Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or Tuff.

Word Count: 8163

(Future)

"We have an issue."

"Define issue, Hana?"

"…Reborn's been here for about a day Tsume."

"Ah…yeah that's an issue."

"Can you come or…"

"Mama, mama, look!"

Natsume looked over, eyes crinkling as the small child waved at her, gesturing to the lopsided sand castle she had built. Natsume gave the child a nod, a half smile curling her mouth as she gave her a thumbs up, "Natsume?"

"If I go you're being pulled out of the base, understand?"

"Do you think it'll be safe at my –"

"You'll be with Kawahira, Hana," Natsume cut off her friend, eyes narrowing as she crossed one of her arms against her bare stomach, eyes casually glancing over the people that passed by. "I don't trust Millefiore and from what Tsuya says they've been getting braver and openly skulking around Namimori."

"But there haven't been any incidents."

"Yet," Natsume tutted, the tattooed hand at her stomach coming down to pet the head of the large black jaguar that bumped its nose against her hip. "I need to get going, keep me updated on anything that happens."

"Be careful Natsume."

"Always am."

The line ended and Natsume pulled the phone down from her ear, sticking it in the pouch she kept at her side.

"You've had fun nosing around Kyoya?"

"My work's done."

Natsume couldn't help the crooked grin she aimed up at the man who walked up beside her, who merely kept staring straight ahead, grey eyes zeroing in on the tiny brunette who was having a lot more fun stepping on her sand castle than building it.

"So what was this then?"

"The little one wanted to have fun."

If Kyoya looked, he would have caught Natsume with the tip of her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she tried not to laugh at the thought that she came too. Instead he heard the sound of her mimicking a whip and he slanted her with a pointed look.

"And to think you're so tough, when your goddaughter has you wrapped around her little finger."

The large feline at her side chirped, its tail flicking in amusement before it strutted over to the little girl who squealed, slinging her arms around its neck. The cat lowered itself down so she could get herself settled on its back and the feline strutted back to them, its amber eyes glowing in amusement.

"Malana, time to go home."

"Mama, we take flowers for Uncle?"

There was a pang that accompanied that, but it was smothered away, though she did get another pointed stare from Kyoya. Natsume shrugged, one hand threading itself through her daughter's hair, the other gesturing for Kyoya to lead the way back to the place they were staying at.

"I'm sure Kawahira can get us some fresh ones, sweetheart."

"Oh, jiichan can make special flowers then!"

Natsume's smile was brittle from what Kyoya saw as he looked over his shoulder. The Cloud and Mist user's shared a look, the taller of the two raising a brow before focusing on where he was going.

/ | \

(Past)

Tsuna, Takeshi, Hayato and Ryohei were waiting outside the school gates for Reborn to stop by. The hitman had said he would be meeting with them once school let out and it wasn't like him to be late.

"I'm surprised you're all still here," Natsume chimed in as she stopped by, the conversation between Hana and Kyoko cutting off as the auburn haired girl went to greet her brother and ask him about his day at school.

"Reborn's not here yet."

His sister frowned, running a hand through her loose hair, which was surprising, since Natsume either had her hair pulled back in a braid or up in a ponytail, "Maybe he got caught up in something?"

Tsuna scrunched his features, "Do you get a bad feeling too?" Her nod didn't ease him at all, so he sighed, "Let's head home then and see if he just hasn't been held up by anyone there."

"I'll keep an eye around the market," Natsume offered, heading in the opposite direction of them. "I'll let you know if anything weird is up."

Tsuna was about to say something, but bit back his refusal, "Alright then, be careful alright?"

Natsume smiled, waving her fingers at him, "Always am, see ya!"

He waved back, still feeling uneasy. A hand clamped down on his shoulder and he looked to see Ryohei smiling brightly at him, "Let's split up in looking for Reborn! It might be a new game he has for us!"

Tsuna really hoped it wasn't.

/ | \

(Future)

Yamamoto Takeshi didn't know how he should feel about this sudden development. He had just come back from a mission, hoping to rest in Namimori only to find things turned upside down. First of all his father was dead and as much as it hurt; he couldn't take the time to grieve for his old man. Not now when the arcobaleno Reborn (from ten fucking years ago) was currently in the medic's ward under Hana's specific care.

Second of all there was an angry doctorhounding him and this one had a knack for getting them to fix the issue no matter how fucked it was. Like right now Takeshi refrained from rubbing the side of his temples as said woman stood before him, hand's on her hips and was outright demanding that they bring Lambo back in to run some tests on the bazooka.

"You're a doctor Hana, what do you know –"

"I know enough that Reborn being here for over a day is not a common occurrence or function of that damned weapon," there was a flash of green in her eyes and if her hair stood more on end, Takeshi would say that it was just normal.

When Hana's temper was stoked, things tended to get very shocking around her.

