Tsuna hummed to himself on the way to school, completely relaxed despite the growing feeling of tightening in his stomach. He was content. His life was finally going in the direction he wanted. Even if he couldn't stomach his breakfast in the process, Tsuna kept repeating the words in his head like a prayer.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

He had no idea what the words meant. However, they kept him sane, gave him a clarity he hadn't had in a long time. Somewhere in the world outside of his head, he could hear Takeshi remark about his lack of attention, strangely, Hayato was silent on the issue. Tsuna didn't say anything on the matter, instead opting to only grin at his baseball-loving friend.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

A swelling of sickness rose to the back of his throat. Tsuna bit it back down with a triumphant smile. He was so close. Soon, he would be able to grasp it. He felt his grin widen, throwing his hands back and lacing his fingers behind his head.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

Lost in his own mind, Tsuna didn't notice the insistent tug until he noticed that he wasn't on the way to school. Instead, his silver-haired friend seemed to be dragging him to another part of town. Curious, but not worried, Tsuna let him. Abruptly, they appeared in front of what looked like a set of apartments, with Hayato bringing him upstairs and to an apartment that was labeled 'Gokudera'.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

"Reborn-san." Hayato's voice seemed to echo in the empty room, before suddenly the baby-sized hitman appeared. "I'm sure you've noticed. He's fighting them, and is killing himself while doing so." It was rare to see this side of the bomber, which was why Tsuna only tilted his head as Reborn scowled at the words. Usually, Tsuna would be very suspicious of those words, but at the moment his mind was leaving him, concentrating only on the set of words that gave him comfort.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

Reborn was in his face, but out of the corner of his eyes he could see Takeshi (who had apparently followed them) and Hayato leaning in to try and see whatever the hitman was seeing. "He's concentrating on a false set of keywords, it's sending him in circles and eating away at his sanity." Not really sure what they were talking about and not really caring, Tsuna started to hum in satisfaction.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

"Dammit!" Hayato swore, looking pained as he looked at Tsuna. The brunet himself was wondering what made his friend so upset. Continuing to hum, Tsuna crawled over to the bomber (not really sure when he had sat down on Hayato's bed, with Hayato sitting next to him) until he was seated in his lap. Gokudera himself looked a little shell-shocked before asking, "R-Reborn-san, what is he doing?"

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

The answer was abrupt, unflinching, "It seems his sanity is leaving him, possibly reverting him to a more childish personality. It might explain his lack of attention. He probably sensed you were upset and wanted to cheer you up." Tsuna could understand the words, what they signified however, completely escaped him. He could sense pain in his friend and only wanted to tell him it was okay, everything was going to be okay, but he didn't want to open his mouth for fear of throwing up. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Hayato's middle, nuzzling into his neck. Strange . . .he remembered doing something very similar not too long ago.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

It wasn't common knowledge, but Tsuna loved affection through touch. However, he only truly enjoyed it with people he could trust. Until recently, he had no one in that category. The warmth from his friend helped a lot to stem his aching headache that came with repeating the same words over and over again. He nuzzled in deeper before feeling a shake on the bed. Looking over, Tsuna watched as Takeshi sat on the bed and leaned his head to the side to get a better look at the brunet.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

A calloused hand reached over to touch his forehead. Tsuna groaned at the touch, leaning in to try and absorb the cool feeling against his feverish flesh. Takeshi looked over at Reborn with sharpened eyes "Can you do something, kid?" If Tsuna had been sane, he probably would have taken this as a hint that Yamamoto wasn't as oblivious as he had thought. However, at the moment he could only nuzzle desperately into the hand offered to him, wondering why the coolness had left so suddenly.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

"Unfortunately, unless we get Tsuna to forget the false keywords or make him remember the true ones, there's nothing I can do." Tsuna groaned in pain as his muscles started spazzing in random areas. Leaning back so that he had his arms back, the brunet desperately tried to remove the stifling clothing. Hayato, however, still his hands with his own before he could fully unbutton his shirt.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

With a dry throat Tsuna tried to call out for the one person who could help him, who could end his pain. He couldn't remember this person, though, he couldn't do anything. All he could see through his hazy eyesight was a retreating back. "He's getting worse, Reborn-san! Please! Do something! I can't protect Tsuna-sama like this!" At Hayato's desperate voice, Tsuna's eyes widened as a set of gears started rotating in his head.

"Ne, Nii-chan? What kanji do you use for your name?"

"Eh? Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. I've never seen it written down."

"Ah, here's my license, see? It means-"

"'To Protect'." Tsuna said suddenly his gaze turned orange as his strength finally left him, causing him to collapse to his side and into Takeshi. "He did this to protect me." Oh, how awful did the words taste. Like a sweet and sour candy that had grown stale. His legs sprawled on Hayato's lap and his head resting in the crook of Takeshi's arm, both of them looking down at him in worry. "Don't worry," He said, tiredness creeping up on him, "Now it's my turn, I'll protect you all."

It means 'to protect'.

"Reborn, are these memories going to kill me?" The question was rhetorical, of course, and the hitman knew this. "Mah, I wonder . . .neh Reborn? There's probably a present under the second tree in the park. Get it for me?" Tsuna belatedly wondered if these requests were going to cost him anything, but found that he didn't care. "If anything, he wouldn't forget my birthday, even if I'm forced to . . .forget . . .him . . . ." Wrapped around people he trusted, Tsuna fell into an easy sleep.

Within the depths of his mind, Tsuna had a dream. In this dream he had finally caught up to the retreating back, in his right hand was the tail-end of this person's sweatshirt. "Neh, neh, Nii-chan? I know . . .why you left. Not the specifics, mind you, but I get the idea."

Taking a deep breath, the middle-schooler wondered what else he should say. He knew how this would end, but there was nothing he could really do. "I get it, so . . .I'm going to forget you for awhile. It's painful, but I'll do it. But, let me hold onto this okay? Cause once I'm strong enough, I'm going to do my best to remember you! Just you wait!"

A warm hand touched his head, causing him to look up and grin. Scarred lips were the last thing he saw before the darkness encased him completely. A warm voice echoed in his head.

"Never forget what it means 'to protect'."

Me: So, it just came to my attention that some people have no idea about one side of this fandom or the other. I understand that while it may be very easy to read this with just the knowledge of Hitman Reborn, I'm going to strongly recommend that everyone who reads this starts brushing up on the basics of Assassin's Creed, as I do put in subtle hints here and there. Not to mention, things are going to get a lot more complicated from now on, as I plan to implement more and more of the elements from the AC universe.

Just a friendly suggestion, you can still read this if you have no interest in Assassin's Creed.

Review~