Thanks for still following this story! Because of you guys I'm still writing it...xD

"Tsuna's Black Flame"

Chapter 13: In Another Lifetime.

When morning came, the snow had already stopped. Everything outside was covered in a thick white blanket, and the temperature was still as cold as when the snow was falling. Words from the television called it a bizarre phenomenon that no one could explain, such a big surprise for the entire Namimori. But as for everyone within Vongola's allied famiglias, they all know far too well what it was, Tsuna's white flame.

"It really is amazing," Tsuna commented again, staring at all the whiteness outside his window. He was sitting in bed, eating breakfast. "It almost makes me want to just go outside and play."

"Why don't you, Tsuna?" Yamamoto piped in as he sat on the far end of the bed.

"Yeah, Juudaime! According to your other self, that's what the white flame is for," Gokudera said as he was tying the ribbons on the curtains.

"No, maybe later," Tsuna resigned himself. He knew Reborn and the others had a mountain of questions for him, and he couldn't keep postponing the explanations any longer. There was no more time.

"Juudaime?" Gokudera stared with furrowed eyebrows, conveying his worry through his eyes.

"I'm sorry, you guys. It seems I'm only making everyone worry, aren't I?" Tsuna stared down at his plate, he only managed to eat half.

"It's fine, Tsuna. We all know you're doing everything you can," Yamamoto smiled sadly at him.

"That's right, Juudaime. We'll always be here for you so just tell us if you need help with anything," Gokudera assured him.

Tsuna laughed, a little sheepish. "Thanks, you guys."

It was a little half-hearted, they were all running out of things to say, but at the same time know that they would regret it if they don't say anything. It was called reassurances, something they know they might not really have but can't help holding onto. It was hope, the slightest strand they could find.

A few minutes later, they heard a knock on the door and in came Reborn, "are you feeling better now, Dame-Tsuna?"

"Fine as I'll ever be," Tsuna shifted the pillow behind him so he wasn't slouching. He knew he had this coming. Another confrontation.

"Good," Reborn stepped aside to allow everyone else to enter, namely the Ninth and his guardians, Aria, Yuni and Gamma, the other arcobalenos, Iemitsu and the rest of Tsuna's guardians except for Hibari. The rest of everyone stayed in the monitoring room, watching from the security cameras installed in Tsuna's bedroom.

"So, where do I start?" Tsuna allowed Gokudera to take away his unfinished meal, placing a cup of tea on the bed tray.

"The black pacifier, where did you get it and how is it possible to exist?" Reborn started enumerating some issues of concern. "The future Tsuna's deal with Vindice and Checkerface, does that have anything to do with Mukuro's freedom? Even though, Mukuro was freed by his subordinates in the future? And the real reason the future Tsuna destroyed the Vongola rings? As well as the truth behind his death?"

"Wow, that's a lot. But it's all connected to each other somehow," Tsuna took a sip of tea and heaved a deep breath before getting started. "First off, the black pacifier came from the future. The black box was originally a container for it, but when I first opened the black box, the pacifier was still clear. Yes, the black pacifier is the clear pacifier of the Vindice Arcobaleno of the future."

"As we all know, the Vindice is a group formed from former Arcobalenos and are supposedly not alive anymore. Which is why even though they were able to create another type of flame, they cannot put color on the clear pacifier, only life flames can do that and they don't have that anymore."

"The first time I opened the black box was the night of my inheritance, I had a dream about my future self where he opened the black box. (See chapter 5). I snuck out that night, and decided to open the box for myself. When I saw the clear pacifier I wasn't sure if it was a real pacifier so I lit my flames, my sky flames. However, as I touched the clear pacifier with my flaming hands, it started to get stained black. And when it was fully colored, the black started to stain my flames as well. My sky flames turned black, that's why I told you that I couldn't light my sky flames anymore. That was around the time I went berserk because the black flame was still unstable."

"Anyway, the clear pacifier was given to my future self by the Vindice Arcobaleno, in an agreement. The destruction of the Vongola rings."

"And that was an assurance. In order to stop Byakuran, the future Tsuna had to destroy the Vongola rings. Because even if Byakuran gains our Vongola rings, those which came from the past, he wouldn't be able to harness their power because they are attached to the Tri-Ni-Set of the past. Thus, they were incompatible with the Tri-Ni-Set of the future. But we were still summoned into the future, to fight that battle to save and protect the lives of our future selves. It actually didn't matter whether we won or not, because Byakuran still wouldn't have succeeded."

"So, that was it? The back-up plan within the back-up plan?" Reborn asked and Tsuna nodded, then he followed up with another question. "But what about Checkerface?"

"Checkerface wasn't in favor of Byakuran to be his heir in the first place, that's why he helped us when we were running away from the real funeral wreaths." Tsuna stated as he stared down on his cup, watching the tea make small ripples. He smiled as he remembered, looking up to meet everyone's eye as he revealed a secret. "The Kawahira-san from the future, that was Checkerface."

"What?!" Gokudera was the only one who reacted in surprise.

"I see, now the events in the future make more sense, somehow." Reborn said as he glanced at Mukuro who was standing near the back of the room, he turned back to Tsuna. "What about Mukuro then? The future Tsuna didn't strike any deal with Vindice to free him?"

Tsuna looked at Mukuro and their eyes met for a while before he slowly shook his head, "that time Mukuro was in a mission, the infiltration of Millefiore."

"So, it was Mukuro sending intel from within Millefiore to Vongola's HQ? It's actually kinda funny how he was working with Hibari in the future, ne? But well, we already knew about that," Reborn knew Tsuna left a few details because he didn't bother explaining, but he guessed he could let it go for another time.

Mukuro had a puzzled look on his face, he didn't know anything about the future but he knew he shouldn't really care. Still, it bothered him to know that he was working with Hibari, of all people. It was a good thing the Skylark wasn't present, he didn't want to deal with the other guy's temper if he heard what the Arcobaleno had said.

