Disclaimer: Don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Akira Amano does, so please don't sue me.

Please enjoy this chapter of Memories and Countdown.

Trouble and the Truth

Namimori was covered by a light haze and the city's middle school was no exception. As the stars and moon kept surveillance, a car that camouflaged with the dark asphalt stopped in front of the gates. A man with black hair stepped out first and then opened the door to the backseat, allowing the brown-haired man fresh air and a space to stretch his legs.

"Watch your step." A hand was extended to help the young man out of the Mercedes. But the pale calloused hand was pushed away lightly.

"Don't worry about it." A pair of black leather shoes took root onto grey cement. The doors of the car were closed with a light slam and the click of a button. Amber eyes directed their gaze at the metal gate that enclosed Namimori Middle School.

Light footsteps, almost silent, made their way to the gate and pale fingers slid a key through the opening on a lock. There was a small rattling noise of a chain hitting metal as it was pulled into a free hand. When the clattering came to an end, wheels squeaked and then there was space large enough to allow one man in.

After a quick nod barely seen through the dense fog, the brown-haired man walked through the thin region, slipping through with one shoulder going through then the other. Close behind him followed the black-haired man, who had slipped through the crack and fixed the chains once more. Each hand held steel.

Quietly, the pair walked into the dark school and filed up the stairs as if it were broad daylight and normal to do so.

"Wait." Dark eyes and a hand holding a tonfa stopped the person before them from advancing further. Long strides surpassed the still man and a door connecting a last flight of stairs to the rendezvous point was busted open by a knock of steel.

The area was covered with a lighter mist than that which covered the ground and a man with glasses leaned over a rail.

"It's nice to see you again," the man greeted, half-whispering, "Mr. Sawada and Mr. Hibari."

"Hn," the black-haired man grunted in response.

"It's good to see you, too, Irie, and Happy New Year."

A weak smile crossed Irie's face, "Happy New Year. Now then, onto business. As Mr. Hibari has told me prior, you've destroyed the rings, correct?"

Tsuna winced internally, a small pain pecked at his insides. "Yes, I have. So, what's the next phase of the plan?"

"At the Christmas party, Byakuran told me that he visited you 'off-record' to talk to you about joining with the Millefiore, and that you had destroyed the Vongola rings right in front of him—"

Hibari's eyes widened then he glared at Tsuna, "That's the first I've heard of this 'meeting'."

Tsuna didn't need to look back to know that Hibari was angry. "What else, Irie?"

Irie glanced down at the floor, up at Hibari, then at Tsuna. "Well, Byakuran told me that he planned to have an 'on record' meeting with you. Him as well as some subordinates mostly from the White Spell will be coming back to Japan to make negotiations. He said that he knows you'll agree, that even if you didn't agree on your own will, he'd force you to say yes."

"How?"

"Byakuran's power is one that performs miracles," Irie explained, "That's the best way I can put it right now. Anyways, the plan splits into two paths that we can take depending on the situation at the time of execution. One is—in the case that a battle doesn't break out—that we expose the truth about the Millefiore as the killers of the Arcobaleno and then wait out from there. The second route—if a battle commences between the Millefiore and the Vongola—is that you get shot and die, Mr. Sawada."

Hibari sprung from his position, fury and bloodlust in his eyes. However, before his spiked tonfa could tear at the meat in front of him, Tsuna flew between the two and grabbed onto the steel weapons, melding them together with the orange flames that surrounded his gloves.

"That's enough, Hibari," Tsuna's amber eyes were cold and commanding, leaving Hibari with no choice but to reluctantly submit. He lowered the worthless trash in his hands. Then Tsuna turned to Irie, orange flame still emitting from his forehead. "What do you mean by that, Irie?"

Irie gulped the fear into his stomach and after most of the emotion subsided, he answered Tsuna's question. "I've developed a special bullet similar to the Vongola's Dying Will bullet that invokes a state of death on the person that's hit by it in the heart. By feigning your death, it'll look like the Millefiore shot you and killed you. We will then utilize this time to get your self and your guardians of the past to come to the future with the Vongola rings. Presently, without the rings, the Vongola don't stand a chance against the threat of the Millefiore."