"Lambo and I-pin will be returning tomorrow at the earliest, with Kyoko and Haru in tow, so I can't exactly hurry them up unless I want to bring those two in danger."

Hana threw her hand's up in the air, already fed up with the situation, "Figured," the woman scoffed, hands going to her hips. "Someone needs to explain the situation to Reborn then."

It spoke much of just how much control he had over himself that he didn't pinch the bridge of his nose or express any exasperation. He merely stayed as calm and cool as he could under the circumstances, "There's no need if this is just a malfunction of the bazooka," he caught Hana's sharp gaze and he slightly narrowed his eyes. "What is the point in telling him? What if he goes back with the information we give him?"

"Then they can have a chance of doing something about this shit situation!"

"And they change it, what if something else comes along because they decided to mess with their future paths?"

"…you're frustrating as hell to deal with sometimes, Takeshi."

The Rain shrugged, letting himself slouch back in his seat, both hands running down his face, "I hate me too sometimes."

Hana seemed taken back by that statement, "That's not what I said."

"I know."

A silence fell between the two, Hana moving her way around the small office and opening up one of the cabinets. She pulled out two cups from there and a bottle of dark colored liquor from the mini fridge beneath it, which she poured into the cups and handed it off to Takeshi.

"A drink to a fucked up day."

Takeshi huffed, holding the cup gingerly in his hand, "I'll drink to that."

God knows he'd need more to deal with whatever mess came up after this.

Part 58: It's Bleak…The Future I Mean

(Past)

Natsume tried calling Tsuna two hours after they had last seen each other and she didn't know what to think of the dead dial tone she kept getting. Her brother's phone should have been paid for the month, so why did it keep telling her that the phone wasn't in service?

She huffed, muttering under her breath as she pulled her phone away from her ear, ending the call and then going through her other contacts.

Her phone screen lit up, Hayato's name and face popping up as his call came in and she promptly answered, "Hey –"

"Tsuna's missing."

"What? How?"

"We split up to look for Reborn, we met outside your house, but Tsuna didn't show up at the time we said to meet back up and we've already looked around for him…" The silver haired teen's voice sounded unnerved. "We…get this feeling that he's not just missing…."

Natsume breathed in and out slowly, her left hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose, "Have you tried calling him?"

"It's the first thing I did! Fucking machine tells me it's out of service!"

Natsume made a quiet 'ugh' sound, her hand coming down to fidget with the edge of her skirt, "Maybe he's up where you guys go in the forest, give him a few minutes Hayato."

"…Fine."

"I'll see you in a bit." There was a grunt to show that he had heard her, the line ending soon after and Natsume flipped her phone shut. She stared at the pink device, shaking her head as doubt began to cloud her thoughts and instead headed back to the table the girls were sitting at, "I have to get going."

"Already? It's still pretty early," Haru said, looking down at her wrist watch. "You're always leaving us so early, Natsume; can't you just stay a little longer?"

"I promise next time I will, Hayato just called and it seems they need a little more help in their area."

"They still haven't found Reborn-kun?" Kyoko asked, pursing her lips when Natsume shook her head. "Maybe he's just playing hard to find, we did keep an eye out here but he didn't come by as we hoped."

Natsume shrugged, her bag lightly bouncing against her hip at the movement, "Maybe, but sometimes those boys need a girl to set them straight."

Haru giggled at that, "I wonder what the boy's would be like if they didn't have a strong woman around."

She could definitely answer that, but Natsume knew better. The memories of her past life had faded away, rarely if ever cropping up since the Ring Battle's. Her meditation and her prayer's had been helping ease that part of her life to become nothing more but a very distant memory and she was more than glad for that.

"I'll see you two tomorrow, see you around Haru, take care," and she left with that.

Jasmine was definitely a thing of the past and she'd rather not delve back into the dead woman's life. There was no need, she was currently living now, her name was Natsume and her life was hectic but in a good way. She had a loving mother, a brother that she adored and friend's that she could count on.

She didn't want to fall back on the old thoughts of what would it be like if she hadn't been born, how would have Jasmine's life continued on if she hadn't been killed.

'Do let your brother and that tutor of his know that I will be willing to meet with them soon.' Kawahira's voice echoed in her mind and she felt slightly peeved that he popped her clone to do just that when he -could have sent his own message.

Well Reborn would be happy to hear that once they found him.

/ | \

(Future)

It was dark and somewhat comfortable where Tsuna found himself. The thing was that it was really dark and though it was comfortable, he didn't like the small space he felt enclosed in. He pushed up against the cover above him and was surprised that it gave away easily.

He pushed it off to the side and was more than happy to see the rosy colors of the sky and able to take in fresh air. That was all fine until he looked down in what he was in and promptly scrambled out of the coffin.

