Disclaimer: Reborn does not belong to me~ Cover Picture doesn't either.

Author's note: Oh gosh. Sorry for the delay and the shortness! Writing is a lot harder then I thought. I'm also pretty busy right now, but I hope you guys like this! I just wanted to post it now, and as always-please tell me if I have any mistakes! I haven't checked the latest additions so sorry if I have mistakes! Q A Q

And thank you for the favourites, reviews and follows! I didn't expect many and it was quite a pleasant surprise. I appreciate it a lot! And um-I live on reviews! And food.

Chapter 1

It was warm, and almost familiar. He had the odd feeling that he been here before, but he couldn't remember when- and his throbbing head did not help at all. It was dark and there seemed to be absolutely nothing in this space. Where was he?

As he floated listlessly about, the brunet wondered where did he encounter such a place before.

The truth hit him suddenly like a bag full of bricks.

He had been here before, whenever Reborn had shot him with the dying will bullets- he would be here for a few moments before flashing back to life.

He was dead.

And as sudden as everything went black, it flashed white- practically blinding the poor brunet as he tumbled onto the white space. Tsuna groaned, wondering what exactly happened as he covered his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden change. He had been dying, or rather- he was supposed to be dead.

Flashes of what happened filled his head, the smell of blood, the wet tears of Kyoko and Haru- their crying faces and his unmoving body. He tentatively touched his face, only to find it dry.

Tsuna glanced around, there was only white, blank space, complete nothingness. There was no Haru, no Kyoko, and no Hayato. So he was dead...he had left them after all. In a combination of a wince and a squint, he managed to see an upside down blurry figure of someone rather familiar. And as soon as the bitter feeling rose, it was washed away with shock.

Eyes widening, the brunet quickly rolled over and sat up as fast as he could. He faintly noticed that his bloody wound was no longer there- as if it had vanished. His suit was in perfect condition actually.

"Decimo." The other man greeted, a smile upon his face. "Or is it Neo Primo now?"

The brunet gulped, staring into flaming orange eyes. "Vongola Primo…"

Giotto smiled, happy to see his descendant after so long though he knew he really shouldn't. Especially with the reason for his visit. The sky flames danced on his forehead, blazing with it's usual bright resolution.

While Giotto was busy burning the young man's image in him, Tsuna was in a turmoil, confusion and questions bursting into his head. Was this Heaven or Hell? If this was Heaven, then it was super boring. And if it was Hell..then it was highly overrated. He eyed the space warily, nope- no bursting column of flames. His attention was back to Giotto though, as the blond gave a little cough.

"Am I dead?" he blurted out, and he himself was surprised by his lack of tact. He frowned, perhaps Hibari was rubbing off of him with his blunt sentences. Or it was the fact that his spartan tutor just loved to shoot him when he stuttered and was beating around the bush. Probably the latter.

The blond seemed to grimace before looking away sheepishly. "About that Decimo.."

The first thought that the brunet had was that he was screwed. Warning bells just seemed to ring in his head. Not only was a dead person talking to him again (okay, this would make sense if he was dead) the dead person who he respected and admired was grimacing and looking guilty. It was quite a sight to see actually.

"Something happened."

...That definitely meant bad news. Nothing was ever good when those words came up, it was just as bad as 'We need to talk' and 'I'll bite you to death'. There seemed to be a long moment of silence as Giotto continued to wring his hands guiltily. "Your resolution...was very strong." he started hesitantly.

Tsuna blinked, brows scrunching. His resolution? His mind was quite hazy at the moment, probably because of that blinding white light. He thought back to the point when he was dying, Kyoko and Haru were crying and he had seen Hayato running...His hands tightened into fists at the memory. The forgotten raging feelings seemed to be gathering in his chest again. He had died, promising he would fix everything and work harder if he had another chance. And he knew he would put his dying will into it if he did.

"You're being put into into another world." Primo blurted hastily. Brown eyes stared at him in shock, mouth opening and closing again. Giotto faintly thought that Tsuna currently resembled a fish.

