Title: Relicuum

Rating: M

Summary: Time and space is not something you should mess with. Yet, he is determined to bring a bright future to his family. No matter what it takes.

Or, Tsuna is sent to the past after his supposed death, instead of being put in his coffin. With three months to train the younger tenth generation, Tsuna will make sure they are prepared to defeat Byakuran.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR! This is merely a fanfiction.

Notes: hello! I did say I was gonna come back, didn't I? Here I am, boys and girls and non-binary hoes. I'm so glad to be back. It's been such a long time. And getting back to writing wasn't as hard as I thought. I wrote this so quickly. And my writing is so much better, too. I hope you enjoy this. And, of course, I hope you forgive me for my tardiness. I didn't mean to disappear. BUT, I will finish this fanfic. Since we're pretty much at the end, anyway (I always intended this to be a short fanfic). On another note, I got a new KHR fanfic! It's called The Consultant, and it's pretty nice, in my humble opinion. If interested, check that out. Anyway, please enjoy this!

Also, I will be editing some things from this fanfic. Like Reborn's caring way of calling Tsuna in Italian nicknames. Cuz i thought it was more... natural. and pretty.

Chapter VI – Nuova Arma

Tsunayoshi stared ahead, watching the young tenth generation working hard in their resolves. It's been a few days, now. The clock is ticking and the brunet feels as if it's not enough.

He knows he is merely overexaggerating; perhaps the feeling of abandonment if finally catching up to him. Tsunayoshi knows what he did—and what sacrifices he made to get at least a chance in winning against Millefiore. The only ones who knew about his plan was Shoichi and Kyoya. The guilt he felt for leaving was unbearable. Nonetheless, he knew he couldn't trust this information with anyone.

Hayato was far too unstable to accept his suicidal mission. The silver-haired man took Tsunayoshi's life as far more precious than his. If anything, he would volunteer to sacrifice himself in his stead. Which would never work. Takeshi would be against such methods—or, at least, he would be against letting his boss dying alone; he believed that, if they were to die, they should do it together as a family. But that was not possible.

Ryohei was not suitable with such information—surely, the man had matured enough to be a guardian and mafiosi, but it wasn't enough. He knew his older brother would want to step in and provide with a more optimistic mission. Lambo was just a child in his eyes—a capable one, with lots of guts to be his guardian. But the fear of telling his little brother about sacrifice was too much. He couldn't bear it.

As for Chrome and Mukuro… well, those were far too volatile to even trust. Obviously, he trusted them—somehow, Mukuro being somewhat reliable when it came to missions. But, if Mukuro caught a word about his sacrifice plan, then he would jump into the opportunity and seize his body to himself—Vongola be damned, Mukuro only cared about destroying the mafia world. Chrome, on the other hand, was too caught up in her own bubble, with Mukuro as a priority. She would definitely follow the man's instructions, even if it meant going after her late boss' body.

Tsunayoshi was conflicted. And the only ones he could trust were Kyoya and the poor scientist Shoichi. And even still, he failed the actual mission. It left his guardians even more in a frenzy, considering they wouldn't even have a body to bury. That thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. He wished his family at least had something to hold on to.

The older man shook his head. That was in the past. He was doing this for the sake of his family—and for the sake of the Arcobaleno who would die in the future. He did it because he needed it. Tsunayoshi had to believe that his guardians would understand the dire situation and trust him with this mission.

In midst his thoughts, a young Tsuna spluttered, happily. Tsunayoshi stared curiously at his counterpart, finding that the teen had been able to burst flames in his own ring. A soft smile was placed in his lips.

Yes. He trusted in himself, more than anyone else. And watching his young family slowly gathering to congratulate his younger self, Tsunayoshi felt as if he was doing the right thing.

"Amazing, Tsuna!" Yamamoto smiled wide, putting his arm across the brunet's shoulder.

"Juudaime, that's incredible! I knew you could do it!" Gokudera exclaimed, approaching his boss with awe and pride.

"Baka-Tsuna is not Baka anymore!" Lambo giggled running around the training room.

"Shut up, you stupid cow!" The Storm barked.

"Never, Aho-dera!" The boy ran away from the silver-haired boy.

