Chapter 15:

Natsu stared at Jellal as he was offered the Flame of Rebuke. Entering into Dragon Force was easy afterwards. Natsu glances at Zero as the other strike him down several times. He gasped with limited strength. He was not sure if he could defeat the man opposite him. But he must. Another ache went through his body, he knew that his time with him being in Dragon Force was not much longer. He closed his eyes and he knew that he must use his ultimate move – but he might be completely drained afterwards…

Don't think so much. Just do it!

When Natsu was about to use Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade, a lion cub jumped in front of him.

"Nuts?"

"Gao!" The cub responded and nodded to him with determined eyes.

Natsu looked over to Zero who was laughing – someone Natsu, for god be damned that it is the first time, did not know if he could defeat. Tsuna's lion cub jumped onto Natsu and perched on his shoulder. Unafraid that this cub would be burnt, Natsu gathered his strength.

Nuts responded by closing his eyes and started to feed Natsu with. . .

Tsuna's Phoenix flames.

The pure flames reinvigorated him and the influx of such flames threw him off-guard. He was impressed and he knew that he could defeat Zero.

With a roar, he threw out his ultimate move. Zero took the move head-on, thinking that he could handle it, not expecting the presence of the tiny cub would make any difference. Complacency would get him nowhere – and in this case…

Zero was flung backwards due to the force. He smashed into the Lacrima crystal behind him, and at the same time, Natsu heard the other crystals being destroyed. He sighed with relief and collapsed onto the hard ground – Nuts jumping off his shoulder at the same time.

Natsu gave the cub a small smile, too tired to grin broadly, and reached out a hand to offer a pat. The lion cub nodded and trudged over to the hand, leaning into the touch and purring. A sudden shake jolted Natsu to his feet and he saw the ground collapsing. Looking pointedly at Nuts and a flying Happy, they left the cursed platform. Nuts hopped onto Natsu promptly, and Happy scooped the duo up, glad that Nuts weighed almost nothing.

When they landed safely on the ground, Natsu was glad that everyone else was there. Natsu's eyes narrowed when he saw Jellal. Sensing the difference in Natsu's emotions, Nuts growled. Teeth barring, Happy looked slightly uncomfortable.

Erza stood in front of the confused Jellal, scarlet hair raving in the cold air, "He lost his memories!"

Natsu nodded. Even though Jellal had saved him and had given him the Flame of Rebuke, he could not help but remember what Jellal had did to Erza. However… he glanced at the scarlet mage… she seemed genuinely trusting of Jellal.

When the whole fiasco ended, Lahar, Council's 4th Custody Enforcement Unit, had taken the members from Oracion Seis and Jellal. Despite saying that she was not worried, Natsu could smell the worry coming off Erza. Himself and Lucy kept casting worried glances towards her. The scarlet mage left to sit alone at the side and Natsu turned his back on her – hearing her sobs as she cries over Jellal's arrest.

Nuts yawned and stretched. Strutting over and hopped onto Natsu happily, the little cub was about the fall asleep. However, when the sun shone a scarlet red, the cub perked up and let out a loud 'Gao!'. Nuts jumped off Natsu's shoulder – Natsu was bemused, tilting his head and observing the cub (he was too tired to chase after him).

Nuts tailed wagged like a dog as someone in the distance – he was dark because of the rising sun – picked up the familiar. Natsu perked his nose and sniffed the air. He grinned.

"Tsuna!"

Slowly, Tsuna came into vision – his messy locks falling over his face. A slight smile graced his beautiful face. He was wearing a cloak, like how he usually does when he went out for jobs. He was cradling the little cub who nestled comfortably in his akimbo arms. Noticing that Erza was crying – now she had stopped a little, he gave her a sympathetic look before looking over at the rest of them.

"You are…?"

Natsu and Tsuna both looked over to the voice – Tsuna looked exhausted and Natsu wondered why – but there was still grace in his every movement. Tsuna bowed, bringing the cat closer to himself, earning a soft growl, "I am Nuts's owner, and a member of Fairy Tail." Tsuna smiled as he acknowledged them all with their names. Weirdly enough, Tsuna stopped at Wendy and gave her a melancholic smile.