"And now that we've understood more or less about those issues, let's move on to another matter at hand, the Arcobaleno Representative Battle." Reborn turned to look at everyone else who didn't belong to his team, and he was about to make them leave when Tsuna interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, Reborn. But I can't."

"Eh? What do you mean Juudaime?" Gokudera was the one who asked, he was so sure Tsuna would fight side-by-side with them on Reborn's team.

"Well, it's because I'm a keeper of a pacifier now so I don't think I can participate as a representative anymore," Tsuna explained, keeping his head down.

"That's right!" All of the turned to the window where Wonomichi was suddenly entering through.

"Ah! You're that freaky guy with Checkerface!" Gokudera pointed a finger at him.

"That's rude," Wonomichi took off his hat and immediately ignored the rest of the people in the room, walking towards Tsuna on the bed. "Checkerface-sama has spent a lot of his time considering your circumstances and so he's decided that although you cannot participate as a representative, you can still fight."

Wonomichi placed a briefcase on the bed and opened it in front of Tsuna, showing him another set of Battler watches. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, you will have your own team, and this watch is yours."

Tsuna accepted the Arcobaleno watch, it was the same size as Aria's. "But I'm not an Arcobaleno."

"It doesn't matter, you have a pacifier and that makes all the difference. We trust that with your knowledge of the future, you already know the rules of the battle." Wonomichi turned to look at Reborn and the others. "We will proceed with the Representative battle tomorrow as scheduled. I only came here to deliver the last Battler set, so I'll be off. Have a nice day!" Then he jumped out of the window and promptly disappeared.

"The hell was that?" Gokudera remarked and shook his head as he remembered an important predicament, "but now what do we do? I want to fight for Juudaime too!"

Reborn knew he was being put at a great disadvantage, but there was no helping it, he had to let Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei fight for their Boss. He was about to speak when Tsuna beat him to it again.

"You don't have to fight for me, Gokudera-kun. It's not like I have a curse that I want to be lifted anyway," Tsuna started as he tried to look away as he finished his sentence. "Besides, I have already decided on my team."

"What? Who? Everyone's already accounted for," Reborn frowned.

"Vindice." Tsuna closed his eyes in resignation, knowing exactly how they're gonna react.

"Don't screw with us!" The first outburst and most violent reaction came from Mukuro, he was glaring. "How did you even think something like that would be acceptable?"

But Tsuna was unfazed, he just stared. "It was a deal."

Everyone's eyes widened, quick to realize what was going on.

"You can't mean..." Mukuro's tone lowered down, and his lips trembled.

"I'm sorry, Mukuro-san," Tsuna looked away. "But if I don't do this, everyone's lives would be put in an even greater danger."

"How could you do this to me? How dare you?!" Mukuro felt all the color drain out of his body as he slowly started to believe what was being presented to him. Was that deal in exchange of his freedom?

No one spoke a word, tension was too high and they were all waiting for Mukuro. But the Mist guardian didn't do anything, he merely gritted his teeth and turned to walk out. Unfortunately for him, and to everyone else's great wonder and amazement, when he opened the door to leave, ten-year-later Hibari Kyouya was standing there in all his futuristic glory.

"Step aside, small pineapple." Hibari ordered with overwhelming authority in his voice, albeit it wasn't as loud as it seemed. He was looking down on Mukuro with a very distinct height difference, considering their age.

Mukuro was stunned speechless, he wasn't even able to make one small squeak. Granted, this was his first time seeing his supposed rival ten years in the future. He took a few steps back, unknowingly.

Hibari strode swiftly past him, carrying a briefcase. He stopped in front of Tsuna's bed, slightly lowering his head in a greeting. "Tsunayoshi."

"Hibari-san..." Tsuna was also a little surprised.

"Kyouya," Hibari corrected with a condescending look, "you already have the memories of your future self, do you not?"

Tsuna's eyes widened a little, blinking twice before answering.

"Ahh, that's true..." He chuckled, smiling to himself as he opened his eyes to greet his future guardian in a calmer manner, as if he suddenly had a change in personality. "In that case, which parallel world are we talking about, Kyouya?"

Everyone was mildly shocked at hearing the first name basis. Hibari on the other hand, didn't even bat an eye as he answered. "I came from a future that chose to go on without you."

"Of course, there was such a thing," Tsuna murmured to himself, looking down momentarily.

"If it's possible, I'd like to speak to you in private," Hibari looked around the herbivores in the room.

"Can you tell us what you're going to talk about?" Reborn opted to ask.

"Top secret future information," Hibari smirked.

"What kind of top secret?" Gokudera persisted as well.

"Something the rest of the family shouldn't and wouldn't want to know, not by this time anyway." Hibari crossed his arms.

"Is it really that important?" This time it was Tsuna who asked.

Hibari stared at Tsuna and regarded him for a second, then he walked over to the bedside, opening the briefcase and placing in front of him a pile of letters. "I just need you to sign these."

"Eh? Paperwork? But I'm not your Boss in the future," Tsuna felt confused and concerned, looking up at his guardian.

"It doesn't matter, we just need a proof that came from you," Hibari handed him a pen.

Feeling helpless as he accepted the pen, Tsuna decided to at least skim through the papers and its contents shocked him. "These are retraction letters! Of nullified alliances?"

"Yes, it's in accordance with the remainder of your last will and testament," Hibari fished an envelope from the inside breast pocket of his suit and handed it over to Tsuna.

Everyone's eyes widened, as Tsuna fumbled and unfolded the letter.

"Vongola is currently undergoing dissolution," Hibari reported, placing both hands behind his back as he enumerated the list. "All alliances, agreements and any kind of deals with other famiglias will be nullified. Properties, establishments, as well as hideouts will be purged, including assets, inventions, weaponry, and all other familial belongings."

