Chapter 13

Welcome to the door of Chaos

Sawada Tsunayoshi took his first steps into the helicopter, knowing that he'd be engaging in a stare-down with death itself. He felt like maybe he'd gotten a bit full of himself lately with the feeling of people supporting him giving him a high he'd never felt before.

Their affection was intoxicating, and he was probably addicted to the drug. It made him feel like the days of bad luck were over with the company of Hibari, Yamamoto, the Sasagawas, Kurokawa, and Kusakabe.

But before he could indulge in a future where they hang out and pursue their passions, he had an appointment with the reaper. He could feel himself get a bit optimistic since, the last the time with Estraneo went pretty well, ignoring Gesso.

Hibari could get him out of this rotten deal, he was sure of it. Then he could estrange the Gesso from his life. He didn't know what the parallel version saw when looking at the guy, but their feelings were not mutual. He was pretty sure he could only manage a fling with Italy since they shared nothing but horrible experiences in the land.

And besides, there were things that piqued his curiosity but then again, some things were better left a mystery.

Pepping himself up, he entered the confined cabin of the pure white helicopter sent to pick him up. He frowned, thinking that the only reason he had to play a part in an assassination, given that he was an untrained civilian was that there was something bigger playing under the hood. He looked at the file given to him.

'Byakuran knows that impostor and he's been creepily stalking me or observing me, whatever works for him. So why ask me to kill...

It's not like I know him personally. I've only seen a version of him and yet, it gives me a bad taste...'

He frowned looking at the profile of his target, Gokudera Hayato. He apparently was a bomber, famous as a renown pianist.

'Honestly why kill him? And why me?' he thought to ignore his shaking hand.

'It'd probably more difficult for me than him' he smiled wryly.

The people in the helicopter looked at him like he was trash and it felt like he was getting into familiar territory. But it also made him squirm in his seat.

"Honestly, why do we have to keep a watch on him?"

"You heard the boss, he wants us to report if the civvy finishes the mission in one piece."

They weren't even trying to hide their disdain and it almost made him try jumping out of the heli for his self-preservation.

Tsuna sighed. He wasn't going from this helicopter without bruises. And sure enough, they started pushing him around. The suited men in the helicopter read from their file while puffing cigarettes.

They gripped his wrist hard enough to make him wince as they chatted.

"The guy this kid's supposed to shoot down is a friend of the Bovino right? They're our allies last time I checked."

He moved in the direction they tugged to reduce the pain wishing that just because he was the target of their conversation didn't mean the guy's finger had to be pressed against his head like a pistol.

"Idiot. Brat's been plotting to protect the next head from toppling. Plenty of reason to get a shot or two in that silver head.

Puhaha, If you ask me if the Decimo's weak enough to be offed from their own group... they oughta buy him a grave instead of all the protection they've employed."

"True dat. I always thought that their bae, Federico got no place in that world as long as Xanxus breathed.

Although our boss is a genius. I mean he thought that the guy needed to know how he ain't ever gonna get the throne. Look how the mighty have fallen!"

"Ahahaha! Vongola's on its last leg!"

He bit his lips anxiously in the light of the new information. Looking at his meek appearance must have ticked off the guy who had an increasingly tightening grip on him.

"...Hey. Getting back to business, does this kid even have the balls to shoot that bomber?" he looked at the brunette, scrutinizing him.

"Hmm... You've got a point" the man sitting opposite to him threw a gun at him which he spectacularly failed to catch and scrambled on all fours to fetch it when he was subjected to the glare from the two men in the passenger seats.

He went on his knees when his trembling fingers felt the cool metal of the gun. He felt his ears burning.

"Why're you handing me the gun? Connect the dots" he said, tilting his head to the other who smirked confidently at him. The two men looked relaxed despite asking the brunette to kill one of them.

Tsuna remembered the time he managed to get a gun from the escorts. It had a different meaning back then. His fingers felt unusually warm as the metal under it sapped his warmth as well as something else.

His hands shook and he swore he could hear the gun rattle.

He swore up and down that he could be made willing to kill these people. They were Mafia. They were looking at him like he was prey and he himself was pretty sure that they'd do something to him if he couldn't make good of the challenge. He'd recognize those eyes anywhere.