"Maa, Gokudera, let him be," The Rain calmly said.

"Don't interfere, Baseball-freak! That cow hurt Juudaime's feelings!" The teen was already pulling some dynamites from whoever knows where.

"G-Gokudera-kun!" His counterpart squealed in panic. "Lambo didn't mean it!"

"Are you sure?!" The Storm seemed sceptical.

Tsuna sighed, feeling a little overwhelmed by his family. "Don't worry, Gokudera-kun," the brunet waved the Storm off.

Tsunayoshi could see the smile in his counterpart's lips. It seemed as though the boy was finally satisfied with himself and his resolution. Surely, it took a few days to finally get his other self to find his purpose. It was quite sad to see the young brunet putting so much effort in something that, apparently, seemed useless. All the while his guardians already seemed to evolve even more in manipulating their flames.

Even Lambo, the tiny boy, seemed to grasp the concept of flames better than his boss. Tsunayoshi could feel his counterpart's disappointment. Each day, the young brunet would feel desolated and excluded from his family. Because there seemingly was a barrier putting up between him and his family. As if his resolution wasn't enough.

Tsunayoshi knew what it felt like. He remembers when they had all started studying the Vongola Rings to use it in combat. Of course, when he had to learn it, he was already far deep into Vongola as Decimo. Back then, his whining of 'I-do-not-want-to-be-a-boss' had soon stopped. He had embraced his destiny as soon as Nono had given him the seat to take over.

The responsibility of being Vongola Decimo soon settled on his shoulders. And he couldn't afford to whine and complain about it. He had no other choice.

Nonetheless, lighting up his own ring, at that time, was still troublesome. There was no barrier between him and his resolution—he knew why he needed to be a mafiosi; he knew he had no choice. Still, when trying to light up his ring, his flames refused to come out. As if sensing his own murky waters—his own doubts.

It was different then, compared to his counterpart. He knew he had to protect his family. But, his doubt was: could he even protect them? He asked himself every day, while his guardians were already resolute in being part of his family—lighting their rings as easy as they breathed. But their boss still struggled.

Until he made peace with himself. He didn't know for sure if he could protect his family. But his resolution—his purpose was that he would protect his family, even if he didn't have the means to do so. That was when he finally settled as the leader he is known today.

Of course, Tsuna's resolution at the moment was different. More because of the young brunet's denial about being a mafia boss. Tsunayoshi knew, however, that in the end, they resolution would be similar. After all, they were the same person.

The resolution of protecting others. That was Sawada Tsunayoshi's duty and purpose in life.

Decimo watched as Tsuna smiled gingerly at his guardians, showing off his pure Sky Flames to everyone. It was beautiful. Such an intimate moment between his guardians—it was the proof that Tsuna would always protect those he cherish and love. He felt pride swelling inside his heart as he watched his counterpart. It was strange. But, somehow, he already knew that this Tsuna was different—this boy was stronger.

He would save his family, even if it meant saving that one family who was threatened by the future.

Even if it meant fixing the future.

~x~

"Alright, gather around," Decimo's voice boomed inside the training room.

The young tenth generation flinched. They had just gotten back from a small break. It was also slightly unexpected, considering that the older brunet hadn't said anything during these days of practicing their flames.

It had been a week now and everyone seemed to have a grasp on manifesting their flames onto the rings. Decimo hadn't said much during that period, since there wasn't much he could say to help the kids. Finding their own resolution was something that required a deep 'talk' with one's self.

Tsuna approached, holding Lambo in his arms, alongside his guardians. Hibari was found to be in one of the corners, not wanting to be with the crowd. Chrome was close, but still far too shy to actually be with the rest of the group.

Decimo mentally sighed—feeling that it would take some time before everyone fell into their respective roles. The young tenth generation was still too young and unexperienced. Some guardians were far into their own problems, and refused to make an effort to mingle—i.e., Hibari and Mukuro. He wasn't too worried about that, just yet. In his own family, Kyoya and Mukuro were still, somewhat, distant.

Kyoya was closer, however. More willing to follow—albeit still wary of crowding. Mukuro was just a lost cause. Tsunayoshi had learned to accept his half-mist guardian the way he is—he even joked about having a cloudy mist in his family.

