Hey, this is Kumiko-chan! Sorry for this short chapter, but just saying here right now: This is not the last chapter (well, second to last), there will be an epilogue tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, that will also be when a COMPLETE NEW story starts. Well, just guess about the ending of the story for now, I am not gonna tell. Just saying here, the plot of the new story will be completely astonishing, trust me, it's gonna be a surprise.

Chapter 24

"Tsunayoshi...-san?" Gokudera said with doubt. "What happened? What in the world just happened?" He shouted into the ceiling.

"Oh..." A small sound came from the moving body of Nakamura Kai. Fluttering his eyelids, he finally opened his dark grew eyes.

"Huh? You are...Gokudera-kun?" Nakamura said weakly as he tried to focus his vision.

"Jyuudaime..." Gokudera, who ran here at top speed as soon as he heart the voice of Nakamura, called out slowly. Without any sign, he suddenly gave Nakamura a giant hug. "Jyuudaime!" Then weepings.

"Nah, nah, Gokudera-kun...' Nakamura was really confused right now. He didn't know what happened. He only knew that he was put down by Bernardino Vassallo, then he remembered nothing. The past two weeks were just blank inside his memories. And as soon as he woke up, he saw all of his guardians having this mixed emotion inside their eyes, a mixed emotion of happiness, sadness, and great confusion. And now, Gokudera weeping?

Closing his eyes while patting Gokudera gently on the head, Nakamura felt a wave of nausea going through him. Holding onto Gokudera's shoulder slightly, he avoided falling back onto the ground. Twitching his eyebrows, he realised his brain was shot with something new, something completely strange but nostalgic at the same time.

Absorbing the information with his eyes closed, he got a quick catch of the whole situation right now. Everything that happened in the past two weeks went through quickly like a slideshow inside his head. But something was cut off: the ten minutes before he woke up was cut off roughly.

"Eh, Byakuran-san?" Nakamura asked slowly at Byakuran who was staring at the window, he seemed to be the only person here who knows the whole situation. Hesitating for a moment, he finally asked the question that was disturbing him ever since he finished absorbing the informations. "Where is...where is Sawada Tsunayoshi-san?"

Everything went silent. Even Gokudera and Chrome stopped weeping. Lambo slowed down his movements, Reborn lowered his hat, and Mukuro let out a short laugh. Turning his head slowly, Byakuran looked Nakamura straight into the eyes. To Nakamura's and everyone present's surprise, his eyes were extremely calm and peaceful, the regular tricking smile was already back on his face.

"Ah, Nakamura Kai-kun." Byakuran said slowly. "So Tsu-chan cut off that part within the information he passed onto you through the flames. Alright, if that's his wish, then I cannot answer your question."

"Byakuran-san..." Nakamura murmured as he saw Byakuran's serious eyes. Then he nodded solemnly, "Alright then, if you say so, I won't ask any more questions. I don't need to know what I don't need to know."

"You got smarter, Kai-kun, I must say." Byakuran said happily. Then he turned his gaze on the guardians. Suddenly his pupil went unfocused. "Tsu-chan told me to erase the memories of the guardians...I would be murdered brutally if I erase the memories containing him inside his family member's memories...but these guys...uh...oh right...great..." He whispered to himself, causing an awkward silence among everybody present. "Alright!" His pupil finally went back to normal, slowly, he smiled trickily. "Mina-san, can you come here for a moment?" At the same time behind his back, he took out a mist box and a mist ring. Without making any sounds, he opened the box.

Everyone walked towards Byakuran at his demand automatically, even Nakamura stood up. Using his mist box, Byakuran created a false illusion of him talking to the guardians while his true body was doing some tricks on the guardians, some trick Tsunayoshi-chan ordered him to do. The last order from his boss. He must accomplish it, without any errors.

Five seconds later, he saw the eyes of everyone present going unfocused for a second, then went back to normal. But their face was filled with confusion. At this very second, Byakuran planted a false memory of what happened in the past two weeks inside their brain. As soon as he did so, he shut down his mist box, picked up Tsuna's VG and the Vongola box, then he went out of the Vongola HQ through the window as quick as possible, caving everybody behind, confused.

Five minuted after Byakuran left the Vongola Headquarters, mina-san finally started to move. But as soon as they started moving, their face was no longer confused, but filled with that deep sadness. In silence, Nakamura picked up the rest of Tsuna's things gently with two hands and walked outside the room. The rest of the guardians followed.