Hibari paused and stared Tsuna in the eyes, "as you wished, Vongola is over and done with."

Silence.

"That's absurd!" Visconti's voice suddenly boomed, approaching them from the sidelines. "You can't liquidate Vongola even if you are the Tenth Boss!"

"Yes, he can, and he already did." Hibari was the one who answered, but not without a scoff. "Now, I didn't come here to hear of your grievances. I don't care about the previous generations. Even Tsunayoshi here, doesn't have the right to take back the orders of his future self."

"Well, what do you think about that, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn turned from Hibari to his student.

Tsuna stared at him before looking down on the papers, "it sounds like... something I would do, really."

"Of course, it does. That was the answer you gave Primo back there," Hibari turned back to him, reminding him of the test he took in the future. "To flourish or to perish, remember?"

Tsuna nodded and sighed, trying one last attempt to distract himself from signing, "Kyouya, are you sure they wouldn't know that it wasn't the future me who signed these?"

"Yes, your horrible handwriting didn't improve these past ten years," Hibari huffed at him.

"How rude!" Tsuna pouted, looking for the spot where he should sign.

Hibari pointed it to him, at the lower right of the page where his name was written in all caps. "There, make it clean and clear. Also, read the name of the famiglia first and note it in your head before you sign. It could be useful for you in the future."

"Okay, I got it." Tsuna passively answered as he started signing one paper before moving on to the next.

And if only for a moment, Tsuna looked like a real mafia Boss, as if he was literally born for that role. Especially with Kyouya, who's dressed in a black suit, standing right next to him. They looked like a portrait, the Boss and his guardian.

Tsuna took the last sip of his tea, and instead of putting it back down on the side of his bed tray, he handed it to Hibari, who proceeded to refill the cup without a word, setting it back down on the side of Tsuna's bed tray. They seemed to have acted on muscle memory, neither even taking notice of what they did. As if they were in a world of their own, like a clip from some movie, or an old memory that took place a long, long time ago. And maybe it did, in the future.

As Tsuna was signing the last paper, he glanced at Hibari and asked. "By the way, Kyouya? Why are you the one handling my last will?"

Hibari stared at him, mind full of thought. "Are you dissatisfied with me?"

"No, of course not," Tsuna chuckled as he collected all the papers to hand it back to Hibari. "But Hayato is still my right hand man, right? Isn't this supposed to be his job?"

Hibari threw a glance towards Gokudera's direction before answering. "The Storm herbivore is busy at the moment."

"Really? But I don't think Hayato, of all people, would let this chance to see me pass," for the first time in history, Tsuna looked like he was raising his eyebrow on Hibari. "Not to mention, handling my last will seems too personal of a job you would accept."

Hibari sighed as if he was caught red-handed, he carefully stocked all the papers inside the briefcase before he answered. "We decided to have your grave moved elsewhere, he's the one overseeing the entire procedure."

"What?" Tsuna's eyes widened a bit. "Where to?"

"Back home, to Namimori." Hibari blinked and offered him a first, small but genuine smile. Sad but somewhat proud.

Tsuna felt his brain stop, he chuckled sheepishly trying to cover up for himself. "I see, I would like that. Thanks..."

"He refuses to move back to Japan though, he says it will be his way of saying goodbye." Hibari seemed to talk a lot more than he used to.

"So, he doesn't want to see me anymore? That's good, he's moving on at least," Tsuna was glad but still felt a little sad.

"No, actually. He's coming here, after I get back." Hibari interrupted his thoughts.

"Really?" Tsuna turned, a little hope in his eyes.

"All of the guardians will come to pay their respects. Since we're destroying all inventions and that includes the Time Machine, it was agreed we use it one last time." Hibari announced with a nod.

"I see, so who will take me back?" Tsuna returned to the main topic.

"Me, Sasagawa and the pineapple girl." Hibari didn't even look at them as he caught their attention.

"Eh? What about Yamamoto?" Tsuna gave his rain guardian a side glance.

"He's staying with Gokudera in CEDEF, he says there's nothing in Namimori for him to come back to anymore." Hibari sighed again, he was starting to feel a migraine.

"What? But you can't just leave those two, you know they're both-" Tsuna suddenly felt worry overwhelm him, he tried to whisper out the rest of his sentence, "suicidal."

"We're not kids anymore. And we're not a family anymore." Hibari stated with finality, and Tsuna couldn't find the words to rebuke him.

For a moment, they stood still.

"Tsunayoshi," Hibari began again as he went down on one knee, his voice solemn. "You know, I've been working under your service for ten long years..."

Hibari looked around them, towards the other guardians and the rest of the herbivores. He sighed as he turned to look back at Tsuna. "But up until now, I still can't understand you. A carnivore pretending to be a herbivore just so you could crowd around and take care of those other lesser herbivores. And despite the fact that you loved crowding, you died all alone."

Tsuna frowned at the words, dreading where this was going.

"On that day, you... with your usual voice, your usual demeanor, your usual smile... you said you would be fine, that you won't die and everything will be all right. But you never came back," Hibari unconsciously tightened his clenched fist. "I wanted to believe that you were the strongest person I've ever met, because you were the only one who could win wars with just a smile. But still, you died... and lied." [1]

"Kyouya," Tsuna called for his cloud guardian, not sure if he should stop him from saying those things, or if he wanted to answer the accusations.

"You sent Mukuro on a mission, long before Irie came knocking on your door... You knew you were going to die, that's why you had another back-up plan." Hibari didn't stop, he wanted the guardians of the past to know. He stood to take a step back.

"Kyouya!" Tsuna grabbed him by the end of his sleeves, "I'm sorry! But who told you about that? How did you know?"

Hibari glared at him, but still answered, "I thought it was weird and too well-timed to be just a coincidence. So when you came back to this time, I asked him what he was doing within Millefiore all those times, and he confessed everything."

Tsuna looked confused, but he didn't let go.

