A/N: One of the big reveals of what's going on here is finally here with this chapter. So lemme know what you think about it? ^^

Chapter 14

The Magician's hand

Tsuna didn't dare look forward. He knew he was always a coward, but his heart and body stung and hurt all over. His footing was shattered and there was darkness behind, and if he saw that, that was all ahead he can't cope with the nature of his life.

When he gazed at the darkness, he saw two bulging eyes staring back at him. He heard of it when he researched it up. When a person hangs to death, their nerves expand and eyes bulge out of their sockets. Their neck wounds are purple-red and moving upward, unlike strangulation. Their skin becomes pasty and lose their elasticity and pale. Her neck was the only thing red as he shook her amidst the sparks of fire. The room was smothering and he couldn't breathe properly.

But as he looked down at those eyes that for once looked straight at him, he felt oddly self-conscious. Then he felt a weight at his neck followed by a burning pain as he was dragged towards her. He distantly figured it was the rope that was burnt in his vision.

As he was pulled in deeper and his neck felt like it'd snap. He couldn't bring himself to scream. He was dragged further than the body of his mother whose eyes followed the him in the direction he was pulled. He just sank deeper and deeper through the earth, even as the friction set his hand on fire for some reason and he was dipped into a sea of water into an ocean. He reached the ocean bed where he was pulled through the bedrocks to something he thought was lava, but felt thinner than that, not to mention it didn't feel hot at all. He followed the flow of the red liquid to see it being squeezed out by a meat grinder.

Tsuna closed his eyes thinking about what he could do now. His parents used to boast to him how they stayed together thick and thin, even when all their relatives opposed their marriage. They used to tell him the decision to elope was the best thing they had ever done. The only reason his dad had cut the bond was because he was going to endanger his family. It was all his fault. It was because he, unlike his parallel version didn't have that ex-machina like hyper intuition or the genius level instincts to choose the best view and routes for the happy ending.

He remembered the Vongola's ninth head visiting their house and he unlike his parallel version did not need to be sealed. He did not have the latent ability. Actually... Wasn't he the impostor?

He didn't have low self-esteem. He was just being honest. Sometimes, people don't have what it takes to survive. Nature doesn't make everyone equal. It just doesn't know what could work. But he? He can't survive on his own or help anyone.

There was a reason why he was called dame-Tsuna. No matter how hard he tried, he was just no good. It was something simple. But then he had to go get attached. He met all these amazing people. But even if he longed to stay by that side, he couldn't live like they were the only things holding his sanity.

Because... regardless of all the feelings they brought into him... they were people who were so dear to him and whose ties with him somehow came just a year or two ago.

He... doesn't have his mother, nor his father. He doesn't have a house or money to support himself. He doesn't have the skills to support himself and he had the knack to get into trouble. He missed about three months worth school despite lagging and he would be a middle school dropout if he can't pull himself together. Everything literally went up in flames- his identity certificates and documents, their savings, their documents of proof, bank account proofs and anything related to money was his dad's part in their family. His dad cut ties with them. It told that if he tried to fix it, he'd be Decimo.

He wasn't sure he could stay sane after another incident.

He didn't have wit, intelligence or physical prowess. What he had was what he learned to survive. And yet he can't do that properly. The skill he'd honed for ten years turned out to be more harmful. It would be even better if it at least was useful.

There are the results of some of them he wouldn't regret for the world, but his treasures got the bum end of the deal. They got the guilt of failing to help an idiot's impossible dreams and wishes.

He would desperately need help to just live another day with Byakuran at his heels. He doesn't know why the guy has an obsession with him... but the fact is, he does. Then there are people who hate his guts, which is everyone except a few people. Maybe it was just because he was just too pathetic to tolerate? Maybe because anytime he got into serious trouble, somehow it was his fault and that he can't get away from them with his own strength?

But how dependent can he be before his new bonds break? They met, shared and gave him humanity within the one year they met. But he couldn't protect his longer relations and they wouldn't know exactly what they're dealing with that his mother, his longest companion dealt with, using delusions. She couldn't deal with his reality nor her lover's reality, so how could he trust people he felt sure was seeing him through rose tinted glasses. And even if they saw him for what he was, how long can they live with a person who was death's best friend? This time he'd need to be completely supported to survive too.

Wouldn't it be stressful to live with a person drowning in negativity? He was paralyzed with fear. He couldn't fully trust anyone. He couldn't see the world as all sunshine and rainbows. He couldn't show any justification for his validation. The people he loved were people who could soar to the skies without him. He wasn't like the Tsunayoshi his parallel was. He didn't give people a place to belong, he was the shackles that bound them together.

If he had to live a world where he'd be visiting their graves or a world where they chose to be sane and leave him for the baggage he is... he'd much rather close his eyes and live the hell his mind put him in.