"You're Wendy," he stated.

Carla bludgeoned her way in front of Wendy, opening her arms in protection, "Yes she is, and I am Carla!"

The brunette looked slightly shocked – if the minute widened eyes were any indication – and he chuckled. Natsu noted that the sound of his chuckle was stress-relieving and so heartwarming.

"Yes, you are, Carla." Tsuna knelt to one knee and raised a hand out to Wendy. When Wendy took the outstretched hand in her own, Tsuna smiled and pecked lightly on the Dragon Slayer's hand. Natsu had raised an eyebrow – so did the rest – but Wendy had a red blush decorating her cheeks. Carla… looked furious.

"Hey!" Carla scolded, smacking away Tsuna's hand, earning a low hiss from the lion cub that Natsu had forgotten was there.

Wendy covered her face in her hands, hiding the blush, though everyone had seen it. Tsuna gave a soft laugh before nodding to the rest. With that, the members from the other two guilds left Fairy Tail and Wendy, from Cait Shelter. Natsu watched Christina flew away albeit wobbling but working nonetheless. Since they were near Cait Shelter, Wendy suggested for them to visit.

Carla, Wendy, Erza, and Lucy walked in front of Tsuna and Natsu. Somehow, Tsuna was really quiet. He was brooding; his brows were together. Tsuna walked slower than usual – Nuts was irritated. The little cub's tail swung from side to side slowly. Tsuna did not take notice of that. Instead, he seemed to be very focused on Wendy.

As if noticing that someone was staring at her partner, Carla shot Tsuna a glare who returned with a sheepish smile. Natsu noticed that the brooding look returned immediately when Carla turned away.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked quietly.

The only reply he got was a deep sigh and a shake of the head.

Natsu wanted to probe further but he realized that the scent had changed. They have reached Cait Shelter. Welcoming them were the guild members which Wendy and Carla happily mingled into. Tsuna refused to mingle with any of the villagers, earning glares from Carla. Natsu was offered a new set of clothes but he remained quiet – changing into his new piece in silence.

Something was wrong. Something smelt wrong.

Natsu looked over at Tsuna and the brunette shook his head, as if him to inform to not say anything. He looked sad and Natsu was unconsciously biting on his own lips.

"Thank you for saving our Guild. And thank you for taking care of Wendy and Carla."

The tiny man introduced himself as Roubaul and as the Master of Cait Shelter. The man's look lingered a second longer on Tsuna and the brunette had given a sympathetic smile in return. The man returned his gaze to the rest and Natsu could not help but thought that Roubaul had looked upset.

From behind Natsu, Happy shouted, "Let's party! Let's celebrate!" To which the others concurred.

Natsu glanced over to Roubaul who did not seem to want to participate, then over to Tsuna who looked equally perturbed. Natsu traced his fingers along Tsuna's shoulders and the latter shuddered at the touch, returning a questioning gaze. Natsu simply masked his face – he was worried for the man who had seemed to be so out of sorts since he arrived. Not to mention, Tsuna had not yet told them the reason he was here.

Tsuna gave a deep sigh and was about to turn away, Natsu following him, when they heard Roubaul call out.

"Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna froze. Natsu looked up the S-Class mage and the other man had nothing but sheer panic on his face. Natsu's eyes widened – the last time he saw Tsuna in such distress was when Lisanna…

Tsuna whipped around and looked at Roubaul expectedly, albeit slightly afraid. The other man shook his head and looked down.

Natsu was suddenly very aware that everyone else had stopped what they were doing and looking right at the two – Roubaul looking down and Tsuna looking at the former.

"What's wrong?" Happy drifted over. In response, Natsu hissed for him to stay quiet – now looking ever focused and awake.

"Tsuna…yoshi," Roubaul repeated, the name unfamiliar on his tongue.

