Reborn's chapter. I'm sure that, in the cannon setting, he may have died before Tsuna, but he's around just to experience this bit of tragedy first hand in my interpretation.

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any of the Katekyou Hitman Reborn characters

It was cruel.

Reborn was a hitman. A hired assassin. He spilled blood, for a price. Life bent to his hand, pooled at his feet and sprayed towards the heavens at his whim.

But dear God was it cruel, staring steadfastly into the eyes of the purest innocence, and accepting what had been said.

"I'm going to the Millifiore, to meet with Byakuran."

Reborn had recalled a deep, tired sigh.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Dame-Tsuna."

The cruelest of things, was that knowing smile. Eyes that were warm with half-assed wisdom and a sense of expectancy.

"Of course you know what I'm doing. You know me best, so I wouldn't begin to get anything past you."

And then, they'd stood beside one another, staring out over the hundreds of acres of gardens and land that covered the back Vongola property. The sun was bright, but there were dark clouds coming in from the south. The air held a crisp scent of roses, and, the Decimo's favorite, Italian Passiflora. Reborn shifted while he stared, leaning more of his fully grown body weight against the thick marble ledge of the patio balcony.

"You know what it means..." he said, a voice laced with a certain warning tone. His skin was burning and his lungs were hurting, again, but it was his choice not to cough now; he had no where to wipe the blood that had been appearing in his palm afterwords. His bones and joints ached from the strain of growing all over again.

"Yes."

A breeze pushed against the two standing under Italy's sun. Birds sang their stories to one another. Reborn could find peace in this environment, yet it was more cold now then what his current sickness was draining from him. He would think that the frigid feeling in his flesh was unrelated to his student's words.

He hadn't wanted to hear 'yes'.

"And you're okay, with what this will do? To them?" he asked, dark eyes staring at the sky. The dark clouds in the south kept flickering into his line of sight.

"...I'm going to believe in them." the words were spoken with the purest truth. They were the truth. "I'm going to believe that we've all become strong enough, to not let ourselves be defeated by grief."

Reborn turned his head, looking over the large, green-skinned Leon sunning himself on his shoulder, and stared at the profile of the Decimo's face.

"Then you're going for their sake." he said. A small smile and bright copper eyes was his reward.

"For them, yes. And for you, Reborn."

The Hitman let himself blink slowly, one black eyebrow raising slightly past the brim of his fedora.

"For me, hn?"

Maybe this assassin enjoyed the smiles he received.

"For you. For the Arcobaleno. For the Vongola. The Chavilone. The Kokuyo. For myself, and Mom and Dad."

They were strong declarations. But terribly cruel, considering. It was a list. A list of those who would soon be at a loss. Reborn shifted, so as to stare straight into the amber orbs that he'd raised from a hopeless, withered seed into a towering force.

"For the mafia, then?" he offered.

Yes, he did enjoy the smiles after all.

"No. Not for the mafia."

But they felt cruel.

"For the World!"

"'For the world', hn..?"Reborn whispered under his breath , his lips set in a frown and suit disheveled.

The air no longer smelled like Passioflora. It was raining, so the scent of sodden grass and dirt drifted in through the open windows of the small, dark study. Hours had past since his return from the Bovino estate. It was well into the night, so deeply that the thundering sky outside was turning to a light gray as the sun lifted itself heavily from the east.

The Persian carpet that laid thick on the floor of the Decimo's main office was littered with blood sodden tissues and a rain soaked Armani suit jacket. Leon clung tight to a desk lamp's bent neck, his colors dark brown and a swarthy tan. The pigment of a distraught chameleon in acute stress.

Reborn eyed his animal companion from his unmoving position laid back in the desk chair. His fingers reached out and lightly stroked the softly rigid skin of Leon's back, the faintest trace of green following his finger across the scales, then disappearing like ripples in a pond. Reborn did nothing more, just stared blankly and stroked the lizard lightly.

Could lizards feel distress? It seemed so, based on many things concerning Leon's unique biology. Could the animal feel grief? Could Leon understand, as his master understood, just what the world had lost?

It had to be so. Reborn could feel it. He felt it crawl across his skin and invade his nerves and arteries. The ache of perdition affecting him unlike what he had expected. He had, after all, been expecting it. He'd been told, in a manner of speaking, that such a thing was going to occur.

His student was dead.

Tsuna, was dead.

He hadn't been there to prevent it. Those who had, were apparently halted in their own attempts. Those who weren't, namely the Sun Gaurdian and his healing flame, were sent away, and would find out later of the atrocities. Maybe if Ryouhei had been present, he'd have been able to heal the Decimo in time, but it seemed unlikely. Even Reborn himself, who's yellow Sun pacifier hung uselessly around his chest would probably have been of no use. Because Tsuna wanted it that way. He'd planned it that way.

Reborn felt a sharp foreboding quiver go through his body. His sat up straight, dark eyes widening slightly as he became alert to a sudden rush. His lungs convulsed, and despite his efforts, bile rose from his stomach and spilled onto the floor.

Leon flexed his toes gripping the lamp's neck, a wave of deep dark brown overtaking his skin pigment while his master sputtered and dry heaved.

