Memento Mori

by EmmaGracie11

Coming to Namimori, Reborn found a boy with head held high and bright eyes no matter what hardship he was put through. Reborn had to wonder where the source of this strength came from, being Sealed as he was.

2. Chapter 2

Well, I didn't think it would take this long, but in my entire life I've never writing so much in one go like this, ever. Also, it's also the most complicated and the longest arc of KHR. i've tried to conclude it in one chap but it's getting way too long and taking forever so I have to divide it into two parts. So our story would have 5 chapters in total, since I doubt that the last, most important arc of this story can be contained in one chapter.
Enjoy your reading!

---

Chapter 2: Future is awaiting, but it might not be the future we have expected- part I

It was a hot summer day and Tsuna definitely did not feel like walking to school under the scorching sun. So Tsuna took out the bike that Bianchi rode on the first time they met to go to school.

Yet the cursed thing just went and broke in the middle of his trip to school and almost sent him kissing the surface of the road. Tsuna swore and very much regretted the decision to take the bike without checking its functionalities first this morning. And now, he was stranded under the scorching sun with a broken bike, and a killer headache starting to rear its ugly head if he could not find any kind of shade to hide in soon.

Tsuna sighed and about to give up on his plan to go to school altogether when he caught a glimpse of red flash by. It was a teenage boy a bit older than Tsuna himself with ruby red hair and a pair of round glasses. He was wearing the uniform from a known prestigious junior high school and a pair of headphones around his neck. The teenager walked fast, past where Tsuna was, too engrossed in the book on his hand to actually notice the younger boy's presence.

"Irie… Shouichi?" The brunet muttered.

The aforementioned teenager startled at the sound of his own name and whirled his head around fast enough to give himself whiplash.

"He-hey! Uhm, sorry, do I know you?"

The brunet deadpanned.

"We are neighbors."

"Oh… Oh! You are… Sawada-san's son! Tsu-something,… Tsu-kun?"

"It's Tsuna, actually."

"Nice to meet you, Sawada Tsuna-kun! I'm Irie Shouichi, you must have known that already! Uhm, may I ask what you are doing here? If I'm not mistaken, Nami Junior High's classes start in like… 5 minutes from now." Irie said, looking at the time on his watch.

The brunet gave the older teen an annoyed sigh, he said. "My bike broke down out of nowhere. Now I'm stranded."

"Oh it's true, your brake is sort of crooked all wrong, it's going to be dangerous if you continue to push it. Luckily I do know a little about mechanics though! May I?"

Tsuna frowned and said, "But won't you be late for school too?"

The redhead shrugged, "The perks of being a genius is no one really cares about when you show up!"

"How cocky!" The brunet chuckled and the redhead turned crimson seeing the younger teen's little smile. "In that case, knock yourself out then, Mr. Genius!"

After about ten minutes of tinkering, the redhead returned the bike to its owner with a self-satisfied grin. "See, Sawada-kun? Your bike is now as good as new!"

"It seems like your claim of being a genius is authentic." The brunet laughed in delight, and the poor redhead was… unfortunately steaming from his ears from the force of his newest blush. He could not help it, the other had a really nice smile and his laughters were as pleasant as the chimes of a windbell. He didn't even manage to will the first round of blushing away yet and already had to suffer from the second! "Thank you so much, Irie-san. This bike actually belongs to my friend and I would hate having to return it to her as a useless hunk of metal!"

"Good thing we met each other then!"

Irie suddenly noticed the other's eyes turned glassy and unseeing for a fleeting moment. Then Sawada blinked, and with it the light returned to his eyes as fast as it was gone. The next thing he knew was Sawada giving him a small and really strange smile with knowing eyes glittering from under the shadow of his bang. It was strange in the aspect that he just couldn't decipher the underlying meaning behind it. It was neither a pleased smile, or even an uneasy one. It was so peculiar that it made the redhead forget everything he intended to say. And the brunet opened his mouth, about to say something, Irie couldn't do anything but stare with mouth gaping at the brunet with unconcealed abashment.

"It's truly fated that we met today, Irie Shouichi-san."

"W-what?"

Why on earth does Sawada-kun speak my name as though he was reciting a prophecy?

"Thank you for your help, Irie-san! I guess I'll see you around!" And all Irie Shouichi could do was to watch the younger boy's silhouette gradually disappear after the next corner.

"What a weird one!" Irie mumbled to himself, put on his headphones and continued on the journey to his own school.

Irie forgot the strange encounter almost immediately after that, until one day he was given a package from a "Bovino Famiglia", in courtesy of all the damage from the child with an afro that Sawada-san- Sawada Tsuna-kun's mother- had adopted.

Little did he know how that chance meeting with one Sawada Tsunayoshi would change his life forever.

---

Reborn woke up feeling quite content that day, he had a good sleep the day before, and was treated to a wonderful full Italian course at dinner, cooked by his own student! That was why he felt quite generous today and decided to let his student sleep in instead of waking him up with some Vongola styled wake-up-call for training like every other morning.

Yet when he woke up, Tsuna was nowhere to be found. For some reason, the brunet picked the day Reborn chose to show some mercy to get up early for once and took off to god know where. Not to mention today was a weekend, so it made little sense that the brunet did not take the chance to sleep in like the sloth that he was.

"Mamma?" Reborn asked the cheerful mother of his student at breakfast. "Do you know where Tsuna went so early this morning?"

"Oh, Tsu-kun went to the hospital for his annual check-up! Didn't I mention to you that Tsu-kun got sick a lot when he was younger? That's why the doctor wants to have him take a full-body test every six months."

'Dang!' Reborn thought, 'Goddamnit, Iemitsu! This wasn't mentioned in the files at all.'

"How was his last results, Mamma?"

"The doctors weren't able to find anything unusual with Tsu-kun. They insisted that Tsu-kun was a completely normal and healthy boy." Reborn could not gauge Nana's expression since she never paused her cooking, turning her back to him the whole time. Yet the Arcobaleno was still able to hear the evident worry in her voice and slight trembles of her shoulders. "Yet he was prone to dizzy spells all the time. And I had to see that Hibari boy carry him home at least once a month because he had fainted out of the blue. I'm not- I really don't know what to do, what if there is something wrong with Tsu-kun that was beyond the doctors' expertise to know? What if Tsu-kun…" Reborn heard her choppings quicken and applied with much more force with each word and frowned.

As expected of someone who had given birth to Sawada Tsunayoshi. Ditzy and unassuming as she might look, the woman was much stronger than anyone gave her credit for. She was a young woman with no immediate family but her absent husband, and practically raised a child who was considered no-good and sickly by his peers all by herself, in a town that Reborn had seen for himself, wasn't exactly filled with the nicest and most sympathetic bunches around. Yet she managed to keep herself together most of the time and made sure her boy always had everything he needed, be it a stable home with at least a loving parent around or the pillar of support for her son, even when she herself was shaken and out of her mind with worry.

Stopping what she was doing, Nana discreetly wiped away her tears and turned around to face Reborn. She said, her cheerful mask now firmly in place "Reborn-kun, could you please look after the kids for me this afternoon? I need to go to the hospital to hear Tsu-kun's results."

"Of course, mamma! But I got an even better idea, though! A friend of mine is a brilliant doctor that might find some solution to Tsuna's problems. I think it benefits him more to see this friend of mine than to hole himself in a hospital room for hours." Of course the regular doctors would not be able to find anything wrong with Tsuna, they just weren't equipped in terms of Flame-related phenomena. Tsuna's poor health was probably the result of his Sky Flame being Sealed from such a young age, no thanks at all to her sorry excuse of a husband and father.

"Really, your friend can help Tsu-kun?" Nana's mask fell off and was replaced with something akin to hope, her vulnerability finally was full on display for once in front of who she had previously considered an outsider like Reborn.

No matter how much she loved her husband, Reborn still found himself under the full scrutiny of one Sawada Nana once he said he was sent by Iemitsu. She had been careful around Reborn this whole time, discreetly interfered everytime she thought that Reborn had taken his teaching too far and might potentially put her son in harm's way, and for more than once the woman had passive aggressively threatened the world's Greatest Hitman to not harm even one hair on her son's head, all the while staying polite and cheerful, upholding the perfect picture of a naive and ditzy housewife. She only actually warmed up to Reborn lately once her son showed how happy he was to have the Arcobaleno around. Oh god bless this poor woman, she was really too good to end up with a moron like Iemitsu! That brawn-for-brain could never have expected this side of his loving wife, who was a fierce and vicious mother that would do anything for her only son.

"I only do what's best for my student, mamma." Reborn said. "How about this, I'll go pick Tsuna up from the hospital, and mamma will prepare some food for us so we can go have a picnic. Today is too nice a day to stay inside and I figure some fresh air and time spent with family would help Tsuna's health tremendously. And tomorrow, I'll take Tsuna to my friend's clinic so he can take a look at him."

"That's… probably a good idea. Tsu-kun has been working very hard lately, I think he deserves some time relaxing with the kids, ne?"

Reborn made good on his words and immediately went to fetch his student, only to meet the brunet himself halfway to the hospital.

"Tsuna? Aren't you supposed to be at Namimori Hospital right now?"

Reborn suddenly felt something was amiss with the boy. While his face showed nothing, the darkened eyes and the light tremors of his hands told him a completely different story.

"I left early. It's a waste of time, anyway." Like mother like son, indeed. The boy did not dare to look at Reborn but he could not hide the way his voice shook as he spoke at all.

"Why would you say so? What did the doctors say?" While it was true all the regular, non-mafia tests on him were a waste of time, he did not like Tsuna's bizarre attitudes toward them one bit. From what he knew, Tsuna's previous check-ups showed no abnormalities, so it did not add up why this time Tsuna acted so… out of character. Something must have happened at the hospital and the Arcobaleno felt the need to get to the bottom of it.

