A/N: Third Story! Cool! I'll answer Guest Reviews at the bottom of each chapter, and account-reviews by PMs, unless you've disabled that feature. Won't usually have A/Ns at the beginning unless it's super important. Last time this A/N appears, so read carefully!

Summary: Tsuna has never been what would be defined as 'normal', what with future versions of him coming back and taking place in his mind. But when the baby hitman shows up, everything goes awry and nothing happens like it should - according to the future hims, anyway. (T for Language and Violence, Gen).

Rating: T and most likely won't change.

Genres: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Adventure, Angst, maybe more, I don't know.

Warnings: Language, OOCness - probably, SPOILERS for KHR, violence, depression, flashbacks, possible PTSD, angst, mentions of death, warnings are individual per chapter. No yaoi, yuri, shounen ai, shoujo ai, slash, incest (ew), or anything resembling pedophilia. No smut, either.

Pairings: Gen. Frienships/mentorships/familiness only.

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, just this plunnie that wouldn't leave me alone for a month.

"Speech"

Flashbacks/Other's speaking

'Thoughts'

(#): A/N to explain stuff at the end.

A Gathering of Skies Chapter 1: One Day at a Time

By: AngelicSilverWolf

'Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.' – Lyndon B. Johnson

There is a somewhat humbling silence after a battle, Tsuna thinks. It isn't really a conscious decision to remain silent, but perhaps out of respect for the fallen, and shock from victory, there isn't a real need to say something. Not that there is anyone left for him to talk to.

Post-battle jitters usually make an appearance as soon as safety is registered, as soon as there is knowledge that he won't be struck down for letting down his guard. He sits down gingerly - buckles at the knees, really, because he has been reckless and more than one bullet found its mark - minding his numerous injuries, and contemplates. There...isn't anything left. His famiglia is gone-

Empty eyes empty heart please, God, no, not his family-

has been for a long time now. He has finally tracked down their killers, but to no end besides justice - reassurance that no one else will be harmed by them. But what about him? Even those that weren't of the Vongola... aren't around anymore.

"Sorry, Tsuna." Brown eyes look up, as soft as ever, in spite of the blood covering their owner's face. "...looks like I won't be able to see this through after all." The man smiles. "I'm glad I got to call you...my little brother."

There is no rejoicing or jubilation at his single-handed victory. There is only...weariness. Everyone is gone, and he will be too, judging by his wounds. And honestly? He is okay with that. It has been eight long years of being completely alone. He is ready to go on.

The Tenth boss of the Vongola lies down amidst the field of corpses and closes his eyes.

I'll see you soon, guys.

…

Flashes of memories (but are they really memories?), good and bad. Faces pass in and out of his vision. But these people are dead and gone and gone and dead and never everever coming back-

Tsuna sits up. He isn't panting, and he isn't shivering, but the inside of his mouth is bloody from where he has bitten holes in his cheeks and tongue. It's weird, because he normally wakes up at around five in the morning to continue his hunt-

bloodpainfuryscreams- Tsuna shudders and cradles his head in his hands. He is supposed to be dead. He'd had a hole in his side. He'd been shot multiple times, in the right leg and his left arm. Why is he breathing? Then, he decides to actually look around - and gets a splitting headache for his efforts.

No...he shouldn't be dead. He is Sawada Tsunayoshi, thirteen year-old outcast, not the leader of a Mafia group - or the remains of one. He curls up into a tight ball and bites back a groan. Shivering uncontrollably, he recites a few pieces of dialogue from a video game, ignoring the Others that ruthlessly twist his thoughts and bitterly hiss things at him. There are so many of them. They don't like his moments of weakness - most of them. (The Decimo shouldn't be so weak, they say sternly. You will die and take your Famiglia with you.) There are a few that just don't care anymore, but there is one that seems decent enough. He, at least, doesn't cause immeasurably painful headaches. Perhaps this is because he died before his family instead of the other way around. (As we should have done, the Others say bitterly.)

'Damn, another one,' he thinks wearily. And this one is another who is probably going to be more of a negative influence, seeing as he gives off a sense of being so very done. But this isn't Tsuna, not really. Even though he remembers hearing gunshots, remembers the excruciating pain of being shot twice in the leg, even if it was dulled by adrenaline and his flames, and remembers with heartbreaking clarity the feeling of just...giving up. The latter is probably the worst, and he always strives to keep it from affecting him, but it doesn't always work.

Ever since the age of five, he has had future versions of himself from other dimensions come back and take up living in his head. It's like having multiple personalities, except that these are actual people who lived at some time or another, and who can't take over his body without his say-so, or unless he is unprepared and lets the memories overwhelm him (he may or may not have PTSD, he isn't sure). He hasn't yet figured out how to help them...move on, so he now has many Others - as he calls them - taking up space in his mind.

