A/N: I swear this is the most stubborn story I've ever written. I'm still on the fence on how the final "chapter" turned out but couldn't leave it on another cliffhanger. The chapters for this thing divided like cells when it was originally a one-shot. Thank you to everyone who patiently waited for the final chapter, and hope you all enjoy.
Death's Intervention
They all went along with the plan to blast their way to the boss, lovingly calling it "The Hibari Method." And without pausing to let their opponents activate their boxes, which they were all stupidly dependent on, their search was quicker than they thought it'd be. The only hitch in the plan was when Tsuna got separated from the others, stumbling across Spanner.
"Only you would be lucky enough to run into the one person that doesn't have any motivation to kill you." Reborn says with exasperation. Spanner was currently working on a pair of contacts that would make it easier to calculate the output of Tsuna's flames. Tsuna just shrugged sheepishly. "Some good luck has to balance out the bad." Tsuna says, aware that Reborn couldn't see it but knew him well enough to guess his actions.
"You're different from your future self. I wonder what it is." Spanner wondered aloud. My future self probably didn't have his past memories. Tsuna thought to himself. Seriously, what was he thinking when he tossed away the Vongola Rings?! "Aren't you worried about turning against your boss?" Tsuna asks, Spanner shrugged. "I haven't met the man myself but he seems to be obsessed with games. He'd probably like the challenge."
The more that Tsuna learned about Byakuran, the greater the urge to kill the man. He viewed everything as a large scale game, not caring about his men and treating people like pawns. His future self had tried the peaceful approach, only to be killed for his pacifist solution. The Mad Sky and his guardians likely already had their minds warped by the Mare Rings. It was the price of such great power being granted to them. His teen self would have been more hesitant to go ahead with a more permanent solution. Byakuran and his guardians needed to be destroyed.
XoXoXoXoXo
Sky flames broke through the wall, Tsuna panted from the exertion on his body. He hated to admit it but his body wasn't in the best shape to handle all of his flames and if he complained Reborn would gleefully put him through more torture disguised as training. The Cervello on both sides of Shoichi tensed as the red head stood to his feet. "Vongola Decimo, welcome."
The man took out a taser, turning it on the Cervello. The women crumpled to the ground and Tsuna's eyes widened in understanding. "You're our mole."
Shoichi nodded. "Correct, I apologize for dragging you into this but without the Vongola rings we were outgunned. Once we defeat Byakuran you and your friends will be sent back to your proper time." He says, pushing up his glasses. Tsuna pinched the bridge of his nose. "You do realize that if Byakuran defeats us that he'll have the entire Tri-Ni-Sette. One person is not meant to have that much power, there's a reason why they were divided."
"We all were well aware of the risks we were taking," Shoichi clenched his fists. "But it isn't just our world that's in danger. The Mare ring gives Byakuran the ability to share information with his other selves across the multiverse. There's one thing they all have in common: the Vongola rings are nowhere to be found."
It could have just been a coincidence but Tsuna's intuition told him there was more to it. "How many of the Arcobalenco are still alive at this time? If their Sky is still alive we might have a chance." His knowledge on the pacifiers was a bit hazy but there was a fail safe that the Sky could use in an emergency. "The sky is still alive but under Byakuran's influence. If we could find a way to free her..." "Then we could tip the scale in our favor."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Decimo. Our game has gone on long enough." Shoichi's face paled, suddenly feeling nauseous. The man had long white hair, his pleasant smile a mask for the sadistic personality that was beneath the surface. "Tsuna? What's going on?" Reborn demands. Byakuran heard the voice and smirked. "It seems you could't resist dragging your beloved adviser into this as well. How does he feel, being forced to hide like a coward?"
XoXoXoXoXo
Tsuna's eyes narrowed. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to the balance? How many people are suffering because of your actions?" He demands, a dying will flame flaring to life on his forehead. Byakuran's smirk only widened. "And who do you think contributed to this future through inaction? A man whose involvement were half-assed at best." He says as he discretely motioned for one of his men to shoot Tsuna. The teen dodged the attack, flames coating his hands. "Myself and my future self are different people. I won't hesitate to erase you from existence." He says, the shooter screaming in pain as they were incinerated.