"Nothing. The usuals about me being completely healthy and all."

"If that's the case, then why are you acting like this?"

"I'm fine." Was all he said and he walked past Reborn, but the trembling in his hands never stopped. He clearly did not clarify which part of him was 'fine', since nothing seemed fine right now about Tsuna in Reborn's opinion.

"Dame-Tsuna. Come back here and talk to me, properly." Reborn growled at the back of his student.

"Shut up, Reborn! Who do you think you are, talking down to me like that? You are not my father!" Tsuna quipped without even looking back at his teacher.

"I am your home tutor. Your health falls under the category I need to take care of." Reborn seethed, jumping to catch up with Tsuna's much longer strides- compared to an infant, anyway- as the boy just would. Not. Stop. Moving! "Goddamnit, Tsuna. What would your mum think, about you treating your own life so lightly like this?"

"You are speaking about my mum now? Why do you think you have the right? You think I want this, that I want to make my mother sad? That's my father's job! All I want is a peaceful life and my mother happy, and look what you brought us, THE FUCKING MAFIA!" Tsuna whirled around and started to yell, heedless of the fact that they were in the middle of the road and people were starting to look and whisper about the peculiar sight that was a teenager yelling at a suited baby.

Reborn was shocked, never before had Tsuna ever raised his voice at him no matter how frustrated the teenager felt. More like, he never yelled at anyone, period. Tsuna was always calm and controlled. His perpetual indifference had Reborn out of his mind on several occasions that somehow he always seemed to know, and then acting so goddamn nonchalant about it. And yet now, that same teenager was hyperventilating, his thin shoulders shaking, his previously darkened, dead-looking eyes burnt and blazed with unconcealed anger after all the yellings at his own tutor, whom he always held in high regards and treated with such care and tenderness.

"Dame-Tsuna, am I being too lenient on you that you start to forget the dynamic of our relationship? You are merely my student and nothing more. You're years too early to even think about talking to me with such a tone. I ask and you answer, it's simple like that. " Reborn started again, he clicked his gun and pointed threateningly at his student, his voice taking a dangerous tone, one that was more suited for an interrogator to his unfortunate victim rather than a teacher to his student. Tsuna blinked and looked at the Arcobaleno, the hurt was raw and open on his face. Reborn inwardly winced, he knew that he might have made everything worse by treating Tsuna like this but truly, Tsuna had cornered him. He needed to know with all cost what had managed to rattle his student to this extent. But one could not put out a fire with more oil. Reborn should not rise to the bait either, he had to be the adult in this situation, but his worry over the brunet's wellness and apparent distressed state had almost blinded his own judgments. "Tell me or I will shoot you, what did the doctors say?"

"SHUT UP! IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Tsuna inadvertently exploded, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! JUST GO AWAY, I WISH THAT I HAVE NEVER MET YOU, REBORN!"

The boy then grabbed his own head, his thin frame was wrecked with heart-breaking sobs but Reborn was helpless, unable to soothe his student's pain. The Arcobaleno was rendered completely speechless as he just registered how bad he had screwed things up. Tsuna was no Dino, so he couldn't treat the teen the way he did his former student. However, the universe had already found a solution for him: Reborn suddenly found himself to be completely immobilized. He could not move, could not talk while his student curled into himself after the explosive outburst.

'What happened? Why can't I move?' Reborn thought, outward he might look calm, but on the inside, he felt as if someone had taken all his organs and twisted it together like a goddamn Twizzler made of flesh and bones, every fibers of his being were screaming to him that something was so fucking wrong.

And he could only watch in horror as he caught sight of a familiar purple missile heading toward him.

'Tsuna, I'm sorry.' That was his last thought, the one thing he wanted to tell his distressed student very much, before the projectile hit him and erupted in dreaded pink smoke. 'Please, don't cry.'

---

By the time Tsuna was able to make sense of what his Intuition was trying to tell him through the roar of his misplaced anger at his tutor, it was already too late. His Reborn was already gone, surrounded by the familiar pink smoke of Lambo's ten-year-bazooka before being poofed off from existence like a flick of candle.

"Reborn?" Tsuna waited and waited, hoping for something that he clearly knew that was not possible, that Reborn's future self would jump out and scare him out of his wit, but safe and sound, and most importantly, alive.

"Reborn? Are you there?" Tsuna started to panic, he did not want those hurtful words to be the last he ever said to the Arcobaleno, especially when they hurted him as much as they might hurt Reborn. "Please, Reborn! I didn't mean it, the things I said! Please don't scare me like this!"

He had lost his composure, that never happened before. Since a young age, he had already learned to keep his head clear and his emotions in check. More than anyone, he knew every decision he made left a large impact on the future, that was why he always needed to keep himself calm so he could make the right one. Most times it worked, other times the currents of circumstances (mostly Reborn) were simply too strong and insistent for him to resist and he had no other choice but to go with the flow.

But the doctors' words after the check-up had touched a deep, well-hidden fear that was buried in the bottom of his heart even since he was seven, and rattled him enough that he felt the needs to run away from the hospital, from the nothing but kind and well-meaning doctor's vicinity as soon as possible regardless of the consequences, like how he was going to explain all of this to his worried mother for god's sake.

But what's done is done, it was no use crying over spilt milk anyway. The problem was that Reborn had gotten himself hit by the ten-year-bazooka but no one appeared in his place. And more than five minutes had passed, It could only lead to one conclusion.

The future Reborn is dead.

He wanted to believe otherwise but the invisible bond that ran deep and strong between him and his tutor had also gone with Reborn's disappearance. Now all he felt was the emptiness in his chest where the unnamed bond used to thrive.

The teenager finally found the strength to move after 10 minutes of agonizing waiting and fruitless praying. He slowly wobbled his way home, feeling horribly unbalanced and vulnerable not being able to feel Reborn's imposing but reassuring presence anymore.

'Lambo!' He thought with a muddled head, 'I need to find Lambo. Lambo has the ten-year-bazooka, then I can- I can go after Reborn!'

It was exactly what he did as soon as he opened the door to his house: looking for Lambo. He didn't even bother announcing his arrival like he always did when he got home, that only illustrated how much in a haste he must be. He had gone straight to the yard, to the source of all the laughter and yellings he heard just outside of the house, forgoing dropping by the kitchen for his mom. As expected, the little boy was there playing with Ipin and Fuuta while his mother was cooking away in the kitchen. As soon as the children saw their surrogate older brother, they dropped whatever they were doing and ran to him with a smile on their young faces.

But soon they realized that something was wrong with their brother: the teenager did not greet him with a gentle smile like usual, dropping onto his knees in front of them looking incredibly lethargy and pale faced.

"Tsuna-nii? Is something wrong?" Fuuta was the first to ask while the other two were looking at each other with wide eyes.

Tsuna did not answer, but grabbed onto the youngest boy by his shoulders. He asked the boy with a trembling voice. "L-Lambo, I need the ten-year-bazooka. C-could you please bring it out for me?"

Lambo shook his head vehemently and told Tsuna with the most fake-looking innocent face while picking his nose. "Lambo doesn't know a ten-year-bazooka! The boss told Lambo not to mention anything about a ten-year-bazooka! Lambo always listens to the boss!"

"B-but- I saw you use it all the time!" Tsuna cried out while tightening the grip on the boy unconsciously, the force Tsuna used was borderline on hurting the boy.

"Hu-hurt!" The boy began to wail and struggle in the older teen's hold. "Let go! You're hurting me!"

"Pl-please, Lambo! Reborn is gone, and I need to- I need to-" Tsuna gripped Lambo even stronger and the boy was wailing like a banshee now, clearly terrified by his brother's odd behaviors. Lambo wasn't the only one, as the other two children started to cry too.

Attracted by commotion outside, Nana appeared at the doorstep with a panicked face, the rubber gloves still on her hands, having abandoned all her chores in the kitchen to come see what was wrong with the children. She was more than surprised to see her son with them instead of at the hospital like he was supposed to be.

"Tsu-kun? When did you get home? I didn't hear you coming in! And where's Reborn-kun? I thought he was picking you up?"

"Mom?" A wave of exhaustion washed over him and he felt faint even when sitting down. His grip on Lambo loosened and the younger dislodge it completely, running away from Tsuna as though he was a plague, followed closely by Ipin and Fuuta.

Without Lambo to hold on to, Tsuna's form started to lose his balance and teetered to one side. However, his mom was quick to catch him.

"M-mom," Tsuna turned to hold his mother tight and let out a relieved sigh as Nana returned his just as fierce. Breathing in the familiar scene of his mother, his eyes started to droop down. "I'm scared- Reborn is-"

"Shhhh! Calm down, Tsu-kun. Everything will be fine!"

Even when his mind was still muddled, the teenager couldn't help but relax in his mother's arms listening to her making small soothing noises, under the feels of her hand rubbing small circles on his back. His wringing nerves eased, his ragged breath slowed, and the teenager was out like a light.

The next time his awareness returned, it was already early afternoon of the next day. He sat up on his bed, please to find himself in a much better state than yesterday (even though the gaping emptiness in his chest was still there, giving off twinges of pain every few minutes), at least his head was clear and his Intuition wasn't ringing like a goddamn fire alarm anymore.

It has been a full day since Reborn disappeared. He realized. I need to act fast.

He got up and descended quietly down the stair, didn't know why he felt the need to but did it anyway. The boy walked past his mom who was talking on the phone, luckily turning his back to him so his present could not alert her.

"-they said that he needed more tests, since all his stats were declining compared to the last ones and they couldn't find out why! They said that his organs, a-all of them, were showing signs of de-deterioration!"