"Then why have Sawada destroy the rings in the first place?" Hibari growled.

"Because there had to be a reason for Byakuran to get mad enough to formally confront the Vongola," Irie answered.

Hibari stared at Tsuna, "Sawada, I don't like the way this sounds. You may have been a herbivore before, but I won't just allow you to get shot on the battlefield for the sake of such a ridiculous and irrational plan."

"I'll agree to your plans, Irie." Tsuna announced as he let go of his Dying Will flames. "After my 'death', I trust you to test my younger self of ten years ago and make sure he grows properly."

"U-Understood," Irie bowed, "Thank you, Mr. Sawada. I won't betray your trust."

Tsuna smiled weakly and placed a hand on Irie's shoulder. "Enough of that, I'm happy to be of help to you. If stopping Byakuran means ensuring the safety of my friends and the helping you save a close friend, then there's no problems."

Irie looked up at Tsuna admiringly, "Thank you so much again, Mr. Sawada. Thank you so much."

The Vongola's boss and the Cloud Guardian left the school and Irie behind them. Hibari was the first to the car and entered the driver's seat, slamming the door after him. Tsuna stopped a few feet away from the car, averting his gaze to the floor. At the sight of the brown-haired man standing outside of the car slightly covered in mist, Hibari rolled down the window.

"Don't just stand around there like a herbivore, get in." The Cloud Guardian tried to suppress the anger that he felt but there was just too much.

"Hibari, I'm sorry," Tsuna apologized. Hibari snapped and jumped out of the car, nearly swinging the door of the vehicle off its hinge. He stomped up to Tsuna and dragged him to the car, flinging the Mercedes' door open as he did so, and hurled the shorter man onto the leather upholstery of the backseat.

"Listen, you stupid little fuck." Hibari glared down at his boss from the outer frame of the door. Tsuna didn't cower at the sight of the mad Guardian, just glared back in a mixture of disbelief and what seemed like defiance to Hibari. "I don't care how much of a nice person you are or how much of a hero you want to be, but stop it. You're biting off more than you can chew and you're handing your life over to someone that you trust based off of some damn intuition. Do you think that there's anyone that would let you do something so stupid as sell your life—even if only falsely—for the sake of some stranger?"

When he saw Tsuna look away, his anger broke out into a whole new level and made this rings glow violently with violet flames. He grabbed Tsuna by the collar of his shirt, bringing the man's face close to his so that it was impossible to look away. "Listen carefully to what I'm saying, Sawada, because I'm not repeating myself: Don't throw your life away from something like this with a high probability of your death and failure. Would you prefer to see everyone who cares about you in pain? Well?"

"I—"

Hibari shook him, "Answer me so I can hear you loud and clear, damn it!"

"I don't want to see anybody in pain," Tsuna roared. Hibari continued to glare at the shorter man with a cold expression that could be read as: "then why".

"But more than having you guys live in pain, I'd hate for any of you to lose your lives because of something as stupid as the mafia! Always…All the time…Ever since Reborn told me I was the heir to the Vongola…I never wanted it! I never wanted any of it!"

Tears streamed down Tsuna's cheek and warm droplets fell onto Hibari's sleeve. "After I made friends, I didn't ever want to lose them. And to lose you guys because of the mafia—something that I dragged you guys into—that…that would be…just too much for me. Guilt, pain, sorrow, suffering…it would all burden my back and shoulders to the point of soreness and exhaustion every day for the rest of my life if I allowed that to happen. You guys are too important for me to lose!"

Hibari released Tsuna's clothes letting his boss fall onto the seats. He closed the door gently and silently walked to the driver's chair. After he was seated, he buckled his belt, turned on the engine, and drove to where Gokudera and Yamamoto would be waiting for him.

