Here I am again! That was "fast" hum? I hope this can make up for last chapter. And this fanfiction is slow-paced so please bear with me.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn but if did, I would write a whole arc only with the first generation of Vongola.

Important: "Speaking in Japanese."

"Speaking in Italian."

Thoughts

Chapter Five: Doppelgangers – Part I

"Then, I'm counting with your help, Francisco."

G and the man named Francisco shook their hands in a sign of agreement reached. Francisco was a man of thirty-six years married to a woman a little younger, and they had two kids but the third could already be seen in Carla's prominent belly. They were not rich, but thanks to the success of Francisco's hotel, their family could live with a certain comfort and happiness. But it has not always been that way.

As G dropped Francisco's hand, he looked at him for a few seconds as he thought about what happened early in the year. He couldn't help but let out a low growl and feel angry. Lately, everything seemed to go wrong, especially since the small vigilante group turned into mafia a little over two years. Mafias were bad; it destroyed what one loved like the town they loved to live in, it killed people for nothing and it corrupted the world. That's what he always thought, until he learnt a little more about the real story of mafia that ended up wowing Giotto. When he last expected, G was involved with strangers Giotto brought to recruit and gradually they became known as "guardians".

With the latest developments, G came to wonder if everything would have been worth it. And for a brief moment he even thought it would be better if the Vongola didn't exist in the future, and as well as any other mafia.

He shook his head and laughed at himself. What bullshit he had thought. As if the Vongola could exist even after all these years. It was obvious that after Giotto was no more able to lead as a boss of a mafia, the family would cease to exist. Giotto wouldn't want his descendants to engage in such dangerous business and the same would be said for others. The family's future was endangered. It's not like the Vongola would last for longer, for example, a hundred years, right?

Feeling somewhat relieved, G left the hotel and looked at one of the windows of the third floor. He could see the silhouette of a young teen with silver hair and smirked; the boy in question looked furious as if he would jump at any moment from the window and attack him right there in the middle of the large street. And that amused him immensely so much that G wanted a little more fun. He motioned with his head as if taking off an invisible hat, as if he were greeting Gokudera and went down the street toward the mansion.

Gokudera clicked his tongue in disgust and clenched his fists.

Tch. Damn you, G. Just wait for me.

He pulled the thin beige curtain back to its place and lay down in bed. His ankle hurt a little bit, which was a sign that the effect of medicine was gradually wearing off. If he was lucky, he wouldn't need to keep the bandages for more than five days and that would give him an assurance. The faster he was in a good condition, the better. And then he would be released from that ridiculous prison.

While Gokudera was thinking of ways to know the whereabouts of his boss, G walked while thinking of a thousands of things at once. He thought about Gokudera and how similar he was to him, both physically, as in the way he acted and spoke. But it was not just that. G feared that something very strange was happening behind his back. Gokudera was not the only one who looked like to someone close; the japanese boy Sawada also resembled someone he knew, and none other than his childhood friend Giotto.

G was intrigued.

The red-haired man narrowed his eyes and made a resolution. As soon as he arrived at the mansion, he would friendly ask Giotto why Sawada was similar to him. It was not like he suspected that his friend was hiding something from him, of course not, but he needed to know. G remembered it; as soon as the boy woke up, Giotto and he had a private conversation and so far he didn't know what was the content of their conversation. But should he mention Gokudera while at it? G was pretty sure he hadn't a cousin or any other relative so muchalike him as Gokudera was.

Anyway, G thought as he scratched his head. I think I should get going. Giotto must be worried.

G shouldn't have rushed so much. Though he was expecting that Giotto could be worried, he didn't thought it would be that much. When he arrived at the mansion, he went straight toward the stairs to the second floor; well, he would if not for the noise almost silent coming from the living room that drawn his attention to there. It was shoes walking on a carpet sound. His ears were good so he could hear it.

He peeked into the room and his eyes widened in an instant. Giotto was walking in circles around the room, while holding his chin with a hand.

"Primo?" he asked, entering the living room. Giotto quickly turned to face him, clearly startled at being interrupted in whatever he was doing and a nervous smile grew on his face. "What are you doing?"

Giotto scratched his cheek and laughed nervously. "I...hum...was...thinking?"