"What the –" the flower petals within scattered, a slight breeze picking some of them up, others clinging to his school jacket. He looked around to see if anyone else was nearby, waiting for it to be some weird joke, but when no one did, Tsuna got up and inspected the dark wooden lid.

It wasn't a gaudy coffin like he had seen in some of the novela's Bianchi liked to watch. It was a simple dark, almost black wooden coffin, with silver lining the edges. The symbol in the middle of the upper part of the lid made him feel cold, the kanji of his name just underneath it making him want to be sick.

"I'm dead?"

"…Tsuna?"

There was a clatter and Tsuna's hands were already up, but he froze when he noticed a much older and very tired Hayato staring at him. A few seconds ticked by, but the silver haired man got himself together, "We don't have much time, Tsuna," the briefcase in his hand was handed to the teen who merely blinked in confusion though he did take the briefcase. "7 – 6 – 3 and my younger self's finger print should do to open it, I – "

A plume of familiar pink smoke and Tsuna figured that he had been hit by Lambo's bazooka. How was the question, since he had been out near the nature center after checking out the spot's Reborn liked to take them too.

"What the hell – Tsuna?"

Tsuna stared at Hayato, the briefcase in his hand heavy as the two boy's exchanged confused looks. Hayato's eyes darted from his and down to the coffin and then back at Tsuna with a wide eyed look.

"Did you come –"

"Can you open this Hayato?" Tsuna cut him off not wanting that question to be asked and held out the briefcase towards the teen. "Your older self was interrupted, I think there might be something in this briefcase that can make sense of all this."

/ | \

(Past)

"What do you mean you heard a 'pop' and then Hayato was gone?"

"It's exactly what I said, I went inside to ask Bianchi if she'd seen Reborn, because Hayato didn't want too and when I came out I heard the sound and he was gone," Takeshi pursed his lips, smacking them together as he offered a little more helpful information. "It sounded like Lambo's bazooka exploding to be honest."

Natsume made an exasperated sound, covering her face with her hands. "Let's go to my room and figure this out…where's Ryohei?" she gestured for him to go past the gate first.

"Ladies first," earned him an eye roll from the girl, but she brushed past him and made her way in. "He went back to school, apparently his club has night practice on Friday's."

She didn't bother taking off her shoes as she headed upstairs, Takeshi a little ways behind her as he actually took his shoes off before heading into the home.

The door to Natsume's room was open and he cautiously made his way in, greeting Emi with a quick pet to the head. "So Reborn's nowhere to be found, Tsuna's phone is out of service and Hayato's been gone for more than five minutes," Natsume's mumbling had him looking up at the girl who had taken a seat at her desk, elbow resting against the top, the palm of her hand held over her mouth.

Takeshi took a seat at the end of her bed, "But Lambo's bazooka isn't anywhere he or anyone can get it."

"Are you sure about that?"

The girl gave him a cocky smirk, "Of course I am, it's in my closet, and not just anyone can come in my room y'know."

"Oh," getting into Natsume's room without permission had a lot of downsides. "Do you think someone might have been able to rebuild the bazooka?"

"That's the thing about it, the only people with the technology to do that are the Bovino's and from what Reborn's said even they have failed to rebuild a second bazooka that can stand the discharge of the bullets –" Natsume trailed off, brows furrowing. "Someone could have stolen the bullets."

"But without the bazooka they're useless no?"

Natsume shook her head, "The bazooka just regulates the switch to five minutes and without it a person can be lost to time."

"And how do you know this?"

She puffed her cheeks slightly, giving her closet door a dirty look before she answered, "I asked Lambo and he pulled out a small little booklet that explained that?"

"A booklet?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, while sliding open her closet door. "I know that sounds like I'm making it up, but I'm serious, there were even these wacky little drawings in them too."

It was silent between them as she began looking through her things, before Takeshi nodded slowly, deciding to take that for now and not questioning it any further. (Their lives were rather...odd...at least he knew he would be able to take this in stride, Hayato on the other hand...well...that would be a funny reaction to see.)

"We'll have to keep an eye out for whoever is doing this then, see if we can catch them in the act."

"I'll set something up then," Natsume said, straightening up and turning to him after she pulled out a plastic pink toybox. She flicked her pointer finger at him and a small little bird appeared and settled on his shoulder. "For now keep that on you, yeah?"

Takeshi poked the purple colored animal, the bird trilling as he rubbed his finger against its chest. "Will do."

/ | \

(Future)

Takeshi had just finished speaking with Reborn when the message Lal Mirch had sent was received. Two young teen's had been found and both shared characteristics with people the woman knew. He waited at the entrance of the base, and when the time that Lal Mirch should have arrived rolled by and she wasn't there, well, he was only slightly worried.