Hibari fumed as he pummeled Kusakabe to the ground with his tonfa as the other tenaciously begged him to return to the household to clean himself off the soot that covered him. He saw with his own eyes , the sight of Tsuna dropping to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut off. His blood raged as he scoured the town for anyone who could be the mole, based purely on his experiences.

Yamamoto had holed up in his father's dojo since that day and the Sasagawas religiously visited the hospital for the three intervals of a day. The brunette had slipped into shock and had been transferred to the ER. His pulse had gotten flat twice before miraculously coming back.

He couldn't sit still feeling that weak ever again.

But he eventually returned to the household to regroup his own resources. His father addressed him from the coffee table when he saw him at the doorway. They both looked like they had gotten no sleep.

He thought his father had something to address him regarding his conduct. But surprisingly it was his mother that called him out. She usually took his side when it came to making decisions, being an avid supporter of freedom.

"Kyoya. Drop the case.

There's nothing we can do for him now. We got back on the Gesso so people won't think about invading our territory. You got a lot of contacts when trying to pursue their boss, even getting the tentative partnership of the world's greatest hitman.

But Hibari... he's lost his family, his house, his property and he has no other guardians. He'd be going to the orphanage if he makes it out of the hospital.

And you know this right? Namimori doesn't have an orphanage."

Hibari glared at her, his hostility suffocating the room.

"We didn't win against Gesso, he held his threat even if we shut our support and got Tsunayoshi back to Namimori.

We promised to help him-"

"He's not a pet!

He needs a place to stay, medicine and therapy to treat his trauma and injuries. He needs people who can take care of his physical, mental and psychological well being. He needs someone to finance his education and he needs someone to help him fix the gap from his half a year vacation."

"Vacation?!-"

"That's what it's officially known as. We can't reveal the circumstances without endangering our standing and his well being. You know who he is and you know who he would be if his presence was publicized.

The Vongola ring rejected Federico and it rejected Xanxus. The Vongola is keeping things hush hush and if you try to make his leave, a period of medical absence, his records will go be present at the hospital. That can be attained by the people underground.

Kyoya, what we're doing is illegal. But we owe the child for the troubles he had to go through, even with our protection.

If we take him under our wing, he would get the same amount of scrutiny and trauma he would, as the last legitimate heir of Vongola. That's what all your actions that were taken as a consequence of his involvements lead to."

Kusakabe thought that was the first time he saw Hibari face defeat in his whole life. It was something odd to see the demon of Namimori have his hands tied and powerless to move and Hibari himself felt the chains that bound him.

The prefect originally thought of the brunette as an incompetent and someone who would get naturally eliminated. But he had known the other for all his life since he went on rounds to make a Namimori of his ideals. The other was infuriating in the way he'd show his town as something like a red light district for the darkness underneath the glamour and comfort. The brunette never relied on the DC committee he made for the purpose of keeping the innocent civilians safe. He had always acted that he was on his own, despite being powerless and it kept him frustrated and petulant.

When Tsuna finally acknowledged him, he felt so irrationally proud. He found a sort of respect of the companion that seemed to understand the darker nature of the people he wished, wasn't from experience. He always seemed to know which places had the most disgusting actions people did and he was usually the target. He was more street-wise smart that the prefect had been, despite spending most of his time outside, but the brunette never let him know his troubles.

Hibari wanted to see what could he achieve if people didn't trample on him until he was too exhausted to be productive but nothing he did, worked. It showed him a glimpse at a wider world, the world that seemed to let him borrow Tsuna to help in his growth, but not let him help the other in return.

He couldn't protect him when the brunette explicitly came to him for help. The problem's roots ran so deep the teen was out of his hands' reach. He found out exactly how powerless he was, as compared to the world... and he felt despair crushing him as he realized how close he was to losing his best friend to the claws of the world that belittled him.

"Kyoya...

There are times that you must accept a loss and gather whatever is left. Let Tsunayoshi go and make yourself stronger."

his father who held himself so powerfully said to the prefect who darkened at the suggestion. Kusakabe couldn't utter a word of consolation feeling equally frustrated.

He instead, spoke without a filter to Yamamoto who seemed to make his dad's dojo into his new room and holing himself there, unwilling to face the truth.

"Yamamoto-san, why are you practicing kendo now?" he wanted to think positively, but Tsuna's condition was getting worse and probably, no one would get another chance to harm the brunette.

"...Tsuna's got himself bedridden, fighting against something I can't swing my sword at to get rid off." he said bitterly and that confused the assistant prefect more.

"Then why?"

"I... can't sit still while he's fighting all alone there. You know, like in animes people can fight along by sending their spirit... or something, haha...

But to tell the truth, since you told me the whole story... My pops said he was an ex-assassin when I told him about... last week.

He told that when people in organizations couldn't do a thing, because of the fact that they were an organization and things ripple in those things...