Tsuna's eyes narrowed and Natsu knew why: Tsuna had always been known as Tsuna. No one knew what his full name was. Natsu had always assumed that Tsuna was an orphan and had no inkling who his parents were. . . but he guessed not. (Or perhaps it was because Roubaul had looked so certain at the name and so uncertain the next second.)

"Roubaul." Tsuna (or was is it Tsunayoshi) said.

Roubaul looked at Tsuna for another second before looking over to Wendy with a small smile that did not quite reach his eyes. The next thing he spoke of was. . .

How they were not the descendants of Nirvit but the Nirvit tribe themselves.

A gnawing feeling started to manifest when Roubaul got to Wendy's story. Natsu was instantly reminded of Igneel… and the ancestor of Tsuna. Stealing a glance to the man beside him, Tsuna looked troubled – his brows furrowing ever so slightly and his fists clenching a little.

"Now that Nirvana is destroyed. . ." Raobaul continued, "I no longer have to stay here…"

"No! Master!"

Raobaul's tears were almost over-flowing as he regarded Wendy with an outstretched hand, "you have real friends now. You no longer need us."

"No!" This time Carla screamed. The two of them were frozen on the spot – as if afraid to touch their Master who was shimmering (or disappearing).

Raobaul smiled and gazed over to Tsuna, beckoning him over. Tsuna walked over and crouched down, to be of level of Raobaul. Even with Natsu's great hearing, he heard nothing but he saw the effect that the words had on Tsuna.

His eyes had widened a fraction and his familiar had growled, barring its fangs at the Cait Shelter Master. Tears had welled up his Tsuna's eyes as he trembled in . . . Natsu did not know. Tsuna took a deep breath and bit his lips, his eyes were still panic-striken but he took the man into a hug.

"Thank you…"

Raobaul closed his eyes in satisfaction and the next thing they knew… Raobaul disappeared. A loud scream from behind Natsu told him that Wendy and Carla has fallen to their knees in grief.

"Master!"

They all stared at the two of them, afraid to disrupt them grieving. Erza made a move to kneel behind Wendy when Tsuna stood up promptly. The warm man regarded Wendy with red eyes, having had just teared up himself. Tsuna knelt and beckoned Erza to do the same. Seeing that Tsuna was going to comfort them, Erza shook her head slowly, backing away from the trio, giving them the space they needed.

With his hands outstretched, Tsuna took both of them into his warm embrace, letting Wendy settle into the crook of his neck and Carla into his chest.

"We all lose people," Natsu noted the slight difference in the voice and tone, "and it's really difficult."

The two were still sobbing hard while the rest watched on.

"Raobaul… he…" Tsuna's voice broke a little, "they went to a better place. Raobaul can finally rest. You should be happy for him."

With a choked sob, Carla snapped, "how do you know how we feel!"

Natsu stared at Tsuna – wanting to know how he would respond. There were so many questions he had for Tsuna – he was someone that Natsu could not really understand and discover.

"I… lost people close to me," Tsuna bit out, "I have had my life torn away – twice now," Tsuna gave a strangled laugh, "but I understand that some things are better this way."

"Master… is gone…" Wendy sobbed.

"He is," Tsuna nodded, "and so is the rest of the guild. But that does not mean we despair."

Carla's loud sob cut off Tsuna. The brunette pat the cat on the head softly, "we can bear the sadness with you." However, when Tsuna said that, he looked right at Erza who choked back a sob. Giving her a small smile, Tsuna blinked in comfort to which Erza bit her own lips to prevent from crying.

"Do you want to join Fairy Tail?"

Wendy looked up; her face dirty with tear streaks. He cupped her face (and Natsu felt his heart beating fast) and with his thumb, he stroked away a tear that was falling down her cheek. The girl looked uncertain. She looked at Erza, Lucy, and Gray who all flashed her a reassuring smile. When she looked over at Natsu, Natsu felt that he needed to do something different.

Natsu flashed his Fairy Tail mark. Happy floated behind him and he gave them (or more of Carla – Natsu rolled his eyes) a thumbs up.

