-Six Months Later-

Kawahira felt a chill run down his spine. His throat automatically tightened as he surveyed his surroundings. Before he could even react, purple Flames slammed into him like a tidal wave, sending him through a wall and skidding across the ground. He scrambled to his feet before a bullet shot clean through his leg, causing him to stumble, crashing back to the ground.

Something stepped on his head, pushing his head into the ground, the taste of dirt on his mouth.

"Kawahira."

He wheezed, gasping for air. It had been years since he had felt this pressure, angry and violent. Dangerous. But never before was it directed at him.

"Kaun," he choked out. He let out a cry as another bullet shot through his shoulder, followed by a swift kick to his gut. Kawahira curled up into himself trying to protect his stomach. His head spun, trying to grasp where she would come from next. He threw out his own Flames, trying to weave an illusion, but it shattered under the pressure of Kaun's own Cloud Flames.

He was hoisted up. A hand tightened around his throat. Kawahira wheezed, staring down at the gun barrel. He looked up, at Kaun's unforgiving gaze; her grey eyes cold as ice and hard as steel.

"Did you think I would take it laying it down?" Kaun asked. "My son, Kawahira. My son. The one you refuse to acknowledge, yet knew full well about."

Black spots danced as he grew lightheaded. "He had the best potential," Kawahira protested. "He would have survived it. I saw that much."

Kaun growled, her grip grew tighter. "And your reason for touching Sepira's line?"

"Skies grow… rarer and rarer," Kawahira said.

"Don't kill him, Kaun."

Kawahira dropped, gasping as he sucked in deep gulps of precious air. He looked up at his unexpected savior. "Asahi," Kawahira said. The normally gentle man looked at him coldly, the similarities of between him and his son almost like mirror images at this point.

"Kawahira," Asahi greeted back. "Talbot will be taking over the Tri-Ni-Set cycles from now on."

"You have no right to decide that," Kawahira spat.

"You're outnumbered by your elders," Kaun said. "Talbot and I both agreed. Renato may have survived the curse like you said, but you had centuries to fix it and you haven't. We already have come up with a new system in the years since you've cursed Renato."

"Then why taking it from me?" Kawahira hissed. The Tri-Ni-Set Cycle was all he had these days.

"Because using Sepira's line is unacceptable, because you tied it until her descendants were unable to support it. In two generations, it would have wiped her line out," Kaun said. "Our Sky, Kawahira and you dared."

"Sepira's dead!" Kawahira shouted back at her. His Sky was dead and gone, abandoned them all when they needed her the most.

Kaun fired another bullet into his arm. Kawahira shouted in pain, gritting his teeth as it the wave of pain threaten to make him pass out.

"And you've forgotten why we do this," Kaun hissed at him. "I don't want to see you for another two centuries. Either grow up and take responsibility like you always wanted or wallow in your misery."

"You need me," Kawahira yelled back at her.

Kaun let out a bitter laugh, holstering her gun. "No, we don't. We're the last, Kawahira. It's been the Age of Humans for a long time and the best we can do prepare for the day we all fade away."

Kaun spun around, her white hair hair flying behind her. "Sepira's dead, but she foresaw this long before any of us did," she said. "Or have you not figured out her dying message yet?"

Kawahira froze. "What does that mean?" Kaun walked away, Asahi following after her. "Kaun?!" "KAUN!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

-Seven Months Later-

"Don't overdo it Tsuna," Reborn warned.

Tsuna took a hesitant step forward, leaning most of his weight on Reborn. The last seven months had passed in a blink of an eye. For Tsuna at least. It had been frustrating to spend so much time asleep during the first three months. Tsuna realized he had been awake for maybe an hour or two at most during that time. It got better by the fourth month but even now Tsuna still spent half the day asleep.

Frustrating. Every time Tsuna closed his eyes, something changed. It was never the same person at his bedside (though Tsuna had learned even if he wasn't in the room, Reborn was always, always, nearby.)

The most jarring was how Reborn had, one day, gone from being an infant to the same age as Tsuna. And to Tsuna's ever annoyance, exactly two inches taller! Apparently, as Reborn had explained in as little words as possible, that pacifier that he use to wear had a curse and it had been broken. Now why Reborn was fourteen instead whatever age he was previously, Tsuna didn't know. The rest of the Arcobaleno hadn't aged either, except for Lal who was flung back as a teenager.

Then there was Reborn's parents. They had to be his parents. Asahi looked exactly like Reborn that Tsuna had a heart attack when he woke up one day to see a grown version of Reborn sitting at his bedside during the first month. Reborn didn't confirm it of course. He did say he would tell Tsuna if Tsuna managed to walk around the block.

Which was Tsuna's current goal and nemesis. Walking. Who knew relearning how to walk was so frustrating hard?

He managed to make it out of the front door and to the gate before exhaustion took over. Reborn caught him before he fell over. "I told you don't overdo it," Reborn chided.

"Sorry," Tsuna mumbled.

Reborn carried him back inside, depositing Tsuna on the couch and entering the kitchen. Asahi who had been writing at his desk, looked up at them in amusement. Kaun merely huffed and wrapped Tsuna a thick fluffy blanket.

"Thank you," Tsuna mumbled. He still wasn't quite use to the idea of actually living with Reborn's parents. (They had to be his parents. No other possible reasoning made sense.) But Kaun and Asahi had been welcoming. Kaun was terrifying and Tsuna could see that Reborn took after her, but Asahi was nice and possibly the only sane person in the room outside of Tsuna.

He still didn't quite understand why he was living them either. But he had to suspect it had to do with the fact that his actual home which was still housing many concerned visitors was too noisy. Tsuna had been home for a week, didn't remember much outside of having a headache from the sheer noise and chaos that kept recurring in his house before Kaun kidnapped him.

Given that Shouhen household was very quiet because Kaun controlled the number of visitors like a jealous angry dragon armed with far too much firepower for someone of her stature, it was very much welcomed.

"If you stay awake for the next two hours, your friends are coming over," Kaun said. "Of course I'm kicking them out the minute you fall asleep. They might get kicked out earlier if another one of my walls get dinged again."

"Okay," Tsuna said with an amused grin. He loved when his friends came to visit, even if they were noisy and chaotic. Kaun didn't appreciate the damage, but Tsuna had long gotten use to it.

Reborn reappeared with a cup of tea for Tsuna. Tsuna accepted it and lifted his feet so that Reborn could take a seat. Reborn slide into place, letting Tsuna rest his feet in his lap. Tsuna relaxed, feeling Reborn's Sun Flames hum to life, washing away some of the exhaustion that he felt.

"I'll make it out of the gate tomorrow," Tsuna vowed.

"I know you will," Reborn said, never doubting him.

Tsuna smiled at the faith that Reborn had in him. He would keep trying every day. With Reborn supporting him, there wasn't anything he couldn't do.

And that's a wrap. I know this probably feels somewhat abrupt, but I had decided a few chapters ago that I was going to cut this story in half because I really didn't want to write the second half. Tsuna is recovering and as popularly requested, Kawahira got what was coming to him.

If you want to over to my tumblr to my tag for this series (seitosokusha#.#tumblr#.#com/#tagged/#picture-me-without-you-au) you will find art I drew for this story and some other tidbits. If people want to know what was supposed to happen in the second half, I guess I'll post it there too.

Thank you for sticking around with me for this story. Please leave a review on your way out!