Sometimes he just wonders, 'Why me?'

The Others either laugh at his rhetorical (except they aren't always, he often actually wants answers) questions, or they whisper harsh and completely unhelpful things to him. (Grow up, they tell him firmly.) They aren't always so negative, even if they tend to stay on the cynical side of things, sometimes they are something close to content. Those days are few and far between, unfortunately.

Tsuna has surmised that he only gets these...extra presences, because they were the ones with regrets or things they want to redo badly enough to come join him. Lucky him (note the sarcasm). He supposes that he hasn't gotten anyone more...cheerful because those versions of him hadn't wanted to come back. He carefully uncurls from his ball, wincing at the stiffness in his limbs. He tiptoes down the stairs of his house (burning, ruined, destroyed, they whisper mournfully) and he not so kindly tells the voices in his head to shut it. It's hard enough to function without constantly being questioned about everything.

He goes out to the front porch and tries not to scream in frustration and sadness, because the newest addition is - had been - young. This latest Other had not even made it to his twenty-fifth birthday before diving down the rabbit-hole and into the Wonderland of Tsuna's messed up mind, which makes the other Others howl in outrage, and damn it, this isn't him. He has no reason to feel so angry, so hurt and done. But he does. The newest Other has locked himself away to grieve because Nana Sawada is still alive here, breathing steadily just a few feet away.

Part of him is in disbelief, while the rest wants to go wake her up and never let her go. Tsuna shakes this off. He has school in the morning, and while the Others marginally help him, they are overall somewhat detrimental because of who is in said school. Tsuna tries to keep his other selves calm, he really does.

He talks to them and listens to them rant or break down (it's a novel experience, having to listen to himself break down inside his own mind). And most of them are adequately adjusted (meaning they can function instead of being great metaphorical masses of screwed up emotions and PTSD) to being in his time period and dimension. But when he gets another tenant, it screws all the others up, and the memories really don't help the surges of emotions he gets on a daily basis.

He has taken to automatically attempting to connect with his other selves when they arrive, new and in emotional pain, because as much as they aren't him - not really - they are parts of him - and he has never been truly alone because of them. At the same time, he keeps quiet about their existence.

Not only is it out of self preservation (because he doesn't want to think about what people would do to know the future, or versions of the future, anyway), but it is his burden to carry, and it has been for the last eight years. The first had been the worst, because that was Tsuna's first time dealing with another presence in his head, and it hadn't gone very well. But Tsuna has adapted, and now he houses over a dozen different Others, so he is somewhat used to the process (but not completely, because no one can fully adjust to having so many voices going at once all the time).

One of the older Others urges him to go to bed.

You have a big day tomorrow, he says with a modicum of gentleness that Tsuna can't be bothered with interpreting at the moment. The brunette doesn't bother asking his meaning, because his Others can be cryptic bastards at times, and they won't give up information unless absolutely necessary. Yeah, he has their memories, but a dozen lives worth of memories tends to get jumbled up, so he can almost never identify specific dates for what they will be without forewarning. It's probably better that way. At least he won't become a big ball of anticipatory stress.

He gets through the next day half out of it. The newest Other (Tsuna decides to call him Big T. Hardly original, but he has to keep things separate somehow. He's already used Tsuna the First, Tsuna-fish, 10th, and Double O Neo - doesn't make sense and does at the same time - among other names) manages to properly freak out at Yamamoto's appearance, which leads to Tsuna spending his lunch on the roof, wracked with nerves because Hibari is right there. Somehow, his Others find his fear of the Disciplinary Committee Leader funny. He fails to see the humor in a tonfa-wielding tsundere (not his words) with well known violent tendencies towards society as a whole.

By the end of the day, he is weary and wary, and just overall ready to fall on his bed and be dead to the world for twelve hours straight. Which, of course, is when the world decides to sucker punch him in the place where it really hurts, because all he gets is an alert from his mom about some tutor named Reborn, and all the voices in his head clamor at the same time about something, and then he hears a squeaky "Ciaossu" in the middle of trying to get the Others to quiet down so he can think for five seconds, and everything goes Silent.

It's disorienting. Tsuna hasn't had a moment of complete peace and quiet for the past eight years, which is why it catches him off guard. Maybe, if he had recovered faster, he wouldn't have allowed the Others to overwhelm him with memories and sensations. The instant Tsuna lays eyes on Reborn, the Others all let out a surge of emotion because Reborn means friendshiplearningcomfortleadershipfamily, and Tsuna almost drops to his knees. This doesn't go unnoticed, of course, but he mumbles something about a scam that throws his mother off, and he can only hope that Reborn will think him a weak and pathetic person, instead of suspicious. The newly self-proclaimed tutor studies him, but doesn't say anything. Tsuna isn't one for bragging, but he has developed a kick-ass poker face over the years, stemming from having a bunch of older versions in his head always running their mouths.