People like my pops could easily take care of things to keep what they want safe. I wouldn't have believed it until I heard it from you right now that Hibari decided to drop the case. Don't get me wrong, I understand his reasons. I don't know what he would do next, but I wouldn't hate him for anything he would decide.

But I don't want Tsuna to refrain from asking me to help him out next time because I wouldn't be able to maneuver around with people or endanger myself.

I thought that if Tsuna had us, we would be his greatest strength. But as it turned out... we ended up his weakness that he had to choose methods he would never choose before to maintain our social position or keep us away from danger. But... ahaha... I thought I would take away the need to take that decision if I could be an assassin or a hitman. Because Tsuna's got himself entangled in a dangerous crowd.

And I still want to stay by his side, but I don't want him to push me away because it'll make me lose something.

He's my first friend and my best friend... But I don't want to go to his funeral."

Sasagawa Ryohei's hand glowed sun yellow, that or Kurokawa Hana was going crazy with the stress of being witness to her friend dying. In fact, she would vouch in that craze that he saved the brunette twice when his pulse dropped. The kid was always such a wimp, but he never deserved the shit others gave him. But the last straw was when Kusakabe said.

"Hibari-san's dropping the case."

She slapped him with tears of frustration.

"How could you?! Nana-san would never have committed suicide without that kind of provocation. You know that Tsuna was being threatened with that information! This was homicide!" she screamed at the cowardice the big bad demon of Namimori was showing.

"...The decision's made, Kurokawa-san. I just came to warn you that if you try to take the case further, the Hibari family will stop you."

She was going to tear her hair in the injustice of things. The guy wouldn't even explain his reasons. She felt a hand at her shoulder, to see a serious Ryohei speak to Kusakabe.

"Why did that guy do that?"

Kusakabe didn't want to reveal things to others, but since Tsuna had asked him among the three in particular, he couldn't keep the secret, at least completely.

"Sasagawa-san, Tsunayoshi-san is involved with a dangerous bunch that we couldn't protect him from. But if things get into records, he'd be in even bigger danger.

… I would suggest that if you want to protect your sister foremost, you should turn a blind eye to these things. Else you'd put your family in danger."

To Ryohei, Tsuna was someone he couldn't really understand. The brunette was usually quiet and didn't tell much about himself, even though he listened to them like a child in a candy store when they hung out in the terrace. He thought the other wasn't willing to share, but later he figured out the hard way that it wasn't that he wasn't willing to share, but it was more like he didn't have anything good to share.

Tsuna was weirdly naive in some ways. When he offhandedly remarked that scars were a sign of manliness, Tsuna joined him on the many invitations for boxing practice with a body that was previously spotless to something he literally shuddered at.

He couldn't even stop the other when he apologized over and over again like it was his fault when people had decorated him with it to chain him down. He didn't let him hide them because of his discomfort. He wasn't strong, often fainting in half an hour or an hour on the jogs and practices the other accompanied just because he had invited the other.

But Tsuna saw strength in people and tried to protect it. There was clear respect in his brown eyes as he sincerely looked up to his little sister. He learned to let her grow without smothering her with his 'protection'. The brunette looked at them like they hung the stars in the sky... like they were the only thing that made his day.

It was so obvious with the way his face dulled when they weren't around and the way it lighted up, his eyes sparkled when they entered his field of vision. But Ryohei wasn't satisfied with that. With that kind of guy who put his entire will to protect the ones he held dear, he should see the world where Hibari or Yamamoto didn't have to frown like he did every time someone got their claws on Tsuna and none of their skills or strengths were enough to pull the brunette free.

When the brunette asked him for help, he was determined to be a source of strength but found himself powerless in a world which muted and kidnapped Tsuna to a place he couldn't reach. His fists couldn't reach him and Hibari and Yamamoto were completely disarmed despite this problem being right up their area. The only thing he could do was tackle the brunette before he entered the collapsing house.

He promised his parents that he'd be there for Kyoko and he would protect her. But then if he was forced to choose between his sister and the kohai he was considering his little brother, could he even make that choice?

Back at Italy:

Lambo fidgeted at the opposite end of the table as Gokudera seemed lost in thought. He always thought that Reborn was a smug bastard who would always look like he had the world in his palms. He knew something went bad for the brunette but the guy was never sympathetic.

Hell, he didn't even know that his nii-san was acquainted with him. He wanted to talk about the weird atmosphere around the hitman at that time, still shocked at the broken poker face... but the bomber had this calculating look that he had when his curiosity was piqued that never spelled any good.

"Tsuna-nii sure has a lot of important contacts, doesn't he? He knows Reborn, Hibari's current head, that marshmallow head and you and me...

I was so convinced he was a civvie when we got kidnapped, ehehe" he blushed, embarrassed at his poor judgment.

"He's a civilian. His movements were untrained and he was full of openings" the silverette was so sure that the cow-teen argued by instinct, rather than anything else.

"But no normal civilian can have these contacts in the underground. Not to mention he's Iemitsu's son.