The once-arcobaleno was strong, absurdly so, and could take on anything that came her way if she must. The only downside was that since she had been an arcobaleno, the radiation in the air had an effect on her.

There was the bright flash of lightening, shortly followed by the roar of thunder. The heaven's broke loose at that moment, the rain pouring down heavily and making it much harder to see in the dark. It wasn't like his skills were down, but he waited calmly, hand on the katana at his side as three figures approached.

"You're late," he called to them, the one leading them looking up and shrugging.

"A Gola Mosca came up on us," answered the leader, pulling back the hood that protected her head from getting soaked. A familiar glare was upon him and he greeted the woman with a nod.

"Lal Mirch," he turned to the other two that accompanied her and it was only years of training that had him not flinching in shock to see a pouty faced (very much alive and very young) Tsuna, dripping wet, beside an equally unamused Hayato (just as young and oh dearly beloved fuck he was pissed). "Younglings, shall we head in?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Lal Mirch threw back, stalking past him and slipping into the hidden opening.

"Is she always so angry?"

"Lal's had a tough couple of years," Takeshi answered Tsuna's question, who he ushered ahead in the direction Lal had gone. That only left Hayato and it was just how long he knew the silver haired teen that the glare he was being given didn't make him want to tease the teen about it.

(Really he was like a soaked kitten, how was he supposed to be intimidated by that?)

"What the hell is happening Takeshi?"

"Let's go inside and get situated, then I'll answer your questions."

"I want answers now, the tenth is dead! Tsuna – I mean – and all this –"

Takeshi narrowed his eyes at the teen who he was half a foot taller than. The swordsman rose one brow, "Not. Now. Hayato. Get inside now."

The teen before him puffed up, almost similarly to a cat, but he listened instead of arguing back. "You've changed, baseball idiot."

Takeshi snorted, rolling his eyes at the silver haired teen's back. It had been a long while since he had last been called that.

/ | \

(Past)

Natsume had pushed back all the furniture in Kawahira's room, walking between the points she had set up in the visual map she had created of the town. The points where the small summons she had tacked on to everyone were plotted where they had been destroyed, suggesting that was also the time of disappearance.

"What's the point in the map if you can't do anything?" Hana asked, sitting on the arm of the couch, moving her legs back and forth. Chrome sat beside her, legs curled up under her as she watched what Natsume was doing.

"I didn't make them to retain memory, only to serve as an alert," Natsume sighed, flicking her finger at the plotted point over at the park where Haru, Kyoko and the kid's had disappeared. "I'm just trying to – I don't know, feel like I'm doing something I guess?"

"Sometimes I wonder, dear student," Kawahira spoke up, Hibari following in close behind him, "If you remember that I like being told of anything drastic happening." Here he looked over the three extra teen's in his room, before looking at Natsume who just shrugged.

"I'm having issues sensei; they're helping me think right now."

Kawahira sniffed, putting his hands within the wide sleeves of his yukata, "Don't think too hard and remember who you have at home." He then turned around and went back to the front, beads clinking behind him.

"Of all people to be the one teaching you and it's the shop keeper," she heard Hana mutter. "Those idiots have been puzzling over who it could be and how they can figure it out, you've even brought them here and they –" she trailed off, making a sound of disgust, which earned her a confused look from Natsume.

"So," Natsume started slowly, watching as Chrome patted Hana's leg in comfort and just decided to deal with the latest arrival. "I'm surprised you're here."

"People are missing."

"Lost to time more like," Natsume corrected, shifting her weight from foot to the other. She idly waved her hand at the town map, dispersing it away and turned her attention to Hibari. "I also asked if you could bring Ryohei." Hibari blinked slowly at her and shook his head once, making Natsume sigh, "Alright, you know what next time I want something done I'll go bother Kusakabe."

"Are you demanding things of me?"

She gave the older teen a hard stare hands held out in front of her, palms up, clenching and unclenching her hands in her need to just want to do something (like wring Hibari's neck). "I'm not demanding anything; I asked a favor, because friends ask each other to do stuff sometimes, y'know."

"I'm not your friend."

"Chrome hit him please; I might just damage him if I do."

The Prefect gave the young girl a bland stare, daring her to do so and Chrome only smiled and shrugged her shoulder's at him. "I'm not hitting you Hibari-san." The teen narrowed his eyes slightly, before standing up and making to leave, only for his knee to be lightly kicked in the back and making him loose his footing. Annoyed, Hibari turned around only to see Mukuro smirking at him, "But I will."

"As amusing as this would be, can we not?" Mukuro's eyes crinkled shut as he nodded, for once listening to Natsume. "Hibari now is not the time."

"His face annoys me."

"Then don't look at it."

"Princess," that earned Mukuro an annoyed glare from Natsume, "The Prince won't be amiss, he may be of use."

And then he gave way to Chrome, who blinked at the murderous look Hibari aimed at her. "…I'm sorry?"

