"Tsuna!"
"Ahh! Reborn! Wh-What is it?"
"Why do we fall?"
"Wh-What?"
"I asked: Why do we fall?"
"...I...I don't know..."
"..."
"What?"
"...Nothing"
"...b-but what's the answer?"
"You'll have to figure it out for yourself"
"B-but, Reborn-!"
"Shut up! Get back to your homework!"
Tsuna's head dropped onto the hard ground. Slowly, his eyelids began sliding closed. The deafening cries of his comrades were fading in his ears and slowly he began to drift away from the world. He was so close - standing on the edge of eternal darkness - praying for the final release into oblivion.
He could see nothing around him but blurry shapes. He looked down at himself from far above. His limp body was lying on the ground with his friends scattered around. There was Lambo, unconscious next to Ryohei's limp form; Hibari kneeling - glaring up at the enemy - with a broken tonfa in each hand; Mukuro bloodied and beaten, half a trident cast out of reach; Yamamoto clutching his sword as he nursed a mangled leg; and finally Gokudera. He was crouching at Tsuna's side with tears in his eyes as he checked for a heartbeat.
All the while, the watching, hungry eyes alive with bloodlust looked on with disdain at the Vongola X generation.
Tsuna felt a wave of numbness spread throughout his mind and shuddered. What was this impassiveness? Shouldn't he have found it within himself to fight back already? Why did he feel unmoved - uncaring almost - that his familiga was about to be annihilated?
The outside world began rushing around his head - speeding so fast that he could make out nothing but quick flashes of color or sound.
As sudden as it had begun, the movement stopped. Now he was truly alone.
"...wish Tsu-kun had told me where he was running off too..." A quiet voice echoed through is mind. It sounded familiar. Had he heard it in a dream?
"...Juudaime is powerfull! We will never understand..."
"...has what it takes. Tsuna might be able to pull this operation off. Of course he'll need training and..."
"...well you're my friends! Of course I'd help you out if you were in trouble..."
Were these...real conversations? Had they really taken place? In another life? Who were these faces that spoke of someone so reverently. They had complete faith in them? Were they fools?
"...Tsuna! Help! Somebody? Anyone?..." That sounded like a girls voice? Did it belong to her? The one with the orange hair? Why did she seem so familiar? Was he going crazy?"
"..do your best, Tsuna! Kyoko and I will always support..." Kyoko? Was that her name?
"...I never really thought about it that way...I suppose I fight because I want to laugh with you all again sometime..." Those words...they sounded so familiar...but...he just couldn't remember... "...you were in danger, Juudaime...as a right-hand man to...protect you...costs me my life..."
"...tournament could wait, Tsuna! Once you called...more important...just some silly game..."
"...you haven't the right to die, herbivore...allow my prey to escape somewhere I do not wish to follow just yet..."
"I just...wanted to protect everyone. That's all I ever wanted..." It was his voice - his face - it was Tsuna speaking...but why did he feel so different now?
"Tsuna!"
The name cut through the confusing jumble of voices and commanded immediate silence.
Why was this memory clearer than the rest?
"Ahh! Reborn! Wh-What is it?"
That was him responding...but who was this 'Reborn?'
"Why do we fall?"
What a silly question to ask someone. No one wanted to fall. It just happened. If they didn't, no one would ever learn resilience.
"Wh-What?"
'I'm quite a stutterer, aren't I?' Tsuna thought with amusement. Then again I've always been no good...useless...stupid...
"I asked: Why do we fall?"
'I couldn't even answer a simple question...what a waste of a life...'
"I...I don't know..."
"..."
"What?"
"...Nothing"
'Ahh, Reborn. He was always so mysterious...' Tsuna thought...then- 'Wait...Reborn! The brat of a home tutor! How could he have possible forgotten Reborn?'
"...b-but what's the answer?"
"...that's right! Juudaime! I will fight beside you forever! You can count on me..."
"...I won't let any more of my friends get hurt!..."
"...I will not allow anyone to disturb the peace and live..."
"...I will fight with you! Tsuna!"
"Juudaime!"
"Sawada...Tsunayoshi"
"You'll have to figure it out for yourself"
Yes, he had figured it out, now...
Gokudera jumped. Tsuna's heart had just kick-started back into life. The silver haired man looked in wonder up at Tsuna's golden eyes. They had only just re-opened and were filled with an emotion he had never seen his boss wear before.
"Gokudera..."
"Ahh...yes...Juudaime?"
"Stay back..."
"But I-!"
"I can handle this"
"...okay"
Tsuna could feel the eyes of his guardians on him - watching him intently as he catapulted himself into the air after the looming threat. The enemy boss' eyes flashed with apprehension at first, then reminded himself that his new opponent was simply a boy. The flames looked out of place atop the forehead of someone so young and innocent.
"Brat, what do you think-"
"Let me ask you something"
Something about his voice stopped him - This Sawada Tsunayoshi...the Tenth Vongola...what was he?
The boss allowed a smirk to flash across his face in fake confidence and he answered in a condescending tone "Go ahead, boy"
Tsuna's expression did not change from that of calm determination as he asked the question that had bugged him for so long.
"Can you tell me...why do we fall?"
The enemy boss was startled for a moment, then let loose a terribly wild peal of laughter. He wiped the tears from his eyes as he regained his composure and leveled a superior stare at Tsuna.
"Brat...when you are as great and powerful as me, you do not fall. If you do though, it is because you are too weak to handle your own power"
Tsuna's expression betrayed a flicker of disappointment. The enemy would have claimed it was fear of his omnipotent power, however he was wrong. At his response, Tsuna had finally decided that all hope for this man had finally been lost. As the tenth boss of the Vongola, it was his job to eradicate the threat.
"Operation...X"
Tsuna slowly raised a hand behind him and let the soft, yellow flames run their course. The meter began rising in his contacts and his other hand began trembling with suppressed power.
"...you're wrong, you know," Tsuna addressed his opponent. The man who had been watching Tsuna with a mixture of apprehension and contempt was startled by his voice.
"Wrong about what?"
"We fall, not because we are weak...but because we do not have anyone to stop us from crashing"
"What are you-"
"If we do not fall, we can never realize how much we have to loose. If that doesn't happen...how can we find the power needed to save everything?"
"Ready, boss," the electronic voice buzzed in Tsuna's earpiece. The gauge had finally leveled into a straight line.
He could feel his hand aching to release the stored pressure within. With a flicker of regret, Tsuna extended his hand towards the 'omnipotent' enemy leader and let loose his torrential flames. The heat from them singed his sleeves and hair and he felt his face growing hot. He closed his eyes and a single scream slowly shrank into silence...
"If we do not fall...we will never be given the opportunity to rise once more...and become greater than ever..."