...Also, this might be a bit weird, but Tsuna-nii seems to see right through people with evil intentions and he always observes the surroundings even though his posture's relaxed."

"If you knew what all he had gone through, even you'd be like that.

But, even after days of what he told me when we were staying together... It's so unnatural- that level of bad luck I mean!

I've heard and seen the things he told me when we were talking about life around here. But really, those things happened to the people in these streets. But not everyone had gone through everything.

It's like he's born to be a punching bag or something!"

"I've seen him when he changed, Hayato-nii. These rooms aren't really big enough for the three of us when we were scouting..." the teen frowned, remembering how the other automatically seemed to search for something like a box before he came to some realization and wore the hospital gown.

"Namimori is that Hibari guy's territory right? What on earth is going on there?

It looks like it's a Shangrila or something. Their yakuza base itself was in the middle of a forest

...Do you think their officials- ah, I mean committee members are flaunting their authority or something- I mean, look, Tsuna-nii looks pretty weak right?"

"...I'm thinking about refusing to join Vongola."

"Eh?! Wasn't that your goal? You worked so hard to get there. You deserve to be in the best!-

Or is it that you wanna be a part of the Bovino? You've changed your mind?-"

"No, dumbass! Who'd want to be a part of the mafia through the connections of a kid?!

They won't even take me seriously if they had to recruit me because of your puppy eyes or something!"

"Hey! I'm 12 already! I'm just two years younger than you!

They can take me plenty serious! I'm the guy who's gonna take down Reborn-ossan after all!"

"Pfft, you wish!"

"Are you going to keep making fun of me or tell me why?" the teen pouted

"...You heard, right? Rumors that Federico-san was rejected by the rings. It just made me wonder, why wasn't Tsuna-sama's candidacy considered?

The other heirs were killed by Xanxus and he himself was rejected.

I thought I'd be deported to Japan... but Reborn-san refused the request Nono asked him.

I thought he deeply respected him and that he would accept a favor from him... At least that's what he told me when I asked."

"That's so nice, Hayato-nii.

When I ask that old man anything, he starts mocking me."

"That's because you're so disrespectful, aho-ushi!

...I...

...wanted to go to Japan. That whole conversation came up because I asked Reborn-san if I could go act as Tsuna-sama's bodyguard since I thought he'd be the candidate...

I don't want to entrust him in that place where that Hibari bastard rules! That's the place where he got all those bruises! Not to mention... when I think what the lion of Vongola had to do to exonerate Tsuna-sama from that position... I want to go to his side..." he mumbled, looking down.

Lambo bit his lips in worry. He wasn't sure if either of them could smuggle themselves to Namimori right now. The Hibari's seemed particularly hostile towards outsiders right now...

"Oi, Aho-ushi, Don't bother coming here for the next month or two.

I won't be here at that time."

The cow-teen looked at the silverette in alarm. He never liked that look. It spelled late nights hijacking jeeps to go to the spot where UFOs where sighted.

"Aho-dera... What are you planning...? Don't do anything reckless.

It's a turbulent time right now, with Vongola showing signs of slipping out of power for the first time in many years. You're gonna get caught in a power struggle."

"I already failed the last mission and that promise.

I might as well find what's actually going on." he said getting up to rummage over his mini-bombs.

Lambo looked a bit confused as to what he was planning on using it for. He looked around and focussed on the white owl that he had gotten so used to.

"Hey Hayato-nii! Stop it. You'll be doing treason-"

"Aho-ushi, I'm going to refuse to be a part of the famiglia. That won't be the case."

"You're going to make them an enemy?!"

"Like I've got anything to lose."

"Like hell! You've got -" he scrambled to take the bomb from his grasp, but the other was strong and he closed the windows and moved towards the perch, which was enclosed in a cage. When he was just about to ignite it.

Mist slowly shrouded the room and the raven-haired boy loosened his grip in unease.

"Kufufu, you want to kill me even if I was helping you out?

That's so cruel of you. But, that's what I would expect from a mafioso."

It seemed they had company, one that was apparently eavesdropping on them the whole time.

Gokudera looked enraged as he charged forward, only to have his hand swish right through the other in what he wanted to be a choke-hold.

"Who on earth are you, you bastard?!"

"I'll make an exception to introduce myself, to make us even... especially, since I know about you guys, quite... extensively, kufufu.

But then again, Tsunayoshi-kun ran his mouth about my identity to you already."

"...That pineapple head...

You're Rokudo Mukuro."

Lambo could have sworn that was the exact instant where Mukuro's vein popped.

"Really? After the whole story, he said, that was what made the best impression of me?"

"Well people don't really describe others as a pineapple..."

… and he wasn't helping the cause, was he? They really didn't have the time to fight right now, since whatever they were planning, it involved getting information that was related to Reborn and he would catch them fast if they didn't hurry.

"Say, why were you spying on us anyway? We didn't have anything major to do with the mission."