The storm guardian raised his eyebrows as he scanned the place, which was in a big mess. There were papers everywhere and two books on top of a couch. None of them were related to what the blond man should be doing at the moment.

G sighed and took one of the papers that were under his feet.

"Seriously, Giotto," he took another one and began to stacking up them one after another. "What the hell are you doing instead of signing those important papers inside of your office room?" he shook his head. "I know it must be boring, tiring, and lonely sometimes but you must do it as our boss. Please don't slack off now."

The young mafia boss watched as his right-hand man took the papers he had carelessly thrown in all directions. His eyes softened at the sight and he began helping G.

"I'm sorry." He admitted in a low voice. "I must be unreliable, mustn't?"

G placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed him, "I didn't say it, idiot. You're my childhood friend and also my best friend, it's my duty to warn you when you're doing something you shouldn't."

Giotto laughed, "You're right, my friend."

The red-haired man was glad Giotto had come to his senses but he was still annoyed, so he muttered indifferently, "Hmpf. Of course I'm right. I'm your right-hand man after all."

The impatient man puffed out his chest and stood that way until Giotto burst into laughter.

"Okay, okay." Giotto raised his hand as if surrounding himself and stood up right after the other. He directed his blue eyes to the floor and his shoulders stiffened. "I was worried..."

G avoid his eyes when the blond man looked up at him. He felt embarrassed. Even now Giotto still could be very motherly, and that was a little embarrassing.

"I know," he said. "But I'm fine, see?" when he didn't obtain any answer, he decided to continue, "Anyway, there's a thing bothering me ever since that boy was rescued."

Giotto frowned.

"You mean Tsunayoshi?" he asked. "What about him?" his eyes widened. "Don't tell me; did you find something about his background?"

His right-hand man shook his head and took a seat.

"No, not yet," he closed his red eyes as he thought of a manner to ask the man before him why there was a boy looking like him. "What I've been meaning to ask you about him is some other thing. And if you don't answer me truthfully I'm afraid I can't answer for my actions."

Giotto blinked. G was serious; he was looking at him with the same eyes he used to intimidate the others when he accompanied him in the mafia meetings. For his own sake he should say something, even if he didn't know anything either.

He remembered the look on the boy's face; he was hiding something very important under that innocent-looking face. Tsunayoshi didn't want to tell him, and of course he couldn't blame him for it. It was hard trusting people. But at the same time, Giotto had the urge to know what was that little voice speaking in his mind every time he thought about the boy.

Why was he injured that way as if he had just left a battle field? Why does he have an artifact ring-like with Vongola Famiglia written on it?

If under normal circumstances, Giotto could have thought that the boy was a spy. All of it could be explained under that logic, but deep inside him, he knew that Tsunayoshi didn't poses any danger. Then, how could he assure G of that?

Giotto lift up his head and slowly looked at G. He still had that fierce look on his face; he wouldn't step back on his question.

"What was that thing you found on the brat's pocket?" he asked.

The blond man's eyes widened.

Damn it, he saw that!

Now it was impossible to get out of that. G would go to the end of the world to obtain the answer; he knew he would. It no longer was a matter of explaining to him that Tsunayoshi was a good boy and wouldn't do anything to them, what G really wanted to know why a boy who looked so much like him had that thing even he couldn't explain.

"And why does he look so much like you, Primo?"

Giotto stare at him with a confused look on the face. He, too, wanted to know why. It wasn't like he didn't noticed the resemblance between them. One could tell they were blood-related, like a brother or a cousin—but he didn't have any siblings.

Perhaps he couldn't really wait for the boy to open up and tell him?

G was taken back by the look on Giotto's face. Through that simple but meaningful look, he could say one thing for sure. Giotto was intrigued and wanted answers as well.

G didn't obtain any answer at the end. He left the living room as soon he realized that even Giotto didn't know anything. Then, he headed towards to the improvised infirmary. Knuckle should be there.

And he was right. The priest man was in the infirmary when he entered the place.

"Oh, G!" Knuckle greeted him rather quiet. A frown quickly grown on his forehead. "What's the matter? You don't have an extreme look on your face."

G sighed and took a cigarette pack inside of his white long-sleeve shirt's pocket. As he was about to lit the cigarette, Knuckle quickly took it from the red-haired man's long fingers and stepped on it.