"I….what?" he questioned, mouth suddenly dry.

"You'll be in a parallel world. Though this one is rather behind." he explained. "The you in this world right now is almost 5."

Tsuna was still frozen.

"You're going to merge with him." he continued quickly.

Wait. What? He opened his mouth to say something. Anything. To complain, to whine and to question why couldn't he just die like a normal person for once. Even his death was weird. Who dies but don't actually die? But all that comes out is a simple. "Oh he-."

The last thing he saw was an apologetic looking Giotto before everything blacked out.

Again.

As Tsunayoshi disappeared, another form flickered into the space.

"How was it?" a familiar voice asked, approaching the standing blond.

Giotto sighed, wringing his hands. "Very stressful." he answered, not even looking back. He knew who was there, and how could he not? He was one of best friends after all, one he considered family.

"...You didn't tell him did you?"

Giotto inwardly winced, he had hit the head on the nail as always. Turning around, he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry G."

G rolled his eyes at Primo's antics. "You should have."

Giotto let out a somewhat pathetic whimper. "But G! How could I tell him that I was the one who placed him into the parallel world? He would hate me!"

The Storm guardian snorted, "You should have thought more about it before actually doing it."

"But..he seemed so resolved and I just couldn't help it." he admitted guiltily. "And how would I know that this world was crazier the the last?! Would you have told Decimo about it?"

"..."

"..Fair point."

"Exactly." The blond stated, smug.

"Still your fault."

"..."

The blond simply gave him a petulant pout, signifying his defeat and the end of the conversation.

The figures flickered before fading slowly, and as Giotto began to disappear, he glanced at where Tsuna was before. Eyes filled with regret and empathy, his last thoughts drifted away.

'Good Luck Decimo...I hope you will not let the sadness overcome you. If it's anyone who deserves a second chance, it's you.'

Tsuna found himself upside down, staring at a white wall and a bunch of scattered toys on the floor. His thoughts drifted back to his meeting with Primo, his death and his guardians. So he was dead in his original world...he wryly wondered how they were.

Were they okay? Was Lambo crying? Were his guardians blaming themselves? Was Hayato okay? How was Takeshi? Did Hibari think he was too weak? Was Mukuro laughing? Of course not. Tsuna did know that deep down, the Mist Guardian actually cared. Was Chrome shocked? Did Onii-san get the news from Kyoko? Had his mom heard about it? The brunet flinched as his head throbbed, clearing away his depressing thoughts. His head was spinning from the flashes of colours and he thought he could feel the blood rushing to his head as well. Tsuna couldn't help but think gravity hated him as he struggled to get up, trying to pry the tangled sheets away from his legs.

He froze as he stared at his hands.

His..chubby hands. Right...he was almost five now. The brunet scowled, though it looked more like a pout with his chubby cheeks as he yanked the sheets loose. Pulling himself up, he proceeded to observe his room. It was...really familiar. There was a bunch of toy blocks on the floor near the corner and a flash of nostalgia hit him. It seemed like only a few days ago he was stacking them up to make a staggering tower.

Tsuna frowned, was it a few days ago? He couldn't tell.

His eyes drifted to the small table and chair, papers and crayons were strewn across it's plastic surface. He moved closer in curiosity to see what the younger boy (younger self) had drawn. On one sheet there was a bright pink monstrosity that resembled a bunch of stones and on another sheet was a brown muddy looking circle that looked nothing like a circle with its somewhat jagged looking edges. The picture was finished with yellow scribbles surrounding it.

A pig and a sunflower, his brain helpfully supplied.

He squinted at the picture, nose wrinkling. Okay. Clearly his younger self had the art skills equivalent of a hippo's. Huffing, he stumbled through the door-there was nothing else to see in the room anyway.

Tsuna headed to the bathroom, freezing when he heard the sounds of plates clinking downstairs. Eyes widening, he ditched the bathroom in favour of waddling down the stairs.