From the 'friends' who'd keep those very eyes to see if he'd do something interesting if they tossed his lunch, his books, his shoes. Those eyes that gleamed as they taunted him while drowning Natsu. The eyes Mochida looked at him with as he taunted the prospect that he was enough to protect Kyoko...

But he...

He couldn't do a thing then... and sadly...

He can't do a thing even now.

The gun slipped from the sweat that pooled in his hand as he felt saliva pool up in his mouth as his vision shook as their eyes shifted from looking amused to disappointed and bored.

He remembered that when they changed, Natsu had been shred to meat from his hand forced to make him change what the cat represented in his memories to what the disillusioned saw- living clumps of meat. Scenarios filled with people fed up of his antics and having given up on expecting things from him, resorted in doing things to him that came in his nightmares and haunted his dreams.

His lips wobbled as he let out a quiet keening sound.

The second man took the gun from the floor and easily unlocked the safety to shoot his partner... It turned out the gun wasn't even loaded. He looked at the brunette unimpressed.

"Now that wasn't hard was it?"

The other looked at him, equally unimpressed.

A gun was cocked at his head.

"Come to think of it... Boss said don't assist him and just keep a track of his actions. This kid's likely to fail anyway. Why don't we just shoot him and finish the mission ourselves? Any problems?"

The space turned silent and Tsuna felt his body cool down with the exception of his burning eyes. His lips fell down to a full frown, his body refusing to move.

"Cut it out. We'll be landing in 30 minutes" a voice from the pilot's seat rang and Tsuna huffed a breath of relief.

The two seemed to get to work shuffling around their bag. The brunette couldn't move from his spot, breathing heavily, his head down and heart pounding wildly.

The one closer to him brought out a small cuboid thing and the other shook his head.

"I don't have them right now."

"Huh? Whaaat? Why didn't you pack it? Do you know how hard it is to clean blood stains from this suit?"

His vision tunneled towards the men and for some reason, he couldn't control his breathing.

"Sorry, sorry. It's my bad. I'll make up for it later."

"Geez... you're paying for dry cleaning with dinner from your pocket."

"Got it~"

The man started going towards him, looming over his prone figure. Tsuna jumped backward and felt his back collide with something hard. He peeked behind.

It was the door to the outside of the helicopter flying 10000 feet up in air.

… His stomach flipped at the thought. He let out a loud whimper when the irritated men gripped his shoulder to ram against the flimsy door, being the only barrier from him falling to his death.

Something he would be facing if Yamamoto didn't stop him that day.

He would have shrieked as a large hand moved upwards, hovering over his neck to his face, blocking 80 percent of his field of view and then suddenly taking up only half the space.

He felt rough fingers at his mouth as a large thumb pressed at his lower jaw as his three other fingers opened his mouth, his index pressing at the upper side of his mouth forcing his mouth to remain open. His saliva dripped out and his tears began welling up at his lack of ability to utter a coherent sound or control his mouth. He was pushed to a dead end where his body was paralyzed with the fear of falling through the sky and even with the salty, bitter taste of an adult man's large hand jammed into his mouth it seemed like the pain his jaws were in didn't seem enough for the Gesso mafia men before him as the second man brought something from the emergency supplies for the helicopter, for its maintenance- pliers and Tsuna felt his body spasm as he gasped against the unwanted intrusion. His attacker didn't want to let him up and grounded him as the other held his legs down.

The brunette squealed-

"This was why I told to get the anesthetic. Geez, it makes things harder than it should be." the man grumbled as he moved the pliers over a molar and Tsuna's tears flooded his cheeks as he felt metal adding pressure and he shivered violently. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a wrong move as the pliers crushed the molar and he felt tiny tooth pieces going down his throat along with a metallic taste.

Tsuna screamed and screamed as the man started extracting the broken pieces as more fear flooded his mind as he looked at the second man getting more and more irritated. He thought he would break his legs to keep him from squirming at the intense pain and at the uncomfortable feeling of his hair getting wet from the tears.

His gasps didn't give him time to breathe and the adrenaline from the prospect of more pain and being placed in such a compromising position kept him from going unconscious.

Not to mention the previous threat on his life had just gotten postponed.