"Not inside the infirmary!" he complained. "This place is as sacred as a church! May God forgive us."

G rolled his eyes in annoyance. His almost-used cigarette had been stepped on, what a waste.

"Tch."

Knuckle took a seat and motioned to the other do the same. "So, what brings you here to the extreme?"

The storm guardian sat on a chair that stood opposite to Knuckle and stared at the priest man for a long moment before speaking. He needed to be careful. Knuckle wasn't a person who could keep silent when Giotto was involved. Of course, he could keep a secret as a priest but Giotto was his boss and his friend.

It was a risky move, and G decided to do so.

"I need your help with something," he spoke up. "And it's urgent."

Knuckle frowned and he leaned slightly forward. It was a rare sight seeing the always reliable G asking help from someone. He should take this rare opportunity God had sent him gratefully.

"And what kind of help do you need me for?" he asked smiling. "I'll try to help you in the best manner."

G shook his head at the offer. "It won't be necessary, you'll only need your Sun Flame for this request."

At hearing 'Sun Flame' Knuckle narrowed his eyes. Usually, when he had to use those especial flames, it could be to fight, which could lead to the death of someone. He didn't like it; he vowed he wouldn't kill anymore. Even if he would fight for three minutes only, would God forgive him in the end?

He directed his honey brown eyes to the floor and with a low voice asked, "And why would we need my Sun Flame? Don't tell me there's someone endangering the Family!"

Once again G shook his head. "Fortunately not, I think. We'll need your flame to fix up a brat I found."

When Knuckle was about to open his mouth to say something, G interrupted him. It could become troublesome if he didn't do it.

"I'll ask you discretion for this, Knuckle. Giotto must not know about this conversation and even more about the brat, did you heard me? He mustn't!"

"Why?" Knuckle asked him suspiciously.

The red-haired man's lips trembled and he ran a hand through his hair. He knew it would be troublesome and he should already prepare himself for Knuckle's reaction later.

"You'll know once you get there. Now, we must get going."

(Future – A week before current time in the past, some hours after the incident)

Several days ago, somewhere in the future in a small apartment's hospital bedroom, was an infant and a teenager. Gokudera was lying in the hospital bed with some bandages on his arms and his face entirely covered, which made him look like a mummy. Reborn was on the bed with his face partially covered by the shadow of his fedora.

"What's the meaning of this?" Gokudera had asked, with a tone of confusion in his voice. "So Juudaime really disappeared?"

"No, that's impossible," Reborn argued. He had already thought about it countless times. No matter how, it was just impossible. "No one can vanish in an instant just like that before one's eyes."

Everyone had seen the last moments of the brunette right before their eyes and it could be somewhat acceptable. Or at least explainable. But what happened next wasn't one bit something from this world. It was impossible something like disappearing right before dying could , that's right. It couldn't be possible. Even so, he thought for a moment again. Tsuna couldn't possibly have disappeared just like that, leaving nothing behind. There must be an explanation to it! Where could he have gone? How on earth could he have disappeared into thin air?

Even if the boy died, he couldn't just vanish within the air. It wasn't like he could do the same as Uni. And even if he could, his clothes could be left behind. So, what had happened?

Think, Reborn told himself countless times. He replayed the disgraceful and sad scene many times in his head as if to try to pick something that could lead him to a clue. Right before dying his stupid student had said something in a very low voice. Of course, being the one hell of a hitman he was, Reborn remembered his lips movements.

His eyes narrowed.

What was that again? If I remember well...he said...

His eyes widened after some seconds. It couldn't be, could it...?

It was the only thing he could think of at the moment.

"Tsuna...he traveled through time."

Gokudera turned to him with astonishment all over his face. For a moment his instincts almost made him yell at Reborn, but his conscious side made him stop before doing so. He thought for a time as well. His previous experience about time traveling came to his mind.

"Excuse me?" Gokudera pleaded. "R-Reborn-san, I'm sorry for being stupid but...are you kidding me?"

Reborn eyed him in a rigid look. "And do I have the look of someone who is capable of joking especially now?"

Gokudera shook his head and looked down. "N-No."

Definitely not, he thought sweat dropping.

After some time he regained his courage and continued, "But what make you say it, Reborn-san? Even if Juudaime traveled to the future, wouldn't his future self be here at the moment?"