He then blamed his momentary act of clumsiness on the fact that his legs were incredibly short and that he was not used to it. Needless to say, he tripped and rolled down with a yelp. Right. He had forgotten about the fact that he was clumsy. Loud foot steps rushed over and warm hands scooped him up, the brunet blinks- peering into a familiar face.

Mum.

He felt breathless as his sight began to blur from his tears. It had been a long time since he had seen Sawada Nana. Ever since Tsuna became the Vongola Neo Primo- the brunet had to leave her alone most of time. He would visit her, but they were all rather short visits. He had felt so frustrated then, he had been just like his father, leaving his mother alone to 'protect' her. But this time would be different.

"Araa-Tsu-kun, did that hurt?" her familiar voice soothed him.

He shook his head, sniffling. He scrubbed the tears away with his sleeves. "No mum." He inwardly winced at his voice. Was his voice always that high? He sounded like a girl!

She giggles before placing him onto the chair. "Breakfast is ready now."

Tsuna blinked, staring at the delicious looking food. He had missed it terribly, his mother's food was always the best- unbeatable really. But what he loved the most was the love and affection in her food. It was always just so warm and full of her feelings. Tasting the food, he couldn't help but tear up; he really, really missed her.

Nana gave him a worried look, wiping away his tears. "Tsu-kun, don't cry."

He beamed at her.

Perhaps living again wasn't so bad after all.

The brunet never really paid attention to his looks, he only knew that he was in no way cool or good looking. But who knew he looked so...cute? Tsuna glanced at his reflection in the mirror, his attention caught by his chubby cheeks and large, brown eyes. He scowled, how did he never notice? He tugged at his spiky fluffy hair, he was still not used to his reflection, especially since he looked extremely different. Instead of the smooth, slightly sharp edges of his face, it was purely round. His eyes were more orange and slanted in the future.

He knew one thing for sure though.

He couldn't wait till puberty kicked in.

Tsuna was five when Sawada Iemitsu came back with a mafia boss in tow. The brunet was definitely not pleased. The man had came in boisterously, slamming the door open and startling Tsuna who had happened to be stacking word blocks to make random Italian words. The tower had fell apart, leaving the blocks to tumble onto the floor.

And before he could even scowl, large beefy hands scooped him up and Tsuna let out a surprised yelp. Iemitsu grinned at him, lifting him high as Tsuna struggled to keep a firm grip on the man's arms. He did not want to plummet to the unforgiving ground thank you very much. Plus, the height scared him. Which was pretty ironic since he could actually fly and was supposed to represent the sky. (Reborn would definitely shoot him for that.) The blond lifted the child down a few inches, so they could meet face to face. Needless to say, Tsuna clinged onto his father's shoulders.

"How's my little tuna-fish?" The man cooed, leaving Tsuna to grimace at the nickname.

"I'm fine." He answered politely.

"That's great! Now where's Nana?" He asked and the shuffling of feet could be heard as Sawada Nana came out of the kitchen, eyes bright. "Dear!" She exclaimed in delight.

"Welcome home!"

Tsuna couldn't help but feel a bit happy at his mother's bright smile. She loved his father very dearly and he could tell that she did miss the man very much. The brunet reminded himself to get the blond to come more often.

Still in his father's arms, the 5 year old peered behind his father's shoulders to see a familiar old man.

Vongola Nono.

The old man gave the little boy a warm smile and waved. Tsuna waved hesitantly back. He faintly remembered that Nono had sealed away his flames in this visit. He frowned at the thought, he had not tried to bring them out yet, but he would rather not have them sealed.

After Iemitsu stopped flirting and making eyes at his wife, he introduced the old man as Timoteo- his boss as a construction worker. The brunet snorted at the ridiculous excuse. What made him believe his father again? He really should've been suspicious way early on. Then again...he never was really bright.

All throughout the visit, Tsuna made sure not to summon his flames, accident or not. He also tried to stay away from Timoteo and avoid being in the same room alone due to the infamous Vongola-intuition. Unfortunately, he failed when Iemitsu and Nana went out for some 'alone' time, leaving the little boy and old man alone.