"Hibari…" Tsuna mumbled from his position on the black leather. His arm covered his eyes and his voice trembled. "After you drop me off, you are to leave Japan and not come back until a week after the formal confrontation with the Millefiore is over. You may use whatever excuse you'd like to cover for your leave, but you may not tell Yamamoto or Gokudera the truth about my plans, understand?"

The Mercedes lurched as it stopped behind the crosswalk lines. Red light. The Cloud Guardian's grip around the steering wheel tightened. After a silence that had lasted until the light turned green, he quietly replied, "Understood, Boss."

"H-Hey! Lambo, don't do that! You'll get us in trouble with Hibari!" Tsuna whispered as he grabbed Lambo and took the black marker from his hand. He glanced at the wall and dread caused him to pale to a ghostly white.

Scribbled in the permanent black ink was a crudely drawn picture of a giant, buff, and spotted broccoli monster with a foot on top of what could be made out as Hibari with a French moustache and broken candy canes in his hands.

"Wao." The all too familiar and intimidating voice caused Tsuna to freeze. Foot steps sounded in the enclosed walls of the disciplinary committee's room. "Now then, Herbivore," the voice echoed in Tsuna's ears, "if you wanted to fight me, you didn't need to make such a drawing or skip homeroom."

Tsuna gulped, "H-H-Hibari…I was just about to go to class, but then Reborn told me that Lambo ran in here, so I—"

"As head of the disciplinary committee, I will enforce punishment for vandalizing school property, bringing a child onto campus, and truancy. The punishment: I'll be biting you to death in detention…"

Tsuna held back his scream, which would only make his punishment worse, as a sheet of paper fell in front of him. On it, a red checkmark was penned into the box next to 'DETENTION'.

"Now, get to class, Herbivore," Hibari growled.

"Y-Yes, sir!" Tsuna saluted before dashing out in a power-walk. Running in the halls would only make the situation worse.

On his way out, he could have sworn he heard a light chuckle come from the disciplinary committee's head.

"We're here," Hibari announced. The engine was off and there was a jacket draped over Tsuna as a blanket.

"When did we arrive?" Tsuna asked, sitting up. The jacket fell onto his lap.

"Two hours ago," he answered.

Tsuna glanced over at the digital clock, but it was off. He checked his wrists for a watch, but he didn't have one on. "What time—"

The Cloud Guardian interrupted, "It's four minutes until two."

"Then Gokudera and Yamamoto—"

"I told them you were with me and to expect you to be late."

There was an awkward silence between the two and Tsuna opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped once again. This time not by Hibari, but by Gokudera.

"Tenth!" the faint voice of his right hand man made him look out the window behind him and sure enough, there was a silver-haired Italian. The man pointed at the lock on the door and Tsuna lifted the switch. A millisecond later, the door flung open and Gokudera tackled him with questions, mostly pertaining to Tsuna's physical health.

"You didn't get injured while you were out, did you?" Gokudera asked, inspecting Tsuna's face for any scratches or scuff marks.

Tsuna held onto Gokudera's probing hands. "I'm fine, Gokudera, honestly."

The Storm Guardian's green eyes softened and he let out a breath of relief, "That's great, Tenth. That's great…After what I heard happened to Rokudou, I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you…"

Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed, "What about Mukuro? What happened to him?"

Gokudera's eyes widened in surprise, "You didn't hear?" Then he looked over at Hibari. "You didn't tell him yet? Why didn't you tell him?"

"There was no need to pile further stress and grief onto Boss's shoulders," Hibari answered. His voice was lifeless and clear of any emotion. He pulled the switch on the car door and stepped out. Then, he closed the door lightly so that the closing sound was soft. "I'm going inside," he muttered solemnly.

Gokudera and Tsuna watched the man leave.

"What's wrong with Hibari?" Gokudera mumbled. His eyes didn't leave the man's back until it couldn't been seen anymore.

"Gokudera, what happened to Mukuro?" Tsuna asked. Gokudera's head shifted in surprise then it turned, facing the back of the headrest. He slid down into the comfortable seat.

He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. "Tenth, please try to stay calm."