The silverette latched on to the questioning and gave a question from his side too.

"You want our cooperation, right? Tsuna-sama told us that you were a distinguished illusionist. And based on what I've seen so far, the fact's true. There was no need to show yourself to us in the first place.

I suggest you give us answers if you want us to move our muscles for you."

"Kufufufu. If I wanted your bodies, I could have possessed it before I uttered a single word."

'Yeesh! Wasn't there a better way of putting that?' Lambo thought, but just then-

His body convulsed and he stood straighter, with his head too dazed to think straight. He distantly felt the point of what was a trident, his mind told seeing the gold weapon casually handled by the illusionist.

Gokudera instinctively threw his bombs at the illusionist, only to see them turn into pencils and he realized that his weapon had been an illusion all this time. He had taken the pencils thinking they were bombs, seeing them as bombs.

They were completely in his battlefield, completely under his mercy and it made the bomber curse himself at his carelessness.

"This trident is laced with poison, that can make things easy for you. Kufufu, after all... there's no stress in being one of my personal puppets."

"...What do you want, pervert?"

Mukuro spluttered and Lambo side-eyed him.

'If you didn't want to be known as that you should seriously choose your words better.'

"It's quite simple. I want to unearth the motivations behind Byakuran and Reborn."

They looked confused, not expecting to hear both their names in one sentence. Weren't they on opposite sides of the mission. Reborn was hired to find and protect Tsuna, but Byakuran seemed to want to hurt the brunette as deeply as possible. What could they both have in common?

"Your thoughts are being shown on your faces. Honestly, you three are an open book...

There's no helping it. Let me enlighten you, and free you from your insufferable ignorance."

"Get on with it!"

"So impatient!

You heard of my past, haven't you? Tsunayoshi told me that he would take care of things from there and that things wouldn't be traced back to the others... But I couldn't believe that he could have pulled it off that easily. Things never went that smoothly.

I searched for rivals of the Estraneo, and found a famiglia that flourished from the revelation. They were my target- the Gesso. But the famiglia was strange. Their head is a 14-year-old and the famiglia was new but suddenly, they have the power that could rival the Vongola?

It was suspicious. He wouldn't have been a figurehead. Their policies had changed so vigorously. Their technology was vastly superior and there's only one person right now that could rival his intelligence, and that wouldn't be Giannini from Vongola.

It surprised me that, that the Gesso Mafioso would go through the extent of redirecting the traffic through the Gesso networks to bring no suspicion towards Tsunayoshi. I couldn't 'convince' him to let me know who had the link to that mafioso from Namimori though.

But mafioso always play dirty, there was no surprise there.

But it's not like they could leave their toy alone. I actually wanted to possess you when I heard Tsunayoshi-kun tell that he was to kill you. I had gained intel from looking at his folder in the Gesso's abandoned helicopter. I was the pilot there after all.

But, I never knew that he had to be escorted on what was essentially a suicide mission. All I knew was that the Gesso had deployed a helicopter in a period where the Hibari was being extremely vigilant on one territory in particular. It's just as you said, he has amazing relations.

Amazing relations that would let a mafia family gallop all over their lawn and take a civilian from their territory without a second glance." he mocked.

Apparently, Gokudera wasn't the only one with a grudge against Hibari.

The silverette asked, confused at a particular statement the illusionist said.

"If you infiltrated among-st their ranks couldn't you have searched Byakuran yourself?"

"Easier said than done. The Hibari group are nothing but hypocrites, hiring Reborn... You know, that guy shoots any Gesso member on sight?

That threw a wrench in my plan."

Gokudera gaped. So that's why he had so much trouble keeping the Gesso members alive to carry the transmitter... It only brought more questions.

"But his mission was to find Tsuna and bring him to Namimori..."

"That's why I asked you to help me investigate his motives. It seems like he has got external motivations here-"

"That won't be required, Rokudo Mukuro."

The three looked shocked at the unexpected visitor, the one they least expected would turn up. There he was in his suited glory, the devil spawn himself- the greatest hitman in the world, Reborn.

"I'm not a fan in dragging the inevitable. Besides, things have gone too far and it's time I make my move. I'll tell you everything, for once. I've done it once in Japan anyway."

He looked serious, but there was the willpower he was so famous for. The three teens listened in rapt attention.

"We, the Arcobaleno and Byakuran Gesso have been stuck in a cycle that we... couldn't bear to leave as it is. We have been willingly reversing time with the technology that we had made... approximately a millennium, maybe, ago."

Gokudera jerked forward, unwilling to believe what he heard. But Mukuro beat him to the exclamation.

"Time Travel? What nonsense!"

"Oh? But the ability to regain your memories and visit hell is not?"

"How do you know that?! The only ones who know that-"

"It's because I've lived through your explanations and Tsuna's explanations. I've heard it over and over again."

Gokudera asked, his scientifically curious mind couldn't contain itself.