Wendy smiled and Tsuna jostled the blue-haired girl's hair. Wendy chuckled and Carla shouted at Tsuna for messing up Wendy's hair. Although, Natsu could see some relief and fondness in Carla's eyes. As Tsuna pushed Wendy and Carla towards the two ladies, Natsu saw some sadness lingering in his eyes.

As if he caught him staring, Tsuna looked over and blinked. Natsu put on an emotion-less face and the two of them exchanged glances. Tsuna shook his head slowly as if telling Natsu to not ask further… which was what Natsu would not do. He wanted to know more about Tsuna. He wanted Tsuna be more open.

That was why Natsu made the move to grab Tsuna's wrist. The hard grip and sudden movement made Tsuna stop in shock. Tsuna tilted his head worriedly at Natsu, where Natsu was sure his face painted nothing but worry.

"What's wrong, Tsuna?"

Tsuna pursed his lips and looked at him for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh, "let's get home first, shall we?"

Natsu narrowed his eyes, "promise."

Tsuna nodded as he held out his pinky, "promise."

Tsuna collapsed into his bed, burrowing his face into the pillows. The few of them had returned to Magnolia a few hours ago. Master had all but refused their reports till the next day. However, the Guild had welcomed Wendy and Carla with open arms. Being a Sky Dragon Slayer helped. Tsuna had made sure to stay in the shadows as he observed Gajeel's face morphed into envy and irritation. With a longer look, he realized that Gajeel was jealous that he had no cat despite being a Dragon Slayer. That had made him chuckle.

With a groan, he pulled himself closer into the sheets. The smell of fresh laundry wafted into his nose but his mind was preoccupied with what he should or could say to Natsu. A small wrinkle of the sheets told Tsuna that Na-tsu had settled himself under them and Tsuna was perplexed as to the reason the little cub wanted to be out of the box.

He sighed deeply, straightening up as he heard his stomach protest in hunger. He had to find something to eat. Tsuna made a face when he remembered that the shops were probably closed by now and he had to either cook for himself or starve. He hated cooking for himself – simply because cooking for many was much easier than cooking for one.

"Reborn would be so proud of you, Tsunayoshi-kun." Tsuna stopped as Roubaul's words flashed through his mind.

Settling on the sofa he had procured in his living room, Tsuna took out the phone he constantly kept alive. They were no new messages or missed calls. After the one message he received in the middle of his job, he had rushed right over to where Team Natsu was. The message had come from an unknown number and only asked him to 'Seek Nirvana'. He thumbed the 'call' screen and saw the short 1-minute call Gajeel had with Reborn. He did not blame Gajeel for not waking him out – to be honest, he vaguely remembered Gajeel had wanted to wake him up. Perhaps Reborn did not wish for it.

"Your Famiglia has never stopped trying." Tsuna blinked his eyes and let it remain closed when he sunk deeper into the sofa. What does Roubaul mean? Why and how did he even know? The man knew thought projection magic but. . .

That should not mean he knew of his origin – let alone about Reborn or his Famiglia.

He sighed again, realizing that Na-tsu had climbed onto his lap due to the extra weight. Now that Roubaul was gone, he had no way to ask more questions. Honestly, he was not even in the right mind to ask questions when Roubaul had told him all those. All he felt was relief because he was so fucking afraid that his Famiglia would forget about him. He chuckled to himself – what was he thinking? Reborn would never allow him to disappear like this. . .nor would his guardians. They would be working his inventors and scientists to the bone just to get him back. Tsuna shook his head and hoped that his people would not die from exhaustion before they found a way to get him back.

. . .

Tsuna blinked his eyes open and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Na-tsu felt the rustle in the sheets before started to knead on the sheets. A fond smile flashed on Tsuna's face before he stretched out his limbs. A quick glance at the clock informed the time: 9:32 AM. Getting out of bed, Tsuna knew that he should stop by the Guild before carrying on with his job – after all, he had rushed off from the middle of infiltrating Tartarus. Though, he was lucky – Tsuna gave a soft sigh of happiness when the coffee beans wafted into his nose – that he had yet to enter the Dark Guild. He was just spying around to locate the different requirements and he had needed more preparations before he could even think of infiltrating Tartarus.