"Congrats on lighting your rings," he allows a smile in his face. It makes the young generation slightly happy—as if they were finally recognized by their effort. "With that, we will jump onto what really matters: box weapon."

Everyone seemed confused by that. Decimo merely chuckled, taking a box from his pocket. It was an orange box, reminiscing of his own Sky Flames. It was a simple one, brought by tiny Shoichi from Japan. This wasn't his original one—his true box was meant to be given to his counterpart. Besides, he wouldn't be able to open it without a Vongola Ring—which he'd destroyed a long time ago.

After the Vongola Ring's destruction, Tsunayoshi worked hard, alongside Shoichi and Kyoya to find replacements. Unfortunately, in some cases, such as Kyoya and him, mere rings weren't enough for them. Kyoya needed a supply of at least ten rings a day—if he were to battle against someone, which was almost every day. Tsunayoshi was troubled with the rings as well, breaking them after a simple usage of his flames. Although, his rings were finally modified to adapt to his flames—now he only needed three rings a day, if he were to battle.

Still, it never quite reached the potential of the Vongola Rings. Which was a very disappointing thing. Most of his guardians were fine with simple A-Rank rings, considering their flames weren't as wild as Kyoya's or his. After the ring fiasco, they only needed box replacements.

Tsunayoshi had at least three boxes with him. And they each had a purpose.

"This is a box weapon," he explains. "It was created in the future and, as of now, is the only way of fighting."

"How so?" Gokudera was the first one to question, curious about the situation.

"Boxes are just better and convenient," he smiles. "For instance, there are two distinguishable types of boxes. One is: storage," Tsunayoshi fires up his own ring, letting his own flames manifest.

Everyone seemed impressed by the proficiency of the older man. Tsunayoshi ignored them, putting his ring at the entrance of the box and feeding it his own flames. The box shines and opens immediately. The young tenth generation gasps, surprised. Tsunayoshi watches as the box spills out two balls of light—they soon travel fast toward his hands. The ball of light shifts and turns, slowly grasping the shape of his hands and adapting to it.

Mere seconds after, his hands are adorned with gloves. The gloves are leather black, with silver fingers—just like Tsuna's. Except, these have small red details around the Vongola symbol. The back of his hands have a circle with Vongola's crest, but with a large red cross on top of it—the roman number for ten. At the back of his wrist, the glove has a small compartment for flame output.

"It's… It's like mine!" Tsuna points out.

"These are different compared to Leon's," he explains. Reborn shifts his eyes, tilting his fedora up to observe the gloves better. It seemed high-quality, almost as good as Leon's. "After a while, using the mittens was troublesome. In order for them to change, I had to get ready into my Hyper Dying Will state—and sometimes, I couldn't afford to have flames on my forehead. It could draw attention," he chuckles. "These ones are quick to use, and it doesn't require my HDW state. Of course, it isn't as strong as it can be when I'm in HDW mode, but it's useful for stealth situations."

As a demonstration, Tsunayoshi lets his flames engulf his gloves. Manifesting Sky Flames is harder than any other flame. But, after years of practice, the brunet was able to get better at it. It wasn't as good as his HDW, but it was efficient.

Reborn smirks, visibly proud at his student. Tsunayoshi had clearly become a worthy man—a powerful one at that. It's not everyone that can simply manifest flames out of nowhere.

"Anyway, this box, as you can see, serves as storage. You can put anything in here," he points at the box. "From small things, to big things. It all depends on your flame output."

"Is there any limit?" Gokudera hums, immediately shifting to his 'scientific' mode.

"Not that I know of. We never used it for big things. Mostly weapons and documents," he answers. The silver-haired teen nods, seemingly scribbling something at his notebook. Tsunayoshi smiles at the boy, feeling the familiarity to his Hayato. "The second type of box is: animal," he picks another box from his pocket. "As the name indicates, it's a box with animals inside—partners, if you so wish. They are each based on flames, with different attributes and purposes."

He then lights up his ring once more, putting more flame in it compared to before. Putting his ring in the box's entrance, he feels the box shine immediately. It opens quickly, throwing a shiny ball of Sky Flames. Tsunayoshi watches as the flames burst wildly in the air, before flying at the floor with all its strength.