"What happened to Mukuro?" Tsuna repeated, slight annoyance hinting in his tone.

"Rokudou is…dead…"

Tsuna's whole body froze over, eyes widened unimaginably. "D-Dead?" his voice trembled. He swallowed, trying to keep calm as Gokudera had advised. "H-How? How did it happen?" he asked; it was no good, his voice was still unsteady.

"A man name Glo Xinia defeated him in combat," Gokudera answered. He opened his eyes to see his boss and childhood friend. He regretted it. Beside him, Tsuna sat shivering and pale, making him seem like a ghost. Gokudera turned his head away as his voice grew shaky as well, "We tried to get into contact with Chrome, but…she's still missing, like she has been since she tried to help him escape."

"Mukuro is…dead? N-No! It can't be!"

Gokudera looked back at Tsuna, eyebrows knitted in worry, "Tenth…"

"No! Mukuro isn't dead! We were talking back before Christmas…He said he was fine…he said—he said he was fine! And Chrome isn't missing! She was there, too! She talked to me! She told me she had errands!"

The silver-haired man took Tsuna's face between his hands. Warm water flooded from Tsuna's amber eyes. "Tenth! Stop it! If you stay in denial like this, how are you going to work? Te-Tsuna…please, stop…If you keep acting like this…Please, stop crying, Tsuna…"

At the sound of his name coming from Gokudera, Tsuna looked up; he wasn't the only one crying over their fallen comrade. The brown-haired man wrapped his arms around Gokudera's neck. "I'm sorry, Gokudera," he whispered, "You're right, I'm just in denial. Thank you."

Tsuna released his grip on his Storm Guardian. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

Behind the sushi bar, which was completely bare of fish stood the Rain Guardian. In front of him, the Cloud Guardian sat fiddling absent-mindedly with the box weapon that the Cavalonne Boss had given him.

Yamamoto took out a bottle of sake from the shelves and two cups. He set the bottle and cups between himself and Hibari. The Cloud Guardian's gaze, however, remained fixated on the purple box in his hand.

"Want some?" the swordsmen offered, "It's the best in all of Namimori."

"Just one then," Hibari agreed, showing less enthusiasm than normal.

Yamamoto poured out the alcoholic beverage in the two empty containers. "Hey, Hibari, why are you acting so strange?"

Hibari finally stopped playing with the box and looked up at Yamamoto as the swordsman drank his sake. "Are you trying to imply something?"

"Well, normally, you wouldn't even bother coming into here."

"It's normally crowded."

Yamamoto laughed, "I guess that's true. Same old Hibari, don't like crowds, do you?"

"And I still don't like annoying pests," he growled, drinking his share.

The Rain Guardian poured another serving for himself. "Then it's a good thing I'm not the same as I was in middle school. So, is there a reason for your little brooding episode earlier?"

Hibari paused for a second. "No reason," he answered, lifting his flask for more.

"I thought you said only one," Yamamoto smiled as he poured more of the liquid out of the bottle.

"I meant one bottle. It would be a waste to leave one half empty."

"It'd be troublesome for sure," Yamamoto looked down at his reflection in the translucent drink. "Hey, what happened to Hibird?"

"He's doing surveillance."

"Is that how you could track down our little tunafish?"

"It's not like I was stalking him; it just so happened that Hibird flew over where he was."

"Where was he?" Yamamoto reached for the bottle, but Hibari got to it first.

"At the park," the Cloud Guardian answered, "playing tag with children."

Yamamoto chuckled, "What a nice stress-reliever…"

"Playing with children is not relieving," Hibari muttered.

"Do you do baby-sitting outside of work? Or did you get secretly married and have kids?"

"The alcohol must already be getting to you. Why would I want to have kids? I already have six to watch during work."

End Chapter Six

Wow, I can't believe it, I completed two chapters in three days! I'm so proud of myself! Well, enough of my airheadedness. This chapter was kind of hard to do and kind of confused me, so if you have questions, ask me and I'll try to make it more clear! ^^

Reviews please! ^^