"The truth is, it wasn't for Peace talks that you went to Millefiore that day," Hibari shook the hand off. "You went there for Mukuro, to save him from Byakuran's trap, but he didn't know that at the time."

"Is that what he told you?" Tsuna asked, looking a little miffed.

"That's what he believed to have happened, Mukuro was the only guardian there to watch you die." Hibari visibly gritted his teeth. While everyone else were left in disbelief, there seems to be a lot more to the future Tsuna's death than they first thought.

Tsuna heaved a deep sigh, he didn't even mind that he was acting exasperated in front of Hibari. He turned to his tutor. "Reborn, could you hand me a piece of paper with Vongola's letterhead, please?"

Reborn raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as he fetched a notepad and handed it to Tsuna.

Tsuna started writing, not paying any more heed to Hibari, which ticked off the cloud guardian.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm writing an order."

"You're not my Boss."

"It's not for you."

"Tsunayoshi!"

"It's for Mukuro, but I want you to see it first."

"I refuse to work with him again."

"You won't, I'm assigning Hayato this time."

"Then, let me take my leave."

"No, you are not dismissed."

Hibari suddenly slammed his tonfa on Tsuna's bedside table, reducing it into a blast of splinters, but his Boss remained undeterred. Tsuna ripped the sheet from the pad and presented it to his face. Hibari snatched it from his hands and read through the contents.

"What is this supposed to mean? Why now?" He asked suddenly baffled.

"You don't know what really happened back there," Tsuna tried to calm himself.

"Because you wouldn't tell us anything!" Hibari was clearly being defensive.

"It doesn't matter," Tsuna slowly shook his head. "I'm dead... and so is the Byakuran from that time."

"Then why show this to me and give it to them?" Hibari waved the piece of paper towards the guardians' direction.

"Because you need to go on," Tsuna tried hard to not let his voice break.

"But what am I supposed to do?" This was the first time they ever saw Hibari as close to exasperation as he was.

"You're our anchor, Kyouya. You'll lead them back, home." The young boss sounded almost pleading.

"That's not going to happen." Hibari looked away.

"You will make it happen," Tsuna stared him down.

Kyouya momentarily closed his eyes, but he didn't heave a sigh like before. When he opened them again, he looked down on Tsuna. He stared long and hard at him, presumably the last sight of his Boss, would be that of a child sitting on his bed, the light from the window illuminating his figure. "You shouldn't have died."

"I'm sorry," Tsuna gave him one last smile.

"Don't die again," Hibari rested a palm on his Boss' head. "Or I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna nodded. "The next time you come home I won't be there waiting for you, so for the very last time let me say it... For everything and for always, thanks for the hard work, Kyouya."

Hibari pressed his lips in a tight line, but he didn't say anything more, he just gave back the piece of paper and straightened himself. He bowed down to pay his last respects, and closed his eyes as he was engulfed by the familiar pink smoke.

When the smoke cleared, the present Kyouya looked a bit confused at being there. And then, immediately got pissed so he hit the nearest person in sight.

"OUCH!" Tsuna yelped as he watched Hibari walk away after hitting him, he rubbed his head. "Welcome back, Kyouya."

Hibari stopped dead in his tracks, snapping his head around as he glared at the tenth Boss. "What did you call me?"

Tsuna stared at him, thinking to himself that this was not the same person, then he proclaimed. "From now on, I'll call everyone by their first names. It's about time."

Hibari frowned at him, still a bit confused, but before he could even attempt to bite him to death. Another puff of pink smoke surrounded one of the guardians, and from within it emerged the twenty-five year old Gokudera Hayato. Just like Hibari, he was dressed in a crisp black suit. The difference was that instead of a briefcase, he was carrying with him a big bouquet of white roses.

"Juudaime," the storm guardian quietly murmured to himself as his eyes started tearing up, lips in full tremble.

Tsuna had to smile at the sight. "Long time no see, Hayato. The last time we saw each other, you were visiting a grave... You're not visiting a grave now, are you?"

"Juudai-sniffs-mee," for the moment Gokudera could say nothing but that, all the while struggling with his sobs.

"Come here, Hayato. Come on, don't cry. You're what, twenty-five years old already, right?" Tsuna beckoned him to come near him, motioning with his hand.

"Ugghh-ngggh," Gokudera sniffed again as he ducked his head in shame, trying to control himself. Everyone watched him with concerned and/or confused eyes, as he slowly walked towards his Boss, hiding his face behind the bouquet while straightening himself. He briskly rubbed on his face before putting down the bouquet in Tsuna's lap. "This is the last time I'm offering you the same flowers, Juudaime."

Tsuna nodded with great understanding. "Thank you, Hayato."

The older Gokudera knelt down beside his Boss, and Tsuna willingly gave him his hand. He gripped it as hard but gentle as he could, kissing Tsuna's palm as a sign of his ultimate respect and devotion. When they thought he was done, he wasn't. He remained in that position for a good minute before they started hearing soft sobs again. "I'm so sorry, Juudaime. I'm so sorry."

"I should be the one apologizing, I didn't tell you anything." Tsuna patted his head gently, accidentally slipping how he used to call the latter. "I'm sorry, Gokudera-kun."

The storm guardian shook his head, remaining downcast. "I have no right to question Juudaime's decision, my pride as a Vongola guardian and as your right-hand man rests solely in my ability to live by your will."

"Wow... that's something," Tsuna tried fruitlessly to humor the storm guardian, but when he wouldn't stop crying he changed his approach and handed over the piece of paper. "Hayato, I have a mission for you."

Gokudera looked up at him, carelessly wiping away tears. And accepted it with shaking hands, he read through the brief note and looked back to his Boss in shock. "Juudaime! This is!"

"I want you to serve as Mukuro's back-up, will you do it?" The young Boss knew his most devoted guardian would do it, but still he had to ask.