Trying not to twitch nervously, Tsuna bounced his purple ball outside.

"Tsunayoshi-kun."

The brunet stopped the bouncing and held the ball, glancing at Nono curiously.

"Do you love your family?"

Tsuna blinked. He didn't even need to think to answer such a question. "Of course!"

The old man smiled warmly at him, eyes crinkling. "Will you always protect them?"

The boy nodded, not knowing any other answer. He would always protect them, no matter what. Family was most important after all. His friends and guardians all belonged in that family.

"I hope you will always feel that way."

That was the only conversation he had with the old man alone.

Soon enough, the two left with an over dramatic teary farewell from Iemitsu and a promise to visit again soon.

The brunet knew they would not come back any time soon.

Now six, Tsuna realized with dread that he had to...got to school. School had never been a good experience for him because of the bullying and his horrible grades. The nick name didn't help either. When the brunet had ascended to become the Neo Vongola Primo, no one called him 'Dame-Tsuna'. Even Reborn had ceased...most of the time. But even when his tutor did call him that, it held no mocking or hostility, just a light teasing tone, almost like an inside joke. Now thinking about it, Tsuna really missed Reborn, he would know what to do in this situation- as well as his guardians. (Though he definitely did not miss his paperwork or Reborn's spartan tutoring.) But school was approaching very soon, and hopefully he could make a good impression this time, but something in his gut told him he would not. Darn the Vongola-intuition! He couldn't even believe it would all go well.

And so. Tsuna started school.

The morning that school started was absolutely chaotic, clothes were thrown everywhere as Nana fussed over him, making sure he wore his clothes right. She also started combing his fluffy hair. Tsuna had to stuff his breakfast into his mouth, choking at least five times before he finally finished. He was then rushed out with his mother, making a dash to school. He was huffing when he arrived, and the brunet noted that he had to exercise more.

5 minutes later, he was ushered into the classroom and forced to sit in an already formed circle made of other kids. They eyed him curiously and Tsuna looked at them warily, as if they would just jump him. He spots a smiling Kyoko and a scowling Hana, feeling his heart beat faster. She was okay.

'But she won't be.' A snide voice tells him and he inwardly flinches. 'You will drag her into a bloody world that will bring harm to her and her beloved brother.'

"Sawada-san."

Guilt gnaws at him and Tsuna couldn't help but think that it would be a lot better if she was not involved.

"Sawada-san!" The brunet blinks, his teacher's voice snapping him out of it.

"H-hai?"

"Sawada-san, it is your turn to introduce yourself." she scolds him.

The brunet flushes, why did he act like a fool again? He thought he had gotten over his bumbling. "H-hello! I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, but please call me Tsuna."

The teacher raises a brow. "Is that it Sawada-san?"

"I! I..um..like lions?" he squeaks, wondering if Natsu counted as a lion. He inwardly mused that he didn't even have to try like his past self, it was all coming in so naturally. Reborn would definitely had killed him for reverting back to his dame self.

"Alright." his teacher concedes. "Next." The brunet let out a sigh of relief, introductions were never easy. Something was prickling him inside though...almost like a ticklish feeling. His budding hyper intuition? Something seemed off, in a good way.

"Haha, hello! I'm Yamamoto Takeshi and I love baseball!"

The brunet blinks before looking next to him in surprise, and there he was in all his sparkling and smiling glory- Yamamoto Takeshi. He let out a startled yelp before muffling it with with his hand. The baseball lover glanced at him curiously, but didn't say anything. His Rain Guardian...WAS IN HIS CLASS? He tried to remember if he was in his class in the other world, but he just couldn't remember. It was years ago after all. His heart stung at seeing the raven haired male's familiar smile. But it wasn't the same, this was not his Takeshi, not the one who picked up the sword to protect him, not the one in his family. His head throbbed again, clearing away his bitter thoughts. He thank whatever God that gave him these headaches, anything to stop from thinking about his guardians. (Though it would be better without the ache..)