Mukuro was the last to exit the room. Finally, he stopped releasing the mist flame on his Vongola Ring. Shaking his head slowly, he let out a bitter laugh.

"Kufufufu, Sawada Tsunayoshi, you really thing we will be able to forget about you?"

Seven months later, in the world of Vongola Decimo: Sawada Tsunayoshi.

"Byakuran Gesso," Reborn said slowly as he took a small sip of dark coffee from his cup. Twisting his eyebrows slightly, he focused his gaze onto the smiling man sitting in front of him. Two weeks after the the battle with Cesare which caused both Tsuna and Cesare being frozen inside the ZPB ice ended, he found it extremely difficult to read Byakuran's mind anymore, like he shut his thoughts from the outside world on purpose. He could only pick up one or two words every one months or so, but non of them seemed to be related to Sawada Tsunayoshi, his favourite student, but all seemed to be related to something about erasing other's mind.

"Yes, Reborn-kun?" Byakuran said happily. But Reborn still captured a trace of deep sadness flashing through his eyes. He had been like that since seven month ago.

"How's dame-Tsuna doing in that stupid parallel world right now?" Reborn asked with impatience.

"Oh, I actually don't know, Reborn-kun~" Byakuran said with a short laugh. "I used up all of my power six months ago, I guess you know that."

"But you are still able to know fragments of what Tsuna's been up to." Not a question, but a fact.

"Huh?" Byakuran narrowed his eyes.

"Information from Uni. She said she was having difficulties trying to feel dame-Tsuna's existence ever since seven months ago, the same time in which you turned very strange." Taking out his gun, Reborn threatened. "If you don't tell me the exact information of Tsuna right now, I am going to shoot open your head. And I think I know that you are thinking about erasing somebody's mind."

Byakuran's body went numb for a second. He hesitated. Actually he wanted to tell them the truth about Tsuna's death ever since seven months ago, but every time something stopped him. Like a stupid consciousness, a warning from his dead friend. Or just recalling the last wish of his dear boss? Erase their memories then. In such a light tone, he ordered him to erase his existence from the life of his best friends. That was too cruel for even Byakuran to think about. Looking at Reborn in the eyes, He finally made the decision.

"Alright." Byakuran said cooly. "Call the guardians to the meeting room, and tell that dumb doctor to prepare some paralysing bullets, you might need them."

That was when Reborn finally realised something important, extremely important. The possibility he was trying to avoid this whole time was called up from the deepest part of his brain.

Worst case scenario time. He told himself slowly.

"So that is all." Byakuran said as he reached for his cup of water, untouched for the past three hours. He felt extremely thirsty since two hours ago, but in front of the serious faces of the guardians, he couldn't make one extra movement. Thanks to Nono and Uni, they revived all the guardians around seven months and something ago along with he himself. Two days after the weakest of them all, Lambo, woke up, he received the information of Tsuna's death. That day, he didn't eat or drink anything, he just shrunk inside his small bedroom, not even moving one finger. But one day later, he was back to 'normal': he was acting this whole time. Now finally, he got the chance to release all these pressures. "Any questions?" He asked gently. He knew that the guardians needed time to absorb the situation, and he was prepared if they acted a little too excited.

Silence, nobody spoke one word. Only Hibari's bird made a small movement and jumped onto Hibari's head.

To everyone's surprise, it was Gokudera who spoke first.

"Ah, so...so Jyuudaime's...ah, gone?" He said with hesitation, but calm. But he feared most finally became the truth. The thing he was so afraid to face. Something that he thought happened to the TYL Jyuudaime during the battle five years ago. Now, it's the cold truth.

"Ah." Byakuran nodded, his hand already on the gun loaded with the paralysing bullets.

"Ok then, if that's Jyuudaime's final choice, I have nothing to say." He shrugged as if its not a big deal. But his red eyes betrayed his true feelings.

"Nah, so Tsuna's never going to wake up then." Yamamoto said, trying to say it in a light tone, but he failed badly.

Then the room went to that dead silence again. One minute later, Hibari spoke.

"So when's the herbivore's funeral?" Asking out the question that all of them were trying to avoid.

Looking down at the sky VG and the sky Vongola box he brought from the other parallel world with the help of Uni and Nakamura on the table in front of him, Byakuran was unable to speak. He forgot about that. No, actually he thought about that before, but he was just avoiding it, avoiding the fact that his Tsu-chan was dead.

To everyone's surprise, Reborn spoke. His eyes filled with deep sadness, but calm was within.

"Tomorrow afternoon."