"…"

"-the nurse said he panicked and r-ran away from the hospital when Dr. Sasaki told him the news- what, dear? No, he wasn't supposed to tell Tsu-kun without me present, he's still a minor. But I know he meant well- No, dear, Tsu-kun is still resting."

"…"

"Yeah, Reborn-kun is missing, that was why Tsu-kun reacted so badly last afternoon."

"…"

"...Could you please come back, Iemitsu? We need you.

I need you."

Tsuna didn't stick around to hear his father's answer. Didn't care to find out anyway. He determinedly left behind his mother who was still talking quietly on the phone. He didn't even twitch as he saw his mother's shaking shoulders and listened to her muffled sniffs.

He walked into the dining room slash kitchen of his house, completely unsurprised to find Gokudera was already sitting there, having lunch and bickering with the children, his sister had on her ski mask so that the boy would not faint upon seeing her face. Even with the mask on, Tsuna could tell she was worrying over Reborn. Tsuna turned his eyes away from her quickly.

Upon his arrival, everybody quieted immediately and turned to him with a mix of happy and relieved looks. Lambo, though, was avoiding looking into his eyes: the incident from yesterday was probably still fresh in his mind.

"Tenth!"

"Good afternoon, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna greeted them with a small smile. "Good afternoon, everyone."

A group of enthusiastic greetings answered his.

"Uhm- I called your house last night and your mother told me you were sick. Do you feel better now?"

"I'm fine, Gokudera-kun." The boy sat, taking the seat next to his friend. "I'm glad you came over, though. I could use a rational mind right now."

"Does it… have something to do with Reborn-san's disappearance, Tenth?"

"It has everything to do with Reborn." Tsuna said, looking calmed and also feeling calmed. He was much different from yesterday where his panic got the better of him, making him act rash and reckless. But today, after a full night's rest, all he felt was calm determination. He knew what he was about to do next might end up catastrophic but he had already made peace with that possibility anyway.

"Listen Gokudera-kun, I'm coming after Reborn." Tsuna held his hand up, halting Gokudera who was about to protest "I'm not stopping you from following me, but I want you to wait. 10 minutes, that's all I ask. I know you will be terrified, but please keep calm. Think carefully before deciding to follow me."

"What happened, Tenth?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out."

"But how would you…" Bianchi was the one who asked.

Tsuna turned to look at his young Lightning Guardian, who was giving him the cold shoulder. But he paid it no mind.

"Lambo."

"The great Lambo isn't here, the great Lambo knows nothing about a ten-year-bazooka!"

"Lambo, I know I scared you yesterday and I'm sorry. But this is urgent. I need your bazooka to save Reborn. Don't you want to see Reborn again?"

Tsuna's voice was soft but stern and left no room for argument. After contemplating for the longest time, the young boy finally relented and took the purple bazooka out of his afro.

Receiving the object from his brother, Tsuna smiled, standing up and walking to the middle of the room.

"Tenth-"

"Remember, Gokudera-kun. 10 minutes."

"R-roger, Tenth."

And Tsuna disappeared in pink smoke.

---

Waking up inside a coffin was definitely not the most pleasant experience Tsuna had ever since he met Reborn.

Seeing the grown up version of his friends mourning over him was also another uncomfortable experience he did not wish to repeat.

He did not want to admit how relieved he felt as the younger ones were switched over one by one. The younger Gokudera was the first to get poofed over. Gokudera had heeded his words and shot himself with the bazooka exactly 10 minutes after he did, just as he expected. Nevertheless, the five minutes with older Gokudera was enough to deal some damage to Tsuna's already fragile mentality due to Reborn's disappearance.

The older Gokudera appeared shortly after Tsuna hauled himself out of the coffin he found himself in arriving at the future. He had no idea where he was at first and the clearing the coffin was put in was nowhere familiar to him. He was about to go find out the knowledge himself when a familiar face stepped out from behind the rows of trees, looking surprised one second and haunted the next moment as soon as he put two and two together, seeing the younger and alive version of his boss in front of him while the coffin was wide open.

The next thing Tsuna knew was that he was wrapped up tightly in the older man's extremely strong arms. The boy was lifted off the ground due to the height difference between the two of them and from the seer force of the embrace.

"Go-Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna squeaked, completely surprised and caught off guard. He was still not yet used to the physical intimation from anyone other than his mother. "I'm here to look for Rebo-"

"Please, Tenth. We've only 5 minutes, please just let me hold you a bit longer."

After what felt like an hour but in fact only two minutes had passed, without even letting him go, the older man whispered into his ears, venom in his voice. "After you are switched back, find and kill Irie Shouichi, Tenth."

"Irie Shouichi?" Tsuna remembered this name, it was the redhead whom he met a while ago that fixed his borrowed bike.

"If it weren't for him, Byakuran would have never-"

POOF~

And just like that, the younger, clearly worried but not mourning Gokudera appeared in his place.

Tsuna was relieved. If he had to see another one of his friends grieving over him again, it would be too soon.

However, the relief was quite short lived as they discovered the grave severity of this hellish future.

Together, Tsuna and Gokudera soon deduced that they were stuck in this future since half an hour had passed and none of them were switched back to their own time. What's more, Tsuna's older self had been lying in a coffin and while Tsuna had been nonchalant about it, Gokudera seethed and wailed and apologized to the brunet again and again once realization struck him. But it wasn't as if he could do anything about it, Tsuna pointed out with a shrug. He then reminded Gokudera about the initial purpose of this trip- which was to find Reborn. And the both of them wasted no more time and started walking.

Meeting Lal Mirch- the CEDEF agent had been eye-opening as she informed the both of them the state of the world they were in now: The Millefiore was dominating the world, Vongola Decimo had been gunned down by Byakuran, the Vongola affiliates were hunted down one by one like dogs, all of their friends and family were in grave danger.

And that all Arcobalenos, the strongest babies- including Reborn- had died.

Tsuna froze for the tiniest moment as he heard the news, but it didn't escape Lal's eyes.

"What, Sawada?"

"…How did they die?"

"The Arcobalenos? A painful one, most definitely. Byakuran-" The beautiful woman spat out the name as though it was poison, "- released some kind of Radiation into the atmosphere, the Anti-Trinisette Radiation, he called. It weakened them, making them sick and vulnerable. Some succumbed to Radiation quickly and withered away on a sick bed. Some others refused to give in and struggled to the last minutes. They were killed in battles by the Millefiore."

"And the Pacifiers?"

"All taken, save for Reborn's. Colonello's is… unknown."

"Does it mean that the Sky Arcobaleno… is dead too?"

The woman shook her head "The Radiation doesn't affect the Sky Arcobaleno like it does us- I mean- the other Arcobalenos. But she- Well last time I heard, her Famiglia joined Byakuran's Gesso and created the Millefiore. I… don't have much information about her general wellbeing."

No one said anything and they walked in uncomfortable silence, drowning in their own thoughts. Gokudera skipped ahead to look for a place to rest while Lal Mirch kept pondering on how much that the younger Decimo seemed to care about the fate of the Arcobalenos, but didn't even faze when she mentioned his own future self's death.

"Sawada-" The woman called Tsuna to ask. But when those brown eyes flickered over to meet her, she got frozen in her tracks.

There was nothing but cold hard fury in his eyes, a look that promised nothing but death and bloodshed in his path. The CEDEF agent shuddered, feeling as though the temperature had abruptly dropped to freezing point. She could not move, could not speak until the boy tore his gaze away.

"Sorry." The teenager offered her, his head lower to look at the ground. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Scare-?" Lal thundered, "I'm not scared of you! More importantly, I'm trying to tell you that you are nowhere near the level of your future self even in Hyper Dying Will Mode! If you don't get stronger soon, at this rate even a runt from Millefiore could be able to kill you!"

"If my future self was that strong, why did he get killed?"

So he was affected by his future self's death, after all.

"You-"

"TENTH!" Gokudera who scouted ahead had returned with a panicked look on his face, following not too far behind him were two menacing looking machines called the Gola Moscas. "Hide! Quick!"

"Tch!" The woman clicked her tongue in annoyance, taking off her cloak and pulling Tsuna down to hide under it. She grabbed Gokudera as they ran toward them and pulled him to huddle with the both of them under the shade of her camouflage cloak. "Damnit, we can't deal with both of them!"

"Be careful, Tenth! It looks different from the Gola Mosca we've encountered before!" Gokudera whispered as he shifted so that Tsuna's thin frame was hidden better behind his body.

"It's the Strau Mosca, the improved and much more dangerous version. Just our luck we've bumped into them!" Lal Mirch explained.

"Gokudera-kun-" Tsuna called his friend in worry, alarmed at the wet spot he felt on the silverette's back. "Did you get hurt?"

"Just a scratch, Tenth! Don't worry!"

Tsuna's pulse quickened and his mind raced. It was clearly not just a scratch as Gokudera was making it to be, he could feel how the taller teenager's ragged breathing fanned against his skin and how he was leaning most of his weight against the tree they were under.

What am I supposed to do now? Gokudera is hurt! Lal Mirch is clearly no match for two Gola Moscas! Reborn's not here and I'm just too weak.

"Attacco di Squalo!"

And suddenly, the two Gola Moscas that were descending on their heads were cut into halves as neatly as a heated knife cutting into butter.

A tall figure with broad shoulders appeared from behind the fallen remains of the Mosca. It was clearly a man in his mid-twenties, dark haired, brown eyes with tanned skin and a small scar on his chin. He was wearing a dark suit but oddly, carried on his person a long Japanese sword.

"Yama…moto?"

The older man blinked, his sharp eyes flitted from Lal Mirch to Gokudera, then finally laid on the shortest one of the group. The clear brown gaze softened, turning sad and melancholic once they rested upon the brunet's face.