His vision felt like it got brighter and darker as pain flooded his mouth. After what seemed like an eternity the guy brought out the small cuboid and attached it in place of the tooth.

The two got up and brought the brunette up by the collar and tossed him in the seat, shoving a sock in his mouth. His eyes burned with the raw pain and the rancid taste of the makeshift cotton to absorb the blood. He couldn't even curl himself to internalize the pain, with the unfriendly stares directed at him.

The helicopter landed and the men seemed to move at a way faster pace than the brunette could handle at the moment. He felt dizzy from the blood loss and felt his temperature getting too warm to think straight.

'Of all the times to get a fever.' he thought, frustrated and writhing with pain.

They landed in a pretty shady area cluttered with a lot of junk. Grasping the opportunity, Tsuna took the opportunity to bolt when they focused on getting their guns from their jacket. Hearing the clumsy footsteps, the three turned his way and shot. Tsuna was already nearby the junk by that moment. He could only hope that they weren't flammable. Bullets whizzed through the air as curses and swears rang through the area and the brunette stumbled through the area in his haze, desperate to escape alive.

Thankfully the area was large enough to get lost in and the Gesso didn't seem to have much of a backup.

So Tsuna escaped from there. But now he had to maneuver to his target before he kills Federico with a blithering fever, a target whose location was unknown. That and the fact that he had a tool to kill with, but for some pathetic reason, he couldn't use it... at all.

But that was no reason to stay still and become easy shooting practice.

After running for quite a lot of time, he realized his clothes were nicked and torn in different places making him unrecognizable from when he boarded the helicopter. He looked like a beggar and at this point, being armed with so little, he might as well be.

Tired, sick and hungry, his mind circled and circled until he dropped unconscious in a dark alley. At that point, he didn't care about the consequences.

He woke up a spectator for a bullet shower outdoors. Sometimes, he wondered if he was lucky or unlucky. Especially since the one in the center of that shower was hiding behind some cartons at an abandoned fruit stall. It seems like the only way he would ever see the Millefiore, or the Gesso right now was to see them riddling people with bullets.

His hazy mind latched on the first feeling that came from himself. So he looked around the alley to check for things he could use. The alley was narrow and damp with cigarette butts that were strangely familiar. The ash was still warm and a lot was used, implying that someone was staking out nearby.

His mind popped out a strange guess that made him swivel his head around to Gokudera. His delusion had a Gokudera Hayato that smoked the very same brand and the bomber was there outside without a single bomb in sight. Would he really stake out without a weapon? So maybe, there's something in this alley with nothing but... walls... He squinted at the walls, ignoring his pulsing head.

There were weird compressions in the buildings that when pushed broke to show bombs that he guessed were incredibly potent. Here he was, an incompetent through and through. Like the two adults said, his chances of completing the mission were low and no one would find him in an unknown ally like this. There was a chance that his corpse would burn into crisp either way.

So he did what any sane person would do with bombs without any source of fire, not even a match stick. He burnt the flame of vengeance.

That's how Gokudera Hayato met Sawada Tsunayoshi. The brunette ran in the middle of the gunfight with the bombs strapped all over his body, bombs that would ignite at a single shot. The bomber turned rigid as shock overcame his features. He wasn't alone in this. The shooters halted at the sight of the third party wrapped in a bomb suit. The musician and the shooters both knew that a single bullet on that running bundle, the whole area would go up in flames. After all, those were the bombs the Hurricane Bomb Hayato was famous for.

But the surprise didn't end there, the guy stripped the makeshift bomb suit there as he started heading over to where the silverette was hiding behind and chucked it towards the shooters from which some of them caught by surprise, shot it by accident.

"Start running!"

He didn't need to be told twice, but he winced at the pain which was sure to come with blowback... which never came as he felt his back being shielded by the brunette.

His eyes widened as the explosion's shockwave flung them to the other side a good 20 feet away.

Gokudera looked at the madman who saved his life that he had been sure would have ended in the gun firings.

"W-Why did you do that, you idiot?! What were you thinking?! Why would you run in the middle of the shooting with bombs?! You would have exploded if even bullet hit you. Why did you even cover for me?!"

The brunette looked like he was losing consciousness fast.

