noun: time to come

Tsuna doesn't even think about it, doesn't have to think about it, running forwards before Irie even finishes talking. He grabs his arms, his wool mittens around his hands, but he sees red, a heat burning in his guts. "How could you!" he screams to Irie's face, so, so angry. "What kind of reason is that? What if something had happened to Lambo and I-Pin-chan, Kyoko-chan and the others? And it's not just them!" he continues, so, so desperate to make him understand how it has felt for him. "Even before the training started, Takeshi, Hayato, and even Lal…! We could all have died in a fight!"

Irie looks taken aback, but doesn't let it get the best of him, looking at Tsuna as if trying to choose the right words that'd calm him down. "If that was the case… It couldn't be helped anyway…"

Tsuna's flames light his hands, turning his wool mittens into his X-Gloves. The Flame on his forehead shines fiercely, flashes of orange lighting Irie's terrified face. Tsuna bares his teeth, tightening his hold on Irie's arms, and Irie winces in pain. "Take that back."

Irie shakes, bowing his head, whines escaping his mouth. "I've tried my best to plan it all!" he screams at the ceiling, snapping his head up, but Tsuna's unfazed. "If something unexpected had happened, I'd be in trouble too! All of this is a lot more serious than you think!"

"I don't care! Take it back!"

"Besides, this entire plan was part of your future counterpart's idea too, Tsunayoshi-kun!"

Tsuna shoves him away so abruptly, Irie falls on his backside. His flames flicker out in a blink, and he feels cold to the bones. "My idea…?"

"Liar!" Gokudera shouts, hitting the glass container. "Boss, don't listen to him!"

"It's the truth," Irie says, calmer. [It is.] Tsuna flinches, stepping back, almost stumbling down. Irie stands, and doesn't meet his eyes. "This plan was of utmost secrecy held between myself, your future counterpart, and the future Hibari Kyoya. Under no circumstances was the plan to be revealed to anyone else." Tsuna turns around to face his trapped family. Hibari doesn't shy away from his gaze, an intrigued frown between his brows, but his lips are curled in a displeased manner, and Tsuna can't tell whose it's directed at. "That's also why the future Hibari-kun knew about the ambush from us."

"What…" Kusakabe starts, confused, and Tsuna has to look away when realization slowly takes over his face, understanding, has to look away from them all.

"Furthermore, your future counterpart resisted the idea of getting the others involved until the very end. But finally, he acknowledged that this was something his past self needed in order to grow."

"Is—is that true…" Tsuna breathes out, and doesn't hear himself as he does. [It is.] He clutches his chest with shaking hands. "I… I did this…?" [He did.] A whimper rises up his throat and dies in it before it can come out, but Tsuna covers his mouth with both his hands anyway, digging his fingers into his skin, his breathing quick and haggard.

"That's impossible!" Lal screams. "I know Sawada's personality!"

"Yeah!" Gokudera agrees. "Boss would never allow the kids to get involved in this!"

"Don't you see that's exactly why this situation is that bad?" Irie screams back. "Let me finish talking first!"

Tsuna tunes him out, his heart beating too fast and too loudly in his ears, and he couldn't hear him even if he wanted to. He only can hear his own screaming mind, can only hear it collapsing.

Reborn's voice cuts through his haze clear as day, like it always does. "I think we can believe him."

"Reborn-san!" Gokudera shouts in outrage.

"He answered most of the questions I'd been wondering about," Reborn explains. "And all the facts have been consistent so far."

[They have.] Oh God, they have.

"Fuck you!" Gokudera spits out. "You can't just spew out fucking bullshit anytime you want!" Tsuna's breathing slows down, and he lowers his hands at his sides, looking up. "Shouldn't you know better than any of us? How dare you—"

"Hayato." Gokudera punches the container again, but cuts himself off. He grits his teeth, rage twisting his features. He doesn't look at him. "Hayato, will you look at me? Please, listen to me. Look at me." He does, and Tsuna smiles. "It's alright. It is, really, I'm alright." He flicks his eyes over to the rest of his family, takes them all in.

"Boss…" Chrome breathes out.

"Sawada," Lal starts, like she was going to say something else, but she doesn't.

They sound pained, Gokudera's face twisted in sorrow. Tsuna's so very lucky. Even more reasons for him to stand strong, to smile bright. He has to, needs to.

His family's hurt, looking exhausted. Yamamoto and Ryohei are unconscious, as well as his siblings.

They would have died in that container if Irie truly was their enemy, and Tsuna would have had to watch them die first before he would have been killed too.

[He did this to them.]

Tsuna did this to them.

"I'll make it up to you," he says, looking at each of them in turn. "I will get us all back home safe and sound, and will leave you with a world not breaking apart anymore. I'll make it up to all of you, I promise, so…" Tsuna almost doesn't say it, almost gives in to the voice telling him he doesn't get to. But Gokudera's face turns determined before he even says anything, Hibari and Chrome rising to stand behind him, and he needs to trust them back too. He does. "So please, just bear it with me a little longer. Please, stand by my side a little longer."

They say nothing, but no words need to be said. Tsuna turns back to Irie, and braces himself for what's to come, steels his will for the hardships they have yet to go through.

They will, they'll make it. Tsuna will make sure they do.

He will make it up to them, he will.

He has to.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Any and all review are appreciated.

Thank you for reading!

- Hope