"...Reborn has told me about the possibility of you being here, Tsuna, but actually seeing you is just…"

"...rattling, isn't it?" The boy finished the older man's words, chuckling humorlessly. Still playing a meat shield in front of his boss, Gokudera glared harshly at the older self of his fellow Guardian as though he would chew the man's head off if Yamamoto dared to even touch a hair on his boss' head.

"...yeah."

And once again, the boy was yanked into the arms of his older Guardian regardless of Gokudera's body guarding like a watch dog.

"Hey!" Gokudera protested, his hands already reaching out to pull his boss back. Lal Mirch pulled him back by the scruff of his neck. "HEY!"

"It's good to see you, Tsuna." The older man murmured into his younger friend's brown locks, inhaling the familiar scent of fresh baked goods and sweet flowers. He could never quite forget the two smells that he had always associated with his beloved late friend.

"…me, too." The teenager answered quietly, slowly returned the embrace and patted the man on his back. "Could you please… let me go? I'm really not used to-uhm- being hugged by another person aside from my mum."

It was true that the boy looked quite tense and uncomfortable in Yamamoto's arms.

The man squeezed Tsuna one last time and gently set his friend back on his feet, though with great reluctance.

"Sorry, couldn't help it. I… kind of forgot that the past Tsuna wasn't much of a touchy-feely guy!"

"Do you mean that he changed?" Gokudera asked while Tsuna was totally averting his eyes to not meet Yamamoto's.

"Eventually. One time, he said and I quote: 'Well, life is too short to not show our loved ones a little affection'!" Tsuna's brown eyes flickered to the older man at this, surprise evident.

"He sounds like a great guy." Tsuna offered weakly.

"Yes, you are. You are well loved in this era. So while I know you're uncomfortable, please understand why we act the way we did in front of you…" Yamamoto stared at the younger boy with such an intensity that it felt as though everything else became blurred and faded in the man's periphery.

"As much as I like to stick around and see you acting like sentimental fools, shouldn't we get to the base right now? At this rate we might never reach the base before dawn!" Lal cut in before it could get any more awkward.

"Right!" Yamamoto said, still staring long and hard at his friend's visual, but only to have the brunet look to the side, again, and avoid his gaze. Yamamoto frowned but didn't comment. "I was sent to pick you guys up, actually. Lal Mirch, your information about the location of the base is false. That was why I was sent to pick you up. Come on, you three, keep up and don't lose sight of me. Reborn is waiting."

Reborn is waiting. That phrase kept echoing in his head and left him in a daze the whole trip to the Vongola Base. Even when his other companies were in awe over the show of Yamamoto's mastery of Dying Will Flame and the scale of the underground base that was apparently built by himself- well, his older self, all he felt was a numbing anticipation about the prospect of seeing his tutor again.

"Dame-Tsuna." The familiar squeaky voice of the Sun Arcobaleno drew out as Tsuna's knees went weak with relief. "You're late."

Tsuna could not keep it together anymore, he collapsed in a heep in the middle of the room, near sobbing as the small figure of his tutor of his ridiculous body suit that was created to keep him safe from the deadly Radiation, appeared dramatically on a turn-around chair.

"Reborn!" The boy called, hand reaching out to his infant tutor "You are- you are safe!"

"Stand up, Dame-Tsuna. That's unbecoming of a mafia boss."

The boy didn't deign to answer, instead drawing the baby hitman into a rib-crushing hug.

"I'm sorry, Reborn."

Gokudera and the other occupants though were wide eyed with bewilderment as they had no idea what the situation prior to Reborn being teleported to the future was and also this was the first time they saw their friend show his emotions so raw and open. Reborn for once let the boy do what he pleased, and not try to remove the boy with any kind of violence. The rising guilt was choking him beside the near crushing embrace of his student though.

'No, Tsuna. I should be the one who says sorry.'

---

All of them started to notice something was definitely wrong with Tsuna.

He was still his normal self at first when they had just arrived in the future. Well, as normal as it could be for someone who was used to closing himself off like Tsuna. He didn't speak much but he still answered when spoken to or when someone mentioned something he was interested in. Even when he wasn't joining in a conversation, the slight flickers and the small crinkles of his eyes still told them that, yes, he was paying attention, he always did around who he considered his friends. He would still smile and sometimes laugh, rare as it was.

But he was never stone cold and lifeless as though he was a statue like now.

They tried to trace backward from present to the moment that brought this abrupt change. He did seem downright relieved and happy when the younger Yamamoto was switched over. When the younger girls and children came, however, he seemed… crossed and a little angry, but his overall dismay was definitely not directed toward the newcomers. The future Hibari's appearance was a lifesaver at first, helping their group out of a precarious situation with Black Spell's Gamma, who was adamant on capturing the young version of Vongola Decimo alive for some reasons while the Millefiore were rumored to have gunned down his future self without any remorse. At the level of power they were, even at their full strength, the three of them were simply no match for the Lightning Flame user. Not to mention Gokudera and Yamamto continued to bicker with each until Tsuna yelled at them to snap out of it before they all got killed. If Hibari didn't show up in time, the brunet might have been taken and all their effort to retaliate against the Millefiore would be nipped right in the bud.

The future Ryohei's return in fact brought with him much good news: first was the younger Chrome whom he brought back with him, unconscious but safe, the second news was about an upcoming attack plan on Millefiore's Melon base which was right under Namimori biggest shopping mall. Ryohei informed them about how the upper echelons of the Vongola agreed, though with much reluctance, to let the past Vongola Decimo lead the attack on Melon base.

At this point, the teen was doubtful about his own strength and his ability to lead, but was not completely against leading the attack. In fact, it was the only thing he was hyped up for ever since they were sent to this hellish future. Tsuna, more than anyone, wanted to get to the bottom of it, ending this war against the Millefiore and bringing them back home where it was safe.

Everything was happening too fast, too abruptly, back-to-back to each other. Before they even knew it, they were already neck deep in their own training with their respective tutor. They simply didn't even have time to breathe, let alone noticing something like the heart of their group was wilting away before their eyes.

They barely even interact anymore in the span of a few days. In fact they had seen neither head nor tail of the brunet because he just … disappeared into his room right after training sessions with the older Hibari, barely came out even to eat.

Suddenly, they realized, it wasn't at a specific point that he changed, it was a whole process where Tsuna slowly and gradually retreated into himself. The light in his eyes receded with each more of his friends, his Family, got transported over, with each training session that little improvement and result was made, with the futility of the whole situation.

It seemed like this future had already broken him before they even got to face the Millefiore elites- namely Byakuran and his six Funeral Wreaths in an actual battle.

They whispered among themselves, worried and terrified of the state Tsuna left himself in, with blank face and bandages covering his body from Hibari's training sessions, with ghastly complexion and gaunt cheeks from lack of nutrition and proper rest. They had tried to cheer him up and to liven him up, only to receive dull eyes and empty stares for their efforts. Reborn was prepared to step in and beat some sense into his student when Hibari stopped him.

"Don't." He said. "I'll handle him."

And handle he did, by locking them both in the training room the next time they trained and all the usual observers- which were Lal Mirch, Fuuta and Reborn- out.

"Goddamnit!" The failed Arcobaleno cursed out loud at the unmoving door in front of them. "I hope that man knows what he was doing! We barely have enough time left and Sawada is like this."

Reborn didn't say anything, but inside, he raged. It should be him who was in that room and helped his student, and not Hibari. Reborn didn't know what possessed him to allow Hibari of all people to do his job but Reborn himself was not confident that he could talk sense to Tsuna this time since he had no idea what had made the teen so… depressed like he had been the last couple of days, especially when they were all caught between a rock and a hard place. And Tsuna, wimpy and useless as he might look, but he was still the heart of Vongola's newest generation. If he continued to be as disheartened and lifeless as he was now in this war against an unfathomable opponent like the Millefiore, they would get squashed as easily as an ant! Nonetheless, Hibari was also Tsuna's Guardians- future version or not. If Hibari could really help Tsuna out of this knot, he supposed he could yield just this time.

However, it didn't mean that Reborn wasn't beating himself up in his head over his own helplessness.

In the middle of the locked room, stood two figures facing each other. Tsuna was in Hyper Dying Will Mode, his guard raised while Hibari Kyoya was ten feet from him, adopting a completely relaxed pose, tonfa hidden away.

"Little animal." Hibari said "Speak. What's bothering you?"

The boy blinked and stared, and let loose a helpless laugh. He said. "Hibari-san, what am I even supposed to speak about?"

"About why you are acting like a completely pathetic herbivore. You think that no one noticed? If you don't get yourself together and step up your own game, you wouldn't be able to save anyone."

"It's none of anyone's business how well I fight. It doesn't matter anyway because the reason I was brought here, to this era, is brutally simple, Hibari-san."

"It wasn't to fight, or to lead anyone. So why should I bother to get better? I don't even like fighting anyway?"

"What did you see, Tsunayoshi?" Tsuna's head snapped up at this, and mildly surprised at the soft tone Hibari took.

"So you do know, Hibari-san."

"I found out by accident. I walked in in the middle of one of his… episodes."

The teen didn't bother to hold his Hyper Dying Will Mode anymore, he closed his eyes, letting the Flame in front of his forehead flicker off and flopped to the floor.

"…What did you see?"

"Nothing. Haven't seen anything ever since I came here."

"Then how?" How do you know about your future self's plan?

"I only have some suspicions. You've just confirmed it for me, Hibari-san."

"…"

"I simply know the kind of person I am. That's all."

Tsuna sighed, suddenly he looked years older and the image of one scrawny teen in a hoodie overlapped with a taller, older figure donning a three-piece suit, smiling sadly at him in Hibari's point of view.

"Hibari-san. Answer me one question, please."

"..."

"My future self, is he really dead?"