It isn't blank or a smile, just an innocent, normal face that one might expect to see on a person who is always tripping over thin air. He sometimes wonders who he's trying to fool into thinking he's normal. Himself? God knows no one else cares enough to ask, except for his mom. He loves his mother more than life itself, and he would probably jump in front of a train for her. Not that he ever shows it, but he isn't selfishly unaware of just how much his mother does for him like most kids are until age forty, even if she is a bit air-headed (and some of this comes from the memories of the Others, something he is eternally grateful for - the ability to appreciate all that his mother does and continues to do for him).

Somehow, the news of him being the next mafia boss isn't all that surprising, though he feebly protests, just because he can (and no one has asked him whether he wants to be one or not, the Others and Reborn just sort of...assume, and he's honestly just so used to it by now that he doesn't say a whole lot).

That night isn't too eventful, and Tsuna thinks that maybe the universe is giving him a brief respite. He actually doesn't have nightmares, but apparently this doesn't change anything, because when Reborn wakes him up with a kick to the side and a mallet to the head, he comes up swinging. Tsuna manages to pass this off as flailing as a result of having had a nightmare about the neighbor's Chihuahua, and the Arcobaleno rolls his eyes.

This thought brings Tsuna up short. Arcobaleno. Arco-freaking-baleno. He shouldn't even know what that is. Or that Reborn is one.

His head hurts already.

The Others helpfully remind him that it is only seven in the morning and therefore entirely too early for this drama shit. He agrees, but argues that he can't do anything about it, and that it's their fault in the first place that he now has a migraine. They huff and sniff, or scoff and growl, but don't deny it.

A smile tugs on his lips, and he wonders if this is what it's like to have brothers. Then, he tells himself that it wouldn't be nearly so intimate, and that he should get up soon because Reborn is getting a dangerous gleam in his eye. The fondness that he feels towards the baby he barely knows (yet knows so well at the same time) is bizarre and not really expected, but Tsuna rolls with it and tries not to let it show, because he has learned nothing if not how to be adaptable.

They meet Kyoko Sasagawa, and romance is the farthest thing from Tsuna's mind at the moment, despite Reborn's not-so-subtle hints.

"You like that girl?" Reborn asks, eyeing him carefully.

"I'd like to be friends with her, if that's what you're asking. But a crush? I barely know her," Tsuna answers. His desire to get to know someone before making any kind of relationship with them stems from memories of betrayals and paranoia from his Others. Reborn says nothing, but Tsuna sees something that looks a bit like surprised approval in his eyes, which makes the Others preen and gives him a warm feeling in his stomach.

Or maybe that's just indigestion; it could be either, honestly.

…

Tsuna is glaring up at Mochida Kensuke. This jerk had the nerve to try and claim Kyoko as a prize - a prize!

"People aren't things," Tsuna says through gritted teeth, "so don't treat Kyoko-san like some sort of trophy girl and try to own her. She's her own person."

Kyoko is surprised, but grateful, and Reborn is analytical. Mochida sneers.

"Don't tell me what to do, Dame-Tsuna," he says condescendingly. In another world, that would have hurt, would have made Tsuna shrink back.

But this Tsuna has been dealing with far worse than being called 'useless' for the majority of his life, and right now, the Others are either deadly silent or raging at the one who was once a friend of some of them (Traitor! We died for/with you! they howl).

"I will tell you to back off from Kyoko-san; can't you see you're scaring her?" Tsuna says in a steely voice, reminiscent of some of his Others' 'Boss' tones. This stops Mochida in his tracks, and he looks at Kyoko as if for confirmation, who flinches a little when his intense eyes meet hers. Something changes in Mochida's demeanor, and an emotion akin to shame briefly crosses his face, before he whirls around without another word and walks away. Tsuna breathes a sigh of relief, because from what the Others have been telling him, that could have gone much worse.

He turns and sees Reborn eyeing him contemplatively, and Kyoko looking relieved. He waves aside her gratitude and just says that he was glad he could help her.

"Surprising, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn says. "I will not need to teach you, then, that a boss must defend his allies, even at the potential cost of his own health." The man-turned-baby jumps onto Tsuna's shoulder.

Tsuna smiles crookedly. "I learned a while ago to help out those who need it," he says. Reborn, of course, does not understand his reference to the Others, but all in due time. As it is, the hitman remains contemplative for the rest of the day, shooting him assessing looks, as if he is changing entirely his view and knowledge on his new charge.

This does not really surprise Tsuna; he has been shifting people's opinions of him for longer than he can remember.