"Well, you know I can't refuse you, but why now?" Gokudera seemed at a loss.

"Because I wouldn't be there anymore." Tsuna gave him a sad but meaningful smile.

"But why me? Why not Hibari? This looks like the kind of mission you would give him," Gokudera looked at the younger Hibari and the rest of the guardians.

"Hibari has his own mission, and besides you will have Takeshi by your side so you should be able to manage," Tsuna sounded confident of him.

"O-of course! I will not dare fail Juudaime, but-but... why give a mission like this to Mukuro?" Gokudera glanced at Mukuro before immediately looking away.

"Why not? Do you have somebody else in mind?" Tsuna was being condescending.

"No... In my ten bloody years of working with him, I know he's the best man for the job. And I'm not questioning his loyalty either, it's just that... after what happened with Millefiore, I don't think it would be wise to let Mukuro off on his own again." Gokudera explained.

Tsuna was about to say something when Reborn spoke first, "did you hear that Mukuro? For someone like Gokudera to say that, ten years must've been a really long time."

"Indeed it was," Tsuna agreed as he looked back to Gokudera. "I understand what you're trying to say Hayato, but you don't have to worry about Mukuro-"

"I'm not worried about him!" Gokudera cut off Tsuna which surprised everyone. "Juudaime, I don't mean to be disrespectful and I don't really want to be a snitch either, but you need to know something... After you left the future, he-! Mukuro went on a killing spree and hunted down all the members of the firing squad that killed you!"

Everyone froze at that.

Tsuna slowly looked at Mukuro's direction, but this present Mukuro does not have the answers for him. He looked back at Gokudera, "why didn't you stop him?"

"We can't... we didn't want to," Gokudera confessed, closing his eyes to avoid the sad look his Boss was giving him.

"I can't believe you let that happen," Tsuna breathed out slowly, calming himself down.

"I'm sorry, Juudaime... we weren't in our right minds," Gokudera apologized lamely, bowing until his forehead touched the floor.

Tsuna looked quietly at Gokudera, "is there anything else you wanted to say?"

"Nothing more, Juudaime," Gokudera kept his head down.

Tsuna inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and opening them again. "Hayato, you know how much I love you guys, right? Don't do those kind of things again, okay? Don't let them happen."

"We won't. I promise, Juudaime." Gokudera vowed.

Tsuna stared at him, but he didn't say anything further.

"Well, that's my last report, Juudaime." Gokudera did his best to smile with trembling lips.

Tsuna nodded to him, "I'll be waiting for you in Japan, Hayato."

Gokudera jolted at hearing that, wide eyes looking for answers, for questions he wouldn't even dare ask.

Tsuna just smiled at him and held him by the cheek. "Once you succeed in this last mission, come back home to me. And I'll tell you the words you'll wait forever to hear."

With renewed vigor and fresh tears, Gokudera planted a fist in his chest. "Yes, Juudaime!"

Another explosion of pink smoke and the ten-year-older Storm guardian was gone, taking his place was the present Gokudera who was just as confused as Hibari before.

"You're going to make him come back to you?"

"Hayato is my right hand-man, his place is to my right. Nee, Hayato?" Tsuna looked from Reborn to Gokudera.

"I don't really know what you talked about with my future self, but the answer is always yes for Juudaime!" Gokudera cheerfully proclaimed.

"Great," Tsuna smiled at him then looked at Yamamoto. "The next one should be you."

"Ahahaha! I hope I don't start crying." And just as Yamamoto said that, he was replaced by his ten-year-later self, carrying nothing but the sword on his back. Gokudera made way for him as he walked towards Tsuna's bedside.

"Long time no see, Tsuna~!" His cheerful smile as refreshing as it always was.

"Nice to see you again, Takeshi." Tsuna greeted, returning the smile.

"Yeah... what's wrong with you? You're bedridden," it was more of a statement than a question.

"Adept as always, huh?" Tsuna wasn't surprised that the future Yamamoto noticed something the previous guardians didn't or payed no heed to. "Or is it that you're becoming paranoid, Takeshi? Well, don't worry, I only exhausted myself after pushing my limits."

"You always do that, that's why we can't stop worrying about you..." Takeshi trailed off, and paused for a second before continuing. "Well, now we don't have to worry about you anymore... Sorry."

"Please stop saying that, it was my decision that led us into ruins." Tsuna frowned, "Takeshi, I told you not to be the gloomy kind of rain."

"Hahaha~! Sorry, it slips every now and then..." Takeshi scratched the back of his head. "You know, before heading here, I was thinking of all the things I wanted to say to you. And I couldn't really think of anything, that was never really my strong point. Ahahaha!"

Tsuna smiled sheepishly, "same here and you know that."

"I'll miss you, Tsuna. That's the only thing I could think of right now."

"Me too." Tsuna had to agree.

"But you'll have me with you, as my younger self..." Takeshi motioned to the present guardians, "we, on the other hand, can't have you with us anymore."

"I'm sorry, you had to go through something like this." Tsuna didn't know what else to say, "and more than just once."

"The dead cannot be brought back to life, otherwise there'd be no point in meeting you at all." Takeshi looked at Reborn, Aria, Yuni and Gamma. It wasn't only Tsuna who had died.

"Takeshi, you'll be fine, won't you?" Tsuna smiled sadly at him.

And Yamamoto could clearly see the silent pleading in his Boss' eyes, so he answered accordingly, "yeah, as always."

"Take care, Takeshi. I'll leave it all up to you," Tsuna nodded to his direction.

"You'll be fine too, right, Tsuna?" The future Yamamoto had to ask back.

"Of course," Tsuna smiled as bright as he could to assure the older guy.

"I'm counting on you guys," Yamamoto directed the words to the present guardians. "Take care of your Boss, okay?"

The present guardians weren't sure how to answer, but he managed to get a few nods, and that was as good as it was gonna get.