"...I wanted revenge... on those assholes... Getting you out would be my best bet..."

"O-oi... That's it...?" The bomber asked frantically as he checked the other's slowly fading pulse as he tried to keep the other awake. But he didn't get any response except a damn smile on the little idiot's face.

Tsuna woke up to less pain but a feeling of restriction and the smell of antiseptic. He looked around to find himself lying on top of a bed with medical items in hidden places and specialized first aid boxes similar to what he used to have. It felt like his room, but he was in Italy.

He saw the room was hardly used with a small dusty piano at a corner.

The door opened abruptly with a battered Gokudera walking in, barely conscious to give him a second glance. The silverette spit something and slumped against the door. It was like looking at a mirror. To think he thought they were polar opposites. It felt like seeing the flip side of things.

Tsuna got up feeling like he was imposing on the other. It would give him ease if he could, maybe not be a burden for his... host?

He picked cottons, bandages and antiseptic and began cleaning up the other and wrapping the other in bandages. It took a good amount of time, enough time to bring back the other to consciousness. A firm hand gripped his arm as the silverette growled at him menacingly.

"Next time, don't touch any of the stuff. Listen up. You're going to stay here and stay still until your wounds heal fairly and then you're going to scram."

"But then I would be using your stuff for free. That's hardly fair. I can earn my keep. That would be better, right?"

He seemed surprised at the proposition, but he quickly schooled his expression to that of careful blankness.

"If you're looking to poison me after gaining my trust, I'd say you give up on them."

It was true. The cabinets with different chemicals, which could be used for pyrotechnics as well as for drug synthesis were locked with a biometric lock and the emergency first aid box didn't have any chemicals which could be mixed to form poison.

"No, no. I just wanted to earn my keep for your kindness for letting me recover."

His body was still hurting and he felt a bit sick, but then again... he was overstaying his welcome.

The bomber looked at him strangely.

"You have third-degree burns on your back. You'd be killed on the streets. Your fever isn't doing you any favors.

Besides you got mixed up in my business. I don't want to owe you any debt. So you don't have to do anything."

"Ok. I got it."

Despite the easy agreement, Tsuna didn't seem to be heeding his words. The days from then got them in a weird, yet consistent routine.

Every day, Gokudera got hurt in some way or the other and got him getting back to his apartment and getting himself tended by Tsuna who limped around the apartment cleaning all parts and making meals for the two of them which they'd eat together in comfortable silence. He didn't bother asking since it was obvious to him that the other was working around his conditions.

Gokudera noticed how the brunette waxed and beautified the piano in particular and once got curious enough to ask the reason for the special treatment.

"Well, it's the only thing unique in the apartment. Everything else are necessities. So I thought it must be special to you."

"...It's none of your business.

...What's with those eyes?" he said looking at expectant eyes, not used to seeing it directed at him.

"Hey, can you play a song for me?"

The bomber scowled as he was reminded of the frontal image he used to gather information. But he indulged him and sat at the piano seat and played a simple piece that the brunette couldn't recognize, not being familiar in music pieces. But even if he couldn't recognize it, the way the sound twinkled as notes flew around the room, made him childishly swing his legs as he leaned forward to hear better, a soft smile playing on his lips.

Seeing the expression on the brunette seemed to encourage the pianist as he played different songs that became improvised with the humming of his companion. He couldn't help giving the embarrassed scowl as the other seemed to insist on clapping at the end of each piece.

It was late at night as the two were dozing near the piano and Tsuna babbled praises the bomber basked under.

"Gokudera-san... your piano is sho~ beautiful. It's like your hands have magic or something."

the comment seemed to trigger nostalgia in the pianist as he gazed dreamily at his piano and seemed to get lost in his mind.

From the next day, Gokudera came back, looking more calmer than he ever looked since their meeting. He started a habit from the day, playing the piano at weekend nights.

Two months passed and Tsuna kept the whole murder thing at the back of his mind. It was fine since the mission had no deadline, right?

But peace doesn't last forever, and that was always true in Tsuna's case. The apartment door was slammed open and the last person Tsuna expected came in.

"Aho-dera! I don't care if you say I can't visit because of your 'important' mission. I want to play!"