Then, why? That was the question.

Right after saying those words, his eyes widened in realization. He swallowed heavily before speaking again.

"U-unless...Juudaime is already...dead in the future."

Reborn gritted his teeth. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought about that as well. He had, but he simply couldn't accept that his idiotic student from the future had died at such young age. Twenty-six years. Excellent age to be marrying and building a new family.

Something clicked inside his mind. Gokudera's reasoning wasn't wrong, but it didn't mean it was right. There was something lacking and he knew what it was.

"Yes, it's true Gokudera. But let me ask you this: then, if Tsuna is really dead, where's his bones? There should be bones if he's dead right? Even if he's dead not too long, where's his corpse? He can't simply go to the future and be at the same time as his bones and/or corpse, and do you know why?"

Gokudera slowly nodded. Of course he knew why.

"Time paradox."

"Exactly," Reborn shook his head. "The likelihood of him being cremated is null. All of Vongola's former bosses follow the Italian and Christian customs; they all are buried. Even if Tsuna is Japanese, he still is a Vongola boss."

Gokudera calmed down a bit. What Reborn had said was true. He remembered someone saying that below Vongola's mansion there was a chamber where all of the former bosses where buried inside. In the future, even if Gokudera didn't like to think about it, Tsuna would be buried in there as well when he died. But, neither his bones nor his future self appeared. And even more, why didn't he came back after five minutes? What does that mean then?

"As to why his bones didn't appear...it can most likely mean only one thing," Reborn continued as he stared walking in circles on the bed. "If his bones aren't right here in front of us, which means, there's nothing to be shown, then it means he went to a place where there wasn't a replacement for him."

Gokudera frowned.

"Juudaime went to a place where there isn't a replacement for him?" he asked frowning even more. He didn't understand where Reborn was trying to get at. "I-I'm sorry Reborn-san, I don't understand."

Reborn sighed tiredly. He wished he wasn't right. If he was...it only meant trouble.

"Tsuna went to the past."

Gokudera's expression slowly changed. His jaw dropped and his mouth trembled, his eyes shone because of the insistent tears about to roll out of them. Suddenly a light of hope had been kindled within him. If it was like that, then it was still possible that there was salvation. A miracle like that wouldn't happen if Tsuna couldn't be saved. It should be a sign!

"Then...Juudaime may be alive!" he muttered.

Gokudera grabbed the blanket and got out of bed, and was about leave the room when Reborn stopped in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going?" as he said that, he pointed his index finger at the bomber. "And even more, in this ridiculous state."

"I'm going to where Juudaime is! I'll rescue him!" he shouted.

It's my fault that it happened...then I must be the one to rescue Juudaime, he thought, clenching his hands into fists.

"I know what you're thinking, but we can't be sure that Tsuna is really alive. You saw him...dying."

Gokudera shook his head furiously, "No! I refuse to believe it! Even if...my mind insistently keeps remembering me."

Reborn sighed.

"Then it can't be helped. We'll have to somehow get a way to travel to the past, a very distant past."

"But Reborn-san, how do you know Juudaime went to a very distant past?" It intrigued him how Reborn could know of such detailed thing. "I mean, he could have went to a past about ten years ago..."

"No," Reborn looked out of the window. "I'm sure of it. And Tsuna himself was the one to give me the clue."

(Past – Vongola Primo's time)

Tsuna was in his temporary bedroom alone. Earlier that day, he had a brief meeting with Vongola Primo's rain guardian, Ugetsu Asari, and they chatted a lot before before events took an unexpected and awkward turn between them. A single question had made the always calm man nearly lost his composure. For what Asari made it sound, even the Vongola from this time had their biggest secrets. Tsuna knew he shouldn't poke his nose in something it wasn't of his business, but he couldn't help. He was curious.

A tragic story as Asari had described it and for his face it really seemed a trouble. Had he the misfortune to came to a bad time? And speaking of it, how had he came to the past? Lambo's ten-year-bazooka couldn't have had a disfunction, could it?

Tsuna's memories were a mess. He remembered going to school the day before he appeared in the past, but after that there was nothing. It was a total blank where there should be recent memories. He pressed his temples as if to try even more hard in remembering but a sudden pain made him stop.