Byakuran observed his opponent more closely, the only other Tsunayoshi that behaved like this one was the version that was born as the son of Vongola's founder. "It doesn't matter how powerful you are, your flames have surely been exhausted after fighting through this base." Tsuna grit his teeth, well aware of the truth in his statement. "If I'm not leaving this room, then neither will you." "Tsuna, what the hell are you thinking? Wait until your guardians-" Tsuna ripped the speaker out of his ear, crushing it under his foot.
Reborn slammed his fist on the console as Tsuna's feed stopped. "That self-sacrificing idiot!" He snarled, knowing exactly what his student was thinking. He already lost the idiot once, he wasn't losing him again! The suit the Vongola inventors had created would only be able to hold off the radiation outside for a short amount of time. As he got ready to leave the base, he was stopped by Bianchi. The pink haired woman gave the man she loved a solemn smile. "I never had a chance, did I?"
Reborn just tilted his fedora, his eyes shadowed. "Both of you deserve someone better." The hitman says honestly, clenching his fists. For a brief moment Bianchi could have sworn she saw the shadow of a man on the wall beside Reborn. She watched until she could no longer see Reborn, tears running down her cheeks. "Ah, I knew I should have killed that boy when I had the chance." Bianchi says with a humorless laugh. She just never thought that the student would steal the hitman's heart.
XoXoXoXoXo
As Tsuna fought against Byakuran, he thought it was ironic that the man molded his flames into what looked like angel wings. He wondered if it was supposed to be a play on him being an angel of death. If Death knew anything of this mockery, it certainly wouldn't let it go unpunished.
Unfortunately Death was also a lazy thing, preferring to leave all the heavy lifting to his shinigami in favor of drinking spirits. Instead of dodging, Tsuna absorbed the flames using one of Giotto's techniques. His body was already pushed to it's limits, not that he expected to have one after what he planned.
Tsuna leaned against what was left of the walls, glaring at Byakuran. Numbers flashed in front of his eyes as he prepared what could be his final attack. "Sorry Reborn, I don't think I'll be coming back this time. X-Burner!"
Ah, a human body was never meant to hold such a high concentration of flames. Tsuna thought, off in the distance he thought he'd heard voices. Byakuran's expression had gone from haughty to something akin to panic before taking the full brunt of the attack.
XoXoXoXoXo
Death looked upon the scene with exasperation. Giotto and his descendants always did have a flare for dramatics. It poked and prodded at the broken body, glaring at the spirits of Byakuran and Tsunayoshi. "Bloody idiots, the both of you! The Tri-Ni-Sette is going to be even more unbalanced with both of you dead! Why must mortals be so difficult?!" It hissed, Byakuran still looked shocked and Tsuna deadpanned.
"The system is outdated anyways. The Earth survived on it's own centuries before the Tri-Ni-Sette was used. There are many people now on this planet, wouldn't it be easier to take a small amount from six billion people than drain the life force of the strongest?" He asks bluntly.
"Oh no, you're not changing the subject. I gave you a second chance at life and you wasted it!" Death exclaimed, glaring at the Vongola. "I purposely tried to get you and that Sun idiot together and you killed yourself!"
Tsuna watched Death rant, his face not showing the slightest hint of emotion. If anything he looked like a bored employee tuning out an annoying manager. "Are you used to this?" Tsuna turned to Byakuran, apparently the man had lost all his bravado in death.
"You'd be surprised by the amount of weird things I've gone through working for Death. This isn't even in my top ten of Death's rants." Tsuna says bluntly. Death pinched the bridge of its nose and sighed. "You." It pointed at Byakuran. "Are getting your head fixed. And you." Death pointed at Tsuna. "Are going to live a full, happy life. Even if I have to go into the mortal realm and force you dammit!"
XoXoXoXoXo
When Reborn and Tsuna's guardians had reached Shoichi's lab, Tsuna's body was damaged but still breathing. He was still alive. Reborn had done as much healing as he could with his Sun flames but knew Tsuna would need medical attention as soon as possible. "You lucky idiot." Reborn growled under his breath, watching as Ryohei and Yamamoto carefully picked up Tsuna's unconscious form.