"Oi! Drop that nickname already! How long are you going to call me that- Leave that. There's no time for fun and games. Federico-san expects me to protect him in this important time. I can get into Vongola if I get results."

"Is that why you're tearing yourself limb to limb? Really-" the shaggy black haired teen paused as he saw brown eyes and started to bawl.

"Tsuna-niiiiiii! I thought you dieeeeed!" and proceeded to glomp him.

This display apparently scandalized the bomber as he proceeded to extensively lecture the big baby.

"If you're going to address him using Japanese honorifics, use them properly. You're younger than him, aren't you. Besides he's still recovering. You should be careful with him. Can't you see the hospital gown I made him wear?"

Tsuna looked at the teen hugging him and spoke fairly astonished.

"Bovino? You knew Gokudera-san?" and he gave the bomber an accusing look for not giving the time to prepare for the meeting. But seeing the resigned look the other gave him, he figured Lambo had a habit of giving surprises every time. It also explained why the other made him wear the hospital gown religiously every day- in preparation for this event (a pointless effort really)

"Eh? I told you didn't I? That I got your information from him, hmm, a year ago?"

'But you didn't give the name!'

"Ah... so you... did."

"Tsuna-nii is so forgetful~"

"You don't have to indulge him! You'll only bloat his ego. I'm actually surprised that he hasn't beaten down your ego by now. I can see that your constant losing streak hasn't taught you a lesson in humility."

'Him?' the brunette thought confused at the sentence the silverette directed at the cow-teen.

"I'll definitely beat that old man and make him admit his loss and say that I'm a great student next time."

"Hah! Keep Dreaming. He's world famous at what he does! He's as amazing as ever!" he said with awe.

It seemed like Lambo remembered something as he bluntly asked Tsuna.

"I heard from my tutor that you're currently threatened by Byakuran Gesso. How's the status right now?"

Tsuna's had it with sudden surprises. His eyes can't bulge out of its sockets any further. But Lambo wasn't fazed.

"I thought that it was strange that he would tell me anything about his mission. But his creepy psychic powers strike again."

Gokudera seemed to completely respect the guy as he spoke star- struck.

"As expected of that great man! He knows exactly what would happen."

"Yeah, but it's honestly getting creepy. So... he's Hibari's hired hand right now. Strange he even accepted. But it's stranger that the Hibari's would even try to hire him.

But a lot of things are happening with the Mafia lately, I gave up trying to figure things out."

"I got that you and Gesso had a deal. But they didn't hold their end and you had a falling. But what and who was your target?" he asked with such honest eyes that the brunette was compelled to answer truthfully.

"I was to assassinate you." he answered simply. Lambo seemed a bit uncomfortable.

Gokudera opened his mouth to say something but thought against it, and said instead,

"... At least you get options."

Tsuna forced his smile from appearing bitter. He desperately hoped things will turn for the better.

"Yeah... Lucky me."

Lambo popped into his space minutes after that looking clearly suspicious of something.

"Did that marshmallow put a chip or something on you?"

"Aho-ushi, he's only in a hospital gown. According to the Omerta, we aren't supposed to give civilians internal chips."

"...Actually, Gesso has a chip in place of my tooth."

Gokudera looked at him fitting pieces of puzzles together. He clicked his tooth and moved to his locked cabinets. Tsuna remembered the pliers and wanted to jump out of the windows. The bomber looked at the unease spreading over the other's face and showed the tools he'd be working with: anesthetic, dental stainless picks, and a small syringe.

"Don't worry. I've learned the techniques from a respected … mafia doctor?"

"That's a partial lie Hayato-nii!" Lambo looked aghast at the title given.

"Well, uh, at least he's skilled at what he does."

'That doesn't reassure me at all.'

"Tsuna-nii, I'll sing you a song to distract you when he picks at your tooth!"

"Your voice is no better than a peacock or chalk scratching!"

They bickered back and forth distracting Tsuna from the slight pain as he extracted the cuboidal structure. Gokudera scowled at him, no doubt feeling a bit disgusted at the way his tooth was extracted.

"They're a real piece of work disobeying the Omerta in such a blatant way. Ok, now we find some Gesso men around this area."

Tsuna felt surprised at the suggestion. He wasn't sure if the other realized the implications behind it.