The older man stayed silent for the longest time, eyes hard and unyielding, but Tsuna could feel it, the conflict within Hibari's inner world. The man was probably contemplating the pros and cons of telling Tsuna the truth.

Finally he spoke.

"He almost did, when they all died, when he died. He tried… to revive them. But to no avail."

Tsuna lifted his eyes to meet Hibari's gray ones and Hibari shifted ever so slightly in his place. He didn't look nervous, god forbid if anyone put Hibari Kyoya and the words 'nervous' together in one sentence, but Tsuna could tell this was the closest Hibari was to being nervous.

"How so?"

"Carrying two artifacts is a big burden. It has been years and both his body and his Flame has been worn down. He is exhausted. He cannot do what you can."

"So that's why he brought me here. He wants me to do the dirty work for him."

"…"

"That man is probably near the end himself, isn't he?"

Hibari didn't say anything more. He knew that Tsuna already had the answer, but Hibari also knew the conversation wasn't over, not by any means. The brunet sat on the floor with his legs akimbo, hands playing with… something around his neck, a trinket it seemed, deep in his own thoughts. Hibari waited patiently until Tsuna lifted his head again, and this time he braced himself for any other questions, or even accusations, the teen might throw at him.

"Just what was he thinking, Hibari-san? Reborn, I understand. Why everyone else? Even the girls and the kids? Why did he have them brought over?"

"… He doesn't want you to be alone when it happens."

Tsuna blinked and lowered his eyes, trying to but failing to stifle a humorless chuckle. Hibari frowned again, making him appear too much like his former self in Junior High School whose smiles were seldom. Hibari of the future, that everybody came to know, was often seen with a terrifying self satisfied smirk.

Nonetheless, Tsuna stood up from his seat on the floor with some difficulty due to the sheer amount of injuries he had accumulated from training. He even stumbled a little and Hibari's expression twisted, as though he was wanting very much to help Tsuna but refrain himself. Dusting off his pants, without looking at Hibari, Tsuna said. "A small mercy granted to me by the Vongola Decimo himself. How honored."

Then he turned on his heel and prepared to leave the training room.

"Where do you think you're going, Tsunayoshi?"

"I'm taking a break. I sort of deserve it, don't I?"

And Hibari let him go.

In the observation room, Reborn, Lal Mirch, Fuuta and Giannini were gathering in front of the surveillance monitors.

Giannini wiped away the sweat gathering on his forehead with a handkerchief, stealing a glance at Reborn from his place in front of the biggest monitor screen.

"I'm sorry, Reborn-san! Hibari-san has blocked all the cameras in the training with his box weapon and is very thorough, too! I really can't do anything."

"Damn that Hibari!" Lal scowled, "What are they even talking about, being so secretive like that?"

Reborn was really pissed off. He was hoping that by spying on their conversation through the camera, he might have some insight about what was troubling his student but the Arcobaleno clearly didn't expect Hibari to be so thorough.

Why is that skylark so confident that he can talk sense to Tsuna? Just what is it that Hibari knows about Tsuna that I- who was the closest to Tsuna- don't?

Suddenly, the monitor screen cleared and they could see clearly inside the training room now. However, Hibari was the only occupant of the room, the brunet who caused them much headache was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Tsuna-nii?" Fuuta asked, but no one knew the answer.

"Over here!" Giannini cried out, pointing at another screen that showed the inside of the entrapped door lead to the outside. Right there by the door was the Vongola Decimo heir, who was standing right in front of the complicated mechanism that was the entrance to their underground base, looking at it like it was the bane of his existence.

Giannini almost fell off his chair when the frail looking teenager directed his sunset orange gaze at him through the camera.

"…Giannini." The boy said, "Open the door."

The cold tone of his voice sent chills down Giannini's spine, leaving him a stuttering mess.

"-but Juudaime-sama!-"

"Open it, or I will break it down."

Lal Mirch, ever the hot head, immediately yelled into her comm line. "Are you out of your mind, Sawada? Do you even comprehend the fact that the Millefiore are out for your blood right now?"

The boy just stared, but somehow Lal Mirch had the feeling that that questioning gaze wasn't directed at her or Giannini at all.

Finally, Reborn told them both, "Let him do as he pleases. Tsuna clearly knows what he is doing."

"But it's too dangerous for him to go out on his own! He hasn't even finished his training yet, his use of the Ring and his Flame are absolutely horrible!"

Of course, Reborn did not have the intention to let his student venture out of the safety of the base without any proper protection. The Arcobaleno knew for a fact that even if he didn't make any suggestions, that man would always follow the brunet into any dangerous territory out of his own accord.

"Let him go." As expected, Hibari's voice rang out in the comm link. "I will look after him."

Bewildered, Giannini looked at Reborn for a confirmation, only to find the Sun Arcobaleno staring unblinking at the screen that showed the image of his student waiting patiently by the door. Lal was also looking at her fellow Arcobaleno oddly, deep in thought. She seemed to have figured something out on her own, but had no plan of sharing it with anyone present.

Then after a while. Reborn spoke into the comm. "Tsuna's better come back without missing even a hair, Hibari." Everyone shuddered. Never before could they imagine that a squeaky voice could make such a threatening tone.

Hibari smirked at them through the camera. "Careful, Sun Arcobaleno. Your possessiveness is showing."

Reborn gritted his teeth, wishing for once he still had his fedora to be able to hide his dismay. A deep scowl in place, he watched his student walk through the open door and quickly disappeared into the forest above their base.

The old Sawada house was the brunet's first destination.

Tsuna slipped through the back door of his old home quietly like a cat, skillfully evading the Millefiore goons scattering on the street that led to the house. The house appeared whole, but inside the house there seemed to be a storm that had gone through it. It was understandable though, since the Sawada home would be the first location the Millefiore goons looked at as the raids on the Vongola started.

'How excessive!' Tsuna noted with distaste, 'Do they have to destroy absolutely everything?'

His sentiment was spoken in the most literal sense, but Tsuna couldn't help but feel how true it was in any other senses: the Millefiore had destroyed everything that belonged to him, be it his home, his small 'private' little happiness or his future, and probably his own 'life' would soon be crushed in the process.

Tsuna gingerly stepped through the ruins that used to be his living room toward the staircase leading to where his room and his mom's on the second floor. The boy recalled all the events and memories of his life in this house, from the furthest memory he could remember, up until the moment he shot himself with the ten-year-bazooka. He startled despite himself, only just realized how far he had come from a lonely little kid who had no one but his mother to who he was right now, a student whose tutor started to mean as much as his mother to him, a teenager beloved by his friends and a surrogate older brother to the lost little mafiosi in his home.

If I'm gone, will you guys be able to move on?

Shaking off the thought and resisting the urge to break down right there where he stood, the boy went to the ensuite bathroom of his own room upstairs and stood in front of the mirror above the sink. The seemingly innocent mirror was still intact, safe from the Millefiore's rummaging through the house. He lifted the mirror up, and surely behind the mirror, there was a small note attached to the wall. Taking the note off the wall, he brought it to his eye's level. It read:

Mom's safe. She's with Iemitsu.

S.T

"At last, some good news."

I wish I had hugged her, just one more time. The boy smiled despite himself, but a lone tear rolled down his cheek.

Hastily wiped the tear away even if no one was around to witness his moment of weakness, he burned the note to ash and put the mirror back to its place. Then he swiftly jumped out of the room and softened his landing on the road with the use of his Flame. He broke to a run before any runt from the Millefiore could notice his presence.

His next destination was Namimori Junior High. This time he was joined by Hibari on the rooftop of the main school building, having been up there a few minutes prior. The boy picked his usual spot near the entrance to the roof, where he and his friends usually had lunch. The roof was high enough that he almost had a full view of the whole Namimori town. Tsuna just stared at the view spreading in front of his eyes and reminisced about the days when the most troublesome problem he had was if the next surprise quiz Nezu-sensei failed him on purpose in order to belittle him in front of class could land him in summer school again this year. Or if Hibari caught him cutting class again and bite him to death for it while demanding him fight back for once.

The older version of his junior high school's major cause of fear and headache was just there, leaning casually against the wall and looking as though he wasn't just stalking Tsuna through the town. He gave off a huge yawn, appeared like he was almost falling asleep from boredom and lack of activities. Tsuna glanced at him from the corner of his eyes and said.

"I have never really understood your infatuation with Namimori before, Hibari-san. I have always chalked it off as one of your peculiar quirkinesses. But being here with this pleasant view in front of me, I can see where your fondness of this town comes from."

"…Namimori is home and this schoolground is sacred. No matter where I go, how far I float, knowing that there's always a place for me to return to keeps me grounded."

"I see."

"Did you see the message he left for you? "

"Yes."

And they sat together in comfortable silence. Tsuna had predicted it would last until they left, but he never expected Hibari to break it first.

"You know that I considered you to be my home, too?"

"?"

"You were always there when I returned, welcoming me with a smile and a good fight. And that thought was reassuring when I was away. Then one day, you weren't there anymore."

"Even if it was forecasted, it was rattling all the same."

"…It's none of my business."

"True, it isn't." Hibari pushed himself off the wall and turned away from the boy. "Where are you heading next? It's getting late and I want you to be at the hideout by sunset."

The boy shrugged. "I would probably walk around the town for a bit. And then, the stores."

"What for?"

"Grocery, of course! I'd like to cook a feast for my friends tonight! I figure some apologies for making them worried are in order."

"Hn."

"Please join us for dinner tonight, Hibari-san."

"I don't crowd."

Tsuna smiled, Hibari just never changed.

After the groceries run, Tsuna was surprised to find all of his friends, namely Yamamoto, Gokudera and the girls, waiting anxiously for him just outside of the base.

"We heard from Reborn that you abandoned training and ran off alone. W-we are worried." Gokudera explained to him with a sheepish laugh, but the worry in his eye was unmistakable, the others echoed his sentiments with frowns of their own.