Apparently he changes more than one person's view of him, for the next day the volleyball team asks him to help them, saying that anyone who can make Mochida admit his mistakes can surely help a little bit in a school match (and he knew his newfound backbone would bite him in the ass somehow). He tries to argue against this logic by claiming that there is none to be had, but they wave it off. Standing up to someone is one thing, playing sports is another. Still, his Others are insisting on his participation in the game, and so against all logic and reason, he accepts and silently wonders what life is coming to.

The next day, he stares at the crowds of people eagerly awaiting the game and almost backs out, runs away. The Others kindly remind him that bosses always keep their word, prodding him to get it over with (It won't be too bad, they urge). With a sigh, he steps forward to meet his temporary teammates. They clearly expect great things from him, which doesn't make him feel better.

The first half is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. He misses shots left and right, and he can tell that his teammates are starting to realize that just maybe; he had been telling the truth about his non-existent athletic abilities. But, he won't insult their efforts by doing anything less than his best, and maybe they realize this, that he's trying just as hard as they are, even if it's a bit useless. He has just enough time to regret his worthlessness, and then it happens.

The gun goes off and his Others let loose a thrum of excitement, and then everything sort of fades away in a single minded determination, not to win, but to help his teammates.

"I will aid my comrades with a Dying Will!"

…

"What the hell was that?" Tsuna demands. He is standing in front of his tutor in only his boxers, having just helped his teammates win the game with a thirty point lead.

"A Dying Will bullet," the baby says with a smirk. Tsuna now thinks that he looks far less innocent and harmless, what with what he just pulled.

"That tells me nothing," Tsuna deadpans. His Others are clamoring for his attention, each eager to share about experiences with this bullet, ready to show him in a series of memories. Later, he tells them firmly. If he goes in without an explanation, it will only confuse him more. Even the more taciturn ones are willing to tell about the importance of what just happened.

So, he learns of the Dying Will and the bullets, and the fact that he could have died if he hadn't regretted anything. This...is a little unacceptable, and not because he's afraid of dying. He refuses to leave his mother alone, as some glorified trophy wife while waiting for That Man to return from his 'oil-mining job' (Tsuna knew that was bullshit years ago). He does not like to think about the consequences of him not having regrets.

"What would have happened if I hadn't had regrets, besides the obvious," Tsuna asks in a forced calm. Reborn shrugs, as if he couldn't possibly know or care. And he doesn't, Tsuna realizes. This Reborn isn't the one that his Others know, the one that cares for Tsuna's safety beyond that of a mission. This Reborn won't feel anything besides perhaps disappointment if he dies. (1).

So, Tsuna grits his teeth, says something about a headache that isn't entirely false, and walks away. The Others have only gotten louder, and the headache is swiftly becoming a reality. To get the memories out of the way (because he doesn't want to see how Reborn should be, will be in the future, but isn't yet because it'll hurt a lot to know that someone who is supposed to be one of his closest friends only sees him in a professional and distant light).

He ends up beneath a tree in a park, which he braces himself against while trying not to scream. Then, the memories come flooding in, because the Others can apparently no longer hold them back. It goes a little like this: meetings and greetings, development of friendship and tortuous tutoring hours, promotion to boss after dozens of battles against people he doesn't recognize, and then the inevitable fall or death, and then rinse and repeat. Circumstances are different in each set of memories, but the ends are always full of despair and hurt and violence, ending with one question: why? Why did everyone die? Why was he left alone? Why didn't he save everyone? Why was he still alive when everything worth living for was gone? Just...why?

He comes back to himself with tears streaming down his face, his throat so tight he can barely breathe, and an ache in his heart that won't go away. His Others are mourning too, and damn it, he was supposed to have fixed this by now. But, he knows somewhere in the back of his mind, that it'll take a hell of a lot more than him talking to them to fix all of that. Then, he realizes that someone is talking to him, and the voice sounds terrifyingly familiar.

"Herbivore."

He slowly looks up and sees Kyoya freaking Hibari looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. This causes more tears to come out as the Others take one look and give pain-filled noises. Thoroughly embarrassed, but not really in the position or state of mind to do something about it, Tsuna scrubs his face clean of tears and shakily stands up.

"S-sorry," he says. "I'll just...go." He walks away, feeling Hibari's gaze bore into the back of his head.

At home, he skips dinner in favor of being tired and too emotionally drained to be in the presence of people that his Others think should be dead. He lies down and sighs. He'll deal with the next day and sort through the memories given to him later. For now he just wants rest. Tsuna will manage though, by pushing through each day, one at a time.

He always has.

(1): Hm, yeah, that's a bit of the vibe I got from Reborn at first, but whatever.

A/N: New story! First KHR story, and honestly? I haven't made it entirely through the series yet, but I wanted to do a non-generic time travel, so this is what happened. I live to make stories in ways other people haven't thought to yet, at least I think this is pretty original, so yeah. Don't know how often this will update, will let you know later. Please Review and tell me how I did!