"Takeshi, Let me tell you the same things I told Hayato." Tsuna grabbed on his sleeve. "When the time comes, I'll see you again in Japan, okay?"

"What? Tsuna that's-"

"You need to visit your father too, I'm sure he misses you a lot already." Tsuna cut him off, pulled on him to give him a hug. "We'll play baseball, and have snowball fights, and watch fireworks, over and over and over again until forever!"

Yamamoto pulled himself out of Tsuna's hug as the Boss continued, albeit with a softer voice now. "We'll mess around and have fun again, like always, okay?"

But Yamamoto couldn't find it in himself to answer, so he just gave Tsuna the biggest grin that he could make, and then he was gone.

"Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn called him back to the present.

"I... I just-hope he doesn't try to kill himself again." It was the same for Gokudera. Tsuna looked away.

The next guardian came with a surprisingly loud war cry, and they were all kinda glad for the distraction.

"TO THE EXTREME!" Sasagawa Ryohei jumped out of the pink smoke that engulfed his younger self. He landed in front of his Boss and saluted, "it's been a while, Sawada!"

"Oniisan," Tsuna has never been more relieved to see a man who didn't seem to change a single bit.

"Ahh~ this is so nostalgic, everyone looks so young to the extreme!" Ryohei pounced on the bed and watched the expressions of the younger generation.

"Well, for you, we're all from ten years in the past," Tsuna smiled sheepishly at him.

"The past, huh? It's been a long time coming then," Ryohei looked back at the younger version of his Boss, and stretched both arms upwards. "This sure takes me back, to the extreme! You have the memories of the future, right?"

"Yes," Tsuna answered simply.

"But they don't, right?" Ryohei pointed to the present guardians, with a huge grin on his face. Then he turned back to look at them and started to tell some old stories. "I remember it like it was just yesterday, we would all run around the mansion, with all of our crazy antics. Yelling our lungs out and breaking things. Our Boss would get angry because we destroyed his desk again, and the bookshelves, and the door, and the chandelier... but we just don't listen. Then, Hibari would come along pissed at our noise and we'll try to beat each other up and it's a crazy rumble to the extreme!"

"Ahh... good times..."

"Oniisan," Tsuna sweat-dropped.

"Ahh! we also often make bets about who gets the Boss the best gift! And how we would race to report after every mission! That was so much fun to the extreme! Well, but Hibari always wins..."

"He's quick with his reports though, so it's okay," Tsuna related to the story.

"Yeah, and Mukuro always goes last," Ryohei shifted his gaze from Hibari to Mukuro. "Later we figured that he did that on purpose to spend the most time in Tsuna's office... what did he ever do in there?"

"He likes to annoy me with his unfinished reports," Tsuna sweat-dropped and avoided Mukuro's questioning look.

"Ahh, the last time, he fought with Kyouya in your office, right? Because Kyouya was the one who won the best gift and he said his was better, and so he broke Kyouya's souvenir."

"Yes, along with my desk and the bookshelves and the couch," the young Boss chuckled sheepishly.

"Yeah, such good times... good times," Ryohei sighed and looked back at Tsuna. "That was fun, Sawada. So much fun to the extreme, that sometimes we tend to forget we were even in the mafia. You're really an amazing Boss to the extreme."

"Oniisan..." Tsuna felt overwhelmingly flattered, this was the first time he's heard the older man say it to him. "Don't suddenly turn all serious now, really..."

"But it's true, we all had to agree, right? Ryohei looked away, back to the faces of the younger generation. "I just wish we could do it all over and over and over again. And maybe we could, just not back in my time."

"Oniisan-" Tsuna was about to say something when Ryohei interrupted him.

"By the way, I'm getting married next month... you were supposed to be my best man."

"I'm sorry, Oniisan," Tsuna turned solemn again.

"Nah, it's all good... we'll celebrate under the sky for you." Ryohei smiled reassuringly at him, before standing up and hugging him with a heavy pat at the back. "We'll probably name our first child after you too, just so you know."

"What? Oh, I'm honored. Thank you so much, Oniisan. But really, you don't need to," Tsuna tried his best to keep tears at bay.

"Non sense! If it weren't for you and Kyoko, we wouldn't have ended up together!" Ryohei released him and looked at him a little sad in the eyes. "Now, if only you had gotten your turn. At least."

A thought had come up to Tsuna's mind at that, but before it could delve any deeper, Ryohei spoke again, bracing him firm on the shoulders. "You were great, Sawada. You were the best. Thanks for everything. These were the best years of my life."

Ryohei looked back at the younger generation. "You kids, make this last to the extreme!"

"We will," Tsuna answered silently to himself as another pink puff of smoke erupted.

The fifth guardian who came to visit was the most familiar face of them all, considering that his younger version usually caused enough chaos for him to be sent into the past. Or in this case, their present.

"Tsuna-nii!" Lambo ran towards him and fell to his knees, hugging Tsuna's torso with all his might.

"Woah! Lambo, calm down!" Tsuna tried to console the cow child, who was currently bawling his eyes out on his stomach.

"I can't!" Lambo sobbed with all his might, "because they said I can't come back to this time anymore! I can't come see you anymore!"

"I'm sorry, Lambo. But this wasn't supposed to even be possible in the first place," Tsuna tried talking some sense into him.

"Nooooo! That can't be! Who's going to give me candy? Who's going to put me to sleep at night?" The cow child continued to wail.

"Lambo, you're already old enough," Tsuna chided him.

"Even so! When I get sick or injured, you still take care of me! And you don't leave my side throughout the night! You know, sometimes I wish I would never get well, that way Tsuna-nii would stay by my side no matter what!"

"Lambo..." Tsuna hugged him back just as tight.

"If I was there, I would take the bullet for Tsuna-nii, even though I'm scared!"

"Thanks, Lambo. You're really a reliable guardian." Tsuna held his face up. "But now that I'm gone I would need you to watch over your older sisters, okay?"