"How is that possible? Who made that technology at that time? What are the principles behind it?"

"This is inside secrets, but it's because of something called the Dying will flames. They're a manifestation of your last regrets. There are 7 types- sky, lightning, storm, mist, rain, cloud, sun. It's present for every living being that doesn't want to die.

I'm oversimplifying things and if you don't want me to get to the main point you can stop me." he warned them, not interested in dealing with their interruptions. They should be grateful that he's spoon feeding them.

"On top of that, there were three major power sources that were the representatives of this- the Vongola, the Millefiore which is what the Gesso famiglia would be in the future and the Arcobaleno.

The Millefiore had the ability to move through parallel dimensions. The Arcobaleno had the ability to sustain life and more importantly move between time on certain conditions... and finally, the Vongola had the ability to gain their strength through their prowess in time.

It's a natural phenomenon in our universe, but it's understandable if you never knew about it. It was a well-guarded secret."

The bomber was, at this point, the only one not overwhelmed by the information. He knew the main questions weren't answered yet and if they didn't seize this opportunity, they would be forever the puppets of the two groups.

"So... basically you used your Arcobaleno powers to move through time?"

"Not really. The Arcobaleno more or less are people away from the influence of time, and so can't manipulate it like that. That's a bit more in Vongola's territory.

But it was done since Byakuran took the power of the triniscette and is moving through the timeline with the help of that. But it's not him alone. Since it had our part of the power, we also help him to move across the timeline.

It's branching because of the Millefiore's power of parallel dimensions and the maximum depth we could travel to would be from the Vongola's power."

"So that marshmallow stole your powers from right under your nose? The world's greatest hitman couldn't beat him?", the illusionist mocked.

"We weren't having the Arcobaleno pacifiers back then. It was with the Vindice. Tsuna helped us out to free us from the Arcobaleno's curse. Byakuran just got it from the Vindice. They cooperated with his plan, just like we did."

"You cooperated? Even though that was the guy who could share things in parallel universes? Isn't that stupid?"

"There was already one Byakuran who was the mastermind of that in a branch. Tsuna defeated him and we brought order across the universes. The other Byakurans didn't want to do the same thing all over."

"I'm having a hard time imagining Tsunayoshi defeating anyone or having the power to do something like removing a curse or whatever.

But anyway, why did this Byakuran try to take control then?"

Reborn looked defeated. It was a look that didn't fit him and it made them tense up.

"It was because of Tsuna's death or maybe it was because of his life.

Tsuna... was a civilian in our first loop. He was a bartender at Italy. He said that he needed time away from Japan and the scenery was beautiful whenever we asked why he moved all the way there. It was a cozy little bar that was one of our greatest comfort. He was great company and he never pried.

It started with Aria, our sky...

He left a mark in our hearts and he was the friend Aria could share all her secrets with. But she had been dying and she had a small daughter, Yuni who would get the curse of the sky arcobaleno and would die as early as she would have if not for...

He played matchmaker between Aria and Gamma, her bodyguard. We never thought they would ever get together, with her guilt. But they did and she looked happier than she ever did and Yuni had gotten attached to him and he became their impromptu baby sitter.

Fon came to the bar to thank the Tsuna but stayed because of the relaxed atmosphere and the teas he could brew. His disciple I-pin had mistaken the location of her target and came to the bar, mistaking a patron for her target who had a fair amount of connections to make I-pin's life tougher and would need the full concentration of Fon who had a lot at his plate back then. He had diverted the blame for the assassination from her to himself. Now that I think about it, that should have been our first sign that something was wrong.

Mammon had come next asking about the price to keep silent and demanding discounts on the bribe she had to give, but he waved it off, saying it was nothing from the ordinary. She refused to accept that and kept coming back to force him into accepting. Later on, it just became a excuse to visit. But she never liked how Fon called her out on it every time they had met there in coincidence.

My lackey- oh right, you don't know, Skull met Tsuna through a literal accident. One of his stunts made him crash right into the bar. He found him cool since the other wasn't fazed at the hole in the wall or the screaming customers. He even treated that idiot and gave him a treat- on the house- apparently. There's the saying right, if you give an inch, they'll take a mile? Yeah, my lackey did exactly that and started bringing Tsuna to his stunt shows and many of them were disasters. But he wouldn't listen to Mammon or Fon's advice to stop indulging him to lessen the injuries, but he never listened...

Lal Mirch and Colonello visited him on the blond idiot's suggestion. Lal wanted to beat him into shape looking at all the injuries that he got, from what we had assumed to be from Skull's stunt shows, but he never explained himself and the idiot kept flirting with her. Tsuna seemed to be present in the worst of places at the worst timings as we later found out... as he stumbled across Colonello lying at the corner of an alley with his wounds quite severe. When he contacted Lal, she refused to listen to reason and was inconsolable. That was also when we met one of you guys, we met you, Gokudera and you'd brought Colonello to Shamal who made an exception for Tsuna, an apparent regular. He had told Lal that if she was so afraid to lose him, she ought to treasure the time she had taken for granted. Mammon deeply appreciated the blackmail she could get from a red faced Lal and that grinning idiot.