The Millifiore ranks floundered as the chain of command broke down completely. Those that would have taken the reins from Byakuran in the event of his passing were too occupied trying to restrain his elements. Reborn doubted that Tsuna's guardians would have been able to take them on with their current experience. They would eventually recover but until then Vongola and it's allies would have a chance to regroup and defend themselves.
Tsuna's body was covered in second and third degree burns which made it difficult to find an area to place the IV that wouldn't cause the teen immense pain. Even with the aid of Sun flames, it would take a while for him to recover. "The only part of you that wasn't burned was your face." The hitman says, watching his student breathing with the aid of an oxygen mask. Tsuna's eyelids fluttered, one of his bandaged hands twitching.
The door to the infirmary opened, Hibari's right hand walking into the room. "Reborn. Our retrieval of the Sky Arcobalenco was successful." Kusakabe states, Reborn nodded in acknowledgement. Kusakabe sighed. "You've been by his bedside for two days. You need to rest." The man says bluntly.
There was a weak chuckle as Reborn looked back to Tsuna. His eyes were barely open, showing a mix of fondness and exasperation. Tsuna didn't need words for Reborn to know what the brunet wanted. "Gokudera might as well get some experience being a right hand." Reborn says, hopping off the bed. And he complains about me being stubborn. Tsuna thought in amusement.
News spread that Tsuna had regained consciousness and there was a brawl among Tsuna's guardians to see who would visit him first. Bianchi rolled her eyes, walking past the teens. Chrome ignored her fellow guardians, joining the girls to visit him together. "Idiots." The pink haired woman scoffed, shaking her head. It was chaotic as always, like everything seemed to be whenever Vongola was involved. Shoichi agreed to send them all back to the past once Tsuna was fully recovered, to avoid any awkward questions it would be a couple hours after Reborn was taken.
XoXoXoXoXo
"Thank kami for sun flames." Tsuna says, stretching his limbs for the first time in two weeks. It was amusing seeing his guardians fall over themselves to make him more comfortable while he was bedridden. Reborn was guiding Ryohei in speeding up Tsuna's healing process, with Shamal using his knowledge as a doctor to make sure everything was under control. "You can't constantly use sun flames as a crutch. While it accelerates your recovery, it also accelerates aging of the body as well." Shamal comments.
Tsuna deadpanned. He'd seen that happen when Reborn was a teenager. It also explained why Ryohei had white hair at such a young age. "We'll take that into consideration the next time someone tries to kill me." Tsuna says dryly. Reborn hit him in the head with a mallet, Tsuna shot him a glare. "If I ever see you close to death's door again, I'll kill you myself." Reborn states, a shiver ran down his student's spine. "Only you could make a threat sound intimidating with that squeaky voice of yours." A corner of Reborn's mouth curved upwards.
"That shouldn't be a problem. You promised to break the curse if we survived the future, remember?" Ryohei and Shamal silently left the room, already finished checking on Tsuna. The brunet sighed. "I did, didn't I? I already placed the idea of replacing the current Tri-Ni-Sette with something more effective into Death's head. Unfortunately it would be up to the current administrator to relinquish control of the rings and pacifiers. They're actually drinking buddies if I remember correctly." Tsuna mused.
"And what would make Death listen to your request?" Reborn asks, Tsuna deadpanned. "Apparently he thinks we're an entertaining couple and was pissed when I nearly died again. They're too invested not to listen." Tsuna yawned, torn between going back to sleep and just talking to Reborn. For a man who's purpose in life seemed to be stirring up chaos, Reborn had always been a pillar that Tsuna could lean on. Reborn walked over to the teen, sitting on his lap.
"Sleep, we'll have plenty of time to talk when we return home." Reborn says briskly, tensing at first when Tsuna wrapped his arms around his small frame but eventually let himself relax. Tsuna yawned once again. "Home, I like the sound of that." He mumbled, his eyes already half shut. Reborn took his prized fedora off his head, opting to doze off as well. The door to the infirmary creaked open, Kyoko and Haru withholding their urge to squeal. Chrome smiled timidly, glad to see her boss was happy.
"Alright girls, how about we make Tsuna a get well cake?" Bianchi suggests sweetly, poison miasma already making itself visible. Chrome sweat dropped, she needed to make sure Tsuna survived this future until they went back to their time. "Rest well bossu."