"Don't apologize for Mukuro, Chrome," Hana was the one to respond, having already gotten that back story from Natsume. "Also Hibari-san, please calm down."

Natsume could only pinch the bridge of her nose, annoyed not only with herself, but everything else. Mostly because she hadn't realized what Kawahira had been getting at and Mukuro was the one who had to tell her. She had just assumed it was his way of trying to get them all out of his shop, but apparently he was helping in his own way.

There was a grunt and Natsume watched as Hana stood beside Chrome hand stretched out towards Hibari who was rolling back his right shoulder, arm hanging loose at his side.

"We can all fight later, right now we have to figure this out," Natsume's eyes narrowed at the Prefect who gave her this petulant frown, though he did seem to back down a bit after meeting her gaze, not that Natsume noticed.

Hana did and so did Chrome, "Let's leave before Kawahira decides to get more physical with us," Natsume suggested, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

She began to lead the way out, hearing Hana mutter 'what can that old man do?' made Natsume scoff, because in all honesty, what couldn't Kawahira do?

/ | \

(Future)

Hana was in her office when she was attacked by her favorite child in the world.

"Nina!" The small brunette threw her arms around her leg, looking up at her with bright honey brown eyes. Honestly Hana would kill to have those long lashes that framed her goddaughter's eyes, but that was just an idle thought as she bent down to scoop up the child. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," and she wasn't just saying that. "I'm assuming you went somewhere that you spoke a lot of English in?"

At the little's girl's very serious nod, Hana couldn't help but shake her head, felt the edges of her mouth curl up into a smile. Oh she had definitely missed this one, she had grown used to the young child's presence over the years and her being gone the last couple months really did show just how much she had grown attached to her.

Only Natsume's child would manage to crawl and worm their way into her life without giving her hives (even though that had gotten better, or was she just being biased? Other children still made her shiver and Ryohei always poked fun at her for it.)

"Kyoya's off scaring the young ones, which," Natsume's smooth voice was heard first before she appeared in the doorway, seeming amused, but Hana knew she very well wasn't. "Not the best surprise to come upon."

Upset, hurt and still very much mourning the loss of her brother, Natsume had probably chanced a glance of Tsuna before he could notice her and bailed out of wherever the young Guardian's had come to meet Kyoya.

"Connections have been down since the day before yesterday," and that made almost four days since Reborn had arrived. "Black Spell got bold and went after Lambo and I-pin. How they knew we don't know, but Giannini's shut down on any devices outside the base to get a look through to see if it's been hacked."

Natsume hummed, leaning against the side of the doorway, arms crossing beneath her small chest, tilting her head to the side. "Are your things ready? I'd like to go before the young ones see us."

"See you or…?" Hana kind of trailed off, a bit surprised at seeing how different her best friend looked, she of course knew better than to ask why Natsume had chopped off her waist length hair. If anything it may be a sign that Natsume was moving on…hopefully.

"They'll ask questions I don't want to answer," Natsume pursed her lips, gesturing to Malana, who was already dozing off against Hana's chest. "And I'm sure they won't take 'life happens sometimes' well."

It was Hana's turn to hum as she stood up, making sure to adjust her hold on Malana, the girl's head now resting more comfortably against the crook of her neck. "Well at their age, probably not."

"Probably?"

"They're not that hopeless," Hana said as she reached for the grey luggage bag beside her desk. "They can't be if they're going to survive the next couple days." Hana walked up to Natsume, idly amused at the thought that her friend was now the taller one of the two. Natsume quirked a brow up, but Hana only shook her head a she motioned for her to lead the way.

"Kyoya's here, surprisingly Lal Mirch is too, so not everything is bad."

Yet.

Something curled in her gut, twisting uneasiness throughout her whole being and Hana felt that.

"Do you think something else is going on?"

Natsume didn't answer right away; making a left at one of the hallway's and heading towards the double doors. Pressing her hand against the cold metal and pulsing out a simple rhythm that unlocked them and they stepped through Kyoya's personal quarters, the doors behind them sealing shut once they passed through.

"Kyoya met up with me soon after I left, he's been…off," Natsume answered quietly as she led the way out of the Cloud Guardian's home. "He won't budge, but he knows something."

"…It could be guilt Natsume, he was with Tsuna when it happened."

"I know guilt, I know grieving, for Gods sake's I counsel Vongola's people when they need it, Kyoya is not grieving Hana….he hasn't…"

"Relax," if she could Hana would reach out to the woman, but her hands were full at the moment.

Natsume sighed heavily, running a hand through her short locks, "Safety for you two first, then I can relax, before I find out exactly what's gotten into that man."

"Good luck with that."

Natsume's muttered "Goddess knows I'll need it," amused Hana, if only because somethings didn't really change.