Verde came on Aria's prodding when Gokudera was visiting him. They hit it off with long debates. On other times, Irie Shoichi, Byakuran's right hand then and Spanner, his mechanic came to the bar. That inventor used to visit for those nerd meetups. Tsuna's circle had a lot of people who were very talented in their field as we later met and got introduced to... The place became important to us and it was centered around him- the place where misfits belonged.

I was the last one to come to the bar. I had used it as a camouflage for a lot of my missions that somehow made it become convenient for hideouts and scouting. We had casual conversations and he helped inform me if my targets were spotted nearby. We had gotten close slowly. I told him my real name, how the arcobaleno curse worked like, what I wanted to do after we break the curse. He told me about his past, how he was bullied until high school, how he wasn't really good at anything and how he got his treasures- Hibari Kyoya, Yamamoto Takeshi, Sasagawa Ryohei and his sister and her friend from the place he had considered hell. He told about how the bar's first customers Bovino Lambo and Gokudera Hayato became the reason he decided to keep being a bartender and another treasure in a chest that seemed to be ever growing. He told me about Rokudo Mukuro and Nagi... " he ignored how the illusionist shuttered minutely at the name.

"...I was also the first one to know when things had gotten worse.

It could be because the place was so cozy that we all made it a nest... but it started getting targeted and in particular, the one in focus was Tsuna. I tried convincing him to change locations, but he refused because of the emotional connection we all made with it. He said he didn't have the money to change the place. We wanted to arm the place, but that would make it stand out even more. So we hired spies with the additional skills of bodyguards. But they were killed so easily. We didn't want to cage him in a place since it was a problem with no solutions. But we didn't want to leave... since we both mutually found each other as something precious. Tsuna had no aptitude for fighting, no matter how much Fon, Lal, Colonello and I tried. Verde didn't consider it as serious of a problem, naively thinking that we could handle whatever they could throw at us- we were the best seven people of the world after all- until they burned down the bar...

They could rebuild it, but Tsuna's hand got burned to its nerves and he couldn't lift a shake to make any blend...

He never blamed us, and instead invited us to visit his home saying he needed a break anyway. We met his mama- I mean his mother, Sawada Nana... Sorry, old habits die hard. She grew on us with her optimistic cheeriness. She took on Tsuna until Verde could make a prosthetic limb or reculture tissues to surgically reconnect his nerves. But then, his body didn't accept any tissues artificially synthesized and the nerve connections with the artificial limbs never got fully connected. He had to be drugged constantly and he was delirious with fever. Eventually, the plan had to get scrapped, especially since the Sawada house got burnt to the ground when we weren't there.

Byakuran at that time started getting worried at all the bad luck Tsuna was getting and started going after power, thinking that he could intimidate the people to try this into silence. We didn't agree. I remember Tsuna giving me a pained smile throughout what happened afterwards.

Tsuna was taken into Yamamoto's custody, Takeshi waved all of his reservations and worries away. But then... he died. Some muggers at Namimori ambushed Tsuna and he took the blow for him. Sasagawa Ryohei found him at the middle of the alley covered in the blood of four people, as he fought until his last breath. He had been inconsolable and he had spent the whole time that day apologizing to his father, blaming himself.

The Sasagawas took him into custody next and they too... died. Sasagawa Kyoko had been caught by the momokyokai yakuza. They... fancied her... Tsuna found out and reached the location far too late. Ryohei who had noticed the desperate look on his face followed him there and had gotten enraged. Hibari showed up when Tsuna had been next... and the grounds turned into a blood fest.

Tsuna left Namimori thinking that he had made the prefect into a serial killer. But in the underworld, there isn't the law that governs the balance of the world... there are people who can balance it with their lives. But he never could accept it...

Gokudera started following Tsuna since he never accepted the request to stay with you... He had been traumatized by what had happened and the circumstances they had happened in. He asked you to leave him alone, that nothing good would happen with trying to protect him... But you didn't listen and... you died in the crossfire by a suicide bomb.

Tsuna started wearing a white suit from then, telling me that if black was such a gloomy color, it's opposite must be the culmination of all positive things... the things that the people who died represented to him. He wanted to wear it, in the memory of his loved ones.

Nagi died next... by drug overdose, since Tsuna got shifted to a shady hospital from the one we put him in for a psychological checkup. She found out that he was taken to the hospital and sneaked in with Mukuro who had insisted on following her, since it was a place that had given her trauma... Tsuna had been made a guinea pig for their experiments, ones that were more potent than opium...

Mukuro killed them all, but the building had been victim to a small earthquake and it toppled the drug filled cabinets and fell all on top of Nagi... and none fell on Tsuna."