"But-!"

"No buts, just do it, okay? That's a mission, the last that I would ever give you. So, promise me, okay?" Tsuna held out a pinky.

Lambo took it with his finger and shook it together, "I promise, Tsuna-nii."

"Thanks," Tsuna kissed him on the forehead. "I'm so proud of you, Lambo."

"Nnngh..." The cow started to cry again.

"Don't cry anymore, you're a man now, aren't you?" Tsuna wiped away his tears.

"Tsuna-nii... *sniffs* I'll miss you forever... I love Tsuna-nii the best..." Lambo hugged him again.

"I love you too, Lambo. I love all of you so very much." Tsuna couldn't help letting a tear slip at that as well, that was the first time he's put it into words.

"Stay with us," Lambo couldn't stop.

"I will," Tsuna pulled away, "but not in your time. I'm sorry."

Lambo didn't answer anymore, he just kept his head down.

"Tell you what, Lambo. Even though, the time machine is destroyed and the Bazooka is broken," Tsuna whispered the remainder of the message, so the rest of the people in the room wouldn't hear.

"Is that true?" Lambo finally stopped crying.

"Do you think I would lie to you?" Tsuna smiled at him with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but..." Lambo was thinking twice about it.

"I'll prove it to you when it happens, okay? How about that?" Tsuna ruffled his hair.

"Well, all right." Lambo relented.

"When that time comes, please do your best, okay? That's gonna be a big responsibility." Tsuna cleaned up the cow's face.

"Okay! You can count on Lambo!"

"Good, I'll be watching over you."

Not a second sooner and the adult Lambo was gone, jumping out of the pink smoke was the usual cow child, who immediately went to ask Tsuna for candies. Now they weren't sure if the next one would be the last or not, so they couldn't tell if it was gonna be Chrome or Mukuro. After the pink smoke erupts and clears, they would know.

"Bossu," it was Chrome, and her hair had noticeably grown longer.

"Chrome... I'm so glad to see you, since I didn't get to meet you at all in the future." Tsuna had to admit.

"Me too, Bossu." Chrome had both her hands together in front of her chest, but as she slowly approached their Boss, she started to sob like the other guardians. She held her hands in front of her face, and fell to her knees in front of Tsuna. "Bossu!"

"Chrome! What's wrong? Don't cry," Tsuna awkwardly held her by the shoulder.

Chrome shook her head. "I'm so happy to see you, but I'm also so sad because this will be the last time."

"Chrome..." Tsuna looked sadly down at her.

"I owe everything to you, Boss. You made Mukuro-sama's illusions a reality. You gave us a home, a family. Even though a lot of people don't like me and Mukuro-sama, it's because of you that we can live the kind of life that we have now. Bossu, I can't thank you enough."

"Aww, come on, Chrome. That's what a family is for, right? You don't have to thank me," Tsuna tried to console her.

"Bossu, you've always been very kind, always so understanding. I don't fully understand why you were even willing to go that far for us, that's why I always did my best, for Bossu. To prove that we are also your guardians, even though, no one believes in us. As long as Bossu was there, nobody else mattered, not as much as Bossu."

"Remember when I was about to have surgery? I was so scared because Mukuro-sama was away on a mission, and can't even communicate with me. But you said everything will be all right, and afterwards I would be able to live like a normal girl. You said you would take care of everything, and I didn't have to worry about a thing, but you know, all I could think about that time was how much I wanted Bossu to stay with me through the entire process. I didn't even tell you, but you did. And you don't know how happy I was when I woke up and you were there."

"And when Mukuro-sama was in danger, you said you would save him and that blew all of my worries away. But then, you left without saying a word, and didn't come back. When I found out, I left as fast as I could, but I couldn't make it in time. And when I got there, Bossu was already dead!"

Chrome screamed through her hands, and Tsuna didn't know what to say to stop her from crying, and confessing everything else that the rest of his guardians didn't know about his death. This was probably the first time, Chrome has released all the pent up emotions she kept to herself during and after the whole ordeal. Because all of that was supposed to be a secret, only Tsuna and Mukuro of the future knew. Then again, of course Chrome would also know or figure out. After all, she was the one who told Tsuna of the future that Mukuro was caught in Byakuran's trap.

"O-okay, Chrome... calm down, it's all over now see, I'm fine and Byakuran's dead and Mukuro's free, he even got out of Vindice." Tsuna was glancing at Mukuro and Reborn and the rest of his guardians, because everything that Chrome said had something to do with the death of his future self.

"I'm so sorry, Bossu. If only I didn't tell you, then you would probably still be alive." Chrome looked up at him, eyes swollen with tears steadily falling.

"It's not your fault, Chrome. And if you didn't tell me, we would've completely lost. My future self had figured that back then was the best time to put his plans into action, the plans which were already planned even before Mukuro went to Millefiore. Because I was the one who gave him the mission to infiltrate Millefiore, that was in accordance to the plan I made with him, after speaking with Irie and Hibari. It was an order, that's the truth."

"But... even if you say that now, that doesn't change the fact that you died! You don't know what Mukuro-sama looked like when I found him! He was completely devastated! I thought he lost his mind!"

"I'm sorry, Chrome. I put you and Mukuro through a lot." That was when Tsuna stopped hesitating and hugged Chrome, as tightly as he could. "I will properly apologize to him as well, once he gets here."

Chrome shook her head, "Mukuro-sama doesn't want to see you. You're not the Boss that we lost. You're not real."

"Eh? Did he say that?" Tsuna was still smiling but the aura around him seemed to have changed. "Then, please relay this message. If he doesn't come and see me now, he is going to regret not taking this chance for the rest of his life. And you both should know that's true."

Upon hearing the silent order, Chrome summoned her flames and waved around her trident, forcefully calling out Mukuro from the depths of her unconscious.