Soon, the rest of the class introduced themselves, and they spent the rest of the afternoon playing games and singing songs.

Oh the horror of loud out of tune singing.

His ears would never be the same.

Over the next few days, the brunet came to a rather startling conclusion.

Kyoko was alone.

The ginger usually just spent her time alone, doodling and when outside-drawing flowers and pictures on the dirt. As a little girl, Kyoko was just adorable, but she was not popular, Yamamoto seemed to be the must popular due to his athleticism and love for sports. She was just plain Kyoko and held no big redeeming features beside her adorable smile. But kids weren't interested in that yet, only fun and games. She seemed perfectly content alone so teachers also left her alone.

Kurokawa Hana was also alone.

He eyed the dark brunette across the room, sitting on the rug with her arms crossed. But she was different, a lone wolf really. She would keep a scowl on her face to keep away others and Tsuna couldn't remember if she had smiled at all throughout the week. She seemed miserable and grouchy, but did not appreciate others approaching her at all.

Right. She hated kids.

He looked at the two contrasting figures warily. How did they even become friends?

Tsuna bit his lip worryingly, was Kyoko really okay alone? She always seemed like a people person..He could always approach her, but would she accept him like the other Kyoko? Besides..Kyoko's best friend was Hana.

If they weren't friends yet..then...

Kurokawa Hana was not a happy camper, far from it since she was not happy and absolutely detested camping. She eyed a young red head stuffing his face with food with unveiled disgust. Chocolate was smeared on his cheeks messily and he wiped his chocolate covered hands onto his shirt, making dark marks. She cringed at the pigsty.

Monkeys.

That's what they all were, from the little boy chewing on his fingers while dribbling saliva all around (didn't he knew that someone could get sick from his germs?) to the two kids throwing mud at each other outside (what's so fun about having mud all over your clothing and skin? Ew). She sniffed, upset. Why did she have to suffer like this and hang around these uncivilized beings? It wasn't fair, if she wanted to go to the zoo, she would actually go to the zoo. Because of her parents, she had a higher intellect and was much more mature then any other 6 year olds. It was like a human being forced to hang around monkeys.

Huffing irritably, she resumed her attention back onto her large red book. The six year old had found it in one of the dusty shelves, it seemed rather interesting with it's intriguing plot about rainbow coloured flames and heroes.

Yes, it was a bit childish, but she was still a child after all. She would never ever admit it though that she did want a passionate friendship and strong bonds. Just not...now. Not with these people. They were too young, too shallow. She wanted something strong and connected, something deep and immeasurable.

She noted with her peripheral vision that someone was approaching her. She scowled, did it look like she wanted to be with someone else? Wasn't having her face in a book a good enough hint?

A pair of legs stopped in front of her.

Apparently not.

The dark brunette did her best to ignore the child in front to her, trying to concentrate on the small words on the faded pages. After 2 minutes of not being able to understand the printed words due to lack of concentration, she finally shut her book, sending a sharp glare at the intruder. She did do a double take in surprise to see a fluffy brunette with wide brown eyes. He was the one who was late on the first day...what was name again? Something tuna?

The brunet gulped, eyeing her nervously and wringing his hands before giving her a shy smile.

Cue beam of light and sparkles.

Hana's eyes would never be the same again.

Nor would her life.

Tsuna tried really hard not to fall flat on his face or anything like that in front of the dark brunette. He didn't need her commentary about him being a monkey, and honestly..she kind of scared him with her sharp tongue and glare. Yes. Even if she was only 6 years old. Or was that his 6 year old self talking? He shook the thought away, intent on completing his task.

"Ano...Kurokawa-san, would you like to play with me?"

She rose a brow before snorting. "No, now go away."

"Ehh-but Tsu-kun wants-" Tsuna froze, slapping a hand over his traitorous mouth.

WHAT. WAS. THAT?