"Gokudera-san, that would mean that you can't kill them until the Hibari's find a way to get the blackmail material on me... Wouldn't that hurt your chances of getting into the Vongola?"

The bomber looked at him confidently.

"I've kept track of the routes each of them patrol for the two months. It's regular and methodical. They follow instructions to a T. So it's easy to exploit it.

It's nothing much from my side. They're also enemies of Federico-san. I have the routes, names, skills, patterns of movement for every situation they've been trained -memorized."

For all the pride Gokudera was filled with, Lambo looked at the other worriedly. Tsuna got a bit distracted seeing the small cuboidal suitcase which seemed too light when the teen brought it in the room during his grand entrance.

The bomber took advantage of the distraction to avoid the incoming discussion.

"Why do you bring that suitcase if he prevents you from using it?"

The teen huffed irritably and said,

"That guy doesn't let me use it on myself or friendly foe apparently. His bullets are more than enough to let me know that even if he won't answer. He always says he knows what would happen if I use it on myself or on you. How can he even know that?

Figures old men don't want to learn anything new or make discoveries."

"Aho-ushi, think about it the other way! The versions of ourselves in the future need our future selves and we don't have the circumstantial knowledge to be of use there, at the very least. It's reckless to do things based on simple curiosity!"

Just then there was constant pecking at the window. Tsuna looked at the window in pure amusement. It never ceased to surprise him with the way Vongola apparently decided communicating with birds was the best way to securely communicate during the 8 weeks he'd been staying there.

There was a snowy owl that entered the room with its message wrapped on its talons. How it never got detected is still a mystery to him, that and the way it looked at him like prey. Well, they do prey on mice or rats...

Gokudera scowled at the message. When Lambo came to take a peak, he crushed it claiming that it was for employer privacy concerns to which the teen gave him a weird stare.

Tsuna decided not to think too deeply about. That night he went outside with the cow-teen for official business and Tsuna was left in the room with the owl that stared into his soul. He petted it until they came back (They were weirded out by its purring though)

"Tsuna-nii, I'll be going for a bit. See you in a while."

It was such an abrupt goodbye that fit with his surprise entrance.

For the next week, things were a bit strange. It felt like Gokudera went to his old ways, coming everyday with increasingly serious injuries. When he returned, he slept until the next day, only eating and bathing under Tsuna's insistence.

At the last day of the week, Tsuna waited near the door as the time kept moving ahead with no signs of his room-mate. When he opened the door intending to run around in the streets to search for him, he found him collapsed just before he could reach the door.

Deciding that he had enough of being a silent spectator, he decided to confront the other the next day.

Tsuna looked at his silver-haired companion and asked,

"You've been acting strangely after the owl appeared. Is it something you can let me know?"

"...It's nothing. The job's just been a bit exhausting."

The only time he seemed to pause when telling him things was when the owl came with a letter and when he told what he meant to do.

"I'm going on a guess here, does it have something to do with my ex-mission-"

The bomber flinched minutely and he figured it out.

"I'm in the way ain't I? You should have just told me-"

"No! You're no trouble. You don't have to worry about anything. I can take care of it. Just give me some time-"

"You seemed to handle the revelation better before that owl came in. Are they colliding or something?"

"No! There must be a way I can do both-"

"Not if it can endanger your life like yesterday."

"I've been a Mafioso my whole life. Danger's practically my second name."

"...Yesterday

I thought I had to buy a Zinnia bouquet for you. I wouldn't know where to give them to."

"...Vongola is my best chance to belong somewhere.

It's just a bit difficult to prolong the Gesso mafioso's search for me when you've been ordered to kill the mafioso in the area by tomorrow.

Tomorrow, they'll be gathered in a place. It's the help that the Vongola granted me since I took seven days to solve their problem." he spat the favor granted. It was a bit shocking to hear him say that. It was good news so why was he finding the proposal being a problem? Was it because he didn't want help and it hurt his pride?

"Today they gathered since they realized that for some reason I'm hesitating."

"Gokudera-san, you can complete your mission easily. But if there are too many people, we can rig the area and set it off with a detonator maybe."

"...But what about you?..." he asked in a small voice. It might be his imagination, but it felt like it was his voice cracking.