"Gao!" Na-tsu jumped onto Tsuna's lap, fervently licking his hands that were wrapped around the warm cup of coffee.

Tsuna cocked his head and nodded, knowing that he was nearing Magnolia. Granted, Tsuna had never seen him before in real life but Master had made sure that he talked to the strongest mage in Fairy Tail. Tsuna chuckled at the memory.

"Yo!"

"Hello. I'm Tsuna."

"I'm Gildarts!"

"Master made me call you. I heard you are on a 100-year mission. How are you?"

"Great… Well, I'm not supposed to talk about it but it's… well… alright?"

"Are you close to succeeding?"

"Hmm… no answers there."

"Haha! Alright! This is just a social call, to be frank."

"Right, I assumed as much."

"Goodbye!"

"You're pretty cute, you know, Tsuna. I'll probably dig you if I didn't know I am straight."

The Lacrima connection ended right that with Tsuna blushing and Master cackling in laughter. Tsuna had shot Master a glare then, muttering about his high sexual appeal for both genders.

Tsuna rubbed his forehead. The clock moved and Tsuna became aware that it was time for him to pop by the Guild. Internally debating whether he should leave for his job from the Guild or if he should make a trip back, his fingers found the phone tucked in his coat pocket. He sighed and decided to go with the latter choice – something he hoped to not regret.

Na-tsu jumped onto Tsuna's shoulder and perched on it happily, licking the crevice of Tsuna's neck. Tsuna then promptly made his way to the Guild, hoping to be not caught within the changes Magnolia would have when Gildarts arrived.

The Guild was quiet when he arrived. Cana was uncharacteristically not drunk. The rest of the Guild were quiet too. The lion cub jumped off his shoulder, much to the shock of his owner, and had leaped towards Natsu and Happy, who sat at the bar table. Waving at Tsuna, they beckoned him over to which Tsuna complied.

"Gildarts is back!"

With that announcement the Guild turned into a whirlwind of motions and chatter, with the only exception of Cana, who was looking at the door expectantly. Tsuna raised his eyebrows at that but preferred to remain mum. On the other hand, Natsu and Happy were cheering while the newer Guild members were looking absolutely confused.

"Gildarts!" Natsu and Happy shouted as the older man entered the Guild Hall.

The man was not clean shaven and sprouted an awkward limp. Tsuna had raised his eyebrows at that but decidedly only glanced at Master. The Dragon Slayer had run over with his familiar, and hugged the older man, who had shrugged out of their hold.

"Master," Gildarts spoke. He brought a hand and raked through his own unkempt hair before laughing, "I did not complete the job."

A hushed silence blanketed the hall immediately but was easily broken by Natsu's incessant shouting to have Gildarts fight him.

"Shush," Tsuna glared at Natsu, who closed his mouth. Looking confused and annoyed that he was ordered to be silent, he had huffed and settled in one of the seats behind Tsuna with Happy trying to console his partner.

Tsuna's eyes traveled down Gildarts' body, taking note of all the different mechanical parts. He looked at Gildarts quizzically but commented on nothing when the other had so slightly shaken his head.

With a sigh, Tsuna pushed himself off the seat and gave the other man pat on the shoulder, in which the other man returned a wry smile.

Something buzzed in Tsuna's pocket and he widened his eyes. He blinked hard, hoping that it was not static… from he had no idea what.

Gildarts heard the vibration and his eyes snapped to the pocket that contained the phone – of course, not knowing that it was a phone.

Na-tsu had yelped, appearing out of nowhere – possibly from off Mirajane's cradle – and mewled at the buzzing phone. Master stared at Tsuna strangely and Tsuna. . .

He was shaking. His arms were shaking. But he knew he had to pick up the phone quick.

Throwing his hand into the pocket, he took out the rectangular phone. Oh so foreign right now. His eyes softened at the caller id and he bit his own lips before bringing the phone to ears…

"Hello."

Constructive criticisms welcomed.

Double upload because I felt like I owe you guys for this! Hope you enjoyed these and it will end in 2-3 chapters!