoshi, no Tsuna!" The Mare ring holder eventually calmed down and leaned forward towards the teenager with his arms against his waist. "And I know exactly how to help you. Let's start a war, a war between Vongola and Millefiore. It'll be a war that will include hundreds of other mafia famiglias in between, a war that will engulf this wretched planet. That will give you more than enough lives for your ritual! One million corpses will be nothing! We can double that! Triple that! And with Vongola involved, you will be able to get the rings from their side, and the Arcobaleno will be dragged in-between our play of destruction in their effort to keep the balance. Those babies will have no choice but to be involved," Byakuran spun around, kicking a body to the side, and turned back with a grin, holding out his hand. "I want to see the destruction you can create! Come! Let us work together for your goals, Tsuna. You can take my flesh and my ring if you like, but keep me alive to the end to see this world disintegrate! I want to watch it burn alive before my very eyes!"

The brunet stared, not believing his ears. He had somehow gotten someone to join his reign of madness, someone to back him up. The scheme, it was perfect, a war that will be endless in nature. Tsuna laughed, reaching forward to grasp the outstretched hand, sealing the agreement. "That shouldn't be a problem at all."

And there's Byakuran and his little involvement. Now you know some more about Tsuna. Review please :)