Suddenly his head seemed to burn. His hands flew directly to his head and hold it tightly. It was such a strong headache that his thoughts became messy. It was as if something was preventing him from remembering his most crucial memory.

Not a time like this, please! I have to remember!

"Why can't I remember!?" He voiced his thoughts frustrated and sighed tiredly.

He rolled on his bed and shut his eyes. At least the headache was willing to go away. Tsuna stayed on his bed in a curled position for several minutes. He didn't dare to open his eyes in fear to have a headache again. Eventually, he began to feel very sleepy and his concerns about his lost memory were brought to his dreams.

"Gokudera-kun..."

(Future – A week before current time in the past, some hours before the incident)

It had came as a shock. Surprisingly, what could have been a peaceful meeting with a boss from another family turned into a war. The other side had the advantage since they had a larger number but Vongola couldn't be underestimated; Mukuro had taken down fifty men so far and Hibari fifty-two men. In some way, they were competing.

"Juudaime, we should go." Gokudera warned him.

"Gokudera's right, dame-Tsuna," Reborn appeared suddenly on his shoulder surprising the younger. "And don't give me that look, I had to do some calls."

It shouldn't surprise Tsuna anymore. Reborn always had to do something when things turned bad to them. And it wasn't like he was expecting any help from Reborn, but he could fight at least, after all, his life was a mess because of him.

"T-Then we need to call everyone," Tsuna said as he scanned his surroundings. Everyone was having their own fights.

A huge man suddenly appeared before them as they ran on. Gokudera didn't stop; he faced the man and took his weapons out. Tsuna quickly tried to stop the silver-haired boy but he was already engaged in the fight.

They shouldn't be engaging more fights.

"Gokudera, you idiot! Retreat!" Tsuna shouted, both in anger and concern as he saw the silver haired boy being surrounded by the enemy.

In a matter of seconds and Gokudera was found being forced to fight all of them. Ten men against one. Even for Gokudera, it was too many for him to handle and escape from there in one piece. He kept trying, ignoring the concerned shouts of the other guardians and even ignoring what his beloved boss was shouting at him. At the moment, nothing was more important to him than protecting Tsuna, even if it meant to get killed in the process.

Yamamoto finished fighting with a tall and brown-haired man and ran to Tsuna, who was still calling for Gokudera's name.

"This is bad, Tsuna..." Yamamoto, who was always calm and cheerful, was now with a deep frown on the face and his eyes showing no sign of happiness or any kind of good feelings. Anyone who dared to hurt his friends shouldn't be taken easy on, it was what his eyes were telling. "Gokudera...he's completely out of control. His mind have become unstable since he saw you in danger back there."

Tsuna clenched his shaking fists and narrowed his eyes. Gokudera was like that because of him. It was his fault. Everything happening was his fault. The brunette could hear from afar that Mukuro and Chrome were still fighting, and they both were in danger. Chrome was out of energy and Mukuro was fighting against three or four men while protecting her. Ryohei onii-san was having a hard time too. He closed his eyes in time to hear Yamamoto speaking again with fear in his voice.

"If this keeps up, he'll-" Yamamoto was saying but was interrupted when a sudden bust of Sky Flames exploded in his side. Tsuna was flying towards Gokudera. "T-Tsuna...!"

"Damn it!" Tsuna shouted as he passed by some enemy men who managed to injury him, but Gokudera was his only priority now. 'Why he always has to be so reckless? J-just because of...'

"Gokudera!" he shouted once again, stretching out his right arm to the silver haired boy, who was a few feet below. Gokudera quickly looked up at the brunette and his eyes shone but soon enough his happy face was taken off by a frown and he shook his head. "Hurry up and take my hand!"

Gokudera turned his back on Tsuna and continued to fight. There still had five more men to take down, and considering the condition Gokudera was in, he was doing pretty well for someone injured that badly. But, Tsuna have been taken off-guard and gaped.

"W-what are you doing? Hurry!" he pleaded. It hurts seeing someone you hold dear being hurt and you can do nothing. Tsuna had ran off energy; he had no more strength to fight. His last energy had been used to fly to there with the Sky Flame. He desperately looked at his surroundings. The walls, the stairs, the trees, everything was burning in deep red. The narrow and dangerous bridge swayed as they were fighting. The old strings were becoming less reliable and the worn wooden creaked loudly. "This whole place is burning down and in any moment this bridge can fall down with you too!"

