Prelude to a Big Fight

Namimori...School Rooftop...

'Mai-nee.' Fuuta de la Stella spoke.

'Reborn sent you then?' Mai smiled at the young child shacking up in Tsuna's house while in this era, he's nineteen. 'Lend me a hand. Everyone's future selves...I worry about them as well as my future self.'

'Hai. I might be a bit rusty...I trust you were told about why it took me long to recover from losing my power since ten years ago...when I was kidnapped by Mukuro.'

'I heard about that. But even a little is better than nothing, Fuuta-kun.' Mai smiled kindly at him. 'Everyone is counting on us.'

'Pi-chaa!' Pichu raised his tiny arms at Fuuta in a friendly way.

'I heard you also have made a Box Pokemon for Lambo...what is it though?'

'I gave him an Elekid. But future Lambo may be able to activate his evolutions when he gets stronger. I gave I-Pin-chan a Chansey and a Hitmonlee. I didn't know your flame type so I couldn't commission one for you though...'

'Ahaha its OK.' Fuuta smiled. 'I'm not a fighter, I'm an informant diviner and Bianchi-neesan is my protector. Oh yes, Chrome-san has arrived too, rescued by Ryohei-niisan.' Fuuta added. 'But she has...two eyes instead of one?' he said, utterly baffled. 'And she actually has no organ issues!' he exclaimed in amazement.

'Long story about that one...but it looks like we need to help future Chrome-chan out too...and Tsuna-nii asked me to tell you that in five days...we will attack the Millefiore Base in Japan...probably, that one you found in the Underground Shopping Mall where the missing future selves are but we're checking on that too to see if its indeed Millefiore Base...all we got from you is that your future selves are there.' said Fuuta. 'We should look too.'

'Yeah but you do the computer job...I suck at computers and I'm still learning...'

xxx

'EHHHHHHH?!' came the disbelieving roar of future Sasagawa Ryohei. 'Lambo isn't your Lightning Guardian but someone else?!'

'Yeah.' said Tsuna, glancing at Giannini to put up information and Ryohei looked up at the monitor. 'Nogami Mai. She's reliable and really strong even Hibari-san approved. I chose her because Lambo is too young...and if we never met her, I just didn't want to picture how the Ring Conflict would turn out...' he shivered. 'A five years old kid against Levi? That's the stuff of nightmares!'

'Hooo? How did your Ring Conflict turn out? I wanna hear!' Ryohei cried excitedly.

xxx

Three days later...Mai and Fuuta returned to base after living in hotel rooms.

'Man, what a headache...I want to sleep the rest of the day off...'

'Ehehe...we had to memorize everything real well...the timing, how the hatches work, security and what it can do after all...I'm only intermediate in computers with Bianchi-nee and the real good ones at this are Hibari-san and his Foundation, and Hayato-nii.' said Fuuta sheepishly.

'Well, we got ten years to work on everything.' said Mai wryly. 'Ten long years...'

'Ah, okaeri, Mai-san.' Chrome greeted.

'Hello too Chrome-chan.' Mai greeted tiredly. 'How long were we gone in our world before you got chucked here?'

'Er, a few hours...' Chrome stammered out. 'Then I came next after a day went by...Ken and Chikusa are worried too, especially when the pantry's about to run out and they don't know how to cook...but even so, they have money for konbini-bentos...'

'I really, really hope we can get back soon...' Mai shivered. 'OR Sirius gets back...I fear for my house!' she stammered in horror, her hands on the sides of her head. 'Can Mukuro possess at least one of them if he actually knows how to take care of the house?!'

Chrome laughed weakly and nervously.

'Anyway, we'll go shopping later after Fuuta-kun report and sleep...you don't have clothes in this world yet.' Mai sighed. 'A day went by for you but for us, its been a week and some.'

'Y-yes, I heard...' Chrome shuddered. How is the time difference between worlds so different? Sure the boys told her but its all too surreal...and incredible too. 'But still...I can't believe it...its too weird...' she said, shaking her head. That, and Mukuro suffered a crippling blow she had to send him energy through their wave as she freaked out when she felt their bond break. He was grateful...although he did wonder how does she have complete organs...

'Yep...and this world is too different. Too gloomy too.' Mai snorted. 'For them being in their twenties, they're damn gloom and doom because of the Millefiore. Oh, I have to give you your Box Pokemon too...you'll be sharing it with Mukuro though...so tell him knock knock and get used to them when you're done getting to know them.' she said, patting Chrome's shoulder. 'Your pokemon are in my room.'

Chrome sweatdropped.

She heard about the Box Animals and Weapons, but her tutor went the extra mile...and wanted a kid's dream come true upon getting wind of anime that still did not exist in their time. She just wondered what she would get!

She got a Ralts and Misdreavus in varying shades of Indigo and white. Ralts specializes in Mental/Telepathic Illusions and Hypnosis while Misdreavus specializes in Real Illusions of Mist Flames. In the Training Room...Chrome contacted Mukuro when she felt he was a bit better considering she sent him all her wave energy(rendering her very tired into collapsing) when he got taken out by Byakuran, causing him severe damage. He was able to recover somewhat but he couldn't visit for a while nor try out the ahem, Box Pokemon the unknown Lightning Guardian commissioned for Vongola.