"I can see that your flames have gotten awfully stronger, Chrome. To think you even have the capability to forcefully summon Mukuro now." Tsuna applauded, remembering that his future self had specifically asked Chrome to train herself how to do that in cases when Tsuna needs Mukuro and he refuses to show up. "Stay in the background, Chrome."

"Yes," Chrome nodded and with a last swing the image of Chrome morphed into that of Mukuro.

"At first I had doubts, but to think there could actually be two Mukuros at the same space and time." Tsuna looked back at the present Mukuro, standing along with his other guardians, and then at the illusion of the future Mukuro in the body of the future Chrome.

"Though, I am merely an illusion." The future Mukuro flipped a few strands of hair.

"Real enough for me," Tsuna shrugged.

"Still, how could you betray me like this, Chrome? I might never trust you again," Mukuro teased.

"I'm sorry Mukuro-sama, but it was Bossu's order." Mukuro heard her reply in his mind.

"It's not her fault, it was just the Boss's order," Tsuna defended her.

"That's what she said," Mukuro frowned at the coordinance.

"Well, in any case, here. It's the last mission." Tsuna handed him the small note. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of those trouble. This is payback, go crazy."

"Are you sure you're assigning this to me?" Just one look and Mukuro was smirking from ear to ear.

"Yes," Tsuna sighed. "Even Hayato said you'd be perfect for the job, just... try not to kill anyone, okay?"

"I can't make any promises," Mukuro placed the note in front of his lips, trying fruitlessly to shield his expression.

"Hey, now... don't get too happy with it, or else Kyouya would get even more pissed." Tsuna tried to avoid the look thrown at him by the present cloud guardian.

"Kufufu~! I can see a reminder," Mukuro motioned to the ruins of a used-to-be bedside table.

"Indeed," Tsuna nodded sheepishly. "Hayato will be you're back-up by the way, just make sure to always finish your reports on time, okay?"

"I know, otherwise he'll get revenge by not providing for me." Mukuro glanced towards Gokudera's direction. "He is such a sore loser."

Gokudera was surprised, but immediately glared. "Bastard..."

Tsuna chuckled. "Well, that's it from my end. You?"

"I'm accepting this mission, but I'm still not completely convinced. How could you prove to me that you are indeed my one and the same Boss, hmm?" Mukuro teased with a raised eyebrow.

"By accepting my order, you already confirmed my identity as your Boss, and yet you still want me to prove it? You really haven't changed." Tsuna sighed, and opened a hand towards Mukuro. "Give me your trident."

When Mukuro heard that order, his face completely became serious, and it was obvious that he was hesitating if he would obey the command or not. He didn't move.

"What's wrong? Are you scared you'll see ghosts?" This time, it was Tsuna who was teasing, and Mukuro didn't seem to like it one bit.

"Tsunayoshi had died long ago, you can't be him." Mukuro was glaring now, but Tsuna was undeterred.

"Wanna bet?" Tsuna raised his hand higher. "Just give me the trident, and I'll show you what you've been asking for, what you've been hoping to see."

Mukuro stared a while longer, and then shook his head. "I'm not ready." He took a few steps back, head completely bowed down.

"Mukuro, I'm sorry." Tsuna laid down his hand. "You shouldn't have seen that."

"No, I'm..." Mukuro tried, but couldn't say what he wanted to.

"Mukuro, come on..." Tsuna called him over again. "We won't get this chance again."

When Mukuro heard Tsuna say that, he thought it over again. He looked at Tsuna, his Boss in the form of a child. He didn't say anything as he walked near and bent down on his knees, offering up his trident.

"Thank you," Tsuna took the tip with both hands, and then aimed it on his throat.

"Juudaime!" Gokudera bursted, they knew all too well what would happen if anyone gets injured by that.

"It's okay. Mukuro is just as much a guardian as the rest, I trust him with my life." Tsuna proclaimed with a smile and conviction, as he slowly sliced his neck.

"Juudaime!"

"Tsuna!"

Mukuro immediately draped a handkerchief on his neck, as Tsuna passed on the bloody trident back to him.

"You know what to do," Tsuna's smile didn't falter, not in the least bit. And then he fell unconscious.

Mukuro cradled him, swinging his trident and then stomping it to the ground. With that, Tsuna immediately woke up, but his right eye was red.

"Dame-Tsuna!"

"Bastard!" Gokudera was about to attack, when Tsuna suddenly spoke.

"Wait, it's me!" He rubbed on his right eye and it turned back to normal. He turned to Mukuro, "is that it?"

"Yes, that's enough." Mukuro smiled sadly.

"Are you sure?" Tsuna asked again.

"Yes, if I did any more, my younger self would never forgive me." Mukuro motioned to the present Mukuro, who was also prepared to attack.

"Okay, so I guess I'll just see you then," Tsuna smiled again, holding up a silent promise.

"Yes," the future Mukuro returned the smile and kissed Tsuna on the forehead, before disappearing in the pink smoke. "Let's meet again..."

In another lifetime.

Fic Facts:

1.) Some of that was inspired by the doujinshi, "Butterfly Effect" by World Hunt. You can find an english copy of that uploaded in Yaoi to the Extreme facebook page (I was the typesetter). ;3

Author's Notes:

Okay, so I've been re-reading the previous chapters to solve the problems I left all over, and if I wasn't the one writing this story I'd be really confused. There's just too many things going on at the same time, even I was starting to have a hard time keeping up with my own plot. I'm so sorry! It's just that there's so many things I wanted to be in the anime and manga but they weren't. *sighs*

Anyway, most of the problems had already been given answers, some were hinted (so it won't disrupt my flow), while others were left unanswered for the sake of mysteries. So if you have some questions or things that you didn't understand and want me to clarify, please tell me in a review or send it to me via PM. I will answer them in the next update or reply to you as soon as I can.

Thank you very much for supporting me and this story thus far~

— Lynx

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