"I'm sorry, guys. Reborn was just being an overdramatic little shit. I'm fine, Hibari-san agreed for me to have a break so I decided I shall go grocery shopping. Hibari-san even tagged along to help me carry them! Look, I bought enough for us to have tonkatsu tonight! I'll cook!"

"Ton-tonkatsu?" "You cook?" All of them glanced at each other in question since the one eighty change of the brunet puzzled them greatly. They eyed the bandages still covering every inch of the boy's exposed skin and the bags under his eyes, but truly, the light had returned. They really wanted to ask but refrained since none of them wanted to accidentally switch Tsuna's mood back to the way it was before. They moved to help carry the loads of groceries since Hibari had vanished and dropped all the bags on the ground.

"Well I-I'd like to apologize for my behavior the last few days. I know I made you worried and especially when we are in a time of crisis-"

"No-no! Tsuna, you don't have to apologize! As long as you feel better, everything is fine!"

"Yeah, Tenth! I'm just glad that you are okay now!"

"That's right, Tsuna-kun! We'll help you cook, okay?"

"Wow, I really don't know that you can cook, Tsuna-san! You're really full of surprise."

Tsuna smiled gently at them, eyes glittering with fondness and adoration, the underlying sadness and longing never disappeared, but it could not dispersuate them from finding hope once more.

That maybe, just maybe, Tsuna would stay and would not just fade away like they had previously feared.

The next day, extremely early in the training room, Tsuna and Hibari once again stood in front of each other, the usual observers weren't even up and about yet, only the ever faithful Kukasabe was present. Tsuna walked to his spot in the middle of the room, lit up the beautiful Flame in front of his forehead- the proof of his resolution. Today, it burned twice as powerful and thrice as brighter compared to how it was a few days ago- dimmed, muddled and lifeless, Hibari noted with mounting pleasure.

"Do it, Hibari-san." The boy said, calmness in his voice and acceptance in his eyes.

Hibari nodded once, and put Flame into one of his boxes. The purple hedgehog was fast to do his master's bidding, immediately forming a sphere of needles and Cloud Flame around Tsuna while the boy stood still, clearly anticipating what to come next.

And Hibari's desolate gray eyes was the last thing he saw before the darkness of the box weapon obscured his vision.

---

"Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun, it's good that you've reached this place!"

Tsuna blinked and looked at the fallen forms of the two Cervello women on the floor then to the redhead who had collapsed onto his butt due to his stomach cramp acting up.

"Ugh- I'm not the enemy. I'm actually on your side, Sawada-kun!"

Tsuna took a long breath and closed his eyes, when he opened them again, the piercing orange gaze had returned to its soft chocolate brown color. The boy gave a small understanding smile to his supposed-enemy-suddenly-turned-ally, his right hand held out, palm up invitingly to the older man.

"I never have doubt, Irie Shouichi-san."

Irie couldn't take his eyes off the boy's little smile, a small blush started to form on his face. His hand automatically reached out to grab onto the boy's smaller one.

"Sawada-kun…"

The boy pulled the older man onto his feet easily and promptly let go of the man's hand. Irie retracted his hand, looking a little lost and reluctant.

"Ahem-" Someone cleared their throat, which brought Irie back to reality.

"Dame-Tsuna." A squeaky voice drawled out threateningly, "What did I tell you about putting blind trust on suspicious characters?" The hologram of the Arcobaleno appeared, smacked in the middle of the small space between the teenager and the redhead.

"Well, Irie-san is far from suspicious. From the beginning, his goal has always been helping us."

"Ri-right, Reborn-san. I swear I've never meant harm to Sawada-kun." Irie withered a little under Reborn's unyielding glare, a hologram he might be, but Irie Shouichi could feel that he wasn't any less dangerous. "Sawada-kun can actually vouch for me. I mean- Sawada-kun, you can tell if I'm lying right?"

"Yes, I can." The boy frowned at the image of his tutor who was still radiating murderous intents, if he didn't know any better, he would say that the hitman's immediate hostility toward the older man was due to the fact that Arcobaleno was jealous. But he shook that thought away quickly, feeling ridiculous for having even such an idea. "But could you please release my friends before we do any actual talking? I feel very uncomfortable letting them in there any longer."

"Yeah- Sorry! I forgot!" Pressing on another button, not the poisonous gas releasing one, Irie gestured at the tube device that held the teenager's friend captive. Gradually, the previously unconscious Guardians and allies woke up one by one, confused and a bit disoriented, but otherwise looking fine. They wasted no time getting out of the device and to Tsuna's side.

"Tenth! I'm glad that you're okay!"

"Looking good, Tsuna!"

"Seems like you are still alive and kicking, Sawada."

Answering their concerns with a small smile, Tsuna discreetly noted that Hibari had been switched over.

He is gone. The boy thought, his smile dimmed a little at this before regaining its full capacity as he animatedly asked after his friends.

But in his mind, the feeling of helplessness about his own situation had returned with a vengeance. While the older Hibari was an eccentric and troublesome existence, he was the only one who knew the truth about Tsuna. And that thought in itself was enough to soothe the boy's aching heart and loneliness.

But now that only source of comfort left was gone.

He shook off the thought and went to join his friends in taking care of the wounded, some eyed the redhead suspiciously since practically 30 minutes ago, he had been the main target of this operation, but refrained from actually saying anything since their brunet seemed to trust the man a great deal.

"Thank you for keeping my friends safe." The boy said to the former Millefiore tactician.

"I-it's nothing, Sawada-kun." The man answered, scratching his cheek in embarrassment, still not yet used to the younger boy's sincere gratefulness and unwavering trust in him. "You know, Sawada-kun, I've never quite understood how you did it!"

"Uhm, what exactly did I do?"

"Putting your trust in me again and again. I mean, when we first met, it was you who sought me out and proposed your plan to save the world from Byakuran-san to me. How were you so sure I would go along with your plan? I was Byakuran-san's best friend at the time for god's sake! What if I turned out to be as much of a power maniac like him."

"It's not exactly the first time we met, Irie-san."

"Really?"

"To me, it was only a while ago, but to you it had been years since we first actually met. I was on my way to school when my bike broke, and you fixed it for me."

"Oh. OH! You remembered me from way back then! That's a long time ago." Irie Shouichi clapped his hands, green eyes lit up in realization. He was actually a little touched by the fact the brunet- well the one from his own time- was able to remember him from such an insignificant ordeal. "But we barely interacted!"

The teen shrugged, "I've been told that I'm a good judge of character."

"That-"

"Irie Shouichi, stop this useless chit chatting this instant. Tell us what it is that you and the older Tsuna have in mind." Reborn drawled from the side, refusing to watch Tsuna and the redhead exchanging pleasantries back and forth any longer.

"Reborn, please don't antagonize Irie-san any further. He has already proved himself by putting his own life at risk several times for our sakes. I don't see why you have to keep up this attitude."

"He let you die. That's enough to earn a bad mark in my book." Reborn uttered with venom in his voice and poison in his beady dark eyes. Tsuna was temporarily at a loss of words, as he could practically taste the protectiveness that Reborn was radiating from his tiny hologram body.

"Reborn-"

The atmosphere around them suddenly turned dark and gloomy at the hitman's foreboding reminder of their boss and friend's future self's less than alive state.

"Wait, wait wait wait! That's one fact you get wrong, Reborn-san!"

Reborn's pitless abyss for eyes immediately turned to Irie's at those words and the man involuntarily shuddered, feeling the chills assaulting all his senses.

"Elaborate."

"W-well, the bullet Sawada-kun was shot with is meant to put him in a dead-like state, not to kill him! I've tested it over and over again to make sure it won't bring any harm to Sawada-kun's body!"

"-Yo-you mean-" Yamamoto was the one who rushed forward from his place on the stretcher, his face was the picture of someone who was drowning but got thrown a lifeline. At the beginning when he was informed of the news about Tsuna's future self's death, the teenager had been stoically stubborn, refusing to even acknowledge that fact. In truth, he just didn't want to believe that the future of 20-year-later Lambo was even remotely a possibility.

"-Tenth didn't die!" Gokudera finished his words, eyes already shining with unshed tears and a relieved smile.

"Yeah, he was fine, only in a deep sleep, like all your future selves, in this machine!" Irie exclaimed, face flushed in excitement, hands waving around wildly in his flustered state. "The coffin was merely a camouflage to deceive the enemy, which is Byakuran-san! It's him who we need to defeat to save the entire humanity!"

Pausing a little to let the information sink in, Irie turned to the tutor-student duo expectantly. Reborn in return looked at his student, not in question, but for the confirmation of his own suspicion that Tsuna had known all of this in advance.

"You are taking all of this way too calmly for my liking, Tsuna. Did you know any of this?"

The boy stared back impassively, his huge, round, seemingly guileless eyes only served to piss Reborn further.

"…Hibari-san told me."

"Wait what? The future Hibari told you? But keeping the fact that the older Sawada-kun is still alive was part of the plan to help you grow! All of you grow tremendously when you have someone to protect! That's why the girls and the kids were brought over too!"

"I don't believe it! I know Sawada's character. He would never agree to such a plan!" Lal exclaimed. She was exhausted from being from the Radiation, but somehow still found some strength to yell at the young Vongola Boss and the ridiculousness of the situation.

"But he was the one who suggested it in the first place!"

"Calm down everyone! Hibari already told me the reason why my future self did what he did and both he and I have talked it out! We gotta focus! Byakuran, remember!" Tsuna immediately stepped in to defuse the situation before it got too far.

