A/N: Enjoy!

Recognition.

Minutes passed and they just sat there.

Tsuna picked at the blades of grass jutting up against his thighs, rubbing them against the pads of his fingers until he grew bored and dispersed them to the wind. As for Gokudera, he was sitting about five feet away from Tsuna, and even farther away from the coffin.

"Uwah!" Tsuna hollered, nearly causing Gokudera to collapse backwards.

"Juudaime, what's wrong?" Gokudera asked immediately, taking a defensive stance. He searched Tsuna's wide eyes for answers, but he couldn't determine anything. When he couldn't decipher Tsuna's cause of distress, he took preemptive measures and scanned the vicinity of the forest, gray eyes probing its deep depths.

"It's been way over five minutes!" Tsuna nearly shrieked. He quickly scrambled from the grass and stood up straight, wide eyes scanning the expanse of the forest. He turned to Gokudera shakily, biting at his lip. "Why haven't I poofed away or something?! Shouldn't I be gone by now?"

Gokudera was at a lost for words. He brought his hand to his head, threading his fingers through his silver-fine hair before he nervously reached for his tie, subconsciously adjusting it. He replied hesitantly, "I-I, I don't know, Juudaime."

"Hiiii!" Tsuna squirmed, bringing his hands to his head, tugging at his hazel-colored hair. "This isn't happening, this isn't happening! I can't be stuck here!"

"Is it really that bad, Juudaime?"

Tsuna whipped his head around, eyes darting to his guardian. He immediately stilled, guilt clouding his heart and mind like a thick fog. Gokudera's eyes were anchored to the ground, quivering in what appeared to be anguish. Tsuna mentally slapped himself, suddenly feeling very foolish and very, very tactless. How could he have been so inconsiderate? After having been told he'd be dead in this time (although he loathed to admit) of course Gokudera would be elated to see him again – alive. Tsuna figured after saying what he had just said, it was equivalent to . . .

'A slap in the face,' he thought glumly.

"No, no! Gokudera-kun, I didn't mean it like that!" Tsuna quickly corrected, taking a casual step forward. "Really, I didn't. It's just, what if the 10 Year Bazooka is broken or something, and I can't return to my time! I wouldn't know what to do!"

Tsuna brought his hand to his chest, stuffing the other one inside his jacket pocket, fingers tracing along the fine edges of the photo stashed inside. He cocked his head to the side, wincing. He continued, "It's strange being here, 10 years later. It's a little too much to take in, knowing that you're going to die in 10 years."

He looked up at Gokudera at that, letting a watery smile scrawl across his lips. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just ranting." After looking up, Tsuna found Gokudera's eyes wide and glistening, his mouth turned up into a wide, beaming smile. It seemed like some things didn't change even after 10 years.

"Of course, Juudaime! I completely understand!" Gokudera stated happily, pride for his boss glowing about him like a shining aura. "Despite all that, I'm glad you're here, Juudaime! You can count on your right-hand man to help you with anything. As for the others. . . the others." Gokudera's voice tapered away, that somber expression and crestfallen look replacing the bout of happiness that was there previously. Tsuna looked on, one eyebrow raised at the sudden change of attitude. Had Gokudera grown up to be bi-polar?

"What's wrong?" Tsuna whispered, tilting his head in concern.

"We have to leave now, it's not particularly safe staying out in the open like this," Gokudera breathed, his face becoming gravely serious. Tsuna was taken aback at this.

"Why? I mean, it's just -- ."

"Let's leave," Gokudera cut in, his voice crisp and authoritative. He shuffled over to where his briefcase lay and bent down, grasping the handle with his hand. He straightened himself and flexed his shoulders, his collar riding up the length of his neck.

"Things can change in ten years," Gokudera started quietly, back turning. "You should know that it's possible, Juudaime." Tsuna gulped and clutched his fingers, nodding morosely. He couldn't help but take one final glimpse at the coffin.

His coffin.

Tsuna crunched and trampled across fallen tree leaves, mangled roots and the occasional small thicket, all the while trying to keep his pace with Gokudera who was leading the way rather magnificently.

Once or twice, Tsuna would stumble upon a rock or a conspicuous pile of dirt, in which Gokudera would immediately turn around and offer him assistance. For Tsuna, he felt a bit embarrassed that he was managing to make a fool out of himself just by walking, but the farthest part of his mind was trying to reason with himself: Gokudera probably knew the terrain better than he did, so it wasn't entirely his fault he was stumbling so much.