His desperate shouts didn't appear to reach Gokudera as the other didn't pay attention. Instead, Gokudera stopped and gave a step back, much to the enemies' surprise. Once he had stopped, Tsuna could see how bad was Gokudera's condition and that he couldn't continue to fight.

"Juudaime...you don't need to worry; I, as your right-hand man, will protect you no matter what," he said in a weak voice, which made Tsuna even more worried.

"You...c-cut it out already!"

"So, that's why, Juudaime," he continued, giving a small smile as he looked at his boss. His face was paler than normal and a trace of blood flowed from his lips. "I can't let you die here, because you'll be the best boss the Vongola will ever know."

Tsuna's eyes widened in fear as he saw that the five other enemies wanted to take this chance, while Gokudera was off-guard talking to him and finish things off. He still could sense his fists and legs shaking from the lack of strength but his heart still had the desire to fight for his beloved ones. He won't let anyone warm his friends. Making a final decision, he miraculously went into Hyper Mode and in an instant his eyes were shinning with a bright orange color which warned Gokudera that something was coming.

"I can't just not do something," Tsuna said protectively standing in front of him. "I can't let you fight in this conditions, Gokudera."

Tsuna sent a gentle smile to Gokudera and then looked at the five men with a cold glare. Gokudera swallowed; it was very rare to Tsuna do something like that. To his relief, Yamamoto appeared soon after.

"I'm going to cover for Tsuna, no need to worry, Gokudera," Yamamoto grinned and also turned forward to face the men. When he spoke, his voice was different, it was colder, "So, just stand still there and watch us."

Together, Yamamoto and Tsuna fought against the various weapons and techniques and after a few minutes the two were able to knock out all five. All the silly concerns Gokudera was having up until minutes ago disappeared as soon as he saw that Tsuna was out of danger. He fell to his knees, feeling his tiredness finally coming and smiled as he saw Tsuna and Yamamoto heading his way.

"See? Everything worked well Gokudera!" Yamamoto patted on his back and grinned. Tsuna knelt in front of him and gave him a smile that lit up his whole face. But their happiness did not last long enough.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Time seemed to go in slow motion as he watched the bullets head towards Tsuna and pierce through his frail body into several parts. He felt like he had been hit too as he watched the delicate face of his boss writhing in pain. But actually, he only had time to look up to see a red rain flying directly into his face. It was warm and smelled of iron.

Gokudera raised a hand to his face and touched the places where the crimson liquid had touched. It was still warm when he brought his hand to the height of his gaze and stared at the blood dripping through his fingers. His eyes widened as much as possible and his chin trembled when trying to form coherent sentences. It wasn't his blood. He looked down and his chin trembled even more as he saw the puddle of blood forming at the feet of his boss and the holes on Tsuna's clothes. His eyes widened even more when he caught notice of Tsuna's body collapsing onto the ground with a soft 'THUMP' like the many lifeless bodies did that day.

That day, Gokudera forgot that Tsuna was his Juudaime, a young heir of a mafia family, and run at him as a friend would run at other to help.

"TSUNA!" He cried, quickly picking him up before he could fell into the river below them. Instants after, Gokudera heard hasty steps toward him. But he paid no attention. Not even when people repeatedly asked him to make room. His only concern was Tsuna's bad condition. And fury exploded in him as he looked up at two of the five men who were now standing, still with their guns pointed at them, and smirking at him. "Y-you fucking bastards! I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"HELP! Oh my god...this is bad. HELP! We just...need someone's help!" Yamamoto shouted desesperately.

Footsteps stopped right behind the silver-haired boy.

"That's..." A voice he recognized as being Sasagawa's and a loud sob which came from Chrome. "...Sawada?"

Gokudera looked at them. Besides these two, all others were there, including Reborn who incredibly had a surprised expression in his face while staring at Tsuna's lifeless body on Gokudera's protective arms. The right-hand man looked down, the silver blocks shadowing his face and when he looked up again, his eyes were filled with hatred.