The flames shift and change, getting a shape. Tsunayoshi watches as the flames slowly turn into a quadrupedal mammal. A big one, at that. The flames slowly dissipate, giving space to a beautiful jaguar. The jaguar is big and wide, with yellowish/orange fur and blackened dots all over. Its tail swirls carefully. In its mouth, wild orange flames burn, coming out at its mouth's side. The jaguar opens its mouth, Sky Flames spreading further into the air, as the animal roars lowly at its peers.

"This is my animal box," Tsunayoshi approaches the jaguar, petting the anima's head and scratching it behind the ears. The large feline purrs in approval. "I call him Yuu."

The jaguar replies, lapping his tongue at his master. The young tenth generation stares, completely afraid. Of course, Hibari is seemingly interested in the animal—and the box weapons in general.

"Yuu's flames are Sky, just like mine. He has his own attacks and is pretty solid," he taps on the jaguar lovingly as to prove his point. "You'll need a larger output of flames compared to storage boxes. However," he sternly narrows his eyes. "If you put too much flames into it, your animal can get in a drunk state," he explains.

"That being said, let's start the lesson," Tsunayoshi smiles, dismissing Yuu back to his box. His gloves also get back into the box. "First, to understand, every box has its own element. For example," he turns to Gokudera, the one who is the most excited to try a box out. He then pulls Vongola's Rain Box and places it on the boy's hand. "Try to open it."

"Alright!" The silver-haired boy exclaims excitedly.

Gokudera lights up his own ring, letting his Storm Flames dance in it. He brings the flames close to the box' entrance. He waits for something to happen. Except, nothing happens. Gokudera tries a few more times, getting frustrated with each attempt. Tsunayoshi smiles and puts a hand over the boy's shoulder. The silver-haired boy stares, slightly confused.

"For you to open a box, you need to have the same element and ring with you," he says, taking the Rain Box from the boy's hand. "In this case, this box is for Yamamoto only," he then gives it to the other teen. "This applies to pretty much every element. Except the Sky."

"What do you mean?" Tsuna asks, curious as he takes the Vongola Sky Box from his older counterpart.

Tsunayoshi finishes giving each guardian their box. He then takes a few steps back, glancing at his counterpart. "The Sky element is able to open every box. Of course, even if we are able to open it, it won't be as powerful as it would be if someone with the right element were to open it." Tsuna stares slightly confused. "Ryohei, come here."

The Sun exclaims excitedly, getting up from his sit and approaching the older man. Ryohei is given another box—a yellow one, representing the Sun Flame.

"Open this box," Tsunayoshi orders.

Ryohei doesn't think twice, before lighting up his own ring and putting it at the box' entrance. The box opens and shines with Sun Flames. It soon turns into an animal. Ryohei and the rest gasp as the flames soon give shape to a kangaroo. The animal has Sun Flames coming out of its ears and at the tip of its tails. It looks fierce and ready for any fight. Fitting for the Sun Guardian.

"That's Canguro del Sereno," the brunet says, fluently slipping to his Italian. "Now, give it to me."

The Sun obeys, giving the box to Tsunayoshi. The brunet lights up his own ring, letting his Sky Flames go wild. He then puts it at the box' entrance, feeding his own flames to it. The box, surprisingly—to the young tenth generation—, opened immediately. Except, instead of Ryohei's yellow flames, the box spew orange, unruly flames. The flame soon took shape into the same kangaroo as Ryohei's, except this one was a Sky.

"Try to defeat my kangaroo, Ryohei," the brunet orders.

Tsunayoshi's kangaroo immediately jumped to battle, while Ryohei's was still uncertain. However, as soon as the Sun decided to fight back, the Sun kangaroo sprung to battle, too. Both animals clashed against each other. However, everyone soon witnessed the Sky kangaroo dissipating in flames. All the while Ryohei's kangaroo was still up and ready for any battle.

The brunet smiled at their reactions, putting the box back in his pocket. This one box wasn't his, and he intended to take good care of it until he went back into the future and gave it back to his guardian.