"Ne, Gokudera-kun, how much far -- ?"

Tsuna was cut off when he rammed into the broad back of his Storm Guardian, smashing his nose rather painfully. Tsuna muttered a stream of curses under his breath, rubbing at his nose frantically to alleviate the pain. He watched as Gokudera slowly turned around, face set with a vexed expression. It looked as if he couldn't decided upon something, otherwise, Tsuna was left with the proverbial phrase: stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"What's the matter? Are we here already?" Tsuna inquired, trying to peer around his friend's shoulder, but to no avail. Gokudera was simply too tall for him to peer across, much to Tsuna's chagrin.

"Juudaime, please look at me," Gokudera commanded softly, peering down at his boss. Tsuna winced and looked up, saliva collecting in his mouth. He usually did that when he was feeling nervous, and right now, he was feeling extremely nervous.

"Behind those trees, is the Vongola Base," Gokudera continued, his voice placid. He watched Tsuna freeze in place, his eyes growing wide with anticipation and anxiety. "It's underground, so you won't see it visibly, but it's there. But that isn't what I want to talk to you about." Tsuna nodded minutely, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his heels, his stomach lurching. Was there more bad news for him?

"Once we pass this barrier and enter the base, I have to warn you," Gokudera went on, taking a step closer towards Tsuna, who was beginning to tremble. "Every single person inside there, your guardians, hell even people you don't know yet, your subordinates . . . they just lost their boss -- their family. What I'm trying to say is, they're all in a state of mourning.

"If you just happen to waltz in there, as if you hadn't . . ." Gokudera hesitated, his voice cracking, before he managed to compose himself to finish what he had to say. " . . . you have to understand that this will be a big shock to them, seeing you alive. It's not everyday that someone comes back from the dead, right?"

"Gokudera-kun, what are you asking of me?" Tsuna intervened, hunching his shoulders. He heard his guardian sigh, before continuing.

"Don't hate me for saying this Juudaime, I'm the last person who would want to give you orders, but I'll greatly appreciate it if you'd accept my request." Gokudera turned his body, half pointing towards the line of trees, half facing Tsuna. Tsuna simply nodded. "When we enter, would you mind keeping a low profile. I mean, I'm not going to hide you or anything, but please try to refrain from being too jovial or questioning. I think it's best if you just let them take it in, gradually."

"Of course, of course!" Tsuna agreed, nodding his head rigorously. "I can just stand there, if you like. I won't say anything. But one thing, how am I going to first meet them? Immediately, or --?"

"Gokudera-kun!"

Tsuna watched as his Storm Guardian visibly stilled. Gokudera briskly turned around, waiting for the owner of the voice to eventually appear. Tsuna peeked out from behind his Guardian, staring anxiously at the line of trees in front of them. He could hear twigs snapping and leaves rustling and finally, as a tree branch was pushed to the side, out strolled a tall, lean figure.

There was a scar on his chin, Tsuna noticed, it was a very faint one at that, but a scar nonetheless. The man donned an equally expensive suit, but his stance portrayed anything but. The stranger seemed mellow and laid-back, one arm draped lazily around a sheathed blade hanging over his shoulder. However, there was one thing Tsuna found awfully familiar: the man's crop of stylishly spiked cobalt hair.

"Hope you don't mind my coming to look for you. You never know what's lurking in this forest and I was getting worried," the stranger explained, letting a small smile take place on his lips. His expression immediately changed, twisting somberly into sorrow. He was all brawn now, serious and grave. "I mean, we don't want another death in the family, right?"

Tsuna could feel his heart breaking at the man's tone, expression, and his now rigid posture. It was like he could feel the gloom radiating off the stranger in incessant vibrations until they cascaded around him like powerful tidal waves. To Tsuna, the man's visage didn't look like it belonged there.

'No,' Tsuna thought. 'It doesn't belong there. He shouldn't look so sad.' And then Tsuna began to think, really think. He ghosted his amber eyes once more over the sheathed sword hanging over the man's shoulder and settled his eyes on the familiar jagged outline of the stranger's hair. One word came to his mind.

"Yamamoto-kun!" he gasped, clearly taken aback. Was this really the Yamamoto of ten years in the future?