He just really doesn't have the strength right now, seriously. He's been using the energy given to fix himself and the other Chrome so he's not quite there yet but he's really wondering...not even Chrome knows how it was done as it was under Omerta. She had been blindfolded, and even wore a beanie over her head pulled down to her eyes and had to sleep because regrowing while awake and aware causes patients to scream bloody murder in pain. Now, her Organs are only months old she's on 'baby food diet' and it'll be four years before she can eat solids again. And this Chrome looked better than his, too.

He wondered if the same can be done for his Chrome of this world.

He'd have to ask by possessing past Chrome. Materialization just is not possible right now.

xxx

'Eh? Yes, the treatment exists in this world too but I'm pretty sure she told you the cost.' Mai narrowed his eyes at the male half of the Mist Guardians. 'Nobody's too happy that she chose the costly venture instead of the cheap one too. While money is not an issue, her lifespan is. The only ones who know this treatment exists is Tsuna-sama, me, Reborn-san, Chrome-chan, Chikusa and Ken. We just told everyone else that she got organ transplants from another compatible with forged medical records too.' she sighed. 'And its for the greater good that this treatment is to be secret unless something real drastic happens. If its known that it exists publicly...people will hardly care for themselves until they realize that they'll die whether they get treated or not. Regrowing small organs doesn't cost much, but several organs and two systems in one go? Costly.'

'I see...' Mukuro frowned. 'The cheaper option is killing that woman and take her organs for Chrome.' he's known that for years of course.

'The you of our world said she's too nice.' Mai sighed. 'Tsuna-sama is fully aware of the cheaper venture too but is conflicted with killing someone, and said someone is so callous and heartless enough to just let her daughter drop dead without a care that she's her own child. Chrome-chan and I both came from shitty families...its easy to relate.' she said softly and somberly. 'I punished mine with total humiliation and exposure as death is too easy and cheap but she's too damn nice. To that undeserving skank at that.'

'I see...'

'How she got a sweet daughter being a total bitch I'll never know.' Mai snorted, putting her hands behind her head. 'Chrome-chan's adorable and sweet.'

Mukuro just chuckled. He likes this one. Practical, cynical, knew how hateful the world is and fought her way to make things better and a realist he was pretty sure she's in the wrong organization. She'd fit in better with the Varia, given their personalities and given how she talks in her japanese when she's in a bad mood(think Revy from Black Lagoon). But in good moods, she winds up talking like a real girl. He decided to find the future version of Mai's body as she suspects that their future selves' bodies are under Namimori's Underground Shopping Mall. Under that.

He found future Chrome there. And everyone else. Even the not-quite-dead body of future Tsuna. And he found her. Future Mai who looked quite different from the past Mai.

Needless to say, he got more than what he bargained for when he went probing. And upon probing present Mai when everyone is fast asleep...he got his answers...which he found intriguing and worth going around over for.

But still, what a stark difference.

xxx

Fourth day later...Briefing Room...Ryohei assembled everyone. He found Mai and Chrome wandering around, talking, and everyone else in the kitchens due to Gokudera's new addition...a cat. A bad-tempered one at that.

'...several files containing the enemy's information were uploaded into the server in Hibari's hideout.' Ryohei told them. 'It appears to be a blueprint of the hideout and data about the installations inside.'

'Mukuro did it, didn't he?' Mai mused thoughtfully.

'Its very likely of him to indirectly help the mafia out...but the transmission was cut off around two o'clock.'

'I-its when I lost my link to Mukuro-sama...' Chrome stammered out. She was lucky she has organs, otherwise...

'Then what is this black room?' Lal asked Ryohei.

'We don't know.' Ryohei sighed. 'There were files we couldn't use as well. But they seemed to contain important information about the target.'

When a round white thing came up...

'I-I've seen this before...' Tsuna croaked out.

'Me too...' Chrome gulped.

'Really?! Where?!' Lal demanded.

'In a dream most likely.' Mai snorted as Lal looked furious. 'Don't get your blood vessels popping Lal. Illusionists are psychics who use telepathy to implant images in our heads to begin with. Seeing images in 'dreams' is not so far-fetched. And it might be because of that information cut-off that he sent that image through a dream with people he has a strong link to.'

'That's right.' Reborn agreed. 'What else did you see, Tsuna, Chrome?'

'A red-haired guy I never met before in glasses.' said Chrome.

'Irie Shouichi...we met him before...when Lambo caused a mess in his mansion...he's just our age!' Tsuna exclaimed in realization. 'He created this thing! And I feel that something very important is inside...could it be the bodies of our future selves?' the younger counterparts have varying images of their future selves in various conditions inside the machine...

'It could be...' Gokudera shivered. 'This sucks.'

'So this machine is the key to solving the mystery in Irie Shouichi and the problems in this era.' Reborn remarked thoughtfully as he jumped off Bianchi's lap. 'Let's go training Yamamoto. At this point, you're the one left behind.'

'Ah, OK!' and the pair left. 'Hop on kid!' Yamamoto offered as Reborn jumped to his shoulder.

'Sankyuu.' and Yamamoto ran.

'Well, we have new goals now.' said Ryohei. 'Getting to that machine and rescuing the adult boss and guardians.' he gulped. 'I'll go tell Hibari.' and he ran off.

'Well, meeting's concluded.' Mai sighed as they stood up.

A:N- I'll soon write Interlude: Wizarding Britain