Did he really just refer himself as 'Tsu-kun'?! He really hoped that it was just his 6 year old self talking and not his brain turning into mush from hanging around with too many 6 year olds. He cringed. I need to find some mature company that don't actually treat me like a 3 year old.

"Erm, I mean...please?"

Hana frowned before gesturing to the classroom. "Why me? There are clearly more...suitable people for you to bother." Translation: Go away pest and play with those snot-nosed brats.

It was funny how even without his Vongola intuition, he was able to translate her words so easily. Then again, she didn't hide her displeasure at all. (He wasn't sure whether he should be happy or not about that.)

"I am."

"Hah?" she questioned in disbelief.

"I am bothering the most suitable person." the brunet gave her a knowing smile.

Her eyes twitched at his insinuation. "And why would I be the most suitable?" she drawled.

He grins, all sense of shyness completely gone. "Because you are the only one who is mature, calm and reading a book instead of running around." He pointed at the large red book before continuing. "You're very intelligent."

Hana's eyes widened for a split second, impressed by his observation. He was more keen then she had thought with those innocent caramel orbs of his. But that didn't mean she wanted to play with him. He was..a few levels higher then the monkey's, but that didn't mean anything.

She gave him a careless wave before opening her book again. "Thanks but no thanks."

The brunet stared at her, contemplating something for a second before nodding. "Alright then."

Hana gave him a confused glance at his sudden consensus before going back to her book.

But not before she felt a unknown pang of loneliness inside.

...Or so she had thought.

Hana's eyes twitched in annoyance at the brightly smiling boy in front of her.

She just wanted to read her damn book! Was that too much to ask?

"Do you feel like playing with me today?" he practically chirped. The smug bastard.

"No." she snapped.

"When will you feel like it?" he persisted.

She ignored him in favour of reading her book. It was getting to a good part too!

"Do you..." he started hesitantly. "not like Tsu-kun?"

She peered at him from her book, seeing his wide caramel orbs shaking and his lip quivering. The look he had on now could make anyone obey-

"Yes."

-but Hana was not 'anyone', she hated children, especially crying children so those kind of faces did not affect her. It only lowered her opinion of him.

Seeing this, Tsuna pouted.

He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Tch, didn't work." before plopping down.

Right.

Next.

To her.

"You're invading my space bubble." she hissed, scooting to the left, away from the fluffy brunet. She would never judge a book by the cover ever again, who knew someone so innocent and weak looking could be such a persistent nuisance?

The brunet just blinked innocently, moving even closer.

"Will you play with me now?"

She gave him the evil eye before placing her book down. "Fine!" she huffed. "If only so you won't bother me again."

He cheered, a brilliant smile on his face.

As they spent the day stacking word blocks together and seeing who could make the most English words, Hana admitted that (reluctantly) hanging with him might not be so bad after all.

Now if only she could stop him from giving her that stupid smile!

Tsuna found that he really liked 'playing' with Hana. She was the only one who was near his level of intelligence, and he found that he liked messing with her. It was like messing with Hibari, but he could actually get away with it since Hana didn't hit him...or bite him. He sincerely hoped that she wouldn't in the near future. Something told him that she could pack a mean punch if she wanted to. He also briefly wondered if Reborn's sadism was rubbing off of him.

He really hoped not.

All in all, it was a start of a beautiful new friendship.

Cue Hana's screech of denial here.

Tsuna was starting to feel pretty happy...living again wasn't so bad. What was he so worried about anyways? He was the Vonola Decimo, or Neo Primo-whichever sounded better. He defeated a marshmallow loving maniac who wanted to conquer the world, resolved the long conflicts between the Simon and Vongola Family, helped the Acrobaleno break their curse and survived the torturing of the number one hit man. Besides, at least this time it would be easier since he knew what was coming.

On hindsight, the brunet really should have accounted that nothing was ever easy for him.

Naivety thy name is Tsuna.

Friends are precious. Even if you end up annoying said friend and she wants to strangle you.