"Right." Irie composed himself and fixed the glasses on his nose, continued with his explanation, "You reaching here, that's stage 1. Now we need to see the result of the main battle in Italy. That's stage 2! The Vongola had joined forces to retaliate against the Millefiore in all Italy. As long as it turns out well, we will be one step closer to defeat Byakuran."

Right at that moment, the hologram image of Reborn flickered briefly. Reborn blinked and stilled, seemingly listened to something on his own comm link.

"There's news from the front in Italy." He said, "We won."

Everyone cheered, even Reborn himself was smiling.

"T-That's really great news! I'm truly glad!"

Irie even looked like he almost bursted into tears, but eventually refrained himself. The brunet patted his shoulder encouragely.

"Well, it's time I needed to explain stage 2 to you guys. You see, we-"

"VOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Screech!

"What- what the hell is that?"

"It seems like the Varia has some messages for you, Tsuna." Reborn grinned, and a hologram screen appeared above his head. The image of the proud Varia leader lounging on his throne in the middle of a ruined hotel room was proudly displayed on that screen. And everyone could see his Guardians were scattering around the scene, battered and worse for wear but otherwise, extremely giddy.

"Xanxus."

"Trash."

The said man turned his glare at the screen, but somehow all of them knew exactly whom that look was directed at.

"Don't you dare go fucking die again, you piece of shit."

Everyone was shocked, but not overly surprised. The rude request fit Xanxus's personality just fine, but the fact that the most proud, perpetually angry and petty guy on Earth was showing concern over someone whom used to defeat him was appalling, but at least the guy was on their side, right? In tandem they turned to the brunet expectantly for a reply.

The boy blinked, and said. "Well, you too. Please stay safe, Xanxus."

And their line went off like a flash, but not before Xanxus releasing a string of curses, Squalo trying to burst their eardrums, Bel grinning like a maniac, Lussuria sparkling and Levi A Than just… being himself.

"Now, the only thing left is to defeat Byakuran, especially when he is in a huge disadvantage after the loss in Italy, the Vongola Rings safe and five of his Mare rings are in our possession!"

"Not so sure about that, Shou-chan." A sinisterly cheerful voice just came out of nowhere and scared the half of them witless. Suddenly the fallen enemies' comm devices lit up and projecting a three-dimensional image of a grinning man in white attire, with white hair, violet eye and a tattoo underneath in front of them.

All of them unconsciously stepped away from the hologram and Irie Shouichi- scared but still trying to be brave, moved just so his body could obscure the brunet from Byakuran's view.

"Byakuran-san. What do you mean by that?"

"You still haven't realized, Shou-chan? That those Mare Rings you have are fake? And that I've never really trusted you from the beginning? One must wonder why such a genius like yourself could be so easy to fool!"

"If I'm a fool, then you are a selfish, melodramatic maniac with trust issues and an even worse excuse of a human being who will never know what a two-way relationship is."

"Cheeks and sass in one sentence. It seems like the younger Vongola Decimo has already rubbed off on you. I would never imagine you possess such bravado in you. But you might want to tone it down a little though, little Shou-chan!" The violet eyes sharpened and his tone dropped the temperature around them, "since I am the one holding the knife in this situation!"

"W-what?"

"May I present to you, my dear Shou-chan, the real, authentic six Funeral Wreaths! Some of them have destroyed their own hometown just to demonstrate his loyalty to me! Look!"

On the screen, he showed the scene of a peaceful, beautiful town by the mountain, immediately followed by its own devastating ruins, with all the houses being either burnt down or wrecked, corpses lying everywhere, molten lava and ash covering every visible sliver of ground. And in a big lava 'hot bath', lounging one man with weed-like hair, whistling as though he was at an onsen rather than in the middle of a total massacre.

"T-that- That was-" Irie choked on his own words, unable to describe the fear and disgust from the scene in front of him. As the Byakuran's former right hand man, the redhead was not unfamiliar with the scene of gore and pure carnage, but to see that real Funeral Wreaths' display of power and penchant for death and destruction, it made not only him but anyone present squeamish and nauseas.

"Zakuro's so cool, right? Not to mention, the 100 A-level soldiers awaiting my signal to wreck every single thing you ever treasure and love, my dear audiences. And now, are you ready to hear what I'm about to say?"

"-100-"

"-A-level soldiers-" Everyone looked at each other numbly, stunned by the hopelessness of the whole situation. There were only so many of them, at the level of power they were now, going against 100 A-level soldiers was like having a death wish.

"What?! Why have I never heard of this? Why-"

A small hand laid on his shoulder, and Irie immediately calmed as he traced the hand to its owner with burning orange eyes. The teenager behind him gave him a small reassuring smile.

"What do you want, Byakuran?" The boy asked, fully emerging from behind Irie.

"Well well well, a pleasure to see the man who has swayed my best friend to his side with his impeccable charms. Glad to see that you are still as alive and lovely as ever, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"…"

"Not very talkative either, I take it! I'd like to propose a truce, actually. This whole Melone fiasco has damaged us both, you more so than us, I'm afraid. So I'd like to be the nice guy and let you Vongola rest and recuperate properly."

"And in return, what do you want in exchange for this 'show of good faith'?"

"Very sharp, Tsunayoshi-kun!" The way the maniac let every syllable of Tsuna's name roll on the tip of his tongue had Reborn click his own in annoyance and his Guardians grit their teeth in rage and indignation while the boy himself appeared less than impressed. "Shou-chan, you must be familiar with the game of Choice, right?"

"Yes of course, as if I could ever forget!" Irie said, "But what does it have to do with this situation?"

"Exactly 10 days later, I intend to make Choice a reality, Shou-chan!"

"R-Reality?"

"And I would very much like Vongola and our Millefiore to have a Choice Match! Such a civil way to settle our conflicts, isn't it? If the Vongola wins, we will leave you, your allies and families alone."

"And if we lose?" Tsuna asked.

Byakuran didn't even bother to hide the greedy glint in his violet's eyes. "Your Vongola Rings, of course. And a private meeting with Tsunayoshi-kun!"

Every single one of them visibly startled, they never expected such a condition to be included in the prize. None could even forget that the last time Tsuna went to a meeting alone with Byakuran, he died (even though the bullet was a modified one so he wouldn't really die, but the fact that Byakuran had ordered his death was enough to raise an alarm.)

"Why?" The teenager asked.

"The older you and I have unfinished business and I prefer to conclude it, in a private matter."

"What?! You think we will leave the Tenth alone with you sick fuck for even a minute then you must be dreamming, Byakuran!"

"Byakuran-san, you know that we cannot agree to that!"

"I could care less about what you think, Shou-chan. The only answer I want to hear is from the Vongola Decimo." Byakuran regarded his former best friend coldly. "What do you say, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

The boy blinked, and answered without any hesitation, "Okay."

The wave of protests from his side started immediately.

"Tsuna! You can't possibly think of agreeing to a condition like that!"

"Please rethink your decision, Tenth!"

"Are you out of your mind, Sawada! That maniac ordered your death for god's sake!"

"We don't have any other choice. If I don't agree, he will bulldoze us along with Naminori. I can't allow that."

"Smart choice, Tsunayoshi-kun!" Byakuran grinned like a cat that ate a canary. "10 days later, every single one of you have to be there at the Namimori Shrine, or you will be disqualified from the Game, remember that! I will give you the details on our Game later, or my best friend Shou-chan can fill it in for you!"

"I understand." Tsuna said simply.

"B-but-" Irie tried to say something.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, don't disappoint me and fail to show up on time, all right? I'm looking forward to seeing you in person so so much that it physically hurts! Both of us do, me and our fellow Sky!"

The boy smiled vaguely, and Reborn and almost everyone had to doubletake to make sure that their eyes weren't actually deceiving them. What was it that was worth smiling in such a situation, anyway?

"I look forward to seeing her too. You, not so much." Tsuna said.

"Hahaha, very funny, Tsunayoshi-kun. Ooh, I almost forgot something really really important!" The man laughed like the maniac he was known for, eyes a slit of such vivid violet color even picturing the particular shade was enough to give them nightmares that last weeks. "The whole Melone base is going to disappear soon. So… brace yourself, I guess."

And just like that, the humongous, enormous Melone base teleported itself elsewhere, but not them, since Irie had predicted it in advance and had Sasagawa Ryohei and his Vongola Ring sent over, thus using the power of all the Vongola Rings to create a shield that prevented their group from being whisked away with the base.

They took the time to regroup with their friends back at the base, to rest and to heal properly. Irie, Spanner and Giannini immediately got back to work and prepared for the upcoming life-changing game. But before Tsuna joined his friends returning to the Vongola hideout, Irie pulled him to the side and said.

"Listen, Sawada-kun! I've been an expert in dealing with Byakuran-san for years now and let me tell you one thing: First, Byakuran-san is utterly and totally insane. Second, he is completely obsessed with you." The man emphasized on the word while jabbing at his chest. "You must know what risks you've put yourself into agreeing to such a condition. Do you know the circumstances around how Millefiore was founded? The boss of Giglio Nero attended a 'private meeting' with Byakuran-san completely normal and then came out an obedient doll! God knows what Byakuran-san did to her in that 'meeting'. Oh god, just thinking about you entering that room alone with him is enough to give me ulcers!"

"Calm down, Irie-san. Try not to think of the scenario where we lose, please. As long as we win, everything will be fine."

"R-right! At least in Choice, Byakuran-san will play fairly. As long as we have a good strategy, winning is a high probability!" Irie said, scratching his head, "But I can help but worry, Sawada-kun. When your older self was shot, he…"

The older man trailed off nervously, pointedly not looking at the younger teen. But Tsuna wouldn't let it slide. He directed the redhead's head to face him with his hands, and when the other reluctantly did, the teen's eyes burned and bore into the other's very soul, leaving no room for the older one to escape.

"Irie-san, tell me. What is it that you're trying to say?"