Part 59: The Present Meets the Future

"Now where are you two going?" Natsume asked, cutting off the younger Kyoko and Haru from outright leaving the base. It seemed they had gotten fed up with not having anything explained to them and had decided to seek answers for themselves.

Of course leaving to find those answers was foolish and absolutely stupid what with the Black Spell scuttling about Namimori as if they owned it looking for anyone connected with Vongola.

"Out!" Haru answered, cheeks flushed pink at having been caught. "No one is answering our questions and if we can't get them here….Natsume?" Haru trailed off, uttering her name and giving her a curious once over. "You look different."

Natsume spread her arms out a little as she looked down at herself, "Do I really?" and looked back up at them, wiggling her fingers at them. The pair blinked slowly, reaching for her hands and grasping them lightly, "How about we go have some tea and I'll give you some answers."

"Can you do that?" Kyoko whispered eyes wide as she looked up at her with hope in her gaze. "No one here has bothered…."

"To a pair of good old friends, I will always lend a hand," she twirled them both around, one arm around each girl's shoulder as she began to lead them further in.

"Thank you Natsume."

The woman couldn't help herself, she reached up and ruffled Haru's hair, loosening up the girl's pony tail, "Anytime girls."

She should send a clone down to the basement to give them a heads up. A thought to consider, but not actually do, perhaps a little warning to make Tsuna step up or would that be putting more pressure than the boy needed at the moment? Ryohei was due back any day; perhaps leave it to the Sun Guardian to explain everything in much more detail than she would?

Hm, maybe she shouldn't have sent Hana away so quickly.

Oh well.

/ | \

Back home there was a picture up at the Sawada home that was placed beside the various pictures that Auntie had put up on the wall. It was of a woman who looked very strict, who looked as if she didn't put up with any nonsense. Small hazel green eyes, narrow and sharp, mouth barely quirking up at one end in an almost smug like way and her light brown hair twisted back in a bun.

Sawada Tomiko had been the woman to have raised the twin's father and if Takeshi hadn't known that the woman was buried in Namimori Cemetery and had been dead longer than they had been alive, he would have thought the woman in the kitchen was her.

Except she didn't have the sleek hair that Tomiko had, nor was it long, it was cut just beneath her chin, ends fanning out, almost seeming to stick up cause of the layers. There was a scar running from the outer edge of her left brow, curving down to the high point of her cheek. Her eyes were a bit bigger, but still just as sharp and piercing, and only widened in surprise and a flash of pain as those hazel hues saw him.

"When did you come back Natsume?" Lal Mirch asked from behind him, making Takeshi jump in surprise as he hadn't expected the trainer to join so quickly.

"Just in time to catch these two sneaking out," Natsume's voice hadn't changed much, why he had expected to hear a different sound come out of her mouth, he didn't know. "Speaking of which, I've explained somethings, but not all can come from me." Natsume wagged her finger at him. "When the other two come up, tell them they have some esplaining to do."

She brought her hand down, looking at either girl beside her, both looking dazed and not at all there, before she stood up at the same time Hayato walked in, his hair sticking up as if he had just toweled it off and let it be.

"A little advice and do pass this on to Tsuna, there is no turning back from this, they've been brought into this situation, I suggest giving them the truth."

"What's even the situation?" Hayato asked, ruffling his hands through his hair. "I thought we were just stuck."

"Just stuck," Natsume repeated, shaking her head. "I didn't think it was possible, I would have thought it was more the bazooka taking its time in figuring itself out and fixing your situation, but no, that's not the issue."

"Then what's the issue?"

Natsume only shrugged, standing up from her chair and moving away from the table, "I'll let you know once I've found the person who started this." She snapped her fingers and the girls perked up, "Kyoko, Haru, any questions you have you can ask them."

Hayato sputtered, looking taken back at being left with that duty as Natsume began to walk away, Lal Mirch following behind her. "You can't just leave us like that!"

"I've done my part, now do yours, you can't expect me to do everything for you," and the older Natsume walked off, Lal Mirch going after her.

There was a thump on his back and Takeshi was staring down at Hayato, whose cheeks were flushed pink, more so when Tsuna walked in and gave a confused glance towards everyone.

"What…happened?"

"Your sister happened," Hayato grumbled, running one hand down his face, before taking a seat across from Haru, who was frowning up at them. "What did Natsume tell you?"

"She warned us about why we shouldn't go outside when we tried to do that," Kyoko answered, cheeks pink at her admission. "But we're confused, no one has been telling us anything and Natsume just said that it was dangerous to go outside."

"She also said that things aren't like they should be," Haru continued on, her frown not once letting up. "Is someone messing with us? Why were we brought here if we shouldn't be here?"