Mukuro's breath shortened as he squeezed his eyes, willing himself to listen further.

"When you ran to remove the cardboards, shoving Tsuna to the door... the floor cracked and buried you deep inside. You suffocated to death since your trident had been with Tsuna. He couldn't have known how to use it, but you wanted him to use it for self defense but he couldn't make his muscles point it to anyone on instinct.

Tsuna refused to come with anyone from then. He told us that he was done with us. He wanted us to hate him and leave him. It was so obvious, with his words not matching his body posture or expression. But he had a tough time pushing people away and Lambo took advantage of that, latching on to his side. Tsuna ran at the sight of him from then, but you took it as an elaborate hide and seek game. He approached me to keep you away from him, lest he brought you to the middle of a shootout like Gokudera. I agreed since I wanted to be paranoid until I figured out what was going on. But you used your ten year bazooka on yourself in a struggle... and you never came back. I was confused then, but I know the reason now. It was because of our decision.

Unless we give up on doing another time loop, the future ten years later would never exist. That's why... I forbade you from using it."

Lambo looked shocked, since all his guesses were wrong and the truth implied was much, more darker.

"Tsuna had been taken in by the Vindice for questioning. But what came from there was a type of camaraderie between them. Oh right, the head of the Vindice was also an Arcobaleno so he vaguely knows whats happening in the time loop, just for your information.

He thought that if he went back to Namimori he would endanger Hibari, but then the guy came an visited himself. He thought that the prefect would never leave Namimori but he came and told Tsuna, updated about the current situation that no herbivore can get him.

But Hibari didn't visit Tsuna in Italy and it was usually the other way around, so he never knew about the regulars of the bar. So when Shamal entered the renovated bar, drunk as he could ever be, Hibari attacked thinking he was a mafioso aiming at Tsuna's life and got stung by a mosquito in Shamal's self defense."

Gokudera gasped as he didn't expect it was Shamal, a guy he begrudgingly respected as his teacher to be the reason for the death of someone the brunette considered special. It felt like it was him betraying the other.

"Shamal couldn't save him, his trident mosquito poison being too potent. That night, Tsuna had chosen to get shit-faced drunk to my chagrin. He wailed like a baby and then looked at the grape juice and orange juice at the cabinet he stocked for when Lambo came. You were always a lightweight."

"Oh shut up."

"He told me that there was a way to break the arcobaleno's curse, telling me that we could make the Vindice cap the pacifiers with their flames that could be generated inexhaustibly... even though it was no time to be worrying about others. He ran around the whole night contacting people and refused to listen to me when I said that it was impossible. He gave me an apologetic smile and told me that was all he could ever do for them... I wanted to punch him, back then.

I suggested that I could tell Talbot about the plan when the Vindice agreed, apparently satisfied at taking revenge against Checkerface, the guy who gave us the curse by removing the control from his hands.

Tsuna looked so lively that night that I forgot to take proper caution, with his joy infecting me with hope...

That's why when a week later Talbot removed the pacifiers along with the weight we thought we had to carry all our lives, we had been happy enough to remove all worries from our mind. Byakuran had visited us that night with sweets to celebrate the occasion."

Reborn paused then, and they looked at him with baited breaths. But the hitman refused to speak. Lambo got irritated, but before he said a thing, Reborn continued.

"Among the boxes we were opening, one made us lose all our appetite. It was two eyes with a blazing gold. It was something that made us proud when he felt the confidence he rarely got...

it was Tsuna's eyes.

We left the place scrambling towards the location that was left as the 'gift's' label. It was a small abandoned building which had the distinct smell of corpses.

We hoped that it was just the eyes that were taken. Because revenge otherwise, would have felt so empty. It was a selfish request. We had robbed his sight, his hands, his friends, his house, his mother and father, and we knew he still had things left -he still had six other senses they could fight to protect.

The friend who had given everything they wished for and got nothing... no, nothing would have been better... he almost had nothing left. People he cared about died left and right... and he only wished for their safety.

But the way we found him- drowned in a pool of blood that was extracted from the rotting corpses of the people we wished we could have protected...

We later found that the graves had been desecrated. Tsuna's expression still haunts me and I know from his agony filled look that they had filled the tank right in front of him...

I always remember him with a pained smile or a tear filled face...

That day, Byakuran wanted the power of the triniscet to change the status quo. He wanted justice. We accepted his proposal for that purpose. This time, he wanted to make Tsuna the new Decimo and make him used to the underworld and vice versa... Because then, they wouldn't try to remove him as an outlier and we can protect him better...

Through the time loops, we realized the true situation of things, through countless experiments. Sawada Tsunayoshi is something of a Zashiki Warashi to this timeline. That is, he's an existence that gives good luck to others at the cost of his own life. Those that try to protect him will lose their life in consequence.

Knowing this, will you still try to protect him?"