"As I said, we Sky users can open any box, but it's not as efficient as the original element." He finishes his explanation. "That being said, I want each of you to study your box weapon and learn how to use it," Decimo orders. "I won't overlook your training. This is something only you can do. These boxes were made specially for the Vongola Rings. I can't possibly help you," he explains.

"Alright! I'll extremely learn how to use my box!" Ryohei punches the air a few times, smiling at his new tutor.

The rest of the guardians soon get up from the floor, each getting the determination to open their boxes. Tsuna seemed a little bit wary of the boxes, but was equally determined to open his and find what was inside of it.

Tsunayoshi watches as they scatter around the training room, each focused on their boxes. The brunet sighs in relief. At least they seem excited to use them.

"Monello," Reborn approaches, a sly smirk in his lips. "I see you ditched the gloves I so lovingly made for you…"

"Reborn," the brunet chuckled. "Leon made them, not you."

Reborn clicks his tongue and pinches the older brunet's cheek. "Cheeky brat," he curses.

"Ouch, ouch, alright!" The brunet whines a bit, waving the hitman off. "Sorry, didn't mean to hurt your pride!"

"Dame-Tsuna," the hitman's voice was low, warning him.

"Ok! I promise, I'll stop," the brunet giggles in joy, happy at their bickering. Reborn smirk turns genuine with happiness, too.

They both stay in silence, watching the young tenth generation work in opening their boxes. Ryohei managed to open the other box easily, but these boxes were Vongola—they were specifically made for each of their rings. It was slightly harder to control and use them. Which resulted in all of them struggling to even get a wisp of flames out of the box.

"I still have it, for your information," he comments.

"Really?" Reborn sounds genuinely impressed.

"Of course," he then pulls out the white mittens from his breast pocket. "I treasure it."

"Ragazzo," the hitman sounds a little worried.

"Don't worry, I just hold it because…" the older brunet glances at his gloves wistfully. "It reminds me of my childhood. It reminds me of the beginning of it all. It reminds me of you changing my life.

"I didn't want to get rid of it, at all," he whispers to himself. Tsunayoshi then slips the mittens over his hands and closes his eyes. Slowly, the brunet opens his eyes, as his Sky Flames fizzle at his forehead. The mittens glow and change into his X-Gloves.

Reborn watches. He is impressed with his student's ability to get into HDW mode without the need of his pills or a bullet. It just seems as a natural thing for the older brunet. And the hitman watches with interest—with pride. The X-Gloves don't look as shiny and new compared to the younger counterpart of his student. It looks… battered—from time and use; it looks like it was constantly used for battle. While Tsuna's looks more like an accessory, Tsunayoshi's looks like an extension of his body. They look beautiful, still.

Tsunayoshi lets his flames fizzle out, as the gloves turn back into the old mittens. The number twenty-seven looking right back at him. It brought so many memories—so many good moments from his past. But it also brought a lot of pain. Every time he used his X-Gloves, he thought of Reborn and how much of a disappointment he was for letting him die.

The brunet bites on his lip, gripping his mittens tightly. He meant what he said. He had only kept it as a memory of his past—not as a reminder of his failure. But, it was impossible to forget. It was impossible not to think that this was memorabilia of his mistakes. Of his own fault.

Tsunayoshi feels a tiny hand at the nape of his neck. It's familiar and comforting. Carefully, Sun Flames whisked at him, gingerly calming his nerves down.

"I appreciate you keeping it," the hitman says after a beat. "It means a lot."

The brunet turns to face the hitman, eyes wide in surprise. Reborn smiles at him, squeezing the man's nape in response.

"You're welcome," the brunet whispers.

Suddenly, those mittens held a whole different meaning. It wasn't as painful as before. Reborn was there to reassure him. It wasn't his fault. And he could fix the future.

Tsunayoshi smiled, eyes closing for a second. He lets his Sky Flames mingle with his tutor's Sun. It's warm and calming—but also energetic, similar to Ryohei's, but entirely different at the same time. It's his tutor's flames. And it proves he is alive.

"No need to say anything, Tsuna," the hitman comments, as if sensing that Tsunayoshi was about to thank him.

"Okay," the brunet hums instead.