Tsuna felt as if the time to come clean had come, he wished Natsume had done it, but can see why his sister hadn't. Or at least her older self hadn't, they were connected to him not to Natsume, especially since his sister hadn't swapped places with her older self.

He sighed heavily, taking a seat beside Hayato, hearing Takeshi pulling up the other seat on his left, "She's not wrong, it's dangerous and I'm honestly very happy she caught you two before you managed to get out," Tsuna paused, refusing the urge to bite his lip, instead he looked between Kyoko and Haru. "As farfetched as this sounds, I need you two to believe me, because this is what everything is….and how it will always be after all this."

Haru's expression shifted, less frown and more worried, "Tsuna-san is always honest, why wouldn't I believe you?"

Did belief and trust go hand in hand?

Why did it feel like he was taking so much from them by telling them the truth? How many more people would this affect?

Tsuna sighed, "This is…."

/ | \

"Are you leaving? You just got here," Lal stated, watching as Natsume pulled files out of her desk and set them in a bag she had in one of the spare chairs in the room.

"I have other things to take care, Lal."

"Can we talk before you go off, I…." the older woman hesitated, earning Natsume's attention as she paused in putting her things away. The light haired brunette gestured to the open seat beside her bag, moving that down so she could take it for herself. Lal sat down, but instead of speaking she reached into the pockets of her cloak and held out a broken blue pacifier. "That box I couldn't open….had this in it."

Lal watched Natsume's bland features color with emotion as one hand reached for the pacifier and lightly brushed the mammon chain around it, "Oh…" Natsume sighed, looking up at Lal and shaking her head slightly. "There's no more energy to it Lal, I, I can't…"

"I assumed as much," Lal murmured, bringing her hands to her lap, thumb lightly touching the pacifier. "I felt as if I'd been punched in the gut when the box crumbled under your brother's –"

"Refer to him as Tsunayoshi, please," Natsume cut her off, voice low. Lal felt the pin pricks of danger as she looked up at Natsume, "My brother is dead."

Lal could understand that, honestly just talking to Reborn made her want to claw her skin off because it was so wrong to be talking to someone who she knew ws dead.

"Kyoya should be coming in again either tomorrow or the day after," Natsume said after a while of silence. "Ryohei is finishing up business with the Varia soon and I had a little bird tell me that Irie Shoichi has come to Japan, which makes me wonder if that's why the Black Spell has been acting up."

"You're not going to…?"

The smile Natsume gave her was sharp, "I'm not going to do anything, I'm just Vongola's resident counselor…." Natsume trailing off and leaving it at that didn't leave Lal with a good feeling. "We'll talk more when I come back, by then Bianchi, Fuuta and Chrome should have returned as well."

"All these people coming back after being gone for so long," Lal muttered, leaning back into the rather comfortable seat. "It's so odd."

"Tsuna draws people to him like that, he's a light in the dark and everyone wants to see it again I'm sure."

"Don't you want to see him?"

Natsume had already gotten up and froze at that question, quickly recovering as she closed off her bag and slung it over her shoulders. "Maybe…but not now."

"I'll let everyone know that you're at your master's shop then," Lal said, gaze dropping back down to the pacifier in her hand, not at all noticing the soft look Natsume gave her. The young woman's hand reached for the one not currently holding the pacifier, giving it a brief squeeze.

"You should take better are of yourself Lal, you know going outside is bad for you," the older woman couldn't refute that as the tingling warmth that filled her, soothing the aches she had grown accustomed to living with.

"Until my return then."

Part 60: It's Electric

His boys had said that the people they had faced off looked like younger versions of the Vongola Guardian's. Gamma had to see it for his own eyes. There was also the rumor that Decimo's sister had been spotted around the town and who wouldn't want to have that particular little lady with them?

As a civilian she didn't have much going for her. Her records were on clear display and all she had to her name was that psychology degree, along with a few certificates that she had weaseled her way through.

A small little fish, but a big chip to wager if he could get his hands on her, wouldn't that be something?

So color him surprised when he decided to go out, sending out feelers to lure out the little fish and instead he got the one fish who couldn't fight back, but he could most definitely take with him.

She was before a grave, incense burning as she sat quietly minding her own business. He had never met the deceased Decimo, but even she had to have an inkling of what was coming upon her with the way she started looking around.

Definitely a pretty thing, the black jumpsuit she wore flattering her figure in ways that even he could appreciate, even if she wasn't his type. He watched a she picked up the wide brimmed black hat, eyes scanning the area as she put it on her head and began to make her way out.

Now he couldn't have that could he?

So he cut her off, running into her at the entrance, "So sorry, I'm a bit clumsy when I find myself around an angel like you," he couldn't help but say. He expected a shy laugh, or an exasperated sigh, what he didn't expect was the cheeky smile she gave him.