"What? Don't worry about me. Things always work out some way or the other for me. But Gokudera-san, you need to grab your spot as selfishly as possible. Then at least one of us completed our mission, hehe."

Here he was, encouraging a friend to commit mass murder when he felt like things were slipping out of his grasp.

Gokudera looked pained as he said,

"...I thought all I needed was a place to be called mine, I was willing to do anything for it. But my being alone never cut it...

But it feels like I've become selfish and ended up wanting more...

I've been doing nothing but taking...

Tomorrow's not enough..."

"Gokudera, Vongola needs an Owl to talk with you.

I'm much less maintenance than that and you know how to reach me. You and I both have a computer that can talk to each other easily."

Gokudera gave him a sincere smile as he hugged Tsuna whispering apologies that he never needed to give.

When the next morning came, he came along with Gokudera to the place where the mafioso were 'gathered' by a third party apparently, who was to check that the mission was complete and give further instructions.

The brunette gasped when he entered the room. Lambo stood at the center of the ruins. The building was demolished after the explosion and the whole situation was brushed under old building destruction for architectural purposes.

"It was a conference and the remaining we maimed and kept them here. Then Hayato-nii just had to press the detonator. We had to make sure that the transport and placement of them weren't noticeable. They were all planned and handled by him. Amazing isn't it."

He felt soft masses in many spots he walked across. He wondered as his stomach protested to work in this condition if the bodies were stuffed in every crevice in the dark interior of the building based on the design the bomber explained to him.

There was a strong waft of fruit like perfume from the curtains under another spot he stepped which explained how the smell of the bodies was hidden. Scented carpets, curtains, bodies in scented wood coffins as architectural design. The scented wood was from sap painted over the existing wood. The place was old on top of it, so it could be reused for it. It was planned to the very finest detail to be executed in a small time frame with their behaviors and routes sent to the pros who 'helped' out to make the original plan execute even faster.

The bomber also faked announcements and communications when they usually talked with the usual content with voice changers. It may have been overdone a bit, but it was a great way of slowly numbing them to poison and killing them without a fuss and without being noticed since the plan's too grand to be imagined out.

But it didn't stop him from turning pale, nor did it stop his knees from feeling like it would buckle over. It was a testament on how much of a failure he would be if he was a mafioso.

He heard footsteps suddenly and felt that if he hadn't heard it from a distance, whoever it was from wanted to be hidden

"Hayato, I've confirmed that you've got everyone on the list. I think your recommendation will pull through." it was a deep baritone that he wasn't familiar with.

He turned around and saw a tall black-haired man who walked with a casual powerful gait. He wore a fedora with a gold ribbon and strangely enough had a chameleon sitting on his shoulder. His sideburn swirls looked fairly characteristic of someone he had seen in the vision...

"Thank you, Reborn-san!" the bomber bowed a 90 degrees bow to him.

The brunette swiveled his head to him in shock. That was...

No way.

What was he doing here? Lambo hopped over to his side and introduced them.

"Oh right, you guys haven't met, right? That's Reborn, he's my tutor and old man-ouch- ok, I'll stop, this is-"

"Tsuna-"

Lambo looked at his tutor in surprise, Tsuna looked at them both in shock. He shouldn't be knowing his name-

"I'll be skipping introductions since it's not needed." black obsidian eyes seemed timeless. Tsuna never knew that the charismatic man in front of him could seem so... sad. He'd not seen that expression on the parallel version's face. But it felt like that. He must be exhausted to think such nonsense...

"Lambo's told you a bit, but I've been hired by Hibari to get you back to Namimori."

Hope welled in his heart and his breathing sped up. Feeling lighthearted, he lightened up to ask, but kept quiet, his smile fading as he saw the others somber outlook. He felt like the other was feeling something akin to pity for his plight. That won't do-

"You don't have to look like the world's ending... My kaa-san is a strong person and she's not alone if I continue supporting her like I've done. I can become much more stronger for her.

It'll be a bit tough at first. But I can be there for her. It's the only thing I've done and the only thing I can do."

The other didn't change his expression. But that look did not suit him.

"Mama's always been strong enough to hold everything that she could see that she was to support up."