"Yamamoto, take care of Juudaime," he said in a quiet voice, slowly lying Tsuna on the ground. He stood up and looked at the other side of the falling bridge. The enemies were gone. They must've disappeared right after the others came. Cowards. Bastards. They'll pay for this, it was all of what was crossing Gokudera's mind. "I need to take care of a certain business. I'm gonna kill that fucking bastards and take off their heads and members and..."

"G-Gokudera!" Yamamoto exclaimed in fear. The silver-haired boy was out of control again.

When Gokudera started crossing the bridge, Reborn spoke in an authoritative voice, "Hibari, you're the only one who is in perfect shape. Go there and try to find the men who escaped."

Hibari, who never take orders from anyone, said nothing but did what Reborn asked him without any further discussion. Gokudera became red in anger. He wanted to be the one to kill those men with his own hands, but Reborn had to ask Hibari to find them instead of him.

"W-why? Why did you do that? I was ready to give them hell!" he shouted back at the hitman. This time he wasn't afraid of Reborn's terrible wrath or whatever it was. That tall figure with huge kill intent didn't afraid him this time such was his uncontrollable state.

Reborn stood right before him, looking down at him with fierce and cold eyes. "Don't misunderstood me, I'm not doing this for you but for him." He said, gesturing with his head to the ground, where a shaking Tsuna was, trying to catch Gokudera's leg.

"Tsuna! Juudaime! Boss! Sawada!"

The guardians quickly came to him. Surprisingly enough, Lambo was the first to reach at his side. He had jumped off Chrome's embrace. Gokudera, worried as always, was the second one. He crouched down and hold Tsuna up a little, so he wouldn't choke on his own blood. The weaker one, mumbled something but it was almost inaudible and Gokudera didn't hear it.

Tsuna opened a little his weary eyes, that insisted on making him fall asleep. His eyelids, now weighed by excessive sleepiness, danced on his big orbs of honey brown eyes. He winced in pain. It hurt too much. It burned. It seemed like someone was burning him alive.

The young heir pulled Gokudera a little closer to him by his tattered suit's sleeve. The silver-haired boy could feel that Tsuna was making a huge force to keep the grip on his tattered black suit, even if it was causing him more pain. He also could feel that the brunette was trying to form sentences, but the pain or the blood were messing up with his chances.

"B-boss...p-please, don't say anything!" Chrome begged, holding his right hand in her owns. "Y-you'll be fine, isn't it right, boxing-guy-san?" she asked back at Ryohei.

Ryohei snapped out of his stunned state and quickly agreed. "S-she's right, Sawada! I'll heal you to the E-EXTREME!"

He didn't sound convincing and before Ryohei could do that, Tsuna coughed more blood, which scared Lambo because he had never seen baka-Tsuna in such deplorable state. His onii-chan was dying and even someone like him could tell that. It scared him the most. Not only that, but he also knew that Mama would be the most hurt person once she was told the news. She would never be the same person again and it was his fault too, because he was onii-chan's guardian as well.

Lambo knew. He should've listened to Gokudera's hysterical shouts. He was right, after all. He should've trained instead of spending time playing like a child. The great Lambo wasn't a child. He was a hitman and a Vongola Decimo's guardian.

"L-Lambo...don't cry," Tsuna pleaded, coughing up again as he tried to get up from Gokudera's embrace and trying to hug or comfort him somehow. "P...please, Lambo!" he wanted to say more, but his choking didn't end.

Lambo noticed it and cried even more.

Yamamoto shook his head slowly, trying to deny that everything what was happening right in front of him was real. He tried, but the sobs and cries brought him back to the harsh and cruel reality. Tsuna, his friend, and the one who had saved him from having jumped from the school's roof and given him a new life with real friends, was dying right in front of him.

Sob.

"I...I said you not to fight d-didn't I?" Tsuna managed to say, under his breath, looking into Gokudera's eyes with an unfocused stare. "I s-said retreat didn't I-I? But...y-you're really an idiot and didn't l-listen me."

Sob.

Tsuna turned his face to look at others. Yamamoto was on verge of crying. Ryohei was desperately looking for a method to heal him. Chrome had been crying for a long time now and was being embraced close to Mukuro, whose expression as the same as always. Lambo, poor Lambo, was the one in the worst condition. He was only a child, and children shouldn't watch such sad things. Tsuna held his tears back. He wasn't crying for himself, but for those seeing him in that state.