Nor the way his spine went rigid and the sense of danger going off in his head, especially with the way those hazel eyes locked on him, "Oh honey, you think I'm an angel?" her voice was quiet, making him lean in closer to hear her. "I've only had people trip on me because of the little devil I am." Her smile became sharper as if sensing his realization that he had fucked up, "What's your name?"

"Gamma," he found himself responding, not once having the intention of revealing his name, yet here he was.

She eyed his uniform and he regretted coming out in something so telling, "Black Spell's really got some big ones, don't they? Especially your little group," she reached out and pinched his cheek. "That's admirable."

"I have a little favor to ask of you, love, and I'll return it," she stepped in closer to him, eyes dancing with glee at the way he seemed to just freeze in place. "Irie Shoichi's in town, isn't he? Mind asking him what he thinks he's playing at?"

Gamma nodded and Natsume's eyes crinkled shut, "Now what's your favor?"

"Who are the young kid's resembling the Guardian's?" he found himself asking, not at all wanting to do so, but the words spilled out easily.

"Well they're from the past, they're exactly who you are assuming they are," she responded, tugging the brim of her hat low enough so that it cast a shadow over half her face. Gamma could feel a part of him want to scream as she reached up and grabbed his chin, giving his face a light shake. "Why don't you tell Byakuran and Shoichi too?"

"Who are you?"

She pulled her hand a way, bopping his nose before wagging her finger at him, "Ah-ah, only one favor and you already used it," she paused for a second, her tongue peeking between her teeth as she considered something. "Unless of course you want to make a deal."

No, no, no, no, no.

Whoever the fuck was doing the information gathering missed out on this and holy shit was this going to cost the Millefiore.

The shadow spread over the rest of her face, the indigo light that lit were her eyes should be and the Cheshire smile that was colored amber, made it seem as if her face had been carved like a jack o lantern, which only proved his assumptions true.

La Strega Nera.

"So how about it Lightning Gamma, a deal or no?"

Would he be a fool to take the deal or would he be one for not doing so?

Intermission 23

Case File #002

Name: Sawada Natsume***

D.O.B: October 14, 1992

Age: 25

Family: Sawada Malana (daughter - alive), Sawada Tsunayoshi (brother - deceased), Sawada Iemitsu (father - alive), Sawada nee Hayashi Nana (mother - alive), Kato Daisuke (ex-lover - deceased)

The eldest of the Sawada twins, Sawada Natsume compared to her Mafioso brother lives a more civilian life. It is known she is flame active, but whether she has active use of them still needs to be looked into. Received both her undergrad and graduate at Chiba University, she is a student of the humanities with a high focus on psychology.

She interacts constantly with Vongola as a counselor to their people and nothing else, she does not participate or acknowledge the rest of the work that the famiglia does.

Hibari Kyoya (Cloud Guardian)*, along with Dokuro Chrome (Mist Guardian)** and Kurokawa Hana (Sun Guardian's Wife) are her usual cohort.

Caution advised in regards to Sawada Natsume

*DO NOT INTERACT, RETREAT

**Caution advised

***DO NOT INTERACT

***Constant investigation and a slip of the Vongola Decimo has led me to believe that Sawada Natsume is the famed Black Witch. Under no circumstances is anyone to interact with this woman or go after her alone.

Sawada Natsume, or at least the Black Witch is one of the reasons why the previous assassination squad had to be replaced entirely and may also be the reason why that particular group doesn't tend to last more than a few weeks before something happens them.

A powerful Mist user as well as a Sky, The Black Witch is able to combine her flames properties and/or exaggerate the qualities of one or the other.

Who again, could be Sawada Natsume.

Is what I would like to let the Millefiore know, but I was sworn under oath by Vongola Decimo himself to not reveal his sister's identity.

Congratulations to whoever figured out how to undo the binding I did on this.

Hope this didn't come too late for you.*

Irie Shoichi

Author Note: Hey wassup guys, its been a cool minute. I've been very flippy between how I wanted this to go, but I think I've found how I want to continue this, so lets see how this next section goes.

La Strega Nera, is italian which I've translated to the Black Witch, or I translated the enligsh to that? I don't know. We're going to see how much ten years changes a person how Natsume's dealt with her brother's passing. (Let me be honest, my girl does a good job putting up a 'shes okay' front, but honestly, shes know exactly well.)

Hopefully you all enjoyed this introduction, more on young Malana will be brought up in the next chapters. For anyone thought that she was one of our main characters daughter, sorry, but uh, that's a path thats going to take a looonnngg time to cross, mostly because their usual age is fifteen and when it comes to the dating and stuff, Natsume would rather date outside of her circle, if only for a sense of normalcy? Anyways, yeah, any errors, grammar wise or just flow or plot is being weird, let me know, I'm trying really hard to keep everythign straight which i'm p bad at doing. so...yaaaaa.

Enjoy guys!

Sorugao