He wasn't strong enough to face it straightforwardly. He did not know who he was reassuring, the hitman or himself.

Reborn gave a nod to Lambo, who waved them goodbye while looking contemplative. Gokudera mimicked the expression and it made the brunette wonder a bit, but anxious thoughts swirled around his mind and he couldn't calm down.

When they reached one of Hibari's private planes, Reborn bid farewell without letting something he wanted to say out loud. The most he could do for him at the point was give the man a reassuring smile.

It was going to work well. It'll all be fine in the end. He asked all his friends to help out, the people who were infinitely more capable than he would ever be.

It was Byakuran vs him and his friends. His mother was so strong, maybe this would make her more stronger. Maybe it'd make her more independent, maybe it'll expand her view.

He returned to the homely town feeling like he'd be anywhere but there. There was a feeling in his gut that things never change. He wondered where that came from, maybe from all his bitter experiences.

His pace sped up and he wanted to see his house already. He didn't even bother climbing up the tree to dress his wounds first, he opened the strangely unlocked door to the smell of burning. He ran to the living room thinking that his mother forgot about the kitchen when cooking and going somewhere else.

These things can happen in a blue moon after all.

His eyes shut when he went to open his mother's room. Tears flooded his cheeks and he felt like he should be ashamed of his paranoia but he didn't know what he could do if... he forced his burning eyes open and whimpered and screamed and screeched. His hands scratched his arms as he was forced to confront the reality of the situation.

His lips wobbled as he realized that if he had important things in his life, they do get stripped right from his nose. And no matter who he asks, begs, no matter what he does to prevent something he knew would happen because he was nothing but the worst piece of trash that could exist. That for some reason he wouldn't let nature run its course and eliminate his pathetic excuse of an existence that can do no change against the shift of fate. That he couldn't be the master of his fate as he saw the documents of his parents' divorce one-sidedly signed by his father and miraculously getting approved. Near that was the documents Byakuran said he'd deliver, showing the way his dad chose to follow through. And right next to that was photos of his body without cosmetics he didn't want to know how the mafioso got his hands on and didn't want to show to her of all people.

And right above all of them was the body of his mother as she hung from the ceiling fan. The flame from the kitchen was taking speed and spreading through the house and it looked like the flame attacks his parallel self could freely manipulate.

He wanted it to swallow him whole. He couldn't support himself under the weight of reality. He was kneeling and crying like a child and it flowed without restriction and he felt like he got the short end of life. He had been pushed around, bullied, kicked, punched, humiliated, burned, drugged, kidnapped, threatened, choked and he couldn't protect the people he would give his life to see live. He didn't have the power to do so. He wanted it badly, so, so badly.

He slammed his head over and over. The pain couldn't numb his scorching despair. He beat himself over for being so useless, he didn't know what to do anymore. What on earth could he do?

He heard a desperate voice hovering him. Yamamoto was crying trying to get him on his feet. But Tsuna wanted to be there. He wanted to burn there. He didn't want to listen to the yells of the person who wanted him to fight the world again. He clawed the floor, desperate to stay. He wanted to run away-

This was impossible for him-

There were 7 billion people in the world, someone like him could go away, right? There are better people than him. Maybe there's another person just like him somewhere. So they could just leave him to his misery. He gave up-

Hibari's face blocked his view and he felt like he was going to go crazy if he left the house. He begged the two to leave him there. He begged them to grant him one last, one big favor. Yamamoto's sobs were the only thing other than his voice.

Hibari looked straight at him.

"Please give us one last chance."

They pulled him out of the house and Tsuna gave out animalistic howls. Yamamomto hugged him with a death grip and pleaded and pleaded. The brunette wouldn't listen to reason and broke out of the grip to head into the collapsing house only to be tackled down by a drenched Ryohei who came out of the house. He had apparently been trying out other rooms. He kept a firm grip on the brunette who yelled and screamed profanities at each and everything. Then Kyoko and Hana entered the courtyard, apparently running around the neighborhood searching for him followed by a somber Kusakabe.

Seeing the house get burnt to firewood seemingly took all the life from the brunette as he fell into complete silence with his eyes not focusing on anything as he finally dropped to the ground, completely exhausted like a wound up toy.