Hello! Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Also belated happy birthday to Reborn and Tsuna. So this is technically a birthday chapter. Don't ask me why Reborn wasn't included. I just forgot to be honest but don't worry about it!

Anyhow! Keep your eyes open. Trust me on this one. ;)

"Dialogue"

'Thought'

Squalo thought

- Sign Language -


SOMEWHERE IN NAMIMORI

"Kawahira. It's Tsuna-san's birthday."

"I'm well aware of that, Yuni."

The two Earthlings sat alone in the empty ramen shop. The gentle bustle of Namimori's shopping district could be heard right outside the shop's curtains. The squeak and the sound of running water broke through the white noise as Kawahira rinsed his now empty bowl. Yuni watched before she felt the corners of her lips tug into a smile.

"You feel it, don't you?" The woman said almost excitingly.

"You know I've always been able to feel their Flames. Why do you bring it up now?" He asked. He turned around and leaned on the counter. Kawahira crossed his arms and raised a curious brow at Yuni.

She chuckled, "You know what I'm talking about. They're stronger. It's the strongest it's ever been since that time."

"Regardless, it's not indicative of anything." Kawahira paused and his eyes widened a fraction, "Unless…"

Yuni gave a bright smile. She turned to the window where she had a wide view of the cloudy sky. She closed her eyes.

"I had a vision last night. It wasn't too clear but I saw a person… Young... It can't be anybody else, Kawahira. It's Tsuna-san." Yuni said.

Kawahira stared at her before heaving out a sigh, "It's been way too long overdue."

Yuni laughed as stray tears escaped her eyes, "It has, hasn't it? For many centuries, Tsuna-san's Elements as well as those with whom he had performed the loyalty contract with have been deprived of their sky. For many centuries, they've been so lost."

She opened her eyes and smiled sadly, "I wonder how they all are doing right now."


Random Fact #6

Bos taurus is a species of Bos (cow) in the family Bovidae


"This is La Mer." Calen stated.

"Wow, what a splendid observation!" Dia faked a gasp and slowly clapped her hands near Calen's face. Calen growled before harshly grabbing her wrist.

"Must you always be this intolerable?"

Dia returned his annoyed gaze with a mischievous grin, "Kufufufu, it's my pleasure to get on your nerves birdy."

Rus rolled his eyes and said nothing as they continued to bicker in the back of his car. Instead, he waited in silence until the door to the passenger seat opened. He turned to his side and gave a wave to the newcomer.

"Hey Arias. Did you just close the restaurant early?"

Arias propped himself comfortably onto his seat before signing to Rus, - The sous chef is covering for me. -

"Ho? So he'll be joining us on our mysterious expedition today, I see." Dia said. The chef raised an eyebrow at Rus.

Mysterious expedition?

"I haven't told them yet."

"Told us what?"

"We're meeting Lampo today at a certain place. Well, his name is Taur now. I figured today would be a good enough reason for you to finally meet him." Rus replied Calen. He started up his car and drove back into the busy road.

Dia hummed as she leaned on her side of the car, "... And what's today?"

Rus glanced at the two through the rearview mirror before he sighed.

"October 14th." Calen crossed his arms, disinterested.

"There's nothing special abo-" Before he could finish his sentence, he realized. It didn't take long for Dia to figure it out as well.

Arias turned to Rus.

It's the brats' first time, isn't it?

Rus glanced towards Arias from his periphery and nodded. "They did just get their memories this year."

Calen and Dia remained silent. The drive remained relatively quiet with Rus replying to Arias occasionally when he could actually understand the man's silent conversation. It took Calen a few minutes to notice that they were driving out of the city. Not too long after, they arrived at their destination. They stopped by the side of the highway where it was still surrounded by trees. It looked like they were by the entrance to a hiking path.

They stepped out of the car and the two teenagers noticed the man standing by the entrance. He was relatively young but still older than Calen; he looked like he would be a sophomore in college.

The man turned to them lazily, "Yare, yare. These are the Decimo's guardians?"

"Yup. Taur, meet my nephew and niece, Calen and Candia Riccio. You know them as Kyoya Hibari and Mukuro Rokudo respectively, the Cloud and the Mist Guardians." Rus introduced. His companion raised a brow.

"The Cloud and Mist… So basically like Alaude and Daemon?" Taur puffed his cheeks and started to laugh.

"That's hilarious! Pfft, hahahaha! They're siblings, what an unfortunate fate! Wo-"

Taur stepped back just in time when the sharp prongs of a trident and the dull head of tonfa appeared below his neck.

"Kufufu… I agree, it is unfortunate. It's frustrating living with the birdy."

"It's very tempting to take it out on you and bite you to death if you'd prefer."

Beads of sweat formed on the nape of his neck as he tentatively nudged the tip of the trident with his finger. This was reminding him too much of his fellow Guardians of his generation.

"I-i! Ugh…" he squeaked. He turned to Rus for help.

"Alright, always a great introduction. Shall we go?" Rus said. When he noticed the two siblings now listening to him, he sighed.

"We're going to Tsuna's memorial stone. Do you both really want to waste time like this?"

Before Calen and Dia could show any signs of vulnerability, they lowered their weapons much to Taur's relief. He cleared his throat and turned around.

"Well then, let's go."

So then they started their walk with Taur leading the way. They hadn't gone a few feet before Taur went off the trail and walked further into the forest. Rus and Arias followed suit. Without question, Dia and Calen followed after them. It made sense for the memorial stone that they put up for Tsuna many years ago would be lost in the woods after so many years.