As he looked at Reborn a hole appeared in his heart. Was he that injured? Reborn wasn't like his usual self. He was biting his bottom lip and his expression was somewhat sad. If Reborn was like that, then it meant...

He smirked. He moved his head and stared at the sky. At the moment, he didn't hear anything Gokudera was saying but his lips movements gave him a slight idea. His heart pounded heavily.

"You can't die yet, Tsuna!"

"This...this is the second time you c-called me 'Tsuna' today, Hayato." he spoke up, smiling.

His whole body seemed lighter and suddenly the sharp pain he was feeling was gone. He even felt happy. Gokudera had finally began calling him by his name as a true friend would. In the end, it had paid off treating him. His breathing had become irregular as he continued.

"I...am...happy..." tears slip from his eyes as he gave a smile again.

Yamamoto took one of his hands and shook it. "Enough, Tsuna! Don't speak anymore!"

Ryohei cursed and he noticed he didn't have sun flames enough to heal such serious injuries and that they were losing their sky. Everyone at the moment sensed it.

"No! No! NO!" Gokudera refused to believe it. "You'll be all right, Juudaime! We...we just need a doctor. A real doctor and t-then you'll be fixed up."

"Where's the doctor?" he shouted at no one in particular. All he received was sad looks. "What are all of you doing? Go get a doctor!"

Tsuna gave him a sympathetic smile as he looked at Gokudera. Everyone knew, and even him, that he wouldn't have chances to live. Ryoheii onii-san had done everything he could to save him, but he had lost too much blood before his treatment. One of the bullets had hit his stomach. He was done for.

The brunette slowly raised a hand toward the silver-haired boy's face, while still keeping his smile on the face. He should be strong at times like this, or they would be even more sadder. Was Reborn going to be proud of him?

"...don't get angry, okay?" he managed to say as he felt he was losing consciousness. His vision started to blurry and he coughed a last time as he breathing slowed. "So...sorry..."

Gokudera widened his green eyes as Tsuna's hands fell down. "Juu...Juudaime? Oi! Juudaime? Don't...do this to me...Juudaime?! Wake up!"

The cries and sobs intensified. Gokudera was pitiful as he tried to wake up the brunette in his arms and Yamamoto cried silently. Chrome wasn't in condition to keep standing anymore and Mukuro had to help her. Even his expression was solemn. Lambo was crying so hard that electricity was coming out from his horns. And Reborn's expression wasn't any better; he had a dark expression as he clicked his tongue and lowered his fedora as if to hide his face.

Stupid Tsuna, how could you die on us like that?

Tsuna's eyes slowly started closing on its own and a small smile remained in his lips. He would never know if Reborn was truly proud of him. Not even if he wouldever confess to the girl he loves. And not even graduate from high school and get a normal job, and lead a normal life. So, was all going to end like this...?

Am I really dying? It was all he thought as he lost consciousness and everything went dark. Am I really going to die and leave my mom alone? I-I don't to die yet! I still have things I must do! I can't...! If only...if only I could live a peaceful life. Or if only I could live again and go to the past and change everything, then I could live peacefully...!

Do you want it? A voice asked him. It was a calm and yet monotone voice.

Who?, he had asked. It was dark and he couldn't sense anyone near him. But deep inside him he felt a sense of familiarity when he heard that man's voice. So he asked again, Who are you?

Is that what you really wish for, Decimo?

The voice had ignored his question but for Tsuna it didn't matter because at the moment he was in complete stupor. His inner world had turned upside down.

He knew that voice.

A/N: This chapter has been divided in two as it unexpectedly turned too long. Ah, oh god! Why is writing so much fun? Lately, it's being very fun thinking about the next chapters that I can't stop writing ideas and cataloging then into chapters previews. I have never done this before as I just and simply write the whole chapter from my mind, but is being successful so far. If I'm not too lazy you guys will have at least two new chapters very soon! And I'm really sorry, Giotto's eyes are in true orange even if he's not in HDWM and in this fanfiction they're blue. I'm really sorry!

And please guys, review! I just used a really good suggestion from someone who reviewed and I will thank her later. Who knows your suggestion can appear next chapter? So just write your thoughts down there and press the button. Easy right? I promise you it won't hurt you. And I don't bite! See ya.