"Hm?" The stranger questioned, lowering his sword so that he held it firmly at his side. "Gokudera, who did you bring back with you?" Tsuna could see that Yamamoto was trying to peer around Gokudera's body, but to no avail.

"Um, I . . ." Gokudera stuttered, not sure how to go about the situation. He hadn't expected to re-introduce Tsuna so suddenly. Finally, he hunched his shoulders and sighed, picking his head up to look solemnly at his fellow Guardian. "I'll let you see for yourself."

Tsuna watched with a mixture of anticipation and dread as Gokudera lithely stepped to the side, allowing Tsuna to finally see Yamamoto in his entirety.

Tsuna watched his sword drop.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gokudera didn't really want to see the baffled expression on Yamamoto's face, but he did so anyway. The Storm Guardian piqued his head and stared up through his fine-tipped bangs, his shoulders hunched and his brief-case pressed closely to his side. It was just as he expected. Yamamoto was stock-still, his eyes wide and quivering with either shock or fear, Gokudera couldn't quite tell.

"Yamamoto," The Storm guardian started, rubbing the palm of his hand along the length of his neck.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto spoke, his voice clipped. He turned to Gokudera, his brow furrowing. "Gokudera-kun, what is this?"

Gokudera stared at his companion with lamenting eyes, trying desperately to think up of something appropriate to say to his troubled-looking friend. He opened his mouth, but nothing seemed to want to come out. It felt as if his mouth had been dried and replaced with cotton, making him lick his lips frequently just to try to get that feeling to vanish. He didn't want to feel so out of control, not right now anyway.

"Yamamoto-kun, you're really, really tall," Tsuna commented softly, stepping away from Gokudera's protective form. He scuffled to the side, hands clasped in front of him as he stared across at the aged Rain Guardian. Tsuna tilted his head, brown eyes scanning the figure in front of him. Yamamoto hadn't changed in appearance, but it seemed that he had changed slightly in attitude; Tsuna could tell just by looking into his eyes. They were glassed over, more serious and grave than what he could remember, and he found that this change, however small, perturbed him for some reason. He was so used to the care-free Yamamoto he knew and loved, the one with the lazy grin always sprawled across his lips and his signature laid-back attitude, no matter how naive he seemed to be. Tsuna found himself frowning amidst the excitement and anxiety fluttering inside him.

"Well, say something baseball-freak," Gokudera bit in, motioning at Yamamoto with his hands. Yamamoto seemed to snap out of his brief trance, eyes clouding over in recognition. He then began to move forward, forgetting his sword that was still lying on the ground. He walked a few steps towards Tsuna, hesitant and weary steps, until he stood no more that a foot away from the young Vongola Decimo, hands at his sides and eyes never leaving his target. The Rain Guardian let a watery smile cross his lips, before extending his hand towards his boss, his family – his Juudaime. Tsuna slowly took his hand, wrapping his fingers around the surprisingly large palm, and firmly gave a quick shake.

"Welcome back, Tsuna," Yamamoto whispered, before sweeping Tsuna into a firm hug. He ruffled his hand through Tsuna's spiky, layered hair, fingers getting lost in the stalks of endless brown locks. He didn't know what to think of the younger version of his boss standing right in front of him, when he was supposed to be lying in a coffin some distance into the woods. To lose someone and then have them return to you-- alive, what could he think? He retreated from Tsuna, flashing him a genuine smile, and then as if realizing something very urgent, shuffled over to Gokudera and started conversing with him. Tsuna watched as they spoke to each other as they frequently used their hands to get their points across.

"How do you think he's going to take it?" he heard Yamamoto whisper, his voice turning solemn. Tsuna watched Gokudera shake his head, silver hair splaying about his shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe we shouldn't tell him," he replied, brow furrowing. Yamamoto bit at his lip, snaking a quick glance at Tsuna who quickly looked away at being caught staring. He pretended to busy himself by playing with his fingers.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Yamamoto countered coolly, meeting eyes once again with Gokudera. "I think he'd want to see him."

Gokudera took a moment to think, shifting his gaze from Tsuna to Gokudera while pondering how he should handle such a delicate situation. He finally sighed, hunching his shoulders in defeat and breathed, "Fine then. When we get to the base, let's contact Chrome."

A/N: Please leave a review if you can!