Tsuna passed away after one of Vongola's most difficult underground battles in its whole history. They were still recovering from their losses. Among which were Tetsuya and a number of Foundation members, Calen noted. There were other significant people whom they've lost in that battle, some dear to the prominent members of the Vongola and its Allies. Byakuran, Joshima Ken, and Fran to name a few. They were still recovering and yet, Tsuna decided that that time was the right time for him to leave. Not even a year into restructuring their organization, repairing damaged property, paperwork and frankly in grieving for their dead, Tsuna left them.

Calen gripped his tonfas as he harshly slashed a stray fern out of his way. His sister watched him from behind with an unreadable expression. She used her trident to move the annoying leaves and bushes.

"If I knew we were going to go to Tsunayoshi's memorial stone, I would have invited Maman." She said after a while.

"... I don't think that teacher of hers would let her go with a bunch of strangers in the middle of the forest." Her brother replied.

"Oh, I haven't met Maman yet. I should try and free up some of my schedule from the university to go visit."

-Sawada Nana is here?- Arias signed.

"Yup. The kids-"

"Don't call us that."

"- they met her two or three weeks ago. When Dia went to the hospital." Rus replied.

"You've probably heard of her, Varia. After all, Maman is being fostered by your lady. Kufufu, what's her name? Thera."

Dia moved back coolly just in time to dodge the pocket knife pointed at her throat. She raised an eyebrow at the chef, "I'm assuming I said something I shouldn't have?" Dia said.

No shit, Sherlock.

Reading his thoughts, she smirked. "Didn't go well huh. What happened?"

Arias clicked his tongue and turned away without answering her.

They walked further and further into the forest. Calen and Dia just knew that they were close despite not having been there before in their current lives. Just like when they held Tsuna's ring, they could feel Tsuna's Sky Flames likely coming from the memorial. Tsuna was first buried there before they eventually brought him to Namimori Cemetery so it wasn't surprising to have Tsuna's flames still lingering within the memorial.

After five more minutes of walking, they finally arrived. The memorial was placed right beside a small clearing though it was hidden by bushes and the foliage. It didn't look anything special. The Vongola Family set up a long rectangular stone with kanji reading Tsuna's name carved into it though it was worn and almost illegible. It was clean however, likely cleared of the moss and dirt that accumulated throughout the decades by the adults of the group.

Calen and Dia held in their breaths and kept silent. Calen went ahead and sat in a seiza position as to how he was brought up as a Hibari. He brought his hands together to pay his respect. Rus and Dia followed suit. Arias and Taur on the other hand, who were less accustomed to the Japanese tradition, stood by quietly.

They felt their flames invisibly dance with Tsuna's, one of the effects of having done a Loyalty pact with the Sky. Even Taur felt his own flames reaching out to Tsuna's, being the direct descendant of the man he made a pact with. There was a sense of calm within them, particularly with Calen and Dia. They were Tsuna's direct Elements after all. Their bond was the strongest compared to Rus, Arias, and Taur's who were allies of their Sky.

Both Calen and Dia felt something weird, however. Amidst the calm, there was something else. They had felt it before in their previous lives. But as soon as it came, it vanished. The siblings shared a look and both couldn't decipher what it was about.

They stood up and patted themselves down.

"Kufufu... Well, that was interesting."

"Hn. Makes me want to find and bite Tsunayoshi to death more."

"I'm glad you came with us. Shall we head back? Maybe we could go to La Mer to continue Tsuna's birthday celebration?"

-Don't expect a fucking discount.-

"Stingy…"

"Yare, yare. I suppose the great me will also accompany you."

"You just want free food."

"I'll have to agree with the birdy on this one. You don't have to accompany us. Thanks~"

Taur felt a vein pop as he fell behind in the group. Suddenly, he felt a nearby flame. Similar to his Lightning flame. He looked around but sensed no other person. He frowned and turned back to catch up with the group. Behind him, a cub with bright electric green eyes approached the memorial. It stretched and curled up next to the stone for a well-deserved nap.


Oen noticed Draco staring out the cafe window, lost in thought.

"Draco? Is something wrong?" He asked. Beside Oen, their little sister stopped eating her cake and turned to Draco in worry.

"Huh?" He blinked, "Oh, it's nothing."

"If you say so…"


Thera and Lass sat outside at the park. Lass sat on Thera's lap, both of them bundled up for the weather. She worried for her daughter. She had been quiet the entire day and Lass didn't seem insistent on sharing what was on her mind. The least Thera could do was take themselves out to relax.

"... The sky looks a little lonely today." Lass whispered before she turned to her mother, "Don't you think so?"

For some unexplainable reason, she agreed. Lass' brown orbs met red before Thera looked up at the sky.

She felt like throwing something at it.


People looked down at the poor middle-aged man who had just lost his wine business.


The old father comforted his son and daughter-in-law after another failed attempt. They wondered if they ever would have a child of their own.


For the first time in her life, she was told that her unusual eyes were pretty. By a strange child nonetheless.


His eyes lit up as he watched the ball go in the basket just as the buzzer sounded. He cheered with the crowd and wheeled himself back to his friends before it could get any more crowded

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END OF CHAPTER! So? What do you think? I introduced quite a number of characters here hehehehe Can you guess who they are? Let me know what you think of the chapter!