Reborn wiped the corner of his mouth on his sleeve, holding his head in his hands and breathing in steady gulps of air. He listened to the rain falling beyond the window; a soft, shattering noise that could disrupt and calm at the same time. He inhaled heavily, pushing himself up, leaning against the bookshelves behind him for support.

It seemed that this illness that had taken hold of him over the past months had entered its final stages over the last couple of days.

Reborn knew his own body better then anyone. All of the Arcobaleno were highly sensitive to each quirk and pang that occurred in their bodies. So when each member of the Cursed Infants had started to develope a strange sickness, they all new it was no coincidence. Someone was targeting the Arcobaleno, and had succeeded with whatever they had done. Who it was that had started the virus was a mystery, at first. Now, as Reborn stood leaning against the bookshelves of a very empty Decimo Vongola office, he knew very well who was behind everything.

And Reborn regretting only the fact that his student went before he did.

Stifling another bought of less severe coughs, the tutor took out his cell phone and punched in a short text message of 'Afternoon; Melon Base: keep it from Lal'. He sent it off to the recipient 'Army Idiot' listed in his contact directory. He trusted Colonello would understand the meaning.

Things weren't turning out the way Reborn had thought. For decades the Vongola had maintained a peaceful existence. The other mafia syndicates kept to themselves and though there was an occasional bought of violence, it was always quickly stemmed. Never had Reborn imagined that such terrible things would happen during Tsuna's time in the Boss's chair.

The Italian man found his eyes traveling to the photos that covered the desk's surface. Dozens of smiling (and some serious) faces littered in mismatched frames. There were photos of Lambo at different stages of life, and photos of Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi. Hibari Kyoya and his deep frown, and the Sasagawa siblings beaming brightly. But their faces meant very little to Reborn at that moment. It was the one who appeared smiling brilliantly in the photo beside them all.

"Naaa, Reborn! Just one photo! Just last month you looked like you were 10 years old, now you look like you're a real teenager! I wont get another chance to see you like this! You could look like an old man by next week at this rate!"

"Try it, and I'll shoot you."

"Hiiie! Fine fine!"

Reborn touched the glass separating him and his own unhappy temporary 17-year-old appearance. His other hand trailed fingers lightly on his cheek, wondering why he ended up letting Tsuna jump him and take the picture anyway. Big copper eyes were closed in the photo, as Tsuna (already in his twenties for goodness sakes) had pressed their faces together, cheek-to-cheek, so he could gain that one small moment in time.

It was then that Reborn noticed. All photos of himself and Tsuna were isolated on one side of the desk, the only other photos around them being those with the smiling faces of Iemitsu and Nana, cradling a bouncing toddler (who was repetitively bawling his big brown eyes out). Dino seemed to make appearances in this group as well, the blond man's tattooed arms wrapped possessively around his beloved 'cute little brother'.Those who Tsuna felt were parental, respected figures in his life...

The dark gray of Reborn's irises softened, and he leaned his incredibly tired body further onto the desk.

All that was left of Tsuna now, where these photographs. Frozen faces through the years, innocent young men and women who had no idea what would happen in the future. And he, Reborn himself, selected by Tsuna's hands to be kept with photos of his own true family.

The hitman's body burned. No. It was his eyes, they felt hot and stung in a novel, unaccustomed way. His fingers rose to touch at the soft skin below his lashes, and brought them away, stunned to find that they were wet.

"For them, yes. And for you, Reborn."

The Arcobaleno stared into the brilliant smile of his most powerful student. The photo rested in its tarnished silver frame, looking cold to the touch despite it depicting Tsuna standing by the Vongola compound's South Garden during a warm day in Spring, five years ago. Reborn stood perfectly still, for a long moment, just staring and listening to the hurried pattering of the rain pouring down out on the veranda.

"...Tsuna..."

Carefully, he pulled the back panel off the frame, his lips set in a thin line as he took the photo. Pushing himself away from the desk to where his jacket laid on the floor, the hitman shrugged his suit piece on and stuffed the picture into his breast pocket. He felt his cell phone vibrate, and, knowing it was Colonello's reply, he ignored it. He was on his way to meet the man anyway, so it made little difference.

Leon crawled up Reborn's outstretched hand, his steps slow and sluggish, very much like his master's. The lizard's eyes darted aimlessly, his soft skin flickering in dark colors. Reborn closed his eyes, just standing still and silent for a long moment.

It was his turn now.

His stomach warmed, knowing soon he'd be reunited with his brave, strong student.

"Lets go, Leon. To where Tsuna is." the hitman whispered, walking out of the study, his fedora covering sharp coal black eyes. The chameleon on his shoulder released a wave of light green pigment to wash across his scales.

The door of the study thudded closed, empty now. Rain fell outside, the pattering like many small, wet feet; bringing in the scent of passiflora from the gardens. A cool blue light from the hidden rising sun flickered over many picture frames that sat upon the Decimo's desk. Among them, a brunette boy with a honey gold eyes and a light blush smiled, his expression carefree, yet expectant.

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I love writing Adult Reborn so much.

I hope you enjoyed the read, I really enjoyed writting this chapter.

Next chapter may not be released for a while. It will either be Xanxus/Varia, or Dino's, or Gokudera. I'm not sure yet.

-Rae