Swallowing hard, the man said, "Byakuran-san wasn't the one that ordered your death. He needs you alive. It was you. Do you know what your older self said when he came for the progress of the special bullet that would put him to sleep rather than kill him? I spent ages testing it over and over to make sure it was safe and he just- he told me to shoot him anyway even if the bullet wasn't finished. He told me to not let him fall into Byakuran's hand at all cost even if I had to shoot him with a real bullet, Sawada-kun! "

"…"

"Gods, Sawada-kun! Byakuran-san's crazy and obsessive. And you, you'd rather die for real than be part of his crazy, obsessive plan of taking over the world and I just, I just don't want you to die, Sawada-kun. The world is saved or not, I'd rather you be alive to see the end of it."

The boy let go of Irie's face. He stumbled back, his expression was caught between shock, bewilderment, and something akin to, was that guilt that he was showing to Irie?

"I-I see."

"Sawada-kun? Are you-"

"Please do our best at the upcoming game of Choice, Irie-san! I'm counting on you."

The boy's expression immediately switched back to his impassive and indifferent mask he always donned, unlike his older counterpart who almost always had a small, sad smile painted on his lips.

"O-okay, Sawada-kun."

After a few days of rest, they also welcomed the younger Basil to join their rank and held a welcome party for both him and Ryohei. The girls came up with the idea to come visit their home and school for old time's sake since the situation with the Millefiore at was temporarily over, at least until the designated day, and the other heartily agreed. All but Tsuna, though.

"I'm actually feeling a little tired and wanting to sleep in a bit more. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up immediately when I feel better."

"Tenth, I am so sorry that you have to push yourself so hard for our sake!" The boy practically teared up at this and started banging his head on the ground. "If only I were a more capable right hand man!"

"Wait, what? No, it's not your fault, Gokudera-kun! Please stand up!"

"Tsuna, are you sure? I can stay behind with you if you w-"

"Nonono, guys. I'm okay, really. I just want to catch up on some sleep!"

"EXTREME, SAWADA. Do you want me to lend you my Kangaryuu?"

"No, it's fine, Sasagawa-sempai!"

After some difficult time trying to reassure his friends that he was absolutely fine on his own, Tsuna was finally able to send them off with a fond smile and exasperated waves. As soon as their silhouettes were gone from his periphery though, the smile dropped off his face completely. Silent as a soul, the boy slipped further into the forest, the opposite direction of where his friends had gone. This was the direction where they came from when they first arrived at this reality.

If the boy noticed a tiny shadow following him from a distance, he never gave any indication that he would do anything about it.

After a pretty long and silent walk, purely led by his instinct and the small voice in the back of his head that was the famed Hyper Intution, he finally arrived at that clearing where everything began. He walked to and stood in front of the still open coffin, the flowers inside must be some kind of permanent Illusion since it had been weeks and they still somehow stayed fresh, the petals the same white velvety color and their smell cloyingly sweet.

Tsuna just stood there alone for a dreadfully long time until someone finally emerged from the shadow of the wood and joined him. It was none other than the Sun Arcobaleno.

"You know what, Tsuna? I've already started to hate this smell."

Tsuna's brown eyes flicked over his shoulder to meet Reborn's, but he didn't say anything.

The smell that Reborn was talking about was actually the scent of flowers. Everyone knew Tsuna also associated him with the scent of freshly baked good- the boy had a sweet tooth and his mother who loved to spoil him rotten, always made sure her dear son never ran out of any kind of sugary snacks, hence the smell- and the faintest lingering scent of flower around him. Reborn had tried to find the source of this scent once, to no avail. It wasn't from a known brand of fabric softener, cologne or even deodorant, this scent was something just belonged to Tsuna and it defined him, as much as his fluffy hair or warm chocolate colored eyes. Reborn didn't think too much of it before, however, from the moment he arrived at this future and witnessed his student's cold corpse-Illusion or not- inside that goddamn coffin surrounded by flowers, he could not help but associate this particular smell with death. He also didn't like the fact that Tsuna nowadays smelled much more flowery than the sweet warmness of sugar and newly made cookies, especially at this particular moment, Reborn noted with dismay. Why on Earth did his student choose such a dreadful place to hang around instead of actually sleeping at the base like he had previously told his friends?

"It is safe for you to be out, Reborn?"

"I know my limits, don't worry about me." Reborn said, confident that the special cover for the Pacifier that Giannini had designed was working perfectly since he felt fine. "Worry more about yourself, what the hell are you doing here, Tsuna?"

"Nothing. Just need some quiet place to think. And to reminisce, I guess."

"If looking at the coffin of yourself helps you think of the good old time then there must be more loose screws in your head than I thought."

"Aren't we all? Screwed in the head, I mean."

"Tsuna!"

The boy laughed a little and patted the vacant ground beside him, gesturing for his tutor to settle down. The infant hitman reluctantly did.

"You've done well the other day, with the girls."

"Yeah, I only did what I think is right. I really don't mind doing all the chores until this is all over, but I figure both of them deserve an explanation."

"Even if that knowledge might endanger them?"

The boy's eyes flashed orange briefly. "Then I just have to be strong so that I can protect them then."

Reborn stared at his student with openly pride and approval that it took the teenager by surprise, but the mischievous glints in those eyes told Tsuna that he was not gonna like what his tutor was going to say next.

"That protectiveness though, is probably what has enchanted the young ladies to you so much in the first place. Do tell me, Dame-Tsuna, did something happen while you were talking to Sasagawa Kyoko? I notice that the way she called your name has changed from Sawada-kun to Tsuna-kun now."

Tsuna gave him a side eye glance and a tight smile.

"Interested in junior high school drama now?"

"Other normal junior high schooler's drama? No. But my student- the future Vongola Boss'? Yes. Afterall, it relates directly to the future of Vongola when you choose your future partner."

"Then I'm sorry I have to burst your bubbles though. Nothing happened. She confessed and I turned her down nicely and we decided to continue to be friends. That's all."

"How did she even come to like you in the first place?"

The teenager sighed, slightly annoyed. "When we were 12, some upperclassmen tried to use her to get at her brother, so I helped them. She was really grateful after that and somehow mistook it as feelings towards me. It's weird though, I didn't even do anything remotely heroic, all I did was snitch those guys out to the adults. They did all the physical work."

"Have you ever taken into account the fact that Sasagawa dislikes violence but loves her brother dearly? She hates seeing him getting into fights. Your intervening method might feel cowardly to you, but it fits her personality well and she was awed by you regardless of the fact that you have physically helped her brother with his opponents or not."

"It doesn't matter, she is invaluable to me as a friend and I prefer to keep it that way."

The real conversation didn't exactly go that direction though. They talked, Tsuna told her about the mafia, Byakuran and the Millefiore, she went all quiet and pale-faced at his explanation and once the shock was over, she asked.

"Tsu-Tsuna-kun, uhm, may I call you that?" Tsuna nodded in permission, Kyoko was a dear friend, and he wasn't particularly strict on how people addressed him. "Do you have someone you like?"

The teenager blinked, but didn't feel the need to lie to her, "I do, in fact."

"Oh, was it Haru?" The girl's pretty face turned mildly dispirited, but Tsuna was pleased to see that she wasn't overly disappointed or disheartened. It meant while she did have feelings for him, it didn't run deep. Tsuna only needed to tell her the truth, in a kind but straightforward manner of course, and things between them would smooth out naturally.

"No, not Miura-san." The boy said, "But you know him well. In fact, you are rather fond of him, even." The one I like is not you, but he is someone you know and he is a decent guy. The underlying meaning beneath his words, he knew even for one who was as slow on the uptake as the pretty girl would be able to get it immediately.

"Oh, oh! T-that's very nice. I-I'm happy for you, Tsuna-kun! I wish that h-he would return your feeling!"

The teenager answered her well-wishing with a tight smile, not wanting to tell her that he never expected his feelings to be reciprocated. They parted ways after that so Tsuna could talk to Haru and the girl had some space to sort out her own feelings and thoughts.

"Thank you, Reborn."

"What for?"

"For everything. For teaching me. For bringing my friends to me. Even if I lose my life to Byakuran in the process, knowing that I haven't lived a meaningless and lonely life brings peace to me. I want to at least tell you that before the Choice match."

"Stop talking like that. You are my student. My students never fail."

"Everyone is a victim of Fates, Reborn. You never know what She might bring you."

"All those lessons that I knocked into your head yet you haven't changed one bit since the day I met, Dame-Tsuna. Still talking as though tomorrow you will die. New flash, Tsuna: you won't."

Tsuna gave Reborn a very strange smile, and it made the Arcobaleno's stomach flip. The dreaded flowery scent was back, rancid, intense and suffocating. Unconsciously, the infant hitman grabbed onto the boy's arm just a little bit too hard, trying to pull him back from what exactly, even Reborn didn't know himself. He asked his student.

"What is it that you are hiding from me, Tsuna?"

"Anyone is entitled to have some secrets. Even you yourself have plenty. But I've never asked, have I?"

"But if that secret might harm you in some way, I have to know."

Something in the boy's deep brown eyes shifted and he abruptly turned away from his tutor, a hand covering his face, but not before the hitman caught the light sheen of shiny unshed tears in his eyes.

His student was fucking crying, for god's sake.

"Tsun-"

"I wish you would stop doing that, making me feel like this."

"What?" The hitman was stunned. What the hell had he done to make the boy cry in the first place?

"I'm going back to the base to sleep, please don't bother me until dinner, Reborn."

And their conversation ended in such a manner, leaving Reborn completely bewildered and flabbergasted, both of which were emotions he had never had to experience before, well, before Tsuna.

Well, there's a first time for everything, I guess.

But Reborn couldn't shake off the tightness of his chest telling him that something was awfully wrong.